First Italo-Ethiopian War

Italian troops en route to Massawa; the Italian fort at Mek'ele; Ethiopian cavalry at the Battle of
Adwa; Italian prisoners are freed following the end of hostilities; Menelik II at Adwa; Ras
Makonnen leading Ethiopian troops in the Battle of Amba Alagi.

Date:1895–1896

Location:Ethiopia

Result:Ethiopian victory

Belligerents Italy Ethiopia

Support:Russia,France

Commanders and leaders

Kingdom of Italy Oreste Baratieri Ethiopian Empire Menelik II

Russia Nikolay Leontiev

Strength:18,000 120,000 (80-100,000 with firearms, rest with spears)

Casualties and losses:15,000 dead 17,000 dead

The First Italo-Ethiopian War was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. Ethiopia
was supported primarily by Russia and France, both providing weapons, military officers, and
medical supplies, that assisted Ethiopian forces during the war.

1 Background

2 Opening phase

3 Battle of Adwa

4 End of the war

5 Consequences

1 Background

On March 25, 1889, the Shewa ruler Menelik II — having conquered Tigray and Amhara,
declared himself Emperor of Ethiopia (or "Abyssinia", as it was commonly called in Europe at the
time). Barely a month later, on May 2, he signed a treaty of amity with the Italians, which
apparently gave them control over Eritrea, the Red Sea coast to the northeast of Ethiopia, in
return for recognition of Menelik's rule. Menelik II continued the policy of Tewodros I of
integrating Ethiopia.
However, the bilingual Treaty of Wuchale did not say the same thing in Italian and Amharic. The
former text established an Italian protectorate over Ethiopia, which Menelik discovered soon
afterwards. The Amharic version, however, merely stated that Menelik could contact foreign
powers and conduct foreign affairs through Italy if he so chose. Italian diplomats, however,
claimed that the original Amharic text included the clause and Menelik knowingly signed a
modified copy of the Treaty.

Because of the Ethiopian refusal to abide by the Italian version of the treaty and despite
economic handicaps at home, the Italian government decided on a military solution to force
Ethiopia to abide by the Italian version of the treaty. In doing so, they believed that they could
exploit divisions within Ethiopia and rely on tactical and technological superiority to offset any
inferiority in numbers.

2 Opening phase

In 1893, judging that his power over Ethiopia was secure, Menelik repudiated the treaty; in
response the Italians ramped up the pressure on his domain in a variety of ways, including the
annexation of small territories bordering their original claim under the Treaty of Wuchale, and
finally culminating with a military campaign and across the Mareb River into Tigray (on the
border with Eritrea) in December 1894. The Italians expected disaffected potentates like Negus
Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, Ras Mengesha Yohannes, and the Sultan of Aussa to join them;
instead, all of the ethnic Tigrayan or Amharic peoples flocked to the Emperor Menelik's side in a
display of both nationalism and anti-Italian feeling, while other peoples of dubious loyalty (e.g.
the Sultan of Aussa), were watched by Imperial garrisons. Further, Menelik had spent much of
the previous four years building up a supply of modern weapons and ammunition, acquired from
the French, British, and the Italians themselves, as the European colonial powers sought to keep
each other's North African aspirations in check. They also used the Ethiopians as a proxy army
against the Sudanese Mahdists.

In December 1894, Bahta Hagos led a rebellion against the Italians in Akkele Guzay, claiming
support of Mengesha. Units of General Oreste Baratieri's army under Major Pietro Toselli
crushed the rebellion and killed Bahta at the Battle of Halai. The Italian army then occupied the
Tigrian capital, Adwa. Baratieri suspected that Mengesha would invade Eritrea, and met him at
the Battle of Coatit in January 1895. The victorious Italians chased a retreating Mengesha,
capturing weapons and important documents proving his complicity with Menelik. The victory in
this campaign, along with previous victories against the Sudanese Mahdists, led the Italians to
underestimate the difficulties to overcome in a campaign against Menelik.At this point, Emperor
Menelik turned to France, offering a treaty of alliance; the French response was to abandon the
Emperor to secure Italian approval of the Treaty of Bardo which would secure French control of
Tunisia. Virtually alone, on 17 September 1895, Emperor Menelik issued a proclamation calling
up the men of Shewa to join his army at Were Ilu.

The unique Eurasian ally of Ethiopia was Russia. The Ethiopian emperor sent his first diplomatic
mission to St. Petersburg in 1895. In June 1895, the newspapers in St. Petersburg wrote, "Along
with the expedition, Menelik II sent his diplomatic mission to Russia, including his princes and
his bishop". Many citizens of the capital came to meet the train that brought Prince Damto,
General Genemier, Prince Belyakio, Bishop of Harer Gabraux Xavier and other members of the
delegation to St. Petersburg. On the eve of War, an agreement about rendering the military help
for Ethiopia was concluded.

The next clash came at Amba Alagi on 7 December 1895, when Ethiopian soldiers overran the
Italian positions dug in on the natural fortress, and forced the Italians to retreat back to
Eritrea.The remaining Italian troops under General Giuseppe Arimondi reached the unfinished
Italian fort at Meqelle. Arimondi left there a small garrison of approximately 1,150 askaris and
200 Italians, commanded by Major Giuseppe Galliano, and took the bulk of his troops to Adigrat,
where Oreste Baratieri, the Italian commander, was concentrating the Italian Army.

The first Ethiopian troops reached Meqelle in the following days. Ras Makonnen surrounded the
fort at Meqelle on 18 December, but the Italian commander adroitly used promises of a
negotiated surrender to prevent the Ras from attacking the fort. By the first days of January,
Emperor Menelik, accompanied by his Queen Taytu Betul, had led large forces into Tigray, and
besieged the Italians for 15 days (6–21 January 1896), trying in vain to storm the fort on several
occasions, until the Italians surrendered with permission from the Italian Headquarters. Menelik
allowed them to leave Meqelle with their weapons, and even provided the defeated Italians
mules and pack animals to rejoin Baratieri. While some historians read this generous act as a
sign that Emperor Menelik still hoped for a peaceful resolution to the war, Harold Marcus points
out that this escort allowed him a tactical advantage: "Menelik craftily managed to establish
himself in Hawzien, at Gendepata, near Adwa, where the mountain passes were not guarded by
Italian fortifications."

Heavily outnumbered, Baratieri refused to engage, knowing that due to their lack of
infrastructure the Ethiopians could not keep large numbers of troops in the field much longer.
However, the Italian government of Francesco Crispi was unable to accept being stymied by non-
Europeans. The prime minister specifically ordered Baratieri to bring about a battle.

3 Battle of Adwa

The result was the Battle of Adwa (or Adowa) on March 1, 1896. The battle took place in
mountainous country north of the town of Adwa. The Italian army comprised four brigades
totalling approximately 17,700 men, with fifty-six artillery pieces; the Ethiopian army comprised
several brigades numbering between 73,000 and 120,000 men (80-100,000 with firearms:
According to Pankhurst, the Ethiopians were armed with approximately 100,000 rifles of which
about half were "fast firing"),with almost fifty artillery pieces.

General Baratieri planned to surprise the larger Ethiopian force with an early morning attack,
expecting that his enemy would be asleep. However, the Ethiopians had risen early for Church
services, and upon learning of the Italian advance, promptly attacked. The Italian forces were hit
by wave after wave of attacks, until Menelik released his reserve of 25,000 men, destroying an
Italian brigade. Another brigade was cut off, and destroyed by a cavalry charge. The last two
brigades were destroyed piecemeal. By noon, the Italian survivors were in full retreat.

While Menelik's victory was in a large part due to sheer force of numbers, Menelik's careful
preparations had made them well-armed numbers. The Ethiopian army only had a feudal system
of organization, but could absolutely execute the strategic plan of Menelik's headquarters.
However, the Ethiopian army also had its problems. The first was the quality of its arms, as the
Italian and British colonial authorities could sabotage the transportation of 30,000-60,000
modern Mosin–Nagant rifles and Berdan rifles from Russia into landlocked Ethiopia.Secondly,
the Ethiopian army's feudal organization meant that nearly the entire force was composed of
peasant militia. Russian military experts advising Menelik II suggested a full contact battle with
Italians, to neutralize the Italian fire superiority, instead of engaging in a campaign of harassment
designed to nullify problems with arms, training, and organization.

Some Russian councilors of Menelik II and a team of fifty Russian volunteers participated in the
battle. Among them were N. Leontjev, an officer of the Kuban Cossack army. Also, the Russian
support for Ethiopia led to the advent of a Russian Red Cross mission. It arrived in Addis Ababa
some three months after Menelik's Adwa victory.

The Italians suffered about 7,000 killed and 1,500 wounded in the battle and subsequent retreat
back into Eritrea, with 3,000 taken prisoner; Ethiopian losses have been estimated around
4,000–5,000 killed and 8,000 wounded.In addition, 2,000 Eritrean askaris were killed or
captured. Italian prisoners were treated as well as possible under difficult circumstances, but
800 captured askaris, regarded as traitors by the Ethiopians, had their right hands and left feet
amputated.

4 End of the war

Menelik retired in good order to his capital, Addis Ababa, and waited for the fallout of the
victory to hit Italy. The casualty rate suffered by Italian forces at the Battle of Adwa was greater
than any other major European battle of the 19th century, beyond even the Napoleonic Era's
infamous Waterloo and Eylau.Riots broke out in several Italian cities, and within two weeks, the
Crispi government collapsed amidst Italian disenchantment with "foreign adventures".

5 Consequences

Menelik secured the Treaty of Addis Ababa in October, which strictly delineated the borders of
Eritrea and forced Italy to recognize the independence of Ethiopia. Delegations from the United
Kingdom and France—European powers whose colonial possessions lay next to Ethiopia—soon
arrived in the Ethiopian capital to negotiate their own treaties with this newly proven power.