The Battle of Shire (Italian: Battaglia dello Shirè) was fought on the northern front of what was known as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.

[citation needed] Emperor Haile Selassie I launched the Christmas Offensive late in the year to test Badoglio.

[citation needed] In early January 1936, the Ethiopian forces were in the hills everywhere overlooking the Italian positions and launching attacks against them on a regular basis.

In response to his frequent exhortations, Badoglio cabled Mussolini: "It has always been my rule to be meticulous in preparation so that I may be swift in action.

Badoglio overwhelmed the armies of ill-armed and uncoordinated Ethiopian warriors with mustard gas, tanks, and heavy artillery.

On the Ethiopian right was Ras Mulugeta Yeggazu and his army of approximately 80,000 men in positions atop Amba Aradam.

Ras Imru Haile Selassie with approximately 40,000 men was on the Ethiopian left in the area around Seleh Leha and Shire.

Ras Mulugeta's force would have to be dislodged from its strong positions on Amba Aradam in order for the Italians to continue the advance towards Addis Ababa.

[5] The II Corps advanced from Axum to an area thirty miles south of the town where forces of Ras Imru were known to be operating.

At the same time, the IV Corps moved south from the Eritrean border on Ras Imru's left flank.

Beyond the river, the Ethiopians faced a rain of deadly mustard gas and strafing by low flying fighters.

When the II Corps crossed the Takezé days later, the effectiveness of the Italian air arm was made apparent by the thousands of putrefying corpses.

[7] Ras Imru escaped the destructive attacks by the Regia Aeronautica with approximately 10,000 men only to have most of them slip away when the opportunity presented itself.

[5] In addition to preparing for his next advance, Badoglio sent out a number of independent motorized columns to occupy Gondar, Deborah, Sokota, and Sardo.

It moved in an assortment of several hundred trucks and was called Starace's East African Fast Column (Colonna Celere dell'Africa Orientale).

The border region with British Sudan was secured and the Panther Man's column had covered approximately 75 miles in three days.