Siege of Mekelle
Appearance
Battle of Mekelle | |||||||
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Part of the First Italo-Ethiopian War | |||||||
The fort at Mekelle after the siege | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Italy | Ethiopian Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Giuseppe Galliano | Ras Makonnen | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1,183 1,000 Askari and 183 Italians | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | costly assaults [1] |
The Battle of Mekelle, sometimes known as the siege of Mekelle, took place in January 1896 during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. Italian forces surrendered a partially completed fort at Mekelle, 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.