Why Did Mussolini Invade Abyssinia in 1935?

On October 3rd 1935, Mussolini led Italy to invade Abyssinia (now-Ethiopia). This is a significant event due to creating many consequences and outcomes and especially the build-up to World War II and raising international tension. The causes for the Invasion of Abyssinia are the 1884 Berlin Conference, 1896 Battle of Adowa, 1931 Manchuria invasion and how Mussolini wanted to make Italy great again. This also drove Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy together for the first time.

Cause for the Invasion of Abyssinia by Mussolini.

Benito Mussolini, the prime minister at that time, had many intentions for his country, one of them was to build an Italian empire and make Italy “great again” just as it was in the glory days of the Roman Empire. His motivation was to show the world how powerful Italy could be. He saw himself as the “modern day Julius Caesar”. The rise of fascism and Mussolini granted a change in the world of politics and colonization. This was also a cause for the Invasion of Abyssinia due to the need to gain power and a strong title under the country of Italy. Italy got the assurance of African land at the end of World War One however did not receive any which they had hoped for. He also used adventures to other countries as a distraction of the effect of the depression for his people within Italy.

Cause for Invasion.

One main cause for the Invasion of Abyssinia, is the Berlin Conference in 1884. At the Berlin Conference Italy had joined Britain and France to claim territory in Africa to gain the resources needed for an industrial revolution, however many had been taken by others and Italy was left with areas such as Eritrea and Somaliland which were not as important. Nonetheless, they surrounded Abyssinia which was one of the remaining countries left which also happened to be rich in minerals and resources which led to another cause for the invasion – the Battle of Adowa in 1896.

The Italians had outnumbered the Abyssinians, however they were still heavily defeated. They had over 6000 casualties which was humiliating to Italy because the Abyssinians didn’t have a strong enough army compared to the Italians which impacted their pride and was difficult to comprehend. The Italians wanted to avenge the humiliation suffered at Adowa so this defeat did not stop Italian politicians from planning another attempt to take over Abyssinia thus being a cause for the invasion as the Italians determined to colonize Abyssinia.

image source: **Blackpast.org**
The battle of Adowa
(the first Italian-Ethiopian war)

Reason to Invade Abyssinia.

In 1928, Mussolini signed a treaty with Haile Selassie who was the emperor of Abyssinia of friendship and arbitration however Italy was already planning an invasion during this time. The 1934 Wal Wal incident is another cause as it sparked up tension between Italy and Abyssinia. In 1930, Mussolini built inside 50 miles of Abyssinian territory which was a violation of the 1928 treaty of friendship then on November 22, 1934, around 1000 Abyssinian men demanded the Italians turn the fort over to them. When the Italians refused, a battle broke out on December 5th 1934 which resulted in the deaths of more than 150 soldiers. Both countries wanted something from the other, Italy accused the Abyssinians of aggression at the oasis, they also wanted financial remunerations and both Italy and Abyssinia demanded apologies. Abyssinia asked the League of Nations to step in and help with a solution however they decided not to punish either country and as that was happening, Italy prepared for a war by sending more troops to Eritrea and Somaliland. Italy had stockpiled large quantities of ammunition and supplies. Mussolini used this event as a reason to invade Abyssinia.

The League.

Another cause for the Invasion of Abyssinia was the failure of the League of Nations and how weak they were in initiating consequences for those who violated the rules. The League of Nations formed to keep peace between nations and enforce treaties made after the First World War. Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and even though it was a violation of the League of Nations rules, Japan received little consequence and outcomes. Mussolini also sent his daughter to Britain to talk with the prime minister.

She asked what would happen if Italy were to invade a country and Britain’s response to her assured Mussolini that Italy could attack Abyssinia without receiving much reaction from the League. The League then showed as weak and so Germany left it in 1933. However, Britain and France allied with Italy in 1935 which called the Stresa Front, to refrain Mussolini from creating an alliance with Adolf Hitler, Germany’s dictator. So therefore due to previous failure with establishing a worthy consequence for Japan, Britain and France, Mussolini disregarded those countries and He went forth with his plans to invade Abyssinia and keep building his Roman Empire.

The Sanctions.

Haile Selassie demanded action from the League of Nations, originally they had banned arms sales to either side which affected the Abyssinians more than the Italians due to the difference in army. Afterwards, the League agreed to some sanctions such as rubber and metals but did not stop coal, iron or oil sales. Britain also did not close the Suez canal to Italy as they feared that Mussolini might declare war on Britain however this meant Mussolini could use the Suez canal to send men and supplies to Abyssinia. This was an important idea and this contributed to the cause of the attack, if Britain were to shut the Suez canal, would Italy have invaded Abyssinia.

On October 3rd 1935, 100,000 strong army of Italy invaded Abyssinia. However this time, Italy equipped with modern equipment – they had armoured vehicles, tanks, flame throwers, mustard gas while the Abyssinians had pre-World War One rifles, war drums, planes and camels. The Italians used mustard gas and attacked Red Cross hospitals which broke the Geneva Convention protocols but still the League did not agree on a consequence. 760,300 Abyssinians died in the conflict. Addis Ababa, the capital of Abyssinia, fell in May 1936 and the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel replaced Haile Selassie from the throne. Now Abyssinia, Somaliland and Eritrea were all united under the Italian East Africa.

The Consequence.

A consequence that also showed as a cause for the Invasion of Abyssinia is the closing of the Suez canal. The Suez canal owned by Britain and France, the League however banned some exports due to Haile Selassie asking the League for help. It took six weeks for the sanctions to be organized and they did not include vital materials such as oil. The sanctions had very little effect thus Italy refused to take part. The League did not ban oil exports so Italy used the canal to transport resources into their African colonies.

Britain and France did not close the canal as they feared Mussolini would declare war on them too. The League of Nations decided in 1936 that if they banned the oil exports to Italy, the invasion could have been delayed for about two months and would have had a major impact on Italy’s war machine. Italy would simply get their oil from America if the League banned oil exports as America was not part of the League. Nevertheless, it was too late as by the time the League had come to the decision, Italy had taken over almost the entire country thus the ineffectiveness of the League and its decisions were shown as a consequence of the invasion of Abyssinia.

the Alliance of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

The League of Nations meant to replace the old system of alliances and balance of power. Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister said “that policy has been tried out an it has failed to prevent war, failed to stop war, failed to save the victim of aggression”. Neville believed the League of Nations had failed and that everyone should give up the idea of the League as it has proven to be weak and not help. He enforces the idea of a new system as he believes the League was unsuccessful in preventing war.

A consequence of the invasion was also how In December 1935 Samuel Hoare, the British Foreign Secretary, met with Pierre Laval, the French Prime Minister. They decided to come up with a plan in an effort to end the war. They came up with the Hoare-Laval Plan which would mean giving two large areas of Abyssinia to Italy which created a gap in the middle of the country to the Abyssinians. The southern part of the country would reserved for Italian businesses and in return for this land, Mussolini would have to stop the war.

The League’s Involvements.

The British believed that a government minister had betrayed the people of Abyssinia and even though Mussolini had accepted this plan, the people of Britain disagreed with it. Pierre Laval had to resign as Prime Minister in January 1936, this showed that the leading nations Britain and France, did not have faith in the League themselves.

However the Hoare-Laval Plan indicated that two European League members prepared to negotiate with a nation that had used aggression to enforce its will on a weaker nation, which also means that the sanctions failed. This lead everyone to see how the League’s involvement in this event was a disaster and how they didn’t support countries or do what they were made to do in times of need. It also lead Italy to look away from the league even though they belonged to them and turn to a different man – Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.

Rome-Berlin Axis.

Another consequence was the alliance of Mussolini and Hitler. Hitler left the League of Nations in 1933 as he became confident invading after seeing Mussolini invaded Abyssinia without much reaction from the League. The League’s main focus was on Italy so while that was happening, on 7 March 1936 Germany remilitarized the Rhineland. Soon after, Mussolini and Hitler formed an alliance called the Rome – Berlin Axis and Italy left the League of Nations in 1937. Then they took part in the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939 with Hitler’s encouragement.

After working well together during the Spanish Civil War and bringing a facist victory over communism, they decide to reach out to Imperial Japan and so in 1936, Japan and Germany signed the Anti-Comintern pact followed by Italy in 1937 to stop the spread of communism around the world. Germany and Italy further signed the Pact of Steel on May 22 1939 which enforced the Rome – Berlin Axis.

The Conclusion.

To conclude, the Invasion of Abyssinia in 1935-1936 was a key moment in history as it ultimately brought the world away from peace and back to war which meant it would help with the buildup to World War Two. There were many causes for the invasion however the Berlin Conference, the Battle of Adowa and the dispute at Wal Wal were highly important as it pushed Italy. Mussolini’s motivation to make Italy great again and how the League proved to be weak also contributed in many ways. The consequences of the invasion was the League of Nations decision for exporting resources with limiting sanctions and the use of the Suez canal, the alliance between Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy and the outcomes of their alliance would further lead to other outcomes and finally the Hoare-Laval Plan that led to the alliance of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.