The Fall of Maqdala & the last words of Atse Tewodros

On this day April 15th, 1868 British Expeditionary forces comprised of 13, 000 British & Indian combat troops and led by General Robert Napier stormed Ethiopian fortress in Magadala whereby Atse Tewodros with his loyal chieftains had amassed warriors and waited to beat back the technologically superior expeditionary force. Members of the 33rd brigade of the expeditionary force managed to break into the last defense of the fortress and found the Emperor lying dead taking his own life using pistol which had been a gift sent to him from Queen Victoria.

The conflict that ended with the Emperor's suicide and immediate withdrawal of British forces from Ethiopian territory started from diplomatic incident involving letter sent from Emperor Theodore to Queen Victoria of England. The letter was sent in response to gifts sent by the Queen for the Emperor's help in punishing ruthlessly the murderers of the first British Counsel in Ethiopia Walter Plowden when he was killed in a local skirmish. In gratitude, Queen Victoria rewarded the Emperor with a pair of inscribed pistols among other things sent through the second British Consul Captain Charles Cameron. The Emperor then sent letter thanking Queen Victoria for sending him gifts through the new Consul General and seeking alliance with christian nations such as Great Britain referring his nation as Christian nation surrounded by Muslim neighbors. In his nation's frequent engagement with encroaching Muslim forces, he expected support from Great Britain & Western powers by providing ammunitions as well as in making technical experts available for building armaments.
Little he knew these nations see the world from racial prism and to advance their geopolitical interest they would betray one another let alone distant nation like Ethiopia. For reasons that can be attributed to deliberate racial snob on the part of foreign office in London, the letter was ignored. Not even a formal acknowledgement was given. Besides, Christian Britain and France allied with Muslim Turkey in the Crimean war against Christian Russia.
The Emperor was incensed by what he felt was royal snub and ordered for imprisonment of the British Consul.

Alongside the British Counsel, there were more than 50 other European expatriates who were also imprisoned or taken as hostages, most of them missioaries and their families as well as some artisans who had refused to offer their technical skills in buiding mortars to the Emperor. Among such prisoners were French gunsmith Bourgeau, Swiss German missionaries Mr. & Mrs. Flad, as well as Stern Rosenthal & his wife, a Polish deserter who led the project albeit unwillingly of building a cannon for the Emperor and named it 'Sebastopol". Some of the prisoners were mistreated and kept in chain particularly when were asked to move from place to place with the King's troops.

The British Resident in Aden, sent a three-man delegation to plead for their release. The three were themselves incarcerated. In the end, the Foreign Office in London decided to send

a formal reply to Theodore’s long neglected letter with gifts. The delivery was entrusted to an Iraqi diplomat named Hormuzd Rassam. He was in no hurry to deliver and it was not until January 1866, almost two years later that the letter was in Theodore’s hands. The Emperor expressed himself satisfied and agreed to free the captives. However, shortly after, Theodore’s torturous mind suddenly veered again and on his orders the freed missionaries and consular officials were intercepted on their way to the coast and seized once more.
Theodore now sent a new message to Queen Victoria indicating that further donations to Abyssinia would be welcome in the form of a number of skilled workmen, various types of machinery and an expert manufacturer of ammunition. The ruler of Abyssinia was impudently blackmailing the British Empire. On his return to Abyssinia in December, Victoria’s emissary, found that Theodore had transferred most of his captives to the isolated rock fortress of Magdala which the emperor was coming to regard as both his capital and his refuge. The government in London, far from complying with his requests now dispatched a formal note of protest dated April 16th 1867, but Theodore remained intractable.1

Coincidentally, Great Britain had recent setbacks when Mutiny in India as well as defeat in the Crimean War, resulted in humiliation & loss of prestige. It could not take any more loss of prestige, hence was keen to show its global might by punishing the Emperor and force the release of the European prisoners. The Suez Canal was not open then, hence it was decided that the military campaign for the release of the prisoners had to be launched from British India. The task fell upon General Robert Napier who was commander in the British Raj in India. For the time, it was a major undertaking that costs more than £8,600,000 and involved no less that 13,000 British and Indian combat troops, a total of 291 vessels of all sizes, a host of servants and workmen and over 36,000 animals including 3,000 horses, 16,000 mules and ponies, 5,000 bullocks, 8,000 camels and 44 elephants etc.2
Advance elements of the expeditionary force left the Indian westcoast seaport Bombay early and arrived Annaslie Bay on Gulf of Zula in December 1867. The first to arrive were Indian native workmen who set transforming the village into giant military base. The Commander in Chief himself arrived at Zula in January 1868 and soon after making sure the Army is ready for mobilization into hinterland, he gave the signal to advance. After crossing the coastal deserts of the lowlands first and started climbing the difficult terrains of mountainous routes that followed, on february 1868, General Napier had to sit in a meeting with Tigrean Chieftain Dejazmach Kassa Mercha whose support for the mission was crucial to advance further. After enlisting the support of Kassa Mercha, with promises of living Ethiopian territory immediately after gaining the release of prisoners, the expeditionary force was permitted to deploy further and arrived at Antalo halfway to Meqdela on March 2. At Antalo, General devised war plan for approaching & attacking the Medela Fortress by creating two divisions. The first division commanded by Major-General Charles Staveley, would become the striking force comprising 5,000 men whose column would set out at daily intervals starting from March 12 until they reach position around 100 kilometers to Meqdala. The second division comprised of Antalo, Adigrat & Senafe Garrisons would stay at Antalo on stand-by-basis and wait order.
Troops from striking force marched until they entered Dildi on the 24th March. From here they could see the fortress of Magdala off in the distance. It was only 25 miles away. But the mountainous terrain would require a tortuous circumventing route of some 60 miles distance over some of the most inhospitable mountain country imaginable. Deep ravines and precipices ensured that the expedition advanced at a very slow and careful rate. It was almost with relief that the units approached the ominous looking mountain fortress of Magdala. Their journey was nearly at an end. However, before the force actually reached Magdala an unexpected battle took place on the approach road to the fortress known as Arogye Plateau which lay across the only route to Magdala.

When the British Expeditionary forces arrived at Arogye Plains they could see the artillery pieces and troop encampments guarding the approach road to Magdala itself. And on Good Friday, unexpectedly, Ethiopian forces led by Atse Tewodros's loyal Chieftain Fitawrari Gabriye left their impregnable defenses and launched an attack on advancing members of the strike force. What prompted such unwise move was the sight of the British baggage train almost completely unguarded. Combatants needed no encouragement to rush out of their defensive positions to seize all the potential booty on offer. Unfortunately, that move costed the Ethiopian forces heavily as they have lost all of their artillery as well as much of their combatants including their leader Fitwarai Gabriye.

The firepower and discipline of the British units completely overwhelmed the musket and spear armed Ethiopia forces. Yet they fought bravely on even as they realised the hopelessness of their cause. Over 500 of them were killed outright, but many thousands more were wounded in an engagement that lasted an hour and a half. In that time, the British and Indian troops barely suffered more than scratches. It was a one sided battle that illustrated the massive technology gap that existed between the African and European forces.3

On the following day after this first battle, General Napier wrote to Emperor stating:

Your Majesty has fought like a brave man, and has been overcome by the superior power of the British Army. It is my desire that no more blood may be shed. If, therefore, your Majesty will submit to the Queen of England, and bring all the Europeans now in your Majesty's hands, and deliver them safely this day in the British Camp, I guarantee honourable treatment for yourself and all the members of your Majesty's family.4

Atse Tewodros, an intensely proud man as many who had known him noted, refused to accept such humiliation and sent a reply to Napier admitting to the superiority of the British army, organised on modern lines, over his traditional-type forces, he added, "you have defeated me through men obedient to discipline. The people who loved me and followed me fled, abandoning me, because they were afraid of a single bullet".5

When he sensed that most of his loyal warriors have lost their life and his combatants have fled abandoning their position, he released the prisoners and decided to take his own life.

The following is a dramatic presentation in Amharic of the last moment & words of Atse Tewodros just before he took his own life from a play written by the late Girmachew Tekle Hawaryat and performed by veteran stage actor & patriot Mekonnen Abebe. Ato Mekonnene Abebe first played the role of Atse Tewodros some 50 years ago when the play was staged for the first time in Addis Ababa Municipality Theatre. Now at the age of 88 and living in Washington, DC area, he still remembers the lines and recite them without flaws. We recorded him last year for a radio program that was produced in remembrance of the historic day.