1. Abyssinian Crisis

2. Benito Mussolini  Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy in 1922, promising the Italian people glory and greatness. He intended to create a new Roman Empire. He invested large amounts of money in the army.  By the mid-1930s, there were two reasons to invade Abyssinia He needed some military victories to prove Italy's greatness to its people and to the rest of the world. Abyssinia (Ethiopia today) was between the two small Italian colonies of Eritrea and Somaliland. Its lands were fertile and rich in mineral wealth.

3. Abyssinia  Abyssinia was a member of the League of Nations. This was a worldwide organisation created after World War I to maintain peace by solving international disputes without resorting to war. Britain, France, and Italy were members of the League, but the USA was not a member. If a member was attacked by another country, the League was supposed to come to its aid, but in fact the League lacked the strength needed to back this up.

4. Abyssinian Crisis  Throughout the summer of 1935, Mussolini amassed troops on the Abyssinian border.  In October 1935, the League's committee suggested that Italy should have some land in Abyssinia.  Mussolini launched a full invasion. Haile Selassie (Abyssinian Emperor) appealed to the League for help. However, League intervention was slow and, when it did occur, was half- hearted and ineffective.  Instead, Italy's 100,000-strong army invaded Abyssinia. The Italian troops used poison gas and attacked Red Cross hospitals.

5.  Britain and France refused to intervene. In December 1935, news leaked out about the Hoare-Laval Pact - a secret plan made by the foreign secretary of Britain and the prime minister of France to give Abyssinia to Italy.  In the end, the League did almost nothing. By May 1936, Mussolini conquered Abyssinia, creating an Italian East African Empire.

6. Timeline  December 1934: Dispute at Wal-Wal between Italians and Abyssinians  April 1935: Stresa-Pact signed between Britain, France and Italy, uniting them against German rearmament  October 1935: 100,000 Italian troops enter Abyssinia from the north. Adowa taken after 2 days of bombing, with only one Italian casualty  November 1935: Southern Abyssinian leader, Afework, killed  December 1935: Italians use mustard gas in victory at Dolo. Abyssinians counter-attack and Italians retreat 12 miles. Hoare and Laval prepare the Hoare-Laval Plan, giving Mussolini two- thirds of Abyssinia  January 1936: Italians use mustard gas at the battle of Tembien

7.  February 1936: Italians use artillery to bring victory at Amba Aradam  March 1936: Last major Abyssinian army defeated. Haile Selassie's personal army defeated and survivors trapped by a lake and attacked with gas and bombs. Meanwhile, Hitler reoccupies the Rhineland  April 1936: Italian tanks and armoured cars take control over more Abyssinian regions without opposition  May 1936: Haile Selassie flees Abyssinia. Italian troops enter Addis Ababa. Victor Emanuel, the King of Italy, declared the new Emperor of Abyssinia  November 1936: Rome-Berlin Axis - Mussolini and Hitler sign an agreement

8. Effects of the two crisis  It is as important that you know the effect the two crises had on the League, as it is that you know the story of the events themselves: It became clear that if a strong nation was prepared to ignore the League, the League could do nothing about it. The League's delays and slowness made it look scared. Sanctions were shown to be useless. Everybody realised that Britain and France were not prepared to use force. The four major powers - Japan, Italy, Britain and France - all betrayed the League. Smaller nations realised that the League could not and would not protect them. Britain and France decided that the League was useless to stop war, and followed instead the policy of appeasement. Hitler was encouraged to move ahead with his plans.

9. This cartoon by the British cartoonist David Low attacks the weakness of the League in the face of Japan. A Japanese soldier walks all over the League, while League officials bow to him and the British foreign secretary John Simon powders the League's nose using a 'face-saving kit'. The Doormat