Battle of Adwa

For the earlier battle, see Battle of Adwa (1871).

Battle of Adwa
Part of the First Italo-Ethiopian War

British illustration of "Dabormida's last rally"
Date1 March 1896; 128 years ago (1896-03-01)
Location
Adwa, Tigray Province, Ethiopia
14°1′8″N 38°58′24″E / 14.01889°N 38.97333°E / 14.01889; 38.97333 (Battle of Adwa)
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
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Location within Ethiopia

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. Ethiopian army led by Ras Makonen Wolde Mikael managed to defeat the invading Italian force led by Oreste Baratieri on Sunday, March 1, 1896, near the town of Adwa. The decisive victory thwarted the campaign of the Kingdom of Italy to expand its colonial empire in the Horn of Africa.[3] By the end of the 19th century, European powers had carved up almost all of Africa after the Berlin Conference; only Ethiopia and Liberia still maintained their independence.[4] Adwa became a pre-eminent symbol of pan-Africanism and secured Ethiopian sovereignty until the Second Italo-Ethiopian War forty years later.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Armies of the Adowa Campaign was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Abdussamad H. Ahmad and Richard Pankhurst (1998). Adwa Victory Centenary Conference, 26 February – 2 March 1996. Addis Ababa University. pp. 158–62.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Woldeyes, Yirga Gelaw (29 February 2020). "The battle of Adwa: an Ethiopian victory that ran against the current of colonialism". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Abraham was invoked but never defined (see the help page).