Little Entente (äntänt`), loose alliance formed in 1920–21 by Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia. Its specific purposes were the containment of Hungarian revisionism (of the terms of the World War I peace treaty) and the prevention of a restoration of the Hapsburgs. The three nations were drawn together by three bilateral treaties of defensive and economic alliance. This combination eventually became closely bound to France by financial and treaty obligations, and Poland sometimes cooperated with it but did not enter the alliance. Yugoslavia and Romania were also members of the Balkan Entente Balkan Entente , loose alliance formed in 1934 by Yugoslavia, Romania, Greece, and Turkey to safeguard their territorial integrity against Bulgarian revisionism.
..... Click the link for more information. , formed in 1934.

The overall aims of the Little Entente and the Balkan Entente, taken together, were the preservation of the territorial status quo, established by the treaties of Versailles, Saint-Germain, Trianon, and Neuilly, against the efforts of Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Bulgaria to have those treaties revised; the prevention of Anschluss Anschluss , German term designating the incorporation of Austria into Germany in the 1930s. Anschluss was first advocated by Austrian Social Democrats. The 1919 peace treaty of St. Germain prohibited Anschluss, to prevent a resurgence of a strong Germany.
..... Click the link for more information. , or union, between Germany and Austria; and the encouragement of closer economic ties among its members. The Little Entente was successful in its aims until the rise of Hitler in Germany, when French prestige was gradually displaced by German economic penetration and political pressure. It began to break apart in 1936 and was effectively ended when Czechoslovakia lost its membership by the formation of the Munich Pact (1938).

Little Entente

Mutual defense arrangement formed in 1920–21 between Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania, with French support. It was directed against German and Hungarian domination in the Danube River basin and toward protection of its members' territorial integrity. It was successful in the 1920s, but after Adolf Hitler's rise to power (1933) its members adopted increasingly independent foreign policies. The entente collapsed after Germany annexed the Czech Sudetenland (1938).

Little Entente

an alliance of Czechoslovakia, Rumania, and Yugoslavia, set up in 1920–21 in order to maintain the balance of power that arose in central and southeastern Europe after World War I. It was a major element in the French system of military and political alliances in Europe in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The entente followed the lead of French foreign policy and had a clearly anti-Soviet orientation. The Little Entente was based on bilateral agreements among its partners signed in 1920–21. The Little Entente had considerable armed forces, was linked with Poland through the anti-Soviet Rumanian-Polish pact concluded on July 18,1921, and relied on the help of France.

The weakening of the French position in Europe after the adoption of the Dawes Plan in 1924 and the signing of the Locarno Treaties in 1925 led to a weakening of the Little Entente as well. In an attempt to retain its influence over the partners of the entente, France concluded military and political agreements with them (with Czechoslovakia on Jan. 25, 1924, with Rumania on June 10,1926, and with Yugoslavia on Nov. 11,1927). But the value of these agreements for France was greatly reduced by Rumania’s rapprochements with Britain, with Hungary, and especially with Italy (Italo-Rumanian pact of friendship of 1926). Agreements concluded by Yugoslavia caused a new crack in the system of the Little Entente: the Yugoslav-Bulgarian pact of eternal friendship (Jan. 14, 1937) and the Italo-Yugoslav nonaggression pact (Mar. 25, 1937). The Munich Agreement of 1938, which Britain and France concluded with the fascist governments of Germany and Italy, and which led to the annexation of Czechoslovakia by Hitler’s Germany, put an end to the Little Entente.

PUBLICATIONS

British and Foreign State Papers, vol. 114. London, 1924. Pages 695–96.
League of Nations. Treaty Series, vol. 54. [Geneva, n.d.] Document No. 1289.

REFERENCE

Boshkovich, B. Balkany i mezhdunarodnyi imperializm. Moscow, 1936.

Mentioned in	?		References in periodicals archive	?		Encyclopedia browser	?		Full browser	?
No references found			But there was very little entente cordial on court as Loit was far from happy at a string of suspect line-calls and Golovin's unscheduled toilet break in the decisive set. TENNIS: Bollettieri's babes in DFS final showdown by Sunday Mercury (Birmingham, England)			Little Belt Little Big Horn Days Little Bighorn Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Little Bighorn, Battle of the Little Bo-peep Little Boy Blue little brother Little Buffalo State Park Little Bustard Little Buttercup Little Caesar Little Carpathians little cherry disease Little Claus Little Crow Little Current Little Diomede Little Dipper Little Dixie Highway of the Great River Road Little Dorrit Little Em'ly Little Emily little endian Little Engine That Could Little Entente Little Father Time Little Flower of Jesus Little Fox little giant Little Horse little house Little Ice Age Little John little leaf Little League Little League World Series little LEO system little magazine Little Manatee River State Park little mermaid Little Miami Little Miami Scenic State Park Little Minch Little Miss Muffet Little Missouri Little Missouri River Little Missouri State Park Little Moreau Recreation Area Little Nell Little Nemo			Little Dragons Little Drummer Boy Little Ealing Little Ealing Little Earth of United Tribes Housing Corporation Little East Conference little ebony spleenwort Little Egg Harbor Animal Rescue Little Egg Harbor Township little egret Little Egypt Amateur Radio Society Little Egypt Walk to Emmaus Little Elephant Training Centre for Early Education Little Elm Area Youth Sports Association Little Em'ly Little Embarras River Little Emily little end Little endian little ends Little Engine That Could Little Englander Little Englanders Little Englandism Little English Proficiency Little Entente Little Eva (character) Little Falls Business Association Little Falls Dance Little Farmer Garden Tote Little Fat Buddy Little Fat Kid Little Father Time Little Feet Ferret Retreat Little Fighter Little Fighter 2 little finger Little fingers Little Five Points Little Flock Fellowship Church Little Flower Neighborhood Association Little Flower of Jesus Little Flower of Jesus Little Flowers Family Apostolate Little Foreign Car Garage Little Fork River Little Formula Racing Series