Battle of Amba Aradam The Battle of Amba Aradam ( also known as the Battle of Enderta ) was a battle fought on the northern front of what was known as the Second Italo - Abyssinian War . This battle consisted of attacks and counterattacks by Italian forces under Marshal of Italy Pietro Badoglio and Ethiopian forces under " Ras " Mulugeta Yeggazu . This battle was primarily fought in the area around Amba Aradam which included most of Enderta Province . Background . On 3 October 1935 , General Emilio De Bono advanced into Ethiopia from Eritrea without a declaration of War . De Bono had a force of approximately 100 , 000 Italian soldiers and 25 , 000 Eritrean soldiers to advance towards Addis Ababa . In December , after a brief period of inactivity and minor setbacks for the Italians , De Bono was replaced by Badoglio . Haile Selassie launched the Christmas Offensive late in the year to test Badoglio . By mid - January 1936 , Badoglio was ready to renew the Italian advance on the Ethiopian capital . Badoglio ultimately overwhelmed the armies of ill - armed and uncoordinated Ethiopian warriors with mustard gas , tanks , and heavy artillery . Preparation . In early January 1936 , the Ethiopian forces were in the hills everywhere overlooking the Italian positions and launching attacks against them on a regular basis . Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was impatient for an Italian offensive to get under way and for the Ethiopians to be swept from the field . The Ethiopians facing the Italians were in three groupings . In the center , near Abbi Addi and along the Beles River in the Tembien , were " Ras " Kassa Haile Darge with approximately 40 , 000 men and " Ras " Seyoum Mangasha with about 30 , 000 men . On the Ethiopian right was " Ras " Mulugeta and his army of approximately 80 , 000 men in positions atop Amba Aradam . " Ras " Imru Haile Selassie with approximately 40 , 000 men was on the Ethiopian left in the area around Seleh Leha in Shire Province . Badoglio had five army corps at his disposal . On his right , he had the Italian IV Corps and the Italian II Corps facing " Ras " Imru in the Shire . In the Italian center was the Eritrean Corps facing " Ras " Kassa and " Ras " Seyoum in the Tembien . Facing " Ras " Mulugeta atop Amba Aradam was the Italian I Corps and the Italian III Corps . Initially , Badoglio saw the destruction of " Ras " Mulugeta ' s army as his first priority . Mulugeta ' s force would have to be dislodged from its strong positions on Amba Aradam in order for the Italians to continue the advance towards Addis Ababa . But " Ras " Kassa and " Ras " Seyoumm were exerting such pressure from the Tembien that Badoglio decided that he would have to deal with them first . If the Ethiopian center was successful , the I Corps and III Corps facing Mulugeta would be cut off from reinforcement and resupply . From 20 to 24 January , the First Battle of Tembien was fought . The outcome of this battle was inconclusive , but the threat " Ras " Kassa posed to the I Corps and III Corps was neutralized . On 9 February , Marshal Badoglio held a press conference at his headquarters and announced that the mighty obstacle that blocked the road to Addis Ababa was about to be liquidated . Badoglio was talking of course about " Ras " Mulugeta and his army dug in atop Amba Aradam . The mountain was of two parts . There was a jagged ridge known to the Italians as " The Herringbone " and , on the extreme right , a flat - topped peak called " The Priest ' s Hat . " The land around the base of the mountain was known as the Enderta . An article in a then current issue of Time Magazine indicated that the correspondents on the Italian side were provided with a high - powered telescope to watch the progress of the battle . While their forces were roughly equal , Badoglio held an overwhelming material advantage over Mulugeta . The Italians attacking Amba Aradam had more than 5 , 000 machine guns , 280 pieces of artillery , and 170 airplanes . By contrast , the Ethiopians had about 400 machine guns , 18 old field pieces of medium calibre , a small number of anti - aircraft guns , and no planes . Mulugeta ' s one advantage were the steep slopes of Amba Arada . Battle . At 8 a . m . on 10 February , Badoglio launched the Battle of Amba Aradam . Regulars and Blackshirts led the Italian advance . Native Askaris , on which De Bono had leaned so heavily , formed the reserve . The Italian I Corps and Italian III Corps advanced across the Calamino Plain . By night fall , both corps were established on the banks of the Gabat River . Badoglio was an artilleryman first and last . As a result , he fought a gunner ' s battle . His headquarters was also the Italian artillery observation post and about every five minutes scout planes of the Regia Aeronautica went out to circle the front . The planes identified the locations of Ethiopian forces for the Italian gunners . But the Ethiopians fighting for " Ras " Mulugeta were regular drilled and uniformed troops . They had artillery too and knew how to use it . The Italian scout planes also mapped out the area around Amba Aradam and discovered a weakness in " Ras " Mulugeta ' s defences . Air photographs showed that an attack from the Plain of Antalo to the south of Amba Aradam should be uncontested . As a result of this discovery , Badoglio planned to encircle Amba Aradam and attack Mulugeta from the rear after his forces linked up at Antalo . On 11 February , the 4th " 3rd January " Blackshirt Division and the Pusteria Alpine Division of the I Corps advanced from the Gabat moving towards and around the west side of Amba Aradam . At the same time , the III Corps moved towards and around the east side of Amba Aradam . Too late " Ras " Mulugeta realized the Italian plan to encircle his positions . On the afternoon of 12 February , a large Ethiopian force streamed down the western slopes of Amba Aradam and attacked the 3 January Blackshirt Division . The blackshirts were held up , but the Pusteria Alpine Division continued its advance towards Antalo . The near continuous and persistent air and artillery bombardment of the Ethiopian positions had sapped the Ethiopians of much of their will to resist . On the evening of 14 February , the Italian pincers were about to snap shut . As the encircling forces reached specified positions , they formed up , re - grouped , and positioned their artillery for the final assault . By the morning of 15 February , under cover of darkness and dense cloud , the Italians completed the encirclement of Amba Aradam . When daylight came and the clouds lifted , the Ethiopians were reinvigorated by the sight of their predicament . They swarmed down the western slopes of Amba Aradam towards Addi Kolo . The Ethiopians attacked the Italians at the western base of Amba Aradam again and again . But the Italian artillery and air power negated the fury of the Ethiopian assault . By darkness , the battle was practically over . " Ras " Mulugeta guessed that the Italians would take Amba Aradam by first attacking " The Priest ' s Hat " . He guessed wrong . The Italians attacked and secured the lightly held Ethiopian positions on " The Herringbone " which made defense of the " Priest ' s Hat " untenable . For political reasons , the 1st " 23rd March " Blackshirt Division was given the honor of hoisting the Italian flag atop Amba Aradam . The Ethiopians had managed to create a break in the Italian line around Addi Kolo . Through this break the army of " Ras " Mulugeta made its escape as it fell back towards Amba Alagi and Sokota . Mulugeta planned to reassemble his forces around Amba Alagi . Aftermath . Badoglio unleashed the full power of the Italian Air Force on the fleeing army of " Ras " Mulugeta . For four consecutive days , the hapless fugitives had forty tons of mustard gas dropped on them . In addition to this , the local Azebu Galla were bribed by the Italians to attack the Ethiopia n stragglers . Tadessa Mulugeta , " Ras " Mulugeta ' s son , was the " Asmach " on Amba Aradam . He was killed in an action against a party of Galla and his body was mutilated by them . When " Ras " Mulugeta received news of this outrage , he turned back and was killed himself by a strafing plane . Attacked from both above and from the ground , what was left of the army of " Ras " Mulugeta dissolved . Badoglio now turned his attention from the Ethiopian right back to the Ethiopian center and " Ras " Kassa and " Ras " Seyoum . It was time to finish what had been started at the First Battle of Tembien . The result was the Second Battle of Tembien .