League in the 1920s Flashcards
1
Q
Key events
A
- Aaland Islands - 1920
- Vilna - 1921
- Corfu - 1923
- Greece / Bulgaria - 1925
2
Q
Corfu - What was the basis of the dispute?
(Outline what happened in the Corfu incident)
A
- An Italian general (Tellini) was killed while he was doing some work for the League in Greece.
- The Italian leader Mussolini was angry with the Greeks.
- He invaded the Greek island of Corfu.
- The Greeks asked the League to help. (Arbitrate)
3
Q
Corfu - How did the League respond?
A
- The Council of the League met.
- It condemned Mussolini, and told him to leave Corfu.
- (Italy refused)
- It told the Greeks to give financial compensation (50 million lire) to the League.
4
Q
Corfu - What was the outcome?
A
- Mussolini refused to accept its decision.
- He refused to leave Corfu and he ‘bombarded’ & invaded with c 10,000 troops.
- The League altered its original decision.
- It told Greece to apologise to Mussolini, and to pay compensation to Italy.
- The Greeks did as the League said.
- Then Mussolini gave Corfu back to Greece.
5
Q
League ‘successes’
(Overview)
A
- 1920 - repatriated (400,000) prisoners of war
- 1920 - Aaland Islands: settled border dispute between Sweden and Finland.
- 1923 - Supported Austria through a financial crisis.
- 1925 - Stopped war between Greece and Bulgaria (War of the Stray Dog)
- 1926 - Got members to support the slavery convention (200,000 slaves freed)
6
Q
Bulgaria and Greece 1925
The dispute (War of the stray Dog)
A
- Some Greek soldiers were killed in a clash (there had been many of these previously) on the border between Greece and Bulgaria. (A Greek soldier had strayed into Bulgarian territory trying to retreive a tsray dog!)
- The Greeks were angry.
- Their ‘hotheaded leader, Pangalos, invaded Bulgaria.
- Bulgaria asked the League to help.
7
Q
Bulgaria and Greece 1925 - How did the League respond?
A
- Descisively
- The Council of the League met.
- It condemned the Greeks, and told them to leave Bulgaria.
8
Q
Bulgaria and Greece 1925
What was the outcome?
A
- The Bulgarian government told its army not to fight back.
- The Greeks did as the League said.
- They left Bulgaria.
9
Q
League ‘failures’
VILNA (1921)
A
- The Poles invaded Vilna (the capital of Lithuania).
- The League ordered Poland to withdraw.
- Poland refused; the League could do nothing.
- Britain did not want to risk annoying Poland - wanted her as an ‘ally’
10
Q
League ‘failures’ - CORFU (1923)
A
- Mussolini ignored the League’s orders to pull out of Corfu, and made Greece pay money to Italy.
- Major ‘embarrassment - Italy was a Permanent Member of the league Council! (Should be setting an example not acting unilaterally in its own interests, thus ignoring the COVENANT)
11
Q
League ‘failures’ - Disarmament
A
- A key aim of the League:
- 1921 - organised a commission on armaments - failed as Britain objected in 1923.
- 1926 - organised another commission - but progress was slow (so countries met outside the league: e.g 1928 Kellogg Briand Pact)
- League did not meet until 1932 (then it failed miserably)
12
Q
Overall ‘judgement’ on the League in the 1920s -
The negative view
A
- Corfu a major failure as it involved a permanent member.
- Disarmament a great disappointment - it was a key League aim.
- Some key agreements were made outside the League - (e.g Kellog-Briand Pact) did member states have faith in the League?
- Permanent members of the League remained self-interested. e.g. France occupied the Ruhr in 1923, Britain rejected early disarmament, Italy bullied the League over Corfu!.
13
Q
Overall ‘judgement’ on the League in the 1920s -
The positive view
A
- League members did send representatives to the meetings throughout the 20s - so they ‘wanted’ it to succeed.
- It could ne be expected to solve ALL disputes - it did solve some.
- It’s humanitarian work was very good - e.g refugees and antii-slavery.
- It provided ‘another’ mechanism to help create peace between nations - the world was better off because of it.
