C4: Outbreak of WW2 in Europe (2261 ELECTIVE HISTORY)

CHAPTER 4: FAILURES OF THE LON (in the 1930s) FAILURE OF DISARMAMENT Efforts at Disarmament in the 1920s Washington Naval Conference (1921) — Success - Negotiated outside the League to limit the size and number of warships held by Britain, France, Japan and the United States • Organised by the United States, which was not a League member • Ratio of tonnage of capital ships of Britain,the United States, Japan, France and Italy set at 5:5:3:1.67:1.67 Locarno Treaties (1925) — Partial Success - Negotiated outside the League between Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia ◦ Germany accepted its western borders, including the demilitarisation of the Rhineland - Weimar government agreed to settle any disputes with the above-mentioned countries through the League League Commission to prepare for World Disarmament Conference (1926) — Failure - Failed as Britain and France refused to co-operate Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) - Failure - Negotiated outside the League between 15 countries including the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Japan - Agreement that force should not be used to settle disputes - No clear way to enforce the pact

The World Disarmament Conference (1932-1934) Concerned with the increasing tensions in the world, the League managed to persuade the United States and almost 60 other states to attend the World Disarmament Conference. It was held at the League's headquarters in Geneva in February 1932. Limiting Offensive Weapons - The Conference concentrated on trying to control the destructive power of offensive weapons. The Conference produced resolutions to prohibit the bombing of civiliapopulations and chemical warfare, as well as limiting the size of artlery and the tonnage of tanks. - Despite the positive start, the leaders could not agree on a few matters. - It was difficult to get all countries to agree on what offensive and defensive weapons were. - The resolutions passed did very little to ensure how the limitations on weapons would be achieved. - For example, the bombing of civilians was to be banned, but all attempts to agree to abolish planes capable of bombing were unsuccessful. Even the proposal to ban the manufacture of chemical weapons was unsuccessful. - Individual countries used the Conference to raise their own particular issues. - For example, Italy demanded to have a navy the same size as that of France. Dealing with Germany - The biggest issue at the Conference was what to do with Germany. Most countries shared the view that the terms limiting the size of Germany's military in the Treaty of Versailles were perceived to be unfair. - However, there was disagreement on how a fairer arrangement should be achieved. - The first option was for every country to disarm to a level that Germany had been forced to. - The second option was to allow Germany to rearm to a level closer to that of the other powers. There was a lot of reluctance to allow either option. - The experience of the disarmament attempts in the 1920s had shown that most countries would not disarm. - France, which was wary of Germany due to its painful experience from WWI, pressured the League against taking up the second option. The French demanded that either France continue to have a much larger armed forces than Germany, or Britain and the United States guarantee

to fight alongside France if a war ever broke out between France and Germany. - The disagreements continued. Britain and the United States were reluctant to commit themselves to guaranteeing France's future security. At the same time, Germany accused France and the other major powers of hypocrisy. - In July 1932, Germany put forward proposals for all countries to disarm down to its level. When the Conference failed to agree on the principle of "equality", the Germans walked out and the Conference broke up. The Conference Reconvenes - Although the Conference had broken up, the League's officials continued to work behind the scenes with Germany and the other powers. - In December 1932, the other powers agreed to discuss equality for Germany, and Germany agreed to return to discussions and the Disarmament Conference reconvened in February 1933. - By this time, Germany had a new leader, Adolf Hitler, and appeared to be genuinely interested in making progress on disarmament - However, Hitler was not interested in disarmament and had secretly started Germany instead. - Even as his military commanders were secretly making plans for rearmament, Hitler pretended to engage with the other powers on the issue of disarmament In May 1933, Hitler promised not to rearm Germany if all other nations agreed to disarm in five years. He was clearly trying to put pressure on the other powers, particularly France. The discussions continued throughout 1933 but there was little progress. - Hitler was playing a clever game. He appeared to be calling for large-scale disarmament. In doing so, he could claim to be a supporter of peace and progress. However, he knew full well that the other powers would not disarm to the same level that Germany faced under the Treaty of Versailles. This gave him the justification he needed to rearm Germany. - In October 1933, he pulled Germany out of the Disarmament Conference and from the League of Nations.

THE ABYSSINIAN CRISIS (1934-1936) The Origins of the Abyssinian Crisis - In 1896, Italian troops tried to invade Abyssinia but were defeated by a poorly equipped army of tribesmen. Mussolini wanted revenge for this humiliating defeat. - He also wanted the fertile lands and mineral wealth of Abyssinia. Most importantly, he wanted glory and conquest. His style of leadership clamoured for military victories. - In December 1934, there was a dispute between ltalian and Abyssinian soldiers at the Wal-Wal oasis in Abyssinia. Mussolini used this as an excuse and claimed the oasis as Italian territory. He demanded an apology from Abyssinia, At the same time, he began preparing the ltalian army to invade it. - The Abyssinian Emperor, Haile Selassie, appealed to the League for help, but was unsuccessful. On the surface, Britain had the influence and resources to act decisively on Abyssinia's behalf. In addition, the location of Britain's and France's colonies also meant that both countries could send troops to defend Abyssinia. However, they chose not to do so. 1. In January 1935, Mussolini agreed to negotiate with the League over Abyssinia. At the same time, he began moving his armed forces into ltalian bases in Eritrea (in Africa), next to Abyssinia. 2. While tensions between ltaly and Abyssinia were escalating, Britain, France and |taly signed an agreement called the Stresa Front in April 1935. It was a coalition formed to oppose Hitler's announced intention to rearm Germany, which violated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.