Italian invasion of Ethiopia (1935)

Main article: Second Italo-Ethiopian War

Benito Mussolini inspecting troops during the Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935
The Second Italo–Ethiopian War was a brief colonial war that began in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war began with the invasion of the Ethiopian Empire (also known as Abyssinia) by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy (Regno d’Italia), which was launched from Italian Somaliland and Eritrea.[34] The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana, or AOI); in addition it exposed the weakness of the League of Nations as a force to preserve peace.

Both Italy and Ethiopia were member nations, but the League did little when the former clearly violated Article X of the League’s Covenant.[35] The United Kingdom and France supported imposing sanctions on Italy for the invasion, but they were not fully enforced and failed to end the Italian invasion.[36] Italy subsequently dropped its objections to Germany’s goal of absorbing Austria.[37]
Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)
Main article: Spanish Civil War

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The bombing of Guernica in 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, sparked fears abroad Europe that the next war would be based on bombing of cities with very high civilian casualties

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When civil war broke out in Spain, Hitler and Mussolini lent military support to the Nationalist rebels, led by General Francisco Franco. The Soviet Union supported the existing government, the Spanish Republic.

Over 30,000 foreign volunteers, known as the International Brigades, also fought against the Nationalists. Both Germany and the Soviet Union used this proxy war as an opportunity to test in combat their most advanced weapons and tactics. The Nationalists won the civil war in April 1939; Franco, now dictator, remained officially neutral during World War II but generally favoured the Axis.[38] His greatest collaboration with Germany was the sending of volunteers to fight on the Eastern Front.[39]