 In 1935, "Ras" Desta commanded troops along the southern border of Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.In January 1936, he was defeated by the Italian General Rodolfo Graziani at the Battle of Ganale Dorya.Desta retreated back to his administrative center at Irgalem, where with the help of "Dejazmach" Gabremariam, he reorganized his surviving supporters to resist the Italian advance.