Abyssinia

• Where is Abyssinia?

  • Today, Abyssinia is called Ethiopia
  • It is on the north-eastern coast of Africa
  • In 1935 it was surrounded by British and French colonies, but Abyssinia itself was still an independent country
• Why did Mussolini want Abyssinia?

  • As a fascist dictator, Mussolini had promised his people that he would rebuild the Ancient Roman Empire. Britain and France had added much of Africa to their own empires throughout the nineteenth century, but Mussolini felt that Abyssinia, as an independent nation, would be an ideal target for an invasion. He didn't think that Britain and France could object when they had so many colonies in this region themselves
  • He thought the invasion would be easy because Italy already owned small colonies bordering Abyssinia: Eritrea and Somaliland. Mussolini could build bases in these countries and launch his attack from there
  • Abyssinia could also be good for the Italian economy; it was rich in natural resources and a good land for grazing animal
• Why did Mussolini want Abyssinia pt.2

  • In 1896 Italy had tried, and failed, to invade Abyssinia. It had expected an easy victory against an undeveloped country, but had faced a humiliating defeat. Mussolini wanted revenge and to restore national pride
  • Mussolini was sure that he could invade Abyssinia without the League of Nations taking action. He had had dealings with the League during the Corfu crisis in 1923, when it had failed to stop him from bullying Greece. He was also made more confident by the League's failure in Manchuria
  • Mussolini was convinced that Britain and France would not stop him from building an empire in Africa. In 1935 they had signed an agreement to form the Stresa Front, agreeing that they would unite against Hitler. France was afraid that Hitler might invade them and gave Mussolini the impression that they would do anything to keep Italy as an ally against Hitler
• How did Mussolini invade Abyssinia?

  • Mussolini's opportunity came in December 1934 when, on Mussolini's orders, Italian soldiers clashed with Abyssinians at Wal Wal, an oasis on the border between Abyssinia and Somaliland: 150 Abyssinians and two Italians were killed. The League tried to intervene, but found it difficult to stop Mussolini. Both Italy and Abyssinia were members of the League, but Italy was intent on war
  • In January 1935 the French foreign minister, Pierre Laval, met with Mussolini and made a number of secret agreements. France promised Italy not to interfere in Somaliland and Eritrea, and gave it land in Chad, but Laval also promised to let Mussolini deal with Abyssinia however he saw fit
• How did Mussolini invade Abyssinia?

  • In spite of moral condemnation from the League, Mussolini's troops entered Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. Italy was a modern and advanced country with a large army with the latest technology
  • The Italians bombed the tribal villages of Abyssinia and used chemical weapons to terrorise the people into surrendering
  • The only resistance they met was the small Abyssinian army, some soldiers armed with nothing more than spears
• How did Mussolini invade Abyssinia?

  • On 30 June 1936 Haile Selassie, the Abyssinian emperor, had addressed the League in Geneva; warning it of the effect its failure to deal with Mussolini would have
  • But the League did nothing when, on 5 May 1936, Italian troops took the Abyssinian capital, Addis Ababa
  • The League of Nations had once again failed to prevent one of its members from violating the Covenant
  • From this point on, many people's faith in the League of Nations was ruined and many historians claim that it was no longer viewed as a serious peacekeeping organisation
• Why did the League fail in Abyssinia?

  Failure to close the Suez Canal

  • The Suez Canal was built to connect the Mediterranean and the Red Sea
  • It was owned by the British and French and meant that they could travel to Eastern Africa or Asia without having to go all the way around the Cape of Africa
  • Britain and France could have closed the canal to stop Mussolini moving troops and supplies to invade Abyssinia, but they didn't because they wanted to avoid upsetting Mussolini
  • They were worried that Mussolini would unite with Hitler so they tried to keep him on their side
• Why did the League fail in Abyssinia?

  Trade sanctions against Italy

  • Members of the League were forbidden from importing Italian goods and from selling weapons to Italy
  • However it took two months to decide what else to ban, and when the decision was made, trade sanctions didn't include oil, steel, iron or coal
  • The British were worried that banning the trade in coal would cause unemployment in British mining areas, and the League felt that banning oil was pointless because countries like the USA and the USSR would continue to supply Mussolini
  • Mussolini later said that if coal and oil had been banned, he would have had to stop his invasion, as he needed these to fuel war machines such as tanks
• Why did the League fail in Abyssinia?

  The Hoare-Laval Pact

  • Britain and France sent their foreign ministers, Pierre Laval and Samuel Hoare, to come up with a settlement to offer Italy
  • In December 1935 they met in secret and agreed that Italy would be given areas in Abyssinia
  • Abyssinia would be reduced to half its size, and the land it would keep would be mainly mountain regions, while Italy would gain the fertile areas
  • This land was not their to give and they did not discuss their plan with Italy or Abyssinia
  • Details of the Hoare-Laval Pact were leaked to the press, and public outcry followed
  • The two politicians were forced to resign, but the damage had been done: they had proved that Britain and France were willing to undermine the League for their own self-interest
• Why did the League fail in Abyssinia?

  Trade sanctions against Abyssinia

  • The League banned members from selling arms to Abyssinia as well as Italy
  • Abyssinia was left with nothing to defend itself with against Mussolini's modern army
• The end of the League

  • In December 1937 Italy left the League of Nations
  • This left just Britain, France and the USSR (which had joined in 1934) to run to the League
  • However Britain and France had shown that they were more interested in their own welfare than protecting the Covenant of the League
  • Many historians say that from this time on, no one really respected the League and its days as an international police force had ended
  • Small countries knew that the League would not protect them from invasion, and aggressive dictators such as Mussolini and Hitler realised that it was powerless to stop them starting a war