Download The Abyssinian Invasion

The Abyssinian Crisis
1934-36
Context/Background
• Between Italy and Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
• Both Countries signed Treaty of Friendship
(1928) & Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)
• Mussolini desired an Italian Empire over the
Mediterranean and Africa
• Imperialistic aims incorporated desire for
revenge against the Abyssinians
Walwal Incident
• 1930: Italian breached Treaty of Friendship,
when they built a fort at Walwal which meant
Italy was encroaching upon Ethiopian territory
• 1934: Anglo-Ethiopian commission arrives at
Walwal but halted by Italian garrison
• British withdrew to avoid International
incident but Ethiopians remained
• Skirmish between Ethiopians and Somalis
(under Italian control), but according to
Italians, Ethiopians attacked first
1935- Build-up to Invasion
• Ethiopia appealed to League of Nations after
Italy demanded not only an apology but
financial & strategic compensation
• ‘Franco-Italian Agreement’ between Laval and
Mussolini gave Italy freedom to deal with
Ethiopia in return for their support for France
against Germany
• League exonerated both Countries as both
protested Walwal was their territory
• October 3rd- Italy invaded Ethiopia without a
declaration of war
1936-Invasion
• 500,000 Italian Troops invaded Abyssinia
• Little resistance
• Italian modern weaponry such as use of tanks,
aircraft and most of all chemical weapons
(mustard gas) left Ethiopians hopeless
• Italian capture of capital, Addis Ababa
• Ethiopia merged with other Italian colonies to
become AOI (Africa Orientale Italia)
League of Nations
• League dubbed Italy the aggressor, imposing
sanctions on them
• However the sanctions were half-hearted and
slow
• Oil and vital Materials excluded in sanctions,
and the use of the Suez Canal (by the British)
• UK and France still wanted to maintain Italian
support against Germany so sanctioned lightly
• Germany ignored sanctions and became an
essential provider of raw materials
Hoare-Laval Pact
• Proposed by British Foreign Secretary Samuel
Hoare and French Prime Minister Pierre Laval
• Secret Pact offered Italy 2/3 of Abyssinia, which
Mussolini was going to accept
• French Newspaper leaked this, denouncing it a
‘sell-out’ of the Abyssinians
• British government disassociated itself with the
Pact
• GB & France wanted Italy to rejoin Stresa Front
• Changed Germany into supporting Italy
• Historians such as A.J.P Taylor argue that the Pact
effectively was the event that ‘killed the League of
Nations’
Map of Hoare-Laval Pact
Shows the territory being planned to be given to Italy
Bibliography
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyssinia_Crisis#
International_response_and_subsequent_acti
ons
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Italo–
Abyssinian_War#Italian_invasion
• http://www.wo2militaryranks.nl/images/Imag
es_flags/Italian_war_flag.JPG