NORTH ETHIOPIA

Battle of Adowa

The Battle of Adowa (also known as Adwa or sometimes by the Italian name Adua) was fought on March 1, 1896 between Ethiopia and Italy near the town of Adowa, Ethiopia in Tigray. It was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Abyssinian War.

As the twentieth century approached, Africa had been scrambled between the various European powers, with the exception of the tiny republic of Liberia on the west coast of the continent and the ancient, kingdom of Ethiopia, bordering the strategic Horn of Africa. Italy, a relative newcomer to the colonial scramble for Africa, having been left with only two impoverished territories on the Horn: Eritrea and Somalia.Seeking to increase its influence by conquering Ethiopia and creating a land bridge between its two territories. Italy and Ethiopia fought the First Ethio-Itali War.

By late February, 1896, supplies on both sides were running dangerously low. Succumbing to pressure from the Italian government, General Oreste Baratieri made the first move on the night of February 29. He did not calculate the rough terrain, however, and his army was divided into small pockets of troops without contact with each other. This was observed by the Ethiopian commander Ras Makonnen (father of Emperor Haile Selassie), who ordered his troops to attack. By morning, troops belonging to Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu Betul joined the forces.

The Italians were heavily outnumbered by the Ethiopians by 14,527 to as much as 120,000, and the Italian army was encircled and routed. Further casualties ensued during heavy skirmishing as the Italians retreated to their bases. The Italians took 5,900 casualties, while the Ethiopians had about 10,000.

As a direct result of the battle, Italy signed the Treaty of Addis Ababa, recognizing Ethiopia as independent state. The humiliation remained with Italy for almost forty years, until 1935, when the Second Italo-Ethiopian War started the short-lived Italian control of major cities in Ethiopia.

This set an example for other African countries during the struggleagainst colonization!