The battle was primarily fought in the area along the Genale Doria River valley between Dolo and Negele Boran.

[4] Graziani set out to convince De Bono's commander, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, that the plans for the campaign needed to be changed to allow him and his army on the southern front to play a more active role.

[5] Between April and December, Graziani opened up new roads, developed the port facilities at Mogadishu, solved a difficult water supply problem, stocked up provisions and munitions, and purchased hundreds of motor vehicles.

[5] On 3 October 1935, when De Bono launched his invasion in the north without a declaration of war Graziani was logistically prepared for an advance on Harar in the south.

[6] When De Bono's forces crossed the Mareb River in the north, Graziani instituted what he called the Milan Plan in the south.

[nb 2][6] Gorahai, the most important of the villages, was known as an old stronghold of the Dervish movement and Diriye Gure's emir, called the "Mad Mullah" by the British.

Capronis of the Italian Royal Air Force (the Regia Aeronautica) regularly bombed Gorahai and Afawarq himself directed the fire of the lone anti-aircraft gun, a 37 mm Oerlikon.

After taking the position, Graziani sent a flying column under Colonel Pietro Maletti to catch and harass the fleeing Ethiopians.

From Negele Boran, Ras Desta planned to march approximately 200 miles south and capture the border town of Dolo, then invade Italian Somaliland itself.

[10][11] The bulk of the Bale army, under Beine Merid, along with a strong detachment of Hararghe troops, was sent to counter Olol Dinle's advance.

[10][11] Meanwhile, Italian General Graziani was preparing an offensive aimed at dislodging Abyssinian forces from their positions on the Dawa Parma.

Dinle then led irregular bands along the upper course of the Webi Shebeli River, advancing into the Imi region.

On his return, Dinle’s column occupied Danano in the Bawa Valley, where they joined forces with Hassan Ali, Chief of the Ogaden Rar Dalal tribe, who had pledged allegiance to the Italians.

[9] On December 10, a strategic reconnaissance was launched with Olol Dinle's bands along the Webi Shebeli River, heading towards Imi.

As a result, Olol Dinle was ordered not to proceed to Imi but to move into the recently subdued territory of the Ghelimes and then march on Ellot to attack the forces descending from the Gestro from behind, which could cause significant trouble to our right flank in case of a counteroffensive along the Doria River.

On the 24th and 25th, three enemy columns marched against him: one along the Webi Shebeli, one from Mount Ellot, and another from the southwest, from Barrei, aiming to cut off his retreat.

The resulting "Christmas battles" caused heavy losses for his forces, also due to the hostile local population.

On the opposing side, it was feared that Olol Dinle’s bands were merely the vanguard of a larger force advancing from the Webi Shebeli.

Marshal Graziani wrote: "Wehib has lost both his bearings and his mind," and indeed, he told a foreign journalist that he couldn’t understand where the enemy armies in the South were or what the Command wanted to do: "With this, the war becomes impossible to conduct!"

The combination of air attacks, a long march through a desert, inadequate rations, as well as dysentery and malaria, had shattered the morale of Ras Desta's army.

[9] On 15 January when the three Italian columns advanced Ras Desta's battered forces repeatedly retreated without putting up serious resistance.

As a testament to the thoroughness of the job that the Royal Air Force had done, no shots were fired when the Italians converged on and entered their ultimate objective, Negele Boran.

On 24 January, during the mopping up actions which followed, Graziani gave orders to the air commander: "Burn and destroy all that is inflammable and destructible ... bomb neighboring woods with gas and incendiaries."

[1] Having taken the ground intended and having reached Wadera, Graziani now cautiously withdrew his forces approximately 60 miles to Negele Boran to allow food and munitions to catch up.