International Relations

The young Turks fell from power and the Balkan states formed the Balkan league and declared war on the Ottomans. In three weeks the Balkans pushed the Ottomans as far as Adrianople.

The Balkan league started fighting amongst itself. Bulgaria attacked it's former Allies as it was unhappy with its gains in the first war. Romania tried to win land from Bulgaria. The ottomans joined in and took back some land. Greece, Romania and Serbia won land from Bulgaria. Serbia emerged as the most powerful state but was dissatisfied as Austria-Hungary forced them to give up the sea access they had gained.

28th June 1914 saw the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie by Gavrillo Princip of the black hand.

Austria-Hungary gives Serbia an Ultimatum, including: end attacks on Austria, stop anti Austria propaganda, admit helping the black hand and allow Austria-Hungary to investigate Black hand. Serbia agrees to all terms but one, so overall refuses.

Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia as it refused the Ultimatum.

Russia, as Serbia's ally declares war on Austria Hungary

France mobilises war on Germany as Russia's ally

Germany declares war on Russia, defending Austria-Hungary

Germany invades France through Belgium, putting the Schliffen plan into action.

Britain declares war on Germany in defense of the treaty of Westminster.

This came into effect on the 11th November 1918. it was an agreement to end the fighting. Germany had no say in the terms and the Allies knew it. The Allies ensured that Germany couldn't start fighting again. Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated.

27 countries attended. It was very difficult to get an agreement, in particular France Britain and America all had different aims.

Exactly five years after the assignation of Archduke Franz Ferdinand the Treaty of Versailles was signed between the Allies and defeated Germany. It severely harmed Germany with losses of honor, land, equipment and money. Because of this it was very unpopular and was a compromise between the allies.

This broke up the Austria-Hungarian Empire. ~Austria lost land to Italy.
~Austria could only have 30'000 troops.
~Reparations were set but never paid

Treaty of Bulgaria.
~Bulgaria lost land to Greece and Yugoslavia.
~Army limited to 20'000
~reparations set at £100 million

When Poland invaded Lithuania and occupied Vilna in 1920, Poland kept Vilna because Britain and France wanted Poland as an ally against Russia.

The treaty with Hungary.
~Hungary was made independent but lost two ~thirds of its land.
~Army limited to 35'000
~Reparations demanded but never paid.

Ottoman Empire broken up.
~Lost European lands.
~Turkey got some land and control back again in the treaty of Lausanne.

At other times the league was more evenhanded. One example of this is its treatment of the Adaland Islands dispute between Finland and Sweden in 1921. The Adaland Islands sought to become part of Sweden, which Finland resisted and so the league meditated, directing that the islands should be self governing but should remain part of Finland.

Upper Silasia had large numbers of Poles and Germans. At Versailles it was decided that there would be a plebiscite to decide who should own it. The vote was in favour of Germany but the League split the territory between them. Both countries accepted the decision.

In these years Germany said it couldn't afford to pay any reparations.

France and Belgium grew tired of reparation delays and invaded the Ruhr. German workers went on strike and the German economy collapsed.

When Italian leader Mussolini invaded the Greek island of Corfu in 1923, after five Italian surveyors were killed by Greeks, Britain and France were keen not to upset the Italians. So the Greeks had to apologise and pay compensation before the Italians withdrew.

Set up by the USA to help the German economy.
Reparations were restructured so that it would be easier for Germany to pay.

The Greeks invaded Bulgaria over a border dispute. The League condemned the Greek invasion and told them to withdraw from Bulgaria, they did.

Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations
This was a series of agreements between countries on ways to protect borders and prevent wars.
Everyone would use the League of Nations to solve problems.
However it left countries in eastern Europe less protected.

Germany joined the League of Nations in this year.

62 countries pledged to stop using war-including Germany and the USA.
Instead all disputes were to be settled by peaceful means.
As the pact was not done through the league of Nations, the USA could join in.

There was a collapse of the Wall Street shares in October 1929.
Shareholders lost a lot of money.
USA called in foreign loans so other countries started to suffer.
USA stopped importing so many products.
Economic depression spread throughout the world.
This was the beginning of the Great Depression.

Following the Mukden incident Japan invaded and by 1932 had completed the conquest. They renamed the territory Manchuko and put the last Chinese Emperor , Pu Yi in control, as a puppet. Chine appealed to the League of Nations for help. As Japan was a council member of the League, Britain and France didn't want to upset her. The League set up the Lytton commission led by Lord Lytton. After a year of investigation they concluded that Japan was guilty and should return Manchuria to China. Japan refused and soon after left the league.

Japan blew up part of their own railway near Mukden in Manchuria. The Japanese generals blamed the Chinese. It gave Japan an excuse to invade and became known as the Mukden incident

Soviet Russia joins the League of Nations in this year.

The Saar rejoins Germany after being run by France as per the Treaty of Versailles.
90% voted in the referendum to return to Germany

Italian Leader Mussolini wanted an African Empire and so he invaded Abyssinia in order to do this and so that he could avert the Italians eyes away from his failures due to the Great Depression.
The Abyssinian Emperor Hailie Selassie asked the League for help, so they brought in economic sanctions against Italy (although not in oil).

However behind the scenes, Britain and France were arranging the Hoar-Laval pact which would have given 2/3rds of Abyssinia to Italy but word got out and it fell through. Again the league had been made to seem powerless, Hitler was feeling more and more confidant.

German troops marched into the Rhineland on Hitler's order, this military movement was forbidden in the Treaty of Versailles.
Britain and France condemned the action but neither wanted to go to war over it.

Hailie Selassie resigned as Emperor and left the country. The Italian took over Abyssinia completely.

Mussolini was annoyed that the League had imposed economic sanctions on Italy during the Abyssinian Crisis . In October 1936 Italy signed and agreement to work closely with Germany.

Italy leaves the league of Nations in this year

Germany Formed an Anschluss with Austria, after a corrupt vote where 99.75% of Austrians voted in favour of the Anschluss. This joining was forbidden by the treaty of Versailles.

Anti-Comintern Pact, agreement concluded first between Germany and Japan (Nov. 25, 1936) and then between Italy, Germany, and Japan (Nov. 6, 1937), ostensibly directed against the Communist International (Comintern) but, by implication, specifically against the Soviet Union.

The Munich conference was British appeasement policy in action but Hitler's alliances with Italy and the USSR were designed for war.
~Czechoslovakia was not invited to the conference. Britain and France abandoned their commitments to defend Czechoslovakia.
~The USSR was not invited to the conference.
~Italy pretended it had come up with the Munich plans but in fact they had been drafted by the Nazis.
~The outcome was that the Sudetenland was given to Germany.

Hitler's troops entered the Sudetenland, and area of Czechoslovakia with many Germans.

Six months after the Munich peace conference, On 15th March Hitler Invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. Appeasement had failed

German troops invade Bohemia and Moravia

Hitler demands Memel be returned to Germany.

By the 22nd March 1939 Hitler had captured the Lithuanian city of Memel. The League of Nations had no power to stop Hitler. Britain and France decided to give Hitler a final Warning. They said that if Hitler invaded Poland then they would declare war.

Britain and France sign an agreement to protect Poland.

~Germany and Italy agreed to aid each other militarily and economically.
~Plan was for war in three years: when war started in 1939 Italy was not ready.
~Guaranteed that the two would be military allies if war broke out.
~Mussolini had already abandoned promises to ensure Austria's independence, which made the Anschluss possible.

There are many reasons why both the Nazis and the Russians signed the Nazi soviet pact:
~Hitler could pretend to be friends with Russia and invade them later.
~Russia's army was not ready to fight a big war with Germany.
~Russia would get stronger by gaining half of Poland.
~Germany can invade Poland without having to fight Russia, avoiding war on two fronts.
~Stalin did not trust Britain and France as they had banned Russia from the League of Nations.

The Anglo-Polish military alliance refers to the alliance between the United Kingdom and the Polish Second Republic formalised by the Anglo-Polish Agreement in 1939 for mutual assistance in case of military invasion from Germany, as specified in a secret protocol.

German Forces invade Poland

Britain and France declare war on Germany.

The Soviet Union invades Poland.