ABSTRACT
The French fear that sanctions would drive Mussolini towards Adolf Hitler was justified. Alarmed by his generals' lack of success, by the British abandonment of the Hoare-Laval Plan, and by the possibility of oil sanctions, Mussolini began courting Hitler in December 1935. Embroilment with Britain in the Mediterranean, and active military involvement in Spain itself, began the process of turning Mussolini into Hitler's vassal. The Hoare-Laval Plan, rejected though it was, ended both the history of collective security and the effective life of the League of Nations. Mussolini sent a new and more vigorous commander to Abyssinia, and the French resisted further attempts to impose oil sanctions. The process was hastened by the possibility of the further discussion of oil sanctions. Eden's July proposals for buying Mussolini off with the offer of Abyssinian territory were refurbished and made more generous to Italy.
