First Battle of Tembien

First Battle of Tembien
Part of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Date 20 January to 24 January 1936 Location Tembien Province, Ethiopia Result Strategic Italian victory Ethiopian threat to the Italian I Corps and III Corps neutralized
Belligerents
Kingdom of Italy Italian Eritrea	Ethiopian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Pietro Badoglio	Ras Kassa Ras Seyoum
Strength
Approximately 70,000	Approximately 70,000
Casualties and losses
Approx. 1,083 casualties	Approx. 8,000 casualties

Strategic Italian victory

 Kingdom of Italy

The First Battle of Tembien was a battle fought on the northern front of what was known as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. This battle consisted of attacks and counterattacks by Italian forces under Marshal Pietro Badoglio and Ethiopian forces under RasKassa Haile Darge. This battle was primarily fought around Warieu Pass in what was then the Tembien Province of Ethiopia.

On 3 October 1935, General Emilio De Bono advanced into Ethiopia from Eritrea without a declaration of war. De Bono had a force of approximately 100,000 Italian soldiers and 25,000 Eritrean soldiers to advance towards Addis Ababa. In December, after a brief period of inactivity and minor setbacks for the Italians, De Bono was replaced by Badoglio.

Haile Selassie launched the Christmas Offensive late in the year to test Badoglio. Initially successful, the goals of this offensive were overly ambitious.

As the progress of the "Christmas Offensive" slowed, Italian plans to renew the advance on the "northern front" got under way. In addition to being granted permission to use poison gas, Badoglio received additional ground forces. The elements of the Italian III Corps and the Italian IV Corps arrived in Eritrea during early 1936. By mid-January, Badoglio was ready to renew the advance on the Ethiopian capital. Badoglio overwhelmed the armies of ill-armed and uncoordinated Ethiopian warriors with mustard gas, tanks, and heavy artillery.

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Wikipedia