The Kellogg-Briand Pact

Interwar timeline

Social Studies 20-1

By Mohammad Nasir and Marta Piermarchi

1) Dawes Plan-1924-1929

2) The Locarno Treaties- October 5-16, 1925

3) Kellogg-Briand Pact -1928

The Kellogg-Briand Pact, also known as the Pact of Paris was an agreement signed on August 27th in 1928, to outlaw war. This Pact was signed in Paris hence why it has been called the Pact of Paris. It was one of many international efforts to prevent another World war, but little effect did it have in the stopping of the rising militarism of the 1930’s or in the prevention of WWII. Germany, France and the United states all signed the pact and soon after most other nations did as well. The Kellogg-Briand Pact shares similar provisions that were incorporated into the Charter of the United Nations and other treaties and it also became a stepping-stone to a more activist American policy.

4) Young Plan-February 11, 1929 to 1932

5) The Great Depression- October 29, 1929-1939

6) Japanese Invasion of Manchuria – September 18th, 1931- February 27 1932

In the 1930’s, the Japanese were absolutely determined to extend their empire. They ruled in Korea and also controlled the Manchurian railway. In September of 1931, the Japanese claimed that the Chinese soldiers had sabotaged the railway and proceeded to attack the Chinese army. The Chinese knew though that this was just an excuse that the Japanese were using to invade Manchuria and because of this the Chinese did not fight back. The Japanese government had ordered their army to withdraw but they invaded anyway. By February of 1932, the Japanese had managed to conquer the whole of Manchuria, and had set up a Japanese-controlled state that went by the name of Manchukuo, run by the former emperor of China. Thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians had been killed by the modern but ruthless Japanese army.

7) Spanish Civil War-1936-39

The Spanish civil war was a military revolt against the Republican Government of Spain. This revolt had the support of conservative elements within the country itself. A very bloody civil war ensued after the initial military coup failed attempting to win control of the entire country. The Nationalists, as the rebels were called, received help from the Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany while the Republicans received aid from the Soviet Union as well as from International Brigades, composed of volunteers from Europe and the United States.

The war was an outcome of a polarization of Spanish life and politics that had developed over the previous decades. On one fighting side, the nationalists were mostly composed of Roman Catholics, important elements of the military, most landowners, and also many businessmen. On the opposing side were the Republicans, who made up of urban workers, most agricultural labourers and many of the educated middle class. The republicans were loyal to the democratic, left-leaning Second Spanish Republic, while the Nationalists were a falangist group led by the General Francisco Franco.

The Republicans lost the war as its leaders attempted to negotiate a peace, but Franco refused. On March 28th, 1939, the victorious Nationalists entered Madrid in triumph and the Spanish Civil War finally came to an end. Up to a million lives were lost in the conflict, the most devastating in all of Spanish history.

8) The Re-Occupation of the Rhineland-March, 1936

9) Italian Invasion of Ethiopia –October 3, 1936- April 9, 1936

10) The Munich Crisis- March, 1938

The Munich crisis first began when Nazi Germany demanded the annexation of the Sudetenland, the Czech territory bordering Germany. Since the majority of the Sudetenland population were Germanic and also spoke a very similar language, Germany claimed that it should belong to them. The Sudetenland also held strategic significance since the mountainous terrains contained a majority of Czechoslovakian military defenses. Germany, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and also Czechoslovakia were the players involved in this particular crisis. The United States, France, and the United Kingdom were all responsible for holding Germany and the other Axis powers to the stipulations of the Versailles Treaty after World War I. The Munich crisis itself inevitably led to Case White, the invasion of Poland on September 1st 1939.

11) Annexation of Austria- March 13, 1938

12) Occupation of the Sudetenland-October 10th 1938

France and the United Kingdom were both determined to avoid another European war. Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister, sympathized with the complaints of the Sudeten Germans, and also believed that Hitler would go no further with his own territorial demands. Czechoslovakia was urged to concede by both countries. The Czechs refused and by May the country’s troops were partially mobilized. Hitler then responded to this by secretly ordering war by October at the latest. A four power conference took place in Munich in late September after a number of failed attempts to resolve the situation. Britain, France, Germany and Italy were the attending members, excluding Czechoslovakia itself. The day after, the Munich agreement was signed and reluctantly accepted by the Czechs as it was the only way to avoid war. The agreement allowed the Sudetenland to be occupied by Germany, with the final borders to be decided in a plebiscite at a later date.