On 29 February Baratieri marched in four separate columns on the Ethiopians at Adowa, where they outnumbered his immediate command of 9,894 men by more than ten to one.[2][3] The fighting began soon after 5:30 am on 1 March, when a horseman entered the Ethiopian camp with news of the Italian advance. Ethiopian forces were well positioned to receive the Italians in a crossfire, and by noon the battle was effectively over.