Battle of Mai Ceu
| date | March 31, 1936 |
|---|---|
| place | Maychew ( Amhara ), Ethiopia |
| output | Decisive tactical victory for the Italians; Haile Selassie's last army in the north was crushed |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 40,000 another 40,000 in reserve |
31,000 |
| losses | |
|
400 Italians killed or wounded |
1,000 - 8,000 killed |
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The Battle of Mai Ceu (today's, official name: Maychew) was fought on March 31, 1936 during the Abyssinian War in the Ethiopian region of Amhara . Together with the Tembi battles , it decided the war in Italy's favor . Ethiopia became part of the Italian East Africa colony .
Course of the battle
On October 3, 1935, General Emilio De Bono of Eritrea marched into Ethiopia without a declaration of war.
After Pietro Badoglio had almost completely destroyed the Ethiopian units in the second battle of the Tembi , the Negus , his imperial guard and remaining units (40,000 men in total) made a last desperate attempt to stop the Italian invaders. However, the Italian leadership learned of these plans. Because of this, and above all because of the complete domination of the air, this attempt ended in a complete Ethiopian defeat. While retreating, the Ethiopian troops were attacked with poison gas by Italian planes on Lake Ashangi (April 4). Badoglio invaded Addis Ababa on May 5, 1936 .
See also
literature
- Arthur J. Barker: The Rape of Ethiopia, 1936 (= Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Violent Century. Politics in Action. No. 4). Ballantine Books, New York NY 1971.
- Arthur J. Barker: The Civilizing Mission. A History of the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935-1936. Dial Press, New York NY 1968.
- David Nicolle : The Italian Invasion of Abyssinia 1935-1936 (= Osprey Military. Men-at-Arms Series. 309). Osprey, London 1997, ISBN 1-85532-692-2 .