Battle of Adwa

1896 battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Adwa (Amharic: የዐድዋ ጦርነት; Tigrinya: ውግእ ዓድዋ; Italian: battaglia di Adua, also spelled Adowa) was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. It was fought on March 1, 1896, near the town of Adwa between the Ethiopian Empire under Emperor Menelik II and an Italian colonial force led by Oreste Baratieri.

Date1 March 1896; 130 years ago (1896-03-01)
Location
Adwa, Tigray Province, Ethiopia
14°1′8″N 38°58′24″E
Result Ethiopian victory
Quick facts Date, Location ...
Battle of Adwa
Part of the First Italo-Ethiopian War

A British illustration of "Dabormida's last rally"
Date1 March 1896; 130 years ago (1896-03-01)
Location
Adwa, Tigray Province, Ethiopia
14°1′8″N 38°58′24″E
Result Ethiopian victory
Belligerents
 Ethiopia  Italy
Commanders and leaders
Ethiopian Empire Menelik II
Ethiopian Empire Taytu Betul
Ethiopian Empire Ras Makonnen
Ethiopian Empire Ras Mikael
Ethiopian Empire Ras Mengesha
Ethiopian Empire Tekle Haymanot
Ethiopian Empire Ras Alula		 Kingdom of Italy Oreste Baratieri
Kingdom of Italy Vittorio Dabormida †
Kingdom of Italy Giuseppe Arimondi †
Kingdom of Italy Matteo Albertone (POW)
Strength
73,000–100,000 14,519–17,770[1][2]
Casualties and losses
3,886–7,000 killed ~6,000 killed
3,865 captured
Battle of Adwa is located in Ethiopia
Battle of Adwa
Location within Ethiopia
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Following a dispute over the interpretation of the Treaty of Wuchale, Italy attempted to force Ethiopia to abide by the Italian version of the treaty and impose a protectorate over Ethiopia. In response, Emperor Menelik II mobilized a massive army, with estimates ranging from 73,000 to over 100,000 men, mostly equipped with modern rifles imported from France and Russia. Facing them was a much smaller Italian colonial force under General Oreste Baratieri, which was unfamiliar with the terrain and hampered by poor reconnaissance.[3]

Despite concerns about the size and strength of the Ethiopian forces, Baratieri, under pressure from Rome to act decisively, decided to initiate a surprise attack on the Ethiopians camped near Adwa. The Italian command advanced into difficult terrain, dividing their forces into separate columns that quickly became isolated from one another. The Ethiopians launched coordinated attacks on the dispersed Italian brigades. While the Italians initially used their artillery to slow the Ethiopian advance, their defensive positions were soon overwhelmed by sustained and numerically superior Ethiopian assaults. During the retreat, an entire Italian brigade became surrounded and was effectively annihilated.[1]

The battle ended in a decisive Ethiopian victory, with over 6,000 Italian and colonial troops killed, and around 3,800 captured. Ethiopian casualties are estimated between 4,000 to 7,000 killed, and up to 10,000 wounded. The defeat forced Italy to recognize Ethiopia’s sovereignty in the Treaty of Addis Ababa, making Ethiopia one of the few independent states during the Scramble for Africa, which had otherwise been carved up by European powers following the Berlin Conference.[4][5] Adwa became a pre-eminent symbol of pan-Africanism, and secured de jure Ethiopian sovereignty until the Second Italo-Ethiopian War forty years later.[6]

Background

In 1889, the Italians signed the Treaty of Wuchale with King Menelik of Shewa. The treaty, signed after the Italian occupation of Eritrea, recognized Italy's claim over the coastal colony. In it, Italy also promised to provide financial assistance and military supplies. A dispute later arose over the interpretation of the two versions of the document. In the Italian-language version, the disputed Article 17 of the treaty stated that the Emperor of Ethiopia was obliged to conduct all foreign affairs through Italian authorities, effectively making Ethiopia a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy. The Amharic version of the article stated that the Emperor could use the good offices of the Kingdom of Italy in his relations with foreign nations if he wished. The Italian diplomats claimed that the original Amharic text included the clause and that Menelik II knowingly signed a modified copy of the Treaty.[7]

The Italian government decided on a military solution to force Ethiopia to abide by the Italian version of the treaty. As a result, Italy and Ethiopia came into confrontation, in what was later to be known as the First Italo-Ethiopian War. In December 1894, Bahta Hagos led a rebellion against the Italians in Akele Guzai, in what was then Italian controlled Eritrea. Units of Italian General Oreste Baratieri's army under Major Pietro Toselli crushed the rebellion and killed Bahta. In January 1895, Baratieri's army defeated Ras Mengesha Yohannes in the Battle of Coatit, forcing Mengesha to retreat further south.

By late 1895, Italian forces had advanced deep into Ethiopian territory and occupied much of Tigray. On 7 December 1895, Ras Makonnen Wolde Mikael, Fitawrari Gebeyehu and Ras Mengesha Yohannes commanding a larger Ethiopian group of Menelik's vanguard annihilated a small Italian unit at the Battle of Amba Alagi. The Italians were then forced to withdraw to more defensible positions in Tigray Province, where the two main armies faced each other. By late February 1896, supplies on both sides were running low. General Oreste Baratieri, commander of the Italian forces, knew the Ethiopian forces had been living off the land, and once the supplies of the local peasants were exhausted, Emperor Menelik II's army would begin to melt away. However, the Italian government insisted that General Baratieri act.

Landscape of Adwa

On the evening of 29 February, Baratieri, about to be replaced by a new governor, General Baldissera, met with his generals Matteo Albertone, Giuseppe Arimondi, Vittorio Dabormida, and Giuseppe Ellena, concerning their next steps. He opened the meeting on a negative note, revealing to his brigadiers that provisions would be exhausted in less than five days, and suggested retreating, perhaps as far back as Asmara. His subordinates argued forcefully for an attack, insisting that to retreat at this point would only worsen the poor morale.[8] Dabormida exclaimed, "Italy would prefer the loss of two or three thousand men to a dishonorable retreat." Baratieri delayed making a decision for a few more hours, claiming that he needed to wait for some last-minute intelligence, but in the end announced that the attack would start the next morning at 9:00am.[9] His troops began their march to their starting positions shortly after midnight.

The Italian journalist Adolfo Rossi, who undertook several reporting missions in the region for Corriere della Sera and witnessed major defeats such as the massacre at Amba Alagi and the Siege of Mekelle (Macallè in Italian) in January 1896, was an outspoken critic of the military-led colonial administration and its expansion into sacred Abyssinian territory – warning that it would provoke a backlash, which was soon realized through Emperor Menelik's counteroffensive. He condemned the colonial leadership as overly militaristic, driven by a thirst for medals and glory, and warned that Italian forces were overstretched, tasked with controlling an excessively large territory with too few men and inadequate logistical support. Rossi remained with General Baratieri until mid-February but was expelled just days before the Italian defeat at Adwa for his "unpatriotic" reporting, his criticism of military decisions, and his repeated warnings against engaging Menelik's vastly superior army.[10][11]

Order of battle

An 1890s Italian map of Adwa. A small arrow indicates that north is to the right.

Ethiopian forces

Further information: Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles

Estimates for the Ethiopian forces under Menelik range from a low of 73,000 to a high of over 100,000 outnumbering the Italians by an estimated five times.[13][14] The forces were divided among Emperor Menelik, Empress Taytu Betul, Ras Welle Betul, Ras Mengesha Atikem, Ras Mengesha Yohannes, Ras Alula Engida (Abba Nega), Ras Mikael of Wollo, Ras Makonnen Wolde Mikael, Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis, Fitawrari Gebeyyehu, and Negus Tekle Haymanot Tessemma.[15]

Pétridè, as well as Pankhurst, with slight variations, break the troop numbers down (over 100,000 by their estimates) as follows: 35,000 infantry (25,000 riflemen and 10,000 spearmen) and 8,000 cavalry under Emperor Menelik; 5,000 infantry under Empress Taytu; 8,000 infantry (6,000 riflemen and 2,000 spearmen) under Ras Wale; 8,000 infantry (5,000 riflemen and 3,000 spearmen) under Ras Mengesha Atikem, 12,000 riflemen, 5,000 spearmen, and 3,000 cavalry under Ras Mengesha Yohannes and Ras Alula Engida; 6,000 riflemen, 5,000 spearmen, and 5,000 Oromo cavalry under Ras Mikael of Wollo; 15,000 riflemen under Ras Makonnen; 8,000 infantry under Fitawrari Gebeyyehu Gora; 5,000 riflemen, 5,000 spearmen, and 3,000 cavalry under Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam.[16]

The armies were followed by a similar number of camp followers who supplied the army, as had been done for centuries.[17] Most of the army consisted of riflemen, a significant percentage of whom were in Menelik's reserve. There were also a significant number of cavalry and infantry only armed with lances, the latter referred to as "lancer servants".[17][18][19]

Italian forces

Immediately before the battle of Adwa, the Italian army numbered around 29,700 men. However, as Harold Marcus notes, "several thousand" soldiers were needed in support roles and to guard the lines of communication to the rear. He accordingly estimates that the Italian force at Adwa consisted of just 14,519 effective combat troops.[20] In contrast, David Levering Lewis estimates that the Italian army consisted of four brigades, totaling 17,770 troops with fifty-six artillery pieces.[21][a] One brigade under General Albertone was made up of Eritrean Ascari led by Italian officers.[22] The remaining three brigades were Italian units under Brigadiers Dabormida, Ellena and Arimondi. While these included elite Bersaglieri and Alpini units, a large proportion of the troops were inexperienced conscripts recently drafted from metropolitan regiments in Italy into newly formed "d'Africa" battalions for service in Africa. Additionally, a limited number of troops were from the Cacciatori d'Africa; units permanently serving in Africa and in part recruited from Italian settlers.[23][24]

According to historian Chris Prouty:

They [the Italians] had inadequate maps, old-model guns, poor communication equipment and inferior footgear for the rocky ground. (The newer Carcano Model 91 rifles were not issued because Baratieri, under constraints to be economical, wanted to use up the old cartridges). Morale was low as the veterans were homesick and the newcomers were too inexperienced to have any esprit de corps. There was a shortage of mules and saddles.[25]

The Italian operational corps in Eritrea was under the command of General Oreste Baratieri. The chief of staff was Lieutenant Colonel Gioacchino Valenzano.

  • Right column: (4,833 rifles / 18 cannons)[2] 2nd Infantry Brigade (Gen. Vittorio Dabormida);[26]
    • 3rd Africa Infantry Regiment,[27] (Col. Ottavio Ragni)
      • 5th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Luigi Giordano)
      • 6th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Leopoldo Prato)
      • 10th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Gennaro De Fonseca)
    • 6th Africa Infantry Regiment (Col. Cesare Airaghi)
      • 3rd Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Luigi Branchi)
      • 13th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Alberto Rayneri)
      • 14th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Secondo Solaro)
    • Native Mobile Militia Battalion (Maj. Lodovico De Vito)
    • Native Company from the Asmara Chitet[28] (Cpt. Alberto Sermasi)
    • 2nd Artillery Brigade (Maj. Alberto Zola)
      • 5th Mountain Artillery Battery[29] (Cpt. Giuseppe Mottino)
      • 6th Mountain Artillery Battery[29] (Cpt. Giuseppe Regazzi)
      • 7th Mountain Artillery Battery[29] (Cpt. Vittorio Gisla)
  • Central column: (3,324 rifles / 12 cannons)[2] 1st Infantry Brigade (Gen. Giuseppe Arimondi);[26]
    • 1st Africa Bersaglieri Regiment[30] (Col. Francesco Stevani)
      • 1st Africa Bersaglieri Battalion (Maj. Matteo De Stefano)
      • 2nd Africa Bersaglieri Battalion (Maj. Lorenzo Compiano)
    • 1st Africa Infantry Regiment (Col. Ugo Brusati)
      • 2nd Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Flaciano Viancini)
      • 4th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Luigi De Amicis)
      • 9th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Giuseppe Baudoin)
    • 1st Company of the 5th Native Battalion (Cpt. Pietro Pavesi)
    • 8th Mountain Artillery Battery[29] (Cpt. Vincenzo Loffredo)
    • 11th Mountain Artillery Battery[29] (Cpt. Giocanni Franzini)
  • Left column: (4,339 rifles / 14 cannons)[2] Native Brigade (Gen. Matteo Albertone);[26]
    • 1st Native Battalion (Maj. Domenico Turitto)
    • 6th Native Battalion (Maj. Giuseppe Cossu)
    • 5th Native Battalion (Maj. Rodolfo Valli)
    • 8th Native Battalion (Maj. Giocanni Gamerra)
    • "Okulè Kusai" Native Irregular Company (Lt. Alessandro Sapelli)
    • 1st Artillery Brigade (Maj. Francesco De Rosa)
      • 1st Native Mountain Artillery Battery[31] (Cpt. Clemente Henry)
      • 2nd Section of the 2nd Native Mountain Artillery Battery[32] (Lt. Arnaldo Vibi)
      • 3rd Mountain Artillery Battery[31] (Cpt. Edoardo Bianchini)
      • 4th Mountain Artillery Battery[31] (Cpt. Umberto Masotto)
  • Reserve column: (3,032 rifles /12 cannons)[2] 3rd Infantry Brigade (Gen. Giuseppe Ellena);[26]
    • 4th Africa Infantry Regiment (Col. Giovanni Romero)
      • 7th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Alberto Montecchi)
      • 8th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Achille Violante)
      • 11th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Sebastiano Manfredi)
      • 12th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Rinaldo Amatucci)
    • 5th Africa Infantry Regiment (Col. Luigi Nava)
      • 15th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Achille Ferraro)
      • 16th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Bugenio Vandiol)
      • 1st Africa Alpini Battalion (Lt. Col. Davide Menini)
    • 3rd Native Battalion (Lt. Col. Giuseppe Galliano)
    • 1st Quick Fire Artillery Battery (Cpt. Giovanni Aragno)
    • 2nd Quick Fire Artillery Battery (Cpt. Domencio Mangia)
    • Sappers company

Budget restrictions and supply shortages meant that many of the rifles and artillery pieces issued to the Italian reinforcements sent to Africa were obsolete models, while clothing and other equipment was often substandard. The logistics and training of the recently arrived conscript contingents from Italy were inferior to the experienced colonial troops based in Eritrea.[33]

Battle

Terrain of the battle of Adwa

Around 9 p.m. on the 27th, in accordance with the orders of General Oreste Baratieri, the columns of Vittorio Dabormida, Giuseppe Arimondi, and Matteo Albertone advanced toward the Ethiopian positions; the reserve column of Giuseppe Ellena followed an hour later. The moonlight favored the march of the columns. David Levering Lewis states that the Italian battle plan called for three columns to march in parallel formation to the crests of three mountains – Dabormida commanding on the right, Albertone on the left, and Arimondi in the center – with a reserve under Ellena following behind Arimondi. The supporting crossfire each column could give the others made the 'soldiers as deadly as razored shears'. Albertone's brigade was to set the pace for the others. He was to position himself on the summit known as Kidane Mehret, which would give the Italians the high ground from which to meet the Ethiopians.[9]

The first Italian error was made by Albertone: instead of continuing west toward the Kidane Mehret Pass, he veered north toward the Rebbi Arayeni Pass and crossed Arimondi's column's route around 2:30 a.m. Having reached the Kidane Mehret Pass around 3:30 a.m., the column paused there for half an hour before resuming its march at a very brisk pace toward Enda Kidane Mehret. This latter movement, which had not been ordered, was likely caused by confusion arising from the information on the map, which was based on local accounts. Although the Kidane Mehret Pass was marked on this map, there was in fact a pass called Enda Kidane Mehret further west; trusting the local guides more, Albertone allowed himself to be led as far as Mount Abba Gerima. When he became aware of this confusion, Albertone found himself cut off from the rest of the Italian army.[34]

At the start of the day, an Ethiopian informant, Awalom of Enticho, working as an interpreter for Baratieri, reported to Ras Alula the movements of Italian troops; Alula promptly informed the commanders of the imperial army facing General Albertone. The columns of Tekle Haymanot, Ras Mikael, Ras Makonnen, Ras Olie, and Wagshum Guangal joined the battle. Emperor Menelik, praying at the Church of St. George, was not present at the start of the fighting.[35]

Initial clashes

Menelik II at the battle

Around 6:00 a.m., Albertone's vanguard, the 1st Indigenous Battalion under Major Domenico Turitto, approached the enemy outposts near the church of Enda Mikael near Adwa, it was ferociously charged by Ethiopian units coming from the Enda Garima and Gessoso mountains; the charge was so violent that it also hit the second Italian line, forcing Albertone to retreat from Kidane Meret to re-establish himself on the western slopes of Mount Semaiata. Two mountain batteries remained on site, commanded by Edoardo Bianchini and Umberto Masotto, with orders to resist to the last man. Both batteries were captured, and the two commanders were killed.[36]

Faced with the offensives on his left flank, Albertone committed the reserve regiment, managing to push back his adversaries by about 1 km. Baratieri tried desperately to call back the forces of Albertone, but his messages were unable to reach him. At 9 a.m., the forces of Menelik and Taytu finally arrived at the battle and launched a decisive counterattack. Baratieri then ordered the brigade led by Dabormida to move southwest to support Albertone's brigade and the Arimondi brigade to also turn left towards Mount Rajo. General Dabormida, in an attempt to relieve the pressure on Albertone, pushed his brigade into the deep valley of Mariam Shewito, where it encountered vastly superior enemy forces. At 10:30 a.m., the Dabormida brigade, which had unsuccessfully tried to help Albertone, was in turn cut off by the Abyssinian army.[37]

The battle had now split into three separate and independent engagements: on the Enda Chidane Meret pass, Albertone's men were fighting; on Mount Rajo, those of Arimondi and Ellena; and finally, in the Mariam Shewito valley, those led by Dabormida, who were attempting a heroic resistance. In all three positions, the Ethiopians enjoyed overwhelming numerical superiority, and the Italian columns, too far apart, could not support each other. Despite their isolated position, Albertone's ascaris inflicted heavy losses on the Ethiopians, but having exhausted their ammunition and been outflanked on their left flank by an Ethiopian column descending from Enda Garima, they were badly mauled and forced to retreat. Twelve Italian officers were killed, and only a few soldiers managed to escape; Albertone, whose mule was hit by a bullet, was captured and taken prisoner.[38]

Italian center

A mortally wounded Davide Menini encourages the Alpini assault.

After the route of Albertone's brigade, the Ethiopian columns descended on Arimondi's position, immediately engaging the Italians in fierce fighting. The Ethiopians split into two columns, one attacking Mount Belah on the Italian right, held by Colonel Francesco Stevani's Bersaglieri, while the other attacked the junction between Mount Rajo and the Chidane Meret on the Italian left, held by Colonel Giuseppe Galliano's III Native Battalion, which had been detached from the Ellena brigade. All while putting significant pressure on the vanguard regiment led by Giovanni Romero.[39]

The Ethiopian column on the left, composed of 25,000 men from the Shewan units and part of Menelik's bodyguard, unexpectedly occupied a rocky spur (called Zebàn Daarò) to the northwest of Mount Belah, thus outflanking Arimondi's right flank. Colonel Stevani tried to re-establish the situation by sending two companies of Bersaglieri to recapture the spur, but only 40 men managed to scale the rock face and were swept away by the overwhelming numbers of the enemy. The left flank of the Arimondi brigade was also outflanked when the Galliano native battalion was overwhelmed by the Ethiopian attack, Colonel Galliano himself was killed during this assault. Baratieri tried to plug the gap on the left flank by sending the 5th Infantry Regiment led by Colonel Luigi Nava, which also included an Alpini battalion under Davide Menini, but his troops were unable to stop the advance of the enemy units, and Colonel Nava was wounded and captured during the fighting.[40]

Pressed at the front and outflanked on both flanks, the Arimondi brigade gave way around 12:00, after its commander had also fallen in action. Baratieri ordered a general retreat at 12:30 in the direction of Adigrat, Adi Ugri, and Adi Keyh. During the retreat, Ellena informed Baratieri that Colonel Gioacchino Valenzano had established a defensive line; however, the rapid advance of the Ethiopians only allowed for the organization of a rearguard of barely one hundred men led by Capitan Pietro Cella, which was annihilated but gave time for the rest of the Italian army to retreat. Between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m., Colonel Ugo Brusati built a rearguard on a height between Jeha and Kokma to fend off the pursuing Ethiopians, the Italian retreat continued until 3:00 a.m. on the next day.[41]

Dabormida's Brigade

Charge of the Oromo calvary

At the start of the battle, Dabormida positioned himself near Mariam Shewito, accompanied by the indigenous battalion led by Major Lodovico De Vito where they encountered the men of Ras Makonnen. The indigenous troops were the first to engage, followed by the rest of the brigade. The general launched an attack on three fronts: Cesare Airaghi's regiment in the valley, Ottavio Ragni's regiment on the hill, Alberto Rayneri and Luigi De Amicis's battalions in the rear, and a battalion of Bersaglieri under Leopoldo Prato as the vanguard. Dabormida's troops repelled four attacks of Ras Makonnen's men, but this did little to prevent the Ethiopians from breaking through the main Italian defensive lines led by Barateri. At this point, the Shewan troops under Menelik split into two columns: one continued toward Bellah to outflank the exposed flank of the Arimondi Brigade, while the other turned left to attack the flank and rear of the now isolated Dabormida Brigade. Gradually, the rearguard, particularly Rayneri's left wing, which was struggling to find ammunition, succumbed to the pressure, while the enemy arrived in ever-increasing numbers on all three fronts.[42]

Unaware of the disaster that the rest of the army had encountered, Dabormida continued to fight in the valley, pressed on three sides by ever-increasing masses of enemies; only in the early afternoon, having realised the situation and clearly threatened with encirclement, did he order his troops to conduct a fighting retreat towards Mount Erar, at the bottom of the valley. He charged forward at the head of the 6th Regiment, shouting "Savoia, Savoia!" and managed to repel the enemy columns.[43]

As the Italians withdrew, the Oromo calvary under Ras Mikael charged at Dabormida's brigade. Upon seeing the Oromos charge, all discipline and order among Dabormida's forces completely collapsed. Soon the whole brigade retreated in complete panic. In this stampede, many of the Italians were slaughtered with great efficiency by the Oromos, which included Leopoldo Prato. Airaghi and Ragni tried to set up a defensive line with 2,500 men, but their lines were broken by a flood of retreating Italian soldiers. At this point, Airaghi led a final charge against the Ethiopians shouting "Viva l'Italia!" The Oromo calvary fell back and the Ethiopian riflemen gunned down the Italians, killing most of them including Airaghi. The charge only exposed the Italian flanks, which now collapsed as the Ethiopians resumed their offensive, during which Dabormida was killed and his brigade disintegrated.[44]

Menelik himself was greatly impressed by Dabormida's bravery, at the signing of the peace treaty, he is said to have given Dabormida's sword and scarf to Albertone to be returned to his family. His brigade remains the one that fought most heroically on the Italian side.[45] The Battle of Adwa thus ended with the fall of Dabormida's column. The following day, on 2 March 1896, at about nine o'clock, General Baratieri arrived at Adi Keyh and sent a telegram to Rome informing the government of Francesco Crispi of the Italian defeat.[46]

Immediate aftermath

Sick and wounded soldiers from Abyssinia being taken into hospital at Naples, 9 May 1936
The tomb of general Dabormida at Ado Scium Cohena, after the Battle of Adwa

George Berkeley records that the Italian casualties were 6,133 men killed: 261 officers, 2,918 white NCOs and privates, with 954 permanently missing, and about 2,000 ascari dead. Another 1,428 were wounded – 470 Italians (including 31 officers) and 958 ascari. 1,865 Italians and 2,000 ascaris were taken prisoner.[47][48] Richard Caulk estimates that the number of Italians killed were 300 officers, 4,600 Italian rank, and 1,000 askari for a total of 5,900 dead. 1,000 escaped wounded and at least 2,000 were captured. Citing contemporary figures, Caulk records Ethiopian losses to be 3,886 killed and 6,000 wounded.[49] Berkeley estimates Ethiopian losses to be 7,000 killed and 10,000 wounded.[50][51]

In their desperate flight to Eritrea, the Italians left behind all of their artillery and 11,000 rifles, and most of their transport.[51] As Paul B. Henze notes, "Baratieri's army had been completely annihilated while Menelik's was intact as a fighting force and gained thousands of rifles and a great deal of equipment from the fleeing Italians."[52]

800 captured Eritrean Ascari, regarded as traitors by the Ethiopians, had their right hands and left feet amputated.[53][54] Augustus Wylde records that when he visited the battlefield months after the battle, the pile of severed hands and feet was still visible, "a rotting heap of ghastly remnants."[55] Many mutilated Ascari did not survive. Wylde wrote how the neighborhood of Adwa "was full of their freshly dead bodies; they had generally crawled to the banks of the streams to quench their thirst, where many of them lingered unattended and exposed to the elements until death put an end to their sufferings."[56]

Despite some instances of abuse (including possibly some instances of castration[57]), the Italian prisoners were generally treated better by the Ethiopians. Among the prisoners was General Albertone. Chris Prouty notes that Albertone was given into the care of Azaj Zamanel, commander of Empress Taytu's personal army, and "had a tent to himself, a horse and servants".[58][59] However, around 70 Italian prisoners were massacred in retaliation for the death of Bashah Aboye. The officer responsible for the massacre was reportedly imprisoned by Menelik.[60][61]

Public opinion in Italy was outraged.[62] Chris Prouty offers a panoramic overview of the response in Italy to the news:

When news of the calamity reached Italy there were street demonstrations in most major cities. In Rome, to prevent these violent protests, the universities and theatres were closed. Police were called out to disperse rock-throwers in front of Prime Minister Crispi's residence. Crispi resigned on 9 March. Troops were called out to quell demonstrations in Naples. In Pavia, crowds built barricades on the railroad tracks to prevent a troop train from leaving the station. The Association of Women of Rome, Turin, Milan and Pavia called for the return of all military forces in Africa. Funeral masses were intoned for the known and unknown dead. Families began sending to the newspapers letters they had received before Adwa in which their menfolk described their poor living conditions and their fears at the size of the army they were going to face. King Umberto declared his birthday (14 March) a day of mourning. Italian communities in St. Petersburg, London, New York, Chicago, Buenos Aires and Jerusalem collected money for the families of the dead and for the Italian Red Cross.[63]

Aftermath

Italian prisoners of war in Harar, March 1897

Emperor Menelik decided not to follow up on his victory by attempting to drive the routed Italians out of their colony. The victorious Emperor limited his demands to little more than the abrogation of the Treaty of Wuchale. In the context of the prevailing balance of power, the emperor's crucial goal was to preserve Ethiopian independence. In addition, Ethiopia had just begun to emerge from a long and brutal famine; Harold Marcus reminds us that the army was restive over its long service in the field, short of rations, and the short rains which would bring all travel to a crawl would soon start to fall.[64]

At the time, Menelik claimed a shortage of cavalry horses with which to harry the fleeing soldiers. Chris Prouty observes that "a failure of nerve on the part of Menelik has been alleged by both Italian and Ethiopian sources."[65] Lewis believes that it "was his farsighted certainty that total annihilation of Baratieri and a sweep into Eritrea would force the Italian people to turn a bungled colonial war into a national crusade"[66] that stayed his hand.

As a direct result of the battle, Italy signed the Treaty of Addis Ababa, recognizing Ethiopia as an independent state. Almost forty years later, on 3 October 1935, after the League of Nations's weak response to the Abyssinia Crisis, the Italians launched a new military campaign endorsed by Benito Mussolini, the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. This time the Italians employed vastly superior military technology such as tanks and aircraft, as well as chemical warfare, and the Ethiopian forces were defeated by May 1936. Following the war, Italy occupied Ethiopia for five years (1936–41), before eventually being driven out during World War II by British Empire forces and Ethiopian Arbegnoch guerillas.[67]

Significance

"The confrontation between Italy and Ethiopia at Adwa was a fundamental turning point in Ethiopian history," writes Henze.[68] On a similar note, the Ethiopian historian Bahru Zewde observed that "few events in the modern period have brought Ethiopia to the attention of the world as has the victory at Adwa".[69]

This defeat of a colonial power and the ensuing recognition of African sovereignty became rallying points for later African nationalists during their struggle for decolonization, as well as activists and leaders of the Pan-African movement.[6] As the Afrocentric scholar Molefe Asante explains,

After the victory over Italy in 1896, Ethiopia acquired a special importance in the eyes of Africans and black people all over the world alike, as the only surviving African State that successfully defeated a European colonial power in open battle. Italy's government who had viewed them as an inferior barbaric race were brought to their knees and subsequently forced to recognize the African nation of Ethiopia as an equal. After Adowa, Ethiopia became emblematic of African valor and resistance, the bastion of prestige and hope to thousands of Africans who were experiencing the full shock of European conquest and were beginning to search for an answer to the myth of African and black inferiority as well as invoking a strong sense of Pan-Africanism towards to people of African-american origins who had suffered equally appalling injustices at the time and many centuries before.[70]

On the other hand, many writers have pointed out how this battle was a humiliation for the Italian military. Italian historian Tripodi argued that some of the roots of the rise of Fascism in Italy went back to this defeat and to the perceived need to "avenge" the defeat that started to be present in the military and nationalistic groups of the Kingdom of Italy. The same Mussolini declared when Italian troops occupied Addis Ababa in May 1936: Adua è vendicata (Adwa has been avenged).

One student of Ethiopia's History, Donald N. Levine, points out that for the Italians Adwa "became a national trauma which demagogic leaders strove to avenge. It also played no little part in motivating Italy's revanchist adventure in 1935". Levine also noted that the victory "gave encouragement to isolationist and conservative strains that were deeply rooted in Ethiopian culture, strengthening the hand of those who would strive to keep Ethiopia from adopting techniques imported from the modern West – resistances with which both Menelik and Haile Selassie would have to contend".[5]

Present-day celebrations of Adwa

Main article: Adwa Victory Day

Public holiday

The Adwa Victory Day is a public holiday in all regional states and charter cities across Ethiopia. All schools, banks, post offices and government offices are closed, with the exceptions of health facilities. Some taxi services and public transports choose not to operate on this day. Shops are normally open but most close earlier than usual.[71]

Public celebrations

The Victory of Adwa, being a public holiday, is commemorated in public spaces. In Addis Ababa, the Victory of Adwa is celebrated at Menelik Square with the presence of government officials, patriots, foreign diplomats and the general public. The Ethiopian Police Orchestra play various patriotic songs as they walk around Menelik Square.[72]

The public dress up in traditional Ethiopian patriotic attire. Men often wear Jodhpurs and various types of vest; they carry the Ethiopian flag and various patriotic banners and placards, as well as traditional Ethiopian shields and swords called Shotel. Women dress up in different patterns of handcrafted traditional Ethiopian clothing, known in Amharic as Habesha kemis. Some wear black gowns over all, while others put royal crowns on their heads. Women's styles of dress, like their male counterparts, imitate the traditional styles of Ethiopian patriotic women. Of particular note is the dominant presence of the Empress Taytu Betul during these celebrations.[71][72]

The beloved and influential wife of Emperor Menelik II, Empress Taytu Betul, played a significant role during the Battle of Adwa. Although often overlooked, thousands of women participated in the Battle of Adwa. Some were trained as nurses to attend to the wounded, and others mainly cooked and supplied food and water to the soldiers and comforted the wounded.[72]

In addition to Addis Ababa, other major cities in Ethiopia, including Bahir Dar, Debre Markos and the town of Adwa itself, where the battle took place, celebrate the Victory of Adwa in public ceremonies.[71]

Symbols

Several images and symbols are used during the commemoration of the Victory of Adwa, including the tri-coloured green, gold and red Ethiopian flag, images of Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu Betul, as well as other prominent kings and war generals of the time including King Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, King Michael of Wollo, Dejazmach Balcha Safo, Fitawrari Habte Giyorgis Dinagde, and Fitawrari Gebeyehu, among others. Surviving members of the Ethiopian patriotic battalions wear the various medals that they collected for their participation on different battlefields.

Young people often wear T-shirts adorned by Emperor Menelik II, Empress Taytu, Emperor Haile Selassie and other notable members of the Ethiopian monarchy. Popular and patriotic songs are often played on amplifiers. Of particular note are Ejigayehu Shibabaw's ballad dedicated to the Battle of Adwa and Teddy Afro's popular song "Tikur Sew", which literally translates to "black man or black person" – a poetic reference to Emperor Menelik II's decisive African victory over Europeans, as well as the Emperor's darker skin complexion.[citation needed]

See also

Footnotes

  1. [a]
    Lewis breaks down their numbers into 10,596 Italian officers and soldiers and 7,104 Eritrean askaris

References

Sources

Further reading

External links

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