Italian victory Italy De Bono's invasion of Ethiopia took place during the opening stages of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.

Mussolini promised the Italian people "a place in the sun", matching the extensive colonial empires of Britain and France.

[1] At precisely 5:00 am on 3 October 1935, General Emilio De Bono crossed the Mareb River and advanced into Ethiopia from Eritrea without a Declaration of War.

Haile Selassie had ordered Ras[nb 1] Seyum Mangasha, the commander of the Ethiopian Army of Tigre, to withdraw a day's march away from the Mareb River.

Later, he ordered Ras Seyum and Dejazmach[nb 2] Haile Selassie Gugsa, also in the area, to move back fifty-five and thirty-five miles from the border.

[2] On 7 October, the League of Nations declared Italy the aggressor and started the slow process of imposing sanctions.

In an effort to find compromise, the Hoare-Laval Plan was drafted (which essentially handed 3/5ths of Ethiopia to the Italians without Ethiopia's consent on the condition the war ended immediately), but when news of the deal was leaked public outrage was such that the British and French governments were forced to wash their hands of the whole affair.

On 11 October, Dejazmach Haile Selassie Gugsa and 1,200 of his followers surrendered to the commander of the Italian outpost at Adagamos.

De Bono notified Rome and the Ministry of Information promptly exaggerated the importance of the surrender for propaganda purposes.

'"[5] By 15 October, De Bono's forces moved on from Adwa for a bloodless occupation of the holy capital of Axum.

On 17 October, for four hours in Addis Ababa the 70,000 strong Mahel Safari[nb 3] jogged past the Emperor.

The Mahel Safari halted along the way to raze villages and to flog the chiefs of the recalcitrant Azebu and Raya Oromo.

In Debra Markos, the capital of Gojjam Province, Ras Imru Haile Selassie raised an army of 25,000.

On 17 December, De Bono received State Telegram 13181 (Telegrama di Stato 13181) which indicated that, with the capture of Makale, his mission was accomplished.