1918
- November
- Quote by Canadian General Andrew McNaughton, regarding the defeat of Germany: "We have them on the run. That means we will have to do it over again in another 25 years." (In 21 years, Germany will again be at war with the West.) [129.21]
1919
- March 31
- French Marshal Ferdinand Foch says to leaders of Great Britain and the USA that without the Rhine frontier in French possession, the Versailles settlement would be no more than "the armistice for twenty years". [448.3] [488.30]
- April
- Quotes by French Marshal Ferdinand Foch to a British newspaper: "And next time, remember, the Germans will make no mistake. They will break through into Northern France and will seize the Channel ports as a base of operations against England.". [409.11]
- German Vice-Chancellor, Mathias Erzberger writes in letter "We illl undertake the restoration of Russia, and in possession of such support will be ready, within ten or fifteen years, to bring France, without any difficulty, into our power. The march towards Paris will be easier than in 1914. The last step but one towards the world dominion will then be reached. The continent is ours." [805.47]
- April 22
- Protocols for an alliance among France, Great Britain, and the USA are agreed on: Great Britain and USA make guarantees to France in the event of German aggression. The Rhineland is to be under Allied occupation for fifteen years. The document is signed by US President Woodrow Wilson and British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. [488.30]
- June 28
- In Versailles, France, the peace Treaty of Versailles is signed. Germany returns Alsace-Lorraine to France. The Polish Corridor is created. Germany agrees to pay US$5 billion in gold marks, first installment of reparations. Germany is not allowed to have tanks and military aircraft. [388.50] [406.41] [488.32] [801.xiii]
- In Versailles, France, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau sign the Treaty of Guarantee. The treaty calls for Great Britain and the USA to come to France's immediate aid if Germany makes an unprovoked assault on the country. (The treaty is not ratified by the American senate, so does not come into force.) [406.71] [488.28,32]
- (month unknown)
- In Germany, Werner von Blomberg, Johannes Blaskowitz, and other German staff officers begin considering how to regain the Saar valley, the Polish Corridor, Memel, and remilitarize the Ruhr area, if necessary by war. [510.6]
1921
- February 21
- France and Poland make a secret military agreement, specifying that if Germany attacks either nation, the other will assist in defence. If Poland is attacked by Soviet Russia, France is to hold Germany in check on land and at sea. [406.116]
1922
- February 6
- A treaty limiting naval armament is signed by the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. The limits set for total tonnage of major naval ships are: USA 525,000, Great Britain 525,000, France 175,000, Italy 175,000, Japan 315,000. [406.87]
- (month unknown)
- In Rapallo, Italy, Germany and the Soviet Union sign an agreement re-establishing diplomatic relations, renouncing all reparations claims against each other, and pledging cooperation in economics. [448.6]
1923
-
- The Swedish book Social-Demokraten writes: "Encircle Germany with zones . . . treat her as the dangerous lunatic of Europe, take every precaution against her, and one day Germany will break out of her cell with the demoniac force of the lunatic." [113.501]
1925
- October 16
- In Locarno, Switzerland, the Pact of Locarno is signed by Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Italy, Poland, and Czechslovakia. The nations agree to a mutual guarantee of existing borders, and to make peaceful settlements of disputes. [406.101] [448.7]
- In Locarno, the Treaty of Mutual Guarantee is signed by Great Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy. Germany and Belgium, and Germany and France agree to not attack or invade each other. [406.102]
- France and Poland sign a Treaty of Mutual Guarantee, to immediately aid the other if attacked by Germany. [406.119]
- December 1
- The Locarno Pact is signed by Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, guaranteeing frontiers of Germany-Belgium, and France-Germany. [801.xiii]
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1926
- April 24
- Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Treaty of Berlin. If one country is attacked, the other is to remain neutral. [406.142]
- (month unknown)
- Germany is admitted to full membership in the League of Nations. [448.7]
1928
- August 27
- The Pact of Paris (Kellogg-Briand Pact) is signed by the USA, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Poland. The countries condemn recourse to war, renouncing it as an instrument of national policy in relations with one another. [364.5] [406.108] [448.7]
1929
- February 9
- A Protocol renouncing war as an instrument of national policy is signed by the Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Romania. [406.109]
- (month unknown)
- In France, construction of the Maginot defence line begins near the border with Germany. The line is named after Sergeant André Maginot, who conceived and oversees its construction. [614.35]
- July 24
- The Treaty of Paris becomes effective, with 31 more countries signing compliance. [448.55]
1931
- September 18
- The Japanese Army begins a full-scale invasion of Manchuria (northeast China). [495.36] [801.xiii]
- September 22
- Chinese president Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek) announces that the government would entrust the League of Nations to resolve the conflict with Japan by peaceful means. [495.36]
1932
- January 21
- Finland and the Soviet Union sign a five-year Pact of Non-Aggression. [406.149]
- February 2
- In Geneva, a World Disarmament Conference begins. [364.5]
- July
- At a Conference in Lausanne, the Allies agree to cancel war reparation payments by Germany. [358.25]
- July 25
- Poland and the Soviet Union sign a five-year Non-Aggression Pact. [42.21] [406.145]
- November 29
- France and the Soviet Union sign a Pact of Non-Aggression. [406.148]
1933
- January 30
- German president Paul von Hindenburg offers Chancellorship to Adolf Hitler, who accepts. [78.231,317] [80.280] [141.s19] [160.152] [161.371] [248.E5] [277.4] [293.E4] [373.25] [378.8] [691.4] [725.13] [801.xiii]
- February 2
- Adolf Hitler meets with a group of generals and admirals at the home of General von Hammerstein. He assures them they could begin a rearmament program, in defiance of the Versailles Treaty. [691.6]
- February 3
- German Chancellor Adolf Hitler tells his top generals of his determination to conquer land, to the east. [80.283]
- March 14
- In the British House of Commons, Winston Churchill urges creation of an air force adequate to defend the civilian population. [503.1741]
- March 23
- Winston Churchill urges the British government not to press for French disarmament while Germany is busy rearming. [503.1741]
- October 14
- Germany withdraws from the Disarmament Conference at Geneva, Switzerland. [248.E5] [293.E4] [364.6]
- October 21
- German Chancellor Adolf Hitler withdraws Germany from the League of Nations. [248.E5] [277.4] [293.E4] (October 14 [78.232] [166.282] [801.xiii])
1934
- January 26
- Germany and Poland sign a ten-year Declaration of Non-Aggression. [42.21] [232.770] [248.E5] [293.E4] [390.7] [406.169]
- May 5
- The 1932 non-aggression pact betwen the Soviet Union and Poland is extended to the end of 1945. [406.147]
- (month unknown)
- Turkish President Kemal Atatürk tells visiting American General Douglas MacArthur that a war would start in Europe around 1940. Germany would dominate the continent except for Britain and Russia, and the Soviets would emerge after the war as the main beneficiary. [38.167]
- August 2
- In Germany, following the death of President Paul von Hindenburg, Chancellor Adolf Hitler assumes the office of Reich President as well. The Wehrmacht oath of allegiance is changed to be directly to Adolf Hitler. [78.235,317] [80.292] [248.E5] [293.E4] [691.1]
- (month unknown)
- British Winston Churchill writes in Collier's magazine: "[Germans] are looking for weapons and when they have these weapons believe me they will then ask for the return of lost territories and colonies, and when that demand is made, it cannot fail to shake and possibly shatter to their foundations Poland, Czechoslovakia, France, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Rumania, and other countries.". [281.21]
- October 1
- Adolf Hitler orders army to triple in size to 300,000 men, for the creation of an air force, and for expansion of the navy. [801.xiii]
- November 1
- Winston Churchill speaks to his constituency: "Germany is arming, secretly, illegally, and rapidly.". [503.1741]
- December
- German scientists successfully test-launch the first two A-2 rockets over the North Sea from Borkum island. (In ten years' time, A-4 (V-2) rockets will be launched at London.) [339.22]
1935
- January 13
- Saar decides in a plebiscite to unite with Germany. [67.18] [248.E5] [293.E4]
- January 14
- The British Cabinet decides the Rhineland is not a vital British interest. [486.17]
- February 26
- In England, British scientists make the first test of radio wave detection of air planes by short-wave transmitter tower and mobile radio receivers. The test is a success. (The resulting RDF technology, or radar, is credited with saving Great Britain during the Battle of Britain in 1940.) [503.1754]
- March 16
- In Germany, Adolf Hitler denounces the disarmament clauses of the Versailles Treaty, and begins open re-armament and conscription of soldiers. [78.236,317] [166.283] [179.382] [248.E5] [293.E4] [448.12] [486.16] [503.1741]
- March
- Hermann Göring announces the new German Air Force. [84.5] [364.6]
- May 2
- France and the Soviet Union conclude negotiations for a five-year Treaty of Mutual Assistance. [24.246] [406.152] [409.23]
- May 16
- Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union sign a five-year Treaty of Mutual Assistance. [406.154]
- May 25
- German Chancellor Adolf Hitler agrees to not intevene in Austria or add Austria to the German Reich. [248.16]
- June 18
- England and Germany sign a naval treaty, limiting the German surface fleet to 35 percent of British tonnage, and submarine fleet to 45 percent. [232.770] [248.E5] [293.E4]
- September 11
- British Foreign Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare calls on all members of the League of Nations to follow policy of "steady and collective resistance to all acts of unprovoked aggression." [801.x]
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