Peacemaking, Peacekeeping 1918-1936

Question 1

Treaty of Versailles main representatives

Answer 1

Clemenceau, Wilson, Lloyd George, (Orlando)

Question 2

Treaty of Versailles issues to be solved

Answer 2

4 problems:

1. War caused destruction to buildings/land in F.. How can it be repaired?
2. Communists took over R. 1917. Ideas spreading.
3. WWI cost 20 mill. lives. Total war. How to prevent it in future?

Also, biggest were:
Current situation in G.
Future role of G. in Europe.
Instability in Central & E.E.

Question 3

Aims of Woodrow Wilson

Answer 3

14 Points
Self-determination (independence based on common culture, history etc...)
Open diplomacy
End to imperialism
Collective security - LofN

Question 4

Aims of Clemenceau

Answer 4

Reparations from G.
Return of Alsace-Lorraine.
Demilitarisation of G. for F. security.

Question 5

Aims of Lloyd George

Answer 5

Limiting G. navy
Not total destruction of G. bec. of trade & he didn’t want F. to become new dominant power as F.&B. tense relations.
Limit chances of another war.
Protect B. Empire.
Compromise peace between Woodrow Wilson’s and Clemenceau’s extremes.

Question 6

Aims of Orlando

Answer 6

Land: Fiume, Tyrol, Trentino, Dalmatia

Prestige

Question 7

Terms of the Treaty:

Answer 7

G. Guilt Clause 231, committing it to pay reparations of £6,600 mill.
Military restrictions on G. (e.g. limiting army to 100,000 w. no conscription)
Demilitarising Rhineland mostly to satisfy F. demands.
Handing over all overseas colonies.
A-L returned to France & other territories given away.
P. receives West Prussia & Posen, giving Poland a corridor to sea.

Question 8

Anglo-American agreement with France

Answer 8

Clemenceau was prepared to moderate F.’s demands e.g. accepting that Rhineland remains part of G. bec. Wilson & Lloyd George provided guarantee of military support in case of G. attack on F.
Same day, 28th June 1919 G. signed TofV and B. & US found an escape in the treaty, allowing them not to ratify their guarantee.
The US also did not join LofN, following a policy of isolationism & leaving France betrayed and without security.

Question 9

Impact of TofV

Answer 9

G. was angered by the terms & blamed new Weimar gov. for accepting it.
G. thought of treaty as a diktat, as not signing it would mean resumption of war.
However, treaty was more leniently applied. Disarmament was carried out by G. under Allied commissions supervision.
Throughout 1920’s G. wasn’t complying & restrictions on G. armed forces were evaded by Rapallo 1922.
G. was remained intact, its population being double of F.

Question 10

League of Nations

Answer 10

Wilson’s top priority.
Mid Feb. 1919 - terms of L. agreed.
At head of L. - B.,F.,I.,J.
Defeated countries e.g. G. (1926) & allies excluded until they proved their commitment to peace.
U.S. & USSR absent.
Led to hated “victors club” among many G.’s and others.

Question 11

Important treaties: St.Germain (Sept.1919)

Answer 11

Dissolved A-H empire formally
Recognized indep. of H,P,Yug.,Czech.
Land taken from A & given to I.: Trentino, South Tyrol, Trieste, Istria, Dalmatian Islands.

Question 12

Important treaties: Neuilly with Bulgaria (Nov.1919)

Answer 12

Required B. to cede territories after being one of the Central Powers defeated.
Had to pay reparations.

Question 13

Important Treaties: Trianon with Hungary (June 1920)

Answer 13

Reparations & limit on armed forces.
Territory lost:
Slovakia & Ruthenia to Czech
Croatia & Slovenia to Yugo.

Question 14

Important treaties: Sevres with Turkey (Aug. 1920)

Answer 14

Straits of Dardanelles placed under international commission control & permanently open to all countries’ shipping.
Lost all rights to Sudan & Libya.
Saudi Arabia, Kurdistan, Armenia independent.
Syria, Mesopotamia & Palestine became LofN mandates administered by B&F.

Question 15

Intended role of the League

Answer 15

Disarmament of nations.
Prevent aggression.
Ensure peace after WWI.

Question 16

The Rhur Crisis Jan. 1923

Answer 16

F. & Belgian troops invaded the Rhur (most industrial area in G.) in 1923 after G. failed to pay its second reparations instalment.

Question 17

Important treaties: Locarno (October 1925)

Answer 17

G., F., & Belgium promised not to use force to change their borders with each other.
G. also promised to accept demilitarisation of Rhineland.
Locarno played a big part in G. being allowed to join L. in September 1926.

Question 18

Great Depression (1929-33) (US, Germany, Britain, Japan)

Answer 18

Countries ignored diplomatic developments as they dealt w. economic effects of GD.
Countries moved away from free trade & to protectionism.
US foreign policy became more isolationist.
G. was rebuilt by US loans (Dawes Plan, Young Plan).
-when loans ended, G. econ. collapsed: by 1932, G. industrial production dropped 60%, unemployment (1.4 million 1928) was 12 million.
-Polit., GD was one of main factors contributing to Nazi rise.
-1932, Chancellor Brüning stopped making all reparation payments (B.&F.accept at I.Conference of Lausanne 1932)
B., iron & steel production dropped 50%, value of £ fell.
-B. gov. dealt w. crisis by cutting gov. spending (defence).
-After 1929 B. gov. were most concerned w. protecting B.E.
J. industry was modernising, but wasn’t self-sufficient in coal, iron, oil, tin, rubber.
-By 1931 50% J.’s factories shut down&hit rice farmers badly.
-J.’s main export silk declined-prices less than 1/3 of 1925.
-J.’s goods hit by tariffs & emigration restricted by racist immigration laws.
-J. was increasingly denied full access to raw materials.

Question 19

Manchurian Crisis 1931-33

Answer 19

M. part of China, bec. civil war betw. Guomindang & Chinese Communist Party, there was little stability.
Harmed J.’s trade & econ. interests in M., which allowed J. to have military force in Kwantung area of S.M. to protect their interests.
By 1927, J. in control of most M. mines,factories,ports.
18 Sept. 1931, officers of J. army staged the Mukden Incident (J. officers claimed C. soldiers tried blowing up J.-owned Railway near town of Mukden, when they themselves arranged incident) to justify sending in J.army of occupation.
Both C. & J. were L. members & invasion was a breach of L.’s collective security system & Washington Naval T. 1922.
L. took a year to get a report on the situation.
L. criticised J. for using force, & as result J. left the L. in 1933.
Ineffectiveness of L.