"The mission of the British expeditionary force sent to Abyssinia in 1867-1868, under the command of Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal Lord) Sir Robert C. Napier, was to free the host ages held by Abyssinian Emperor Theodore and to punish him for his petulance and actions.
The advance party of the British force arrived at Zula on Annesley Bay, south of Massawa, on 21 October 1867. Most of the soldiers were ashore by December 1867, and Napier and his staff arrived on 2 January 1868. By this time, it had been ascertained that Theodore, with 8,000 warriors, his host ages, and artillery, was moving to his mountain fortress at Magdala. The British force deployed from Zula toward Magdala on 25 January 1868. The rough terrain and large support element made movement slow, with the main body arriving at Antalo, 200 miles from the coast, on 2 March 1868. After a reorganization of the force into assault (1st) and support (2nd) divisions and a ten- day halt , the force continued marching toward Magdala on 12 March 1868.
The force entered Dildi, from which they could see Magdala, on 24 March 1868. The rugged terrain required a meandering 60-mile march before the objective was reached. Magdala was an imposing fortress situated on a peak rising 300 feet above the southern end of the Islam gee plateau. Three of the sides were sheer, almost unscalable cliffs, although on the eastern flank the land rose gradually in three large terraces. There were two other peaks on the Islam gee plateau: Selassie to the north of Magdala, and Fala to the west of Selassie…"
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