REMILITARIZATION IN EASTERN EUROPE: 1919--1932, AN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE

In the early twentieth century the successor states of the Hapsburg empire were minor entities fearful of the great powers that surrounded them. The search for collective security on the part of the nations comprising the Little Entente led to a two-point conclusion. The newly-created states felt their survival lay in a strong military and weak neighbors.Economic forces such as the agriculture vs. manufactured goods price scissors combined with international bans on arms sales forced the small countries of the Balkans into the production of ammunition. The treaty provisions banned extensive international purchasing of ammunition by the defeated powers. While these agreements were not well enforced, the irregular supply that resulted forced the revisionist powers to produce their own munitions and the newly-created nations felt that they must immediately do the same.The major powers involved in alliances with the Little Entente hindered, where they could, unilateral cooperation. France did not want an independent power bloc, but a series of client states. Italy saw no advantage to herself in a powerful coalition to the northeast. The United States lost interest after the rejection of the Treaty of Versailles, except for concern over the growth and influence of communism in Europe. With the movement of her embassies from the Balkans to Istanbul, America relied on military attaches stationed in Eastern Europe for information.The losing nations that were kept from re-asserting their pre-war domination were small powers with minor potentialities for upsetting the status quo. The major powers that could alter the balance of power in Eastern Europe were largely ignored in the alliance building process that followed the end of the Great War.