The Road to World War II

Italy's war against Ethiopia held enormous consequences for international diplomacy. It became the pivot around which potential alliances turned. Within a year after Italy's declaration of empire, the sides that took to the military field between 1939 and 1941 had become clear.

Japan's unpunished aggression in the Far East had inspired Italian Fascism and helped clear the diplomatic way for the Ethiopian adventure. the war then breached the united front the three great Western powers had reached at Stresa. This provoked conflict between Italy and Britain, sharpened Anglo-French antagonisms, and killed Soviet hopes for collective security against Germany and Japan. The war also provided room for Germany to violate international agreements by moving troops into the Rhineland in 1936. Meanwhile, the successful resolution of the Sugimura Affair attracted Italy to Japan.

Today, Italy's slide down the slippery path into a suffocating German alliance as Hitler's doxy may seem to have been inevitable. During the mid and late 1930s, however, the matter was not so clear, and Moscow consistently tried to wean Italy from its German ties. In May 1936, for example, the kremlin offered Rome an Italo–Franco–Soviet accord in exchange for removing its sanctions. During July, rumors abounded that Mussolini had seriously studied the idea. In the end, however, he rejected Soviet advances.