Italian Tanks

Abyssinian Crisis

By Audra Taylor and Merrick Sapsford

Why did Italy invade Abyssinia? • In December 1934 a dispute broke out about the border between Abyssinia and the Italian Somaliland.  • Mussolini wanted lots of colonies under Italian control. • Italy had attempted to invade Abyssinia before but had failed. • Italy invaded Abyssinia in October 1935. • Mussolini wanted glory.

Italian Somaliland

What roles did Britain and France play? • Britain and France weren't prepared to intervene using force. • They undermined the sanctions created by the League. • They talked tough but weren't going to back up their threats with actions. • The Hoare-Laval pact was a secret plan made by the British Foreign Secretary, Samuel Hoare and the French Prime Minister, Pierre Laval. • It stated that Abyssinia should be divided with Italy receiving the majority of land.

How did the League respond? In January 1935 the emperor of Abyssinia, Haile Selassie appealed to the League for help. The League: • Condemned Italy as in the wrong • Banned the sale of arms to both sides • Imposed trade sanctions    However, The sanctions did not include basic war materials such as coal, oil and iron.

What was the outcome of the Abyssinian Crisis? • In October 1935, 100,000 Italian troops invaded Abyssinia. • The Abyssinians were helpless against the modern weapons of the Italians e.g. tanks and poisonous gases. • Italian troops entered Addis Ababa, the Abyssinian capital in May 1936. • Italy had conquered Abyssinia.

What effect did the crisis have on the League? The League had failed to resolve the dispute resulting in Italy conquering Abyssinia. After the League failed to resolve this dispute no-one took the it seriously anymore.    • Italy ignored the League which showed it to be powerless • Sanctions were not enforced   The reputation of the League had been destroyed and it had no influence or power when dealing with strong nations e.g. Italy and Japan.

Which had the biggest effect? Both the Manchurian Crisis and the Abyssinian Crisis affected  the League of Nations, mostly by destroying its reputation. After these events people lost faith in the League and it stopped  being an important international organisation.   I think that the Abyssinian Crisis had the biggest effect on the  collapse of the League because the most important League  members e.g. Britain and France undermined its authority and  refused to intervene at all. When strong nations were involved  the League was powerless and useless.