Title: The Abyssinian Crisis

Aim: To find out how the League dealt

with the Italian invasion of Abyssinia
This cartoon of 1933, by the
British cartoonist David Low, is
entitled: 'The Doormat'. It shows
a Japanese soldier trampling all
over the League, whilst League
officials bow down before him and
the British Foreign Secretary John
Simon powders the League's
nose using a 'Face-saving kit'.
What is the cartoonist suggesting
about the League... the
Japanese Army... John Simon and
the other western diplomats?
13 min Lesson on the
failure of the League
Background
► Abyssinia was an African country that
had not yet been made a European
colony. It had good farmland and
many minerals. It was surrounded by
European colonies, including Eritrea
and Somaliland, both Italian.
► In 1896, Italian troops invaded
Abyssinia, but were beaten at the
Battle of Adowa.
► In 1928, Italy signed a treaty of
friendship with Abyssinia.
► In the 1930s, it became clear that the
Italian dictator, Mussolini, was
preparing to go to war to take
Abyssinia.
Mussolini and the League of
Nations, January – October 1935
The League did not want
a clash with Mussolini.
Britain and France
wanted him to be their
ally against Hitler in
Germany. Mussolini
decided that neither the
League nor Britain and
France would act if he
took Abyssinia.
 Italy attacks Abyssinia, October
1935
► In October 1935, Italy
invaded Abyssinia. The
Italians used modern
weapons, including
tanks, planes and poison
gas. The Abyssinians did
not have weapons like
these.
► The only hope for their
Emperor. Haile Selassie,
lay in the size of the
country, the poor state of
the roads and an appeal
to the League of Nations.
The League’s response
► This was clearly a
case of the strong
invading the weak.
► The League should
have defended
Abyssinia.
► The first step,
according to the
League’s Covenant,
was economic
sanctions.
► The League set up a
committee to decide
on sanctions
What the League decided to do

1. The sale of weapons and some

goods to Italy was banned.
2. No League member was to buy
Italian goods or lend Italy money.
But:
1. Vital oil and coal were still sold to
Italy, to protect US and British trade.
2. Italian ships were still allowed to use
the Suez Canal
3. Mussolini’s main supply route to
Abyssinia.
What the League decided to do?
 Meanwhile, The Hoare –
the British and
French foreign Laval Pact
ministers, Hoare
and Laval,
drew up a plan
to end the war.
They suggested
that Abyssinia
should be split
into two.
 The Hoare – Laval Pact
Italy would get the best area for
farming and minerals.
Halie Selassie would get the poor,
mountainous land.
The plan was leaked to the press and
there was a huge outcry. Britain and
France were clearly putting their
interests ahead of the interests of
the League, Hoare and Laval were
forced to resign. This damaged the
League’s reputation.
Mussolini triumphs
The Italians
continued fighting
in Abyssinia. In
May 1936, they
captured the
capital city, Addis
Ababa.
Haile Selassie
managed to
escape to Geneva
and appealed to
the League for
more help.
Mussolini triumphs

The next step for the

League would be to
gather an army to turn
Mussolini out of
Abyssinia.
The League did nothing.
The end of the League of Nations
In March 1936,
the German
dictator, Hitler,
sent troops
into the
Rhineland,
breaking the
Treaty of
Versailles. The
League had
done nothing.
The end of the League of Nations

It’s failure to act in Abyssinia

marked the end of the
League’s influence, even
though it was not formally
broken up until 1946.
In October 1936, Hitler and
Mussolini made the
Rome-Berlin Axis agreement.
Another world war was
looming.
Why did the League fail?
► The League did not meet
often. It needed all
decisions to be agreed by
every member: this made it
difficult for it to make quick
decisions.
► The USA was not a member.
The USSR did not join until
1934. Germany and Japan
left in 1933. Italy left in 1937.
Why did the League fail?
► Sanctions, especially without
US support, did not work.
► The League had no army,
did not want to fight and
had trouble with raising an
army from its members.
► The League was supposed
to uphold the peace treaties
of 1919-20. these were now
seen as unfair.
What were the implications
of the League’s failure?
► Japan, Italy and Germany all
broke League rules and kept the
land they invaded. The only
action they faced was the
disapproval of other countries.
► The only way the League could
save itself from failure was by
rapid action. It was not set up to
act quickly. It was not able to
agree to raise an army to defend
its weaker members.
What were the implications
of the League’s failure?
► This showed that the League
could not make collective
security work.
► Weak nations realised they
could not rely on the League to
protect them.
► Britain and France saw the
League did not work against
dictators. They began to build
up their armies.
POV -- 8 min Summary