Word: mediterraneanize
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...charter or Covenant is part of the Treaty of Versailles, the League played dead when Adolf Hitler violated the Treaty's military clauses (TIME, March 25), played deader when Britain and Germany united in tearing up its naval clauses (TIME, June 24). But last week, the Mediterranean having been filled with British war boats, the League sprang to life against Italy at the resurrecting torch of Might...
...King George V studied his Admiralty charts he saw an amazing thing. Malta, traditionally Britain's "Key to the Mediterranean." had become last week an inviting naval keyhole. In fear of Italian bombing planes, the big British ships normally based at Malta had withdrawn to Egyptian and Syrian waters, leaving in the keyhole only a British aircraft carrier, its complement of battle planes and a few-light destroyers as the best weapons to be left there...
Simultaneously the Island of Pantelleria achieved fame as Italy's "Key to the Mediterranean." Its inhabitants of nearly 10,000 were placed by Benito Mussolini in a "state of siege" and preparations were rushed full blast to use it as an Italian submarine and bombing plane base. Boasted proud Pantellerians prematurely: "Our island, because it lies in the middle of the narrowest part of the Mediterranean, commands the channel and divides the British forces...
...with every comfort and convenience, whereas the Italians have "ruthlessly curtailed" space and weight until no gentleman would care to fight in them. Oddly enough Dr. Parkes seemed more alarmed by the Fascist "suicide boats" (super-speedboats carrying torpedoes) than by any of Italy's other weapons. "Should the Mediterranean become a scene of naval operations." wrote anxious Oscar Parkes, "I should hazard the guess that these boats and torpedo planes will play a more vital part than the big ships...
...Occidental War was perfectly natural. The World War was, to Japan alone among major belligerents, just one huge slice of cake. On the fighting side, Japan had scant trouble taking Germany's Chinese port of Kiao-chiao and Pacific islands, supplied some destroyers for troop convoys in the Mediterranean. Japan's total War dead: 300 men, mostly from illness. In money, Japan lent her Allies only 618,000.000 yen ($308,000.000). Britain repaid her share of this in 1919 to Japan out of monies borrowed from the U. S. The rest has since been largely repaid...