The treaties of World War I
The following major treaties were signed at the end of the
First World War.
1. The treaty of Versailles. (Germany 1919)
2. The treaty of Saint Germaine (Austria 1919) otherwise known as the
treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
3. The treaty of Trianon (Hungary 1920)
4. The Treaty of Sevres (Turkey 1920) replaced the treaty f Luasanne.
5. The treaty of Neuilly (Bulgaria)
The treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed between Russia and
Germany in 1918 to end Russia’s
participation in World War I.
Important figures/countries
at the peace treaties.
- Woodrow Wilson (U.SA)
- Lloyd George (Britain)
- George Clemenceau (France)
- Victor Orlando (Italy)
- Von Stressman (Germany)
Woodrow Wilson’s 14
points.
1. There should be no more secret treaties.
2. There should be freedom of navigation of the high seas.
3. Countries should encourage free trade.
4. Armaments were to be reduced.
5. The interests of the people living in colonies shall be
taken into account whenever determining the fate and countries’ claims on colonies.
6. German troops should leave Russia.
7. German troops should leave Belgium.
8. Alsace and Lorraine should be returned to France.
9. A readjustment of the borders of Italy should be made
along clearly recognizable lines of nationality.
10. The people of Austria-Hungary should be given the
opportunity to be independent and sovereign.
11. Serbia, Montenegro and Romania should be evacuated and
their territories restored and Serbia should be granted access to the sea.
12. People of the Turkish Empire who were not Turks should
be given independence.
13. An independent Poland should be created and given access
to sea.
14. An international Organisation should be set up to
protect the independence of all states.
The main
interests of the major representatives at the peace treaties
Georges
Clemenceau
He wanted to see Germany crippled economically, politically
and militarily so that Germany would no longer be a threat to France again.
He saw this as an opportunity to revenge the humiliation
France had suffered as a result of the Franco-Prussian war.
Woodrow Wilson
He wanted a more peaceful world.
He suggested his 14 points be used as guiding principles by
the peace makers at the Paris Peace conference to achieve lasting peace.
He did not want Germany to be treated harshly because he
foresaw the problems of such actions.
David Lloyd George
Please note that his surname was Lloyd-George and his first
name David. Most history textbooks make the mistake of mentioning his name as
Lloyd.
He wanted Germany to recover so she could trade with
Britain.
He agreed with Clemenceau that Germany should be punished but
not the extreme extent that Clemenceau wanted.
Victor Orlando
(Italian name: Vittorio Emanuele Orlando)
Often known by his anglicized name Victor in history
textbooks. You can use this name or his actual Italian name.
He wanted land promised to Italy by the Allied Powers before
he joined the war on the side of the allied powers.
Problems encountered by the statesmen during the peace conference.
1. Lack of unity of purpose.
-The statesmen lacked unity as Wilson and Clemenceau were on
extreme opposites and Lloyd George acted as a voice of reason between the two.
2. Pressure from the people back home.
-The statesmen had to make decisions which met with the
expectations of the people at home for example Lloyd George had promised to
deal harshly with Germany during the 1918 elections so he was compelled to
fulfill the promise.
-The French wanted revenge against Germany and the venue in
Paris exerted more pressure on the conference since it was on their homeland
resulting in an environment not conducive to the peace talks.
3. The attitude of the United States of America.
-The Americans were not interested in European affairs so
Woodrow Wilson was there against the wishes of his people.
4. Chaotic Environment
-The general situation in Europe was tumultuous at the time
the conference was being conducted.
5. Fear of Communism
-The statesmen feared that communism which had started in
Russia, would spread to other nations in Europe so they wanted to quickly make
pace before communism spread in Europe.
The peace
treaties.
The Treaty of Versailles
(Germany 1919)
It was signed by Germany in 1919 after six months of
negotiation at the Paris Peace Conference.
The terms of the treaty of Versailles are divided into the
territorial and non-territorial terms.
Territorial terms
Alsace and Lorraine were to be handed back to France.
The Rhineland was to be demilitarized and to be occupied by
allied troops.
The Saar basin was to be administered by the League of Nations
commission for 15 years.
Poland was to receive Upper Silesia and Possen.
Poland was to become independent.
Poland was to get Polish Corridor giving her access to the
sea.
Part of Danzig was placed under the League of Nations as a
free city.
Eupen, Morenset and Malmedy were to be taken by Belgium.
North Schleswig was to be given back to Denmark.
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland were to be
independent.
Memel was given to Lithuania.
The union between Austria and Germany was forbidden
The Carolyn Islands (sometimes spelt Caroline Islands), were
to be transferred to Japan while Cameroon and Togoland were to be given to
France.
Samoa went to New Zealand.
Germany lost most her territories in Europe and all her
overseas colonies.
Non territorial
provisions
The disarmament clause -Germany was to reduce her army to 100
000 men, with no conscription, no heavy artillery and no poison gas and to
reduce her battleships to 6 light cruisers , 12 destroyers, 12 torpedo boats
and no submarines. The navy was limited to 15 000 men. Germany was also to
disband its air force.
The war guilt clause- Germany was made to accept that she
was responsible for causing the outbreak of the First World War and the
resulting destruction of European infrastructural destruction and loss of life.
Germany was supposed to pay £6 600 million to the allies for
the losses and damages incurred during the course of the war.
Fairness of
this treaty
Germany had done the same thing to the Russians after the
Russians had conceded defeat at the treaty of Brest-Litovsk and which might be
taken as proof that had Germany won the war she would have extracted the same
concessions from the allied powers.
Germany gave unconditional support to Austria-Hungary which
encouraged the later to act aggressively to other countries contributing to the
outbreak of the war.
Germany was partly responsible for bringing about the
outbreak of the war: she had a war plan (the Schlieffen Plan), participated
aggressively in an arms race and naval race with Britain signifying that she
wanted war.
Germany’s
aggressive actions such as the First and Second Moroccan crisis spurred other
powers to form alliances against her.
Germany can be blamed for declaring war on Russia and
attacking Belgium on her way to attack France.
Germany’s
harsh treatment of France in The Treaty of Frankfurt were turned around on her
in this treaty.
Unfairness of
the treaty.
Germany was not represented at the peace conference yet she
was asked to accept and sign the treaty so the terms were dictated to her.
Nationality was not considered when Germany lost her territories
which had German nationals.
The amount of reparations imposed on Germany was impractical
and un-affordable and resulted in the complete collapse of the Germany economy
a fact Hitler seized upon to rise into power.
Germany was not the only country that caused the war:
Britain, Russia, France, Austria-Hungary, Serbia among other countries all
played their part.
The unification of Germany and Italy created large states
which led to competition and aggression between European states thus leading to
war.
The Berlin conference of 1878 which divided European
territory also contributed to the outbreak of the war.
Germany was unfairly forbidden from joining with Austria.
Germany was forced to reduce her army to about 1/3 of its
original size leaving her feeling vulnerable.
The seizure of her colonies was a clear act of sharing the
spoils of war rather than an act of justice.
The treaty of Saint Germain
(Austria 1919)
Territorial
terms
Hungary became independent of Austria.
A new state of Czechoslovakia was created from the
Austro-Hungary Empire.
Galicia was given to Poland.
Bukovina was given to Romania
Istria and Tyrol were given to Italy.
Austria lost about 4 million Germans to her neighbors.
Dalmatia and Carniola were ceded to Yugoslavia
Her total area was reduced from about 300 000 square
kilometers to about 78 000 square kilometers.
Non
territorial provisions
Autocracy was banned and Austria became a republic.
The Austrian army was reduced to 30 000 volunteer men with
no navy.
She was to pay reparations of a “large sum of money”
but the amount was never set because the country went bankrupt before the
amount could be determined.
Austria was also forced to accept causing World War I
An alliance with Germany was forbidden.
Fairness of
the treaty
As with Germany Austria had played a big role in bringing
about the outbreak of World War I for example the invasion of Serbia over the
death of just one man!
However she was not the only partly responsible as Germany,
Britain, Russia, France and Serbia played their own parts.
She was not represented at the conference but she was just
forced to sign.
The treaty of Trianon
(Hungary 1920)
Territorial provisions
Slovakia and part of Lithuania were given to Czechoslovakia.
Bosnia and Croatia were also given to Czechoslovakia.
3 million Magyars were placed under foreign rule.
Transylvania was given to Romania.
Burgenland was given to Austria.
Non
territorial provisions
She lost about two thirds of her territory and populations
from about 20 million to 8 million.
Her army was reduced to 35 000 volunteer men and 3 patrol
boats.
She was to pay reparations of 200 million gold crowns to the
allies as she was found guilty of causing the war.
She was forbidden to unite with Austria.
Fairness and
unfairness of the treaty
Hungary’s
aggressive behavior was partly responsible for the outbreak of the war.
As with the other treaties Hungary was not solely
responsible for causing the war.
Nationality was not considered when giving out her
territories to other countries.
She lost access to the sea.
“Tolls” made railway transport for
Hungary expensive.
She lost her most important financial institutions with the
loss in territory.
The treaty of Sevres (Turkey
1920)
Territorial
provisions
Syrian and Lebanon were given to France.
Iran and Transjordan were taken by Britain.
Arabia gained Independence.
Eastern Thrace went to Greece.
Cyprus went to Britain.
Non
territorial provisions
The army was limited to 50 000 soldiers, seven sail boats
and six torpedo boats.
They were forbidden to have an air force
There were no reparations to be paid.
The allies had the right to reform the electoral system of
the Ottoman Empire.
The treaty of Lausanne later replaced the treaty of Sevres
Turkey regained some of her territory at the expense of Greece.
River Mamsta was declared to be a frontier between Greece
and Turkey.
Eastern Thrace was returned to Turkey.
Italy kept Docleconese Islands and Britain’s ownership of Cyprus was affirmed.
A customs union for former Turkish people was created and
taxes were abolished.
Arrangements were made to send all Greeks in Turkey and all
Turks in Greece to their respective countries.
Treaty of Neuilly (Bulgaria
1919)
Territorial
terms
Bulgaria lost her territories along east-western boundary to
Yugoslavia.
She lost access to the Augean sea to Greece.
Non-territorial
provisions
Her army was reduced to 20 000 volunteers, four torpedo
boats and no air force.
She was to pay reparations of 2.25 billion francs.
N.B All the terms of these treaties were harsh, vindictive
and dictated to the defeated central powers and their allies.
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