History of Warfare Summary 10 - Interwar Period 4: The Expansion of Fascism and Militarism

During the interwar period, authoritarian regimes and militarism strengthened in Germany, Italy, and Japan. Italy's Mussolini established a fascist regime and pursued foreign expansion, invading Ethiopia in 1935. In Germany, after Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, he solidified the Nazi dictatorship and pushed for military buildup and territorial expansion. In 1936, Germany and Italy strengthened their cooperation by supporting Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War, and in the same year, they signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan, expanding the anti-communist bloc's solidarity. Japan also expanded its aggression against China after the Manchurian Incident, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. The League of Nations attempted sanctions against the aggressor nations but lacked the enforcement power to effectively stop them. Britain and France, also seeking to avoid a new war, failed to strongly curb the expansion of Germany, Italy, and Japan in the early stages.