491514
Abyssinian Crisis
- Events
- In December 1934, a dispute about the border between Abyssinia and the Italian Somaliland flared into fighting.
- In January 1935, Haile Selassie, the emperor of Abyssinia, asked the League for help. In July 1935, the
League banned trade to either side.
- in 1896, the Italians were heavily defeated by the Abyssinians at the Battle of Adowa.
- This defeat had an enormous impact on Italian pride. The loss of 6000 men against a backward army from
Abyssinia was difficult for the Italian people to comprehend. However, this defeat did not stop politicians in
Italy planning for a new attempt to take over Abyssinia.
- This defeat had an enormous impact on Italian pride. The loss of 6000 men against a backward army from
Abyssinia was difficult for the Italian people to comprehend. However, this defeat did not stop politicians in
Italy planning for a new attempt to take over Abyssinia.
- in 1896, the Italians were heavily defeated by the Abyssinians at the Battle of Adowa.
- n October 1935, the Italian army invaded Abyssinia. The Abyssinians could not hope to stand up to a modern
army - they were equipped with pre-World War One rifles and little else. The Italians used armoured vehicles
and even mustard gas in their attack.
- In December 1934, a dispute about the border between Abyssinia and the Italian Somaliland flared into fighting.
- What did the League do?
- the league imposed economic sanctions on Italy
- It took six weeks for the sanctions to be organised and they did not include vital materials such as oil.
- Italy could cover the sanctions imposed on gold and textiles but a ban on oil could have had a major impact
on Italy’s war machine.
- he argument put forward for not banning oil, was that Italy would simply get her oil from America - a
non-League country.
- Britain and France were also concerned about provoking Mussolini in the Mediterranean Sea where
Britain had two large naval bases - Gibraltar and Malta.
- the Italian navy was vastly overestimated by both the British and French but it was this fear which also
lead Britain to keeping open the Suez Canal. If this route had been cut, then Italy would have had
extreme difficulties supplying her armed forces in the region during the conflict.
- It is also possible that both Britain and France considered the war too far away to be of any importance
to them. They were not prepared to risk their naval power in the Mediterranean for the sake of a country
barely anybody had heard of in either France or Britain.
- the league imposed economic sanctions on Italy
- Hoara-Laval Pact
- In an effort to end the war, the British Foreign Secretary - Samuel Hoare - and the French Prime
Minister - Pierre Laval - met in December 1935. They came up with the Hoare-Laval Plan.
- This gave two large areas of Abyssinia to Italy and a gap in the middle of the country - the "corridor of
camels" - to the Abyssinians. The south of the country would be reserved for Italian businesses. In return
for this land, the Italians would have to stop the war.
- Mussolini accepted the plan but in Britain there was a huge national outcry. It was believed that a
British government minister had betrayed the people of Abyssinia.
- The protests caused Hoare to resign and the plan was dropped. Mussolini continued with the invasion.
- what this plan had indicated was that the two major European League members were prepared to
negotiate with a nation that had used aggression to enforce its will on a weaker nation.
- the sanctions also failed.
- The League's involvement in this event was a disaster. It showed nations that its sanctions were
half-hearted even when they were enforced and that member states were prepared to negotiate with
aggressor nations to the extent of effectively giving in to them.
- actions by the League - even if they were a failure - lead to Italy looking away from the League - an
organisation it did belong to.
- In an effort to end the war, the British Foreign Secretary - Samuel Hoare - and the French Prime
Minister - Pierre Laval - met in December 1935. They came up with the Hoare-Laval Plan.
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