Little did they know, Ethiopian scouts had spotted their movements and prepared to attack the heavily outnumbered Egyptians. The 5,000 strong Egyptian infantry of Gura fort sortied out early on March 7. Fearing an attack on the supply depots, Rateb Pasha decided to send 5,000 out of his 7,500 strong force to attack the Ethiopian army, believing that dug-in Egyptian forces were unbeatable by enemies who did not possess artillery, such as the Abyssinians. Taking advantage of the lack of Egyptian reconnaissance, the Ethiopians positioned themselves on the Godolfelassie road, Yohannes could now strike Gura, Khaya Khor or Keren. Yohannes soon arrived in the area with a huge army of over 50,000 men mobilized from the provinces of Tigray, Gojjam and Hamasien. Gura fort was garrisoned by 7,500 men led by Rateb Pasha and ex Confederate general William Wing Loring and Khaya Khor fort was garrisoned by 5,500 men led by Uthman Rifqi. This army moved to Gura plain, and made two forts there: "Gura" fort and "Khaya Khor" fort. The Egyptian army invaded the Ethiopian Empire from its coastal possessions in what is now Eritrea, and met that of Emperor Yohannes at Gundet on the morning of 16 November 1875.Īfter the defeat at Gundet, the Egyptians sent a much larger, well-armed force to attempt a second invasion.
It was the second and decisive major battle of the Ethiopian–Egyptian War. The Battle of Gura was fought on 7–10 March 1876 between the Ethiopian Empire and the Khedivate of Egypt near the town of Gura in Eritrea.
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