Warmatrix

Ethiopian soldiers assembling before the battle of Adwa

The Battle of Adwa, fought in 1896 CE, was the decisive battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. It was the only time during the 'scramble for Africa' that an African state was able to repulse a European power.
In 1889 CE Italy signed the Treaty of Wuchala with Ethiopia, the latter trading claims over Eritrea and Tigray in return for financial and military aid. Both sides explained the text differently and in 1893 CE emperor Menelik II, their most powerful leader, denounced it all together. The Italians decided to implement their version, which made Ethiopia a protectorate of Italy, by force and started the First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Italian army exploited the rivalries among the Ethiopian peoples and advanced deep into Ethiopia, winning several battles and occupying Adwa, capital of Tigre. Then the cunning Menelik, after having strengthened his power, raised a large army and drove them back. In 1896 CE both armies tried to outmaneuver the other without success, so that they were running low on supplies. The Ethopian plight was somewhat worse because they lived off the land, which was becoming depleted, while the Italians used supply lines. The Italian commander Oreste Baratieri knew this and played a waiting game, but politicians back in Rome ordered him to attack.
The Italians brought four brigades to the battle, though many men were guarding supply lines, so their total strength was probably 15,000 men. Three brigades where native Italians, a mix of elite Bersaglieri and Alpini units with conscripts; the fourth was made up of Eritrean askari led by Italian officers. Their equipment was mostly obsolete and morale was low. Facing them were somewhere between 75,000 and 120,000 Ehtiopians, many more than Baratieri had estimated, because Menelik had spread false rumors that downplayed his real strength. He and his predecessor Sahle Miriam had strengthened their tax base and acquired many modern rifles from France, Britain and even Italy itself. As a result 4/5 of the Ehtiopians were armed with rifles and the rest with spears, swords and other pre-gunpowder weapons.
The Italians advanced in three columns to well-defensible high ground near Adwa, with the fourth in reserve. Poor maps and darkness during the night march made them lose contact with each other. When Menelik, who was fidgeting about retreating, heard about the Italian movements, he jumped to the chance. The Italian columns were isolated from each other and attacked separately, by relatively ineffective Ethiopan artillery fire and especially by repeated mass charges. The most exposed column, despite being vastly outnumbered, held out for several hours before succumbing. It made a fighting retreat, however blundered into a narrow valley were the men were butchered. The other two brigades were outflanked and destroyed separately. The battle was over before noon.
The Italians lost 6,000 killed and 1,500 wounded, plus 2,500 taken prisoner on the retreat after the battle. The Ethiopians are estimated to have lost 7,000 killed and 10,000 wounded. The victors treated the Italian prisoners fairly well, but cut off hands and feet of the askari, whom they regarded as traitors. Menelik was fearful of Italian retaliation if he pressed his advantage too far and with a starving country, limited himself to canceling the treaty and securing Ethiopian independence. Nonetheless the victory greatly enhanced Ethiopia's status and inspired leaders all over Africa. The independence lasted only a few decades, because in 1936 CE Benito Mussolini launched the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, which went the other way. Italian occupation lasted five years, until they were driven out by the British.