Little Entente

Little Entente (1920–38) Alliance of Czechoslovakia, Romania, and the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later termed Yugoslavia). It was created by the Czech Foreign Minister Edvard BENEŠ, who in August 1920 concluded treaties (extended in 1922 and 1923) with both Romania and Yugoslavia. The principal aim of the Entente was to protect the territorial integrity and independence of its members by means of a common foreign policy, which would prevent both the extension of German influence and the restoration of the Habsburgs to the throne of Hungary. France supported the Entente, concluding treaties with each of its members. In 1929 the Entente pledged itself against both Bolshevik and Hungarian (Magyar) aggression in the Danube basin, while also seeking the promotion of Danube trade. In the 1930s, however, the members gradually grew apart. Romania under CAROL II (1930–40) leaned towards Hitler's THIRD REICH, Czechoslovakia signed a non-aggression treaty with the Soviet Union (1935), while in February 1934 Romania and Yugoslavia joined Greece and Turkey to form the so-called Balkan Entente. In 1937 Yugoslavia and Romania were unwilling to give Czechoslovakia a pledge of military assistance against possible aggression from Germany and, when the SUDETENLAND of Czechoslovakia was annexed (September 1938), the Entente collapsed.