Why Did the League of Nations Fail to Stop Italy Invading Abyssinia
The League of Nations failed to stop Italy invading Abyssinia because of many reasons. These reasons include Italy being a threat to the rest of the world, having an alliance with Italy, Abyssinia meant nothing to the League of Nations and the League couldn’t afford to help Abyssinia. Italy was a very powerful country in the 1930’s and the League of Nations failed to stop them invading. Italy was a major threat to the rest of the world because of all its power. There were many countries that were frightened of Italy.
Among these countries were France and Britain. Italy’s navy army was overrated and with Britain thinking it was better than it was made them scared. They didn’t want to risk their own Navy, it was too important to them. France saw Italy as a threat because they thought Italy might join forces with Germany, and destroy the rest of the world. Which is why France and Britain’s votes were with Italy invading Abyssinia. Secondly, all the countries in the League of Nations wanted Italy on their side if Hitler planned an attack again.
Throughout World War One Italy switched sides of the two alliances numerous times, so if Germany was to invade the League, they wanted to make sure they had Italy on their side. Which is another reason they didn’t stop Italy invading Abyssinia. Thirdly, Abyssinia is a small African country that meant little to the League of Nations. The Abyssinian Emperor – Haile Selassie – went to the League to appeal for help, but it did nothing. The League was too frightened that they thought it was safer to give up Abyssinia so Italy would join their forces.
The League became defenceless, weak and no help to Abyssinia. Lastly, once Italy had invaded Abyssinia, the League of Nations didn’t want to send army’s over to defend because of the tragic ending in WWI. The end of the war left many countries helpless, even with the Treaty of Versailles. The League thought that if they sent army’s over to defend the Abyssinia there was a chance that the same horrific outcomes could happen just like in WWI.
So they didn’t offer to help Abyssinia, instead they silently agreed that Italy could take over Abyssinia and they would do nothing about it. To conclude, Italy invaded Abyssinia without any problems from the League of Nations. The league was scared of Italy, they were scared of Germany attacking again and they were scared of the outcomes of WWI. The League became vulnerable and feeble being unable to do anything. Which is why the League of Nations failed to stop Italy invading Abyssinia.
