Topic 1: Were the Peace Treaties of 1919-1923 fair?

Outline of World War One (very very summarised)

Outline of World War One (very very summarised)

• July 1914 The war begins

• thinks it will be over by Christmas

• the war was fought on several fronts and germany wanted to avoid this so came up with the schlieffen plan

• German troops would march through Belgium, beat france and then move to russia

• they did not expect to meet resistance in belgium and the plan failed (they did occupy parts of northern France)

• Battle of the Marne (won by French)

• methods of defence were far superior than methods of attack and it was clear that the war was now going to last a long time.

• november 1914 First battle of Ypres

• 1915 Stalemate neither side could break through the defences

• April 1915 second Battle of Ypres

• poison gas used effectively on the british but also affected the germans

• February 1916 attack on Verdun (not to win land but to exhaust the french ‘bleed them white’)

• some german troops left to fight in the battle of the somme July 1st - november 1916

• verdun was a failure for germany but there were many casualities on both sides

• Battle of the Somme : series of attacks led by British General Haig

• first attack started with the heaviest use of artillery ever but did not work (mines off too early, shells not exploding)

• second attack with tanks, both attacks failed and resulted in huge british casualties

• 1916 conscription introduced (1841) not including those working in vital industries

• casualities at the somme were incredibly high

• 1915 american ship (lusitania) sunk by germans

• 1917 germans begin unrestricted submarine warfare

• british picked up a message going to mexico of Germany asking for military support against america

• american public now support going to war with germany

• April 4th - declare war on germany

• battle of passchendale (3rd Ypres) July-november 1917

• October 1917 Russia becomes communist and leaves the war

• two million us soldiers joined the allies and things were not looking too good for Germany

• Naval blockade weakening the German public

• 1918 Ludendorff plan results in failure and many casualties

• October 1918 German military leaders realise they must surrender (due to loss of morale, discipline and starvation)

• 11th november armistice day (ceasefire)

• armistice was signed with german troops on belgium soil and therefore the government were viewed as the ‘november criminals’

Which countries made up the Triple Entente (the allies)?

Great Britain, France, Russia

Which countries made up the Central Powers (triple alliance)?

Germany, Austria, Italy

Why did the Allies win WW1?

• America joining with two million troops

• Strong Empires with troops

• British winning the naval arms race and the naval blockade preventing the german poulation from getting food

• Germany having to fight a war on two fronts

• Use of tanks and improved technological weaponry, air superiority

• loss of German morale

How did the First World War affect Britain?

• Previously the great creditor nation of the world, now no longer the world’s financial centre.

• The Empire beginning to decline with rising nationalist demands for independence

• Women finally got the right to vote

• Distribution of income shifted in favour of the working class

• class differences changed, aristocracy diminished and a rise of the labour party

• 886,000 men lost, a million including the empire

How did the First World War affect France?

• leadership vacumn due to casualties

• loss of population

• property damage due to western front on french soil

• bombed and occupied

• 1.4 million deaths

How did the First World War affect the USA?

• 117,000 deaths

• Did not suffer as much due to being overseas and joining later

• war stimulated the us economy, increased employment wages.

• now the world’s creditor nation

• republicans want to go back to isolationism

How did the First World War affect Germany?

• severe economic difficulties and demand for reparations caused despair and hardship

• loss of morale

• over 10 million deaths

• huge decrease in industrial output

• huge shortage of raw materials

• lack of patriotism

• changes hard to accept

• people resented the armistice

• kaiser abdicated

• hurt pride

What was the Paris Peace Conference?

It was a formal meeting in Jan 1919 Paris of the victorious allies (France,Britain, USA, Italy, Japan) after the end of ww1 to set the peace terms for the defeated central powers.

Soviet Russia not invited following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917

defeated powers were excluded from the negotiations

The Versailles Settlement is a term to describe the entire peace settlement (all the treaties)

Who were the Big Three?

• George Clemenceau PM of France

• David Lloyd- George PM of GB

• Woodrow Wilson - President of USA

What were the motives and aims of Clemenceau at Versailles

• a tough politician with a reputation for being uncompromising

• to cripple germany so that it would no longer be a threat to France (can’t invade gain, in the past 50 yrs they’d been invaded twice)

• make germany pay for the suffering it had caused france

• expensive rebuilding would need funds as compensation (reparations)

• to control Germany’s industrial Rhineland - wants it to become an independent Buffer state

What were the motives and aims of Lloyd-George at Versailles?

• an effective politician that knew they would have to come to some form of compromise (‘piggy in the middle"‘)

• to weaken Germany but not to much as he hoped that britain and germany would begin trading again (britains second biggest trading partner prior to ww1)

• compensation for france to b rebuilt but not so much so that france’s resources would rival those of britain

• germany to lose it’s empire and navy

• avoid any future wars

• strong germany as a barrier to communism

• under pressure from British gov. and people to treat germany harshly due to high death toll and bombings

• freedom of the seas

• not so keen on self-determination because that would affect the empire

What were the motives of Woodrow Wilson at Versailles?

• An idealist and reformer and democrat, America had not suffered much so not so passionate about making Germany pay.

• to weaken Germany but not so far that it would not be able to recover from the devastation of the war. Wilson was convinced that if Germany was weakened too far it would one day want revenge on it’s enemies in WW1

• To encourage nations to cooperate for world peace

• establisment of the league of nations

• to achieve self determination for all the peoples of eastern europe

• an end to empires

• (14 points)

• disarmament

What were the fourteen points?

1. Open diplomacy without secret treaties

2. Economic free trade on the seas during war and peace

3. Equal trade conditions

4. Decrease armaments among all nations

5. Adjust colonial claims

6. Evacuation of all Central Powers from Russia and allow it to define its own independence

7. Belgium to be evacuated and restored

8. Return of Alsace-Lorraine region and all French territories

9. Readjust Italian borders

10. Austria-Hungary to be provided an opportunity for self-determination

11. Redraw the borders of the Balkan region creating Roumania, Serbia and Montenegro

12. Creation of a Turkish state with guaranteed free trade in the Dardanelles

13. Creation of an independent Polish state

14. Creation of the League of Nations

the german public thought the tov would be based on these so felt betrayed when in reality it was a lot harsher.

Why was Lloyd George’s approach to Germany softened between November 1918 and January 1919?

Lloyd George didn't want to completely destroy Germany. He wanted a just and firm Treaty that wouldn't cause Germany to want revenge once they recovered and start another war. He wanted Germany to be able to recover economically so Britain could trade with Germany.

Why were there differences between the aims of the Big Three?

All were representing countries that had been affected differently by the war and therefore the harshness they wanted to put in the treaties were based off the damage from the war.

What were the territorial terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

• Germany is forbidden to join together with Austria (Anschluss)

• It’s overseas empire was taken away (the colonies mandated by GB and France)

• Alsace-Lorraine returned to france

• the polish corridor given to poland to give it access to the sea, lots of germans living in poland were denied self determination (Danzig)

• Saar Coalfield run by the league (french get coal for 15 years)

What were the military terms of the treaty of versailles?

• Army limited to 100,000 men (previously a symbol of german pride), none of the allies needed to disarm

• Conscription banned

• No armoured vehicles- submarines, tanks, aircraft

• Only 6 battleships

• no heavy artillery allowed

• 15,000 sailors

• Rhineland demilitarised forever with an army of occupation (bridgeheads) for 15 years, no military fortifications allowed.

What were the economic terms of the treaty of versailles?

• War guilt (Article 231 Germany and her allies are fully responsible for the war and that justifies reparations)

• It was difficult to agree on a sum so no amount was agreed until 1921 when the allied reparations commision gave a figure of £6.6 billion. Germany felt that they were signing a blank cheque

• claimed the second installment couldn’t be paid and later the young plan allowed for Germany to pay it back.

• Those who needed the money for rebuilding due to property damage (france and Belgium) got the majority

When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

June 28, 1919.

Describe the main features of the treaties that dealth with Germany's former allies

The Treaty of Saint Germain - Austria, 1919

Austria was separated from Hungary

Loss of land

Couldn't unite with Germany

Became land-locked

Restricted military

The Treaty of Trianon with Hungary - Hungary, 1920 Hungary was separated from Austria

Restricted military

Loss of land

Became land-locked

The Treaty of Neuilly - Bulgaria, 1919 Major loss of land Restricted army

The Treaty of Sevres - Turkey, 1920

Lost all authority over North African territory and Middle Eastern states e.g. Libya and Iraq

Extreme loss of land

Had to pay reparations

Restricted military

The Treaty of Lausanne - Turkey, 1923

Revised the Treaty of Sevres - because Mustafa Kemal and some nationalist Turks got annoyed. They never gained back their North African territory and Middle Eastern states

The Greeks and Italians and other foreign powers were thrown out.

Reparations no longer had to be paid

Military was no longer restricted

Explain why the victorious powers did not get everything they wanted from the peace settlement

As each of the Big Three wanted such different outcomes regarding the treatment of Germany, it was impossible to devise a settlement to satisfy all parties. For example, Clemenceau wanted a harsher treaty while Wilson and Lloyd George wanted a less severe one; Wilson wanted Freedom of Navigation but Lloyd George didn't; Lloyd George didn't want to put German-speaking peoples under the rule of other countries, which ended up being a part of the treaty.

Identify which aspects of the peace settlement satisfied each of the Big Three

Clemenceau

Demilitarization of Rhineland

Reduced Germany's economic and military power

Alsace Lorraine was returned to France

France received much of the reparation money and some colonies

Wilson

League of Nations was formed

Rhineland stayed as part of Germany allowing for trade

Partial satisfaction that defeated nations were to disarm

Lloyd George

Lloyd George was able to persuade Clemenceau to moderate his approach

Extended the British Empire

Could trade with Germany

What was the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany and why did it cause such serious economic and political problems between 1919 and 1923?

The treaty was extremely unpopular and humiliating, and Germany's military was too weak for the government to deal with dissatisfaction of communist and extreme right-wing groups.

The country also lost a lot of land and money, causing it to become weaker as a country as well as being looked down on by other countries and having an unstable government.

Which aspects of the Treaty of Versailles were most objectionable to the German people

The restrictions on military size caused resentment and loss of pride as well as insecurity as Germany didn't feel they could defend themselves. On top of having to pay reparations, Germany lost a lot of its important industrial areas through territorial changes, meaning they lost resources which would have helped pay these reparations.

Assess the general nature of the Versailles Settlement, whether it was justifiable and fair, no harsh and punishing, or too lenient

The Versailles Statement was extremely harsh - Germany was punished severely. It is true that they did a lot of damage during the war and had a part in starting it, but the Treaty was more harsh than it needed to be. The Big Three were trying to punish Germany and protect their own countries from it, but the Treaty was unfair to Germany.

What was the treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

Germany treated Russia harshly, lost 34% of population, 54% of industry

Clemenceau and LLyod George saw this as an oppurtunity to treat Germany harshly with the view that if they had been victorious they would have treated the allies similarly