Quote:
Originally Posted by ArmchairGeneral
I'm confused. I thought the Ruhr was remilitarized along with the rest of the Rhineland.
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AG, I am no expert in WWI or german history...I could have gotten some names mixed up. Eeither the Saar or the Ruhr was reincorported into German in 1933. All I know is the Rhineland was a demilitarized zone set up in western Germany by the Versailles treaty to act as a buffer between Germany and Belgium, France and the Netherlands. It was administered by a sucession of allied commissioners until 1930 when all foreign troops pulled out. It, however, was supposed to remain demilitarized. In 1936 Hitler sent "troops" into the zone to remilitarize it in violation of the treaty but on a hunch he could get away with it. Had he been confronted by French troops he would have been whipped badly and censured under the Treaty. The German high command was hoping the French would intervene so they could topple Hitler. The plan was to arrest him. Correct me on this: The nearby Ruhr had remained under German control all along except a large portion of its coal production was to fo to France to help pay down reparations due to France. Around 1924 the French, reacting to strikes by German coal miners, occupied the Ruhr at the cost of some 400 German lives. France ended its occupation soon after. The point is France could not have occupied what was already occupied by the allies. Therefore, I concluded the Ruhr was not part of the demilitarized zone. Historical license...you decide.
