The barbaric destruction of Ethiopia by fascist Italy

Italian aviation over Ethiopia

New Roman Empire

The idea of ​​reviving the Roman Empire haunted Benito Mussolini, becoming the platform for his foreign policy. The idea was beautiful and appealed to the Italians.Mussolini's Greater Italy).

But how could it be realized? Once upon a time, the Roman legions, relying on Rome's powerful industrial base, dominated large swathes of Europe, Asia, and Africa. But in the 1920s and 1930s, Italy was far too weak to compete with the leading Western powers in military and economic strength to demand anything from a position of strength. The world had long since been divided and redistributed.

During the colonial race, the Italians seized Eritrea and part of Somalia in the 1880s. In 1895–1896, they waged a predatory war against Ethiopia but suffered defeat. The Abyssinian Negus-Negesti (King of Kings) Menelik II was able to establish an alliance with the Russian Empire. The Russians sent modern weapon (cannons, rifles), a detachment of volunteer advisers (Cossacks, artillerymen) arrived. The Italians were routed to smithereens.

Italy, having paid the indemnity, recognized the independence of Abyssinia-Ethiopia and even ceded part of Eritrea. For the first time in the new stories The European power paid tribute to the African country. For a long time, representatives of official Italy were derisively referred to as "tributaries of Menelik" (Emperor of Abyssinia).

Rome captured Libya from the decrepit Ottoman Empire in 1911-1912. After the First World War, Italy received South Tyrol and part of Istria (part of the fallen Austro-Hungarian Empire), although it had laid claim to more significant territories.

Mussolini's fascist regime aspired to dominance in the Western Balkans, seeking Albania and Greece, part of Yugoslavia. However, before the collapse of the common security system in Europe (under the blows of Hitler's Reich), Rome had no real opportunity to expand in the Balkans.

Ethiopia

Therefore, Rome again turned its attention to Abyssinia, which remained virtually the only independent state in Africa. Liberia also existed in West Africa, but it was under informal US tutelage and sponsored by the Americans.

Ethiopia was conveniently located for invasion, between Italian possessions in Somalia and Eritrea (Italian East Africa). If captured, it would unify most of East Africa. Further afield, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen, and Oman could be claimed.

That is, Italy took a major step towards creating the Great Roman Empire, displacing the British from Northeast Africa and establishing control over the Mediterranean and the most important trade and economic communications that ran from Europe to Asia.

It seemed like an opportune moment to take revenge, to wash away the shame of the previous defeat. True, Ethiopia was a member of the League of Nations, as was Italy. But events in China and Europe demonstrated that the trend toward "appeasement of the aggressor" was now in vogue.

Hitler, after the failure of the first attempt to annex Austria, in which Mussolini's position played a major role, realized that he had to negotiate with Rome on this issue. Therefore, Germany supported Italy on the Ethiopian issue. England and France were playing their own games, but it was clear that a deal could be reached with them as well.

Thus, in early 1935, French Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Pierre Laval arrived in Rome and held talks with Mussolini. A declaration on Franco-Italian cooperation and a convention on mutual respect for the territorial integrity of Central European states were signed. This primarily concerned Austria.

Meeting between Benito Mussolini and Pierre Laval on the terms of the Rome Pact in the presence of advisers, 1935

Essentially, the Pact of Rome was concluded, delimiting spheres of influence in Africa. The Italians renounced their claims to Tunisian lands and did not lay claim to other French colonies in Africa. The French ceded a disputed territory of 114,000 square kilometers on the border between Libya and Chad (the Aouzou Strip), a small portion of French Somalia (800 square kilometers) with the island of Doumeira, including a 22-kilometer strip near the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Strait. This allowed Italy to establish a naval base at the junction of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, which threatened British interests.

The Italians also received a 20% stake in the Djibouti (a French port)-Addis Ababa railway. The Italians could now use the French railway to supply their army in East Africa. In essence, Paris renounced its economic rights in Abyssinia, giving Mussolini's regime a free hand in Ethiopia.

Paris and Rome exchanged naval and air force missions. Meetings were held between the Chiefs of the General Staff of France, Gamelin, and Italy, Badoglio. The French right-wing press actively supported Italy's plans in Africa. Rome actively sponsored the French press and local far-right organizations.

A map showing Italian East Africa with provincial boundaries in 1936

Preparing for aggression

The agreement with France freed Italy's hands. Mussolini decided to go to war. Italian transports carried regular units and subdivisions of the fascist militia, the Blackshirts, to East Africa. Local subject tribes were mobilized. Two strike groups were assembled in Eritrea and Somalia, totaling 250 bayonets and sabres, 700 guns, 7 machine guns, 150 armored cars and tankettes, and 150 aircraft. With reserves, Italy could field up to 400 soldiers.Italian armed forces to the beginning of the invasion of Ethiopia).

The Southern Front in Somalia was commanded by Rodolfo Graziani, while the main forces (4 corps) were located in Eritrea – the Northern Front under the command of Emilio de Bono (he was soon replaced by Pietro Badoglio).

Local residents watch as an Italian Fiat-Ansaldo CV33 tankette and an Ansaldo IZ armored car from Lancia cross a water obstacle.

Italian gunners

Skirmishes broke out along the border. This alarmed the Ethiopian government, which appealed to the League of Nations to take action against Italy in accordance with Article 16 of the Charter. Ethiopian King Haile Selassie I appealed to the international community of the time, seeking allies, but all was in vain. At the League of Nations, Addis Ababa received only the support of the Soviet Union. Moscow proposed decisive measures to curb the aggressor, but the USSR refused. By this time, a unified line had been agreed upon between France and Britain. London supported the Laval-Mussolini Pact of Rome.

Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I on the cover of Time magazine in 1930.

It was a strange chapter in history, when Britain, in order to "appease the aggressor," sacrificed its own strategic interests. After all, Italy's strengthening at the expense of Ethiopia and the expansion of Italian East Africa threatened the military-strategic interests of the British Empire, its communications in Africa, and from Europe to India and Asia.

In fact, All of these were links in a single global project. London and Washington were orchestrating a new world war. To this end, three hotbeds of war, "battering rams," were being created that would destroy the previous Treaty of Versailles: Japan in Asia, Italy in the Mediterranean and Africa, and Germany in Europe and Russia. To achieve this, they used secret diplomacy, finance (loans for weapons), a policy of "appeasement of the aggressor," turned a blind eye to local wars and the strengthening of aggressor countries, etc.

In September 1935, the League of Nations established a "Committee of Five" to find a peaceful resolution to the Italo-Ethiopian conflict. The key inputs came from Paris, London, and Rome. Based on these inputs, Addis Ababa was expected to make territorial concessions. Haile Selassie's government sought to avoid war and was prepared to make concessions. Ethiopian troops were withdrawn from the border and deep into the country. But Mussolini had already decided to go to war.

Seeing the situation unfolding, Haile Selassie declared a general mobilization, planning to muster up to 800 soldiers (up to 500 were actually assembled). However, this wasn't an army, but rather mostly tribal militias. They were armed with up to 400 rifles and shotguns, mostly obsolete, 200–300 machine guns of various types with limited ammunition, about 250 old cannons and anti-aircraft guns, several light tankettes, and obsolete aircraft (used for communications).

Many warriors were armed as in the Middle Ages: with bows, spears and knives (Ethiopian army to the start of hostilities). White cotton shirts and trousers were worn as uniforms; white was very easy to aim at. There were almost no trained soldiers, except for the imperial guard (a few thousand).

Abyssinian warriors

Imperial Guards

Invasion

On October 3, 1935, without any pretext or declaration of war, the Italians launched an invasion from several directions (Battle of Abyssinia; Part 2).

On October 7, the League of Nations finally recognized Rome as the aggressor. After a month and a half of debate, economic sanctions were imposed, with 51 states joining in.

But there was little real action. In particular, Sweden imposed a ban on ammunition supplies and stopped trade with Italy.

Ethiopian machine gunner

Italian infantry in Ethiopia

Overall, Italy continued to receive the resources that were the "blood of war"—oil, coal, and metal! The United States, Germany, Austria, and Hungary did not join the sanctions and supplied Italy with everything it needed. France and Britain blocked real "oil sanctions" in the League of Nations.

Britain did not blockade the Suez Canal, which was the main supply and reinforcement route for the Italian army in East Africa. Otherwise, soldiers and supplies would have had to be transported around Africa. In other words, only a firm British stance could have frozen the war.

The US position was quite characteristic. The American Congress passed the Neutrality Act, which prohibited the supply of arms to warring states. However, this law struck not at the aggressor—Italy, which had its own military production facilities and raw material suppliers—but at Abyssinia, which needed arms, ammunition, and munitions. Meanwhile, the Americans continued to supply Italy with strategic materials—oil, iron and steel, cotton, machinery and equipment, etc.

Soon after the war began, trade between the United States and Italy increased dramatically. Specifically, US oil exports to Italy, which was in need of "black gold," increased by 140% in 1935 compared to 1934. And imports of oil and petroleum products to Italy's African colonies increased several dozenfold.

Thus, the United States, Britain and France facilitated Italian aggression, although they could have stopped it through diplomatic and economic measures.

US Secretary of State Cordell Hull (1933–1944) admitted that “if total sanctions had been applied, Mussolini would have been stopped immediately.”

England and France acted as "peacekeepers" and proposed a settlement plan. Addis Ababa was to cede part of the country (the entire Ogaden province, the eastern portions of Tigray and Harar provinces), grant the Italians exclusive economic rights, and accept Italian advisers into the government. Essentially, Ethiopia would become a semi-colony of Italy. Naturally, the Ethiopian government refused.

Things were bad for the Ethiopians at the front. Regular Italian units simply gunned down crowds of brave, but disorganized, poorly armed Ethiopian soldiers. The quality of command was extremely poor, with every commander and leader trying to take over. Consequently, the Ethiopian army's losses were horrific: approximately 300 killed, and another 500 starved to death or exterminated in concentration camps. It was pure extermination. By May 1936, the Italian army's losses were approximately 55 killed and wounded.

The Italians gained the upper hand only due to their military-technical superiority and Ethiopia's isolation. The army squabbled with the Blackshirts, who considered themselves the elite. Discipline and order within the Italian army itself were poor, as the wars with Greece and Britain would later demonstrate. Supplies were atrocious. Quartermasters stole. Soldiers lived by looting. Veritable "booty markets" flourished within the units. The "descendants of the Romans" lacked fortitude and courage. When the Ethiopian commanders managed to organize a series of counterattacks, the Italians were unable to withstand the onslaught and fled in panic, abandoning captured cities, equipment, and weapons.

A Christian priest blesses Abyssinian soldiers leaving for the front from the city of Harar, November 16, 1935.

Mussolini was nervous that the war was dragging on. After all, this was his personal war! He dismissed Marshal Bono and appointed the more docile Badoglio. He ordered the abolition of the Geneva Convention, allowing the use of banned chemical weapons. Italian aircraft sprayed mustard gas and phosgene over cities, roads, and troop concentrations. Artillery They fired chemical shells. These weapons were effective against tribal militias and terrified local residents. Tens of thousands of local residents died as a result of the use of chemical weapons.

Blackshirts in Makale, Ethiopia

Occupation

The Italians were able to break through deep into the country, dismembering the enemy army. At the end of March 1936, the Italians routed the last major group. At first, the Ethiopians even successfully counterattacked. But then, with the help of tanks, artillery and aviation, the emperor's guard was almost completely destroyed.

On May 5, 1936, the Italians entered Addis Ababa, and on May 7, Italy annexed Ethiopia. On May 9, the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III was declared Emperor of Ethiopia. On June 1, 1936, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Italian Somalia were united to form the colony of Italian East Africa.

Haile Selassie issued a desperate appeal:

The peoples of the world do not understand that, by fighting to the bitter end, I am not only fulfilling a sacred duty to the people, but also standing guard over the last citadel of collective security?... If they do not come, then I will say prophetically and without a sense of bitterness: the West will perish.

Selassie's appeals to the "world community" were in vain. Britain and France pressed their line. They declared that after the fall of Addis Ababa, Italy could only be stopped by military sanctions, which threatened a European war. On July 4, 1936, the League of Nations lifted sanctions against Italy. Ethiopia was sacrificed to Italian fascism.

Moscow noted in this regard that the League of Nations was unable to ensure territorial inviolability and political independence for one of its members, and was only able to express “platonic sympathy.”

The brave emperor and his soldiers did not surrender. A people's war began. The Italians consolidated their rule by constructing concentration camps, where thousands were killed. Villages deemed hostile were burned. Their inhabitants weren't even brought to the camps; they were exterminated on the spot. The fascist Blackshirts and Italian native soldiers were particularly vicious (this hasn't changed to this day; intertribal feuds lead to the complete extermination of villages).

The population fled, fleeing to the mountains, forests, and neighboring colonies. They went into guerrilla warfare. The economy collapsed, and famine set in.

The Italians controlled less than half the country. Partisan fighting continued until the country's liberation in 1941. Mussolini believed his triumph would last forever. But in January 1941, British troops launched an offensive from Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan. The Italians were quickly defeated, and in April, Ethiopian troops recaptured their capital.

The Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 medium bomber entered service in the spring of 1935. Its first combat use took place in Ethiopia in December 1935.

Comments

[Lynx2000]

The Italians were routed to smithereens.

Italy, having paid the indemnity, recognized the independence of Abyssinia-Ethiopia and even ceded part of Eritrea. For the first time in modern history, a European power paid an indemnity to an African country. For a long time, representatives of official Italy were derisively referred to as "tributaries of Menelik" (the Emperor of Abyssinia).

I remember my paternal grandfather, a participant in the Battle of Stalingrad as part of the 35th Guards Rifle Division (a former paratrooper in the 8th Airborne Corps), telling an old joke:
God created the Italian army so that it could defeat the completely defeated Austrian army.

[Edward Vashchenko]

London and Washington were orchestrating a new world war. To this end, they were creating three flashpoints, "battering rams," that would destroy the previous Treaty of Versailles.

So it turns out that London and Washington created the Versailles system and then, for some unknown reason, began to destroy it?
It wasn't like that after all.
Those who were dissatisfied with the results of World War I: Germany, Italy and, to some extent, Japan, began to destroy it.
London, however, had no interest in this: it had suffered enormous costs and losses during the war, ceding its leadership in the capitalist world to the United States, while the benefits of victory did not quite compensate for the costs. London had no desire to participate in a new war with Germany.
Understanding that Italy, Germany, and Japan would still fight for new markets and raw materials, the old colonial empires, England and France, tried with all their might to redirect their aggression away from themselves and their colonies: to Ethiopia, China, and Russia.
The United States, meanwhile, pursued a policy of isolationism, as it benefited from trading with anyone it could find. Thus, in 1927, GM acquired Opel in Germany, and in 1929, Ford began building GAZ in the USSR.

[faiver]

London was behind WWI; by the end of the war, only one empire remained in the world—the British. Washington was behind WWII; by the end of the war, the British Empire had disappeared from the world map, the Bretton Woods system was born, and the dollar had become the world currency. But with the USSR, there was a certain balance of power in the world; with the collapse of the USSR, Washington declared itself king of the world.

[Illanatol]

The United States was, first and foremost, behind WWI, as it was behind WWI. It was after the First World War that the United States began to overtake England in some respects and even began to set the tone in European affairs for the first time. President Wilson had already attempted to promote the "United States of Europe" project (analogous to the European Union) and played a significant role in the creation of the League of Nations. The United States had already begun to move away from the Monroe Doctrine and aspire to a global role. But things didn't quite work out that way, creating the preconditions and conditions for a new world war. Following its conclusion, the United States became the undisputed leader of the "free world."

[Luminman]

Quote: Eduard Vaschenko

So it turns out that London and Washington created the Versailles system and then, for some unknown reason, began to destroy it?

Driven by the trauma of World War I and the economic hardships of the Great Depression, British officials concluded that the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh and economically destabilizing. That's why Britain began dismantling the Treaty of Versailles through appeasement. But if France alone had controlled the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, we likely wouldn't have known Germany as we know it today, as Clemenceau was widely known for his desire to completely destroy Germany. And the first thing we would have seen is the Rhineland becoming an independent state called Rhineland, not just some obscure demilitarized zone preventing Germany from invading France again...

Quote: Eduard Vaschenko

And the United States pursued a policy of isolationism, since it was profitable for it to trade with anyone

America wasn't as isolationist as is often portrayed. It provided loans to Germany, which created a vicious cycle: the German government used American aid to pay reparations to France and England, which, in turn, sent the money to the United States to pay off their war debts.

[Illanatol]

Quote: Eduard Vaschenko

So it turns out that London and Washington created the Versailles system and then, for some unknown reason, began to destroy it?

It's perfectly clear why. It was the United States and England that created all the preconditions for German revanchism. The point is that these democracies attempted to use German revanchism not only against a new and very obvious threat to their interests—Soviet Russia—but also against each other!
The elites of the USA and England saw a dangerous enemy not only in the USSR with its "red threat", but in each other!
England openly counted on an alliance with Hitler, so it turned a blind eye to his violations of the Versailles Treaty. The British elite calculated that only a strong alliance between England and Germany would prevent US dominance in Europe. The US elite understood this too, so they tried to prevent such an alliance using their secret channels of influence (financial capital). The real US government planned to use Hitler's aggression to weaken the British Empire and other European powers. But the Yankees understood that Hitler could prove too powerful and not entirely controllable (as indeed happened), so they helped build the economic power of those best able to rein in Germany—that is, the USSR. That's why the Yankees helped Hitler with one hand and Stalin with the other, and then... "let them kill each other as much as possible."

[Grancer81]

If London had not been interested in the destruction of the Versailles system, it would not have allowed it to be destroyed.

[Olgovich]

It's interesting that Hitler supported Ethiopia, supplying it with 16 rifles and 600 machine guns. Japan did the same.

On June 1, 1936, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somalia were united to form the colony of Italian East Africa.

And today, 34% of Italy's population are immigrants, including from Africa, and Italian women are afraid to leave their homes in the evenings. Only 90 years have passed.

[Edward Vashchenko]

and today 34% of the population of Italy are migrants, including from Africa, Italian women are afraid to leave their houses in the evenings.

Are you speaking from personal experience?
Have you been to Italy lately?
According to official statistics, Italy has exactly the same number of migrants as Russia, about 10%, and not 34%. Alice will tell you the truth.

[Sergey Dymsky]

The statistics are misleading. They suggest that children of migrants born in Italy are already considered native "Italians."

[Gomunkul]

Haile Selassie issued a desperate appeal:

The peoples of the world do not understand that, by fighting to the bitter end, I am not only fulfilling a sacred duty to the people, but also standing guard over the last citadel of collective security?... If they do not come, then I will say prophetically and without a sense of bitterness: the West will perish.

History repeats itself.
From the address of the leader of the Libyan Revolution Muammar Gaddafi to the Libyan people on the night of April 29-30, 2011,

...Italy has hurt the Libyans greatly, the Libyans are deeply offended by Italy, and I don't have the right to veto them from feeling pain and resentment. The Italians told us: we want to be friends, and we will be.
They lied. Italy bombed Sirte. Those who called themselves my friends – the leaders of China, Russia, Nigeria, South Africa, Portugal – I ask you: what was UN Resolution 1973 about?
Is a no-fly zone allowed there, or is it the go-ahead to exterminate Libyans? Libya is being tormented nonstop. They've cut off our access to oil, blown up ports, bombed homes, cut off food supplies to the population, bombed halls where negotiations with representatives of other countries are taking place. And all this is called a "no-fly zone."
I used to think that a "no-fly zone" meant that planes from both sides didn't fly, but it turns out that it's only Libyan planes that didn't fly, while yours flew and bombed whatever they wanted, wherever they wanted.
Charter and decisions of the United Nations: what is it and why?
Why was the resolution adopted?
To stop the planes or to starve the Libyans?
Where, in what resolution does it say: “it is permissible to kill”?
Where does it say: “you can cut off the communications and water supply”?
Where?...

[denis. 76]

So why didn't Comrade Stalin help Comrade Selassie defeat the fascist bastard? He could have organized some kind of airlift from Transcaucasia or Turkey to supply weapons and military specialists?

[nerd.su]

Quote: denis.76

So why didn’t Comrade Stalin help Comrade Selassie beat the fascist bastard?

Because Selassie wasn't a comrade, but a lord, literally "nguse nägest," king of kings, emperor. Apparently, Stalin wasn't yet ready to provide military assistance to emperors in the 30s...

[Alf]

Quote: bot.su

Apparently, Stalin was not yet ready to provide military assistance to the emperors in the 30s...

What about deliveries to China in the mid-to-late 30s?

[nerd.su]

Quote: Alf

What about deliveries to China in the mid-to-late 30s?

What's wrong with China? Did they have an emperor there in the 30s?

[Alf]

Quote: bot.su

Quote: Alf

What about deliveries to China in the mid-to-late 30s?

What's wrong with China? Did they have an emperor there in the 30s?

Yes, formally there was no longer an emperor in China, which did not at all prevent the IVS from supplying weapons to the completely non-socialist Kuomintang.

[nerd.su]

Quote: Alf

Yes, formally there was no longer an emperor in China.

And Selassie was a true emperor. Incidentally, when Mengiste Mariam killed him and hid him in a cell (though he always denied it), the Politburo immediately sided with the right side.

Quote: Alf

which did not at all prevent the IVS from supplying weapons to the completely non-socialist Kuomintang.

Stalin was a practical man and a realist. He supplied weapons to both the Kuomintang and the CPC. He even initially forced the CPC to accept Chiang Kai-shek's cowardly attack. Because the main goal was the fight against Japan. I'm not an expert on Chinese history, but the Kuomintang was a revolutionary party with strong Chinese nationalism. And they collaborated with it through the Comintern.
However, then everything fell into place.

[Alf]

Quote: bot.su

Stalin was a practical man and a realist.

Absolutely agree !

[Sergey Dymsky]

The Kuomintang, in fact, was entirely socialist. True, it fought the communists.

[Illanatol]

The military capabilities of the USSR were still limited at that time.
In addition, there were other problems: assistance to Republican Spain and possible friction in the Far East, where Japan had already begun aggression against China.

[denis. 76]

So limited that they couldn't smuggle a hundred machine guns and the corresponding number of rounds of ammunition via camel smuggling routes? One camel can carry three Maxim machine guns, model 1910, or 8,000 rounds of ammunition, so a hundred camels would be a disaster for the Italians.

[nerd.su]

Quote: denis.76

So limited that they couldn't smuggle a hundred machine guns with the corresponding amount of ammunition on camels?

Where should the maxims be loaded onto camels, in Italian ports or in English ones?

[denis. 76]

Smuggling via the coast of Sudan, for example, wouldn't be an option, and then across its territory by caravan. Sometimes covertly, sometimes through bribery. Apparently, there were some smart people working in the foreign department of the Main Directorate of State Security (GUGB) of the NKVD of the USSR back then, who could have easily organized it.

[ycuce234-san]

Quote: denis.76

One camel can carry three Maxim machine guns.

Emperor Haile Selassie I's machine guns wouldn't have saved him simply because the Italian army had far more of them. Haile needed to start a naval war with Italy, as the Italians relied on their navy for all their logistics, but transporting torpedoes, torpedo boats, and naval mines 🐫 was no longer so easy (though not impossible). And he also needed to develop a partisan movement.

[denis. 76]

Well, for a naval war, you at least need access to the sea, which Ethiopia didn't have. Machine guns are always a good thing. They might not have won the war, but the Italians' losses would have increased significantly, and the operation would have been extended. Therefore, Comrade Staly should have missed the opportunity to put the squeeze on Mussolini; he would have been less of a problem later in Spain.

[ycuce234-san]

We're talking about mines, torpedo boats, and light torpedo bombers. They can operate without access to the sea. The Germans established secret bases in uninhabited areas during both world wars, and the Emperor can do the same. With such technology, even the Bedouins of the Sahara will be able to participate in naval battles.

[ycuce234-san]

For example, it is possible to use nomadic strike groups that destroy transport ships with torpedoes and conventional bombs and lay naval mines from airplanes and boats at sea.

[Illanatol]

So what could Maxim tanks do against tankettes, aircraft, artillery, and chemical weapons? The Italians had all of those. And they had machine guns, too, and in significantly greater numbers.
And such smuggling, even if it were real, could have been detected and stopped using aerial reconnaissance. Italy's aviation wasn't all that bad; its pilots were quite skilled.

So, this is just your imagination. Now, if there were ten divisions, including a couple of tank divisions, then yes, that would change the balance. But this, too, is just a fantasy.

[bk0010]

Quote: denis.76

So why didn't Comrade Stalin help Comrade Selassie defeat the fascist bastard? He could have organized some kind of airlift from Transcaucasia or Turkey to supply weapons and military specialists?

It couldn't. In 1935, the USSR had no means of projecting power. And even later, it had major problems with this (see the Spanish Civil War). It only succeeded at its own borders (see Mongolia, Khalkhin Gol, and Khasan).

[multi-category]

In Ethiopia, Italian light aircraft played a major role – providing reconnaissance, coordination, and attacks on troops on the move, all with near-total impunity. They seriously weakened the cavalry, which had been harassing the Italians.

[Semovente7534]

It should be added that Great Britain did not impede the passage of Italian ships through the Strait of Suez, finding it more profitable to allow them passage and collect duties or taxes, which were high at the time. Furthermore, the transfer of command from De Bono to Badoglio proved advantageous for Italy; the fact that Badoglio did not attack immediately, but waited for all the necessary supplies and logistics to arrive, guaranteed the success of the Ethiopian campaign. Then, unfortunately, massacres occurred, and no one can deny that. Unfortunately, war is war, and when these murders are committed directly by us, people pay no attention, but when we ourselves become victims, we notice. However, in the post-war period, relations between Ethiopia and Italy were excellent, thanks to Haile Salais and the cooperation and participation of Italian companies in the reconstruction and development of Ethiopia. Thanks to Haile Salais, Italians were not subjected to repression, and, as I have already written, relations between Italy and Ethiopia were excellent.

[cpls22]

Thus, the United States, Britain and France facilitated Italian aggression, although they could have stopped it through diplomatic and economic measures.

At first glance, such indulgence seems inconsistent, given the competition between countries. In fact, everything is explained by the view

to Abyssinia, which remained virtually the only independent state in Africa.

All they had to do was let any predator take the last victim on the continent, and how to divide the carcass afterwards was left for later.
They have already tried to bully Russia more than once, indulging one predator in the hope of dividing it up later, together.

[bk0010]

Deposed Marshal Bono

I read "He Removed Marshal Bonya." I thought, "The author's just lost it." I took off my glasses and looked closer. No, everything's fine.

[acetophenone]

In service was up to 400 rifles and shotguns, mostly obsolete systems, 200-300 machine guns of various systems with limited ammunition, about 250 old cannons and anti-aircraft guns,

Is this accurate? Is there a mistake here?