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The Versailles Settlement and the Big Three (The Big Three (Thomas Woodrow…
The Versailles Settlement and the Big Three
Treaty of Versailles
Key points in the treaty
War Guilt Clause: Germany and her allies had to accept total responsability for starting the war
Reparations: Germany had to accept liability for reparations, the amount of which would be decided by a Reparations Comission
Disarmament: This restricted Germany´s ability to wage war in the future
Territory: A lot of German territory was taken away
Germany had to accept the Constitution of the League of Nations even though it was excluded form the original membership
The Paris peace conference was attended by 32 states representing more than two thirds of the world´s population. Russia and the defeated powers were excluded from the negotiations
As soon as the First World War ended, a peace conference took place in Paris during 1919. This conference produced a number of peace treaties that are referred to collectively as the Versailles Settlement
Every country concerned (victorious countries) wanted a peace settlement that would prevent a reapeat of the Great War
This led to strong disagreement on issues such as the extent to which the defeated countries should be punished or the victorious rewarded
The Big Three
French Prime Minister George Celmeceau
He thought that if Germany was sufficientyl weakened it would be unable to threten the peace of Europe again. Clemenceau thought that France was open to a future attack across its eastern frontier
They shared a common border
The border was not defined by a natural frontier
The invasion of France in 1914 was the second in 50 years. On the first ocassion during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, France had lost the province of Alsace-Lorraine
National desire for revenge
Demands designed to weaken Germany:
Permanent disarment involving disbanding most of Germany´s army, navy and air force
A very high level of reparations with a definite figure to be named in the treaty
The return of Alsce-Lorraine to France
A significant portion of Germany´s colonies to be handed over to France
The Rhineland area to be formed into an independent state so that France no longer shared a common border with Germany
The Saar Basin to be transferred to France
British Prime Minister Lloyd George
Before the Paris Peace Conference began, it looked as if Britain shared the French desire for a harsh peace settlement to be imposed on Germany. This was quite understandable given Britain´s experience of the war
Britain had suffered direct attacks on her mainland, when German naval ships bombarded a number of Yorshire coastal Towns, and during the Zeppelin raids of 1915-18 when London, Edinburgh and other towns were attacked
Britain had sustained heavy casualties duriing the war
Britain´s economy had been severly disrupted, especially the exports sectors
Britain was concerned about the security of France´s eastern frontier because if that were to be crossed by hostile troops it would only be a matter of time before Britain was directly threatened also.
The British public demanded vengeance against Germany. Lloyd George knew that if he was to be re-elected then he would have to reflect these views. He insisted that Germany should pay the full cost of the war, he also wanted a sizeable share of Germany´s colonies
Despite every indication that Lloyd George would unite with the French against the high principles of Woodrow Wilson, he soon changed his outlook.
Thomas Woodrow Wilson Fourteen Points
German troops tp leave Russia
Independence for Belgium
Return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
Readjustment of Italian frontiers in line with nationality
Self-determination for peoples of Austria-Hungary
Evacuation and restoration of invaded Balkan countries
Self-determination for peoples in the Turkish Empire
Impartial settlement of colonial disputes taking into acconunt the interests of both the colonial population and the governing countries
Establishment of and independent Poland with access to the sea
Removal of economic trade barriers
Free navigation of the seas in peacetime and wartime
Establishment of a general association of nations
No more secret treaties
Reduction of armaments for all countries
President Woodrow Wilson hopes and expections from the peace settlement were very different form the French. But America´s experience of the war was also very different
The war had provided profitable trading and bussiness opportunities for American manufacturers, merchants and financiers
At no point was American territory invaded abd relatively few American lives lost with civilian fatalities of less than 800
America had not declared war on Germany until April 1917 and was not fully involved in the war until more than a year later