Troops under Menelik II of Ethiopia humiliated the Italians, leading them to seek revenge decades later. Wikimedia
Italian adventurism in Ethiopia
Italy was but recently unified as a Kingdom (1861) when it joined the race to establish colonial possessions in Africa. The Italians coveted the area around the Horn of Africa, nominally ruled by Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia. Italian diplomats promised Menelik financial and military support against the enemies within his empire in return for territories including possessions in what is now Eritrea, Somalia, and Libya. These negotiations followed the defeat of Italian troops in an invasion of Ethiopia in 1887 at the Battle of Dogali by troops under Menelik’s predecessor, Yohannes IV.
The wording of the treaty which ceded territory to the Italians was interpreted differently by the signees, with the Ethiopians deciding that the Emperor retained the right to deal with foreign affairs as he saw fit. The Italians interpreted the treaty as establishing Ethiopia as an Italian protectorate, with its foreign relations in the hands of the Italian government. Relations between Italy and the Ethiopians deteriorated as Menelik appealed for help in retaining autonomy. He received it from the Russians, who provided military advisors, volunteer troops, and military equipment. In 1895 Italian troops again invaded Ethiopia.
The Italian troops were poorly equipped, outnumbered, and little prepared for combat against trained Ethiopian troops supported by the Russians. When the two forces met at the Battle of Adwa after some preliminary skirmishing the Italians were routed. Italian losses were over 11,000 men, with more than half of them killed in the fighting. Italian prisoners taken in the battle were spared, but native troops supporting them were butchered by the Ethiopians, who considered them to be traitors. The remnants of the Italian army retreated to Eritrea. The following year the Italians and Menelik signed a treaty which abrogated its disputed predecessor and established Ethiopia as an independent state.
In Italy, the response was one of outrage and humiliation. Nationalism became dominant in Italian politics and pressure mounted within the Italian government to re-establish the Mediterranean elements of the Roman Empire in the Mideast. Another war with the Ottoman Empire during 1911-12 led to the Italians conquering Libya and the Dodecanese Islands. While these acquisitions were a balm on the wounded Italian pride, the desire for revenge against the Ethiopians remained a significant political force in the Italian government. In 1935 Mussolini appealed to the restoration of Italian honor when justifying his invasion of Ethiopia.
The Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 was declared over by the Italians after their troops captured Addis Ababa in May 1936, but significant fighting continued until 1939. The Italians declared the Ethiopian Empire to be dissolved and its territories absorbed into Italian East Africa. The invasion was the last of the many colonial wars fought on the continent of Africa between its indigent peoples and the European colonizers. As in all of them, atrocities were committed by both sides, but particularly against the Africans who served in the European armies as colonial troops.