Notes to Part V, Section II, Articles 181 to 197

The naval clauses of the treaty of peace eliminated Germany from the competition in naval armament which had prevailed before the war of 1914-18. In that period, Great Britain had tried to keep a "two-power standard". On March 17, 1920 the First Lord of the Admiralty announced a "one-power standard" (House of Commons, Debates, 5th series, 126, col. 2301). In that address he said:

"We are very fortunate in the fact that the only navy approximating in strength to our own is that of the United States of America, with whom we are associated in such a way that the idea of competition in armaments between us is one that is, to put it mildly, repugnant to us all; and we here-and I speak now, not merely for the Board of Admiralty, but for the Government-hope and believe that if there is to be an emulation between the United States of America and ourselves, it is likely to be in the direction of reducing that ample margin of naval strength which we each alike possess over all other nations. That is the foundation of the naval policy of His Majesty's Government."

On March 12, 1921 in a memorandum on naval policy the First Lord of the Admiralty stated:

"Estimates can only be based upon policy, and the naval policy of the Government, as announced by my predecessor, in the House of

Notes to Part V, Articles 181 to 197-Continued

Commons, on March 17, 1920, is to maintain a "one-power standard” -i.e., that our navy should not be inferior in strength to that of any other power."

The great expansion of navies during the war left a heritage of matériel in excess of post-war needs. In the United States there was a keen disposition to reduce expenses by limiting armament, which was evidenced by the passage of congressional resolutions and by the expression of public opinion. The President called the Conference for the Limitation of Naval Armament, which resulted in striking a 5:5:3:1.75:1.75 ratio for the capital ships and aircraft carriers in the fleets of the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy respectively. This treaty for the limitation of naval armament, signed at Washington on February 6, 1922 (Treaty Series 671; 43 Stat. 1655; Treaties, Conventions, etc., 1923-37, iv, 4889), entered into force on August 17, 1923 and was stipulated to remain in force until December 31, 1936.

In 1922 meetings held at Rome, under the auspices of the League of Nations, attempted without result to apply the principles of the Washington treaty to naval armament in general. In 1925 the League of Nations established the Preparatory Commission for the Disarmament Conference and in 1927 the President of the United States convened at Geneva the Conference for the Limitation of Naval Armament, which was intended to apply the principles of the Washington treaty to other categories of war vessels. That conference closed on August 24, 1927 without accomplishing its purpose.

In continuation of this effort, a treaty for the limitation and reduction of naval armament was signed at London on April 22, 1930 and entered into force for the United States, the United Kingdom and other parts of the British Empire, and Japan, on October 27, 1930 (Treaty Series 830; 46 Stat. 2858; Treaties, Conventions, etc., 1923-37, Iv, 5268). This treaty provided for replacements and established rules for determining standard displacement, and provided for disposal of war vessels. It fixed limitations for cruisers, destroyers, and submarines, varying somewhat from the ratios adopted in 1922. The treaty, except for part IV, terminated December 31, 1936. France and Italy did not become parties to it. Japan, which had become dissatisfied with the 5:3 ratio, gave the requisite two years' notice of intention to terminate both the 1922 and 1930 treaties.

In the meantime, the Preparatory Commission for the Disarma

Notes to Part V, Articles 181 to 197—Continued

ment Conference at Geneva had been developing the draft disarmament convention, which was completed on December 9, 1930 for the consideration of the Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments, which opened on February 2, 1932. In this draft, the principles agreed upon in the 1922 and 1930 treaties were the basis of the part devoted to naval armament. Those two treaties controlled the ratios between approximately nine tenths of the naval armament of the world, and the adjustment of the principles involved to the naval craft of all the 59 participating states was not regarded as an essentially difficult problem, though many technical and complex questions respecting naval armament were raised. The inherent difficulties encountered by the Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments related to European land armament.

The Japanese denunciation of the 1922 and 1930 treaties in December 1934, to take effect on December 31, 1936, created a new situation. In March 1935 Germany added to the complications of the armament problem by its unilateral action in introducing military conscription and in embarking upon a program of air armament. On June 18, 1935 the United Kingdom concluded an agreement with Germany which permanently fixed the future strength of the German Navy at 35 per cent of the aggregate naval strength of the British Commonwealth of Nations, applied by categories of war vessels, except for submarines, which were not to exceed 45 per cent of the British tonnage unless previous notice to, and discussions with, the United Kingdom Government had occurred (United Kingdom, Treaty Series No. 22 (1935), Cmd. 4953).

With a view to reconstructing the system of control for naval armament laid down in the 1922 and 1930 treaties, a conference was convened in London, from which Japan withdrew. The ensuing treaty for the limitation of naval armament was there signed on March 25, 1936 and entered into force until December 31, 1942 for the United States, France, and the British Commonwealth of Nations (except the Union of South Africa and Ireland) on July 29, 1937 (Treaty Series No. 919; 50 Stat. 1363; Treaties, Conventions, etc., 1923–37, iv, 5548). An agreement between the United Kingdom and Italy consisting of a protocol and annexed exchanges of notes, signed at Rome April 16, 1938, dealt with several phases of the relations of the two states, among which was Italian accession to the treaty of March 25, 1936 (United Kingdom, Treaty Series No. 31 (1938), Cmd. 5726), effective December 2, 1938.

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Notes to Part V, Articles 181 to 197-Continued

The treaty of 1936 was built on the principle of qualitative limitation and limited the maximum tonnage and gun caliber of the several categories of vessels in accordance with agreed definitions of displacement, categories, and age of vessels. It did not provide for quantitative limitation as did the expiring treaties of 1922 and 1930, but it did provide for advance notification and exchange of information in regard to building and acquisition programs.

On July 17, 1937 the United Kingdom signed agreements with the Governments of Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics providing for the limitation of naval armament and the exchange of information concerning naval construction based on the treaty of 1936, with certain reservations arising out of special German and Soviet circumstances (United Kingdom, Treaty Series Nos. 2 and 17 (1938), Cmd. 5637, 5679). Both entered into force on November 4, 1937 and were stipulated to remain in force until December 31, 1942. On April 27, 1938 the United Kingdom signed with Poland a similar agreement, which entered into force on November 22, 1938 (United Kingdom, Treaty Series No. 1 (1939), Cmd. 5916). On December 21, 1938 a similar agreement was signed by the United Kingdom with Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden (United Kingdom, Misc. No. 6 (1939), Cmd. 5999) but did not enter into force.

In 1938 the naval authorities of the United States, France, and the United Kingdom reached the conclusion that the Japanese Government, which had absented itself from all naval agreements since 1934, was building capital ships exceeding the limit of 35,000 tons fixed by the 1936 treaty. The three Governments, therefore, concluded a protocol on June 30, 1938 which modified article 4 of the treaty of March 25, 1936 by fixing a limit for capital ships of 45,000 tons (45,750 metric tons) and confirming a maximum caliber for guns of 16 inches (Executive Agreement Series 127; United Kingdom, Treaty Series No. 43 (1938), Cmd. 5781). Identic protocols were signed by the United Kingdom with Germany on June 30, 1938 (United Kingdom, Treaty Series No. 56 (1938), Cmd. 5834), with the Soviet Union on July 6, 1938 (ibid., No. 39 (1939), Cmd. 6074), and with Poland on July 22, 1938 (ibid., No. 2, (1939), Cmd. 5917), while the change was incorporated in the unratified agreement signed in December with Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

Article 25 of the treaty of March 25, 1936 provided for "escala

Notes to Part V, Articles 181 to 197-Continued

tion", that is, the right to depart from the limitations and restrictions of the treaty "if, and to the extent to which" a contracting party "considers such departure necessary in order to meet the requirements of his national security". The United States gave the requisite notice to benefit by this provision on March 31, 1938, in view of the fact that "the Japanese Government did not choose to furnish information with regard to its present naval construction or its plans for future construction" upon inquiry concerning reports of construction not in conformity with the limitations and restrictions of the treaty. The British and French Governments acceded to this protocol for themselves.

On April 28, 1939 Germany denounced the agreement of April 17, 1938 and the protocol of June 30, 1938 with the United Kingdom. The German Führer in an address to the Reichstag, as well as in the memorandum denouncing the agreement, held forth the future desirability of "a clear and categorical understanding on a sure basis". The British reply of June 23 closed with a desire "to know how the German Government would propose to ensure that any action in the shape of denunciation or modification of the new agreement during the terms of its validity should carry the consent of both parties". (Germany, Auswärtiges Amt, 1939, No. 2, Documents on the Origin of the War, Nos. 294, 295; United Kingdom, Documents Concerning German-Polish Relations and the Outbreak of Hostilities Between Great Britain and Germany on September 3, 1939, Nos. 21, 22, 24, Misc. No. 9 (1939), Cmd. 6106).

On the outbreak of the war notification was given to Poland and the Soviet Union of the suspension, so far as the United Kingdom was concerned, of all obligations under the agreements.

ARTICLE 181.

After the expiration of a period of two months from the coming into force of the present Treaty the German naval forces in commission must not exceed :

6 battleships of the Deutschland or Lothringen type,

6 light cruisers,

12 destroyers,

12 torpedo boats,

or an equal number of ships constructed to replace them as provided

in Article 190,