Battles & Campaigns · 1895
Battle of Amba Alagi
Amba Alagi mountain, Tigray Region, Ethiopia
What happened
Ethiopian forces led by Ras Makonnen, Ras Mengesha Yohannes and Ras Alula fought an Italian force under Major Pietro Toselli. Italy, which ruled Eritrea, was pushing south into Ethiopia. A much larger Ethiopian army attacked the Italian outpost on the mountain of Amba Alagi from several sides. The Italian defenders, mostly Eritrean soldiers, were pressed back, and their retreat turned into a rout; Toselli fell.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was the first in a series of Ethiopian victories in the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
What came next
Italian survivors fell back toward Mekelle.
Timeline
- 1895The First Italo-Ethiopian War begins.
- 7 December 1895Ethiopia wins at Amba Alagi.