"It is us today. It will be you tomorrow."

Benito Mussolini

From http://www.dickinson.edu/~history/dictators/Mussolini_Ideology_Page.htm

In 1922, an Italian journalist named Benito Mussolini became Prime Minister of Italy. With his new position, Mussolini also brought the beliefs of fascism to power. Fascism is the direct opposite of socialism and communism, and an opponent of democracy. It calls for stern leadership, and it was a growing type of government during the years preceding World War II. An unofficial dictator is usually the leader of a fascist government, which is what Mussolini served as. According to fascism, the state rules all, and the best country is one that follows orders of the state. Mussolini believed that his fascist state must lead Italy to dominance, and beginning in 1922, he began to build up Italy's military. Benito Mussolini. Pictured on the cover of Time Magazine, Mussolini, the Prime Minister of Italy, was the one who ordered the attack on Ethiopia. Referred to as "Il Duce", Mussolini played a crucial part in the events preceding World War II. His fascist government was the model for future governments of the same kind.

Haile Selassie

Tafari Makonnen was born near the Ethiopian (then, Ethiopia was known as Abyssinia) city of Harer in 1892 to an advisor of Menelik II, the Ethiopian leader at that time. At a young age, Makonnen took an interest in learning. When his father died in 1906, Makonnen replaced him as an advisor to Menelik II. Under Menelik, Makonnen became more aware of the world around him. Although Makonnen did not win the throne following Menelik's death in 1913, Makonnen had created a centralized bureaucracy, courts of law, printing presses, and brought other modernizations to Ethiopia, including its admittance to the League of Nations, by 1923. In 1930, Makonnen finally won the throne from Menelik's ancestors and took the name of Haile Selassie.

The Causes

The year is 1935 and Mussolini has turned Italy into a power to be reckoned with. According to Mussolini, "war is to man as maternity is to woman". Still, there were other reasons to attack and conquer another country, even if the Age of Imperialism was nearly over. Mussolini was facing stressful affairs at home and felt that a war would divert attention. He also felt he needed to boost the regime's popularity and provide an outlet for over-population in Italy. Ethiopia was a prime target because it was still an independent country, one of only two in Africa. In 1896, neighbors Britain and France assisted Ethiopia in resisting an Italian attack, but they did not want to interfere with Italy in 1936. Ethiopian army was poorly equipped, and any resistance against it would end quickly.   Haile Selassie (middle with hat) exits from a meeting room in Geneva on June 30, 1936. That day, Selassie pleaded to the League of Nations in Geneva to take action against Italy. He told the League that their two choices were support for collective security or international lawlessness. Despite loud, crude remarks from Italian journalists in the crowd, Selassie's speech was powerful and was a sign he was an emerging figure in the world. A famous remark from the speech summarizes the feelings around the world prior to World War II: "It is us (Ethiopia) today. It will be you tomorrow."

From http://www.angelfire.com/ak/sellassie/1935.html

League of Nations

The League of Nations, which was known for its inaction, did nothing to prevent Italy from attacking Ethiopia. One of the major problems for the League of Nations prior to World War II was its inaction to prevent aggression of any kind. This problem existed because many members of the League of Nations were the warring nations themselves. Both Ethiopia and Italy were League members at the time of the war. Two countries who could have figured prominently in the Italian-Ethiopian War, Britain and France, did their best to stay away from the War. While each nation owned land neighboring Ethiopia (and long treated Ethiopia as a buffer state), neither nation wanted to get on the bad side of a powerful fascist leader in Mussolini. Britain and France also feared that if they supported Ethiopia and angered Italy, Mussolini could ally with German chancellor Adolf Hitler, which could have had a devastating impact on World War II. The only action the League of Nations took was an oil boycott of Italy, which many countries disobeyed.

The War

From http://flightsimmers.net/airport/wingpub/abyssin.htmThe planned Italian attack. Italy planned to invade Ethiopia and move on its capital, Addis Ababa. About 500,000 Italian soldiers marched into Ethiopia and there was little the weak Ethiopian military could do to stop them from reaching Addis Ababa on M ay 5, 1936. Italy also planned to attack Ethiopia through the air, and became the first military to use chemical gasses during war.

On October 3, 1935, Italy attacked Ethiopia without a declaration of war. Four days later, the League of Nations declared Italy an aggressor, but as usual, took no action against the country. Italian troops held back until December of that year, when a border incident in the city of Wal Wal gave Italy its much needed excuse to attack Ethiopia. An accurate portrayal of the war itself can be conveyed through American journalists. American journalists in Ethiopia were disappointed that the war, which was a one-sided battle the entire way, was boring. Knowing that they needed a good story to put in the paper, journalists delayed their reports and instead said that the Ethiopians were managing to hold off the Italian forces. This created an American sympathizing with Ethiopia, which tarnished the actual events of the war itself. Italy responded to the journalists rendering of the war by saying that the attack was completely necessary, that the Ethiopian government treated its citizens badly and deserved to be attacked (this hasn't been proven true). The inaccurate depiction of the war by American journalists revealed how one-sided the war was in Italy's favor, that the Ethiopian situation was hopeless. The truth was that an outmatched, outnumbered Ethiopia was conquered by the Italians in a little over 7 months. Of the estimated 500,000 Italian soldiers Mussolini deployed to Ethiopia, only 1,537 were killed, less than 1% of the military. On May 2,1936, emperor Haile Selassie went into exile just before Italian forces entered the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. On May 7, Italy officially annexed Ethiopia.

"It will be you tomorrow"

Native Ethiopians were angry that Selassie "abandoned" Ethiopia, accusing Selassie of being a coward. Although Selassie wouldn't return until 1941, he did not stop fighting for his country. On June 30, 1936, Selassie made one last plea to the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, warning the League that Italy was not going to stop with Ethiopia and had its eyes set on the world. Throughout the speech, Selassie had to speak over the scoffing of Italian officials in the audience. Among the solutions that Selassie suggested was support for collective security, which would ensure that members of the League would support another nation of the League if that nation were attacked. This proposal was hard to work with because if a war broke out between two nations, most likely those two nations would be members of the League of Nations (both Italy and Ethiopia were League members). Despite this and many other difficult to meet pleas proposed by Selassie, his speech was overly emotional and it transformed him from a little-known leader of a little-known country to a symbol of resistance overnight: "If a strong government finds it can destroy a weak people, then the hour has struck for that weak people to appeal to the League of Nations to give judgment in all freedom. God and history will remember your judgment." "It is us today. It will be you tomorrow." The League did nothing as a reaction.

A cartoon patronizing the Italian approach towards attacking Ethiopia. In late 1935, all Italy lacked in attacking Ethiopia was an excuse for it. In December, a border incident in the city of Wal Wal gave Italy its much needed excuse. On the whole, Italian forces vastly outnumbered Ethiopian forces. Of the 500,000 Italian soliders, less than 2,000 actually died.

Important Dates in Italian-Ethiopian War

1892	Tafari Makonnen (Haile Selassie) born outside city of Harer to advisor of Emperor Menelik II
1896	First Italian-Ethiopian War, Ethiopia prevails
1906	Makonnen's father dies, Tafari becomes advisor
1913	Menelik II dies, Tafari does not become Emperor
October 24, 1922	Benito Mussolini and his fascist army march into Rome, Mussolini named Prime Minister, will build up army over next 13 years and become world power
1923	Makonnen has brought many modernizations to Ethiopia and has been able to get Ethiopia admittance into the League of Nations
November 2, 1930	Makonnen becomes Emperor of Ethiopia and takes name of Haile Selassie
October 3, 1935	Italy attacks Ethiopia without a declaration of war
October 7, 1935	League of Nations declares Italy an aggressor, takes no action
December 1935	Border incident at city of Wal Wal gives Italy excuse to attack Ethiopia
May 2, 1936	Selassie abandons Ethiopia and exiles to French Somaliland
May 5, 1936	Italian army enters Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa
May 9, 1936	Italy annexes Ethiopia, ending the seven month war
June 30, 1936	Selassie makes emotional speech to League of Nations forewarning Italian aggression throughout the world. League of Nations takes no action as a result

Bibliography