One More Scramble in Africa - The Second Italo-Abyssinian War | BETWEEN 2 WARS I 1935 Part 4 of 4 - YouTube (1)
In 1935, Fascist leader and de-facto dictator of Italy, Benito Mussolini will launch an
international crisis that will not only outrage the world, but also show that by now national
chauvinism is not just a trend, but an unstoppable force. He does this by invading Abyssinia
and ousting its indigenous dictator Emperor Hailee Selassie.
Welcome to Between-2-Wars a chronological summary of the interwar years, covering all
facets of life, the uncertainty, hedonism, and euphoria, and ultimately humanity's
descent into the darkness of the Second World War. I'm Indy Neidell.
A crucial part of fascism is that the Nation should be as strong and big as it possibly
can be, right? So, when Italy becomes Fascist under Benito Mussolini in the 1920s, the Italians
again look out across their borders. Like other European powers, Italy had participated
in the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century. Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland
becoming part of the Italian Empire in the 1880s. Now in the 1930s Italy has also colonized
Libya.
One of the major African countries that managed to survive the 19th-century and until the
30s uncolonized, though, is Abyssinia, today Ethiopia, between Eritrea and Somaliland.
This area is desirable, having influence over the Suez Canal. It also hosts a large population,
providing opportunities for military recruitment. Furthermore, it could be used as a starting
point for a campaign into the Horn of Africa. Back in the 1870s, the Abyssinian-Egyptian
war caused a local power vacuum and European powers swooped in. France took a piece of
Somaliland, and to counter this Britain supported Italy, at the time not many years post-unification
and seeking to legitimize their status as a European power by expanding overseas. That
is when Italy established settlements in Eritrea and Somaliland, including the strategic deep-water
port of Massawa.
But still, Abyssinia is the big prize. And there had been tensions between Abyssinia
and Eritrea before, as the borders are not what you might call ‘set in stone'. Abyssinia
itself was a locally powerful expansionist kingdom, wanting to expand northward, where
Italy's colonies were, and this caused several conflicts, like the 1887 Battle of Dogali
where the Abyssinians outnumbered an Italian army of 500 about 14 to 1, resulting in the
annihilation of the Italian force. Italians back home were shocked by the defeat of their
troops at the hands of what they saw as an army of inferior Africans.
Well, Abyssinia still feared for invasion. France and Russia, though, both opposed to
Italy as a colonial power, aided Abyssinia - Russia also because Abyssinia was officially
Orthodox Christian. The country became the scene of a European political struggle. Weapons,
advisors, and diplomats poured in to win over Emperor Menelik. So it is not much of a surprise
that Abyssinia was not to be conquered as many other parts of Africa were. Europeans
in general were still full of their own superiority, though, and the Italians were no different.
Italian and Abyssinian military actions escalated the situation till in the Battle of Adua in
1896, a massive army of 120,000 Abyssinians crushed an Italian force of 17,000, killing
close to half of the Italian and Colonial units.
If the people back in Italy had been shocked by the loss of 500 Italians, this time Italy
is completely stunned. The disaster at Adua causes a wave of dissatisfaction with the
Italian government. PM Crispi resigns and Italy resigns from Abyssinia. For the time
being, that is.
Between 1898 and 1933, Italy focusses its colonial efforts on Eritrea, Somalia and Libya.
As we saw in the episode on the conquest of Libya, this was mostly done by colonial troops
as the Italian public was tired of shedding Italian blood in foreign countries, a feeling
only reinforced by The Great War. Now, in this time, Eritrea develops into an African
extension of Italy. Postwar, the Fascists invest a boatload of money and effort in Eritrea,
acknowledging its strategic location on the Red Sea and its industrial potential. 3600
KM of roads are paved. Railway is constructed, and a long cableway that connects the port
of Massawa and the capital of Asmara is constructed. The number of passengers transported by the
Eritrean railways is 33,381 in 1910 but increases to 111,463 by 1928. Urbanization is significant
as many former agricultural workers move to the cities to work in factories, leading to
the explosive rise of Eritrean cities, Asmara growing from 16,000 thousand inhabitants in
1931 to an astonishing 100,000 by 1940.
By the mid 1930's, Eritrea has become the most industrialized part of sub-Saharan Africa;
Asmara even has more traffic lights than Rome as a result of modern city planning. These
developments give Italy an industrialized, modernized basis from which they can, and
intend to, extend their power over Africa. Virtually no regional infrastructure existed
in 1896 when the Italians were annihilated at Adua, so as tensions now again rise with
Abyssinia, the Italian Eritrean base might prove to be decisive.
Both Italy and Abyssinia have joined the League of Nations and though they have been officially
at peace since 1896, there are still border disputes. And it is Abyssinia's southeast
border with Italian Somaliland that will be the trigger for the next crisis.
The Italian fortified garrison at Walwal is at one of these disputed border areas. An
Anglo-Abyssinian border commission goes in to settle a local border dispute, but the
Italians respond by deploying even more troops there. Though opposed to the actions of the
Italians, the British withdraw in order to avoid an international incident. The Abyssinians,
on the other hand, do not. While it is not completely clear what occurs in December 1934,
it is clear that skirmishes break out, resulting in the deaths of dozens of Abyssinians, Italians,
and Somalis.
In the days following the incident, the Ethiopians accuse Italians of aggression while the Italians
demand an apology and compensation. With neither side backing down, the Abyssinian Emperor,
Haile Selassie, appeals in person to the League of Nations with the hope to resolve the conflict-
they eventually exonerate both sides. In response to that appeal, Mussolini sends generals Emilio
de Bono and Rodolfo Graziani, both of whom served in Libya, to Eritrea and Somaliland
with sizeable army in February 1935. The Abyssinians continue to protest the Italian military build-up
along their border.
Despite attempts to de-escalate the situation, Italo-Abyssinian negotiations collapse.
Over the summer of 1935, the British government sends Minister of League of Nations Affairs
Anthony Eden to Rome with several proposals, all of which are rejected by Mussolini. In
August, a conference takes place in Paris but Italy firmly holds its position. And what
is remarkable is that talks are held between Italy, France and Britain, but Abyssinia doesn't
really have a say in anything that's going on on the International Stage. See, Britain
and France are primarily interested in maintaining the status quo in Africa and the Mediterranean,
keeping the Abyssinian-French Somaliland railway open, and preventing an Italo-German alliance.
But while France and Britain are talking, Italy is still building a force in East Africa
in the hundreds of thousands, and it is designed to both avenge Adua and avoid a repeat. Mussolini
sends more troops and equipment than can possibly be needed or has requested by commanders.
The Italian forces are made up of a multitude of different types of soldiers that can be
subdivided into three categories: Italian soldiers, colonial soldiers, and Blackshirt
members. The former two groups are mainly career soldiers, many of whom had experience
from years of fighting and who made up the bulk of the force. However, since this conflict
is also ideological for the Italians, it also has members of the Blackshirts, the Fascist
Party's armed wing.
And on October 3rd, Italy invades Abyssinia, starting the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.
The invasion begins with 100,00 Italian and Eritrean soldiers crossing the border from
both the north and the south. With the invasion seeming inevitable, Haile Selassie orders
a general mobilization of roughly half a million soldiers. However, unlike 1896, Abyssinia
is no match for the Italian army. The Abyssinians are ill-equipped, and if they are lucky enough
to be issued a rifle, it is probably one dating back to 1900 or earlier. The Italians, fearing
a repeat of Adua, are over-prepared. The numbers of men, supplies, weapons are all are far
above what is necessary to pull off the invasion. Nowhere is this more evident than in the air,
where the Italians have total control. While the Abyssinians have three outdated biplanes,
the Italians deploy a staggering 355 airplanes. This disparity extends to virtually every
aspect of the military build-up: Abyssinia has a handful of Fiat WWI-era tanks, which
were given by Italy after that war, whereas the Italians have 200 modern tanks. The Abyssinians
have 200 pieces of antiquated artillery, the Italians 2,000 modern. In other words, Italy
has the advantage.
And while the Abyssinians manage at times to stall the Italian advance and even attempt
a counteroffensive, the ultimate result is predictable. In May 1936, Marshal Pietro Badoglio
enters Addis Ababa with Italian and Eritrean troops. Shortly after this, Mussolini gives
King Vittorio Emmanuel III the title of ‘Emperor', and proudly acclaims that Italy has finally
reached the status of an empire.
It had not been a clean fight though, and war crimes on both sides were rampant.
The most infamous atrocity was Italy's use of chemical weapons, particularly mustard
gas, despite having signed the 1925 Geneva Protocol banning that. Italy, of course, denies
using chemical weapons, but there is still great international outrage- partly because
of the Red Cross having also been targeted. However, the Abyssinians violated the ‘the
Hague Convention' with their use of dum-dum bullets, that explode upon impact and cause
severe internal damage.
The conquest of Abyssinia marks the effective collapse of the League of Nations as an institution,
though it formally remains in place for the years to come. The League had failed to prevent
one of its member states from attacking another, its core objective.
Also, Britain and France had tried to resolve the situation in secret when British Foreign
Secretary Samuel Hoare and French Prime Minister Pierre Laval signed the Hoare-Laval Pact.
They wanted to carve up Abyssinia, giving Italy territory and increasing its sphere
of influence while protecting Abyssinian statehood, albeit as a rump state. However, the revelation
of the secret pact results in public outrage in Britain and France against their governments.
The plan is scrapped and relations with Mussolini worsen.
On the other hand, Mussolini reaches the zenith of his popularity as he manages to expand
the country's territory while also avoiding the apparent hypocrisy of France and Britain
trying to limit his colonial ambitions. Together with Hitler's enthusiastic support, this
means that the lines for the alliances that would take hold in the Second World War are
slowly taking form.
The Abyssinian Invasion also marks Italy's gradual shift towards racist policies. At
its core, Italian fascism was not originally based on racism, which set it apart from its
German counterpart. However, in the latter half of the 1930's, the government begins
instituting officially policies such as segregated housing and anti-miscegenation laws. This
preserves the status of Italians as a superior people and Italy as a superior state.
As in Libya, Italy also attempts to court the favor of local disaffected ethnic and
religious groups, such as the Oromo and various Muslim groups like the Somalis. Some of these
even supported Italy's invasion.
The Amhara Orthodox elite are largely removed and the Italians do abolish slavery and feudalism.
Italy also carries out large public works projects in the economically backwards new
colony, which does prove to be a huge strain on the Italian state budget. Hopes for large
scale settlements are unrealized, however, though there is a significant move of Abyssinians
to Eritrea, since it was more developed than Abyssinia. Under Italian administration, East
Africa witnesses large scale architectural change. Addis Ababa has its biggest mosque
