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It was the second war Italian-Ethiopian War (COLONIAL WAR MUSSOLINIS AIMS TO CREATE A COLONY)
It lasted from October 1935 May 1936
The Italians won the war they won the military occupation of Ethiopia, consequently leading to the newly
created colony of Italian East Africa
Abyssinia regained its independence five years later during WWII (SHOWS THAT ITALIAN POWER WAS SHORT LIVED
AND THAT MUSSOLINI COULD NOT MAINTAIN IT)
Italians
Resources in
the War
Impacts of the
War
Ethiopians
1935
Events
An incident took place at Wal Wal on
the Ethiopian border with Italian
Somaliland where by 30 Italian soldiers
were killed (initiated by the Italian
troops)
Mussolini asked for a formal apology
and compensation from the Ethiopians,
however he did not wait instead he
issued a secret order for the total
conquest of Ethiopia with the
intentions of building up his military
forces
Mussolini ensured that neither Britain
nor France would block the Italian
invasion of Ethiopia, therefore he tried
to ensure his success in the invasion he
was planning on Ethiopia AIDED BY THE
October
1935
April
1936
May
1936
King
He had initially opposed the war and told Mussolini to be cautious in his
attempts to capture and occupy Ethiopia
Backed the war once the League of Nations introduced its sanctions and
the initial difficulties had been overcome and the Addis Ababa (the
capture of Ethiopia) was presented in a positive light TO ENSURE THAT ITALY
WAS STILL PERCIEVED IN A POSITVE LIGHT BY FOREGIN POWERS
Army
1, 500 men were killed perhaps showing that the army was not as safe and
secure as it was portrayed by the Fascist government
Troops still had to be stationed in Ethiopia to control the smaller recently
united tribes which were rebelling the occupation
Troops had to remain there for the 5 year period that Italy occupied
Ethiopia due to the continuous revolutionary fighting which at times meant
Italy only had control of a few main towns
Italian
Mussolini became over confident in the capability of the army and his
military judgement, leading to more dangerous decisions being made on
Mussolinis part as to the actions of the army
Leaders of the armed forces were against war and even Mussolini himself
admitted that the war was an unpopular prospect
Money had gone into the over-provision of men and equipment for the
People
war (the equivalent to two years normal state spending), not to address
the needs of the growing peasant population
The war had forced government borrowing and diverted industrial
production to armament production
It also contributed to the poor state of the Italian economy up until 1940
Foreign
Attitudes
Britain
and
France
However the peasants in the south did not agree with the war, they felt
even more isolated than they did before, with all the preparations and
support of war coming from the north
People thought the war was a joke, and did not take it seriously saying it
was far more of a sports event than a page in military history
Britain and France were not against the Italian occupation of Ethiopia and
therefore created the HOARE LAVAL PACT with France, whereby a large
part of Ethiopia would have been handed over to Italy
The pact had to be abandoned however due to public outcry especially in
Britain from pro-Ethiopian groups (shows that the people of Britain had
different views to the government)
Both countries were not keen to oppose Italy to strongly out of the fear of
war, which Mussolini threatened to in his public speeches
Some Britons were conscious of the war in Abyssinia
In the end we should find a terrible momentin which it might be that
Abyssinia would be destroyed altogether as an independent State Sir
Samuel Hoare
Other
Due to the fact that Ethiopia was in The League of Nations, its members
voted for sanctions to be introduced in November 1935 as a result of
Italys actions
Economic sanctions were applied to force Italys withdrawal from Ethiopia,
by The League of Nations stopping the import of Italian goods and stopping
the sale of arms to Italy
The League of Nations later failed due to its credibility being undermined
by its failure to protect one its members, which had already been damaged
by its inability to defend China against Japan and by Hitler rearming
Germany
Certain countries such as Germany, Japan and the USA, did not support
the sanctions, therefore Italy could still trade with them
Understandably Ethiopia was against the war in the first place, however after their defeat in 1936, their
main issues seem to lay with The League of Nations and the lack of intervention in the war. In a speech
by Ethiopias ex-emperor Haili Selassie I to the Assembly of The League of Nations he stated:
I thought it impossible that fifty-two nations could successfully be held in check by a single
aggressor [How can a] strong government find that it can without risk destroy a weak peopleI ask
these fifty-two nations, what are they willing to do for Abyssinia? What answer am I to take back to
my people?