In the end, as part of the government, the Empress was in the strange position of being formally on the same side as King Tafari and being against her husband who was rebelling on her behalf. Open revolt The response to the chitet, like the initial call to suppress the revolt in Wollo, was less than enthusiastic. The newly appointed Minister of War, Ras Mulugeta Yeggazu, was only able to raise an Army of the Center (Mahel Sefari) with 16,000 men pledged to it. Worse, by January 1930, Mulugeta Yeggazu found himself with only 2,000 men as he gathered in Dessie. Even worse, Gugsa Wale was now in open revolt and he had already gathered an army in Debre Tabor of 35,000 utterly devoted men. In mid-March, Ras Mulugeta marched the Mahel Sefari to Debre Tabor to face the rebellious Gugsa Wale. With him were five cannon, seven machine guns, and something entirely new for Ethiopian warfare: Aircraft. Battle of Anchem On 31 March, Gugsa Wale and his army met the Mahel Sefari at Debre Zebit on the plains of Anchem. The use of aerial warfare, psychological warfare, and superior armaments by the Mahel Sefari meant that the Battle of Anchem was almost over before it was fought. Shortly after mid-day, Gugsa Wale was surrounded and isolated. Mounted on a white charger, Gugsa Wale was shot several times and killed. Fitawrari Shumye, the second-in-command of the Army of Begemder, fought on until he was captured later in the afternoon. What little was left of the army then completely disintegrated. With his death and with the destruction of his army, Gugsa Wale's rebellion was over. Aftermath Within three days of the death of Ras Gugsa Wale, Empress Zewditu was dead of natural causes. On 2 November 1930, about eight months after the passing of Zewditu, Negus Tafari Makonnen was proclaimed Emperor (Nəgusä Nägäst) Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. Nəgusä Nägäst Haile Selassie was of the opinion that the Italians were behind Ras Gugsa's rebellion. In his autobiography, he claimed Italy was engaged in propaganda activities with the object of dividing the Ethiopian Empire. According to Haile Selassie, Ras Gugsa Wale of Begemder and Ras Hailu Tekle Haymanot of Goggam connived to carry out the work of deceit and propaganda with the Italians. See also 1928 Ethiopian coup d'état Footnotes and citations Footnotes Citations References External links 1930 in Ethiopia 20th century