Editing Battle of Adwa (section)

==Order of battle==

[[File:Adwa map.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|An 1890s Italian map of Adwa. A small arrow indicates that north is to the right.]]

===Ethiopian forces===

{{Further|Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles}}
* [[Shewa]]; ''Negus Negasti'' Menelik II: 25,000 rifles / 3,000 horses / 32 guns<ref name=FTTt>{{cite book|title=Armies of the Adowa Campaign 1896 |first=Sean |last=McLachlan |year=2011 |page= 42|place=Osprey Publishing}}</ref>
* [[Semien province|Semien]]; ''Itaghiè'' [[Taytu Betul|Taytu]]: 3,000 rifles / 600 horses / 4 guns<ref name=FTTt/>
* [[Gojjam]]; ''Negus'' [[Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam|Tekle Haymanot]]: 5,000 rifles<ref name=FTTt/>
* [[Hararghe|Harar]]; ''Ras'' Makonnen: 15,000 rifles<ref name=FTTt/>
* [[Tigray province|Tigray]]; ''Ras'' [[Ras Mengesha Yohannes|Mengesha Yohannes]] and [[Ras Alula|''Ras'' Alula]]: 12,000 rifles / 6 guns<ref name=FTTt/>
* [[Wollo]]; ''Ras'' [[Mikael of Wollo|Mikael]]: 6,000 rifles / 5,000 horses<ref name=FTTt/>
* [[Begemder|Gondar]]; ''Ras'' [[Welle Betul|Olié]]: 8,000 rifles<ref name=FTTt/>
* [[Lasta]]; ''Wagshum'' Guangul: 6,000 rifles<ref name=FTTt/>
* In addition there were ~20,000 spearmen and swordsmen as well as an unknown number of armed peasants.<ref name=FTTt/>

Estimates for the Ethiopian forces under Menelik range from a low of 73,000 to a high of over 100,000 outnumbering the Italians by an estimated five times.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sean|last=Mclachlan|page=22|title=Armies of the Adowa Campaign 1896|date=20 September 2011 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-84908-457-4}}</ref><ref>[[Richard K. P. Pankhurst|Pankhurst]] has published one collection of these estimates, ''Economic History of Ethiopia'' (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie University, 1968), pp. 555–57. ''See also ''Uhlig, Siegbert, ed. ''[[Encyclopaedia Aethiopica]]: A–C''. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003, p. 108.</ref> The forces were divided among Emperor Menelik, Empress Taytu Betul, ''[[Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles|Ras]]'' [[Welle Betul]], ''Ras'' [[Mengesha Atikem]], ''Ras'' Mengesha Yohannes, ''Ras'' [[Ras Alula|Alula Engida (Abba Nega)]], ''Ras'' [[Mikael of Wollo]], ''Ras'' Makonnen Wolde Mikael, ''Fitawrari'' [[Habte Giyorgis Dinagde|Habte Giyorgis]], ''Fitawrari'' [[Fitawrari Gebeyehu|Gebeyyehu]], and ''[[Ethiopian aristocratic and religious titles|Negus]]'' Tekle Haymanot Tessemma. Pétridès (as well as [[Richard K. P. Pankhurst|Pankhurst]], with slight variations) break the troop numbers down (over 100,000 by their estimates) as follows: 35,000 infantry (25,000 riflemen and 10,000 spearmen) and 8,000 cavalry under Emperor Menelik; 5,000 infantry under Empress Taytu; 8,000 infantry (6,000 riflemen and 2,000 spearmen) under Ras Wale; 8,000 infantry (5,000 riflemen and 3,000 spearmen) under Ras Mengesha Atikem, 12,000 riflemen, 5,000 spearmen, and 3,000 cavalry under Ras Mengesha Yohannes and Ras Alula Engida; 6,000 riflemen, 5,000 spearmen, and 5,000 [[Oromo people|Oromo]] cavalry under Ras Mikael of Wollo; 15,000 riflemen under Ras Makonnen; 8,000 infantry under ''Fitawrari'' Gebeyyehu Gora; 5,000 riflemen, 5,000 spearmen, and 3,000 cavalry under ''Negus'' Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam.<ref>von Uhlig, ''Encyclopedia'', p. 109.</ref> In addition, the armies were followed by a similar number of [[camp follower]]s who supplied the army, as had been done for centuries.<ref name="Casualties">Uhlig, Siegbert, ed. ''[[Encyclopaedia Aethiopica]]: A–C'' (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003), p. 108.</ref> Most of the army consisted of riflemen, a significant percentage of whom were in Menelik's reserve; however, there were also a significant number of cavalry and infantry only armed with [[lance]]s (those with lances were referred to as "lancer servants").<ref name="Casualties"/><ref name="Caulk">Richard Caulk, ''"Between the Jaws of Hyenas": A Diplomatic History of Ethiopia (1876–1896)'', p. 563</ref><ref>Raymond Jonas, "The Battle of Adwa" (Harvard University Press, 2011), pp. 648.</ref>
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===Wollo cavalry===
This section seems to duplicate part of the "Battle" section, about Dabormida's force being wiped out while retreating, but with little detail and no clear reference:
In a recent Amharic publication authored by Andargachew Tsige, an important figure in Ethiopian politics, he references the book "The Battle of Adwa" by Raymond Jonas, and wrote that a 70,000{{dubious|date=February 2021}} strong army of Muslim horse men from Wollo (Negus Mikael's cavalry) engaged Italian advancing forces in fierce battles  inflicting heavy damage.{{original research inline|date=November 2023}}-->

===Italian forces===
Immediately before the battle of Adwa, the Italian army consisted of 29,700 Italians and 14,000 askaris. However, as Harold Marcus notes, "several thousand" soldiers were needed in support roles and to guard the lines of communication to the rear. He accordingly estimates that the Italian force at Adwa consisted of just 14,519 effective combat troops.<ref>Marcus, ''Menelik II'', p. 173</ref> Where as, David L. Lewis estimates that the Italian army consisted of four [[brigade]]s, totaling 17,770 troops with fifty-six artillery pieces.<ref>Lewis, ''Fashoda'', pp. 116f. He breaks down their numbers into 10,596 Italian officers and soldiers and 7,104 Eritrean askaris.</ref> One brigade under General Albertone was made up of [[Eritrean Ascari]] led by Italian officers.<ref>Thomas Pakenham, p. 481 ''The Scramble for Africa'', {{ISBN|0-349-10449-2}}</ref> The remaining three brigades were Italian units under Brigadiers Dabormida, Ellena and Arimondi. While these included elite [[Bersaglieri]] and [[Alpini]] units, a large proportion of the troops were inexperienced conscripts recently drafted from metropolitan regiments in Italy into newly formed "d'Africa" [[battalion]]s for service in Africa. Additionally, a limited number of troops were from the [[Cacciatori d'Africa]]; units permanently serving in Africa and in part recruited from Italian settlers.<ref name = "Berkley 1901">George Fitz-Hardinge Berkley ''The Campaign of Adowa and the rise of Menelik'', London: Constable 1901.</ref><ref>Raffaele Ruggeri, p. 82 ''Le Guerre Coloniali Italiane 1885/1900'', Editrice Militare Italiana 1988</ref>

According to historian Chris Prouty:

{{blockquote|They [the Italians] had inadequate maps, old-model guns, poor communication equipment and inferior footgear for the rocky ground. (The newer [[Carcano]] Model 91 rifles were not issued because Baratieri, under constraints to be economical, wanted to use up the old cartridges). Morale was low as the veterans were homesick and the newcomers were too inexperienced to have any ''esprit de corps''. There was a shortage of mules and saddles.<ref name=CPr>{{cite book|title=Empress Taytu and Menilek II |first=Chris |last=Prouty |year=1986 |page= 155|place=Trenton: The Red Sea Press |isbn=0-932415-11-3}}</ref>}}

The Italian operational corps in Eritrea was under the command of General Oreste Baratieri. The chief of staff was Lieutenant Colonel Giacchino Valenzano.
* '''Right column''': (4,833 rifles / 18 cannons)<ref name=PWS>{{cite book|title=Adwa Victory Centenary Conference, 26 February – 2 March 1996 |last=Abdussamad H. Ahmad and Richard Pankhurst |year=1998 |pages=158–62 |place=Addis Ababa University}}</ref> 2nd Infantry Brigade (Gen. [[Vittorio Dabormida]]);<ref name="Annuario">{{Cite book|last=Voghera|first=Enrico|title=Annuario militare del regno d'Italia: Anno 1896|volume=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=arhqPa9FaNIC&q=Mottino&pg=PA502|location=Rome|date=1896|language=it|publisher=Giornale Militare|access-date=September 21, 2022|archive-date=16 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316092957/https://books.google.com/books?id=arhqPa9FaNIC&q=Mottino&pg=PA502|url-status=live}}</ref>
** 3rd Africa Infantry Regiment,<ref>Italian national units, formed for service in the colonies with personnel drawn from the regular infantry regiments of the Army.</ref> (Col. [[Ottavio Ragni]])
*** 5th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Luigi Giordano)
*** 6th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. [[Leopoldo Prato]])
*** 10th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Gennaro De Fonseca)
** 6th Africa Infantry Regiment (Col. [[Cesare Airaghi]])
*** 3rd Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Luigi Branchi)
*** 13th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Alberto Rayneri)
*** 14th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Secondo Solaro)
** Native Mobile Militia Battalion (Maj. Lodovico De Vito)
** Native Company from the Asmara ''Chitet''<ref>Native feudal levy.</ref> (Cpt. Alberto Sermasi)
** 2nd Artillery Brigade (Maj. Alberto Zola)
*** 5th Mountain Artillery Battery<ref name="75B">Six light 75mm bronze rifled breach-loading mountain howitzers [[:it:7 BR Ret. Mont|Mod.75B]]</ref> (Cpt. Giuseppe Mottino)
*** 6th Mountain Artillery Battery<ref name="75B" /> (Cpt. Giuseppe Regazzi)
*** 7th Mountain Artillery Battery<ref name="75B" /> (Cpt. Vittorio Gisla)
* '''Central column''': (3,324 rifles / 12 cannons)<ref name="PWS" /> 1st Infantry Brigade (Gen. [[Giuseppe Arimondi]]);<ref name="Annuario"/>
** 1st Africa Bersaglieri Regiment<ref>Italian national units, formed for service in the colonies with personnel drawn from the regular [[Bersaglieri]] regiments of the Army.</ref> (Col. Francesco Stevani)
*** 1st Africa Bersaglieri Battalion (Maj. Matteo De Stefano)
*** 2nd Africa Bersaglieri Battalion (Maj. Lorenzo Compiano)
** 1st Africa Infantry Regiment (Col. [[Ugo Brusati]])
*** 2nd Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Flaciano Viancini)
*** 4th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Luigi De Amicis)
*** 9th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. [[Giuseppe Baudoin]])
** 1st Company of the 5th Native Battalion (Cpt. Pietro Pavesi)
** 8th Mountain Artillery Battery<ref name="75B" /> (Cpt. Vincenzo Loffredo)
** 11th Mountain Artillery Battery<ref name="75B" /> (Cpt. Giocanni Franzini)
* '''Left column''': (4,339 rifles / 14 cannons)<ref name="PWS" /> Native Brigade (Gen. [[Matteo Albertone]]);<ref name="Annuario"/>
** 1st Native Battalion (Maj. [[Domenico Turitto]])
** 6th Native Battalion (Maj. Giuseppe Cossu)
** 5th Native Battalion (Maj. Rodolfo Valli)
** 8th Native Battalion (Maj. Giocanni Gamerra)
** "Okulè Kusai" Native [[Bands (Italian Army irregulars)|Irregular Company]] (Lt. Alessandro Sapelli)
** 1st Artillery Brigade (Maj. [[Francesco De Rosa]])
*** 1st Native Mountain Artillery Battery<ref name="75B2">Six light 75mm bronze rifled breach-loading mountain howitzers [[:it:7 BR Ret. Mont|Mod.75B]].</ref> (Cpt. Clemente Henry)
*** 2nd Section of the 2nd Native Mountain Artillery Battery<ref>Two light 75mm bronze rifled breach-loading mountain howitzers [[:it:7 BR Ret. Mont|Mod.75B]]</ref> (Lt. Arnaldo Vibi)
*** 3rd Mountain Artillery Battery<ref name="75B2" /> (Cpt. [[Edoardo Bianchini]])
*** 4th Mountain Artillery Battery<ref name="75B2" /> (Cpt. [[Umberto Masotto]])
* '''Reserve column''': (3,032 rifles /12 cannons)<ref name="PWS" /> 3rd Infantry Brigade (Gen. [[Giuseppe Ellena]]);<ref name="Annuario"/>
** 4th Africa Infantry Regiment (Col. [[Giovanni Romero]])
*** 7th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Alberto Montecchi)
*** 8th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Achille Violante)
*** 11th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Sebastiano Manfredi)
*** 12th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Rinaldo Amatucci)
** 5th Africa Infantry Regiment (Col. [[Luigi Nava]])
*** 15th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Achille Ferraro)
*** 16th Africa Infantry Battalion (Maj. Bugenio Vandiol)
*** 1st Africa Alpini Battalion (Lt. Col. [[Davide Menini]])
** 3rd Native Battalion (Lt. Col. [[Giuseppe Galliano]])
** 1st Quick Fire Artillery Battery (Cpt. Giovanni Aragno)
** 2nd Quick Fire Artillery Battery (Cpt. Domencio Mangia)
** [[Sappers]] company

Budget restrictions and supply shortages meant that many of the rifles and artillery pieces issued to the Italian reinforcements sent to Africa were obsolete models, while clothing and other equipment was often substandard. The logistics and training of the recently arrived conscript contingents from Italy were inferior to the experienced colonial troops based in Eritrea.<ref>{{cite book|first=Sean|last=Mclachlan|pages=40–41|title=Armies of the Adowa Campaign 1896|date=20 September 2011 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-84908-457-4}}</ref>