richardmurray

the italians invaded for the same reason germany or austria hungary hd similar plans and eventually invaded their european neighbors or made war machines. The Ottoman empire plus Russia are other stories. 
Spain/England/France/Holland/Portugal  for hundreds of years , since the 1400s had gone outside of Europe and dominated non european peoples. Making huge fortunes for  each of their fiscal elite beyond their dreams, manipulating < in some cases terminally or permanently> all non european peoples, all non european peoples. But in Europe their neighbors in the center: italy/austria hungary/germany all looked with envy or desire. Italy's ethiopian campaign or Togo to germany are examples of this desire<italy's case> or sated envy<germany's> playing out. Which couldn't be enough and led to the commonly called world wars, I personally call that war, the war of european empires. All in humanity wasn't at war, european empires were and at the time of the first war of european empires an overwhelming majority of governments outside Europe were controlled or managed by England/Spain/France/Holland/Portugal/Italy/Germany/Austria-Hungary/Ottoman empire <whom I consider european albeit muslim> / Russia <whom I consider eurasian at its heart>/USA <a european country not in europe>  . 

Few governments were not completely controlled or managed by one of those European powers. 

Ethiopia was one of them, Japan was the other. All others were completely controlled like china or brasil , or managed like a haiti or egypt. 

Italy in its desperation to be a european global player gambled. The worst time to gamble is when you are thinking desperately. 

Ethiopia unlike any other government in Africa had a few things that made it unique in all of africa. One, unlike most of Africa which is usually plains or hilly, Ethiopia is very mountainous. And absent modern, 2023, air warfare possibilities, mountainous areas are huge deterrents. The mountains will force any large ground assault to break up and that weakens it naturally in the favor of the defending position. So, when the muslim imperial growth in africa started, before the christian imperial growth, Ethiopia had learned to protect itself and because of ethiopia's bordering islamic empires, they were aware of all the latest militaristic inventions, like the gun or tanks. 

And when the christian imperial growth started in Africa, ethiopia was already more prepared and even had a native christian heritage. 

So italy to be blunt, made a bad gamble, bad leadership, and paid for it.