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Six Successes of the League in the 1920s [TASBIO]1. Teschen, 1920 In 1919, Poland and Czechoslovakia fought over this area, which was rich in coal; in 1920 the League arbitrated on the dispute, splitting the area between the two countries. Although neither country was happy about the decision, they accepted it and stopped the fighting. 2. Εland Islands, 1921 The League settled a territorial dispute between Sweden and Finland after an investigation it said that the islands should belong to Finland; Sweden and Finland agreed. 3. Silesia, 1921 The League settled a territorial dispute over Upper Silesia (rich in coal) between Germany and Poland it held a plebiscite and suggested a partition; Germany and Poland agreed. 4. Bulgaria, 1925 Stray Dog War: after a Greek Captain was shot while trying to retrieve his dog, which had run across the border, Greece invaded Bulgaria and occupied the town of Petrich. Bulgaria did not fight back, but appealed to the League. The League ordered Greece to withdraw, which the Greeks did ... though they complained bitterly. 5. Iraq, 1926 The Turks demanded Mosul, a part of Iraq (a British mandate) which was rich in oil. The League supported Iraq/ Britain; Turkey agreed (Treaty of Ankara). Britain gave Turkey a share in the oil revenues. (Interesting fact: in 1992, the people of Mosul, who were being persecuted by Saddam Hussein, went to the United Nations and cited League of Nations documents guaranteeing them minority protections in 1924, when the League gave Mosul to Iraq. This incident may have been a 'success' for the League, but it was a disaster for the Kurds who lived there.) 6. Other: Permanent Court of International Justice 400,000 Prisoners of War repatriated Turkish refugee camps helped (1922) - before 1914, refugees had no agreed status or rights; by 1939 the League had developed legal rules and protections (including the Nansen Passport) for the 1 million refugees worldwide. Work against leprosy (extermination of mosquitoes) Drugs companies blacklisted Attacks on slave owners in Sierra Leone and Burma Economic advice to Austria (1922) and Hungary (1923)
Six Failures of the League in the 1920s [VIMCOB]1. Vilna, 1920 The Poles had captured Vilna (the capital of Lithuania) in 1919, but had been driven out. Poland then appealed to the League, which organised negotiations (including trying to organise a plebiscite). A preliminary agreement was undone when the Polish General Zeligowski, apparently without his government support, nevertheless invaded again (the League refused to agree with Lithuania that the Poles had "resorted to war in deisregard of its covenants", and in March 1923 the Conference of Ambassadors intervened and gave the land to Poland. 2. Invasion of the Ruhr, 1923 French & Belgian troops invaded the Ruhr when the Germans did not pay reparations; the League was not even consulted, and Britain and the US disagreed. 3. Memel, 1923 Lithuania seized Memel, a German port under League control. The League told Lithuania to leave, but the Conference of Ambassadors gave Memel to Lithuania. 4. Corfu, 1923 An Italian general named Tellini was murdered in Greece, so Italy occupied Corfu. Greece appealed to the League for help, which ordered Mussolini to leave but the Conference of Ambassadors overruled the League, agreed that Ktay coudl retain control, and even forced Greece to pay compensation to Italy. Greece agreed, but complained that there seemde to be different rules for different countries. 5. Other Treaties It was a bad sign that most countries relied, not on the League, but on separate treaties to keep them safe: Washington Treaty, 1921 (naval agreement between USA, Britain and Japan) Locarno Pact, 1925 (to defend Versailles Treaty) The Geneva Protocol, 1925 (a mutual promise not to use poison gas or germ warfare - failed because Britain changed its mind at the last minute and refused to sign it! The USA and Japan also refused to sign.) 6. Bolivia, 1928 Chaco War: a border dispute between Paraguay and Bolivia - Paraguay appealed to the League, but Bolivia refused to agree. A ceasfire was brokered by the USA, but full-scale war broke out in 1932. |
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