Amba Alagi
Encyclopedia
Amba Alagi is a mountain
, or an amba
, in northern Ethiopia
. Located in the Debubawi Zone
of the Tigray Region
, Amba Alagi dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city of Mek'ele
south to Maychew
. Because of its strategic location, Amba Alagi has been the location of several battles. As Anthony Mockler describes it,
(1468–1478), who personally led an expedition against the Dobe'a
, who lived around Amba Alagi and raided the caravan routes. In the early 19th century, Ras Wolde Selassie
controlled the amba, and used it on 18 August 1811 to imprison Gebre Guro, the brother of Sabagadis
, for 18 months because he had rebelled against the Ras. The road built from the coast south to Magdala
during the British 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia
passed through Amba Alagi. A generation later, the mountain was the scene of a battle in February 1889 between Ras Alula Engida
and Ras Seyoum Gebre in which Alula was wounded.
occurred in December 1895. On December 7, the Ethiopians defeated an Italian
army of 2,350 led by Pietro Toselli and a day later, on December 8, the Ethiopian emperor
, Menelik II, drove out the Italian forces of General Oreste Baratieri
. After the defeat, the Italians withdrew from Amba Alagi and Gondar
to their half-finished fort at Mek'ele, which Menelik then besieged for 15 days (6–21 January 1896).
, part of the East 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, the Duke of Aosta
, thought themselves to be impregnable. The initial attacks on the approaches to Amba Alagi by British troops
under Major-General Mayne
from 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 Brigadier Dan Pienaar
's 1st South African Brigade, which had captured the Italian garrison of Dessie
(April 20) located 200 miles south of Amba Alagi, and by May 14 Amba Alagi 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 film La Pattuglia dell'Amba Alagi, shot in 1953 by Flavio Calzavara
, glorifies the Italian defense against the British.
. After capturing Mek'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 Blatta Haile Mariam Redda repeatedly stormed the government positions, until artillery barrages and British Blenheim bombers at last dispersed the rebels.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
, or an amba
Amba (geology)
An amba is a characteristic geologic form in Ethiopia. It is a steep sided, flat topped mountain, often the site of villages, wells and their surrounding farmland. These settlements were located there because they were very defensible and often virtually inaccessible plateaus.The original term in...
, in northern Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Located in the Debubawi Zone
Debubawi Zone
Debubawi is one of five Zones in the Ethiopian Region of Tigray. Debubawi is bordered on the south and west by the Amhara Region, on the northwest by Mehakelegnaw , the north by Misraqawi and on the east by the Afar Region...
of the Tigray Region
Tigray Region
Tigray Region is the northernmost of the nine ethnic regions of Ethiopia containing the homeland of the Tigray people. It was formerly known as Region 1...
, Amba Alagi dominates the roadway that runs past it from the city of Mek'ele
Mek'ele
Mek'ele , also transliterated as Makale, is a city in northern Ethiopia and the capital of the Tigray Region. It is located some 650 kilometers north of the capital, Addis Ababa, at latitude and longitude with an elevation of 2084 meters above sea level...
south to Maychew
Maychew
Maychew is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located 190 kilometers north of Dessie on the Addis Ababa - Asmara highway in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2479 meters...
. Because of its strategic location, Amba Alagi has been the location of several battles. As Anthony Mockler describes it,
- It was [a] real amba, flat-topped, covered with crevices and canyons and caves, impregnable on the north and north-east where the Tug Gabat ran round its flanks through precipitous ravines, falling steeply away in the rear to the spur of AntaloHintaloHintalo is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi Zone of the Tigray Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation variously reported as 2050 or 2102 meters above sea level...
, behind which lay the broad plain of Mahera.
History
The first mention of Amba Alagi is in the Chronicle of Emperor Baeda MaryamBaeda Maryam of Ethiopia
Baeda Maryam was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
(1468–1478), who personally led an expedition against the Dobe'a
Dobe'a
The Dobe'a were a people of medieval Ethiopia, living in northeastern Ethiopia between what are now Amhara, Tigray and Afar Regions.-Homeland:They were first described, during the reign of Emperor Ba'eda Maryam The Dobe'a were a people of medieval Ethiopia, living in northeastern Ethiopia between...
, who lived around Amba Alagi and raided the caravan routes. In the early 19th century, Ras Wolde Selassie
Wolde Selassie
Wolde Selassie He was an Overlord of Tigray-Mereb Milash and a Ras Bitwoded of Ethiopia. He was the second son of Dejazmach Kefla Iyasus Amdamikael, hereditary chief of Enderta...
controlled the amba, and used it on 18 August 1811 to imprison Gebre Guro, the brother of Sabagadis
Sabagadis
Sabagadis was a Dejazmach or governor of Tigray, a province in northern Ethiopia. He was the son of Shum Waldu of Agame, and a member of the Irob people.- Life :...
, for 18 months because he had rebelled against the Ras. The road built from the coast south to Magdala
Amba Mariam
Amba Mariam is a village in central Ethiopia. It was known as Magdala or Meqdela during the reign of Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia...
during the British 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia
1868 Expedition to Abyssinia
The British 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia was a punitive expedition carried out by armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire...
passed through Amba Alagi. A generation later, the mountain was the scene of a battle in February 1889 between Ras Alula Engida
Alula Engida
Ras Alula Engida was a general and Ethiopian politician...
and Ras Seyoum Gebre in which Alula was wounded.
First Battle of Amba Alagi
The first Battle of Amba AlagiBattle of Amba Alagi (1895)
The Battle of Amba Alagi was the first in a series of battles between General Baratieri and Emperor Menelik during the First Italo-Ethiopian War. Amba Alagi was one of Baratieri's forward positions, left in charge to Major Toselli as well as 2,000 Eritrean Askari...
occurred in December 1895. On December 7, the Ethiopians defeated an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
army of 2,350 led by Pietro Toselli and a day later, on December 8, the Ethiopian emperor
Emperor of Ethiopia
The Emperor of Ethiopia was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1974. The Emperor was the head of state and head of government, with ultimate executive, judicial and legislative power in that country...
, Menelik II, drove out the Italian forces of General Oreste Baratieri
Oreste Baratieri
Oreste Baratieri was an Italian general and governor of Eritrea who led the Italian army and was defeated in the First Italo–Ethiopian War's Battle of Adowa.-Early career:...
. After the defeat, the Italians withdrew from Amba Alagi and Gondar
Gondar
Gondar or Gonder is a city in Ethiopia, which was once the old imperial capital and capital of the historic Begemder Province. As a result, the old province of Begemder is sometimes referred to as Gondar...
to their half-finished fort at Mek'ele, which Menelik then besieged for 15 days (6–21 January 1896).
Second Battle of Amba Alagi
The second Battle of Amba Alagi was fought in May 1941, during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, part of the East African Campaign
East African Campaign (World War II)
The East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....
. 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, the Duke of Aosta
Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta
Prince Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta was the third Duke of Aosta and a first cousin, once removed of the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III. His baptismal name was Amedeo Umberto Isabella Luigi Filippo Maria Giuseppe Giovanni di Savoia-Aosta...
, thought themselves to be impregnable. The initial attacks on the approaches to Amba Alagi by British troops
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
under Major-General Mayne
Mosley Mayne
General Sir Ashton Gerard Oswald Mosley Mayne GCB, CBE, DSO was a British Indian Army officer in both World War I and World War II.-Early career:...
from 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 Brigadier Dan Pienaar
Dan Pienaar
Major General Daniel Hermanus Pienaar CB, DSO & Bar was a South African World War II military commander.Pienaar joined the artillery branch of the Natal Police in 1911, and transferred to the Union Defence Forces when they took over the NP in 1913...
's 1st South African Brigade, which had captured the Italian garrison of Dessie
Dessie
Dessie is a city and a woreda in north-central Ethiopia. Located on the Addis Ababa - Asmara highway in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, this city has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between 2,470 and 2,550 meters above sea level.Dessie has postal service , and telephone...
(April 20) located 200 miles south of Amba Alagi, and by May 14 Amba Alagi 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 film La Pattuglia dell'Amba Alagi, shot in 1953 by Flavio Calzavara
Flavio Calzavara
Flavio Calzavara was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 21 films between 1939 and 1956.-Filmography:* Canzone proibita * Gli occhi senza luce * Napoli piange e ride...
, glorifies the Italian defense against the British.
Third Battle of Amba Alagi
In 1943, Amba Alagi was the location of the decisive battle of the "Woyane Rebellion" in Enderta ProvinceEnderta province
Enderta province or Inderta province, also known as Enderta Awraja as well as 70 Enderta is located in the eastern edge of the Ethiopian highlands. Enderta is bordered on the west by Tembien, on the southeast by Wag of Gondar, the south by Raya and Azebo, on the east by Afar and Aseb, and on the...
. After capturing Mek'ele
Mek'ele
Mek'ele , also transliterated as Makale, is a city in northern Ethiopia and the capital of the Tigray Region. It is located some 650 kilometers north of the capital, Addis Ababa, at latitude and longitude with an elevation of 2084 meters above sea level...
, 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 Blatta Haile Mariam Redda repeatedly stormed the government positions, until artillery barrages and British Blenheim bombers at last dispersed the rebels.