History Paper 1 exam notes
Paper 1 exam notes
Aims of the different participants
USA
Believed that no country should benefit from such a catastrophe as the Great War.
The 14 points of Woodrow Wilson
Basis of German surrender but also a general description of what had to be done to make long lasting international world peace
1. No secret treaties
2. Free access to the sea
3. Free trade between all nations
4. Disarmament to lowest possible limit for each country
5. Colonial issues resolved with the cooperation of the natives in the colonies
6. No foreign troops in Russia, and the other nations should welcome the new government in Mother Russia
7. No foreign troops in Belgium and restored independence for them as well
8. Germany has to leave all French territory including Alsace-Lorraine
9. Italy should be expanded to all areas where people speak Italian, and the territories promised in the London-Treaty
10. Self-determination for the ethnicities in the Austro-Hungarian area
11. Foreign troops leave the Balkan region. Serbia expanded to the sea. All nations there should be restored
12. The Turks in the Ottoman Empire can rule themselves still, but other national groups in the empire should be allowed to form their own states. The Dardanelles should be a free international waterway.
13. Independent Poland with access to the sea is needed
14. League of Nations
Great Britain
Prerequisites to their aims.
Entered because of invasion of Belgium and to protect France
Needed full control of the sea and the biggest Navy
Lost 900.000 men in the war
Due to loss of valuable cargoes they had a huge war debt in 1919 mostly to the US
Got Germany’s entire navy due to the 1918 armistice
The aims of GB
Naval aims
1. Elimination of the German naval threat
2. Rejected the idea of Wilson’s second point regarding free access to the sea for every nation.
Colonial aims
1. Great Britain wanted to take over or take away Germany’s colonies so that a future German navy would have no ports existing, and they wanted to take over some of Germany’s trade.
2. Britain made an agreement with France in 1916 (Pike-Sykes agreement) where they planned to expand in the Middle-East for oil resources at the expense of the Ottoman Empire.
Regarding Germany
1. Meant that Germany should be made to pay reparations to GB, but not more than Germany could handle. Britain wanted the German economy to stabilize itself as quickly as possible as Britain were dependent on the German economy. Germany was one of the most industrialized countries in the world at the time, which made them a huge exporter and importer for Britain. In addition, the US had taken most of Britain’s overseas trade.
2. Britain also feared communistic influence in Germany. By making the German people content and stable, they hindered the need for a revolution from the German workers.
France
Prerequisites for the French Aims
France had been severely humiliated by Germany in a previous war and lost two rich provinces called Alsace and Lorraine.
Lost 1.3 million by the Schlieffen plan attack by Germany
Northern France was severely damaged by the German military Massive war debt France wanted Germany to pay >:(
The actual aims
Territorial aims
1. Return of Alsace and Lorraine
2. Wanted the creation of nations such as Poland, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia in order to create a power balance in central Europe
3. Independent state in the Rhineland. This was to weaken Germany economically as Rhineland was the location for major resources and industry. It would in addition work as a buffer state between Germany and France, and Germany and Belgium.
4. The Saar, one of the most industrialized, coal rich areas in Germany, was also on France’s wish list as compensation for the war.
Colonial aims
1. Germany should not be allowed to retain any of its’ overseas territory
2. Desired parts of the Ottoman empire. Namely, access to the Mosul oil fields and Lebanon.
Reparation aims
1. Wanted a huge indemnity on Germany as a means of punishment. The indemnity should be so big that Germany pays for all the damage done to France, and for the debt France owed to Britain and USA
Military aims
1. Limit the German military so that future attacks were impossible
2. Military alliance with Great Britain and the United States of America
Japanese Aims
Wanted recognition for its dominant position in China
Possession of the areas previously owned by Germany in China and the pacific
Racial equality in the Paris Peace settlements
To be one of the major powers
Secure a large economically strong empire for security purposes.
Italian Aims
Prerequisites for the aims
Promised a lot of territory if they won by the Allied Powers in 1915 in the Treaty of London which made them join the war.
Small success in the War militarily, meaning that they had heavy casualties with small gains to show for it.
The aims themselves
Territorial aims
1. Wanted all the areas promised in the London-treaty (expense of Austria-Hungary and colonies in the former Ottoman Empire) which conflicted the principle of self-determination.
2. Wanted to be the protector of Albania and thereby gaining control of Albanian foreign policy and resources.
3. Reparations from Austria-Hungary.
The different Paris peace treaties and their impacts
Treaty of Versailles
The treaty of Versailles is arguably the most important treaty that came out of the Paris peace negotiations. It was the one that dealt with how Germany should be handled. Many of the Key clauses in the treaty were only met when the conference held seemed to be on the brink of collapse as a compromise between all the main participants. The different clauses can be divided into 5 general categories, (Covenant of the League of Nations, War guilt clause, reparations, territorial adjustments, and disarmaments.
THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
The 26 first articles in the Paris Peace Treaties were the covenant of the League. They stated that the League were to be an independent organization of composed of independent states that would cooperate to make the promote peace through negotiating.
Articles 8-17
The heart of the Covenant, concerned with prevention of War.
Stated that all members had to disarm to lowest point of national safety.
Articles 12-17
The process for solving international disputes between countries was proposed.
Arbitration Condemnation Sanctions (could mean attack on aggressor nation)
Collective security decided in article 16 in order to make aggressor nations resort to negotiation and arbitration.
The remaining articles stated that the league would work to abolish slavery, human and drug trafficking, and diseases (lol wut?). Work towards religious freedom but denied the article about racial equality in the treaties demanded by China and Japan.
WAR GUILT CLAUSE Article 231
Germany were not allowed to attend the negotiations.
It was a universal agreement between the victorious powers that Germany and her allies in the War were to get the blame for the outbreak of the war.
Morally justified the reparations given in the reparations articles.
REPARATIONS
How much did the US want Germany to Pay?
Believed that a too huge demand for reparation moneyz would lead to resentment and yet another war in the distant future.
Therefore, USA wanted Germany to pay a fixed amount of $22 billion
How much did Britain want Germany to Pay?
Divided on the issue. In the very least, Germany should pay for the British war pensions. However, public opinion also wanted Germany to pay for the war as a whole.
Britain’s Dominions wanted to gain War pensions as well and thus demanded more from Germany.
Due to Britain’s huge debt to the US, they needed France to pay their debt to Britain, but in order for that to happen, they needed huge reparations from Germany.
Prime minister Lloyd George did not want a sum too high to avoid inhibiting the stabilization of the German economy, but he wanted them to pay enough to inhibit rebuilding of a German military.
Estimated sum of $120 billion. How much did France want Germany to Pay?
Needed reparations that could pay their debt and also cover the damages done in Northern France, and war pensions. In addition, they wanted to punish Germany bad through the reparations.
Estimated sum of $220 billion.
The reparation commission.
A commission that was to analyze the German economy and by May 1. 1921 asses how much Germany could afford to pay.
Meanwhile, Germany was to make an interim payment of 20 billion gold marks and raise another 60 million through loans. Of this money, France would receive just over half of it, and Britain a quarter, and Belgium the rest.
TERRITORIAL ADJUSTMENTS
Minor changes
Schleswig back to Denmark, and a plebiscite was held to determine how much was to be given back to Denmark
Eupen, Malmedy, and Moresnet were to hold plebiscites to see if they should be given back to Belgium.
Alsace-Lorrain
Back to France, no questions asked.
The Saar
France would get control over the coalmines for 15 years while the government of the Saar would be left to the League.
After 15 years, the people could hold a plebiscite to decide if they wanted to be a part of Germany, or France (they chose Germany, huge victory for Hitler’s campaign)
The Rhineland
Was to be occupied by Allied Powers only for Fifteen years in return for the Anglo-American guarantee.
After the 15 years, Rhineland was to be a permanent demilitarized zone.
Poland and Eastern Europe.
Germany gained a lot of Russian area in the treaty of Brest-Litovsk. However, the treaty of Versailles article 118 stated that Germany was no longer allowed to keep any of the benefits from victory against Russia. It was recommended that Poland should get Danzig, Marienwerder and Upper Silesia from German territory. This would give it access to the sea as well as some industrialized areas.
Lloyd George did not agree to this and foresaw that Germany would turn to Communist Russia for help regarding this shit in the future.
He made Clemenceau agree that Marienwerder should hold a plebiscite, and Danzig should be formed to a free trade area with Poland. This created the Polish Corridor which separated parts of Germany from Eastern-Prussia region.
Austria
Austria-Hungary was dissolved and the 14 points specifically stated that their people could form nations as they saw fit.
This lead to people of Austria joining Germany in the German republic of Austria
France and Britain hated this and said that the two countries were not allowed to unify.
German colonies
Germany lost all of them to the League as mandatories (South Africa) or Mandates (pacific)
Japan ended up with the colonies in China after some stuff happened between Wilson and the other people.
DISARMAMENT
Germany’s army was reduced to 100.000 men and not an army of conscripts.
No artillery, air force, poison gas, tanks, or submarines for Germany.
Six battleships at a time.
French General Foch was all like: “this will make an elite army in Germany that are so good that they can expand the army quickly and sufficiently when the chance arises”
He was correct.
GERMAN REACTION TO THE TREATY
Dey were angry you know.
It did not follow the 14 points
Whilst criticizing they tried to negotiate. They wanted
Immediate membership of the league
Guarantee that Austria and the ethnic Germans in Czechoslovak has the right to decide where they want to live.
Plebiscites in all the areas that were granted to Poland in the treaty.
A neutral commission that would examine the war guilt question.
No foreign troops in German Territory.
The Allied Powers meant that these demands, if met, would strengthen the German’s position in Europe, so they be like, nah.
However, they did agree to some demands.
A plebiscite was held in Upper-Silesia
If Germany proved over a longer period of time that they would be nice, the occupation of Rhineland would be called off earlier than normal. US REJECTION OF THE TREATY
Lloyd George and Clemenceau represented the majority of their parliaments and could therefore sign the treaty themselves with no problems as they negotiated in the mind of their own political party. Woodrow Wilson however, was a democrat in a senate with a majority of Republicans. Therefore, he could not sign it as the majority of the US parliament was against the treaty since it was negotiated with the ideologies of a democrat.
Why they rejected the Treaty.
Did not want an obligation to defend other countries through war.
Not happy that the Japanese got the Shang Tung peninsula provinces or that Britain and France were allowed to expand in Africa and the Middle-East as this would inhibit the expansion of democratic governments in these regions.
They worried that participation in the league would lead to a compromise of the Monroe doctrine that banned Europe to interfere in Central and South Africa.
Treaty of St. Germaine
This is the treaty that dealt with Austria.
Was primarily the work of professional diplomats.
Included the covenant of the League in the first 26 articles.
Dealt with:
Reparations
War guilt
Territorial adjustments
Disarmament
WAR GUILT CLAUSE
Austria had to accept responsibility for the outbreak of the war as it was a part of Austria-Hungary. Then reparations could be demanded.
REPARATIONS
A committee was established to analyze Austria’s economy to see how much Austria could pay. They understood that it would be hard for Austria to pay too huge sums of money.
Therefore, Austria had to pay a certain sum to Italy and other allied nations around Austria. In addition, they had to pay with large numbers of livestock to Italy, Yugoslavia, and Romania. They should also give back cultural treasures to the nations which they originated from.
Italy also got some underwater cables in the Adriatic Sea.
TERRITORY
Officially ended the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Confirmed creation of new states on the expense of the old empire.
Confirmed the Republic of Austria which was now to be a small, German speaking nation of about 6 million inhabitants.
Austria and Germany was not allowed to unite despite the interests of their governments. This gave France the power to veto any change regarding those two, as they had to ask the League if they wanted to change their status.
The other parts of Austria was to be distributed between Italy, Yugoslavia, Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia.
What did Italy get?
South Tyrol. Home of 230,000 ethnic Germans.
The Istrian peninsula and other islands in the Adriatic sea.
The important Port of Trieste which that cut of Austria from a seaport naturally duhdoi What did Czechoslovakia get?
Provinces of Bohemia and Moravia which again contained several (3 mill) Germans in them. But any objection from Britain or USA regarding the overhanding of the provinces was met with an angry little Clemenceau
What did Yugoslavia, Poland and Romania get?
Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia was given to Yugoslavia which many Slovenes rejected. The treaty then allowed the German speaking Slovenes to have a plebiscite which was held in 1920 and decided that they should be a part of Austria.
Galicia and Bukovina was given to Poland and Romania.
DISARMAMENT
Austria limited to an army of 30,000 men. No conscription
Only one factory in the entire nation was allowed to produce replacement weapons and munitions.
Prohibition of export and import of any weapons and munitions.
No air force and navy.
Austria had no access to the sea due to the territorial adjustments so the Allies just took their ships.
TREATY OF NEUILLY
This is the treaty that dealt with Bulgaria. Bulgaria was seen as an enemy in the eyes of Britain and France. An enemy that threatened the stability of the Balkan region. Italy and USA wanted to treat Bulgaria not so harsh, but France and Britain weren’t havin’ any o’ dat. I dealt with the same shit as the others and had the covenant of the League in the first 26 articles.
WAR GUILT & REPARATIONS
Bulgaria did not have to sign to state that they caused the outbreak of the war, but they had to proclaim and admit that they had caused a lot of damage and loss of life to the Allies.
Set to make a payment of approx. £100 million. This should be paid in equal sums twice per year for 37 years with a 5% interest rate.
TERRITORY
Lost 2500 square kilometers of western Bulgaria to Yugoslavia which made the Yug-Bulgarian border closer to the Bulgarian capital.
Lost area of Southern Dobruja was given to Romania. There lived only 7000 Romanians there, and 250,000 Bulgarians there.
DISARMAMENT
Reduced to 20,000 men. No conscription
Only 33,000 rifles in the entire country at any given time.
Only one factory to produce armory and munitions.
No air force and no Submarines
4 torpedo boats only and 6 motor boats with no torpedoes.
No export or import of military equipment
Treaty of Trianon
This is the treaty that dealt with the former kingdom of Hungary. This treaty was signed in 1920 as opposed to the others that were signed in 1919. The reason for this is that there was a Bolshevik inspired revolution in Hungary in 1919 and crushed at once. Hungary contained many nationalities that made it hard to separate Hungary fairly. Villages that were located near each other could speak completely different languages. Nevertheless, Hungary had to lose stuff, and Yugoslavia and Romania wanted some o’ dat big ol’ beef o’ honey. Then same stuff as the other treaties. Covenant, league, all of dat.
WAR GUILT AND REPARATIONS
Had to agree in article 161 one that, as a part of the Dual Monarchy, it was responsible for the start of the war.
Got the exact same reparations stuff as in the treaty of St. Germaine except to different countries. TERRITORY
This treaty lead Hungary to lose 72% of their land and 64% of its total population.
30% of the ethnic Hungarians would find themselves living in other countries.
USA first resented this. However, Romania was promised Transylvania in a secret treaty between them and Britain and France if they attacked Hungary during the war. That and the fact that a lot of Hungary was occupied by troops that were not willing to let go caused Wilson to give in.
The actual losses
Slovakia and Ruthenia was given to Czechoslovakia which meant that the former capital of Hungary was in another country now as well as just about 1 million Hungarians. Croatia and Slavonia left when Hungary was falling apart and joined Yugoslavia
They also lost some ports which made them lose sea access consequently limiting its ability to trade.
Transylvania, a very rich area, was given to Romania.
No plebiscites were held.
DISARMAMENT
Limited to army of 35,000 men. No conscription
No poison gas, flamethrowers or tanks.
No air force and planes that belonged to Germany previously was confiscated to the allies.
No export or import of military goods.
Treaty of Sevres
This treaty dealt with the remains of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey. The complications that arrived from the negotiation of the treaty of Sevres is the different views of Lloyd George and Clemenceau regarding the matter. Lloyd George was prepared to crush Turkey by depriving it of its capital Constantinople, and its control over the Bosporus strait. In addition, he wanted them to surrender all territory where there were no Turkish minority as he considered Greece as a good ally of Britain. However, France had some pre-war investments in the country. Concerned of these investments, France wanted to preserve a healthy Turkey. Because of this, France wanted Turkey to continue to rule over Constantinople. The end result was not good, and ended up as a rather humiliating treaty.
Then the same stuff as with the other treaties.
WAR GUILT AND REPARATIONS
Almost the same as with Bulgaria in the treaty of Neuilly. However, Turkey was so beaten up that the Allied did not demand any direct reparations, but instead wanted to control all of Turkey’s state finances, banking, and currency rates.
TERRITORY
The Ottoman Empire proved difficult to divide by ethnic lines as it was a vast empire of many nationalities.
Constantinople ended up as a Turkish city in the treaty.
The Dardanelles and the Bosporus strait was to be under international control to secure free access for ships to go through.
The division of the Ottoman Empire
What did Greece get?
Allowed to establish a parliament in the Izmir area and administer themselves there. After 5 years a plebiscite would be held so the people could decide.
What did Italy get?
The Dodecanese islands
Most of the coast that bordered to the Mediterranean sea.
Armenia
A new state to be formed in the Caucasus mountains
Would receive most of the Asia Minor.
Area included numerous Turks and Kurds that were not allowed to hold a plebiscite.
What did the Kurds get
A new Kurdish state was to be formed in southeast Turkey.
The outlining of this state was difficult because of Kurds living in areas that was granted to Armenia and other lands claimed by Britain and France. Speaking of which.
What did Britain and France get?
They had divided the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East into areas that they wanted there in treaties and agreements before.
They created the mandate system and said that these areas were to be under the rule of the league, but in reality, Britain and France got it all for themselves.
Hejaz
A newly formed Arab led kingdom. Was supposed to be located on the Arabian peninsula. Supposed to be vast (250,000 sq km) but only inhabit 750.,000 people. This is Saudi Arabia today.
What did Turkey get?
They got what is left. However, their capital was supposed to be a demilitarized zone
DISARMAMENT
Army of 50,000 men. No conscription.
No air force, tanks, submarines or poison gas
No export import.
Only 6 torpedo boats but no torpedoes.
Fortresses guarding the Dardanelles and shit were dismantled.
TREATY COMPLICATIONS
The Sevres treaty was the worst treaty because the Turkish government never ratified it. Because of the rebel movement by Mustapha Kemal Ataturk.
He had taken control over the entire Asia minor almost, except for the coastal areas, and he refused to ratify the treatment. Especially because of the clause about Greece taking control over
Kemal fought off the allied forces easily and issued an armistice between him and Britain.
Now he had control over the Straits zone and Armenia and Kurdistan were unable to form as Kemal controlled this region now.
Treaty of Lausanne
A revision of the treaty of Sevres
Proclaimed Turkey as a republic in Asia Minor.
Upheld the mandate system in the Middle East.
Turkey got control over the Straits zone and therefore also Istanbul/Constantinople.
No mentioning of the First World War or disarmament.
Turkey’s finances was not to be controlled by an allied commission.
Impact of the five different treaties.
Economic impacts
The Treaty of Versailles affected the world economically more by what it did not do than what it actually did.
It never dealt with economic questions at all except for when dealing with reparations.
It did not take into account the question of allied war debt which in turn created economic instability and because nations struggled to pay off their loans.
This is a long term cause of the Ruhr Crisis.
USA refused to delete the debt of its allied. That is ironic because of the Dawes plan.
John Maynard Keynes theory about the treaties.
Failure to develop any kind of organization to promote international trade had a big impact as well. Especially for the new European states.
Lead to the catastrophic great depression of 1929.
IMPACT OF THE MANDATE SYSTEM
What was the mandate system?
Since it was believed that colonialism was of the main contributing factors to the outbreak of the war, it was decided that Germany and the Ottoman Empire’s previous colonies was not to be annexed. Therefore, the Allied made the mandatory system. A system built for administrating the previous colonies of Germany and the Ottoman Empire. The administration would be supervised by the league.
The decision on how to divide the mandates was decided in Paris, but actually in the Pike-Sykes agreement in 1916. The Brits and the French decided how to divide the rest of the Ottoman Empire.
The mandates were given to the countries that had conquered them in the war.
France and Britain got most of the colonies because of this.
Supposed to help the population in the colonies to be able to establish their own independent nation in the near future.
The mandates were divided into three groups
A-Mandates
The mandates in the Middle East
Ready for independence in the very near future
Libya, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, and Transjordan
B-Mandates
Lesser advanced mandates.
Not ready for independence yet
The previous German colonies in Africa
C-Mandates
Thinly developed and not cared for at all
Given directly to the countries that had conquered them
The areas in the pacific given directly to Japan and shit.
The actual impact of it.
Impact on the people in the mandates were equal to none.
They were treated the same way as when they were colonized. (Point 5 of the 14)
Only difference for them was the system of accountability.
Assured that the actions of the mandate holder could be scrutinized by an international body.
The natives were allowed to file complaints, but they were never handled.
Controversy of the allocation of the mandates.
Majority of mandates to France and Britain
Victors of the war already with two of the biggest Empires.
Germans who lost everything and Italians, who gained nothing despite being victors, hated this.
Lead to nationalist movement of Mussolini, and Italy’s aspirations to gain territory outside of Europe.
The Arab controversy.
Arabs in the Middle East helped the Allies in the fight against the Ottoman Empire. They hoped for land and independent status
Britain and France were like: NOPE
Caused a number of uprisings.
The Balfour declaration
Promised the Jews a homeland
Arabs became furious with that too
Enforcement of the terms of the Treaties
Us isolationism
The concept of US isolationism lies deep in USA’s roots. Ever since its foundation in fact. The Americans have had several doctrines and ideals that have distanced them from Europe in order to gain control over the western hemisphere, and because they believed themselves to be a better society than the European.
This mind set lead to the US senate not ratifying the Treaty of Versailles, and not joining the League of Nations. However, Wilson was determined that they were entering a new era where it was the US’s moral responsibility to help the rest of the world.
However, the opposing republicans did not believe so, and they had a majority in the senate. The republicans were not invited to the negotiations of the treaties, which would ultimately be Wilson’s downfall. In order for the treaty to be ratified, it demanded to thirds of the votes in the US senate. This was impossible as it complete agreement between the two opposing parties was required for this to happen.
The republicans did not want to ratify the treaty as it would have forced them to take parts in political problems that did not concern them. The main problem the US senate had with the treaty was article X in the covenant of the League. It stated that any member nation that experienced external aggression had to be helped by the other members of the League. This was something the US did not want as it opposed their traditional isolationism policy.
The result of the US not ratifying the Versailles Treaty, was that it never became a member of the League, and it did not ratify the Anglo-American guarantee. The refusal of the Anglo-American guarantee lead to Britain refusing it as well.
British Isolationism
British isolationism is somewhat different from US isolationism. They actively isolate themselves from interfering with other nation’s affairs, in peace time that is. They were always ready to interfere if one aggressor nation tried to seek hegemony. They retained freedom of action and allocated their efforts and intervened where they felt their needs were best suited.
They were also afraid in the UK that France would try to seek dominance in Europe now that Germany was limited. The people of Britain were reluctant to support France, as they feared this would lead to yet another war with Germany. They feared this because of France’s support of the Little Entente.
It was a growing feeling in Britain that Germany might have been treated too harshly, and Britain was not ready to go to war to defend an unpopular cause.
DISARMAMENT EFFORTS IN POST-WAR EUROPE
The Washington naval conferences.
After the war, the arms-race continued on the naval arena.
GB, USA, and Japan had invested huge sums into their navy.
Gb wanted to obtain the world’s biggest navy
US wanted a navy second to none whatever that means
Japan wanted a navy to protect her new Empire. The conference was called for, for two major reasons.
The cost of the arms-race
GB and Japan simply could not afford to
To diffuse tensions between the US and Japan
Japan and the US were suspicious of each other’s intentions in China. And now, the situation had become way more difficult.
Japan had expanded further into China, to the point of possible dominance, and exclusion of other countries and trade partners.
This caused loss US of trade and posed as a threat to US possessions in the Philippines.
Japan felt threatened by the US naval build up and hers reluctance to recognize her position in Asia.
Britain had a defensive alliance with Japan since 1902 and did not want to be dragged into a war fighting for Japan against USA.
The consequences of the Washington Naval conferences.
A constant ratio of naval armament between the three nations of UK – USA – Japan 5:5:3.
All nations were to destroy battleships to the point of maximum fleet sized allowed. And no new battleships were to be constructed for ten years.
Limit construction of bases in the pacific reduced tension Japan dominates the Eastern-Pacific now.
Two agreements were signed after the Washington conferences
Four Power Agreement involving USA, UK, France, Japan.
Replaced the Anglo-Japanese agreement with the guarantee of all signatories.
The replacement was done with no offence to Japan.
Friction between UK and USA was gone.
Nine Power Agreement involving trade partners of China.
China was an open door for trade now
China’s territorial integrity was to be guaranteed
These terms relied entirely on the cooperation between the different signatories as the agreement lacked of any enforcement provisions and vaguely stated articles and claims. The agreement could be ignored easily by any nation, but it did not. Why?
Perfect timing: People wanted peace and supported this
Few members
All members felt like they had won in the negotiations.
Side note: Neither Russia nor Germany were involved in these conferences. Both of them wanted to increase their armaments in the future.
London naval conferences
The third in a series of naval armaments conferences.
A revision of the Washington conferences.
Increased the constant ration from 5:5:3 to 10:10:7
Continued ban to build battleships for five years.
Tightened rules regarding Submarine Warfare.
The success of the treaty arrived to from these conferences must be seen against the backdrop of the great depression. No country had interest in increasing expenditure on armaments.
London Naval Treaty of 1936
A revision of the London Naval Treaty of 1930
A lot had happened since 1930. The participants could no longer reach an agreement. Japan and Italy walked out on the conference.
Japan did not want a restriction on her tonnage
All agreements on limitation of number of warships and such collapsed after 1936 in light of Japanese and German rearmament programme, and increasing number of conflicts in the world.
The Geneva Disarmament Conference in 1932-4
The world disarmament conference convened by the League.
Attended by 31 nations including USA and USSR
Problems in the Geneva conference
Several crisis had occurred the last decade
Many of the nations had developed a mentality of revisionists. They wanted to revise the Paris Peace Settlements.
Nations that wanted to revise were more unlikely to sign, enthusiastically, a settlement of General disarmament.
Distinguishing offensive and defensive weapons
It was agreed that offensive weapons had to go away. But what constituted an offensive weapon, and what a defensive weapon?
Difficulty of enforcing disarmament
No enforcement provisions
Rapallo treaty of 1922 helped Germany evade the disarmament provisions in the treaty of Versailles.
Disarmament would not proceed unless all countries felt that it was safe to.
Germany pointing out the hypocrisy of the Allied stating that if they do not disarm to the point Germany had to in the Treaty of Versailles, then Germany should be allowed to extend theirs to match the Allied.
They did not receive any backing for these claims and left the conference in 1932.
Germany joined again in 1933 but now Hitler had ceased power in Germany and was the new German chancellor
Hitler was clever and stated the same thing as Germany had done previously. However, when the other nations did not comply he left, both the conference, but also the League. Nevertheless, now he had a reason to embark on his own rearmament scheme which made the Allied seem uncooperative, even though France had no choice without the guarantee of Britain nor USA. Italy did not want to reduce armaments as well.
The conferences broke up without arriving at a conclusion.
People saw that Europe had once again entering a period of increased tensions.
Countries would now have to decide what the best course of action was to protect their interests.
Either increase arms spending
Or sought to negotiation and diplomacy.
It was once again clear that disarmament can be reached without resolution of the sources for conflict. When Germany, Japan, Italy, and USSR wanted to revise the Paris peace treaties, it was no hope for disarmament at all.
The League of Nations
As I already know: The League was an international body, made after the Great War to obtain and preserve an everlasting peace. It was Woodrow Wilson’s main aim in the Paris Peace Settlements, and he was willing to compromise some of his other principles expressed in the 14 points. The League’s covenant was in the first 26 articles of every Paris Peace Treaty, and its main focus was article X. Article X stated the principle of collective security, which was a revolutionary idea. Countries traditionally acted in self-interest, but that had now come to an end. In addition, the league would manage other international problems, and established different departments for these. Among these were; the mandate commission, the drugs department, slavery commission, and most importantly, the only thing that still remains from the league today, The international court of justice.
The problem of the absence of three major powers.
The league banned several major powers in the beginning, as they were losers of the war.
Thus, when the losers were allowed to join, they were not that keen followers of the League and its principles.
The league ended up as a protector of the status quo instead of an arbiter of disputes.
One of the major powers banned, was Russia soon to be the USSR
When they were banned they really did not care for the status quo
It sought to recover lost territory and people in the post-war years.
Excluding the USSR only made them more hostile as this confirmed their theory of a conspiracy between the other nations to destroy the USSR.
The absence of the US
Huge diplomatic and psychological catastrophe.
USA was the strongest nation to intervene at the time
Challenges to the Status Quo would now meet limited resistance.
Credibility of the organization was questioned.
Consequences for the absence of three major powers
The treaty of Rapallo in 1922.
Not promising for the newer nations in central Europe.
Lack of enthusiasm in upholding the aims of the treaty of Versailles
The Anglo-American guarantee.
British isolationism –> against collective security.
Failure of collective security
Not every nation would see every dispute in the same eyes.
They would therefore not be able or willing to participate in affairs that did not concern them in the slightest bit.
Took away freedom of action and sovereignty
Not very collective when three major powers are absent
Britain and France, the founders, had grown apart in their views.
After the war, the prospect of armed intervention was not popular in any member country.
Nations did not want to make huge economical sacrifices.
Early attempts at peacekeeping 1920-1925
The league had a mandate to resolve disputes. They face several conflicts in this period, and has a mixed record of number of successes. This allow us analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the league.
Successes
Aaland Islands
Upper-Silesia
Greco-Bulgarian war of 1925
Failures
Corfu incident
Ruhr invasion
Seizure of Fiume and Vilna.
The Russo-Polish war
Common factors in success disputes
Small aggressor nation
Aggressor nation was not willing to resort to violence
Common factors in failure disputes
Major power as aggressor nation
And/or aggressor nation willing to resort to violence and not diplomacy
Early problems for the league
Because of the absence of USA, it was essential that the remaining major powers agreed on how to resolve the different disputes that they came across. This was almost never the case. France was still afraid of Germany whilst Britain had started trading routes with her once again. In addition, several of the major powers had their own internal conflicts that they had to handle. This made it hard for them to care about other conflicts that the league had to take care of. JUST LIKE ALL THE FUCKING HOMEWORK WE GET ALL THE FUCKINGS TIME!!! THE RUHR CRISIS
Roots in French fears about its national security
Collapse of the Anglo-American guarantee
Unsuccessful in attempts of partially dismemberment of Germany
UK had a growing sympathy for Germany
Lloyd George made several different attempts to make the French to ease the German burden but with no success after the signing of the Rapallo treaty.
Reparations commission states in 1921 how much Germany needed to pay in reparations.
France could not wait to enforce the payments for two reasons:
They owed money to the US and needed the reparations money to pay back
It would weaken the German economy
UK saw that a continuation of this would limit the recovery of British trade.
The Germans signed the treaty of Rapallo in 1921
British saw that if Germany did not get some slack, she would fall into the Soviet orbit.
French only believed that Germany tried to escape her Treaty obligations. Poincaré approach to Germany and her obligations was with brute force. However, he did not have enough evidence to support the use of force against Germany… YET
Germany missed out on a payment of timber, and 1923 France invades
What was France’s aims in invading the Ruhr region?
Collect the lost payment by seizing the output of the factories in Ruhr and shipping them to France.
German workers did not comply and started a strike and several sabotage missions to prevent France from obtaining any minerals.
The short term causes of the crisis
Catastrophic inflation in Germany.
Resulted from the French invasion but also the Weimar response to the invasion
The Weimar republic had to support the strikes in Ruhr and simply printed more and more paper money until it was worth nothing.
Long term causes of the crisis
French portrayal as bullies and therefore loss of international support
US involvement in the financial rebuilding of Germany through the Dawes plan.
THE COLLAPSE OF THE WEIMAR GOVERNMENT
The inflation mainly affected the German middle-class as they had invested most of their saving in the banks.
All of their savings simply disappeared which lead them cynical and anxious for the future.
This anxiety made them more vulnerable for an appealing extremist which is why this was the first time Hitler tried to cease power in Germany.
The allies were really scared of a revolutionary Germany and decided that they had to do something.
Gustav Stresemann (The German Chancellor at the time)
Called of the passive-aggressive attitude of Germany towards the Treaty.
Sought to comply with the terms of the treaty instead in hopes of getting concessions. This France could agree to, and called of the invasion. Policy of fulfilment
Charles Dawes plan
This is what saved Germany in a time of economic crisis.
Lead out by the US as they had the most power, and nations owed them money.
Allowed Germany to…
Reschedule her reparations
Total amount decreased
Deadlines extended.
This allowed Germany to recover extensive loans, primarily from the US
Much private American capital flowed Into Germany.
THE SPIRTI OF LOCARNO
After the Ruhr crisis, Chancellor Stresemann stated that Germany was ready to accept the borders between them and France and Belgium.
He wanted an international treaty to enforce Germany’s obligations --> The Locarno Treaty.
The main clauses of the Locarno Treaty
Germany accepted its western borders, and these borders were guaranteed by Britain and Italy.
Germany would join the league of nation
Germany agreed to only seek changes on her eastern borders through discussion and arbitration with the countries involved.
The eastern borders were therefore not fixed and also not guaranteed by any nation which lead Germany to believe that it could break these rules a little bit don’tcha know.
The spirit of Locarno --> the impact of the treaty.
Reduced tensions, and a general sense of optimism
Germany with a league membership in the council as well.
The allies removed the troops from the west bank of the Rhine
Allied occupation armies left and Germany making her an independent nation once again.
The Kellogg-Briand pact
Signed by 65 countries
Renounce war as an instrument of national policy
The more critical view on the Locarno Treaty
It seemed as proof that the tensions from WW1 was gone
Economic prosperity
Failure of Communism
Willingness of Germany to accept the Versailles Treaty
HOWEVER!!!
Principle of collective security was still uncertain
Germany did not agree to accept her eastern borders, which was not good considering her continuation of cooperation with USSR in the treaty of Rapallo.
Still evading disarmament clauses
Working with another country that wants to redraw the map of Eastern Europe
The success of Locarno must be seen on the backdrop of the economic prosperity in the 1920’s
The economic prosperity lead to fewer extremists, for reparations to be made, and a sense of international cooperation to flourish.
However, if this was to continue, then the support of economic health, which again was supported by the US had to stabilize.
The Depression, Threats to International peace 1930’s
The impact of the Great Depression on the world
The stock market crash was not the cause for the depression, rather WW1 and how weakened the states were after it.
Huge impact on hopes of peace in the future
Single greatest reason for the rise of Hitler whom wanted to take back all the territory lost in the Paris Peace Settlements so that was a huge challenge for the league in the midst of all of this.
Aggressive states that sought to war and conquest to obtain the needed resources to survive in the depression
No nation would cooperate any longer in terms of trade.
Tariffs were high and shit
No nation would import goods in order to sell their own goods in their own country
Collective security failed hard because now, no nation at all had the power or the willingness to help other nations in need --> the Manchurian crisis.
THE ABYSSINIAN CRISIS 1931
Why did it happen?
The Japanese economy
A recent industrial revolution had taken place in Japan
The economy relied heavily on the export to the US which now was gone because of the depression
Japan had few natural resources, but an exponential growth in its population
It could no longer feed itself.
Massive unemployment, and starvation in rural areas
Decline in the prestige of the Liberal democratic government
Radical nationalist groups, composed of army officers and such, started to form, and they demanded action.
They decided that they should invade Manchuria, as it was rich in natural resources of all kinds.
Why invade Manchuria?
Manchuria was previously owned by Japan
Japan had a colony right by
Washington naval conference (think about that one future Eivind reading for the actual paper 1)
The other major powers had no ability to intervene
The pretext to invade Manchuria
The radical groups manufactured an attack on Japanese civilians to make it seem like an attack from China.
The Japanese government issued the attack right afterwards.
The invasion was a huge challenge to the principle of collective security.
China was also a member of the League and pleaded for help, but nothing was done by the league. Nothing could be done. But Why?
Failure of collective security, Manchuria 1931
The only members of the league that had any substantial military force to intervene in Manchuria. But they were not willing to do so due to lack of motivation because of the depression and the fact that there was nothing of interest for France and Britain there.
In addition, UK’s navy had experienced mutiny due to proposed pay cuts.
The US might have been expected to intervene because of their conflict with Japan and open door policy after the Washington naval conferences, but they did not.
Both the UK and the US had different, major investments and trading properties in China, and a confrontation with Japan in that area might lead to Japan destroying UK and US interests there.
At last, the league of nations failed because it had no armed forces of itself. The only thing it could at this point was to morally condemn the aggressor nation, which, quite frankly, Japan didn’t give a rat’s ass about.
Japan’s withdrawal from the league
The league issued Lord Lytton to file a report on the justification of the Manchuria crisis.
The Lytton commission report actually sympathized with Japan to a certain extent by saying it had some justifiable grievances there.
However, it said that Japan should have tried something else before resorting to brute force.
The report suggested that China should be an independent state and that Japan withdraws its forces
This is possibly the worst morally condemning I have ever seen in my entire life.
Japan naturally refused to accept the terms and left the league.
THE MANCHURIAN CRISIS 1935-1936
This crisis is regarded as the ultimate example of the failure of both the collective security principle, and the league of nations as a whole.
Prerequisites for the crisis
Hitler had now ceased power, and appeared to be a great threat to the prominence of peace all the way from the beginning. He had promised to take back what was rightfully Germany’s, but was lost in the peace settlements, and to resurge the German power and ambition.
All nations were likely to be affected by the new aggressive Germany. Italy was no exception. Until the rise of Hitler, Italy had played a significant role in world affairs as a signatory of the Locarno treaty, a member of the league, and a defender of the Treaty of Versailles. However, Mussolini started to realize that he might face Hitler soon, if Hitler is coming for South Tyrol (province that Italy got from Germany in Versailles). Therefore, Mussolini called in Britain and France to a meeting to discuss the restraining of Hitler. This meeting ended up in the Stresa-Front. An agreement to maintain the Locarno treaty and support the independence of Austria.
Why did Mussolini choose Abyssinia?
First of all, Abyssinia was the only African territory available. Second, Mussolini had always wanted Italy to play a bigger part in the international society, and dreamt of expanding to the point of a new Roman Empire. Third, Abyssinia had defeated Italy in a war in 1896, and Mussolini wanted revenge.
In addition, Mussolini believed that Abyssinia had some oil resources, and was a good place to put the surplus of Italians in Italy.
The crisis and lack of opposition again
Mussolini started the conflict by some minor border disputes. This allowed him to move many forces down there to prepare for the full scale invasion. In October 1935, the invasion began. Italy was seen as an aggressor nation and in November, it was voted that Italy should get heavy economic sanctions. However, the sanctions did not include blocking of the Suez canal, oil, or steel. Even if the sanction did not include strategic material, it would have been ineffective as neither Germany nor USA was affected by it.
The UK and France had to decide what to do. Either, make sanctions work and let the League be seen as a genuine force to be reckoned with, or placate Italy to obtain the Stresa-Front. In the end, they did neither…
Their solution was the Hoare-Laval pact a pact that gave Italy 2/3 of Abyssinia, including the fertile areas, and the rest was to be an independent region. However, once the agreement reached the public eye, people were not content, and the pact was never ratified.
In the end, only sheer force could stop Italy, and neither Britain nor France were willing to risk war for this. In 1936, Abyssinia was under Italian control.
Significance of the crisis
The league was exposed as a hollow nothingness as Locarno/Stresa
The league denounced the aggressor but did not prevent it
Italy saw that his Allies were weak and that they did not support his ambitions in Africa and the Balkans. He had to associate himself with a much stronger Germany and Hitler.
Hitler saw the weakness as well and was now determined to get his territory back.
Aims of the different participants
USA
Believed that no country should benefit from such a catastrophe as the Great War.
The 14 points of Woodrow Wilson
Basis of German surrender but also a general description of what had to be done to make long lasting international world peace
1. No secret treaties
2. Free access to the sea
3. Free trade between all nations
4. Disarmament to lowest possible limit for each country
5. Colonial issues resolved with the cooperation of the natives in the colonies
6. No foreign troops in Russia, and the other nations should welcome the new government in Mother Russia
7. No foreign troops in Belgium and restored independence for them as well
8. Germany has to leave all French territory including Alsace-Lorraine
9. Italy should be expanded to all areas where people speak Italian, and the territories promised in the London-Treaty
10. Self-determination for the ethnicities in the Austro-Hungarian area
11. Foreign troops leave the Balkan region. Serbia expanded to the sea. All nations there should be restored
12. The Turks in the Ottoman Empire can rule themselves still, but other national groups in the empire should be allowed to form their own states. The Dardanelles should be a free international waterway.
13. Independent Poland with access to the sea is needed
14. League of Nations
Great Britain
Prerequisites to their aims.
Entered because of invasion of Belgium and to protect France
Needed full control of the sea and the biggest Navy
Lost 900.000 men in the war
Due to loss of valuable cargoes they had a huge war debt in 1919 mostly to the US
Got Germany’s entire navy due to the 1918 armistice
The aims of GB
Naval aims
1. Elimination of the German naval threat
2. Rejected the idea of Wilson’s second point regarding free access to the sea for every nation.
Colonial aims
1. Great Britain wanted to take over or take away Germany’s colonies so that a future German navy would have no ports existing, and they wanted to take over some of Germany’s trade.
2. Britain made an agreement with France in 1916 (Pike-Sykes agreement) where they planned to expand in the Middle-East for oil resources at the expense of the Ottoman Empire.
Regarding Germany
1. Meant that Germany should be made to pay reparations to GB, but not more than Germany could handle. Britain wanted the German economy to stabilize itself as quickly as possible as Britain were dependent on the German economy. Germany was one of the most industrialized countries in the world at the time, which made them a huge exporter and importer for Britain. In addition, the US had taken most of Britain’s overseas trade.
2. Britain also feared communistic influence in Germany. By making the German people content and stable, they hindered the need for a revolution from the German workers.
France
Prerequisites for the French Aims
France had been severely humiliated by Germany in a previous war and lost two rich provinces called Alsace and Lorraine.
Lost 1.3 million by the Schlieffen plan attack by Germany
Northern France was severely damaged by the German military Massive war debt France wanted Germany to pay >:(
The actual aims
Territorial aims
1. Return of Alsace and Lorraine
2. Wanted the creation of nations such as Poland, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia in order to create a power balance in central Europe
3. Independent state in the Rhineland. This was to weaken Germany economically as Rhineland was the location for major resources and industry. It would in addition work as a buffer state between Germany and France, and Germany and Belgium.
4. The Saar, one of the most industrialized, coal rich areas in Germany, was also on France’s wish list as compensation for the war.
Colonial aims
1. Germany should not be allowed to retain any of its’ overseas territory
2. Desired parts of the Ottoman empire. Namely, access to the Mosul oil fields and Lebanon.
Reparation aims
1. Wanted a huge indemnity on Germany as a means of punishment. The indemnity should be so big that Germany pays for all the damage done to France, and for the debt France owed to Britain and USA
Military aims
1. Limit the German military so that future attacks were impossible
2. Military alliance with Great Britain and the United States of America
Japanese Aims
Wanted recognition for its dominant position in China
Possession of the areas previously owned by Germany in China and the pacific
Racial equality in the Paris Peace settlements
To be one of the major powers
Secure a large economically strong empire for security purposes.
Italian Aims
Prerequisites for the aims
Promised a lot of territory if they won by the Allied Powers in 1915 in the Treaty of London which made them join the war.
Small success in the War militarily, meaning that they had heavy casualties with small gains to show for it.
The aims themselves
Territorial aims
1. Wanted all the areas promised in the London-treaty (expense of Austria-Hungary and colonies in the former Ottoman Empire) which conflicted the principle of self-determination.
2. Wanted to be the protector of Albania and thereby gaining control of Albanian foreign policy and resources.
3. Reparations from Austria-Hungary.
The different Paris peace treaties and their impacts
Treaty of Versailles
The treaty of Versailles is arguably the most important treaty that came out of the Paris peace negotiations. It was the one that dealt with how Germany should be handled. Many of the Key clauses in the treaty were only met when the conference held seemed to be on the brink of collapse as a compromise between all the main participants. The different clauses can be divided into 5 general categories, (Covenant of the League of Nations, War guilt clause, reparations, territorial adjustments, and disarmaments.
THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
The 26 first articles in the Paris Peace Treaties were the covenant of the League. They stated that the League were to be an independent organization of composed of independent states that would cooperate to make the promote peace through negotiating.
Articles 8-17
The heart of the Covenant, concerned with prevention of War.
Stated that all members had to disarm to lowest point of national safety.
Articles 12-17
The process for solving international disputes between countries was proposed.
Arbitration Condemnation Sanctions (could mean attack on aggressor nation)
Collective security decided in article 16 in order to make aggressor nations resort to negotiation and arbitration.
The remaining articles stated that the league would work to abolish slavery, human and drug trafficking, and diseases (lol wut?). Work towards religious freedom but denied the article about racial equality in the treaties demanded by China and Japan.
WAR GUILT CLAUSE Article 231
Germany were not allowed to attend the negotiations.
It was a universal agreement between the victorious powers that Germany and her allies in the War were to get the blame for the outbreak of the war.
Morally justified the reparations given in the reparations articles.
REPARATIONS
How much did the US want Germany to Pay?
Believed that a too huge demand for reparation moneyz would lead to resentment and yet another war in the distant future.
Therefore, USA wanted Germany to pay a fixed amount of $22 billion
How much did Britain want Germany to Pay?
Divided on the issue. In the very least, Germany should pay for the British war pensions. However, public opinion also wanted Germany to pay for the war as a whole.
Britain’s Dominions wanted to gain War pensions as well and thus demanded more from Germany.
Due to Britain’s huge debt to the US, they needed France to pay their debt to Britain, but in order for that to happen, they needed huge reparations from Germany.
Prime minister Lloyd George did not want a sum too high to avoid inhibiting the stabilization of the German economy, but he wanted them to pay enough to inhibit rebuilding of a German military.
Estimated sum of $120 billion. How much did France want Germany to Pay?
Needed reparations that could pay their debt and also cover the damages done in Northern France, and war pensions. In addition, they wanted to punish Germany bad through the reparations.
Estimated sum of $220 billion.
The reparation commission.
A commission that was to analyze the German economy and by May 1. 1921 asses how much Germany could afford to pay.
Meanwhile, Germany was to make an interim payment of 20 billion gold marks and raise another 60 million through loans. Of this money, France would receive just over half of it, and Britain a quarter, and Belgium the rest.
TERRITORIAL ADJUSTMENTS
Minor changes
Schleswig back to Denmark, and a plebiscite was held to determine how much was to be given back to Denmark
Eupen, Malmedy, and Moresnet were to hold plebiscites to see if they should be given back to Belgium.
Alsace-Lorrain
Back to France, no questions asked.
The Saar
France would get control over the coalmines for 15 years while the government of the Saar would be left to the League.
After 15 years, the people could hold a plebiscite to decide if they wanted to be a part of Germany, or France (they chose Germany, huge victory for Hitler’s campaign)
The Rhineland
Was to be occupied by Allied Powers only for Fifteen years in return for the Anglo-American guarantee.
After the 15 years, Rhineland was to be a permanent demilitarized zone.
Poland and Eastern Europe.
Germany gained a lot of Russian area in the treaty of Brest-Litovsk. However, the treaty of Versailles article 118 stated that Germany was no longer allowed to keep any of the benefits from victory against Russia. It was recommended that Poland should get Danzig, Marienwerder and Upper Silesia from German territory. This would give it access to the sea as well as some industrialized areas.
Lloyd George did not agree to this and foresaw that Germany would turn to Communist Russia for help regarding this shit in the future.
He made Clemenceau agree that Marienwerder should hold a plebiscite, and Danzig should be formed to a free trade area with Poland. This created the Polish Corridor which separated parts of Germany from Eastern-Prussia region.
Austria
Austria-Hungary was dissolved and the 14 points specifically stated that their people could form nations as they saw fit.
This lead to people of Austria joining Germany in the German republic of Austria
France and Britain hated this and said that the two countries were not allowed to unify.
German colonies
Germany lost all of them to the League as mandatories (South Africa) or Mandates (pacific)
Japan ended up with the colonies in China after some stuff happened between Wilson and the other people.
DISARMAMENT
Germany’s army was reduced to 100.000 men and not an army of conscripts.
No artillery, air force, poison gas, tanks, or submarines for Germany.
Six battleships at a time.
French General Foch was all like: “this will make an elite army in Germany that are so good that they can expand the army quickly and sufficiently when the chance arises”
He was correct.
GERMAN REACTION TO THE TREATY
Dey were angry you know.
It did not follow the 14 points
Whilst criticizing they tried to negotiate. They wanted
Immediate membership of the league
Guarantee that Austria and the ethnic Germans in Czechoslovak has the right to decide where they want to live.
Plebiscites in all the areas that were granted to Poland in the treaty.
A neutral commission that would examine the war guilt question.
No foreign troops in German Territory.
The Allied Powers meant that these demands, if met, would strengthen the German’s position in Europe, so they be like, nah.
However, they did agree to some demands.
A plebiscite was held in Upper-Silesia
If Germany proved over a longer period of time that they would be nice, the occupation of Rhineland would be called off earlier than normal. US REJECTION OF THE TREATY
Lloyd George and Clemenceau represented the majority of their parliaments and could therefore sign the treaty themselves with no problems as they negotiated in the mind of their own political party. Woodrow Wilson however, was a democrat in a senate with a majority of Republicans. Therefore, he could not sign it as the majority of the US parliament was against the treaty since it was negotiated with the ideologies of a democrat.
Why they rejected the Treaty.
Did not want an obligation to defend other countries through war.
Not happy that the Japanese got the Shang Tung peninsula provinces or that Britain and France were allowed to expand in Africa and the Middle-East as this would inhibit the expansion of democratic governments in these regions.
They worried that participation in the league would lead to a compromise of the Monroe doctrine that banned Europe to interfere in Central and South Africa.
Treaty of St. Germaine
This is the treaty that dealt with Austria.
Was primarily the work of professional diplomats.
Included the covenant of the League in the first 26 articles.
Dealt with:
Reparations
War guilt
Territorial adjustments
Disarmament
WAR GUILT CLAUSE
Austria had to accept responsibility for the outbreak of the war as it was a part of Austria-Hungary. Then reparations could be demanded.
REPARATIONS
A committee was established to analyze Austria’s economy to see how much Austria could pay. They understood that it would be hard for Austria to pay too huge sums of money.
Therefore, Austria had to pay a certain sum to Italy and other allied nations around Austria. In addition, they had to pay with large numbers of livestock to Italy, Yugoslavia, and Romania. They should also give back cultural treasures to the nations which they originated from.
Italy also got some underwater cables in the Adriatic Sea.
TERRITORY
Officially ended the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Confirmed creation of new states on the expense of the old empire.
Confirmed the Republic of Austria which was now to be a small, German speaking nation of about 6 million inhabitants.
Austria and Germany was not allowed to unite despite the interests of their governments. This gave France the power to veto any change regarding those two, as they had to ask the League if they wanted to change their status.
The other parts of Austria was to be distributed between Italy, Yugoslavia, Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia.
What did Italy get?
South Tyrol. Home of 230,000 ethnic Germans.
The Istrian peninsula and other islands in the Adriatic sea.
The important Port of Trieste which that cut of Austria from a seaport naturally duhdoi What did Czechoslovakia get?
Provinces of Bohemia and Moravia which again contained several (3 mill) Germans in them. But any objection from Britain or USA regarding the overhanding of the provinces was met with an angry little Clemenceau
What did Yugoslavia, Poland and Romania get?
Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia was given to Yugoslavia which many Slovenes rejected. The treaty then allowed the German speaking Slovenes to have a plebiscite which was held in 1920 and decided that they should be a part of Austria.
Galicia and Bukovina was given to Poland and Romania.
DISARMAMENT
Austria limited to an army of 30,000 men. No conscription
Only one factory in the entire nation was allowed to produce replacement weapons and munitions.
Prohibition of export and import of any weapons and munitions.
No air force and navy.
Austria had no access to the sea due to the territorial adjustments so the Allies just took their ships.
TREATY OF NEUILLY
This is the treaty that dealt with Bulgaria. Bulgaria was seen as an enemy in the eyes of Britain and France. An enemy that threatened the stability of the Balkan region. Italy and USA wanted to treat Bulgaria not so harsh, but France and Britain weren’t havin’ any o’ dat. I dealt with the same shit as the others and had the covenant of the League in the first 26 articles.
WAR GUILT & REPARATIONS
Bulgaria did not have to sign to state that they caused the outbreak of the war, but they had to proclaim and admit that they had caused a lot of damage and loss of life to the Allies.
Set to make a payment of approx. £100 million. This should be paid in equal sums twice per year for 37 years with a 5% interest rate.
TERRITORY
Lost 2500 square kilometers of western Bulgaria to Yugoslavia which made the Yug-Bulgarian border closer to the Bulgarian capital.
Lost area of Southern Dobruja was given to Romania. There lived only 7000 Romanians there, and 250,000 Bulgarians there.
DISARMAMENT
Reduced to 20,000 men. No conscription
Only 33,000 rifles in the entire country at any given time.
Only one factory to produce armory and munitions.
No air force and no Submarines
4 torpedo boats only and 6 motor boats with no torpedoes.
No export or import of military equipment
Treaty of Trianon
This is the treaty that dealt with the former kingdom of Hungary. This treaty was signed in 1920 as opposed to the others that were signed in 1919. The reason for this is that there was a Bolshevik inspired revolution in Hungary in 1919 and crushed at once. Hungary contained many nationalities that made it hard to separate Hungary fairly. Villages that were located near each other could speak completely different languages. Nevertheless, Hungary had to lose stuff, and Yugoslavia and Romania wanted some o’ dat big ol’ beef o’ honey. Then same stuff as the other treaties. Covenant, league, all of dat.
WAR GUILT AND REPARATIONS
Had to agree in article 161 one that, as a part of the Dual Monarchy, it was responsible for the start of the war.
Got the exact same reparations stuff as in the treaty of St. Germaine except to different countries. TERRITORY
This treaty lead Hungary to lose 72% of their land and 64% of its total population.
30% of the ethnic Hungarians would find themselves living in other countries.
USA first resented this. However, Romania was promised Transylvania in a secret treaty between them and Britain and France if they attacked Hungary during the war. That and the fact that a lot of Hungary was occupied by troops that were not willing to let go caused Wilson to give in.
The actual losses
Slovakia and Ruthenia was given to Czechoslovakia which meant that the former capital of Hungary was in another country now as well as just about 1 million Hungarians. Croatia and Slavonia left when Hungary was falling apart and joined Yugoslavia
They also lost some ports which made them lose sea access consequently limiting its ability to trade.
Transylvania, a very rich area, was given to Romania.
No plebiscites were held.
DISARMAMENT
Limited to army of 35,000 men. No conscription
No poison gas, flamethrowers or tanks.
No air force and planes that belonged to Germany previously was confiscated to the allies.
No export or import of military goods.
Treaty of Sevres
This treaty dealt with the remains of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey. The complications that arrived from the negotiation of the treaty of Sevres is the different views of Lloyd George and Clemenceau regarding the matter. Lloyd George was prepared to crush Turkey by depriving it of its capital Constantinople, and its control over the Bosporus strait. In addition, he wanted them to surrender all territory where there were no Turkish minority as he considered Greece as a good ally of Britain. However, France had some pre-war investments in the country. Concerned of these investments, France wanted to preserve a healthy Turkey. Because of this, France wanted Turkey to continue to rule over Constantinople. The end result was not good, and ended up as a rather humiliating treaty.
Then the same stuff as with the other treaties.
WAR GUILT AND REPARATIONS
Almost the same as with Bulgaria in the treaty of Neuilly. However, Turkey was so beaten up that the Allied did not demand any direct reparations, but instead wanted to control all of Turkey’s state finances, banking, and currency rates.
TERRITORY
The Ottoman Empire proved difficult to divide by ethnic lines as it was a vast empire of many nationalities.
Constantinople ended up as a Turkish city in the treaty.
The Dardanelles and the Bosporus strait was to be under international control to secure free access for ships to go through.
The division of the Ottoman Empire
What did Greece get?
Allowed to establish a parliament in the Izmir area and administer themselves there. After 5 years a plebiscite would be held so the people could decide.
What did Italy get?
The Dodecanese islands
Most of the coast that bordered to the Mediterranean sea.
Armenia
A new state to be formed in the Caucasus mountains
Would receive most of the Asia Minor.
Area included numerous Turks and Kurds that were not allowed to hold a plebiscite.
What did the Kurds get
A new Kurdish state was to be formed in southeast Turkey.
The outlining of this state was difficult because of Kurds living in areas that was granted to Armenia and other lands claimed by Britain and France. Speaking of which.
What did Britain and France get?
They had divided the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East into areas that they wanted there in treaties and agreements before.
They created the mandate system and said that these areas were to be under the rule of the league, but in reality, Britain and France got it all for themselves.
Hejaz
A newly formed Arab led kingdom. Was supposed to be located on the Arabian peninsula. Supposed to be vast (250,000 sq km) but only inhabit 750.,000 people. This is Saudi Arabia today.
What did Turkey get?
They got what is left. However, their capital was supposed to be a demilitarized zone
DISARMAMENT
Army of 50,000 men. No conscription.
No air force, tanks, submarines or poison gas
No export import.
Only 6 torpedo boats but no torpedoes.
Fortresses guarding the Dardanelles and shit were dismantled.
TREATY COMPLICATIONS
The Sevres treaty was the worst treaty because the Turkish government never ratified it. Because of the rebel movement by Mustapha Kemal Ataturk.
He had taken control over the entire Asia minor almost, except for the coastal areas, and he refused to ratify the treatment. Especially because of the clause about Greece taking control over
Kemal fought off the allied forces easily and issued an armistice between him and Britain.
Now he had control over the Straits zone and Armenia and Kurdistan were unable to form as Kemal controlled this region now.
Treaty of Lausanne
A revision of the treaty of Sevres
Proclaimed Turkey as a republic in Asia Minor.
Upheld the mandate system in the Middle East.
Turkey got control over the Straits zone and therefore also Istanbul/Constantinople.
No mentioning of the First World War or disarmament.
Turkey’s finances was not to be controlled by an allied commission.
Impact of the five different treaties.
Economic impacts
The Treaty of Versailles affected the world economically more by what it did not do than what it actually did.
It never dealt with economic questions at all except for when dealing with reparations.
It did not take into account the question of allied war debt which in turn created economic instability and because nations struggled to pay off their loans.
This is a long term cause of the Ruhr Crisis.
USA refused to delete the debt of its allied. That is ironic because of the Dawes plan.
John Maynard Keynes theory about the treaties.
Failure to develop any kind of organization to promote international trade had a big impact as well. Especially for the new European states.
Lead to the catastrophic great depression of 1929.
IMPACT OF THE MANDATE SYSTEM
What was the mandate system?
Since it was believed that colonialism was of the main contributing factors to the outbreak of the war, it was decided that Germany and the Ottoman Empire’s previous colonies was not to be annexed. Therefore, the Allied made the mandatory system. A system built for administrating the previous colonies of Germany and the Ottoman Empire. The administration would be supervised by the league.
The decision on how to divide the mandates was decided in Paris, but actually in the Pike-Sykes agreement in 1916. The Brits and the French decided how to divide the rest of the Ottoman Empire.
The mandates were given to the countries that had conquered them in the war.
France and Britain got most of the colonies because of this.
Supposed to help the population in the colonies to be able to establish their own independent nation in the near future.
The mandates were divided into three groups
A-Mandates
The mandates in the Middle East
Ready for independence in the very near future
Libya, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, and Transjordan
B-Mandates
Lesser advanced mandates.
Not ready for independence yet
The previous German colonies in Africa
C-Mandates
Thinly developed and not cared for at all
Given directly to the countries that had conquered them
The areas in the pacific given directly to Japan and shit.
The actual impact of it.
Impact on the people in the mandates were equal to none.
They were treated the same way as when they were colonized. (Point 5 of the 14)
Only difference for them was the system of accountability.
Assured that the actions of the mandate holder could be scrutinized by an international body.
The natives were allowed to file complaints, but they were never handled.
Controversy of the allocation of the mandates.
Majority of mandates to France and Britain
Victors of the war already with two of the biggest Empires.
Germans who lost everything and Italians, who gained nothing despite being victors, hated this.
Lead to nationalist movement of Mussolini, and Italy’s aspirations to gain territory outside of Europe.
The Arab controversy.
Arabs in the Middle East helped the Allies in the fight against the Ottoman Empire. They hoped for land and independent status
Britain and France were like: NOPE
Caused a number of uprisings.
The Balfour declaration
Promised the Jews a homeland
Arabs became furious with that too
Enforcement of the terms of the Treaties
Us isolationism
The concept of US isolationism lies deep in USA’s roots. Ever since its foundation in fact. The Americans have had several doctrines and ideals that have distanced them from Europe in order to gain control over the western hemisphere, and because they believed themselves to be a better society than the European.
This mind set lead to the US senate not ratifying the Treaty of Versailles, and not joining the League of Nations. However, Wilson was determined that they were entering a new era where it was the US’s moral responsibility to help the rest of the world.
However, the opposing republicans did not believe so, and they had a majority in the senate. The republicans were not invited to the negotiations of the treaties, which would ultimately be Wilson’s downfall. In order for the treaty to be ratified, it demanded to thirds of the votes in the US senate. This was impossible as it complete agreement between the two opposing parties was required for this to happen.
The republicans did not want to ratify the treaty as it would have forced them to take parts in political problems that did not concern them. The main problem the US senate had with the treaty was article X in the covenant of the League. It stated that any member nation that experienced external aggression had to be helped by the other members of the League. This was something the US did not want as it opposed their traditional isolationism policy.
The result of the US not ratifying the Versailles Treaty, was that it never became a member of the League, and it did not ratify the Anglo-American guarantee. The refusal of the Anglo-American guarantee lead to Britain refusing it as well.
British Isolationism
British isolationism is somewhat different from US isolationism. They actively isolate themselves from interfering with other nation’s affairs, in peace time that is. They were always ready to interfere if one aggressor nation tried to seek hegemony. They retained freedom of action and allocated their efforts and intervened where they felt their needs were best suited.
They were also afraid in the UK that France would try to seek dominance in Europe now that Germany was limited. The people of Britain were reluctant to support France, as they feared this would lead to yet another war with Germany. They feared this because of France’s support of the Little Entente.
It was a growing feeling in Britain that Germany might have been treated too harshly, and Britain was not ready to go to war to defend an unpopular cause.
DISARMAMENT EFFORTS IN POST-WAR EUROPE
The Washington naval conferences.
After the war, the arms-race continued on the naval arena.
GB, USA, and Japan had invested huge sums into their navy.
Gb wanted to obtain the world’s biggest navy
US wanted a navy second to none whatever that means
Japan wanted a navy to protect her new Empire. The conference was called for, for two major reasons.
The cost of the arms-race
GB and Japan simply could not afford to
To diffuse tensions between the US and Japan
Japan and the US were suspicious of each other’s intentions in China. And now, the situation had become way more difficult.
Japan had expanded further into China, to the point of possible dominance, and exclusion of other countries and trade partners.
This caused loss US of trade and posed as a threat to US possessions in the Philippines.
Japan felt threatened by the US naval build up and hers reluctance to recognize her position in Asia.
Britain had a defensive alliance with Japan since 1902 and did not want to be dragged into a war fighting for Japan against USA.
The consequences of the Washington Naval conferences.
A constant ratio of naval armament between the three nations of UK – USA – Japan 5:5:3.
All nations were to destroy battleships to the point of maximum fleet sized allowed. And no new battleships were to be constructed for ten years.
Limit construction of bases in the pacific reduced tension Japan dominates the Eastern-Pacific now.
Two agreements were signed after the Washington conferences
Four Power Agreement involving USA, UK, France, Japan.
Replaced the Anglo-Japanese agreement with the guarantee of all signatories.
The replacement was done with no offence to Japan.
Friction between UK and USA was gone.
Nine Power Agreement involving trade partners of China.
China was an open door for trade now
China’s territorial integrity was to be guaranteed
These terms relied entirely on the cooperation between the different signatories as the agreement lacked of any enforcement provisions and vaguely stated articles and claims. The agreement could be ignored easily by any nation, but it did not. Why?
Perfect timing: People wanted peace and supported this
Few members
All members felt like they had won in the negotiations.
Side note: Neither Russia nor Germany were involved in these conferences. Both of them wanted to increase their armaments in the future.
London naval conferences
The third in a series of naval armaments conferences.
A revision of the Washington conferences.
Increased the constant ration from 5:5:3 to 10:10:7
Continued ban to build battleships for five years.
Tightened rules regarding Submarine Warfare.
The success of the treaty arrived to from these conferences must be seen against the backdrop of the great depression. No country had interest in increasing expenditure on armaments.
London Naval Treaty of 1936
A revision of the London Naval Treaty of 1930
A lot had happened since 1930. The participants could no longer reach an agreement. Japan and Italy walked out on the conference.
Japan did not want a restriction on her tonnage
All agreements on limitation of number of warships and such collapsed after 1936 in light of Japanese and German rearmament programme, and increasing number of conflicts in the world.
The Geneva Disarmament Conference in 1932-4
The world disarmament conference convened by the League.
Attended by 31 nations including USA and USSR
Problems in the Geneva conference
Several crisis had occurred the last decade
Many of the nations had developed a mentality of revisionists. They wanted to revise the Paris Peace Settlements.
Nations that wanted to revise were more unlikely to sign, enthusiastically, a settlement of General disarmament.
Distinguishing offensive and defensive weapons
It was agreed that offensive weapons had to go away. But what constituted an offensive weapon, and what a defensive weapon?
Difficulty of enforcing disarmament
No enforcement provisions
Rapallo treaty of 1922 helped Germany evade the disarmament provisions in the treaty of Versailles.
Disarmament would not proceed unless all countries felt that it was safe to.
Germany pointing out the hypocrisy of the Allied stating that if they do not disarm to the point Germany had to in the Treaty of Versailles, then Germany should be allowed to extend theirs to match the Allied.
They did not receive any backing for these claims and left the conference in 1932.
Germany joined again in 1933 but now Hitler had ceased power in Germany and was the new German chancellor
Hitler was clever and stated the same thing as Germany had done previously. However, when the other nations did not comply he left, both the conference, but also the League. Nevertheless, now he had a reason to embark on his own rearmament scheme which made the Allied seem uncooperative, even though France had no choice without the guarantee of Britain nor USA. Italy did not want to reduce armaments as well.
The conferences broke up without arriving at a conclusion.
People saw that Europe had once again entering a period of increased tensions.
Countries would now have to decide what the best course of action was to protect their interests.
Either increase arms spending
Or sought to negotiation and diplomacy.
It was once again clear that disarmament can be reached without resolution of the sources for conflict. When Germany, Japan, Italy, and USSR wanted to revise the Paris peace treaties, it was no hope for disarmament at all.
The League of Nations
As I already know: The League was an international body, made after the Great War to obtain and preserve an everlasting peace. It was Woodrow Wilson’s main aim in the Paris Peace Settlements, and he was willing to compromise some of his other principles expressed in the 14 points. The League’s covenant was in the first 26 articles of every Paris Peace Treaty, and its main focus was article X. Article X stated the principle of collective security, which was a revolutionary idea. Countries traditionally acted in self-interest, but that had now come to an end. In addition, the league would manage other international problems, and established different departments for these. Among these were; the mandate commission, the drugs department, slavery commission, and most importantly, the only thing that still remains from the league today, The international court of justice.
The problem of the absence of three major powers.
The league banned several major powers in the beginning, as they were losers of the war.
Thus, when the losers were allowed to join, they were not that keen followers of the League and its principles.
The league ended up as a protector of the status quo instead of an arbiter of disputes.
One of the major powers banned, was Russia soon to be the USSR
When they were banned they really did not care for the status quo
It sought to recover lost territory and people in the post-war years.
Excluding the USSR only made them more hostile as this confirmed their theory of a conspiracy between the other nations to destroy the USSR.
The absence of the US
Huge diplomatic and psychological catastrophe.
USA was the strongest nation to intervene at the time
Challenges to the Status Quo would now meet limited resistance.
Credibility of the organization was questioned.
Consequences for the absence of three major powers
The treaty of Rapallo in 1922.
Not promising for the newer nations in central Europe.
Lack of enthusiasm in upholding the aims of the treaty of Versailles
The Anglo-American guarantee.
British isolationism –> against collective security.
Failure of collective security
Not every nation would see every dispute in the same eyes.
They would therefore not be able or willing to participate in affairs that did not concern them in the slightest bit.
Took away freedom of action and sovereignty
Not very collective when three major powers are absent
Britain and France, the founders, had grown apart in their views.
After the war, the prospect of armed intervention was not popular in any member country.
Nations did not want to make huge economical sacrifices.
Early attempts at peacekeeping 1920-1925
The league had a mandate to resolve disputes. They face several conflicts in this period, and has a mixed record of number of successes. This allow us analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the league.
Successes
Aaland Islands
Upper-Silesia
Greco-Bulgarian war of 1925
Failures
Corfu incident
Ruhr invasion
Seizure of Fiume and Vilna.
The Russo-Polish war
Common factors in success disputes
Small aggressor nation
Aggressor nation was not willing to resort to violence
Common factors in failure disputes
Major power as aggressor nation
And/or aggressor nation willing to resort to violence and not diplomacy
Early problems for the league
Because of the absence of USA, it was essential that the remaining major powers agreed on how to resolve the different disputes that they came across. This was almost never the case. France was still afraid of Germany whilst Britain had started trading routes with her once again. In addition, several of the major powers had their own internal conflicts that they had to handle. This made it hard for them to care about other conflicts that the league had to take care of. JUST LIKE ALL THE FUCKING HOMEWORK WE GET ALL THE FUCKINGS TIME!!! THE RUHR CRISIS
Roots in French fears about its national security
Collapse of the Anglo-American guarantee
Unsuccessful in attempts of partially dismemberment of Germany
UK had a growing sympathy for Germany
Lloyd George made several different attempts to make the French to ease the German burden but with no success after the signing of the Rapallo treaty.
Reparations commission states in 1921 how much Germany needed to pay in reparations.
France could not wait to enforce the payments for two reasons:
They owed money to the US and needed the reparations money to pay back
It would weaken the German economy
UK saw that a continuation of this would limit the recovery of British trade.
The Germans signed the treaty of Rapallo in 1921
British saw that if Germany did not get some slack, she would fall into the Soviet orbit.
French only believed that Germany tried to escape her Treaty obligations. Poincaré approach to Germany and her obligations was with brute force. However, he did not have enough evidence to support the use of force against Germany… YET
Germany missed out on a payment of timber, and 1923 France invades
What was France’s aims in invading the Ruhr region?
Collect the lost payment by seizing the output of the factories in Ruhr and shipping them to France.
German workers did not comply and started a strike and several sabotage missions to prevent France from obtaining any minerals.
The short term causes of the crisis
Catastrophic inflation in Germany.
Resulted from the French invasion but also the Weimar response to the invasion
The Weimar republic had to support the strikes in Ruhr and simply printed more and more paper money until it was worth nothing.
Long term causes of the crisis
French portrayal as bullies and therefore loss of international support
US involvement in the financial rebuilding of Germany through the Dawes plan.
THE COLLAPSE OF THE WEIMAR GOVERNMENT
The inflation mainly affected the German middle-class as they had invested most of their saving in the banks.
All of their savings simply disappeared which lead them cynical and anxious for the future.
This anxiety made them more vulnerable for an appealing extremist which is why this was the first time Hitler tried to cease power in Germany.
The allies were really scared of a revolutionary Germany and decided that they had to do something.
Gustav Stresemann (The German Chancellor at the time)
Called of the passive-aggressive attitude of Germany towards the Treaty.
Sought to comply with the terms of the treaty instead in hopes of getting concessions. This France could agree to, and called of the invasion. Policy of fulfilment
Charles Dawes plan
This is what saved Germany in a time of economic crisis.
Lead out by the US as they had the most power, and nations owed them money.
Allowed Germany to…
Reschedule her reparations
Total amount decreased
Deadlines extended.
This allowed Germany to recover extensive loans, primarily from the US
Much private American capital flowed Into Germany.
THE SPIRTI OF LOCARNO
After the Ruhr crisis, Chancellor Stresemann stated that Germany was ready to accept the borders between them and France and Belgium.
He wanted an international treaty to enforce Germany’s obligations --> The Locarno Treaty.
The main clauses of the Locarno Treaty
Germany accepted its western borders, and these borders were guaranteed by Britain and Italy.
Germany would join the league of nation
Germany agreed to only seek changes on her eastern borders through discussion and arbitration with the countries involved.
The eastern borders were therefore not fixed and also not guaranteed by any nation which lead Germany to believe that it could break these rules a little bit don’tcha know.
The spirit of Locarno --> the impact of the treaty.
Reduced tensions, and a general sense of optimism
Germany with a league membership in the council as well.
The allies removed the troops from the west bank of the Rhine
Allied occupation armies left and Germany making her an independent nation once again.
The Kellogg-Briand pact
Signed by 65 countries
Renounce war as an instrument of national policy
The more critical view on the Locarno Treaty
It seemed as proof that the tensions from WW1 was gone
Economic prosperity
Failure of Communism
Willingness of Germany to accept the Versailles Treaty
HOWEVER!!!
Principle of collective security was still uncertain
Germany did not agree to accept her eastern borders, which was not good considering her continuation of cooperation with USSR in the treaty of Rapallo.
Still evading disarmament clauses
Working with another country that wants to redraw the map of Eastern Europe
The success of Locarno must be seen on the backdrop of the economic prosperity in the 1920’s
The economic prosperity lead to fewer extremists, for reparations to be made, and a sense of international cooperation to flourish.
However, if this was to continue, then the support of economic health, which again was supported by the US had to stabilize.
The Depression, Threats to International peace 1930’s
The impact of the Great Depression on the world
The stock market crash was not the cause for the depression, rather WW1 and how weakened the states were after it.
Huge impact on hopes of peace in the future
Single greatest reason for the rise of Hitler whom wanted to take back all the territory lost in the Paris Peace Settlements so that was a huge challenge for the league in the midst of all of this.
Aggressive states that sought to war and conquest to obtain the needed resources to survive in the depression
No nation would cooperate any longer in terms of trade.
Tariffs were high and shit
No nation would import goods in order to sell their own goods in their own country
Collective security failed hard because now, no nation at all had the power or the willingness to help other nations in need --> the Manchurian crisis.
THE ABYSSINIAN CRISIS 1931
Why did it happen?
The Japanese economy
A recent industrial revolution had taken place in Japan
The economy relied heavily on the export to the US which now was gone because of the depression
Japan had few natural resources, but an exponential growth in its population
It could no longer feed itself.
Massive unemployment, and starvation in rural areas
Decline in the prestige of the Liberal democratic government
Radical nationalist groups, composed of army officers and such, started to form, and they demanded action.
They decided that they should invade Manchuria, as it was rich in natural resources of all kinds.
Why invade Manchuria?
Manchuria was previously owned by Japan
Japan had a colony right by
Washington naval conference (think about that one future Eivind reading for the actual paper 1)
The other major powers had no ability to intervene
The pretext to invade Manchuria
The radical groups manufactured an attack on Japanese civilians to make it seem like an attack from China.
The Japanese government issued the attack right afterwards.
The invasion was a huge challenge to the principle of collective security.
China was also a member of the League and pleaded for help, but nothing was done by the league. Nothing could be done. But Why?
Failure of collective security, Manchuria 1931
The only members of the league that had any substantial military force to intervene in Manchuria. But they were not willing to do so due to lack of motivation because of the depression and the fact that there was nothing of interest for France and Britain there.
In addition, UK’s navy had experienced mutiny due to proposed pay cuts.
The US might have been expected to intervene because of their conflict with Japan and open door policy after the Washington naval conferences, but they did not.
Both the UK and the US had different, major investments and trading properties in China, and a confrontation with Japan in that area might lead to Japan destroying UK and US interests there.
At last, the league of nations failed because it had no armed forces of itself. The only thing it could at this point was to morally condemn the aggressor nation, which, quite frankly, Japan didn’t give a rat’s ass about.
Japan’s withdrawal from the league
The league issued Lord Lytton to file a report on the justification of the Manchuria crisis.
The Lytton commission report actually sympathized with Japan to a certain extent by saying it had some justifiable grievances there.
However, it said that Japan should have tried something else before resorting to brute force.
The report suggested that China should be an independent state and that Japan withdraws its forces
This is possibly the worst morally condemning I have ever seen in my entire life.
Japan naturally refused to accept the terms and left the league.
THE MANCHURIAN CRISIS 1935-1936
This crisis is regarded as the ultimate example of the failure of both the collective security principle, and the league of nations as a whole.
Prerequisites for the crisis
Hitler had now ceased power, and appeared to be a great threat to the prominence of peace all the way from the beginning. He had promised to take back what was rightfully Germany’s, but was lost in the peace settlements, and to resurge the German power and ambition.
All nations were likely to be affected by the new aggressive Germany. Italy was no exception. Until the rise of Hitler, Italy had played a significant role in world affairs as a signatory of the Locarno treaty, a member of the league, and a defender of the Treaty of Versailles. However, Mussolini started to realize that he might face Hitler soon, if Hitler is coming for South Tyrol (province that Italy got from Germany in Versailles). Therefore, Mussolini called in Britain and France to a meeting to discuss the restraining of Hitler. This meeting ended up in the Stresa-Front. An agreement to maintain the Locarno treaty and support the independence of Austria.
Why did Mussolini choose Abyssinia?
First of all, Abyssinia was the only African territory available. Second, Mussolini had always wanted Italy to play a bigger part in the international society, and dreamt of expanding to the point of a new Roman Empire. Third, Abyssinia had defeated Italy in a war in 1896, and Mussolini wanted revenge.
In addition, Mussolini believed that Abyssinia had some oil resources, and was a good place to put the surplus of Italians in Italy.
The crisis and lack of opposition again
Mussolini started the conflict by some minor border disputes. This allowed him to move many forces down there to prepare for the full scale invasion. In October 1935, the invasion began. Italy was seen as an aggressor nation and in November, it was voted that Italy should get heavy economic sanctions. However, the sanctions did not include blocking of the Suez canal, oil, or steel. Even if the sanction did not include strategic material, it would have been ineffective as neither Germany nor USA was affected by it.
The UK and France had to decide what to do. Either, make sanctions work and let the League be seen as a genuine force to be reckoned with, or placate Italy to obtain the Stresa-Front. In the end, they did neither…
Their solution was the Hoare-Laval pact a pact that gave Italy 2/3 of Abyssinia, including the fertile areas, and the rest was to be an independent region. However, once the agreement reached the public eye, people were not content, and the pact was never ratified.
In the end, only sheer force could stop Italy, and neither Britain nor France were willing to risk war for this. In 1936, Abyssinia was under Italian control.
Significance of the crisis
The league was exposed as a hollow nothingness as Locarno/Stresa
The league denounced the aggressor but did not prevent it
Italy saw that his Allies were weak and that they did not support his ambitions in Africa and the Balkans. He had to associate himself with a much stronger Germany and Hitler.
Hitler saw the weakness as well and was now determined to get his territory back.
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