[1] The Fon ceased hostilities with the French after two military defeats, withdrawing their forces and signing a treaty conceding to all of France's demands.

[2] However, Dahomey remained a potent force in the area and quickly re-armed with modern weapons in anticipation of a second, decisive conflict.

[4] The French entrusted the war effort against Dahomey to Alfred-Amédée Dodds, an octoroon colonel of the Troupes de marine from Senegal.

Colonel Dodds arrived with a force of 2,164 men, including Foreign Legionnaires, marines, engineers, artillery and Senegalese cavalry known as spahis plus the trusted tirailleurs.

The carefully organised French army began moving inland in mid-August toward their final destination of the Dahomey capital of Abomey.

[6] The French invasion force assembled at the village of Dogba on 14 September some 80 kilometres (50 mi) upriver on the border of Dahomey and Porto-Novo.

On 4 October, the French column was attacked at Poguessa (also known as Pokissa or Kpokissa) by Fon forces under the command of King Béhanzin himself.

It took the French invasion force a month to march the 40 km (25 mi) between Poguessa and the last major battle at Cana just outside Abomey.

On 15 October, some women were noted to have been present on the front lines of the Dahomean forces which were defeated after a bayonet charge by a Legion battalion.

The Fon penchant for hand-to-hand fighting left them at a disadvantage against French bayonets, which easily outreached Dahomey's swords and machetes.

The next day, at the nearby village of Diokoué, site of a royal palace, special units of the Mino were assigned to target French officers.

Attempts were initiated to rebuild the army and its Amazon corps until the French chose Béhanzin's brother, Goutchili, as the new king.