Second Italo-Abyssinian War

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Second Italo–Abyssinian War

Italian troops fortify a position in Abyssinia on November 8, 1935
Date October 1935–May 1936
Location Ethiopia
Result Italian victory and annexation of Ethiopia
Combatants
Italy Ethiopia
Commanders
Emilio De Bono
Pietro Badoglio
Rodolfo Graziani		 Haile Selassie
Strength
800,000 (only ~330,000 mobilized) 500,000 (some ill-equipped)
Casualties
2,000 killed 275,000 killed

The Second Italo–Abyssinian War lasted seven months in 1935–1936. Along with the Mukden Incident in 1931, in which three northeastern Chinese provinces were annexed by Japan, it is often seen as a precursor to World War II, and a demonstration of the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations. It is also called the Italo–Ethiopian War and the Abyssinian Crisis.

Contents

[edit] Background

Benito Mussolini, the fascist dictator of Italy, had long held a desire for an Italian Empire, reminiscent of the Roman Empire, to rule over the Mediterranean. The United Kingdom and France both had large empires at the time and some other European countries had colonial possessions.

Abyssinia was a prime candidate of this expansionist goal for several reasons. It was one of the few African nations that wasn't a European colony, and it would serve to unify the Italian-held Eritrea to the north-west and Italian Somaliland to the east. It was considered to be militarily weak, and rich in resources. It has been suggested that the Italians attacked Abyssinia to "reclaim" the country and to avenge their defeat during the First Italo-Abyssinian War in 1896.

[edit] Italian incursion

The Italo–Ethiopian Treaty of 1928 that delimited the border between Italian Somaliland and Abyssinia stated the border was 21 leagues parallel to the Benadir coast. The Italians re-interpreted this to mean 21 nautical leagues, as opposed to 21 standard leagues, which then gave them greater territory. Acting on this, they built a fort at the Walwal oasis in the Ogaden desert in 1930, disregarding the treaty. By 1932, the advance from Italian Somaliland was noticeable, as roads were being built well within what was considered Abyssinian territory.

In November of 1934, Abyssinian territorial troops, accompanied by the Anglo-Ethiopian boundary commission, protested Italy's incursion. The British members of the commission soon withdrew to avoid an international incident. In early December, the tensions mounted to a clash that left 150 Abyssinian and 50 Italian casualties. This resulted in the Abyssinia Crisis at the League of Nations.

The League of Nations exonerated both parties for the Walwal incident in September 1935. Italy soon began to build its forces on the borders of Abyssinia in Eritrea and Italian Somaliland.

With an attack appearing to be inevitable, the Emperor Haile Selassie ordered a general mobilization. His new recruits consisted of around 500,000 men, many of whom were armed with primitive weapons such as spears and bows. Others were equipped with more modern weapons, including rifles, but many of these were from the late 19th century and as such were often outdated.

[edit] Italian invasion

On October 3, 1935, 100,000 Italian soldiers and a sizable number of Askari commanded by Marshal Emilio De Bono attacked from Eritrea without declaration of War. A smaller contingent, commanded by General Rodolfo Graziani, attacked from Italian Somaliland. By October 6, Adwa, the site of Italian defeat in the first war, was captured. By October 15, the holy capital of Axum followed, from which an obelisk was looted.

The League of Nations declared Italy the aggressor on October 7, and started the slow process of imposing sanctions. These did not extend to several vital materials, such as oil. The British and French argued that if they refused to sell oil to the Italians, they would then simply get it from the United States, which was not a member of the League. In an effort to find compromise, the Hoare-Laval Plan was drafted, but it was highly favourable to the Italians, and therefore rejected by the Abyssinians.

By mid-December, De Bono was replaced by General Pietro Badoglio because of the slow, cautious nature of his advance. Haile Sellassie decided to test this new general with an attack, but his forces were repelled due to the Italians' superiority in heavy weapons like machine guns and artillery.

On January 20, 1936, the Italians resumed the offensive at the first battle of Tembien between the Warieu Pass and Mek'ele. The fighting proved inconclusive and ended in a draw on January 24.

In addition to conventional weaponry, Badoglio's troops also made substantial use of mustard gas, in both artillery and aerial bombardments. In total, the Italians deployed between 300 and 500 tonnes of mustard gas during the war, despite having signed the 1925 Geneva Protocol. The deployment of gas was not restricted to the battlefield, however, as civilians were also targeted by the Italians, as part of their attempt to terrorise the local population. Furthermore, the Italians carried out gas attacks on Red Cross camps and ambulances.[1]


The armed forces disposed of a vast arsenal of grenades and bombs loaded with mustard gas which were dropped from airplanes. This substance was also sprayed directly from above like an "insecticide" on to enemy combatants and villages. It was Mussolini himself who authorized the use of the weapons:

"Rome, 27 October '35. A.S.E. Graziani. The use of gas as an ultima ratio to overwhelm enemy resistance and in case of counterattack is authorized. Mussolini."

"Rome, 28 December '35. A.S.E. Badoglio. Given the enemy system I have authorized V.E. the use even on a vast scale of any gas and flamethrowers. Mussolini."

Mussolini and his generals sought to cloak the operations of chemical warfare in the utmost secrecy, but the crimes of the fascist army were revealed to the world through the denunciations of the International Red Cross and of many foreign observers. The Italian reaction to these revelations consisted in the "erroneous" bombardment (at least 19 times) of Red Cross tents posted in the areas of military encampment of the Ethiopian resistance. The orders imparted by Mussolini, with respect to the Ethiopian population, were very clear:[2]


"Rome, 5 June 1936. A.S.E. Graziani. All rebels taken prisoner must be killed. Mussolini."

"Rome, 8 July 1936. A.S.E. Graziani. I have authorized once again V.E. to begin and systematically conduct a politics of terror and extermination of the rebels and the complicit population. Without the legge taglionis one cannot cure the infection in time. Await confirmation. Mussolini."

The predominant part of the work of repression was carried out by Italians who, besides the bombs laced with mustard gas, instituted forced labor camps, installed public gallows, killed hostages, and mutilated the corpses of their enemies. Graziani ordered the elimination of captured guerrillas by way of throwing them out of airplanes in mid-flight. Many Italian troops had themselves photographed next to cadavers hanging from the gallows or hanging around chests full of detached heads. One episode in the Italian occupation of Ethiopia was the slaughter of Addis Ababa of February, 1937 which followed upon an attempt to assassinate Graziani. In the course of an official ceremony a bomb exploded next to the general. The response was immediate and cruel. The thirty or so Ethiopians present at the ceremony were impaled, and immediately after, the black shirts of the fascist Militias poured out into the streets of Addis Ababa where they tortured and killed all of the men, women and children that they encountered on their path. They also set fire to homes in order to prevent the inhabitants from leaving and organized the mass executions of groups of 50-100 people. [3]

On March 29, Graziani's forces firebombed the city of Harar. Two days later, the Italians won the last major battle of the war, the Battle of Maychew. Haile Selassie fled into exile on May 2, and Badoglio's forces took the capital, Addis Ababa, on May 5.

Italy annexed the country on May 7, and the Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III, was proclaimed emperor on May 9. Italy merged Eritrea, Abyssinia and Somaliland into a single state known as Italian East Africa.

[edit] Aftermath

When victory was announced on 9 May 1936 from the balcony of Palazzo Venezia, the Italian population (who had not been informed of the use of mustard gas by their troops) was jubilant. The Italian King Victor Emmanuel III was anointed Emperor of Ethiopia, and personalities such as Pope Pius XI and Winston Churchill displayed their admiration for Mussolini's conquest of Ethiopia [citation required].

On 30 June 1936, Emperor Haile Selassie gave a stirring speech before the League of Nations denouncing Italy's actions and criticizing the world community for standing by. He warned that "It is us today. It will be you tomorrow". As a result of the League's condemnation of Italy, Mussolini declared the country's withdrawal from the organization.

The occupation was marked by recurring guerilla campaigns against the Italians, and reprisals which included mustard gas attacks against rebels and the murder of prisoners.

[edit] Conclusion

In early June 1936, Rome promulgated a constitution bringing Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Italian Somaliland together into a single administrative unit divided into six provinces. On June 11, 1936, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani replaced Marshal Pietro Badoglio, who had commanded the Italian forces in the war. In December the Italians declared the whole country to be pacified and under their effective control. Ethiopian resistance nevertheless continued.

After a failed assassination attempt against Graziani on February 19, 1937, the colonial authorities executed 30,000 persons, including about half of the younger, educated Ethiopian population. This harsh policy, however, did not pacify the country. In November 1937, Rome therefore appointed a new governor and instructed him to adopt a more flexible line. Accordingly, large-scale public works projects were undertaken. One result was the construction of the country's first system of improved roads. In the meantime, however, the Italians had decreed miscegenation to be illegal. Racial separation, including residential segregation, was enforced as thoroughly as possible. The Italians showed favoritism to non-Christian Oromo (some of whom had supported the invasion), Somali, and other Muslims in an attempt to isolate the Amhara, who supported Haile Selassie.

Ethiopian resistance continued, nonetheless. Early in 1938, a revolt broke out in Gojjam led by the Committee of Unity and Collaboration, which was made up of some of the young, educated elite who had escaped the reprisal after the attempt on Graziani's life. In exile in Britain, the emperor sought to gain the support of the Western democracies for his cause but had little success until Italy entered World War II on the side of Germany in June 1940. Thereafter, Britain and the emperor sought to cooperate with Ethiopian and other local forces in a campaign to dislodge the Italians from Ethiopia and British Somaliland, which the Italians had seized in August 1940, and to resist the Italian invasion of Sudan. Haile Selassie proceeded immediately to Khartoum, where he established closer liaison with both the British headquarters and the resistance forces within Ethiopia.

Italian East Africa proved to be a short-lived state, as Ethiopia was liberated from Italian control in the subsequent East African Campaign in 1941.

Seen as the last relic of the Italo-Abyssinian wars, the Obelisk of Axum stood until very recently in Rome in the square before the FAO headquarters. After numerous attempts to get it back, the Obelisk was finally dismantled and returned to Ethiopia in 2005.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Giorgio Candeloro (1981). Storia dell'Italia Moderna. Feltrinelli.
  3. ^ Angelo Del Bocca and Giorgio Rohat (1996). I gas di Mussolini. Editori Riuniti. ISBN=8835940915.

[edit] Further reading

  • Graziani, R. Fronte di Sud, Milano 1938

[edit] External links

the abyssinian cats were rescued then

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