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Italian troops pictured in Addis Ababa during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, image taken in May 1936.
The Second Italo-Ethiopian war was a conflict predating World War II, lasting from October 1935 until February 1937.
The war started on the 3rd of October 1935, when Italian troops attacked Ethiopia from Eritrea (then an Italian colony) and from Italian Somalia, without any prior declaration of war.
Despite managing to hold against the invasion for a while, Ethiopian forces had no chance against the much more sofisticated weaponry of the Italians. For example, Ethiopia had 13 aircrafts and 4 tanks, compared to Italy’s 600 aircrafts and 600-800 tanks. By May 1936 Emperor Haile Selassie had fled in exile and Italy had occupied Ethiopia, although fighting still took place until February 1937.
After the end of World War II, on February 10th 1947, Italy formally recognized Ethiopian independence and agreed to pay $25M dollars in reparations.
Book suggestion ⤵️
📖 Ethiopia: Liberation Silver Jubilee 1941-1966 (David A. Talbot, 2017)
