Battle of Mekelle

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.

Battle of Mekelle
Part of the First Italo-Ethiopian War

Ethiopian troops attacking the besieged Italians
Date7-21 January 1896
Location
Mek'ele, Ethiopia
Result Ethiopian victory
Belligerents
 Italy  Ethiopia
Commanders and leaders
Giuseppe Galliano Ras Makonnen
Qäññazmach Bäshah †
Strength

1,306 [1]

 army of the Harar
Casualties and losses
35 killed 78 wounded [1] ~150 killed[1][nb 1]

The Italians numbered by 20 officers, 13 non-commissioned officers, and 150 in the ranks, 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. Caulk, Richard (2002). "Between the Jaws of Hyenas": A Diplomatic History of Ethiopia (1876-1896). Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden. pp. 519, 522.
  2. Richard Caulk, "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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.