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Franco Prussian War
The first time France was invaded by Germany -
WWI
The second time Germany invaded France -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Germany made the Treaty of Brest Litovsk when Russia pulled out of WWI in November 1917. In this Treaty, Russia lost 25% of her farmland and population to Germany. This was a harsh treaty but no where near as harsh as the Treaty of Versailles. -
Russia makes peace
The Russians made peace with Germany in November 1917, and stopped fighting on the Eastern Front, because the Russian government had been overthrown during the Bolshevik Revolution and the new Bolshevik government in Russia did not want to keep fighting in WWI. German troops fighting Russia on the Eastern Front could now be moved to the Western Front to fight France and Britain. This meant that there were now even more German troops fighting the allies. This made it seem Germany might win WWI -
USA entered the war
The USA entered the war on the side of the allies in 1917. This meant there was a large number of fresh American troops fighting on the allied side. Meanwhile, German troops were exhausted after several years of fighting. Over 1 million German soldiers had already been killed. During the summer of 1918, the Allied troops were beating the Germans into retreat and Germany itself looked in danger of being invaded. -
Mutiny of German forces
On 28th October 1918, German naval officers decided to send battleships out on one last attempt at defeating the allies. The sailors felt that this would be suicidal and refused to obey orders. They mutinied. The mutiny triggered violent protests and strikes in many cities in Germany. The Kaiser was becoming increasingly unpopular. Some people said he should give up the throne in Germany. Other people talked of overthrowing the Kaiser in a revolution, similar to the one in Russia in 1917. -
German army refused to support the Kaiser
On the 9th of November, German army generals told the Kaiser that the army could no longer him. Without an army, the Kaiser could not remain in power as he could not stop the German people from rebelling and overthrowing him in a revolution. -
Kaiser's Abdication
As a result of the mutiny and revolution, the Kaiser abdicated. A new government had to be set up quickly. Therefore, Fredrich Ebert took over as the head of the government. This is because Ebert was the leader of the largest socialist party, the SPD -
Surrender of Germany
On the 11th of November 1918, this new German government, Ebert's temporary government, surrendered to the allies and an armistice was signed to just end the war, between Germany and the allies. This led to Ebert being known as the November criminal, and his government the November Criminals as the stabbed the Germans in the back, as the German people still believed the Kaiser. -
The League of Nations
The League of Nations was established in 1919 in the TofV. The organisation was made to help resolve international problems to maintain peace. It was Wilson's idea as he wanted the world to come together in the world parliament to discuss problems and solve them peacefully without war. The 4 aims were to discourage aggression towards any nation, encourage disarmament, encourage cooperation between countries e.g. in business and trade, and improve living/ working conditions of people in the world -
Countries that joined the League in 1919
Britain and France joined the League in 1919 and left when it was discontinued. Japan joined the League in 1919 and chose to leave in 1932. Italy joined the League in 1919 and chose to leave in 1937 -
Treaty of St Germain
Treaty between allies and Austria, done in 1919. Austria had to pay reparations, and lost quite a bit of land, e.g. Bosnia and Herzegovina went to Yugoslavia and Austria was forbidden to unite with Germany (Anschluss). Old Austrian empire had already collapsed, the treaty mainly just sorted out the aftermath of this collapse. Millions were given self determination so now could rule themselves thanks to setting up Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, however economy suffered- industry to Czechoslovakia -
Treaty of Neuilly
A treaty between the allies and Bulgaria, done in 1919. Bulgaria had to pay reparations ad lost land to Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia. Bulgaria's economy ended up declining due to land loss, and many Bulgarians were ruled by foreigners. -
Poland
Poland was created to be a watchdog over Germany to make sure they didn't break the Treaty of Versailles. They hoped Poland would act as a buffer to prevent the USSR from invading the rest of Europe. However, Poland had no natural frontiers so it is vulnerable to attack. 30% of population was not Polish so it was not united. Poland involved in continuous struggle with USSR as the USSR wanted land on Poland's eastern border. Poland had a strip of German land to reach the sea- Germans angry. -
First Meeting of Paris Peace Talks
The Paris Peace Conference first met in January 1919. Its job was to write the Treaty of Versailles. The Big Three- Britain, France and the USA. Clemenceau, Lloyd-George and Wilson were mostly responsible for writing the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was not allowed to take part in the peace conference and was not even told anything about the talks which took place. -
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Yugoslavia
Created in 1919 at the end of WWI. Most complicated of the new countries formed. Made to give the people in the Old Austrian Empire independence and self determination. Yugoslavia was created by joining together of old countries such as Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia. Many different nationalities. In the 1990s, these countries fought each other for independence. -
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Czechoslovakia
The allies created Czechoslovakia mainly from land of the old Austrian empire. It created a strong country in the centre of Europe which had a rich industry to support it- stand up to Germany. But there were six different nationalities in Czechoslovakia and some did not want to be apart of it, especially the Germans. The industrial areas of Czechoslovakia were near to the German border and Germany wanted to get back these industrial areas. -
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Paris Peace Conference
The Treaty of Versailles was written at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919-1920. It took place in the Palace of Versailles. All of the big decisions regarding Germany were taken by the Big Three- Lloyd-George, Wilson and Clemenceau. The Big Three had different views about how they thought Germany should be treated. -
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Causes of WWII
Treaty of Versailles, 1919- too harsh Hitler wants revenge
Depression, 1930s- countries unwilling to cooperate due to economic issues, dictators
Failure by League,1930s- failed as peace making cooperation, structural weaknesses, aggressiveness dealt with ineffectively
Hitler's foreign policy actions- rearmament Anschluss, reoccupation, war more likely
Policy of Appeasement- Chamberlain giving Hitler everything to avoid war
Nazi Soviet Pact- agreement, Stalin and Hitler, Aug 1939, Poland invasion -
German Government saw the Treaty of Versailles
The German government first saw the treaty of Versailles on the 7th May 1919, as Germany was not allowed to attend the Paris Peace Talks. The Germans were shocked because the Treaty was extremely harsh and not based on Wilson's 14 Point Plan as the Germans had believed it would be. Argued the treaty was unfair because it was a diktat. -
Diktak
As the Germans were not told about the events of the peace talks, they continued to believe that the Treaty would be based on Wilson's 14 Point Plan. The Germans only realised that the Treaty of Versailles was not based on the Fourteen Point Plan when the treaty was shown to the German government on the 7th May 1919. The treaty was much harsher than the Germans expected and they called it a diktak -
Vilna 1920 Border Dispute
Poland and Lithuania were new countries created after WWI. Vilna was the capital of Lithuania, with a lot of Polish people living there. 1920- Polish army simply took control of Vilna. Poland complained to League. League failed here as they could've sent troops but they did nothing. France didn't want to attack as she wanted Poland as an ally against Poland, and Britain unable to attack alone. Poland was allowed to keep Vilna. Example of weak leadership, lacked power and acted in own interests -
Treaty of Trianon
Treaty made with Hungary with allies in 1920. Slovenia and Croatia went to Yugoslavia, and Hungary had to pay reparations. Hungary lost a lot of land and population. Millions now given self determination so could rule themselves due to setting up Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, but Hungary's industries suffered from loss of population and raw materials. -
Treaty of Serve
Treaty made with Turkey in 1920. Turkey lost Smyrna from Greece along with other bits of land, and Turkey had to pay reparations. But the Turks were outraged by the Treaty, so Turkish nationalists, led by Mustafa Kemal challenged the Treaty's terms when they drove Greece out of Smyrna. Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 confirmed this. -
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Countries in the League
By 1920, 42 countries had joined the League. By 1934, the League had 58 members. This is a strength of the League as the League represents many countries which should help it to encourage countries not to be aggressive to each other. The most powerful countries in the League were Britain, France, Japan, Italy, Germany and the USSR. These countries all joined and left at different times. However, the USA never joined the League as the US congress voted against joining, with many reasons for this. -
Aaland Islands 1921 Border Dispute
Both Sweden and Finland wanted to control these islands and both countries threatened to go to war over the matter. The League decided that the island should be controlled by Finland. This was also a total success as Sweden accepted the decision of the League, and the war was avoided. -
Upper Silesia 1921 Border Dispute
This was an industrial region between Germany and Poland. Both Germany and Poland wished to control it. A plebiscite was held in the area in 1921 to discover which country should control Upper Silesia. The Industrial areas voted to join Germany and the rural areas voted to join Poland. This was an unmanageable solution. As a result the League decided to split the area down the middle. This was a total success as both Germany and Poland agreed to accept the League's decision. -
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Washington Arms Conference
Positive agreement- USA, Britain, France, and Japan discussed disarmament- made peace more likely. Agreement- Britain and the USA could have the same sized navy and Japan could have a navy three fifths of this size. But this conference undermined the League as the League was not part of the conference even though disarmament was one of the League's aims. Made it harder for the League to keep peace in the future. -
Refugee problems in Turkey
The Refugee committee which was part of the League of Nations, helped deal with the refugee problems in 1922 -
The Rapallo Treaty
Positive Treaty- Germany returned money and land to Russia which it took in the Treaty of Brest Litovsk in 1917. This made peace more likely- Germany and USSR more likely to cooperate with each other. However- undermined the League- League not part of the treaty. harder for peace in future -
Corfu 1923 Border Dispute
1923- Italian general killed in Greece. Mussolini blamed Greeks and wanted compensation. League criticised Italy for this demand- not proven yet. Decision- Greece pay compensation to League and distribute it depending on prove. Italy agreed publicly but applied pressure for League to change decision privately. Failure- pressure worked and Italy got compensation from Greece. Showed weak leadership of League- did not stick to original decision as gave into pressure. Members acted in own interests -
First Attempt of Disarmament Treaty 1923
The first attempt of the disarmament treaty was agreed by France but disagreed to by Britain because it would force her into having to defend other countries. This is because she was more interested in defending her empire than countries of the League. This meant the League achieved nothing. -
Treaty of Lausanne
The Turks were outraged by the Treaty of Serve, so Turkish nationalists, led by Mustafa Kemal challenged the Treaty's terms when they drove Greece out of Smyrna. Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 confirmed that Smyrna had returned to Turkey, which was signed by Britain -
Geneva Protocol 1924
After Corfu, seemed the League could be weakened by its own members, such as Italy. Meant France and Britain drew up Geneva protocol- stated that if there was a disagreement between two countries, they would have to agree with League's decision. Reinstatement of League's Covenant. Failure- election in Britain and new government refused to sign protocol. Meant League was weakened. Showed weak leadership- Britain weak as she wouldn't sign protocol restating League's fundamental aims -
Bulgaria 1925 Border Dispute
1925- Greek troops invaded Bulgaria. Bulgaria appealed to the League. League condemned Greece for invasion of Bulgaria. Success- Greece agreed to take her troops out of Bulgaria. Failure- Greece complained she was being treated differently to a more powerful country such as Italy, who hadn't agreed to the League's decision at Corfu. Showed weak leadership- Bulgaria showed Britain and France were weak leaders who could only stand up to weaker countries and gave into pressure of more powerful ones -
Locarno Treaties
positive treaties- peace more likely- Germany agreed border with France and all 6 countries which signed- Britain, France, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Belgium and Italy, agreed not to go to war with each other. Limited in ability to maintain peace- Germany didn't agree her eastern border with Poland, and they undermined the League as the League was not part of the treaties. harder for peace in the future -
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Disarmament Conference 1926
The League plans a disarmament conference, however it took a further 5 years (between 1926-1931) until a draft convection was agreed for disarmament. Then in 1933, Germany rejected these plans for disarmament because other countries would not disarm to the same level as Germany. This was particularly to the League's reputation in Germany as Germany had been forced to disarm in the ToV but no other countries had agreed to disarm to the same extent. Weak leadership- 5 year delay in conference -
Kellog- Briand Pact
positive treaty- peace more likely- all 65 countries that signed the Kellog Briand pact agreed not to go to war to resolve conflicts. Limited in ability to maintain peace- 65 countries did not state what they would do if one of the countries did invade another country. also undermined the League, as the League was not part of the pact. harder for League to keep peace -
Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression
The Wall Street Crash led to a global economic crisis as the US had to recall all loans she lent out. This led to the Great Depression meaning the League had a more difficult situation to deal with. The Depression led to less international cooperation as people were dealing with their own problems, the rise of dictators in Italy and Germany, and the League being unwilling to use trade sanctions against aggressive countries due to the severe economic impact it would have on them. -
Causes of Manchuria Crisis
Main cause was industry. Japan's main industry was silk, but Depression meant that by 1931, silk was only worth one third of its value in the 1920s. Affected the Japanese economy on one third of Japan's population had lost their jobs by 1931. Manchuria in China had a lot of industry and natural resources so Japan wanted to invade to gain these and improve her economy. The government also wanted to distract people from the economic crisis with military victory. Japan also had some prior influence -
Manchuria Crisis 18th Sept 31
Explosion on the South Manchurian tram line controlled by Japan. Japanese claimed that the Chinese were responsible. The Japanese used this excuse to take over Manchuria. -
Manchuria Crisis Appeal
China appealed to the League to stop the Japanese invasion of Manchuria -
Manchuria Crisis Condemnment
The League issued moral condonement of Japan, and the told Japan to withdraw her troops from Manchuria. Japan refused -
Disarmament Conference Start
In February 1932, the long awaited disarmament conference finally started. -
Disarmament Conference proposals
in July 1932, the conference produced the following proposals:
-to prohibit the bombing of civilian populations
-to limit the size of artillery
-to limit the tonnage of tanks
-to prohibit chemical warfare
however, no agreement on how this would be achieved, and no agreement on how to treat Germany. Germany proposed that other countries should disarm to the same level as Germany however the conference would not agree to this so Germany walked out. -
Manchuria Crisis January 1932
Japan invades Shanghai in China, nowhere near Manchuria. This shows that Japan is not just responding to the blowing up of the South Manchurian railway but wanted to invade other parts of China. Japan was being aggressive. -
Manchuria Crisis March 1932
China again asked the League for help because Japan had invaded Shanghai in January 1932, and by February 1932, Japan controlled most of Manchuria -
Manchurian Crisis April 1932
The League decided to send Lord Lytton to Manchuria to investigate and write a report for the League -
Manchurian Crisis October 1932
The Lytton Report was published and it condemned Japan for invading Manchuria and Shanghai- no progress for over a year, the League was stalling -
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Disarmament Conference Middle
December 1932- Agreement was finally reached to treat Germany equally regarding disarmament
January 1933- Germany came back to disarmament conference
February 1933- Hitler became Chancellor, secretly rearming Germany
May 1933- Hitler promised not to rearm Germany if other countries disarmed to Germany's level in 5 years. Hitler not trusted
June 1933- Britain, ambitious disarmament plan, delay meant it was too late
October 1933- Hitler withdrew from conference and shortly afterwards left League -
Manchurian Crisis February 1933
The League's council met and ordered Japan to leave Manchuria. But Japan used her veto to disagree with the League's decision and then Japan left the League completely and invaded another area of China called Jehol. -
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Rearmament
1933, Hitler rearms in secret, 1000s of unemployed workers in army ,forced to rearm due to League's disarmament conference. Reality, breaking ToV as army could be no larger than 100,000. March 1935, Hitler showed off weapons announced he would introduce conscription in 1936 to expand army to 1 mil, and build Luftwaffe. June 1935, naval agreement with Britain which allowed Hitler build navy to 35% of Britain's. Civil war in Spain, showed off Luftwaffe, new army by sending weapons and troops -
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Disarmament Conference End
By October 1933, all countries knew Hitler was rearming Germany.
1934- the disarmament conference struggled for another year, but was hopeless. ended in 1934
1935- Britain went on to ignore the League completely with own independent negotiations. signed naval agreement with Germany to keep Hitler's navy under 35% of Britain's. allowing Hitler to break ToV, betrayal of League as League was suppose to make sure Germany didn't break it -
The Anschluss- First Attempt
Hitler's first attempt at Anschluss. He was stopped by the Austrian army and the Italian army which is commanded by Mussolini. Hitler still decided to attempt it as the Nazi party was banned in Austria. The Nazis created havoc in Austria and they murdered Chancellor Dolfuss, as he did not want Anschluss. However, Mussolini moved Austrian troops to the border to prevent Hitler's Anschluss. As Hitler's army wasn't strong enough, he had to back down at this time. -
Reoccupation of Rhineland Beginning
France and USSR signed Franco Soviet Pact, to support each other if either country was attacked by Hitler. Used as an excuse to send troops into the Rhineland as he claimed that Germany was under threat from France and USSR. Hitler said he should be able to put troops on western border with France. However, Hitler was using this as an excuse as the Franco Soviet Pact only came in effect if Germany attacked France or USSR- if he didn't do this, Germany isn't under threat from France or the USSR -
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The Abyssinian Crisis
Mussolini ordered Italian soldiers to clash with Abyssinians on the border, as Mussolini wanted to take Abyssinia's resources to make Italy richer. The League responded with moral condemnation. Britain didn't want to issue trade sanctions as it would negatively affect her. Also won't shut Suez Canal because they wanted an ally against Hitler. This meant they signed the Horae- Laval Pact planning to give 50% of Abyssinia to Italy, but was leaked and made France and Britain look like weak leaders -
Result of Abyssinian Crisis
Italy left the League in 1936 as a result of the Abyssinian Crisis. Clear Britain and France were not interested in leading the League and so it fell apart. This encouraged Hitler to become more aggressive and to break the ToV. For example the remilitarisation of the Rhineland and the Anschluss. This paved the way for the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 -
Britain and Coal
When Italy was invading Abyssinia, Britain wouldn't employ trade sanctions against Italy as she wanted to continue trading coal with Italy. This is because Britain did not want to cause more unemployment for her workers during the Depression. -
Hitler's Confidence
Hitler's confidence grows when Britain and France do not stop him from reoccupying the Rhineland in 1936, which went agianst the Treaty of Versailles, meaning he was breaking international law -
Mussolini's fallen relationship and Rome Berlin Axis
By 1936, Mussolini's relationship with France and Britain had suffered and he felt isolated in Europe. Therefore, Mussolini sought an alliance with Hitler as they were both Fascist leaders in Europe. This alliance was seen in the Rome Berlin Axis of 1936. -
Reoccupation of the Rhineland End
Germany army was not big enough to stand up to the armies of other countries- many arrived on bicycles. Hitler instructed his generals to retreat if there was any resistance. Britain didn't take any action as she was distracted by Abyssinia and her people thought the Treaty was too harsh. France also didn't react, even being the most affected, as she was distracted by Abyssinia and because she couldn't afford to take on Hitler without support from Britain, due to impact of Depression on economy -
Reoccupation of Rhineland Middle
Hitler moved German troops into the Rhineland. The troops were greeted by German people who gave them flowers. Hitler was clearly breaking the Treaty of Versailles which stated that German troops were not allowed in the Rhineland as it was a demilitarised zone -
Manchurian Crisis 1937
Japan started a full scale invasion of China -
Allies
Hitler becomes allies with Mussolini and Italy when they sign the Anti Comintern Pact (Anti Communist Pact) with Japan againsrt the USSR -
The Anschluss- Jan 1938
In January 1938, Hitler told the Austrian Nazis in Austria to riot. He then told the Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg that Germany would help stop the riots if Austria united with Germany. Schuschnigg did not Anschluss and so asked Britain and France for help. They refused. Schuschnigg then planned a plebiscite. -
Sudetenland Crisis Beginning 1938
At the beginning of 1938, Hitler told PM Chamberlain that he was not interested in Czechoslovakia which was a lie because he wanted to unite all Volkdeutsche and overthrow the Treaty of Versailles- base to invade -
Sudetenland Crisis May 1938
Hitler ordered the Sudeten Nazis to stir up trouble amongst the Germans living there. Hitler claimed that Germans in the Sudetenland were mistreated by the Czech government and said he'd invade to protect the Volkdeutsche. -
The Anschluss March 1938
On the 11th of March 1938, Hitler demanded that Schuschnigg the plebiscite and resign as Chancellor so he could be replaced with an Austrian Nazi, Seyss- Inquart -
The Anschluss March 1938
On the 12th March 1938, Hitler sent troops to Austria and even though the invasion was badly planned, the German troops took over Austria without any bloodshed. Many Austrians welcomed the German troops with flowers and cheering -
The Anschluss April 1938
Hitler held plebiscite and unsurprisingly as the Nazi troops were watching them, 99.75% of Austrians voted to unite with Germany -
Sudetenland Crisis Sept 1938
On the 15th of September 1938, PM Chamberlain met with Hitler. Hitler stated that war would be avoided if he was allowed the Sudetenland. Chamberlain then followed his policy of appeasement by meeting with the Czech government and forced them to agree to Hitler's terms. -
The Sudetenland Crisis Sept 1938
On the 22nd of September 1938, Hitler increased his demands- he now wanted the Sudetenland handed over by the 1st of October and he insisted that Hungary and Poland should also receive Czech land -
Sudetenland Crisis Sept 1938
On the 29th of September, a final meeting took place in Munich where the leaders of France, Britain and Germany discussed the future of Czechoslovakia. They decided to give the whole of the Sudetenland to Germany without consulting Czechoslovakia, known as the Munich agreement. Chamberlain famously stated that it would bring "peace in our time" -
The Sudetenland Crisis Oct 1938
On the 10th October 1938, German troops marched into the Sudetenland and took it for Germany -
The Sudetenland Crisis March 1939
On the 15th March 1939, even though Hitler said he didn't want all of Czechoslovakia just the Sudetenland, German troops invaded and took over the rest -
Nazi Soviet Pact
The USSR was alienated from Britain and France as they were not involved in the Munich agreement. Stalin thought that France and Britain wouldn't protect Eastern Europe if Germany invaded, encouraging him to sign the Nazi Soviet Pact, where they agreed not to attack each other. Here, they also agreed to invade Poland together and split it amongst them -
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Invasion of Poland
On the 1st September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland from the west. On the 17th September 1939, Stalin attacked Poland from the east. To Hitler's surprise, Britain and France kept the promise they had made to guarantee Polish independence and declared war on Germany. Hitler had taken one step too far and the Second World War had started.