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Franco Prussian War
The first time France was invaded by Germany -
WWI
The second time Germany invaded France -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Germany made the Treaty of Brest Litovsk when Russia pulled out of WWI in November 1917. In this Treaty, Russia lost 25% of her farmland and population to Germany. This was a harsh treaty but no where near as harsh as the Treaty of Versailles. -
Russia makes peace
The Russians made peace with Germany in November 1917, and stopped fighting on the Eastern Front, because the Russian government had been overthrown during the Bolshevik Revolution and the new Bolshevik government in Russia did not want to keep fighting in WWI. German troops fighting Russia on the Eastern Front could now be moved to the Western Front to fight France and Britain. This meant that there were now even more German troops fighting the allies. This made it seem Germany might win WWI -
USA entered the war
The USA entered the war on the side of the allies in 1917. This meant there was a large number of fresh American troops fighting on the allied side. Meanwhile, German troops were exhausted after several years of fighting. Over 1 million German soldiers had already been killed. During the summer of 1918, the Allied troops were beating the Germans into retreat and Germany itself looked in danger of being invaded. -
Mutiny of German forces
On 28th October 1918, German naval officers decided to send battleships out on one last attempt at defeating the allies. The sailors felt that this would be suicidal and refused to obey orders. They mutinied. The mutiny triggered violent protests and strikes in many cities in Germany. The Kaiser was becoming increasingly unpopular. Some people said he should give up the throne in Germany. Other people talked of overthrowing the Kaiser in a revolution, similar to the one in Russia in 1917. -
German army refused to support the Kaiser
On the 9th of November, German army generals told the Kaiser that the army could no longer him. Without an army, the Kaiser could not remain in power as he could not stop the German people from rebelling and overthrowing him in a revolution. -
Kaiser's Abdication
As a result of the mutiny and revolution, the Kaiser abdicated. A new government had to be set up quickly. Therefore, Fredrich Ebert took over as the head of the government. This is because Ebert was the leader of the largest socialist party, the SPD -
Surrender of Germany
On the 11th of November 1918, this new German government, Ebert's temporary government, surrendered to the allies and an armistice was signed to just end the war, between Germany and the allies. This led to Ebert being known as the November criminal, and his government the November Criminals as the stabbed the Germans in the back, as the German people still believed the Kaiser. -
The League of Nations
The League of Nations was established in 1919 in the TofV. The organisation was made to help resolve international problems to maintain peace. It was Wilson's idea as he wanted the world to come together in the world parliament to discuss problems and solve them peacefully without war. The 4 aims were to discourage aggression towards any nation, encourage disarmament, encourage cooperation between countries e.g. in business and trade, and improve living/ working conditions of people in the world -
Countries that joined the League in 1919
Britain and France joined the League in 1919 and left when it was discontinued. Japan joined the League in 1919 and chose to leave in 1932. Italy joined the League in 1919 and chose to leave in 1937 -
Treaty of St Germain
Treaty between allies and Austria, done in 1919. Austria had to pay reparations, and lost quite a bit of land, e.g. Bosnia and Herzegovina went to Yugoslavia and Austria was forbidden to unite with Germany (Anschluss). Old Austrian empire had already collapsed, the treaty mainly just sorted out the aftermath of this collapse. Millions were given self determination so now could rule themselves thanks to setting up Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, however economy suffered- industry to Czechoslovakia -
Treaty of Neuilly
A treaty between the allies and Bulgaria, done in 1919. Bulgaria had to pay reparations ad lost land to Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia. Bulgaria's economy ended up declining due to land loss, and many Bulgarians were ruled by foreigners. -
Poland
Poland was created to be a watchdog over Germany to make sure they didn't break the Treaty of Versailles. They hoped Poland would act as a buffer to prevent the USSR from invading the rest of Europe. However, Poland had no natural frontiers so it is vulnerable to attack. 30% of population was not Polish so it was not united. Poland involved in continuous struggle with USSR as the USSR wanted land on Poland's eastern border. Poland had a strip of German land to reach the sea- Germans angry. -
First Meeting of Paris Peace Talks
The Paris Peace Conference first met in January 1919. Its job was to write the Treaty of Versailles. The Big Three- Britain, France and the USA. Clemenceau, Lloyd-George and Wilson were mostly responsible for writing the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was not allowed to take part in the peace conference and was not even told anything about the talks which took place. -
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Yugoslavia
Created in 1919 at the end of WWI. Most complicated of the new countries formed. Made to give the people in the Old Austrian Empire independence and self determination. Yugoslavia was created by joining together of old countries such as Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia. Many different nationalities. In the 1990s, these countries fought each other for independence. -
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Czechoslovakia
The allies created Czechoslovakia mainly from land of the old Austrian empire. It created a strong country in the centre of Europe which had a rich industry to support it- stand up to Germany. But there were six different nationalities in Czechoslovakia and some did not want to be apart of it, especially the Germans. The industrial areas of Czechoslovakia were near to the German border and Germany wanted to get back these industrial areas. -
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Paris Peace Conference
The Treaty of Versailles was written at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919-1920. It took place in the Palace of Versailles. All of the big decisions regarding Germany were taken by the Big Three- Lloyd-George, Wilson and Clemenceau. The Big Three had different views about how they thought Germany should be treated. -
German Government saw the Treaty of Versailles
The German government first saw the treaty of Versailles on the 7th May 1919, as Germany was not allowed to attend the Paris Peace Talks. The Germans were shocked because the Treaty was extremely harsh and not based on Wilson's 14 Point Plan as the Germans had believed it would be. Argued the treaty was unfair because it was a diktat. -
Diktak
As the Germans were not told about the events of the peace talks, they continued to believe that the Treaty would be based on Wilson's 14 Point Plan. The Germans only realised that the Treaty of Versailles was not based on the Fourteen Point Plan when the treaty was shown to the German government on the 7th May 1919. The treaty was much harsher than the Germans expected and they called it a diktak -
Vilna 1920 Border Dispute
Poland and Lithuania were new countries created after WWI. Vilna was the capital of Lithuania, with a lot of Polish people living there. 1920- Polish army simply took control of Vilna. Poland complained to League. League failed here as they could've sent troops but they did nothing. France didn't want to attack as she wanted Poland as an ally against Poland, and Britain unable to attack alone. Poland was allowed to keep Vilna. Example of weak leadership, lacked power and acted in own interests -
Treaty of Trianon
Treaty made with Hungary with allies in 1920. Slovenia and Croatia went to Yugoslavia, and Hungary had to pay reparations. Hungary lost a lot of land and population. Millions now given self determination so could rule themselves due to setting up Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, but Hungary's industries suffered from loss of population and raw materials. -
Treaty of Serve
Treaty made with Turkey in 1920. Turkey lost Smyrna from Greece along with other bits of land, and Turkey had to pay reparations. But the Turks were outraged by the Treaty, so Turkish nationalists, led by Mustafa Kemal challenged the Treaty's terms when they drove Greece out of Smyrna. Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 confirmed this. -
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Countries in the League
By 1920, 42 countries had joined the League. By 1934, the League had 58 members. This is a strength of the League as the League represents many countries which should help it to encourage countries not to be aggressive to each other. The most powerful countries in the League were Britain, France, Japan, Italy, Germany and the USSR. These countries all joined and left at different times. However, the USA never joined the League as the US congress voted against joining, with many reasons for this. -
Aaland Islands 1921 Border Dispute
Both Sweden and Finland wanted to control these islands and both countries threatened to go to war over the matter. The League decided that the island should be controlled by Finland. This was also a total success as Sweden accepted the decision of the League, and the war was avoided. -
Upper Silesia 1921 Border Dispute
This was an industrial region between Germany and Poland. Both Germany and Poland wished to control it. A plebiscite was held in the area in 1921 to discover which country should control Upper Silesia. The Industrial areas voted to join Germany and the rural areas voted to join Poland. This was an unmanageable solution. As a result the League decided to split the area down the middle. This was a total success as both Germany and Poland agreed to accept the League's decision. -
Refugee problems in Turkey
The Refugee committee which was part of the League of Nations, helped deal with the refugee problems in 1922 -
Corfu 1923 Border Dispute
1923- Italian general killed in Greece. Mussolini blamed Greeks and wanted compensation. League criticised Italy for this demand- not proven yet. Decision- Greece pay compensation to League and distribute it depending on prove. Italy agreed publicly but applied pressure for League to change decision privately. Failure- pressure worked and Italy got compensation from Greece. Showed weak leadership of League- did not stick to original decision as gave into pressure. Members acted in own interests -
First Attempt of Disarmament Treaty 1923
The first attempt of the disarmament treaty was agreed by France but disagreed to by Britain because it would force her into having to defend other countries. This is because she was more interested in defending her empire than countries of the League. This meant the League achieved nothing. -
Treaty of Lausanne
The Turks were outraged by the Treaty of Serve, so Turkish nationalists, led by Mustafa Kemal challenged the Treaty's terms when they drove Greece out of Smyrna. Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 confirmed that Smyrna had returned to Turkey, which was signed by Britain -
Geneva Protocol 1924
After Corfu, seemed the League could be weakened by its own members, such as Italy. Meant France and Britain drew up Geneva protocol- stated that if there was a disagreement between two countries, they would have to agree with League's decision. Reinstatement of League's Covenant. Failure- election in Britain and new government refused to sign protocol. Meant League was weakened. Showed weak leadership- Britain weak as she wouldn't sign protocol restating League's fundamental aims -
Bulgaria 1925 Border Dispute
1925- Greek troops invaded Bulgaria. Bulgaria appealed to the League. League condemned Greece for invasion of Bulgaria. Success- Greece agreed to take her troops out of Bulgaria. Failure- Greece complained she was being treated differently to a more powerful country such as Italy, who hadn't agreed to the League's decision at Corfu. Showed weak leadership- Bulgaria showed Britain and France were weak leaders who could only stand up to weaker countries and gave into pressure of more powerful ones -
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Disarmament Conference 1926
The League plans a disarmament conference, however it took a further 5 years (between 1926-1931) until a draft convection was agreed for disarmament. Then in 1933, Germany rejected these plans for disarmament because other countries would not disarm to the same level as Germany. This was particularly to the League's reputation in Germany as Germany had been forced to disarm in the ToV but no other countries had agreed to disarm to the same extent. Weak leadership- 5 year delay in conference