De Bono's invasion of Abyssinia

On 5 October, the I Corps took Adigrat and, by 6 October 1935, Adwa[4] was captured by the II Corps. In 1896, Adwa was the site of a humiliating Italian defeat during the First Italo–Ethiopian War and now that historic defeat was "avenged." But, in 1935, the Italian capture of Adwa was accomplished with almost no Ethiopian resistance. Haile Selassie had ordered Ras[nb 1] Seyum Mangasha, the Commander of the Ethiopian Army of Tigre, to withdraw a day's march away from the Mareb River. Later, he ordered Ras Seyum and Dejazmach[nb 2] Haile Selassie Gugsa, also in the area, to move back fifty-five and thirty-five miles from the border.[2]

On 7 October, the League of Nations declared Italy the aggressor and started the slow process of imposing sanctions. However, these sanctions did not extend to several vital materials, such as oil. The British and French argued that if they refused to sell oil to the Italians, the Italians would then simply get it from the United States, which was not a member of the League (the British and French wanted to keep Mussolini on side in the event of war with Germany, which by 1935 was looking like a distinct possibility). In an effort to find compromise, the Hoare-Laval Plan was drafted (which essentially handed 3/5ths of Ethiopia to the Italians without Ethiopia's consent on the condition the war ended immediately), but when news of the deal was leaked public outrage was such that the British and French governments were forced to wash their hands of the whole affair.

Italian notice, signed by general Emilio De Bono, proclaiming the abolishment of slavery in Tigray in Italian and Amharic. The abolition of slavery was one of the first measures taken by the Italian colonial government in Ethiopia.

On 11 October, Dejazmach Haile Selassie Gugsa and 1,200 of his followers surrendered to the commander of the Italian outpost at Adagamos. De Bono notified Rome and the Ministry of Information promptly exaggerated the importance of the surrender for propaganda purposes. Haile Selassie Gugsa was Emperor Haile Selassie's son-in-law. But less than a tenth of Haile Selassie Gugsa's army defected with him. Two weeks before the invasion, Haile Selassie had been warned that Haile Selassie Gugsa was not to be trusted and he was shown evidence that suggested that his son-in-law was already in the pay of the Italians. But the Emperor had shrugged it off.[5][6]

On 14 October, De Bono issued a proclamation ordering the suppression of slavery. However, he was to write: "I am obliged to say that the proclamation did not have much effect on the owners of slaves and perhaps still less on the liberated slaves themselves. Many of the latter, the instant they were set free, presented themselves to the Italian authorities, asking 'And now who gives me food?'"[5]

Aksum obelisk, symbol of the Aksumite civilization

By 15 October, De Bono's forces moved on from Adwa for a bloodless occupation of the holy capital of Axum. The old Fascist entered the city riding triumphantly on a white horse. However, the invading Italians he commanded looted the Obelisk of Axum and, in 1937, it was taken to Rome.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopians had mobilized on the northern front. On 17 October, for four hours in Addis Ababa the 70,000 strong Mahel Safari[nb 3] jogged past the Emperor. The Mahel Safari was led by Ras Mulugeta Yeggazu, the Minister of War. Ras Mulugeta and the Mahel Safari then moved out by foot along the "Imperial Highway" to Dessie. From Dessie, Ras Mulugeta moved his army slowly north towards Amba Aradam. The Mahel Safari halted along the way to raze villages and to flog the chiefs of the recalcitrant Azebu and Raya Oromo.[7]

In Gondar, the capital of Begemder Province, Ras Kassa Haile Darge of Shewa Province called a chitet, the traditional mustering of the provincial levies[nb 4] in Begemder. Ras Kassa raised an army of 160,000 men. Ras Kassa's oldest son, Dejazmach Wondosson Kassa, was Shum[nb 5] of Begemder. With one-third of this total number, Ras Kassa, along with sons Aberra Kassa, Asfawossen Kassa, and Wondosson Kassa, moved north to link up with Ras Seyum in the area around Abbi Addi.

In Debra Markos, the capital of Gojjam Province, Ras Imru Haile Selassie raised an army of 25,000. He moved north into the area around Shire. In Semien and Wolkait, Fitawrari[nb 6] Ayalew Birru was already threatening the Eritrean frontier with 10,000 mountaineers.[9]

De Bono's advance continued methodically, deliberately, and, to the consternation of Mussolini, somewhat slowly. On 8 November, the I Corps and the Eritrean Corps captured Mek'ele, Haile Selassie Gugsa's capital in eastern Tigre. This proved to be the limit of how far the Italian invaders would get under the command of De Bono. Increasing pressure from the rest of the world on Mussolini caused him to need fast glittering victories. He was not prepared to hear of obstacles or delays from De Bono.[10]