Feodor Konovalov and the Italo-ethiopian War Part i

8/8/2019 Feodor Konovalov and the Italo-ethiopian War Part i

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J. Calvitt Clarke III. “Feodor Konovalov and the Italo-Ethiopian War (Part I).” World War

II Quarterly 5 (Win. 200)! "-#$.

Introd%&tion

In the fifty or so years before the First World War, many Russians—adventurers,

scoundrels, and saints—explored Ethiopia and often formed close ties with the country’s rulers

!teeled by this tradition, some anti"#ommunist, White Russians made their way to Ethiopia after

the $olshevi% con&uest of their country between 1'1( and 1'))1

*fter +eferi e%onnen—the future Emperor -aile !ellase—had .ained power as re.ent

in 1'1/, one of his first steps was to recruit some of these White Russian officers to train his

troops) *mon. them, the most important was Feodor Ev.enievich 0onovalov

#olonel 0onovalov, a native of the #rimea, had been a military en.ineer $efore the

First World War, he be.an a new career in aviation, and durin. the war he served with the

Imperial uards !&uadron, eventually commandin. an aerial division 0onovalov served with

+sar 2icholas II’s last military mission to reat $ritain *s the $olshevi% Revolution swept

throu.h Russia, and in the south was defeatin. the last of the White armies under eneral 3yotr

2i%olayevich Wran.el, he fled to #onstantinople, then to E.ypt, and finally to Ethiopia in 1'1'4

*n electrical expert, #olonel 0onovalov soon found employment in the Ethiopian office

of 3ublic Wor%s, became an Ethiopian citi5en, and loyally supported Ethiopian independence In

6uly 1'47, Emperor -aile !ellase entrusted him to .o to the 2orth to inspect Ethiopia’s main

defenses alon. the li%ely route for invasion comin. from Italy’s Eritrean colony -e flew to

1 #5eslaw 6e8man, The Russians in Ethiopia: An Essay in Futility 9Westport, #+: reenwood3ress, 1'(7;, pp 1;, v"x


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e%ele and then continued by automobile to *dowa,>( as Ethiopia’s new capital, *ddis *babaH means 2ew

FlowerH in *mharic Kocated in the center of the country on a lar.e plateau in !hewa 3rovince,

it is the center of *mhara life and culture and is Ethiopia’s political, financial, andcommunications center 3routy and Rosenfeld, Dictionary, p 4


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0onovalov almost immediately drafted, li%ely in French, a semi"autobio.raphical

account of the campai.n Cf historical importance, 0onovalov’s wor% has led a troubled history

as Richard 3an%hurst impeccably documents11

0onovalov .ave a copy of his manuscript to eor.e Kowther !teer, who was visitin.

Ethiopia !teer had covered the Italian invasion of Ethiopia for The Times of Kondon, and he

%new Emperor -aile !ellase, who later stood as .odfather to his son Gescribin. 0onovalov as

a white Russian without a passport and without ?a@ country,H1) !teer added, #olonel

0onovaloff, who is still in *ddis *baba, has written for me the story of the Emperor’s last battle

-e was the only European who saw it on the Ethiopian sideH

14

In his popular boo%, Caesarin Abyssinia, !teer translated and published passa.es coverin. from 1' arch 1'4/, after the

Italians had defeated Ras !eyoum’s army, to mid"*pril, before the Emperor’s return to the

capital1

1< Ibid, pp )''"44>

17 Ibid, e., see pp 4=("4=>, and 41/


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!pain, where he wor%ed with the Fascist Falan.ists durin. the !panish #ivil War1/ 3rior to this,

someone revised and translated his wor% into Italian any years later, the Institute of Ethiopian

!tudies at *ddis *baba niversity received a typed copy, which li%ely is this first Italian

translation1( It consists of seven chapters and ninety"one pa.es typed on a typewriter at the

Fourth #ourt of *ppeals in +urin 3an%hurst details some of the differences between this

translation and the version found in !teer In particular, this new version downplayed the

author’s friendly comments toward Ethiopia and added passa.es favorable to Italy, presumably

to .ratify the Fascist re.ime and to .et by its censorship !i.nificantly, this manuscript said

nothin. about Italy’s use of poison .as durin. the war

1>

What explains 0onovalov’s apparent chan.e of heart found in the published version of

this manuscriptL

+he *merican historian, +homas #offey, has insinuated that 0onovalov could have

always been playin. a double .ame -e specifically char.ed that 0onovalov could have

deceived the Emperor by ma%in. him believe that he faced only 1=,=== Italians at ychew,

while the enemy’s numbers were much .reater Gurin. his )1 arch reconnaissance trip into the

mountains north of the Ethiopian camp, he claimed to have passed throu.h the Italian lines

1/ *n.elo Gel $oca, 0li italiani in Africa orientale: 1a Con2uista dell"$mpero Roma 9$ari:Kater5a, 1'(';, p 4//, n 7/

1( In 1'/4, Richard 3an%hurst founded +he Institute of Ethiopian !tudies, the oldest of the five

research institutes within the *ddis *baba niversity system

1> 3an%hurst, Giversi versioni,H pp 17'"1/= +his manuscript, IE! 2o >)(, carries the title,Ka .uerra italo"etiopica vista da un testimone ?+he Italo"Ethiopian War *s !een by a Witness@

Cther forei.n, contemporary observers referred to Italy’s use of .as 6ohn William !cott acfie, An Ethiopian Diary: A Record of the 3ritish Ambulance !er-ice in Ethiopia 9Kondon: niversity3ress of Kiverpool, 1'4/;, e., p 11(J 0athleen 2elson and *lan !ullivan, 4ohn 5elly of Ethiopia 9Kondon: Faber and Faber, 1'4(;, e., p )1(;, p For a few of the articles in The 7e8 6or9 Times on Italy’s use of .as, see 1(, 41archJ


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dis.uised as a #optic priest1' Goubtin. the truth of this story, #offey concluded that, as a s%illed

military observer, if he had infiltrated the Italian lines, he must have discovered the Ethiopians

faced more than )=,=== men In his memoirs, he did not detail what he told the Emperor on his

return, althou.h he admitted that, on )' arch, he said he thou.ht the Italians faced five"to"

ei.ht thousandH Italians at ychew)=

* prolific writer on the history of Italian Fascism and colonialism, *n.elo Gel $oca,

commented on Ethiopian fears of mercenaries fi.htin. for Ethiopia, but actually in Rome’s pay

*s an example, he called 0onovalov’s behavior ambi.uousH)1 -e rhetorically wondered about

this survivor of the wrec%a.e from Wran.el’s army,H who found a Mob in Ethiopia, enMoyed the

Emperor’s favor, and advised Ras 0asa Gar.e’s army)) Gel $oca, however, could not confirm

rumors that 0onovalov was sometimes in Italian pay and that he was playin. a double .ame)4

Even so, continued Gel $oca, after the war 0onovalov’s published memoirs be.an with the

pu55lin. dedication: +o the Italian soldier who showed to the world, at first s%eptical and then

ama5ed but always hostile, that .lorifyin. in the new fascist climate, he has the ancient virtues of

1' !t ar% founded the #optic #hurch in approximately


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the Roman le.ionaryH)<

he P%*li+hed Italian 1er+ion! Con le armate del Negus

+his first Italian draft, althou.h closer to the Fascist point"of"view compared to !teer’s

excerpts, needed more manipulation before authorities would publish it +he wor% of revision

fell to an Italian naval officer and a former electro"technical adviserH to *ddis *baba,

#ommander !tefano iccichA, who had %nown 0onovalov in Ethiopia before the war +he new

text came with a new title, Con le armate del 7egus 9With the *rmy of the 2e.us;, and with a

new, and racist, subtitle, Un bianco fra i neri 9* White *mon. the $lac%s; +he commander also

wrote a twenty"six pa.e, semi"autobio.raphical and political 3reface in which he assured readers

that I have %ept the ori.inal text unchan.ed, except for leavin. out some episodes to avoid

repetitionH)7 * false promise, unfortunately, for most %now 0onovalov only throu.h

#ommander iccichA’s revised edition

First published in $olo.na at the end of 1'4/ and reprinted two years later, Con le

armate del 7egus chan.ed much, and 3an%hurst a.ain describes at some len.th these chan.es)/

It consists of nine chapters versus 0onovalov’s seven in the first Italian draft +he boo% chan.ed

the order of the chapters to have 0onovalov’s audience with the Emperor ta%in. place on 1( 6uly

1'47 instead of 1( *u.ust, as in the ori.inal draft iccichA’s edition almost invariably chan.ed

0onovalov’s comments on -aile !ellase to the soverei.n’s disadvanta.e +he term ne.usH

?%in.@ replaced Emperor of Ethiopia,H and the new edition omitted or wea%ened positive

statements toward him)(

)< IbidJ 0onovalov, Con le armate, xi)7 0onovalov, Con le armate, p )/)/ 3an%hurst, Giversi versioni,H pp 1/="1/4

)( Ibid, p 1/1


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*s Must one example of 3an%hurst’s discussion of these differences, he notes that

iccichA added criticism alon. the lines fixed by Fascist propa.anda, which described Ethiopia

as wea%ened by ethnic differences 0onovalov’s Italian draft noted such problems, but iccichA

stren.thened them -e now had 0onovalov writin., Ethiopia was a horde of races of peoples

without order or national spirit Ethiopia could not survive the first serious test with any

hope of successH)>

iccichA further chan.ed 0onovalov’s manuscript, a.ain alon. the lines of Fascist

propa.anda, by addin. a new chapter, +he Kootin. of *ddis *babaH Cne passa.e specifically

accuses the Emperor of responsibility for the lootin. that too% place after he had fled his capital

in early ay !ometime Friday ni.ht, provo%ed by an.er, he violently tore the sil% curtains that

adorned the canopy for the throne and shouted to the bystanders, N+a%e all, ransac%, but do not

set fire to the gebbi, the royal palace compound +his will brin. you misfortune Go not leave

anythin. for the Italians’H)' * photo.raph of lootin. stren.thened the impact of this final

chapter, and iccichA’s edition declared that when the Fascist army entered the Ethiopian capital

immediately after these events, the population went out of their houses and hailed the new

arrivals +he Italians did not come as con&uerors, but as liberatorsH4=

#ontemporary writers, and -aile !ellase himself, contradict this version of events, as Gel

$oca shows41

)> 0onovalov, Con le armate, p 1>( any philo"fascist wor%s of this period emphasi5e thislac% of ethnic unity, e., Edward William 3olson 2ewman, Ethiopian Realities 9Kondon: *llenand nwin, 1'4/; and #harles Fernand Rey, The Real Abyssinia 92ew Dor%: 2e.ro niversities3ress, 1'/'O1'47; #ompare Rey’s earlier wor%, Uncon2uered Abyssinia As $t $s To%Day 93hiladelphia: 6$ Kippincott, 1')


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0onovalov’s memoirs were one of only three meanin.ful wor%s written by observers on

the Ethiopian side—in addition to !teer’s boo%, there is also a boo% about a #uban, #olonel

*leMandro del alle4) 0onovalov’s boo%, however, became a tool of Fascist propa.anda, and

3an%hurst calls it a brilliant political moveH44 +he blusterin. bravado in iccichA’s 3reface

and the extended effort to use 0onovalov’s words to rebut any deni.ration of the Italian people

surely falls into the realm of defensive overcompensation It comforted Italian public opinion—

and international opinion as well Writin., as the text underscored, as one of the Emperor’s

closest collaborators, it countered both !teer’s writin.s and the opinions of most of the non"

Italian residents in *ddis *baba before the occupation +hese forei.ners had vi.orously

condemned the Fascist invasion and occupation of Ethiopia4<

+he Duce himself enthusiastically supported 0onovalov’s boo%, and on 41 Gecember

1'4( in ,opolo d"$talia, he recommended the boo% +he second edition of the wor% in 1'4>

reproduced this approval47

While many have uncritically &uoted Con le armate del 7egus, three writers have

underlined the boo%’s serious flaws #5eslaw 6e8man derisively dismissed iccichA’s text as a

.arbled and tendentious version of 0onovalov’s reminiscencesH4/ +homas #offey more

)>'")'= and Edward llendorff, trans, The Autobiography of Emperor Haile !elassie $:;5y 1ife and Ethiopia"s ,rogress&< '=>%')? 9Kondon: Cxford niversity 3ress, 1'(/;, pp)'1")')

4) #olonel *leMandro del alle, Un hombre blanco en el infierno negro por el Coronel Ale@androdel alle ?* White an in a $lac% -ell by #olonel *leMandro del alle@, as told to *rturo*lfonso RosellP 9-avana: Impreso en los +alleres +ipo.raficos, 1'4(; +his wor% tells the story

of a #uban volunteer, #olonel *leMandro del alle, who, li%e 0onovalov, served at the northern

Ethiopian front Its anti"Ethiopian perspective is clear between the title and the photo.raphs ofmutilated Italian corpses at the end of the boo%

44 3an%hurst, Giversi versioni,H p 1/4

4< Ibid47 ,opolo d"$taliaJ 41 Gecember 1'4(J 0onovaloff, Con le armate, v"xJ 3an%hurst, Giversiversioni,H p 1/4

4/ 6e8man, Russians, p 1


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explicitly wrote that 0onovalov vividly and convincin.ly described many details, but was

stran.ely silent, obscure, or bafflin. about others -is admiration for the Italians was .reater

than for their victims -e fulsomely praised Italian aviators but failed to mention the tons of

mustard .as they sprayed on the EthiopiansH4( *n.elo del $oca underlined the inherent

distortions in iccichA’s text by notin. its many inconsistencies compared to !teer’s

publication4>

Konovalov+ an%+&ript at the oover In+tit%tion

Gespite iccichA’s edition, Emperor -aile !ellase evidently for.ave 0onovalov after

Ethiopia’s liberation +he Russian spent about ten more years in Ethiopia, where he lived until

1'7), when he finally left the country4'

Gurin. his stay at *ddis *baba after the liberation, 0onovalov wrote -istory of

Ethiopia,H a lon. draft in En.lish that no one has published in its entirety +he -oover

Institution in #alifornia and +he Institute of Ethiopian !tudies at *ddis *baba niversity hold

copies of the manuscript +ypewritten, someone has be.un editin. part of it, and some sections

clearly represent an early draft, full of mista%es, many of which are common for someone not

comfortable with the En.lish lan.ua.e

Its most interestin. and useful portions describe those events in which he too% part or

witnessed #learly enthusiastic about Ethiopia’s efforts to moderni5e, he favorably described

Empress Bewditu enile%,


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described many of the preparations for +eferi’s coronation and the coronation itself as well as

national improvements, such as road and church buildin., plus local administrative, postal,

constitutional, and Mudicial reforms


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I have ta%en and severely edited the material below from the En.lish lan.ua.e

manuscript at the -oover Institution at !tanford niversity 3an%hurst has used much of the

same material for his Italian"lan.ua.e translation 3art of 0onovalov’s much lar.er, proMected

-istory of Ethiopia,H I have excerpted from pa.es 4=("4(( the material dealin. with the eve of

war, the Italian attac% and victory, and Italy’s occupation of Ethiopia I have closed with

0onovalov’s witnessin. $ritish victory and -aile !ellase’s entry into *ddis *baba, after exactly

five years of Italian occupation


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+o me, a student of Ethiopian history, all this was interestin. *dowa was the scene of

the lar.est stru..les of Ethiopia’s past: stru..les with its own bi. feudal chiefs and with forei.n

invaders -ere Ethiopians had defeated Italy’s invadin. troops in the $attle of *dowa in 1>'/

We passed throu.h the places of the battle as it had developed 6ust before reachin. *dowa there

is *mba arima,


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comprehensive arran.ements for my caravan that I wanted for nothin. *lon. the frontier, I

could see how the *byssinians were preparin. to defend their land +hey %new little of trench

warfare and fi.htin. from cover, and followin. orders received from the hi.h command, the

chiefs hollowed out earth for field fortifications as the Kord inspired them I had to .ather the

chiefs from every section of the front and explain to them that their trenches were worthless,

bein. visible from everywhere +o me, an old military en.ineer, this was sheer nonsense, and I

invited the chiefs to retreat from the lowland plains to the slopes of the mountains, where they

could find cover

Dou can see how many .ood places there are,H I said, pointin. to the mountains

Ket’s .o and have a loo%H

We climbed the nearest mountain, and there I showed a hundred men how little wor% they

needed to do to ma%e cover in places such as this +hese are the positions od himself created

for you,H I said Dou can see everythin. before you, and you remain unseen and under coverH

+his is trueH Cne of the old chiefs replied, What do we do with these trenches below,

which we made with such a cost of ener.yLH

Ket the Italians believe that our real positions are thereH

*nd the bi. ditches—anti"tan% ditches—are they .ood enou.h or should they be

lar.erLH

+hey are .ood,H I replied, for I did not li%e to disappoint .ood men

What %ind of war is this,H si.hed one of the chiefs We always fi.ht in the open field

What sort of war is this Q fi.htin. behind stonesLH= 9$oston: ** $al%ema, 1'>/;, pp11/"11(


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While we were tal%in., not far from us and beyond the frontier and the dry, stony valley,

Italian tan%s rolled on and their .uns thundered It was obvious that the Italian troops, newly

arrived from Italy, had thorou.hly studied the terrain and positions as well as the conditions for

maneuverin. in *frica It seemed war mi.ht brea% out everywhere, and soon we would see how

best to deal with the situation

I returned to *dowa and reported to the ras, who, than%in. me, told me that he would

immediately forward my report to the Emperor

-e told me that his people had an outdated conception of war Italian as9ari,7= when they

saw his soldiers di..in. ditches, had called out: What are you di..in. thereL raves for

yourselvesLH

epte7*er Fea+t o, Mesqel

In the followin. days until near the end of !eptember, I spent my time instructin. the

local chiefs +he ras invited me to attend the ban&uet to celebrate the bi. Feast of 5es2el 71 *t

first he hesitated to invite members of the Italian consular a.ency, but finally did so +he

consulate was some miles out of *dowa, pleasantly located +he evenin. passed exceptionally

well Kar.e and hospitable, the ras was a charmin. host, en.a.in. in vivacious conversation

with all his .uests *n excellent dinner, half"European and half"*byssinian, .ood wines, and

7= As9ari: Italian, $ritish, 3ortu.uese, erman, and $el.ian colonial powers in East *fricalocally recruited as9ari soldiers +hey helped in the initial con&uest of the various colonial possessions and afterward served as .arrison and internal security forces As9ari units oftenserved outside the boundaries of their colonies of ori.in

71 5es2el means #rossH +he Feast ta%es place at the end of the rains and the be.innin. of theEthiopian 2ew Dear Rooted in ancient animist and -ebraic celebrations, the festival of findin.the +rue #ross be.ins with open"air, mornin. reli.ious ceremonies and reaches its climax when

the participants li.ht a .reat bonfire on which they throw stic%s and yellow flowers, called

es&uelH daisies 3routy and Rosenfeld, Dictionary, pp 141"14)


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pleasant people made that ban&uet one of the most enMoyable evenin.s I ever had +he .randson

of the Emperor +ewodros II,7) [email protected] ebre ariam,74 a handsome and affable man of fifty

told all he could remember about his au.ust .randfather and his !cottish chamberlain, 6ohn

$ell7/> 3routy and Rosenfeld, Dictionary, pp1(1"1()74 [email protected] ebre ariam served -aile !ellase in various court appointments and later as anofficial in the Interior inistry -e died in action in 1'4/ [email protected] means #ommander ofthe Goor,H the individual in war camp who resided near the door of the Emperor’s tent [email protected] si.nified a senior court official, .eneral, district chief, etc and was a politico"militarytitle below Ras7< From En.land, 6ohn $ell was one of the most prominent Europeans of mid"nineteenthcentury Ethiopia +he reformin. Emperor +ewodros II appointed him as his #ourt #hamberlain

77 Dohannes I was Emperor from 1>() to 1>>' 3routy and Rosenfeld, Dictionary, pp 1>>"1>'


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their way to the frontier 7/

Cn my return to *dowa, I saw the captives amid a crowd of people on their way to the

palace +he Emperor had received the news of their capture that evenin. by telephone -e

ordered their captors to free the Italian consul and his staff immediately and to escort them to the

Italo"*byssinian frontier +he Italians, however, refused to .o durin. the ni.ht but wished to

leave the followin. mornin. +heir clandestine and hurried departure from their consulate home

filled the ras and the rest of us with forebodin.

*bout (:== in the mornin. on 4 Cctober, my boy a.ain came runnin. to my bedroom

with the news, +hey are comin., they are comin.H

Who is comin.LH I as%ed

Farengi ?Europeans@, and they are closeH

Immediately I went to the balcony of my second"floor bedroom, and loo%in. north, I saw

in the bri.ht clear s%y nine white airplanes swiftly approachin. y first thou.ht was: What is

thisL Is it warL What will happen to Ethiopia and its peopleLH +his time the Italians would be

well"prepared, and it would not be an easy war 7(

eanwhile, the first plane, havin. circled the town, be.an to drop bombs

+his is the be.innin. of war,H passed throu.h my mind +hen from all sides,

*byssinians fired at the planes, whose bombs continued to explode +he ras .ave the order to

move the Italian consul and staff into the forest, where they would be comparatively safe -ere

in the town, all buildin.s were in dan.er -e also told his coo% to prepare brea%fast for the men

+hey could start for Eritrea on 7 Cctober, escorted by soldiers from +i.rey, who would leave

them on reachin. the border at some point of safety -owever, even there they would face many

7/ agna.match si.nified the commander of the ri.ht win. of the army and was a politico"military ran% above 0ra.match In civilian life, the title was bestowed on district .overnors7( !ee #offey, 1ion, pp 1/)"1/4


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dan.ers, because they had to ris% attac%s from both sides

+he bombin. stopped and the town resumed its normal rhythm In the streets and near

their homes, Ethiopian soldiers .ossiped amon. themselves about the events of the day Fussy

*byssinian women be.an their household tas%s and all had the air of peace as if this was not the

be.innin. of the war and the bombin. had never ta%en place Cnly here and there were the

badly wounded and dead +he crowds remained near their homes Everythin. was bri.ht and

clear—as are the days after the rainy season in Ethiopia +he countryside was .aily .reen, with

no clouds in the blue, sunny s%y $ut this was the end of Ethiopia’s tran&uil life

Cn < Cctober, we went with the ras and his staff to ariam !hewitu some distance from

*dowa, where we heard a.ain news that the Italians had bombed our town !ome other aerial

s&uadrons bombarded the Ethiopian positions at Gare +a%le, from which direction we could hear

the noise of explosions

Earl3 Fihtin

*t midday came the first news from the front We learned that on 4 Cctober, the Italians

had passed the frontier at different points and had be.un their offensive +heir main direction

was Rama Gare +a%le"*dowa, but they had also advanced toward -odMa"I.alla and probably into

the re.ion of 0narea"ober"*di.rat

We had three armed .roups on our front +he first front was Wol%ait under the command

of the old warrior [email protected] *yelle $irru +he second and the lar.est was the western +i.rey

under the personal command of Ras !eyoum +he last was the eastern section of +i.rey under

the [email protected] -aile !ellase u.sa7> Kiaison between these three .roups was not perfect +hey

7> Cn [email protected] -aile !ellase u.sa, includin. his desertion to the Italians, see Erlich,+i.rean 3olitics,H pp 1='"114, 11("1)1


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were not re.ular soldiers, and their methods were primitive Reports were mostly oral,

reconnaissance unstable, and information incomplete and often tardy

Cn the evenin. of 7 Cctober, the commander of troops from the !hire re.ion, [email protected]

!ahle, arrived with ),=== men -e had violently collided with the Italian troops on the

corru.ated plain of *di *rbata -e reported the Italian first"line consisted of colonial troops, for

example, Eritreans $ehind them were the white, Italian soldiers +he Ethiopians had disabled

two tan%s in the deep trenches near *di *rbata, and [email protected] -ailu was resistin. stron.ly on

the Rama"Garo +a%le road, where he had halted the enemy [email protected] !ahle’s troops had

succeeded in stoppin. the Italian advance toward Rama and had even attac%ed the enemy

We went to *mba arima, where we found some Eritrean soldiers at our head&uarters

+hat evenin. we passed around the amba and went as far as ten miles from *dowa from where

we heard fierce firin.

+he Farengi are ta%in. our *dowa,H I overheard Ch Kord of Ethiopia What is thatLH

exclaimed the ras

We watched the Italians con&uerin. the town of *dowa from the mountain of *mba

arima, where forty years a.o the Ethiopians had beaten the Italians despite their .allant

stru..le under eneral iuseppe *rimondi

It was essential the Ethiopians do somethin. to maintain resistance until more

reinforcements arrived I said so to Ras !eyoum and su..ested other alternatives for combatin.

the enemy on our soil

Des, yes, it is ri.ht,H replied the ras I have ordered Fit8rari Wasfine to stand fast on

the ri.ht of *dowa and [email protected] !ahle to stand fast on the left We shall see what they can

doH


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$y midday further information arrived +he Italians had attac%ed [email protected] Gesta and

Fit8rari Wasfine toward Garo +a%le eetin. stron. tan% forces, [email protected] Gesta and

Fit8rari Wasfine suffered heavy casualties and had to retreat

*t -ois, meanwhile, [email protected] -ailu was defendin. his position heroically and after

retreatin., he mana.ed to reta%e the position [email protected] Worash had to leave I.alla and to

retreat to *u.her [email protected] ebre edhine continued to defend the re.ion of *%sum and the

eastern part of !hire *fter some vi.orous resistance, [email protected] aru, commandin. the troops

west of Garo +a%le, had to retreat toward the +embien re.ion in +i.rey7'

-avin. learned this, the ras decided to return to +embien and wait for Ethiopian

reinforcements to arrive from the south

#asualties amon. the Ethiopians were heavy, and still worse was the %nowled.e that the

forces a.ainst them were overwhelmin. +his could lead to defeatism and a loss of their warli%e

spirit !everal times they had succeeded in brea%in. throu.h the first Italian lines but then had

stalled +heir resistance was astonishin. despite all this and that only a few had fairly modern

arms and the supply of ammunition was sparse +hey waited for the moment amid a battle when

they could Mustifiably throw away their rifles and revert to the sword, for the Ethiopian soldier

the only noble weapon !uch moments, however, are rare nowadays when armies throw into the

field lar.e masses e&uipped with modern arms

En route to +embien, we learned that the Italians, havin. occupied *dowa, had already

erected a monument to those %illed in action in 1>'/ +hey had brou.ht the monument with

them

7' For the fierce battle of !hire, where the Italians used mustard .as, see Richard 3an%hurst, *

-istory of Early +wentieth #entury Ethiopia 1=: *n.lo"French Giplomacy, and the Initial Italo"

Ethiopian #ampai.n of 1'47"/,H Addis Tribune, 14 arch 1''(


20/48

)=

he Fir+t 6attle o, e7*ien8 =e&e7*er :;#5-Jan%ar3 :;#>! Earl3 ilitar3 Preparation+

When we arrived at +embien, which was the seat of the ras and the cradle of his family,

the ras sent a tele.ram to the Emperor explainin. the difficulties he faced and as%in. for

instructions +he immediate reply showed the Emperor was aware of the problems -e ur.ed

the army to adopt .uerrilla warfare tactics, and for encoura.ement he expressed his hope that

allies would soon rally round

*fter the tirin. campai.n, we relaxed in a .rove of .iant trees, which stretched their

.reen branches overhead while allowin. the rays of the sun to filter throu.h and play on the

.reen carpet of .rass -ere a small stream rustled &uietly by with crystal"clear water * church

was hidin. behind a .roup of .iant sycamores, and women filed alon. carryin. panca%es and hot

appeti5in. dishes * feelin. of security, &uiet, and comfort obsessed me Ch, how .ood it is

here,H I exclaimed involuntarily

It is, and for this the Italians are sei5in. our land,H said an old [email protected] We always

thou.ht the Europeans were #hristians with #hristian Mustice and ri.hteousness $ut they have

prepared these dreadful weapons for years to %ill our children and to ta%e away our old beloved

EthiopiaH

any of those present loo%ed at me In their simplicity, they ima.ined that all Europeans

were ali%e

es%obach ?Russians@ are another %ind of Europeans,H the ras remar%ed with a %ind

smile showin. his sympathy with me First and foremost they are Crthodox as we are +hey

are our Farengi and he is helpin. usH

$ut what are the others doin.LH continued the old man

*fter lunch we held a council of war I told the ras, that it was vital that we should do


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)1

somethin. as otherwise the enemy would thin% he had beaten us It was necessary to see that our

soldiers were not .oin. idle

$ut what can we do nowLH as%ed the ras

We must attac% the enemy wherever possible from behind or on the flan%s, where we do

not ris% lar.e losses -e cannot be on .uard everywhere *nd the people will help as soon as

they see we are doin. somethin.H

+he youn. chiefs immediately welcomed this type of warfare, and, indeed, they be.an to

.o into action [email protected] abrehiwot, who was still youn., had succeeded in attac%in. an

Italian convoy near *dowa, and on > 2ovember, agna.match -ad.u mana.ed to attac% and

destroy an entire Italian battery on the march $alambaras *dal’s forces successfully attac%ed

another convoy/=

*t the be.innin. of 2ovember, word came from Ras 0asa that he was marchin. to meet

us Cur own ras wanted to .o and meet him personally, but after holdin. council decided a.ainst

it and remained in +embien for many reasons +embien was still free of the enemy +here it was

possible for us to .et our bearin.s and prepare for action, action in two directions—*dowa"

*%sum"!o5ia"*u.her, and *dowa"e%ele -avin. decided to stay at +embien, the ras now

declared mobili5ation of all remainin. people -e wrote Ras 0asa tellin. him of his decision

and the reasons for remainin. in +embien -e also as%ed him to send 17,=== men to help cut the

enemy’s lines of communication

Each soldier called to arms brou.ht with him his rifle and ammunition and sin%H—food

consistin. of flour prepared with spices to preserve the mixture for some time/1 !everal soldiers

reported for duty carryin. only a saber or a stic% It was unfortunate that the lar.e .overnment

/= 3alambaras means head of an amba,H a low"level administrative title .iven to a localcivilian leader It also refers to a commander of a fort

/1 *ctually, sin%H means provisionsH made of different in.redients for lon."term preservation


22/48

))

warehouse providin. articles for such emer.encies was now in enemy hands

Cn our march to the south of +embien, an army about fourteen" to fifteen"thousand"men"

stron. passed the deep valley of the ueva River *s we entered this valley, an airplane passed

overhead but fortunately did not notice us We marched to Gebra -ailu and from there went to

u.ia ountain +he thou.ht that soon we would meet Ras 0asa’s fresh and stron. army lifted

our spirits

Cn that evenin. on 1/ 2ovember, from the top of the hi.h mountain of u.ia, we could

see far away the undulatin. plains and small hills s%irted by the road from *ddis *baba, e%ele,

and on to the north * little nearer, we saw a row of hills behind which loomed the bi. massif of

*mba *la.e

+wo airplanes flew over us, when on 1( 2ovember we approached the camp of Ras 0asa

*t 7:== pm, we entered the camp, and the meetin. between the two rases was warm after their

ceremonial .reetin. +hey withdrew to Ras 0asa’s tent, where they conferred for an hour

*fterward they invited me to Moin them at dinner +o my surprise, I found there were forei.ners

with them: one E.yptian and two #5echoslova%ians—radio"tele.raphers

Cn 1> 2ovember, the two rases and their armies stationed themselves somewhere in the

hi.her mountains, providin. cover and hidin. places in caverns Ras 0asa, then the first

sei.neur of Ethiopia, had invited all the bi. chiefs and me We consulted and exchan.ed advice

and opinions on conductin. operations *fter the others had spo%en, the ras as%ed for my

opinion I had prepared some notes dealin. with what I considered to be the best pro.ram, and I

referred to it point"by"point When I had finished, the [email protected] aru exclaimed: Ch Dour

pro.ram surpasses ours in every possible detailH +hat was only natural, because I had been

pu55lin. over moves and improvements all alon., ma%in. notes, while the chiefs had to .ive a


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)4

concise opinion immediately and unprepared +hey had arrived there the day before

Italian 4ir 4tta&k+

We had not yet finished our war council, when the si.nal sounded warnin. of

approachin. Italian airplanes I saw nine planes comin. swiftly *lmost immediately they were

over our valley, where our densely pac%ed soldiers had little cover—those of Ras !eyoum on the

left ban% of the river and those of Ras 0asa on the ri.ht ban% between *iveto and u.ia

+hey have not seen usH somebody near me exclaimed +he planes passed by—had they

really not seen our campL !ome moments later they turned, flew over us a.ain and dropped their

bombs

From our cavern hi.h above the valley in complete security, we could watch the deadly

spectacle enfoldin. before our eyes—as if we were the audience in the box of an enormous

theater We saw those below us submissively remainin. at their places, waitin. for their destiny,

which would inevitably meet them Cnly when the bombs dropped and the explosions started,

did those not wounded be.in to run +he tethered don%eys, mules, and horses in their terror

bro%e their bonds and madly rushed in all directions

-avin. dropped their bombs, this fli.ht of planes made off, but as soon as the men below

us be.an to move, another s&uadron approached *.ain, the deadly .ame be.an—%illin. some

and mutilatin. others Where a moment before there were livin. and healthy human bein.s, now

there were the dead and maimed/)

ilitar3 Plannin and Ine?perien&e

/) For an enthusiastic endorsement of the effectiveness of Italian air operations in Ethiopia, see

EW 3olson 2ewman, $taly"s Con2uest of Abyssinia 9Kondon: +hornton $utterworth, 1'4(;, pp)7/")>4


24/48

)<

+he followin. day our soldiers hastily du. shelter Ras 0asa a.ain .athered the chiefs for

further council $oth rases were sittin. side"by"side with the chiefs sittin. around them on the

.round Ras 0asa had before him an unfolded map With his air of the .rand sei.neur,H the ras

loo%ed a serious man and when eyein. papers or documents throu.h his lar.e spectacles, he

seemed a learned university professor Watchin. him, I recalled Ras !eyoum’s words: Ch, Ras

0asa can study maps for hoursH -avin. studied the map for considerable time, and havin.

as%ed me to .ive a few odd explanations, he turned to the old [email protected] near him: -ere is the

situation as I see it,H he said +hose are the lines occupied by the enemyH We traced out the

Italian fortifications and the .ood old warrior [email protected] %ept his eyes on the ras" pencil

appearin. to understand those complicated red, blac%, and brown lines and pinpoints on the map

2ow you understand where we areLH as%ed the ras over the top of his .lasses/4

+he poor old man, not %nowin. what to say, made a timid movement of affirmation with

his head +he ras continued, 2ow we must ma%e sure the enemy is at those points we estimate,

and we must try to wor% out what we can do about itH

+he ras, prudent and #hristian in his feelin.s, neither wanted unnecessary bloodshed nor

unnecessary ris% +o attac% the fortified positions would be fatal -e preferred to meet the

Italians on the hi.h rid.es of *mba *la.e that represented our natural fortress Ras ulu.eta,

Ethiopia’s war minister, was not far away with his new army, and to.ether we mi.ht be stron.

enou.h for almost any underta%in./


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)7

the favorable positions of *mba *radom/7 and cut the road to +embien, the council decided to

occupy these two massifs and to connect them by our main troops all alon. the line

We .ot bac% late to our position at *iveto and found all our soldiers standin. around and

sin.in. hymns +hrou.h the fresh and calm stillness of that fine evenin., the melody of the

reli.ious son.s sur.ed from one end of the encampment to the other *fter we had passed by and

the men had stopped sin.in., we heard their voices as one shout: -o"o"oH +his was, they told

me, their way of callin. on od to listen to them It was a most impressive scene

*fter further council, the chiefs decided that their forces should occupy only one rid.e

Ras ulu.eta’s approachin. army would occupy the other In such a way, all of us could defend

the positions alon. the roads to the north of *mba *la.e *head of us was the rid.e of omolo"

*di.rat"ai 2ervi and fifteen miles farther alon., the maMestic *mba *radom rose with its

companion, Gebra -ailu +he soldiers of Ras !eyoum’s army were to the left of Ras 0asa’s

army, which was in its own positions with the soldiers of [email protected] Wondwossen// and

Fit8rari *nder.he with men from Kasta 3rovince +he chiefs decided to reserve the whole ri.ht

flan% for the soldiers of Ras ulu.eta, who would occupy the valley and the mountains to the

east of WaMerat

$y the middle of Gecember, Ras ulu.eta arrived +he three rases met in private and

after that called in the other hi.h commanders for a .eneral discussion +hey .athered in a lar.e

tent, open on three sides +hey a.reed, after much discussion, that they should pay attention to

or.ani5in. their defense, after which they could thin% about an offensive +his disappointed the

youn.er commanders, for in their youth they were %een to .et out and to meet the enemy as soon

/7 *mba *radom is a vast mountain, about twelve miles south of e%ele and sli.htly west of the*smara"*ddis *baba road

// [email protected] Wondwossen, 1'=4"1'4/, was Ras 0asa’s eldest son and for many years a.overnor -e continued to fi.ht a.ainst the Italians until %illed in Gecember 1'4/


26/48

)/

as possible $ut the three rases, the commanders of the three lar.e .roups of the army, were

elderly men, Ras !eyoum and Ras 0asa in their fifties and Ras ulu.eta in his early seventies

Ethiopia had not had a serious war since the Italian campai.n of 1>'/, and hence the

chiefs did not have the advanta.e of military experience behind them, nor did they %now how to

handle their lar.e armies +he first two had received .eneralships in their youth, this bein. the

custom amon. the hi.h"born members of their class +he third ras had served his country as

minister of finance, a non"military post *t one time, however, he had commanded and led

successfully a military expedition a.ainst the rebel Ras Cu%awo 2one of these three chiefs had

an idea about modern warfare and military techni&ues Ras 0asa was a levelheaded, serious

man, but his spirit was certainly not military"li%e *part from this, he was extremely reli.ious

and therefore a.ainst all bloodshed Ras !eyoum, a sensible, li%able .entleman, a .rand

sei.neur, and a responsible commander was not enthusiastic about an unyieldin. attitude +hey

had spent their lives in the lap of plenty, and they felt at this time of their lives the hardships of a

difficult campai.n eanwhile, the less mature and youn.er chiefs were burnin. with desire to

fi.ht, but had to meet with the older ones’ prudence

+he Ethiopian consul in *smara, 1i@ +edla -aile,/( a .raduate from the niversity of

*ntwerp, before the war be.an had been with Ras !eyoum Intelli.ent and educated, as other

/( 1i@, literally boyH or childH was an honorific title .enerally reserved for sons of theroyal family and upper nobility+hose Ethiopians who studied in Europe before the !econd Italo"

Ethiopian War often came away from their experiences with a sense of the need to 6apani5e their

country +he * thesis entitled ,our2uoi et comment prati2uer une politi2ue d"assimilation en thiopie ?Why and -ow to 3ractice 3olitics and *ssimilation in Ethiopia@, which +edla -aileodMa uermami defended before a panel at the niversitS #oloniale d’*nvers in 6uly 1'4=,

demonstrated the point -e had .one to $el.ium in 1'), pp >1"'/


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)(

youn.sters, he was ambitious and thou.ht he could act as military adviser to the ras I once went

into the cavern and found 1i@ +edla dictatin. notes to Ras !eyoum’s secretary While in Eritrea

he surely must have collected information useful to the .overnment, so I listened to what he had

to say

enerale di #orpo d’*rmataH ?.eneral of an army corps@ +hen followed the name,

enerale di GivisioneH ?.eneral of a division@, and such, and so followed the names of fifteen

other Italian .enerals

I as%ed, -ow many divisions do you thin% there areLH

-e replied, Ch, there are some tens of thousands, maybe forty, fifty thousand soldiersH

I went on, $ut you %now, if you add the troops followin. .rades and functions of all

those .enerals, it would ma%e at least ten to fourteen divisions Each division has 17,=== men If

we ta%e out all the .enerals in char.e of other branches of the military command and

administration, ten to fourteen .enerals would remain to command the effective divisions +his

ma%es 17=,=== or )==,=== men in allH

Ch no,H he said, Italians love titles and ran%s +he hi.h ran%in. .enerals command

units of the least importanceH

It turned out the Italians had about )==,=== men, countin. Italians and colonial troops It

was a vast and well"armed number *s ussolini said, any foes—much honorH +he old,

peaceful, and unprepared people of Ethiopia could use these words +wo hundred thousand on a

sin.le front is a lot

Cne of our .ood commanders was Ras Imam, who had already attac%ed the Italian lines

on several occasions any of our commanders, especially the Muvenile ones, were dreamin. of

battles and of heroic deeds $ut the old ones saw that it would be bad strate.y to ris% attac% at


28/48

)>

that moment on an enemy of .reater experience, superior supplies, and more +he imbalance of

power was .reat Inaction was another source of bad influence on our men +hey watched with

an.uish the forei.ner’s fields in the north—and were dreamin. of their own homes and fields

lyin. idle and untended +hey lon.ed to return home to the familiar life of peaceful wor% and

their families +hey thou.ht of their women left behind and worried how they could mana.e

War to them was only a duel -e who succeeded was the victorJ it was man a.ainst man

*t this time, Ras ulu.eta invited me to his camp -e as%ed me to brin. my maps to

explain the situation to him I went to see him on )= Gecember, and from the summit of the rise

dividin. the two campin. .rounds, I noted that theirs was a far lar.er encampment than was our

own Cnce there, I met soldiers at every turn +he valley was pictures&ue, .ay, and full of life,

movement, and sound $luish smo%e from innumerable campfires lit the place and min.led with

the mornin. mist It loo%ed li%e a happy picnic .round Ethiopian soldiers, apart from the

Imperial uard, were wearin. their mufti and there was no military loo% about the .atherin.

+hey had not erected the tents in military style, neat and re.ular Cbli&ue beams of the sun slid

on the flat roofs of the houses and with red peppers, .reen trees, yellow fields, and a river full of

life made a picture of perfect peace +he &uiet stream, the woods and .roves, the fields of barley,

and the busy a.ricultural people—all spo%e of life, not death Geath, which was inevitably

awaitin. many and soon

*bout >:==, we heard the hummin. of motors, and the valley rushed into life +he

warriors &uenched their fires, and I dove for cover beneath a cactus -owever, the airplanes

passed over us, obviously loo%in. for some other tar.ets, our camps—those of Ras 0asa and Ras

!eyoum, where the enemy .athered a bi. harvest I found Ras ulu.eta in his own billet -e

offered me coffee and I handed him the maps explainin. at the same time where our positions


29/48

)'

were and those of the enemy -e said: Dou %now that we shall have to advance soonLH -e said

that Ras 0asa and !eyoum would move to +embien and aralta and he to the east of *.ula

+hey would intercept the roads to e%ele Kater he added: I don’t see certain thin.s mar%ed on

the map—not all we need to %now, that is, the positions of our camps on the roads, the passes,

the rivers and streams, and the cavernsH

+he maps are not complete,H I said $ut I advise you to find out this information from

the local inhabitants +hey are the people who must %now We must also or.ani5e an information

service, and we must pic% the men to deal with that and that point aloneH

-e spo%e to his chief of staff who was present, and we then wor%ed out the details, chose

the men, and immediately .ave them their instructions

Ras ulu.eta left with me a .ood impression, Must as before when we had met on other

occasions -e was serious, intelli.ent, affable but also, and understandably, tired -e was tryin.

to be alert and hearty, but I could see he was a.itated and %new he was not in his ri.htful place

Italian 4dvan&e and Ethiopian


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4=

natural position eanwhile, rases 0asa and !eyoum would .o to +embien and from there to

aralta to threaten the roads from *dowa and *di.rat, where they parted to lead to e%ele and

from -awsien to +embien Enemy airplanes si.hted and bombed us when we left on ) 6anuary

and were .oin. throu.h the ueva River alley Fortunately for us, there were many caverns

and plenty of cover, so we hid ourselves and remained hidden for a day, after which we ventured

bac% on the march Cn the road, the news reached us about the $attle of Enda !elassie

9Gembe.uina; in which the troops of [email protected] -ailu $iru of Wol%ait in northern Ethiopia

attac%ed Italian fortifications and inflicted many casualties/>

+hat day we reached #hevasaro 9Enda ariam Vuoram;—a suitable place, where amon.

the luxuriate ve.etation we found caverns, one of which represented a fine old church Enemy

airplanes often passed over"head until on the mornin. of ' 6anuary when our first column be.an

to climb the mountain, they discovered us and we suffered a bombardment -ere, the soil of

+embien was sandy 2ature had desi.ned everywhere many fantastic shapes and fi.ures, and

here it was not easy to march Cn arrivin. at *bbi *ddi,/' we ascended *mba Gebra, from

where we could see the Italian positions +hey were not far away, three to seven miles from our

positions on the hei.hts of arbe"!humearne +he Italian camp was not a stron. one +he

presence of two .roups of Italians did not threaten our troops, which now had increased in

number While we were loo%in., the Italians opened fire toward the ai $eles River, *mba

Wor%, and *mba Gebra +he aircraft were active and disturbin.

*t midday on 1> 6anuary, the alarm rose in our camp: I.hira.na tor mettaH ?the infantry

is comin.@ !oldiers ran in all directions, chec%in. their rifles as they ran to surround *mba

/> For Ethiopia’s #hristmas Cffensive,H see 3an%hurst, *n.lo"French Giplomacy,H AddisTribune, 14 arch 1''(/' *bbi *ddi, the principal town of +embien and for some time the head&uarters of rases 0asaand !eyoum


31/48

41

Gebra from the west 2ow they ran toward the +ini River from where they thou.ht the enemy

was comin.

+he speed of the Ethiopian soldiers, the pace at which they pulled themselves to.ether,

and the ener.y with which they drew themselves up to face the enemy surprised me It was a

false alarm Eritrean soldiers were ta%in. their mules to water at the river in no man’s land

Cur soldiers sei5ed some teams of Eritreans and their mules, .ettin. close to the Italian

positions, when they received the order to return +his episode played a lar.e part in the events

that followed For our soldiers it was an introduction to battle, and it raised their morale +hey

had nearly seen the enemy and had .otten close to his lines *t the same time, another +i.raean

detachment was attac%in. a column of Italian lorries on the *ddi Bubbaha road and causin.

some casualties

he Fir+t 6attle o, e7*ien8 20-2" Jan%ar3 :;#>

Cn )= 6anuary, news arrived that the enemy had attac%ed [email protected] Wor%eneh at olfa

Wounded himself, Wor%eneh had lost some of his troops It had been a violent collision

[email protected] Wondwossen immediately went to his aid, and at (:== pm on the )1st, the Italians

be.an their attac% a.ainst our position at *mba Gebra, their main offensive bearin. down on the

valley of the +ini River

Immediately, our soldiers reenacted the previous scene From every point our soldiers

ran, and while the troops of DedMu and Kasta attac%ed the enemy from the west, the +i.raeans

advanced from the southwest, followed by the troops of [email protected] *bera 0asa from the south(=

(= [email protected] *bera 0asa, 1'=7"1'4/, was one of the three sons of 0asa -ailu who lost theirlives fi.htin. Italy With his brother *sfawossen, a small number of soldiers, and Abuna 3etros,he attac%ed *ddis *baba in 6uly 1'4/ * disaster, *bera surrendered a little later, and the Italians

executed him in Gecember 1'4/ 3routy and Rosenfeld, Dictionary, p 1


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4)

+he Italians attac%ed from three sides, but had to retreat Ethiopian soldiers in this battle

showed they were capable of .reat mobility and impetus, reactions havin. been speedy and

action immediate $oth sides suffered heavy losses +he Italian air force was active in this battle

and their artillery heavy, but the Ethiopians had been able to cut the Italian defensive line and

had infiltrated their camp -owever, the Ethiopians could not fully exploit this opportunity, and

three days later our soldiers withdrew to their first position and immediately be.an to mourn

their dead

*t this sta.e, I recalled the boo% by #harles +ilstone $e%e, $ritish commercial a.ent to

Ethiopia

(1

In 1>7' at his head&uarters in $asso, oMam, he wrote to Kord 3almerston, $ritish

Forei.n !ecretary, that the Ethiopian soldier, well"tau.ht and well"led, had no e&ual anywhere in

the world

!ome soldiers brou.ht us our portion of the booty, which amounted to some 3armesan

cheese and a ba. full of Italian ci.arettes We could have developed this battle—the first battle

of +embien as we called it—into a victorious clash at our sector of the front had we been better

prepared *s it was, the results satisfied our hi.h chiefs in that they had chec%ed the Italian

offensive, and the enemy had suffered many losses of men, arms, and .oods of all %inds +hey

a.reed that their pro.ram did not foresee movin. fast and far, but the results satisfied all

Cne youn. ordinary soldier with a li%able face said to me, +he Ethiopian soldier is, after

all, a .ood soldier Koo%, the enemy has .uns, planes, and ammunition in plenty, and yet we

have mana.ed to .et into their camp even from natural and poor positionsH -e went on +heir

camps are not li%e tents at all +hey are li%e .ood, solid houses Inside they have many thin.s,

and here is one of themH -e pulled a silver"framed mirror from his poc%et to show me *nother

(1 3an%hurst believes that 0onovalov was mista%en and was not referrin. to $e%e, but to the

$ritish consul Walter 3lowden !ee Giversi versioni,H p 1'' n 4=="1>(


33/48

44

soldier reported, +heir stren.th is in their hands When I tried to hit one with my saber, he too%

hold of my wrist and twisted it to try to ma%e me drop my weapon -e would have succeeded if

not for my comrade who finished himH

Cn 1/ February, reinforcements arrived from Ras ulu.eta, whose main forces had until

the 17th occupied *ntalo"*mba *radom Gurin. that evenin., the van.uard of his command

entered *bbi *ddi, +embien’s principal town nder the command of [email protected] eshesha

Dilma, the Emperor’s nephew, with [email protected] eshesha Wolde, [email protected] Gen.o, and

Fit8rari Bewdu *ba 0orem,() their soldiers came from distant provinces such as 0ambatta,

0onso, and 0ullo It was unfortunate that Italian planes watched their maneuver and came in

numbers and bombed their positions !till .reater numbers then attac%ed the formations of men

as they passed the valley of the ueva River +hrou.h this attac%, we could note the advance

and the exact positions of our troops +he Italians bombed *bbi *ddi itself several times a day

3lanes circled the town the whole time, and as some completed their deadly tas%, others too%

their place #hurches and houses were burnin. at every point in the town

Fihtin El+ehere

!oon, news about the battles in other parts of the country reached us ore and still more

reinforcements arrived for the enemy +he Ethiopians tried to resist and attac% at any point alon.

the ill"defined frontline where opportunities arose, sometimes infiltratin. ri.ht into the enemy’s

lines and then retreatin. into the mountains Cur liaison system had bro%en down, and there was

neither coordination of action nor mutual support between the different Ethiopian units

#heli%ot"*ntalo, near ai #aich, and *di *mheti were the scenes of continuin. battle In the

() Fit8rari Bewdu *ba 0orem, 1>'7"1'7


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4<

latter, [email protected] a%onnen Gemissie tried to ta%e fortified Italian positions -e advanced on

horsebac%, but before lon. found himself up a.ainst barbed wire fitted with alarm si.nals Italian

machine .uns mortally wounded him, and his men retreated

6attle o, 4ntalo-47*a 4rado78 :0 Fe*r%ar3 :;#>

2ews—bad news—of the battle of *ntalo"*mba *radom arrived on the 17th +he

Italians had ta%en the excellent position, and this was to have .rave conse&uences and seriously

set bac% our future operations +he *mba *radom"Gebra -oim line lin%s the communities of

+embien and *la.e, and communications had been .ood 2ow, however, the troops of rases

0asa and !eyoum found themselves separated from those southeast of this line +his .ave the

Italians every chance to achieve their aim a.ainst our two forces, now isolated one from the

other It was disheartenin., for *mba *radom had been an excellent natural position held by

Ras ulu.eta and his fresh and lar.e army *bout three to seven miles wide, this /,=== feet hi.h

plateau had a natural rampart round it with caverns and natural ditches and fell steeply to the

plains on all sides It encoura.ed our men to .lance in this direction, feelin. the enemy could

never ta%e it *nd now it had fallen into enemy hands and dampened the spirits of our men(4

Gurin. the ni.ht, I thou.ht about this event -ow could it have happenedL +he main

cause was the uns%illed .eneralship of our armies, their unpreparedness, and lac% of trainin.

+he men, after all, were only peasants who had merely become soldiersH because they had rifles

thrust into their hands +hey had no trainin. whatever With no schoolin. about what to do

should the enemy attac%, they immediately had to ta%e their places on the battlefield Cld and

tired, the ras found he was not the alert commander he should be, not bein. a military man by

(4 *.ain, the Italians used mustard .as !ee 3an%hurst, *n.lo"French Giplomacy,H 14 arch

1''(


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nature $esides, he was unpopular amon. his troops +hey thou.ht him to be unmindful of their

comfort and reluctant to spend money on improvin. it +he mountain must have been subMect to

heavy bombardment from both planes and artillery before the final assault, and the Italians had

s%illfully planned the operation

Italian Propaanda

!oon after this, the Italians dropped leaflets from the air on our troops, sayin. in effect,

Dou said we could only fi.ht behind our trenches and that in the open field you would

immediately beat us We beat the main army of the 2e.us—that of Ras ulu.eta—in their

inaccessible position of *mba *radom, and this army no lon.er exists H Ras 0asa showed

me one of these pamphlets and as%ed me what I thou.ht of it From the tone of his voice and by

his expression, I could tell his apprehension Feelin. perturbed, I told him the positions had not

afforded the complete cover necessary a.ainst aerial bombardment combined with artillery fire,

and our armies could not reply in the same way—we did not have the means +he Italians had

concentrated their artillery fire and bombin., coverin. a wide area—everywhere Ethiopian

soldiers had been +hese bombardments had not caused .reat dama.e, not materially and not

from the lon."term point"of"view +he worst had been the effect of the defeat on the morale of

our people

atters would become much worse when they be.an droppin. .as bombs

he e&ond 6attle o, e7*ien 6ein+8 2$-2 Fe*r%ar3 :;#>

Cn )( February at (:== am, artillery from the Italian lines opened fire a.ainst our

forward positions at *mba Gebra, *mba Wor%, and Gebra *nsa Ras 0asa and his staff were on


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4/

a roc%y hill into which Ethiopians had cut a church durin. the thirteenth century When the

Italians be.an their advance, they moved to *mba Gebra +his was the third time our soldiers

had to run to the ill"fated torrent of +ini River, and here a.ain the Italians opened artillery fire

and sent over their bombers Evidently, the enemy had considerable forces at its disposal and

this time intended to launch a serious offensive I was with these men and on the road to *mba

Gebra, when I too% cover in the lar.e cave occupied by Ras 0asa and several priests * service

was ta%in. place and the voices ran. out with old, sad Ethiopian son.s $ells were rin.in.

constantly and the air was thic% with incense Wounded men were be.innin. to arrive and

amon. them were a maMor chief and a youn. man +hese were from [email protected] Gie.ne’s army,

and they told us that when they heard the news about the Italian offensive, they immediately

attac%ed, passin. the first line of the Eritrean troops +hey believed the Eritreans did not really

wish to fi.ht them, and the Eritreans allowed them to pass throu.h unhurt, almost up to the

Italian lines, when the Eritreans fired on them Cne of the first %illed was [email protected] Gie.ne

+he battle was ra.in. furiously en continued to file into the cave, and amid the crac%le

of artillery, the en.ines overhead, and the explosions of the fallin. bombs, we could barely hear

the feeble noise of our rifles

[email protected] eshesha Dilma, leadin. his 0ambatas and havin. passed throu.h the enemy

troops of *mba Wor%, started to attac% the Italians from the east('= and 1>'4 Its people are nominally #hristian,

but they also practice many old #ushitic rites and are of mixed !idamo and *mhara"+i.rey

ancestry


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attac% +oward evenin., the firin. died down and I returned to my tent

Early next mornin.—)> February—we learned the enemy had advanced in close lines

and had surrounded both *mba Wor% and Gebra *nsa +heir artillery literally cleared the path

before them !ome of the shots fell close to Ras 0asa’s cave, and I saw that the situation indeed

was critical +his time, it seemed, our troops had lost any possibility of escapin. round the

mountains, so some of them tried to pierce the enemy lines Cthers tried to fi.ht bac% and some

ran away *ll was utter chaos +he youn.er commanders tried their best to .ather their soldiers

around them to assemble a possible stri%in. force, but these short halts cost us many lives

eanwhile, the stron. enemy troops were merely a few miles from *bbi *ddi

[email protected] Ras !eyoum sent detachments of troops to stop the Italians

+hey nobly attac%ed, but to no avail

I went to Ras 0asa and as%ed him what our next move should be With a smile on his

tormented face, he welcomed me -e said we should retreat as soon as we could, or the Italians

would surround us I advise you to .o to Vuoram and see the Emperor,H he added -e has a

lar.e and fresh army at his disposalH

*nd youLH I as%ed

Ch, I must stay here and defend *mba Gebra,H he replied

I tried to persuade him it would be better if all of us went to see the Emperor +here we

could reor.ani5e and continue the stru..le -e Must waved his hand It was a difficult position

for him +he Emperor had ordered him not to abandon +embien $ut the rout of Ras ulu.eta’s

army had complicated thin.s even more and had placed him in a hopeless situation

#ommunications between here and the Emperor’s head&uarters had bro%en, and he could

send no word about his insurmountable difficulties It was an impossibly une&ual stru..le


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4>

+hat ni.ht we left toward Erbadoro with a caravan containin. the ras’ lu..a.e We were

only a few small columns of men Cur direction was eastward, our only possible chance of not

meetin. the Italians +hree airplanes discovered us early next mornin. and be.an to bomb our

small party, sendin. whirlwinds of dust and smo%e hi.h over the valley as we made our way We

desperately searched for cover but found nothin. until midday, when we stumbled on some

caverns $y then, the Italians had %illed fifteen of our escort, and we left them in that deep

valley $y reachin. the river once a.ain, we heard the now all"too"familiar crac%le of machine

.uns, which the Italians had placed to stop our escape We chan.ed direction With us, we had

the Red #ross ambulance manned by two Europeans, one Indian, and ten Ethiopians We shared

and divided between us the many difficulties and dan.ers of that march

Cn the mornin. of ) arch, we met Ras 0asa with his brave and .ood sons, and Ras

!eyoum +hey had staunchly resisted the enemy for some days from their positions, but at last

they had seen the utter uselessness of their position +hey had decided to preserve the remnants

of their army and try to Moin with the forces of the Emperor +hus ended the !econd $attle of

+embien +he losses suffered by our armies on the exodus from +embien were heavier than

before Italian armies attac%ed us on the road 2evertheless, we mana.ed to .et throu.h $ullets

and cannon fire accompanied our evacuation, but the Italians surprisin.ly did not put forth a

.reater effort by committin. heavier forces a.ainst us at this sta.e(7


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&uench their thirst Gurin. the ni.ht, which was laden with bri.ht starli.ht, I even heard for the

first time in a lon. while the sound of conversation

Cne middle"a.ed soldier said, +here are the old boo%s in most of our monasteries,

preserved by the mon%s +hey prophesi5e many thin.s—amon. others, that forei.ners will enter

our beloved country by force, and people will be unable to return to their homes for three whole

years +he boo%s say that in this time the Europeans will build all over the country $uildin.s

li%e those in *ddis *baba and .ood roads such as only they %now how to construct +hen the

peasants will return to their homes and become masters of these improvements I had heard this

prophecy before, but I did not believe then in its almost exact fulfillment

*fter indescribable fati.ue and privations, on 1> arch we finally reached Vuoram We

had crossed the mountains to the south of Vuoram and the valley of lovely Ka%e *shan.hi

*ll this time I had been with the sons of Ras 0asa, the [email protected] Wondwossen and

*bera 0asa +hey were noble and charmin. youn. men and they had ta%en every possible care

of me durin. their exhaustin. and exactin. Mourney !even Italian prisoners, includin. an officer,

accompanied us [email protected] Wondwossen had also ta%en care of these men, .ivin. them his

protection and what comfort he could in the way of beddin., tents, servants, food, and water

Eventually, the Italians min.led with our own soldiers, sharin. their lives Cur men who had

ta%en them prisoners and had wanted to %ill them now had chan.ed their minds and were callin.

these prisoners, our ItaliansH *nd so they too arrived in *ddis *baba, wrapped in the

*byssinian shammasH and followed by their women servants

Cn 1' arch, the remnants of the armies of the two rases approached Vuoram, loo%in.

li%e the people of the reat Exodus—peasants, women, boys, and beasts of burden carryin. their

modest belon.in.s Cnly this remained of the cheerful and lively band of fellows, who not lon.


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6attle o, 3&he! Ethiopian Preparation+ ,or the 4tta&k at 3&he$;

Cn the followin. day, he received me a.ain I have decided,H the Emperor said, to

attac% the Italians at their camp on ychew $efore then, all our forces will assemble here, but I

do not want to lose any time -ere is a s%etch of their positions,H and he passed a sheet of paper

to me with a smile, a deprecatin. smile -e remar%ed, I am not an en.ineer and maybe my

drawin. is no .oodH I loo%ed at it +he mountains ?were@ drawn in perspective ?and@ the map

was &uite accurate Would you,H he continued, .o there with three of our !aint"#yriansHL

!%etch for me a complete map of the re.ion occupied by the enemy and prepare a plan so that

our own troops shall be in their positions before the attac%LH>=

+herefore, with the three officers, .raduates from the French military school, !aint"#yr, I

went to ychew From the hei.hts before us spread the immense panorama Ri.ht at the lowest

point we could see the Gebarre road crossed by the *mba *la.e"Vuoram road and the ecan

3ass 9western; *t the bottom lay the Italian camp, situated near the pass and the line of the

ecan hills +he entrenchments of their first lines were visible and somethin. else behind them

amon. the bushes It loo%ed as thou.h their observation posts and artillery were on the hi.h

mountain of *mba $ohora +o the northeast, behind the first line of mountains and before the

descendin. plain, min.led with the *yeby Gesert, we could see movement It seemed the

Italians were travelin. alon. another route than *la.e sin. lar.e military binoculars, I could

distinctly see the orderly lines of tents and the movement of men and animals ri.ht behind the

(> !ee Ibid, pp 4=="4=1 and #offey, 1ion, 411"414(' !ee !teer, Caesar , pp 4=


42/48

1

While I occupied myself with my observations, Ethiopian soldiers were arran.in. for the

necessary e&uipment for any advancin. staff and troops +oward evenin., the Emperor and !taff

were in oia and somewhat later, troops too% up their positions in the nei.hborhood

* meal was fed to the Emperor’s staff, the Imperial escort, the .reat chiefs, and down to

the last soldier -is aMesty sat on an easy chair with our two rases on either side We sadly

noted the absence of poor Ras ulu.eta !mall bas%etwor% tables replaced the usual board, and

when I returned from my post, the meal was almost over I showed my plans to the Emperor and

he too% notes *mon. these orders was one ?that stated@ Go not %ill the enemy who surrenders

—brin. him behind the linesH>)

ivin. me further information on the disposition of our troops, the Emperor ordered me

to plan an attac% -is resolution to attac% immediately met with obMections from some of the old

chiefs, who protested that they were unprepared and that their units were still on the road

obili5ation in Ethiopia was no easy tas% For example, travelin. from south to north is a

len.thy business It is many hundreds of miles on foot, and thou.h the head of a marchin.

column mi.ht have arrived, it would be some time before they all reached their destination

Ku..a.e, ammunition, provisions, and campin. e&uipment was nearly always in the rear and

carried by beasts which did not move fast and could not continue indefinitely without rest +he

>1 !ee Ibid, 4=1"=) Interestin.ly, 0onovalov now does not tal% about dis.uisin. himself as a

priest and infiltratin. Italian lines 2or does he estimate the numbers of Italian soldiers

>) !ee Ibid, pp 4=)"4=4


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4 —did not arrive for a lon.

while, and we had on the spot only a small"caliber cannon normally used for the accompanyin.

infantry and some tens of Cerli%ons achine".uns were of little use, bein. too heavy to carry

for any len.th of time when the essence of the attac% was speed and surprise

+he Emperor seemed exasperated by the delay in preparations and insisted firmly on the

attac% be.innin. as soon as possible -e wanted to lead his army personally as his au.ust

ancestors had done in historic battles of Ethiopia in the past><

3riests served a solemn mass on the mornin. of )4 arch, durin. which Italian planes

circled overhead and be.an to bomb the nei.hborhood at times so close it seemed the cavern

itself would collapse +he Emperor stepped outside and at that moment a plane passed alon. the

slope where we stood -e turned to me and said: Ils sont tres braves, ces pilotsH ?+hey are

very brave, these pilots@>7 !ome of the old chiefs remar%ed they would .ive away two years of

their salaries or would .ive someone two gashas of their land if only they could buy airplanes for

their country in the future>/

+he followin. day brou.ht a still more concentrated attac% by enemy airplanes +hey

%illed many and wounded more in our lines Gr ela%u $aye.n, the Ethiopian sur.eon, wor%ed

unceasin.ly, near the Emperor’s cavern>( +he bombardment increased on )4 arch and we

a.ain postponed our attac% I stressed that time was precious as daily Italian troops were

becomin. stron.er in numbers and supplies +he Emperor a.reed with me, but told me that his

>4 +he .iftH was more than five years old, .iven durin. the Emperor’s coronation in 2ovember

1'4=>< !ee !teer, Caesar , p 4=4>7 !ee Ibid, p 4=7 and #offey, 1ion, p 41/ 0asha was a traditional Ethiopian measure of land, standardi5ed at forty hectares !ee !teer,Caesar , pp 4=4"4=( !ee WR !cott, ala%u E $ayen: Ethiopian Emissary to $lac% *merica, 1'4/"1'


44/48

arch, the Emperor ordered us to .o closer to the enemy lines to observe

-e spent most of the time at the post

2ervousness and restlessness be.an to spread amon. us +he best time for the attac% was

slippin. by Cn the )>th, the Emperor fixed the date, but a.ain rescinded the order to attac% after

a plea from the chiefs for one day more +hat would be the eleventh day after our arrival at this

position Eleven days lost +he Emperor loo%ed sadly at me and said, I %now myself that it is

wron., but there is nothin. to do about itH

+here were obviously far more Italian troops ahead of us now than there had been the day

of our arrival +he Italians had extended their lines and had fortified their positions +hey had

brou.ht their reserves nearer +hey %new the Emperor of Ethiopia was facin. them with his last

united forces, and they were ready to meet them

*fter evenin. service on that !unday, the Emperor left for the plateau covered with bush

to see our modest artillery placed there $etween the plateau and our forces lay the plain and

two miles of enemy ay I have coverLH as%ed the Emperor #ertainly, !ire, and at once,H I

replied and with the wor%ers of the 3ublic Wor%s we prepared a modest cover for -is aMesty

+hat is &uite enou.h, he ?said and@ interrupted our activity 6ust sit here and watch the

enemy,H he ordered * short while after when we passed throu.h the positions of our own

soldiers, we noted some of them were shootin. into the air, excited by the presence of their


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$y evenin., the Emperor a.ain assembled his chiefs, and from a point near the enemy, he

pointed out once more the enemy’s stron. points and the lines by which they were to attac%

y place will be on the cactus hill,H the Emperor said, From there I can see when I must send

reinforcements and then send them out I shall support and be with youH +he chiefs listened in

silence, and I understood their feelin.s +he attac% would demand their maximum efforts, both

physical and moral It would neither be an easy tas% nor a leisurely wal% Runnin. alon. the

uneven roc%y .round under continuous fire, climbin. up the roc%y mountains, and eventually

ta%in. the fortified positions would not be easy either +he Emperor continued to .ive more and

more detailed explanations

$y midni.ht, the Emperor declared 5ero hour y place was with the .uns to .ive

technical assistance should their crews need it to %eep our modest artillery in action I felt

emotionally tense waitin. for the be.innin. of the attac%>>

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Feodor Konovalov and the Italo-ethiopian War Part i

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