ABSTRACT
In 1931, the year Japan began a war in Manchuria, the Nazi Party in Germany scored an electoral breakout in Germany that led to Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. Thereafter, the Western democracies sought to establish an understanding with Italy, Germany, and Japan through the diplomacy of appeasement. In 1936 Italy invaded Ethiopia while Germany renounced the Treaty of Locarno and occupied the Rhineland. Italy and Germany then jointly intervened on the side of fascist forces in the Spanish Civil War. By the end of 1936, China had all but abandoned the defence of Northern China. Lack of firm resistance by Britain and France emboldened Berlin’s diplomacy of menace, while an isolationist United States divided its attention between the European and Pacific theatres. After 1937, nonetheless, the Western democracies began to accelerate weapons development and procurement in preparation for war, possibly on much a broader format than WWI. In contrast to August of 1914, when the comparative military strengths of major powers tilting toward war tended to cancel each other out, in August 1939 the Axis states were far more advanced in their preparations for war than were their principal adversaries.
