Peacemaking and the League of Nations

Armistice - a truce or ceasefire

Blockade - surrounding or blocking a place

Mutiny - a revolt against authority, often in the armed forces

General strike - a sympathetic strike by most of the workforce

Abdicated (abdicate) - to give up the throne

Terms

• all military hostilities were to end six hours after the signing (no later)
• all German troops had to withdraw from France, Belgium and other occupied territories on the Western Front
• all German troops on the west side of Rhine had to be withdrawn to prepare for occupation by Allied troops
• all German troops on the Eastern Front had to return to German territory
• the German fleet was to sail to Allied ports to be placed under allied control
• the German army had to surrender 5000 cannons, 25000 machine guns, 3000 mortars, 1700 aeroplanes, 5000 locomotive engines, and 150000 wagons

Some of President Woodrow Wilson's 14 points became the Traty of Versailles 

Aims of the 'Big Three'

France: Georges Clemenceau

• harshest terms
• revenge on Germany
• wanted to keep Germany weak
• disarmament of Germany
• return of Alsace-Lorraine
• reparations

Aims of the 'Big Three'

Britain: David Lloyd George

• Lloyd George wanted to preserve the supremacy of the British navy
• feared communism in Germany
• he wanted a swift German recovery for British trading
• compromise view at the conference

Aims of the 'Big Three'

USA: Woodrow Wilson

• believed Germany was responsible
• thought the treaty should not be too harsh
• League of Nations

1. abolition of secret treaties. Agreements and alliances should be made in the open
2. freedom of the seas in peace and war
3. removal of barriers to trade
4. all countries should reduce their armed forces
5. colonial disputes should take into account the colonial population as well as the controlling country
6. Germany should withdraw from Russian territory
7. Germany should withdraw form Belgium
8. Germany should return Alsace-Lorraine to France
9. Italy's border should be adjusted based on the nationality of people who live along it
10. the people of Austria-Hungary should be given the opportunity of self-government
11. Montenegro, Serbia and Romania should be evacuated and given access to the sea
12. Turkey should be made an independent state. The Ottoman Empire should be given independence
13. an independent poland to be set up with access to the sea
14. a League of Nations should be formed to guarantee freedom and to preserve future peace

• Guilt - blame
• Armed forces - how/who should be limited
• Reparation - payment for damage to France and Belgium
• German territories - what should happen to them
• LEague of Nations - league of nations (14 points)

OR

• Unfair
• Blame
• Reparations
• Army
• Territory

Guilt

• Germany had to accept full responsibility for starting World War I

Armed Forces -  Disarmament

• Germany's armed forces was a major concern for all, especially France
• The army was limited  to 100000 men
• Conscription was banned, soldiers had to be volunteers
• Germany was not allowed armoured vehicles, submarines or aircrafts
• The navy could only build 6 battleships (dreadnoughts)

Reparations - Payments

• Germany had to py reparations to the Allies for the damage caused by the war
• The figure was agreed in 1921, it was £6000 million (£6.6 billion)
• If this had not have been changed by the Young Plani in 1929, Germnay would not have finished paying the bill until 1984

Rhineland

• The Rhineland was to become a "demilitarised" zone
• This meant that no German troops were allowed in that area
• This area was important because it was the border area between Germany and France

Sudetenland

• Czechoslovakia was formed as a new country
• Part of area was known as the Sudetenland
• This area contained German people who no longer belonged to Germany

Anschluss - Alliance with Austria

• Germany was forbidden to ever ally with Austria ever again

Danzig Corridor

• Part of Germany was split from the rest of the country, this was known as East Prussia
• This was done to creat a "corridor" to the sea for Poland
• Danzig was a prt in East Prussia but it was run by the League of Nations and given to Poland so that they had a sea port

German territories - and colonies

• Germany's overseas empire was taken away
• Former Germancolonies became "Mandates" of the League of Nations. This effectively meant that Britian and France controlled them

LEague of Nations

• The League of Nations was set up as an international "Police Force"
• Germany was not invited to join until it had shown that it was a peace loving country

The Saarland

• This was an area on the border between France and Germany within the Rhineland
• It also contained many Germany coalfields so was important in terms of their economy
• This area was to be run by the League of Nations and then a vote was to be held after 15 years for the people there to decide what they wanted to happen

So why did the sign it?

• Germany had not been invited to participate in any of the negotiations
• They were however forced to sign the Treaty at the end
• They had to sign it, because if they had refused, the Allies would have declared was on them again and nobody was in a position for this to happen. least of all the Germans
• The Treaty was signed in 1919 after months of negotiations

Germany lost

• 10% of its land 
• All its overseas colonies
• 12.5% of its population
• 16% of its coalfields
• Almost 50% of its iron and steel industry