Occupation of the Ruhr

The Occupation of the Ruhr (German: Ruhrbesetzung) was a period of military occupation of the Ruhr region of Germany by France and Belgium between 11 January 1923 and 25 August 1925.

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Occupation of the Ruhr
Part of the Aftermath of World War I and Political violence in Germany (1918–1933)
French soldiers and a German civilian in the Ruhr in 1923.
Date 11 January 1923 – 25 August 1925; 2 years, 7 months, and 2 weeks Location The Ruhr, Germany Result Dawes Plan
Belligerents
France  Belgium	Germany German protesters
Commanders and leaders
Raymond Poincaré Alphonse Caron Jean-Marie Degoutte	Wilhelm Cuno Wilhelm Marx
Casualties and losses
	130 civilians killed

France and Belgium occupied the heavily industrialized Ruhr Valley in response to Germany defaulting on reparation payments dictated by the victorious powers after World War I in the Treaty of Versailles. Occupation of the Ruhr worsened the economic crisis in Germany,[1] and German civilians engaged in acts of passive resistance and civil disobedience, during which 130 were killed. France and Belgium, facing economic and international pressure, accepted the Dawes Plan to restructure Germany's payment of war reparations in 1924 and withdrew their troops from the Ruhr by August 1925.

The Occupation of the Ruhr contributed to German rearmament and the growth of radical right-wing and left-wing movements in Germany.[1]