Treaty of Versaille | World War I

The Treaty of Versailles was the most significant of the peace agreements that ended World War I. The Treaty of Versailles put an end to the conflict between Germany and the Allies. It was contracted on 28 June 1919, in the Palace of Versailles, exactly five years after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed, sparking World War I. On the German side, the other Central Powers signed distinct treaties. Although the armistice, contracted on 11 November 1918, stopped the fighting, the peace treaty took six months of Allied discussions at the Paris Peace Conference. Finally, on 21 October 1919, the League of Nations Secretariat registered the Treaty.

One of the most critical and contentious sections in the Treaty required Germany to assume responsibility for all losses and damage caused by Germany and its allies during the War. This item, known as Article 231, was eventually dubbed the "War Guilt Clause." The Treaty of Versailles ordered Germany to neutralize, make significant territory concessions, and reparate the Entente states. The overall cost of these reparations was estimated to be 132 billion gold marks in 1921. At the time, economists, including John Maynard Keynes, anticipated that the Treaty would be too harsh a "Carthaginian peace" and that the reparations number would be excessive and counter-productive, opinions that history and economists have debated ever since. On the other hand, vital Allied politicians like French Marshal Ferdinand Foch denounced the deal too lenient with Germany.

As a result of the victors' competing and sometimes contradictory ambitions, a compromise was reached that left no one content. Germany, in particular, was neither pacified nor conciliated nor permanently diminished. On the contrary, the Locarno Treaties improved relations between Germany and other European powers, and the re-negotiation of the reparation system, which resulted in the Young Plan, the Dawes Plan and the unlimited delay of reparations at the Lausanne Conference of 1932, was the result of the Treaty's problems. Although the Treaty's real impact was not as terrible as feared, its clauses incited widespread hatred in Germany, which fueled the emergence of the Nazi Party.

Although it is commonly referred to as the "Versailles Conference," the ancient palace was only used to sign the Treaty. Instead, the "Big Four" discussions were held at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Quai d'Orsay, with most negotiations taking place in Paris.

Table: Summary of Treaty of Versailles

First World War

Following the July Crisis of 1914, War broke out suddenly. The declaration of War on Serbia by Austria-Hungary was swiftly followed by the admission of most European states into the First World War. The Central Powers, commanded by Germany, were pitted against the Triple Entente, including Britain, France, and Russia. As fighting raged across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, more countries joined in. In March 1918, the new Bolshevik administration, directed by Vladimir Lenin, signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which amounted to a highly favourable capitulation for Germany. Germany transferred resources to the Western Front to overwhelm the Allies, sensing victory before American armies could be ready. It was a flop. Instead, the Allies triumphed on the battlefield and forced a surrender-like armistice in November 1918.

The US Shapes the Peace Terms with the Fourteen Points

In 1917, the United States declared War on the Central Powers, and President Woodrow Wilson set the conditions of the peace. His goal in the War was to separate the conflict from nationalistic rivalries and ambitions. Wilson issued the Fourteen Points on 8 January 1918. They outlined free trade, open agreement, and democratic strategy. While the term "self-determination" was not used, it was implied. It called for a negotiated conclusion to the War, global disarmament, the removal of the Central Powers from occupied regions, the formation of a Polish state, the redrawing of Europe's borders along ethnic lines, and the establishment of a League of Nations to ensure all states' political independence and territorial integrity. In addition, it demanded a just and democratic peace that was not jeopardised by territorial acquisition. The Fourteen Points were based on the Inquiry findings, a group of around 150 experts chaired by foreign-policy adviser Edward M. House, who looked into the issues that would likely surface during the upcoming peace conference.

Armistice

The Central Powers began to crumble in the autumn of 1918. Desertion rates in the German army began to rise, while civilian strikes slowed war production significantly. The Allied forces started the Hundred Days Offensive on the Western Front, decisively defeating the German western armies. The Imperial German Navy's sailors revolted in Kiel, sparking upheavals across Germany that became known as the German Revolution. The German administration attempted to reach a peace agreement based on the Fourteen Points and claimed to have surrendered on this premise. Following discussions, the Allies and Germany agreed to a truce, which took effect on 11 November while German soldiers remained in France and Belgium.

Occupation

The armistice stipulated that German troops must be evacuated from occupied Belgium, France, and Luxembourg within fifteen days. It also determined that Allied soldiers would occupy the Rhineland. As a result, allied troops arrived in Germany in late 1918 and began the occupation.

Blockade

Both Germany and the United Kingdom were reliant on food and raw materials imports, the majority of which had to be sent across the Atlantic Ocean. The Allied Powers' Blockade of Germany (1914–1919) was a naval operation designed to prevent raw resources and food from reaching the Central Powers. The German Kaiserliche Marine was mostly constrained to the German Bight and relied on commerce raiders and unrestricted submarine warfare for a counter-blockade. The German Board of Public Health estimated that 763,000 German citizens perished due to the Allied blockade in December 1918. However, an academic study published in 1928 put the figure at 424,000.

After the Armistice in November 1918, the blockade was maintained for eight months into the following year of 1919. Following the Armistice with Germany, the Allies limited food imports into Germany until Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919. Churchill expressed the House of Commons in March 1919 that the continued embargo was a success and that Germany was on the verge of starvation. Germany refused to comply with Allied demands to deliver its commercial ships to Allied ports to carry food supplies from January to March 1919. Some Germans saw the truce as a temporary ceasefire, knowing that their ships would be taken. During the winter of 1919, the situation deteriorated to the point where Germany agreed to surrender its fleet in March. The Allies then authorised 270,000 tons of food to be imported.

Both German and non-German observers have said that these were the most disastrous months of the blockade for German citizens. However, there is still debate over the magnitude of the damage and who is to blame. According to Dr. Max Rubner, the persistence of the blockade after the armistice killed 100,000 German civilians. In June 1919, anti-war campaigner and Labour Party member Robert Smillie published a statement denouncing the blockade, alleging 100,000 German civilians had died as a result.

On 18 January 1919 de l'Horloge of the French Foreign Ministry on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris, talks amongst the Allies to develop a common negotiating position began. Primarily, 70 representatives from 27 nations took part in the talks. However, Russia was excluded due to their signature of a separate peace treaty and early withdrawal from the War. Furthermore, German negotiators were barred from participating in the talks to prevent them from dividing the Allies diplomatically.

Initially, a "Council of Ten" comprised of two delegates from each of the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Italy, and Japan convened informally to negotiate the conditions of the peace. This council was succeeded by the "Council of Five," which was constituted by the foreign ministers of each country to tackle minor issues. Then, following the temporary retirement of Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, Prime Minister of French Georges Clemenceau, Italian PM Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and US President Woodrow Wilson created the "Big Four," which later became the "Big Three." These four individuals made all key decisions in 145 closed sessions, which were ultimately endorsed by the entire assembly. In addition, the more minor powers met weekly for a "Plenary Conference" where they discussed topics in an open forum but did not make any decisions. Finally, over 50 commissions were organised by these members to make various proposals, many of which were adopted into the Treaty's final language.

French Aims

1.3 million soldiers, including 25% of French males aged 18–30, and 400,000 civilians, had died in the conflict. France had likewise suffered the most physical devastation of any nation. Clemenceau aimed to secure France's security by weakening Germany economically, militarily, and territorially and displacing Germany as Europe's top steel manufacturer. This attitude was described by British economist and Versailles negotiator John Maynard Keynes as an attempt to turn back the clock and remove what Germany had done since 1870.

French negotiators demanded reparations to make Germany pay for the harm it had caused throughout the War and weaken Germany. By annexation to France, the French also coveted the iron ore and coal of the Saar Valley. Before the final settlement was drafted, the French were willing to accept a lower sum of reparations than the Americans were willing to take, and Clemenceau was ready to discuss German capacity to pay with the German delegation. In 1919, the French and Germans met separately to discuss mutually acceptable agreements on compensation, reconstruction, and economic cooperation. However, mandates were resisted by France, the British Dominions, and Belgium.

British Aims

The British wartime coalition was re-elected in the so-called Coupon voting at the end of 1918, with a policy of embracing the Germans until the pips squeak. Britain had suffered high financial costs but little physical devastation during the War. Still, the British wartime coalition was re-elected with a policy of squeezing the Germans until the pips squeak. Although liberal and advanced thought individuals embraced Wilson's dream of a peace of reconciliation, public opinion favoured a just peace that would require Germany to pay reparations and prevent it from repeating the 1914 assault.

In private, Lloyd George opposed vengeance and strove to find a middle ground between Clemenceau's demands and the Fourteen Points, recognising that Europe would have to reconcile with Germany at some point. Lloyd George desired reparation conditions that would not damage Germany's economy, allowing the country to continue to be a viable economic power and trading partner. Lloyd George assured that a significant portion of the German reparation budget would go to the British Empire by proposing that British war pensions and widows' allowances be included.

Lloyd George also aimed to maintain a European power balance to resist a French ambition to become Europe's dominant power. A resurgent Germany would be a deterrence to Bolshevik Russia and a counterweight to France. Lloyd George also wanted to neutralise the German navy to keep the Royal Navy as the world's most powerful naval force; dismantle the German colonial empire by ceding several of its territorial possessions to Britain and establishing others as League of Nations mandates, a position opposed by the Dominions; and dismantle the German colonial empire by ceding several of its territorial possessions to Britain and establishing others as League of Nations mandates.

American Aims

Wilson had spoken of peace without a victory before the United States entered the War. Following the United States' participation in the War, this viewpoint shifted. Wilson said about the aggressors from Germany, with whom no agreement could be reached. On the other hand, Wilson gave a speech on 8 January 1918, in which he stated the American peace goals. Rebuilding the European economy, allowing European and Middle Eastern ethnic groups to exercise self-determination, promoting free trade, establishing proper mandates for former colonies, and, above all, establishing a powerful League of Nations to keep the peace. The latter's goal was to provide a platform for revising peace accords when needed and dealing with issues that occurred as a result of the peace and the emergence of new states.

Wilson accompanied the American peace delegation with leading intellectuals as counsellors, and the general American attitude echoed the Fourteen Points. However, Wilson was adamant in his opposition to the severe treatment of Germany. While the British and French sought to acquire the German colonial empire essentially, Wilson considered this a breach of the native inhabitants' fundamental ideals of justice and human rights and backed mandating their right to self-determination. The proposed plan called for major powers to act as unbiased trustees over a territory, assisting indigenous peoples until they could rule themselves. Despite this, Wilson preferred handing over the former German province of Shandong in eastern China to Japan rather than returning the area to Chinese authority to ensure that Japan refused to join the League of Nations. Internal political politics in the United States perplexed the Americans even more. The Republican Party narrowly won the Senate election in November 1918. Wilson, a Democrat, refused to include famous Republicans in the American delegation, making his efforts appear partisan and putting his party in danger of losing power at home.

Italian Purposes

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando and his foreign minister, an Anglican of British ancestry named Sidney Sonnino, worked primarily to negotiate the partition of the Habsburg Empire and their attitude toward Germany was not as harsh. Sonnino supported the British stance, but Orlando advocated for a compromise between Clemenceau and Wilson. Orlando achieved essential accomplishments during the Treaty of Versailles discussions, notably as Italy's permanent participation in League of Nations Security Council and the assured handover of British Jubaland and French Aozou band to the Italian groups of Somalia and Libya, correspondingly. Italian nationalists, on the other hand, saw the War as a disfigured victory for what they saw as minor territorial gains in previous accords affecting Italy's frontiers. Orlando was eventually compelled to quit the conference. Orlando was adamant about not viewing World War I as a disfigured victory. This is, in my opinion, our primary and most crucial expansion. Orlando was replaced by signing the Treaty of Versailles by Francesco Saverio Nitti.

In June 1919, the Allies declared that the War would resume if the German government did not sign the peace they had negotiated among themselves. Philipp Scheidemann's cabinet could not reach an agreement on a single standpoint, and Scheidemann resigned rather than ratify the Treaty. The new government's leader, Gustav Bauer, wrote a cable declaring that he would sign the pact if particular articles were removed, notably Articles 227, 230, and 231. In reply, the Allies delivered an ultimatum, declaring that Germany must ratify the Treaty within 24 hours or risk an Allied invasion over the Rhine. Bauer capitulated on 23 June, sending a second cable confirming that a German delegation would come shortly to sign the pact. The peace accord was signed on 28 June 1919, the fifth anniversary of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination. The arrangement included terms on war crimes, the ban of the Republic of German Austria merging with Germany without the League of Nations' agreement, freedom of navigation on key European rivers, and the return of a Koran to the King of Hedjaz.

Territorial Changes

Germany lost 65,000 km2 of land and 7 million people due to the pact. It also demanded Germany give up the gains obtained under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and cede independence to the established protectorates. Germany was compelled to recognise Belgian sovereignty over Moresnet and relinquish control of the Eupen-Malmedy region in Western Europe. Belgium was expected to hold a referendum within six months of the transfer to determine whether the region's residents wished to remain under Belgian sovereignty or return to German rule, report the results to the League of Nations, and follow the League's decision. To compensate for the devastation of French coal mines, Germany agreed to give France the production of the Saar coal mines and the League of Nations administration of the Saar for 15 years, with a vote to determine sovereignty. By withdrawing the Treaties of Versailles and Frankfurt of 1871 associated to this problem, the pact restored the territories of Alsace-Lorraine to France. By revealing a letter from the Prussian King to the Empress Eugénie, which Eugénie provided, France claimed that the provinces of Alsace-Lorraine were indeed part of France and not part of Germany. In the letter, William I wrote that the territories of Alsace-Lorraine were requested by Germany for the sole purpose of national defence and not to expand German territory. A referendum was planned to be held at a later date to decide sovereignty on Schleswig-Holstein's.

In Central Europe, Germany planned to acknowledge Czechoslovakia's independence and relinquish sections of the Upper Silesia province. Germany had to recognise Poland's independence and abandon all claims and titles to the country. Upper Silesia was divided into two halves, with the rest of the province chosen by a referendum. The border would be established based on the results of the vote and the physical and economic conditions of each municipality. Posen, which had fallen under Polish authority during the Greater Poland Uprising, was likewise handed over to Poland. Pomerelia was ceded to Poland on historical and ethnic grounds so that the new state could access the sea, and the Polish Corridor was born. Parts of southern East Prussia were to be decided by referendum.

In contrast, the East Prussian Soldau district, which was astride the rail connection between Warsaw and Danzig, was given to Poland without plebiscite. Poland was given 51,800 square kilometres of land at the expenditure of Germany. Memel was to be yielded to the Associated and Allied powers for disposal according to their wishes. Germany was to surrender the town of Danzig and its hinterland, counting the delta of the Vistula River on the Baltic Sea, for League of Nations to start the Free City of Danzig.

Mandates

Article 119 of the Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to relinquish sovereignty over former colonies. In contrast, Article 22 of the Treaty of Versailles transformed the regions into League of Nations mandates under Allied authority. Togoland and the German province of Kamerun were given to France. Ruanda and Urundi were given to Belgium, while German South-West Africa was given to South Africa and German East Africa was given to Britain. Portugal was approved the Kionga Triangle, a sliver of German East Africa in northern Mozambique, as return for the German attack of Portuguese Africa. German concessions in Shandong, China, were handed to Japan, not China, per Article 156 of the Treaty of Versailles. Except for German Samoa, which New Zealand acquired, Japan was given all German possessions in the Pacific north of the equator, while those south went to Australia.

Military Restrictions

The pact was comprehensive and complex in terms of the limits put on the postwar German military forces. The provisions were designed to render the Reichswehr ineffective in offensive operations and to promote international disarmament. By 31 March 1920, Germany had to demobilise enough soldiers to leave an army of no more than 100,000 men divided into seven infantry and three cavalry divisions. The pact outlined the division and support unit organisation and the dissolution of the General Staff. Conscription was abolished, and military schools for officer training were limited to three, one per arm. Private soldiers and non-commissioned officers were required to serve for a minimum of twelve years, while officers were required to perform for 25 years, with retired officers prohibited from participating in military exercises. The number of troops allowed to leave early was limited to prevent Germany from amassing a large cadre of trained personnel.

The army's civilian personnel was cut, and the police force was reduced to pre-war levels, with additions limited population growth; paramilitary forces were prohibited. All defenses in the Rhineland and 50 kilometres east of the river were to be dismantled, and the new building was forbidden. On the islands of Düne and Heligoland, military installations and fortifications were to be demolished. Germany was barred from the arms trade, with restrictions on the types and quantities of weapons available and the manufacture and storage of chemical weapons, armoured vehicles, tanks, and military aircraft. The German navy was authorised six pre-dreadnought battleships and was limited to six light cruisers under 6,000 long tons, twelve destroyers under 800 long tons, and twelve torpedo boats under 200 long tons, with submarines, prohibited. The navy's total strength was limited to 15,000 men, including personnel for the navy, coastline defences, sign stations, administration, other land services, officers and men of all ranks and corps. The total number of officers and warrant officers was limited to 1,500. Germany give in eight battlewagons, eight light cruisers, forty-two destroyers, and fifty torpedo boats for decommissioning. A total of 32 auxiliary ships were to be decommissioned and converted to commercial service. Article 198 forbade Germany from having an air force, including naval air forces, and demanded that all aerial-related items be handed over. In addition, Germany was prohibited from manufacturing or importing aircraft or associated materials for six months after the pact was signed.

Reparations

In Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany took responsibility for the War's losses and damages due to Germany's and her allies' aggression. The pact compelled Germany to reimburse the Allies, and it also formed an Allied "Reparation Commission" to figure out how much Germany would have to pay and how it would be paid. The Commission was required to provide the German government with a fair hearing and submit its findings by 1 May 1921. In the meantime, Germany was expected to pay an amount equal to 20 billion gold marks in gold, supplies, vessels, securities, or other forms. The assets would be used to cover the expenses of the Allied profession as well as to purchase food and raw supplies for Germany.

Guarantees

The Rhineland and bridgeheads east of the Rhine were occupied by Allied forces for fifteen years to secure compliance. A staged withdrawal would take place if Germany did not commit hostilities. The Cologne bridgehead and the region north of a line along the Ruhr would be evacuated after five years. The bridgehead at Coblenz and the areas to the north would be evacuated after ten years, while the remaining Allied soldiers would be withdrawn after fifteen years. The bridgeheads would be reoccupied swiftly if Germany broke its treaty responsibilities.

International Organizations

The Covenant of the League of Nations, which provided for the foundation of the League, an institution for the adjudication of international conflicts, was part I of the Treaty, as was the case with all the treaties signed during the Paris Peace Conference. Part XIII established the International Labour Organization to control working hours and set a maximum working day and week. Regulation of labour supply; prevention of unemployment; payment of a living wage; protection of workers against occupational illness, disease, and injury; protection of children, young people, and women; provision for old age and injury; safety of workers' interests when employed abroad; recognition of the principle of freedom of association. The signatories were also required to sign or ratify the International Opium Convention.

Britain

The Commonwealth and British Government delegations had mixed feelings about the pact, with some accusing the French of being greedy and vengeful. Although Lloyd George and his private secretary Philip Kerr believed in the agreement, they also thought that the French would retain Europe in a continual state of unrest by seeking to implement it. Nevertheless, the Treaty was overwhelmingly endorsed by the general public. According to Bernadotte Schmitt, the average Englishman thought Germany received exactly what it deserved as a result of the pact, but popular opinion altered as German complaints grew.

Following Germany's remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936, Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald expressed his delight at the Treaty's demise, expressing his optimism that the French had been taught a harsh lesson. The Treaty of Versailles was a significant step forward in the international legal position of the British Dominions. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa underwrote significantly to the British war effort, albeit as independent nations rather than British colonies. India also sent a significant number of troops, despite being under direct British authority, unlike the Dominions. The Treaty was signed individually by the four Dominions and India, signalling to the global community that the Territories were no longer British colonies. Their legal position eluded both international and constitutional experts, although it was evident that they were no longer considered British colonies. The four Dominions and India became founder affiliates of League of Nations in their right, relatively than just as part of the British Empire, by ratification the Treaty separately.

France

A mob erupted in applause, singing, and dancing as the Treaty was signed outside the Palace of Versailles. People in Paris celebrated the War's official end, the handover of Alsace and Lorraine to France, and Germany's agreement to pay reparations.

While France accepted the Treaty and participated in the League, Clemenceau faced a political reaction soon after. The French right viewed the Treaty as too mild and failing to meet all of France's demands. Left-wing politicians criticised the pact and Clemenceau as being excessively harsh. This Treaty, according to Marshal Ferdinand Foch, is not a peace treaty. For the following two eras, there will be an armistice. Furthermore, the failure to annex the Rhineland and the compromise of French security for the advantage of the US and the UK have been criticised. In January 1920, when Clemenceau ran for President of France, he was defeated.

Italy

Italy's reaction to the accord mainly was unfavourable. Despite enormous deaths, the country failed to achieve most of its primary military objectives, including control of the Dalmatian coast and Fiume. Based on "national self-determination," President Wilson rejected Italy's claims. For their part, Britain and France, who had been compelled to divert their forces to the Italian front in the final weeks of the War to avoid collapse, we're hesitant to back Italy's stance at the peace conference. Italy's position at the meeting was further weakened by differences in negotiation strategy between Premier Vittorio Orlando and Foreign Minister Sidney Sonnino. Vittorio Orlando, enraged, had a nervous breakdown and walked out of the conference at one point. He resigned as Prime Minister barely a week before the Treaty was signed, thereby putting an end to his political career. Anger and dissatisfaction with the Treaty's clauses helped prepare the way for Benito Mussolini's dictatorship to take power three years later.

Portugal

In 1916, Portugal joined the Allies to protect its African possessions, which were under attack from both Britain and Germany. She was successful in her war goals to this extent. The Treaty recognized Portuguese sovereignty over these territories and gave Portugal minor portions of Germany's overseas colonies on the border. But, aside from that, the peace conference yielded little for Portugal. Her promised German reparations never arrived, and a place on the new League of Nations' executive council went to Spain, who had remained neutral during the War. In the end, Portugal ratified the pact but gained nothing from the conflict, which claimed the lives of about 8,000 Portuguese troops and up to 100,000 African colonial subjects.

United States

Following the Versailles conference, Democratic President Woodrow Wilson declared that the world now recognises America as the world's rescuer. However, after the election of 1918, the Republican Party, led by Henry Cabot Lodge, gained control of the US Senate, and senators were split on the Versailles question. Thus, it was feasible to form a majority coalition, but it was impossible to develop the two-thirds majority coalition required to enact a treaty.

The pact was vigorously opposed by a dissatisfied bloc of 12–18 Irreconcilables, predominantly Republicans but Irish and German Democrats. Even with Lodge's doubts, one group of Democrats ardently backed the Versailles Treaty. The second group of Democrats supported the pact but agreed with Wilson that any changes or reservations should be rejected. A majority of Republicans were in the largest group, led by Senator Lodge. They desired a pact with reservations, particularly on Article 10, which gave the League of Nations the capability to announce war without the approval of the US Congress. President Wilson was a vehement opponent of the Irreconcilables, and in the summer of 1919, he embarked on a statewide speaking tour to dispute them. Wilson, however, suffered a major stroke in the middle of the game, effectively destroying his leadership abilities.

Lodge and his Republicans established a coalition with pro-Treaty Democrats on 19 November 1919. They were close to a two-thirds majority for a Treaty with Reservations. Still, Wilson rejected this compromise, and enough Democrats followed his lead to kill the Treaty's hopes of ratification permanently. Moreover, the Irish Catholics and German Americans and the rest of the American public were vehemently opposed to the pact, claiming that it favoured the British.

Following Wilson's presidency, Republican President Warren G. Harding maintained American resistance to the League of Nations' development. The Knox–Porter Resolution was then ratified by Congress, formally ending hostilities between the US and the Central Powers. On 2 July 1921, President Harding signed it into law. The US-German Peace Treaty of 1921 was contracted in Berlin on 25 August 1921. Two similar treaties with Austria and Hungary were signed in Vienna and Budapest on August 24 and 29, 1921, respectively.

China

As German territory in China was given over to Japan, many in China felt betrayed. Wellington Koo refused to sign the pact, and the Chinese delegation at the Paris Peace Conference was the only one at the signing ceremony who did not sign the Treaty of Versailles. The feeling of betrayal sparked massive protests in China, such as the 4 May movement. Duan Qirui's government was widely despised, as it had covertly negotiated with the Japanese to acquire funds to fuel their military efforts against the south. The Chinese cabinet was forced to resign on 12 June 1919, and the government instructed its Versailles delegation not to sign the Treaty. Relations with the West deteriorated as a result.

Germany

Because Germany was not allowed to participate in the negotiations, the German government released a statement protesting what it saw as unjust demands and a "violation of honor" and withdrew from the peace conference proceedings shortly after.

Germans of all political stripes decried the pact, especially the paragraph accusing Germany of instigating the War, as an affront to the country's honor. Moreover, because the Treaty's conditions were provided to Germany on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, they dubbed it "the Diktat." As a result, Philipp Scheidemann, Germany's first democratically elected prime minister, resigned rather than sign the pact. Instead, he referred to the Treaty as a horrible and homicidal witch's hammer in a dynamic and controversial statement to the National Assembly on 12 May 1919.

Following Scheidemann's resignation, Gustav Bauer formed a new coalition government. President Friedrich Ebert was well aware that Germany was in a precarious position. Although he shared his countrymen's displeasure with the deal, he was realistic enough to realize that the government might not be able to reject it. He felt that if Germany refused to sign the Treaty, the Allies would invade from the west and that the army would not be able to defend itself in the case of an invasion. With this in mind, Hitler inquired of Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg about the army's ability to provide serious opposition if the Allies re-entered the War. Ebert intended to advice against ratifying the pact if there was even a remote chance that the troops could hold out. Wilhelm Groener, Hindenburg's chief of staff, convinced him that the army could not resume the War, even limited. Rather than informing Ebert directly, he had Groener notify the government that the military would be in an untenable position in the case of further conflicts. The new government advised signing the Treaty after obtaining it. The pact was approved by the National Assembly by a vote of 237 to 138, with five abstentions. Clemenceau received this result just hours before the deadline. On behalf of Germany, foreign minister Hermann Müller and colonial minister Johannes Bell travelled to Versailles to sign the pact. The pact was signed on 28 June 1919, and the National Assembly ratified it on 9 July 1919 by a vote.

Japan

The disenfranchised and frequently colonial "non-white" world had great hopes that a new order would usher in an unforeseen opportunity for the leading global powers to accept a concept of racial equality. The rise of discrimination against their businessmen, severe immigration restrictions on Asiatics, and court judgments hostile to Japanese interests characterized Western states' treatment of their nationals. Japanese negotiation had unpleasant memories of the rhetoric of the Yellow Peril. The arrogance, underwritten by assumptions about a White Man's Burden, memories aggravated by the rise of discrimination against their businessmen, severe immigration restrictions on Asiatics, and court judgments hostile to Japanese interests, which characterized Western states' treatment of their Japan's delegation was led by Saionji Kinmochi, an old statesman. He included Baron Makino and Ambassador Chinda Sutemi among its plenipotentiaries.

Versailles represented an opportunity to overcome this forced inferiority, which had heightened tensions in Japan's relationship with the US during WW1. Confidence in their expanding economic power, as well as their defeat of Germany's Far East possessions, and their proved devotion to the Entente, it was hoped, would allow them to take their proper place among the victorious Great Powers eventually. Accordingly, they enlisted the help of the American delegation to have the principle of racial equality recognized by the League of Nations Commission. However, their suggestions were consistently rejected by British, American, and Australian officials, who were all sensitive to domestic pressures in their respective nations. Wilson was a proponent of segregationist policies in the United States, Balfour believed that Africans were inferior to Europeans and that equality only applied to people within specific nations, and William Hughes, who advocated for a "slap the Jap" policy, was a vocal supporter of a White Australia policy.

Despite a strongly convincing speech delivered by Makino, Japan's attempt to incorporate a Racial Equality Proposal in the Treaty, backed by Chinese emissary Wellington Koo and others, received widespread support but was effectively rejected when rejected by it the United States, Great Britain, and Australia.

Before and during WW1, Japan pursued a vigorous expansion of continental colonialism, justifying its goals with an ethical vision of Asians, such as Koreans and Chinese, as being of the same culture and race, even if that vision was paternalistic and geared toward subordinating those countries to Japan's interests. Japan envisioned an Asian Monroe Doctrine, in which Japan's appropriate field of geostrategic interests in Asia would be recognized to be accepted as a world actor with similar standing to established Western powers. Japan had won British and French support for her claims to inherit powers that Germany had exercised in China and the Pacific north of the equator a few years before. Even though American policy experts were unaware of these secret agreements, they indicated that Japan had embraced a Prussian model that would jeopardize China's quest for autonomy, and these views Swayed Wilson.

Reparations

The London Schedule of Payments was formed on 5 May 1921, and all the Central Powers sought a final reparation payment of 132 billion gold marks. This was a compromise between Belgian, British, and French requests and evaluations and a public appraisal of what the Central Powers together could pay. Furthermore, the Commission acknowledged that the Central Powers would be unable to pay and that Germany would bear the brunt of the responsibility. As a result, the total was divided into three categories, with Germany merely having to pay 50 billion gold marks; this was the Commission's accurate assessment of what Germany could pay, allowing the Allied forces to save face in the public's eyes by portraying a more prominent figure. In addition, payments made between 1919 and 1921 were deducted, bringing 41 billion gold marks.

Germany might pay in cash or in-kind for coal, lumber, chemical dyes, pharmaceuticals, animals, agricultural machines, construction supplies, and industrial machinery to reach this amount. Germany's contribution to the reconstruction of Leuven's university library, which the Germans destroyed on 25 August 1914, was also included in the total. The Treaty's territorial alterations were also taken into account. The payment schedule called for US$250 million in twenty-five days, followed by US$500 million annually, plus 26% of German exports. In addition, the German government was supposed to issue bonds with a 5% interest rate and set up a 1% sinking fund to help pay reparations.

Territorial Changes

The Schleswig Plebiscites were held in February and March 1920. Only two options were provided to the inhabitants of Schleswig: Danish or German sovereignty. The province was partitioned because the northern Danish-speaking area opted for Denmark while the southern German-speaking area voted for Germany. On 11 July 1920, a referendum was held in East Prussia. There was a 90% turnout, with 99.3 percent of the people voting to stay in Germany. Plebiscites in Eupen-Malmedy and Neutral Moresnet were also held. The League of Nations assigned these lands to Belgium on 20 September 1920. Following these plebiscites, a boundary commission was established in 1922, and the German government accepted the new Belgian-German line on 15 December 1923. On 3 February 1921, the Hultschin district of Silesia was transferred to Czechoslovakia.

Britain, France, and Italy first ruled upper Silesia upon the Treaty's execution. Between 1919 and 1921, three significant outbreaks of violence between German and Polish civilians occurred, resulting in the involvement of German and Polish armed troops. Despite the prior bloodshed, the Inter-Allied Commission organised the Upper Silesia plebiscite in March 1921, which was peaceful. Approximately 60% of the inhabitants voted for the province to remain a part of Germany in the referendum. Following the referendum, the League of Nations discussed the province's future. As a result, upper Silesia was partitioned in 1922, with Oppeln in the northwest remaining with Germany and Silesia Province in the south-east going to Poland.

Memel remained under League of Nations control until January 1923, with a French military garrison. During the Klaipeda Revolt, Lithuanian forces attacked the territory on 9 January 1923. The French troops left, and the Allies agreed to attach Memel to Lithuania as an "independent territory" in February. The annexation of Memel was approved on 8 May 1924, following talks between the Lithuanian government and the Conference of Ambassadors and League of Nations action. Lithuania agreed to the Memel Statute, a power-sharing mechanism designed to protect non-Lithuanian residents while retaining sovereignty over the territory. The League of Nations mediated between Germans and Lithuanians on a local level, allowing the power-sharing arrangement to survive until 1939.

A vote was held on 13 January 1935, 15 years after the Saar Basin was placed under the League of Nations' protection, to determine the area's destiny. There were 528,105 ballots cast, with 477,119 in favour of union with Germany, 46,613 in acceptance of the status quo, and 2,124 in favour of union with France. On 1 March 1935, the region was returned to German control. When the results were announced, 4,100 individuals fled to France, including 800 German refugees.

Rhineland Occupation

To implement the ceasefire, American, Belgian, British, and French forces entered the Rhineland in late 1918. The occupation force numbered over 740,000 men before the pact. Ensuing the signing of the peace agreement, the occupying army shrank dramatically, with only 76,000 men remaining by 1926. Stresemann and Aristide Briand negotiated the early evacuation of Allied forces from the Rhineland as portion of the 1929 discussions that would become the Young Plan. The last troops of the Anglo-French-Belgian profession force removed from Germany on 30 June 1930, after speeches and the lowering of flags. Throughout the first years of the occupation, Belgium maintained a workforce of about 10,000 men. By 1926, the figure had dropped to 7,102, and it had continued to decline due to diplomatic developments.

In late 1918, the British Second Army, which consisted of 275,000 veteran soldiers, landed in Germany. This unit was renamed the British Army of the Rhine in March 1919. (BAOR). Following the cessation of hostilities, the total number of troops committed to the occupation swiftly decreased as veteran soldiers were demobilised and replaced by inexperienced personnel who had completed basic training. By 1920, the BAOR had shrunk to 40,594 men, and by the following year, it had shrunk to 12,421. The BAOR's size fluctuated over the years, but it was never above 9,000 soldiers. Due to Germany's failure to meet her treaty duties, the British did not comply with all of Versailles' mandated territory withdrawals. A complete departure was discussed but rejected to keep a presence in the Rhineland to check on French ambitions and avoid the formation of an autonomous Rhineland Republic.

The French Army of the Rhine started with 250,000 men, including 40,000 African colonial troops at its peak. The French occupation force had shrunk to around 130,000 men by 1923, with 27,126 African troops. During the occupation of the Ruhr, troop numbers peaked at 250,000 before dropping to 60,000 soldiers by 1926. Germans saw the use of French colonial troops as an intentional act of humiliation, and their presence was exploited to launch a propaganda campaign known as the Black disgrace. Although it peaked in 1920 and 1921, this campaign persisted throughout the 1920s and 1930s. A 1921 German Government report, for example, detailed 300 incidents of violence committed by colonial forces, including 65 killings and 170 sexual assaults. According to historical consensus, the charges were inflated for political and propaganda goals, and the colonial troops performed significantly better than their white counterparts. As a result of the fraternisation between colonial forces and German women, an estimated 500–800 Rhineland Bastards were born, later being persecuted.

With 200,000 men, the US Third Army landed in Germany. The Third Army was demobilised in June 1919, and the US occupying force had been reduced to 15,000 soldiers by 1920. Before Warren G. Harding's inauguration in 1921, Wilson further decreased the strength to 6,500 troops. The US Senate legislated the removal of the remaining army on 7 January 1923, following the Franco–Belgian takeover of the Ruhr. The American garrison began withdrawing from the Rhineland on 24 January, with the last men departing in early February.

Reparations

Due to the state of the German economy, only a tiny portion of reparations was paid in actual currency. Nonetheless, even paying a small part of the original reparations imposed a considerable financial strain on Germany. Even though the reasons for the disastrous postwar hyperinflation are complex and debated, Germans blamed the Treaty for the near-collapse of their economy, with some analysts estimating that reparations accounted for up to one-third of the hyperinflation.

Conferring to the Treaty of Versailles, French and Belgian forces took Duisburg, Düsseldorf, and other regions of the demilitarized Rhineland in March 1921. Following Germany's failure to comply with the Versailles Treaty's reparation demands, French and Belgian forces occupied the rest of the Ruhr area in January 1923. The German government responded with "passive resistance," which meant that coal miners and railroad workers refused to follow the occupation soldiers' orders. As a result, production and transportation ceased, but the financial ramifications contributed to German hyperinflation and devastated the country's public finances. As a result, passive resistance was suspended in late 1923. With the end of passive resistance in the Ruhr, Germany was able to restructure its currency and negotiate the Dawes Plan, which resulted in the removal of French and Belgian troops from the Ruhr Area in 1925.

Military

In 1920, Reichswehr Chief Hans von Seeckt secretly re-established the General Staff by increasing the Truppenamt, the army's alleged human resources division. Under cover of quelling probable communist unrest, 18,000 German troops entered the Rhineland in March, violating the demilitarized zone in the process. In response, French troops pushed deeper into Germany, forcing the Germans to retreat.

German leaders colluded by failing to meet disarmament deadlines, preventing Allied officials access to military installations, and sustaining and concealing weapon manufacturing to circumvent the Treaty's terms. Corporations migrated to the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden since the Treaty did not prohibit German companies from creating war supplies outside of Germany. Krupp purchased Bofors, and German troops were dispatched to Sweden to test weaponry in 1921. The Genoa Conference and Treaty of Rapallo were also utilised to go around the Treaty of Versailles by establishing diplomatic links with the Soviet Union. These diplomatic meetings mainly were on trade and future economic cooperation, according to public reports.

On the other hand, Secret military clauses were incorporated, allowing Germany to build weapons within the Soviet Union. It also permitted Germany to set up three training zones for aviation, chemical, and tank warfare. The British newspaper The Times claimed in 1923 that the German Armed Forces had equipment for 800,000 men, that it was transferring army staff to civilian positions to obscure their proper duties, and that it was warning of the militarisation of the German police force through the use of the Krümper system.

Domestic rearmament programs were also supported by the Weimar government, which was done under the table with money hidden in "X-budgets" worth up to 10% of the declared military budget. German companies were developing tanks and sophisticated artillery by 1925. During the year, German weaponry accounted for more than half of all Chinese arms imports, totalling 13 million Reichsmarks. Ensuing the withdrawal of the Allied decommissioning committee in January 1927, Krupps increased the production of armour plates and artillery. Military exports reached 82,788,604 Reichsmarks in 1937, thanks to increased production. However, production was not the only thing that went wrong. The unlawfully militarised police fostered paramilitary organisations, and volunteers were quickly processed through the army to create a pool of trained reserves. Furthermore, the Treaty did not bind non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Therefore this gap was exploited, and the number of NCOs far outstripped Reichswehr's requirements.

The Reichswehr finalised a second rearmament plan in December 1931, calling for 480 million Reichsmarks to be spent over the next five years. This program aimed to provide Germany with the ability to build and supply a 21-division defence army backed by aviation, artillery, and tanks. This was timed to coincide with a 1 billion Reichsmark effort to create new industrial infrastructure to support the military indefinitely. These projects were ostensibly legal because they did not necessitate a military expansion. However, the unlawful Umbau Plan for a standing army of 21 divisions based on 147,000 professional soldiers and a substantial militia was approved by Reich Minister of Defense Kurt von Schleicher on 7 November 1932. Later that year, Germany withdrew from the World Disarmament Conference to force France and Britain to acknowledge German equality of status. With the promise of retaining equality in armaments and security, London attempted to persuade Germany to return. Later, the British offered, and Germany agreed to grow the Reichswehr to 200,000 soldiers and to have an air force partial the size of France. The French Army was also decreased as part of the deal.

Germany removed from League of Nations and the World Disarmament Conference in October 1933, resulting the emergence of Adolf Hitler and the establishment of the Nazi state. Germany reinstated conscription in March 1935, followed by an open rearmament drive, the unveiling of the Luftwaffe (air force), and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, which allowed for a surface fleet 35 percent the size of the Royal Navy. Over eight years, 35 billion Reichsmarks were allocated to the resulting rearmament programs.

Territorial

On 7 March 1936, German troops arrived the Rhineland and remilitarized it. Following German pressure on the Austrian government to collapse, German troops invaded Austria on 12 March 1938, and Hitler announced the Anschluss. Germany's annexation of Austria the next day. Germany conquered Memel from Lithuania the following year, on 23 March 1939.