“…… The enemy is again invading from overseas, they have not learned the lesson of Adwa, those unrepentant moles, who have not forgotten at all to destroy our Motherland, trample on our faith, endanger our people! I will never forgive the sins of my enemies! Come and fight me, defend the country, everyone contribute, restore the glory of Adwa, and irrigate our land with the blood of the enemy! ”

—"Letter to the People of the People," Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia, August 15, 1908.

16 August, Addis Ababa, Royal Palace.

The "King of Kings" Monelik II sat on a throne encrusted with jewels, dressed in a generalissimo suit made from China, wearing a ribbon, a feathered hat, and a magnificent medal on his chest. Although his beard was gray, it did not affect his noble and majestic temperament in the slightest.

Beneath the throne stood his retainers respectfully:

Military Minister Khabt Giorgis, a serious veteran general with a gray goatee;

Duke Maconnan, Minister of Public Works, the "Hero of Adua" feared by Italians, and the commander of the most elite Royal Praetorian Guard, with a face as resolute as steel;

Chief of the General Staff, Alura, a well-known general from the time of the previous Emperor John IV, had strong muscles and a bright bald head;

Then there is the Minister of Justice Najib Alpha, thin and cold;

The Minister of Commerce and Foreign Affairs, Hairi Giorgis, a fat man with a good appearance to the performance is always sleek;

Minister of Agriculture Ward Thatdek, a devout Christian, resembles a saint in a church fresco;

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Monegata, an old rich man with monocles......

Between this gray-black skin, there are two yellow faces - Ye Hua, the Chinese ambassador, and Wen Yu, the head of the Chinese military advisory group.

The crowd listened to the military secretary Habt Giorgis, who was pointing at the huge map hanging on the side of the throne with his whip in hand.

Post-war history details the military strength of the invading side.

The war broke out on August 13, the Italian and German armies fought without declaring a war, and the main force of the Italian army in the north was 2 infantry divisions with an infantry brigade and other auxiliary troops, plus 20,000 indigenous troops with a total of 70,000 people, equipped with 144 cannons and 112 machine guns, commanded by Lieutenant General Belinik, and attacked in three directions, directly approaching the border towns of Adigrat, Adwa and Axum (the ancient capital of Ethiopia) in northern Ethiopia. Two other Italian armies attacked from M'ajer, west of the main army, and Asab, which was located southeast of the main army, as the flank of the main force, of which the West Eritrean detachment was an infantry brigade with a total of more than 13,000 people attached to 5,000 indigenous armies, equipped with 36 cannons and 36 machine guns, under the command of Major General Tossea; The East Eritrean detachment consisted of 1 infantry brigade with more than 10,000 men attached to the 2,000 indigenous army, equipped with 24 cannons and 24 machine guns, and was commanded by Major General Sarnas.

The main army of the Italian army in the south is assembled in the area from Starhill to Beledween in Italian Somalia, with a strength of more than 50,000 people from two infantry divisions with 15,000 indigenous troops and other affiliated troops, equipped with 108 cannons and 72 machine guns, commanded by Lieutenant General Ardiye, to attack the important border towns of Dagenere and Hillave in the southern border of Ethiopia.

The main army of the German army in the south was assembled in the area of Luger Ferrandi in German Somalia, with two infantry divisions with 10,000 indigenous troops and other affiliated troops, a total of 50,000 people, equipped with 160 cannons and 96 machine guns, and launched an attack on Dolo, an important town on the southwestern border of Ethiopia.

The invading enemy forces had a total strength of 178,000 men, armed with 472 cannons and 340 heavy machine guns.

At the time of the outbreak of war, the deployment of the regular Ethiopian army was as follows:

The "most elite royal janissary of kings", commanded by Duke Maconnan, was stationed around the capital city of Addis Ababa. Under the jurisdiction of the 1st Royal Janissary Brigade, the 4th and 5th Praetorian Guard Regiments, as well as the Royal Praetorian Cavalry Regiment and the Royal Praetorian Artillery Regiment, they were completely organized in accordance with China's new establishment in 1905 and were trained by the Chinese Military Advisory Corps in accordance with Chinese regulations. The total strength is 24,000 men, equipped with 13,000 rifles, 592 light and heavy machine guns, 146 small mortars, and 168 artillery pieces (24 105-mm field guns, 36 75-mm field guns, 90 75-mm mountain guns, and 18 57-mm cavalry guns).

The "1st Field Army of the King of Kings", commanded by the Duke of Katemar, was stationed in the Desai region, north of the capital. It has 8 infantry brigades (about 5,000 men per brigade) and 3 cavalry regiments (about 1,500 men per regiment), with 2 transport battalions and 1 engineer battalion. It is equipped with 12 artillery batteries (6 guns), 16 machine gun batteries (9 machine guns and 3 mortars per company) and 2 small artillery batteries (12 60 mm mortars per company). The total strength is more than 50,000 people, equipped with more than 40,000 rifles, 144 light and heavy machine guns, 72 small mortars, and 72 cannons.

The "Second Field Army of the King of Kings", commanded by the Duke of Matafaria, was deployed between Adama and Dere Dawa south and east of the capital. It has 6 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry regiments, 2 transport battalions and 1 engineer battalion. It is equipped with 9 artillery batteries, 12 machine gun batteries and 2 small artillery batteries. A total of 36,000 people. It is equipped with 29,000 rifles, 108 light and heavy machine guns, 60 small mortars, and large artillery (42 75-mm mountain guns and 12 75-mm field guns).

The Northern Frontier Zone, under the command of the Tigray Governor, Duke Mangashia, consisted of some 20,000 regular troops scattered in the northern forts and "ketmas" (fortified towns), armed with 17,000 rifles, 40 machine guns, 24 mortars, and 40 British and French artillery.

The southern frontier was commanded by the Governor of Oromo, Filtu, and consisted of about 15,000 regular troops deployed in the southern fortifications, armed with 13,000 rifles, 20 machine guns, 24 mortars, and 20 British and French cannons.

The regular army totaled 145,000 men, armed with 112,000 rifles, 904 light and heavy machine guns, 326 small mortars, and 364 cannons - the firepower seemed to be powerful, but the ammunition reserves before the war were insufficient, and the ammunition could only be used for a year, and the artillery shells could only be needed for half a year.

In addition, there are about 600,000 militia throughout Ethiopia (400,000 of which are feudal private soldiers in the territories of various feudal princes), and this huge militia force is armed with farm tools, spears, bows and arrows, arquebuses and tunnel-fired muskets, in addition to 40,000 older rifles.

The military minister's report was over, and Emperor Menelik nodded slightly, and suddenly turned to the Chinese ambassador: "Ye, our friend, your emperor will help us, just like he once promised me, right?" ”

Ye Hua bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, as our Emperor promised, as long as the situation allows, our country's military assistance to your country will not be interrupted, and our military advisory group will also stay here to help Your Majesty's army defeat the shameful aggressor." ”

"Good, but it looks like you're getting out of here."

"This is temporary, I must go back and explain the situation here to my emperor so that my emperor can make a decisive decision that will be more helpful to your country."

Emperor Menelik II said "grace" without delay: "Then you can leave now, I will send someone to protect you along the road, God bless you all the way." ”

Ye Hua thanked the emperor, turned around and shook hands with Wen Yu, the head of the advisory group, and quickly disappeared into the palace council hall.

"Wen, you will fight with my army in the future." The emperor reminded Wen Yu.

Wen Yu bowed slightly: "This is my honor, I am willing to serve you and your country." ”

The emperor nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, you will be in my base camp in the future, and you will advise me together with my chief of general staff." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Having solved the problem of friendly countries and advisory groups, the emperor turned back to Alura, the chief of the General Staff: "My Chief of the General Staff, listen well, I have decided to plan the action of the whole army according to Plan B, first solve the north, and then deal with the south." The following orders are to be issued today: First, the main forces of the First Army Corps should immediately move north, and strive to intercept the main forces of the enemy in the north at Adwa and give them a head-on attack. Second, the 1st Janissaries Brigade and the Praetorian Cavalry Regiment, commanded by the commander of the Praetorian Brigade Rosette Giorgis, immediately set out for the expedition and quickly moved north to cooperate with the 1st Army Corps to defeat the main forces of the enemy in the north. Thirdly, the rest of the Praetorian Legion will prepare to set up a base camp with me north to Desai tomorrow. Fourthly, the garrisons of the border districts should hold on to important fortresses and fortified towns, and cooperate with the mobilized militia in a timely manner to strike at the enemy with mobility and flexibility! Fifth, the Second Army Corps was divided into two routes to support the southern frontier area according to the B plan......"

At the end, the emperor stood up, clenched his fists and waved them into the air: "Now, let us fight together and defend our homeland and faith!" ”

"For the Motherland! For the emperor! For the sake of faith! The crowd responded excitedly, and the smell of blood boiling filled the hall.

Hours later.

"For the Motherland! For the emperor! For the sake of faith! ”

The officers and men of the Ethiopian Janissaries, dressed in clean green uniforms and large-brimmed hats, shouted slogans and drove through the street in front of the palace in a neat procession, with sabers attached to the left chests of the cavalrymen, machine guns mounted on the shoulders of the infantrymen, and cannons hung behind the gun carriages.

The Chinese military advisory group was also facing a separation at this time.

Major Lee Seo-seok, senior adviser to the 1st Janissary Brigade, will lead a five-man advisory group to march into the battlefield with Rosette Giorgis' detachment.

Captain Li Xiuping, who came from the artillery department, will be sent to the southern battlefield to defend against the Germans with the southwestern detachment of the Second Army.

Lieutenant Huang Yan, adviser and deputy leader of the Royal Ethiopian Flying Corps, will lead six planes of the 1st Air Force to the Adwa base to support operations in the Northern Theater.