History AQA Conflict & Tension

• Armistice signed between Germany, France, Britain and the USA


  11 November 1918
• Armistice terms


  1. Demilitarisation of the Rhineland

  2. Surrender of ships, machine guns and planes

  3. Blockade of German ports continued
• German leader Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated


  Early November
• Aims of the Big Three

  • George Clemenceau
  • David Lloyd George
  • Woodrow Wilson
• George Clemenceau


  • Wanted revenge
  • Wanted Germany to be crippled so much it could never attack France again
  • Wanted armed forces reduced and Germany's border to be pushed back to the river Rhine
  • Also wanted Germany to pay compensation to rebuild France
• David Lloyd George


  • Elected by the parliament to make Germany pay
  • More cautious than Georges Clemenceau because he was concerned that if Germany was treated too harshly then Germany might take revenge
  • Thought that a strong Germany in the centre of Europe would prevent advances of communism
  • Wanted Germany to stay strong enough for trading
  • Wanted to gain German colonies
  • Wanted to keep British Navy the most powerful so wanted their navy reduced
• Woodrow Wilson


  • No fighting took place in USA
  • Very idealistic
  • Made lots of money by selling weapons to allies
  • Wanted a future where everyone is treated fairly
  • Suggested a world parliament - LoN
  • Believed in self determination
  • Freedom of the seas - sail trading ships anywhere
  • 14 points
• Over 30 countries were represented in the Paris Peace Conference in France
• What the Big Three wanted

  • Clemenceau wanted army for the LoN but the other two didn't and there was no army
  • Independent Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia
  • All agreed that Germany would be blamed
  • Germany's colonies were taken away and became mandates controlled by the LoN
  • Germany army reduced but not too much to prevent communists
  • France wanted Rhineland to be an independent country, instead it was demilitarised
  • France controlled the Saar
• Treaty of Versailles signed

  28 June 1919
• Germany called the Treaty of Versailles a Diktat


  (a dictated peace treaty)
• Terms of the Treaty of Versailles

  • German Navy limited to 15,000 men, 1,500 officers + 6 battleships
  • Article 231 - War Guilt Clause
  • Rhineland demilitarised
  • Article 232 - Reparations, in 1921 the figure was decided at 6.6 Billion pounds and would take until 1988 to pay back
  • Anschluss was forbidden
  • League of Nations formed
  • No tanks, submarines or air force
  • Germany limited to 100,000 men and conscription was not allowed
  • Germany split in two by the Polish corridor
  • Saar put in control of LoN for 15 years
  • Germany's colonies in Africa given as mandates to the league
  • Lost 13% of land including Alsace Lorraine, Eupen and Malmedy, North Schleswig
• Reactions to the Treaty of Versailles

  • Britain: David Lloyd George - "We will have to fight another war in 25 years time, and at three times the cost"
  • Pleased they gained colonies and Navy reduced but felt reparations and territory losses too harsh
  • The German economy too crippled to trade with anyone
  • John Maynard Keynes said reparations would destroy the European economy
• Statistics of the Treaty of Versailles

  • Lost 13% land
  • Lost all overseas colonies e.g. Togoland and Cameroon
  • Lost its most important port of Danzig
  • Lost the Saar and Upper Silesia, important industry
  • Lost 26% of its coal resources
  • France would receive 50% of the reparations
  • 6 million German speaking people living outside Germany
  • North Schleswig to Denmark
  • Memel to Lithuania
• Marshal Ferdinand Foch, French General: 'This is not a peace, it is an armistice for 20 years'
• Archbishop of Canterbury: 'He was very uncomfortable with the treaty'
• 763,000 Germans died from starvation
• Other Peace Treaties


  • Treaty of Saint Germain (Austria)
  • Treaty of Neuilly (Bulgaria)
  • The Treaty of Trianon (Hungary)
  • The Treaty of Sevres (Turkey)
  • Treaty of Lausanne (Turkey)
• Treaty of Saint Germain (Austria)


  • Austria lost land to Italy and Romania
  • Land taken to create Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia
  • Land given to the newly formed Poland
  • 30,000 men in army + no navy or conscription
  • Anschluss forbidden - article 88
  • Lots of industry was in land lost to Czechoslovakia - economic collapse in 1921
  • New states had a mix of nationalities that often clashed
• Treaty of Neuilly (Bulgaria)

  • Lost land to Yugoslavia, Greece and Romania, but gained some from Turkey
  • Had to pay 100 million
  • 20,000 men, no air force or conscription and 4 battleships
• The Treaty of Trianon (Hungary)


  • Land lost to Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Austria
  • 30,000 men, no conscription, 3 patrol boats
• The Treaty of Sevres (Turkey)


  • Lost land to Greece
  • In Europe all land was lost except a small area around Constantinople Capital
  • The Ottoman empire was split up
  • 50,000 men, seven sailboats + 6 torpedo boats
• Treaty of Lausanne (Turkey)


  • Turkey regained some land, control of the Dardanelles and Bosporus straits
  • Could decide their army size
  • Reparations cancelled + allied troops withdrawn
• Successes of the Peace Settlement


  • There was peace in Europe in the 1920s
  • The League of Nations was created to settle disputes through diplomacy and discussion
  • New independent states were created such as Czechoslovakia, Poland and Yugoslavia
• Failures of the Peace Settlement

  • The new states were difficult to rule due to mix of nationalities
  • Germany was angry about the Treaty of Versailles leading to resentment and rise of extremist parties like the Nazis
  • Italians were angry they did not gain much land
  • Poland was vulnerable to attack as it had no natural defences
  • Turkey was angry about the Treaty of Sevres and refused to accept it
  • Austria's economy collapsed in 1920-21 and the Austrian Nazi Party became popular in the 1930s
• Key Features of the League of Nations

  • Covenant produced in February 1919
  • All members should send a representative for the Assembly which meets once a year
  • Council that meets regularly and made up of Permanent Members and elected representatives
  • All members will reduce their weapons to the lowest levels
  • No army - France wanted one
  • Respect each others independence
  • Provide collective security and protect one another if invaded (article 10 -17)
  • Article 11 states any threat or act of war is a concern to the whole league
  • Article 16 states all members will take common action against any country that made war in violation of the covenant
  • Article 25 - Improving health and working conditions
• Membership of the League of Nations

  • League began in 10 January 1920 with 42 members and grew to 58 by 1934
  • Absence of the USA
  • Britain and France tended to focus on their own self interests
  • USA was the richest country - most countries relied on trade with the USA, so economic sanctions would not be effective
  • The USA had a large army, so the principle of collective security was weakened
• Structure of the League of Nations

  • The Assembly - Met once a year, decisions had to be unanimous
  • The Council - Met more frequently, had power of veto
  • The Permanent Court of International Justice - Provided advice but no enforcement
  • The Secretariat - Group of experts providing reports and advice
  • Special Commissions - International Labour Organisation, Slavery Commission, Disarmament Commission, Health Commission, Mandates Commission, Commission for Refugees
• Successes of the League of Nations

  • Freed 200,000 slaves in Sierra Leone
  • Sierra Leone abolished slavery in 1927, many other countries followed
  • International campaign to kill mosquitoes that spread diseases like malaria and yellow fever
  • Worked with government in Russia to teach people about how Typhus was spread
  • Sent doctors to look after refugees in Turkey in the 1920s
• Failures of the League of Nations

  • 1919 - Tried to stop children under 14 from working but countries thought it was too expensive so they did not adopt it
  • 1935 - Suggested working day should be 8 hours - only 4 voted in favour
  • Disarmament Commission - France, Poland and Czechoslovakia reluctant to disarm, Germany left both the conference and League in 1933 as protest
• was too expensive so they did not adopt it
• Suggested working day should be 8 hours - only 4 voted in favour


  1935
• The slavery commission


  • Freed 200 000 slaves in Sierra Leone
  • 1927 - Sierra Leone abolished slavery
  • Many other countries followed pursuit and abolished slavery - Iraq (1924) and Nepal (1926)
• The disarmament Commission


  • Set up in 1926 to prepare for a World disarmament conference held in 1932
  • France Poland and Czechoslovakia reluctant to disarm
  • Germany left both the conference and League in 1933 as protest
• The health commission


  • Started an international campaign to kill mosquito which did stuff like malaria and yellow fever and that
  • Worked with government in Russia to teach people about how Typhus was spread
  • Sent doctors to look after refugees in Turkey in the 1920
  • Later Renamed to WHO which exists today!!!! YAY
• The Mandates Commission


  • Governed Germany former colonies
  • Governed saar until 1935
  • Plebiscites in Upper Silesia
• The commission for refugees

  • To return Prisoners of War home, Improve refugee camp conditions, find new homes or return them to their countries when safe
  • 1921 - League helped free around 427 000/500 000 prisoners of War after WW1
  • 1917 - Russian revolution led to civil war in Russia and by 1921 1.5 million people fled Russia and the league helped find them new homes
  • 1922 - Turkey clashed with Greece and it caused people to flee. Refugee camps were set up and Doctors sent to treat diseases suc as colera and smallpox in the camps - between 1919 and 1923 - 600 000 Greeks were found homes
  • Created the Nansen Passport - id for refugee
  • Failure - 1933 - the league tried to create a high commissioner for mainly jewish refugees fleeing from Germany but Germany rejected the proposal, which meant the vote was not unanimous, which meant the motion was defeated
  • The commissioner was appointed but outside the LoN - which meant the commissioner had less power
• How could the League of Nations resolve disputes

  • Mediation - resolve disputes between members by discussing them in the council
  • Moral Condemnation - Decide who was in the wrong and tell them to stop.
  • Economic Sanctions- Stop trading with the country
  • Military Action - Council could order members to provide soldiers to fight - no army
• How did the league tackle international disputes

  1. Upper Silesia - 1921-25

  2. The Aaland Island - 1921

  3. Vilna October 1920

  4. Corfu - 1923

  5. 1925 - Bulgaria
• During the 1920s, due to the absence of key countries such as USA, Germany, and SOviet Union, meant several agreements had to happen outside the league