Battle of Maychew

Overview

The Battle of Maychew was the last major battle fought on the northern front during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The battle consisted of a failed counterattack by the Ethiopian forces under Emperor Haile Selassie making frontal assaults against prepared Italian defensive positions under the command of Marshal Pietro Badoglio. The battle was fought near Maychew, Ethiopia, in the modern region of Tigray.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Maychew was the last major engagement on the northern front of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Ethiopia's defeat effectively ended organized Ethiopian military resistance in the north, removing the primary obstacle to the Italian advance on Addis Ababa. The failure of Haile Selassie's counterattack left Ethiopian forces without the capacity to mount another large-scale conventional defense, accelerating Italy's consolidation of control over the country. The disparity in reported Ethiopian casualties — ranging from 1,000 to 8,000 — reflects the scale of the collapse rather than a contested result.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)