The Treaty of Versailles was signed on the 3rd July 1919. The Treaty has been portrayed as incredibly harsh on Germany, for example, Germany had to accept responsibility for causing World War 1. German armed forces were dramatically reduced. The army was limited to 100,000 men, they could have no armoured vehicles, submarines or aircrafts and restricted to six battleships. Germany had to pay six ₤6600 million in reparations to the allies for damage caused in the war. Germanys overseas empire were confiscated and former German colonies were controlled by the League of Nations. Germany was also forbidden from uniting forces with Austria.
In order to assess whether or not the Treaty inevitably lead to another war it is expedient to highlight the different objectives of the three allied leaders. The French President ‘Clemenceau’ saw the Treaty as an opportunity to cripple Germany. Public opinion in France strongly supported the view that Germany should be made to pay for the war and should be weakened so that she could never pose a threat to France again. A key aim for the Clemenceau was the return of Alsace and Lorraine to France.
The main objective Woodrow Wilson was to ensure peace from the Treaty. Wilson did believe Germany should be punished but feared a harsh treaty would anger Germany and create a desire for revenge. Wilson put together fourteen points for a peace initiative. The basic principles for theses were self determination for successor states in Europe, freedom of the seas and the creation of the League of Nations to monitor world situations and step in to help provide peaceful resolutions.
Lloyd George was under pressure from home for a harsh treaty against Germany. Lloyd George was aware of the necessity to punish Germany however also understood the importance of future trade with Germany. Lloyd George also recognised the benefits of a ruthless treaty against Germany for example the benefits of Germany and Turkey losing their colonies.
It soon became clear that the Treaty of Versailles would not satisfy the objectives of Britain, France and America, Clemenceau and Wilson clashed on many issues such as the Rhineland. It can be argued that neither Wilson, Lloyd George nor Clemenceau were happy with the Treaty. This became apparent with Wilson’s refusal to ratify the Treaty.
It can be argued that securing peace in Europe was a huge task and that the Treaty of Versailles was the best that could have been achieved in such difficult circumstances. However, the simple fact that none of the countries were happy with the Treaty of Versailles questions both its reliability and validity. The terms of the treaty were extremely suppressive upon Germany; with the value of hindsight we are aware that a key mandate for the Nazi party was to overthrow the Treaty of Versailles. Therefore it can be argued that it was inevitable that the Treaty of Versailles would lead to another war. However it is vital not to overlook several other confounding factors contributed towards the beginning of World War 2.
