preview

How Did The Treaty Of Versailles Fail

Decent Essays

From the year 1914 until 1918, countries of the world fought in World War I. The war resulted in countless casualties, numerous displacements of peoples, and the fall of many economies. Between nine and 11 million soldiers died and twenty-one million were injured. There were also another couple of million civilians that lost their lives. Economic problems also occurred throughout the world. By 1918, it is said that the war was costing 10 million dollars per hour. Political powers also failed; governments collapsed and rulers and leaders fell. After the War ended, peace had to be made. So, on 28 June 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was created. While the Treaty of Versailles aimed to create lasting peace with Germany, it instead created danger …show more content…

The first thing the treaty did was end the military actions against Germany. The Treaty of Versailles limited Germany’s army and forced Germany to pay a lot. It forced demilitarization of some lands and made Germany give up some of its lands. Germany’s army was restricted to 100,000 men and its navy and air force were also decreased. The navy was cut down to six battleships and zero submarines. The air force was restricted. Germany was held responsible for causing all the loss and damage caused by the war and therefore required to pay reparations. Germany was forced to pay 132 billion gold marks or thirty-three billion US dollars. This was not the only treaty to strip one of the Central Powers of territory and arms. Other treaties also did that and required the Central Powers to pay reparations. While the Treaty of Versailles may have seemed necessary at the time, it actually caused more destruction and instability in the long …show more content…

The proposal was denied. So, Germany acceded to the terms and conditions of the treaty. Germany said that they would do whatever it was that was asked of them. Although they said this, they were in fact very upset. They lost ten percent of their land, twelve and a half percent of their population, sixteen percent of their coal industry, and forty-eight percent of their iron industry. The terms were also humiliating; Germany had to accept total responsibility for the war and its consequences and they had to pay and limit their military. Trying to get out of it, Germany blamed Russia for starting the war. However, the Allies forced Germany to accept responsibility. Instead, Germany was limited in many ways and was occupied by other countries in various locations. Because the reparations were so intense, Germany often played in resources like timber and coal. Germany was not able to pay their reparations thirty-four times which also affected France since they relied on Germany. Because of this, France and Belgium decide to occupy Germany by the Ruhr River Valley. At this point, the German economy was terrible, they had an extremely limited military, and now they had foreign countries on their land. In order to help Germany pay, the Dawes Plan was created. First, it made France leave the river. Second, it organized the German bank. Third, It helped Germany pay with help of the

Get Access