I: Attempts to Make and Keep Peace

Outbreak of WW1

  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand (future ruler of Austria-Hungary) was assassinated by a member of a Bosnian Serb nationalist group

    • made use of the opportunity to defend it’s control over Bosnia and declared war on Serbia

  • Russia backs up Serbia

    • restore pride after losing to Japan

  • Germany (who supported Austria-Hungary, signed a secret treaty) joins the war

  • August 1914, whole Europe at war

Countries involved in war:

  • Serbia

  • Austria-Hungary

  • Germany

  • Russia

  • France

  • Britain

The Paris Peace Conference (PPC)

  • reach a settlement that would legally and officially end WW1

  • the Armistice was only an agreement to stop fighting

*to officially end war, there needed to be treaties between the victorious Allies (aka Britain, France, Italy and US) and the defeated powers (aka Austria-Hungary, Germany and allies).

  • conference: decide terms of these treaties

Context for PPC

  • Big 3 at conference (main leaders): Britain, France and US

  • US: Woodrow Wilson

  • France: Georges Clemenceau

  • Britain: David Lloyd George

**When addressing, use last names (eg. Wilson)

Public Sentiments of Allies in 1919

  • People of Big 3 felt strongly that Germany was responsible for WW1 and should be punished

  • This view was particularly strong in Britain and France

    • large areas of Belgium and France had been devastated

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

  • The case of treating Germany harshly was strengthened

    • Russia was forced to give Germany: large areas of prime agricultural land, industrial areas and much of its coal mines

    • lost a third of its population and resources (oil and coal mines)

    • required to pay 6 billion marks in reparations to Germany


Aims of the Big 3 at the PPC

US: Woodrow Wilson

  • Often seen as an idealist

  • Aim is to build a better and more peaceful world after WW1

The Fourteen Points and the League of Nations

  • Wilson believed that US would restore world to civilisation and that nations should cooperate to achieve world peace

  • Sought to create an association of nations (disputes between countries could be solved without wars)

Germany

  • Wilson believed that Germany should be punished but did not want to destroy it completely

Self-Determination

  • Believed that nations should rule themselves rather than be ruled by others

*Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, TB pg11 (unimportant)

Concerns about Wilson’s ideas

  • Lloyd George and Clemenceau thought that Wilson’s idea of self-determination was naïve and impractical 

  • Clemenceau was concerned that he was too “soft” on Germany

Britain: David Lloyd George

  • Aim was to achieve the best possible outcomes for Britain

Had 3 key priorities:

  • Protect Britain: why he was not keen on Wilson’s plan for freedom of the seas

  • Rebuild Britain’s economic prosperity: tricky, before WW1, Germany was Britain’s 2nd largest trading market after US

  • Maintain the British Empire: why he was concerned about Wilson’s idea of self-determination as Britain would lose its colonies

  • Wanted Germany to recover economically to act as a buffer against the rise of communism in Europe

France: Georges Clemenceau

  • France suffered enormous damage in WW1

    • large stretches of northern France was invaded

    • 1.7 million deaths

    • many more wounded or missing

  • France had the largest proportion of deaths just over 4%

  • Britain: 2%

  • US: 0.1%

  • Was aware of the wish for people in France to punish Germany for the losses they suffered

  • French leaders wanted Germany to be unable to wage war against France again

   (Territorial)                      (pronounced: Ver-sigh)

Key Terms of the Treaty of Versailles

  1. War guilt Clause** (important)

  • Germany had to accept total blame for starting the war

  1. Reparations

  • Germany had to pay £6.6 billion as reparations to Allies for war damage

  1. Territory Changes

  • Germany had to give up territories to various neighbouring countries

    • lost 10% of its land

    • lost 12.5% of population

  • Forbidden to make alliances with Austria

  • Had to give up its overseas empire

  1. Armed Forces

  • Army was limited to 100K men

  • Conscription was banned (No NS), soldiers must be volunteers

  • No armoured vehicles, submarines, aircraft were allowed, navy had only 6 battleships

  • Border area between Germany and France, the Rhineland, was demilitarised so no German forces or fortifications were allowed

  1. League of Nations

  • Set up as an international body to resolve countries’ disputes/enforce decisions

  • Germany was not allowed to join

Land Taken from Germany:

  • Polish Corridor West Prussia and Posen

  • Alsace-Lorraine

No German Troops allowed:

  • Rhineland: no German troops allowed

Germany’s Reaction

  • Angry that their government was not represented at the PPC and was forced to sign the Treaty

  • Resented the diktat* (a harsh settlement that is forced on a nation that is defeated in war)

Reasons for Germany’s Resentment towards Treaty of Versailles

  • They had low resources and food

  1. War Guilt Clause

  • Did not feel they alone started the war

  1. Disarmament

  • An army of 100K was very small for a country of Germany’s size

  • Was the symbol of their pride

  • Allies were not disarmed as badly

  1. Reparations

  • Already had huge debts

  • Feared reparations would ruin the economy

  1. German Territories

  • Major blow to their pride and economy

  • Thousands of Germans had to live under the rule of other governments in Poland and Czechoslovakia 

  1. The League of Nations

  • Being left out felt like a further insult