~Koschei~
The Italian invasion of Ethiopia, 1935
The main goal of Italian leader Benito Mussolini was to create a new Italian Empire reminiscent of the Ancient Roman Empire. He also wanted to boost Italian morale as he believed a military victory would unite the once divided Italian people. Afterall, Italy had only been a unified state for just 60 years. The target of his ambition was Ethiopia, the only independent African state at a time when almost the entire continent was ruled by European Empires. Italy had colonial possessions of its own in Eritrea and Somalia, but had always desired control of Ethiopia, especially after their humiliating defeat in 1896 when they first attempted to conquer the small empire.
However, it was no longer 1896, and the Ethiopians would soon learn that when Italian troops invaded from Eritrea and Somalia in late 1935. The Ethiopians were woefully unequipped as many had outdated rifles and many military aged men carried spears into battle, against an army with tanks, planes, machine guns, and most infamously, chemical weapons. The casualties were lopsided as the Ethiopians would lose 70,000 soldiers, along with 300,000 civilians compared to the Italians 8,800 killed. By early 1937, the Italians had conquered Ethiopia, and its Emperor, Halie Selassie, would go into exile. He had previously pleaded to the League of Nations to intervene on Ethiopia's behalf. The league members refused as they did not want a wider war to break out.
The silver lining for Ethiopia is that the Italians would lose their gains as fast as they won them when WWII broke out. Like every Italian campaign during WWII, their campaign in East Africa was a disaster. The British Empire, Belgian Congo, and the Free French would quickly liberate Ethiopia and the British would take control of Italian Somaliland and Eritrea.
The Italian invasion of Ethiopia, 1935
The main goal of Italian leader Benito Mussolini was to create a new Italian Empire reminiscent of the Ancient Roman Empire. He also wanted to boost Italian morale as he believed a military victory would unite the once divided Italian people. Afterall, Italy had only been a unified state for just 60 years. The target of his ambition was Ethiopia, the only independent African state at a time when almost the entire continent was ruled by European Empires. Italy had colonial possessions of its own in Eritrea and Somalia, but had always desired control of Ethiopia, especially after their humiliating defeat in 1896 when they first attempted to conquer the small empire.
However, it was no longer 1896, and the Ethiopians would soon learn that when Italian troops invaded from Eritrea and Somalia in late 1935. The Ethiopians were woefully unequipped as many had outdated rifles and many military aged men carried spears into battle, against an army with tanks, planes, machine guns, and most infamously, chemical weapons. The casualties were lopsided as the Ethiopians would lose 70,000 soldiers, along with 300,000 civilians compared to the Italians 8,800 killed. By early 1937, the Italians had conquered Ethiopia, and its Emperor, Halie Selassie, would go into exile. He had previously pleaded to the League of Nations to intervene on Ethiopia's behalf. The league members refused as they did not want a wider war to break out.
The silver lining for Ethiopia is that the Italians would lose their gains as fast as they won them when WWII broke out. Like every Italian campaign during WWII, their campaign in East Africa was a disaster. The British Empire, Belgian Congo, and the Free French would quickly liberate Ethiopia and the British would take control of Italian Somaliland and Eritrea.