Abyssinian War

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Abyssinian War, 1935–6. Conflict between Abyssinia and Italy. Mussolini used a border incident on 5 December 1934 at Walwal, on the Eritrean and Somali frontier, as a pretext for pursuing his aim of imperial expansion in north Africa. The Italians invaded Abyssinia on 3 October 1935 without declaring war and captured the capital Addis Ababa on 5 May 1936. The League of Nations branded Italy the aggressor and imposed limited sanctions but to no avail. In 1941 the British evicted the Italians with the aid of Abyssinian nationalists.

Richard A. Smith

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