disputes

• dispute 1 - teschen - 1919


  league success

  poland and czechoslovakia fought over coal rich teschen

  league solved this by dividing teschen along river

  fighting stopped despite polish discontent that czech got more coal mines
• dispute 2 - vilna

  league failure

  ww1 did not end war in eastern europe

  polish-soviet war meant that vilnus was repeatedly occupied by both

  league tried to arrange partial armistice between poland + lithuania in oct 1920

  poland ignored league, occupied vilna

  league was powerless as they had no army
• dispute 3 - upper silesia

  mixed success

  germany and poland both wanted region

  1921 plebiscite

  germany won 60% vote but poland challenged this

  said many who voted for germany no longer lived in upper silesia

  germany got rural area, poland got industry

  germany lost 3/4 regional coal mines

  poland got 1/3 of land
• dispute 4 - aaland islands 


  league success

  sweden and finland wanted the islands

  league found out 90% swedish population in aaland islands

  given to finland but cannot build forts

  schools must teach swedish

  both parties happy
• dispute 5 - corfu - aug 1923


  league failure

  italian general killed at greco-albanian border

  mussolini demanded greek gov execute the murderers

  this was ignored, mussolini bombarded greece's island of corfu

  league morally condemned italy but conference forced greece to pay compensation
• dispute 6 - petrich - 1925


  mixed success

  greece attacked bulgaria after greek soliders killed at border near petrich

  bulgarians appealed to league

  league condemned greece and ordered them to pay fine

  greece unwilling to upset powerful league nations and relented

  seen as hypocritical because italys actions had a different response