The advancing British forces' route took them through rough terrain, traveling by way of Kumayli, Senafe, Adigrat, Antalo, passing west of Lake Ashangi, through the Wajirat Mountains and across the Wadla plateau, before finally arriving via the road Emperor Tewodros built through the Zhitta Ravine to move his heavy artillery to Magdala.

The Armstrong Artillery Battery, complete with elephants carrying their guns, joined the expedition on the plain at Talanta on 5 April, just 12 miles (19 km) from Magdala during a delay of four days waiting for supplies to arrive.

While it is difficult to obtain an accurate order of battle of the Abyssinian forces, from British reports it appears to have consisted of a small amount of artillery and several thousands of light infantry lacking firearms.

Despite this, the Abyssinian soldiers continued their attack, losing over 500 with more wounded during the ninety minutes of fighting, most of them at a point little over 30 yards from the British lines.

[5] In his despatch to London, Lord Napier reported: "Yesterday morning (we) descended three thousand nine hundred feet to Bashilo River and approached Magdala with First Brigade to reconnoitre it.

Writing later, Clements Markham recalled "a curious phenomenon" that occurred on the day of the final assault: "Early in the forenoon a dark-brown circle appeared round the sun, like a blister, about 15° in radius; light clouds passed and repassed over it, but it did not disappear until the usual rain-storm came up from the eastward late in the afternoon.

The path lay up a steep boulder-strewn track, on one side of which there was a sheer drop and on the other a perpendicular cliff face, leading to the main gateway, known as the Koket-Bir, which included thick timber doors set into a 15-foot-long (4.6 m) stone archway.

On reaching the gate there was a pause in the advance, as it was discovered the engineer unit had forgotten their powder kegs and scaling ladders and were ordered to return for them.

The church was guarded by soldiers from the 33rd Regiment[9] although, according to Henry M. Stanley, looted of "an infinite variety of gold, and silver and brass crosses"[10] along with filigree works and rare tabots.

Magdala was formerly in the territory of the Muslim Gallas (Oromo) tribes, who had long ago taken it from the Amhara people; however Tewodros had won it back from them some years before.

Yet as Gobeze was unresponsive to these overtures, much preferring to acquire Tewodros' cannons, and the two Galla queens could not reach an arrangement, Napier decided to destroy the fortress.

Eventually, it was Dajamach Kassai of Tigray, not least because of the British weapons that had been handed over to him by the withdrawing Magdala expedition, who was able to expand his power and prevail over his rivals.

Tewodros had asked his wife, the Empress Tiruwork Wube, in the event of his death, to put his son, Prince Alemayehu, under the protection of the British.

Kirkham's troops played a major role in the defeat of Yohannes' rival for the Ethiopian crown, Wagshum Gobeze, fighting with conspicuous success in the Battle of Assam on 11 July 1871.

Kirkham had sacrificed the right to British protection by taking service with Yohannes, something which came back to haunt him when he was imprisoned in Massawa by Egyptian forces during the Ethiopian–Egyptian War.

According to historian Richard Pankhurst, fifteen elephants and almost two hundred mules were required to bear the loot across the Bashilo River to the nearby Dalanta Plain.

A grand review was held, and then an auction of the loot; the money raised was distributed amongst the troops and no written list was made of who purchased the various items.

[citation needed] The scientific acquisitions and expropriated articles of the Magdala expedition are credited with stimulating and promoting an interest in the history and culture of Ethiopia within Europe, laying the foundations for modern Ethiopian Studies, and also for the research on the ancient Kingdom of Aksum.