The Manchurian crisis had a big impact on the leagues credibility. Manchuria was a province of China which was of interest to Japan as it has raw materials such as coal and iron ore which Japan lacked. At the time China was in turmoil due to the fact that warlords had divided the country into mini-kingdoms, Japan seen this as a perfect time to take control of Manchuria. The treaties the league had to uphold were see by many people as unfair and an example of this was the Paris Peace settlement, Japan did not gain as much from this as they had expected and felt pushed around, as a result the Japanese army believed that territorial conquest was the only way to show Japans strength. If the treaty had been fair to all countries involved then Japan would not have felt the need to prove them selves.
The league also failed in defending the areas taken over by the Japanese during the crisis due to the fact that the league had no permanent army. This meant that when Japan refused to withdraw its troops there was no army in place to stop them, as a result the Japanese were able to gain further control by taking over even more territory.
Finally it took over a year before the results of the Lytton report were published, and whilst all countries accepted the report Japan did not and left the league in 1933. After this Japan invaded the Jehol Province and in 1937 started a full scale invasion of China. There was very little the league was able to do by this point, economic sanctions did not work as the USA was Japans main trading partner and Britain was worried about taking further action against Japan in case British trade in Asia was effected; yet another example of how the self interest of member countries had an effect on the power of the league.
However, the most important problem the Manchurian crisis revealed was that the when a dictatorship wanted to invade neighboring territories the league was powerless to stop it.
The biggest blow to the league by far however was the Abyssinian crisis. Abyssinia was a poor and underdeveloped country in eastern Africa which was situated next to the Italian colonies of Eritrea and Somaliland. The Italians had previously tried to take over Abyssinia in 1896 but had been humiliatingly defeated in the Battle of Adowa. After this Mussolini, the Italian dictator had become eager for revenge and it soon became clear that he was preparing for war despite the fact that there was a friendship treaty made between Italy and Abyssinia which was signed in 1928. In 1935 the Stresa Pact was signed between Britain, France and Italy. Britain and France were keen to stay friendly with Mussolini as they believed he would be their best ally against Hitler whilst Mussolini hoped that Britain and France would allow him free reign over Abyssinia.
In October 1935 the Italians attacked Abyssinia after a clash between Italian and Abyssinian troops at Wal-Wal, the covenant of the league laid down sanctions against Italy as a result and banned the sale of arms and other goods to Italy as well as all loans and imports. However oil and coal were not banned for fear that it would affect the British mining industry. One of the most important decisions however was the fact that the Suez Canal was not closed to Mussolini due to fears of a full scale war with Italy, this was important because the canal was Mussolini’s main supply route to Abyssinia.
One of the most undermining events of the crisis was the Hoare-Laval Pact; both British and French foreign ministers had created a plan which they believed would end the fighting. This involved dividing Abyssinia and giving the best areas of land to Italy and the rocky, mountainous areas to Abyssinia, the plan was leaked to the press and caused outrage; as a result Hoare and Laval were both forced to resign from their positions. This was yet another highly embarrassing example which clearly illustrated how both Britain and France, the leading members of the league were prepared to put the interests of their own countries before those of the league.
In May 1936 Italian troops invaded the Abyssinian capital of Addis Ababa, before this the Emperor, Haile Selassie fled to Geneva and spoke to the League of Nations outlining the failure of the league in protecting his country from aggression and invasion.
By this point the league had reached a point of no return and had lost the confidence and trust it once had. After the Abyssinian crisis the league was in ruins and it became clear to many of the smaller nations that they could not rely on the league to protect them from stronger powers.
In conclusion, despite the early successes of the league it is fair to say that the leagues overall aim as a peace keeping organisation was a failure. Woodrow Wilson’s intention was to create a coalition of countries who would work together for lasting peace and security, evidently this was a failure as within 20 years another world war had broken out. The reasons for the failure of the league became clear through the Manchurian and Abyssinian crises such as the self interest of member countries; the ineffectiveness of sanctions especially combined with the absence of the USA; the lack of troops and the reluctance of other countries to commit their own troops. Many of the smaller countries which made up the league lost faith in Britain and France when they realised that not even the most powerful countries were prepared to stand up to dictators such as Hitler and Mussolini. Without the support or trust of other countries there was no chance of the league ever being successful.
