Foreign Policy And Military Expansion

Question 1

Invasion of Ethiopia (1935-36) + international response

Answer 1

Italy invaded Ethiopia to expand empire + average past defeat
War began Oct 1935; Italy used chemical weapons
Ethiopia fell May 1936; Annexed into Italian East Africa
League of Nations condemns invasion; imposed weak sanctions
Hoare-Laval Pact secretly proposed appeasement
Haile Selassie appeals to League (June 1936)
League fails, exposes weakness of collective security

Question 2

Support for Franco in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39)

Answer 2

Nazi Germany + Italy gave majorly military aid (troops, planes, weapons)
Portugal gave logistical + political support
Catholic Church + conservatives gave strong domestic backing
Right wing volunteers gave some foreign fighters (Irish Brigade)
Non intervention by Britain/France as they favoured Franco by limiting Republican Aid

Question 3

Alliance with Nazi Germany: Rome-Berlin Axis (1936) and Pact of Steel (1939)

Answer 3

Rome-Berlin Axis (1936)
Informal Italy-Germany alliance; United fascist powers
Marked Italy’s shift toward Germany
Pact of Steel (1936)
Formal military alliance
Pledged mutual support in war; solidified Axis partnership

Question 4

Italy’s entry into WW2 + military campaigns

Answer 4

Joined Axis June 10, 1940 to gain territory + prestige
France- minor late invasion 1940
Greece- failed invasion; needed German help
North Africa- initial losses; aided by Rommel
Eastern Front- sent troops to support Germany
Italy invaded 1943- Mussolini ousted; Italy surrendered
Split- North under German control (Republic of Salò); south joined allies