French Security Collapses

p. 149-160 (Keylor)

French Security At Last

When last we left France
April, 1935- issuance of the Stresa declaration
Agreement to strengthen the Locarno treaties among the Brits, French, and Italians (Stresa front) Alsoto insure Austrias independence

May, 1935- Franco-Soviet Pact June, 1935- advent of Franco-Italian military talks Alliances with Belgium, Poland, and Czechoslovakia Treaties of friendship with Romania and Yugoslavia Visions of resurrecting the old wartime coalition of Great Britain, Russia, and Italy to prevent further German transgressions of the peace treaty

French Security Collapses

Britain Betrays France June, 1935- Brits and Germans sign a bilateral naval agreement that was secretly negotiated behind Frances back
Permitted Germany to exceed the naval limitations of the Treaty of Versailles as long as they didnt increase its total tonnage beyond 35% of that of the combined fleets of the British Commonwealth RESULT- damaged the Stresa front by allowing Germany to break yet another Versailles stipulation Side Note- Germany had no intentions of limiting their naval production and looked to rival Britains global naval power in the long run

French Security Collapses

Italy Betrays France 1930s- Italy eyed Ethiopia with the idea to recreate a Roman Empire in and around the Mediterranean World Britain and France had no colonial interests in that part of Africa and immediately attempted to create an atmosphere of appeasement January, 1935- French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval had formally renounced Frances minor economic interests in Ethiopia and gave assurance of Italys free hand in the region
Purpose- attempt at keeping Italy as a friend

August, 1935- Britain and France allowed Italy a privileged economic position in Ethiopia and the right to appoint Italian advisers to the countrys civil service, army, and police
Essentially allowing Italy to establish a protectorate in Ethiopia

French Security Collapses

Italy Betrays France October, 1935- Even with all of the concessions given by Britain and France, Mussolini invaded Ethiopia with a full-scale military attack Military victory was easy, but diplomatically Mussolini took a hit Ethiopia was a member of the League of Nations and public outcry throughout Europe was noticeable Britain and France urged the League into condemning the Italian offensive as a act of aggression and voting for economic sanctions

French Security Collapses

Italy Betrays France Hypocritical stance by Britain and France left a lasting negative impression on Il Duce December, 1935- Hoare-Laval Pact
A secret Anglo-French agreement providing for the cession of most of Ethiopia to Italy and the reduction of the remainder to the status of an Italian client state Embarrassingly, the pact had to be disavowed by both Euro powers when contents of the agreement were leaked to the press

Britain and France werent really abiding by the economic sanctions either
Especially for oil, which Italy needed for its mechanized army and air force

Germany Seizes its Chance

The instability of the Stresa front became an advantage for Hitlers schemes
Hitler remained neutral through the Italo-Ethiopian struggle
Expressed his willingness to supply Italy with scarce resources such as iron, coal, and steel Created closer ties between the two fascist dictators

Hitler then warned that he would regard the FrancoSoviet alliance as a violation of Locarno and a grave threat to Germanys security
Returned the threat by breaking the Locarno agreement and reintroducing German military forces and fortifications into the demilitarized zone of the Rhineland

Germany Seizes its Chance

Germany also used the Franco-Soviet Pact to create anti-communist propaganda
Red Menace literature intensified the fear of communism in Western Europe

February, 1936- the French ratified the treaty with the Soviet Union March, 1936- three battalions of German infantry, accompanied by antiaircraft guns and air for squadrons moved into the Rhineland

FranceDoesNothing!?
German occupation of the Rhineland should have brought the full wrath of France, but
French military strategy as developed over the past several years dictated just such a posture of passivity By constructing the Maginot Line France had in effect written off the Rhineland as indefensible The French army possessed no mobile force that could be dispatched to the Rhineland to expel the Germans
The French had devised no advance plan for such an operation because it would have been incompatible with the defensive strategy so tenaciously pursued by the French general staff

France Maybe Does Something?

The government leaders in Paris desired an offensive against German troops in the Rhineland even if the militarys general staff didnt April, 1936- French Foreign Minister PierreEtienne Flandin flew to London to discuss the possibility of a joint Anglo-French countermove
OBSTACLE- Brits did not see German reoccupation of the Rhineland as a flagrant violation of the treaty of Locarno because it was not accompanied by menacing German moves toward the French frontier

Britain Bends
Britain would neither participate in any military response nor approve of a unilateral French action Britain desired to avoid at all costs the Euro war that it believed would inevitably result from a French or Anglo-French advance into the Rhineland
Brits were quite correct because even though the German commanders in the Rhineland were told to withdraw in the event of military opposition, that withdrawal was to be only a tactical retreat preparatory to a renewed offensive

Britain Bends
Hitlers brinkmanship made war unnecessary by paralyzing the Western powers
Brits and French were only left with the ability to issue strong protests, garner a condemnation against Germany in the League of Nations, and authorize joint Anglo-French military conversations

Britains remilitarization after German occupation of the Rhineland did little to comfort France since it concentrated on upgrading naval and air forces for home and imperial defense instead of on establishing a land army that could be dispatched to the continent

Central and Eastern Europe Reassess

Hitlers unilateral repudiation of the Locarno Pact had a devastating psychological impact on all of the smaller countries on the continent
They all thought France would take the lead in restraining Germany

June, 1936- meeting of the chiefs of staff of the Little Entente

CONCLUSION- their countries future security might well require a choice between subservience to Germany or to Russia Poland, in particular, beefed up diplomacy with Germany to further their previous pact Central and Eastern European nations still had some hope that French protection would be afforded them

Belgium Breaks from France

October, 1936- the Belgian government formally renounced its military alliance with France
Reverted to its prewar status of neutrality Military ramifications of the Belgian defection were critical
Anglo-French forces were no longer guaranteed transit rights across Belgian territory in case of war with Germany Franco-Belgian military coordination, a key element in Frances strategy for the defense of its unfortified northeastern frontier, was abruptly terminated

German Security is Increased

Fall, 1936- Germany had obtained geographical protective screens on its western and eastern borders that effectively insulated it from the threat of military intervention from the great powers in alliance against it
West- neutralized Belgium and a remilitarized Rhineland East- an increasingly cooperative Poland served as a formidable barrier against the Soviet Union South- the nations of the Little Entente were driven to seek improved relations with Germany in the hope of stabilizing the political situation in that region

Spanish Civil War Provides a Smokescreen

Failure of the Western powers to recognize the implications of German security was in large part due to the fixation of world attention on the civil war that erupted in Spain in the summer of 1936
General Francisco Franco looked for military assistance from abroad Both Italy and Germany were much obliged to help out

For Germanys part they would get to test out their new weapons, military techniques (terror bombing of civilian population centers), and access to Spanish natural resources For Italy it meant greater ties to Germany

Germany Prepares for War

October, 1936- Hitler unveiled his Four-Year Plan
Under the supervision of Hermann Goring Aimed at establishing Germanys absolute independence from foreign trade by fostering the production of synthetic materials as substitutes for the natural resources unobtainable domestically

Germany Prepares for War

World War I was a war of attrition as remembered by the new Nazi leadership, so
The Nazis adopted a warfare method known as blitzkrieg (aka- lightning wars)
A series of short, swift engagements against isolated opponents The principal weapons to be used were tanks and airplanes

Germany Prepares for War

October, 1936- Rome-Berlin Axis
Signaled Mussolinis acceptance of Germanys freedom of action in Austria in particular and Southeastern Europe in general Two crucial advantages for Hitler
It removed the Italian veto of Germanys annexationist designs on Austria It increased the likelihood of tension in the Mediterranean and North Africa between Italy and the two dominant powers in that region- Britain and France

Anschluss
1937- Hitler steadily increased the pressure on the Austrian government to align its foreign and domestic policies more closely with those of the Third Reich Meanwhile, Hitler urged the Austrian Nazis to step up their subversive activities in preparation for a peaceful takeover in Vienna Austrian chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg authorized police raids on the HQ of the Austrian Nazis that uncovered collusion with German Nazis
Changed the method by which Hitler would unify Germany and Austria

Anschluss
February, 1938- Schuschnigg met with Hitler at Berchtesgaden
The Fuhrer verbally attacked the Austrian chancellor for failing to pursue pro-German policies and threatened immediate military action against Austria if Schuschnigg would not allow Austrian Nazis to play a major role in his government

Anschluss
Schuschnigg preempted Hitlers demands by calling for a plebiscite on March 13, 1938
Sought national support and a vote of confidence in resisting pro-German policies

March 12, 1938- Hitler sent German military into Austria to help oversee the plebiscite
Schuschnigg sought help/advice from Britain and France to no avail

April 10, 1938- a rigged election resulted in an overwhelming vote for the unification of Germany and Austria
Of course, this was verboten by the Versailles TreatyBUT, nobody dared to intervene at this point

Berlin-Tokyo Axis
Between 1936 and 1938- Hitler actively promoted the evolution of a cordial relationship with the rising imperial power in the Far East (Japan) Germany stood to benefit from the pressure that Japanese expansion would exert on the Asian possessions of Germanys principal antagonists in Europe OBSTACLE- Hitlers relationship with Chinese nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek

Berlin-Tokyo Axis
Commonality that brought the Germans and Japanese together was their disdain for communist Russia November, 1936- Anti-Comintern Pact
Purpose- to promote cooperation to combat the subversive activities of the Communist International and its political apparatus in each country Ulterior Motives- military alliance to pinch the Soviet Union

Formation of the Axis Powers

November, 1937- Italy was added to the Anti Comintern Pact and the Axis Powers were formed The world was now confronted with the nightmare of an impending global alignment of the three expansionist powers
OBSTACLE- Germanys reluctance to sacrifice its lucrative economic relations with China at a time when Japan was launching an undeclared war against the Nanking government OBSTACLE AVOIDED- spring, 1938- Hitler recognized the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo, terminated all military assistance to China, and recalled the German military advisers to Chiang Kai-Shek