Proteste inascoltate. L’uso dei gas durante la guerra d’Etiopia e l’apatia della comunità internazionale

The Italian invasion of Ethiopia was prepared contemplating the use of chemical warfare agents as Mussolini personally took this responsibility. The army and the aviation followed his orders and, after manufacturing appropriate bombs and artillery shells, prepared Eritrea and Somalia to stock yperite and other “gases”, ready to be used at the proper moment. After the invasion, an Ethiopian counterattack led Badoglio to deploy the chemical agents, and simultaneously Graziani did the same on the southern front. Therefore, from the end of 1935 Ethiopia denounced the use of gases to the League of Nations, but faced an unconditional opposition from great powers to the request of an impartial enquiry. This actual apathy for selfish political motives led Great Britain and France to forgive Fascist war crimes and helped the general oblivion of them after the Second world war. Published and unpublished documents from archives all over the globe provide a complete explanation of diplomatic maneuvers during the Italo-Ethiopian war, improving the knowledge on the issue.