The Nationalist Kuomintang party and the Chinese Communist Party form the First United Front to end warlordism in China. January 11 France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr in an effort to compel Germany to step up its payments of war reparations. June In the great inflation of 1923, the value of the German mark is destroyed. July 24 The Treaty of Lausanne, settling the boundaries of modern Turkey, is signed in Switzerland by Turkey and the Entente powers. It marks the end of the Turkish War of Independence and replaces the earlier Treaty of Sèvres. August 2 Warren G. Harding, President of the United States dies in office and is succeeded by his Vice President, Calvin Coolidge. August 31 The Corfu incident: Italy bombards and occupies the Greek island of Corfu seeking to pressure Greece to pay reparations for the murder of an Italian general in Greece. September 27 The Corfu incident ends; Italian troops withdraw after the Conference of Ambassadors rules in favor of Italian demands of reparations from Greece. October 23–25 The Hamburg Uprising occurs. October 29 Turkey officially becomes a Republic following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. November 8 The Beer Hall Putsch takes place, in which Adolf Hitler unsuccessfully leads the Nazis in an attempt to overthrow the German government. It is crushed by police the next day. 1924 January 21 Leader of the Soviet Union Vladimir Lenin dies, and Joseph Stalin begins purging rivals to clear the way for his dictatorship. February 1 The United Kingdom extends diplomatic recognition to the Soviet Union. March 16 Italy annexes the Free State of Fiume. April 1 Adolf Hitler is sentenced to 5 years in prison for his participation in the Beer Hall Putsch (he serves only 8 months). April 6 Fascists win the 1924 Italian general election with a 2/3 majority. June 10 Italian Fascists kidnap and kill socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti in Rome. August 16 The Dawes Plan is accepted. It ends the Allied occupation of the Ruhr and sets a staggered payment plan for Germany's payment of war reparations. August 18 France begins withdrawing its troops from the Ruhr in Germany. 1925 May 12 Retired Field Marshal Paul Von Hindenburg is elected President of Germany. July 18 Hitler's autobiographical manifesto Mein Kampf is published. December 1 The Locarno Treaties are signed in London (they are ratified September 14, 1926). The treaties settle the borders