Italy Invades Ethiopia

Was Italy’s second attempt to attack Ethiopia really a smart strategy? In the eyes of Italy’s new prime minister, Benito Mussolini it was. Mussolini believed that his fascist state must lead Italy to dominance, and beginning in 1922, he began to build his army. He had one motto that “war is to man, as maternity is to woman.” When Mussolini thought about attacking Ethiopia it seemed as though he had ulterior motives. At the time Ethiopia was a prime target because it was still an independent country. Some might argue that it was because Mussolini was struggling with troubles at home and it would divert some of the attention. Mussolini’s decision confused civilians because Ethiopia was weak at the time. It was the League of Nations job to protect Ethiopia however it was difficult for them too. Most of the countries involved in the League of Nations were countries who were involved with war themselves; therefore it was difficult to stop aggression. Both England and France could have engaged in the attack because they were neighboring allies of Ethiopia however they stayed away. The reason for this is because Italy carried the threat of allying with the German chancellor, Adolf Hitler which would have had a devastating impact on WWII. Suddenly Italy did the unthinkable and attacked Ethiopia with no declaration of war. Even though the League of Nations was aware of this they took no action in trying to stop the attack. Four days later Italy attacked the area known as Wal Wal. The war itself was all together boring. Ethiopia had no fight against Italy’s airplanes, tanks, guns, and poison gas. The advances in equipment were no match to the inferior spears and swords Ethiopia had. American journalists covering the story complained that they had nothing to write about because the war was so one sided. Most journalists lied and held the story saying that the Ethiopians were holding off the Italians. Soon Americans sympathized with Ethiopia. This aggravated Italy and caused them to release statements saying that the Ethiopian government was treating its citizens badly and deserved the right to be attacked. Although this hasn’t been proven it just shows how hopeless the Ethiopians were. The war was completely one sided. The war itself lasted a little over seven months. Mussolini sent 500,000 soldiers to Ethiopia and he only lost 1,537. On May 2nd 1936 the emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie went into exile, during this time Italy invaded the capital of Ethiopia and finally on May 7th Ethiopia was conquered all together. This all leads back to the question was it really beneficial for Italy to conquer Ethiopia? Although I feel bad I think that Italy struck at the perfect time. Ethiopia wasn’t ready nor did it have adequate military support. Whether or not the Ethiopian government was treating its citizens harshly I don’t think they deserved such a grand attack. The League of Nations should have stepped in and solved the problem in a less destructive manner. Benito Mussolini was a very strong leader and knew when to attack, this shows that it was a smart and beneficial strategy to attack Ethiopia when he did. 530