Egyptian–Ethiopian War

Ethio-Egyptian War
Yohannes IV of Ethiopia and Isma'il Pasha of Egypt.
Date 1874 –1876 Location Eritrea Result Ethiopian victory
Belligerents
Egypt	Ethiopia
Commanders and leaders
Isma'il Pasha Werner Munzinger †	Yohannes IV Alula Engida John Kirkham
Strength
Approx. 9,500	Approx. 60,000
Casualties and losses
2,000+	?

The Ethio-Egyptian War was a war between the Ethiopian Empire and the Khedivate of Egypt from 1874 to 1876, resulting in an Ethiopian victory.

Background

Egypt under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, led by Isma'il Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt, sought to expand his reign to the land of Abyssinia and control the Blue Nile. Isma'il Pasha became the ruler of Egypt in 1863. After annexing Darfur in 1875, he turned his attention to Ethiopia. He wished to create an empire covering the whole of the Nile River, much of which is in Ethiopia, and to do this he built a large army, recruiting many European and American officers. Yohannes IV became the emperor of Ethiopia in 1872 after defeating Tekle Giyorgis II in battle. He worked on modernizing his army, some of whom were trained by the British adventurer John Kirkham.

Fighting

The Egyptians invaded from their coastal possessions in what is now Eritrea. The armies of Yohannes and Isma'il met at Gundat on the morning of 16 November 1875. The Egyptians were vastly outnumbered and their forces were completely destroyed. News of this huge defeat was suppressed in Egypt for fear that it would undermine the government of the Khedive. The Egyptians tried again to invade from the north, but were again defeated at the battle of Gura in March 1876.

Aftermath

Ethiopia and Egypt remained in a state of tension, which largely abated after the 1884 Hewett Treaty.

See also

• British Expedition to Abyssinia
• First Italo-Abyssinian War
• Battle of Adwa
• Second Italo-Abyssinian War
• Military history of Ethiopia