History General Flashcards

• When was the Paris Peace Conference?

  January 1919
• What were the aims of Lloyd George at the Paris Peace Conference?

  - Gain a share of Germany's colonies

  - "Just and firm" Peace

  - Economic revival of Europe (still wanted to be able to trade with Germany)
• What were the aims of Clemenceau at the Paris Peace Conference?


  - Security- Revenge- Return of land lost toGermany in 1871
• What were the aims of Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference?

  - Fair and lasting peace

  - Setup his 14 points including:

  - League of Nations

  - Self determination

  - International Disarmament
• What were the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

  - Germany must accept "war guilt"- Reparations of£6,600 million- Disarmament- Rhineland demilitarised + Anschluss forbidden- Land and colonies lost
• To what extent did Germany disarm?

  - Only100,000 armed forces- Conscription banned- Naval forceonly 15,000 men and 36 warships- Poisonous gas, tanks, and armed aircraft prohibited
• Why did the big three not get everything they wanted?

  - Wilson and Clemenceau in particular had very different aims

  - Treaty was very complex
• Why was Clemenceau satisfied?

  - Return of Alsace-Lorraine

  - The extent of disarmament and reparations

  - Demilitarisation of the Rhineland

  - Overall increased security for France
• Why was Lloyd George satisfied?

  - Extension of the British Empire

  - Germany wasn't completely destroyed economically

  - Could still trade with Germany
• Why was Wilson satisfied?

  - League of Nations

  - Self determination

  - A small amount of disarmament
• What is self determination?


  - When a country has the right to rule themselves
• What was the impact of the treaty on Germany?

  - Extent of disarmament was a blow to national pride- Germany was unable to pay the reparations in1922- Caused social unrest
• Why was the treaty unfair?

  - War Guilt Clause was unfair

  - Treaty was inconsistent, Poland got self determination but Germany didn't

  - Diktat (dictated peace), the treaty was forced upon them
• What were the terms of St Germain (Austria)?

  -September 1919-30,000 troops, no conscription, and no navy- Reparations agreed but never paid due to bankruptcy- Anschluss forbidden- Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, and Yugoslavia formed from their land
• What were the terms of Trianon (Hungary)?

  -June 1920-35,000 troops, no conscription,3 patrol boats-200 million gold crownsin reparations- Lost Fiume to Italy- Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania formed from their land
• What were the terms of Neuilly (Bulgaria)?

  -November 1919-20,000 troops, no conscription,4 torpedo boats, no air force-£90 millionin reparations- Territory lost to Greece, Romania, and Yugoslavia
• What were the terms of Sevres (Turkey)?

  -August 1920-30,000 men,6 torpedo boats- No reparations- Smyrna and East Thrace given to Greece- Rhodes given to Italy- Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Kurdistan, and Armenia formed from their land
• What were the terms of Lausanne (Turkey)?

  -July 1923- Treaty of Sevres provoked a backlash in Turkey- Turkey regained land- Also gained some control over the Dardanelles
• Could the treaties be justified?

  - Lloyd George feared that the treaty would stir up resentment and that Europe would go back to war

  - Many people in France feared the treaty was only a temporary solution

  - People in France thought Germany should have been broken down into smaller states

  - Wilson thought that the treaty was fair

  - Edward House, an American diplomat acknowledged it was not perfect, but was the best that could have been achieved out of the circumstances
• What were the aims of the League of Nations?

  - International peace through collective security

  - Promote international cooperation

  - Encourage nations to disarm

  - Improve living and working conditions

  - Uphold and enforce the treaty of Versailles
• How many members were in the League of Nations at the start?

  42 members
• Why couldn't America join the League of Nations?

  - Although Woodrow Wilson was very enthusiastic about the league America was unable to join due to opposition in the Congress

  - America was very isolationist at the time
• Which major powers were not in the League of Nations at the start?

  - US, Germany, and Soviet Russia- (Germany was allowed to join the League in 1926)- (USSR was allowed to join in 1934)
• Describe the role of the Assembly within the League

  - Meets annually

  - They considered matters of general policy and recommended action to the council

  - Every member had 1 vote

  - Votes were unanimous
• Describe the role of the Council within the League

  - Met4 times a yearand for emergencies- It was made up of permanent and non permanent members- The permanent members were: Britain, Italy, France, and Japan-Each country had 1 vote- Votes were unanimous
• Describe the role of the Secretariat within the League


  - The Secretariat did the administrative and financial work of the League

  - Work included organizing conferences, keeping records, and preparing reports
• What were the agencies within the League and what did they do?

  - Mandates Commission exercised supervision over colonies of the defeated powers- Refugees Committee returned400,000 prisonersfrom Russia and Greece- Slavery Committee freed200,000slaves from British controlled Sierra Leone- Health Committee made a vaccine for the Typhus epidemic in Siberia and also helped to reduce the spread of Malaria- International Labour Organisation removed lead from white paint and attempted to introduce a48 hour working week
• What were the successes of the League in the 1920s?

  -Aaland islands (1921). Between Finland and Sweden and Finland got the land-Upper Silesia (1921). Between Germany and Poland, a plebiscite was held and the area was divided between them- Province ofMosul (1924). Between Turkey and Iraq. Iraq kept the territory and Turkey received a10% royalty paymenteach year on oil deposits-Greece and Bulgaria (1925). Greece was ordered to withdraw and pay Bulgaria£45,000 compensationand they agreed
• What were the failures of the League in the 1920s?

  -Vilna (1920). Between Poland and Lithuania. France didn't act against Poland as they saw it as a future ally-Corfu (1923). Between Italy and Greece. Mussolini persuaded the league to change its ruling- International disarmament failed
• Why was the League successful in the 1920s?

  - Most of the successful disputes were between minor countries

  - There was no appetite for conflict after WWI

  - Countries were focused on rebuilding after WWI
• What other treaties were established in the 1920s?


  - France made mutual assistance pacts with Poland and Czechoslovakia-The Locarno treaties (1925)provided guarantees for the frontiers of North East Europe-Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)70 countriesagreed to never go to war but there were no consequences if one did
• What were the weaknesses of the League's organisation?

  - US, Germany, and Soviet Russia were not in the League

  - This meant that the League didn't have an army so could only enforce its ideas through moral disapproval and economic sanctions

  - Unanimous decisions meant it was hard to take action

  - Lacked funds because the US was not involved

  - The Assembly met annually so it could take a long time to come up with decisions
• How did the Great Depression impact the League?

  - Created a reluctance to impose economic sanctions

  - There was a pressure to find new markets and raw materials e.g. Japan in Manchuria

  - It meant people would turn to extreme parties such as the Nazis
• Why did Japan invade Manchuria?

  - As an island Japan was heavily impacted by the Great Depression inOctober 1929- It was in an economic slump and thesilk exports were decreased by 75%
• Describe the events in Manchuria

  -September 1931Mukden incident. Japan staged an explosion on the Japanese owned railway in South Manchuria (False flag)- They used this as an excuse to invade- Japan was instructed to withdraw by the league but ignored it, and then left the league inMarch 1933
• Why didn't Britain and France get involved in Manchuria?


  - They feared an attack on their colonies in the far East

  - They did not want to cut back trade with the far East
• What were the consequences of Japan's invasion of Manchuria?

  - Japan demonstrated blatant aggression and the League looked weak

  - Hitler and Mussolini watched with interest

  - Japan left the League
• Why did Mussolini invade Abyssinia?

  - Mussolini wanted to boost popularity following a period of economic recession and unemployment caused by the Great depression- Italy suffered ahumiliating defeat to Abyssinia in the 1800s
• Describe the events in Abyssinia

  - Italy invaded inOctober 1935- The League imposed economic sanctions on Italy but didn't ban oil and coal exports- League also didn't close the Suez Canal-9 May 1939Mussolini formally annexed the whole of Abyssinia
• What was the Hoare-Laval Pact?


  - A secret deal between Italy, France and Britain that would give Mussolini half of Abyssinia in return for peace.

  - It was leaked by the French press and it was a big humiliation