The Great War
The causes, duration, and nature of the
war made a fair settlement doubtful.
The Evidence
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Central Powers
Triple Alliance
Dual Alliance
Entente Cordiale
Triple Entente
Moroccan Crisis of 1905
Moroccan Crisis of 1911
Balkan Crises 1912-13
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The Black Hand
blank check
Schlieffen Plan
David Lloyd George
Georges Clemenceau
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Woodrow Wilson
T. E. Lawrence
Winston Churchill
Helmuth von Moltke
Paul von Hindenburg
Vittorio Orlando
Ferdinand Foch
John Pershing
Battle of the Marne
Battle of Verdun
Battle of the Somme
Gallipoli Campaign
Lusitania
Zimmerman Telegram
Competition over colonial claims were the root cause
of World War I and directly affected the settlement.
 The Moroccan crisis of 1905 spurred hostilities between Germany and
France
 Another source of tension was competition between Austria - Hungary
and Russia over Ottoman territories in the Balkans
 France & Britain coveted Ottoman Arab lands. Both were interested in
trade in the eastern Mediterranean as well as in oil.
 During the negotiations at Versailles, Britain and France made sure that
they took the territories they wanted, in spite of promises during the
war and the principal of self-determination.
 Britain took East and West Africa and France got Cameroon from Germany
 They also divided the former Ottoman Arab areas, with France getting Syria and
Lebanon and Britain getting Palestine, Iraq, and Jordan.
 At the conference, Britain and France created the mandate system where their
rule over colonies was officially authorized by the League of Nations and
theoretically temporary.
The politics of blame made it hard to arrive at fair and
just settlement.
 Germany’s 1939 invasion of neutral Belgium as well as its support of
Austria-Hungary in its conflict with Serbia, was sufficient reason for
Britain and France to assign to Germany the blame for starting the
war.
 Once that responsibility was assigned, it was logical and just that
Germany had to pay for the cost of the war. Therefore, war
reparations were put into the treaty.
 This was an important issue particular for Britain, as the length of the
war had meant skyrocketing financial costs. Lloyd George had won the
election in 1916 with the promise that Germany would pay for the
war.
The terrible loss of human lives had direct impact on
peace negotiations.
 France felt vulnerable to Germany because of its smaller population.
Since most of the war on the western from was fought in France and
Belgium, France came to the negotiations wanting revenge and a
permanently weakened Germany as well as a buffer state between it
and Germany.
 Wilson and Lloyd George were able to reduce these demands
 smaller Germany with a small army, a few battleships, and no air force;
 A demilitarized Rhineland
 Return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
 A buffer state between Germany and Russia was made with the recreation
of Poland
Wilson’s 14 Points further complicated the treaty negotiations
 Wilson had articulated the need for an international body to prevent
future wars in his 14 Points. In order to get the agreement of France
and Britain for the League of Nations, Wilson did not insist on the
application of some of his other points, particularly selfdetermination.
 Wilson failed to get his own nation to join the his League of Nations.
The nature of the war made a fairly negotiated peace
nearly impossible.
 The length of the war, nearly 4 years, and its nature as a total war
involving civilians had meant that each nation launched propaganda
campaigns to keep civilian spirits up and committed to the war.
 Over time, such propaganda, combined with censorship of the press,
meant that hatred between the belligerents grew to such a degree that
only a harsh peace would suffice to satisfy the hostile emotions of the
populace.
 Therefore, the relatively equitable way that France was treated after
the Napoleonic wars was not possible in 1918;
 Germany was not invited to the peace conference
 Nor was consideration given to the fact that Germany had changed its
government to a republic