Why did the Versailles Washington system collapse? The crisis of the Versailles-Washington system. The beginning of the aggression of fascist states in Europe

The Versailles-Washington system is a world order, the foundations of which were laid after the First World War by the Versailles peace treaty, treaties with Germany's allies, and the agreements of the Washington Conference.

All this was preceded by a conference in Paris on January 18, 1919. Its task: legal formalization new system international relations.

The main issues that needed to be resolved (peaceful settlement of the German problem, reparations, concluding treaties with Germany's former allies - Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, determining the status of former German colonies, creating an international organization to ensure peace, the formation of new states.

Countries participated: USA, English, French, Italy, Belgium, Japan, China, Poland, Brazil, etc.

In the spring of 1919, a council of four was formed: the USA, England, France, Italy.

A council of three (Wilson, Clemenceau, Lloyd George) was also unofficially registered.

Russia was not invited to the conference because it was considered a traitor who had come out of the war. Because she violated her obligations under the Entente. Also, the Bolshevik regime was not recognized in Europe.

The basis of the Versailles-Washington system were: the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. The Treaty of Saint-Germain 1919 with Austria, the Treaty of Nen with Bulgaria 1919, the Treaty of Trianon with Hungary 1920, the Treaty of Sèvres with Turkey 1920.

Treaty of Versailles with Germany on June 28, 1919. Germany is obliged to pay reparations of 20 billion marks. France - 52%, England 22%, Italy 10, Belgium 8, Japan 0.75.

Alsace and Lorraine departed from Germany - transferred to France, the Saar (coal deposits) - to France, and the Saar region was transferred to the League of Nations for 15 years. Next, a plebescite should determine her fate.

Eupen and molcopper were transferred to Belgium (as a result of the plebescite).

Schleswig was transferred to Denmark, Poznan to Poland, Gdansk (became a free city, under the control of the League of Nations), Upper Silesia was transferred to Poland, the Memel region to Lithuania.

=)Germany lost 1/8 of its territory.

The territory of the Rhine (the left bank and 50 km of the right bank were subject to demilitarization. The West Bank was divided into 3 zones (Cologne, Koblenz, Mainz).

Germany was subject to almost complete demilitarization. A limitation was imposed on the size of the German land army, and it was reduced Navy, Germany was not allowed to maintain a submarine fleet. She was not allowed to own heavy artillery, tanks, or aircraft.

Mandate system

Dividing countries into 3 groups: grA. Syria, Palestine, Transylvania, Iraq are independent states. GrV. - former colonies of Germany (Tanganika and southwest Africa). GrS-TOGO, CAMEROON, NEW GUINEA, SAMOA, CAROLINA ISLANDS, MARIANAS. MARSHALOVS.

Syria, Lebanon - transferred to France. Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq - Britain.

Togo, Cameroon - France, England.

Mashlalovy, Mariana, Caroline islands

Samoa, Guinea-

Treaty of Saint Germain 1919 September 10. On the creation of the Austrian Republic, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the Serbian-Croatian-Slovenian state. Prohibition of Anschluss. Italy received South Tyrol and Istria. Austria abandoned Bukovina.

Treaty of Nine November 27, 1919. With Bulgaria. Part of Macedonia was transferred to the Serbo-Croatian-Slovenians, Western Thracia was transferred to Greece. Dobruja Romania.

Treaty of Trianon 1920 June 4 with Hungary. Transylvania and the Eastern Banat were transferred to Romania, Croatia and the Western Banat were transferred to Yugoslavia.

Treaty of Sèvres 1920 August 10. With Turkey. It meant the dismemberment of its territory. Izmir was transferred to Greece, Palestine, Israel, Transylvania - to England, Syria, Lebanon - to France. A British protectorate was established over Egypt, a French protectorate over Morocco and Tunisia.

22 countries participated. Created at the initiative of the United States, they wanted to achieve a favorable solution to the issue of naval weapons. The United States sought to increase its influence.

Treaty of 4 countries December 13, 1921. Great Britain, USA, France, Japan. On mutual guarantees of the inviolability of the island possessions of its participants in the Pacific Ocean.

Treaty of Five Countries February 6, 1922. England, USA, France, Italy, Japan. On the ban on the construction of warships with a tonnage exceeding 35 thousand tons.

Nine-Nation Treaty February 6, 1922 England, Great Britain, Italy, France, Japan, Belle, the Netherlands, Portugal, China. On the proclamation of the principles of respect, sovereignty, and territorial independence of China.

CONTRADICTIONS OF THE VERSE-WASHINGT SYSTEM.

The Versailles-Washington system was the beginning of a revision of the provisions of the Paris conference (that is, the revision itself was already a contradiction (. The new colonial system, the meaninglessness of the league of nations, also became a contradiction. Also, the fact that the USA and the USSR dropped out of it. This strong states, only with their help could European balance be established. The Versailles system completely destroyed economic ties in Europe. The old single market collapsed and a new economic split emerged.

General history [Civilization. Modern concepts. Facts, events] Dmitrieva Olga Vladimirovna

The Versailles-Washington system: from crisis to collapse

Economic crisis 1929–1933 and the desire it generated for all the countries affected by it to overcome its most negative consequences as quickly as possible, at any cost, gave rise to a lot of problems. The crisis intensified to the limit the debate that had been ongoing throughout the 20th century about the most promising directions of social progress, and consequently, it significantly increased the role of the ideological factor in the process of forming the political course of the leading powers, in determining the hierarchy of their interests on international arena. And this, in turn, inevitably increased the degree of conflict in the entire set of international relations, aggravated already numerous disputes, and intensified destructive tendencies in the development of international relations.

Of course, the history of international relations in the 30s should not be presented as a single trend aimed at preparing a new world war, but the general vector of development of the Versailles-Washington system in this decade was exactly that. Gradually, the desire of the participants in the numerous conflicts that took place during this decade to seek compromise solutions melted away and, on the contrary, the desire to impose their will on other countries by force grew.

Of course, in the early 30s, with all the severity of the crisis, it is unlikely that any of the leading politicians of those years would have dared to say that by the end of this decade a new world war would break out in the world, even more grandiose and destructive than the first. At that moment, the minds of the political elite of Western countries were busy searching for an answer to the question of what steps in the field foreign policy will help at least partially mitigate the consequences of the crisis. The first thing that came to mind was the need to reduce the burden of military spending. But how exactly can you do this without causing damage? national security? A lot of questions immediately arose here.

Nevertheless, in January 1930, an international conference on the limitation of naval armaments opened in London. It attempted to extrapolate the principles underlying the Treaty of Five to new categories of naval vessels: cruisers, destroyers and submarines. It was not possible to fully solve this problem: France and Italy refused to join the new treaty. Three other participants - the USA, England, Japan - agreed that the same ratio would apply to cruisers and destroyers as for battleships, i.e. 5:5:3. As for submarines, the principle of equality of the fleets of these three countries was introduced.

In February 1932, after the big preparatory work After much bickering between the participants, a disarmament conference opened in Geneva. From the very beginning it became clear that there were serious differences between the leading powers in their approach to this problem. Thus, France believed that the resolution of disarmament issues should be preceded by the creation of an international army under the auspices of the League of Nations. Her main opponent, Germany, where the Nazis were striving for power at that time, demanded the elimination of all discriminatory restrictions imposed on its armed forces by the Treaty of Versailles. England was primarily interested in problems related to the destruction (or limitation) of the submarine fleet and the prohibition of the use chemical weapons. The United States was concerned about the problem of reducing its ground forces. The USSR sought to put on the agenda the issue of general disarmament or a phased, proportional reduction of all types of weapons. Italy proposed limiting itself to a one-year moratorium on any military buildup to begin with, while Japan insisted that, as a precondition for the start of negotiations, the other great powers would recognize it. special role in the Pacific Ocean basin. In short, each of the great powers was thinking not so much about solving the problem that was on the agenda of the conference, but about obtaining unilateral benefits. This predetermined the outcome of the conference: it ended in nothing.

Attempts were made to somewhat streamline the state of affairs in the field of international finance, first of all, to agree on a joint line of action in solving the problem of debts and reparations. The key role in this issue belonged to the United States. American President H. Hoover made a proposal to declare a moratorium on the payment of reparations. From that moment on, the scheme for resolving issues related to the payment of reparations and war debts, laid down in the Dawes Plan, began to crumble literally before our eyes. An extremely complex and confusing situation has developed in this area, which has seriously complicated the already unstable functioning of the system of international relations.

In search of a solution to the problems that had accumulated in the field of international economic relations, it was decided to convene a special conference, which began its work in June 1933 in London. It only showed that among the great powers there are completely divergent views on how the international monetary and financial mechanism should work.

While lively discussions were taking place at various international forums, powers emerged that were ready to unilaterally scrap the existing status quo. Japan was the first to take this path. Without waiting for other powers to recognize their special role in China and the Pacific, in October 1931 it occupied Manchuria, one of the most developed provinces of China. This action was a gross violation of all norms of international law and Japan's treaty obligations. The great powers were faced with the question: how to respond to this act of naked aggression? The United States put forward a “doctrine of non-recognition”, but Japan was little concerned about the attitude public opinion to her actions. She knew what she wanted and systematically took steps to consolidate her presence in Northern China.

Japan's behavior has put difficult situation League of Nations: in essence, an act of aggression was committed and sanctions should have been applied against the aggressor, but organizing them in a crisis when the great powers were busy resolving their internal problems was extremely difficult. Japan understood this very well and acted more and more aggressively. Japanese aircraft carried out raids on Shanghai and Nanjing. In order to smooth out the impression of its actions, Japanese diplomacy went to the creation in February 1932 in Manchuria of the “independent” state of Manchukuo, which in reality was under the complete control of Japan.

The League of Nations ordered a special commission headed by Lord Lytton to study the situation in this region and develop appropriate recommendations. In the fall of 1932, she presented her report, in which she recommended refraining from recognizing Manchukuo and convening a conference to discuss the issue of the future status of Manchuria. In response, Japan stated that it did not recognize this resolution and was leaving the League of Nations. Thus, she demonstrated her strong disagreement with the rest of the world and clearly showed that she was ready to take any action to achieve her foreign policy goals. On Far East a dangerous source of international tension arose.

Tensions also increased in Europe. Key events unfolded in Germany. In January 1933, Hitler came to power there. New leader Germany did not hide the fact that he sees the main task in the sphere of foreign policy as dismantling existing system international relations and establish a “new world order” in which Germany would play a key role. This vision of Germany’s mission in world affairs predetermined high degree The aggressiveness of its behavior in the international arena essentially made a new global military conflict inevitable, because otherwise it was impossible to radically break the existing world order. Thus, a potential source of a new war arose in Europe.

It cannot be said that in European capitals they didn’t understand this. Particularly serious concern about the developments in Germany and its new basic guidelines in the field of foreign policy was expressed in Moscow and Paris. It is no coincidence that it was there that the idea of ​​creating a collective security system in Europe arose almost simultaneously. On this basis, a Soviet-French rapprochement emerged, which could become the backbone of a new international structure. However, not everyone in Europe liked this scenario. Anti-Soviet sentiments were still strong there, which Hitler skillfully took advantage of.

In 1933, Italy made a proposal to conclude the so-called “Pact of Four” between England, France, Germany and Italy to maintain peace on the continent. However, it was external decorative side project. Its essence was that it provided for the possibility of legally revising the basic provisions of those treaties that formed the basis of the Versailles-Washington system. In addition, Mussolini's project provided for granting Germany equal rights in the field of armaments with other powers. These ideas did not receive support either in England or in France, but the very idea of ​​​​creating a bloc with a clear anti-Soviet orientation was actively discussed in European capitals until the start of the war.

Hitler wasted no time. Already in October 1933, Germany withdrew from the League of Nations, thereby showing that it was ready to challenge the world community and was not going to take into account the existing order of things and the norms in force in the sphere of interstate relations. IN next year Germany in last time published data on its military spending. The country was building up its military power at an extremely accelerated pace, despite any treaty restrictions. In 1935, universal conscription was introduced in Germany. The situation in Europe was quickly heating up.

The mid-1930s were marked by the struggle of three trends in the field of international relations. On the one hand, the most sober-minded politicians could not help but see the growing military threat and were looking for opportunities to neutralize this ominous danger. In principle, the Soviet-French proposal to create a system of collective security in Europe had good prospects at this moment. It began to gradually materialize. In May 1935, a mutual assistance agreement was signed between the USSR and France, and a little later Soviet Union concluded a similar agreement with Czechoslovakia.

England personified another trend. It was on her that it depended decisively on whether the idea of ​​creating a collective security system would be developed or not. The British elite was not attracted to this prospect, both due to a traditionally suspicious attitude towards collective action with continental powers, and again due to traditionally strong anti-Russian and anti-Soviet sentiments, and the belief that an agreement could be reached with Germany. These initial guidelines explained all of England's actions in the international arena at this time. The focus of British diplomats was the question of Hitler's involvement in the process of modernizing the Versailles system.

In February 1935, the London Declaration was promulgated, consisting of four points: 1) the conclusion of an “air convention” between England, France, Belgium, Germany and Italy; 2) the conclusion of the Danube Pact, guaranteeing the independence of Austria; 3) the return of Germany to the League of Nations; 4) conclusion of the Eastern Pact. The fate of these proposals depended on the position of Germany, but it was in no hurry to comply with this plan. She preferred to split the Western community and ensured that all negotiations took place on a bilateral basis. As a result of complex maneuvers, Germany achieved in June 1935 England’s consent to conclude an Anglo-German naval agreement, according to which Germany officially received the right to build a navy equal to 35% of the tonnage of the British navy.

The third trend - represented by Germany, Italy and Japan - was aimed at the speedy dismantling of the Versailles-Washington system through the outright destruction of its basic principles. On October 3, 1935, Italian troops invaded the territory of Ethiopia, a sovereign African state that was a member of the League of Nations. It was an act of undisguised aggression. These events had significant and varied consequences. Firstly, despite its clear advantage, Italy is stuck in this African country. It turned out that even such an effort places a heavy burden on the Italian economy. It turned out that all of Mussolini’s arguments about the revival of the “greatness of the nation” did not have the proper foundation and Italy alone was not able to implement at least partially its hegemonic plans; it needed a powerful ally. This stimulated its rapprochement with Germany.

Secondly, it became obvious that the problem of sanctions against violators of the Charter of the League of Nations had not been worked out deeply enough and they were clearly inadequate to the actions that were necessary in order to put serious pressure on Italy. Thirdly, it turned out that, despite the verbal condemnation of aggression, not all European politicians are actually ready for decisive action against the aggressor. Moreover, information leaked to the press that the foreign ministers of England and France (S. Hoare and P. Laval, respectively) signed in December 1935 a secret agreement on mediation between Ethiopia and Italy, or rather, on forcing Ethiopia to accept Italian conditions. And this happened in the midst of discussion of the issue of tightening sanctions against Italy, when official representatives of London and Paris in the League of Nations were branding the aggressor with all their might. The prestige of the League of Nations was seriously damaged.

Finally, events related to the aggression against Ethiopia stimulated the adoption of neutrality legislation that, until the United States entered the Second World War, world war determined the nature of the foreign policy course of this country. This was a major success for the supporters of isolationism, who consolidated their decisive influence on the development of the principles that guided the United States in world affairs in the second half of the 30s.

The debate over the events in Ethiopia had hardly died down when a new source of international tension arose, this time in southern Europe. In July 1936, civil war broke out in Spain. Back in 1931, a revolution took place in this country, as a result of which the dictatorial regime was overthrown, and Spain was proclaimed a republic. The polarization of socio-political forces began to grow very quickly in the country. In February 1936, the elections were won by leftist forces, united in the Popular Front. A clear shift to the left in the policy of the new republican government prompted their opponents to abandon the political struggle and move on to the military: a rebellion was launched against the legitimate government, led by General F. Franco.

The outbreak of civil war quickly outgrew its internal boundaries. Spain became a kind of testing ground where the first open clash of pro- and anti-fascist forces took place. The fact is that from the very beginning the rebels were almost openly and very actively supported by Germany and Italy, and the republican government was supported by volunteers from many European countries and the USA. The Soviet Union also helped them. As for the governments of England and France, they declared that they would pursue a policy of non-interference in the internal Spanish conflict, which objectively played into the hands of the rebels, since Germany and Italy were steadily increasing their assistance to Franco.

In 1935–1937 It became clear that the three great powers - Germany, Japan and Italy - were heading towards the collapse of the existing system of international relations. The common strategic task dictated the need to combine their efforts. In 1936–1937 The so-called Anti-Comintern Pact is drawn up, which includes Germany, Japan and Italy. The “Axis Powers,” as the new aggressive bloc was often called, actively used anti-communist rhetoric to camouflage their true goals, which were to establish their hegemony in world affairs.

In the summer of 1937, Japan, having managed to create a solid bridgehead in Manchuria, began an offensive deep into China. Military operations there captured more and more territory. Essentially, by 1938, the “Axis powers” ​​had seized the strategic initiative and, through their actions, determined the general dynamics of developments in the international arena, bringing closer the collapse of the Versailles-Washington system, which had become completely unnecessary for them. Their main potential opponents - England, France, the USSR, the USA - at this critical moment, when there was still a chance to prevent the world from sliding into a new global war, were unable to show the necessary will, overcome the differences that separated them and present a united front against the “Axis powers”. Each believed that alone he would better ensure his safety.

Taking advantage of this, the Axis powers achieved decisive success in 1938 in the collapse of the Versailles-Washington system and the preparation of favorable conditions for themselves for the start of a new world war. In March 1938, Hitler carried out the absorption (Anschluss) of Austria, which, contrary to the terms of the Versailles Peace, became part of the Reich. Franco's intensive assistance made it possible to achieve a turning point in the civil war, and a little later, in March 1939, rebel troops entered Madrid. Franco became the absolute master of Spain. In the summer of 1938, the Japanese conducted reconnaissance in force on the Soviet-Manchurian border in the area of ​​Lake Khasan. Apparently, they wanted to test the combat effectiveness of our army after the Stalinist purges of the high army command. The “experience” turned out to be unsuccessful, and this strengthened the position of that part of the Japanese elite who believed that, from the point of view of Japan’s global plans, it was more promising to develop expansion in a southern direction.

There have been debates in historiography for more than half a century: when did the world come to the point after which it was no longer possible to avoid war? Such a moment came in the fall of 1938. It's about about the so-called Munich agreement. Hitler, using the problem of the Sudeten Germans as a pretext to put pressure on Czechoslovakia, demanded that the Czechoslovak government agree to the transfer of the strategically important Sudetenland to Germany. This was a rather risky step on Hitler’s part, because Czechoslovakia had treaty ties with France and the USSR. However, the President of Czechoslovakia, E. Beneš, did not dare to turn to the USSR for help, placing all his hopes on France in this critical situation. However, by 1938, the line of “appeasement” of Hitler prevailed there. Supporters of this course were firmly convinced that it was possible to reach an agreement with Hitler, that there were still chances to create, in one form or another, a bloc of leading Western European countries. For this they were ready to sacrifice Czechoslovakia.

On September 29–30, a meeting of the leaders of four European powers took place in Munich: Hitler, Mussolini, Daladier and Chamberlain, at which England and France gave the go-ahead for the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in exchange for verbal assurances from Hitler that he no longer had territorial claims against his neighbors . Accession of one of the most developed economically regions Central Europe to Germany significantly strengthened its military-industrial potential, improved the strategic position of the Reich and, on the contrary, essentially deprived England and France of an important potential ally, because, despite Hitler’s assurances, the fate of Czechoslovakia was sealed: in March 1939, the Germans occupied the Czech Republic and Moravia , and in Slovakia a formally independent state was created, but in reality it was controlled by Germany. To this we must add that at this time Hungary joined the Anti-Comintern Pact, and in April 1939 Italy captured Albania.

Every day it became more and more obvious that the world was moving towards a new war; in fact, in the spring of 1939 it was already on its very threshold. Even Chamberlain and Daladier, the most active supporters of the policy of “appeasement,” found it impossible to ignore this circumstance. This prompted them to begin negotiations with the Soviet Union in April 1939 on possible joint actions in the event of Hitler unleashing large-scale aggression against other European states. Unfortunately, these negotiations proceeded with great difficulty. The parties clearly did not trust each other, so agreeing on any, even small, detail turned into serious problem. Meanwhile, the situation became more complicated every day, and not only in Europe.

In the spring of 1939, the Japanese attacked Mongolia, which had a mutual assistance treaty with the USSR. In the area of ​​the Khalkhin Gol River, large-scale fighting between Soviet-Mongolian and Japanese troops. During the fierce battles that lasted until the end of August 1939, the military leadership talent of the largest Soviet military leader of times was revealed for the first time Patriotic War G. K. Zhukova. The Japanese attempt to expand their expansion in a northwestern direction turned out to be a harsh lesson for them. The Soviet Union clearly demonstrated that it is capable of organizing an effective rebuff to any aggressive actions in this region. This circumstance strengthened the position of supporters of the southern direction of development of expansion in the ruling elite of Japan and strengthened the security of the eastern borders of our country.

By August 1939, Soviet-British-French negotiations had clearly reached a dead end. In this situation, the Soviet leadership, in order to ensure the country's security, decided to radically change the orientation of its foreign policy. On August 23, 1939, the world learned sensational news: the USSR and Germany signed a non-aggression pact. If we put aside the tired ideological clichés of the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, it is obvious that this agreement was fully consistent with the state interests of the USSR, because it gave it a reprieve from participation in the war that was about to begin. And this is the main point. As for the spheres of influence that were discussed at the German-Soviet negotiations, this was a generally accepted practice and only those regions that were traditionally part of Russia were included in the Soviet sphere of influence (by the way, in 1920, England itself during the Soviet- Polish war proposed to establish approximately the same border for Soviet Russia).

The West had to pay expensive price for the short-sighted policy of “appeasement” - the reluctance to conduct constructive negotiations with the USSR on joint actions against a possible aggressor led to the fact that he was left alone with Germany, and Hitler did not fail to take advantage of this. On September 1, 1939, having organized a provocation on the German-Polish border, the Germans attacked Poland, which had mutual assistance agreements with England and France. Thus began the Second World War.

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The Versailles-Washington system of international relations represents the world order that was established after the First World War. It was based on the Treaty of Versailles, as well as treaties with Germany's allies and agreements concluded at the Washington Conference. It was divided into two parts - European (Versailles) and American (Washington).

Versailles system

It was mainly formed by England and France, that is, the countries that won the war; the interests of the defeated ones, as well as the states formed after it, were ignored. The situation was complicated by the Great October Revolution in Russia.

The position of the victors both in relation to the vanquished and in relation to communist Russia predetermined the revanchist policy of Germany and the massive strengthening of communist parties. At the same time, the United States withdrew itself from this system, as a result of which it found itself in isolation and in a state of crisis.

France and England used the new European states simultaneously in two directions - against German revanchism and against communism in the Soviet Union.

Washington system

It, in fact, completely covered the Asia-Pacific region. She, like Versailles, had her own problems and contradictions: first of all, this political position China, which can be called uncertain, Japanese militarism, American isolation, etc.

This system emerged as a result of the Washington Conference (lasted from November 1921 to February 1922). It was convened to consider the problem of the balance of power in the Pacific region after the war and resolve the issue of limiting naval weapons.

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During the conference, three treaties were signed - by four, five and nine states.

The first of them was signed by the USA, Japan, France and England and it established the status quo regarding the ownership of the Pacific islands. Italy joined them in the Five-State Treaty. It consolidated the leadership of Britain and the United States at sea and limited naval weapons.

The last treaty also affected China, Portugal, Belgium and Holland and concerned specifically China, the principles of whose sovereignty other countries were obliged to respect.

Rice. 2. Signing of the Decree on Peace.

Great powers in the Versailles-Washington system

Each of them pursued its own goal, which is clearly reflected in the table “Versailles-Washington System”.

A country

Target

Create a pan-European security system to maintain its positions. After the crisis of 1935-1938, the country became a natural ally of Britain

Increase influence in the Balkans. After the crisis of 1935-1938 the country began to move closer to Germany

Germany

Take revenge for defeat in the First World War. Change the system of international relations

Take England's position at the center of the world, that is, completely restructure the existing system of relations between states

Expand your zone of influence in East Asia, pursuing an expansive course

Thus, we can conclude that, as a result, their contradictions brought the entire system into a precarious position.

Despite its expansionism, Japan retained a good relationship with everyone who fought for power in the region of interest to her.

Advantages and disadvantages of the Versailles-Washington system

Like any system, it had its pros and cons. Thus, the positive aspects were the creation of conditions to stabilize international relations and the completion of the process of peaceful resolution of the conflict. In addition, world powers temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​using war to resolve contradictions between them, and also created the League of Nations.

But there were also negative aspects. First of all, the inconsistency and fragility of this system was based on the fact that it took into account only the interests of the victorious countries, which intensified their contradictions with the vanquished.

Rice. 3. The Big Three: Clemenceau, Wilson, Lloyd George.

Collapse of the Versailles-Washington system

The official date of its collapse is considered to be the end of 1938. This led to the formation of two great power blocs and ultimately to World War II.

What have we learned?

We talked briefly about the Versailles-Washington system, discussed in 9th grade, learned what influenced its formation, what position the great powers occupied in it, and what ultimately led to its collapse.

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Questions about Recent history Western countries.

1 question. The First World War: economic and political causes, military campaigns and consequences.

The First World War was a direct consequence of imperialist contradictions caused by the uneven economic and political development capitalist countries. New relationships of forces are emerging in the capitalist world, a struggle arises for the redivision of an already divided world, the main means of which are violence and war.

The struggle for colonies and the clash of trade interests became one of the main causes of war in capitalist society.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the world was already divided between groups of imperialist powers. But the division of colonies and spheres of influence between the main imperialist powers ceased to correspond to their real economic and political weight. The contradictions between the largest countries have reached extreme severity. They became especially acute between England and Germany. Germany supplanted England in European markets, where it placed 76% of its exports at the beginning of the 20th century, and England only 38%. It also squeezed England in the markets of the East, penetrating the Balkans and Asia Minor. The construction of the German railway from Berlin across the Bosphorus to Baghdad threatened British dominance in the Middle East. The international situation also aggravated the Franco-German contradictions.

French imperialism also played an important role in the preparation of the First World War. France sought revenge: the defeat of 1870-1871, the return of Alsace and Lorraine, and the establishment of its hegemony in Europe.

However, the tangle of imperialist contradictions that led to the outbreak of the First World War was not limited to contradictions between the main capitalist powers of the West.

Economic and political contradictions played an important role in Eastern Europe between Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary, Russia and Turkey, Austria-Hungary and the Balkan countries, Turkey and the Balkan countries and between the Balkan countries themselves (Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece).

Imperialist contradictions caused the emergence of two main blocs in the world. The first one took shape in the last quarter of the XIX century. Preparing for the struggle to redistribute the world, Germany entered into an alliance treaty with Austria-Hungary in 1879, and Italy joined the union in 1882. This is how the Triple Alliance was formed (however, Italy entered the war against its allies in 1915).

France, in search of allies against Germany, concluded a military agreement with Russia in 189l. At the beginning of the 20th century, England was looking for ways to resolve controversial issues with France and Russia. Having agreed on spheres of influence, the British and French imperialists, together with Russia, created a common front against the German bloc: the Tripartite Agreement - Entente.

Relying on the Triple Alliance, Germany began colonial conquests in the early 1980s. Already in 1884, the German government established a protectorate over the colony of Angra Pequena (southwest coast of Africa). It was founded by the Bremen merchant Lüderitz. Then followed the proclamation of a protectorate over Togo and Cameroon. For this, the machinations of the Hamburg company Werman were also used.

German imperialism participated in the division of China. In 1897, Germany captured Qiao Chao Bay on the territory of Shandong and created its military base there.

1914 Campaign of World War 1

The fighting on the Western Front began in August with the invasion of German troops into Luxembourg and Belgium. On August 20, they occupied Brussels, gaining the opportunity to move unhindered to the borders of France. On August 21-25, in a border battle, the German armies drove back the Anglo-French troops, invaded Northern France and by early September reached the Marne River between Paris and Verdun; In an effort to cover each other's open flanks, the opponents resorted to maneuver operations (called the "Run to the Sea"), as a result of which the front reached the sea coast.

In October and November, bloody battles in Flanders exhausted and balanced the forces of the parties. A continuous front line stretched from the Swiss border to the North Sea. Maneuvering actions in the West gave way to positional struggle. Germany's hope for a quick defeat of France failed. This was largely facilitated by the offensive actions of Russian troops in East Prussia (see East Prussian operation), in Galicia (see Battle of Galicia) and other operations.

On August 23, Japan declared war on Germany; in October, Türkiye entered the war on the side of the German bloc. New fronts formed in Transcaucasia, Mesopotamia, Syria and the Dardanelles. As a result of the 1914 campaign, neither side achieved its goals, plans for a quick defeat of the enemy failed, and on the Western Front the war acquired a positional, trench-like character.

Campaign 1915

The German command concentrated its main efforts on the Eastern Front. The fighting on the Russian front began in January and continued, with short interruptions, until late autumn.

The most important result of the campaign was the failure of German plans. The German command was faced with the need to continue the war on two fronts. Russia bore the brunt of the fighting in the First World War of 1915, providing France and Great Britain with breathing space to mobilize their economies for wartime needs.

1916 Campaign

Germany again shifted its main efforts to the west. The main blow was supposed to be delivered to France in the Verdun area, which had important operational significance (see Verdun operation). Despite enormous efforts, German troops were unable to break through the defenses. This was facilitated by the offensive of the Russian armies on the Southwestern Front in Galicia (Southwestern Front offensive). The German-Austrian command was forced to transfer 34 divisions from the Western and Italian fronts to the Eastern Front. The offensive actions of the Anglo-French troops on the Somme River were also unsuccessful.

Although the allies used a new means of fighting in the operation - tanks, they were never able to break through the enemy’s defenses, losing about 800 thousand people. On August 27, Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente, but by the end of the campaign the Romanian army was defeated. In the Middle Eastern theater, the victories of the Russian troops of the Caucasian Front were important. The Russian armies advanced 250 km in Turkey and captured the cities of Erzurum, Trebizond and Erzincan. On May 31-June 1, one of the largest naval battles of the war took place near the Jutland Peninsula in the North Sea. The British lost 14 ships in it, about 7 thousand people, German losses amounted to 11 ships and more than 3 thousand people. As a result of the campaign, the German-Austrian bloc lost its strategic initiative. Germany was forced to defend on all fronts. The superiority of the Entente became obvious. The coordinated actions of the allied forces in the West and East marked the beginning of a turning point in the course of the war.

In the summer of 1916, Entente troops began an offensive operation on the Somme River (June 1–November 18, 1916) with the goal of breaking through the German front in northern France. In this battle, England used tanks for the first time. The Allies did not achieve their goals. The losses of the Entente troops amounted to 792 thousand people, Germany - 538 thousand manpower.

Campaign 1917

By 1917, the war had significantly weakened the economies of the opposing powers. The German coalition could no longer conduct large offensive operations and switched to strategic defense. Germany concentrated its main efforts on submarine warfare. The Entente's plans were based on using its superiority in forces and means. This advantage became more significant after the United States entered the war on April 6, 1917 on the side of the Entente. The High Command intended to launch a general coordinated offensive on the Western and Eastern fronts in order to completely defeat Germany and Austria-Hungary. However, the offensive of the Anglo-French troops, launched in April between Reims and Soissons, failed. The individual operations carried out by the Allies at Messines, Ypres, Verdun, and Cambrai did not change the general situation on the Western Front. The Russian offensive in 1917 also ended in failure.

The total number of losses on the Eastern Front during this operation exceeded 150 thousand people. On September 3, during the Riga defensive operation, Russian troops left Riga. The sailors put up stubborn resistance to the German fleet Baltic Fleet during the defense of the Moonsund archipelago (see Moonsund operation) in the fall of 1917. Due to heavy losses, the German command abandoned the breakthrough into the Gulf of Finland.

The First World War served as a catalyst for revolutionary processes in Russia, leading to the October Revolution of 1917. Events in Russia, as well as inconsistency in the actions of the allies, disrupted the Entente's strategic plan. Germany managed to repel enemy attacks on land. However, the unrestricted submarine warfare she declared on February 1 did not produce the desired result. “Unlimited submarine warfare” was carried out by the German command twice - in 1915 and 1917. The main targets of attacks were civilian ships of the Entente countries and neutral states.

After the October Revolution, Russia actually left the war: on December 2 it signed an armistice agreement with the German-Austrian bloc, and later began peace negotiations (see the Brest-Litovsk Treaty).

1918 Campaign

By the beginning of 1918, the military-political situation of the First World War had seriously changed. The powers of the German-Austrian bloc sought to end the war. The German command launched an offensive on the Western Front in March. In the spring and summer, German troops carried out several offensive operations in Picardy, Flanders, and on the Aisne and Marne rivers, but due to the lack of reserves they suspended them. The strategic initiative finally passed into the hands of the Entente. In August-September, the Allied armies, using their superiority in manpower and equipment (in March 1918 at Western Front troops from the United States began to arrive), went on the offensive and forced German troops to begin a general retreat from French territory.

At the beginning of October, Germany's situation became hopeless. Germany's allies - Bulgaria, Türkiye, Austria-Hungary - concluded a truce with the Entente powers in the fall of 1918. Defeats on the fronts and economic devastation accelerated the maturation of revolutionary events in Germany. On November 9, the monarchy in Germany was overthrown. On November 11, Germany capitulated: in the Compiegne Forest, at the Retonde station (France), the German delegation signed an armistice. Germany admitted itself defeated. The final terms of peace treaties with Germany and its allies were worked out at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919-20. On June 28, 1919, the Versailles Peace Treaty was signed, officially ending the First World War.

Results and conclusions

1. The First World War ended with the defeat of Germany and its allies. After the conclusion of the Compiègne Armistice, the victorious powers began to develop plans for a post-war “settlement”. Post-war peace "settlement" "in the interests of the victorious powers the Washington Conference of 1921-1922 ended. Treaties with Germany and its former allies and agreements signed at the Washington Conference constituted the so-called Versailles-Washington world system. Being the result of compromises and deals, it not only did not eliminate the contradictions between the imperialist powers, but significantly strengthened them.

A struggle began between the main powers for a new redivision of the world.

2. In terms of its scale and consequences, the First World War had no equal in the entire previous history of mankind. It lasted 4 years, 3 months and 10 days (from August 1, 1914 to November 11, 1918), covering 38 countries with a population of over 11.5 billion people.

About 45 million people were mobilized in the Entente countries, 25 million in the coalition of the Central Powers, and a total of 70 million people. The most efficient part was removed from material production and thrown into mutual destruction.

By the end of the war, the number of ground forces increased compared to peacetime in Russia by 8.5 times, in France by 5 times, in Germany by 9 times, and in Austria-Hungary by 8 times. The large number of armies led to the formation of extensive fronts, the total length of which reached 3-4 thousand km.

3. The war required the mobilization of all material resources, showing the decisive role of the economy during the armed struggle. The First World War was characterized by the massive use of a variety of military equipment. The industry of the warring powers gave the front millions of rifles, over 1 million light and heavy machine guns, over 150 thousand artillery pieces, 47.7 billion cartridges, over 1 billion shells, 9200 tanks, about 18 thousand aircraft. During the war years, the number of heavy artillery guns increased 8 times, machine guns 20 times, and aircraft 24 times. Multimillion-strong armies demanded a continuous supply of food, uniforms, and fodder.

The growth of military production was achieved mainly due to peaceful industries and overstrain of the national economy. This led to an imbalance in the proportions between various sectors of production, and, ultimately, to a decline in economic performance.

Agriculture was especially badly damaged. Mobilization into the army deprived the village of its most productive labor force and taxes. Cultivated areas have decreased, crop yields have fallen, and the number of livestock and its productivity have decreased. In the cities of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia there was an acute shortage of food, and then real famine broke out. It also extended to the army, where allowance standards were reduced.

4. The First World War required colossal financial costs, which were many times greater than the costs of all previous wars. Scientifically based assessment total cost there is no first world war.

The most common estimate in the literature is given by the American economist E. Bogart, who determined the total cost of the war at 359.9 billion dollars in gold (699.4 billion rubles), including direct (budget) expenses of 280.3 billion. dollars (405 billion rubles) and indirect - 151.6 billion dollars (294.4 billion rubles).

5. The First World War was an important stage in the history of military art and in the construction of the armed forces.

In 1916, tanks appeared - a powerful striking and maneuverable force. Tank forces developed rapidly and by the end of the war there were 8 thousand tanks in the Entente countries.

Aviation experienced rapid development. Various types of aviation emerged - fighter, reconnaissance, bomber, and attack. By the end of the war, the warring countries had over 10 thousand combat aircraft. In the fight against aviation, air defense developed.

Chemical forces emerged. The importance of cavalry as a branch of the army declined, and by the end of the war its numbers were sharply reduced. The role of military logistics and logistics support for troops has increased significantly.

Rail and road transport have become important.

7. The collapse of the Russian army in the First World War is a natural stage in the development of socio-economic processes in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century, the result of its domestic and foreign policy during this period.

Having won a number of brilliant victories and suffered several defeats, the Russian army in the First World War declared itself as a serious military force.

Question 2. Versailles-Washington system of international relations Versailles-Washington system

After the end of the First World War, the question arose about the formation of a new system of international relations. This system was supposed to ensure an international balance of power, establish the principles of peaceful resolution of conflicts, and prevent the risk of a new war like the First World War. Naturally, the main role in the formation of this system was played by the strongest of the victorious countries: the USA, Great Britain and France. The Versailles-Washington system of international relations, created during two major international conferences, became such a system.

Events

1919–1920– Paris Conference, the main topic of which was the post-war fate of the defeated countries and Europe as a whole. Representatives of Germany were invited to the conference only after all decisions regarding Germany had been made. Representatives of Russia were not invited at all.

1921–1922– Washington Conference, the main theme of which was the limitation of naval weapons and the development of a unified policy in the Pacific region.

Basic conference solutions

Parisian

Germany was declared the main culprit of the war. According to the Versailles Peace Treaty between Germany and the victorious countries, the following was concluded: ° Germany lost a significant part of its territories, including all colonies; ° Germany had to pay impressive reparations to compensate for the damage caused by the war; ° Germany was prohibited from establishing universal conscription; the size of the army should not exceed 100 thousand people; ° Germany was prohibited from having aviation and armored vehicles, and strict restrictions were imposed on the fleet.

Other countries that lost the war also lost significant territories, which either became the basis of independent states (for example, Czechoslovakia), or were annexed to the victorious countries, or came under their control (which happened with most of the territories of the Ottoman Empire - for example, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, etc.).

To ensure collective security and prevent military action, an international organization was created - the League of Nations (Charter of the League of Nations). The main task of the organization was the peaceful resolution of international conflicts. The leading positions in the League of Nations were occupied primarily by Great Britain and France. The United States, which was one of the initiators of the creation of the organization, did not join it, since the Senate voted against ratifying the decisions of the Paris Conference. Subsequently, the League of Nations demonstrated ineffectiveness; the mechanisms of its work did not allow preventing the Second World War and other, smaller wars.

Washington

It expressed the interests of the powers that won the First World War and ignored the interests of the losers, to which the international community included Soviet Russia. From the point of view of Western states, the Soviet government was illegitimate and could not represent the interests of Russia. In Germany, the difficult conditions of the Treaty of Versailles were perceived as national humiliation, which gave rise to revanchist sentiments, on the wave of which the National Socialists would later come to power. The similar position of Germany and Russia, which were rogue states in this system, became the impetus for their signing of the Treaty of Rapallo (a facsimile of the Treaty of Rapallo ) and the beginning of close cooperation. Having granted national independence to many European nations, this system supported colonial policies towards Africa, Asia and the Pacific.

Despite the fact that the United States, which was not part of the League of Nations, partially continued to distance itself from European politics, its international prestige has strengthened, and the United States is becoming a new center of power.

In general, with regard to ensuring the fulfillment of the main task of this system - maintaining peace, the system turned out to be ineffective. The lack of detailed mechanisms for conflict resolution and real unity among the participants in the League of Nations did not allow it to peacefully resolve international conflicts that arose.

After the end of the First World War, the victorious powers, on the basis of a series of treaties with the defeated countries, established a new international configuration, called the Versailles-Washington system. This system lasted for more than twenty years and ended with World War II. The main provisions of this system will be discussed in this lesson.

After the end of the First World War, the question arose about the formation of a new system of international relations. This system was supposed to ensure an international balance of power, establish the principles of peaceful resolution of conflicts, and prevent the risk of a new war like the First World War. Naturally, the main role in the formation of this system was played by the strongest of the victorious countries: the USA, Great Britain and France. The Versailles-Washington system of international relations, created during two major international conferences, became such a system.

Events

1919-1920- Paris Conference, the main topic of which was the post-war fate of the defeated countries and Europe as a whole. Representatives of Germany were invited to the conference only after all decisions regarding Germany had been made. Representatives of Russia were not invited at all.

1921-1922- Washington Conference, the main topic of which was the limitation of naval weapons and the development common policy in the Pacific region.

Basic conference solutions

Parisian

Germany was declared the main culprit of the war. According to the Treaty of Versailles between Germany and the victorious countries, the following was concluded:
° Germany lost a significant part of its territories, including all colonies;
° Germany had to pay impressive reparations to compensate for the damage caused by the war;
° Germany was prohibited from establishing universal conscription; the size of the army should not exceed 100 thousand people;
° Germany was prohibited from having aviation and armored vehicles, and strict restrictions were imposed on the fleet.
. Other countries that lost the war also lost significant territories, which either became the basis of independent states (for example, Czechoslovakia), or were annexed to the victorious countries, or came under their control (which happened with most territories Ottoman Empire- for example, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, etc.).
. To ensure collective security and prevent military action, it was created international organization- The League of nations (). The main task of the organization was the peaceful resolution of international conflicts. The leading positions in the League of Nations were occupied primarily by Great Britain and France. The United States, which was one of the initiators of the creation of the organization, did not join it, since the Senate voted against ratifying the decisions of the Paris Conference. Subsequently, the League of Nations demonstrated ineffectiveness; the mechanisms of its work did not allow preventing the Second World War and other, smaller wars.

Washington

Restrictions were introduced on the size of the navy, cementing the privileged position of the United States.
. China's subordinate status in relation to the leading powers (USA, UK, Japan, etc.) was confirmed.

Conclusion

Main features of the Versailles-Washington system

It expressed the interests of the powers that won the First World War and ignored the interests of the losers, to which the international community included Soviet Russia. From point of view Western states, the Soviet government was illegitimate and could not represent the interests of Russia. In Germany, the difficult conditions of the Treaty of Versailles were perceived as national humiliation, which gave rise to revanchist sentiments, on the wave of which the National Socialists would later come to power. The similar position of Germany and Russia, which were rogue states in this system, became the impetus for their signing of the Treaty of Rapallo (a facsimile of the Treaty of Rapallo ) and the beginning of close cooperation.
. Having granted national independence to many European nations, this system supported colonial policies towards Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
. Despite the fact that the United States, which was not part of the League of Nations, partially continued to distance itself from European politics, its international prestige has strengthened, and the United States is becoming a new center of power.
. In general, with regard to ensuring the fulfillment of the main task of this system - maintaining peace, the system turned out to be ineffective. The lack of detailed mechanisms for conflict resolution and real unity among the participants in the League of Nations did not allow it to peacefully resolve international conflicts that arose.

Abstract

January 18, 1919 in Versailles(suburb of Paris) a peace conference opened, at which representatives 32 states had to characterize the new international situation, draw appropriate conclusions from the results of the First World War and create a new political system in Europe and the world.

Initially, this conference was directed not only against the losing countries (Germany, the collapsed Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria), but also against Soviet Russia. It was then that the conference participants openly approved the need for military intervention in the burning civil war Russia in order to take advantage of the opportunity to barbarously plunder and divide the country.

Rice. 1. "Big Three". Clemenceau, Wilson, Lloyd George ()

The main role at the conference belonged to the so-called. " Big Three”, which resolved all the main issues, based, first of all, on its own benefit. The “Big Three” included US President William Wilson, British Prime Minister D. Lloyd George and head of the French government J. Clemenceau (Fig. 1) . Each of the participants in this triumvirate offered his own vision of a new world order, seeing the main danger, and, consequently, the enemy, in Soviet Russia and in the revolutionary communist movement. Back in 1918, Wilson proposed the so-called. "14 points", which ultimately formed the basis of the new world order. These points provided for the renunciation of secret diplomacy, equality of economic interests, freedom of navigation, arms limitation, settlement of colonial and territorial disputes, etc. One of the points was the creation of an independent Polish state - this “ the ugly brainchild of the Treaty of Versailles,” as Bolshevik V.M. put it. Molotov.

June 28, 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors Palace of Versailles A peace treaty between the Allied powers and Germany was signed. A multimillion-dollar indemnity was imposed on losing Germany, it lost its lands (Alsace, Lorraine, Pomerania, Upper Silesia, Danzig, etc.), lost all colonies, the country was allowed to have an army of no more than 100 thousand people, a restriction was imposed on the production of weapons And military equipment and so on. Germany became virtually bankrupt.

Rice. 2. Treaty of Saint-Germain ()

On September 10, 1919, the peace treaty of Saint-Germain was signed with Austria., according to which the liquidation of the country was officially recognized (Fig. 2). On the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, new states were formed - Czechoslovakia and Hungary, large territories were included in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Galicia was annexed to Poland, Romania advanced into Transylvania.

On November 27, 1919, the peace treaty of Neuilly was signed with Bulgaria., according to which the country was obliged to pay indemnity to the victorious countries, had to reduce the number armed forces and was deprived of border territories in favor of the Allied powers.

On June 4, 1920, the Treaty of Trianon was signed with Hungary., according to which many lands were also separated from the country in favor of the allied powers.

On August 10, 1920, the Treaty of Sèvres was signed with Turkey., according to which the country lost many of its lands and territories (Arabian Peninsula, Middle East, Mesopotamia, etc.). All these lands became colonies of the victorious powers.

These five peace treaties form the basis of the Versailles-Washington system. At the same time, a new international body was created - The League of nations, which was the highest international body (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Meeting of the League of Nations ()

The Versailles-Washington system was aimed at preventing the penetration of Bolshevism into Europe and Asia, and was clearly anti-Soviet in nature. Based on this, Lloyd George and Woodrow Wilson, as well as their followers, built the so-called. "cordon sanitaire" along the perimeter of the USSR borders in Europe and Asia.

It was precisely this international configuration that led Europe to flirt with A. Hitler and World War II.

Rice. 4. Map of Europe in 1914 and 1923 ()

1. Aleksashkina L.N. General history. XX - early XXI centuries. - M.: Mnemosyne, 2011.

2. Zagladin N.V. General history. XX century Textbook for 11th grade. - M.: Russian Word, 2009.

3. Plenkov O.Yu., Andreevskaya T.P., Shevchenko S.V. General history. 11th grade / Ed. Myasnikova V.S. - M., 2011.

1. Read Chapter 6 pp. 65-67 of the textbook by Aleksashkina L.N. General history. XX - beginning of the XXI century and give answers to questions 5 and 6 on p. 67-68.

2. Why was the Versailles-Washington system directed against the USSR? Explain your answer.

3. Why was it necessary to create the Polish state?