Treaty Of Versailles

In 1914 a world war initiated. It was supposed to be the war to end all wars but instead it was a war that demolished millions of lives, left many people without families that they used to have, and caused hatred that lasted for generations. After 4 years of destruction, an armistice was signed in 1918 to end the war until a peace treaty was agreed upon. Without options Germany had to sign the treaty or their country would immediately encounter invasion. On the 28th of June 1919, two Germans were forced to sign the peace treaty, in the Hall of Mirrors in the palace of Versailles, near Paris. The Treaty of Versailles was intended to be a peace agreement between the Allies and the Germans but instead it ended up causing more problems than it solved because it left Germany very poor, angry and ready for revenge.

World War I was started by a number of aspects but sparks of anger flew when the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand happened. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne in Sarajevo. He was killed by Gavrilo Princip. Austria-Hungary demanded action by Serbia to those responsible for the assassination. When Serbia failed to take any actions, Austria-Hungary decided to attack Serbia for revenge on July 28 1914. Russia, who was allied to Serbia, sent a vast army for defence against Austria-Hungary. Germany, who was allied to Austria-Hungary, viewed the Russian mobilisation as an act of war against Austria-Hungary, so Germany declared war with Russia on August 1 1914. Then one thing led to another when France, who was allied to Russia found itself at war against Germany and Britain joined after being allied to France. Since Britain entered the war, all of her colonies offered military and financial assistance. This included Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa. Japan entered the War followed by Italy and the United States. Within weeks, almost all of Europe was a part of the war because of the complex overlapping agreements of international alliances.

Bulgaria was the first to sign an armistice on September 29 1918 followed by Turkey, Austria and Hungary leading up to Germany who signed on November 11 1918. This armistice ended the war.

The Paris Peace Conference started in January 1919. The purpose of the meeting was to secure the terms of the peace after World War I. Although World War I had involved nearly 30 nations; the conference was dominated by the representatives of Britain, France, the United States and Italy, also known as the “Big Four”. Woodrow Wilson (President of the United States), David Lloyd George (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (Italy) and Georges Clemenceau (France); these men were the leaders of the major Allied countries and also the four main people involved in deciding the fate of Germany. Agreements at the Paris Peace Conference were not easy. Treaty negotiations were also affected by the absence of other important nations such ...