Erlich records an oral tradition that the young Alula distinguished himself by being the one who captured king Tekle Giyorgis in the Battle of Assem where Emperor Yohannes crushed his opponent (11 July 1871).

Alula demonstrated his military skill in the Battle of Gundet and Gura, which were fought in November 1875 and March 1876 respectively, where he routed the Egyptian forces.

At Kufit, Osman Digna's forces were annihilated, but the Ethiopians also suffered significant losses: the commanders Blatta Gebru and Aselafi Hagos were killed, and Ras Alula himself was wounded.

As part the European Scramble for Africa, at this time the Italians took control of the Red Sea coasts, occupying Massawa and Saati with the tacit approval of the British, which was a violation of the Hewett Treaty.

[8] Although he had collaborated with the British against the Mahdists, Ras Alula chief interest was to guarantee Ethiopian sovereignty, which made him very wary towards the English whom he suspected supported the Italians' encroachments.

His mistrust is clearly expressed in a conversation carried out with Augustus B. Wylde, the former British vice consul at Jeddah, who recorded these words in a dispatch to the Manchester Guardian: What does England mean by destroying Hewett's treaty and allowing the Italians to take my country from me?

[10] Before attacking the Italians, he notified Emperor Yohannes of his intentions, which is expressed to Harrison, who had accompanied the admiral Hewett during the negotiations of the treaty, declaring to him that the British had not honored their word.

The first clash took place 25 January 1887 at Saati, where the Ethiopians were repulsed with heavy casualties; Alula rallied his troops and the next day annihilated the Italian relief column at Dogali.

[11] Meanwhile, Ras Alula found himself isolated, his patron dead, and the steady Italian advance from the coast having deprived him of his power base beyond the Mareb River.

When Emperor Menelik learned of this treachery, he renounced the treaty which led to the First Italo-Abyssinian War, and as the bitter news spreads through Ethiopia the major nobility and military figures, including Ras Alula, unanimously joined him.

Two of his spies observed the Italians leave Entiscio, and arrived by a circuitous route, and informed Ras Aloula, who was one mile to the north of Adi-Aboona, that the enemy was on the march to Adowa.

The Ras immediately informed King Menelik and the other leaders, and the Abyssinians prepared for battle, sending out strong scouting parties in all directions in front of their positions towards Entiscio.

His second marriage was purely for political reasons, to improve his legitimacy with the local aristocracy, who did not hide their disapproval at seeing the son of a peasant reach this stature.