5) The collapse of the League

Question 1

Wall Street crash

Answer 1

1929
Value of stocks plummeted in America and they had to recall loans

Question 2

Why was there an increase in extremist voting and dictator support during the Great Depression? (3)

Answer 2

1) The govt runs everything in a dictatorship so the unemployed would be taken care of
2) Extremists promised to take land by force to get more resources for their people
3) They used promises of victories overseas to restore national pride (e.g. Abyssinia crisis)

Question 3

How did the GD affect the League?

Answer 3

Hitler and Mussolini were aggressive extremists were weren’t interested in collective security and didn’t care about moral condemnation

Countries didn’t want the expense of supplying an army during the GD

Countries weren’t willing to impose economic sanctions as ceasing trade would affect their own economy

Question 4

The Disarmament Conference

Answer 4

1932-34
Hitler withdrew in 1934
Problem with the league: Germany could just withdraw if it didn’t want to comply

Question 5

When was the Mukden incident?

Answer 5

18 September 1931

Question 6

Outline the events of the Mukden incident.

Answer 6

Mukden incident:
September 1931: Explosion on the south Manchurian railway. The Japanese claimed that the attack was from the Chinese. The Chinese denied this, saying that their soldiers were asleep

The Kwantung army used this as an excuse to take Manchuria

Question 7

Why did Japan invade Manchuria?

Answer 7

-Resources (e.g. timber, coal, iron ore)
-Japan’s economy was weak as it depended on silk that no one as buying due to the GD
-Increasing population

Question 8

What did Japan rename Manchuria?

Answer 8

Manchukuo

Question 9

Manchuria size

Answer 9

200,000km²

Question 10

Why was the League reluctant to react to the MC?

Answer 10

-Did not want war (GD)
-Far away from the LoN’s HQ in Geneva
-Japan was a powerful member of the League

Question 11

What did the League do to oppose the MC?

Answer 11

Issued a moral condemnation which was ignored by the Japanese

Question 12

Why didn’t the league impose economic sanctions on Japan?

Answer 12

GD
Japan’s main trading partner was America who wasn’t in the League.

Question 13

When did China ask for help?

Answer 13

March 1932

Question 14

The Lytton report

Answer 14

October 1932
Took a year just to say that Japan was wrong in invading Manchuria

Question 15

Why did Mussolini want Abyssinia? (4)

Answer 15

-He was a Fascist dictator who promised to rebuild the Roman Empire
-He thought it would be easy as he had neighbouring countries Eritrea and Italian Somaliland
-Rich in resources such as grazing lands
-Revenge for 1896 defeat at Wal Wal

Question 16

Why was Mussolini confident in invading Abyssinia?

Answer 16

He had seen the League fail to respond to the Corfu and Manchurian Crises

Question 17

Abyssinia Crisis date

Answer 17

October 1935

Question 18

The Stresa Front
How did it make Mussolini more confident?

Answer 18

1935
Signed by: Britain, France and Italy
Agreed that they would unite against Hitler
M knew that Britain and France wouldn’t want to risk their new agreement by provoking him- the threat of Hitler was too large

Question 19

Describe the Wal Wal incident

Answer 19

December 1934:
Italian and Abyssinian troops clashed at the Wal Wal oasis in a disputed border between Abyssinia and Somaliland

Question 20

Wal Wal incident casualties

Answer 20

150 Abyssinians
2 Italians

Question 21

How did the LoN respond to Abyssinia’s appeal for assistance?

Answer 21

Issued a moral condemnation and imposed economic sanctions

Question 22

Why did sanctioning Italy fail? Abyssinian Crisis

Answer 22

The sanctions did not include steel, coal or oil so Mussolini could still supply his invasion
Italy could trade with the USA

Question 23

Trade sanctions against Abyssinia

Answer 23

The League banned members from selling arms to Abyssinia, leaving them defenceless against Italy’s modern chemical weapons

Question 24

What was the Hoare-Laval Pact?

Answer 24

December 1935
A plan between Britain and France to give areas of Abyssinia to Italy to appease Mussolini

Question 25

What did the Hoare-Laval Pact show?

Answer 25

That Britain and France were willing to undermine the League for their own self interests

Question 26

How did Britain and France appease Italy? (3)

Answer 26

-Failure to close the Suez Canal
-Stresa Front
-Hoare-Laval Pact

Question 27

Italy leaves the League

Answer 27

1937

Question 28

Weaknesses in League structure

Answer 28

-No army
-Assembly needed a unanimous vote to reach a decision and there were 58 members by 1934
-Absence of USA