On February 11th, under very bad weather, Marshal Badoglio ordered his troops to resume the advance. He had prepared for the offensive by stockpiling a mountain of supplies, bringing up hundreds of trucks to haul them, and paving new roads for the new trucks. However, the weather turned many of the new roads to mires, forcing the troops to walk. Despite that, the first day of the advance went well. But on the second day, an MVSN division ran into troubles. In the early morning, just as the forces mustered for the day’s march, the 101st Blackshirt Legion came under fire by well-equipped and determined troops. Shortly thereafter, additional attacks from different sectors erupted as well.

When the commander realized that the enemy was roughly handling his “green” Blackshirts (which included university conscripts), he ordered an elite Alpini battalion to their support. The Alpini overtook the Blackshirts and repulsed the Ethiopian attack. With the pressure reduced, the Blackshirts rallied, eventually making a joint attack and dislodging the enemy from their high ground defensive position. This first day of the Endertà battle claimed the most Italian lives of the multi-day action.