The signing of the treaty of peace at versailles, 28 june 1919

Allied victory in WWI and its aftermath: making peace and keeping it

By Wizvid
  • Period: to

    12 Battles of the Isonzo (Isonzo Front)

    • Fought mainly between the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies in present day Slovenia and along the river Isonzo on the eastern Sector of the Italian Front. Loss of 520,000 men fro austria-hungary

  • Versailles Peace Conference

    Territory
    -Independent poland
    -Danzig made free and autonomous
    -Plebistice in Upper Silesia
    -Alsace-Lorraine French
    -Saar administered by LON mines controlled by french for 15 years
    -Germany loses colonies (Kiachow goes to japan- USA upset)
    Reparations
    -Reparation Commission fixed amount of 132 billion gold marks
    Disarmament
    -100,000 men army
    -Small fleet
    -Rhineland occupied for 15 years
    LON
    -New principle of mandates
    -Collective security
    -USA absent
    -Germany and defeated powers excluded

  • Treaty of St Germain (Austria)

    • Austria reduced to a small german-speaking state of 6 million
    • Italy awarded south Tyrol despite the existence of some 230,000 ethnic germans
    • Bohemia and Moravia were ceded to Czechoslovakia
    • Slovenia, Bosnia- Herzegovina and Dalmatia were handed over to Yugoslavia
    • Galicia and Bukovina ceded to Poland and Romania, respectively
    • Plebistice in Carinthia
    • To avoid Anschluss Article 88 made it possible only for the Council of the LON to determine any change in Austria's independence

  • Treaty of Neuilly

    Bulgaria was seen as the 'Balkan Prussia' (needed to be restrained) and Br and Fr were determined to reward their allies at its expense. Thus southern Dobruja ceded to Romania (only 7K/250K were Romanians) and western Thrace given to greece.

  • Fiume Istria and Dalmatia Dispute: Italy wanted to convince its people that it had power over matter in europe and so insisted on annexing Fiume- this would remove Yugoslavia's only port and reinforce italian position.

    Wilson having conceded over the Saar and Kiachow was determined to make a stand over the Adriatic
    Orlando walked out of conference outraged
    Gabriele D'annunzio took over the city in a coup in Sept and prolonged the ciris, it wasn't until Nov 1920 that an agreement was reached whereby Istria was partitioned and Fiume would become a free city (Dalmatia would go to Yugoslavia). In Dec Italian troops cleared D'annunzio from Fiume

  • Little Entente

    Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia pact joined by Romania in 1921

  • LoN fails to back Armenia from Russo-Turkish attack

  • Polish-Lithuanian quarrel over Vilna (failure)

    League negotiates an armistice between Poland and Lithuania. Ceasefire didn't hold as polish force occupied the city of Vilna set up anew puppet gov of Central Lithuania. League suggested plebiscite, rejected and finally Poland annexed Vilna in 1922.

  • Treaty of Trianon (Hungary)

    Loss of 2/3 of territory and 40% of population
    Vulnerable to partition as only the great Central Plains were Magyar and Serb Czech and Romanian troops occupied the regions they claimed.
    - German speaking areas in the west ceded to Austria
    - Slovakia and ruthenian regions in the north went to Czechoslovakia
    - East went to Romania
    - South went to Yugoslavia

  • Aaland Islands dispute (success)

    Dispute between Finland and Sweden over ' '
    LoN supported status quo by leaving islands under finish sovereignty but insisted on ensuring the civil rights of the Swedish people.

  • Albania (Failure not resolved by LoN)

    • Greek and Yugoslavia were exploiting the ambiguous situation that border hadn't yet been fixed to occupy as much Albanian territory as possible. Council responded by sending a commission of inquiry but it was only after a telegram form Lloyd George that the Conference of Ambassadors settled borders and the league council threatened economic sanctions.

  • Upper Silesia (Failure)

    LoN key in settling dispute of over Silesian plebiscite. But in the end it handed over most territories to Poland bwoing to french pressure.

  • Genoa Conference

    Germany defaulted its installment payment. Llyod George saw it as the perfect opportunity to introduce the war moratorium.
    Conference called, result:
    Rapallo Agreement: peace between Germany and Russia secret annex added allowed germany to train soldiers in russian land (violation of Treaty of Versailles)

  • Ruhr Occupation

    Ruhr Occupation
    Germany requested 3-year moratorium. And at the same time Britain requested french debts were payed back
    Poincaré decided french invasion of the Ruhr was the only way to pay these debts so on 11th january Belgian and French troops moved in.
    French invasion was met with passive resistance but as hyperinflation hit the country Gustav had to call off this passive resistance which the german government was financing. The french finally agreed to the Dawes Plan

  • Washington Conference: Growing Anglo-american naval rivarly and deteriorating US-Japanese relations in the pacific meant a negotiation needed to happen. By 1919 USA alarmed by Japanese strength (3rd largest navy)

    Both the USA and Japan embarked on building programmes for their navy and US created Pacific Fleet.

    Br announced it own plan although it wanted to disarm (too much money) USA said it would only do so if Anglo-japanese alliance terminated. Agreement replaced by new four-power treaty (Fr, Br, USA, Japan)-they agreed to respect each other positions in the pacific.
    Washington Convention signed in Feb (Duration14 years):
    - stopped building of capital ships
    - ratio of 9:5:15 J:Fr&It:USA&Br

  • Treaties with Turkey

    First Initial treaty in 1919 (Sèvres) failed to be enforced with new nationalist Turkish leader Kemal. Treaty revised in Lausanne 1923:
    - Turks ceded Middle-East empire to Britain France (Sykes-Picot)
    - Constantinople returned to Turkey with demilitarised zones and free trade set up in the straights

  • Britain and Sweden want to refer Ruhr occupation question to LoN but France vetoes

  • Corfu Incident (Failure, it was resolved by conference of ambassadors))

    League's efforts to intervene were blocked by a major power (Italy).
    3 Italians assassinated in Greece triggers Benito to send Ultimatum to Greece, which is rejected. Consequently, he invades corfu island. Greeks wanted the league to resolve the issue whilst Italy wanted to refer it to the conference of Ambassadors. It was the conference that settled the dispute by insisting Greece should pay 50 million lire in compensation.

  • Geneva Protocol

    Geneva Protocol
    The League drafted an ambitious collective security agreement. It wanted to move towards disarmament. The Geneva Protocol however was rejected by the British who feared they would have to police the world.

  • Dawes Plan

    Dawes Plan
    • Recommended a loan from the US be made of 800 million gold marks
    • Annual payments were to start gradually and rise to a maximum level at the end of five years Finally agree in the London conference

  • Mosul

    Lausanne treaty agreed that future of Mosul was to be diecide through direct Anglo-Turkish negotiations. When these broke down and Br sent an Ultimatum the League intervened and recommended a temporary demarcation line and sent a commission of enquiry. The Kurdish population chose to go with Br rule. League recommended Mosul to be a mandate of Iraq for 25 years (which was a British mandate and granted British effective control over Mosul)

  • Greco-Bulgarian border conflict (success)

    Bulgaria referred to the council and the council request for a ceasefire was accepted. The enquiry commission later ruled in favour of Bulgaria and decision was accepted.

  • Locarno treaties

    • Agreements confirming the inviolability of the Franco-German and Belgian-German frontiers
    • hDemilitarisation of the Rhineland

  • Cologne Evacuation (First bit of rhineland given back)

  • Germany joins LON, granted seat on the Council

  • Berlin Treaty (USSR and GER)

    neutrality pact in which both powers agreed to remain neutral if either party was attacked by a third power
  • Period: to

    Anglo-Soviet Cold War

    1927 offices of official Soviet trading company, Arcos, raided due to british suspicion of espionage. British gov. severed all ties with Soviets. Stalin decided to concentrate on growing anti-western views in China, India and the Middle East

  • Kellog-Briand Pact

    Kellog-Briand Pact
    From 1922 american attitude towards the league began to change, they saw value in participating in some of the leagues forums (economic, health)
    Briand- French Minister for foreign affairs
    Frank B. Kellog- US secretary of state
    Pact signed that would outlaw war as an instrument of national policy. 15 states initially signed it and in 1933, 50 more had joined. It didn't compromise any states to anything but it did provide the USA with a moral reason to intervene in world if it chose to do so

  • Hague Conference

    • Rhineland evacuated and given back to germany 5 years earlier than stipulated in the treaty of versailles
    • Young Plan total reparations reduce from 132-112 billion gold marks

  • London Naval Treaty

    agreed to extend main principle of the agreement to smaller fighting ships

  • World Disarmament Conference

    World Disarmament Conference
    Feb 1932 in Geneva.
    Really bad timing:
    - Manchurian Crisis
    -Great depression revives isolationism in US
    - Rise of nationalism in Ger
    Germans withdrew in 1933 but conference was doomed from the start