Editing Battle of Maychew (section)

===Korem and Maychew===
On 1 March 1936, Emperor [[Haile Selassie I|Haile Selassie]] arrived by foot at his new headquarters in [[Korem]]. He arrived forty years to the day from the decisive Ethiopian victory at [[Battle of Adwa|Adwa]] during the [[First Italo-Ethiopian War]]. On 19 March, both [[Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles|''Ras'']]{{#tag:ref|Roughly equivalent to [[Duke]] and army commander.|group=nb}} [[Kassa Haile Darge]] and ''Ras'' [[Seyum Mangasha]] made their way to Korem to join the Emperor. In addition, ''Ras'' [[Getachew Abate]] arrived with a fresh army from [[Kaffa Province, Ethiopia|Kaffa Province]].<ref>Mockler. p. 113</ref>  The Emperor divided his army into four groups. He arranged that one group would be commanded directly by himself and that the other three groups would be commanded by ''Ras'' Kassa, ''Ras'' Seyum, and ''Ras'' Getachew.<ref>Haile Selassie I, Volume I, p. 277</ref>

Compared to other Ethiopian forces, Haile Selasie's army was extremely well armed. He had an [[artillery]] regiment of twenty 75mm field guns, some Oerlikon 37mm guns, and even a few 81mm Brandt mortars. However, compared to the resources available to Badoglio, Haile Selasie's army was hopelessly outmatched.<ref name=Barker97/> To even things up, the Emperor handed out between ten and fifteen dollars and distributed other gifts to the [[Oromo people]] of [[Raya Azebo]] (Italian: ''Azebu Galla''). In exchange, they swore their allegiance to him and agreed to attack the Italian flanks.<ref>Mockler, p. 116</ref>

Badoglio had the four divisions of the Italian [[I Army Corps (Italy)|I Army Corps]] and the three divisions of the Eritrean Corps at Maychew.<ref name=Barker97/> Before the battle, the Marshal explained: "The Emperor has three choices. To attack, and be defeated; to wait for our attack, and we will win anyway; or to retreat, which is disastrous for an army that lacks means of transport and proper organisation for food and munitions."<ref>''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', 13 April 1936</ref> Badoglio also enjoyed the intelligence edge of being able to intercept most of the Ethiopian radio communications, as well as the mobility of mechanized infantry.<ref>{{Cite web |last=TIME |date=1936-03-09 |title=WAR: The Ethiopians Are Licked! |url=https://time.com/archive/6767538/war-the-ethiopians-are-licked/ |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=TIME |language=en}}</ref>

On 21 March, Haile Selassie sent a radio message to his wife, Empress [[Menen Asfaw]]:{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}
:"Since our trust in our Creator and in the hope of His help and as '''we have decided to advance''' and enter the fortifications and since God is our only help, confide this decision in secret to the [[Abuna]], to the ministers and to the dignitaries and offer unto God our fervent prayers."

As soon as Badoglio intercepted this message indicating that Haile Selassie had decided to advance, he cancelled orders for his own proposed offensive. Instead, Badoglio would prepare defensive positions for an Ethiopian attack.<ref>Mockler, p. 114</ref>

On 23 March, looking across a lush green valley towards the Italian positions at [[Maychew]], the Emperor contemplated his decision to strike first. His army was the last intact Ethiopian army between Badoglio and Addis Ababa. He decided he would direct the attack personally in accordance with tradition and the expectation of his followers. Six battalions of the [[Kebur Zabangna|Imperial Guard]] (''[[Kebur Zabangna]]'') would be part of his force of approximately 31,000 fighters. Haile Selassie chose to attack against the advice of his foreign experts and against his own better judgement.<ref name=Barker97/><ref name=Marcus>[[#Marcus|Marcus]], 145-6.</ref>

Had Haile Selassie attacked on 24 March as he originally planned, things may have gone differently; many of the Italians had only recently arrived at Maychew after the fall of [[Amba Aradam]]. But, during a week frittered away by the Ethiopians in war councils, banquets, and prayers, the Italians had time to strengthen their defenses and time to bring up reserves.<ref name=Barker97/>