UPSC syllabus topic (General Studies- Paper 1): World Wars, International Relations Between Two World Wars-II

International Relations Between Two World Wars-II

Mussolini’s foreign policy

• In the early days of Mussolini’s regime (he came to power in 1922), Italian foreign policy seemed rather confused:
  • Mussolini knew what he wanted, which was ‘to make Italy great, respected and feared’, but he was not sure how to achieve this, apart from agitating for a revision of the 1919 peace settlement in Italy’s favour. ©crackingcivilservices.com
  • At first he seemed to think an adventurous foreign policy was his best line of action, hence the Corfu Incident (diplomatic and military crisis between the Greece and the Italy.) and the occupation of Fiume in 1923 took place.
  • By an agreement signed at Rapallo in 1920, Fiume was to be a ‘free city’, used jointly by Italy and Yugoslavia; after Italian troops moved in, Yugoslavia agreed that it should belong to Italy.
  • After these early successes, Mussolini became more cautious, perhaps alarmed by Italy’s isolation at the time of Corfu.
• After 1923 his policy falls roughly into two phases with the break at 1934, when he began to draw closer towards Nazi Germany.
• Phase I: 1923-34
  • Rivalry with France:
    • At this stage Mussolini’s policy was determined by rivalry with the French in the Mediterranean and the Balkans, where Italian relations with Yugoslavia, France’s ally, were usually strained.
  • German threat:
    • Another consideration was the Italian fear that the weak state of Austria, along her north-eastern frontier, might fall too much under the influence of Germany; Mussolini was worried about a possible German threat via the Brenner Pass.
  • He tried to deal with both problems mainly by diplomatic means:
    • Locarno Conference:
      • He attended the Locarno Conference (1925) but was disappointed when the agreements signed did not guarantee the Italian frontier with Austria.
    • He was friendly towards Greece, Hungary, and especially Albania, the southern neighbour and rival of Yugoslavia.
    • Economic and defence agreements were signed, with the result that Albania was virtually controlled by Italy, which now had a strong position around the Adriatic Sea.
    • Good relations with Britain:
      • He cultivated good relations with Britain. ©crackingcivilservices.com
      • He supported her demand that Turkey should hand over Mosul province to Iraq, and in return, the British gave Italy a small part of Somaliland.
    • Good relations with USSR:
      • Italy became the first state after Britain to recognize the USSR; a non-aggression pact was signed between Italy and the USSR in September 1933.
    • Supported anti-Nazi government in Austria:
      • He tried to bolster up Austria against the threat from Nazi Germany by supporting the anti-Nazi government of Chancellor Dollfuss, and by signing trade agreements with Austria and Hungary.
      • When Dollfuss was murdered by the Austrian Nazis (July 1934), Mussolini sent three Italian divisions to the frontier in case the Germans invaded Austria; the Nazis immediately called off their attempt to seize power in Austria.
      • This decisive anti-German stand improved relations between Italy and France.
  • However, though he was now highly respected abroad, Mussolini was getting impatient: his successes were not spectacular enough.
• Phase II: After 1934
  • Mussolini gradually shifted from extreme suspicion of Hitler’s designs on Austria to grudging admiration of Hitler’s achievements and a desire to imitate him.
  • He later came to believe that there was more to be gained from friendship with Germany than with Britain and France.
  • The more he fell under Hitler’s influence, the more aggressive he became. His changing attitude is illustrated by events:
    • When Hitler announced the reintroduction of conscription (March 1935), Mussolini joined the British and French in condemning the German action and guaranteeing Austria’s integrity.
    • Stresa Front was formed as a coalition of France, Britain, and Italy in April 1935 at Stresa, Italy, to oppose Adolf Hitler’s announced intention to rearm Germany, which violated terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
      • Both British and French carefully avoided mentioning the Abyssinian crisis, which was already brewing.
      • Mussolini took this to mean that they would turn a blind eye to an Italian attack on Abyssinia.
      • The Anglo-German Naval Agreement signed in June convinced Mussolini of British cynicism and self-interest.
    • Italian invasion of Abyssinia (1935):
      • The Italian invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in October I 935 was the great turning point in Mussolini’s career.
      • Italian involvement in the country, the only remaining independent state left in Africa, went back to 1896, when an Italian attempt to colonize it had ended in ignominious defeat at Adowa.
      • Mussolini’s motives for the 1935 attack were:
        • Italy’s existing colonies in East Africa (Eritrea and Somaliland) were not very rewarding, and his attempts (by a treaty of ‘friendship’ signed in 1928) to reduce Abyssinia to a position equivalent to that of Albania had failed.
        • The Emperor of Abyssinia had done all he could to avoid falling under Italian economic domination.
        • Italy was suffering from the depression, and a victorious war would divert attention from internal troubles and provide a new market for Italian exports.
        • It would please the nationalists and colonialists, avenge the defeat of 1896 and boost Mussolini’s sagging popularity.
      • The Italian victory over the ill-equipped and unprepared Ethiopians was a foregone conclusion. ©crackingcivilservices.com
      • Its real importance was that it demonstrated the ineffectiveness of collective security:
        • The League condemned Italy as an aggressor and applied economic sanctions; but these were useless because they did not include banning sales of oil and coal to Italy, even though the resulting oil shortage would have seriously hampered the Italian war effort.
        • The League’s prestige suffered a further blow when it emerged that the British Foreign Secretary had made a secret deal with Laval, the French prime minister (December 1935), to hand over a large section of Abyssinia to Italy; this was more than the Italians had managed to capture at that point. Public opinion in Britain was so outraged that the idea was dropped.
      • Reasons for this weak stand against Italy were:
        • Britain and France were militarily and economically unprepared for war and were anxious to avoid any action (such as oil sanctions) that might provoke Mussolini into declaring war on them.
        • They were also hoping to revive the Stresa Front and use Italy as an ally against the real threat to European peace – Germany; so their aim was to appease Mussolini.
      • Unfortunately the results were disastrous:
        • The League and the idea of collective security were discredited.
        • Mussolini was annoyed by the sanctions anyway, and began to be drawn towards friendship with Hitler, who had not criticised the invasion and had not applied sanctions.
        • In return, Mussolini dropped his objections to a German takeover of Austria.
        • Hitler took advantage of the general preoccupation with Abyssinia to send troops into the Rhineland.
  • Attitude towards Spanish Civil War:
    • When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, Mussolini sent extensive help to Franco, the right-wing Nationalist leader, hoping to establish a third fascist state in Europe and to get naval bases in Spain from which be could threaten France.
    • His justification was that he wanted to prevent the spread of communism.
  • Friendship with Germany:
    • Rome-Berlin Axis:
      • An understanding was reached with Hitler known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.
      • Mussolini said that the Axis was a line drawn between Rome and Berlin, around which ‘all European states that desire peace can revolve’.
    • Anti-Comintern Pact:
      • In 1937 Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany and Japan, in which all three pledged themselves to stand side by side against Bolshevism.
    • This reversal of his previous policy, and his friendship with Germany, were not universally popular in Italy, and disillusionment with Mussolini began to spread.
  • His popularity revived temporarily with his part in the Munich agreement of September 1938, which seemed to have secured peace.
    • But Mussolini failed to draw the right conclusions from his people’s relief – that most of them did not want another war – and he committed a further act of aggression.
  • In April 1939 Italian troops suddenly occupied Albania, meeting very little resistance.
    • This was a pointless operation, since Albania was already under Italian economic control, but Mussolini wanted a triumph to imitate Hitler’s recent occupation of Czechoslovakia. ©crackingcivilservices.com
  • Pact of Steel (May 1939):
    • Carried away by his successes, Mussolini signed a full alliance with Germany, the Pact of Steel (May 1939), in which Italy promised full military support if war came.
    • Mussolini was committing Italy to deeper and deeper involvement with Germany, which in the end would ruin him.

Relations between Japan and China

(a) The Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931

• The motives behind this were mixed.
  • The Japanese felt it was essential to keep control of the province because it was a valuable trade outlet.
  • China seemed to be growing stronger under the rule of Chiang Kai-shek, and the Japanese feared this might result in their being excluded from Manchuria.
  • At the League of Nations, Sir John Simon, the British Foreign Secretary, presented a strong defence of Japan’s actions.
    • Japan had been involved in the province since the 1890s, and was given Port Arthur and a privileged position in South Manchuria as a result of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5).
    • Since then, the Japanese had invested millions of pounds in Manchuria in the development of industry and railways.
    • By 1931 they controlled the South Manchurian Railway and the banking system; they felt they could not stand by and see themselves gradually squeezed out of such a valuable province with a population of 30 million, especially when the Japanese themselves were suffering economic hardship because of the Great Depression.
  • The Japanese announced that they had turned Manchuria into the independent state of Manchukuo under Pu Yi, the last of the Chinese emperors.
    • This fooled nobody, but still, no action was taken against them. The next Japanese move, however, could not be justified, and could only be described as flagrant aggression.

(b) The Japanese advance from Manchuria

• In 1933 the Japanese began to advance from Manchuria into the rest of north-eastern China, to which they had no claim whatsoever.
  • By 1935 a large area of China as far as Beijing (Peking) had fallen under Japanese political and commercial control, while the Chinese themselves were torn by a civil war between Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang government and the communists led by Mao Zedong.

(c) Further invasions

• After signing the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany (1936), the Japanese army seized the excuse provided by an incident between Chinese and Japanese troops in Peking to begin an invasion of other parts of China (July 1937).
• Although the prime minister, Prince Konoye, was against such massive intervention, he had to give way to the wishes of General Sugiyama, the war minister.
• By the autumn of 1938 the Japanese had captured the cities of Shanghai, Nanking (Chiang Kai-shek’s capital) and Hankow, committing terrible atrocities against Chinese civilians.
• However, complete victory eluded the Japanese:
  • Chiang had reached an understanding with his communist enemies that they would both co-operate against the invaders.
  • A new capital was established well inland at Chungking, and spirited Chinese resistance was mounted with help from the Russians.
  • However, Japanese troops landed in the south of China and quickly captured Canton, but Chiang still refused to surrender or accept Japanese terms.
• Meanwhile the League of Nations had again condemned Japanese aggression but was powerless to act, since Japan was no longer a member and refused to attend a conference to discuss the situation in China.
  • Britain and France were too busy coping with Hitler to take much notice of China, and the Russians did not want full-scale war with Japan.
  • The USA, the only power capable of effectively resisting Japan, was still bent on isolation.
• Thus, on the eve of the Second World War, the Japanese controlled most of eastern China (though outside the cities their hold was shaky) while Chiang held out in the centre and west. ©crackingcivilservices.com

Hitler’s foreign policy

• Hitler aimed to make Germany into a great power again
  • He hoped to achieve this by:
    • destroying the hated Versailles settlement; selfstudyhistory.com
    • building up the army – something forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles;
    • recovering lost territory such as the Saar and the Polish Corridor;
    • bringing all German-speaking peoples inside the Reich;
      • this would involve annexing Austria and taking territory from Czechoslovakia and Poland, both of which had large German minorities as a result of the peace settlement.
• There is some disagreement about what, if anything, Hitler intended beyond these aims. ©crackingcivilservices.com
  • Some historians believe that annexing Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia and Poland was only a beginning, and that Hitler planned to follow it up by seizing the rest of Czechoslovakia and Poland, and then conquering and occupying Russia as far east as the Ural Mountains.
    • ‘National boundaries’, he said, ‘are only made by man and can be changed by man.’ ©crackingcivilservices.com
    • The changes of boundary which Hitler had in mind would give the Germans what he called Lebensraum (living space).
    • He claimed that Germany’s population was much too large for the area into which it was constrained; more land was needed to provide food for the German people as well as an area in which the excess German population could settle and colonize.
    • Certainly Hitler had made clear his hatred of what he called ‘Jewish Bolshevism’. This suggests that war with the USSR was unavoidable at some point, in order to destroy communism. The next stage would be to get colonies in Africa and naval bases in and around the Atlantic.
  • Other historians disagree about these further aims:
    • A. J.P. Taylor:
      • He claimed that Hitler never had any detailed plans worked out for acquiring Lebensraum and never intended a major war; at most he was prepared only for a limited war against Poland.
      • Taylor concluded: ‘Hitler got as far as he did because others did not know what to do with him’.
    • Many historians believed that believed that Hitler’s writings and statements about Lebensraum did not amount to an actual programme which he followed step by step.
      • It is more likely they were a propaganda exercise designed to attract support and unite the Nazi party.
      • There is very little evidence that Hitler had given much serious thought to the problems of creating and organising a Nazi empire in Europe.
• A series of successes
  • Whatever the truth about his long-term intentions, Hitler began his foreign policy with an almost unbroken series of brilliant successes, which was one of the main reasons for his popularity in Germany.
  • By the end of 1938 almost every one of the first set of aims had been achieved, without war and with the approval of Britain. Only the Germans in Poland remained to be brought within the Reich. Unfortunately it was when he failed to achieve this by peaceful means that Hitler took the fateful decision to invade Poland. ©crackingcivilservices.com
  • Given that Germany was still militarily weak in 1933, Hitler had to move cautiously at first.
    • He withdrew Germany from the World Disarmament Conference and from the League of Nations, on the grounds that France would not agree to Germany having equality of armaments.
    • At the same time he insisted that Germany was willing to disarm if other states would do the same, and that he wanted only peace.
    • This was one of his favourite techniques: to act boldly while at the same time soothing his opponents with the sort of conciliatory speeches he knew they wanted to hear.
    • Ten-years non-aggression pact:
      • Next Hitler signed a ten-year non-aggression pact with the Poles (January 1934), who were showing alarm in case the Germans tried to take back the Polish Corridor.
      • This was something of a triumph for Hitler:
        • Britain took it as further evidence of his peaceful intentions;
        • it ruined France’s Little Entente, which depended very much on Poland; and
        • it guaranteed Polish neutrality whenever Germany decided to move against Austria and Czechoslovakia.
        • On the other hand, it improved relations between France and Russia, who were both worried by the apparent threat from Nazi Germany.
  • Return of Saar after plebiscite:
    • The Saar was returned to Germany (January 1935) after a plebiscite resulting in a 90 per cent vote in favour.
    • The region, important for coal production, had previously been removed from German control as a term of Versailles to weaken Germany industrially.
    • Though the vote had been provided for in the peace settlement, Nazi propaganda made the most of the success.
    • Hitler announced that now all causes of grievance between France and Germany had been removed.
  • First successful breach of Versailles treaty: reintroduction of conscription
    • Hitler’s first successful breach of Versailles came in March 1935 when he announced the reintroduction of conscription.
    • His excuse was that Britain had just announced air force increases and France had extended conscription from 12 to 18 months (their justification was German rearmament).
    • Much to their alarm, Hitler decided build up his peacetime army of about 600 000 men – six times more than was allowed by the peace treaty.
    • Although the Stresa Front (consisting of Britain, France and Italy) condemned this violation of Versailles, no action was taken; the League was helpless, and the Front collapsed anyway as a result of Hitler’s next success.
    • Anglo-German Naval Agreement (June 1935):
      • Shrewdly realizing how frail the Stresa Front was, Hitler detached Britain by offering to limit the German navy to 35 per cent of the strength of the British navy.
      • Britain eagerly accepted, signing the Anglo-German Naval Agreement (June 1935); British thinking seems to have been that since the Germans were already breaking Versailles by building a fleet, it would be as well to have it limited. ©crackingcivilservices.com
      • Without consulting her two allies, Britain had condoned German rearmament, which went ahead with gathering momentum.
    • By the end of 1938 German army stood at about 800 000 men plus reserves, there were 21 large naval vessels (battleships, cruisers and destroyers), many more under construction, and 47 U-boats. A large air force of over 5000 aircraft had been built up.
  • Rhineland invasion (1936):
    • For many years the Rhineland area had been a key industrial region of Germany, producing coal, steel and iron resources.
      • The Rhineland also formed a natural barrier to its neighbour and rival, France. In the event of a war, the River Rhine, if properly defended, would be a difficult obstacle for an invading force to cross.
      • One of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles was that the Germans would not be able to keep military forces in a 50km stretch of the Rhineland. Hitler resented this term as it made Germany vulnerable to invasion. He was determined to enlarge his military capability and strengthen his borders.
    • Encouraged by his earlier successes, Hitler took the calculated risk of sending troops into the demilitarized zone of the Rhineland (March 1936), a breach of both Versailles and Locarno.
    • Though the troops had orders to withdraw at the first sign of French opposition, no resistance was offered, except the usual protests.
    • At the same time, well aware of the mood of pacifism among his opponents, Hitler offered France and Britain a 25 year non-aggression pact and claimed ‘Germany had no territorial demands to make in Europe’.
    • Reactions to Hitler:
      • Britain
        • Britain did not act. The nation was weak economically and militarily and so did not want to commit itself to war unless it definitely had to.
        • At the time, Britain was in dispute with Italy over its military campaigns in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and British forces had been moved into the Mediterranean in case Italy became aggressive. There was little Britain could do to stop Germany.
        • There was a popular view that the Germans were only ‘going into their back-garden’ by re-entering an army to the Rhineland. Although the British government denounced the breaking of the terms of Versailles, they did not think it merited war.
      • France
        • France did not act. France was politically unstable when Germany re-occupied the Rhineland.
        • The Hoare-Laval fiasco (where France and Britain tried to appease Italy’s leader Mussolini by agreeing to offer him land in Abyssinia) had been deeply unpopular and had eventually brought down the government. France could not act to stop the Germans.
        • French military forces had previously been moved from the Rhine to the Alps and Tunisia because of the political tension with Italy. As such, their forces near the Rhineland were weakened. ©crackingcivilservices.com
        • The French would only act on Germany with Britain’s aid. British reluctance to stand up to Hitler meant the French also took no action.
        • France placed its faith in the Maginot Line of fortifications on the Franco-German border. (The Maginot Line was a vast fortification that spread along the French/German border)
    • Results
      • Hitler had significantly improved his status.
      • Over the next two years the Germans built defences and within 18 months their rate of rearmament passed that of Britain and France. He did not agree to an Air Force Pact with Britain. He began to think he was infallible. ©crackingcivilservices.com
      • France continued to strengthen the Maginot Line in an attempt to safeguard against future German aggression.
      • France’s alliance with Britain became strained due to Britain’s refusal to stand up to Germany.
      • French alliances with eastern European countries were undermined as France concentrated solely on defence against possible German aggression.
      • Britain promised France and Belgium help if they were invaded (reaffirming Locarno Pact).
      • Austria now came under more German pressure.
      • Britain began rearming its military forces.
  • Other successes:
    • In 1936 Hitler consolidated Germany’s position by reaching an understanding with Mussolini (the Rome-Berlin Axis) and by signing the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan (also joined by Italy in 1937) which formed an anti-Communist alliance.
    • Germans and Italians gained military experience by helping Franco to victory in the Spanish Civil War. One of the most notorious exploits in this war was the bombing of the defenceless Basque market town of Guernica by the German Condor Legion. (Will be discussed later in detail)
  • Anschluss (Union) (March, 1938):
    • Hitler wanted all German-speaking nations in Europe to be a part of Germany.
      • To this end, he had designs on re-uniting Germany with his native homeland, Austria.
      • Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, however, Germany and Austria were forbidden to be unified.
      • Hitler also wanted control of the largely German-speaking area within Czechoslovakia, called the Sudetenland. Importantly, Austria shared a border with this area.
      • In an attempt to realise his goals, Hitler was determined to destabilise Austria and undermine its independence. His ultimate goal was anschluss (union) with Austria. ©crackingcivilservices.com
    • Earlier setback to Anchluss in July 1934:
      • In July 1934 Hitler suffered a setback to his ambitions of an Anschluss (union) between Germany and Austria.
      • The Austrian Nazis, encouraged by Hitler, staged a revolt and murdered the Chancellor, Engelbert Dollfuss, who had banned the Nazi party and had been supported by Mussolini.
      • In 1934, Italy had an agreement with Austria that it would protect Austria from outside aggression. The Italian dictator, Mussolini, honoured the agreement and moved Italian troops to the Austrian border to deter Hitler from invading. The revolt collapsed.
      • Hitler, taken aback, had to accept that Germany was not yet strong enough to force the issue, and he denied responsibility for the actions of the Austrian Nazis.
    • The new Austrian Chancellor, Schuschnigg tried to preserve the country from German invasion by trying not to give Hitler an excuse for aggression. He tried to co-operate with Hitler as much as possible.
      • Schuschnigg signed the German-Austrian Agreement of 1936.
        • This pact recognised the independence of Austria but the price was that Austria’s foreign policy had to be consistent with Germany’s.
        • The agreement also allowed Nazis to hold official posts in Austria.
        • Schuschnigg hoped this would appease Hitler. He was wrong.
    • Schuschnigg’s position was undermined in 1936 when Hitler and Mussolini formalised the Rome-Berlin Axis during their joint involvement in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). With Germany and Italy now firm allies, Austria had lost the protection of Italy and was vulnerable to German attack.
    • Hitler demanded that Nazis be given key government posts in Austria. Schuschnigg compromised and the Nazi member was made Minister of the Interior.
    • Hitler ordered Austrian Nazis to create as much trouble and destruction as possible in order to put pressure on Schuschnigg. If Hitler could claim that Austrian law and order had broken down he could justify marching German troops into Vienna to restore peace – despite the fact that he was responsible for the chaos in the first place.
    • Matters came to a head when the Austrian Nazis staged huge demonstrations in Austria which Chancellor Schuschnigg’ s government could not control.
    • Realizing that this could be the prelude to a German invasion, Schuschnigg announced a referendum about whether or not Austria should remain independent. Hitler was furious. If the Austrians voted against joining Germany his excuse for invasion would be ruined.
    • Hitler ordered Schuschnigg to call off the referendum. Knowing he would receive no help from Italy, and that France and Britain would not interfere in Hitler’s plans, Schuschnigg conceded. He called off the referendum and resigned.
    • German troops marched into Austria unopposed. Hitler now had control of Austria. A month later, Hitler held a rigged referendum which showed that the Austrian people approved of German control of their country.
    • Foreign reaction:
      • France
        • French politics were in turmoil in March 1938. In fact, two days before Germany invaded Austria the entire French government had resigned.
        • France was not in a position to oppose the invasion. ©crackingcivilservices.com
      • Britain
        • Prime Minister Chamberlain was determined to appease Hitler and there was no political will to oppose Germany.
        • Furthermore, the British population were against the idea of another European war.
        • The Anschluss was not seen as a threat to Britain and, as both nations were German-speaking, there was a sense that there was no good reason why Austria and Germany shouldn’t unify.
        • Anti-appeasers, such as Winston Churchill, were alarmed by Germany’s annexation of Austria. They believed that if Hitler had a true claim to Austria, he should have used negotiation and diplomacy rather than force.
    • The Anschluss with Austria (March 1938) was Hitler’s greatest success to date. It was a triumph for Germany:
      • Germany added seven million people and an army of 100,000 to its Reich.
      • Germany gained useful resources such as steel, iron ore and Austria’s foreign exchange reserves.
      • It revealed the weakness of Britain and France, who again only protested.
      • It showed the value of the new German understanding with Italy.
      • The balance of power in south-eastern Europe shifted in favour of Germany, increasing their influence in the Balkans.
      • It dealt a severe blow to Czechoslovakia, which could now be attacked from the south as well as from the west and north and Czechoslovakia was now surrounded on three fronts by Germany. ©crackingcivilservices.com
  • All was ready for the beginning of Hitler’s campaign to get the German-speaking Sudetenland, a campaign which ended in triumph at the Munich Conference in September 1938. (will be discussed later).