Italian East Africa Ababa, to proclaim an empire by May 1936, making Ethiopia part of Italian East Africa. The Italian victory in the war coincided with the zenith of the international popularity of dictator Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime, during which colonialist leaders praised Mussolini for his actions. Mussolini's international popularity decreased as he endorsed the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, beginning a political tilt toward Germany that eventually led to the downfall of Mussolini and the Fascist regime in Italy in World War II. On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on Britain and France, which made Italian military forces in Libya
Postage stamps and postal history of Italian East Africa enlarged to include all of Italian Eritrea and most of Italian Ethiopia when WW2 started. The most well known series of AOI stamps were those called "Pittoriche" issues in 1938 and 1939/1940. The "Buono Posta Aerea" of April 1941 is the only one showing the former British Somaliland annexed to A.O.I in a map of Italian East Africa. Postage stamps and postal history of Italian East Africa Postage stamps and postal history of Italian East Africa are related to the stamps and their history issued by the Kingdom of Italy between 1936 and 1941 for use in Italian East Africa,