conflict and tension

• the big powers


  France, Britain, USA, Germany
• why were the countries big powers?

  they had lots of wealth and influence
• strengths of Britain WW1

  - generally large army

  - prosperous

  - won the war and could limit Germany
• weakness' Britain WW1


  - huge amount of men lost

  - spent lots of money on ammunition and supplies
• Strengths of France WW1

  - lots of land

  - lots of money

  - prosperous
• Weakness' France WW1


  -defence mentality due to WWI

  -political divisions

  - lost lots of land

  - was fought on French soil

  - lost money

  - land became unhabitable
• Germany Strengths


  - lots of land

  - good armed forces
• German weaknesses/failures:


  - lost the war

  - Economy devastated

  - lost much land

  - weakened greatly
• USA strengths


  - industrial businesses

  - reserve of natural resources

  - was far away from the action

  - able to supply their allies

  - after war able to exploit vast resources
• USA weaknesses


  - wanted to stay out of fighting

  - since they were involved in supplies it was hard not to join fight
• Russia weaknesses


  - heavy casualties

  - revolution from communists

  - Treaty of Brest- Litovsk with Germany meant they lost much land
• End of WW1


  - 1918

  - Kaiser abdicated and Germany became a republic

  - Armistice 11th November

  - Germany surrendered
• Problems with the Paris Peace conference

  - no one from defeated countries invited

  - tensions between the big three

  - the big three ignored expert advice
• what did the countries want to do? (Paris peace conference)

  - cripple Germany to prevent war

  - reward the winning countries

  - establish aid and lasting peace -reparations to help pay for damages
• Paris Peace Conference


  -Excluding Germany and Russia negotiated repercussions of the war, such leaders included Lloyd , Woodrow, Cleamancu and Italy.

  - treaty of Versailles made but not agreed to be signed and the conference proved unsuccessful.
• Armistice


  An agreement to stop fighting
• Concerns David Lloyd after WW1

  (germany)


  - if Germany was punished too harshly they could revolt

  - keen for Germany & Britain to trade again

  - Germany was Britain's largest trading partner
• Concerns David Lloyd after WW1

  (views of British)

  many people wanted a harsh treatment for Germany, they thought it was Germany's fault for the loss of men etc.
• David Lloyd's views on Germany's punishment

  - wanted to be punished but not so harshly it would lead to war

  -wanted Germany to loose colonies and Navy

  - Germany's navy was a threat to the British empire
• why did Lloyd not want Germany to be punished too harshly?

  - many British jobs relied on trade with Germany

  - if trade was lost he might loose an election
• What did Lloyd George want?

  gain Germany's colonies to expand his empire further, wanted Germany to be strong enough to keep its trade links, weaken Germany's navy due to naval supremacy
• what did Wilson want to do about Germany?

  - wanted Germany to be punished but not too harshly so that they didn't want revenge

  - Retain trade links
• Clemenceau's aims


  - France lost a lot of land due to the war and wanted it back

  - wanted to weaken Germany so it could not attack again

  - Did not want to look weak in front of the French so wanted harsh punishment

  - Reparations for damages
• why was France intimidated by Germany?

  Germany had a larger population and Germany was increasing its power well
• when was the treaty of versallies signed?

  1919
• Treaty of Versailles


  - 1919

  - attempted to please the countries except Germany

  - Military, Territory, reparations and war guilt
• Treaty of Versailles - Military restrictions

  - not over 100,000 soldiers

  - no submarines or aircraft

  - could not force men to join army

  - only 6 ships
• Treaty of Versailles - Territory changes

  - Alsace - Lorraine back to France

  - Rhineland demilitarised

  - North Schleswig to Denmark

  - Saarland to France for 15 years

  - West Prussia to Poland

  - Danzig was now a free city
• war guilt clause


  in treaty of Versailles; declared Germany and Austria responsible for WWI; ordered Germany to pay reparation to Allied powers
• how much did Germany lose?

  13% land, 12.5% population, 16% coal fields, almost half of its iron and steel industry
• Reparations (Treaty of Versailles)


  Wanted Germany to pay for damages caused which led up to 6.6 billion
• Germany was also


  forced to sign the treaty even though they were not present at the debate (diktat)
• How much of the treaty appeased the French

  - Germany was solely to blame

  - gained Alsace lorraine

  - Germany was severely weakened

  - some money to cover damage
• what did Clemenceau dislike about the treaty?

  - Saar was only gained for fifteen years

  - Reparations too low

  - Wanted Germany to have no army
• How much of the treaty appeased the British?

  - German military weakened so could not attack

  - Gained overseas colonies to expand British empire

  - German navy reduced
• What did Lloyd George hate about the Treaty?

  - Not enough recognition that Britain and Germany needed to re-establish trade links

  - Believed it was too harsh and would start another war
• Wilson + American opinions on the treaty

  - far too harsh

  - did not want to be too involved and did not sign into League of nations
• Why did the USA not join the League of Nations?

  - The 14 points were not recognised enough and therefore the USA refused to support the treaty
• what did Wilson dislike about the treaty?

  - reparations payments

  - failure to agree on disarment

  - failure to implement principle of self-determination
• Germany's reaction to the war guilt clause

  They disagreed that their reactions had been the main cause of the war and were humiliated that they were forced to take blame