Results of the First World War

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), and cost about £ 35,000 million.

Paris Peace Conference 1919

Although representatives of thirty-two states attended the Peace Conference at Paris in January 1919 to write the peace treaties, three men stood out above others: Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, Clemenceau, the Prime Minister of France, and Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Britain. These came to be known as the Big Three, for they eventually 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.

(1) 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.

(2) 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.

(3) 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.

(4) Conflict between the objectives of the Big Three. Woodrow Wilson was an idealist, a theorist and a pacifist. As a pacifist (the horrors of the American Civil War had made him a pacifist), he hoped that there would be no war for mankind. As a theorist (he was an ex-professor of history and political economy), he liked to apply his academic theory and knowledge to solve the problem of war. As an idealist (he was a man of good intentions), he was able to produce his blueprint for peace in the future in his Fourteen Points in January 1918. >> Back to Top

(i) Wilson

(ii) Clemenceau

(iii) Lloyd George

Wilson's Fourteen Points

(1) 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).

In short, Wilson hoped to remove one of the fundamental causes of the First World War, namely the attempt of the big powers to rule over alien races.

(2) 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), and 'Disarmament' (according to point four - armaments should be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety only). In other words, Wilson wanted to remove 3 root causes of the First World War, namely alliance systems, economic conflict and armaments race.

(3) 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. In other words, Wilson wanted to replace national rivalries by international cooperation.

To sum up, Wilson's ideals of a peaceful world 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, economic and social progress of the whole world.

Clemenceau

Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France, was a man of completely different character and aim as Wilson. Clemenceau was known as 'Tiger'. He was no idealist and pacifist. He 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. France had been defeated by Germany in 1871 and nearly defeated in the First World War. As France was next to Germany, she always feared another German aggression.

Lloyd George

Lloyd George, the Prime Minister of Britain, stood midway between these two extreme personalities. He was being pressured by the anti-German public opinion in Great Britain that Germany must pay for the war and "Hang the Kaiser". In the meantime, he also understood that if excessively heavy reparations and exceedingly harsh political terms were imposed on Germany, Germany might think of a war of revenge in the future. Moreover, a poor and impoverished 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.

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. >> Back to Top

The Peace Treaties

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:

( I ) 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.

(i) 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.

In the west, Eupen and Malmedy (after plebiscite) were given to Belgium. In the north, North Schleswig (after plebiscite) was returned to Denmark.

In the east, 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 (In Posen, there was a strip of territory which runs from River Vistula 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 also 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.

(ii) 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.

(iii) War-guilt and Reparations:

According to Article 231 of the Treaty "the Allied and Associated Governments affirm, and Germany accepts, the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the losses and damages 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." In other words, 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. At Leipzig, 12 Germans were tried, of whom six were convicted of war-crimes. (The Kaiser was not given a trial, because the Dutch Government refused to pass him to the Allied powers.) 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. The German resentment of the Treaty helped the rise of Hitler in the 1930's. >> Back to Top

Treaty of St. Germain (September 1919)

Like the treaty-settlement with 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.

Her territorial losses included: Trieste, Istria, and part of Tyrol were given to Italy, Bohemia including the Sudetenland, Moravia and part of Silesia to Czechoslovakia, Bukovina to Rumania, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Dalmatia to Yugoslavia, and Galicia to Poland. 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.

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 Germans. There were 3 million Germans in the Sudetenland and 250,000 in Tryol. 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. Thus the Austrians had ill-feeling towards the Treaty of St. German.

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. In Transylvania and in some other places, more than half of the population were Hungarians. 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.

All that remained of the former Ottoman Empire consisted of the city of Constantinople and the northern and central portions of Asia Minor.

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.

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Criticism of the Versailles Settlement

The makers of the Versailles Settlement had contradictory viewpoints in making the peace treaties but, in general, they did agree to reconstruct Europe on the principles of democracy and nationalism. Before the war, there had been 19 monarchies and 3 republics. After the war, 15 out of 27 states were republics with an elected president. The number of independent states in Europe also increased from 20 in 1914 to 27 in 1919. The Serbs, Poles, Croats, Czechs, Letts and Finns had all formed their national states.

Some of the criticism which has been made against the Versailles Settlement deserves mentioning. First of all, the peace settlement was made by the Big Three and the defeated states were never allowed to discuss the terms. Secondly, the punishment on Germany was somewhat excessive, since a democratic government had come to power. Thirdly, there was the existence of many national minorities in the new states of Europe—about 17 millions. Fourthly, the victorious powers did not disarm, even though the defeated powers had been disarmed to the lowest level. Fifth, there were many cases in which the Big Three abandoned the principle of nationality when they were making the territorial settlement — for example, Italy obtained South Tyrol which contained 250,000 Austrian Germans and Rumania obtained Transylvania where more than half of the population were Hungarians. Thus the defeated powers were suspicious of the intentions of the victorious powers and had deep resentment against the Versailles Settlement. >> Back to Top

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. 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 communist Russia. 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. 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. There were only two states in Europe which hoped to preserve the Versailles Settlement. They were Britain and France. As both Britain and France were gravely weakened by the war, it is doubtfu1 that they 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. It has been estimated that the European victors owed an aggregate of $10 billion to the U.S.. 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 in order 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.

There was one hopeful sign for the peace in the future—the League of Nations was born in 1920. The League had a noble ideal. It advocated open diplomacy, economic co-operation and peaceful solution of international disputes.

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@HW Poon 1979