Chapter 1: Impact of World War One in Europe, Part IV

The League of Nations (LON)

SuccessesAalandsAlbaniaGreek-Bulgarian Border

FailuresThe RuhrCorfuVilna

ConclusionThe LON had mixed results as it dealt with

conflicts in the 1920s

1920s: Successes and Failures?

What were the 2 main aims of the LON?1) Collective Security2) Disarmament

What were the 5 main measures taken to keep the peace?

1) Moral Persuasion2) Arbitration3) Disarmament4) Economic Sanctions5) Military Sanctions

Recap

i) Two Crises in the 1930sii) Weaknesses of the LON

Lesson Objectives

Topic Inquiry Question: “What was the main reason for the weakness of the LON?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_aZWY2Pm3g

Why did Japan invade Manchuria?How did Japan respond to opposition to its

invasion?

Manchuria: Video

Manchuria invaded by Japan in 1931Reasons:

Resources like minerals, timberLiving space

Manchuria, 1931

LON’s response1932: Commission led by Lord Lytton sent to

investigateDemanded that Japan leave ManchuriaSpecial LON Assembly agreed with Lytton

and condemned Japanese actions

Manchuria, 1931

Japan remained in Manchuria and walked out of the LON in 1933Impact?

Manchuria, 1931

Japan no longer needed to follow

Regulations set by the LON =

Free to do what it liked!

Who is this man?

Abyssinia, 1935-6

BENITOMUSSOLINI

Mussolini prepared to invade Abyssinia – accused Abyssinians of aggression at Wal-Wal clashes!!

Abyssinia, 1935-6

Who is this?Julius Caesar!

Reason 1To restore pride and glory to Italy

Abyssinia, 1935-6

Battle of Adwa, 1896

Abyssinia, 1935-6

Battle of Adwa

Abyssinia, 1935-6

Reason 2To avenge 1896 defeat at Battle of Adowa

Abyssinia, 1935-6

Emperor Haile Selassie asked LON to arbitrate

Abyssinia, 1935-6

LON’s responseImposed partial trade sanctions –

banned arms sales – did not include materials such as oil

Britain, a LON member, kept the Suez Canal open to the Italians

LON Commission proposed giving up part of Abyssinia to Italy

Abyssinia, 1935-6

OutcomeItaly launched full-scale invasion of Abyssinia

in October 1935

Abyssinia, 1935-6

What does the cartoon tell us about the invasion?

OutcomeBritish and French had secret negotiations

with Italy – wanted to give Italy two huge areas in Abyssinia in order to stop the warPlan failed but what did it reveal to us?

By May 1936, Italy had conquered Abyssinia1937: Italy leaves LON

Abyssinia, 1935-6

Weaknesses of LON

21

What were the reasons for the weakness of the League of

Nations?

Structural weaknesses

StructuralWeaknesse

sLack of

authority and

credibility

League’s limited

membership

Post-war attitudes of the major

powers

Appeasement and

distrust

Haiti Earthquake, 2010

Structural Weaknesses

Haiti Earthquake, 2010

Structural Weaknesses

The Secretariat was understaffed and disorganised

Roles of the Assembly and Council were not clearly defined – Impact?

Structural Weaknesses

CONFUSION!

Issue of UnanimityAny action required a unanimous vote by the Council and a two-thirds majority vote in the AssemblyImpact on decision-making?

Structural Weaknesses

Difficult to take effective action, Esp. when a dispute involved

a LON member

Activity 1 – Individual Work (3 mins)Look at the cartoon

What do you see in it?What is the message of the cartoon?

Lack of Authority

Lack of Authority

Snake= international conflict

Rabbit= LON

Lack of Authority

Message:

Ridiculous that LON would be able to prevent international trouble when it is so weak

LON lacked REAL authority

"My offensive equipment being practically nil, it remains for me to fascinate him with the power of my eye." 

No Military PowerCould not coerce aggressor nationsHad to army of its own to enforce military

sanctions

Lack of Authority

Lack of AuthorityNo Economic Power

Trade sanctions didn’t work – not binding on LON members, e.g. Abyssinian CrisisAggressor nation could simply

trade with non-LON membersMember nations were

more concerned with own economic and political interests, than with resolving conflictsUnwilling to impose sanctions

– why?

Legacy of Treaty of Versailles (TOV)LON closely linked to TOV – TOV was

unpopular and LON was affected by this unpopularity

LON lost credibility when it proved ineffective in stopping nations such as Germany, Italy and Japan from their expansionist goals

Lack of Authority

32

Cartoon 2

Absence of the USALON deprived of a powerful member –

USA the world’s largest economyLON lacked necessary military and

economic support from the USA to enforce its rulings

Membership Issues

Absence of othersGermany – blamed for WWI - 1926Soviet Union – viewed with suspicion –

1934

# Absence of 3 major powers weakened the LON as it needed their support to enforce its sanctions

Membership Issues

Cartoon 3

The post-war attitudes of the major powers affected their willingness to help maintain world peace and security

As most of the League’s members had suffered from World War I, they did not have enough military power to deal with military threats from a powerful country.Only the British and French military forces

would have been strong enough to handle a military threat, but both were unwilling to do so. Instead, they chose a policy of appeasement.

Post-war Attitudes

Unwillingness to disarmProtect own interests

Feeling of distrust!!

Post-war Attitudes

Post-war Attitudes# None of the major

powers in the LON were willing to ensure that the LON was able to enforce its decisions destroyed credibility of the LON

What does this cartoon tell us?