Peacemaking
Allies and Germans want peace
● Millions of people dead and countries devastated by fighting
● Both sides spent lots of money on war
● Allies knew German army was beaten and retreating
● Germany decided to ask for armistice - agreement to stop fighting for period of time to allow
peace negotiations - allies allowed it
● Allied could have rejected request and forced Germans back to central Germany but would
have been difficult and costly, supplying allies would have also been challenging due to
transport links destroyed
Wilson’s 14 points for peace
● Woodrow Wilson: president of United States
● Came up with 14 points when Germany first asked for truce - rejected, then agreed by
November
● 14 points:
○ No secret treaties
○ Free access to sea for all
○ Free trade between countries
○ Disarmament by all countries
○ Colonies to have say in their own future
○ Russia to be free of German troops
○ Belgium to be independent
○ Alsace-Lorraine to France
○ New frontier between Austria and Italy
○ Self-determination for people of Eastern Europe
○ Serbia to have access to sea
○ Self-determination for people in Turkish empire
○ Poland to be independent with access to sea
○ League of Nations to settle disputes
● Main aim to stop war happening again
● Wanted disagreements to be solved by discussion and not be too harsh on Germany
George and Clemenceau
● David Llyod George: British Prime Minister
● Georges Clemenceau: French Prime Minister
● Both wanted to prevent war from happening again but in different ways
● Clemenceau:
○ France borders Germany so wanted German army to be weakened
○ Didn’t support 14 points eg. wanted treaties with other nations as security
○ Liked idea of Alsace-Lorraine to France - acted as barrier between countries
● George:
○ Didn‘t like Wilson’s “self-determination” and “colonial freedom” - threat to British
Empire
○ Wanted Germany to be punished but not too harshly - trading partner for Britain so
weak German economy could cause problems
○ Wanted to continue blockading Germany and make private deals with nations
● French had suffered terribly during war and British also suffered badly, explains why more
keen than USA to punish Germany
, The Armistice
● Germany hoped to negotiate - contact Wilson first for best chance
● 9 November 1918: Kaiser abdicated - German politicians had to sign whatever given
● 11 November: signing, in force for 30 days but extended until Treaty of Versailles
● Important terms of armistice:
○ German troops evacuate Belgium, France and other occupied countries in 2 weeks
(ended actual fighting)
○ Germany gives up many of its heavy weapons ( for Clemenceau and Wilson)
○ Naval blockade on Germany stays in place (for Clemenceau and George)
○ Germany accepts blame of war and pays reparations for damage caused (for
Clemenceau and George)
○ German troops evacuate Rhineland and occupied by allied forces (for Clemenceau)
Peace talks
● Talks to replace armistice with peace treaty at Versailles Palace (near Paris)
● Known as Paris Peace Conference - began in January 1919
● Germany and Austria-Hungary (losing nations) not invited
● Delegates from 30 countries but dominated by Big Three
● No one wanted war but couldn’t agree so took 6 months
● Big Three’s targets:
○ Clemenceau: punish Germany (blame, weaken economy and military)
○ George: punish Germany, not too harshly and increase British Empire’s power
○ Wilson: self-determination, disarmament and League of Nations to ensure lasting
peace in Europe
● Final treatment: Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919
● Only dealt with Germany - other defeated countries had separate treaties
Treaty of Versailles
Changes in land
● Germany lost Alsace-Lorraine in armistice - made permanent
● Rhineland demilitarised
● Germany had to give up all of its territory in Poland
● Polish Corridor to allow free access to sea - divided Germany from East Prussia
● Saar (region of Germany with valuable coalfields) taken from Germany for 15 years and be
governed by LN then residents vote on which country to belong to
● Danzig put under control of LN
● Taking Saar away from Germany partly act of French revenge since so many of their coal
mines destroyed in war
Terms of treaty
● Article 231: Germany accept blame of war - War-Guilt clause
● £6600m in reparations
● Military cut down severely - 100K men, 6 warships, no aircraft or submarines
● German empire taken away - handed over to LN
● League set up to keep world peace - Germany not allowed at first
German people angered and humiliated by treaty
● German politicians expected fair treaty based on Wilson - shocked by real treaty
● 1919: mass protest outside German parliament building
● Referred to as Diktat - harsh settlement imposed on one country by another
● Believed in heroism and didn’t feel had been properly defeated in battle - treaty humiliated
them by suggesting they had completely lost war
● Angry about being blamed for war
Allies and Germans want peace
● Millions of people dead and countries devastated by fighting
● Both sides spent lots of money on war
● Allies knew German army was beaten and retreating
● Germany decided to ask for armistice - agreement to stop fighting for period of time to allow
peace negotiations - allies allowed it
● Allied could have rejected request and forced Germans back to central Germany but would
have been difficult and costly, supplying allies would have also been challenging due to
transport links destroyed
Wilson’s 14 points for peace
● Woodrow Wilson: president of United States
● Came up with 14 points when Germany first asked for truce - rejected, then agreed by
November
● 14 points:
○ No secret treaties
○ Free access to sea for all
○ Free trade between countries
○ Disarmament by all countries
○ Colonies to have say in their own future
○ Russia to be free of German troops
○ Belgium to be independent
○ Alsace-Lorraine to France
○ New frontier between Austria and Italy
○ Self-determination for people of Eastern Europe
○ Serbia to have access to sea
○ Self-determination for people in Turkish empire
○ Poland to be independent with access to sea
○ League of Nations to settle disputes
● Main aim to stop war happening again
● Wanted disagreements to be solved by discussion and not be too harsh on Germany
George and Clemenceau
● David Llyod George: British Prime Minister
● Georges Clemenceau: French Prime Minister
● Both wanted to prevent war from happening again but in different ways
● Clemenceau:
○ France borders Germany so wanted German army to be weakened
○ Didn’t support 14 points eg. wanted treaties with other nations as security
○ Liked idea of Alsace-Lorraine to France - acted as barrier between countries
● George:
○ Didn‘t like Wilson’s “self-determination” and “colonial freedom” - threat to British
Empire
○ Wanted Germany to be punished but not too harshly - trading partner for Britain so
weak German economy could cause problems
○ Wanted to continue blockading Germany and make private deals with nations
● French had suffered terribly during war and British also suffered badly, explains why more
keen than USA to punish Germany
, The Armistice
● Germany hoped to negotiate - contact Wilson first for best chance
● 9 November 1918: Kaiser abdicated - German politicians had to sign whatever given
● 11 November: signing, in force for 30 days but extended until Treaty of Versailles
● Important terms of armistice:
○ German troops evacuate Belgium, France and other occupied countries in 2 weeks
(ended actual fighting)
○ Germany gives up many of its heavy weapons ( for Clemenceau and Wilson)
○ Naval blockade on Germany stays in place (for Clemenceau and George)
○ Germany accepts blame of war and pays reparations for damage caused (for
Clemenceau and George)
○ German troops evacuate Rhineland and occupied by allied forces (for Clemenceau)
Peace talks
● Talks to replace armistice with peace treaty at Versailles Palace (near Paris)
● Known as Paris Peace Conference - began in January 1919
● Germany and Austria-Hungary (losing nations) not invited
● Delegates from 30 countries but dominated by Big Three
● No one wanted war but couldn’t agree so took 6 months
● Big Three’s targets:
○ Clemenceau: punish Germany (blame, weaken economy and military)
○ George: punish Germany, not too harshly and increase British Empire’s power
○ Wilson: self-determination, disarmament and League of Nations to ensure lasting
peace in Europe
● Final treatment: Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919
● Only dealt with Germany - other defeated countries had separate treaties
Treaty of Versailles
Changes in land
● Germany lost Alsace-Lorraine in armistice - made permanent
● Rhineland demilitarised
● Germany had to give up all of its territory in Poland
● Polish Corridor to allow free access to sea - divided Germany from East Prussia
● Saar (region of Germany with valuable coalfields) taken from Germany for 15 years and be
governed by LN then residents vote on which country to belong to
● Danzig put under control of LN
● Taking Saar away from Germany partly act of French revenge since so many of their coal
mines destroyed in war
Terms of treaty
● Article 231: Germany accept blame of war - War-Guilt clause
● £6600m in reparations
● Military cut down severely - 100K men, 6 warships, no aircraft or submarines
● German empire taken away - handed over to LN
● League set up to keep world peace - Germany not allowed at first
German people angered and humiliated by treaty
● German politicians expected fair treaty based on Wilson - shocked by real treaty
● 1919: mass protest outside German parliament building
● Referred to as Diktat - harsh settlement imposed on one country by another
● Believed in heroism and didn’t feel had been properly defeated in battle - treaty humiliated
them by suggesting they had completely lost war
● Angry about being blamed for war
