Somaliland campaign ( 1920 ) The Somaliland campaign of 1920 was the final British expedition against the Dervish forces of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan ( often called the " Mad Mullah " in English ) , the Somali religious leader . Although the majority of the combat took place in January of the year , British troops had begun preparations for the assault as early as November 1919 . The British forces included elements of the Royal Air Force and the Somaliland Camel Corps . After three weeks of battle , Hassan ' s Dervishes were finally defeated , bringing an effective end to their 20 year resistance . Background . Following the end of World War I , the British once again turned their attention to the ongoing violence in British Somaliland . The Dervishes had previously defeated British forces at the Battle of Dul Madoba in 1913 . Four subsequent British expeditions against Hassan and his forces had also failed . British plans . In 1919 , the unrest in British Somaliland alarmed the British Government enough for Lord Milner , the Colonial Secretary , to consider sending a military expedition to the protectorate . The Chief of the Imperial General Staff , Sir Henry Wilson , advised Milner that at least two divisions would be required and this was likely to cost several million pounds . Such a cost was seen as being prohibitively expensive in the conditions of post - war austerity . Lord Milner then turned to the newly formed RAF , asking the Chief of the Air Staff , Sir Hugh Trenchard , if he could suggest a solution . Trenchard who at that time was most eager to ensure that the air force remained as a separate service , immediately proposed that the RAF should take responsibility for the whole operation . Milner argued that some ground troops would be needed and Trenchard replied that the local colonial forces which were already in Somaliland would be sufficient . A meeting was arranged to discuss the coming campaign . In attendance were : Winston Churchill who was Secretary of State for War and Air , Leo Amery the Colonial Under - Secretary who deputized for Milner , Sir Henry Wilson and Sir Hugh Trenchard . Wilson was strongly opposed to a campaign being conducted by the Colonial Office and the Air Ministry which would draw upon the War Office ' s soldiers . However , when Amery and Trenchard stated that under no circumstances would they request troops , Wilson withdrew his objection and consented to the RAF taking the lead . Order of battle . By the January 1920 , the following British forces were assembled : Actions . By 1 January 1920 the Z Force had constructed a temporary aerodrome at Berbera from where they operated . On 21 January RAF aircraft bombed Hassan ' s main base at Medistie and his fort at Jideli . Many members of Hassan ' s forces had never seen an aircraft before and were terrified by the aerial bombardment to the extent that they fled into the hills . It was also during that first bombardment that Hassan came close to being killed , narrowly avoiding death when an unfortunate camel shielded him from a nearby bomb blast . After the next five days had passed the Z Force had destroyed three Dervish forts ; they then provided air support and communications for the ground forces . This battle established the tactics of aerial bombardment followed by attacks by ground forces , and of using aircraft to provide support for ground troops during concurrent attacks . These tactics are among the primary methods of wartime operations to this day . On 28 January the Camel Corps occupied Jideli and Hassan retreated to his main fort at Taleh . After combined land and air operations , the British took Taleh on 9 February . Hassan ' s forces suffered great losses and were scattered , his forts were damaged and he escaped with only four of his followers to the Ogaden . Subsequent events . Although in the following months Hassan did regain some power in Ogaden he was never a force in British Somaliland again . He died of natural causes in December 1920 . Somaliland went on to enjoy 20 years of stability . In Great Britain , where the " Mad Mullah " had long been a source of irritation , news of the swift victory was well received in Parliament and the country . The cost of the 1920 operation was put at £77 , 000 and Amery described it as " the cheapest war in history " . Trenchard and the newly established RAF were greatly encouraged by the outcome . The following year in March 1921 at the Cairo Conference , Winston Churchill , who was by then Colonial Secretary , along with the three service chiefs decided that all British forces in Iraq would be put under control of the RAF . The intention was to apply the model of imperial air control which had worked in Somaliland to a much larger region which was similarly troubled .