Successes and Failures for the League of Nations - Conflict and Tension

Question 1

when was the Vilna Crisis?

Answer 1

1920

Question 2

what happened at the Vilna crisis?

Answer 2

• this was part of the old Austro-Hungarian empire
• Vilna was to be the capital of the newly nation of Lithuania
• however, many Polish people lived there so Poland also wanted Vilna and invaded

Question 3

how did the league respond to the Vilna Crisis?

Answer 3

Lithuania asked the LON for help - so the LON asked Poland to remove their troops

Question 4

was Vilna a success or failure for the LON?

Answer 4

failure - Poland ignored the league and no further action was taken as Poland was needed as a force against Germany and Russia

Question 5

when was the Polish-Soviet war?

Answer 5

1919-21

Question 6

what happened at the Polish-Soviet war?

Answer 6

• Poland was not content with its eastern borders so it decided to seize parts of Russia and Ukraine

Question 7

how did the league respond to the Polish-Soviet war?

Answer 7

the league was unable to prevent this warfare

Question 8

was the Polish-Soviet war a success or failure for the LON?

Answer 8

failure - Poland was backed by France (over 100,000 people died in this conflict

Question 9

when was the Aaland Islands Crisis?

Answer 9

1921

Question 10

what happened at the Aaland Islands Crisis?

Answer 10

6,500 islands between Sweden and Finland were strategic naval bases - both countries went to the LON claiming ownership of the islands

Question 11

how did the LON respond to the Aaland Islands Crisis?

Answer 11

the league gave the islands to Finland on the condition that they did not use them as a military base

Question 12

was the Aaland Islands Crisis a success or failure for the LON?

Answer 12

success - both countries accepted the result

Question 13

when was the Upper Silesia Crisis?

Answer 13

1921-1925

Question 14

what was the Upper Silesia Crisis?

Answer 14

it was an important area of iron and steel production and both Germany and Poland wanted to claim it

Question 15

how did the LON respond to the Upper Silesia Crisis?

Answer 15

• a public vote (plebiscite) in 1921 decided which country would get which parts
• 60% of the vote was pro-German and the land was shared according to which areas voted which way
• Poland disputed claiming the poll was fixed
• Poland complained that they had more of the population but Germany had most land
• but Germany complained that Poland had more rich industrial area

Question 16

was the Upper Silesia Crisis a success or failure for the LON?

Answer 16

success and failure - both countries accepted the result but this created tension between them

Question 17

when was the Memel Crisis?

Answer 17

1923

Question 18

what was the Memel Crisis?

Answer 18

this port was disputed between Poland and Lithuania and was given ‘free city’ status by the TofV
- it was to be governed by the LON
- in 1923, Lithuania seized the port anyway

Question 19

how did the LON respond to the Memel Crisis?

Answer 19

the LON said Lithuania could keep the surrounding areas but the port had to be a free international zone

Question 20

was the Memel Crisis a success or failure for the LON?

Answer 20

failure and success - Lithuania agreed but they had been rewarded for their aggression by being allowed the land around Memel

Question 21

when was the Ruhr Crisis?

Answer 21

1923

Question 22

what happened in the Ruhr Crisis?

Answer 22

the Ruhr was an industrial area of Germany - France and Belgium invaded because Germany failed to keep up with its war reparations

Question 23

how did the LON respond to the Ruhr Crisis?

Answer 23

France did not consult the LON

Question 24

was the Ruhr Crisis a success or failure for the LON?

Answer 24

failure - France were one of the leaders of the LON and they had just taken their own decisions without getting the LON involved
- the workers went on strike and this caused hyperinflation in Germany - this was ended by the USA through the Dawes Plan

Question 25

when was the Corfu Crisis?

Answer 25

1923

Question 26

what happened at the Corfu Crisis?

Answer 26

• after WW1, the border between Greece and Albania was still not decided
• the LON sent an Italian army officer (Enrico Tellini) to survey the area - he was murdered along with four men by unknown attackers
• the Italian fascist leader, Mussolini, blamed the Greeks and demanded compensation
• the Greek government refused and claimed the murderers could have been Albanian
• Italy invaded the Greek Island of Corfu

Question 27

how did the LON respond to the Corfu Crisis?

Answer 27

• the LON verbally condemned Mussolini’s actions, so Mussolini threatened to leave the league if they didn’t stay out of the affair
• he took the issue to an alternative body called the Conference of Ambassadors instead
• France backed Italy as they didn’t want the LON to get involved with their own occupation of the Ruhr

Question 28

was the Corfu Crisis a success or failure for the LON?

Answer 28

failure - although Italy was comdemned, Greece was made to apologise for the murder and had to pay compensation even though Italy invaded Corfu
- Italy chose to ignore the LON - this looked bad as it showed the LON would not enforce justice against a strong aggressive nation
- France showed their lack of support for the league here

Question 29

when was the Bulgaria Crisis?

Answer 29

1925

Question 30

what happened at the Bulgaria Crisis?

Answer 30

a Greek soldier crossed the Bulgarian border chasing after his dog and was shot by the Bulgarians - Greece declared war and invaded Bulgaria

Question 31

how did the LON respond to the Bulgaria Crisis?

Answer 31

• the LON ordered Greece to withdraw and offered them no compensation, but made them pay for invading Bulgaria

Question 32

was the Bulgaria Crisis a success or failure for the LON?

Answer 32

success and failure - although Greece withdrew but accused the LON of being hypocritical as Italy had gotten compensation for Corfu when they had invaded for similar reasons