In 1935 Steer covered the
Italian invasion of
Ethiopia, also known as the
Second Italo-Ethiopian War, for
The Times. He reported that Italian forces made extensive use of
poison gas in the form of
mustard gas and bombed
Red Cross ambulances despite clear markings of the
Red Cross. He was involved in helping to transport gas masks to Ethiopia to give at least some protection against the poison gases that were deployed illegally by the Italians. He became friendly with Emperor
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, who later became
godfather to Steer's son. Steer met and married his first wife in Ethiopia, under difficult conditions in the British Legation in
Addis Ababa, with looting and rifle fire outside the gates of the compound. His wife and his first child died in childbirth in London a little later.
Spanish Civil War In 1937, Steer was sent to report on the
Spanish Civil War. His first reports from the
Basque Country described how British merchant ships beat the Nationalist
blockade of
Bilbao to bring food to the starving people of the town and surrounding region. He also visited the front line on several occasions to report directly on the fighting. He won prominence with his
scoop report on the
bombing of Guernica on 26 April 1937. His telegram to London described
German bomb casings (inscribed with the words
Rheindorf 1936 with the German eagle insignia) and the use of
thermite as an
incendiary to create a
firestorm in the centre of the town. High-explosive bombs were used to create blast damage to wooden structures, which could then be ignited more easily by the incendiaries. His reporting did much to inspire
Pablo Picasso to record the atrocity for posterity in his massive 1937 painting
Guernica. It also alerted Western nations to the way the Germans were preparing to use
terror bombing to intimidate civilians. His reports were directly contradicted by the
Nationalists, who said that the damage had been caused by the
Republican forces themselves, as they had at
Irun earlier in the conflict although a
League of Nations investigation concluded that neither the terror bombing theory nor the Nationalist version of intentional arson was accurate. Steer responded to such reports by providing details of the damage in the town such as bomb craters and the
Luftwaffe aircraft used in the attack such as
Heinkel He 111 bombers. Although he was not an
eyewitness to the bombing itself, he arrived soon afterward, saw the effects and talked to some of the survivors. He was one of the last journalists to leave Bilbao as the Nationalists advanced and fled to
Santander, to the west.
Winter War in Finland The antifascist tone of Steer's reporting led
The Times to dispense with his services. The newspaper's editorial stance on the war was anti-Republican, and its editor,
Geoffrey Dawson, privately sympathised with the Nationalists, led by
Francisco Franco. However, the newspaper had a general policy of
appeasement when it came to Germany, Nazis and fascists. Steer returned to South Africa and in his book
Judgment on German Africa documented Germany's attempts to subvert its former African colonies, especially the
Cameroon,
South West Africa (now
Namibia),
Tanganyika (now in
Tanzania) and
Togoland (now part of
Ghana and
Togo). (Spain). After the outbreak of the
Second World War, the
Daily Telegraph dispatched Steer to
Finland to cover the
Winter War, when the country was attacked by the
Soviet Union in November 1939. Steer saw the effects of
aerial bombing of several Finnish towns by the Soviets, attempts made to intimidate the population, just like at Guernica. However, unlike for Ethiopia and Spain, Western countries such as Britain, France and Germany were eager to offer arms and equipment, as well as volunteers, to assist the Finns. The war had a relatively short duration because of the disparity in armed might although the Soviets had a number casualties that was much greater than the Finns'. An armistice was signed in March 1940 in which Finland lost about 10% of its territory to the Soviets.
Return to Ethiopia When Italy declared war on Britain, plans were laid to invade Ethiopia from
Kenya and
Sudan to topple the Italian regime and reinstate
Hailie Selassie as emperor. Steer was appointed as an officer in the
Intelligence Corps of the
British Army, initially to chaperone Selassie from London to the Sudan under the pseudonym, "Mr Smith" since the emperor's position had to be kept secret from the Italians. Steer was then put in charge of a mobile propaganda unit to undermine the Italian garrisons by leafletting, loudspeaker attacks and so on. The campaign was remarkably successful, with many Italian troops deserting to become prisoners and many Ethiopians transferring allegiance. Steer broadcast light Italian operas and news from the Italian front in
Libya, where the
British Army had great success against much larger Italian forces in 1941. The military campaign waged by British and Ethiopian soldiers was very successful and used a combination of regular troops and irregular forces, led by
Orde Wingate. They entered the capital,
Addis Ababa, in triumph in April 1941 to accept the defeat of the Italians. Later, Steer was sent to
India to lead a Field Propaganda Unit in
Burma. The unit tried to break
Japanese morale by loudspeakers with speeches and sentimental music. He was successively promoted from
Lieutenant to
Captain,
Major and finally
Lieutenant-colonel and was attached to the
Special Operations Executive. His work was appreciated and promoted by General
William Slim, the local army commander, who wanted to expand the operation. ==Personal life==