Remilitarising the Rhineland, World War Two and international law

In the 1930s, the peace of Europe rested on two pillars: the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Locarno. Articles 42 and 43 of the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany from maintaining or constructing fortifications or from keeping any military personnel between the French border and a line of 50km east of the Rhine. The Treaty of Locarno, signed seven years after the end of the Great War, confirmed Articles 42 and 43. 

On 7 March 1936, German forces moved into the demilitarised Rhineland. It was hardly a year since Germany had reintroduced conscription. The Army was not ready. The Panzer II tank was still at the design stage, Panzer I was  poorly armed, meant for training, not for combat. The manpower consisted of raw, inexperienced recruits and superannuated veterans with bad eyesight and pot-bellies. The French had an army of 150,000 and could mobilise another half a million troops in a week. Char B was a superb tank. Czechoslovakia offered 35 divisions, ready for action in 72 hours.

Let us see a few brief examples of the kind of discussions that must have taken place among politicians in reaction to the remilitarisation of the Rhineland.

George Mandel, Chief of Staff to George “Tiger” Clemenceau (French Premier in the First World War), to Albert Sarraut, Prime Minister of France: 

“Let’s hit them hard, with all our might. That’s what the Tiger would do if he were still alive.  I am convinced that if we call Hitler’s bluff we shall see the end of Germany’s love affair with National Socialism. Hitler is a madman. Any clear-thinking strategist would advise him: ‘Wait until we are strong enough.’ The fact that he is not willing to wait is a clear indication that he overruled the military analysts. He wants to keep up the momentum. He wants instant glory, and for that he is willing to gamble. He is gambling on our inability to act quickly, gambling on our likely desire to refer the whole thing to the League of Nations, gambling on the conflicts in our midst, gambling on our old-fashioned military strategy, gambling on the reluctance of the British. If we respond immediately, without delay and respond with overwhelming force, they will flee like frightened rabbits. The Generals will take over. The great adventurer will be arrested. Most of the Generals had their training in Imperial times. They hate this clown. They will follow him as long as he is successful but will turn against him if he leads the Army into a shameful retreat. The German military does not like to lose prestige. They will never forgive Hitler. Nor will politicians of the old school who now toe the Nazi line with such enthusiasm. They are fair-weather friends. They will desert him. With Hitler under house arrest we shall be able to sit on our laurels-and enjoy the sunshine on the Maginot Line.”

Neville Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin: 

“Heard the latest? Sarraut has addressed the French nation: ‘Nous ne sommes pas disposés à laisser placer Strasbourg sous le feu des canons allemands.’ Good fighting spirit, in the best of French military traditions. I hope he does not mean it. If they respond by force to German aggression we must, as a signatory of the Locarno Treaty, assist the French, and not only morally. I know, it is all the fault of my brother Austen. He signed the Treaty of Locarno. Remember what Lord Birkenhead said of my brother? ‘Austen always played the game and always lost.’ Here we are. Have we already lost the game? What shall we do? German guns within sight of Strasbourg is not a prospect I relish, but to go to war now would be a tragic mistake. How can we persuade the French not to act, I mean not to act militarily. We should appeal to the League of  Nations. Would you agree?”

Stanley Baldwin to the Leader of the Opposition: 

“Major Attlee, how nice of you to give up your time. As you know we are in a critical situation. Give a day or two and we might be at war with Germany. If a formal declaration of war becomes necessary, will the Labour Party vote for it?”

Major Attlee to Stanley Baldwin: 

“Your decision to honour the Treaty of Locarno is highly commendable. We can understand why the French are in such hurry. But the Labour movement will not vote for war unless authorised by the Council of the League of Nations.”

Stanley Baldwin to Pierre-Etienne Flandin, French Foreign Secretary, who had just flown to London for consultations:

 “We are ready to fulfil our obligations. If you start military action we shall support you. If you declare war on Germany we shall do the same. But is it necessary to be in such hurry? Our country is not really ready to go to war. Is yours? We in Britain could have serious problems both in Parliament and in the streets. Would it not be a better course of action to appeal to the League of Nations? I, myself, don’t think we should act without authorisation from the Council. Could you please convey this message to your Cabinet? The choice is yours.”

And from the German side:

Joseph Goebbels to Adolf Hitler:

“Good news. France has appealed to the Council of the League of Nations. Your genius and intuition, mein Führer, has proved right once again. We have nothing to worry about. There will be long speeches accusing us of the violation of Article this and Article that, and then those armchair warriors, those shambolic democrats, those bumbling idiots will want to appear fair and will invite us to present our case. We’ll send them our faithful Ribbentrop, who will refute the charges one by one, and then the Council will have its field day with everybody carefully assessing all that can be assessed, and then they will bring forward a resolution condemning us as treaty-breakers, and then we shall wait a few days before sending any response, to give them a chance to shit their pants, and after that we shall make our counter-proposals which they will send to a number of Committees and Sub-Committees, and by the time the Committees report, everyone will have lost interest. Give it a month or two, and we shall have the French and the British queuing up to propose new treaties to us.”

All this happened a long time ago when some people in power had no regard for international law. How lucky we are that no British government would ever consider such vile deed.

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