A huge collection of photos, more than 600, bring to life one of the less understood but most impactful colonial wars of the 20th century. In 1935, Fascist Italy invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), one of just two independent states in Africa at the time. Italy first invaded Ethiopia in 1895 and was driven out by the army of Emperor Menelik II. In 1935, the defensive effort would be led by Emperor Haile Selassie I. Benito Mussolini (the Italian Duce ) claimed victory in 1936, but the struggle of Selassie and his people against impossible odds won worldwide admiration. This work supplements a concise narrative history of the conflict with more than 600 captioned photos, including detailed coverage of both armies.
AUTHOR: Philip Jowett began researching and writing military history during his mid-20s and wrote his first book in 1997. Since then he has written 32 books, including two published by Schiffer: Soldiers of the White Sun, 1931-1949 and Chinese Warlord Armies, 1916-1928. He lives in North Lincolnshire, England. SELLING POINTS: . Hundreds of rare images of a visually striking conflict, which was highly heterogeneous in terms of weapons, equipment, and uniforms . Stiff resistance from the Ethiopian army captured worldwide attention . Mussolini’s expansionist policy in East Africa had significant long-term strategic consequences in the buildup to the Second World War 620 coloour and c/w photographs