1. The Final Days of WWI
IB 20th Century History

2. Defeat of Central Powers
1918 Russia was out of the War (Russian Revolution)
Central Powers focus on taking over Paris
May 1918 just 37 miles from Paris but U.S. troops arriving everyday.
End of September 1918:
Turkey asks for peace
Austro-Hungarian empire breaks up

3. Armistice – an agreement to stop fighting
November 11, 1918 at 11:00 a.m. all fighting stops and WWI comes to an end

4. Cost of WWI 16 million dead 1.8 million Germans, 1.8 million Russians
1.4 million French
1 million Austria and Hungary
1 million British
110,000 U.S.
21 million wounded
Total cost was more than $300 billion

5. War Deaths by Country

6. The Story so far… World War I is over, the killing has ceased.
January 18, 1919, a conference was built at the Palace of Versailles.
The Allied powers, the victors of WWI, meet to clean up the war mess.

7. Paris Peace Conference
Where – Versailles (outside of Paris)
When – January 1919
Why – To arrange terms of peace
Who –
British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
French Premier Georges Clemenceau
Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson

8. Meeting at Versailles Paris Peace Conference
Delegates representing 32 countries
Major decisions were made by the Big Four:
Woodrow Wilson (U.S.)
Georges Clemenceau (France)
David Lloyd George (Great Britain)
Vittorio Orlando (Italy)

9. Conflict of Interests
France wanted security over another German attack, return of Alsace-Lorraine
Britain wanted Germany’s African’s colonies & destruction of Germany’s navy
Italy also wanted land
Japan wanted German colonies in the Pacific

10. “I can predict with absolute certainty
that within another generation there will
be another world war if the nations of
the world do not concert the method
by which to prevent it."
Woodrow Wilson, 1919

11. The League of Nations
Wilson's 14 points

12. Woodrow’s Plan 1918 Woodrow proposed his Fourteen Points
Outlined a plan for maintaining peace
Proposed the following points:
1st Point: End all secret treaties
2nd Point: Freedom of the Seas
3rd Point: Free trade
4th Point: Reduce national armies (trying to stop militarism)
5th Point: Colonial Fairness (trying to stop harsh imperialism)
6th-13th Points: Rearranging borders (self-determination)
14th Point: Create a general association of nations that would negotiate solutions to world conflicts (The League of Nations)

13. Unsatisfied with Wilson’s plan
Plan threatened national security
Plan was too nice– GB and France thought it lacked punishment against Germany
Wanted to take away Germany’s power
Clemenceau wanted Germany to pay for France’s suffering
France lost more than 1,000,000 soldiers and civilians during wartime. This was about 11% of the population.
France’s land was destroyed and devastated.

14. How did America react to the
Waging Peace/Post WWI
How did America react to the
Treaty of Versailles?

15. Why did the US Reject the Treaty of Versailles?
Critics of the Treaty believed that the League would drag the US into future European wars (Senator Henry Cabot Lodge)
Americans were “war weary” and wanted to return to isolationism
Wilson suffered a stroke and was unable to sell the treaty to the people
The US refused to join the League of Nations, making the League a “paper tiger” or weak on the world stage.

16. America's Reaction

17. Treaty of Versailles 1919
French, British, and U.S. argued and finally compromised. The product was The Treaty of Versailles.
Signed between Germany and the Allied powers, June
Adopted Wilson’s 14th point, created League of Nations
Aimed for world peace, stopping further wars
General Assembly, 32 allied and neutral nations
Executive Council, the 5 Allied Powers
U.S.
Great Britain
France
Italy
Japan
Germany and Russia were left out of the League of Nations.

18. Treaty of Versailles
7. Allow allied troops in Rhineland 8. Establish “Polish Corridor” to sea 9. Not manufacture war materials 10. Make army smaller 11. Establish League of Nations
1. Pay reparations 2. Admit guilt 3. Give up territory 4. Not build up Rhineland 5. Free Poland 6. Make Danzig a free city

19. Punishments Against Germany
Treaty of Versailles also punished Germany:
Portions of Germany’s territories were taken away, colonies in Asia and Africa were given to League of Nations to be administered.
Military restrictions
Article 231-” Germany was solely responsible for the war”, therefore, had to pay reparations to the Allies.
Major Provisions
League of Nations
Germany Loses Territory
Germany is restricted in its military
War Guilt
32 Allied Nations,
But…
Germany & Russia are excluded
Germany has to return Alsace-Lorraine to France
Germany loses all of its overseas territory in Africa & Pacific
Cannot buy/build military weapons or war machines
Set limit to size of army
Is declared totally responsible for World War I
Has to pay the equivalent $33 Billion to Allies in 30 years
Alsace-Lorraine is given up to France
Germany

20. End of World War I > Europe in 1914

21. End of World War I > Europe in 1919

22. New Nations Formed
Negotiated between Allies and defeated nations (Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire) 1919, It literally broke down Europe into many tinier new nations.
Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken down into independent nations: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia
Ottomans had to give up all the land lost in Southwest Asia, losing Palestine, Iraq, and Transjordan to British rule. Syria and Lebanon went to France. The Ottomans could only keep Turkey.
Russia lost territory to Romania and Poland. Also, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (formerly part of Russia) become independent nations.
Europe Before WWI
After WWI

23. Unlasting peace U.S. rejected the treaty
Americans thought that if they wanted peace, they should get themselves out of European affairs.
Germany is upset
War-guilt clause caused them to hate the Allies.
Economically devastated
Militarily restricted
In their point of view, unfairly sanctioned
Colonies were unsatisfied that they could still not gain independence
Japan and Italy did not get what they wanted out of the war—land, so also backed out.
Without consent or support of U.S., the League of Nations could not do anything to amend or take any action.
Observer at Versailles noted the treaty was merely, “a peace built on quicksand.”

24. Legacy of WWI
This was a New kind of war. New weapons and technology were introduced killing people faster, and more efficiently than ever before.
War was brought to the global scale
People could see that war could get extremely destructive.