Italy's colonial adventure in East Africa, which had begun in the previous century and which ended abruptly with the defeat at Adua in 1896, regained impetus with the advent of Fascism which quickly began a campaign to expand Italian holdings in the so-called 'Horn of Africa'. With the Itali-Ethiopian War, fought between 1935 and 1936, Italy invaded the Empire of Ethiopia and its territory, and along with Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, formed the new empire, Italian East Africa. Between 1936 and 1940, many operations were conducted against Ethiopian resistance which broke out throughout the country. With the beginning of the Second World War, Italian East Africa was cut off and had to act independently without being able to receive aid and supplies from the mother country. Nevertheless, during the early phases of the war, a series of offensive operations were carried out which led to the conquest of Kassala and of British Somaliland. The inevitable and massive British
