The Battle of Adwa was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Ethiopian forces defeated the Italian invading force on Sunday 1 March 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. 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. Adwa became a pre-eminent symbol of pan-Africanism and secured Ethiopian sovereignty until the Second Italo-Ethiopian War forty years later.
The First Italo-Ethiopian War also referred to as the First Italo-Abyssinian War;, was a war fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from the disputed Treaty of Wuchale, which the Italians claimed turned Ethiopia into an Italian protectorate. Full-scale war broke out in 1895, with Italian troops from Italian Eritrea achieving initial successes against Tigrayan warlords at Coatit, Senafe and Debra Ailà, until they were reinforced by a large Ethiopian army led by Emperor Menelik II. The Italian defeat came about after the Battle of Adwa, where the Ethiopian army dealt the heavily outnumbered Italian soldiers and Eritrean askaris a decisive blow and forced their retreat back into Eritrea. The war concluded with the Treaty of Addis Ababa. Because this was one of the first decisive victories by African forces over a European colonial power, this war became a preeminent symbol of pan-Africanism and secured Ethiopia's sovereignty until the Second Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935–36.
Adwa is a town and separate woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the site of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian soldiers defeated Italian troops, thus being one of the few African nations to thwart European colonialism. Located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Region, Adwa has a longitude and latitude of 14°10′N38°54′E, and an elevation of 1907 meters. Adwa is surrounded by Adwa woreda.
Imba Alaje is a mountain, or an amba, in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, Imba Alaje dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city of Mek'ele south to Maychew. Because of its strategic location, Emba Alaje has been the location of several battles. As Anthony Mockler describes it,
Oreste Baratieri was an Italian general and governor of Italian Eritrea.
RasMengesha Yohannes was governor of Tigray and a son of Emperor Yohannes IV. His mother was Welette Tekle Haymanot wife of dejazmach Gugsa Mercha. Ras Araya Selassie Yohannes was his younger half brother. Prior to the Battle of Metemma, Mengesha Yohannes was considered to be a nephew of Emperor Yohannes IV. During the battle, the Emperor was mortally wounded and it was on his deathbed that Mengesha Yohannes was acknowledged as his "natural" son and designated as his heir. This created something of a succession problem.
Hawzen is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone of the Tigray Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 13°58′N39°26′E with an elevation of 2105 meters above sea level. Its market day is Wednesday. It is the largest settlement in Hawzen woreda.
Bahta Hagos, was Dejazmach of Akkele Guzay, and retrospectively considered an important leader of Eritrean resistance to foreign domination specifically against northern Ethiopian and Italian colonialism. He was born sometime between 1839 and 1850 into a rich peasant family in the town of Segheneyti and was killed in the Battle of Halai against the Italian Colonial Army on December 19, 1894. He was of the Tsena-Degle Tigrinyas, from Akele Guzay.
The Battle of Coatit was fought on 13 January 1895 between Italy and Ethiopian proxies led by Tigrayan warlord Ras Mengesha Yohannes in what is now Eritrea. It was the opening battle of the First Italo–Ethiopian War, and was a significant victory for the Italians, as they rebuffed an invasion force.
Giuseppe Galliano was an officer of the Royal Italian Army, mostly known for his role during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. He perished in the Battle of Adwa and was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour.
Hintalo, also called Antalo, was Administrative Center of Enderta’s historical wereda of Gabat Melash, is a small town located in the Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern) Zone of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It lies on a plateau with an elevation variously reported as 2050 to 2102 meters above sea level. It lies some 20 miles south of Mekelle, the capital of Tigray. The urge to control this fortified mountainous place has provoked frequent engagements among various Tigrayan chiefs since the 17th century. Hintalo flourished as a town in the last quarter of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century.
The Battle of Amba Alagi was the first in a series of battles between the Italian General Baratieri and Ethiopia's Emperor Menelik during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. Amba Alagi was one of Baratieri's forward positions; it was under the command of Major Toselli with 2,000 Eritrean Askari. On 7 December 1895, the Ras Makonnen, Fitawrari Gebeyehu and Ras Mengesha Yohannes commanded an assault of Menelik's vanguard that annihilated the Italians and killed Major Toselli.
Haile Selassie Gugsa CBE (1907–1985) was an Ethiopian army commander and member of the Imperial family from Tigray. He is known for betraying his country during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and becoming a fascist collaborator.
The Woyane rebellion was an uprising in the Tigray Province, Ethiopia against the centralization process from the government of Emperor Haile Selassie which took place in May–November 1943. The rebels called themselves the Woyane, a name borrowed from a game played locally between competing groups of young men from different villages, which connoted a spirit of resistance and unity. After nearly succeeding in overrunning the whole province, the rebels were defeated with the support of aircraft from the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force. Out of all the rebellions that engulfed Ethiopia during Haile Selassie's rule, this was the most serious internal threat that he faced.
Events from the year 1895 in Italy.
Giuseppe Edoardo Arimondi, OSML, OMS, OCI was an Italian general, mostly known for his role during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. He was one of the few European commanders who gained a victory over the Mahdists before Kitchener's Expedition, soundly defeating them at Agordat in 1893. After a long and successful colonial service, he died in combat at Adwa, and was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour.
Matteo Francesco AlbertoneOCI was an Italian general, mostly known for his role during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. He led the Native Brigade during the battle of Adwa and was taken prisoner by the Ethiopians.
The Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889 was an undeclared war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ethiopian Empire occurring during the Italian colonization of Eritrea. The conflict ended with a treaty of friendship, which delimited the border between Ethiopia and Italian Eritrea but contained clauses whose different interpretations led to another Italo-Ethiopian war.
The Battle of Debra Ailà(Debre Ailat) took place during the First Italo-Ethiopian War on October 9, 1895, where under the combined efforts of Italian colonial troops and Askari troops defeated the rearguard of the Tigrin army, which had withdrawn from Tigray's capital Mek'ele.
Pietro Toselli was a major of the Royal Italian Army. He is mainly known for his participation in the First Italo-Ethiopian War. He was born in Peveragno in 1856, the youngest of three siblings. His father was Giovanni Maria Toselli, and his mother Teresa (Botasso) Toselli. His older brother Enrico Toselli was a noted psychiatrist and university professor. Pietro Toselli joined the army at a young age and was commissioned second lieutenant of artillery in 1878. After finishing the tree year curriculum for artillerymen he opted for additional training in military engineering. After finishing his education in 1880 he became a first lieutenant. In 1887 he was promoted to captain. He first came to Africa in 1888 to carry out topographical work in the new colony of Italian Eritrea. Returning to Italy he published the book Pro Africa italica under the pseudonym "Un Eritreo". In 1894 he returned to Italian Eritrea to take command of the 4th Askari Battalion of the Corpo Speciale per L'Africa. He led Italian forces to victory at the Battle of Halai on the 18 December 1894, when his troops defeated the Eritrean forces of Batha Agos, who were besieging the Italian fort at Halai. On the 13 January 1895, he commanded the 4th Askari Battalion at the Battle of Coatit under the command of Oreste Baratieri. After the Ethiopian retreat Toselli, and the 4th Askari Battalion formed the Italian vanguard that caught up with the Ethiopian forces at the Battle of Senafe.
Oreste Baratieri 
Mengesha Yohannes 
