Mussolini, Mustard Gas and the Fascist Way of War: Ethiopia, 1935-1936

Author:   Charles Stephenson
Publisher:   Pen & Sword Books Ltd
ISBN:  

9781399051668


Pages:   224
Publication Date:   31 January 2024
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Mussolini, Mustard Gas and the Fascist Way of War: Ethiopia, 1935-1936


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Overview

In early October 1935 and without any declaration of war some two hundred thousand men, comprising soldiers and airmen of the Italian armed forces, Fascist 'Blackshirt' Militia, Eritrean ascari and Somali dubats, invaded the independent state of Ethiopia (Abyssinia). It was an operation entirely of choice, the chooser being Il Duce: Benito Mussolini. The resultant conflict is often described as a colonial war. Whilst it was certainly launched with the intent of turning Ethiopia into an Italian possession, it was in fact a war of aggression against an independent, sovereign, state with membership of the League of Nations. A state that had, according to one of its nineteenth-century rulers, been 'for fourteen centuries a Christian island in a sea of pagans'. The swiftness of the Italian victory resulted from their possession and ruthless use of technology; most particularly aircraft, mustard gas, and motorisation/mechanisation. Since they were fighting an enemy who possessed none of these things, then they were able to wage, indeed inaugurate, what the prominent military theorist JFC Fuller dubbed 'totalitarian warfare' or, as it became known a few years later, total war. This, he opined, was the Fascist, the scientific, way of making war. In his considered view, the Fascist Army that waged it was 'a scientific military instrument.' This book examines that campaign in military and political terms. AUTHOR: Charles Stephenson is a native of, and still lives in, north Wales. His previous works for Pen & Sword encompass: The Siege of Tsingtau: The German-Japanese War 1914 (2017); Stalin's War on Japan: The Red Army's Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation 1945 (2021); The Eastern Fleet and the Indian Ocean, 1942–1944: The Fleet that Had to Hide (2021); and Churchill as Home Secretary: Suffragettes, Strikes, and Social Reform 1910-11 (2023). 25 b/w illustrations

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Author:   Charles Stephenson
Publisher:   Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Imprint:   Pen & Sword Military
ISBN:  

9781399051668


ISBN 10:   1399051660
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   31 January 2024
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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"""This book provides far more detail about the Italian invasion than the brief accounts I've read... Enjoyed it.""-- ""Historical Miniatures Gaming Society"""


Author Information

Charles Stephenson is a native of, and still lives in, north Wales. His previous works for Pen & Sword encompass: The Siege of Tsingtau: The German-Japanese War 1914 (2017); Stalin’s War on Japan: The Red Army’s Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation 1945 (2021); The Eastern Fleet and the Indian Ocean, 1942–1944: The Fleet that Had to Hide (2021); and Churchill as Home Secretary: Suffragettes, Strikes, and Social Reform 1910-11 (2023).

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