Egyptian–Ethiopian War
Egyptian–Ethiopian War | |||||||
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Depiction of the Battle of Gura | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Egypt | Ethiopia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
13,000–20,000[1][2][3] | 50,000–60,000[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
8,500 killed[4] 1,000 wounded[5] 2,300 captured[5] |
4,550 killed[6] 2,000 wounded[2] |
The Egyptian–Ethiopian War was a war between the Ethiopian Empire and the Khedivate of Egypt, an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, from 1874 to 1876. The conflict resulted in an unequivocal Ethiopian victory that guaranteed continued independence of Ethiopia in the years immediately preceding the Scramble for Africa. Conversely, for Egypt the war was a costly failure, severely blunting the regional aspirations of Egypt as an African empire, and laying the foundations for the beginning of the British Empire's 'veiled protectorate' over Egypt less than a decade later.
Background
Whilst nominally a vassal state of the
The Battle of Gundet
The Egyptians under Arakil Bey and Danish Colonel Adolph Arendrup invaded from their coastal possessions in Massawa, in what is now Eritrea. Following some skirmishes, the armies of Yohannes and Isma'il met at Gundet on the morning of 16 November 1875. Not only were the Egyptians vastly outnumbered, they were also taken completely by surprise as they were marching through a narrow mountain pass. The mass of Ethiopian warriors sallied forth from their hiding places up the slope and swiftly charged down upon the shocked Egyptian columns, nullifying the latter's advantage in firepower and causing many of the unenthusiastic fellahin soldiers to rout. This encounter ended in the complete annihilation of the Egyptian expeditionary force led by Colonel Arrendrup and in the death of its commander.[2]
Arendrup's expedition was hopelessly inadequate for the tasks he set out to do. It amounted to scarcely more than some 4,000 troops and had no cavalry. Its leaders were, apart from the already mentioned Danish artilleryman and Major Dennison, an American, Major Durholtz, a Swiss, later of the Papal army, and Major Rushdi Bey, a Turk. Arakal Bey, the young nephew of Nubar Pasha (the Christian Armenian Premier of the Khedive) joined the expedition and was killed in battle.[11]
About 2,000 Egyptians perished with him and his two six gun batteries and six rocket-stands fell into the hands of the enemy.[2]
The Egyptians withdrew to Massawa on the coast and then to Keren, garrisoned since 1872 by some 1,200 Egyptians.
The Battle of Gura
Following the botched invasion, the Egyptians again attempted conquest of Ethiopia, this time with an army of about 13,000 men. The forces of Isma'il Pasha, now under Ratib Pasha, arrived at Massawa on 14 December 1875.[13] By March, they had reached the plain of Gura and set up two forts, one in the Plains of Gura and the other at the Khaya Khor mountain pass a few kilometers away. Yohannes had once again mobilized, this time presenting the issue as a struggle between Christianity and Islam, thousands of men answered with soldiers coming as far as Gojjam, although Menelik’s soldiers in Shewa remained as observers. The Ethiopians, now with a force of some 50,000 (of whom only about 15,000 could fight at one time due to battlefield layout), engaged them on the 7 March 1875, and Ratib Pasha ordered just over 5,000 out of 7,500 men stationed at Fort Gura to leave the fort and engage the Ethiopians.[2] This force was quickly surrounded by the Ethiopian advance guard, probably commanded by Ras Alula, and quickly broke. The Ethiopians then fell back, and, on 10 March, mounted a secondary attack on Fort Gura, which was repelled. The Ethiopian force dissolved the next day, and the devastated Egyptians soon withdrew.[8][1]
Foreign service
Europe
Several European officers served on both sides of the conflict at various capacities; these include a British adventurer John Kirkham on the Ethiopian side, and the Dane Adolph Arendrup as well as Swiss explorer Werner Munzinger on the Egyptian side.[13][14] Munzinger, former governor of the Keren and Massawa regions, led one of the Egyptian attacks against Ethiopia, marching inland from Tadjoura, but his troops were overwhelmed by the army of Muhammad ibn Hanfadhe, Sultan of Aussa, and he was killed in battle.[15][10] Meanwhile, Arendrup, who was Isma'il's aide-de-camp was given the task of leading an expedition against the Abyssinians. In mid-November during clashes at Gundet, Arendrup, several other officers and about 1,000 privates died during a 12-hour battle. Only three men escaped alive.
United States
Several ex-
Aftermath
Following the war, Ethiopia and Egypt remained in a state of tension, which largely abated after the 1884 Hewett Treaty.[13][10]
Ras Alula had shown himself to be a reliable general, and was promoted by Yohannes IV to the rank of Ras, and appointed governor of the
The Egyptian defeat in the war had serious ramifications for Egypt. The war's costs added to the nation's massive financial debts, which, in 1879, were the cause of Isma'il's removal as Khedive at the insistence of Britain, and France.
At the same time, many Egyptian soldiers who had served in the war became politicized by their experiences, posing a threat to the Egyptian monarchy itself. Among these disgruntled army officers was Colonel
The result of the war had a defining impact on the trajectories of both African states. Prior to the conflict, Egypt had been in regional and, relative, international ascendancy, with aspirations of achieving geopolitical parity with the Great Powers of Europe. The defeat shattered these aspirations, and, combined with a disastrous economic situation in Egypt itself, contributed to the eventual deposition of Isma'il and subjugation of Egypt by the Great Powers, thereby leading to the very outcome which Isma'il's hopes for a pan-Nile Valley empire were meant to avoid.
Conversely, Ethiopia maintained its independence, and, hardened by war, was well prepared for its own defense during the imminent Scramble for Africa. The collapse of Egypt's African empire was seized upon by European empires, of whom Italy replaced Egypt in Eritrea, setting the stage for an eventual confrontation between Italy and Ethiopia in the
See also
- British Expedition to Abyssinia
- First Italo-Ethiopian War
- Battle of Adwa
- Second Italo-Ethiopian War
- Military history of Ethiopia
- Battle of Gura
References
- ^ a b c Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. p. 68.
- ^ JSTOR 718057.
- ^ ISBN 9781465534101.
- ISBN 1555879705. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
A recent Egyptian study based on extensive archival work has estimated the total number of Egyptians killed in Gundet and Gura to be 8,500
- ^ JSTOR 718057.
- ISBN 9780786474707.
- ^ Abir, M. "The Origins of the Ethiopian-Egyptian Border Problem in the Nineteenth Century." The Journal of African History 8, no. 3 (1967): p. 443-61, http://www.jstor.org/stable/179830
- ^ a b "Ethiopian Treasures - Emperor Yohannes IV, Battle of Metema - Ethiopia". www.ethiopiantreasures.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
- ^ "Yohannes IV". ethiopianhistory.com. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
- ^ a b c "01. The Reign of Emperor Yohannes IV".
- ISBN 9781412000567.
- ISBN 978-0-8371-2432-2.
- ^ a b c "Yohannes IV". ethiopianhistory.com.
- ^ a b "Ethiopian Treasures - Emperor Yohannes IV, Battle of Metema - Ethiopia". www.ethiopiantreasures.co.uk.
- ISBN 0-19-285061-X.
- ^ Blunt, Secret History, p.101.
- ^ Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, Secret History of the English Occupation of Egypt (A.A. Knopf, 1922), p.14
Further reading
- A Confederate Soldier in Egypt: William Loring (Eyewitness account Egyptian General in the War) A Confederate Soldier in Egypt
- Moslem Egypt and Christian Abyssinia: William Dye (Eyewitness account from another General) Moslem Egypt and Christian Abyssinia: Or, Military Service Under the Khedive, in His Provinces And, Beyond Their Borders, as Experienced by the American Staff
- 'Egypt's Invasion of Ethiopia', African Affairs (1959), Czeslow Jesman