Oreste Baratieri - Italo-Ethiopian War

Italo-Ethiopian War

Following Ethiopian emperor Menelik II's repudiation of the Treaty of Wuchale, Italy launched an invasion of the Ethiopian empire. Returning briefly to Italy, Baratieri promised crowds to bring back Menelik in a cage and in late 1895 Baratieri led a force of 20,000 men into Ethiopia.

However, Menelik had spent several years re-equipping his soldiers with modern arms and ammunition for such a conflict—at times with Italian help—and called up an army that vastly outnumbered the Italian forces. Baratieri spent nearly a year of the First Italo–Ethiopian War evading a decisive confrontation. In February 1896, however, the impatient Italian government of Francesco Crispi ordered Baratieri to engage the Ethiopians.

On February 29, Baratieri marched on the Ethiopians at Adowa, where they outnumbered his command of 17,700 men over six to one. The fighting began soon after 5:30 am on the morning of 1 March, when a horseman entered the camp with news of the Italian advance. By noon the battle was effectively over.

Though the two sides suffered nearly equal casualties—11,000 Italian dead and 10,000 Ethiopian—they accounted for nearly the whole of Baratieri's force. As a result of the disaster, Italy was forced to sign the Treaty of Addis Ababa guaranteeing Ethiopian sovereignty. Baratieri was court-martialed at Asmara; though he was acquitted, he was forced to resign his post the following year. He spent the remainder of his life living in retirement in the Austrian Tyrol until his death on August 7, 1901 at Sterzing.