The cause of the Great War was the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. 28th June 1914, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, visited Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia. A Serbian group which wanted Bosnian independence from Austria-Hungary set out to kill him. First, they threw a bomb into his car. Franz Ferdinand knocked the bomb away. It exploded behind the car, injuring several people. The second attempt was successful. As the driver of the car stopped to turn the car (he has taken the wrong turn) two shots were fired. Franz Ferdinand and his wife were both killed. The assassin was called Gavrilo Princip.
The Austro-Hungary leaders did not have any proof that the Serbians leaders supported the group that assassinated Franz Ferdinand. This was a great break for Austria-Hungary to punish them. Austria-Hungary was a large empire ruling many different peoples. These people, who included Germans, Slavs and Serbs, had many different languages and customs. They often resented being part of Austria-Hungary. As Serbia became more powerful as an independent country, the rulers of Austria-Hungary feared their Serbs would want to break away and join Serbia.
Even though, they gave Serbia a list of ten demands that had to be met to avoid war. The demands were too much for Serbia, the demands were so harsh that many thoughts Austria-Hungary was forcing war on Serbia. Despite the fact that the demands were harsh, Serbia accepted all except one of them: this was the demand that Austro-Hungarian investigators join the enquiry into the shootings. That was not enough for Austria-Hungary which declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914. This declaration of war on Serbia was the first step to world war. In addition to that Serbia always had a support who was Russia. Serbia and Russia have a long relationship as allies. They are both mostly Eastern Orthodox and have the same roots. Germany heard about Russia backing up Serbia so they told Austria-Hungary that they would do the same. So if Russia went in so would Germany. Germany declared war on Russia, who supported the Serbs, on the 1st of August, and two days later declared war on Russia's ally, France. Germany then instigated the Schleiffen plan to invade France through Belgium, effectively declaring war on Belgium in the process. Britain, outraged at Germany's invasion of their ally Belgium declared war immediately, and the combined empires of Britain and France meant that much of the world was now at war. So Germany did not start the war. They also would have stayed out if Russia did not Backup Serbia against Austria-Hungary.
Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war. This was Clause 231 - the infamous "War Guilt Clause". 2. Germany, as she was responsible for starting the war as stated in clause 231, was, therefore responsible for all the war damage caused by the First World War. Therefore, she had to pay reparations, the bulk of which would go to France and Belgium to pay for the damage done to the infrastructure of both countries by the war. Quite literally, reparations would be used to pay for the damage to be repaired. Payment could be in kind or cash. The figure was not set at Versailles - it was to be determined later. The Germans were told to write a blank cheque which the Allies would cash when it suited them. The figure was eventually put at £6,600 million - a huge sum of money well beyond Germany’s ability to pay. After agreeing to the Armistice in November 1918, the Germans had been convinced that they would be consulted by the Allies on the contents of the Treaty. This did not happen and the Germans were in no position to continue the war as her army had all but disintegrated. Though this lack of consultation angered them, there was nothing they could do about it. Therefore, the first time that the German representatives saw the terms of the Treaty was just weeks before they were due to sign it in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles on June 28th 1919. This meant that German citizens and German citizens alone, had to pay for the war damages and what the Treaty has assigned them. I think that the Germans felt Affronted, Belligerent, Bitter, Burned up. I think that they also felt abandoned from the rest of the world because they were forced to sign the treaty and not have an opinion or discuss anything. They were the only country who has to pay the full reparations.
There was anger throughout Germany when the terms were made public. The Treaty became known as a Diktat - as it was being forced on them and the Germans had no choice but to sign it. Many in Germany did not want the Treaty signed, but the representatives there knew that they had no choice as German was incapable of restarting the war again. The treaty can be divided into a number of sections; territorial, military, financial and general. These lands were taken away from Germany. Alsace-Lorraine (given to France,)Eupen and Malmedy (given to Belgium), Northern Schleswig (given to Denmark), Hultschin (given to Czechoslovakia), West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia (given to Poland)The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League of Nations and the people of these regions would be allowed to vote to stay in Germany or not in a future referendum. The League of Nations also took control of Germany's overseas colonies. Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Some of this land was made into new states: Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. An enlarged Poland also received some of this land.
Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was not allowed tanks. She was not allowed an air force. She was allowed only 6 capital naval ships and no submarines The west of the Rhineland and 50 kms east of the River Rhine was made into a demilitarised zone (DMZ). No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this zone. The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years. The loss of vital industrial territory would be a severe blow to any attempts by Germany to rebuild her economy. Coal from the Saar and Upper Silesia in particular was a vital economic loss. Combined with the financial penalties linked to reparations, it seemed clear to Germany that the Allies wanted nothing else but to bankrupt her. Germany was also forbidden to unite with Austria, in an attempt to keep her economic potential to a minimum.
In conclusion I think that the Treaty of Versailles was not even close fair to Germany. It left a mood of anger throughout Germany as it was felt that as a nation Germany had been unfairly treated.
Above all else, Germany hated the clause blaming her for the cause of the war and the resultant financial penalties the treaty was bound to impose on Germany. Those who signed it (though effectively they had no choice) became known as the "November Criminals".
Many German citizens felt that they were being punished for the mistakes of the German government in August 1914 as it was the government that had declared war not the people.
Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine
The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine was one in the series of treaties after the World War I (like the Treaty of Versailles, Treaty of Saint-Germain, Treaty of Trianon, Treaty of Sèvres) which were meant to diminish the military and political strength of the defeated members of the Central Powers. It dealt with Bulgaria for its role as one of the Central Powers in World War I and was signed on November 27, 1919 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, just outside Paris, France.
The treaty settled the disputes over territory between Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Because it had sided with the Central Powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire - Bulgaria received the least land. It was required to cede western Thrace to Greece and parts of Dobruja to Romania, and recognize the existence of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). The Treaty also required Bulgaria to reduce its army to 20,000 men and pay reparations exceeding $400 million.
The results of the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine were popularly known in Bulgaria as the Second National Catastrophe. During World War II Bulgaria, which sided with Nazi Germany, temporarily reoccupied the territories it had ceded.
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace treaty concluded at the end of World War I by the Allies on one side, and Hungary, seen as a successor of Austria-Hungary, on the other, and signed on 4 June 1920 at the Grand Trianon Palace in Versailles, France.
It established the borders of Hungary and regulated its international situation. Hungary lost over two-thirds of its territory and population under the treaty. The countries that benefited the most from this were Romania, Czechoslovakia, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (the Kingdom of Yugoslavia).
Officially, the treaty was intended to be a confirmation of the concept of the right for self-determination of nations and of the concept of nation-states replacing old multinational empires.
Hungarians, however, (and some non-Hungarian historians as well) claim that the real motive of the treaty was simply an attempt to dismantle a major power in Central Europe. The Western powers' main priority was to prevent a resurgence of Germany and they therefore decided that her allies in the region, Austria and Hungary, should be "contained" by a ring of states friendly to the Allies, each of which would be bigger than either Austria or Hungary. Compared with the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary, post-Trianon Hungary had 60% less population and its role in the region significantly weakened.
There were serious economic consequences to the treaty for Hungary. 61% of arable land, 88% of timber, 62% of railroads, 64% of hard surface roads, 83% of iron output, 55% of industrial plants and 67% of banking institutions of the former Kingdom of Hungary lay within the territory of Hungary's neighbours - Romania, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
There were also military consequences. The military conditions were similar to those imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles; the Hungarian army was to be restricted to 35,000 men and there was to be no conscription. Further provisions stated that in Hungary, no railway would be built with more than one track.
Treaty of Sèvres
The Treaty of Sèvres, signed on 10 August 1920, was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. One of the results of the treaty was the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire.
The partitioning brought about the creation of the modern Arab world and the Republic of Turkey. The League of Nations granted France mandates over Syria and Lebanon and granted the United Kingdom mandates over Mesopotamia and Palestine (which comprised two autonomous regions: Palestine and Transjordan). (Mandates were territories transferred from the control of one country to another). Parts of the Ottoman Empire on the Arabian Peninsula became parts of what are today Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Also under the treaty The Ottoman Army was to be restricted to 50,000 men; the Ottoman navy could only preserve seven sloops and six torpedo boats; and the Ottoman state was prohibited from obtaining an air force.
While the treaty was under discussion, the Turkish national movement under Mustafa Kemal Pasha split with the monarchy based in Constantinople, set up a Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, successfully fought the Turkish War of Independence and forced the former wartime Allies to return to the negotiating table. Arabs were unwilling to accept the French rule in Syria, the Turks around Mosul were attacking the British, and the Arabs were in arms against the British rule in Baghdad. There was also disorder in Egypt.
n course of the Turkish War of Independence, the Turks successfully resisted Greek, Armenian and French forces and secured a territory similar to that of present-day Turkey.
The Turkish national movement developed its own international relations by the Treaty of Moscow with the Soviet Union on 16 March 1921, the Accord of Ankara with France putting an end to the Franco-Turkish War, and the Treaty of Alexandropol and the Treaty of Kars fixing the eastern borders.
Treaty of Lausanne
These events forced the former Allies of World War I to return back to the negotiating table with the Turks and in 1923 negotiate the Treaty of Lausanne, which replaced the Treaty of Sèvres and recovered large territory in Anatolia and Thrace for the Turks.
The treaty provided for the independence of the Republic of Turkey but also for the protection of the ethnic Greek minority in Turkey and the mainly ethnically Turkish Muslim minority in Greece. However, most of the Greek population of Turkey and the Turkish population of Greece had already been deported under the earlier Exchange of Populations between Greece and Turkey agreement signed by Greece and Turkey. The Republic of Turkey also accepted the loss of Cyprus to the British Empire. The fate of the province of Mosul was left to be determined through the League of Nations.
The treaty delimited the boundaries of Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey, formally ceded all Turkish claims on Cyprus, Iraq and Syria, and (along with the Treaty of Ankara) settled the boundaries of the latter two nations. The treaty also led to international recognition of the sovereignty of the new Republic of Turkey as the successor state of the defunct Ottoman Empire.
