Locarno agreements (1925) cabinet, whose members were free from departmental responsibilities, for the unwieldy body that had hitherto conducted affairs The prime minister’s central concern was to change the direction of the war Instead of concentrating on the western front, Lloyd George favored attacking Germany’s allies, where progress was expected to be easier and the cost substantially less As an amateur strategist, he never understood that the war could only be won by defeating the German army Even if Douglas Haig had employed more imaginative tactics early on, the price of victory would have been tragically high In the winter of 1917–18, Lloyd George tried his best to thwart Commander in Chief Haig’s plans for an offensive by denying him the troops that he had requested It was a misguided action that almost spelled defeat for the Allies when the Germans attacked the British sector in force in the spring of 1918 The crisis led to the establishment of a unified Allied command under General Foch, in which military effectiveness was improved, and by May the situation had stabilized Haig’s series of victories in the summer and fall were instrumental in inducing the German government to ask for an armistice, but it was Lloyd George who represented himself as “the man who won the war.” In truth, his legacy does not rest on his management of the war, where he did more harm than good It was on the home front that he left his mark: safeguarding shipping and maintaining food supply, increasing war production, mobilizing manpower, and providing an unflagging display of optimism and resolve when things looked bleak His popularity at an all-time high, Lloyd George, popularly known as the “fighting Welshman,” won an easy electoral victory in December 1918, which allowed him to continue the coalition He played a leading part at the Paris Peace Conference, steering a middle course between Woodrow Wilson’s idealism and Georges Clemenceau’s demands It is to his credit that the final terms were not as severe on Germany as they would have been His failure to rebuild the economy; a personal scandal in which he traded peerages and other honors for campaign contributions; the granting of independence to Ireland, which cost him Conservative support; and a reckless foreign policy that almost led to an unnecessary war with Turkey spelled his downfall in October 1922 He never regained power and died in March 1945 at the age of 82 See also World War I Further reading: Bentley, Gilbert David Lloyd George vols Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1987; Grigg, 221 John Lloyd George from Peace to War, 1912–1916 Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985; Grigg, John Lloyd George: War Leader 1916–1918 London: Allen Lane, 2002 George H Cassar Locarno agreements (1925) The Pact of Locarno, negotiated on October 16, 1925, symbolized the atmosphere of goodwill between erstwhile enemies who had fought a global war 11 years before The delegates from Germany, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy, Poland, and Czechoslovakia met in the city of Locarno, Switzerland The preceding months had eased the tension in western Europe In November 1924 the French had ended the Ruhr occupation The financial condition of France was not good, and occupation of the Ruhr had become costly The attitude of France changed after the coming of a new government with foreign minister Aristide Briand (1862–1932) Briand had softened his earlier stand and had become a “pilgrim for peace.” Gustav Stresemann (1879–1929), the foreign minister of the Weimar Republic, was in favor of reconciliation with France In January 1925, Stresemann proposed a Rhineland Pact, which would guarantee the FrancoGerman border The German acceptance of a demilitarized Rhineland guaranteed the western frontier of France as well as Germany’s acceptance of a part of the peace dictated at Versailles Great Britain was interested in a general peace in Europe for the sake of its commercial and financial interests The United States had been persuaded by Great Britain to overhaul reparations, and the consequent Dawes Plan gradually stabilized the German economy The Locarno Conference began on October 5, 1925 The German delegation was headed by Hans Luther (1879–1962), the chancellor, but most of the work was done by Stresemann The British foreign secretary, Austen Chamberlain (1863–1937), played an important part in the deliberations at Locarno Briand was the delegate from France Emile Vandervelde (1866–1938), Vittorio Scialoja (1856–1933), Eduard Beneš (1884–1948), and Alexander Skrynski (1882–1931) were delegates of Belgium, Italy, Czechoslovakia, and Poland, respectively The conference continued for 11 days The diplomats patiently discussed the security of their frontiers in official meetings and