Haile Selassie Asks the League of Nations to Act

In October 1935, Fascist Italy launched an invasion of Ethiopia, seeking to avenge its nineteenth-century defeat at the Battle of Adwa and build an empire across the Horn of Africa. Haile Selassie had governed the empire since his coronation as emperor in 1930, having previously served as regent under Empress Zewditu. In response to mounting tensions following the Welwel incident in late 1934, he issued a general mobilization order on 3 October 1935, rallying his forces against an adversary armed with modern weaponry, aircraft, and chemical agents.

The Ethiopian counteroffensives late that year, remembered as the Christmas Offensive, briefly forced Italian units onto the defensive. However, the balance shifted decisively in early 1936. Imperial forces suffered devastating defeats across the northern front at Amba Aradam, Tembien, and Shire. On 31 March 1936, the emperor personally commanded his final northern army at the Battle of Maychew in southern Tigray. The engagement ended in a rout, with retreating soldiers harassed by air strikes and armed local factions.