The Versailles Treaty
Uploaded by Admin on Jan 22, 1999
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...