Nyon Conference

The United Kingdom and France led the conference, which was also attended by Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Romania, Turkey, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.In marked contrast to the actions of the Non-Intervention Committee and the League of Nations, this conference succeeded in preventing attacks by submarines.[It] preserved the naval status quo in the Mediterranean until the end of the Spanish Civil War: the Francoists received whatever they wanted, the Republicans got very little."[1] The Non-Intervention Committee, a group of twenty-four nations set up in 1936 and based in London, had attempted to restrict the flow of weapons to the parties of the Spanish Civil War.[4] In May 1937, Neville Chamberlain succeeded Stanley Baldwin as British Prime Minister, and adopted a new policy of dealing directly with Germany and Italy.[13] Whilst officially being at peace,[13] the Italian leadership had ordered the commencement of unrestricted submarine warfare, referred to in discussion as a campaign of piracy without mention of Italy.[20] British recognition of Italian sovereignty over Abyssinia following the Second Italo-Abyssinian War was an important issue during Anglo-Italian discussions in August 1937.[22][23] The conference was to be held at Nyon, Switzerland – Geneva was avoided because Italians associated it with the actions of the League of Nations over the Abyssinian Crisis.Many of the other nations opposed the participation of the Soviet Navy in the Mediterranean,[31] so the United Kingdom and France agreed to handle Aegean Sea patrols.Signatories were the countries of Bulgaria, Egypt, France, Greece, Romania, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the USSR and Yugoslavia.[32] The British and French knew that the secret Italian submarine operations had already been paused,[31] but actions to enforce the conference agreement started at midnight on 19/20 September.Greece and Turkey wanted ships with a clear identifying mark to be excluded, so as to avoid being forced to fire on a German or Italian warship.He also noted that attacks on submarines would be restricted to suitably extreme circumstances and that the two parties in the war would still not be able to engage neutral vessels.Christopher Seton-Watson describes it as a "diplomatic victory",[51] but Jill Edwards points out that it failed to achieve a change in Italian policy.Litvinov, in particular, stressed the Soviet Union's "indisputable right" to commit naval forces to the Mediterranean (something Germany and Italy had opposed in meetings of the Non-Intervention Committee).He also said he regretted that Spanish merchant shipping had been left out – the other nations believed this would have amounted to formal intervention into the civil war.[53] Elsewhere, French public opinion was strongly in favour of the outcome of the conference,[50] the only criticism coming from the far left that Republican ships would not receive direct protection.
Map of the Mediterranean, showing some of the features referred to at the conference.
Neville Chamberlain in September 1938
Anthony EdenLord ChatfieldSir Robert VansittartBulgariaFranceGreeceRomaniaTurkeyUnited KingdomYugoslaviadiplomatic conferenceSwitzerlandshippingMediterranean SeaSpanish Civil Warunrestricted submarine warfaresubmarinenon-intervention in the Spanish Civil WarSoviet UnionTyrrhenian SeaGermanyNon-Intervention CommitteeLeague of NationsFrancoistsLondonproxy warFranco's Nationalist CoalitionRepublican factionNeville ChamberlainStanley BaldwinBritish Prime MinisterLeipzigBritish AdmiraltypiracyYvon DelbosHavockGulf of ValenciaBalearic IslandsBritish Foreign Secretarymoratoriumbelligerent rightsright to searchcontrabandAbyssiniaSecond Italo-Abyssinian WarLord HalifaxLeader of the House of LordsAbyssinian CrisisRepublican SpainCamille ChautempsFrench Prime Ministerconvoy systemBritish CabinetdestroyersSoviet NavyAegean SeaLondon Naval TreatySecond London Naval Treatyhigh seasDardanellesAdriatic Seasurface shipshipping routesThe TimescricketersErnle ChatfieldBenito MussoliniFrancisco FrancoNational Factionrelations with ItalyAnglo-Italian Agreements of 1938Royal NavyChristopher Seton-WatsonMaxim LitvinovAretas Akers-BouglasBritish Ambassador to the Soviet UnionThe Manchester GuardianRoutledgeThomas, HughBackgroundconspiracy1938–1939List of battlesRepublicanPopular FrontNationalistFalangistsCarlistsAlfonsistsForeign involvementCominternInternational BrigadesNon-interventionCondor LegionViriatosIrelandArmy of AfricaConcentration campsEvacuation of childrenGuernicaGovernment during the warMoscow goldSpanish RevolutionRed TerrorWhite Terror