Battle of Anchem The Battle of Anchem ( also Battle of Anchiem or Battle of Anchim ) was a battle fought between two factions of the Royal family in the Ethiopian Empire ( " Mangista Ityop ' p ' ya " ) . The battle was fought to determine who would rule the empire , Empress ( " Nigiste Negest " ) Zewditu or King ( " Negus " ) Tafari Makonnen . The Battle of Anchem is memorable because the pro - Zewditu forces were not openly supported by Empress Zewditu . The battle is also memorable for the use of both psychological warfare and aerial warfare by the pro - Tafari forces . Background . On 27 October 1928 , thirty - two - years - old " Ras " Tafari Makonnen , the future Emperor Haile Selassie I , was crowned King . He was crowned by Empress Zewditu . Since 1916 , during Tafari ' s minority , Zewditu had been Regent . As Regent , she exercised the real power in Ethiopia . The crowning of Tafari as King caused him to begin exercising power at the expense of Zewditu . His crowning also caused two factions to develop within the royal court : One faction was pro - Tafari and one faction was pro - Zewditu . The husband of Zewditu , fifty - three - year - old " Ras " Gugsa Welle , imagined a future where Zewditu remained Empress and he himself would be proclaimed Emperor . He was clearly the leader of the pro - Zewditu faction . Within a month of Tefari being crowned King , the Raya Oromo revolted in Wollo Province . As King and with the tacit approval of the Empress , " Negus " Tafari called for the governors of several neighboring provinces to suppress the Oromo revolt . " Ras " Seyum Mangasha from Axum in western Tigre , " Ras " Gugsa Araya Selassie from Makalle in eastern Tigre , " Dejazmach " Ayalew Birru from Semien , and " Ras " Gugsa Welle from Begemder were called upon . Gugsa Welle and others were unhappy with the rise of " Negus " Tafari . As a result , the response to Tafari ' s call was less than enthusiastic , efforts to suppress the Oromo were dissipated in palace intrigue , and the revolt continued . A trusted cousin of Tafari , " Ras " Imru Haile Selassie , was made " Shum " of Wollo in an effort to end the revolt . In addition to not being happy with the rise of Tafari , Gugsa Welle tried to rally " traditional Ethiopia " to his side in support of his wife , the Empress . In the opinion of this faction , Tafari was too young , too modern , and it was rumored that he had even secretly converted to Roman Catholicism . Gugsa Welle wrote letters to the leaders of Tigre and Gojjam seeking support for his revolt . He wrote to " Ras " Seyum Mangasha and " Ras " Gugsa Araya Selassie of Tigre and to " Ras " Hailu Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam . All three initially appeared supportive . But , after reconsideration , none responded to the letters from Gugsa Welle and all three provincial leaders failed to join him . On the other hand , the rebelling Oromo did agree to join forces . Battle . " Negus " Tafari Makonnen called a " chitet " , the traditional mustering of the provincial levies . Ostensibly he was raising an army to finally crush the ongoing revolt in Wollo . At the time , " Ras " Gugsa Welle was not in open revolt and Empress Zewditu was still pleading with him not to go into open revolt . In the end , as part of the government , the Empress was in the strange position of being formally on the same side as King Tafari and being against her husband who was rebelling on her behalf . The response to the " chitet " , like the initial call to suppress the revolt in Wollo , was less than enthusiastic initially . The newly appointed Minister of War , " Ras " Mulugeta Yeggazu , was only able to raise the " Mahel Sefari " with 16 , 000 men pledged to it . Worse , by January 1930 , Mulugeta Yeggazu found himself with only 2 , 000 men as he gathered in Dessie . Worse yet , Gugsa Welle was now in open revolt and he had already gathered an army in Debre Tabor of 35 , 000 utterly devoted men . He was able to do this even without the forces from Tigre and Gojjam . On 24 February , Empress Zewditu and King Tafari issued the " Imperial Proclamation of Yekatit " . The proclamation declared that " Ras " Gugsa Welle was a rebel . Attached to the proclamation was an anathema signed by the Coptic " Abuna " Kyrilos and by five new bishops , Sauiros , Abraham , Petros , Mikael , and Isaac . The anathema was addressed to all monasteries of Begemder . It concluded " And therefore , you may follow " Ras " Gugsa Welle , you may attach yourself to him , be cursed and excomunicated ; your life and your flesh are outcasts from Christian society . " The devotion of many of the men following " Ras " Gugsa Welle was shaken by the proclamation and its attached anathema . In mid - March , " Ras " Mulugeta marched the " Mahel Sefari " from Dessie to Debre Tabor to face the rebellious Gugsa Welle . With him were five cannon , seven machine guns , and something entirely new for Ethiopian warfare : Aircraft . Psychological warfare . On 28 March 1930 , when Gugsa Welle ' s army crossed the border of Begemder Province moving towards Shewa Province , it was met with an unusual sight . Three Ethiopian government biplanes flew overhead . In 1922 , " Ras " Tafari Makonnen had first shown interest in military aircraft and , by 1929 , a small Ethiopian air arm was under development and was now used for the first time . The biplanes dropped numerous copies of two specially created leaflets onto the advancing army . One leaflet bore a message from the newly arrived " Abuna " Kyrilos . The message from Kyrilos was that anyone who fought against the government forces would be excomunicated . A second leaflet was from King Tafari and Empress Zewditu and it declared Gugsa Welle to be a rebel . In an example of " psychological warfare " , the leaflets appealed to the known conservative and religious sympathies of the forces fighting for Gugsa Welle . Some of his army started to desert him . Biplanes and the Plains of Anchem . On 31 March , both armies met at Debre Zebit on the plains of Anchem . At 9 : 00 am , the biplanes once again appeared . But this time bombs and not leaflets were dropped upon Gugsa Welle ' s army . At this point in Ethiopian history , aerial warfare was still quite novel , unprecedented , and totally unexpected . More of his army deserted Gugsa Welle . The Imperial Army arrayed against Gugsa Welle included " Fitawrari " Wondosson Kassa in the center , " Qegnazmach " Ayalew Birru on the right , and " Fitawrari " Fikremariam on the left . " Fitawrari " Wondosson Kassa was the eldest son of " Ras " Kassa Haile Darge , " Qegnazmach " Ayalew Birru commanded the troops from Semien , and " Fitawrari " Fikremariam commanded the troops from Wollo . In reserve were forces under " Ras " Mulugeta Yeggazu and " Dejazmach " Adafrisau Yenado . According to Time Magazine , by the time of battle , the two opposing armies were a mis - match . Gugsa Welle and his Army of Begemder numbered approximately 10 , 000 men and were armed with ten machine guns and two cannons . Opposing them was a much better equipped army of approximately 20 , 000 men loyal to the central government . Battle began and , after four hours , the Imperial forces under " Fitawrari " Wondosson Kassa and " Qegnazmach " Ayalew Birru gained the upper hand . With the tide turning , " Ras " Gugsa Welle ' s shaken army started to desert him in large numbers . Coup de grâce . Shortly after mid - day , " Ras " Gugsa Welle was surrounded and isolated . It was at this time that the " coup de grâce " was delivered . Gugsa Welle was called upon to surrender . Mounted on a white charger , he chose to fight on , was shot several times , and was killed . " Fitawrari " Shumye , the second - in - command of the Army of Begemder , fought on until he was captured later in the afternoon . What little was left of the army then completely disintegrated . Gugsa Welle ' s Oromo allies never showed up during the battle . Instead , they arrived a day later . " Dejazmach " Birru Wolde Gabriel and the army of Sidamo Province entered Debra Tabor unopposed . With the death of Gugsa Welle and the destruction of his army , the rebellion was ended . Aftermath . Gondar , the capital of Begemder Province , was taken without resistance soon after the Battle of Anchem ended . " Fitawrari " Wondosson Kassa benefitted because his father , a loyal ally of " Negus " Tafari , was given all of the lands formerly controlled by Gugsa Welle . As a result , Wondosson Kassa was made the " Shum " of Begemder Province . Within three days of the death of Gugsa Welle , Empress Zewditu was dead of natural causes . On 2 November 1930 , about eight months after the passing of Zewditu , " Negus " Tafari Makonnen was proclaimed Emperor ( " Nəgusä Nägäst " ) Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia .