World War II is generally viewed as having its roots in the aftermath of the First World War:

World War II is generally viewed as having its roots in the aftermath of the First World War:

I WW

The First World War (1914-18)
After the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), Europe and the United States experienced a period of relative peace. There was rapid industrial and commercial progress. The western powers expanded trade and colonies. However, national rivalries gradually grew and alliance camps emerged. Economic competition and arms race also became intense. The Balkans became a hotpot of western intervention, as the Ottoman Empire declined. Finally war broke out in 1914, a war which was unexpectedly disastrous and destructive in scale.

The First World War lasted for four years and three months. It began on August 4, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918. It involved sixty sovereign states, overthrew four Empires (German Empire, Hapsburg Empire, Turkish Empire, Russian Empire), gave birth to seven new nations, took ten million combatant lives (another 30 million were wounded).


The CAUSE OF THE WAR
The war was caused by a number of interwoven factors.
* National Rivalries
* Alliance System
* Militarism
* Economic Rivalries
* Colonial Rivalries
* Pre-war Crises

 Nationalism
There were two kinds of nationalism in 19th Century Europe:
1. The desire of subject peoples for independence.
It led to a series of national struggles for independence among the Balkan peoples
2. . The desire of independent nations for dominance and prestige
As the powers try to dominate each other in Europe, their rivalries may be regarded as one of the causes of the First World War.

Nationalism in Germany
Germany was united in 1871 as a result of the Franco-Prussian War, and she rapidly became the strongest economic and military power in Europe. From 1871 to 1890, Germany wanted to preserve her hegemony in Europe by forming a series of peaceful alliances with other powers. After 1890, Germany was more aggressive. She wanted to build up her influence in every part of the world. German foreign policy in these years was best expressed by the term 'Weltpolitik' (World Politics). Because German ambitions were extended to many parts of the globe, Germany came into serious conflicts with all other major powers of Europe (except Austria-Hungary) from 1890 to 1914.

Nationalism in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary was established as the Dual Monarchy in 1867. The Dual Monarchy ruled over a large empire consisting of many nationalities, but only the Austrians (racially they were German) and the Hungarians had the right to rule. The other nationalities Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, Rumanians and Poles resented their loss of political freedom. They desired for political independence. Thus the policy of the Dual Monarchy was to suppress the nationalist movements both inside and outside the empire. The particular object of the Dual Monarchy was to gain political control over the Balkan Peninsula, where nationalist movements were rife and were always giving encouragement to the nationalist movements within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Therefore the first enemy of Austria-Hungary from 1871 to 1914 was Serbia. Besides Serbia, Austria-Hungary also hated Russia because Russia, being a Slav country, always backed up Serbia in any Austro-Serbian disputes.

Nationalism in Russia
Russia was the largest and most populous country in Europe. Two thirds of her people were Slavs. She was still territorially ambitious. She wanted to expand in all directions. In 1870, Russia broke the Treaty of Paris and renewed her aggression in the Balkans. Thus, her territorial ambitions clashed with the interests of Austria-Hungary and Britain. However, Russia did not retreat. Being a 'landlocked' state, she wanted to acquire warm water ports in the Balkans. Moreover, as most of the Balkan peoples were of the Slavic race, Russia could claim to be the protector of her brother races in her expansion. In 1856, Russia was helped by Britain and France in the Crimean War. She was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris, which stopped her expansion into the Balkans from 1856 to 1870.
Nationalism in Britain
In 1870 Britain was the most industrially advanced country in Europe. She also possessed the largest overseas empire and the largest navy in the world. She did not want to trouble herself with the continental affairs of Europe. Her main concern was to preserve her overseas empire and her overseas trade by maintaining a large navy. Before 1890, her chief enemies were France and Russia. The colonial interests of France often clashed with those of Britain . (Britain and France had colonial rivalries in Asia and Africa--for example, India, Burma, Thailand, Egypt.). Britain wanted to establish her influence in the Balkans because the Balkan area borders the Mediterranean Sea. lf Russia controlled the Balkan area, British naval power and trade in the Mediterranean Sea would be threatened. After 1890, as Germany went on increasing her naval strength and threatened British naval supremacy and the British overseas interests, she became Britain's chief enemy.

Nationalism in Serbia
Serbia was centre of the nationalist movements in the Balkans. Serbia always hoped to unite with the Serbs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire so as to create a large Serbian state. The Serbian Black Hand had to assassinate Archduke Ferdinand because he wanted to convert the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (the Dual Monarchy) into a Triple Monarchy by the inclusion of Serbia. Although the Serbs might gain a certain degree of autonomy within the Triple Monarchy, their long cherished wish of creating a united Serbian state would be dashed to the ground. Francis Joseph, the reigning monarch was eighty-four years old and expected to die soon. Ferdinand's ideas might have a chance for realization very soon. The Black Hand thought that they should kill Ferdinand before it was too late. Some members of the Serbian cabinet knew the assassination plot in advance but did not stop it.

Nationalism in France
In 1871, France was defeated by Germany. She had to lose two provinces: Alsace and Lorraine. She also needed to pay heavy indemnities. From 1871 onwards, France's greatest ambition was to recover Alsace and Lorraine from Germany. She also wanted to prevent another defeat by Germany, to recover her national prestige by acquiring overseas colonies (e.g. Morocco) and to make diplomatic alliances with other important powers in Europe.



Nationalism in Italy
Italy was unified in 1870. She was barely powerful enough to be counted as a great power. Her parliamentary system was corrupt and inefficient. Her industrial progress was slow. But Italy had great territorial ambitions. She wanted Tunis and Tripoli in northern Africa. This brought her into conflicts with France because Tunis was adjacent to the French colony, Algeria, and was long regarded by France as French sphere of influence. Italy also wanted Italia Irredenta--Trieste, Trentio and Tyrol. Although the majority of the people in these places were Italians, they were kept under the rule of the Dual Monarchy . Thus Italy came into serious conflicts with Austria-Hungary


 Alliance System
The alliance system was started by Bismarck, the German Chancellor from 1871 to 1890. After the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck held that Germany was a "satiated state" which should give up ideas of further conquest. Thus Bismarck organized a system of alliances designed to maintain Germany's hegemony on the European continent. France was determined to challenge the hegemony of Germany because France had been defeated by Germany in 1871 and had been forced to cede two provinces (Alsace-Lorraine) to Germany. Bismarck tried to befriend Austria, Russia, Italy and Britain in order to isolate France.
A loose web of alliances around the European nations (many of them requiring participants to agree to collective defense if attacked):
• Treaty of London, 1839, about the neutrality of Belgium,
• German-Austrian treaty (1879) or Dual Alliance,
• Italy joining Germany and Austria in 1882,
• Franco-Russian Alliance (1894),
• "Entente" (less formal) between Britain and France (1904) and Britain and Russia (1907) forming the Triple Entente,
The alliance systems were one of most important cause of the First World War:
 The alliances were made in secret and so produced much distrust and suspicion among the European powers.
 The alliances were always made on a war-footing and so heightened the war tension and led to an arms race among the European powers. For example, within four years after the formation of the Triple Entente in 1907, Germany built nine dreadnoughts (battleships) and consequently Britain built eighteen. Thus all the European powers were ready for war in 1914.
 The alliances were originally strictly defensive but by 1910, many alliances had changed their character. The Austro-German alliance of 1879 was so modified that it had become an aggressive alliance after the Bosnian crisis in 1909, the German government promised to give military aid to Austria-Hungary, if Austria invaded Serbia and Russia intervened on behalf of the latter. As alliances had become instruments of national aggression, the chances of war doubled.
 After the formation of the Triple Entente, Germany began to feel the threat to her security. The German press loudly talked about "encirclement", i.e. being surrounded by enemies on all sides. This induced the aggressive William II to pursue a more vigorous foreign policy in an attempt to break the unity of the Entente powers. This resulted in a series of international crises from 1905 to 1914


 Militarism
Militarism denoted
 a rise in military expenditure, an increase in military and naval forces, more influence of the military men upon the policies of the civilian government, and a preference for force as a solution to problems.

 Increase in military control of the civilian government. After 1907, there was an increase in military influence on policy making. This could be reflected particularly in Germany and Russia. The German Army at this period was called a "State within the State". The parliament and the politicians had to follow the General Staff. They had no say in the army's design to preserve the Fatherland. In 1914, the Russian generals were also able to force the Czar to accept full mobilization. They threatened him with the danger of defeat if he acted contrarily.

 An increase in military cooperation among the army of the countries of the same camp. For example, all the three Entente powers held secret military talks. The British and the French naval authorities agreed that the French navy should be concentrated in the Mediterranean and the British in the North Sea. Germany and Austria also had military agreements. When the First World War was fought, it was to be fought by all powers because they had made the military plan cooperatively.
As a result of the armaments race, all the European powers were prepared for a war by 1914.


 Economic Rivalries
There were economic conflicts between Germany and Britain from 1890 onwards. Since 1871 Germany had been experiencing a period of rapid industrialization, and by 1890 the products of her industry were competing with British manufactures everywhere in the globe and German merchant ships threatened Britain's carrying trade.
There were also economic struggles between Germany and France. In 1870 France had already lost two of her coal producing provinces--Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. From 1871 onwards, France had to import coal from other countries. Thus France had to compete with Germany in Morocco because the place was rich in mineral resources.
Germany and Austria also rivalled with Russia in the Balkans for commercial privileges. As early as 1888 Germany began to build a railway in the area. Austria regarded the area as a field for profitable investment and as a big market for her manufactured goods. Russia also hoped to control the area because half of her exports passed through this area.

 A Minor Cause
Thus economic rivalries played a minor part in causing the First World War. Undoubtedly economic rivalries played a considerable part in creating international tensions in the 43 years before the First World War.
As a matter of fact the commercial rivalry between Germany and Russia in the Balkans was not keen, for Russia was not yet a fully industrialized nation with a surplus of products to be sold abroad.
The trade rivalry between Britain and Germany had also eased off in the ten years before the war because they developed their markets in different parts of the world. Britain within her own Empire, and Germany on the continent of Europe.


 Colonial Rivalries
After 1870, the European nations began to acquire colonies in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Their imperialistic activities accelerated from 1880 onwards.
 In Africa, all the European powers except Austria and Russia had colonies there. Thus there were many clashes among France, Britain, Germany and Italy. For example, France rivalled with Italy over Tunis and with Germany over Morocco.
 Colonial rivalry led indirectly to the formation and strengthening of alliances and ententes. Italy turned to Germany and Austria when she lost Tunis to France in 1881. Russia and Britain could patch up their differences and form an entente in 1907 as a result of their mutual fear of Germany's expansionist activities in the Balkans. Russia, Britain and France could become firm friends after 1907 partly because of aggressive attitude of Germany in both the first and the second Moroccan crises.
 Colonial rivalry led to much hostility among the powers. In the first and the second Moroccan crises, war nearly resulted. France and Britain nearly came to war over their rivalry in the Sudan in 1898.

 A Minor Cause
Thus colonial rivalry had little to do with the outbreak of the First World War.
After 1905 colonial issues became less important as the powers turned back to Europe and Europe remained their centre of rivalry. As stated earlier, from 1904 to 1907, Britain, France and Russia were able to settle their colonial disputes by the Anglo-French Entente and the Anglo-Russian Entente. By 1914 colonial disputes had greatly diminished.


 Pre-war Crises (International Crises 1905-1913)
Early in the twentieth century, the European powers had formed themselves into two rival groups: the TRIPLE ENTENTE versus the TRIPLE ALLIANCE. The policies of these groups began to clash in many parts of the world. Altogether there were four important clashes from 1905 to 1913: two arising out of the Moroccan question, and two concerning disputes in the Balkans. Whenever a clash arose, the two groups seemed to be on the point of war.
1. First Moroccan Crisis 1905-06
2. Bosnian Crisis 1908-09
3. Second Moroccan Crisis 1911
4. Balkan Wars 1912-13



The immediate cause
The immediate cause of war was the assassination on 28 June 1914 of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist.

Ferdinand's death at the hands of the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist secret society, set in train a mindlessly mechanical series of events that culminated in the world's first global war.

Austria-Hungary's reaction to the death of their heir (who was in any case not greatly beloved by the Emperor, Franz Josef, or his government) was three weeks in coming.
Arguing that the Serbian government was implicated in the machinations of the Black Hand, the Austro-Hungarians opted to take the opportunity to stamp its authority upon the Serbians, crushing the nationalist movement there and cementing Austria-Hungary's influence in the Balkans.

It did so by issuing an ultimatum to Serbia which, in the extent of its demand that the assassins be brought to justice effectively nullified Serbia's sovereignty. Austria-Hungary's expectation was that Serbia would reject the remarkably severe terms of the ultimatum, thereby giving her a pretext for launching a limited war against Serbia.

 Austrian intention to destroy Serbia
Austria considered the murder of the heir to the throne an open Serbian attack on the existence of the Dual Monarchy because if Francis Joseph died Austria would be left without an heir. Although she could not find any evidence that the Serbian government was connected with the assassination, Austria consciously exploited the occasion to destroy Serbia as a state to put an end to the Serbian threat to the existence of the Dual Monarchy for ever. The crisis between Austria-Hungary and Serbia could have been a localized issue. But a war with Serbia might lead to a war with Russia. Thus Austria wanted to be assured of German support.

 German support
The German Kaiser decided to support Austria because he regarded Austria as the only ally of Germany and because he believed that the Russian Zar would not come to help Serbia in a war involving the death of a future monarch. On July 6, Germany assured Austria that should there be an Austro-Serbian war, Germany would stand by her (Austrian) side and give her unlimited support as an ally.
Austria was still determined to destroy Serbia. After declaring the Serbian reply unsatisfactory, the Austrian government declared war on July 28. The bombardment of Belgrade began on July 29.


Russian mobilization
The Serbian ally, Russia, learnt of the ultimatum on July 24. On July 26 the Czar reassured the Serbian crown prince that "Russia will in no case be indifferent to the fate of Serbia." Russia certainly could not bear humiliations from Germany any more; if she failed to defend Serbia again and again, Russia could no longer set her foot on the Balkans as the leader of the Slav nations. The Russian Czar was probably encouraged by the French to take a firm stand against Germany, for France had learnt of the Schlieffen War Plan . France urged Russia to mobilize for fear of an immediate German attack. After the bombardment of Belgrade on July 30, the Czar was persuaded by his ministers and Chief of staff to order full mobilization.

German declaration of war
Germany feared that she would face attacks from both Russia and France. Germany demanded Russia to stop her mobilization at once. Russia refused. Germany at once declared war on Russia on August 1.

Britain joined the war
On August 4, according to the Schlieffen Plan, the German troops crossed the Belgian frontier. On the same day the British government declared war on Germany. There were two reasons which prompted Britain to take action at once. Firstly, German invasion of Belgium had aroused British opinion against Germany because the country had been guaranteed as a neutral state by all great powers in 1839 in the Treaty of London. Now the German invasion had treated the treaty as a scrap of paper and so committed a moral crime. Secondly, no British government would tolerate the domination of Belgium by any powerful continental nation because it directly endangered the security of Britain. (Belgium was separated from Britain by a narrow channel only.)

Italy and the Allies
Italy refused to support Germany and Austria on the ground that Austria was the aggressor.
Her real purpose in staying out was to bargain for territory. Because her irredentist claims were directed against Austria, only one outcome was possible.
In May 1915, after concluding a secret treaty (Treaty of London the 26 of April) with the Entente powers, who promised her nearly all the Austrian and Turkish territories that she wanted, Italy entered the War against her former allies.



One Thing Led to Another
The events of July and early August 1914 are a classic case of "one thing led to another". We have the following remarkable sequence of events that led inexorably to the 'Great War' - a name that had been touted even before the coming of the conflict.
* Austria-Hungary, unsatisfied with Serbia's response to her ultimatum (which in the event was almost entirely placatory: however her jibbing over a couple of minor clauses gave Austria-Hungary her sought-after cue) declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914.
* Russia, bound by treaty to Serbia, announced mobilisation of its vast army in her defence, a slow process that would take around six weeks to complete.
* Germany, allied to Austria-Hungary by treaty, viewed the Russian mobilisation as an act of war against Austria-Hungary, and after scant warning declared war on Russia on 1 August.
* France, bound by treaty to Russia, found itself at war against Germany and, by extension, on Austria-Hungary following a German declaration on 3 August. Germany was swift in invading neutral Belgium so as to reach Paris by the shortest possible route.
* Britain, allied to France by a more loosely worded treaty which placed a "moral obligation" upon her to defend France, declared war against Germany on 4 August. Her reason for entering the conflict lay in another direction: she was obligated to defend neutral Belgium by the terms of a 75-year old treaty. With Germany's invasion of Belgium on 4 August, and the Belgian King's appeal to Britain for assistance, Britain committed herself to Belgium's defence later that day. Like France, she was by extension also at war with Austria-Hungary.
* With Britain's entry into the war, her colonies and dominions abroad variously offered military and financial assistance, and included Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa.
* United States President Woodrow Wilson declared a U.S. policy of absolute neutrality, an official stance that would last until 1917 when Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare - which seriously threatened America's commercial shipping (which was in any event almost entirely directed towards the Allies led by Britain and France) - forced the U.S. to finally enter the war on 6 April 1917.
* Japan, honouring a military agreement with Britain, declared war on Germany on 23 August 1914. Two days later Austria-Hungary responded by declaring war on Japan.
* Italy, although allied to both Germany and Austria-Hungary, was able to avoid entering the fray by citing a clause enabling it to evade its obligations to both. In short, Italy was committed to defend Germany and Austria-Hungary only in the event of a 'defensive' war; arguing that their actions were 'offensive' she declared instead a policy of neutrality. The following year, in May 1915, she finally joined the conflict by siding with the Allies against her two former allies.


Course of the War 1914-18
Two sides of the war
In the First World War, the Allies, which made up of 27 states including France, Britain, Russia, Italy , the United States, Rumania, Greece, Serbia and Japan, fought against the Central Powers including Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria. At the beginning of the war, the Central Powers scored some victories because Russia was too poorly equipped for the war, and Britain and France could not coordinate and concentrate their efforts to fight.
Victory of the Allies
Later, after the entry of the United States into the war in 1917, the tide began to turn against the Central Powers. The Allies finally defeated the Central Powers in November 1918 was signed all the armistice. In January 10 1920 the first meeting of the League of Nations signed the official end of World War IThe chief reasons for the defeat of the Central Powers were as follows:
(1) 27 Allied states fought against 4 Central Powers, so the Allied states had more manpower and more resources.
(2) The Allied states had almost complete control of the seas, so they could successfully blockade the German coastline and starve the Central Powers of food and raw materials.
(3) The Allied states had moral support due to their claim to fight for democracy.


Results of the First World War
The fighting in World War I ended when the Armistice took effect at 11:00 am GMT on November 11, 1918. In the aftermath of the war the political, cultural, and social order of the world was drastically changed in many places, even outside the areas directly involved in the war. New countries were formed, old ones were abolished, international organizations were established, and many new and old ideas took a firm hold in people's minds.

RUSSIA
Perhaps the single most important event precipitated by the privations of World War I was the Russian Revolution of 1917. A socialist revolutionary wave occurred in many other European countries from 1917 onwards, notably in Germany and Hungary.
As a result of the Russian Provisional Governments' failure to cede territory, German and Austrian forces defeated the Russian armies, and the new communist government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918.

In that treaty, Russia renounced all claims to Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland (specifically, the formerly Russian-controlled Congress Poland of 1815) and Ukraine, and it was left to Germany and Austria-Hungary "to determine the future status of these territories in agreement with their population." Later on, Lenin's government renounced also the Partition of Poland treaty, making it possible for Poland to claim its 1772 borders.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was rendered obsolete when Germany was defeated later in 1918, leaving the status of much of eastern Europe in an uncertain position.


Paris Peace Conference 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors in World War I to set the peace terms for Germany and other defeated nations, and to deal with the empires of the defeated powers following the Armistice of 1918.
The conference opened on 18 January 1919. It came to a close on 21 January 1920 with the inaugural General Assembly of the League of Nations.

Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, Clemenceau, the Prime Minister of France, and Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Britain, known as the Big Three, made all the decisions of the Conference.
The decisions of the Big Three were influenced by five factors:
1. Secret Treaties: While the war was being fought, there were a series of agreements made among the Allies for dividing up the spoils. In March 1915, France was promised Alsace-Lorraine, control of the left bank of the Rhine and German colonies in Africa while Britain was allowed to take over German colonies in Africa and the Pacific. In April of the same year, Italy was tempted to join the war on the side of the Allies by promises of Austrian and Turkish territory. In August 1916, Rumania was promised territories in Transylvania and Bukovina. The Big Three had to respect these treaties when they were making the territorial settlement after the war.
2. New States: Before the Conference opened in January 1919, the Russian and the Austro-Hungarian Empires had collapsed. Within these empires, there arose many new states—Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The Big Three had to accept the existence of these new states when they were making the territorial settlement after the war.
3. Communist Russia: Since November 1917, there was a communist government in Russia. The Big Three wanted to strengthen the neighbouring states of Russia so that they could form a "cordon sanitaire" to protect Europe against the spread of Communism.
4. After-war bitterness: During the war, the Allied governments had done their best to arouse the patriotism of their own people. Immediately after the war, the people of the Allied countries still had a fierce hatred against the enemy nations. Because they had suffered so much during the war, they brought pressure on their governments to exact heavy compensation from the losers.
5. Conflict between the objectives of the Big Three:

Wilson's Fourteen Points
The Fourteen Points was a speech delivered by United States President Woodrow Wilson to a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1918.
Wilson's ideals consisted of a removal of all the basic causes of the First World War (namely armaments race, secret diplomacy, economic rivalry and the struggle of the oppressed nationalities to get independence) and the formation of an international organization to promote the political and economic cooperation of the whole world.

 The first main theme of Wilson's Fourteen Points was the granting of national independence to all the 'oppressed peoples!'. In practice this involved the following points.
(a) Impartial adjustment of colonial claims: the settlement of colonial problems with reference to the interests of colonial peoples (point five);
(b) Germany's surrender of her past conquests:
Evacuation by the Germans of all Russian territory (point six).
Evacuation by the Germans of all Belgian territory (point seven).
Evacuation by the Germans of Alsace-Lorraine (the French territory) (point eight).
(c) The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Turkish Empire and the granting of independence to all the oppressed nationalities:
Italian frontier to extend northward to recover some land from Austria-Hungary (point nine).
Autonomous development for the people of Austria-Hungary (point ten).
Rumania, Serbia and Montenegro to be independent (point eleven).
Peoples under Turkish rule to be autonomous (point twelve).
An independent Poland (point thirteen).

 The second main theme was that there should be
Open Diplomacy (according to point one - all diplomacy and negotiation between states should be carried on openly),
Open Sea (according to point two - there should be absolute freedom of navigation of the seas both in peace and war, except in territorial waters),
Open Trade (according to point three - trade conditions for nations should be fair and equal and there should not be any tariff barriers between them),
Disarmament (according to point four - armaments should be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety only). In other words,

 The third theme was that an international association of nations should be established (point fourteen).
This association would not only guarantee the independence of all nations but would also do its very best to further their prosperity by promoting international cooperation in economic and social spheres.

Clemenceau
Clemenceau did not pay any high regard to the wishes of the oppressed nationalities to gain independence. His basic aims when he came to the Conference were to give to France first of all, her two lost provinces—Alsace and Lorraine; secondly, security against any possible German aggression in the years to come. To realize his second aim, he wanted to weaken Germany permanently by confiscating all her colonies and her past conquests, by depriving her of armed forces, by exacting heavy reparations from her and by creating a buffer state between Germany and France. This might be regarded as a policy of 'realism'. French hatred of Germany was excusable. It was Germany that effectively started the war with an attack on France through Belgium. France had in 1871 suffered a defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, and demanded revenge for its financial devastation during the First World War (and its humiliation in the earlier war), which ensured that the various peace treaties.
As France was next to Germany, she always feared another German aggression.


Lloyd George
Lloyd George has been pressured by the complicated political and social situation and anti-German public opinion which said that Germany must pay for the war In the meantime, he also understood that excessively heavy reparations and exceedingly harsh political terms were imposed impoverished Germany too much. A poor and Germany would also render herself to be a poor customer of British goods.
A settlement with moderate, terms on Germany suited Britain's long-term interests. As a result, this tactful politician tried his best to smooth over the differences between the extreme viewpoints of Wilson and Clemenceau.




Peace Treaties
At the Paris Peace Conference were prepared the Peace Treaties. The outcome of the efforts of Lloyd George was that the Versailles settlement, taken as a whole, appeared to be a compromise between Wilson's pacifist ideals and Clemenceau's revengeful attitude.

The Big Three, first of all, drew up the Covenant of the League of The Nations. They decided that the Covenant should be included in each of the peace treaties. The peace treaties they drew up were as follows:
(1) Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919.
(2) Austria signed the Treaty of St. Germain (September 1919)
(3) Bulgaria signed the Treaty of Neuilly (November 1919).
(4) Hungary signed the Treaty of Trianon (June 1920)
(5) Turkey signed the Treaty of Sevres (8/1920) & Lausanne (7/1923).


Treaty of Versailles (1919)
The Treaty reflected chiefly two basic ideas: punishment of the defeated and the maintenance of the principle of self-determination. These two basic ideas were also reflected in the other treaties.

1) Territories:
Germany was to lose all her past conquests. These were to be returned to their own national units.
In the south-west, Alsace and Lorraine were returned to France. The Saar, the coal-producing area of Germany, was brought under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years. After this time, there would be a plebiscite in the Saar to decide its future. In the meantime, France was to operate its coal mines so as to compensate the damage done to the French mines during the war.
Poland was recreated as a state. Poland, in view of the communist threat from the north, was to be strengthened by:
(a) the cession of a large part of East Prussia,
(b) the cession of Posen so that she might have access to the sea (This was termed as the Polish Corridor. To safeguard Polish control of the corridor, Danzig was made a free international city under the League even though the port was predominantly German in population.),
(c) the acquisition of two-fifths of Upper Silesia even though Germans outnumbered the Poles by about five to three in the area. Memel was given first to the League of Nations, which ultimately passed the place of Lithuania.
Germany lost all her colonies in Africa and the Pacific. Most of them were transferred to the League of Nations which allowed the victorious powers such as Britain, France, Belgium, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan to rule over them as Mandates.
Germany's territorial losses were severe (about 13% of her land and 7 million of her former population had to be given up) although these losses constituted chiefly her past conquests. Moreover, she was forbidden to enter into any union with Austria.

2) Disarmament:
Germany was almost totally disarmed. She was allowed an army of 100,000 men to be recruited by voluntary enlistment and six small battleships of less than 10,000 tons. Submarines and aeroplanes were strictly forbidden. The Rhineland would be occupied by the Allied forces for 15 years, during which it would remain permanently demilitarized.

3) War-guilt and Reparations:
In the Treaty all the whole blame of provoking the First World War was put on Germany. This is historically incorrect and so constituted a great hurt to the German national pride.
This 'war-guilt clause' provided the Allied justification for war trials and reparations. In 1921 the Reparations Commission decided that Germany had to pay £6,600 million in reparations.
This figure was considered too large, for the reparations covered not only direct loss and damage as a result of the war but also indirect war expenditure such as allowances paid to families of soldiers, the cost of maintaining Allied occupation in the Rhine and the war loans of the Belgian government. Part of the reparations was to be paid in annual instalments, part in ships, coal and other kinds of goods.
Germany clearly paid a heavy price for her defeat. The war-guilt clause and the accompanying clause concerning reparations were clearly made in a spirit of revenge. Germany clearly paid a heavy price for her defeat. The war-guilt clause and the accompanying clause concerning reparations were clearly made in a spirit of revenge. The German resentment of the Treaty helped the rise of Hitler in the 1930's.

Treaty of St. Germain (September 1919)
Like Germany, Austria was punished for provoking World War I and much of her territory was given up to the newly-created states which were formed as a result of the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the War. In most of the cases, the subject peoples of the Hapsburg Empire were now returned to land of the same nationality. The principle of self-determination was asserted once more.
Her territorial losses included:
Trieste, Istria, and part of Tyrol were given to Italy,
Bohemia including the Sudetenland, Moravia and part of Silesia to new state of Czechoslovakia, Bukovina to Rumania,
Bosnia, Herzegovina and Dalmatia to new state of Yugoslavia,
and Galicia to Poland.
The principle of severe punishment was at the same time meted out to Austria.
Firstly, in the vast territories lost by the Austrians, there lived millions of Austrian.
Secondly, the much reduced Austria was forbidden to unite with Germany. This was a severe blow to the survival of Austria because Austrian goods had always depended upon the German market. Thirdly, Austria had to pay reparations and had to be disarmed to the lowest limit.
All in all, the Austrian portion of the Dual Monarchy was deprived of 3/4 of her former area and 3/4 of her people. She became a land-locked state with little economic resources.

Treaty of Trianon (June 1920)
Hungary was similarly treated. Under the principle of national independence and freedom, Hungary lost 3/4 of her territory and 2/3 of her people. Croatia was given to Yugoslavia, Transylvania to Rumania, and Ruthenia and Slovakia to Czechoslovakia.
Punishment was also a bit too much for Hungary. Firstly, much of the land ceded by Hungary contained many Hungarians. About 3 million Hungarians (Magyars) lived in the neighboring states as a result of the Treaty. Secondly, a severe blow was dealt to her economic progress because most of her industrial areas were lost and her concessions to Yugoslavia deprived her of access to the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Sea. Like Austria, she became a landlocked state. Thirdly, she had to pay her reparations and limit her armed forces.

Treaty of Neuilly (November 1919)
Bulgaria had to give up western Macedonia to Yugoslavia, western Some Thrace to Greece, and Dobruja to Rumania. These territorial losses were by no means severe. But the Bulgarians were not satisfied with the Treaty. Firstly, the reparations and loss of western Thrace to Greece not only deprived Bulgaria of her only access to the Mediterranean Sea but placed many Bulgarians under the rule of the Greeks (because western Thrace was inhabited by many Bulgarians). Secondly, like the other defeated powers, Bulgaria needed to pay her reparations and limit her armed forces.
Treaty of Sevres (8/1920) & Lausanne (7/1923)
The Treaty of Sevres met with immediate failure because the Big Three had almost completely discarded the principle of nationalism in making this treaty. They partitioned Turkey as a colony. Besides granting independence to Saudi Arabia and Armenia, the victors almost divided up Turkey among themselves as spoils. Syria and Lebannon were mandated to France, while Palestine, Trans Jordan and Iraq were mandated to Britain. Rhodes and the Dodecanese were given to Italy. Eastern Thrace, Adrianople and Smyrna were obtained by Greece. Even the Straits of Dardanelles and Bosporous were put under international control.
Soon after the Sultan had signed the treaty, a nationalist military leader, Mustapha Kemal immediately led a nationalist movement to overthrow the Sultan's government. In November 1922 the Sultan was deposed. Kemal demanded a new treaty. He also began a war to reconquer the land occupied by the powers. The powers were tired of war, and only Greece was intent on holding her territorial acquisitions. Greece fought with the Turks but after a short while she was defeated.
The resulting new Treaty of Lausanne was signed on July 24, 1923. Unlike all the above-mentioned treaties, it was decided not by the Big Three. Russia, Italy, Greece, Rumania, Yugoslavia and, most important of all, Turkey also participated in the drafting of the treaties.
By the new treaty, Turkey gave up her claims to non-Turkish territories. They became mandates according to the Treaty of Sevres. But Turkey recovered purely Turkish territories (i.e., eastern Thrace). She retained Constaintinople, Adrianople and the land lying between them. Moreover, she had no need to pay reparations and limit her armed forces.
The Treaty of Lausanne turned out to be the most successful treaty because it was the only negotiated peace treaty and Turkey was treated as a nation but not as a defeated enemy.


Criticism of the Versailles Settlement
Some of the criticism which has been made against the Versailles Settlement:
1) The peace settlement was made by the Big Three and the defeated states were never allowed to discuss the terms.
2) The punishment on Germany was somewhat excessive, since a democratic government had come to power.
3) The victorious powers did not disarm, even though the defeated powers had been disarmed to the lowest level.
4) There were many cases in which the Big Three abandoned the principle of nationality when they were making the territorial settlement — for example, Rumania obtained Transylvania where more than half of the population were Hungarians. Italy obtained South Tyrol where the majority of population was Austrian Germans.

Thus the defeated powers were suspicious of the intentions of the victorious powers and had deep resentment against the Versailles Settlement


General Effects of the First World War
The First World War had far-reaching repercussions on the political and economic developments of Europe.
 After the First World War, there was little political stability in Europe.
1. In eastern Europe, the new states, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland were always threatened by the rapid increase in national strength of Russia.
2. In central Europe, the Germans always longed for a revision of the Treaty of Versailles. They would give full support to a government which advocated a strong foreign policy.
3. In southern Europe, the Italians also harboured ill-feeling towards the Versailles Settlement because the Big Three failed to realize the territorial ambitions of Italy as were promised in the Treaty of London of 1915.
4. There were only two states in Europe which hoped to preserve the Versailles Settlement. They were Britain and France. Especially France was gravely weakened by the war, it is doubtfu1 that she would be willing to make a costly war against any aggressors who were determined to revise the Versailles Settlement.

 The First World War left crushing economic burdens on all the European countries. The economic burdens of the European governments were multiplied when they had to rehabilitate devastated areas, to pay pensions to the wounded and to the relatives of the dead and to pay the interest due on the public and foreign debts. To add to the economic burdens of the European governments, trade and industry did not revive after the war. There was mass unemployment in Italy, Germany, Britain and France shortly after the war. The immediate result was that in Italy the people were so discontented with their government that they overthrew it. The long term result was that to solve their economic problems, most of the European nations tried to become economically self-sufficient and to keep out the products of other countries by building high tariff walls. Economic nationalism was a bad omen for the peace of Europe.


Italy's after-war bitterness
In the 1915 Italy had been persuaded to join the Triple Alliance against the central powers by the promises to gain land contained in the Treaty of London .
The Treaty offered to Italy the Trentino and the Tyrol as far as Brenner, Trieste and Istria, all the Dalmatian coast except Fiume, full ownership of Albanian Valona and a protectorate over Albania, Antalya in Turkey and a share of Turkish and German Empires in Africa.

Vittorio Orlando was sent as the Italian representative with the aim of gaining these and as much other territory as possible. The loss of 700,000 Italians and a budget deficit of 12,000,000,000 Lire during the war made the Italian government and people feel entitled to these territories. There was an especially strong opinion for control of Fiume, which they believed was rightly Italian due to the Italian population.

Nevertheless, by the end of the war the allies had made contradictory agreements with other nations, especially in Central Europe and the Middle-East. The pact was nullified with the Treaty of Versailles, because President Woodrow Wilson, supporting Slavic claims and not recognizing the treaty, rejected Italian requests on Dalmatian territories.

The Great powers were only willing to offer Trentino to the Brenner, the Dalmatian port of Zara, the Island of Lagosta and a couple of small German colonies. All other territories were promised to other nations and the great powers were worried about Italy's imperial ambitions. As a result of this, Orlando left the conference in a rage and refuse to sign the Teatry of Versailles.
This event it's a representation of the critics linked to the Teatry of Versailles. The decisions contained in the teatry had drastic aftermath for Italy.

With the Treaty of Versailles Italy had been cheated out of the territories it had been promised by it’s wartime allies. It became known as the “vittoria mutilata” (mutilated victory), and produced a deep sense of resentement as feeling grew up that Italian sacrifice had not been rewarded and that the great power was not taking Italy’s claims seriously. The war had touched all the population. In Italy, as in other belligerant countries, many promises had been made concerning social and economic improvments once victory had been achieved and the postwar reconversion slump hundreds of thousands persons were out of work.

These condition produced drastic political and social changes that contributed to the rise of fascism. With economic problems and unemployment facing recently returned veterans of World War I, fascism appealed to honouring soldiers and the military by calling for the end of anti-patriotic bourgeois individualism. Moreover there were in all the country the perceptions of failures of democratic government which had failed to justify the costs of war and to guarantee an economical stability.
The fascism was a response to the failings of democracy and to fear of the economical power about a communistic revolution in Italy.