The day following the first attack on the Zalalacà garrison, Console Galbiati, commander of the 219th Legion, led a motorized company into Las Addas station, but suffered a wound in the process. The Ethiopians contested the approach and almost encircled the village. Galbiati spent the remainder of the day fortifying the Italian positions and recalling an HMG section from a far hill position. His preparations paid dividends as the Las Addas garrison faced further attacks during the ensuing night. None of the attacks succeeded nor did those carried out against the isolated detachment in Zalalacà. The solution for the stalemate was, however, very close at hand.

Although driven off, Dejazmach Ficrè Mariam’s attack showed the increasing threat the guerrillas posed in the vicinity of Addis Ababa. The Italians shrugged off their losses and repaired the damaged railway. But Graziani, considered a leading expert in counterinsurgency at the time, knew how precarious the situation remained and ordered clearing operations along the railway.