GCSE Conflict and Tension 1918-1939

1918- 11 November- The Armistice is signed, ending the First World War.

1919- January- Paris peace conference                                                                                              June- The treaty of Versailles is signed.

1920- January- First meeting of the League of Nations.                                                                        August- The Treaty of Sevres signed with Turkey.

1921- Poland invades Vilna                                                                                                              The Aland Island Crisis                                                                                                            March- The League divides Upper Silesia between Germany and Poland

1922- August- The Washington Naval Agreement                                                                               October- Benito Mussolini becomes dictator in Italy after his march on Rome.

1922- 1923 - Economic collapse in Austria and Hungary.

1923- July- The treaty of Lausanne overturns the Treaty of Sevres.                                                      August- The Corfu Crisis

1925- October- The Greek-Bulgarian Dispute                                                                                      October-December- the Locarno Treaties

1926- Germany joins the League of Nations

1928- August- The Kellogg-Briand Pact

1929- October- The Wall street Crash leads to global depression

1931- September- the Mukden incident. The Japanese Army invades Manchuria.

1933-January- Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany.                                                                       October- Hitler leaves the Disarmament Conference.

1934- July- The Nazi party in Austria assasinate the Austrian Chancellor, Dollfuss.                                September- The USSR joins the League of Nations

1935- January- The Saar Plebicite, the Saar re-joins Germany.                                                            March- Hitler announces that he has built up the Luftwaffe and that conscription will be introduced to build up the German army; remilitarisation of the Rhineland.                                            June- The Anglo- German Naval Treaty.                                                                                    October- Mussolini invades Abyssinia                                                                                        December- The Hoare Laval pact is leaked to the press.

1936- July- Outbreak of Spanish Civil War.                                                                                        October- The Rome-Berlin Axis is agreed                                                                                  November- Italy join the Anti-Comintern Pact which had originally been agreed between Germany and Japan.

1937- July- Japan launch a full scale invasion on China.

1938- March- Hitler invades Austria to achieve Anschluss                                                                    September- Chamberlain meets with Hitler over the Sudeten Crisis; the Munich Conference          October- German troops invade and occupy the Sudetenland.

1939- May- Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel; a military alliance                                                August- The Nazi-Soviet Pact is signed                                                                                    September- Hitler invades Poland. Britain and France declare war on Germany.

Much of fighting that took place during the war was in France, partricularly the north-east, and the Germans detroyed many mines, railways, factories, bridges and farmland. The French also suffered the most deaths. Many French people wanted revenge and put Clemenceau under a lot of pressure to make it happen.

Clemenceau wanted to cripple Germany to make sure that it was never powerful enough to attack France again. He also wanted to have to have its armed forces dramatically reduced and Germnay's border to be pushed back to the Rhine in eastern Germany, taking away its defences and making France less vulnerable to attack.

Clemenceau needed money tp help rebuild France and thought Germany should have to pay compensation for the damage. He was willing to compromise  with the other leaders, but prepared to fight for what people wanted.

Lloyd George was elected by the British public because he promised to 'Make Germany pay'. Many young British men dies in the trenches and many people of britain wanted revenge. However, Lloyd George was more cautious then Clemenceau. He was concerned that if Germany was treated too harshly it could lead to Germans wanting revenge and staring another war. Lloyd Geoge also wanted to keep Germany quite strong so that Britain could trade with it, and to stop other countries in Europe from becoming too powerful.

The British Empire was alos an important source of income, so Lloyd George was determined to gain German colonies if he got the opportunity. And to make sure that the Empire was safe, he needed to keep the British navy powerful. He saw the peace talks as a good opportunity to reduce the German navy to stop it from rivalling Britain's.

During the war no fighting took place on American soil. America made lots of money selling weapons to the Allies, so most Americans didn't see the need for revenge. Like Lloyd George, Wilson was concerned that being too strict with the Germans would lead to another war. He was also an idealist ; many people said that he was a dreamer who wasn't very practical. He wanted a future where everyone would be treated fairly. He suggested that a world parliament called the League of Nations was set up, where countries could work and trade together so that war was less likely. He also believed in self-determination, allowing countries the freedom to rule themselves. Another of his ideas was 'freedom of the seas', which meant that everyone could sail trading ships wherever they wanted. In fact, he had many ideas for a better world- and these are known as the fourteen points.