Inter War Years Major Rascon
Learning Objectives • Comprehend why the interwar period represented only an armistice rather than genuine peace or international stability by describing attempts at peace and why they failed • Know and explain the bases of American isolationism in 1920’s - 30’s, and the resultant impact on defense preparedness • Know and explain the “doctrine of defense”, with emphasis on the Maginot philosophy and the thoughts/contributions of Liddell Hart
Reference • Dupuy and Dupuy, The Encyclopedia of Military History, pp. 1027 – 1050 • Preston and Wise, Men in Arms, pp. 278 – 294 • Ropp, War in the Modern World, pp. 275 – 313 • Weigley, The American Way of War, pp 223 - 265
Attempts at Peace • The Aftermath - High costs of War in human and material - New attitude of revulsion against war - Need to recover and build a system to prevent war again • Out come of peacemaking endeavors; - League of Nations; principle of collective security - Disarmament; not total, but a limit on Arms
Attempts at Peace Cont’d • True peace or a 20-year cease-fire -Temporary, shallow peace - No practical solutions
Americans Withdraw • Isolationism - Avoid being dragged into war again - Return to prewar strengths - US its own best guarantor of peace • Isolationism deepens as the Depression years unfold - Economic problems - Reduction of military - Anti-military service sentiment appears • Defense preparedness takes a back seat
Doctrine of Defense • An outgrowth of post-World War 1 reaction • Passive security dominates military thought - Maginot Line in France - Fortified with integrated firepower - Created false sense of security - Stifled offensive planning
Composition of Forces Land Forces • Interwar Armies adjusted according to results of WWI • Reforms made by losers to avoid previous failures • Victors - returned to pre-1914, colonial type forces • Vanquished Countries developed new weapons
Composition of Forces Sea Forces • Principle Navies; United States, Britain, Japan, France and Italy • Adopted attitudes towards new weapons was conditioned by traditional position and potential enemies • Future roles of battleships, aircraft, and submarines obscured by technological uncertainty • Confusion reflected in naval conferences • Washington - 1921, Geneva - 1927, London - 1930 & 1935
Air Forces • Sought to achieve independent Roles • Air demonstrations of potential military value at every opportunity • Technological advances slow until early ‘30’s • Deterrence not practical until after 1935
Theorists • Britain- where strongest against the incompetent way the war was fought on the Western Front • Theorists included: - Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond - Major General J.F.C Fuller - Captain B. H. Liddell Hart • General Mitchell, U.S.- air power • Major C.D. Barrett, U.S – first manual for landing operations • Colonel DeGaulle, France – armor in France
National Armed Forces, U.S. (Land) • Machine Gun recognized, Truck, Tank and Plane not fully appreciated • National Defense Act of 1920 - reverted to mobilization plans of 1927 • Infantry Army envisioned, but no selective service • Isolationism - Army cut to 119,000 men
National Armed Forces, U.S. (Sea) • Navy revived 1916 program - rendered most ships under construction obsolete • Navy concentrated on Carriers and Air Ships - conference limitations on Battleships • Later returned to building battleships to balance fleet • Amphibious Warfare developed by USMC
National Armed Forces, U.S. (Air) • Army Air Service championed by General Billy Mitchell (wartime hero) • Mitchell ahead of times - eventually sacked for disobedience • Later, Mitchell’s claims were evaluated and Army Air Corps was established • Strategic Bombing Doctrine Developed and the B-17 prototype tested
National Armed forces, Britain (Land) • British Army followed colonial heritage, fought mechanization • Growth extremely slow, despite Fuller and Hart publication in 1929 of army field manual • Result - British tanks technically superior to Germans, but were attached to trenched infantry that they were quickly destroyed by Germans
National Armed Forces, Britain (Sea) • Royal Navy reduced by politicians and disarmament treaties • Little effort to submarines, carriers, or antisubmarine Warfare • New dimensions in Naval Warfare were disregarded
National Armed Forces, Britain (Air) • RAF used to police primitive tribal areas • Home defense handled better by RAF than by older two services • Counter-strike deterrent force developed • Stress of fighters for home defense came just in time to save Britain in 1940
National Armed Forces, France • Fear of revived Germany dominated Paris • France retained most powerful army and air force in Europe • Cordon Sanitaire attempted around Germany by France • Maginot Line constructed • By 1940 - political struggles crippled military
National Armed Forces, Italy • 1922 - Mussolini’s fascist government revived prestige of military • Army modernized and highly mechanized • Air Force given full independence • Forces exercised in Ethiopia (1935-36) and Spain (1936 - 39) • However, as war began Italian armed services were in decline (lack of modern material, economic base or morale to fight)
National Armed Forces, Japan (Land) • Dominated by Samurai tradition, developed along German lines • Mechanization, mobility, and jungle operations • Fought in China from 1931 • Army Air Force - rapid progress, but fought second class enemies and technical developments neglected
National Armed Forces, Japan (Sea and Air) • Carriers - great strides in development (under British instruction) • Cruisers and destroyers excellent, torpedoes were highly potent • No strategic bombing force (no need for it) • Suspicious of U.S. and the lack of a stand by the Allies in Manchuria led to East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (expansion plan)
National Armed Forces, Russia • Badly demoralized - 1917 failure of Czar leadership • Made mechanization the symbol of the revolution • German help, British thought, and American ingenuity; highly mobile, infantry carrying tanks • Supply Corps established • Compromise between military/communist party • Military and political general staffs created • Air Force reborn with help from Germany • Hitler struck before work complete
National Armed Forces, Germany (Land) • Deprived of power by treaty • Army experiments and remolds doctrine • Regular army became a cadre of officers • Works of Fuller and Hart translated and elaborated • Hitler gave the army more support • Mechanization proceeded and equipment tested in Spanish Civil War • General staff openly resumed Pre-Versailles power
National Armed Forces, Germany (Sea and Air) • Raeder developed new U-Boats • Pocket battleships developed • Bismark and Tirpitz constructed • Luftwaffe mushroomed under Goering • Tactical Air Force only good for Blitzkrieg, but not for long term war
Summary • Interwar years characterized by military peacetime problems (economy, cutbacks and complacency) • Major nations treated armed forces in the interwar years as diplomatic position • Disarmament movement acted as a brake until collapse in Geneva in 1934 • Then there was a universal shift or rearmament, especially in the air
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