League Successes and Failures
How well the League of Nations kept the peace in the 1920s: its successes with the Aaland Islands, Upper Silesia and Bulgaria, its failures at Vilna and Corfu, and why it succeeded or failed.
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Did the League work?
In the 1920s the League of Nations was tested by real disputes between countries. Sometimes it settled them and kept the peace; other times it was ignored. Looking at what it managed and what it failed to do shows both its strengths and its weaknesses. This module works through the key cases of the 1920s.
Case vocabulary
Learn these four terms before you study the cases.
When it won, when it lost
A clear pattern runs through the cases of the 1920s.
Small wins, big losses
A top answer spots the pattern: the League settled small disputes between small nations, but failed whenever a great power was the aggressor. With no army of its own, it could not force a strong country like Italy to back down. Judge each case by who was involved.
Match the case
- the Aaland Islands
- Upper Silesia
- Bulgaria, 1925
- Corfu, 1923
- a peaceful win between Sweden and Finland
- land shared fairly between Germany and Poland
- Greece was ordered out and obeyed
- Italy bullied Greece and the League was overruled
Match the term
- Vilna
- economic sanctions
- the refugee work
- the Conference of Ambassadors
- a city seized by Poland that the League could not recover
- stopping trade to punish an aggressor
- helping people return home after the war
- the body that overruled the League over Corfu
Spot the failure
Which of these was a clear failure for the League in the 1920s?
- Corfu, where Italy bullied Greece.
- The Aaland Islands.
- Upper Silesia.
- Bulgaria in 1925.
Spot the successes
Select the TWO cases that were successes for the League.
- The Aaland Islands dispute.
- The Bulgaria crisis of 1925.
- The seizure of Vilna.
- The Corfu crisis.
How Corfu unfolded
Put the events of the Corfu crisis in order, earliest first.
- An Italian official is killed on the border
- Italy bombards and occupies Corfu
- Greece appeals to the League for help
- The Conference of Ambassadors overrules the League
Complete the record
The League settled a dispute between Sweden and Finland over the _____ Islands. It shared _____ Silesia fairly between Germany and Poland. In 1925 it stopped Greece invading _____. But it could not recover the city of _____ for Lithuania. And over _____, Italy was let off by the Conference of Ambassadors.
Work out the year
The League settled the Aaland Islands dispute in 1921. It stopped the Bulgaria crisis 4 years later. In which year was the Bulgaria crisis? Add 4 to 1921.
Find the successes
Tap the TWO cases that were successes for the League.
- the Aaland Islands
- Bulgaria in 1925
- Corfu
- Vilna
Success or failure?
Read each case and decide how it went for the League.
- Sweden and Finland accept the ruling on the Aaland Islands without fighting
- Poland seizes Vilna and the League cannot make it give the city back
- Italy is let off over Corfu because a separate body overrules the League
Judge the League
Explain how well the League of Nations kept the peace in the 1920s. Give an example of a success and an example of a failure, and explain the pattern behind them.
- Describe one success of the League and why it worked
- Describe one failure of the League and why it failed
- Explain the pattern: small nations against great powers