On 22 February 1896, Umberto dismissed General Baratieri as commander of the Italian expeditionary force, ordering him to remain in command until his successor arrived. On 25 February Crispi sent a telegram to Baratieri veiledly accusing him of cowardice and incompetence by engaging in small skirmishes and avoiding decisive battles ("[yours] is not so much a war, but the military version of consumptive disease"), and ended with demanding he took decisive action "whatever the cost to save the honor of the army and the prestige of the monarchy". In response to Crispi's telegram, on the evening of February 29 Baratieri met with his brigadier generals and with their support decided to ignore his own doubts and attacked a much larger Ethiopian force on 1 March 1896 near Adwa. In the Battle of Adwa the Ethiopian army dealt the heavily outnumbered Italians a decisive loss and forced their retreat back into Eritrea. General Baratieri took no responsibility for the defeat, blaming his men, saying they were cowards who had let him down at Adwa. By contrast, the British military observer stated the ordinary Italian soldiers at Adwa "were as good as fighting material as can be found in Europe", but they had been let down by their officers who had shown no leadership abilities whatsoever.