** First Battle of Tembien - The Matrix Games version of West Front

Tembien, Ethiopia: [Best Played versus Human Opponent] [HISB] [GD] On 3 October 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia without a declaration of war. The inital campaign began with 100,000 men organized into four corps, marching southward in three columns south from Eritrea. The Italians met no resistance at the border: Ethiopian Emperor Haille Selassie had ordered his frontier troops not to fight, that Italy might be clearly established as the military aggressor. General Emilio De Bono adopted a slow and cautious advance since invading East Africa was not like fighting a war in Europe. There were virtually no paved roads. Water, food, and shelter were scarce. Furthermore, East Africa lay at the end of an over 1,000 mile supply chain. But Mussolini grew impatient with De Bono's pace, and in December, after a brief period of inactivity and minor setbacks for the Italians, De Bono was replaced by General Pietro Badoglio. In early January 1936, the Italian position was precarious. Their line ran a length of about 150 miles, from Asmara to Makalle, across high mountains punctuated by passes and ravines. Ethiopian forces were in the hills everywhere overlooking the Italian positions and launching attacks against them on a regular basis. Ethiopian leaders Ras Kassa and Ras Seyoumm armies were excerting pressure from the Tembien and Badoglio decided he needed to dislodge these troops from their strong positions in order for the Italians to continue the advance towards Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. On 20 January, elements of the Italian 2nd Eritrean Division, made up of the Eritrean ascari who provied the regular colonial forces of Italian Eritrea, and the 2nd Blackshirt Division (28 October) named in honor of the Fascist March on Rome (28 October 1922), advanced through the area around Abaro Pass and assaulted the Ethiopian forces in the hills overlooking the pass. [All: No EA: No VV] (Note: Ethiopian Retinue units function as HQs.)