13) Italian Debut

One wave has not yet subsided. Another wave has started!

The other of the Great Powers, Italy, emerged again with, as Bismarck described it, "A small and wormy tooth, but a big appetite!"

On July 17, 1894, Italy invaded Ethiopia and occupied Tigray in the north; in March 1895, Italy continued its war of aggression and occupied Adigrat, Adwa, and other places.

Do you think that's the end of it? That's too much to underestimate our Italian appetite! At the same time as the invasion of Ethiopia, the Italians were very interested in the British plan to divide Turkey.

But the Italians had slightly more appetite and added Albania to the British plan, and the British agreed!

But this provoked the resentment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's reason, which reached into its own backyard!

Is Albania important? In essence, to Austria-Hungary, it was just that, not worth mentioning! In the hands of the declining Ottoman Empire, it was fine, it was fine to be independent, and Austria-Hungary had no plans to annex Albania.

But the premise is not to fall into the hands of the Great Powers, which would weaken the influence of Austria-Hungary in the Balkans!

In the Balkans, a Great Power will be enough for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the same time, the Russian Empire stretches a tentacle, a European steamroller, which must be tolerated!

Who are you, Italy, to do that? Can I tolerate your hand in my backyard just because we are allies?

The Germans were also unhappy, and in the opinion of Baron Holstein, the British were creating conflicts in the "German-Austrian-Italian alliance" in order to break it up and instructed the German delegates that Germany had no interest in the Near East and refused to participate in the British plans for the partition of Turkey!

Without the participation of the Germans, Austria-Hungary naturally followed them out. The Italians are now still unable to leave the support of the Germans, reluctantly expressing their non-participation!

Don't be anxious. Italy is not finished yet, Ethiopia is an underdog, but it depends on who it is compared to it?

Ethiopia's army is not very good against the European powers or the ordinary European countries. But if you run into Italy, the other Great Powers, everything will be different!

At first, the Ethiopian government, intimidated by the fame of the Italians as Great Powers, took every step backward, and finally, the Ethiopian government could not stand it anymore.

On September 17, 1895, the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II issued a world-shaking 'An Imperial Edict to the People'.

Don't get me wrong, the edict itself can only be described as moderate, but the impact it created afterward shocked the world.

Italy has set another world record, a record that the Italians themselves can only break!

On December 7, 1895, Ras Makonnen commanded 30,000 Ethiopian troops and fought a decisive battle against the Italian army at Amba Alagi.

The result shocked the world, the first major Ethiopian army in Amba Alagi wiped out 2,400 of the enemy and recaptured Fort Mekele in January of the following year, and the Italians were defeated so crisply!

It was not all. On March 1, 1896, the Battle of Adwa broke out, and Menelik II himself led 100,000 troops to another battle against the Italian army at Adwa.

There is no doubt that this time the Italian army still played at the normal level; it should be superb!

The Italian army, not to be surprised, was defeated again! But his casualty rate, the highest in the history of the Italian army, can be seen that the Italians are not really that incompetent. They will also fight for their lives!

The Ethiopian Army adopted the tactics of penetration and division and combined frontal assault and flanking detour to annihilate 17,000 enemies (killing and wounding more than 12,000 and capturing more than 4,000) and captured a large number of weapons and equipment.

After the Battle of Addua, Italy was unable to fight anymore. They were forced to sign the Treaty of Addis Ababa with Ethiopia in October of the same year, recognizing Ethiopia's independence and paying 10 million Lire in reparations. This war was the 1st victory of the African people against the colonial invasion in modern times.

Well, these are not the point! There are not a few examples of failed invasions by the Great Powers, and the Italians only lost a little bit worse!

The key is that the Italians actually conceded defeat, it would have been humiliating to fight a losing battle, but as long as you win back later and get the ultimate victory, it's no big deal!

The Anglo-Boer War is an example. No matter how much damage, the British persevered and finally exhausted the Boers, winning the war, as usual, without losing the prestige of the British Empire!

But the Italian government, not knowing what happened, was so frightened that it directly conceded defeat to Ethiopia, recognized its independence, and paid 10 million Lire in war reparations.

We can't blame the Italian government entirely. The Crispi government collapsed after losing the war, and there was no chance for revenge! The new government, needless to say, knows that Ethiopia is a tough nut to crack, so why bother?

Isn't it just right to keep it to show the incompetence of the previous government? The incompetence of the last administration can only set off the shrewdness and competence of our current administration! Why should we risk failure to wipe the ass of the previous government?

It was a big deal. The European powers couldn't beat the African chiefs! The whole world was watching Italy's joke!

Ferdinand knew that the consequences were not only that, after this battle, the soul of the Italian Army was gone!

Any country in Europe to fight against the Italian Army, just think the Italian Army can not even do the African chiefs, will have high morale and combat power. Then we are also more powerful than the African chiefs, right?

Then in the next Europa one, the Italian Army has always been the role of beating the odds, always the enemy's favorite opponent, the allies' most headache teammate!

In any case, the Italians did a good job and succeeded in attracting the attention of the Great Powers. The aftermath of the Bulgarian War, which was silenced, is in line with Ferdinand's low-key personality!

The British are not so easy to admit defeat. The Triple Alliance side did not pass, either the French-Russian alliance?

The Franco-Russian alliance of this era was still pressing the Triple Alliance and steadily dominating! As long as the support of France and Russia is obtained, the British can still accomplish the purpose of protecting the rear!

Unfortunately, the French were not interested in the Armenian problem, and the French Minister of Foreign Affairs - Gabriel Hanotaux, who once served in Constantinople, stated: that it would better solve the Armenian problem without the intervention of the Great Powers!

The attitude of the French was obvious, not interested in the partition of the Ottoman Empire, at most, some economic interests, and the diplomatic choice of the Armenian issue sided with its ally, the Russians.