The Treaty of Versailles To what extent where the provisions within the Treaty of Versailles too harsh on Germany?

End of the War Two Major Events in 1917- Russian Revolution- Russia pulls out of the war 1917 The United States of America enters the war (Lusitania) March 1918 Major German Offensive- very successful-but exhausting for the Germans

The Hundred Days Campaign August 1918- with the arrival of the Americans, the allies launch a series of attacks The 100 Days- many battles led by Canadian General Arthur Currie German mutinies and internal conflict leads to Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicating in November Armistice Nov. 11 1918, 11:00 am

- Phillip Gibbs The New York Times (11 Nov. 1918) “last night, for the first time since August in the first year of the war, there was no light of gunfire in the sky, no sudden stabs of flame through the darkness, no spreading glow above black trees where for four years of nights human beings were smashed to death. The Fires of Hell had been put out” - Phillip Gibbs The New York Times (11 Nov. 1918)

The Conference Nov. 11 Germany signed an armistice (cease-fire) with the Allied powers Steadily the Germans returned to Germany, but many Allied soldiers followed them In January 1919 the Paris Peace Conference was organized to discuss the terms of peace to finally put an end to the war

The Conference Each of the delegates came to the conference with different ideas, plans and goals. The Germans were NOT invited to the conference and had no say in the making of the peace treaty. Germany complained about the eventual severity of the Treaty, but in the end they had no choice but to sign the document

MANIA Causes of WW1? Is there a specific country that the MANIA cases seem to point to? Recall how Germany was treated after the armistice

“…Only two nations are for the time being left out “…Only two nations are for the time being left out. One of them is Germany, because we did not think that Germany was ready to come in, because we felt that she ought to go through a period of probation. She says she made a mistake. We now want her to prove it by not trying it again” - Public Papers of Woodrow Wilson, Ray S. Baker and William Dodds, eds., Vol. 1, New York, 1924

The Peacemakers At the treaty, delegates were sent from every nation and colony that was involved in the war. This would be the most inclusive conference in history- Canada had its own seat The real power brokers were the 4 leaders of the Great Powers: President Woodrow Wilson (USA) President Georges Clemenceau (France) Prime Minister David Lloyd George (G.B.) Prime Minister V. Orlando (Italy) See handout for their concerns:

The Treaty of Versailles France and Great Britain were not particularly satisfied with the 14 points proposal by Wilson- no guarantee of safety Keep in mind France and Great Britain were looking for some kind of financial compensation from the Germans

Treaty Summary Germany had to accept blame for starting the war (Article 231) Germany was forbidden to have submarines or an air force- was allowed 6 battleships, and 100,000 soldiers No German troops near the Rhineland (50 mile strip next to France) Germany had to pay 6.6 million pounds in reparations (about 30 billion today) Germany lost all overseas colonies and a large amount of land in continental Europe (see map) Germany could not join the League of Nations Germany could never unite with Austria