Exhaustive Academic Notes on the Successes and Failures of the League of Nations

Successes of the League of Nations

• In $1921$, the the league managed to prevent a war between Finland and Sweden over the "island islands."     - The League brought the islands to Finland, which successfully helped prevent a war between the two countries.

• The league managed to sign an international convention to combat the drugs trade after $10$ years of work.     - This law was established in $1936$ and is still in action at the moment.

Early Failures: Kofu and Vilna

• In $1923$, the incident at "Kofu" occurred involving Mussolini.     - Mussolini ignored the league when he was told to "fill out of the am of Kofu."     - Consequently, Greece had to pay its debt, providing a good example of how the league struggled with larger and more powerful nations.

• In $1921$, the Poles invaded "Vilna," which is the capital of Lithuania.     - The league attempted to tell the Poles to withdraw, but they refused.     - The league could do nothing to stop the Polish forces.

Structural Failures and Membership Problems

• A major failure was that the USA didn't actually join the league.     - Even though the league was Woodrow Wilson's idea and part of his "$14$ man," the USA remained outside the organization.     - This absence put the league on the "back foot" straight away.

• Membership was limited to only a few strong nations, primarily Britain and France.     - After a major war, Britain and France did not want to spend money to use their troops for fighting.

• Other notable exclusions included:     - Russia was not allowed in because of communism.     - Germany was not allowed in either.

• Sanctions were a significant problem as the league didn't actually have its own military army.     - The league had to ask Britain and France every time they needed a military, and these nations normally refused.     - Economic sanctions were "awful" because if the league asked members to stop trade, the USA could continue to trade with those nations as they weren't in the league.

The Manchurian Crisis ($1931$)

• Context for Japanese Expansion:     - Japan faced increasing problems due to an increasing population and the Wall Street Crash.     - The Japanese thought the answer was to expand into Manchuria.

• The Mukden Incident:     - In September $1931$, the Japanese claimed there was an explosion at Mukden.     - This served as a "perfect excuse" for the Japanese, and they quickly defeated the Chinese in Mukden without permission.

• The League's Ineffective Response:     - The Chinese appealed to the League of Nations, stating it was an act of aggression.     - The league condemned Japan, but Japan simply left the league and invaded "Zhuhai."     - The league was seen as too slow to react, too weak, and the sanctions were described as "awful."

• The "Lyttoman Commission":     - This commission was set up to investigate the matter, but it made the process take longer.     - The report was issued a year later, and the league condemned Japan $2$ years after the initial incident.

The Abyssinian Crisis ($1935$)

• Mussolini's Motivations:     - Mussolini (in Italy) wanted Abyssinia because the Italians were embarrassed there in $1896$ when they were beaten.     - The territory offered fertile lands and minimal wealth.     - Mussolini was obsessed with the Roman Empire and wanted to reestablish it.     - His style of fascist leadership required military victories and winning battles.

• Crisis Progression:     - Abyssinia is identifies as Ethiopia.     - The crisis began as a clash between the regime and Ethiopian troops.     - Mussolini claimed his Italian territory was violated, demanded an apology, and prepared for invasion.     - The first stage occurred from January to October $1935$.     - Mussolini negotiated with the league while gaining support for war and shipping armies to Abyssinia.

• The Role of Britain and France:     - They did not take the situation seriously enough to close the Suez Canal.     - The Suez Canal was the easy way to get down to Somalia to enter Ethiopia/Abyssinia; without it, the Italians would have had to go all the way around Africa.     - Britain and France wanted good relations with Mussolini as an ally (referred to as "Malia") against Hitler.

• The "Struise pact":     - Britain and France signed the "Struise pact" with Mussolini as a form of protest versus Germany and "Riyadhman."     - They secretly signed a pact allowing Mussolini half of Abyssinia.

• Political Results:     - During British elections, politicians promised to "get tough" to gain support, but nothing was done.     - The secret deal was leaked to the press, and the British and French people saw it as treachery toward the league.

The Rhineland and the Rome Berlin Access

• The failure of the league gave hope to fascist leaders like Hitler.

• In $03/07/1936$, Hitler marched into the Rhineland.

• France became scared that Hitler would do anything to make Italy happy.

• The figure "hailed so" fled the country while the league watched helplessly.

• Britain and France attempted to make a deal with Italy to strengthen their position versus Hitler.

• In November $1936$, Italy signed an alliance with Hitler called the "Rome Berlin access."

• Ultimately, the league was set up to make peace but failed to act when it mattered while fascists like Mussolini and Hitler went behind their back and broke them apart.