Ethiopia 1935-1936
Ethiopia was a lone beacon in a continent of colonies. Despite several efforts by the Italians, the Ethiopians had managed to maintain their independence. However, that all changed when Italy pushed forth with a new offensive in 1935. The mustard gas worked against the Ethiopian army in much the same way that it worked in World War I. Soldiers were demoralized and living in fear over the threat of chemical weapons.
The Italians who were attacking from Eritrea under Marshal Pietro Badoglio were afraid that attacking the Ethiopians would end up much the same way it did in 1896, when Ethiopian forces destroyed a huge Italian army. In order to ensure victory, Marshal Badoglio ordered a massive mustard gas attack against unsuspecting Ethiopians. With no warning of the impending chemical weapon attack, thousands of Ethiopians were affected. They suffered burns all over their bodies and many of them painfully suffocated.
The mustard gas proved effective as one attack was able to decimate the Ethiopian forces. From then on it became the weapon of choice for the Marshal Badoglio. General Rodolfo Graziani was also moving in on Ethiopia from the Italian colony of Somalia. On his Southern front, he also found the use of mustard gas to be particularly effective against the Ethiopians. It also worked to prevent Ethiopian troops from entering an area. As the Ethiopian forces often walked barefoot or with sandals and mustard gas could stay on the ground for days, troops were not able to follow Italian and colonial forces after they had sprayed mustard gas.
The Soviet Union would later claim that there were 50,000 casualties as a result of the Italo-Abyssinian war of 1935-1936. Of those 50,000 casualties, it was believed that at least 15,000 were caused by chemical weapons. Italy would later deny using chemical weapons in Ethiopia. It was not until 1995 that the Italian government finally admitted to the use of chemical weapons during colonial wars.