Heading Towards War

1. Heading Towards War By Mr. Gunther Brea Olinda HS

2. Italy Invades Ethiopia • Italy had been defeated by Ethiopia in 1896 at the Battle of Adwa. • Mussolini wanted to avenge this loss and test the League of Nations. • In 1936 Italian forces invaded Ethiopia from Italian Somaliland. • In spite of facing an army with only 3 armored cars and one airplane, the Italians still had trouble advancing. • The Italians eventually used poison gas to defeat the gas maskless Ethiopians.

3. Haile Selassie of Ethiopia • The Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie used his armies with skill and audacity. • He pleaded with the League of Nations to protect his nation from unprovoked aggression. Saying, “It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.” • But the League did little. The British could not even be convinced to ban the Italians from the Suez Canal. • A few minor economic sanctions hardly slowed the Italians. • The fall of Ethiopia was a victory for Fascist aggression. • BTW Haile Selassie is worshiped as the avatar of God by Rastafarians.

4. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 • Before 1936 Spain went through a series of narrowly elected, minority governments. • In 1936 President Zamora a respected moderate was removed from power and replaced by Manuel Azana a divisive socialist. • A series of political murders triggered a coup de tat by the military. • The coup was defeated initially by anarchist and communist youths who robbed government armories.

5. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 • The government could not control its own supporters or the military. • Quickly the country broke into pro-Army and pro-Government territories. • The pro-Government group called themselves the Republicans, they were made up of democrats, anarchists, Communists and Socialists. • The pro-Army group called themselves the Nationalists, they were an alliance of conservatives, the Army, Catholic extremists, Monarchists and the Fascist Falange.

6. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 • At first the Nationalists were led by General Sanjurjo but he died in a plane crash because he refused to unload his trunks full of uniforms. • An unlikely pudgy little hyperactive named Francisco Franco took over. • He quickly turned to foreign nations for help.

7. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 • Mussolini and Hitler saw an opportunity to test out their troops and technology in combat. • Franco saw an opportunity to win the war and not get executed for treason. • So the Nazis and Fascists sent troops, tanks, guns and planes to assist the Nationalists.

8. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 • The Republicans asked the USA, France, and Britain for help. • The USA, France, and Britain were too busy worrying about their own economies to help the democratically elected government of Spain. • A few volunteers from each nation went to Spain and fought in the International Brigades. • So the Republicans turned to Stalin and the USSR. Stalin sent weapons but he demanded all the gold in Spain and the right to send Communist officers to influence the government. • The Republicans accepted this devil’s bargain.

9. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 • Eventually, after many atrocities on both sides the Republicans lost. • Spain was Fascist and the Fascist nations looked strong, democracy weak. • Aerial bombardment of cities became a terrifying new reality with the bombing of Guernica and other cities. • WWII is around the corner and it does not look good for freedom.