Battle of Mek'ele

Battle of Mek'ele Part of the First Italo-Ethiopian War Date January, 1896 Location Mek'ele, Ethiopia Result Ethiopian victory Belligerents  Italy  Ethiopia Strength 1,183 (1,000 Eritrean Askari and 183 Italians) Unknown Casualties and losses Unknown Unknown

First Italo-Ethiopian War Halai Coatit Amba Alagi Mek'ele Adwa Tigray

The Battle of Mek'ele, sometimes known as the siege of Mek'ele, took place in January 1896 during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. Italian forces surrendered a partially completed fort at Mek'ele, a city in the northern Tigray Region of Ethiopia which they had occupied since 1895, to Ethiopian forces.

The Italians numbered by 20 officers, 13 non-commissioned officers, and 150 in the ranks, supported by 1,000 Askari and two mountain guns. 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.^[1]

References

Notes

Written sources

• McLachlan, Sean (2011). Armies of the Adowa Campaign 1896: The Italian Disaster in Ethiopia. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1849089388.