The Battle of Adwa, 1896

During the 19th century the continent of Africa was thoroughly colonized by the European powers – Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Portugal; to the extent that eventually only two nations remained “free”, these being Liberia – settled by former slaves from the United States – and Ethiopia.

That meant that when the Italians decided that they also wanted a piece of the action, their choice was severely limited. Ethiopia was by far the more attractive option, so that became their target.

Their efforts at conquering Ethiopia met with only partial success at first, with defeat at the hands of King Johannes IV at Bogali in 1887, but they did manage to control much of the country, at least nominally, for the next nine years.

However, in 1995 King Menelek II decided that the Italians should go. The Prime Minister of Italy, Francesco Crispi, was determined to resist and sent an army to Ethiopia under General Baratieri.

The Italians were convinced that they would have no trouble in defeating the Ethiopians, whom they regarded as primitives when compared with their own army with its superior training and technology.

(Detail from “Battle of Adwa” by A Davey)

The Italian force of 17,000 men and 50 artillery pieces was supplemented by a brigade of local troops from Eritrea who were known as askari. The Ethiopians could muster an army of 100,000 riflemen with significant cavalry support.

The forces joined battle at Adwa, in northern Ethiopia, on 1st March 1896. The result was not long in doubt, with the Italians being caught in crossfire and overwhelmed by vastly superior numbers.

Some Italians were able to escape the slaughter, but more than 10,000 were killed, wounded, or captured and held for ransom. 3,000 captives were eventually released, but the Ethiopians did not treat the askari as well as they did the Italians. 800 of the Eritrean troops suffered the loss of their right hands and left feet.

The defeat put paid, for the time being, to Italy’s ambition of becoming a colonial power in Africa. In 1935 Benito Mussolini had another go at conquering Ethiopia and was successful, with the “Empire of Ethiopia” lasting from 1936 to 1941.

However, the Battle of Adwa stands as the only example of a would-be colonial power being thwarted by an African nation.