Chapter 560 Busy Countries, Busy World

If the Allies in World War I shared the same hatred, then the Allies after World War I were in chaos.

This chaos is no joke. After the Russian Civil War, the United States, and Britain faced the threat of the War of Independence, France also ushered in a considerable crisis.

In September 1921, Krim convened the leaders of the 12 major tribes in the Rif region to jointly pass the "National Declaration", which also represented the de facto independence of northern Morocco and openly resisted the occupation of Morocco by France and Spain.

Speaking of the Moroccan region, it is not unfamiliar. The great powers also caused two Moroccan crises in this area, but in the end, France and Spain divided Morocco.

However, due to the resistance of the Moroccans, France and Spain only occupied the plains of Morocco, and some mountainous areas were still under the rule of Moroccan tribes.

Since 1921, Spain has intensified its occupation of Morocco and invaded the Rif Mountains.

But what was unexpected was that under the leadership of the local tribal chief Abdul Krim, the Rif defeated a full 20,000 Spanish troops in late July, and then in August, launched a beautiful offensive and defensive battle in Melilla, forcing more than 3,000 Spanish soldiers to surrender.

Since then, the resistance to colonial rule in Morocco has continued to strengthen, which has also made the two countries that divided Morocco, France and Spain, very wary and decided to quickly wipe out the resistance in Morocco.

However, because of its lack of attention to the Rif, France did not strengthen its troops in Morocco, but only assigned heavier tasks to the colonial troops to ensure that the local Moroccans would not pose a threat to French Morocco.

The French were still laughing at the weakness of the Spaniards, who could be wiped out by a tribe with a population of less than 20,000.

But soon, the French could no longer laugh.

With the signing of the "National Declaration", it also meant that the Moroccan rebellion, including the Rif, was defined as a war of independence by various countries.

Krim enjoyed great prestige in the Rif because he defeated the Spaniards, and soon formed a Rif army united by various tribes.

Perhaps it was the passion for independence and freedom that made the combat effectiveness of this army very strong.

In the two months of late September and October, the Rif army was almost unstoppable in Spanish Morocco, defeating many Spanish armies in succession and almost liberating most of the territory of Spanish Morocco.

This made Spain panic directly, and sent up to 100,000 troops to quell the rebellion, but was quickly repelled by the Rif army, which was more familiar with the terrain.

Seeing that things had gone beyond their own development, the Spaniards quickly contacted France and requested to sign a military alliance treaty to form a coalition to jointly attack the Rif Republic.

You know, the Irish War of Independence has just ended, and people from all over the world are still very enthusiastic about this kind of independence war.

If the Rif War of Independence is recognized by all countries as a just war, then even the powerful France will have to consider the opinions of people at home and abroad.

The problem of Morocco made the British relieved, because it also meant that all the powerful powers in the world were busy with wars.

Under such circumstances, Britain's previous Irish problems will be covered up, and it will be able to free up its hands to deploy the country's next strategy, and take the opportunity to develop its own armaments while other countries are busy with wars.

Although the French did not clearly support Irish independence before, there were still unknown forces that influenced the French and British people.

The British are naturally very vengeful. While the negotiations between France and Spain are underway, a wave of strikes and demonstrations has been set off in France.

Not only in France, many Europeans with overflowing sympathy are holding strikes and demonstrations to express their support for the Rif's independence struggle.

Yes, it's so magical. The French do not agree with the French government's invasion of the Rif, and demand that the government withdraw its troops from the Rif and support the Rif's independence.

Against this background, many French soldiers who have been carrying out cruel policies in Morocco have refused to shoot at Moroccans, and even celebrated with the Moroccan army.

Muslims in other parts of North Africa also support the independence of the Rif, and it seems unrealistic to use force to solve the Rif problem.

Against this backdrop, a secret meeting was held in London on October 25, 1921. The participating countries included only the British Empire, the United States, Australasia, France and the island countries.

Theoretically, these five countries are the five most powerful countries in the world, and many other powers, including Italy, are not opponents of these countries.

The first topic of the meeting of the five countries was the Treaty on Island Territories and Territories in the Pacific Region.

The background of this topic is very complicated. The United States wants to expand in the Pacific, and Britain wants to contain the expansion of the United States. The island countries want to gain greater rights in the Pacific, but Australasia is currently the most powerful country in the Western Pacific.

However, this topic does not mean to divide the territory. It is more about the mutual commitment of the countries to respect each other's territorial and territorial rights and avoid more disputes.

The most important one is that the five countries that signed the treaty respect each other's rights to island territories and island territories in the Pacific region. When disputes arise between all contracting parties regarding a certain issue in the Pacific and fail to reach a satisfactory solution through diplomatic channels, a contracting party meeting should be held to resolve it.

When the rights of the contracting parties in the Pacific region are threatened by other countries, the contracting parties shall consult comprehensively in order to take the most effective measures jointly or individually to deal with the situation.

This so-called Five-Power Treaty also specifically stipulates that the treaty concluded between Britain and the island countries in London on July 13, 1911 shall be terminated.

The five countries signed this treaty for different purposes, generally speaking, to protect their rights in the Pacific.

In fact, one more thing to think about here is that the Philippines theoretically belongs to the Pacific coast and is controlled by the United States, so it should be protected.

After Australasia signed this treaty, it was equivalent to adding a layer of restraint to the land of the Philippines.

But in fact, Arthur also considered the changes brought about by this treaty. However, the Five-Power Treaty mentioned that if the disputes between the contracting parties were not resolved through diplomatic channels, a meeting of the contracting parties should be held to resolve them.

Among the five countries, Australasia has won the support of Britain and France and is leading in votes.

The reason why Arthur stood firmly on the side of Britain during the Irish War of Independence was to make the British stand firmly on the side of Australasia during the Philippine War of Independence.

This was also a naked exchange of interests. For Britain and Australasia, the results of Ireland or the Philippines were not important. What was important was the attitude of mutual support between allies and the achievement of their own strategic goals.

Although the treaty on island territories and territories in the Pacific region, the so-called Five-Power Treaty, seemed simple, it took nearly ten days to reach.

This also led to the time of the next meeting, which was November 4, 1921.

The next meeting was quite important, and it was the naval limitation treaty that had been proposed for a long time.

A treaty concerning the proportion of naval forces among countries should naturally be decided by the five most powerful countries in the world, not by many small countries.

This is also the truth of this world. The strong determine the weak, and the weak determine the weaker.

On the first day of the second topic, the United States took the initiative based on the current investigation and could not wait to propose a plan to limit naval armaments in favor of the United States:

First, all countries that signed the naval limitation treaty immediately stopped building main battleships;

Second, each country should dismantle a part of the old warships to ensure that its total naval tonnage is within the prescribed number;

Third, according to the current total naval tonnage of each country and the economic and industrial situation, the proportion of the navies of each country should be 500,000 tons for the main warships of the United Kingdom and the United States, and 300,000 tons for France, Australasia and the island countries. With reference to the tonnage ratio of the main battleships, the proportion of auxiliary warships is completed according to the specific situation.

The calculation plan of the United States is still ambitious. First of all, it directly clarifies that the tonnage of the US military is the same as that of the United Kingdom, which has narrowed the gap between the US and British navies.

Secondly, the tonnage of the warships of the island countries is the same as that of Australasia, which also means that the allies of the United States and the United Kingdom are at the same level.

Reference to the more advantageous geographical location of the United States, as well as the world's first industry and economy, the comprehensive strength is destined to be stronger than that of the United Kingdom under such a division.

This was also the Americans' initial test of the British, and the first time they revealed their ambition to become the world hegemon.

Moreover, the 5:3 tonnage ratio can also determine the naval gap between the United States and the island countries and Australasia.

Under the premise that the island country, the younger brother, is not very obedient, the United States is equivalent to killing three birds with one stone, becoming a common maritime hegemon with Britain, and establishing a naval advantage over the island countries and Australasia.

However, this proposal, which only benefits the United States, immediately aroused opposition from all countries.

The British could not agree to share the naval hegemony with the United States, and Australasia could not agree that its naval scale was on the same level as the island countries.

The island countries also have extraordinary ambitions. The island countries also want to shorten the gap with Britain and the United States, at least not to a ratio as disparate as 5:3.

Now, the quarrels in the meeting can be described as bloody.

The United States advocates a ratio of 5:5:3:3:3, the United Kingdom advocates a ratio of 7:5:4:4:3, France advocates a ratio of 5:5:5:4:3, and the island countries advocate a ratio of 5:5:4:3:3. As for Australasia, a ratio of 7:5:4:4:3 was also proposed. (The front and back are UK:US:France:Australia:Island)

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