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Ballot (vote) taken in by the League of Nations Union in Britain.
Shows that the vast majority of British citizens support the use of military force to defend Abyssinia. -
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Invasion of Abyssinia
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Mussolini negotiating with the League of Nations.
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Mussolini shipping Italian army to Africa. Britain and France fail to take the situation seriously.
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Britain and France sign the Stresa Pact with Mussolini to fomalise a protest against German rearmament and unite against Germany.
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Public outcry against Italy's behaviour.
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British politicians start to 'get tough'.
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British Foreign Minister, Hoare, makes a grand speech about the value of collective security at an assembly of the League.
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A committee reports to the League that neither side can be held responsible for the Wal-Wal incident. The League suggests a plan to give Mussolini some of Abyssinia. Mussolini rejects this offer.
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Mussolini's army is ready, and a full-scale invasion of Abyssinia is launched. The people of Abyssinia are no match for the modern Italian army, equipped with tanks, aeroplanes and poison gas.
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The Covenent Factfile makes it clear that sanctions must be introduced against the aggressor.
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A committee is set up to agree what sanctions to impose on Italy.
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The League imposes an immediate ban on arms sales to Italy while allowing the Italian army to Abyssinia. The League also bans all loans to Italy, imports from Italy, and the export to Italy of rubber, tin and metals.
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The League of Nations delays the decision to ban oil exports to Italy for two months.
The League fears thae Americans will not support this decisions, it's members' economic interests will be damaged, and that 30,000 British coal miners will lose their jobs because of the ban of coal exports to Italy. -
Suez Canal is not closed to Mussolini's supply ships.
This was Italy's main supply route to Abyssinia.
Britain and France are worried that closing this Canal to Italy could cause a war in Europe. -
Secret dealings between Britain and France.
This was damaging to the League and was a dismissal of one of Wilson's 14 points following the First World War (there should be no secret treaties). -
Hoare and Laval (British and French Foreign ministers) hatch a plan to give Mussolini two-thirds of Abyssinia in return for his calling off the invasion.
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Laval warns the British that if they do not agree to his plan to tell Mussolini of his and Hoare's secret pact before forewarning the League and Haile Selassie (leader of Abyssinia) then France will not support sanctions against Italy's actions.
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Details of 'the plan' (the secret pact between Hoare and Laval) are leaked to the French press.
This proves calamitous for the League.
Haile Selassie wishes for a debate about 'the plan' with the League.
The people of France and Britain see this 'plan' as treachery to the League. -
Hoare and Laval are sacked.
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Sanction discussions lose momentum due to distraction.
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League committee concludes that if oil sales to Italy are stopped it will run out of supplies in two months.
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Mussolini has already taken much of Abyssinia.
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America is disgusted by the actions of the French and British, and blocks the move to support the League's sanctions. American oil producers increase exports to Italy.
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Hitler orders his troops into the Rhineland.
This is a blatent challenge to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. -
The French are desperate to gain the support of Italy from Germany; so much so that they are prepared to allow Mussolini all of Abyssinia.
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Mussolini continues to defy the League's orders and takes Addis Ababa, capital of Abyssinia.
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Haile Selassie is forced into exile.
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Mussolini formally claims Abyssinia.
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The League of Nations has failed.
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Mussolini and Hitler sign the Rome-Berlin Axis.
