The Versailles Treaty Essay, Research Paper
In the peace settlement Germany was forced to accept sole
responsibility for causing World War I. This was a totally justifiable
demand on the part of the victorious powers. The Treaty of Versailles was enacted into history in June 1919 with
Germany forced to accept sole responsibility for causing World War I.
Since then there has been considerable debate concerning the war but
even today historians still cannot fully agree upon the causes. Some
support has been given to the theory that Germany was totally
responsible for the war however substantial evidence does not
support that view. Therefore the insistence by the victorious powers
to include in the Treaty that Germany accept total blame cannot be
justified. This essay examines certain events and actions prior to the
July crisis. These caused tension and hostility among nations but did
not have a direct bearing upon the war. Also it has been determined
that there were decisions and courses of action taken by several
nations following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand heir to the
Austrian-Hungarian throne which did have a direct bearing upon World
War I. Development of political and military alliances caused tension and
hostility among nations leading up to World War I. Two major alliance
systems developed due to conflicting national interests which had
been evident during the past two decades throughout Europe. These
were the “Triple Alliance” of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy and
the “Triple Entente” of Britain, France and Russia. Also several smaller
countries became indirectly involved in the alliances which effectively
divided Europe into two “Armed Camps”. Russia pledged to support
Serbia in order to prevent further Austrian-Hungarian expansion into
the Balkans. Germany stated its support for Austria-Hungary and
Britain had given its support for Belgium’s neutrality in 1839. However
while these political and military alliances existed there is no direct
evidence to indicate that any nation declared war on that basis. There
had been several ‘crisis’ during the period 1905-1913. First the
Moroccan crisis involving France and Germany during 1905 and 1911.
No wars eventuated only tensions and fears regarding Germanys
aggressive expansionist policies. Britain supported France being
involved in Morocco and France conceded some territory in the Congo
to Germany. Second the 1908 Balkans crisis eventuated because of
the collapse of the Ottoman [Turkish] Empire. Austria-Hungary
annexed the provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Serbia was insensed
and sought Russian assistance. Germany became involved and Russia
backed down. Finally two wars developed in the Balkans. The first
Balkan war [1912] was between Turkey and the Balkan League
[Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece] with Turkey being driven out of the
Balkans. The second Balkan war ! [1913] occurred between Bulgaria and Serbia/Greece. Winning this war
strengthened Serbs position and this gave Austria-Hungary concern
regarding its influence in the Balkans. The main significance of the
Balkan wars was the position of Britain and France placing restraint on
Russia and Germany restraining Austria-Hungary. This did not happen
with the July crisis of 1914 which resulted in World War I. [Condron -
The Making of the Modern World] Also the two Balkan wars resulted in
renewed antagonism between Bulgaria and the other Balkan states
especially Serbia and caused general dissatisfaction because of the
interference of the great powers in Balkan politics.[Grolier - World
War I]. Evidence does support that while the various events discussed
did not contribute directly to World War I they did indeed contribute
to extreme tensions and suspicions between the great powers and
certainly fueled the arms race which in effect prepared nations for the
total disaster that was to follow the July crisis. The arms race which mainly involved Britain and Germany began in
1896 when Germany took the decision to significantly expand its navy.
This intense competition which developed created significant tensions
between nations. The intensity to expand was further fueled following
each major crisis which developed during the period 1905-1913.
Britain hardened its position towards Germany. The arms race also
extended to other areas such as the expansion and modernization of
armies. Evidence suggests that due to the large increase in
expenditure on navies and armies together with transport and
equipment Britain and the European nations were in fact preparing for
a war that they knew would eventuate at some stage. Germany
ignited the arms race with its aim to develop a navy two thirds the
size of Britain’s to protect the vulnerable North Sea and possibly
through the fear of “encirclement” but evidence supports that Britain
led the arms race and thus this action contributed significantly
towards the carnage and destruction that resulted from World War I. The assassination of Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of
Austria-Hungary occurred on the 28 June, 1914. This crisis was seen
as the key event that started World War I. Austria-Hungary were
presented with an opportunity to move against Serbia and resolve it’s
Balkan problems. Germany agreed to support Austria-Hungary and
presented them with the infamous “Blank Cheque” resulting in
unconditional support. Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum
containing impossible demands in effect provoking war with Serbia.
However Serbia agreed to most of the demands. Germany advised
Austria-Hungary to negotiate but instead they declared war on Serbia
(28 July 1914). Russia immediately mobilised its troops and Germany
supported Austria-Hungary. By August 1914 all major European
powers except Italy, had become involved. Britain delayed its entry
until German troops moved through Belgium in order to attack France. The alliance system failed to prevent war as previously but perhaps
nations did not expect it to escalate outside the Austria-Hungary and
Serbian borders. Russian mobilisation may have been a show of
strength for Serbia or perhaps it was in relation to the Schlieffen Plan.
However the speed with which the mobilisation of European armies
occurred would not have given time for negotiation. The Schlieffen
plan was put into action by Germany and controlled by the Generals
rather than the German government. It was apparently very rigid in
nature and it was the Schlieffen Plan or nothing even though Germany
at that point had no specific quarrel with France. However what really contributed to the commencement of World War
I. Historians today still cannot agree upon the causes. Nevertheless it
is suggested that the events leading up to the July crisis such as
imperial rivalry, arms race, alliances and the Balkan wars though not
directly related must share some blame. This view can be supported
due to the immense tensions and hostility that was generated among
Britain and the European nations. Evidence suggests that there was no single major cause for World
War I but in effect there was several major events associated with its
commencement. For instance the assassination of the
Austrian-Hungarian heir Franz Ferdinand while an important event
because it triggered off a series of events did not have any direct
bearing on the war. However the Austrian-Hungary declaration of war
upon Serbia did and this hatred for Serbia had been building up over
many years. Also blame can be shared by Russia, Germany and France
over their mobilisation plans-particularly Russia who commenced
action first. Germany was further to blame for its totally unconditional
support for Austrlia-Hungary who was the aggressor in the war with
Serbia. It seems their thinking was that the war would be contained
within the Balkans. Finally Britain must share some blame because
had they been more decisive in supporting France then Germany would
most certainly have had second thoughts about invading France under
the Schlieffen Plan. Military alliances resulting in Germany’s encirclement, diplomatic
mistakes, the arms race, imperial rivalries and immediate causes
combined to cause World War I eg/ July Crisis. Each was a signficant
factor, no one cause was the sole cause. It is clear that the Articals of
the Treaty of Versailles, claiming sole German responsibility for
causeing World War I was unjust, thus it was a shared responsibility
for the cause of World War I.