On This Day: Ethiopia vs. Italy - The Rematch

In hopes of avenging its devastating defeat to Ethiopia at the Battle of Adwa in 1888 (1896 in the Gregorian calendar), Italian dictator Benito Mussolini invaded Ethiopia on October 3, 1935.

According to BlackPast, "The war began on October 3, 1935, when General Emilio De Bono marched his troops over the Mareb River into Ethiopia before Italy officially issued a declaration of war. Emperor Selassie instead declared war on Italy, but the invading forces advanced rapidly into northern Ethiopia, taking both Adigrat and Adowa by October 6. The latter was where the Italians had been defeated in 1896. By mid-October, Italian troops had taken the ancient city of Axum, and by November 8, they had conquered Mek’ele as well. Nonetheless, Mussolini was impatient with what he called De Bono’s slow advance and replaced him with Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio.

In an attempt to test Italy’s new commander and rally his own nation, Selassie ordered a Christmas Offensive, counterattack against the Italians. Although the Ethiopians were initially successful and won the Battle of Dembeguina Pass where they defeated one thousand Eritrean troops under Italian command, the Italians continued their steady advance across the nation. On May 5, 1936, they took the capital Addis Ababa, and Emperor Haile Selassie was exiled and fled to Palestine and eventually to England. Mussolini then named King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy as the Emperor of Ethiopia." Learn more HERE.