The armistice and the aims of the Big Three, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, German reactions to the treaty and the wider peace settlement of 1919 to 1920.

What this dot point is asking

This is the opening section of AQA's wider world depth study, Conflict and tension 1918 to 1939, examined on Paper 1. You need to understand the peace settlement after the First World War: the situation at the armistice, what each of the Big Three wanted and why their aims clashed, the main terms forced on Germany at Versailles, why Germans hated the treaty so bitterly, and how the rest of Europe was reshaped by the wider settlement of 1919 to 1920.

The armistice and the peace conference

The fighting stopped with the armistice of 11 November 1918, when Germany, exhausted by the British naval blockade and the collapse of its allies, agreed to lay down arms. Crucially Germany had not been invaded, and many Germans believed they had agreed to a ceasefire on the basis of Wilson's Fourteen Points, expecting a moderate, negotiated peace. Instead the Paris Peace Conference, which opened in January 1919, excluded Germany entirely; the defeated powers were summoned only to sign. This gap between expectation and a dictated settlement is the root of the resentment the rest of this topic explores.

The aims of the Big Three

Each leader came to Paris with different pressures and priorities, which is why the treaty became a compromise.

• Clemenceau (France): revenge and lasting security. France had been invaded and lost around 1.4 million men, so Clemenceau wanted Germany so weakened it could never threaten France again: huge reparations, a tiny army, and a buffer in the Rhineland.
• Wilson (USA): a fair, lasting peace built on his Fourteen Points, especially self-determination (peoples ruling themselves) and a League of Nations. The USA had entered late and lost far fewer men, so Wilson could afford idealism and feared a harsh peace would breed future war.
• Lloyd George (Britain): a middle path. He had to look tough after promising to "make Germany pay", but privately wanted Germany kept strong enough to trade with Britain and to block the spread of communism.

Because Clemenceau wanted Germany crushed, Wilson wanted fairness, and Lloyd George wanted a balance, every clause was a negotiated compromise. This is a key judgement point: the treaty pleased nobody completely.

The terms of the Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was signed in the Hall of Mirrors on 28 June 1919. Its terms can be grouped under four headings.

Germany lost about 13 percent of its territory and roughly 6.5 million people, including major coal and iron regions. The reparations figure was not set in the treaty itself; it was fixed by the Reparations Commission in 1921 at around 6.6 billion pounds, a sum German economists argued was impossible to pay.

German reactions: the diktat

Germans across the political spectrum condemned the treaty as a diktat, a peace dictated to them rather than negotiated.

The new democratic Weimar government that signed the treaty was branded with the "stab in the back" myth, the idea that the army had been betrayed by politicians at home rather than defeated in the field. This poisoned German politics through the 1920s and gave extremist parties, including the Nazis, a powerful grievance to exploit.

The wider settlement of 1919 to 1920

Versailles dealt only with Germany. A series of separate treaties settled the other defeated powers and redrew the map of central and eastern Europe.

Try this

Q1. Name the three leaders known as the Big Three. [Knowledge recall]

• Cue. Clemenceau (France), Wilson (USA) and Lloyd George (Britain).

Q2. What did Article 231 of the treaty state, and why did Germans resent it? [Short explanation]

• Cue. The War Guilt clause: Germany accepted blame for causing the war, which Germans saw as an unjust moral humiliation that justified reparations.