Revision: The Manchurian Incident Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931. The League of Nations failed to solve the crisis. It weakened the League as it was made to look powerless in the face of aggression.

Manchuria

Background Facts Which large country was Manchuria a province of? China What transport link did Japan already have there? South Manchurian railway What problems did Japan have before the invasion? Suffered greatly in the Depression due to US tariffs and reduced trade.

Manchuria: Causes of the invasion •   The government of China was weak, corrupt and busy fighting the Communists. •   Because of the Great Depression, the USA was no longer buying Japanese goods so Japan had no money to buy food & raw materials. •   The Japanese government was controlled by the army which wanted to expand the Japanese empire. •   China ruled Manchuria, but the Japanese army ran the railway there, so it was easy to get soldiers there. • Manchuria had farmland, raw materials such as coal and iron ore and forestry.

4 Mark Question: Describe the reasons for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Remember: You need THREE adequately explained points.

Manchuria

Events of the invasion The Japanese invade Mukden •   Sept 1931: There was some vandalism on the Manchurian railway; Japan claimed the Chinese had sabotaged the railway.   •   They invaded Manchuria and set up the 'independent' (i.e. Japanese-controlled) state of Manchukuo under the former Emperor of China.    •   China appealed to the League for help. The Japanese invade Mukden

Manchuria: The League’s Actions •   Dec 1931: the League appointed a commission of inquiry led by Lord Lytton to investigate.   •   He did not go to Manchuria until April 1932 and did not report until October. By this time the Japanese army was embedded there. •   Oct 1932: Lytton's report stated that Japan was the aggressor and should leave. •   24 Feb 1933: The Assembly voted that Japan should leave Manchuria •  Japan walked out of the meeting and left the League

How did these events make the League look? The Doormat Cartoon How did these events make the League look?

Manchuria • Japan stayed in Manchuria. •   The League could not agree economic sanctions or an arms sales ban. This was due to the effects of the Depression which was at its worst. • No army could be sent. The nearest great power was the USSR and it wasn’t in the League. Over the Pacific Ocean was the USA and they too were not in the League. It was too far from Europe for Britain & France to send an army. •  In 1933 Japan resigned from the League, and invaded/ conquered Jehol (next to Manchuria).

Why Manchuria didn’t finish the League The Manchurian Crisis was the ‘first nail in the League’s coffin’. This means that it weakened the League but didn’t ‘kill’ it off. In what way did the League have genuine reasons/ excuses why it couldn’t solve this crisis?

Consequences or Results of the Manchurian Crisis A SPECTACULAR failure: 1. The Japanese continued to expand: •     they kept Manchuria • they invaded Jehol in 1933 and China in 1937.

Manchuria A SPECTACULAR failure: 2.  The League was discredited/ Manchuria showed: •     It was slow (the Lytton Report took almost a year) •     A country could get its own way if it ignored it •     ‘Collective security' was useless against big countries - especially during the Great Depression. •     Even the great powers within the League (Japan was on the Council) were happy to ignore it.

The weakness of the League was clear for all to see (no army, great powers missing) and this gave Mussolini and Hitler ideas that they could do the same.

The remilitarisation of the Rhineland