The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a
war of aggression
A war of aggression, sometimes also war of conquest, is a military conflict waged without the justification of self-defense, usually for territorial gain and subjugation.
Wars without international legality (i.e. not out of self-defense nor sanc ...
which was fought between
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Italian Invasion ( am, ጣልያን ወረራ), and in Italy as the Ethiopian War ( it, Guerra d'Etiopia). It is seen as an example of the expansionist policy that characterized the
Axis powers
The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
and the ineffectiveness of the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
before the outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
On 3 October 1935, two hundred thousand soldiers of the Italian Army commanded by Marshal
Emilio De Bono
Emilio De Bono (19 March 1866 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian general, fascist activist, marshal, and member of the Fascist Grand Council (''Gran Consiglio del Fascismo''). De Bono fought in the Italo-Turkish War, the First World War and t ...
attacked from
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
(then an Italian colonial possession) without prior declaration of war. At the same time a minor force under General
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...
attacked from
Italian Somalia
Italian Somalia ( it, Somalia Italiana; ar, الصومال الإيطالي, Al-Sumal Al-Italiy; so, Dhulka Talyaaniga ee Soomaalida), was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th centur ...
. On 6 October,
Adwa
Adwa ( ti, ዓድዋ; amh, ዐድዋ; also spelled Aduwa) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the site of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian soldiers defeated Italian ...
was conquered, a symbolic place for the Italian army because of the defeat at the
Battle of Adwa
The Battle of Adwa (; ti, ውግእ ዓድዋ; , also spelled ''Adowa'') was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Ethiopian forces defeated the Italian invading force on Sunday 1 March 1896, near the town of Adwa. The d ...
by the Ethiopian army during the
First Italo-Ethiopian War
The First Italo-Ethiopian War, lit. ''Abyssinian War'' was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from the disputed Treaty of Wuchale, which the Italians claimed turned Ethiopia into an Italian protectorate. Full-sc ...
. On 15 October, Italian troops seized
Aksum
Axum, or Aksum (pronounced: ), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015).
It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire, a naval and trading power that ruled the whole regio ...
, and an
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
adorning the city was torn from its site and sent to Rome to be placed symbolically in front of the building of the Ministry of Colonies created by the
Fascist regime
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
.
Exasperated by De Bono's slow and cautious progress, Italian Prime Minister
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
replaced him with General
Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...
. Ethiopian forces attacked the newly arrived invading army and launched a
counterattack
A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...
in December 1935, but their poorly armed forces could not resist for long against the modern weapons of the Italians. Even the communications service of the Ethiopian forces depended on foot messengers, as they did not have radio. This was enough for the Italians to impose a narrow fence on Ethiopian detachments to leave them unaware of the movements of their own army.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
sent arms and munitions to Ethiopia because it was frustrated over Italian objections to its attempts to integrate Austria. This prolonged the war and sapped Italian resources. It would soon lead to Italy's greater economic dependence on Germany and less interventionist policy on Austria, clearing the path for Hitler's ''
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
''.
The Ethiopian counteroffensive managed to stop the Italian advance for a few weeks, but the superiority of the Italians' weapons (particularly heavy
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
and airstrikes with bombs and
chemical weapons
A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized Ammunition, munition that uses chemicals chemical engineering, formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be an ...
) prevented the Ethiopians from taking advantage of their initial successes. The Italians resumed the offensive in early March. On 29 March 1936, Graziani bombed the city of
Harar
Harar ( amh, ሐረር; Harari: ሀረር; om, Adare Biyyo; so, Herer; ar, هرر) known historically by the indigenous as Gey (Harari: ጌይ ''Gēy'', ) is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saint ...
and two days later the Italians won a decisive victory in the
Battle of Maychew
The Battle of Maychew ( it, Mai Ceu) was the last major battle fought on the northern front during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The battle consisted of a failed counterattack by the Ethiopian forces under Emperor Haile Selassie making fron ...
, which nullified any possible organized resistance of the Ethiopians. Emperor
Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
was forced to escape into exile on 2 May, and Badoglio's forces arrived in the capital
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
on 5 May. Italy announced the annexation of the territory of Ethiopia on 7 May and Italian King
Victor Emmanuel III
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
was proclaimed emperor. The provinces of Eritrea, Italian Somaliland and Abyssinia (Ethiopia) were united to form the
Italian province of East Africa. Fighting between Italian and Ethiopian troops persisted until 19 February 1937. On the same day, an attempted assassination of Graziani led to the reprisal
Yekatit 12
Yekatit 12 () is a date in the Ge'ez calendar which refers to the massacre and imprisonment of Ethiopians by the Italian occupation forces following an attempted assassination of Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, Marquis of Negele, Viceroy of Italian Ea ...
massacre in Addis Ababa, in which between 1,400 and 30,000 civilians were killed.
Italian forces continued to suppress rebel activity until 1939.
Italian troops used
mustard gas
Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...
in aerial bombardments (in violation of the
Geneva Protocol
The Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, usually called the Geneva Protocol, is a treaty prohibiting the use of chemical and biological weapons in ...
and
Geneva Conventions
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
) against combatants and civilians in an attempt to discourage the Ethiopian people from supporting the resistance. Deliberate Italian attacks against ambulances and hospitals of the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
were reported.
[Rainer Baudendistel]
''Between bombs and good intentions: the Red Cross and the Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935–1936''
Berghahn Books. 2006 pp. 239, 131–132 By all estimates, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopian civilians died as a result of the Italian invasion, which have been described by some historians as constituting
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
. Crimes by Ethiopian troops included the use of
dumdum bullets (in violation of the
Hague Conventions), the killing of civilian workmen (including during the
Gondrand massacre) and the mutilation of captured
Eritrean Ascari
The Royal Corps Of Eritrean Colonial Troops were indigenous soldiers from Eritrea, who were enrolled as askaris in the Royal Corps of Colonial Troops (''Regio Corpo di Truppe Coloniali'') of the Royal Italian Army (''Regio Esercito'') during the pe ...
and Italians (often with castration), beginning in the first weeks of war.
Background
State of East Africa
![Italian empire 1914](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Italian_empire_1914.png)
The
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
began its attempts to establish colonies in the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
in the 1880s. The first phase of the colonial expansion concluded with the disastrous
First Italo-Ethiopian War
The First Italo-Ethiopian War, lit. ''Abyssinian War'' was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from the disputed Treaty of Wuchale, which the Italians claimed turned Ethiopia into an Italian protectorate. Full-sc ...
and the defeat of the Italian forces in the
Battle of Adwa
The Battle of Adwa (; ti, ውግእ ዓድዋ; , also spelled ''Adowa'') was the climactic battle of the First Italo-Ethiopian War. The Ethiopian forces defeated the Italian invading force on Sunday 1 March 1896, near the town of Adwa. The d ...
, on 1 March 1896, inflicted by the Ethiopian Army of
Negus
Negus (Negeuce, Negoose) ( gez, ንጉሥ, ' ; cf. ti, ነጋሲ ' ) is a title in the Ethiopian Semitic languages. It denotes a monarch, Menelik II
, spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"''
, alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.)
Menelik II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ; horse name Abba Dagnew ( Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 ...
, aided by Russia and France. In the following years, Italy abandoned its expansionist plans in the area and limited itself to administering the small possessions that it retained in there: the colony of
Italian Eritrea
Italian Eritrea ( it, Colonia Eritrea, "Colony of Eritrea") was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in ...
and the protectorate (later colony) of
Italian Somalia
Italian Somalia ( it, Somalia Italiana; ar, الصومال الإيطالي, Al-Sumal Al-Italiy; so, Dhulka Talyaaniga ee Soomaalida), was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th centur ...
. For the next few decades, Italian-Ethiopian economic and diplomatic relations remained relatively stable.
On 14 December 1925, Italy's fascist government signed a secret pact with Britain aimed at reinforcing Italian dominance in the region. London recognised that the area was of Italian interest and agreed to the Italian request to build a railway connecting Somalia and Eritrea. Although the signatories had wished to maintain the secrecy of the agreement, the plan soon leaked and caused indignation by the French and Ethiopian governments. The latter denounced it as a betrayal of a country that had been for all intents and purposes a member of the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
.
As fascist rule in Italy continued to radicalise, its colonial governors in the Horn of Africa began pushing outward the margins of their imperial foothold. The governor of Italian Eritrea,
Jacopo Gasparini Jacopo (also Iacopo) is a masculine Italian given name, derivant from Latin ''Iacōbus''. It is an Italian variant of Giacomo.
* Jacopo Aconcio (), Italian religious reformer
* Jacopo Bassano (1592), Italian painter
* Iacopo Barsotti (1921–1987 ...
, focused on the exploitation of
Teseney
Teseney ( ar, تسني, ti, ተሰነይ), also spelled Tessenei or Tesseney, is a market town in western Eritrea. It lies south-east of Kassala in Sudan, on the Gash River. The city was much fought over in the Eritrean War of Independence dur ...
and an attempt to win over the leaders of the
Tigre people
The Tigre people ( tig, ትግረ ''tigre'' or ''tigrē'') are an ethnic group indigenous to Eritrea. They mainly inhabit the lowlands and northern highlands of Eritrea.
History
The Tigre are a nomadic agro-pastoralist community living in ...
against Ethiopia. The governor of Italian Somaliland,
Cesare Maria de Vecchi
Cesare Maria De Vecchi, 1st Conte di Val Cismon (14 November 1884 – 23 June 1959) was an Italian soldier, colonial administrator and Fascist politician.
Biography
De Vecchi was born in Casale Monferrato on 14 November 1884. After graduating ...
, began a policy of repression that led to the occupation of the fertile
Jubaland, and the cessation in 1928 of collaboration between the settlers and the traditional Somali chiefs.
Welwel Incident
The
Italo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928
The Italo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928, also known as the Italo–Ethiopian Treaty of Friendship and Arbitration,Marcus, ''A history of Ethiopia'', p.126 was a treaty signed between the Kingdom of Italy ( ''Regno d'Italia'') and the Ethiopian Empire ...
stated that the border between
Italian Somaliland
Italian Somalia ( it, Somalia Italiana; ar, الصومال الإيطالي, Al-Sumal Al-Italiy; so, Dhulka Talyaaniga ee Soomaalida), was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th centur ...
and Ethiopia was 21
leagues parallel to the
Benadir coast (approximately ). In 1930, Italy built a fort at the
Welwel oasis (also ''Walwal'', Italian: ''Ual-Ual'') in the
Ogaden
Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; so, Ogaadeen, am, ውጋዴ/ውጋዴን) is one of the historical names given to the modern Somali Region, the territory comprising the eastern portion of Ethiopia formerly part of the Harargh ...
and garrisoned it with Somali
dubats
Dubat (Arabic: العمائم البيضاء(دُوب عد); ḍubbāṭ: English: ''White turban'') was the designation given to members of the semi-regular armed bands employed by the Italian " Royal Corps of Colonial Troops" (''Regio Corpo di ...
(irregular frontier troops commanded by Italian officers). The fort at Welwel was well beyond the 21-league limit and inside Ethiopian territory. On 23 November 1934, an Anglo–Ethiopian boundary commission studying grazing grounds to find a definitive border between British Somaliland and Ethiopia arrived at Welwel. The party contained Ethiopian and British technicians and an escort of around 600 Ethiopian soldiers. Both sides knew that the Italians had installed a military post at Welwel and were not surprised to see an
Italian flag
The national flag of Italy ( it, Bandiera d'Italia, ), often referred to in Italian as ''il Tricolore'' ( en, the Tricolour, ) is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical Pale (heraldry), pales of green, white and red, ...
at the wells. The Ethiopian government had notified the Italian authorities in Italian Somaliland that the commission was active in the Ogaden and requested the Italians to co-operate. When the British commissioner Lieutenant-Colonel
Esmond Clifford
Colonel Esmond Humphrey Miller Clifford (1895–1970) was a Royal Engineers officer of the British Army who served between 1914 and 1948 through both world wars. During the interwar period (1918–1939) he became the Senior British Commission ...
, asked the Italians for permission to camp nearby, the Italian commander, Captain Roberto Cimmaruta, rebuffed the request.
Fitorari Shiferra, the commander of the Ethiopian escort, took no notice of the and Somali troops and made camp. To avoid being caught in an Italian–Ethiopian incident, Clifford withdrew the British contingent to Ado, about to the north-east, and Italian aircraft began to fly over Welwel. The Ethiopian commissioners retired with the British, but the escort remained. For ten days both sides exchanged menaces, sometimes no more than 2 m apart. Reinforcements increased the Ethiopian contingent to about 1,500 men and the Italians to about 500, and on 5 December 1934, shots were fired. The Italians were supported by an armoured car and bomber aircraft. The bombs missed, but machine gunfire from the car caused about 110 Ethiopian casualties. Also, 30 to 50 Italians and Somalis were also killed and the incident led to the
Abyssinia Crisis
The Abyssinia Crisis (; ) was an international crisis in 1935 that originated in what was called the Walwal incident during the ongoing conflict between the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Ethiopia (then commonly known as "Abyssinia"). The Le ...
at the League of Nations. On 4 September 1935, the League of Nations exonerated both parties for the incident.
Ethiopian isolation
Britain and France, preferring Italy as an ally against Germany, did not take strong steps to discourage an Italian military buildup on the borders of
Italian Eritrea
Italian Eritrea ( it, Colonia Eritrea, "Colony of Eritrea") was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in ...
and
Italian Somaliland
Italian Somalia ( it, Somalia Italiana; ar, الصومال الإيطالي, Al-Sumal Al-Italiy; so, Dhulka Talyaaniga ee Soomaalida), was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th centur ...
. Because of the
German Question
The "German question" was a debate in the 19th century, especially during the Revolutions of 1848, over the best way to achieve a unification of Germany, unification of all or most lands inhabited by Germans. From 1815 to 1866, about 37 independ ...
, Mussolini needed to deter Hitler from annexing
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
while much of the Italian Army was being deployed to the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
, which led him to draw closer to France to provide the necessary deterrent. King
Victor Emmanuel III
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
shared the traditional Italian respect for British sea power and insisted to Mussolini that Italy must not antagonise Britain before he assented to the war. In that regard, British diplomacy in the first half of 1935 greatly assisted Mussolini's efforts to win Victor Emmanuel's support for the invasion.
On 7 January 1935, a
Franco-Italian Agreement
The Franco-Italian Agreements (often called ''Mussolini-Laval Accord'') were signed in Rome by both French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval and Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini on 7 January 1935.
History
After its victory in World War I, it ...
was made that gave Italy essentially a free hand in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
in return for Italian co-operation in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
Pierre Laval
Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. During the Third Republic, he served as Prime Minister of France from 27 January 1931 to 20 February 1932 and 7 June 1935 to 24 January 1936. He again occu ...
told Mussolini that he wanted a Franco-Italian alliance against
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and that Italy had a "free hand" in Ethiopia. In April, Italy was further emboldened by participation in the
Stresa Front, an agreement to curb further German violations of the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
. The first draft of the communique at Stresa Summit spoke of upholding stability all over the world, but British Foreign Secretary,
Sir John Simon
John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, (28 February 1873 – 11 January 1954), was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. He is one of only three peop ...
, insisted for the final draft to declare that Britain, France and Italy were committed to upholding stability "in Europe", which Mussolini took for British acceptance of an invasion of Ethiopia. In June, non-interference was further assured by a political rift, which had developed between the United Kingdom and France, because of the
Anglo-German Naval Agreement
The Anglo-German Naval Agreement (AGNA) of 18 June 1935 was a naval agreement between the United Kingdom and Germany regulating the size of the '' Kriegsmarine'' in relation to the Royal Navy.
The Anglo-German Naval Agreement fixed a ratio whe ...
. As 300,000 Italian soldiers were transferred to Eritrea and Italian Somaliland over the spring and the summer of 1935, the world's media was abuzz with speculation that Italy would soon be invading Ethiopia. In June 1935,
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957.
Achieving rapid promo ...
arrived in Rome with the message that Britain opposed an invasion and had a compromise plan for Italy to be given a corridor in Ethiopia to link the two Italian colonies in the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
, which Mussolini rejected outright. As the Italians had broken the British naval codes, Mussolini knew of the problems in the British Mediterranean Fleet, which led him to believe that the British opposition to the invasion, which had come as an unwelcome surprise to him, was not serious and that Britain would never go to war over Ethiopia.
The prospect that an Italian invasion of Ethiopia would cause a crisis in Anglo-Italian relations was seen as an opportunity in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. Germany provided some weapons to Ethiopia although Hitler did not want to see
Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
win out of fear of quick victory for Italy. The German perspective was that if Italy was bogged down in a long war in Ethiopia, that would probably lead to Britain pushing the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
to impose sanctions on Italy, which the French would almost certainly not veto out of fear of destroying relations with Britain; that would cause a crisis in Anglo-Italian relations and allow Germany to offer its "good services" to Italy. In that way, Hitler hoped to win Mussolini as an ally and to destroy the
Stresa Front.
A final possible foreign ally of Ethiopia
was Japan, which had served as a model to some Ethiopian intellectuals. After the Welwel incident, several right-wing Japanese groups, including the Great Asianism Association and the
Black Dragon Society
The , or the Amur River Society, was a prominent paramilitary, ultranationalist group in Japan.
History
The ''Kokuryūkai'' was founded in 1901 by martial artist Uchida Ryohei as a successor to his mentor Mitsuru Tōyama's '' Gen'yōsha''. I ...
, attempted to raise money for the Ethiopian cause. The Japanese ambassador to Italy, Dr. Sugimura Yotaro, on 16 July assured Mussolini that Japan held no political interests in Ethiopia and would stay neutral in the coming war. His comments stirred up a furor inside
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, where there had been popular affinity for the fellow nonwhite empire in Africa,
which was reciprocated with similar anger in Italy towards Japan combined with praise for Mussolini and his firm stance against the "gialli di Tokyo" ("Tokyo Yellows").
Despite popular opinion, when the Ethiopians approached Japan for help on 2 August, they were refused, and even a modest request for the Japanese government for an official statement of its support for Ethiopia during the coming conflict was denied.
Armies
Ethiopian forces
With war appearing inevitable, the
Ethiopian Emperor
The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, " King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolition ...
Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
ordered a general mobilisation of the
Army of the Ethiopian Empire
The Army of the Ethiopian Empire was the principal land warfare force of the Ethiopian Empire and had naval and air force branches in the 20th century. The organization existed in multiple forms throughout the history of the Ethiopian Empire fr ...
:
Selassie's army consisted of around 500,000 men, some of whom were armed with spears and bows. Other soldiers carried more modern weapons including rifles, but many of them were equipment from before 1900 and so were obsolete. According to Italian estimates, on the eve of hostilities, the Ethiopians had an army of 350,000–760,000 men. Only about 25% of the army had any military training, and the men were armed with a motley of 400,000 rifles of every type and in every condition. The Ethiopian Army had about 234 antiquated pieces of
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
mounted on rigid gun carriages as well as a dozen
3.7 cm PaK 35/36 anti-tank guns. The army had about 800 light
Colt
Colt(s) or COLT may refer to:
*Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age
People
* Colt (given name)
*Colt (surname)
Places
*Colt, Arkansas, United States
*Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...
and
Hotchkiss machine-guns and 250 heavy
Vickers
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...
and
Hotchkiss machine guns, about 100 .303-inch Vickers guns on AA mounts, 48
20 mm Oerlikon S anti-aircraft gun
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
s and some recently purchased
Canon de 75 CA modèle 1917 Schneider field guns. The arms embargo imposed on the belligerents by France and Britain disproportionately affected Ethiopia, which lacked the manufacturing industry to produce its own weapons. The Ethiopian army had some 300
truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
s, seven
Ford A-based
armoured cars
Armored (or armoured) car or vehicle may refer to:
Wheeled armored vehicles
* Armoured fighting vehicle, any armed combat vehicle protected by armor
** Armored car (military), a military wheeled armored vehicle
* Armored car (valuables), an arm ...
and four World War I era
Fiat 3000
The Fiat 3000 was the first tank to be produced in series in Italy. It became the standard tank of the emerging Italian armored units after World War I. The 3000 was based on the French Renault FT.
History
Although 1,400 units were ordered, with ...
tanks.
The best Ethiopian units were the emperor's "
Kebur Zabagna
Kebur Zabagna or Zebenya ( am, ክቡር ዘበኛ, kəbur zãbãňňya, lit=honorable guard) was the Ethiopian imperial guard. Also known as the First Division, this unit served the dual purposes of providing security for the Emperor of Ethiopi ...
" (Imperial Guard), which were well-trained and better equipped than the other Ethiopian troops. The Imperial Guard wore a distinctive greenish-khaki uniform of the
Belgian Army
The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...
, which stood out from the white cotton cloak (''shamma''), which was worn by most Ethiopian fighters and proved to be an excellent target. The skills of the ''
Rases'', the Ethiopian generals armies, were reported to rate from relatively good to incompetent. After Italian objections to the
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
, the German annexation of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
sent three aeroplanes, 10,000
Mauser rifles
Mauser, originally Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arme ...
and 10 million rounds of ammunition to the Ethiopians.
The serviceable portion of the
Ethiopian Air Force
The Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) () is the air service branch of the Ethiopian National Defence Force. The ETAF is tasked with protecting the national air space, providing support to ground forces, as well as assisting civil operations during nati ...
was commanded by a Frenchman, André Maillet, and included three obsolete
Potez 25 biplanes. A few transport aircraft had been acquired between 1934 and 1935 for ambulance work, but the Air Force had 13 aircraft and four pilots at the outbreak of the war.
Airspeed
In aviation, airspeed is the speed of an aircraft relative to the air. Among the common conventions for qualifying airspeed are:
* Indicated airspeed ("IAS"), what is read on an airspeed gauge connected to a Pitot-static system;
* Calibrated a ...
in England had a surplus
Viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
racing plane, and its director,
Neville Shute
Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name, in order to protect h ...
, was delighted with a good offer for the "
white elephant
A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...
" in August 1935. The agent said that it was to fly cinema films around Europe. When the client wanted bomb racks to carry the (flammable) films, Shute agreed to fit lugs under the wings to which they could attach "anything they liked". He was told that the plane was to be used to bomb the Italian oil storage tanks at Massawa, and when the CID enquired about the alien (ex-German) pilot practices in it Shute got the impression that the Foreign Office did not object. However, fuel, bombs and bomb racks from Finland could not be got to Ethiopia in time, and the paid-for Viceroy stayed at its works. The emperor of Ethiopia had £16,000 to spend on modern aircraft to resist the Italians and planned to spend £5000 on the Viceroy and the rest on three
Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s.
Developed private ...
fighters.
There were 50 foreign mercenaries who joined the Ethiopian forces, including French pilots like Pierre Corriger, the Trinidadian pilot
Hubert Julian
Hubert Fauntleroy Julian (21 September 1897 – 19 February 1983) was a Trinidad-born aviation pioneer. He was nicknamed "List of military figures by nickname, The Black Eagle".
Early years
Hubert Fauntleroy Julian was born in Port of Spain, Tr ...
, an official Swedish military mission under Captain
Viking Tamm
Lieutenant General Viking Sebastian Henricsson Tamm (21July 1896 – 25November 1975) was a Swedish Army officer. In addition to the years he served in the Swedish Army, Tamm led a group of Swedish officers who developed the Ethiopian ...
, the White Russian Feodor Konovalov and the Czechoslovak writer Adolf Parlesak. Several Austrian Nazis, a team of Belgian fascists and the Cuban mercenary Alejandro del Valle also fought for Haile Selassie. Many of the individuals were military advisers, pilots, doctors or supporters of the Ethiopian cause; 50 mercenaries fought in the Ethiopian army and another 50 people were active in the Ethiopian
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
or nonmilitary activities. The Italians later attributed most of the relative success achieved by the Ethiopians to foreigners, or ''ferenghi''. (The Italian propaganda machine magnified the number to thousands to explain away the
Ethiopian Christmas Offensive
The Christmas Offensive took place during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. The Ethiopian Offensive (military), offensive was more of a counteroffensive to an ever-slowing Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946), Italian De Bono's invasion of Abyssinia, off ...
in late 1935.)
File:Haile Selassie in full dress (cropped).jpg, Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
File:Ras Kassa.png, Ras Kassa Haile Darge
'' Leul Ras'' Kassa Hailu KS, GCVO, GBE, (Amharic: ካሣ ኀይሉ ዳርጌ; 7 August 1881 – 16 November 1956) was a Shewan Amhara nobleman, the son of Dejazmach Haile Wolde Kiros of Lasta, the ruling heir of Lasta's throne and youn ...
File:Damtou, Desta.jpg, Ras Desta Damtew
''Ras'' Desta Damtew (Amharic: ደስታ ዳምጠው ; ''c.'' 1892 – 24 February 1937) was an Ethiopian noble, an army commander, and a son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie I.
Biography
Born in the village of Maskan (in the contempora ...
File:Ras Immiru.jpg, Imru Haile Selassie
Leul Ras Imru Haile Selassie, CBE (Amharic: ዕምሩ ኀይለ ሥላሴ; 23 November 1892 – 15 August 1980) was an Ethiopian noble, soldier, and diplomat. He served as acting Prime Minister for three days in 1960 during a coup d'état ...
Italian forces
![Soldatietiopia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Soldatietiopia.jpg)
There were 400,000 Italian soldiers in Eritrea and 285,000 in Italian Somaliland with 3,300 machine guns, 275 artillery pieces, 200
tankette
A tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car. It is mainly intended for light infantry support and scouting. s and 205 aircraft. In April 1935, the reinforcement of the
Royal Italian Army
The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...
(''Regio Esercito'') and the ''
Regia Aeronautica
The Italian Royal Air Force (''Regia Aeronautica Italiana'') was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolis ...
'' (Royal Air Force) in East Africa (''Africa Orientale'') accelerated. Eight regular, mountain and
blackshirt
The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Nation ...
militia infantry divisions arrived in Eritrea, and four regular infantry divisions arrived in Italian Somaliland, about 685,000 soldiers and a great number of logistical and support units; the Italians included 200 journalists. The Italians had 6,000 machine guns, 2,000 pieces of artillery, 599 tanks and 390 aircraft. The ''
Regia Marina
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...
'' (Royal Navy) carried tons of ammunition, food and other supplies, with the motor vehicles to move them, but the Ethiopians had only horse-drawn carts.
The Italians placed considerable reliance on their Corps of Colonial Troops (''Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali'', RCTC) of indigenous regiments recruited from the Italian colonies of Eritrea, Somalia and
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
. The most effective of the Italian commanded units were the Eritrean native infantry (''
Ascari''), which was often used as advanced troops. The Eritreans also provided cavalry and artillery units; the "Falcon Feathers" (''Penne di Falco'') was one prestigious and colourful Eritrean cavalry unit. Other RCTC units during the invasion of Ethiopia were irregular Somali frontier troops (''dubats''), regular Arab-Somali infantry and artillery and infantry from Libya. The Italians had a variety of local semi-independent "allies" in the north, and the
Azebu Galla were among several groups induced to fight for the Italians. In the south, the Somali Sultan
Olol Dinle commanded a personal army, which advanced into the northern Ogaden with the forces of Colonel
Luigi Frusci
Luigi Frusci (16 January 1879 – 1949) was an officer in the Italian Royal Army (''Regio Esercito'') during the Italian conquest of Ethiopia and World War II. He was the last Italian Governor of Eritrea and Amhara.
Biography
Ordine militare d ...
. The Sultan was motivated by his desire to take back lands that the Ethiopians had taken from him. The Italian colonial forces even included men from
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
, across the
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...
.
The Italians were reinforced by volunteers from the so-called ''Italiani all'estero'', members of the
Italian diaspora
, image = Map of the Italian Diaspora in the World.svg
, image_caption = Map of the Italian diaspora in the world
, population = worldwide
, popplace = Brazil, Argentina, United States, France, Colombia, Canada, P ...
from
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
; they formed the 221st Legion in the ''Divisione Tevere'', which a special ''Legione Parini'' fought under Frusci near Dire Dawa. On 28 March 1935, General
Emilio De Bono
Emilio De Bono (19 March 1866 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian general, fascist activist, marshal, and member of the Fascist Grand Council (''Gran Consiglio del Fascismo''). De Bono fought in the Italo-Turkish War, the First World War and t ...
was named the commander-in-chief of all Italian armed forces in East Africa. De Bono was also the commander-in-chief of the forces invading from Eritrea on the northern front. De Bono commanded nine divisions in the Italian I Corps, the Italian II Corps and the Eritrean Corps. General
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...
was commander-in-chief of forces invading from Italian Somaliland on the southern front. Initially, he had two divisions and a variety of smaller units under his command: a mixture of Italians, Somalis, Eritreans, Libyans and others. De Bono regarded Italian Somaliland as a secondary theatre, whose primary need was to defend itself, but it could aid the main front with offensive thrusts if the enemy forces were not too large there. Most foreigners accompanied the Ethiopians, but
Herbert Matthews
Herbert Lionel Matthews (January 10, 1900 – July 30, 1977) was a reporter and editorialist for ''The New York Times'' who, at the age of 57, won widespread attention after revealing that the 30-year-old Fidel Castro was still alive and living i ...
, a reporter and historian who wrote ''Eyewitness in Abyssinia: With Marshal Bodoglio's forces to Addis Ababa'' (1937), and
Pedro del Valle
Pedro Augusto del Valle (August 28, 1893 – April 28, 1978) was a United States Marine Corps officer who became the first Hispanic to reach the rank of lieutenant general. His military career included service in World War I, Haiti and Nicaragua ...
, an observer for
US Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
, accompanied the Italian forces.
File:Benito Mussolini Portrait.jpg, Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
File:E. De Bono 04.jpg, Emilio De Bono
Emilio De Bono (19 March 1866 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian general, fascist activist, marshal, and member of the Fascist Grand Council (''Gran Consiglio del Fascismo''). De Bono fought in the Italo-Turkish War, the First World War and t ...
File:Pietro Badoglio 3.jpg, Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...
Hostilities
Italian invasion
![Bando contro lo schiavismo in Tigrè](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Bando_contro_lo_schiavismo_in_Tigr%C3%A8.jpg)
At 5:00 am on 3 October 1935, De Bono crossed the
Mareb River
The Mareb River, or Gash River ( ar, القاش) is a river flowing out of central Eritrea. Its chief importance is defining part of the boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia, between the point where the Mai Ambassa enters the river at to the c ...
and advanced into Ethiopia from Eritrea without a
declaration of war
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state (polity), state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a nationa ...
. Aircraft of the ''Regia Aeronautica'' scattered leaflets asking the population to rebel against Haile Selassie and support the "true Emperor
Iyasu V
''Lij'' Iyasu ( gez, ልጅ ኢያሱ; 4 February 1895 – 25 November 1935) was the designated Emperor of Ethiopia from 1913 to 1916. His baptismal name was Kifle Yaqob (ክፍለ ያዕቆብ ''kəflä y’aqob''). Ethiopian emperors traditio ...
". Forty-year-old Iyasu had been deposed many years earlier but was still in custody. In response to the Italian invasion, Ethiopia declared war on Italy. At this point in the campaign, the lack of roads represented a serious hindrance for the Italians as they crossed into Ethiopia. On the Eritrean side, roads had been constructed right up to the border. On the Ethiopian side, these roads often transitioned into vaguely defined paths, and the Italian army used
aerial photography
Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography.
Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing aircra ...
to plan its advance, as well as mustard gas attacks. On 5 October the Italian I Corps took
Adigrat
Adigrat (, ''ʿaddigrat'', also called ʿAddi Grat) is a city and separate woreda in Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is located in the Misraqawi Zone at longitude and latitude , with an elevation of above sea level and below a high ridge to the we ...
, and by 6 October,
Adwa
Adwa ( ti, ዓድዋ; amh, ዐድዋ; also spelled Aduwa) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the site of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian soldiers defeated Italian ...
(Adowa) was captured by the Italian II Corps. Haile Selassie had ordered
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
(''Ras'')
Seyoum Mangasha, the Commander of the Ethiopian
Army of Tigre, to withdraw a day's march away from the Mareb River. Later, the Emperor ordered his son-in-law and Commander of the Gate (''
Dejazmach
Until the end of the Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( gez, መሳፍንት , modern , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary nobility, ...
'')
Haile Selassie Gugsa
Haile Selassie Gugsa CBE (1907–1985) was an Ethiopian army commander and member of the Imperial family from Tigray. He is known for betraying his country during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and becoming a fascist collaborator.
Biograp ...
, also in the area, to move back from the border.
On 11 October, Gugsa surrendered with 1,200 followers at the Italian outpost at Adagamos; Italian propagandists lavishly publicised the surrender but fewer than a tenth of Gugsa's men defected with him. On 14 October, De Bono proclaimed the end of
slavery in Ethiopia
Slavery in Ethiopia existed for centuries, going as far back as 1495 BC. There are also sources indicating the export of slaves from the Aksumite Kingdom (100–940 AD). The practice formed an integral part of Ethiopian society, Ethiopians from th ...
but this liberated the former slave owners from the obligation to feed their former slaves, in the unsettled conditions caused by the war. Much of the livestock in the area had been moved to the south to feed the Ethiopian army and many of the emancipated people had no choice but to appeal to the Italian authorities for food. By 15 October, De Bono's forces had advanced from Adwa and occupied the holy capital of
Axum. De Bono entered the city riding on a white horse and then looted the
Obelisk of Axum
The Obelisk of Axum ( ti, ሓወልቲ ኣኽሱም, ḥawelti Akhsum; ) is a 4th-century CE, tall phonolite stele, weighing , in the city of Axum in Ethiopia. It is ornamented with two false doors at the base and features decorations resembli ...
. To Mussolini's dismay, the advance was methodical and on 8 November, the I Corps and the Eritrean Corps captured
Makale. The Italian advance had added to the line of supply and De Bono wanted to build a road from Adigrat before continuing. On 16 November, De Bono was promoted to the rank of
Marshal of Italy
Marshal of Italy ( it, Maresciallo d'Italia) was a rank in the Royal Italian Army (''Regio Esercito''). Originally created in 1924 by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini for the purpose of honoring Generals Luigi Cadorna and Armando Diaz, the ra ...
(''Maresciallo d'Italia'') and in December was replaced by Badoglio to speed up the invasion.
Hoare–Laval Pact
On 14 November 1935, the National government in Britain, led by Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...
, won a general election on a platform of upholding collective security and support for the League of Nations, which at least implied that Britain would support Ethiopia. However, the British service chiefs, led by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Earle Chatfield, all advised against going to war with Italy for the sake of Ethiopia, which carried much weight with the cabinet. During the 1935 election, Baldwin and the rest of the cabinet had repeatedly promised that Britain was committed to upholding collective security in the belief of that being the best way to neutralise the Labour Party, which also ran on a platform emphasising collective security and support for the League of Nations. To square the circle caused by its election promises and its desire to avoid offending Mussolini too much, the cabinet decided upon a plan to give most of Ethiopia to Italy, with the rest in the Italian
sphere of influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity.
While there may be a formal al ...
, as the best way of ending the war.
In early December 1935, the
Hoare–Laval Pact was proposed by Britain and France. Italy would gain the best parts of Ogaden and Tigray and economic influence over all the south. Abyssinia would have a guaranteed corridor to the sea at the port of
Assab
Assab or Aseb (, ) is a port city in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea. It is situated on the west coast of the Red Sea.
Languages spoken in Assab are predominantly Afar, Tigrinya, and Arabic. Assab is known for its large market, beaches an ...
; the corridor was a poor one and known as a "corridor for camels". Mussolini was ready to play along with considering the Hoare-Laval Pact, rather than rejecting it outright, to avoid a complete break with Britain and France, but he kept demanding changes to the plan before he would accept it as a way to stall for more time to allow his army to conquer Ethiopia. Mussolini was not prepared to abandon the goal of conquering Ethiopia, but the imposition of League of Nations sanctions on Italy caused much alarm in Rome. The war was wildly popular with the Italian people, who relished Mussolini's defiance of the League as an example of Italian greatness. Even if Mussolini had been willing to stop the war, the move would have been very unpopular in Italy. Kallis wrote, "Especially after the imposition of sanctions in November 1935, the popularity of the Fascist regime reached unprecedented heights". On 13 December, details of the pact were leaked by a French newspaper and denounced as a sellout of the Ethiopians. The British government disassociated itself from the pact and British Foreign Secretary Sir
Samuel Hoare was forced to resign in disgrace.
Ethiopian Christmas Offensive
![Mittelholzer-haileselassie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Mittelholzer-haileselassie.jpg)
The Christmas Offensive was intended to split the Italian forces in the north with the Ethiopian centre, crushing the Italian left with the Ethiopian right and to invade Eritrea with the Ethiopian left. ''Ras'' Seyum Mangasha held the area around
Abiy Addi
Abiy Addi (also spelled Abi Addi; Tigrigna ዓብዪ ዓዲ "Big town") is a town in central Tigray Region, Tigray, Ethiopia. Abiy Addi is at the southeastern edge of the Kola Tembien woreda, of which it is the capital.
Overview
The town is di ...
with about 30,000 men. Selassie with about 40,000 men advanced from
Gojjam
Gojjam ( ''gōjjām'', originally ጐዛም ''gʷazzam'', later ጐዣም ''gʷažžām'', ጎዣም ''gōžžām'') is a historical province in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos.
Gojjam's earliest western boundary ex ...
toward Mai Timket to the left of ''Ras'' Seyoum. ''Ras'' Kassa Haile Darge with around 40,000 men advanced from
Dessie
Dessiè City which is politically oppressed by the past Ethiopian government systems due to the fact that most of the population follow Islamic religion.
Dessie ( am, ደሴ, Däse; also spelled Dese or Dessye) is a town in north-central Ethiopia ...
to support ''Ras'' Seyoum in the centre in a push towards Warieu Pass.
''Ras'' Mulugeta Yeggazu, the Minister of War, advanced from Dessie with approximately 80,000 men to take positions on and around
Amba Aradam
Amba Aradam is a table mountain in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Debub Misraqawi (Southeastern) Zone of the Tigray Region, between Mek'ele and Addis Abeba, it has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of .
The name in Tigrinya is ...
to the right of ''Ras'' Seyoum. Amba Aradam was a steep sided, flat topped mountain directly in the way of an Italian advance on Addis Ababa. The four commanders had approximately 190,000 men facing the Italians. ''Ras'' Imru and his
Army of Shire were on the Ethiopian left. ''Ras'' Seyoum and his Army of Tigre and ''Ras'' Kassa and his Army of
Beghemder were the Ethiopian centre. ''Ras'' Mulugeta and his "Army of the Center" (''Mahel Sefari'') were on the Ethiopian right.
A force of 1,000 Ethiopians crossed the Tekeze river and advanced toward the Dembeguina Pass (Inda Aba Guna or Indabaguna pass). The Italian commander, Major Criniti, commanded a force of 1,000 Eritrean infantry supported by
L3 tanks. When the Ethiopians attacked, the Italian force fell back to the pass, only to discover that 2,000 Ethiopian soldiers were already there and Criniti's force was encircled. In the first Ethiopian attack, two Italian officers were killed and Criniti was wounded. The Italians tried to break out using their L3 tanks but the rough terrain immobilised the vehicles. The Ethiopians killed the infantry, then rushed the tanks and killed their two-man crews. Italian forces organised a relief column made up of tanks and infantry to relieve Critini but it was ambushed en route. Ethiopians on the high ground rolled boulders in front of and behind several of the tanks, to immobilise them, picked off the Eritrean infantry and swarmed the tanks. The other tanks were immobilised by the terrain, unable to advance further and two were set on fire. Critini managed to break-out in a bayonet charge and half escaped; Italian casualties were 31 Italians and 370 Askari killed and five Italians taken prisoner; Ethiopian casualties were estimated by the Italians to be 500, which was probably greatly exaggerated.
The news from the "northern front" was generally bad for Italy. However, foreign correspondents in Addis Ababa publicly took up knitting to mock their lack of access to the front. There was no way for them to verify reports that 4,700 Italians had been captured. The correspondents were told by the Ethiopians that Italian tanks had been stranded and abandoned and that Italian native troops were mutinying. Later, a report was issued that Ethiopian warriors had captured eighteen tanks, thirty-three field guns, 175 machine guns, and 2,605 rifles. In addition, this report indicated that the Ethiopians had wiped out an entire legion of the
2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre" and that the Italians had lost at least 3,000 men. Rome denied these figures.
The ambitious Ethiopian plan called for ''Ras'' Kassa and ''Ras'' Seyoum to split the Italian army in two and isolate the Italian I Corps and III Corps in Mekele. ''Ras'' Mulugeta would then descend from Amba Aradam and crush both corps. According to this plan, after ''Ras'' Imru retook Adwa, he was to invade Eritrea. In November, the League of Nations condemned Italy's aggression and imposed economic sanctions. This excluded oil, however, an indispensable raw material for the conduct of any modern military campaign, and this favoured Italy.
The Ethiopian counteroffensive managed to stop the Italian advance for a few weeks, but the superiority of the Italian's weaponry (artillery and machine guns) as well as aerial bombardment with
chemical weapon
A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as a ...
s, at first with
mustard gas
Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...
prevented the Ethiopians from taking advantage of their initial successes. The Ethiopians in general were very poorly armed, with few machine guns, their troops mainly armed with swords and spears. Having spent a decade accumulating poison gas in East Africa, Mussolini gave Badoglio authority to resort to ''
Schrecklichkeit ''Schrecklichkeit'' (German: "terror" or "frightfulness") is a word used by English-speakers to describe a military policy of the German Army towards civilians in World War I. It was the basis of German actions during its march through Belgium in 1 ...
'' (frightfulness), which included destroying villages and using gas (OC 23/06, 28 December 1935); Mussolini was even prepared to resort to bacteriological warfare as long as these methods could be kept quiet. Some Italians objected when they found out but the practices were kept secret, the government issuing denials or spurious stories blaming the Ethiopians.
Second Italian advance
As the progress of the Christmas Offensive slowed, Italian plans to renew the advance on the northern front began as Mussolini had given permission to use
poison gas
Many gases have toxic properties, which are often assessed using the LC50 (median lethal dose) measure. In the United States, many of these gases have been assigned an NFPA 704 health rating of 4 (may be fatal) or 3 (may cause serious or perman ...
(but not
mustard gas
Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...
) and Badoglio received the Italian
III Corps and the Italian
IV Corps in Eritrea during early 1936. On 20 January, the Italians resumed their northern offensive at the First Battle of Tembien (20 to 24 January) in the broken terrain between the Warieu Pass and Makale. The forces of Ras Kassa were defeated, the Italians using
phosgene gas and suffering 1,082 casualties against 8,000 Ethiopian casualties according to an Ethiopian wireless message intercepted by the Italians.
From 10 to 19 February, the Italians captured Amba Aradam and destroyed ''Ras'' Mulugeta's army in the
Battle of Amba Aradam
The Battle of Amba Aradam (also known as the Battle of Enderta) was a battle fought on the northern front of what was known as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. This battle consisted of attacks and counter-attacks by Italian forces under Marshal ...
(Battle of Enderta). The Ethiopians suffered massive losses and poison gas destroyed a small part of ''Ras'' Mulugeta's army, according to the Ethiopians. During the slaughter following the attempted withdrawal of his army, both ''Ras'' Mulugeta and his son were killed. The Italians lost 800 killed and wounded while the Ethiopians lost 6,000 killed and 12,000 wounded. From 27 to 29 February, the armies of ''Ras'' Kassa and ''Ras'' Seyoum were destroyed at the
Second Battle of Tembien
The Second Battle of Tembien was a battle fought on the northern front of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. This battle consisted of attacks by Italian forces under Marshal Pietro Badoglio on Ethiopian forces under Ras (title), ''Ras'' Kassa Hail ...
. Ethiopians again argued that poison gas played a role in the destruction of the withdrawing armies. In early March, the army of ''Ras'' Imru was attacked, bombed and defeated in what was known as the
Battle of Shire
The Battle of Shire (Italian: ''Battaglia dello Shirè'') was a battle fought on the northern front of what was known as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. This battle consisted of attacks and counterattacks by Italian forces under Marshal of Ita ...
. In the battles of Amba Aradam, Tembien and Shire, the Italians suffered about 2,600 casualties and the Ethiopians about 15,000; Italian casualties at the Battle of Shire being 969 men. The Italian victories stripped the Ethiopian defences on the northern front, Tigré province had fallen most of the Ethiopian survivors returned home or took refuge in the countryside and only the army guarding Addis Ababa stood between the Italians and the rest of the country.
![Italian artillery during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Italian_artillery_during_the_Second_Italo-Ethiopian_War.jpg)
On 31 March 1936 at the
Battle of Maychew
The Battle of Maychew ( it, Mai Ceu) was the last major battle fought on the northern front during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The battle consisted of a failed counterattack by the Ethiopian forces under Emperor Haile Selassie making fron ...
, the Italians defeated an Ethiopian
counter-offensive
In the study of military tactics, a counter-offensive is a large-scale strategic offensive military operation, usually by forces that had successfully halted the enemy's offensive, while occupying defensive positions.
The counter-offensive is ...
by the main Ethiopian army commanded by Selassie. The Ethiopians launched near non-stop
attacks on the Italian and Eritrean defenders but could not overcome the well-prepared Italian defences. When the exhausted Ethiopians withdrew, the Italians counter-attacked. The ''Regia Aeronautica'' attacked the survivors at
Lake Ashangi
Lake Hashenge (also ጻዕዳ ባሕሪ Lake Hashange, Lake Hashengi) is a lake in the southern Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Ethiopian highlands at an elevation of 2409 meters, it has no outlet. According to the ''Statistical Abstract ...
with mustard gas. The Italian troops had 400 casualties, the Eritreans 874 and the Ethiopians suffered 8,900 casualties from 31,000 men present according to an Italian estimate. On 4 April, Selassie looked with despair upon the horrific sight of the dead bodies of his army ringing the poisoned lake. Following the battle, Ethiopian soldiers began to employ guerrilla tactics against the Italians, initiating a trend of resistance that would transform into the
Patriot
A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism.
Patriot may also refer to:
Political and military groups United States
* Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution
* Patriot m ...
/''Arbegnoch'' movement. They were joined by local residents who operated independently near their own homes. Early activities included capturing war materials, rolling boulders off cliffs at passing convoys, kidnapping messengers, cutting telephone lines, setting fire to administrative offices and fuel and
ammunition dump
An ammunition dump, ammunition supply point (ASP), ammunition handling area (AHA) or ammunition depot is a military storage facility for live ammunition and explosives.
The storage of live ammunition and explosives is inherently hazardous. Th ...
s, and killing collaborators. As disruption increased, the Italians were forced to redeploy more troops to Tigre, away from the campaign further south.
Southern front
![1936AfricaOrientaleEccidioCantiereGondrand28](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/1936AfricaOrientaleEccidioCantiereGondrand28.jpg)
On 3 October 1935, Graziani implemented the Milan Plan to remove Ethiopian forces from various frontier posts and to test the reaction to a series of probes all along the southern front. While incessant rains worked to hinder the plan, within three weeks the Somali villages of
Kelafo
Kelafo ( so, Qalaafe, am, ቀላፎ, translit=Qällafo) is a town in eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Gode Zone of the Somali Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 233 meters above sea level.
The UN-OCHA-E ...
, Dagnerai, Gerlogubi and Gorahai in Ogaden were in Italian hands. Late in the year, ''Ras'' Desta Damtu assembled up his army in the area around
Negele Borana
:
Negele Borana or Neghelle, is a town and separate woreda in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Guji Zone of the Oromia Region on the road connecting Addis Ababa to Dolo Odo, it is the largest town in the Guji Zone, traditionally inhabited by ...
, to advance on
Dolo
Dolo is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, Italy. It is connected by the SP26 provincial road and is one of the towns of the Riviera del Brenta.
The growth of the town of Dolo is due to the gradual downsizing of t ...
and invade Italian Somaliland. Between 12 and 16 January 1936, the Italians defeated the Ethiopians at the Battle of Genale Doria. The ''Regia Aeronautica'' destroyed the army of ''Ras'' Desta, Ethiopians claiming that poison gas was used.
After a lull in February 1936, the Italians in the south prepared an advance towards the city of
Harar
Harar ( amh, ሐረር; Harari: ሀረር; om, Adare Biyyo; so, Herer; ar, هرر) known historically by the indigenous as Gey (Harari: ጌይ ''Gēy'', ) is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saint ...
. On 22 March, the ''Regia Aeronautica'' bombed Harar and
Jijiga
Jijiga (, am, ጅጅጋ, ''Jijiga'') is the capital city of Somali Region, Ethiopia. It became the capital of the Somali Region in 1995 after it was moved from Gode. Located in the Fafan Zone with 70 km (37 mi) west of the bord ...
, reducing them to ruins even though Harar had been declared an "
open city
In war, an open city is a settlement which has announced it has abandoned all defensive efforts, generally in the event of the imminent capture of the city to avoid destruction. Once a city has declared itself open the opposing military will be ...
". On 14 April, Graziani launched his attack against ''Ras''
Nasibu Emmanual
Nasibu Zeamanuel, also Nasibu Zamanuael or ''Nasibu Emmanual'' in some texts (Amharic: ነሲቡ ዘአማኑኤል; 1893 – 16 October 1936), was an Army of the Ethiopian Empire, army commander of the Ethiopian Empire. Along with his brother ...
to defeat the last Ethiopian army in the field at the
Battle of the Ogaden
The Battle of the Ogaden was fought in 1936 in the southern front of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. The battle consisted of attacks by the Italian forces of General Rodolfo Graziani, the commander-in-chief of the forces on the "southern fro ...
. The Ethiopians were drawn up behind a defensive line that was termed the "Hindenburg Wall", designed by the chief of staff of Ras Nasibu, and
Wehib Pasha
Wehib Pasha also known as Vehip Pasha, Mehmed Wehib Pasha, Mehmet Vehip Pasha (modern Turkish: ''Kaçı Vehip Paşa'' or ''Mehmet Vehip (Kaçı)'', 1877–1940), was a general in the Ottoman Army. He fought in the Balkan Wars and in several thea ...
, a seasoned ex-Ottoman commander. After ten days, the last Ethiopian army had disintegrated; 2,000 Italian soldiers and 5,000 Ethiopian soldiers were killed or wounded.
Fall of Addis Ababa
![AO-Etiopia-1936-H-Cavalleria-indigena-verso-Addis-Abeba](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/AO-Etiopia-1936-H-Cavalleria-indigena-verso-Addis-Abeba.jpg)
On 26 April 1936, Badoglio began the "March of the Iron Will" from Dessie to Addis Ababa, an advance with a mechanised column against slight Ethiopian resistance. The column experienced a more serious attack on 4 May when Ethiopian forces under
Haile Mariam Mammo
Haile Mariam Mammo (1904 – 6 June 1938), alternatively known as Lej Hayla Maryam Mammo, was an Ethiopian soldier and a leader of the Patriot movement (''Arbegnoch'') during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia. He fought in the Second Italo-Ethiop ...
ambushed the formation in Chacha, near
Debre Berhan
Debre Birhan () is a city in central Ethiopia. Located in the Semien Shewa Zone of Amhara Region, about 120 kilometers north east of Addis Ababa on Ethiopian highway 2, the town has an elevation of 2,840 meters, which makes it the highest to ...
, killing approximately 170 colonial troops.
Meanwhile, Selassie conducted a disorganized retreat towards the capital. There, government officials operated without leadership, unable to contact the Emperor and unsure of his whereabouts. Realizing that Addis Ababa would soon fall to the Italians, Ethiopian administrators met to discuss a possible evacuation of the government to the west. After several days, they decided that they should relocate to
Gore
Gore may refer to:
Places Australia
* Gore, Queensland
* Gore Creek (New South Wales)
* Gore Island (Queensland)
Canada
* Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community
* Gore, Quebec, a township municipality
* Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitouli ...
, though actual preparations for their departure were postponed. Addis Ababa became crowded with retreating soldiers from the front while its foreign residents sought refuge at various European legations. Selassie reached the capital on 30 April. That day his
Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
resolved that the city should be defended and a retreat to Gore conducted only as a last resort. The following day an ad hoc council of Ethiopian nobles convened to re-examine the decision, where Ras
Aberra Kassa
Aberra Kassa (1905 – 21 December 1936) was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.
Biography
'' Leul'' ''Dejazmach'' ("Prince of the Cadet line") Aberra Kassa was the second son of ''Ras'' ("Duke") Kassa Hai ...
suggested that the Emperor should go to Geneva to appeal to the League of Nations for assistance before returning to lead resistance against the Italians. The view was subsequently adopted by Selassie and preparations were made for his departure. On 2 May, Selassie boarded a train from
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
to
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
, with the gold of the Ethiopian Central Bank. From there he fled to the United Kingdom, with the tacit acquiescence of the Italians who could have bombed his train, into exile (Mussolini had refused a request from Graziani to mount such an attack.)
Before he departed, Selassie ordered that the government of Ethiopia be moved to Gore and directed the mayor of Addis Ababa to maintain order in the city until the Italians' arrival.
Imru Haile Selassie
Leul Ras Imru Haile Selassie, CBE (Amharic: ዕምሩ ኀይለ ሥላሴ; 23 November 1892 – 15 August 1980) was an Ethiopian noble, soldier, and diplomat. He served as acting Prime Minister for three days in 1960 during a coup d'état ...
was appointed
Prince Regent
A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...
during his absence. The city police, under
Abebe Aregai
''Ras'' Abebe Aregai (18 August 1903 – 17 December 1960) was an Ethiopian military commander who, during the Italian occupation, led a group of resistance fighters (collectively known as the ''Arbegnoch'' or "Patriots") that operated in ...
and the remainder of the Imperial Guard did their utmost to restrain a growing crowd but rioters rampaged throughout the city, looting and setting fire to shops owned by Europeans. Most of the violence occurred between looters, fighting over the spoils and by 5 May, much of the city lay in ruins. At 04:00 Badoglio drove into the city at the head of 1,600 lorries and patrols of Italian tanks, troops and Carabinieri were sent to occupy tactically valuable areas in the city, as the remaining inhabitants watched sullenly.
Subsequent operations
![Military Parade of Italian Troops in Addis Ababa (1936)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Military_Parade_of_Italian_Troops_in_Addis_Ababa_%281936%29.jpg)
After the occupation of Addis Ababa, nearly half of Ethiopia was still unoccupied and the fighting continued for another three years until nearly 90% was "pacified" just before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, although censorship kept this from the Italian public. Ethiopian commanders withdrew to nearby areas to regroup; Abebe Aregai went to
Ankober
Ankober (), formerly known as Ankobar, is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the North Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region, it's perched on the eastern escarpment of the Ethiopian Highlands at an elevation of about . It is to the east of Debr ...
,
Balcha Safo
''Dejazmach'' Balcha Safo (; 1863 – 6 November 1936), popularly referred to by his horse-name Abba Nefso, was an Ethiopian military commander and lord protector of the crown, who served in both the First and Second Italo-Ethiopian Wars.Paul ...
to
Gurage
The Gurage (, Gurage: ጉራጌ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia.G. W. E. Huntingford, "William A. Shack: The Gurage: a people of the ensete culture" They inhabit the Gurage Zone, a fertile, semi-mountainous region in c ...
, Zewdu Asfaw to
Mulo, Blatta Takale Wolde Hawariat to
Limmu
:
Limmu was an Assyrian eponym. At the beginning of the reign of an Assyrian king, the limmu, an appointed royal official, would preside over the New Year festival at the capital. Each year a new limmu would be chosen. Although picked by lot, th ...
and the Kassa brothers—Aberra,
Wondosson and
Asfawossen—to Selale. Haile Mariam conducted
hit-and-run
In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions.
Additional obligation
In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...
attacks around the capital. About 10,000 troops remaining under the command of Aberra Kassa had orders from Selassie to continue resistance. On 10 May 1936, Italian troops from the northern front and from the southern front met at Dire Dawa. The Italians found the recently released Ethiopian Ras,
Hailu Tekle Haymanot
Hailu Tekle Haymanot (1868 – 1950), also named Hailu II of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He represented a provincial ruling elite who were often at odds with the Ethiopian central government ...
, who boarded a train back to Addis Ababa and approached the Italian invaders in submission. Imru Haile Selassie fell back to Gore in southern Ethiopia to reorganise and continue to resist the Italians. In early June, the Italian government promulgated a constitution for ''Africa Orientale Italiana'' (AOI,
Italian East Africa
Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the Seco ...
) bringing Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somaliland together into an administrative unit of six provinces. Badoglio became the first
Viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
and
Governor General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
but on 11 June, he was replaced by Marshal Graziani.
On 21 June Kassa held a meeting with Bishop
Abune Petros
Abune Petros (; born Haile Maryam; 1882 – 29 July 1936) was an Ethiopian bishop and martyr, who was known for execution by firearm in 1936 by the Fascist Italians for publicly condemning colonialism, invasion and massacre.
Early life
Ab ...
and several other Patriot leaders at
Debre Libanos
Debre Libanos (Amharic: ደብረ ሊባኖስ, om, Dabra libanose) is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monastery, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the North Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region. It was founded in 1284 by Saint Tekle Haymanot as D ...
, about north of Addis Ababa. Plans were made to storm parts of the capital but a lack of transport and radio equipment prevented a co-ordinated attack. In July, Ethiopian forces attacked Addis Ababa and were routed. Numerous members of Ethiopian royalty were taken prisoner and others were executed soon after they surrendered. The exiled government in Gore was never able to provide any meaningful leadership to the Patriots or remaining military formations but sporadic resistance by independent groups persisted around the capital.
![Massacre de Lékemti](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Massacre_de_L%C3%A9kemti.jpg)
On the night 26 June, members of the Black Lions organization destroyed three Italian aircraft in
Nekemte
Nekemte, also spelled as Neqemte (, Amharic: ነቀምት), is a market town and separate woreda in western Ethiopia. Located in the East Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, Nekemte has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2,088 meter ...
and killed twelve Italian officials, including Air Marshal
Vincenzo Magliocco
Vincenzo Magliocco (1 January 1893 – 27 June 1936) was a Sicilian general and aviator of the Italian Royal Air Force and former soldier of the Royal Italian Army.
Biography
Magliocco was born on 1 January 1893 in Palermo, Italy. He woul ...
after the Italians had sent the party to parley with the local populace. Graziani ordered the town to be bombed in retaliation for the killings (Magliocco was his deputy). Local hostility forced out the Patriots and Desta Damtew, commander of the southern Patriots, withdrew his troops to
Arbegona. Surrounded by Italian forces, they retreated to
Butajira
Butajira ( am, ቡታጅራ) is a town and separate woreda in central Ethiopia. Located at the base of the Zebidar massif in the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR), Butajira has an elevation of 2131 me ...
, where they were eventually defeated. An estimated 4,000 Patriots were reportedly killed in both engagements, 1,600 of whom—including Damtew—after being taken prisoner. On 19 December, Wondosson Kassa was executed near
Debre Zebit
Debre Zebit ( Amharic: ደብረ ዘቢጥ) is a village in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Semien Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, about 240 kilometres north of Addis Ababa, this village has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2928 ...
and on 21 December, Aberra Kassa and Asfawossen Kassa were executed in
Fikke. In late 1936, after the Italians tracked him down in Gurage, ''Dejazmach'' Balcha Safo was killed in battle. On 19 December, Selassie surrendered at the Gojeb river.
After the end of the rainy season, an Italian column left Addis Ababa in September and occupied Gore a month later. The forces of ''Ras'' Imru were trapped between the Italians and the Sudan border and Imru surrendered on 17 December. Imru was flown to Italy and imprisoned on the Island of
Ponza
Ponza (Italian: ''isola di Ponza'' ) is the largest island of the Italian Pontine Islands archipelago, located south of Cape Circeo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is also the name of the commune of the island, a part of the province of Latina in th ...
, while the rest of the
Ethiopian prisoners taken in the war were dispersed in camps in East Africa and Italy. A second column went south-west to attack ''Ras'' Desta and the ''Dejasmatch'' Gabre Mariam who had assembled military forces in the Great Lakes district. The Ethiopians were defeated on 16 December and by January, the Italians had established a measure of control over the provinces of Jimma, Kafa and Arusi. After another two months, the remaining Ethiopians were surrounded and fought on, rather than surrender. Mariam was killed. On 19 February 1937 the last battle of the war occurred when remnants of the Armies of Sidamo and Bale clashed with Italian forces at Gogetti, and were defeated.
Addis Ababa massacre
That same date, 19 February 1937 – Yekatit 12 according to the
Ge'ez calendar
The Ethiopian calendar ( am, የኢትዮጲያ ዘመን ኣቆጣጠር; Oromo: Akka Lakkofsa Itoophiyaatti; Ge'ez: ዓዉደ ወርሕ; Tigrinya: ዓዉደ ኣዋርሕ), or Ge'ez calendar ( Ge'ez: ዓዉደ ወርሕ; Tigrinya: ዓዉ ...
– saw the attempted assassination of Marshal Graziani by Eritrean rebels
Abraham Deboch
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
and
Mogos Asgedom in
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
. The campaign of reprisals visited by the Italians upon the population of Addis Ababa has been described as the worst massacre in Ethiopian history. Estimates vary on the number of people killed in the three days that followed the attempt on Graziani's life. Ethiopian sources estimated that 30,000 people were killed by the Italians, while Italian sources claimed that only a few hundred were killed. A 2017 history of the massacre estimated that 19,200 people were killed, 20 percent of the population of Addis Ababa.
Over the following week, numerous Ethiopians suspected of opposing Italian rule were rounded up and executed, including members of the
Black Lions
The Black Lions were an anti-fascist resistance movement formed to fight against Italy during the occupation of the Ethiopian Empire in the Second World War.
As Bahru Zewde notes, in spite of its "marginal impact on the Resistance" the Black L ...
and other members of the aristocracy. Many more were imprisoned, even collaborators such as ''Ras'' Gebre Haywot, the son of ''Ras''
Mikael of Wollo
''Negus'' Mikael of Wollo (born Mohammed Ali, 1850 – 8 September 1922), was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He was the father of the "uncrowned" Emperor Lij Iyasu, and the grandfather of Empress Menen, w ...
, Brehane Markos, and Ayale Gebre, who had helped the Italians identify the two men who made the attempt on Graziani's life.
According to Mockler, "Italian ''
carabinieri
The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...
'' had fired into the crowds of beggars and poor assembled for the distribution of alms; and it is said that the Federal Secretary,
Guido Cortese, even fired his revolver into the group of Ethiopian dignitaries standing around him."
[Mockler, Anthony (2003]
''Haile Selassie's War''
pp. 163 – 169 Hours later, Cortese gave the fatal order:
Comrades, today is the day when we should show our devotion to our Viceroy by reacting and destroying the Ethiopians for three days. For three days I give you ''carte blanche'' to destroy and kill and do what you want to the Ethiopians.
Italians doused native houses with
petrol
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
and set them on fire. They broke into the homes of local
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
and
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
and lynched their servants. Some even posed on the corpses of their victims to have their photographs taken.
The first day of the massacre has been commemorated as "
Yekatit 12
Yekatit 12 () is a date in the Ge'ez calendar which refers to the massacre and imprisonment of Ethiopians by the Italian occupation forces following an attempted assassination of Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, Marquis of Negele, Viceroy of Italian Ea ...
" (Ethiopian 19 February) by Ethiopians ever since. There is a
Yekatit 12 monument
The Yekatit 12 is a monument in Addis Ababa commemorating victims of Italian reprisals following an attempt to kill the Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, marchese di Neghelli, Viceroy of Italian East Africa, on 19 February 1937, or Yekatit 12 in the E ...
in Addis Ababa in memory of these Ethiopian victims of Italian aggression.
Aftermath
Casualties
In 1968, Colonel A. J. Barker wrote that from 1 January 1935 to 31 May 1936, the Italian army and Blackshirt units lost killed, died of wounds and thirty-one missing; about troops and workmen were also killed, a total of In a 1978 publication, Alberto Sbacchi wrote that these official Italian casualty figures of about an underestimate. Sbacchi calculated that by May 1936, soldiers had been killed and been wounded; from 1936 to 1940, there an additional killed and and wounded. Total Italian casualties from 1935 to 1940 according to these calculations were about 208,000 killed or wounded. Based on killed in the first six months of 1940, Ministry of Africa figures for 6 May 1936 to 10 June 1940 are killed, which Sbacchi considered to be fairly accurate. In ''Legacy of Bitterness: Ethiopia and Fascist Italy, 1935–1941'' (1997), Sbacchi wrote that the official total of Italian casualties was unreliable, because the regime desired to underestimate Italian losses.
There was a lack of reliable statistics because confusion during the invasion made it difficult to keep accurate records and the ''Statistical Bulletin'' had ceased to provide data on fatalities. Field hospital records had been destroyed, inventories dispersed, individual deaths were not reported and bodies were not repatriated to Italy. Unpublished reports listed and civilian fatalities among and from May 1936 to June 1940, there were another and civilian fatalities in In a memorandum submitted to the Paris conference in 1946, the Ethiopian government enumerated killed in action, killed in hostilities during the occupation from 1936 to 1941, and children killed by bombing, killed in the massacre of February 1937, died in concentration camps, killed in obedience to orders from summary courts, died after their villages had been destroyed, a total of
Public and international reaction
![Haile Selassie Time cover 1936](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Haile_Selassie_Time_cover_1936.jpg)
Italy's military victory overshadowed concerns about the economy. Mussolini was at the height of his popularity in May 1936 with the proclamation of the Italian empire. His biographer,
Renzo De Felice
Renzo De Felice (8 April 1929 – 25 May 1996) was an Italian historian, who specialized in the Fascist era, writing, among other works, a 6000-page biography of Mussolini (4 volumes, 1965–1997). He argued that Mussolini was a revolutionary m ...
, called the war "Mussolini's masterpiece" as for a brief moment he had been able to create something resembling a national consensus both in favor of himself and his regime. When Badoglio returned to Italy, he received a snub as Mussolini made certain the honours he received fell short of those granted to an Italian "national hero" in order to present the victory as an achievement of the Fascist system rather an achievement of the traditional Italian elites of which Badoglio was a member. A sign of Mussolini's increased power and popularity after the war was his creation of a new military rank; First Marshal of the Italian Empire, which he promoted both himself and King Victor Emmanuel III to, thus putting the prime minister on a theoretical level of equality with the king.
![SelassieInJerusalem](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/SelassieInJerusalem.jpg)
Haile Selassie sailed from Djibouti in the British cruiser . From
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
Selassie sailed to
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
en route to Britain. While still in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, Haile Selassie sent a
telegram
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
to the League of Nations:
The Ethiopian Emperor's telegram caused several nations to temporarily defer recognition of the Italian conquest.
On 30 June, Selassie spoke at the League of Nations and was introduced by the
President of the Assembly as "His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Ethiopia" ("''Sa Majesté Imperiale, l'Empereur d'Ethiopie''"). A group of jeering Italian journalists began yelling insults and were expelled before he could speak. In response, the
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
chairman,
Nicolae Titulescu
Nicolae Titulescu (; 4 March 1882 – 17 March 1941) was a Romanian diplomat, at various times government minister, finance and foreign minister, and for two terms president of the General Assembly of the League of Nations (1930–32).
Early ye ...
, jumped to his feet and shouted "Show the savages the door!" ("''À la porte les sauvages!''"). Selassie denounced Italian aggression and criticised the world community for standing by. At the conclusion of his speech, which appeared on
newsreel
A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, informa ...
s throughout the world, he said "It is us today. It will be you tomorrow". France appeased Italy because it could not afford to risk an alliance between Italy and Germany; Britain decided its military weakness meant that it had to follow France's lead. Selassie's resolution to the League to deny recognition of the Italian conquest was defeated and he was denied a loan to finance a resistance movement. On 4 July 1936, the League voted to end the sanctions imposed against Italy in November 1935 and by 15 July, the sanctions were at an end.
On 18 November 1936, the
Italian Empire
The Italian colonial empire ( it, Impero coloniale italiano), known as the Italian Empire (''Impero Italiano'') between 1936 and 1943, began in Africa in the 19th century and comprised the colonies, protectorates, concessions and dependencie ...
was recognised by the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...
and Italy recognised the Japanese occupation of
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
, marking the end of the
Stresa Front. Hitler had supplied the Ethiopians with 16,000 rifles and 600 machine guns in the hope that Italy would be weakened when he moved against Austria. By contrast, France and Britain recognised Italian control over Ethiopia in 1938.
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
was the only country to strongly condemn Italy's sovereignty over Ethiopia, respecting Ethiopian independence throughout. Including Mexico, only six nations in 1937 did not recognise the Italian occupation:
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, New Zealand, the Soviet Union,
Republican Spain
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
and the United States. Three years later, only the USSR officially recognised Selassie and the United States government considered recognising the Italian Empire with Ethiopia included. The invasion of Ethiopia and its general condemnation by Western democracies isolated Mussolini and Fascist Italy until 1938. From 1936 to 1939, Mussolini and Hitler joined forces to support the fascist camp during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
. In April 1939, Mussolini launched the
Italian invasion of Albania
The Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...
. In May, Italy and Nazi Germany joined in the
Pact of Steel
The Pact of Steel (german: Stahlpakt, it, Patto d'Acciaio), formally known as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, was a military and political alliance between Italy and Germany.
The pact was initially drafted as a t ...
. In September 1940, both nations signed the
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano and Saburō Kurusu. It was a defensive milit ...
along with the Empire of Japan.
War crimes
Italian military forces used between 300 and 500 tons of mustard gas to attack both military and civilian targets, despite being a signatory to the 1925
Geneva Protocol
The Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, usually called the Geneva Protocol, is a treaty prohibiting the use of chemical and biological weapons in ...
banning the practice. This gas had been produced during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and subsequently transported to East Africa.
J. F. C. Fuller
Major-General John Frederick Charles "Boney" Fuller (1 September 1878 – 10 February 1966) was a senior British Army officer, military historian, and strategist, known as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorising p ...
, who was present in Ethiopia during the conflict, stated that mustard gas "was the decisive tactical factor in the war."
[Jeffrey Legro, ''Cooperation Under Fire: Anglo-German Restraint During World War II'' (Cornell University Press, 2005).] Some historians estimate that up to one-third of Ethiopian casualties of the war were caused by chemical weapons.
The Italians claimed that their use of gas was justified by the execution of
Tito Minniti
Tito Minniti (1909 – 26 December 1935) was an Italian pilot who was killed after he was captured by Ethiopians during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War in 1935 near Degehabur. His death and alleged torture became an atrocity story proffered by ...
and his observer in Ogaden by Ethiopian forces. However, the use of gas was authorized by Mussolini nearly two months before Minniti's death on 26 December 1935, as evinced by the following order:
After Minniti's death, the order was expanded to use of gas "on a vast scale":
Military and civilian targets were gas bombed and on 30 December, a
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
unit was bombed at Dolo and an Egyptian ambulance was attacked at Bulale; a few days later an Egyptian medical unit was bombed at Daggah Bur. There were more attacks in January and February, then on 4 March 1936, a British Red Cross camp near Quoram appeared to be subject to the most deliberate attack of all, when low-flying Italian aircraft crews could not have missed the big Red Cross signs. Mustard gas was also sprayed from above on Ethiopian combatants and villages. The Italians tried to keep their resort to chemical warfare secret but were exposed by the International Red Cross and many foreign observers. The Italians claimed that at least 19 bombardments of Red Cross tents "posted in the areas of military encampment of the Ethiopian resistance", had been "erroneous".
The Italians delivered poison gas by
gas shell and in bombs dropped by the ''Regia Aeronautica''. Though poorly equipped, the Ethiopians had achieved some success against modern weaponry but had no defence against the "terrible rain that burned and killed". Anthony Mockler wrote that the effect of mustard gas in battle was negligible, and in 1959, D. K. Clark wrote that the US Major, Norman Fiske,
Italians, like the war correspondent
Indro Montanelli
Indro Alessandro Raffaello Schizogene Montanelli (; 22 April 1909 – 22 July 2001) was an Italian journalist, historian and writer. He was one of the fifty World Press Freedom Heroes according to the International Press Institute.
A voluntee ...
, noted that the Italian soldiers had no gas masks, that there was no use of gas or it was used in very small amounts if at all.
These claims are disputed by Captain Meade, the US observer with Ethiopian forces who wrote:
Major General J. F. C. Fuller, assigned to the Italian army, concluded:
US military analysis concluded:
Haile Selassie in his report to the League of Nations described it:
Historian
Angelo Del Boca
Angelo Del Boca (23 May 1925 – 6 July 2021) was an Italian historian. He specialized in the study of the Italian Colonial Empire, and the involvement in Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia during the first part of 20th century. Del Boca was th ...
condemned the use of gas, but argued that it had only a minimal effect on Italian war aims.
Ethiopian troops used
Dum-Dum bullets, which had been banned by declaration IV, 3 of the
Hague Convention (1899) and began mutilating captured
Eritrean Askari (often with
castration
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceut ...
) beginning in the first weeks of war. Some hundreds of colonial Eritrean Ascari and dozens of Italians suffered these amputations, often done before death as allegedly happened to 17 Italian workers emasculated in
Gondrand in February 1936.
Italian occupation
1936–1940
![Italian East Africa (1938–1941)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Italian_East_Africa_%281938%E2%80%931941%29.svg)
On 10 May 1936, Italian troops from the northern front and from the southern front met at Dire Dawa. The Italians found the recently released Ethiopian Ras,
Hailu Tekle Haymanot
Hailu Tekle Haymanot (1868 – 1950), also named Hailu II of Gojjam, was an army commander and a member of the nobility of the Ethiopian Empire. He represented a provincial ruling elite who were often at odds with the Ethiopian central government ...
, who boarded a train back to Addis Ababa and approached the Italian invaders in submission. On 21 December 1937, Rome appointed
Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta
Prince Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta (Amedeo Umberto Isabella Luigi Filippo Maria Giuseppe Giovanni di Savoia-Aosta; 21 October 1898 – 3 March 1942) was the third Duke of Aosta and a first cousin, once removed of the King of Italy, Victor Emmanu ...
, as the new Viceroy and Governor General of Italian East Africa with instructions to take a more conciliatory line. Aosta instituted public works projects including of new paved roadways, 25 hospitals, 14 hotels, dozens of post offices, telephone exchanges, aqueducts, schools and shops. The Italians decreed
miscegenation
Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...
to be illegal.
Racial separation, including residential segregation, was enforced as thoroughly as possible and the Italians showed favouritism to non-Christian groups. To isolate the dominant
Amhara rulers of Ethiopia, who supported Selassie, the Italians granted the
Oromos, the
Somalis
The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared ...
and other Muslims, many of whom had supported the invasion, autonomy and rights. The Italians also definitively abolished
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and abrogated
feudal laws that had been upheld by the Amharas. Early in 1938, a revolt broke out in Gojjam, led by the Committee of Unity and Collaboration, made up of some of the young, educated elite who had escaped reprisals after the assassination attempt on Graziani. The general oversaw another wave of reprisals and had all Ethiopians in administrative jobs murdered, some by being thrown from aircraft, after being taken on board under the pretext of visiting the King in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, leading to the saying "He went to Rome".
![Amadeo Aosta3rd 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Amadeo_Aosta3rd_01.jpg)
The army of occupation had 150,000 men but was spread thinly; by 1941 the garrison had been increased to 250,000 soldiers, including 75,000
Italian civilians. The former police chief of Addis Ababa, Abebe Aregai, was the most successful leader of the Ethiopian guerrilla movement after 1937, using units of fifty men. On 11 December, the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
voted to condemn Italy and Mussolini withdrew from the League. Along with world condemnation, the occupation was expensive, the budget for AOI from 1936 to 1937 required 19,136 billion
lire for infrastructure, when the annual revenue of Italy was only 18,581 billion lire. In 1939 ''Ras''
Seyoum Mengesha
Seyoum Mengesha KBE ( Amharic: ሥዩም መንገሻ; 21 June 1887 – 15 December 1960) was an army commander and a member of the royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.
Early life
''Le'ul'' ''Ras'' Seyoum Mengesha was born on 24 June 1 ...
, ''Ras'' Getachew Abate and ''Ras'' Kebede Guebret submitted to the Italian Empire and
guerilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tac ...
petered out. In early 1940, the last area of guerilla activity was around
Lake Tana
Lake Tana ( am, ጣና ሐይቅ, T’ana ḥāyik’i; previously Tsana) is the largest lake in Ethiopia and the source of the Blue Nile. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately long and wid ...
and the southern Gojjam, under the leadership of the degiac Mengesha Gembere and
Belay Zeleke
Belay Zeleke ( Amharic: በላይ ዘለቀ, horse name Abba Koster; 1912 – 12 January 1945) was an Ethiopian military commander who led the Arbegnoch resistance movement in Gojjam against the Fascist Italians during the Italian occupation of ...
.
East African campaign, 1940–1941
![The West African Frontier Force in East Africa, 1941 E2003](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/The_West_African_Frontier_Force_in_East_Africa%2C_1941_E2003.jpg)
While in exile in United Kingdom, Haile Selassie had sought the support of the Western democracies for his cause but had little success until the Second World War began. On 10 June 1940, Mussolini declared war on France and Britain and attacked British and
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
forces in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
,
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
, Kenya and
British Somaliland
British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British Empire, British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Soma ...
. In August 1940, the
Italian conquest of British Somaliland
The Italian invasion of British Somaliland (3–19 August 1940) was part of the East African campaign (1940–1941) in which Italian, Eritrean and Somali forces of Fascist Italy entered British Somaliland and defeated its combined garrison o ...
was completed. The British and Selassie incited Ethiopian and other local forces to join a campaign to dislodge the Italians from Ethiopia. Selassie went to
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...
to establish closer liaison with the British and resistance forces within Ethiopia. On 18 January 1941, Selassie crossed the border into Ethiopia near the village of Um Iddla and two days later rendezvoused with
Gideon Force
Gideon Force was a small British and African special force, a with the Sudan Defence Force, Ethiopian regular forces and ( for Patriots). Gideon Force fought the Italian occupation in Ethiopia, during the East African Campaign of the Secon ...
. On 5 May, Selassie and an army of Ethiopian Free Forces entered Addis Ababa. After the Italian defeat, the
Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia
The Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia was a conflict fought from the summer of 1941 to the autumn of 1943 by remnants of Italian troops in Ethiopia and Somalia, in a short-lived attempt to re-establish Italian East Africa. The guerrilla campaign w ...
was carried out by remnants of Italian troops and their allies, which lasted until the
Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces
The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II.
It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...
in September 1943.
Peace treaty, 1947
The treaty signed in Paris by the
Italian Republic
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
(''Repubblica Italiana'') and the
victorious powers of World War II on 10 February 1947, included formal Italian recognition of Ethiopian independence and an agreement to pay $25,000,000 in reparations. Since the League of Nations and most of its members had never officially recognized Italian sovereignty over Ethiopia, Haile Selassie had been recognized as the restored emperor of Ethiopia following his formal entry into Addis Ababa in May 1941. Ethiopia presented a bill to the Economic Commission for Italy of £184,746,023 for damages inflicted during the course of the Italian occupation. The list included the destruction of the slaughter or theft of and goats, and mules and
See also
*
List of Second Italo-Ethiopian War weapons of Ethiopia
This is a list of weapons used by Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Ethiopian weapons mainly consisted of the various small arms Ethiopia had brought over the years.
Small arms
Rifles
* Fusil Gras mle 1874-Most popular
* Chassep ...
*
Ethiopian Air Force
The Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) () is the air service branch of the Ethiopian National Defence Force. The ETAF is tasked with protecting the national air space, providing support to ground forces, as well as assisting civil operations during nati ...
*
List of Second Italo-Ethiopian War weapons of Italy
This is a list of weapons used by the Italian Regio Esercito during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.
Small arms
Rifles
* Carcano
Sidearms
* Beretta M1934
* Bodeo Model 1889
Machine guns
* Breda 30-LMG
* Fiat–Revelli Modello 1914- ...
*
Censorship in Italy
*
Faccetta Nera
"'Faccetta Nera'" ("Little Black Face" or "Pretty Black Face") is a popular marching song
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently p ...
*
First Italo-Ethiopian War
The First Italo-Ethiopian War, lit. ''Abyssinian War'' was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from 1895 to 1896. It originated from the disputed Treaty of Wuchale, which the Italians claimed turned Ethiopia into an Italian protectorate. Full-sc ...
*
Paris Peace Treaties, 1947
The Paris Peace Treaties (french: Traités de Paris) were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945.
The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (princi ...
*
Timeline of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War
The following is a timeline relating to the Second Italo–Ethiopian War to the end of 1936. A number of related political and military events followed until 1942, but these have been omitted.
1930
* Italy builds a fort at Walwal, an oasis in th ...
Notes
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Theses
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External links
Speech to the League of Nations, June 1936 (full text)
British newsreel footage of Haile Selassie's address to the League of NationsEthiopia 1935–36: mustard gas and attacks on the Red CrossFull version in French – Bernard Bridel, ''
Le Temps
''Le Temps'' (literally "The Time") is a Swiss French-language daily newspaper published in Berliner format in Geneva by Le Temps SA. It is the sole nationwide French-language non-specialised daily newspaper of Switzerland. Since 2021, it has b ...
''
The use of chemical weapons in the 1935–36 Italo-Ethiopian War– SIPRI Arms Control and Non-proliferation Programme, October 2009
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The Emperor Leaves Ethiopia
Ascari: I Leoni di Eritrea/Ascari: The Lions of Eritrea.Second Italo-Abyssinian war. Eritrea colonial history, Eritrean ascari pictures/photos galleries and videos, historical atlas...
Ross, F. 1937. The Strategical Conduct of the Campaign and supply and Evacuation Programmes
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Songs of 2nd Italo-Abyssinian War
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1935 in Ethiopia
1935 in Italy
1936 in Ethiopia
1936 in Italy
Conflicts in 1935
Conflicts in 1936
Italo-Ethiopian War, Second
Haile Selassie
Italo-Ethiopian War, Second
Italo-Ethiopian War, Second
Italo-Ethiopian War, Second
Italo-Ethiopian War, Second
Italo-Ethiopian War, Second
African resistance to colonialism
Interwar period