The Battle of Halai, or the Battle of Halay, which took place in December 1894 was a battle between an Eritrean rebel force under

Bahta Hagos Bahta Hagos ( Ge'ez: ባህታ ሓጎስ), died December 19, 1894, was Dejazmach of Akkele Guzay, and retrospectively considered an important leader of Eritrean resistance to foreign domination specifically against northern Ethiopian and Italian co ...

and the Italian army. In the 1890s, the government of Eritrean began plotting an

insurrection Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

in Eritrean to push back against

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

encroachment on their country.

Battle

On 15 December 1894,

, the "chief of Akkele guzay province in southern eritrea," launched a rebellion against the Italian authorities. On 18 December a force of Italian troops, led by Major Pietro Toselli, discovered that the small Italian fort at Halai (garrisoned by 220 men) was being besieged by roughly 220, of Bahta's, rebels. Toselli attacked with 1,500 men, hitting the surprised rebels in their undefended rear. The surprise attack was just at the right time since the rebels had almost taken the fort. At first, Bahta Hagos tried to negotiate with the Italians, however the negotiations lasted only up to 4:00pm, when another 1,000 Italian reinforcements arrived. Bahta was killed in the ensuing fight and his army quickly fell apart soon after.

Aftermath

In total, eleven Italians were killed and twenty-two were wounded in the action.

References

{{coord missing, Ethiopia 1894 in Ethiopia Halai Halai Halai Halai 1894 in the Italian Empire December 1894 events