Historic 1896 Battle of Adowa

THE month of March is named after the roman god of war Mars.

In March 1896, Roman Italy was embarrassed in war by the Mighty Abyssinian Empire, the only black African sovereign to escape the scramble and partitioning of Africa.

Ethiopia, then Abyssinia, was never colonised throughout the entire history of mankind. Ethiopia is also the very first nation to adopt Christianity as a religion, way before Rome.

Contrary to popular belief, the fact of the matter is that Ethiopia actually “discovered” and “developed” “Christianity” way back before it evenly became known as “Christianity”.

Remember Noah’s children Ham, Shem and Japheth? Ham begot Cush (Kush), who is founder of the Cushite Empire, which is modern-day Ethiopia.

Amongst all famed causes of commotion and contention, the Romans/Italians wanted also to vanquish the newly born Messianic child, Lidj Tafari Makonnen. Through their sages and what have you, the failed colonisers intended to eliminate the envisioned and prophesied Lion of Judah and King of Kings to be, long before He caused them unimaginable torment and toil.

Lidj Tafari Makonnen was only a young boy and just like Herod wanted to kill baby Jesus nearly 2 000 years ago, Italy under the drunken influence of Rome intended to try as well. However, history repeats itself and they got what they deserved instead.

The Battle of Adowa was, at the time, the greatest defeat inflicted upon a European army by an African army since the time of Hannibal, and its consequences were felt way into the20th century.

Ethiopia’s victory in this First Italo-Ethiopian War secured Ethiopia’s sovereignty and provided the rest of the continent with a spring board with which they used to evacuate intruders from the Motherland. Ethiopia automatically became a beacon of hope as the rest of Africa realised that the Europeans can and could be defeated.

As the 20th century approached, most of Africa had been carved up among the European powers. The two independent exceptions were the young Republic of Liberia on the West Coast of the continent and the Ethiopian Empire in the strategic Horn of Africa.

The newly-unified Kingdom of Italy was a relative newcomer to the colonial scramble for Africa. It had two recently obtained African territories: Eritrea and Italian Somalia. Both were near Ethiopia on the Horn of Africa and both were impoverished. Italy sought to improve its position in Africa by conquering Ethiopia and joining it with its two territories. Menelik II was the brilliant Ethiopian leader who pitted Italy against its European rivals while stockpiling weapons to defend itself against the Italians.

In 1889, the Italians signed the Treaty of Wuchale with then Negus Menelik of Shewa. The treaty ceded territories previously part of Ethiopia, namely the provinces of Bogos, Hamasien, Akkele, Guzay, Serae, and parts of Tigray.

In return, Italy promised Menelik’s rule, financial assistance and military supplies.

A dispute arose over the interpretation of the two versions of the document. The Italian version of the disputed Article 17 of the treaty stated that the Emperor of Ethiopia was obliged to conduct all foreign affairs through Italian authorities.

A similar trick to the one the British played on Lobengula, this would in effect make Ethiopia a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy. The Amharic version of the article however stated that the Emperor could use the good offices of the Kingdom of Italy in his relations with foreign nations if he wished.

However, the Italian diplomats claimed that the original Amharic text included the clause and that Menelik knowingly signed a modified copy of the Treaty. 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 faced off in what was later to be known as the First Italo-Ethiopian War.

In December 1894, BahtaHagos led a rebellion against the Italians in Akkele Guzay, in what was then Italian controlled Eritrea. Units of General Oreste Baratieri’s army under Major Pietro Toselli crushed the rebellion and killed Bahta.

The Italian army then occupied the Tigrayan capital, Adowa.

In January 1895, Baratieri’s army went on to defeat 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. On December 7, 1895 Ras Makonnen, Ras Welle Betul and Ras Mengesha Yohannes – commanding a larger Ethiopian group of Menelik’s vanguard – annihilated a sizeable Italian unit at the Battle of Amba Alagi.

The Italians were then forced to withdraw to more defensible positions in Tigray, where the two main armies faced each other. By late February 1896, supplies on both sides were running low. Gen Baratieri knew the Ethiopian forces had been living off the land, and once the supplies of the local peasants were exhausted, Emperor Menelik’s army would begin to melt away. However, the Italian government insisted that Gen Baratieri act.

On the evening of February 29, Baratieri, about to be replaced by a new governor, Gen Baldiserra, met with his brigadiers Matteo Albertone, Giuseppe Arimondi, Vittorio Dabormida, and Giuseppe Ellena concerning their next steps.

Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia

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