Empires; soft hard and downright homicidal
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Perils of air-travel and peace-keeping
To
almost no-one’s surprise Italy withdrew from the League of Nations in a very
belated protest at the League’s entirely ineffectual sanctions imposed on Italy
for the invasion of Abyssinia. The public announcement provided Mussolini with
the opportunity for a theatrical speech in front of a crowd estimated at
100,000. In practice it was more of an affirmation of Fascist Italy’s ability
to defy censure of its conduct by any other country. The move was instantly
applauded by Germany which reiterated its determination never to rejoin the
League however it might be reformed. For the couple of years that it was left
to exist the League had dwindled into a talking shop for the non-dictator countries.
As the Japanese army tightened the noose on Nanking, the next Chinese city on its list, warships of British and US navies standing by on the Yangtse to protect their nationals in the region came under fire from Japanese artillery on the river bank. The US gunboat Panay was sunk and the HMS La…
As the Japanese army tightened the noose on Nanking, the next Chinese city on its list, warships of British and US navies standing by on the Yangtse to protect their nationals in the region came under fire from Japanese artillery on the river bank. The US gunboat Panay was sunk and the HMS La…
