Big three: Clemenceau from France, Lloyd George from Britain and Wilson from the US

Europe in 1919 was a disaster; sick, hungry and violence swept. Communism seemed as if it were ready to sweep the continent Millions of refugees were moving. Prisoners of war had to be repatriated. Spanish influenza was killing millions Hatred was so great in the war and so much propaganda was used that settling a rational agreement was unlikely.

Lloyd George Squeeze Germany until the pips squeak 1918 Russia was in the midst of a civil war, rice riots, rebellions in Austria and Turkey Economy: Unemployment was sweeping, Allies in debt to the US, Inflation in Germany, US and Japan taken most of the World Trade It would be hard to give Italy the territory they were promised as it clashed with self determination 1915 McMahon undertaking, 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement Clemenceau: France was devastated by the war 2.5 million people were out of homes and 1.5 million French had died He wanted Germany to pay. A realist; wanted it to never happen again. Wanted security Wilson: The US was relatively OK after the war Did not have bitter feelings and sought nothing materialistic An idealist; wanted peace off his 14 points and wanted a League of Nations Lloyd George: Uphold British interests. He realised that Europe needed a prosperous Germany. He had won an election on aggressive propaganda against Germany so too soft a treaty would be negative for his career Clemenceau and Lloyd came from electoral victories, whilst Wilsons position seemed paradoxical Wilsons defeat in the 1918 elections meant he could not ensure that the US would ratify the treaty once it was signed He believed in national self-determination but this arose a number of problems; who or what would test the nationality? How were minorities handled? Would the peacemakers forcefully seize territory in order to coincide with this idea? Would economics and geography or nationality be more beneficial for a states well-being? National groups of Eastern Europe hated each other. The oppressed were to become the oppressors November 1917 saw the taking of power by Lenin in Russia and was fighting a civil war to keep it, resulting in communism ready to rear its head in 1919.

The immediate problem was German weakness; but, given a few years of normal life, it would again become the problem of German Strength A.J.P Taylor Arthur Balfour: a rough and tumble affair

Paris Peace Settlement: From the start, it had no set agenda Wilson dominated the procedure. Because of this, the first few months were spent addressing the LoN which meant that later issues were hurried out of exhaustion from the delegates. Arthur Balfour: a rough and tumble affair The settlement considered of 6 separate treaties Treaty of Versailles with Germany, June 1919 St Germain with Austria, September 1919 Neuilly with Bulgaria, November 1919 Trianon with Hungary, June 1920 Lausanne with Turkey,1924 Versailles was received with much hostility. Alsace-Lorraine was returned to Germany. Eupen and Malmedy returned to Belgium. France was given full and absolute possession of coal mines of the Saar Region. Danzig a free city under international control. A union between Germany and Austria was forbidden. All German oversees possessions were taken, and they lost 103 600 sq km of territory and over 7 million people. Their army was limited to 100,000 men with no allowance of tanks or heavy artillery. No air force allowed. Ships over 16.2 tonnes were banned. Naval base of Heligoland was destroyed. Rhineland was demilitarised and administrated by allied military for 15 years. Germany was to pay major reparations. Around 40 billion. Machinery was handed over to Belgium and France. Had to supply millions of tonnes of coal to Belgium and France. Clause 203: The war guilt. Gave Germany full blame. St Germain prevented Austria from uniting with Germany. Dissolved the Austro-Hungary empire, and Austria lost a lot of its territory. Its army was restricted to 30,000 and its navy was limited to three police boats. Austria was to pay reparations. Neuilly limited Bulgarias army to 20,000. Bulgaria suffered the least. Lost Western Thrace to Greece and its outlet to the Aegean Sea. Lost Macedonian territory. Trianon saw Hungary as a land-locked state, losing Croatia to Yugoslavia. They were made to pay reparations and its army was reduced to 35,000. Lausanne was difficult. The sultans in Constantinople and Mustapha Kemals governments were both trying for power. The Sultan was presented with the Sevres treaty, however Mustaphas government quickly invalidated it. Kemals forces began to seize control of Turkey, and allied forces were pushed out. By 1922, he controlled all of Turkey and demanded a rewrite of Sevres. Kemal was a Turkish Nationalist and this was reflected in Lausanne. Turkey retained Constantinople. All claims to Arab territories were dropped. The straits were demilitarised. Turkeys military had no limits.

Germany had only to secure a modification of the treaty, or to shake it off altogether; and she would emerge as strong, or almost as strong as she had been in 1914

The eastern settlement: Russia did not partake in the 1919 treaties as it was too busy fighting off a civil war. It was also warding off the ally take down of the Bolsheviks. Early Bolshevik policy was that of self determination The Treaty of Riga ended the Russian-Polish war. The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia had established independence The Post War World The end of the war saw the end of four empires; Austro-Hungary, German Empire, Russian and Ottoman Empires A small string of nations appeared, as a result of self-determination Nationality had not completely triumphed Russia had lost its Tsar, lost its empire and was under the rule of the Bolsheviks. It had been pushed eastwards. The democratic defeats of 1918 and 1920 in the US returned it to its policy of isolationism Saw Britain and France as leaders of the international system Britain went back to avoiding continental involvement, leaving France in charge. They were only dominant because of Germanys fall and the US isolation Japan emerged as a major power as an equal. Japan was able to capture some of the eastern powers Asian markets Colonial world was in confusion. The middle east had growing senses of nationalism Saw the birth of the league of nations; hoped it would prevent the outbreak of another anarchy Problems still surfacing Europe The problem of German Power The immediate problem was German weakness; but, given a few years of normal life, it would again become the problem of German Strength A.J.P Taylor After the war, Germany still dominated geographically. It still had a huge population of 65 million and its economic strength was still the strongest in Europe. Germany had only to secure a modification of the treaty, or to shake it off altogether; and she would emerge as strong, or almost as strong as she had been in 1914 Britain had fought in the war for fear of Germany disrupting the balance of power Russia had acted as a counter to Germany, but after the war came out almost insignificant in terms of power and remained isolated

The Fourteen Point Program (January 1918 Woodrow Wilson)

Economic Consequences of WW1 and Reparations

completely