Zecharias Zelalem
Thread for history lovers.
On March 1st, Ethiopia celebrated the 129th anniversary of the Battle of Adwa, where Ethiopian forces repulsed Italy's invading colonial forces, ending the First Italo-Ethiopian war, and preserving Ethiopia's independence in 1896. Annual ceremonies like this one, honour Ethiopia's fallen warriors whose sacrifice meant Ethiopia would remain the only uncolonized country in Africa.
Zecharias Zelalem
"Italy's Terrible Defeat" was the NY Times headline. Afterwards Ethiopia & Italy negotiated a treaty where Italy would recognize Ethiopia's independence, in exchange for among other things, the return of thousands of Italian POWs. The 1896 treaty of Addis Ababa would lead to Ethiopia's joining the league of nations a few decades later. The stunning victory over a colonial power inspired future African countries to adopt green, yellow & red colour flags upon independence.
Zecharias Zelalem
From 1935-1941, Italian war crimes in Ethiopia are estimated (by Ethiopian accounts) to have cost the lives of over 500k civilians.
Gen Rodolfo Graziani oversaw ground operations for Mussolini. In response to a 1937 failed assassination attempt by Ethiopian resistance that wounded him, Italians went on a 72 hour killing spree that is said to have killed over 30,000 civilians in Addis Ababa.
A sombre ceremony is held every February to commemorate the victims. This is a monument to them.
Zecharias Zelalem
Decades later, keen on erasing what he viewed as a national humiliation, Fascist leader Benito Mussolini ordered a new invasion of Ethiopia, this time with a far wider gap in the supremacy of the armaments, which included warplanes.
The 2nd Italo-Ethiopian war began in 1935, and this time the Italians managed to pass Adwa and secure the capital Addis Ababa.
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