The road to Amba Aradam narrowed into a series of switchbacks carved into the edge of Ethiopia's spine.
Italian convoys crawled through clouds of dust.
By dawn on 14 October, forward patrols of the 4th Alpini Division reached the lower ridges of the Amba Aradam massif.
General Emilio De Bono, now cautious after Mekele, halted his vanguard short of the cliffs.
From a forward command tent beneath a camouflaged tarp, he surveyed the range.
"This is a fortress built by God," muttered his chief engineer, binoculars fogging in the morning mist. "We can't flank it."
De Bono gave a single nod. "Then we'll climb it."
High above them, Ras Seyoum Mengesha watched the advance from behind stacked rocks and scrub camouflaging his riflemen.
Over the past week, his men had dragged supplies through goat trails and hidden granaries deep within caves.
"The Italians will come slow," he told his captains. "They will think cliffs make them safe. We'll make cliffs into fire."
