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Piettwe Pon,
Septewrber
9, 1939
SHAKE HANDS ROUNDABOUT
On March
15
Mr.
Chamberlain says in the
her economic relations ... we do not dream of
House of
Co~ons
that the German ac.tion has
attacking ;my-nation so long
a&
they.1eave
Us
alone."
caused
him
bitter regret. He could not have
April
4, 1939.
,"
believed that anything of the kind was con-
Britain draws Italian attentiun to Italian armed
templated by the signatories of the Munich ,Pact.
activity at Brindisi. Count Ciano, Italian
On
March 17 at Birmingham the Premier says
Poreign Minister, assures
Irer
that no action is
Britain will resist with all her power any challenge
intended against
4lbania.
to her liberty. He accuses Hider of a breach of
'faith, and says Britain
will
review her policy.
April 7,
1939
All
over the world
this
speech is hailed as the
p,.anco~Spain
joins the Anti-Comintern Pact.
end of appeasement. It
~
welcomed in France,
The members
now
are Germany, Italy, Japan"
the U.S.A., Poland and the smaller European
Manchukuo,' Hungq.ry, Spain.
The
Genitan and
democracies. The German ,press .replies by
Italian Press ai;claims this as the
final
victory
accusing Britain of trying to encircle Germany.
0'0i!r
"Commuizism" in Spain.,
March
18, 1939
J""
April 7-8,
1939
German
occupation
of CzechiisJoiifaliia is
aCcoin-
-
Italian--troops-1nv.ade
:Albania.-.....The}'-
occupy_
panied
by
drasti : economic demands, in the form
Tirana, 'the capital.
King
Zog
fiees.
Mr.
Chamber-
of an ultimatum, un Roumania.
lain retUrns to London
from
Scodand, holds
Britain approaches the Soviet to ask what her
Cabinet meeting,
recalls
Parliament.
Albania
sub-
attitude would be
~
the event of an attack by
sequendy is made part of
~
ItaliaaEmpire.
- Germany
on -R()umania.~
Russia .proposes....an--ApriU3 ..
-.1939__
_~ ~'~
__ _
~_ _~
immediate six-Power COnference of Britain,
Mr. Chaml1erlain announces that Britain
has
France, the Soviet, Turkey, Poland and Roumania
guaranteed the independence of Greece and
to stop further acts of aggression. Lord
Halifax -
Roumania.
'
replies such a conference would be "premature."
Mr.
Atdee, in the Commons, deplores the
March 23 1939
absence in the Premier's speech of any reference to
'
. .
.
Russia. Peace could only be saved by a return to
Roum~ma ~~ ~
trade tr,eaty. 'iJJJth Germany.
collective security. To this Sir John Simon replies,
Roumaman f!ll
ts
VItal to Httler tn event of war.
"There is no sort of desire on our part to exclude
March
23 1939
Russia or to
fail
to
~e
full
advantage of the help
,
of Russia in the cause of peace."
Hitler strikes again. He presents a four-day
On the ,same day France gl'ves similar guaran_
ultimatum to Lithuania. She must cede Memel
or be attacked. Lithuania gives
way,
and
, t~
to Greece and Roumania.
Hitler enters Memel in triumph.
April
14, 1939
March 26, 1939
President Roosevelt sends an appeal for peace to
Hitler and Mussolini.
Mussolini makes a speech reiterating, without
He asks them for assurances ,that they
will
not
defining them, Italy's claims un Prance
i'n
respect
attack
3
0
countries, including Poland,
Greece
and
to Tunis,
Dj~ti
and1he ,Suez canal.
Roumania. The
German
and Italian press at once
March
31, 1939
ridicule the appeal.
Mr. Chamberlain
a1t1UJtI1U2s
that Britain and
........
Four days later Mussolini says in a speech-that
- Prance have promised full support to Poland
the Italians would not allow themselves to be im-
against arry action which dearly threatens
Irer
pressed by "Messianic messages." Hider answers
i_A--_A_~b
and
which
the Poles "consider it vital
Roosevelt in a speech in the Reichstag. He
calls
'.....,F'....c;'~
the appeal a "skilful tactical document!'
W
to resist with their national forces."
The President of the U.S.S.R. telegraphs to
The Premier says that there
are
no ideological
Roosevelt Russia's "profound sympathy with the
impediments to co-operation with the Soviet.
appeal" Britain and France respond
s~ly:.
\
German press says the pledge is
"a
laughable
attempt to create
unrest
and sow distrust of
April
24, 1939
Germany." From now on Britain becomes Public
Sir Nevile Hendersun, British
Ambassador,~
Enemy No.
I
in the German Press. Next day,
returns to Berlin. '
speaking
at the launching of a German batdeship,
He had_been recalled after Germany's invasion
lOHider says: "What Germany wants is to extend . of the
remains
of Czechoslovakia on
March
15.
Apru
26, 1939
Compulsory military service is announced in
, Britain.
April
28, 1939
"
Hitler denounces
the
Nun-Aggressiun Pact with
Poland and the Naval Agreement with Britain as
a reply
to
the British-Polish pact.
May
3,1939
Litvinov, Soviet Poreign Commissar, resigns.
Molotov becomes Foreign Commissar.
AngIo-Russian negotiations,
beguIi
on April
15,
have been making slow
p~gress.
'
'
' This step is variously interpreted in
the
British
press as a warning
to
Britain
to
speed
up
the
nego–
tiations, and as a decision by Stalin to assume
croser- control of foreign-affairs.
May
5~
1939
,
Cohmel Beckr;epliesto Hitler's
Reichstag
speech,
rejects demands un l)anzig and
the
Corridor.
_~~y~~9_
_
_ __ _
RusSian
proposais reach
London.
Britain and
Prance
~hange
views.
May
7,1939
The Rome-Berlin axis becomes aformal military
allia1tce.
May
8,1939
Negotiations in Moscow.
The British Ambassador presents the British
counter-proposals
in
Moscow.
,
Next day Moscow issues official communique
on negotiations. This contradicts London reports.
It reveals that Anglo-Fren.ch proposals do not ask
for Soviet guarantees to each neighbouqn,.g country
of the U.S.S.R., as stated in London, but that
Soviet should give immediate assistance to Britain
and France
if
they become involved'in war through
their guarantees to Poland and Rumania. But, it
says, British counter-proposals say nothing about
help for Soviet from Britain and France
if
Soviet
were involved
in
war in fulfilment nf obligations to
some of the other states of
Eastern
Europe.
Next day,
Mr.
Chamberlain
makes
a statement
\tn
~JruW)d8foi
Iieptatiens.
sHe
lllya_
Soviet
r
:se;. "more
c.\jPi>j~tr/slve
to
r .....'v ... ' ..",.
do not
sion.
t
tha
Soviet -
assistance to France and Britain without giving
the
, Soviet reciprocity.
Izvestia,
,however, ,makes it
clear
that Russia is sti:ll by no means' satisfied that
Britain means
to
give her reciprocity.
'