A portion of Bergonzoli’s column, headed by Colonnello Martini, split off from the main force toward Ddei Ddei Wadi, aiming to deny the important wells at Bogol Magno to the enemy. Martini’s men collided with a sizable Ethiopian force and a spirited engagement commenced.

Martini managed to defeat the brave enemy attack, but he failed to exploit his success. He halted his force a kilometer from the Ddei Ddei Wadi because a huge noise led him to think that enemy reinforcements were arriving. Actually, the Empress had sent a small fleet of trucks to rescue Ras Destà and his entourage, including the Belgian advisor Lieutenant Frère. The next day Martini received reinforcements and Bergonzoli assumed command. For the next two days, the general patiently and relentlessly cleared the wadi with the constant help of the Regia Aeronautica, who employed chemical weapons. These aerial attacks annihilated Ras Desta’s flocks of livestock (a source of both sustenance and prestige), demoralizing his huge force and forcing them to fight for every scrap of food and water. The ensuing engagements were pathetically one-sided, pitting Bergonzoli’s motorized columns against the starving, hiding Ethiopian troops. The bombastic fascist propaganda and Graziani’s postwar memoirs tried to paint this extermination as a series of “battles.” While Graziani’s use of chemical weapons is rightly condemned by most, his use of airpower to deliver “shock and awe” and his efficient use of logistics to keep his force supplied with fuel, food, and ammunition despite the austere environment are to be admired. On January 20th, Graziani’s victorious forces entered the town of Neghelli, from which Mussolini created a title of Marquis for the general. This propagandized success paled in reality to the difficulties experienced by Marshal Badoglio on the northern front.

The Strategic Movement rule is mandatory for this scenario (4th Edition optional rule)