1935–1941: (The Italian Invasion of Ethiopia — Mussolini Seeking Revenge for Adwa, Claiming Ethiopia Was an Anachronistic Savage State Unworthy of Sovereignt…

1935–1941: (The Italian Invasion of Ethiopia — Mussolini Seeking Revenge for Adwa, Claiming Ethiopia Was an Anachronistic Savage State Unworthy of Sovereignty, the October 1935 Invasion Using Aircraft and Illegal Poison Gas, Haile Selassie’s Flight and Warning to the League That It Would Be Europe Tomorrow, the Patriots’ Guerrilla Resistance, and Ethiopia’s Liberation in 1941 by Allied Forces Including West and Central African Troops): For Africans and African-Americans, the Second World War had in many ways begun in 1935 with the Italian invasion of Ethiopia from colonial Eritrea. Ethiopia was the only genuinely independent African state, and it was now the target of Mussolini’s expansionist ambitions — long a core aim of the Fascist state to build a new Roman empire springing from Eritrea, driven by the quest for revenge for the defeat at Adwa in 1896. Through the early 1930s, Mussolini sought international support by arguing that Ethiopia was an anachronism, a savage and unstable state practicing slavery, no more worthy of recognition than any other African people. Britain and France had secretly and ignominiously accepted the Italian subjugation. Claiming an unprovoked Ethiopian attack near the Somali border, Italy invaded in October 1935 — this would be no repeat of 1896, as the technological disparity was now vast, and Italian armored columns backed by aircraft and the occasional illegal use of poison gas swept all before them. By early 1936 Mussolini’s forces entered Addis Ababa. Haile Selassie fled into exile, addressing the League of Nations General Assembly with the warning that it might be Ethiopia today but it would be Europe tomorrow. The Italians never truly controlled Ethiopia in its entirety — guerrilla activity by the Patriots continued throughout the occupation. Ethiopia became a cause célèbre and the focus of pan-African protest — the embodiment of free and ancient Black civilization, inspiration for the Rastafarian movement, and symbol of the struggle against colonialism and racism. In early 1941, Allied forces — including West and Central African troops — advanced into both Eritrea and Ethiopia, restoring Haile Selassie to power by May, though compromised by the presence of British advisors.