Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-788cddb947-nxk7g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-10T23:51:40.072Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - The Ethiopian and Rhineland Crises

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2022

G. C. Peden
Affiliation:
University of Stirling
Get access

Summary

From late 1934 Churchill and Chamberlain were influenced by intelligence reports on the scale of German rearmament. Churchill successfully pressed the government to accelerate the expansion of the RAF. Chamberlain agreed in principle to a defence loan, thereby making possible much higher defence expenditure than when he had insisted on balanced budgets. Both men supported appeasement of Mussolini when he attacked Ethiopia, since both saw Italy as a potential counterweight to Germany. Both Chamberlain and Churchill advocated an early end to League of Nations sanctions against Italy after the collapse of Ethiopian resistance. The connection between the Ethiopian crisis and the German military occupation of the Rhineland in March 1936 is explained, Hitler having been encouraged by the failure of sanctions, the consequent reduction in British prestige and the breach between Italy and the western powers. Churchill denounced the British rearmament programme, announced in the same month, as inadequate, and urged a greater diversion of industry to defence contracts than Chamberlain thought safe. On the other hand, both men gave priority to the air force and opposed a commitment to send the army to France.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×