The Battle of Adwa (also called Ado

The Battle of Adwa (also called Adowa and Adua) was fought over two days (1st / 2nd March) between Ethiopian forces under Emperor Menelik II and invading Italian forces, and was the deciding battle in the First Italo-Ethiopian war and a turning point in modern African history with a European Colonial power being defeated and Ethiopia being recognised as a sovereign nation state by the European powers.

As the scramble for Africa came to an end Italy was allocated Ethiopia but just needed to take control. Ethiopia was largely unknown to Europeans who were aware of the coastal areas due to trade but the central highlands had resisted any attempts to spread European influence. The Italians wrongly assumed that Ethiopia was made up of rival tribes and thought it would be a quick victory for their 20,000 strong invasion forces, only to face a united country with a much larger army.

Emperor Menelik II had swept away old fashioned recruiting systems which had led to defeat by British forces previously and replaced them with much better organisation and supply. With a better organised economy the Ethiopian Emperor had greatly increased his ability to raise and equip an army and he reacted quickly when the Italian plans became known. Within two months he had raised 100,000 troops while the Empress Taitu raised 6,000. This Army also included troops raised by regional governors such as the future father of the Emperor Haile Selassie, Ras Tafari Makonnen who commanded 12,000 troops.

Equipment was also greatly improved with in excess of 70,000 modern rifles and 5 million rounds of ammunition being available for the battle of Adwa not including artillery. This mobilization was not without problems and delays and this gave the Italians time to become established.

The Italian forces were led by General Oreste Baraterie. His plan was to engage the Ethiopians in piecemeal battles and carve them up without facing their main force in a set piece battle. The Ethiopians on the other hand planned to use their advantage in infantry and artillery to smash the main Italian force in one battle, Menelik carefully build his alliance of princes but knew that he needed a decisive battle as he might not be able to hold the alliance together for a long protracted campaign. Ethiopian tactics and strategy were based on their own history and terrain and this was largely unknown to the Italians, so basing their ideas on the British experience the Italians expected to face a force one third of the size of Menelik’s Army.

By early 1896 both sides were running out of time, the Ethiopians living off the land, the Italian general under political pressure to act. Baraterie lacked confidence and this he displayed with a meeting with his officers on 29th February, present were brigadiers Matteo Albertone, Giuseppe Arimondi, Giuseppe Ellena and Vittorio Dabormida. During the meeting many of the officers argued for an attack and Baraterie finally decided to go ahead after several hours. The Italian forces were made up of around 18,000 infantry and 56 artillery guns, but several thousand Italian troops were allocated to supply duties and the remaining force included many inexperienced troops and some Eritrean lead by Italian officers, equipment was poor and morale low.

Menelik’s forces are likely to have numbered in excess of 100,000, the majority being riflemen but also a large number of lance armed cavalry. The Italian battle plan was for 3 columns which could provide fire support to each other but overnight they become separated and were several miles apart in rugged terrain. The battle was a bloody affair with the Italians fighting hard despite being out numbered. Slowly but surely the greater Ethiopian numbers had their toll. Albertone's column broke first and then Dabormida’s column was cut off and fell back. Brigadier Dabormida now made a fatal error as he retreated back into a narrow valley where Ethiopian lancers wiped them out, his body was never recovered. The last of the invading army was slowly destroyed and by mid day the battle was finished, over 7,000 Italians died with the Ethiopians suffering a similar number of casualties. The Italians taken prisoner were treated well but Ethiopian troops (around 800) who had fought for the Italians were mutilated with their right hands and left feet being cut off.

The battle proved to be a crushing defeat and the Ethiopians followed up, driving the retreating Italians into Eritrea and out of the area entirely. The Treaty of Addis Abba on 26th October 1896 ended the war and the Italians recognised Ethiopian independence. The Italians did not give up on the idea of an Africa Empire and tried again under Benito Mussolini in the 1930s this time establishing their control before being driven off. In the aftermath of that defeat the Ethiopians freed Eritrea and returned it to Ethiopian control.

Results (Vietnamese) 1:

Trận Adwa (tiếng Anh thường gọi là Adowa và Adua) đã diễn ra trong 2 ngày (1 / 2 ngày) giữa Ethiopia lực lượng dưới quyền vua Menelik II ý lực lượng xâm lược và là trận đánh quyết định trong chiến tranh đầu tiên Italo-Ethiopia, một bước ngoặt trong lịch sử châu Phi hiện đại với một sức mạnh thực dân châu Âu bị đánh bại và Ethiopia đang được công nhận như là một nhà nước quốc gia có chủ quyền của các cường quốc châu Âu.Như là cuộc tranh giành châu Phi đã đến một kết thúc ý phân bổ Ethiopia nhưng chỉ cần thiết để kiểm soát. Ethiopia đã được phần lớn chưa được biết đến châu Âu đã được nhận thức của các khu vực ven biển do thương mại nhưng Tây nguyên đã chống lại bất kỳ nỗ lực truyền bá ảnh hưởng châu Âu. Ý sai giả định rằng Ethiopia được tạo ra từ các bộ lạc đối thủ và nghĩ rằng nó sẽ là một chiến thắng nhanh chóng cho các lực lượng xâm lược mạnh mẽ 20.000, chỉ phải đối mặt với một quốc gia thống nhất với một đội quân lớn hơn nhiều.Thiên hoàng Menelik II đã cuốn trôi thời tuyển dụng hệ thống cũ đã dẫn đến thất bại bởi các lực lượng Anh trước đó và thay thế chúng với nhiều tổ chức và nguồn cung cấp tốt hơn. Với tốt hơn một tổ chức kinh tế là hoàng đế Ethiopia đã tăng lên rất nhiều khả năng của mình để nâng cao và trang cho quân đội, và ông đã phản ứng một cách nhanh chóng khi các kế hoạch ý trở nên nổi tiếng. Trong vòng hai tháng, ông đã nâng lên 100.000 quân đội trong khi hoàng hậu Taitu lớn lên 6.000. Đội quân này cũng bao gồm binh sĩ được nâng lên bởi các thống đốc khu vực như cha hoàng đế Haile Selassie, Ras Tafari Makonnen, người chỉ huy 12.000 quân, trong tương lai.Thiết bị còn rất nhiều được cải tiến với hơn 70.000 súng trường hiện đại và 5 triệu viên đạn đang được sẵn sàng cho trận chiến Adwa không bao gồm pháo binh. Vận động này đã không mà không có vấn đề và sự chậm trễ và điều này đã cho Italia thời gian để trở nên thành lập.Các lực lượng ý đã được lãnh đạo bởi tổng Oreste Baraterie. Kế hoạch của ông là để thu hút các Ethiopia trong trận đánh này trọn vẹn và carve lập mà không phải đối mặt với lực lượng chính của họ trong một trận chiến tập mảnh. Ethiopia các mặt khác lên kế hoạch để sử dụng lợi thế của họ trong bộ binh và pháo binh để phá quân ý chính trong một trận đánh, Menelik cẩn thận xây dựng liên minh của hoàng tử nhưng biết rằng ông cần một trận đánh quyết định như ông không thể giữ liên minh với nhau cho một chiến dịch kéo dài lâu. Ethiopia tactics và chiến lược dựa trên lịch sử của riêng họ và địa hình và điều này là phần lớn không biết để ý, như vậy căn cứ ý tưởng của họ trên những kinh nghiệm Anh ý dự kiến sẽ phải đối mặt với một lực lượng thứ ba với kích thước của Menelik của quân đội.By early 1896 both sides were running out of time, the Ethiopians living off the land, the Italian general under political pressure to act. Baraterie lacked confidence and this he displayed with a meeting with his officers on 29th February, present were brigadiers Matteo Albertone, Giuseppe Arimondi, Giuseppe Ellena and Vittorio Dabormida. During the meeting many of the officers argued for an attack and Baraterie finally decided to go ahead after several hours. The Italian forces were made up of around 18,000 infantry and 56 artillery guns, but several thousand Italian troops were allocated to supply duties and the remaining force included many inexperienced troops and some Eritrean lead by Italian officers, equipment was poor and morale low.Menelik’s forces are likely to have numbered in excess of 100,000, the majority being riflemen but also a large number of lance armed cavalry. The Italian battle plan was for 3 columns which could provide fire support to each other but overnight they become separated and were several miles apart in rugged terrain. The battle was a bloody affair with the Italians fighting hard despite being out numbered. Slowly but surely the greater Ethiopian numbers had their toll. Albertone's column broke first and then Dabormida’s column was cut off and fell back. Brigadier Dabormida now made a fatal error as he retreated back into a narrow valley where Ethiopian lancers wiped them out, his body was never recovered. The last of the invading army was slowly destroyed and by mid day the battle was finished, over 7,000 Italians died with the Ethiopians suffering a similar number of casualties. The Italians taken prisoner were treated well but Ethiopian troops (around 800) who had fought for the Italians were mutilated with their right hands and left feet being cut off.The battle proved to be a crushing defeat and the Ethiopians followed up, driving the retreating Italians into Eritrea and out of the area entirely. The Treaty of Addis Abba on 26th October 1896 ended the war and the Italians recognised Ethiopian independence. The Italians did not give up on the idea of an Africa Empire and tried again under Benito Mussolini in the 1930s this time establishing their control before being driven off. In the aftermath of that defeat the Ethiopians freed Eritrea and returned it to Ethiopian control.