Result and during the 1st World War:
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In the beginning every body thought it will be a quick war and they will win.
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At the end a lot of people died: 8.5 million people died and 2.1 million people wounded
And many towns were destroyed
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After the 1st World War, there’s more female than males.
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The war lasted for 4 years (1914 – 1918)
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From the war, there’s new and more destructive weapons (machine guns, tanks, airplanes …)
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They were fought in trenches
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At the end America joined and helped Triple Entente
Others and explains:
Armistice - agreement during the war to stop fighting from both sides (11.11.1918, 11,11,11)
Peace Conference - in Versailles (in France, near Paris)
- representatives: United Kingdom (David Lloyd George), America (Woodrow Wilson), France (Georges Clemenceau), Italy (Orlando)
Franco-Prussian War - 1870 – 1871, between France and Germany. French were badly defeated and later French want to revenge.
Georges Clemenceau (France)
- Prime minister of France
- He had seen his country invaded twice by the Germans (in 1870 and 1914)
- He was determined not to allow such devastation to happen ever again
- He wants Germany to pay for everything (devastation of its land, people and industry) and also revenge and make sure that they won’t be able to attack France again.
- The president of France (Poincaré) wanted to brake German’s country into small states, but Clemenceau was sure that nobody will agree with him, so in the treaty he just try to maker Germany as weak as he can.
Woodrow Wilson (USA)
- president of USA
- Was a university professor and was an idealist.
- Took his 14 points to the Treaty
- He wants just peace, no punishment (opposite of Clemenceau)
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The 14th point was the most important point of his 14 points – League of Nations to be set up
David Lloyd George (Britain)
- Prime Minister of Britain (won the election by promising to ‘make Germany pay’
- He was a realist and could be seen as the ‘halfway point’ between Wilson and Clemenceau
- He wanted Germany to lose their navy and its colonies
- He didn’t want to punish Germany too hard, because he was afraid that Germans would like to revenge and will launch another war and they also want to start to trade with Germany soon.
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He definitely didn’t agree with the 2nd point of Wilson’s 14 points (access to the sea), because he thought the Britain safety depends on controlling the seas.
The fourteen points of Wilson’s (look at the note page)
The fact file about the Treaty (look at the note page)
The Time Line (look at the note page)
The Treaty of Versailles (decision):
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Wilson had to give way on the issues about German’s Rhineland and coalfield in the Saar and for return Clemenceau and Lloyd George did give Wilson what he wanted in eastern Europe, despite self-determination
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Clemenceau and Lloyd George all agreed about to take German’s navies and colonies, but they did not agree between each other about the 2nd point of Wilson’s 14 points (<<>>)
The terms of the Treaty:
1/ War guilt
- Germany had to accept the blame for starting the war
2/ Germany’s armed forces
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army limited to 100,000 men
- conscription was banned – soldiers had to be volunteers
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Germany was not allowed armoured vehicles, submarines or aircraft
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The navy could build only six battleships
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The Rhineland became a demilitarized zone, which means German troops were no allowed to enter the area (the Rhineland was important as it was the border of Ger + France
3/ Reparations
- Germany had to pay 6600million for the damage cause by the war (Young Plan changed the figure in 1929, other ways they’ll have to pay it up to 1984)
4/ Berman territories and colonies
- Germany’s overseas empire were taken away (because of bad relation with Britain)
- German’s colonies became controlled by League of Nations (France and Britain)
5/ League of Nations
- was set up as an international ‘police force’
- Germany were not invited to join the League until it had shown as a peace-loving country
German was to lose:
- 10 % of its land
- all its overseas colonies
- 12.5 % of its population
- 16 % of its coalfields and half its iron and steel industry
German’s feeling:
- they don’t agree that they started the war
- they don’t think even they lost the war (citizens did not understand the situation of German’s military had been at the end of the war)
The leader of Germany at the end of the war:
- Ebert was the leader of Germany.
- He had no choice and even a comment or a speak during the Treaty.
- He had to accept the treaty, because it seems like if not, the war will brake out again and Germany might not win.
- He as a soldier, is better to die in the fighting than to listen other people, but he didn’t want his people to die with him, so he had no choice, he had to accept it.
