World War II

====European treaties====
The United Kingdom, France and Italy formed the [[Stresa Front]] in April 1935 in order to contain Germany, a key step towards [[Military globalization|military globalisation]]; however, that June, the United Kingdom made an [[Anglo-German Naval Agreement|independent naval agreement]] with Germany, easing prior restrictions. The Soviet Union, concerned by Germany's [[Drang nach Osten|goals of capturing vast areas of Eastern Europe]], drafted a treaty of mutual assistance with France. Before taking effect, though, the [[Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance|Franco-Soviet pact]] was required to go through the bureaucracy of the League of Nations, which rendered it essentially toothless.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mandelbaum|1988|p=96}}; {{Harvnb|Record|2005|p=50}}.</ref> The United States, concerned with events in Europe and Asia, passed the [[Neutrality Acts of the 1930s|Neutrality Act]] in August of the same year.{{sfn|Schmitz|2000|p=124}}

Hitler defied the Versailles and [[Locarno Treaties]] by [[Remilitarisation of the Rhineland|remilitarising the Rhineland]] in March 1936, encountering little opposition due to the policy of [[appeasement]].{{sfn|Adamthwaite|1992|p=52}} In October 1936, Germany and Italy formed the [[Axis powers|Rome–Berlin Axis]]. A month later, Germany and Japan signed the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]], which Italy joined the following year.{{sfn|Shirer|1990|pp=298–299}}