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The Paris Peace Conference 1919
Letter to Delegates
Welcome to the Paris Peace Conference 1919! As chairs we would like to welcome you to this
exciting historical committee. The aim of this guide is to get you up to speed with the factors
that led to the outbreak of World War One, along with some of the motives of the delegates
participating. As you read through you may notice that some of the participants listed did not
actually participate in the original peace negotiations (Germany and the USSR), these additions
are intended to force delegate to think outside the realm of history and draw on their creativity
to possibly change the course of history. Remember that throughout this conference history
does not matter and the only limits of this conference will be the imaginations of the delegates!
Sincerely,
Craig Roseberry and Omar Garcia.
Introduction
When the guns of war fell silent on November 11th, 1918, Europe found herself almost
unrecognisable; politically, geographically and economically. Gone were the once mighty
empires of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Great Britain and in their place lay ruins and
newly emerging countries. The series of events that led to all this death and destruction at the
time became known as the “Great War” or the “War to end all Wars”, and later became what we
know today as World War One.
The spark that began the march to war happened on June 28th, 1918 in Sarajevo, Serbia, which
was at that time part of the crumbling Austro-Hungarian Empire. On the 28th a Serbian
nationalist Gavrilo Princip shot and killed the heir to the throne Arch-Duke Franz Ferdinand. The
events that were to follow would later become known as the July Crisis as Austria-Hungary saw
the assassination as an excuse to final annex and put down anti-empire and nationalistic
sentiments that had been brewing in the region. Originally perceived by the rest of the world as
a Baltic issue most other nations took little interest in the goings on, until on July 23rd Austria
issued a final ultimatum to Serbia and gave them 48 hours to agree to all terms or AustriaHungary would invade.
It was in the waning hours of the ultimatum that some of the most frantic diplomatic resolutions
of the 20th century took place, with telegrams going back and forth between Austria and her ally
Germany, as well as Germany and Russia who had promised to step in on the side of Serbia if
Austria-Hungary were to invade. However these talks were to no avail and on the 28th July, 1918
Austria-Hungary, who had “blank cheque” support from Germany, declared war on Serbia and
began full mobilization. As a response Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary and partial
mobilization against Germany, in a last ditch effort the German Kaiser Wilhelm II appealed to his
cousin Russian Czar Nicholas II to cease military hostilities against Germany. However this was to
no avail and by the 30th of July Russia had declared full mobilization and Germany declared war
on Russia. As a result Germany began to execute its mobilization/war strategy the Schlieffen
Plan, which outlined the German strategy for the invasions of France and Russia.
The main premise of the Schlieffen Plan was to first defeat France in 6 weeks before turning to
the east and defeating Russia before they had a chance to fully mobilize their forces. However
the plan soon fell apart as Russia was able to mobilize their forces faster than expected and
France proved to be more resilient in defending against invasion. A further aspect of the
Schlieffen Plan was the invasion of France through Belgium, however Belgium’s neutrality was
guaranteed by Britain, so when Germany invaded in August, Britain declared war on Germany in
defense of Belgium.
The intervention of Britain would eventually cause the warfare on the Western Front to bog
down and by December of 1914, the two sides were facing each other in system of trenches
running from the English Channel in the north to the Swiss border in the south. The front would
hardly move over the next four years and was subject to some of the most brutal fighting in
history. It bore witness to the first ever chemical weapons attack at the Second Battle of Ypres in
1915, the slaughter of the Somme in 1916 and the mud of Passchendaele in 1917.
This stalemate would continue until the entry of the United States in 1917 which would begin to
turn the tide of the war in the favour of the Allies. It was also in 1918 that the trench lines would
move the most with two massive offensives. The first came in the early part of the year with the
Germans pushing the Allies as far back as 120 miles from Paris, the second which would later
become known as the Hundred Days Advance was the final push by the Allied powers from the
summer of 1918 and lasted until December of that year. Through a combination of superior
numbers and a weakened German nation, Germany was forced into signing an armistice with the
Allies on November 11, 1918. This was followed by an occupation of German cities by Allied
forces. The war would leave nearly 30 million troops killed, wounded or missing, with millions
more dead from starvation and the effects the first global total war.
Formal peace negotiations would be opened in January of 1919 in Paris. This is where the
committee will commence. Below are the main objectives of each nation participating.
Canada
Having entered the war in 1914 alongside Great Britain, the Canadian Army soon grew to be one
of the best trained and most feared over the course of the war. They gained this recognition
through their participation at the second Battle of Ypres in 1915, as well as Passchendaele in
1917. Furthermore they became the only Allied force to capture Vimy Ridge from the Germans
in April 1917. This war glory came at the cost of 60 000 casualties and thousands more killed or
missing.
The primary objective of the Canadian delegation at the conference will be to secure Canada
more recognition on the world stage and further separate herself from Great Britain.
Participants:
Prime Minister Robert Borden
Russia/Soviet Union
Though not originally invited to the Paris Peace Conference the newly established Soviet Union
has insisted on taking part in negotiations. Having entered the war in 1914 in defence of Serbia
what was then Russia was embroiled in the bloody fighting on the Eastern Front until 1917 after
the newly established Communist government had overthrown the Czar and signed a cease fire
with the Germans.
The Soviets currently find themselves tied up in a bloody civil war with “White” non-communist
forces who are receiving some aid from the Western Allies. The main objective of the Soviet
delegation will be to gain reparations from the Germans as well as push the concept of universal
communism west ward.
Participants:
Commissariat for Foreign Affairs G.V. Chicherin
Head of the Red Army Leon Trotsky
Germany
Like their Russian counter-parts the Germans were not originally invited to Peace Conference,
but the Chairs of this Committee have deemed their presence important. The Germany at the
end of the war is far different than the one that entered it. It now has a starving unstable
population at home as well as no real central government with the Kaiser having fled to Holland.
The main objectives of the German delegation will be to avoid having sole blame placed on them
for the outbreak of the war as well as try to avoid losing as much territory as possible.
Participants
Foreign Minister Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau
General Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg
United Kingdom
Having been involved in the war since 1914 the UK enters the conference as a relatively
moderate delegation having only 4 main priorities which will be the delegations main goals:
Ensuring the security of France, removing the Threat of the German High Seas Fleet, settling
territorial contentions and finally supporting the League of Nations.
It is of utmost importance that the UK delegation achieve these goals as re-election back home
rests on whether or not these goals are achieved.
Participants
Prime Minister David Lloyd George
Foreign Minister Marquess George Curzon
Japan
Having only participated in the Pacific theatre during the war the Japanese delegation has few
major objectives to achieve. Their main goals are have their “racial equality clause” included as
part of the final peace agreement as well as maintain claims any gained territories in the Pacific.
Participants
Former Prime Minister Marquess Saionji Kinmochi
New Zealand
Despite suffering over 100 000 casualties at the Battle of Gallipoli alone, the New Zealanders
enter the Conference with few wishes other than to retain any territories gained from the
Germans during the course of the war in the Pacific. Further Great Britain has expressed their
desire for New Zealand as well as the other colonies/dominion states to be rewarded for their
sacrifices, so delegates should be keeping this in mind.
Participants
Prime Minister William Massey
The United States
The United States entered the war in 1917, and it was only in 1918 that American troops were
landing en masse in Europe. The American Expeditionary Force thus escaped some of the most
brutal fighting of the war, and unlike the wearied and strained European powers, its troops were
fresh, plentiful and well-supplied. The arrival in late 1917 and early 1918 of a quarter million US
troops every month in France more than made up for Russia’s defeat and surrender on the
Eastern Front.
American President Woodrow Wilson had brought the United States into the Great War to fight
against Old World power politics and in the name of democracy. Wilson’s Fourteen Points, his
template for a negotiated peace, were a clear reflection of the idealism that characterized his
approach to diplomacy. Among other things, the Fourteen points called for the establishment of
a League of Nations and the reconstitution of a Polish state. Delegates representing the United
States should be familiar with the Fourteen Points; three American objectives should also be
emphasized: the establishment of an international body to resolve disputes and prevent wars, a
peace without vengeance, and the right of self-determination for former imperial territories
across Europe.
Participants
President Woodrow Wilson
Foreign Secretary Robert Lansing
France
A sizeable portion of northern France was invaded and held by the Germans for much of the
Great War. Along with the indignity of having lost land to the invading German army, France also
lost access to significant repositories of resources—especially for the production of iron.
Throughout the war, the Germans exploited the capture of French resources for war production.
France also paid an unnerving human price to win the Great War: 1.3 million Frenchmen were
killed in action.
It is therefore no surprise that when the Paris Peace Conference began in 1919, the French
delegation demanded the most aggressive punitive measures to be imposed on Germany. After
all, France had been invaded twice by German troops in half a century, first in 1870 and then in
1914. Shortly put, the French representatives wanted both revenge and security. For France
Germany constituted a serious threat that had to be dealt with definitively, lest Germany recover
from the war and once again attack invade France. The delegates representing France should
keep the following objectives in mind: the imposition of a hefty reparations bill from Germany,
the de-militarization of Germany, and the demand that any international body created in Paris
be given an independent army.
Participants
Prime Minister George Clemenceau
Diplomat Rene Massigli
Italy
When the Great War broke out in 1914 Italy was a nominal ally of Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Yet the Italian leadership chose to remain neutral as Europe’s great powers declared war on one
another in quick succession; it argued that the treaty tying Italy to Germany and Austria had not
been activated because neither Germany nor Austria-Hungary had come under attack. In reality,
Italy’s decision to remain neutral was a calculated political move: in the years preceding the war’
outbreak, Rome had gradually moved closer to France and Great Britain. It furthermore was
increasingly suspicious of Austria-Hungary, its neighbour, and had designs on Austrian lands on
the Adriatic coast and the Austrian province of Tyrol. By way of the secret Treaty of London with
Great Britain, France and Russia, Italy agreed to enter the war on the Triple Entente’s side in
return for Austro-Hungarian territories. In the years of war that followed, six hundred Italians
died fighting Rome’s former allies.
The Italian delegates arrived in Paris with the objective of representing Italy as a great power
fully deserving compensation for its wartime losses. The Treaty of London weighed heavily on
their mind, and it was on the treaty’s basis that their demands were made. The delegates
representing Italy should be familiar with the London Treaty and frame their arguments
accordingly. Three objectives the delegates representing Italy should pursue are: secure the
Dalmatian coast for Rome, secure Germany’s African colonies, and secure Ottoman territory to
expand Italian influence in the Mediterranean.
Participants
Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando
Belgium
With a general European war breaking across the continent in 1914, Belgium soon found itself
caught up in the designs of the great powers. In the years leading up to the war’s outbreak, both
France and Germany had countenanced invading Belgium, but it wasn’t until Germany’s
Schlieffen Plan was developed in 1905 that Germany’s intention of invading France through
Belgium was institutionalized. In August 1914, the brave Belgians refused to allow the German
army unimpeded passage through Belgium, and even succeeded in temporally delaying the
massive German advance. The German superiority in quantity and quality however overwhelmed
the Belgian troops and for the duration of the war only a small portion of territory around the
city of Ypres remained under Belgian and British control.
Having earned international sympathy and having endured the full extent of German occupation,
Belgium arrived at the Paris Peace Conference with good reason to demand retribution. Indeed,
the Belgian delegation requested that it receive German reparations to cover all the war costs
Belgium incurred during the conflict. The delegates representing Belgium should of course keep
in mind that Belgium is a lesser power. Nonetheless, delegates should press for maximum
compensation, and should find a friendly set of ears in the British delegation.
Participants
Prime Minister Leon Delacriox
Australia
Like Canada and New Zealand, Australia automatically entered the First World War when Great
Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914. Australian troops fought with distinction in
the ultimately unsuccessful Gallipoli campaign and on the Western Front. Some 60,000
Australians were killed during the war.
Delegates representing Australia should seek to have Australia’s war effort internationally
recognized. But more specifically, the Australian delegates should be motivated by the following
aims: securing Australian control over former German colonies in Oceania and preventing an
outcome in East Asia that would grant a rising Japan too much power.
Participants
Prime Minister Billy Hughes