Failure of the League

The Abyssinia Crisis was an international crisis that occurred in 1935, sparked off by what was called the Walwal incident during the ongoing conflict between the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Ethiopia (then commonly known as "Abyssinia").

Economic sanctions were approved by the League of Nations and ruled against Italy, but they were never completely implemented. Italy disregarded the sanctions, left the League, struck exclusive agreements with the UK and France, and after triumphing in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, it conquered and occupied Abyssinia.

The League of Nations was irreparably undermined by the crisis, which effectively rendered it powerless.

1930's map of Ethiopia and surrounding regions.

Why did it happen?

He also believed that Britain and France wouldn't prevent him from building an empire in Africa. He believed that France and Britain would do whatever to maintain Italy's support against Germany.

The Walwal incident, which the Italians staged in order to make it appear as though they were acting in self-defense, marked the beginning of the Abyssinia crisis in December 1934.

The League of Nations came to the conclusion that the occurrence itself was not the fault of either side.

Contemporary cartoon by David Low commenting on the potential repercussions of Mussolini's aggressive behaviour.

ILLUSTRATION ART: DAVID LOW: TAKING AN EXTRA DAY TO MAKE IT LOOK EASY

In April 1935, Italy signed a pact with Britain and France known as the ‘Stresa Front’, which Britain and France hoped would keep Mussolini on side against any attempt by Hitler to re-negotiate the western boundaries. Mussolini took this as a green light to proceed with his plans for Abyssinia.

Why was it called a ‘crisis’?

The Suez Canal in the 1930's. Had Britain and France blocked Italian cargo ships from using it, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia may well have been prevented.

Various ships berthed at Port Said, Suez Canal, Egypt - ci… | Flickr

A French publication revealed information about the agreement on 13th December and was criticised for accusing the Abyssinians of selling out. The British government withdrew from the agreement, and the representatives from that country and France were compelled to retire.

What were the wider consequences?

Austria during the Anschluss: Mussolini would eventually consent to Hitler's Germany's joining with Austria.

17 Color Photographs of the Anschluss in 1938 ~ Vintage Everyday

Timeline

• Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie denounced Italian invasion at Walwal on 6th December 1934. Italy demanded an apology from Ethiopia for its actions on 8th December and then added a demand for monetary and strategic restitution on 11th December.
• Ethiopia requested arbitration from the League of Nations for the conflict resulting from the Walwal incident on 3rd January 1935. The League's answer, though, was ambiguous. A League of Nations arbitration committee later cleared both parties of any blame following its investigation.
• Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Italy, was met in Rome shortly after Ethiopia's original appeal by French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval and British Foreign Secretary Samuel Hoare.
• The Franco-Italian Agreement, which was created as a result of a meeting between Laval and Mussolini on 7th January 1935, gave Italy control over portions of French Somaliland (currently Djibouti), changed the official status of Italians living in French-controlled Tunisia, and essentially gave Italy free rein in its relations with Ethiopia. In return, France hoped Italy would support it in any disputes with Germany.

Map from 1935 showing the new border between the colonies of Libya and Chad following the signing of the Franco-Italian Agreement of January 1935 (the Rome Accord). The area France ceded to Italy is commonly known as the Aouzou Strip.

B. Vernier, "Le statut du Fezzan", Politique étrangère, no 12 (1947)

• Five Italian askaris were murdered on 25th January by Ethiopian forces close to Walwal.
• Mussolini mobilised two divisions on 10th February 1935.
• The Italian colonies that bordered Ethiopia to the northeast and southeast, respectively, Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, received a huge influx of troops from Mussolini on 23rd February. There was little worldwide protest at these actions.
• Ethiopia resubmitted its plea for arbitration on 8th March and mentioned the military buildup in Italy. Italy and Ethiopia decided on a neutral zone in the Ogaden three days later. Ethiopia made another request to the League for assistance on 17th March in reaction to the ongoing Italian build-up. The League put pressure on the Italians to submit the dispute resulting from the Walwal incident to arbitration on 22nd March, but the Italians continued to mobilise their soldiers in the area. Ethiopia once more denounced the ongoing Italian mobilisation on 11th May.
• The League met in extraordinary session on the 20th and 21st of May to talk on the situation in Ethiopia. A League council decided on 25th May that it would convene if a settlement had not been achieved by 25th August or if a fifth arbitrator had not been chosen by 25th June. Ethiopia requested impartial monitors on 19th June.

• Officials from Ethiopia and Italy met in The Hague on 25th June to talk about arbitration. The conversations ended on 9th July with a failure to find a resolution.
• The League acknowledged on 26th July that the arbitration panel's fifth member had not been chosen. The League stopped any arbitration discussions over Walwal's sovereignty on 3rd August.
• Ethiopia requested the lifting of the arms embargo on 12th August. In an effort to prevent war, France and the United Kingdom made Italy significant concessions in Ethiopia on August 16. Italy rejected the overtures. The United Kingdom reiterated its support for the arms embargo on 22nd August.

War is declared

The Second Italo-Ethiopian War began when Italian army forces from Eritrea attacked Ethiopia on October 3, 1935, not long after the League had cleared both parties in the Walwal incident.

As a result, and in response to the invasion, Ethiopia declared war on Italy.

Abyssinian officers, loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie, in Addis Ababa during the Italo-Ethiopian war, c. 1936.

Getty