Armistice Canadian History

What is an Armistice? It is the effective end of a war. Warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is a formalized truce during which time the two warring sides agree to a peace treaty. Does this mean that there was no real winner?

Armistice to End the War of all Wars Signed in a railway carriage in France. Put an end to the fighting. Allied and German representatives met and signed the Armistice at 5:00am on November 11, 1918. Did not come into effect until 11am Paris time. 11th Day, 11th Hour, 11th Month…

People Involved Matthias Erzberger: German politician (civilian). Opponent of the war. Was eventually assassinated. Also included in the negotiations were a number of key German military personnel. The Allied Supreme Commander: Ferdinand Foch (Marshall of France) Rosselyn Wemyss who was the British Representative.

Allied Demands Immediate clearing of Belgium, France, Alsace-Lorraine. (14 Days) Surrender 5000 cannon (chiefly heavy), 30,000 machine guns, 3000 trench mortars, 2000 planes Surrender of 5000 locomotives, 150,000 railway coaches, 10,000 trucks. Maintenance of enemy occupation troops through Germany.

Allied Demands Unconditional surrender of East Africa Return of prisoners of war. Return of the property of the Belgian Bank, Russian and Rumanian gold. The blockade remains in effect. All German ships to be captured. Armistice to last 30 days.

Paris Conferences Following the Armistice the Allied powers met with German leaders in order to come up with a peace treaty. Basis for the Treaty of Versailles a particularly harsh treaty for the Germans. Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points become a key feature of the Treaty of Versailles.

Features of a One Sided Treaty One of the most important features of the Treaty is where Allies placed the blame. All of the Allies had hidden agendas for the Treaty of Versailles France, a country that has had an extensive history of invasion wanted to make sure German would never invade again. England, the supreme naval power wanted to cripple Germany’s naval power. Both wanted revenge to varying degrees. The United States just wanted to go home and ensure that a war like this would never happen again. (14 Points)

6 Months Later…. After 6 months of negotiations and strong opposition to the Treaty by the Germans it was finally signed. June 28th, 1919.

Terms of the Versailles Treaty Germany would accept responsibility for the war. (war guilt clause) Germany would limit the size of its army and navy. A buffer zone was created between France and Germany along the Rhine. Alsace and Lorraine was returned to France. German had to give up West Prussia and Poland in order to create an independent state.

Terms continued… Germany was forced to give up all its colonies to the League of Nations (created through the Treaty). These colonies were then divided among the ‘winners’. Germany had to pay reparations. (33 million dollars) A lot by their standards.

Effects of the Treaty Embarrassment: German had been one of the greatest industrial powers since the early 19th century. This was a slap in the face. They did not feel they started it, nor did they lose. Reparations were unrealistic. Lost many key industrial factories so returning soldiers were offered few opportunities.

The Treaty Many experts feel as though the Treaty of Versailles laid the groundwork for Hitler’s claim to power. By 1939 Germany had violated many of the terms and the Allies did very little.

Activity Evaluate the Armistice and the Treaty of Versailles. Based on your knowledge of the World War 1 do you think that the Treaty was too harsh. Explain your answer. Remember it is your opinion. There is no right or wrong answer.