The Treaty of Versailles

On November 11, 1918, at the eleventh hour, after four years of war, an armistice based on President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points was agreed to by Germany. The Treaty of Versailles differed from Wilson's points, and Germany denounced the treaty and felt betrayed. While public opinions of the Allied nations were strongly in favor of seeing Germany pay to the fullest extent, only France saw Germany as a potential threat to the future security of European stability. Britain saw Germany as a buffer state against the Russians and an economically strong nation to engage in international trade, the French viewed Germany as a threat. They wanted to shown them no mercy.

The Treaty if Versailles based on Wilson's Fourteen Points almost seemed doomed from the beginning. "Other heads of state at Versailles made it clear that their nations wanted both revenge against Germany and compensation in the form of indemnities an territory. They did not share Wilson's idea of a peace without victory."# The other nations, especially France wanted to crush Germany. France saw Germany as a security threat and wanted to much sure that they would never rise again.

Eventually, the Allies came to an agreement regarding the new state of the German military. The German navy was to be limited to 15,000 officers and men, six battleships, six light cruisers, twelve destroyers, and twelve torpedo boats; meanwhile, the army was to be restricted to 100,000 men who would be obliged to enlist for twelve years. The preamble of the military section of the treaty with Germany suggests that Germany was to be disarmed "in order to render possible the initiation of a general limitation of the armaments of all nations." But the Germans never abided by this part of the treaty. Since the treaty offered no time limit to the disarmament, they continually broke it. The German delegates viewed the economic sanctions as being far too harsh. Also, Germany never felt they were defeated in World War I so they had a hard time accepting the fact that they should have to pay for anything.

The Treaty presented to the German delegates at Versailles was a harsh break from the promise of a treaty based on Wilson's Fourteen Points. "The Treaty includes no provision for the economic rehabilitation of Europe - nothing to make the defeated Central Powers into good neighbours, nothing to stabilise the new States of Europe,Ð'...; nor does it promote in any way a compact of economic solidarity amongst the Allies themselves; Ð'..., or to adjust the systems of the Old World and the New."# The Germans felt betrayed