Topic: The Post War Peace Treaty and the formation of the League of

Nations
1.1 Introduction

The armistice of November 11, 1918, is seen as the agreement which emanated from France,

along with other warring countries involved in WW1.  The First World War involved mainly

ally nations and Germany. The representatives of Great Britain signed the armistice, with

France and Germany to bring to a halt the four years of warfare. The signing of the armistice

occurred at a remote place that provided sufficient discretion, namely the Compiegne forest,

approximately 60 kilometres from Paris.

Furthermore, the carriage on which the signing occurred was later exhibited in Germany but

destroyed in 1945. Since the signing of the armistice intended to end the war, some of the

essential requirements were for Germany to surrender machine guns (25,000 of them), all the

submarines in their possession, aeroplanes (1,700), filed weapons (2,500) and heavy firearms

(2,500). The deal also expected Germany to give away numerous warships and ensure

complete disarmament for the ones they retained. Any breach of this armistice by the

Germans would lead to the war restarting after 48 hours. The orders were for Germany to

evacuate particular areas, hand over weapons and prisoners within the guaranteed time scales,

among others. In the signing of the armistice, Germany felt the demands of the agreement as

being very harsh while French people thought of it as too lenient. The Germans were also to

make reparations apart from doing the other mentioned activities after the war. Today, most

of the countries that were involved in WW1 commemorate November 11 at 11 am by

maintaining 2-minute silence in remembrance of the fallen veterans and the end of the war.

Some remember it on the Sunday nearest to November 11 while others do it on both days if

they differ. French and Great Britain had to compromise even though they had made huge
losses and had legitimate grievances. Germany and France changed harshly and had a conflict

of interest concerning the truce, but both had to sit down and agree. Even though Germans

felt The Big 3 and the Treaty of Versailles Terms of the agreement were too harsh to bear, it

had to compromise and adhere to them. France, on the other hand, had to get along even

though they wanted harsher punishment for the Germans. Negotiations came in the form of a

treaty that proved crucial to stop the warfare. The terms of the armistice formed the basis of

the agreement of the Versailles.

1.2 The League of Nations

Before the formation of the League of Nation which was championed by the then United

States President, Woodrow Wilson, he presented 14 points that were to lead to the world’s

peace. Walter Lippmann, Edward House, and Wilson Woodrow played a significant role in

devising the 14 points in an attempt to prepare for the peaceful ending of the war. The

presentation of the fourteen points aimed at accelerating the end of the war and the

restoration of World peace. The plan includes:

1. Having open democracy,

2. Freedom to navigation on all seas,
3. International trade free of economic barriers,
4. The conquest of nations to reasonable levels for public safety,
5. Resolution of colonial claims with no partiality,
6. Restoration of Russian territories and
7. Ensure their freedom to set their political systems,
8. Restoration and preservation of Belgium’s sovereignty,
9. Full restoration of French’s area including the recovery of Alsace-Lorraine,
10. Redrawing of Italian frontiers
11. Redrawing the Balkan boundaries,
12. Limiting Turkey, independence of Poland,
13. Dividing Austria-Hungary
14. The creation of the league of nations.
Germany, however, expected the peace treaty to look like Wilson’s Fourteen Points contrary

to what emerged as the treaty of Versailles. The expectation of Germany was firmly the

implementation of Wilson’s fourteen points based on the six principles. Included among the
six principles were colonies achieving freedom, free trade transactions, freedom of navigation

on seas, self-rule for the people of Europe, conquest, and formation of the League of Nations.

The conference of January 1919, popularly known as the Paris Peace Conference or the

Versailles Conference was an Allied victors meeting designed to discuss and set peace terms

for the defeated central powers. It involved the representatives of the country allies and

participants in the WW1. The purpose of the conference was to devise peace terms for the

central powers’ diplomats of the 32 nations who had suffered defeat in WW1. A total of

thirty-two nations sent representatives to this conference. The three significant countries led

the discussion for the treaty, and they include; France, America and Great Britain, also

termed the Big 3. The diplomats, Wilson (America) George (Britain) and Clemenceau

(France) spearheaded the discussions and resolutions in the conference. The big 3 had many

conflicting aims in the meeting, making it difficult for a collective decision, and therefore

they all had to make some compromises. The treaty of the Versailles had deviations from the

truce, and the Big 3 did discussions on the way forward without involving Germany.

According to Herwig (2014), the Allied powers did not invite The Big 3 and the Treaty of

Versailles Germany to the discussions since they were the perceived cause of the war.

Moreover, they were at that time fragile in terms of their political framework and military.

Germany was therefore forced to append their signature to the treaty even though they felt the

agreement was firmly against them. The Big 3 had several conflicts in their aims towards

their perceived outcome of the contract. The big three conflicted on several aspects of the

contract.

1. First was Georges, the Prime of France. He wanted punishment and revenge for Germans

for their role in the war, advocated for Germans to pay for the damages they had caused and

suggested a further weakening of Germany so that they would never attack France again.
2. Woodrow Wilson, the President of the United States of America, desired self-

determination and independence for the European people that he had promised earlier,

specifically disarming of the Germans and the formation of the League of Nations.

The League of Nations was to present a platform for dialogue between nations without going

to war.

3. David Lloyd, the then Prime Minister of Great Britain, wanted the Germans to pay full

compensation for the damages made since this is what British citizens were supporting. He

sought justice and not revenge. The British Prime Minister promoted the notion that there

was no need of hurting others to get peace just because of their mistakes. He wanted to

encourage measures that would not lead to other wars. David also had an eye on the

expansion of the British Empire and ensuring the control of the Seas was under Britain. He

wanted to increase Britain’s capabilities of trade and to increase their wealth. From what the

Big 3 wanted, they got various parts out of the treaty.

The Big 3 dominated the conference with the delegations presenting their issues before

making a binding decision. Due to the differences in what they wanted, negotiations almost

flopped until Lloyd George intervened and convinced France to accept the Fontainebleau

Memorandum. The document supported the creation of the League of Nations and have a

treaty of peace that would not ruin Germany.

Lloyd George leaned on Wilson’s points, even though the Britons agreed more with France in

seeking revenge. His visionary leadership was evident in his efforts. It was visible in the way

he ran the negotiations, looking at issues from various perspectives, seeing into the future

with an eye of longevity and cohesion. The Fontaine Bleau Memorandum he called for peace

by seeking to deliver justice to prevent future wars. Lloyd managed to convince Wilson to

agree to the War Guilt Clause. Following the presentation of the Treaty of the Versailles, the
Germans argued against it stating its unfairness and harsh treatment against the German

populace. However, Germany had to compromise and sign the treaty against its will since the

Allies made a declaration to restart war if Germany refused to sign. They had to make The

Big 3 and the Treaty of Versailles a compelled compromise that eventually led to the official

signing, endorsement, and implementation of the treaty (Slavicek, 2010). The signing of the

agreement was on June 28, 1919. The process included Germans despite their earlier protest

against it. The outcome of the compromises concerning Wilson’s plan and the Fourteen

Points was the League of Nations. Germany, on the other hand, lost 25,000 square miles of

the territory gained during the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk.

Moreover, it had to give up all colonies. The Military restrictions made sure Germany was

incapable of renewing offensive action. Germany was to pay war reparations amounting that

included $5 billion in various currencies (gold, securities, commodities, ships), surrender to

Allies the occupied Rhineland and bridgeheads for 15 years; staged withdrawals would take

place upon compliance.

One outstanding argument is that the compromises reached to end WW1, having sidelined

Germany rendered the Treaty of Versailles as a means of making short-term peace and not a

long-term one. The treaty was not a signal of lasting peace but an armistice. Different

interests had merged to generate a compromise, which, unfortunately, did not consider the

interests of long-term peace. Therefore, the Treaty of Versailles was a contributory factor for

Germany to start a Second World War.