Raymond Jonas

Fascinating story of a war the West knows little about. In March 1896 the Ethopian army under Emperor Menelik routed an Italian army at Adwa, the first major victory of an African nation over a European power. It sent shockwaves around the world and cemented Ethopia's place as the only free indigenously ruled nation in Africa. The aftermath of the battle was horrific, with dead and wounded Italians being castrated and native Askari soldiers punished for having fought for the Italians by having a leg and hand removed. Nonetheless, many Italian soldiers in captivity found kindness, compassion and even romance from the families they were billeted upon. A great read, not dry history but a living, breathing account full of fascinating personalities.… (més)

Taking you from the rise of Menelik II as Emperor of Ethiopia through the fading ripples of the battle itself, the author seeks to put the Italian defeat at the hands of an Ethiopian 'levee en masse' in a world history context. While I'm not quite sure that I'd buy Jonas' arguement that this was the battle that began the end of Western imperialism, I'll accept his point that it makes a better beginning of the end of European hegemony than does the Spanish-American or Russo-Japanese wars.

As for the battle itself, the Ethiopians had numbers, organization, and the lay of the land going for them, but what really seems to have led to Italian disaster is command turbulence. The senior Italian brigade commanders had little use for the justified caution of their overall field commander and apparently had a conspiracy to bring on a meeting engagement out of contempt for the Ethiopians; it's hard to tell in the wake of the coverup.… (més)