on 22 february 1896, umberto dismissed general baratieri as commander of the italian expeditionary force, ordering him to remain in command until his successor arrived. on 25 february crispi sent a telegram to baratieri accusing him of cowardice and incompetence, and ended with demanding he fight the ethiopians immediately "whatever the cost to save the honor of the army and the prestige of the monarchy". in response to crispi's telegram, baratieri ignored his doubts and attacked a much larger ethiopian force on 1 march 1896 in the battle of adwa. italian defeat came about after the battle of adwa, where the ethiopian army dealt the heavily outnumbered italians a decisive loss and forced their retreat back into eritrea. general baratieri took no responsibility for the defeat, blaming his men, saying they were cowards who had let him down at adwa. by contrast, the british military observer stated the ordinary italian soldiers at adwa "were as good as fighting material as can be found in europe", but they had been let down by their officers who had shown no leadership abilities whatsoever.