The appearance of these traditional Ethiopian tribal chiefs somewhat misrepresents the condition of the Abyssinian Army in the mid-1930s (note the "modern" young rifleman in the background).  However, they do reflect (as they had in the First Italo-Abyssinian War) a reality of the Abyssinian Empire at the time - that it was riven with local and tribal divisions as well as regional rivalries.  Haile Selassie had spent the earlier part of his reign putting down palace conspiracies and regional uprisings fuelled by the internally fragmented nature of the Empire.  Pulling it all together to oppose the Italians was as difficult in the Second as in the First Italo-Abyssinian War, notwithstanding the patriotic response that foreign invasion evoked.  Best regards, JR.

Ethiopian tribal chiefs, 1935.

Emperor Haile Selassie of Abysinnia reviews new troops, 1935.  Interesting that the soldiers are wearing shorts and, rather than boots, heavy sandals.  Practical adaptations, no doubt, to summer fighting conditions in Ethiopia.

Thanks to  long-standing Abyssinian government policy, and to supplies received from and through British East Africa, the expanded imperial army was reasonably well-equipped with modern small arms.  The élite Imperial Guard was also quite well-equipped with machine-guns.  However, the Ethiopian forces as a whole were fatally weakened by the lack of military aircraft, motor transport and armored vehicles.  Also, the structure of Haile Selassie's army still strongly reflected the regional and tribal structures of the Empire, which impeded coherent action and incorporated ancient regional and tribal rivalries and particularist tendencies.  All in all, the Abyssinian Army was ill-suited to opposing the Italian invasioin, despite the Emperor's efforts to prepare for such an eventuality.  Best regards, JR.

Imperial review.

Soldiers of the Emperor Haile Selassie's Imperial Guard on parade, c. 1935.  In the midst of the fractious tribal/regional patchwork of regional and tribal rivalries in the Abyssinian Empire, the Imperial Guard was a vital focus of stability.  It was in effect the Emperor's personal military corps, a (relatively) well-equipped and well-trained force that had a crucial role in preserving Haile Selassie in power in the face of numerous palace coups and regional uprisings in the years leading up to the Italian invasion.  It did provide a solid loyal core for the somewhat ramshackle Abyssinian Army - but not remotely sufficient to counterbalance the overall deficiencies of the Abyssinian forces in facing the Italian invaders.  Best regards, JR.