.jpeg)
Origins:
1. The Congress System (1815-1913):
The Concert of Europe or the Congress System was a consensus among the Great Powers of 19th-century Europe to maintain the European balance of power and the integrity of territorial boundaries.
The "Congress System" was an effort to maintain peace and stability in Europe through regular Congresses of the five Great Powers of Europe; Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, and the United Kingdom.
Similar to the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), if a crisis occurred, then one country might call for a conference of the Great Powers to mediate between the feuding powers.
It was not based on any kind of international law and smaller countries were usually ignored or sidelined.
The system, however, couldn't enforce its decisions or compel countries to attend the conference.
The system of regular formal Congresses was short-lived, primarily due to the refusal of Great Britain to take part due to ideological and strategic differences with the Holy Alliance powers.
The system officially broke with the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914.
2. President Woodrow Wilson devised the plan for the League of Nations which according to him would be like a world parliament where representatives of all nations could meet together and solve international disputes. The organisation was meant to protect smaller nations from aggression.
3. Other nations such as Britain and France agreed to the idea of the League but they disagreed about what kind of organisation it should be;
Britain wanted the League to be a simple organization that would just get together in emergencies but such an organization already existed, the Conference of Ambassadors.
The Conference of Ambassadors of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers was an inter-allied organization of the Entente in the period following the end of World War 1, formed in Paris in January 1920.
After the war, it was intended to function until the League’s machinery was up and running, but it lingered on, and on several occasions, it took precedence over the League.
Later on, de facto was incorporated into the League of Nations as one of its governing bodies.
France wanted a militarily strong League that could provide collective security.
Nonetheless, the European powers were ready to give a try to Wilson’s plan thus in all the peace treaties with the defeated Central Powers, the Covenant of the League was included.
Reasons for opposition to the League in the USA:
Some feared that joining the League meant America would lose its independence. The USA had in the 19th and 20th centuries followed non-intervention and isolationist policy according to which it did not meddle in European affairs. It had not even entered the First World War until 1917 when the German U-boat campaign had sunk several of America's neutral boats. The USA thought that joining the League, as the strongest nation since Britain and France had lost their world supremacy after the war, would make the League increasingly dependent on it therefore, the USA would become intertwined in European affairs, losing its independence.
Many Americans disliked Imperialism and feared being asked to defend the Empires of other countries such as Britain and France. The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 had opposed European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere and the doctrine was central to U.S. foreign policy for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Fears that American troops would be sent off to fight in the wars around the world all the time.
If the League placed sanctions on a country as a member of the League, the USA would then be obliged to comply with the sanctions which meant a loss of trade and it might be American trade and business that suffered the most.
The League was part of the Treaty of Versailles but many Americans considered the treaty unfair, particularly millions of German emigrants who were living in the USA.
Some Republican politicians opposed the League because Wilson was a Democrat hence, in 1919, Congress voted against joining the League and rectifying the Treaty of Versailles.
Impact:
The League received a fatal blow at the beginning of its existence because the USA refused to join the League of Nations and with it the League lost the second superpower which would not be its member, the first being the USSR which was not even invited since it was a Communist state and secondly, the League lost its biggest advocate, the US President Wilson.
The USA was now the world’s biggest economy but wouldn’t be involved in trade sanctions.
The USA was also potentially the strongest military power but would be involved in providing collective security.
The prestige of the League was reduced as its most passionate advocate was gone.
The French were more concerned about Germany and Britain was more concerned with rebuilding its global trade, therefore, there was no powerful nation that wanted international peace as the League was proposed to bring.
France and Britain were now left as the two strongest powers in the League but they both had their priorities and even they lacked the necessary influence since after the war they were not the major powers that they used to be.
Covenant & Aims of the League of Nations:
The Covenant set out 26 Articles or rules, which all members of the League agreed to follow:
All major nations would join the League (though Germany would only be allowed to join later).
All countries would eventually disarm.
Disputes would be brought before the League to resolve them peacefully.
Countries agreed to protect each other.
Discourage aggression from any nation.
Increasing international cooperation, especially in business and trade.
To improve the living and working conditions of people around the world.
The most important rule of the Covenant was Article 10 which in essence meant collective security. If any country transgressed the territory and existing independence of any member of the League of Nations, all the members would prevent such an external invasion by defending the lands and interests of all nations, large or small. For this, the League could advise its members to use various methods to stop the aggressor country.
Structure of the League of Nations:
1. The Assembly:
The Assembly was the League’s Parliament. Every country in the League sent a representative to the Assembly.
The Assembly could recommend action to the Council and could vote on:
Admitting new members to the League,
Appointing temporary members of the council,
The budget of the League,
Other ideas were put forward by the council.
The Assembly only met once a year.
Decisions made by the Assembly had to be unanimous - they had to be agreed by all the members of the League.
2. The Council:
The Council was a smaller group than the Assembly, which met more often, usually five times a year or more often in the case of emergency. It included:
Permanent members. In 1920 these were Britain, France, Italy, and Japan.
Temporary members. They were elected by the Assembly for three-year periods. The number of temporary members varied between four and nine at different times in the League’s history.
Germany became a permanent member in 1926.
The USSR joined the League in 1934.
Each of the permanent members of the Council had a veto. This meant that one permanent member could stop the Council from acting even if all other members agreed.
The main idea behind the Council was if any disputes arose between members, the members brought the problem to the Council and it was sorted out through discussion before matters got out of hand. However, if this did not work, the Council would use a range of powers:
Moral Condemnation: they could decide which was ‘the aggressor’, i.e. which country was to blame for the trouble. They could condemn the aggressor’s action and tell it to stop what it was doing.
Economic and Financial Sanctions: members of the League could refuse to trade with the aggressor.
Military Force: the armed forces of member countries could be used against an aggressor.
3. Permanent Court of International Justice:
Based in Hague in the Netherlands.
Contained fifteen judges of different nationalities from member countries.
Served a key role in the process of peacefully settling disputes between any two or more countries.
If approached, would open a hearing and decide on border disputes between two countries.
In operation between 1922-39, during which it successfully solved around 66 cases that addressed legal (not political) disputes between counties.
It also gave legal advice to the Assembly or Council.
Gained prominence and respect as the only organisation with an established code of legal practices in international affairs.
Its decisions, however, could never be made binding.
4. The International Labor Organisation:
It brought together employers, governments, and workers' representatives once a year to discuss ways to improve the lives of the workers.
It hoped to persuade governments and employers to improve working conditions.
Maximum working hours for a day and working days in the week were set.
It introduced a resolution for a maximum of 48 hours a week, and an eight-hour day, but only a minority of members adopted it because it would increase industrial costs.
An adequate minimum wage was proposed.
Sickness and unemployment benefits and old-age pensions work were introduced.
It was able to ban poisonous white lead and limit the hours that small children were allowed to work.
Steps were taken against child labour.
The ILO lacked funds and was unable to stop countries from breaking regulations and mistreating workers other than verbal condemnation.
Nonetheless, the ILO was influential and it exposed many cases of abuse that were not known before.
5. The Secretariat:
The Secretariat was a sort of civil service.
All the administrative and financial work of the League was performed by the secretariat.
This work included organising conferences and meetings, keeping records, and preparing reports.
The Secretariat had specialist sections covering areas such as health, disarmament, and economic matters.
Weaknesses in the League’s Structure:
The Assembly only met once a year and decisions had to be unanimous.
Each Permanent member of the Council had a veto so they could stop action from being taken.
The Secretariat was understaffed and not very efficient.
The Court of Justice had no way to enforce its decisions.
The Council did not have important Great Powers (USA, USSR, Germany) as members although Germany would later join in 1926 only to leave again in 1933. Since the League’s membership was not binding, the member nations could easily withdraw as Germany and Japan withdrew in 1933 and Italy in 1937. Eventually, the absence of such powers made it difficult for the League to survive.
Arbitration could only happen if both countries agreed to it.
The League of Nations Commissions:
As well as dealing with disputes between its members, the League also attempted to tackle other major problems. This was done through agencies, commissions, or committees.
1. The Refugee Commission:
Dealt with the problem of refugees since hundreds of thousands of people had fled areas of conflict by the end of the First World War and now either they were trying to go back to their homes or had nowhere to go.
The most pressing situation was in the former Russian territories; the Balkans, Armenia and Greece, and Turkey. In 1927 the League reported that there were 750,00 refugees in the former Russian territories and 168,000 Armenians.
The Refugee Organisation raised money, found suitable transport, set up refugee camps, and issued identity documents called Nansen Passports. This passport allowed genuine refugees to travel across borders to return home or resettle in new lands.
The organisation helped the refugees to find work in new countries.
It is estimated that in the first few years after the war, 400,000 prisoners of war who were stranded in Russia, Poland, France, Germany, and Turkey were returned to their homes by the League’s agencies.
Helped house a million Greek refugees from the Turkish War of Independence. The Commission also acted quickly to stamp out cholera, smallpox, and dysentery in the camps.
The organisation proved to be successful in its arduous task however, it suffered due to the shortage of funds and then in the 1930s because the international situation became more intense whilst the League’s authority declined.
2. The Mandates Commission:
Supervised governance in former Turkish and German territories that had become mandates of the League of Nations ruled by Britain and France on behalf of the League.
Ensured that countries given the mandates, such as Britain, France, and Japan acted in the interest of the people, not themselves.
The Commission took charge of the welfare of minority groups within other states, especially the new territories created by the Peace Treaties 1919-23.
Successfully supervised Saar until 1935, when it successfully organised the plebiscite that saw its return to Germany.
3. The Health Commission:
The Commission aimed to deal with the problem of dangerous diseases and to educate people about health and sanitation.
It helped reduce the incidence of leprosy.
It began a campaign to exterminate mosquitoes. This led to a reduction in the spread of malaria and yellow fever.
It established links about health matters with non-member countries. It provided Germany, the USSR, and the USA with information and advice on public health matters.
It helped the USSR prevent the typhus epidemic in Siberia.
The League organised a public education campaign on sanitation and set up research institutes in London, Copenhagen, and Singapore. These institutes were important in developing medicines and vaccines to fight deadly diseases such as leprosy and malaria.
The League developed vaccines for fighting diphtheria, tetanus, and tuberculosis.
It was perhaps the most successful of the League’s organizations and its work was continued even after 1945 by the United Nations in the form of the World Health Organisation.
4. The Slavery Commission:
Aimed to abolish slavery and tried to stop slave trading which was particularly a problem in East Africa along with other parts of the world. However, the issue extended beyond the official status of slavery since many workers, who were not technically slaves, were also treated as slaves.
Helped create the 1926 Slavery Convention which was the first International Human Rights Treaty in the world.
Countries like Nepal, Liberia, Iraq, and Ethiopia agreed to abolish slavery.
It worked to abolish the trafficking of women and children.
It challenged the use of forced labour in the Tanganyika railway (Tanganyika was a British Mandate in Africa), where the death rate among African workers was 50 per cent. The League reduced the death rate of workers to a more acceptable figure of 4 per cent. It freed 200,000 slaves in British-owned Sierra Leone.
It organised raids against slave owners in Burma.
Territorial Disputes:
1. Vilnius (1920):
Poland and Lithuania were two new states created by the post-war treaties.
Vilnius was the capital of the new state of Lithuania but its population was largely Polish.
In 1920 a Polish army took control of Vilnius, hence Lithuania appealed to the League for help.
This was a crucial ‘test case’ for the League. Both countries were members of the League.
The League protested against Poland because it supported Lithuania in her claim to Vilna, but Poland did not withdraw.
According to the Covenant, troops could be sent to force the Poles out of Vilnius but this did not happen. The French were supporting Poland because they saw it as an ally against Germany in the future whereas Britain was not prepared to act alone and send troops to the other side of Europe.
The mediation of the League was unsuccessful because the Polish victory allowed them control of the Vilnius region.
Finally, the Conference of Ambassadors insisted on awarding Vilna to Poland and the League allowed it to go ahead.
2. Upper Silesia (1921):
A dispute broke out between Germany and Poland over the Upper Silesia region.
Unlike the case of the Aaland Islands, the League decided to hold a plebiscite in 1921.
Based on this plebiscite it was decided to partition Upper Silesia between Germany and Poland. The decision was accepted by both countries.
3. Aaland Islands (1921):
Finland and Sweden had a dispute over the Aaland Islands and both sides threatened war.
Finland rejected the idea of a plebiscite, saying it was an internal matter.
The issue was referred to the League Council in July 1920.
The Council set up a commission that presented its report in April 1921.
It asserted that Finland had the right of sovereignty over the islands.
However, it was called on Finland to give guarantees to preserve the culture and way of life of the islanders. Sweden accepted the League’s ruling hence the dispute was solved successfully.
4. Corfu Incident (1923):
One of the boundaries that had to be sorted out after the war was the border between Greece and Albania. The Conference of Ambassadors was given the job to solve the border issue and they appointed an Italian General, Tellini.
On 27 August, while surveying the Greek side of the frontier, Tellini and his team were ambushed and killed.
On 29 August, Italian leader, Mussolini demanded compensation and execution of the murder by the Greek government whom he blamed for the murder.
The Greeks, however, had no idea who the murderers were.
On 31 August, Mussolini bombarded the Greek island of Corfu where 15 people were killed. Greece appealed to the League for help.
Fortunately, the League was in session, and on 7 September it prepared its judgment. It condemned Mussolini’s actions and suggested that Greece pay compensation although the money would be held by the League and would be paid to Italy only if, and when, Telllini’s killers were found.
Mussolini went to the Conference of Ambassadors and persuaded it to change the League’s ruling.
The British were prepared to act against Mussolini and force him out of Corfu but the French completely disagreed and backed Mussolini because they were stuck with the Ruhr Occupation hence the British decided not to act alone, arguing that Mussolini’s actions did not constitute an act of war.
Ultimately, Mussolini won. The Council’s ruling was changed and the Greeks had to apologize and pay compensation directly to Italy.
On 27 September, Mussolini withdrew from Corfu boasting of his triumph.
Impact:
The Corfu incident showed how the League of Nations could be undermined by its members therefore, Britain and France drew up the Geneva Protocol in 1924.
According to this, if two members were in a dispute, they would ask the League to sort out the disagreement and they would have to follow the Council’s ruling.
The Protocol was meant to strengthen the League by ensuring that all the Council’s rulings would be binding upon the members.
However, there were general elections in Britain and the new Conservative government refused to sign the Protocol fearing that Britain then might have to agree to something that was not in its interest.
This further weakened the League and showed how even the League’s most powerful members prioritize their national interests before international cooperation.
5. Mosul Question (1924):
When Turkey claimed the province of Mosul, part of the British-mandated territories of Iraq, the League decided in favour of Iraq.
An agreement was reached that Iraq would keep the territory and Turkey received a 10 per cent royalty payment each year on oil deposits.
6. The Greece-Bulgaria Border Dispute (1925):
In October 1925, Greek troops invaded Bulgaria after an incident on the border. Bulgaria appealed to the League for help.
The League quickly called a meeting of the League Council in Paris and it was decided that both countries would stand their forces down and Greek forces would withdraw from Bulgaria.
The decision was supported by Britain and France who were negotiating the Locarno Treaties simultaneously.
The League then ruled in favour of Bulgaria and Greece had to pay £45,000 in compensation and was threatened with sanctions if it did not obey the League’s ruling.
Greece obeyed the ruling of the League.
This was a huge success and brought optimism to the survival and effectiveness of the League after the shame of the Corfu incident.
However, the success also highlighted how large and small nations received differential treatment like Italy and Greece.
7. In South America, squabbles were settled between Peru and Columbia and between Bolivia and Paraguay.
International Agreements of the 1920s:
1. Washington Conference (1921)
It was a disarmament conference called by the USA in November 1921.
It was conducted outside the auspices of the League of Nations. It was attended by nine nations (the United States, Japan, China, France, Britain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Portugal).
It tried to improve relations between the USA and Japan, since the USA was increasingly suspicious of growing Japanese power in the Far East, and of Japanese influence in China, especially bearing in mind that during the First World War, Japan had seized Kiachow and all the German islands in the Pacific.
It was the first arms control conference in history and the countries decided to limit the sizes of their navies.
It was agreed to restrict battleships and aircraft carriers.
To prevent a naval building race, it was agreed that the Japanese navy would be limited to three-fifths of the size of the British and American navies.
Japan agreed to withdraw from Kiachow and the Shantung province of China which she had occupied since 1914.
In return, Japan was allied to keep the former German Pacific islands as mandates.
The western powers promised not to build any more naval bases within striking distance of Japan.
The USA, Britain, France and Japan agreed to guarantee the neutrality of China and to respect each other’s possessions in the Fast East.
2. Rapallo Treaty (1922)
In April 1922, signed by the German Republic and Soviet Russia under which both renounced all territorial and financial claims against each other and opened friendly diplomatic relations.
3. Dawes Plan (1924)
Finalised in April 1924, the plan made no revisions to the number of reparations that had to be paid by Germany but attempted to make the payments more manageable.
4. Locarno Treaties (1925)
Seven Agreements were negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland. Signatories included Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.
Under the Rhineland Pact, Germany, France, and Belgium promised to respect the western frontier, as drawn up at Versailles in 1919. This frontier was to be regarded as fixed and internationally guaranteed.
Under the Arbitration Treaties, Germany agreed with France, Belgium, Poland, and Czechoslovakia that any dispute between them should be settled by a conciliation committee to mediate discussions. France signed treaties of ‘mutual guarantee’ with Poland and Czechoslovakia. They said that France would make sure Germany did not break the agreement above.
5. Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)
There were popular calls to outlaw war and Briand sought to draw the US into European politics again by suggesting such an agreement with the USA.
The US agreed but suggested that all countries be invited to sign.
An international agreement was drawn under which states would agree voluntarily to renounce the use of offensive wars to resolve disputes.
In the end, 65 nations agreed not to resort to the use of force unless for self-defence.
This is also known as the Pact of Paris.
6. Young Plan (1929)
Reduced the number of reparations that Germany had to pay (though not as much as Germany wanted) to £2,200.
Made the reparations easier to pay, as American banks offered to give loans to Germany in any year when they found it difficult to pay.
The American Economy and the Great Depression:
The USA had become the richest nation in the world.
American businesses boomed and increased their trade with all the other major countries in the world. American banks loaned out money to their people, top countries, and businesses overseas.
This helped the economic recovery of Europe in the 1920s.
During the mid to late 1920s, the stock market in the United States underwent rapid expansion. People bought stocks from loans and by selling their Liberty Bonds and mortgaged their homes to pour their cash into the stock market.
This however led to the stock prices pushing to an unsustainable level hence in September and October 1929, the stock market went into a free fall but speculation continued, fueled in many cases by individuals who had borrowed money to buy shares.
Ultimately, the American stock market crashed in the autumn of 1929; it is known as the Wall Street Crash.
As stock prices fell, people who had borrowed money to buy stocks could not repay their debts. As a result, banks began to lose money and stopped lending. Some banks lost so much money they went bankrupt.
Therefore, beginning in the United States, during the 1930s there was a worldwide economic depression known as the Great Depression.
The economic recession led to the US calling back the loans it had given to other countries therefore, businesses shut down and there was unemployment.
Some countries tried to protect their industries by introducing tariffs on imported goods but this meant that their trading partners did the same thing and trade got worse, leading to unemployment.
Impact:
During the 1920s the recovery of trading relationships between the countries helped to reduce tension. That is why one of the aims of the League had been to encourage trading links between the countries. However, with the collapse of international trade, hostilities resurfaced and nations became more belligerent in an economic approach. Some tried to find a solution to their economic problems by acquiring colonies.
In Germany unemployment rose to 6 million people. 44% of industrial workers became unemployed.
As a result of cyclical unemployment, many countries such as Germany, Japan, Italy, and Britain started rearming to reduce jobs to individuals and increase the demand for products in the ancillary industries.
As their neighbors started rearming, many states did so too to deter any aggressive threat in the future.
The internationalist spirit of the 1920s was replaced by a more nationalist approach in the Depression;
The Depression made the USA more unwilling to use economic sanctions against any aggressor country that the League had condemned.
Britain too became more reluctant to help sort out international disputes as observed during the Manchurian crisis when Britain did not support economic sanctions against Japan or send troops to protect Manchuria.
The Depression had resulted in the collapse of the Weimar Republic in Germany and the rise of the Nazis and their leader, Adolf Hitler. He was a far-right political leader who aimed to abolish the Treaty of Versailles and acquire back all the land that Germany had before the First World War and more.
Japan also suffered from a severe economic crisis and the only viable solution according to the military was expansion; this resulted in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.
Italy had similar plans to that of Japan.
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria:
Background:
Japan had been modernising its economy rapidly since 1860.
Since 1900 Japan’s economy and population had been growing rapidly. By the 1920s Japan was a major power with a powerful military, strong industries, and a growing empire.
Most of Japan was covered with high mountains and little farmland to grow food for its increasing population hence it depended on importing food from China.
Japan also did not have raw materials such as iron ore and coal which had to be imported from China.
By 1930, the elected civilian government wanted to improve relations with other countries and rely on trade rather than taking over colonies to build up their economy.
But the military was very powerful and did not always listen to the civilian government.
They argued that Japan should build up a large Empire through conquest.
Japan conquered Taiwan in 1895 and Korea in 1910. Now the army called for conquering Manchuria in northern China.
After the Depression, the Japanese economy was severely damaged as China and the USA put up tariffs on Japanese goods. When trade collapsed, the Japanese economy was in crisis and the army became determined to act, even against government orders.
The army leaders in Japan were assured that the solution to Japan’s problems was to have an empire to provide resources and markets for Japanese goods.
Manchuria seemed the perfect place for Japanese invasion and occupation because it was rich in raw materials such as timber, iron, and coal.
Events:
1. Mukden Incident:
In September 1931, the Chinese troops allegedly attacked the Japanese-controlled South Manchurian Railway.
The railway through Manchuria was built by the Japanese and was controlled by the Japanese army. It carried Japanese goods into Manchuria and the rest of China and brought food and raw materials such as iron, coal, and timber back to Japan.
The Japanese army used this incident to invade and set up a government in Manchukuo (the Japanese name of Manchuria), which became a puppet state of the Empire of Japan.
Although the Japanese civilian government protested, the army maintained its control as now they were in charge.
2. China appeals and the League’s investigation:
China appealed to the League against the Japanese invasion of Manchuria but Japan defended itself arguing that China was in a state of anarchy hence their actions were out of self-defence.
The League in a response sent officials to Manchuria to assess for themselves the situation.
A full year after the invasion, in September 1932, the Lytton Report was finally presented. It was detailed and balanced, the judgment was that Japan had acted unlawfully thus Manchuria should be returned to China.
3. Battle of Reihe:
In February 1933, instead of withdrawing from Manchuria, the Japanese army declared that the province of Rehe (Jehol) was historically a part of Manchuria and continued to argue that it was acting in self-defence.
The Battle of Rehe was fought between the Japanese Empire and Manchukuo against China.
The battle resulted in the annexation of the Inner Mongolia province of Rehe to the new state of Manchukuo.
The hostilities between Japan and China would not cease after the battle. In 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident led to the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45) which is widely regarded as the start of the Second World War in Asia. The war made up the Chinese theatre of the wider Pacific Theater of the Second World War.
4. The League’s Response:
On 24 February, the League’s officials voted to approve the League by 42 votes to 1 in the Assembly, that one being Japan’s.
Japan retaliated to the perceived insult by resigning from the League on 27 March 1933.
Why did the League fail to deal with Japanese aggression following the invasion of Manchuria?
The League took too long to produce the Lytton Report – the Japanese had consolidated their control over Manchuria in the meantime.
Military action would have required sending large numbers of troops to the other side of the world.
In the meantime League members such as Britain, France, and the Netherlands had colonies in the Far East that would be vulnerable to Japanese attack.
The USA and the USSR were ideally placed to use military force against the Japanese, but they were not members of the League.
China was weak and divided. Some people thought that China needed ‘sorting out’ because of its state of anarchy.
Some members of the League, especially in Britain, regarded Manchuria as a Japanese sphere of influence.
Applying trade sanctions, or taking military action, would be expensive and no one wanted an additional economic burden during the Depression.
Japan’s largest trading partner was the USA and the British argued that without US participation, economic sanctions would be useless. The US government debated placing sanctions but then decided against them.
In the end, nothing was done besides condemnation.
How did the Japanese invasion of Manchuria weaken the League?
It appeared as if the League was powerless to act against aggressors.
This suggested that collective security was not something countries could rely on for protection.
They were less willing to put their faith in the League or listen to it, e.g. on disarmament.
The Great Powers in the League seemed to be more interested in looking after their interests than upholding the League’s rules.
World leaders such as Mussolini and Hitler realized that under the right circumstances, it was possible to disregard the League.
Disarmament:
The rise of militarisation was one of the pivotal reasons for World War I 1 therefore, Wilson in his 14 Points suggested that all countries work towards disarmament to reduce hostility and foster international cooperation.
Germany had been disarmed to a great extent as a result of the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles.
When the League of Nations was set up, disarmament was included in its Covenant. Article 8 (1) of the Covenant of the League of Nations, “The members of the League recognised that the maintenance of peace required the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action of international obligations.”
However, in the 1920s the League failed in pursuing the countries to disarm but the failure was not significant because the period had seen the international climate getting better and flourishing international relations.
In the 1930s, the issue rose to significance, and pressure on the League to do something about disarmament increased because of straining international relations.
Germans already bitterly resented that they were forced to disarm after the First World War whereas the other nations did not do the same. Instead many countries were spending more on their armaments than they were before the First World War.
Attempts for Disarmament:
1. Temporary Mixed Commission on Armaments (1921)
The Commission was set up to produce an agreement on disarmament.
Felt that countries would not disarm unless they felt truly secure.
Presented a draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance in 1923 signed by all the countries of the League to strengthen Collective Security and guarantee the safety of other countries.
It was rejected after Britain decided not to sign. They did not want to be tied to defending other countries.
2. The Washington Naval Conference (1922)
It was a disarmament conference called by the USA in November 1921.
It was conducted outside the auspices of the League of Nations. It was attended by nine nations (the United States, Japan, China, France, Britain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Portugal).
It tried to improve relations between the USA and Japan since the USA was increasingly suspicious of growing Japanese power in the Far East, and of Japanese influence in China, especially bearing in mind that during the First World War, Japan had seized Kiachow and all the German islands in the Pacific.
It was the first arms control conference in history and the countries decided to limit the sizes of their navies.
It was agreed to restrict battleships and aircraft carriers.
To prevent a naval building race, it was agreed that the Japanese navy would be limited to three-fifths of the size of the British and American navies.
Japan agreed to withdraw from Kiachow and the Shantung province of China which she had occupied since 1914.
In return, Japan was allied to keep the former German Pacific islands as mandates.
The western powers promised not to build any more naval bases within striking distance of Japan.
The USA, Britain, France and Japan agreed to guarantee the neutrality of China and to respect each other’s possessions in the Fast East.
3. The Geneva Naval Conference (1927)
The aim of the Conference was to extend the existing limits on naval construction which had been agreed upon in the Washington Naval Treaty. The Washington Treaty had limited the construction of battleships and aircraft carriers but had not limited the construction of cruisers, destroyers or submarines.
The participants at the conference failed to reach a binding agreement regarding the distribution of naval tonnage.
The question of limitations on cruiser tonnage was raised again at the London Naval Conference of 1930, resulting in the London Naval Treaty.
4. The London Naval Conference (1930)
The conference resulted in an agreement between the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and the United States that was signed in April 1930.
Seeking to address issues not covered in the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, which had created tonnage limits for each nation's surface warships, the new agreement regulated submarine warfare, further controlled cruisers and destroyers, and limited naval shipbuilding.
5. World Disarmament Conference (1932)
The previous agreements did reduce cruisers as well as tensions, but they were all done outside the League.
The Japanese army was unhappy that their civilian government had agreed to Japan having a smaller navy than the USA or Britain.
After the Locarno Conference, it was felt that disarmament should once again be attempted.
A Preparatory Commission for the Disarmament Conference first met in 1926.
But it accomplished little and had only an incomplete ‘draft treaty’ ready for consideration by 1932In the wake of the Manchurian crisis, the members of the League realized the urgency of the problem.
59 countries including the USA and USSR met in Geneva in February 1932.
By July 1932, the Conference produced resolutions;
the bombing of the civilian population was prohibited,
the size of the artillery was limited,
the tonnage of tanks was limited,
and chemical warfare was prohibited.
The resolutions however failed to achieve any results because there was no information on how they would be implemented.
Germany had been a member of the League for six years and everyone agreed that it should be treated more equally than under the Treaty of Versailles. For Germany to be treated more equally, either other nations could disarm to the extent that Germany but considering the experience of the 1920s, it was not a viable option. The other option was to let Germany rearm to a closer level to that of other powers but the other powers had reservations regarding this option.
Germany demanded ‘equality of armaments’ with other countries whereas France demanded ‘security’ if it were to allow Germany to build up its military.
The French wanted guaranteed security and proposed an international police force under the League of Nations – or even that all “strategic” aircraft – civilian and military be placed under League control.
In July 1932, Germany had walked out of the Conference because it had failed to agree to the principle of Equality; however, an agreement was finally reached to treat Germany equally in December 1932.
In January 1933, Germany announced that it was coming back to the Conference but by the end of the month Hitler had become Chancellor.
When Hitler came to power, he immediately began to secretly rearm while offering not to rearm if the other countries disarmed within 5 years.
Britain produced an ambitious disarmament plan, but it failed to achieve support at the Conference.
When France rejected this demand, Hitler withdrew Germany from the Conference in October 1932 and then the League in November 1933, accusing France of causing the failure of the conference.
As a result, Hitler began to rearm Germany in secret when he came to power. But to do it on a big scale, it could not be hidden and in March 1935 he announced in a speech that Germany would reintroduce conscription and build up a large air force.
Impact:
The failure of the Conference highlighted the weakness of the League since it could not work toward disarmament.
By 1933, the British believed that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair whereas the French were not empathetic with the Germans.
In 1935, the British signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement with the Germans:
The agreement allowed Germany to increase the Kriegsmarine (Nazi Navy) to the size of 35 percent of the British navy.
This agreement violated the Treaty of Versailles.
Allowed Germany to have submarines up to 45% of Britain’s numbers.
Britain had not consulted her allies or the League.
This agreement highlighted how each country was looking out for its interests and the League was left as a powerless organization with a rapidly diminishing influence.
Abyssinian Crisis:
Background:
In 1896, Italy invaded Abyssinia and suffered a humiliating defeat by a poorly equipped army of tribesmen. Mussolini wanted to avenge the Italian defeat whilst victory would demonstrate that Mussolini’s rule had made Italy stronger.
Mussolini had promised to make Italy a Great Power. His style of leadership needed military victories and he had often talked about restoring the glory of the Roman Empire.
By 1934, Mussolini had failed to fulfil many of his grand promises and the people were becoming restless due to the economic problems caused by the Great Depression.
The Depression was causing economic problems and conquest abroad would gain resources and boost Mussolini’s popularity.
Abyssinia was one of the few independent places left in Africa and it shared borders with Italian Somaliland and Eritrea.
Mussolini wanted to acquire Abyssinia because of its fertile lands and mineral wealth.
A clash on the border between Abyssinian and Italian troops at Wal Wal in December 1934 gave him an excuse to pick a fight.
Wal-Wal oasis was 80 km inside Abyssinia.
Italy had built a fort at Wal-Wal in a boundary zone between the nations, which was not well defined.
On November 22nd, 1934 an Ethiopian force of some 1000 men arrived at the fort at Wal Wal and demanded that the fort be handed over to them. The garrison commander refused. The risk of armed conflict seemed to die down when an Anglo-Ethiopian border commission arrived at the fort the following day.
From 5 to 7 December, for reasons which have never been determined, there was a skirmish between the garrison of Somalis, who were in Italian service, and a force of armed Ethiopians. According to the Italians, the Ethiopians attacked the Somalis with a rifle and machine-gun fire. According to the Ethiopians, the Italians attacked them and were supported by two tanks and three aircraft. In the end, approximately 107 Ethiopians and 50 Italians and Somalis were killed.
Mussolini claimed this was Italian territory and demanded an apology whilst preparing the Italian army for an invasion of Abyssinia.
The Abyssinian Emperor Haile Selassie appealed to the League for help.
Germany had started to rearm and the French and British needed Italy as an ally and were prepared to give Mussolini a ‘free hand’ because he had previously deterred the German threat.
In July 1934, there was political chaos in Austria after the Austrian Chancellor was assassinated. Hitler wanted to take advantage of this chaos by sending in German troops to “restore order” and unite Austria and Germany (Anschluss), which would be a violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
Mussolini, who preferred a weak Austria on Italy’s borders to a strong Germany, threatened to go to war to stop Germany, and Hitler quickly backed down.
This greatly impressed Britain, and especially France, who the following year created the Stresa Pact with Italy, agreeing to take joint action against Germany if it violated the Treaty of Versailles again.
Events:
Phase 1: The International Response and the Subsequent Actions
From January to October 1935, Mussolini was supposedly negotiating with the League to settle the dispute but at the same time, he was shipping his vast army to Africa.
Following the Wal Wal incident, Italy amassed troops on the borders of Abyssinia. The Abyssinians took up the issue in the League of Nations.
Britain and France mainly turned a blind eye toward Mussolini’s actions, hoping to retain him as an ally against Hitler but the autumn election in Britain coupled with the public outcry against Mussolini’s actions led to the British taking the matter more seriously. At an Assembly of the League, the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Samuel Hoare made a grand speech about the value of collective security. Nonetheless, the League did little to discourage Mussolini.
The League presented the report after eight months of deliberation, on 4 September that neither side could be blamed for the Wal Wal incident, and put forward a plan to give some of Abyssinia to Mussolini however, Mussolini rejected the League’s mediation.
The British and French began negotiations with Mussolini outside the League, desperate for some kind of settlement that would allow them to retain Italy as an ally while not overtly undermining the League.
Phase 2: Second Italo-Abyssinian War and International Response
In October 1935 Italy invaded Abyssinia. Mussolini had launched a full-scale invasion without a declaration of war which prompted Abyssinia to declare war on Italy thus initiating the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.
The Abyssinian forces were no match for the modern Italian army which was equipped with aeroplanes, tanks, and poison gas.
The League ordered both sides to stop fighting and placed sanctions on both countries so that they could not import arms.
In essence, sanctions would work only if they were imposed quickly and decisively. Each week's delay allowed Mussolini to build up his stockpile of raw materials.
The League eventually banned arms sales, loans, and imports from Italy. Even the export of rubber, tin, and metals to Italy was banned. But the League delayed the decision of banning oil and coal by two months which was vital for Italy’s invasion since the raw materials and soldiers were being shipped from Italy to Italian Eritrea. This was due to member countries trying to preserve their economic interests. In Britain, the Cabinet was informed that 30,000 coal miners would lose their jobs because of the ban on coal imports to Italy.
More importantly, the Italian campaign could have been stopped if Italy’s main supply route to Abyssinia, the Suez Canal, was closed. But the Canal was owned by Britain and France and they did not want to risk a war with Italy hence this never happened.
Phase 3: Hoare-Laval Pact
In December 1935, whilst sanctions were being discussed, British Foreign Secretary Samuel Hoare and French Minister of Foreign Affairs Pierre Laval were formulating a plan to call off the invasion.
The plan offered Mussolini two-thirds of Abyssinia in return for calling off his invasion. The plan was offered to Mussolini before being presented to the League of Nations or the Abyssinian Emperor, Haile Selassie.
Mussolini considered accepting the plan but the details of the plan were leaked to the French newspaper and there was a massive public outcry.
The plan was considered an act of treachery against the League by Britain and France. Hoare and Laval were also sacked.
Impact:
The sanctions lost momentum and the discussion on whether to delay oil sanctions was further delayed.
In February 1936 the committee concluded that if they did stop oil sales to Italy, the Italians' supplies would be exhausted in two months even if the Americans kept on selling oil.
But by then it was too late. Italy had already conquered large parts of Abyssinia.
Americans were disgusted by the ditherings of the British and French and decided not to support the League’s sanctions instead American oil producers stepped up their exports to Italy.
Phase 4: Italian Victory and the Outcomes
Timing his move to perfection, on 7 March 1936 Hitler ordered German military forces to march into Rhineland. The Remilitarisation of the Rhineland directly contravened the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties but France and Britain were not prepared for a military response hence they did not act.
The French refused to support the sanctions against Italy hoping to gain Mussolini as an ally even if the price to pay was giving Abyssinia to him.
Italy continued to defy the League’s orders and by May 1936, the Abyssinian capital, Addis Ababa was seized.
On 2 May, Haile Selassie was forced into exile.
On 9 May, Mussolini formally annexed the entire country,
The League had failed. Mussolini was so annoyed by Britain and France that he allied with Hitler and in November 1936, they signed an agreement of their own called the Rome-Berlin Axis.
Why did the League fail to deal with Italian aggression following the invasion of Abyssinia?
League sanctions were ineffective as the USA and Germany continued to trade with Italy. Furthermore, the sanctions did not cover oil, which was essential to the Italian war machine.
A proposal in the League to extend sanctions to include oil was dismissed, as was a proposal that Britain closed the Suez Canal (which was a vital shipping route in Egypt that Britain controlled) to Italian ships carrying supplies to its armies attacking Abyssinia.
Italy justified its invasion by arguing that Abyssinia was backward and there were human rights abuses there such as the practice of slavery. They argued that their occupation would be a humanitarian thing and bring civilization to a barbaric place.
*Notes are taken from the class of Sir Iftikhar Zaidi (2020)
Comments