Download Jay Wang and Reina Wong European History Period 1 April 21

Jay Wang and Reina Wong
European History
Period 1
April 21, 2013
Events of WWI and the Paris Peace Conference
Essay Outline:
Why did international diplomacy play an important part in Europe in the inter war years?
International diplomacy- it is the act of conducting negotiations between nations whether they be
peace treaties or border agreements
Thesis: International diplomacy played an important part in Europe during the inter war years due to its
attempts to amend tensions and relationships between nations and to prevent wars. It also plays an
important part due to its unintentional creation of tensions between nations.
Causing tension

Paris Peace Conference and treaties
o
The Paris Peace Conferences brought upon the Treaty of Versailles along with other
treaties that ended the war (Trianon, St. Germain, etc.) and created new countries
o
The Treaty of Versailles blamed Germany for the war and made them pay reparations
and called for disarmament

o

Germany was pretty poor economically, so war reparations + debt = Hitler could
easily appeal to the people
Created the League of Nations which had good intentions, but in the end failed because
it was unorganized and failed to deal with problems (ex. Abyssinia, Corfu)
Ruhr Crisis
o
Britain and France accepted reparations in goods
o
One day Germany didn't deliver telephone poles so France goes in and occupies the
Ruhr mines
o
Germany pays them pack in printed paper money which leads to hyperinflation
o
Poor economic state = debt = possible tension between France and Germany
Preventing war and bettering relationships between nations

Treaty of Rapallo

o
It was essentially Germany's loophole from the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles
o
It was an agreement with Russia where Germany would produce technology in Russia
o
It brought both Germany and Russia together
o
Germany and Russia both recognized each other diplomatically
o
Both countries cancelled prewar debts and renounced war claims
o
USSR gave Germany most-favored-nation trade status & trade agreements
Locarno Pacts
o
It settled the borders after World War I
o
It sought to better relations with Germany
o
Each pair of countries involved in the Locarno Pact agreed to come to the other’s
defense in the case of an attack by a third country
Conclusion:
International diplomacy was a necessary aspect during the interwar years. The results of international
diplomacy did eventually lead up to World War II, but how it is important is due to the relationships that
emerged and the tensions that it caused.
Events of World War I
1914
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July 28
August 1
August 3
Francis Ferdinand assassinated at Sarajevo
 Francis Ferdinand was the inspector General of the AustroHungarian Army and was popular with the armed forces.
Bogdan Zerajic, a Serb, was concerned with the amount of
influence Ferdinand possessed as he believed Ferdinand was a
huge threat to a union between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia.
More particularly, Zerajic feared that the huge amounts of
concessions that Ferdinand gave to the Southern Slavs within
the Austrian territory would make it difficult to create an
independent Serbian state. As a result, the moment it was
announced the Franz Ferdinand was going to visit Bosnia, plans
for his assassination was being planned by the Black Hand (a
group that promoted a “Greater” Serbia at violent means). The
Austrian-Hungarian government believed that Serbia had
planned the terrorist attack on Ferdinand, and because they
hated Serbia and Russia, utilized the assassination as a means
to go to war with them. With support from Vienna, AustriaHungary had given Serbia an ultimatum of either becoming a
province within Austria-Hungary or go to war.
Austria declared war on Serbia
 After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary had
given Serbia the ultimatum of becoming a province within their
kingdom or go to war. They were given 48 hours to come to a
decision, and during that time period, Russia began to mobilize
their troops. In the end, Serbia had refused to agree to all of the
clauses of the ultimatum provided to them, and as a result, war
was declared between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.
Germany declared war on Russia
 Once discovering of the ultimatum provided to their Balkan
allies, Russia began to mobilize their troops. When AustriaHungary had declared war on Serbia, Russia quickly began to
increase their preparations for war. The Russians had no
intention of truly joining the war unless it was mandatory.
However, Russia such a large country that it took huge amounts
of time to properly mobilize troops, so they began early.
Alarmed that Russia was mobilizing their troops, Germany had
warned them to cease, but the Russians continued on with
mobilization. As a result of this, Germany declared war on
Russia.
Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium with their
Schlieffen Plan
 The Schlieffen Plan was a plan developed by Germany in order
to invade France through Belgium because they figured if the
plan were to work, France would be defeated before Russia
could finish mobilizing. When the Russians started to mobilize,
August 4
August 23
August 26
October 29
1915
May 23
June 4
July 1
1917
February 1
Germany set the plan into place.
Britain declared war on Germany
 The problem with Germany's Schlieffen Plan was that it invaded
Belgium. Britain had promised Belgium neutrality in 1839, so
when Germany invaded, Britain declared war on Germany.
Germany invaded France
 After Britain declared war on Germany, Germany breezed
through Belgium and met with the French army. The Germans
defeated the French at the battle of Namur and the British at
the battle of Mans.
Russian army defeated at Tannenburg and Masurian Lakes
 It was the most complete German victory which stopped Russia
from invading East Prussia.
Turkey entered the war on Germany's side
 Turkey gave help to a German naval bombardment on Russia.
Due to this, Russia declared war on Turkey.
Italy declared war on Germany and Austria
 Italy was originally on the side of Germany and Austria due to
the Triple Alliance signed in 1911. Italy joined the opposing side
after being promised territorial gains from Austria-Hungary in
the Treaty of London.
Start of the Brusilov Offensive
 It was a Russian strategy meant to drive the German troops out
of the Western Front. The strategy was very effective and
would have pulled through had there not been internal struggle
between the generals.
Start of the Battle of the Somme
 The British and French army had planned a joint offensive
against the Germans in Somme. Due to unconcealed
preparations, the Germans knew of the plan ahead of time and
took shelter in bunkers while the British bombarded them. Then
the Germans attacked with machine guns. The result of this was
a bloody slaughter and the largest battle of the war.
Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare campaign started
 Initially, Germany had already performed unrestricted
submarine warfare during the First World War. However, after
sinking the British merchant ship Lusitania, the German
government had received a letter from President Woodrow
Wilson about ceasing such tactics as 128 Americans were killed.
Not wishing to start any conflict with the United States, the
German government quickly devised rules and regulations of
submarine warfare that practically made it pointless. German
navy commanders, however, believed that unrestricted
submarine warfare was the key to winning the Western Front
against Britain. As a result, the naval commanders pressured
Kaiser Wilhelm and German chancellor, Theobald von
Bethmann Hollwegg, to resume such tactics. In the end, the
April 6
October 24
November 6
1918
March 3
July 15
October 4
November 11
1919
January 4
pressure from the commanders, along with the German public’s
anger towards the Allied naval blockade, unrestricted warfare
began, once again.
USA declared war on Germany
 The United States, under the presidency of Woodrow Wilson,
had originally had a policy of neutrality in regards to the war
occurring in Europe. However, after the sinking of the Lusitania,
the public opinion began to change. It wasn’t until the
Zimmerman Telegram, which suggested that Germany planned
to aid Mexico regain Texas and Arizona for their aid, that
President Wilson decided to come out of isolationism and
declare war on Germany.
Battle of Caporetto: Italian Army was heavily defeated
 Germany and Austria-Hungary launched a surprise air attack on
the Italian army in Isonzo. Italy had to withdraw and suffered
huge losses in men and artillery.
Britain launched a major offensive on the Western Front
 The Third Battle of Ypres, or the Battle of Passchendaele, was
Sir Douglas Haig's attempt at breaking through to the coast in
Belgium and destroying German submarines. The attack was
not a success.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed between Russia and Germany
 It was a peace treaty that got Russia out of World War I. It also
established the independence of Finland, Estonia, Latvia,
Belarus, Ukraine, and Lithuania.
Second Battle of the Marne started and so did the collapse of the
Germany army
 The German army advanced into the Marne and attacked the
Allies. French and British forces were able to prevent this
German attack and marked the last attempt at the Central
Powers winning World War I.
Germany asked the Allies for an armistice
 By this time, the Germans were suffering from lack or resources
to support their population. Food shortages were common
throughout the country thanks to the British Naval Blockade.
Along with this, many German soldiers mutinied and refused to
fight, resulting in the Germans asking for an armistice.
Germany signed an armistice with the allies and so WWI officially
ended
 With all their allies already surrendered, food shortages, and
revolts from soldiers, the German government had no choice
but to sign an armistice with the Allied Powers. As they had no
more resources to continue the war and the Allied powers gave
them an ultimatum of surrendering or continuing the war, they
complied and signed.
Peace Conference at Paris
 The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 was composed of 32
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September 10
November 27
leaders representing 75% of the world’s population. However,
the negotiations were arranged by the five major powers that
aided in the defeat of the Central powers, the United States,
Britain, France, Italy, and Japan. Out of these five major
countries, however, the “Big Three” (David Lloyd George,
Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson) clearly dominated the
discussion and all three came with differing views of what
should occur at the conference. Personally, David Lloyd George
felt that Germany was the one defense Europe had against the
spread of communism within Russia and wished for the country
to be punished, but not to the extent in which they would not
be able to fulfill these ideas he had in mind. Clemenceau simply
wanted to destroy the Germans and ensure that they would
never be able to rise again. Woodrow Wilson wanted to pass his
“Fourteen Points” among the countries within the Paris Peace
Conference. In the end, five treaties were created at the
conference, and each of the countries were sent back to
converse with their governments about the idea of a League of
Nations.
Treaty of Versailles signed by Germans
 Territorial wise, he treaty took away Alsace-Loraine (to France),
Eupen and Malmedy (to Belgium), Northern Schleswig (to
Denmark), Hultschin (to Czechoslovakia), and West Prussia,
Posen, and Upper Silesia (to Poland). Along with these portions
of their territories given away, the Treaty also stated that
Germany’s oversea colonies would be under the control of the
League of Nations. Militarily, the Germans were also not
allowed to possess any tanks and their army was reduced to
100,000 men. Financially, the Germany economy suffered
significantly as many of the key areas in which they could have
built their economy were within territories that were given way
to other countries. As a result of this, it was difficult for
Germany to pay for the reparations that they owed to the Allied
powers and also built resentment within the German people.
Although the signed treaty had eased the minds of the Allied
Powers, anger was sprouting within the German people of the
treatment they received at Versailles, and as a result, led to the
Second World War.
Treaty of Saint Germaine signed by Austrians
 The Treaty of Saint Germaine was signed between the former
Austrian-Hungary Empire and the Allies of WWI. Although the
Austrian-Hungarian Empire had already collapsed by this point
in time, it formally stated that it no longer existed when signed.
Along with this, the treaty recognized the independence of
Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia.
Treaty of Neuilly signed by Bulgaria
 Through the signing of the Treaty, Bulgaria had lost land to
1920
June 4
August 10
Yugoslavia and had to pay reparations of 100 million Euros to
the Allies. Along with this, their armed force limitations were
that: they were to have no air forces, have only 4 torpedo
boats, and have 20,000 men to serve in their armies.
Treaty of Trianon signed by Hungary
 The Treaty stated that “the Allied and Associated Governments
affirm and Hungary accepts the responsibility of Hungary and
her allies for causing the loss and damage to which the Allied
and Associated Governments and their nationals have been
subjected as a consequences of the war imposed upon them by
the aggression of Austria-Hungary and her allies.” The Treaty of
Trianon had ensured that the new established Hungary, which
was 75% of its original territory, would have minimal growth in
their economy. This was deliberately done by the Allies to
ensure that Hungary, along with the other Central powers,
would not become a threat to European peace again.
Treaty of Sevres signed by Turkey
 The Treaty of Sevres initially split the Ottoman Empire apart.
Through the Treat, Kurdistan, Armeni, and Hejav were given
independence as free nations. Along with this, Britain had
mandates over Iraq and Palestine and France had a mandate
over Syria.
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