Treaty of Versailles Overview
The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 by the allies and Germany at the Versailles Palace in Paris and effectively ended World War I. The leaders of France, the USA and Great Britain all came together to formulate the treaty; Georges Clemenceau of France, Woodrow Wilson of the USA and David Loyd George of Great Britain. These three leaders were named the “Big Three”. Italian leader Vittorio Orlando was also involved, but many times was left on the sidelines during important negotiations. This was because, although Italy fought with the Allies, they were part of an alliance with Germany before they broke it. Italy did not play a particularly large role in the war as well.
Germany did not have any say in the contents of the treaty. They had no idea what was on it until the day they were forced to sign it, but they had no choice. Their options were to sign the treaty or to be invaded by the allies. The main points of the treaties were as follows:
1. Germany was forced to return land taken from France, Russia, Belgium, Denmark, Czechoslovakia and Poland
2. Germany lost all overseas possessions
3. The German army was limited to 100,000 men and 6 capital naval ships and were not allowed tanks, and air force or submarines
4. Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war- known as the “War Guilt Clause”
5. Since Germany was blamed for starting the war, they had to pay reparations to the Allies to pay for damages. The figure was not set at Versailles; Germany was told to write a “blank check” which the Allies could cash when it suited them. The figure was eventually set at £6,600 million.
It was during this time that Woodrow Wilson wrote his “Fourteen Points” on how he thinks the world should be. The main points in this document were:
1. No more secret treaties
2. Countries must seek to reduce their weapons and armed forces
3. National self-determination should allow people of the same nationality to govern themselves and one nationality should not have the power to govern another
4. All countries should belong to the League of Nations
The idea of the League of Nations was a prelude to the United Nations, although the League of Nations did not succeed in preventing World War 2.
Thesis: The Treaty of Versailles was a major turning point in history largely because of the consequences caused by it that led of the World War II. Both World Wars drastically changed the world.
The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 by the allies and Germany at the Versailles Palace in Paris and effectively ended World War I. The leaders of France, the USA and Great Britain all came together to formulate the treaty; Georges Clemenceau of France, Woodrow Wilson of the USA and David Loyd George of Great Britain. These three leaders were named the “Big Three”. Italian leader Vittorio Orlando was also involved, but many times was left on the sidelines during important negotiations. This was because, although Italy fought with the Allies, they were part of an alliance with Germany before they broke it. Italy did not play a particularly large role in the war as well.
Germany did not have any say in the contents of the treaty. They had no idea what was on it until the day they were forced to sign it, but they had no choice. Their options were to sign the treaty or to be invaded by the allies. The main points of the treaties were as follows:
1. Germany was forced to return land taken from France, Russia, Belgium, Denmark, Czechoslovakia and Poland
2. Germany lost all overseas possessions
3. The German army was limited to 100,000 men and 6 capital naval ships and were not allowed tanks, and air force or submarines
4. Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war- known as the “War Guilt Clause”
5. Since Germany was blamed for starting the war, they had to pay reparations to the Allies to pay for damages. The figure was not set at Versailles; Germany was told to write a “blank check” which the Allies could cash when it suited them. The figure was eventually set at £6,600 million.
It was during this time that Woodrow Wilson wrote his “Fourteen Points” on how he thinks the world should be. The main points in this document were:
1. No more secret treaties
2. Countries must seek to reduce their weapons and armed forces
3. National self-determination should allow people of the same nationality to govern themselves and one nationality should not have the power to govern another
4. All countries should belong to the League of Nations
The idea of the League of Nations was a prelude to the United Nations, although the League of Nations did not succeed in preventing World War 2.
Thesis: The Treaty of Versailles was a major turning point in history largely because of the consequences caused by it that led of the World War II. Both World Wars drastically changed the world.