Short-Term Results of World War I
Paris Peace Conference
On November 11, 1918, representatives of France and Germany signed an armistice that ended the fighting. The
Paris Peace Conference major decision-makers were David Lloyd George of Britain, Georges Clemenceau of France,
Woodrow Wilson of the United States, and Vittorio Orlando of Italy. The victors did not allow Germany to take
part in the negotiations.
Treaty of Versailles
The Paris Peace Conference resulted in the Treaty of Versailles, the peace treaty with
Germany. Many historians see this document as fundamentally flawed and a direct
cause of World War II. The war-guilt clause of the treaty blamed Germany for causing
the war. The Germans were required to pay reparations (huge sums of money) to the
victorious allies for the war’s costs. Germany lost its colonies and also lost land to
France and Poland. Germany’s air force was eliminated, and its army and navy were
reduced to small, defensive forces.
(Left) A water-filled shell crater
(1918)
Soldiers wash in a water-filled shell
crater, St Julien, Belgium. Around
the edge of the crater are a number
of war-grave crosses, marking the
spot where troops were killed by
the shell blast.
Short-Term Results of World War I
League of Nations
 International
peace
organization;
enemy and
neutral nations
initially excluded
 Germany and
Russia excluded
The Treaty of Versailles: Major Provisions
Territorial Losses
Military Restrictions
 Germany
 Limits set on
returns Alsacethe size of the
Lorraine to
German army
France; French
 Germany
border
prohibited
extended to
from importing
west bank of
or
Rhine River
manufacturing
 Germany
weapons or
surrenders all
war material
of its overseas
 Germany
colonies in
forbidden to
Africa and the
build or buy
Pacific
submarines or
have an air
force
War Guilt
Sole
responsibility
for the war
placed on
Germany’s
shoulders
 Germany
forced to pay
the Allies $33
billion in
reparations
over 30 years

Other Consequences of the Conference
The delegates to the Paris Peace Conference changed the maps of Europe and the Middle East. The AustroHungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire were broken up. Russia, which had left the war early, lost territory.
After the war, new countries were formed, including Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia,
Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Turkey. Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan (formed from the old Ottoman
Empire) became mandates (colonies recognized by the League of Nations) of Britain and France.
League of Nations
One seemingly positive result of the peace conference was a new international
organization, the League of Nations. Its purpose was to prevent wars and keep the
peace through the process of collective security. This meant that its members would
defend one another against attack. As you will learn, the League did not live up to its
promise.
Flaws of the Conference
The Paris Peace Conference did not solve the problems that existed before the war. In fact, it created new ones.
Colonial territories did not gain their independence. Austria, Hungary, Italy, and other nations did not get all the
territories that they wanted. The United States, the number one world power, did not sign the treaty (Weakens
the League of Nations). Instead, for years the United States took an isolationist stand. It avoided foreign
commitments. The Treaty of Versailles embittered the German people. They especially resented the war-guilt
clause and the obligation to pay reparations.