Battle of Maychew

Part of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War

Date

31 March 1936

Location

Near Maychew, Tigray, Ethiopia

Result

Decisive Italian victory

Destruction of Haile Selassie's last army in the north

Belligerents

Kingdom of Italy

Italian Eritrea

Ethiopian Empire

Commanders and leaders

Pietro Badoglio

Haile Selassie

Strength

40,000 (with another 40,000 in reserve)

31,000 (including six battalions of the Imperial Guard)

Casualties and losses

400 Italians killed and wounded, 873 Eritreans killed and wounded

Between 1,000 and 8,000 killed, roughly 11,000 total casualties

Decisive Italian victory

Kingdom of Italy

The Battle of Maychew (also known as the Battle of Mai Ceu) was the last major battle fought on the northern front during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The battle consisted of a failed counterattack by the Ethiopian forces under Emperor Haile Selassie making frontal assaults against prepared Italian defensive positions under the command of Marshal Pietro Badoglio. The battle was fought near Maychew (Mai Ceu), Ethiopia, in the modern region of Tigray.

On 3 October 1935, General Emilio De Bono advanced into Ethiopia from Eritrea without a declaration of war, leading a force of approximately 100,000 Italian and 25,000 Eritrean soldiers towards the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. In December, after a brief period of inactivity and minor setbacks for the Italians, De Bono was replaced by Badoglio.

Under Badoglio, the advance on Addis Ababa was renewed. Badoglio overwhelmed the armies of ill-armed and uncoordinated Ethiopian warriors with mustard gas, tanks, and heavy artillery. He defeated the Ethiopian armies at the Battle of Amba Aradam, the Second Battle of Tembien, and the Battle of Shire.

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