This key facts covers Key Failures — 1920s within League Failures for GCSE History. Revise League Failures in Conflict and Tension 1918-1939 for GCSE History with 8 exam-style questions and 4 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 2 of 13 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 2 of 13
Practice
8 questions
Recall
4 flashcards
📊 Key Failures — 1920s
| Crisis | Date | What Happened | Why It Failed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vilna | 1920 | Poland seized Vilna (capital of Lithuania). League told Poland to withdraw. | Poland refused. League couldn't force them — no army. France supported Poland as an ally against Russia. |
| Corfu | 1923 | Italian officials killed on Greek border. Mussolini bombarded and occupied Corfu. League condemned Italy. | Mussolini refused to accept ruling. Conference of Ambassadors overruled the League — Greece had to apologise AND pay Italy 50 million lire! Major power gets its way. |
| Disarmament | 1932–33 | World Disarmament Conference tried to get countries to reduce weapons. | Complete failure. Germany wanted equality with France. France refused to disarm. Hitler used the deadlock as an excuse to begin German rearmament and walked out in 1933. |
The Corfu Crisis — A Blueprint for Disaster (1923)
This showed dictators exactly how to defy the League and get away with it:
Lesson learned by dictators: If you are a major power, you can ignore the League. Britain and France will back down rather than confront you. This lesson was absorbed by both Mussolini and Hitler.