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1: World War I and the Pursuit of Peace –

Causes and Context of World War I

  • Rising German power after 1871 (unification) frightened neighbours; fear of “encirclement” by Britain, France, Russia.
  • Naval arms race: Britain vs. Germany, epitomised by Dreadnought-class battleships.
  • Bosnian Crisis (1908): Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia-Herzegovina ⇒ alarms Serbia (backed by Russia).
  • Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (28 June 1914, Sarajevo) ⇒ immediate catalyst.
  • Alliance mechanism turns local quarrel global:
    • Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia (28 July 1914).
    • Germany issues “blank cheque” to Austria-Hungary; invades Belgium & France under the Schlieffen Plan.
    • Russia mobilises to protect Serbia; Britain enters due to Belgian neutrality & Entente commitments.

Major Powers and Alliances

  • Triple Alliance (Central Powers):
    • Germany
    • Austria-Hungary
    • Italy (defects 1915 to Entente)
    • Ottoman Empire (joins Central side 1914)
  • Triple Entente (Allies):
    • Britain – world’s largest empire, dominant navy.
    • France – sought recovery of Alsace-Lorraine lost in 1871.
    • Russia – largest army but limited industrial base.
    • Later: USA (from 1917), Japan, Italy.

Key Events of World War I (1914-1918)

  • Stalemate & trench warfare on Western Front.
  • Global theatres: Middle East (Ottoman front), Africa, Pacific, naval blockades.
  • Technological horrors: gas, tanks, U-boats, aerial bombing.
  • Human & material cost unprecedented: millions dead, shattered economies, civilian suffering.

Immediate Impacts of WWI on States

  • Germany: Kaiser abdicates Nov 1918 ⇒ Weimar Republic proclaimed.
  • Austria-Hungary: multi-ethnic empire collapses; successor states (Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, etc.).
  • Ottoman Empire: territory carved up; modern Turkey under Atatürk.
  • Britain & France: victory but economically weakened; war debts to USA.
  • Universal desire: “Never again” – spur to new diplomacy.

Russian Revolutions and Civil War (1917-1922)

  • February 1917: Tsar Nicholas II abdicates; Provisional Government.
  • October 1917: Bolsheviks overthrow Provisional Government.
  • Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918) removes Russia from WWI at great territorial cost.
  • Civil War (1918–1922): Reds defeat Whites; USSR proclaimed. Authoritarian rule under Vladimir Lenin established.

Paris Peace Conference (1919)

  • Purpose: craft legal settlement ending WWI & reshape Europe.
  • Venue: Paris; main treaty with Germany signed at Versailles (28 June 1919).
  • “Big Three” dominate proceedings; other Allied & dominion delegates present but marginalised.

Aims of the Big Three

  • USA – Woodrow Wilson:
    • Idealism; “Fourteen Points” (open diplomacy, free trade, self-determination, LoN).
    • Wanted “peace without victory”; avoid harsh punishment that fuels revenge.
  • Britain – David Lloyd George:
    • Balance: punish Germany yet keep it strong enough to trade & resist Bolshevism.
    • Safeguard British naval/maritime supremacy & empire.
  • France – Georges Clemenceau (“The Tiger”):
    • Security through German weakness; regain Alsace-Lorraine; reparations to rebuild devastated north-east France.
    • Fears of another invasion (1870, 1914 fresh in memory).

Treaty of Versailles: Principal Terms & German Reactions

  • War Guilt Clause (Article 231)
    • Germany to accept sole blame.
    • German view: unjust “shame paragraph”.
  • Reparations
    • Fixed at £6.6\ \text{billion} (1921); payable in instalments.
    • Germans foresee economic ruin; link to later hyperinflation.
  • Territorial Losses
    • Alsace-Lorraine → France.
    • Saar coalfields administered by LoN 15 years, profits to France.
    • Polish Corridor, Danzig (free city), Eupen-Malmedy, North Schleswig, Memel.
    • Overseas colonies confiscated as League mandates.
  • Rhineland
    • Permanently demilitarised; Allied occupation 15 years.
  • Disarmament
    • Army capped at 100{,}000 volunteers; no conscription.
    • Navy: max 6 battleships, no submarines.
    • Zero air force, tanks, heavy artillery.
  • League of Nations
    • Germany excluded initially.
  • “Diktat” perception
    • Not allowed at negotiations; signed under threat of renewed war in case of refusal.

Wider Peace Settlement (Other Treaties)

  • Saint-Germain (Austria), Trianon (Hungary), Neuilly (Bulgaria), Sèvres/Lausanne (Ottoman successor).
  • Ban on Anschluss (union of Austria-Germany).

League of Nations: Concept & Structure

  • Proposed in Wilson’s Point 14; head-quartered Geneva.
  • Organs: Assembly (all members), Council (permanent & rotating), Secretariat, Permanent Court of International Justice, specialised agencies.
  • Core principles:
    • Collective security: attack on one = attack on all.
    • Disarmament supervision & arms trade control.
    • Economic & military sanctions as enforcement tools.
  • Mandate system: administer former colonies of Central Powers under League oversight.

Structural Weaknesses of the League

  • Limited membership:
    • USA never joins (Senate rejects; isolationism & fear of entanglements).
    • USSR excluded till 1934; Germany barred till 1926.
  • Dependence on Great-Power will (chiefly Britain & France) – often reluctant to jeopardise national interests or colonies.
  • No standing army; had to rely on members’ forces (rarely forthcoming).
  • Difficulty securing universal disarmament; mistrust between states.
  • Economic sanctions undermined by non-members & self-interest in trade.

League Activity in the 1920s: Case Studies

Successes (mostly small-scale):

  • Åland Islands (1921): arbitration Sweden vs. Finland (awarded to Finland, autonomy guaranteed).
  • Upper Silesia plebiscite (1921): peaceful partition between Germany & Poland.
  • Greek-Bulgarian border clash (1925): League orders Greek withdrawal; accepted.
    Failures / Limitations:
  • Vilna (1920): Poland seizes Lithuanian capital; League powerless (France backs Poland).
  • Corfu Incident (1923): Italy occupies Greek island; League yields once Greece pays compensation.

Efforts to Bolster Peace Outside the League

  • Rapallo Treaty (1922): Germany-USSR cooperation, undermining Versailles.
  • Dawes Plan (1924) & Young Plan (1929): US-backed schemes easing German reparations & stabilising currency.
  • Locarno Treaties (1925): Western border guarantees; Germany accepts Versailles frontiers, paving League entry.
  • Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928): 65 nations renounce offensive war.

German Domestic Consequences (1919-1923)

  • Narrative of “Stab-in-the-back” (Dolchstoßlegende): army supposedly unbeaten but betrayed by politicians (Weimar “November criminals”).
  • Economic strain: reparations → budget deficits.
  • Ruhr Crisis (1923): French & Belgian troops seize coal/industrial region after default; German passive resistance.
  • Hyperinflation climax (1923): Mark value collapses; middle-class savings wiped out; bartering commonplace.

Key Essay Debates & Analytical Angles

  • To what extent did punitive aims dominate Versailles vs. pragmatic stability?
  • Clash & compromise among Big Three – how did Wilsonian idealism fare?
  • Versailles as seed of WWII? (Instability, economic distress, revisionism.)
  • League’s credibility: doomed by US absence or by fundamental design flaws?
  • Isolationism vs. internationalism in US politics – Senate rejection of LoN Covenant (Article X concerns).

Glossary of Essential Terms

  • Alsace-Lorraine – iron/coal-rich region; Franco-German flashpoint.
  • Anschluss – union Germany–Austria, banned 1919.
  • Appeasement – concessions to aggressor to avoid war (inter-war policy toward Hitler, but term applies broadly).
  • Armistice – temporary cease-fire (11 Nov 1918 ends frontline combat).
  • Big Three – Wilson, Lloyd George, Clemenceau.
  • Collective Security – League doctrine of mutual defence.
  • Diktat – “dictated peace”; German label for Versailles.
  • Disarmament – reduction of military forces/weapons.
  • Fourteen Points – Wilson’s peace blueprint.
  • Hyperinflation – runaway price rises; Germany 1923.
  • Kaiser – German emperor; Wilhelm II abdicates 1918.
  • Kellogg-Briand Pact – anti-war treaty 1928.
  • League of Nations – international body founded 1920.
  • Paris Peace Conference – Allied negotiations 1919.
  • Reparations – payments for war damage.
  • Rhineland – demilitarised German zone bordering France.
  • Sarajevo – site of Franz Ferdinand assassination.
  • Self-determination – right of peoples to choose sovereignty.
  • Triple Alliance / Triple Entente – pre-war military blocs.
  • Treaty of Brest-Litovsk – Russia-Central Powers peace 1918.
  • Treaty of Versailles – principal WWI settlement with Germany.
  • War Guilt Clause – Article 231 assigning blame to Germany.
  • Woodrow Wilson – US President, champion of LoN.

Sample Quiz Points (Condensed Reference)

  • Causes of WWI: assassination + arms race + German ambitions.
  • Alliances: Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy*); Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia).
  • France’s aim: punish & weaken Germany for security & reparations.
  • War Guilt Clause: total German blame → humiliation.
  • Reparations: £6.6\ \text{billion} – feared economic disaster.
  • Military limits: army 100{,}000; no conscription, no subs/aircraft/tanks.
  • League key aim: peaceful dispute resolution via collective security.
  • League weaknesses: no USA; lack of enforcement power.
  • League success example: Åland Islands (1921) mediation.
  • “Diktat”: Germany forced to sign without negotiation under threat of invasion.