Italian-Ethiopian War 1935-1936

Italian-Ethiopian War (also called the Italo-Ethiopian War or Italo-Abyssinian War) was the third and final Italian attempt to gain colonial control of Ethiopia (Abyssinia). In 1935, Ethiopia was one of the few independent states in a European-dominated Africa. Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator, is reputed to have planned to avenge the humiliating defeat Italy suffered in the previous war (1895-1896) as early as 1928. An incident at the border between Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland December 1934 had led to what was then called the “Abyssinia Crisis” being brought before the League of Nations; on September 4, 1935, the investigation exonerated both sides. The Italian government was not satisfied with the result. Instead, a modern Italian army, with substantial artillery, tanks, and aircraft in support, was deployed in the colonies of Italian Eritrea and Italian Somalia. Ethiopian forces were numerically superior but thoroughly outmatched in firepower; Haile Selassie I, the emperor of Ethiopia, had already ordered his troops to pull back some 20 miles (20km) from the border in order to avoid another incident. On October 3, 1935, the Italian forces invaded Ethiopia without a formal declaration of war.

The invading Italians forces slowly pushed back the ill-equipped and poorly trained Ethiopian army despite determined resistance. Dissatisfied with the progress, the Italian government reinforced its army to half a million by January 1936. Battle deaths reflected the disparity of fighting power and this inequality was magnified by the Italian use of air strikes and mustard gas on retreating Ethiopian troops. The personal army of the Ethiopian emperor was defeated in battle on March 31st, and destroyed while retreating near Lake Ashangi on April 9th, clearing the path to the capital city; Addis Ababa fell to the Italians on May 5th. Guerrilla resistance continued for the duration of the occupation as did Italian reprisals.

Haile Selassie went into exile. In Rome, Mussolini proclaimed the Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III, emperor of Ethiopia and annexed the territory to be part of what was now to be Italian East Africa. In response to Ethiopian appeals, the League of Nations had condemned the Italian invasion in 1935 and voted to impose economic sanctions on the aggressor but the sanctions proved ineffective because of general lack of support. Although Italian aggression was opposed by the British, who had a stake in East Africa, the other major powers had no real interest. The war, by giving substance to Italian imperialist claims, contributed to international tensions between the fascist states and the Western democracies.

Notes

[1] The Correlates of War war termination date is May 9, 1936, the day Italy annexed the territory.

[2] The Correlates of War estimate of Ethiopian battle deaths is 14,000 which seems implausibly low. Barker offers the official Ethiopian claim of 275,000 killed in action during the war, which seems implausibly high. Clodfelter accounts for 41,000 killed in battles during 1936 which suggests a low estimated 72,000 battle deaths for the war.

[3] The Correlates of War estimate of Italian battle deaths includes colonial troops.

References

Barker, 159;Clodfelter, 641-2; COW127; EB - Italo-Ethiopian War; Ethiopia - A Country Study; Kohn, 237.

A J Barker. The Rape of Ethiopia. Ballantine. 1971.

Category

Inter-State War

Region

East Africa

Belligerents

Ethiopia, Italy

Dispute

Territory

Initiation Date

October 3, 1935

Termination Date

May 5, 1934^[1]

Duration

7 months, 3 days
(216 days)

Outcome

Imposed Settlement
(Italian victory)

Fatalities

Total: 80,000
Ethiopia: 76,000^[2]
Italy: 4,000^[3]

Magnitude

4.9