Paris 1919 Peace Conference, and Effect on Germany

Abstract

World War I started when the European powers had reached a sufficient level of military, technical, and industrial preparation. It was at the beginning of August 1914, when the Russian Empire announced war against the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Germany replied back declaring war against Russia and as a consequence, the Russian allies in Western Europe declared war to Germany in 04/08/1914. Until the beginning of 1917, the German armies, in a continuous row of victories, penetrated into the Eastern and Western fronts. The course of the war had a decisive change when the USA entered the conflict at the beginning of April 1917. The allied powers started to regain terrain of the Western front, eventually forcing Germany to cease all military operations in 09/11/1918. The complete defeat urged the German Emperor, Wilhelm II (Kaisar Wilhelm II) to abdicate and flee to Holland. The victorious powers, USA, UK and France, embarked in the Paris Peace Conference, which started in 18/01/1919 and ended in 21/01/1920. The Treaty of Versailles followed in 28/06/1919,whose the provisions required Germany to accept full responsibility for having caused the war. The treaty further required Germany to disarm, make ample territorial concessions, and pay reparations to certain countries that had formed the Powers. The conditions and consequences of the Treaty were regarded as a complete humiliation for Germany, as they were depriving the country from many of its military and economic powers