The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Italy against Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Italian Invasion, and in Italy as the Ethiopian War. It is seen as an example of the expansionist policy that characterized the Axis powers and the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations before the outbreak of World War II.
The Battle of Maychew was the last major battle fought on the northern front during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The battle consisted of a failed counterattack by the Ethiopian forces under Emperor Haile Selassie making frontal assaults against prepared Italian defensive positions under the command of Marshal Pietro Badoglio. The battle was fought near Maychew, Ethiopia, in the modern region of Tigray.
The following is a timeline relating to the Second Italo–Ethiopian War to the end of 1936. A number of related political and military events followed until 1942, but these have been omitted.
Abiy Addi is a town in central Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Abiy Addi is at the southeastern edge of the Kola Tembien woreda, of which it is the capital.
Ethiopian forces in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War besides the Central Army were mobilized from various provinces under their local leader. According to 1935 Italian intelligence estimates of the Ethiopian provinces and their forces on the eve of hostilities, the Ethiopians had an army of 350,000 men. Strengths where known are noted followed by their leader. Modernized forces in Bold.
Mengistu Neway was an Ethiopian military officer and commander of the Imperial Guard during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie. He is noted for being one of the early dissidents of the Emperor's regime and for organizing the 1960 coup attempt with his younger brother Germame Neway, for which he was sentenced to death.
The second battle of Tembien was fought on the northern front of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. This battle consisted of attacks by Italian forces under Marshal Pietro Badoglio on Ethiopian forces under Ras Kassa Haile Darge and Ras Seyoum Mangasha. This battle, which resulted in a decisive defeat of Ethiopian forces, was primarily fought in the area around the Tembien Province. The battle is notable for the large-scale use of mustard gas by the Italians.
RasMulugeta Yeggazu was an Ethiopian government official, who served in the first cabinet formed by Emperor Menelik II. He served as Imperial Fitawrari, Commander of the Mahel Sefari of the Ethiopian Army during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.
RasKassa Hailu was a Shewan Amhara nobleman, the son of Dejazmach Haile Wolde Kiros of Lasta, the ruling heir of Lasta's throne and younger brother of Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II, and Tisseme Darge, the daughter of Ras Darge Sahle Selassie, brother of Menelik II's father.
The Battle of Amba Aradam was fought on the northern front of what was known as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. This battle consisted of attacks and counter-attacks by Italian forces under Marshal of Italy Pietro Badoglio and Ethiopian forces under Ras Mulugeta Yeggazu. This battle was primarily fought in the area around Amba Aradam which included most of Enderta Province.
The Battle of Shire was fought on the northern front of what was known as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. This battle consisted of attacks and counterattacks by Italian forces under Marshal of Italy Pietro Badoglio and Ethiopian forces under Ras Imru Haile Selassie. This battle was primarily fought in the Shire area of Ethiopia.
The Battle of Ganale Doria took place in 1936 during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. It was fought on the "southern front". The battle consisted largely of air attacks by the Italian Royal Air Force, under the command of General Rodolfo Graziani, against an advancing and then withdrawing Ethiopian army under Ras Desta Damtu. The battle was primarily fought in the area along the Genale Doria River valley between Dolo and Negele Boran.
The Battle of the Ogaden was fought in 1936 in the southern front of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The battle consisted of attacks by the Italian forces of General Rodolfo Graziani, the commander-in-chief of the forces on the "southern front", against Ethiopian defensive positions commanded by Ras Nasibu Emmanual. The strong defensive positions were designed by Wehib Pasha and known as the "Hindenburg Wall". The battle was primarily fought to the south of Harar and Jijiga.
The March of the Iron Will was an Italian offensive occurring from 26 April to 5 May 1936, during the final days of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Its goal was to capture the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, in a show of force for Fascist propaganda. An Italian mechanized column under the command of Pietro Badoglio, Marshal of Italy, advanced from the town of Dessie to take Addis Ababa. The march covered a distance of approximately 200 miles (320 km).
De Bono's invasion of Ethiopia took place during the opening stages of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Italian General Emilio De Bono invaded northern Ethiopia from staging areas in the Italian colony of Eritrea on what was known as the "northern front".
The Christmas Offensive took place during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. The Ethiopian offensive was more of a counteroffensive to an ever-slowing Italian offensive which started the war.
Seyoum Mengesha KBE was an army commander and a member of the royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.
Ayalew Birru, or Ayyalaw Birru, was an Ethiopian army commander, a patriot, and a cousin of Emperor Haile Selassie I.
The Gondrand massacre was a 1936 Ethiopian attack on Italian workers of the Gondrand company. It was publicized by Fascist Italy in an attempt to justify its ongoing invasion of Ethiopia.
The Battle of Lake Ashenge, also called the Retreat of Lake Ashenge, was a skirmish that occurred during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War between the Italian army and the Ethiopian troops. The battle was not essentially a head-on clash between two armies, but rather a pursuit that the Italian troops carried out against the Imperial Army defeated in the previous Battle of Maychew. In this battle, the contribution of the Regia Aeronautica was decisive as it decimated the Ethiopian troops on the shores of Lake Ashenge, effectively causing the dissolution of the last army of the northern front.
