Chapter 2 Establishing Peace: Attempts at Disarmament (Notes)

What were the attendance at disarmament after WW1

a) Washington Naval conference 1921 - 1922:

• Aim was to reduce Naval power of the major countries.
• USA, Britain, France, Italy and Japan agreed to reduce the size of their navies.
• Signed the Five Power Naval Limitation Treaty-  agreed to maintain ratio -  USA and Britain given highest, followed by Japan and France and Italy -  not to build any for the next 10 years.
• Britain and USA agreed not to improve their naval facilities in the Pacific region, Japan also agreed not to develop bases on Formosa ( present day Taiwan ) and the Pacific Islands.

How successful was the conference?

• Some historians felt it was a major achievement as these countries had taken the first step towards disarmament.
• However, other historians pointed out that disarmed and only applied to the navy, not the land forces -  also, the disarmament applied only to battleships, not submarines or smaller ships -  this meant that countries could still use their navy to go to war -  therefore, the conference was not a success.

b) The Locarno Pact 1925:

• By signing this packed Germany agreed to honour the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, particularly with regard to the territorial terms.

How successful was the Pact?

• It helped improve Germany's relations with its neighbours as it assured them that Germany wanted to maintain peace.
• Germany was accepted as a member of the League of Nations.

c) Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928:

• Was an American-French idea.
• In August 1928, 15 countries signed the Pact -  later, more than 60 countries also signed.
• By signing the Pact, the countries officially agreed not to use War to achieve their political or economic ambitions.

How successful was the Pact?

• The Pact did not say what should be done to those members who broke the Pact.
• Countries could still conduct an “undeclared war” -   that is, attack another country without officially announcing that they are at war with that country ( it is internationally accepted that a country must officially declare war against another before attacking).
• Therefore, the Pact still allowed countries to go to war.