Peacemaking and the League of Nations

Aims of "The Big Three":

France (Clemenceau):

During the war, France had suffered enormous damage with large areas of land devestated and over 1 millions deaths. The French also wanted Germany to suffer and to prevent future invasion. Therefore, he wanted a harsh treaty that would punish Germany and would not harm France again.

USA (Wilson):

The USA had only been in the later part of the war. Its war casualties were low compared to Britain and France. Wilson mainly believed in his 14 points. He didn't want a harsh treaty as this would lead to another war so he had 2 main aim: self-determination and international co-operation. 

Britain (George):

Britain wanted a harsh treaty but feared that it may anger Germany in the future and cause another world war and wanted to trade with Germany again. Therefore, he was in the middle ground.

War Guilt:

Germany was responsible for starting the war

German Armed Forces:

• 100,000 troop army
• Conscription banned
• No armed vehicles, submarines or military aircraft
• Only 6 battleships allowed 

Reparations:

Germany had to pay compensation to France, Britain and USA. £6.6 Billion exactly.

Loss of Territory:

• It lost 10% of it's land and was given to Britain and France. 
• Anschluss was forbidden: joining together of Austria and Germany.

League of Nations:

International police force and tried to solve problems for world peace.

Strengths:

• Brought peace to Europe and setup and international organization to preserve peace. 
• Lenient towards Germany as it remained one country with a population of 60 million unlike France's 40 million.
• Germany had imposed a much harsher treaty on Russia (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) as they lost about 1/3 of their land area.

Weaknesses:

• It left Germany with a number of grievances
• The Germans couldn't afford to pay the reparations
• Britain and France fell out over the reparations payments
• The treaty punished Germany enough to want revenge but wasn't harsh enough to stop them from recovering and then seeking revenge
• Wilson pinned too much faith in the League of Nations

Feelings of Injustice: The German leaders did not feel they alone caused the war and felt they should have a say in the negotiations of the treaty.

Reparations: Many Germans felt that these were unfair and that Germany couldn't afford to pay as its economy was crippled by the cost of WW1.

Loss of Territory: Some Germans were now living in countries ruled by foreign governments. The Saar, an important industrial area, was now controlled by the League so lost out on a lot of money.

League of Nations: Insulted by not being invited to join the League of Nations.

Military terms: Germans felt that an army of 100,000 was too small for a country of 60 million people. 

War Guilt Clause: The Germans did not believe that they alone were responsible for the outbreak of WW1.

Membership:

There were only 42 original members and increased to 60. However, at one time, several of the larger and more powerful nations were not members. 

• The USA refused to join
• Defeated nations such as Germany weren't allowed to join
• Russia was not allowed to join due to its communist government

Covenant of the League:

• Prevent aggression by any nations
• Encourage co-operation between nations
• Work towards international disarmament
• Improve living and working conditions of all people.

The league was built on the ideology of collective security. This meant that the members of the league could prevent war by acting together to protect and defend the interests of all nations.

The Organisation of the League:

The Assembly:

Debating chamber of the League was located in the headquaters. There were 42 members each with a vote in the Assembly that met once a year. It had to power to elect new members, change treaties and elect permanent members. 

The Council:

Met up three timesa year and in times of emergancy. It had 5 permanent members and 4 temporary members, which were elected every 3 years. 

Peacekeeping Role:

• Moral Condemnation: all countries will apply pressure onthe aggressor to make them feel guilty.
• Economic Sanctions: all countries with the league will stop trading with the aggressor.
• Military Force: all countries in the League contribute an armed force to act against the aggressor. 

Cause:

The wall street crash had a major impact on the Japanese economy and could no longer trade with the US.So the Japanese attacked Manchuria for rich natural resources and raw materials to provide a market for Japanese goods. 

Events:

China appealed to the League for help and they sent a Lytton Commission to investigate. The commission took over a year and by then the invasion and occupation had been completed. The league accepted the findings and condemned the actions of the Japanese, asking the withdraw. Japan left the league and remained in control of Manchuria. 

Results:

• Britain and France unwilling to support the League in taking actions against Japan.
• The league failed to prevent aggression. This encouraged later aggression by Italy and Germany.

Causes:

• Mussolini wanted to increase Italy's prestiage as a world power
• Abyssinia was one of the few countries in Africa not under League control.
• Italy wanted revenge for a humiliating defeat by the Abyssinians in 1896.

Events:

The Emperor of Abyssinia appealed to the League for assistance. The league condemned Italin aggression and imposed economic sanctions against Italy, but this didn't include oil or USA. The Secret deal, The Hoare-Laval Pact, made by the British and French even offered Mussolini most of Abyssinia, but this had to be withdrawn after it was leaked to the public.

Results:

• The league were no longer taken seriously and ended in the organisation as a whole.
• The crisis showed that League members were unwilling to use force to stop aggression.
• The secret deal, Hoare-Laval Pact, showed that Britain and France were undermining the league.

Failures of the League:

• Lacked key members from the start of WW1 including the defeated nations USSR and USA
• Organisation of the league made it dufficult to act quickly because one country could easily veto (block) league action
• The league was viewed as an exclusive club of victors which was dependant on the Anglo-French co-operation. The 2 countries fell out over French occupation of the Ruhr later in January 1923.
• The League lacked "teeth". Sanctions were often only applied in a half-hearted fashion and the League had no army. 
• The world Depression had caused mass unemployment as well as a huge drop in trade. Little money or attention was available for world problems that seemed distant such as the two crises in Japan and Italy.