First Italo-Ethiopian War: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
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Line 27: The '''First Italo-Ethiopian War''' was fought between [[Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946)|Italy]] and [[Ethiopian Empire|Ethiopia]] from 1895 to 1896. It originated from a disputed treaty which, the Italians claimed, turned the country into an Italian protectorate. Italy was supported by the two other triple alliance members Germany and Austria-Hungary. Much to their surprise, they found that Ethiopian ruler [[Menelik II]], rather than being opposed by some of his traditional enemies, was supported by them, so the Italian army, invading Ethiopia from [[Italian Eritrea]] in 1893, faced a more united front than they expected. In addition, Ethiopia was supported by [[Russian Empire|Russia]], an [[Orthodox Christian]] nation like Ethiopia{{clarify |date=June 2017 |reason=Ethiopia is not Orthodox Christian but Monophysite}} with military advisers, army training, and the sale of weapons for Ethiopian forces during the war. Ethiopia was also supported diplomatically by the French in order to prevent Italy from becoming a colonial competitor.<ref name="Robert G. Patman 2009">{{cite book|first=Robert G.|last=Patman|title=The Soviet Union in the Horn of Africa: The Diplomacy of Intervention and Disengagement|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2009|location=Cambridge|pages=27–30|isbn=9780521102513}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=SUIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Biographies&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=SUIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ2108101557&source=Bookmark&u=clov94514&jsid=51a203640e752f3531eac3c88ed17924|title=Menelik II|work=Gale|accessdate=30 August 2016}}</ref> Full-scale war broke out in 1895, with Italian troops having initial success until Ethiopian troops counterattacked Italian positions and besieged the Italian fort of [[Meqele]], forcing its surrender. Italian defeat came about after the [[Battle of Adwa]], where the Ethiopian army dealt the heavily outnumbered Italians a decisive blow and forced their retreat back into Eritrea. The Italians suffered about 7,000 killed with 3,000 taken prisoner (in addition, 1,200 [[Eritrean Ascari]] were killed while 800 were captured and later mutilated by the Ethiopians<ref>[https://journals.openedition.org/etudesafricaines/docannexe/image/14887/img-12.jpg Photo of some of the Eritrean Ascari mutilated]</ref>); Ethiopian losses have been estimated around 4,000 killed. This was not the first African victory over Western colonizers, but it was the first time such an indigenous African army put a definitive stop to a colonizing nation's efforts. According to one historian, "In an age of relentless European expansion, Ethiopia alone had successfully defended its independence ==Background== | |||