Study Guide for History

Treaty of Versailles

A peace treaty that officially ended World War I and punished Germany

Main goal of the Allies at Versailles

To punish Germany, prevent future wars, and redraw national borders

Big Three leaders at Versailles

Woodrow Wilson (US), David Lloyd George (Britain), Georges Clemenceau (France)

Woodrow Wilson’s goal

Peace without victory and fair treatment of defeated nations

Fourteen Points

Wilson’s plan to eliminate causes of war and promote lasting peace

Self-determination

The right of people to choose their own form of government

League of Nations

International organization created to settle disputes peacefully

Georges Clemenceau

French leader who wanted to harshly punish Germany

Why Clemenceau was called “The Tiger”

Because of his aggressive and harsh war policies

David Lloyd George

British leader who took a middle position between Wilson and Clemenceau

BRAT

Germany’s punishment: Blame, Reparations, Army limits, Territory loss

War Guilt Clause

Clause forcing Germany to accept blame for starting WWI

Article 231

The official war guilt clause of the Treaty of Versailles

Reparations

Payments Germany had to make for war damages

Amount of German reparations

Over $33 billion

German army restriction

Limited to 100,000 soldiers

German military bans

No air force and no submarines

Territory Germany lost

Alsace-Lorraine, land to Poland, colonies, Rhineland occupation

Rhineland

Industrial area occupied by Allied troops for 15 years

Austria-Hungary after WWI

Empire broke apart into new independent nations

New nations from Austria-Hungary

Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia

Ottoman Empire after WWI

Broken up; land divided between independence and Allied control

Mandate system

Former Ottoman lands controlled by Britain and France

Russia after WWI

Lost land and was excluded from the Treaty of Versailles

New nations from Russia

Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

Why Russia wasn’t invited

Russia left the war early and became communist

Why Germany was angry

Harsh reparations, military limits, land loss, and war guilt

Why Italy was angry

Did not receive as much land as expected

Why the US rejected the treaty

Fear of League of Nations and treaty being too harsh

Why Japan was angry

Its claims in China were not fully recognized

Why China was angry

Japan received Germany’s territory in China

Long-term effect of the Treaty of Versailles

Helped cause World War II