Battaglia Strategica del Tigrai Sfruttamento del Successo [Strategic Battle of Tigrai Exploiting Success]

The battlefields of northern Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.

The Second Italo-Abyssinian War (1935-1936) was a conflict in which Mussolini’s Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia (Abyssinia) to expand its colonial empire. Despite Ethiopia’s determined resistance, Italy’s superior military technology, including the use of chemical weapons, led to the rapid fall of key cities. Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, was captured on May 5, 1936, forcing Emperor Haile Selassie into exile and marking the culmination of the Italian conquest.

This battle plan highlights how the Italian Army under Pietro Badoglio exploited the success of initial advances into the Tigray region during the opening weeks of the conflict. The border of the Colony of Eritrea is marked in green, with southward movements shown through March and early April shown in black arrows. An inset in the lower left notes the route of the Ancali Column.