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A. Ethiopia as a country was divided, not only geographically but also culturally with many different ethnic groups and languages. These ethnic groups were ruled by chiefs called Ras. Although Menelik was the emperor during the time, most of them swore allegiance to their own Ras. In 1895 when Italian forces began to occupy the northern province of Ethiopia, Mekele and Adwa, Menelik calls for national mobilization to evacuate all Italians from Ethiopia. There, he gains over 100,000 troops for the Adwa Campaign. He and his wife Empress Taytu led these troops on a march from Addis Ababa to Adwa which was approx. 600 miles. On January 6, 1896, Menelik's main forces reach the town of Mekele and begin to siege. His wife, Empress Taytu orders a group of Ethiopian soldiers to capture Italian water supply. On January 20 the Italians came forward to negotiate with Menelik through French diplomat Monsieur Filer. The negotiation ordered the Italian army to immediately depart from Mekele. On February 22, Menelik's army shifts towards Adwa, which was occupied by Italian General Oreste Baratieri and his 15,000 troops. After receiving telegrams from Rome pressuring him to attack, from the loss at Mekele, General Baratieri calls for a council of war.
In order to advance high ground to overlook Menelik's Camp, Baratieri's plan called for the brigades of Brigadier Generals Matteo Albertone on the left, Giuseppe Arimondi at the center, and Vittorio Dabormida on the right to march to the passes just east of Adwa. He wanted to occupy the two passes to induce Menelik's army to attack them there. As the Italians advance, problems began to arise. Ethiopia's extremely rough landscape and confusion with the maps caused Baratieri's troops to become lost and disoriented.
Some of the Brigadier Generals were very aggressive and instead of holding near the passes, they descend into the Adwa plain flied, arousing the Ethiopian army and starting the battle at 6:00 am. While traveling with the reserve, Baratieri had begun to receive reports of fighting. He then orders General Dabormida to descend from the passes and take up a position slightly behind Albertone's army for support, and provide coverage for a retreat. Dabormida's route should have taken him west on the main road towards Adwa. However for some unknown reason instead of going left towards Albertone's forces, Dabormida headed right, causing a huge gap in the Italian army.
After being informed of this gap, Menelik thought to use it for his advantage. His wife Taytu advised him to send about 30,000 troops led by Ras Mekonnen between the two Italian positions, to cause a division among the three Italian groups during battle. She also organized thousands of women to strengthen the defense line by supplying water and aiding the wounded during combat.
During the battle, both the Italians and Ethiopians suffered many causalities, yet the Italians were unable to maintain their line, and began to quickly retreat. At the same time, Baratieri still assumed that Dabormida was still moving to their aid. However, Dabormida's brigade was completely cut off from the remainder of the Italian army and were fighting the Ethiopians in the valley of Mariam Shavitu. After four hours of fighting, he began to retreat, thinking he was heading towards friendly positions. Instead, he unintentionally marches his forces into a narrow valley where the Oromo cavalry, under Ras Mikael, slaughtered the brigade
The Battle of Adwa ended around 4:00 pm, costing Baratieri around 5,216 killed and 1,428 wounded, while the Ethiopians lost 7,000 and about 10,000 wounded. After their victory at Adwa, on March 5th Menelik, and 2,000 Italian prisoners head back to Addis. There, he negotiates a trade with Italy and signsThe Treaty of Addis Ababa, where Italy recognizes Ethiopia as an Independent country.
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B. There are many perspectives regarding Ethiopia's success over Italy in the Battle of Adwa. Professor Raymond Jonas, argues it was the Adwa campaign during Menelik's call for national mobilization that had the greatest contributions to their success. In his book The Battle of Adwa, he states the Adwa Campaigns to be one of the greatest Campaigns of the 19th century. The scale of the mobilization was central in Menelik's strategic plans, because of the amount of troops he and his wife Taytu were able to lead and gather during the three month march towards Adwa. Not only does this show the strengths of the two leaders in maintaining an army for that duration, it also shows how the country was unified as well. Before Adwa, Ethiopia did not have a national army, they were all divided based on their ethical differences. Menelik knew unless he was able to unify the country, they had no chance against the Italians.
There were many pressures at court for Menelik to take immediate action against Italy. Yet, Menelik took his time in preparation for uniting the country. His method was based on trust, blood, and relation. He used his wife's family relation from the north to gain support from Ras Wele. His cousin Ras Makonnen, one of the greatest military leaders of his time was responsible for dividing and taking out Baratieri forces. The hardest was getting assistance from the Muslim Oromo Calvary, who refused to support Menelik's Christian army. Menelik courted the Muslim Dervishes, by sending them gifts of horses and coffee. Jonas (2011) quotes in his speech Menelik stated "I am black and you are black- let us unite to hunt our common enemy."(p.245) by this he told them instead of letting their religious difference get in the way, they should unite based on a common racial heritage, and protect the nation from those who have a greater difference.
Menelik's speech was what drastically changed the views of most Ethiopians. During the march to Adwa they had limited conflicts, even though these groups had years of tension among each other. This showed Menelik's influence over his nation in towards adding a great sense of nationalism and determination among his people. No matter what the cost, the Ethiopians refused to retreat. Although it costs them huge amounts of casualties, it worked in weakening the Italian forces and forcing them to retreat instead. Additionally if it wasn't for the support from the Oromo cavalry led by Ras Mikael, Dabormida would have found some means to catch up with Albertone's troops and provided that coverage for retreat.
A year after the battle, Baratieri wrote a memoir, explaining his failures at Adwa. He sates one of his greatest mistake was underestimating Menelik's ability to unify the country. The Italians knew the division would be problematic for Menelik, and thought to use it to their advantage. Yet, they never expected Menelik to unify a country that had been divided for centuries. It was this mistake that led them to be massively outnumbered. The Ethiopian forces consisted of 100,000 troops including the Oromo, while Baratieri only had 15,000.
There are also sources, such as Berhe Aregawi that believed Empress Taytu had an important influence over the Adwa Campaign and Battle as well. Just like Menelik she had a powerful influence over the army and Menelik himself. Most of the action Menelik took that helped in Adwa were advice and orders that came from her. One of Italy's main setbacks was isolation and being unable to communicate with each other. This idea, to divide the Italians, by sending Ras Mekonnen's troop was part of her plan. Even thought Menelik was worrisome and contemplating about sending his main troops, she was able to convince him it would lead them to success.
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C .Conclusion
Menelik's and Empress Taytu military strategies to keep and maintain unity among the Ethiopian army, and isolate the Italian army had gained them victory. The isolation caused the Italian army to lose communication. Although some mistakes by the Italians, like underestimating the Ethiopians and confusion during battle had some impact on towards Ethiopia's victory, it did not have the same impact as the unification of Menelik's army. The nation needed to be unified under a common goal, united they were able to outnumber the Italians and cooperate during the battle to defeat the Italians. This was why the battle held such significance, it was a time where all Ethiopians were putting aside their difference to fight for a common purpose.It was through this unity and collaboration victory was possible.
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I need help with staying within my world limit grammar and creating a solid conclusion
