First Italo-Ethiopian War

The First Italo-Ethiopian War was fought between Italy home, the Italian government decided on a military solu-
and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from a dis- tion to force Ethiopia to abide by the Italian version of the
puted treaty which, the Italians claimed, turned the coun- treaty. In doing so, they believed that they could exploit
try into an Italian protectorate. Much to their surprise, divisions within Ethiopia and rely on tactical and techno-
they found that Ethiopian ruler Menelik II, rather than op- logical superiority to oset any inferiority in numbers.
posed by some of his traditional enemies, was supported There was a broader, European background as well:
by them, and so the Italian army, invading Ethiopia from
the Triple Alliance of Germany, AustriaHungary, and
Italian Eritrea in 1893, faced a more united front than Italy was under some stress, with Italy being courted
they expected. In addition, Ethiopia was supported by by England; France, one of the members of the oppos-
Russia with military advisers and the sale of weapons for ing Franco-Russian Alliance, had its own claims on Er-
Ethiopian forces during the war.[5] Full-scale war broke itrea and was bargaining with Italy over giving up those
out in 1895, when Ethiopian troops counterattacked Ital- claims in exchange for a more secure position in Tunisia.
ian positions and besieged the Italian fort of Meqele, forc- Meanwhile, Russia was supplying weapons and other aid
ing its surrender. Italian defeat came about after the to Ethiopia.[7] It had been trying to gain a foothold in
Battle of Adwa, where a massive and well-armed and pre- Ethiopia,[9] and in 1894, after denouncing the Treaty of
pared Ethiopian army delivered the Italians a heavy loss Wuchale in July, it received an Ethiopian mission in St.
and forced their retreat back into Eritrea. Petersburg and sent arms and ammunition to Ethiopia.[10]
This was not the rst African victory over Western col- This support continued after the war ended.[11]
onizers, but it was the rst time such a military put a
denitive stop to a colonizing nations eorts. Accord-
ing to one historian, In an age of relentless European 2 Opening phase
expansion, Ethiopia alone had successfully defended its
independence.[6]
In 1893, judging that his power over Ethiopia was se-
cure, Menelik repudiated the treaty; in response the Ital-
ians ramped up the pressure on his domain in a vari-
1 Background ety of ways, including the annexation of small territo-
ries bordering their original claim under the Treaty of
Wuchale, and nally culminating with a military cam-
On March 25, 1889, the Shewa ruler Menelik II, hav-
paign and across the Mareb River into Tigray (on the
ing conquered Tigray and Amhara, declared himself Em- border with Eritrea) in December 1894. The Italians ex-
peror of Ethiopia (or Abyssinia, as it was commonly
pected disaected potentates like Negus Tekle Haymanot
called in Europe at the time). Barely a month later, on of Gojjam, Ras Mengesha Yohannes, and the Sultan of
May 2, he signed the Treaty of Wuchale with the Italians,
Aussa to join them; instead, all of the ethnic Tigrayan or
which apparently gave them control over Eritrea, the Red Amharic peoples ocked to the Emperor Meneliks side
Sea coast to the northeast of Ethiopia, in return for recog-
in a display of both nationalism and anti-Italian feeling,
nition of Meneliks rule. Menelik II continued the policy while other peoples of dubious loyalty (e.g. the Sultan
of Tewodros I of integrating Ethiopia. of Aussa), were watched by Imperial garrisons.[12] Fur-
However, the bilingual treaty did not say the same thing ther, Menelik had spent much of the previous four years
in Italian and Amharic; the Italian version did not give building up a supply of modern weapons and ammunition,
the Ethiopians the signicant autonomy written into acquired from the French, British, and the Italians them-
the Amharic translation.[7] The former text established selves, as the European colonial powers sought to keep
an Italian protectorate over Ethiopia, but the Amharic each others North African aspirations in check. They
version merely stated that Menelik could contact foreign also used the Ethiopians as a proxy army against the Su-
powers and conduct foreign aairs through Italy if he so danese Mahdists.
chose. Italian diplomats, however, claimed that the origi- In December 1894, Bahta Hagos led a rebellion against
nal Amharic text included the clause and Menelik know- the Italians in Akkele Guzay, claiming support of Menge-
ingly signed a modied copy of the Treaty.[8] sha. Units of General Oreste Baratieri's army under Ma-
Because of the Ethiopian refusal to abide by the Italian jor Pietro Toselli crushed the rebellion and killed Bahta
version of the treaty and despite economic handicaps at at the Battle of Halai. The Italian army then occupied the

1
2 2
Emperor Menelik II
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 retreat-
ing Mengesha, capturing weapons and important docu-
ments proving his complicity with Menelik. The victory
in this campaign, along with previous victories against
the Sudanese Mahdists, led the Italians to underesti-
mate the diculties to overcome in a campaign against
Menelik.[13] At this point, Emperor Menelik turned to
France, oering 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, Em-
peror Menelik issued a proclamation calling up the men
of Shewa to join his army at Were Ilu.[14]
The unique Eurasian ally of Ethiopia was Russia.[5][10][11]
The Ethiopian emperor sent his rst diplomatic mission
to St. Petersburg in 1895. In June 1895, the newspa-
pers in St. Petersburg wrote, Along with the expedi-
tion, 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 dele-
gation to St. Petersburg. On the eve of War, an agree-
ment about rendering the military help for Ethiopia was
concluded.[15][16]
The next clash came at Amba Alagi on 7 December 1895,
OPENING PHASE
Oreste Baratieri
when Ethiopian soldiers overran the Italian positions dug
in on the natural fortress, and forced the Italians to re-
treat back to Eritrea. The remaining Italian troops un-
der General Giuseppe Arimondi reached the unnished
Italian fort at Meqele. Arimondi left there a small garri-
son of approximately 1,150 askaris and 200 Italians, com-
manded by Major Giuseppe Galliano, and took the bulk
of his troops to Adigrat, where Oreste Baratieri, the Ital-
ian commander, was concentrating the Italian Army.
The rst Ethiopian troops reached Maqele in the follow-
ing days. Ras Makonnen surrounded the fort at Meqele
on 18 December, but the Italian commander adroitly used
promises of a negotiated surrender to prevent the Ras
from attacking the fort. By the rst days of January, Em-
peror Menelik, accompanied by his Queen Taytu Betul,
had led large forces into Tigray, and besieged the Ital-
ians for sixteen days (621 January 1896), making sev-
eral unsuccessful attempts to carry the fort by storm, un-
til the Italians surrendered with permission from the Ital-
ian Headquarters. Menelik allowed them to leave Meqele
with their weapons, and even provided the defeated Ital-
ians mules and pack animals to rejoin Baratieri.[17] While
some historians read this generous act as a sign that Em-
peror 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, army.[20] Russian support for Ethiopia also led to a Rus-
where the mountain passes were not guarded by Italian sian Red Cross mission, which arrived in Addis Ababa
fortications.[18] some three months after Meneliks Adwa victory.[21]
Heavily outnumbered, Baratieri refused to engage, know-
ing that due to their lack of infrastructure the Ethiopi-
ans could not keep large numbers of troops in the
eld much longer. However, the Italian government of
Francesco Crispi was unable to accept being stymied by
non-Europeans. The prime minister specically ordered
Baratieri to bring about a battle.
3 Battle of Adwa
Main article: Battle of Adwa
The result was the Battle of Adwa on March 1, 1896,
which took place in mountainous country north of actual
town of Adwa (or Adowa). The Italian army comprised
four brigades totalling approximately 17,700 men, with
fty-six artillery pieces; the Ethiopian army comprised
several brigades numbering between 73,000 and 120,000
men (80100,000 with rearms: according to Pankhurst,
the Ethiopians were armed with approximately 100,000
ries of which about half were fast ring),[3] with al- eign adventures.[25]
most fty artillery pieces.
General Baratieri planned to surprise the larger Ethiopian
force with an early morning attack, expecting his enemy
to be asleep. However, the Ethiopians had risen early
for Church services and, upon learning of the Italian ad-
vance, promptly attacked. The Italian forces were hit by
wave after wave of attacks, until Menelik released his re-
serve of 25,000 men, destroying an Italian brigade. An-
other brigade was cut o, and destroyed by a cavalry
charge. The last two brigades were destroyed piecemeal.
By noon, the Italian survivors were in full retreat.
While Meneliks victory was in a large part due to sheer
force of numbers, his troops were well-armed because
of his careful preparations. The Ethiopian army only
had a feudal system of organization, but proved capa-
ble of properly executing the strategic plan drawn up in
Meneliks headquarters. However, the Ethiopian army
also had its problems. The rst was the quality of its
arms, as the Italian and British colonial authorities could
sabotage the transportation of 30,00060,000 modern
MosinNagant ries and Berdan ries from Russia into
landlocked Ethiopia. Secondly, the Ethiopian armys feu-
dal 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 re superiority, instead
of engaging in a campaign of harassment designed to nul-
lify problems with arms, training, and organization.[16][19]
Some Russian councilors of Menelik II and a team of
fty Russian volunteers participated in the battle, among
them Nikolay Leontiev, an ocer of the Kuban Cossack
3
The Italians suered 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 4,0005,000 killed and 8,000
wounded.[22][23] In addition, 2,000 Eritrean askaris were
killed or captured. Italian prisoners were treated as well
as possible under dicult circumstances, but 800 cap-
tured askaris, regarded as traitors by the Ethiopians, had
their right hands and left feet amputated.[24]
4 Outcome and consequences
Menelik retired in good order to his capital, Addis Ababa,
and waited for the fallout of the victory to hit Italy.
The casualty rate suered by Italian forces at the Bat-
tle of Adwa was greater than any other major European
battle of the 19th century, beyond even the Napoleonic
Era's Waterloo and Eylau.[25] Riots broke out in several
Italian cities, and within two weeks, the Crispi govern-
ment collapsed amidst Italian disenchantment with for-
Menelik secured the Treaty of Addis Ababa in Octo-
ber, which delineated the borders of Eritrea and forced
Italy to recognize the independence of Ethiopia. Delega-
tions from the United Kingdom and Francewhose colo-
nial possessions lay next to Ethiopiasoon arrived in the
Ethiopian capital to negotiate their own treaties with this
newly proven power.
5 Gallery
Russian military ocer Nikolay Leontiev with a
member of the Ethiopian military
Battle of Adwa
An Ethiopian painting commemorating the Battle of
Adwa
Two Italian soldiers captured after the Battle of
Adwa
6 See also
1868 Expedition to Abyssinia
Battle of Dogali 1887
Italian Empire
Second Italo-Abyssinian War 19351936
Military of Ethiopia
4 8 REFERENCES

Military history of Ethiopia [15] Russian mission to Abyssinia. 28 February 1895.

[16] Who Was Count Abai?". St.Petersburg: through cen-

7 Notes
[1] According to Pankhurst, the Ethiopians were armed with
approximately 100,000 ries of which about half were
fast ring..[3]
turies.
[17] Prouty, Empress Taytu, pp. 144151.
[18] Marcus, Menelik II, p. 167
[19] Cossacks of the emperor enelik II. tvoros.ru. Re-
trieved 3 October 2015.

[20] The activities of the ocer the Kuban Cossack army N. S.

8 References Leontjev in the Italian-Ethiopic war in 18951896 (Rus-
sian)
[1] Ethiopian Treasures. ethiopiantreasures.co.uk. Re-
[21] Richard, Pankhurst. Ethiopias Historic Quest for
trieved 3 October 2015.
Medicine, 6. The Pankhurst History Library.
[2] Vandervort, Bruce. Wars of Imperial Conquest in Africa,
[22] von Uhlig, Encyclopaedia, p. 109.
18301914. 1998, page 160
[23] Pankhurst. The Ethiopians, pp. 1912.
[3] Pankhurst, The Ethiopians, p. 190
[24] Augustus B. Wylde, Modern Abyssinia (London:
[4] The Battle of Adwa: Reections on Ethiopias Historic Vic-
Methuen, 1901), p. 213
tory Against European Colonialism. 2005, page 71.
[25] Vandervort, Bruce. Wars of Imperial Conquest in Africa,
[5] Patman, Robert G. (2009). The Soviet Union in the Horn 18301914. 1998, page 164.
of Africa: The Diplomacy of Intervention and Disengage-
ment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 27
30. ISBN 9780521102513.

[6] Jonas, Raymond (2011). The Battle of Adwa: African

Victory in the Age of Empire. Harvard UP. p. 1. ISBN
9780674062795.

[7] Gardner, Hall (2015). The Failure to Prevent World War

I: The Unexpected Armageddon. Ashgate. p. 107. ISBN
9781472430588.

[8] Piero Pastoretto. Battaglia di Adua (in Italian).

Archived from the original on May 31, 2006. Retrieved
2006-06-04.

[9] Burke, Edmund (1892). East Africa. The Annual Reg-

ister of World Events: A Review of the Year. Longmans,
Green. pp. 397. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

[10] Vestal, Theodore M. (2005). Reections on the Battle of

Adwa and its Signicance for Today. In Paulos Milkias.
The Battle of Adwa: Reections on Ethiopias Historic Vic-
tory Against European Colonialism. Getachew Metaferia.
Algora. pp. 2135. ISBN 9780875864143.

[11] Eribo, Festus (2001). In Search of Greatness: Russias

Communications with Africa and the World. Greenwood.
p. 55. ISBN 9781567505320.

[12] Prouty, Chris (1986). Empress Taytu and Menilek II:

Ethiopia 18831910. Trenton: The Red Sea Press. p.
143.

[13] Berkeley, George (1969). The campaign of Adowa and

the rise of Menelik. Negro University Press (reprint).
ISBN 1-56902-009-4.

[14] Marcus, Harold G. (1995). The Life and Times of Menelik

II: Ethiopia 18441913. Lawrenceville: Red Sea Press. p.
160. ISBN 1-56902-010-8.
 5

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