In the Battle of the Cunene River, Portuguese Colonial forces were defeated by Angolan Ovambo warriors on 25 September 1904. The defeat was one of the heaviest defeats in Portuguese Colonial history since Alcácer Quibir (1578) and is comparable to the British defeat at Isandhlwana against the Zulus (1879), the Italian defeats at Dogali (1887) and at Adwa (1896) against the Ethiopians or the Spanish defeats at Melilla (1909) and at Annual (1921) against the Rif.