Treaty of Versailles: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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| type =

| date_drafted =

| date_signed = {{start date and age|28 June 1919}}{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=114}}

| location_signed = [[Hall of Mirrors]] in the [[Palace of Versailles]], [[ParisVersailles]], France{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=107}}

| date_sealed =

| date_effective = 10 January 1920{{sfn|Boyer|Clark|Hawley|Kett|2009|p=153}}

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| {{flagcountry|First Portuguese Republic}}

| {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Romania}}

| {{flagcountryflag|Kingdom of Yugoslavia|name=Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes}}

| {{flagcountry|Rattanakosin Kingdom|1917}}

| {{flagcountry|First Czechoslovak Republic|1918}}

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{{Events leading to World War II}}

The '''Treaty of Versailles'''{{efn-lr|{{lang-fr|Traité de Versailles}}; {{lang-de|Versailler Vertrag}}, {{IPA-|de|vɛʁˈzaɪ̯ɐ fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːk|pron|De-Versailler Vertrag.ogg}}}} was a [[peace treaty]] signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of [[World War I]], it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the [[Allies of World War I|Allied Powers]]. It was signed in the [[Palace of Versailles]], exactly five years after the [[assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand]], which led to the war. The other [[Central Powers]] on the German side signed separate treaties.{{efn-lr|[[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)]] with Austria; [[Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine]] with Bulgaria; [[Treaty of Trianon]] with Hungary; [[Treaty of Sèvres]] with the Ottoman Empire {{harvcol|Davis|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gsM1JiXAMJEC 49]}}.}} Although the [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|armistice]] of 11 November 1918 ended the actual fighting, and agreed certain principles and conditions including the payment of reparations, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]] to conclude the peace treaty. Germany was not allowed to participate in the negotiations before signing the treaty.

The treaty [[German disarmament|required Germany to disarm]], make territorial concessions, extradite alleged war criminals, agree to Kaiser Wilhelm being put on trial, recognise the independence of states whose territory had previously been part of the German Empire, and pay [[World War I reparations|reparations]] to the Entente powers. The most critical and controversial provision in the treaty was: "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." The other members of the Central Powers signed treaties containing similar articles. This article, [[Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles|Article 231]], became known as the "War Guilt" clause.

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[[File:Western front 1918 allied.jpg|thumb|alt=|Map showing the Western Front as it stood on 11 November 1918. The German frontier of 1914 had been crossed in the vicinities of [[Mulhouse]], [[Château-Salins]], and [[Marieulles]] in Alsace-Lorraine. The post-war bridgeheads over the Rhine are also shown.]]

During the autumn of 1918, the Central Powers began to collapse.{{sfn|Beller|2007|pp=182–195}} Desertion rates within the German army began to increase, and civilian strikes drastically reduced war production.{{sfn|Bessel|1993|pp=47–48}}{{sfn|Hardach|1987|pp=183–184}} On the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], the [[Allies of World War I|Allied forces]] launched the [[Hundred Days Offensive]] and decisively defeated the German western armies.{{sfn|Simkins|2002|p=71}} Sailors of the [[Imperial German Navy]] at Kiel [[Kiel mutiny|mutinied]] in response to the [[naval order of 24 October 1918]], which prompted uprisings in Germany, which became known as the [[German Revolution of 1918–1919|German Revolution]].{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=638}}{{sfn|Schmitt|1960|p=101}} The German government tried to obtain a peace settlement based on the Fourteen Points, and maintained it was on this basis that they surrendered. Following negotiations, the Allied powers and Germany [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|signed an armistice]], which came into effect on 11 November while German forces were still positioned in [[French Third Republic|France]] and [[Belgium in World War I|Belgium]].{{sfn|Schmitt|1960|p=102}}{{sfn|Weinberg|1994|p=8}}{{sfn|Boyer|Clark|Hawley|Kett|2009|p=526}}

During the autumn of 1918, the Central Powers began to collapse.{{sfn|Beller|2007|pp=182–195}}

Desertion rates within the German army began to increase, and civilian strikes drastically reduced war production.{{sfn|Bessel|1993|pp=47–48}}{{sfn|Hardach|1987|pp=183–184}}

On the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], the [[Allies of World War I|Allied forces]] launched the [[Hundred Days Offensive]] and decisively defeated the German western armies.{{sfn|Simkins|2002|p=71}}

Sailors of the [[Imperial German Navy]] at Kiel [[Kiel mutiny|mutinied]], which prompted uprisings in Germany, which became known as the [[German Revolution of 1918–1919|German Revolution]].{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=638}}{{sfn|Schmitt|1960|p=101}}

The German government tried to obtain a peace settlement based on the Fourteen Points, and maintained it was on this basis that they surrendered. Following negotiations, the Allied powers and Germany [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|signed an armistice]], which came into effect on 11 November while German forces were still positioned in [[French Third Republic|France]] and [[Belgium in World War I|Belgium]].{{sfn|Schmitt|1960|p=102}}{{sfn|Weinberg|1994|p=8}}{{sfn|Boyer|Clark|Hawley|Kett|2009|p=526}}

Many aspects of the Versailles treaty that were later criticised were agreed first in the 11 November armistice agreement, whilst the war was still ongoing. These included the German evacuation of [[German occupation of northern France during World War I|German-occupied France]], [[German occupation of Belgium during World War I|Belgium]], [[German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I|Luxembourg]], Alsace-Lorraine, and the [[Left Bank of the Rhine|left bank of the Rhine]] (all of which were to be administered by the Allies under the armistice agreement), the surrender of a large quantity of war materiel, and the agreed payment of "reparation for damage done".{{sfn|Gilbert|1974|pp=270–273}}

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After the Versailles conference, Democratic President Woodrow Wilson claimed that "at last the world knows America as the savior of the world!"{{efn-lr|President Woodrow Wilson speaking on the League of Nations to a luncheon audience in Portland OR. 66th Cong., 1st sess. Senate Documents: Addresses of President Wilson (May–November 1919), vol. 11, no. 120, p. 206.}} However, Wilson had refused to bring any leading members of the Republican party, led by [[Henry Cabot Lodge]], into the talks. The Republicans controlled the [[United States Senate]] after the election of 1918, and were outraged by Wilson's refusal to discuss the war with them. The senators were divided into multiple positions on the Versailles question. It proved possible to build a majority coalition, but impossible to build a two-thirds coalition that was needed to pass a treaty.{{sfn|Bailey|1945}}

A discontent bloc of 12–18 "[[Irreconcilables]]", mostly Republicans but also representatives of the Irish and German Democrats, fiercely opposed the treaty. One bloc of Democrats strongly supported the Versailles Treaty, even with reservations added by Lodge. A second group of Democrats supported the treaty but followed Wilson in opposing any amendments or reservations. The largest bloc, led by Senator Lodge,{{sfn|Widenor|1980}} comprised a majority of the Republicans. They wanted a treaty with "reservations", especially on Article 10, whichso involvedthat the powerLeague of theNations Leaguecould ofnot Nationsdraw tothe makeUS into war without athe vote byof the US Congress.{{sfn|Stone|1973}} All of the Irreconcilables were bitter enemies of President Wilson, and he launched a nationwide speaking tour in the summer of 1919 to refute them. But Wilson collapsed midway with a serious stroke that effectively ruined his leadership skills.{{sfn|Cooper|2011|loc=ch 22–23}}

The closest the treaty came to passage was on 19 November 1919, as Lodge and his Republicans formed a coalition with the pro-treaty Democrats, and were close to a two-thirds majority for a Treaty with reservations, but Wilson rejected this compromise and enough Democrats followed his lead to end the chances of ratification permanently. Among the American public as a whole, the Irish Catholics and the [[German Americans]] were intensely opposed to the treaty, saying it favored the British.{{sfn|Duff|1968|pp=582–598}}

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** Published in the US as ''Memoirs of the Peace Conference''

* McKercher, B. J. C., and Erik Goldstein, eds. ''Aspects of British Policy and the Treaty of Versailles'' (Routledge, 2020) [https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003014089/aspects-british-policy-treaty-versailles-mckercher-erik-goldstein?refId=d59ea46a-9e5f-46b6-9f7a-86a3c06d1230&context=ubx online]

*{{cite book| title = Peacemakers

| last = Macmillan | first = Margaret | year = 2001