One Minute History - The Battle of Adwa
64The 19th century saw almost all of Africa colonized by the Europeans, but one of the few places to resist the tide of imperialism was Ethiopia, thanks in large part to its crushing victory over the Italians at the Battle of Adwa. After Italy took Eritrea in 1885, it quickly became obvious that Ethiopia was next. Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II prepared for the inevitable conflict, and when hostilities finally broke out in 1895, he was ready with an army of almost 100,000 soldiers. Italian General Oreste Baratieri led his army of 17,000 soldiers towards the town of Adwa in Northern Ethiopia, where, on March 1, 1896, Menelik’s army intercepted them and launched an all-out assault, overwhelming the Italians with their superior numbers. With the remnants of their army fleeing back to Eritrea, Italy was forced to sue for peace and recognize Ethiopia’s independence, at least for the time being...