Expansion, War, Collapse, and the Historiographical Debate

Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in October 1935, using the Wal Wal incident as pretext and employing mustard gas against Ethiopian forces despite the resistance of Emperor Haile Selassie; Addis Ababa fell in May 1936 and Italy proclaimed its East African empire, a conquest that discredited the League of Nations and pushed Italy toward Germany. Italy sent roughly 70,000 to 80,000 troops to support Franco in the Spanish Civil War, suffering a notable defeat at Guadalajara in 1937, and in November 1936 Mussolini proclaimed the "Rome-Berlin Axis," formalized militarily through the Pact of Steel of May 1939 and Italy's entry into the Second World War in June 1940.