2 Why did all the victors not get everything they wanted?

Question 1

Why did the all the victors not get everything they wanted?

Answer 1

As the Big Three wanted such very different outcomes regarding the treatment of Germany, with Clemenceau wanting a harsh peace, Wilson a lenient peace, and Lloyd George a relatively moderate piece, it was virtually impossible to devise a settlement that would please all parties.

Question 2

Who was likely to become the major recipient of German reparations?

Answer 2

France

Question 3

What are some examples of specific demands of Clemenceau that were achieved in the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 3

The transfer of some of Germany’s former colonies and demands with regard to Alsace-Lorraine

Question 4

What are some examples of terms in the treaty of Versailles that were included for the sake of France’s demands?

Answer 4

• France would be secure on her eastern frontier providing Germany kept to, or was forced to keep to, the military terms of the treaty. It was necessary that the Rhineland was free of German troops and fortifications
• Versailles deprived Germany of a significant proportion of her land, population and resources which reduced its economic power and military capacity

Question 5

Even with all these terms, what did Clemenceau believe?

Answer 5

He believed that Germany would recover her strength and seek changes to the treaty

Question 6

How did Clemenceau want to protect France from the potential of German recovery?

Answer 6

He wanted a Treaty of Guarantee with his Allied partners.
This would mean that Britain and the United Stated would be committed to coming to France’s assistance in the event of future German aggression.

Question 7

How did France’s proposal for a Treaty of Guarantee with their Allied partners turn out and why?

Answer 7

The treaty failed to materialise. This was because:

• the American Congress refused to approve the peace settlement and America withdrew into diplomatic Isolation
• Britain was unwilling to provide any guarantees to France on her own

Question 8

What were President Wilson’s feelings about the peace settlement?

Answer 8

They were mixed

Question 9

What did President Wilson overall think about the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 9

He believed that they were overall too harsh on Germany and there were also particular elements of the Versailles Settlement with which Wilson was less than happy about

Question 10

What were some features of the Treaty of Versailles that President Wilson thought positively about?

Answer 10

President Wilson was pleased that:

• He had successfully persuaded his partners to accept that the Covalent or constitution of the League of Nations should be included in all the peace treaties; this would help to make the new peacekeeping organisation become a reality
• The requirement in all the peace treaties that the defeat powers should disarm. This represented at least some movement towards his objective of world disarmament
• The Rhineland was not going to be made into a separate state and was going to remain part of Germany. Not only did this reduce the potential harshness of the peace, it made it much more likely that Germany would remain a major economic power able to do business with the US
• Germany was not going to be burdened with a very high reparations figure in the treaty
• Poland, together with the two entirely new “successor states”, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, were going to be recreated as an independent country

Question 11

What were some features of the Treaty of Versailles that President Wilson thought negatively about?

Answer 11

President Wilson was not happy that:
- At the insistence of Britain, the principle of free navigation of the seas was abandoned
- There was little disguising the fact that Britain, France and Japan had rewarded themselves with Germany’s former colonies even though officials, these colonies were to be governed as mandated territories on behalf of the League of Nations
- While national self-determination for the people of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire was broadly implemented there were some noticeable exceptions:
> Austria was not allowed to unite with Germany
> the Sudeten Germans were not consulted about their future

Question 12

What did President Wilson fail to do back home in the USA?

Answer 12

He failed to persuade the necessary 2/3 of American Congress to approve the treaties together with the League of Nations

Question 13

Who was probably the most satisfied out of the major peacemakers?

Answer 13

Lloyd George

Question 14

What did Lloyd George want?

Answer 14

He wanted a moderate peace which would allow the European economy to revive

Question 15

What is an example of a term in the Treaty of Versailles that Lloyd George didn’t like?

Answer 15

Placing of German-speaking people under French or Polish rule

Question 16

What were Lloyd George’s main achievements at Paris?

Answer 16

• He successfully persuaded Clemenceau to adopt a more moderate approach towards Germany by offering him an Anglo / American guarantee against future German aggression
• He directly promoted British interests by extending her colonies, adding an additional 1.8 million square miles and 13 million new subjects. The British Empire was seen as its peak in 1919. Fortune also favoured Lloyd George when the Germans decided to scuttle their fleet at Scapa Flow. This meant that any German naval threat was removed for the foreseeable future

Question 17

What did Lloyd George believe that the Versailles Treaty did on Germany?

Answer 17

He believed that it punished Germany without destroying its economy or ability to contribute to the future prosperity of Europe

Question 18

What were the British people’s thoughts on the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 18

In contrast to Clemenceau, they thought that Lloyd George triumphed and therefore the House of Commons voted to approve the treaty with an overwhelming majority