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In 1895, Italy had invaded Ethiopia, one of the four only independent countries in Africa at the time (the other five being Liberia and the Boer Republics of Oranje and Transvaal). Italy was supported by the two other triple alliance members Germany and Austria. Much to their surprise, they found that Ethiopian ruler Menelik II, rather than being opposed by some of his traditional enemies, was supported by them, so the Italian army, invading Ethiopia from Italian Eritrea in 1893, faced a more united front than they expected. In addition, Ethiopia was supported by Russia, an Orthodox Christian nation like Ethiopia with military advisers, army training, and the sale of weapons for Ethiopian forces during the war. Ethiopia was also supported diplomatically by the United Kingdom and France in order to prevent Italy from becoming a colonial competitor. Full-scale war broke out in 1895, with Italian troops having initial success until Ethiopian troops counterattacked Italian positions and besieged the Italian fort of Meqele, forcing its surrender. Italian defeat came about after the decisive Battle of Adwa, where the 108,600-man Ethiopian army dealt the heavily outnumbered Italians a decisive blow with more casualties than the defending African kingdom and forced their retreat back into Eritrea, where they then surrendered to the Ethiopians. The Ethiopian army at the time mustered at around only 196,000 men, 80–100,000 with firearms, rest with spears and swords
