The Versailles Settlement

The Versailles Settlement (Walsh, pp. 80-96)

Timeline

1914

August 3rdGermany declared war on France. Initiated Schlieffen Plan.

August 23rdJapan declared war on Germany.

August 26th-30thGermany under Hindenburg defeated Russia at The Battle of Tannenberg. Stops Russian advance into East Prussia.

Sept 6-91st Battle of the Marne. French stop Schlieffen Plan. Beginning of trench warfare.

1915

April-AugustGallipoli campaigns. Two landings in the Dardanelles - both disastrous.

May 23Italy declared war on Austria. Italy joined in against her former Alliance partners largely because of the extravagant promises of territorial aggrandisement made to her by the western allies at the Secret Treaty of London.

In general, in 1915 the heaviest fighting was on the eastern Front. The Western Front was relatively quiet.

1916

Feb 21st – DecemberBattle of Verdun.

July 1st - Nov 21stBattle of the Somme.

1917

Feb 1stGermany announced unrestricted submarine warfare.

Feb-March:Revolution in Russia leads to the abdication of the Tsar and his replacement by a Provisional Government determined to continue with the war.

April 6USA declared war on Germany.

April-MayNivelle’s offensive.

May 5:Following mutinies in the French army, Nivelle replaced by Pétain whose policy is to sit tight till the Americans arrive.-

July 31st - Nov 10th:3rdBattle of Ypres.

October-November:Revolution in Russia. Lenin and the Bolsheviks seize power overthrowing the Provisional Government.

1918

JanuaryWilson’s 14 Points.

March 3Treaty of Brest Litovsk. Russian participation in war over. Russia has to hand over vast amounts of territory to Germany.

March 21stStart of last major German offensive. By July it’s effectively over.

July 18thGeneral Foch ordered counter attack.

Oct 24-Nov 4Austrians defeated at Vittorio Veneto. Disintegration of A-H Empire.

November 11thArmistice.

Read pp. 82-85. In the light of what is written below the Fourteen Points on p. 83 in your book needs slightly revising.

In January 1918 President Wilson announced his “14 points for a just and lasting peace”. In summary, they were as follows:

1)abolition of secret diplomacy by open covenants, openly arrived at;

2)freedom of the seas in peace and war;

3)removal of international trade barriers wherever possible and establishment of an equality of trade conditions among the nations consenting to the peace;

4)reduction of armaments consistent with public safety;

5)impartial adjustment of colonial disputes consistent with the interests of both the controlling government and the colonial population;

6)evacuation of Russian territory, with the proviso of self-determination;

7)evacuation and restoration of Belgium;

8)evacuation and restoration of French territory, including Alsace-Lorraine;

9)readjustment of Italian frontiers along clearly recognisable lines of nationality;

10)autonomy for the peoples of Austria-Hungary;

11)evacuation and restoration of territory to Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania, granting of seaports to Serbia, and readjustment and international guarantee of the national ambitions of the Balkan nations;

12)self-determination for non-Turkish peoples under Turkish control and internationalisation of the Dardanelles;

13)an independent Poland in areas “indisputably Polish”, with access to the sea; and

14)creation of a general association of nations under specific covenants to give mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity.

The 14 Points also said there should be “no humiliation for the defeated”. In general they were imbued with the spirit of self-determination.
Document Based Exercise:

Read the following document. Bear in mind everything we have read, watched, and said as well as what is written in the Document and prepare rough answers to the questions which follow the document.

The document is a conversation between Wilson, Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Orlando on March 27th 1919.

President Wilson (addressing Clemenceau): I trust that, in principle, you are agreed with Mr Lloyd George as to the moderation which must be shown towards Germany. We do not want to destroy Germany and we could not do so. Our greatest mistake would be to furnish her with powerful reasons for seeking revenge at some future time. Excessive demands would be sure to sow the seeds of war.

……I do not fear, in the future, wars prepared by the secret plots of governments, but rather conflicts created by discontent among the peoples. If we are ourselves guilty of injustice, such discontent is inevitable, with the consequences which are bound to follow. Hence our desire to negotiate with moderation and equity.

Mr Lloyd George: May I cite a precedent from History? In 1814 after the defeat of Napoleon, Prussia planned to impose crushing terms on France. Wellington, a man of sound sense, took the opposite view and his attitude was supported by Castlereagh. They both felt it would be a grave mistake to try to destroy France, since her presence was necessary for both civilisation and the European order. This was the attitude towards France of the representatives of England, and if their advice had not prevailed, France would have been half destroyed, with no other result than to deliver all of Europe into the hands of the German powers.

Clemenceau: Permit me to make a fundamental objection…President Wilson warns us against giving the Germans a sense of injustice. Agreed, but what we regard as just here in this room will not necessarily be accepted as such by the Germans.

People are surprised that France should oppose the immediate admission of Germany to the League of Nations. Yesterday once again I received another dossier on the atrocities committed in France. Unfortunately, we have come, to our cost, to know the Germans, and are aware that as a nation they submit to force in order that they themselves may impose force on the world.

…..My principles are the same as yours; I am considering only their application. May I say this to President Wilson? Do not believe that these principles of justice that satisfy us will also satisfy the Germans. I know them: since 1871 I have forced myself, almost every year, to visit Germany; I wanted to know the Germans and, at various times, I hoped a means could be found to bring our two peoples together. Their idea of justice, I can assure you, is not ours….I beg you to understand my state of mind, just as I am trying to understand yours. America is far away and protected by the ocean. England could not be reached by Napoleon himself. You are sheltered, both of you; we are not.

Source: Paul Mantoux, Paris Peace Conference 1919; Proceedings of the Council of Four (Geneva 1964), pp.24-29 (abridged).

Questions.

1. What reasons are given in the Document by Wilson and Lloyd George for making a relatively lenient peace with Germany?
2. What reasons are used by Clemenceau to counter these arguments?
3. With what countries and why might Wilson have difficulties in reaching agreement over points 2, 5, 9, 13, 14?
4. What were the problems confronting the principle of self determination in general?
5. Summarise the objectives of the four countries, USA, France, Britain and Italy at the peace negotiations.