Around 9 p.m. on the 27th, in accordance with the orders of General
Oreste Baratieri, the columns of
Vittorio Dabormida,
Giuseppe Arimondi, and
Matteo Albertone advanced toward the Ethiopian positions; the reserve column of
Giuseppe Ellena followed an hour later. The moonlight favored the march of the columns.
David Levering Lewis states that the Italian battle plan called for three columns to march in parallel formation to the crests of three mountains – Dabormida commanding on the right, Albertone on the left, and Arimondi in the center – with a reserve under Ellena following behind Arimondi. The supporting crossfire each column could give the others made the 'soldiers as deadly as razored shears'. Albertone's brigade was to set the pace for the others. He was to position himself on the summit known as Kidane Mehret, which would give the Italians the high ground from which to meet the Ethiopians. The first Italian error was made by Albertone: instead of continuing west toward the Kidane Mehret Pass, he veered north toward the Rebbi Arayeni Pass around 2:30 a.m. Having reached the Kidane Mehret Pass around 3:30 a.m., the column paused there for half an hour before resuming its march at a very brisk pace toward Enda Kidane Mehret. This latter movement, which had not been ordered, was likely caused by confusion arising from the information on the map, which was based on local accounts. Although the Kidane Mehret Pass was marked on this map, there was in fact a pass called Enda Kidane Mehret further west; trusting the local guides more, Albertone allowed himself to be led as far as Mount Abba Gerima. When he became aware of this confusion, Albertone found himself cut off from the rest of the Italian army. At the start of the day, an Ethiopian informant, Awalom of
Enticho, working as an interpreter for Baratieri, reported to
Ras Alula the movements of Italian troops; Alula promptly informed the commanders of the imperial army facing General Albertone. The columns of
Tekle Haymanot,
Ras Mikael,
Ras Makonnen,
Ras Olie, and Wagshum Guangal joined the battle. Emperor Menelik, praying at the Church of St. George, was not present at the start of the fighting.
Initial clashes Around 6:00 a.m., Albertone's vanguard, the 1st Indigenous Battalion under Major
Domenico Turitto, approached the enemy outposts near the church of Enda Mikael near Adwa, it was ferociously charged by Ethiopian units coming from the Enda Garima and Gessoso mountains; the charge was so violent that it also hit the second Italian line, forcing Albertone to retreat from Kidane Meret to re-establish himself on the western slopes of Mount Semaiata. Two mountain batteries remained on site, commanded by
Edoardo Bianchini and
Umberto Masotto, with orders to resist to the last man. Both batteries were captured, and the two commanders were killed. Faced with the offensives on his left flank, Albertone committed the reserve regiment, managing to push back the Ethiopians by about 1 km. At 8 a.m., the forces of
Menelik and
Taytu finally arrived at the battle, however his forces remained in reserve. Baratieri tried desperately to call back the
Eritrean Ascaris of Albertone, but his messages were unable to reach him. Baratieri then ordered the brigade led by Dabormida to move southwest to support Albertone's brigade and the Arimondi brigade to also turn left towards Mount Rajo. General Dabormida, in an attempt to relieve the pressure on Albertone, pushed his brigade into the deep valley of Mariam Shewito, where it moved toward the right flank, directly away from where it was supposed to go, and a gap of about two miles opened between it and the rest of the army. Ras Makonnen lunged forward into the opening, seizing control of Mount Gusoso and cutting off Dabormida's brigade from the rest of the Italian army. Despite their isolated position, Albertone's
askaris held their positions for over two hours, with the artillery under Major
Francesco De Rosa inflicting heavy casualties on the attackers. Deeply shaken by these losses, Menelik contemplated on ordering a retreat, but
Empress Taytu and
Ras Mangasha convinced him to unleash his reserve of 25,000 men, which put immense pressure on the positions of the
askaris. At 8:30 a.m. Albertone's brigade then began a fighting retreat that soon turned into a rout. The batteries that tried to cover the withdrawal were captured and Major De Rosa was killed. The
askaris fled toward the positions held by Arimondi's brigade around Mount Belah. Albertone, whose mule was hit by a bullet, was captured and taken prisoner.
Italian center After the rout of Albertone's brigade, the Ethiopian columns descended on Arimondi's position, immediately engaging the Italians in fierce fighting. The Ethiopians split into two columns, one attacking Mount Belah on the Italian right, held by Colonel Francesco Stevani's
Bersaglieri, while the other attacked the junction between Mount Rajo and the Chidane Meret on the Italian left, held by Colonel
Giuseppe Galliano's III Native Battalion, which had been detached from the Ellena brigade. All while putting significant pressure on Arimondi's central positions. The Ethiopian column on the left, composed of 25,000 men from the
Shewan units and part of Menelik's bodyguard, unexpectedly occupied a rocky spur (called Zebàn Daarò) to the northwest of Mount Belah, thus outflanking Arimondi's right flank. Colonel Stevani tried to re-establish the situation by sending two companies of Bersaglieri to recapture the spur, but only 40 men managed to scale the rock face and were swept away by the overwhelming numbers of the enemy. The left flank of the Arimondi brigade was also outflanked when the Galliano native battalion was overwhelmed by the Ethiopian attack, Colonel Galliano himself was killed during this assault. Baratieri tried to plug the gap on the left flank by sending the 5th Infantry Regiment led by Colonel
Luigi Nava, which also included an
Alpini battalion under
Davide Menini, but his troops were unable to stop the advance of the enemy units, and Colonel Nava was wounded and captured during the fighting. Pressed at the front and outflanked on both flanks, the Arimondi brigade gave way around 12:00, after its commander had also fallen in action. Baratieri then ordered a general retreat in the direction of
Adi Ugri and
Adi Keyh. The retreat was poorly coordinated, as orders could not reach the broken line, and only a few units maintained discipline. As the army dissolved into a fleeing mass, the
Oromo cavalry under
Ras Mikael charged forward, cutting down the retreating Italians and causing widespread panic. The rapid advance of the Ethiopians only allowed for the organization of a rearguard of barely one hundred Alpini led by Capitan Pietro Cella, which was annihilated but gave time for the rest of the army to retreat. Between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m., Colonel
Ugo Brusati built a rearguard on a height between Jeha and Kokma to fend off the pursuing Ethiopians, the Italian retreat continued until 3:00 a.m. on the next day.
Dabormida's Brigade At the start of the battle, Dabormida positioned himself near Mariam Shewito, accompanied by the indigenous battalion led by Major Lodovico De Vito where they encountered the men of Ras Makonnen. The indigenous troops were the first to engage, followed by the rest of the brigade. The general launched an attack on three fronts:
Cesare Airaghi's regiment in the valley,
Ottavio Ragni's regiment on the hill, Alberto Rayneri and Luigi De Amicis's battalions in the rear. Dabormida's troops repelled four attacks of Ras Makonnen's men, but this did little to prevent the Ethiopians from routing the Native Brigade led by Albertone. At this point, the
Shewan troops under Menelik split into two columns: one continued toward Bellah to outflank the exposed flank of the Arimondi Brigade, while the other turned left to attack the flank and rear of the now isolated Dabormida Brigade. Gradually, the rearguard, particularly Rayneri's left wing, which was struggling to find ammunition, succumbed to the pressure, while the enemy arrived in ever-increasing numbers on all three fronts. Unaware that the rest of the army under Baratieri were retreating, Dabormida continued to fight in the valley, pressed on three sides by ever-increasing masses of enemies. Only in 4:30 p.m., having realised the situation and clearly threatened with encirclement, did he order his troops to conduct a withdrawal towards Mount Erar, at the bottom of the valley. He ordered Airaghi of the 6th Regiment, to cover the retreat. In contrast to the collapse at Mount Belah, Dabormida's troops carried out a orderly withdrawal. Taking cover behind rocks and using trenches dug earlier that morning, they resisted the Ethiopian advance at every step. As the Italians withdrew, the
Oromo calvary under Ras Mikael charged at Dabormida's brigade, while tens of thousands of infantry simultaneously rushed forward. Under this immense pressure, Dabormida's men abandoned their wounded on the field, allowing the Oromos to finish them with off with their lances. Dabormida ordered Captain Bellavita, his
aide-de-camp, to deliver a message to Rayneri ordering him to hold his position; Captain Bellavita left immediately and, upon his return, lost all contact with the general. At this point, Airaghi led a final charge against the Ethiopians to save the artillery batteries that were being overrun shouting "Let us save the artillery, they will have it all!" The Ethiopians closed in, pressing the Italians from three sides. During this phase, the Italians lost Colonel Airaghi as well as De Amicis, who was leading the Fourth Battalion, the last of Dabormida's brigade to leave the battlefield. Menelik himself was greatly impressed by Dabormida's bravery, at the signing of the peace treaty, he is said to have given Dabormida's sword and scarf to Albertone to be returned to his family. His brigade remains the one that fought most heroically on the Italian side. The Battle of Adwa thus ended with the fall of Dabormida's column. The following day, on 2 March 1896, at about nine o'clock, General Baratieri arrived at
Adi Keyh and sent a telegram to Rome informing the government of
Francesco Crispi of the Italian defeat. ==Immediate aftermath==