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Kingdom of Yugoslavia
During World War I there was great pressure to unite the Southern Slavs of Europe--the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, and form a nation whose slogan would be "Brotherhood and Unity." Ideologically this may have seemed appropriate since all are descendants of Slavs who settled the southeastern region of Europe and are therefore regarded as an immediate ethnic family. However, that is the extent of the similarities between these three groups of people. There is no one universal language or religion. -
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Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska), the Polish state was created in 1918, in the aftermath of World War I. It continued to exist until 1939, despite both internal and external pressures, when Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany, -
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Polish-Soviet War
One of the most easily overlooked, yet momentous short wars of the 20th century was the swift-moving clash between the post-World War I Polish Republic and Russia's brand-new Bolshevik regime of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Reaching a climax during the summer of 1920, the Russo-Polish War is often regarded as the final episode of the Russian Civil War. -
Treaty of St. Germaine
The Treaty of St. Germain, strictly the Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, was signed with Austria after World War One had ended. The treaty was signed on September 10th 1919. Austria had allied with Germany during World War One. At the start of the war the country was commonly referred to as Austro-Hungary in reference to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, by September 1919, the empire had collapsed and Austria as an individual entity had come into existence and the Allies signed separate. -
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Polish–Lithuanian War
The Polish–Lithuanian War was an armed conflict between newly independent Lithuania and Poland in the aftermath of World War I. The conflict primarily concerned territorial control of the Vilnius Region, including Vilnius (Polish: Wilno), and the Suwałki Region, including the towns of Suwałki, Augustów, and Sejny. The conflict was largely shaped by the progress in the Polish–Soviet War and international efforts to mediate at the Conference of Ambassadors and later the League of Nations. -
Treaty of Neuilly
The Treaty of Neuilly, strictly the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, was signed with Bulgaria after World War One had ended. The treaty was signed on November 27th 1919. As Bulgaria had been one of the allies of Germany during World War One, the victorious nations were in no mood to be either sympathetic or charitable to Bulgaria. As with the other settlements after the war, land was taken from Bulgaria and reparations were required. Western Thrace was handed over to the ‘Big Three’ nations. -
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was signed with Hungary after World War One had ended. The treaty was signed on June 4th 1920. The Treaty of Trianon stated clearly that “the Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Hungary accepts the responsibility of Hungary and her allies for causing the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Austria-Hungary and her allies.” -
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Kingdom of Hungary
Existed from 1000 to 1918, and then from 1920 to 1946, was a state and at times a major power in Central Europe. Situated between East and West and a significant player in the Balkans it often took the brunt of invasion and conquest. In 1241, it fell to the Mongol invasion of Europe but recovered independence when the Mongols withdrew. From 1541 until 1699 Hungary was divided between the Ottoman Empire and Austria. It is a predecessor state of the Republic of Hungary. -
Bulgarian Coup d'etat of 1923
The Bulgarian coup d'état of 1923, also known as the 9 June coup d'état, was a coup d'état in Bulgaria implemented by armed forces under General Ivan Valkov's Military Union on the eve of 9 June 1923. Hestitantly legitimated by a decree of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria, it overthrew the government of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union headed by Aleksandar Stamboliyski and replaced it with one under Aleksandar Tsankov. -
War of the Stray Dog (start date)
A Greek soldier serving at Demir Kapou pass on the
Bulgarian frontier, strayed into Bulgarian territory in pursuit of a sentry dog and was shot and killed by Bulgarian sentries. The shooting was quickly followed by an exchange of fire between the border posts in which a Greek captain and another soldier were also killed, according to some sources, while trying to parley a ceasefire under a white flag. The incident sparked what became known as the "War of the Stray Dog." -
Black Tuesday Stock Market Crash
On October 29, 1929, investors rush to sell their stocks, which are falling in price. Stock prices plummet to new lows. The New York Stock Exchange is overwhelmed, and fortunes are lost. The day becomes known as Black Tuesday. Throughout the day, Seattle stock exchanges and local stockbroker's offices are "densely packed" with tense stockholders witnessing the crash. -
German Polish Non Agression Pact
Just a year after Adolf Hitler was chosen as chancellor of Germany, Poland became the first state to form such an alliance with the Nazi administration. Anxious over rising tension between the Nazis and the Soviets, fearful of becoming too reliant on other European powers such as France, Poland’s leaders took a gamble on Germany. On April 28 1938 the Nazis removed Germany from it and on September 1 1939 they invaded Poland, putting aside any notion of peaceful and neighbourly behaviour. -
1934 Balkan Pact
The governments of the Balkan countries proceeded in the period 1933-34 to have preliminary talks about the possibiliy of joining forces in a multilateral inter-Balkan agreement. Fundamental aims included the quelling of partial local disputes and the integration of the countries of the peninsula as a whole. It must be noted that the attitude of the Great Powers towards these activities ranged from wholse-heartedly positive to negative. -
Signing of Munich Agreement
(1938) Settlement reached by Germany, France, Britain, and Italy permitting German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. Adolf Hitler's threats to occupy the German-populated part of Czechoslovakia stemmed from his avowed broader goal of reuniting Europe's German-populated areas. Though Czechoslovakia had defense treaties with France and the Soviet Union, both countries agreed that areas in the Sudetenland with majority German populations should be returned. -
Slovak Hungarian War (start date)
the relations between Hungary and Czechoslovakia were tense. The Hungarians held an invasion force on the border, threatening to take the Ruthenia region of Czechoslovakia. This threatening stance was encouraged by Germany in mid-1938, but both Germany and Italy preferred not to have it escalate it into a full-scale war because they were not ready for an Europe-wide war, which a conflict involving Czechoslovakia might trigger since it was allied with Poland, France, and the United Kingdom. -
Italian Invasion of Albania (start date)
Italy presented an ultimatum to the government of Albania on March 25, 1939, making various demands including that Italian forces should control strategic points, that Italian farmers should settle in Albania with the rights of Albanian citizens, andthat a customs union should be introduced. A response was required by 6 April 1939. This in turn was disregarded by Italy which started landing troops on April 7. -
German Invasion of Poland
In the early morning hours of September 1, 1939, the German invasion of Poland began. At 4:45 a.m., the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein began to bombard the Polish munitions depot on the Westerplatte peninsula near Danzig. German police units attacked Polish rail and postal employees and shooting broke out in many places in the Polish Corridor. Along the German-Polish border, German soldiers dismantled barriers and swept into Polish territory, while German planes bombed rail lines, roads, b -
Iron Guard of Romania founded
The extreme right-wing movement known as the Iron Guard was founded by Corneliu Codreanu in the 1920s, imitating Germany's Nazi Party in both ideology and methods. In 1938, King Carol II managed to establish a stronger dictatorship in Romania and took steps to suppress the activities of the Iron Guard as well as its left-wing antithesis, the Romanian Communist Party. However, the control fell into violent turmoil after the Munich Pact of 1939 was signed, seen as an abandonment of Romania. -
German Invasion of Jugoslavia
When Germany's forces slammed into the Balkans during the early spring of 1941, they encountered not only armed resistance but also difficultterrain and horrendous weather. The Italian military's failure to make headway during the previous winter campaign in Greece, followed by the commitment of British forces to Greece's aid, threatened Germany's southern flank, compelling Adolf Hitler to intervene. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini had sent 500,000 soldiers into the Balkans, and had lost 63,00 -
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Hungarian Romanian War
The Hungarian-Romanian War was a military conflict fought between the Kingdom of Romania and Kingdom of Hungary between March 1, 1958 and June 15, 1960 over the disputed territory of Transylvania, which was ceded to Hungary in the Vienna Awards in 1940. When Hungary in 1940 demanded the concession of Transylvanian territory from Romania, tensions rose between Hungary and Romania, and a war was avoided when the German Führer Adolf Hitler helped Hungary with receiving significant portions.
