The war of Elabered between EPLF and Ethiopian troops in 1978

In 1978 Ethiopia launched a massive military campaign to reoccupy Eritrea. More than 100,000 heavily armed troops attacked EPLF and ELF positions from bases in Ethiopia, from government-controlled enclaves in Eritrea, from amphibious landings along the Red Sea coast. Soviet advisers played a key role in planning and executing four large offensives over the next six months before the EPLF halted the advance outside the town of Nakfa in the Sahel Mountains. A fifth offensive in July 1979 was beaten back at Nakfa with heavy Ethiopian losses.