| Battle of Hirna | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Menelik's Expansions | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Shewa | Emirate of Harar | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Dejazmach Walda Gabriel | Bakri Salih | ||||||
The Battle of Hirna was an engagement fought in October 1886 between the Abyssinian army of Shewa under Dejazmach Walda Gabriel and officer Bakri Salih of the Emirate of Harar. [1] The Shewan forces were routed. [2] [3]
In response to king Menelik's orders to occupy the Emirate of Harar, in September 1886 Dejazmach Wolde Gabriel a general of Menelik invaded the Emirate of Harar and occupied the Chercher area at Hirna however his army would be ambushed by the Emirate's troops. [4]
According to Harold G. Marcus, his army "was in poor shape, reduced to a relatively small number by sickness and desertions." A night attack by Emir 'Abd Allah's army routed the Dejazmach's force, sending them fleeing westward towards the Awash River. [5] Ethiopian historian Bahru Zewde calls it a decisive victory for the emirate's troops. [6]
Menelik's informant Asme Giyorgis, conceded the initial push towards Harar by Walda Gabryiel was a failure as the Amir's soldiers used fireworks to startle his men, forcing a retreat. [7] Harari records report Walda Gabryiel's army were strategically pushed into a wheat field full of spikes which pierced their feet, immobilizing them. [8]
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