Battle of Mekelle (1896)

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Battle of Mekelle
Part of the First Italo-Ethiopian War
La guerra in Abissinia (1896) Episodio di uno degli attacchi di Macallè.jpg
Ethiopian troops attacking the besieged Italians
Date7-21 January 1896
Location
Mek'ele, Ethiopia
13°28′59.99″N 39°28′0.01″E / 13.4833306°N 39.4666694°E / 13.4833306; 39.4666694Coordinates: 13°28′59.99″N 39°28′0.01″E / 13.4833306°N 39.4666694°E / 13.4833306; 39.4666694
Result Ethiopian pyrrhic victory
Belligerents
 Italy  Ethiopia
Commanders and leaders
Giuseppe Galliano Ras Makonnen (W)
Qäññazmach Bäshah †
Strength
1,306[1] (1,114 Askari & 192 Italians)
2 mountain guns		 27,000
Casualties and losses
35 killed
78 wounded [1]		 150 killed[1][nb 1]
Battle of Mekelle (1896) is located in Ethiopia
Battle of Mekelle (1896)
Location within Ethiopia

The Battle of Mekelle, sometimes known as the siege of Mekelle, took place in January 1896 during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. Italian forces surrendered a partially completed fort at Mekelle, a city in the northern Tigray Region of Ethiopia which they had occupied since 1895, to Ethiopian forces.

History[]

The Italians numbered 20 officers, 13 non-commissioned officers, and 150 privates, they were supported by 1,000 Askari and two mountain guns. The Ethiopian army numbered around 27,000 men.

After two weeks of bombardment by Ethiopian artillery - which possessed a longer reach than that of the Italians - the Ethiopians managed to cut off the fort's water supply, prompting the defenders' surrender.[3]

References[]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Alone for the engagement on 11 January according to Gäbrä-Sellasé the Ras's biographer. Exact total casualties unknown but presented as heavy or costly. [2]

Citations[]

  1. ^ a b c Caulk, Richard (2002). "Between the Jaws of Hyenas": A Diplomatic History of Ethiopia (1876-1896). Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden. pp. 519, 522.
  2. ^ , "Between the Jaws of Hyenas": A Diplomatic History of Ethiopia (1876-1896), p. 519
  3. ^ McLachlan, Sean (2011-09-20). Armies of the Adowa Campaign 1896: The Italian Disaster in Ethiopia. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781849089388.
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