Amba Alagi

Imba Alajeis amountain, or anamba, in northernEthiopia. Located in theDebubawi Zoneof theTigray Region, Imba Alaje dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city ofMek'elesouth toMaychew. Because of its strategic location, Emba Alaje has been the site of several battles. As Anthony Mockler describes it,
The village of Adi Gura is located on the north side of the mountain at an elevation of 2,700 meter. The larger town ofAmbalageis located five kilometer to the south of the mountain.
The mountain is largely composed ofAlaji Basalts, the youngest succession of theEthiopianflood basalts. The most recent flows are only 15 million years old. The geological formation was called after Imba Alaje by geologistWilliam Thomas Blanford, who accompanied theBritish Expedition to Abyssiniain 1868.In roadcuts, there are conspicuous outcrops of whitishinterbedded lacustrine sedimentary deposits.
There are many springs on the slopes of the mountain. On the northern flank at Addi Gura'i, theMercywater bottling plant is located.
Just three kilometers to the southeast of the top of Amba Alagi is the Alagi Pass. Here, theEthiopian Highway 2crosses the mountain ridge at an elevation of 3,090 meter above sea level. To the south, the road starts climbing fromAmbalageat 2,450 meters.
The first mention of Imba Alaje is in the Chronicle of EmperorBaeda Maryam(1468–1478 AD), who personally led an expedition against theDobe'a, who lived around Imba Alaje and raided the caravan routes. In the early 19th century,RasWolde Selassiecontrolled the amba, and used it on 18 August 1811 to imprison Gebre Guro, the brother ofSabagadis, for 18 months because he had rebelled against theRas.The road built from the coast south toMagdaladuring the British1868 Expedition to Abyssiniapassed through Imba Alaje.A generation later, the mountain was the scene of a battle in February 1889 betweenRasAlula EngidaandRasSeyoum Gebrein which Alula was wounded.
The first Battle of Imba Alaje occurred in December 1895.  On December 7, 30,000 Ethiopians destroyed anItaliancolumn of 2,350 led byPietro Toselliand a day later, on December 8, theEthiopian emperor,Menelik II, drove out the Italian forces of GeneralOreste Baratieri.  After the defeat, the Italians withdrew from Imba Alaje to their half-finished fort atMekelewhich Menelik then besieged for 15 days (6–21 January 1896).
The second Battle of Imba Alaje was fought in May 1941, duringWorld War II, part of theEast African Campaign. The mountain had galleries carved into the rock to protect the defending troops and hold ample ammunition and stores. The defenders, Italian troops under command of the Viceroy, theDuke of Aosta, thought themselves to be impregnable. The initial attacks on the approaches to Amba Alagi byBritish troopsunderMajor-General Maynefrom the north, commenced on May 4 with a pincer from the eastern and western sides. There was hard fighting in the jagged mountainous terrain. Mayne's troops were joined on May 12 by BrigadierDan Pienaar's 1st South African Brigade, which had captured the Italian garrison ofDessie(April 20) located 200 miles south of Imba Alaje, and by May 14 Imba Alaje was completely surrounded. A final assault was planned for the next day but a lucky strike by an artillery shell hit an Italian fuel dump, sending a stream of oil into their last remaining drinking water and forcing the garrison's surrender.
The filmLa Pattuglia dell'Amba Alagi, shot in 1953 byFlavio Calzavara, glorifies the Italian defense against the British.
In 1943, Imba Alaje was the location ofthe decisive battleof the "Woyane Rebellion" inEnderta Province. After capturingMek'ele, the Woyane rebels swept south to the mountain where they encountered a government force consisting of 2,000 regular soldiers and 8,000 territorials. From 18 September through 6 October 1943, rebels under the personal leadership of BlattaHaile Mariam Reddarepeatedly stormed the government positions, until artillery barrages and BritishBlenheim bombersat last dispersed the rebels.