Battle of Adwa 1896
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 1 March 1896 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1896 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Ethiopia | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | First Italo-Ethiopian War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Ethiopian Empire, Kingdom of Italy | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 14.0189, 38.9733 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Adwa was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. It was fought on 1 March 1896, near the town of Adwa between the Ethiopian Empire under Emperor Menelik II and an Italian colonial force led by General Oreste Baratieri.
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.
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.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Adwa (revision 1380005476), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the First Italo-Ethiopian War
- Siege of Mekelle 1896
Browse more: battles in Ethiopia · Africa · 19th century battles