Second Battle of Agordat

The Second Battle of Agordat was fought in late December 1893, between Italian colonial troops and Mahdists from Sudan. Emir Ahmed Ali campaigned against the Italian forces in eastern Sudan and led about 10,000–12,000 men east from Kassala. This force encountered 2,400 Italians and their Eritrean askaris at Agordat, west of Asmara, commanded by Colonel Arimondi.[2] Over 1,000 Dervishes, including the Emir, were killed in severe fighting.[3][5] The outcome of the battle constituted "...the first decisive victory yet won by Europeans against the Sudanese revolutionaries,..."[9]

Second Battle of Agordat
Part of the Mahdist War

Alfred Pearse: Second Battle of Agordat (Battles of the nineteenth century, 1901)
Date21 December 1893[1][2]
Location
Agordat, Eritrea
Result Italian victory[1][3][4]
Belligerents
Kingdom of Italy Mahdist State
Commanders and leaders
Kingdom of Italy Col.Giuseppe Arimondi
[2][3][5]		 Emir Ahmed Ali †
[2][3][6]
Strength
Eritrean Askaris; 400 of which were equipped with swords, spears, and shields 10,000–12,000 Mahdists
6,000 armed with rifles [3][4][5]
Casualties and losses
108 killed[5][7][8]
124 wounded[7][8]		 1,000+ killed[4][5]
hundreds wounded[7][8]
180 men, 700 rifles and
72 flags captured [7][8]

A year later, Italian colonial forces seized Kassala.

Sources
  1. Wylde, Augustus Blandy (1900). Modern Abyssinia. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A-E. Westport.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. Arthur, Sir George (1920). Life of Lord Kitchener: Vol.1. New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Cana, Frank Richardson (1911). "Abyssinia" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 01 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 82–95 see page 94, para (24) see last sentence. A fine action by Colonel Arimondi gained Agordat for Italy (21st December 1893), and a brilliant march by Colonel Baratieri resulted in the acquisition of Kassala (17th July 1894)."
  5. Manchester Geographical Society (1893). The Journal of the Manchester Geographical Society: Vol.9–10. Manchester.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. Hill, Richard Leslie (1951). A biographical dictionary of the Sudan. Oxford.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. McLachlan, Sean (2011). Armies of the Adowa Campaign 1896. Colchester.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. Anthony D'Avray, Richard Pankhurst (2000). The Nakfa documents: Aethiopistische Forschungen 53. Wiesbaden.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. Barclay, Glen St John (1973). The rise and fall of the new Roman empire: Italy's bid for world power, 1890–1943. London. ISBN 9780283978623.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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