The Treaty of Versailles
Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist
Many folks don’t know a lot about World War I. The Great War (as it was known then) lasted from 1914-1918—it ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and this remembrance date eventually became Veterans Day in the US.
The WW I sites are not as well preserved as the many sites at Normandy for D Day, but there are some meaningful places in Europe you can visit to see the actual places that some key events happened.
Most of us really do not know much about the war in terms of battles fought over 100 years ago, so, let’s learn some about what caused the war, who were the key participants, and the treaty that ended this almost 5-year conflict.
Some Causes of World War One and the Incident that Sparks the Great War
I believe most historians won’t provide an easy answer to the question: What was the cause of war? Some key events, combined with a scramble for more land and power and conflicts between European countries all contributed to a path towards war.
Here is a partial list, in my judgement, that led to the war:
The 1870 Franco-Prussian War, where a unified Germany defeated France and took the Alsace-Lorraine region back, leaving the French eager to reclaim this area and wanting revenge.
The expansion of the German Navy that was a direct threat to Great Britain’s dominance of the seas.
The competition to get more colonies by many European nations.
The rise of rampant nationalism—our country is better than other countries, more powerful and we deserve more.
The number of constantly changing mutual defense treaties and secret alliances, all in a struggle to tip the balance of power towards one country over another.
In this highly charged, competitive atmosphere, all it would take was one incident to trigger war. It came with the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, the heir to the throne of Austro-Hungarian Empire.
After a month of demands to resolve this incident were not successful and getting assurance that Germany would support the Austria-Hungary Empire, they declared war on Serbia. This starts the wheels rolling—there is a series of declarations of war due to the mutual defense treaties and secret alliances.
There is no way out—a disastrous 4-year war results.
The Main Players in the Deadly Great War
Starting in 1914 and ending in 1918, there are officially 33 countries at war in this conflict. There are really 9 countries that are the key nations during this war—4 for the Central side and 5 for the Allied side.
On the Central side, the countries are Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.
On the Allied side, the countries are the British Empire, France, and Russia initially. In 1917, Italy and the United States join in on the Allied side.
Russia drops out of the war in 1917, after the Tsar is overthrown in the October Revolution by the Bolsheviks and the Lenin led government sues for peace, which is signed in 1918. This is the start of the Russian civil war (Reds (Bolsheviks) vs Whites (monarchists)) that eventually leads to the communist government winning the struggle in 1923 and establishing a new country—the USSR.
This removes the Eastern Front from the conflict and starts to tip the balance of power towards Germany, who now only has to fight on the Western Front. This does allow them to shift several hundred thousand forces to the Western Front and launch an offensive in March of 1918. .In the short term, Russia dropping out favored Germany but a new entrant into the war, America, was sending its forces into the conflict and this eventually proves decisive to end the war.
All sides are exhausted, with huge manpower losses, not enough money to cover the costs of the war and little to show for all the fighting.
Germany must now face the addition of American forces. The additional firepower, resources and soldiers of the Americans countered the loss of the Eastern Front and eventually tips the balance in favor of the Allies.
It also becomes the turning point for America in a global role of international engagement to promote democracy.
The Major Conflict Fronts
The war is conducted in 4 main areas of Europe. There is the Western Front (Belgium, France) the Eastern Front (Russia), the Turkish Front (Dardanelles, Gallipoli) the Italian Front (Dolomites of the Alps). It is war of static, fixed lines, and trench warfare, especially in the Western Front.
Trench warfare was a result of advances in firepower (machineguns and artillery) from protected positions was not matched by mobility of the attacking force, so the advantage went to the defender. It was not until armored forces and combined arms tactics were developed, that the advantage went back to the attacking forces but that did not happen until the very last part of WW I with the advent of tanks used by attacking forces.
WW I Tanks Photograph on display in the Tourist Information Center of Mesen (Messines)
Trench Warfare
Trench warfare was about as miserable a fighting environment as you could imagine. Constant mud and dirt, vermin, disease and wet and cold were just the day-to-day living conditions. Add to that barbed wire, artillery shelling, machine guns, and later in the war, gas attacks, tanks and even bombing or strafing from airplanes.
Most of the fighting was for only several hundred yards or so—one side would gain ground to only lose it later. It was the ultimate stalemate for most of the war.
The Human Suffering of the War
More than 60 million soldiers were mobilized during the conflict. About 10 million were killed. Most died by artillery fire—over 65% of these deaths were due to the shelling during the battles—over 6.5 million died from the shelling!
WW I Artillery Piece Photograph on display in the Tourist Information Center of Mesen (Messines)
Some of the destruction caused by the war Photograph on display in the Tourist Information Center of Mesen (Messines)
The Treaty of Versailles
This was the most important peace treaty that ended WW I. It was the treaty between Germany and the Allies and was signed on 28 June 1919. The other Central Powers signed separate treaties. The treaty was signed in the famous Hall of Mirrors in Versailles Palace.
The Hall of Mirrors in Versailles Palace
Detail of the Hall of Mirrors showing its stunning roof and one of the chandeliers.
President Wilson’s 14 Points
America was now involved in global politics. President Wilson saw himself as an important diplomat and he proposed his 14 points plan. His plan served as the foundation for the start of the treaty negotiations.
Here are the 14 Points (my source for this is the US National WW I Museum and Memorial Website) :
1. Open diplomacy without secret treaties
2. Economic free trade on the seas during war and peace
3. Equal trade conditions
4. Decrease armaments among all nations
5. Adjust colonial claims
6. Evacuation of all Central Powers from Russia and allow it to define its own independence
7. Belgium to be evacuated and restored
8. Return of Alsace-Lorraine region and all French territories
9. Readjust Italian borders
10. Austria-Hungary to be provided an opportunity for self-determination
11. Redraw the borders of the Balkan region creating Roumania, Serbia and Montenegro
12. Creation of a Turkish state with guaranteed free trade in the Dardanelles
13. Creation of an independent Polish state
14. Creation of the League of Nations
Points one through five attempted to eliminate the immediate causes of the war.: imperialism, trade restrictions, arms races, secret treaties, and disregard of nationalist tendencies. Points six through 13 attempted to restore territories occupied during the war and set post-war boundaries, also based on national self-determination. In the 14th Point, Wilson envisioned a global organization to protect states and prevent future wars.
The Americans and British supported Wilson’s plan, but the French, who were attacked, wanted revenge on Germany. They won out and the key result was punishment of Germany.
The Actual Treaty of Versailles Most Impactful Article—Article 231
Article 231 was the most significant part of this treaty—it assigned responsibility to Germany and her allies for causing the war. This article became known as the War Guilt clause and required Germany to disarm, make territorial concessions and pay substantial reparations—a staggering 132 billion gold marks.
The treaty signing happened exactly 5 years after the assassination of the Archduke on 28 June 1914, which was the spark that ignited the Great War.
Eventually, the German resentment of this treaty due to massive hardships in the lives of all Germans later became one of the causes of WW II—there is actually a famous picture of a well-dressed German man with a wooden wheelbarrow full of money showing the effect of the ruined German economy trying to buy one loaf of bread due to the out of control hyperinflation of the German Mark.
Results for America from the Treaty of Versailles
During a speech to Congress in 1918, President Wilson outlined his 14 point plan where he envisioned global peace if the plan was adopted and he declared WW I would be the “war to end all wars”.
President Wilson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 for his plan but he was disappointed by the punitive nature of the actual treaty. He did get his League of Nations included in the treaty. Most Americans did not want to get involved in another European War and Congress ultimately did not sign the Treaty of Versailles.
Although the US rejected the treaty, in large part due to having join the League of Nations, after WW II it served as the model for the United Nations
Some WW I Sites You Might Want to Visit
There are many spread out sites that document this horrible conflict from battlefields, museums, monuments, and graveyards. Almost every city in England, for example, erected a monument to the soldiers lost during this conflict. Here is one example of these monuments:
A WW I Soldier Monument in Winchester England
Part of the inscription on the monument reads “The Kings Royal Rifle Corps who gave their lives for King and Country in the Great War 1914-1918”.
Perhaps the Western Front has the best collection of sites to help understand more about this conflict (you will note that 5 of the 9 sites I am recommending are from this front). I am always afraid to use the word best, as it is only an opinion, but certainly most of these sites will improve your understanding of this vicious war.
1. Visit the bridge where it all started.in Sarajevo to see the Latin Bridge where Gavrilo Princip shot the Archduke and his wife. There is only a small plaque to denote the exact location of the assassination. When Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of Yugoslavia, the bridge was named the Princip Bridge, as many Serbs believe this man was a hero. I would not go out of my way to visit this site, but if you are near the area for other reasons, you might want to take a couple of photos, as nothing has changed of the street layouts since that fateful day in 1914 and you can stand on the exact spot where history was made by one of the most important gun shots were every fired (okay I confess—I actually stood on a corner in Winslow, AZ based on the lyrics of the Eagles song, so you may now understand why I would include this site).
2. Take a Flanders Fields Tour. This tour focuses on the Ypres Salient. Among the interesting sites to see include Hill 60, Tyne Cot Cemetery, and the Menin Gate Memorial. I took this tour in 2018 and it was really a worthwhile experience. Here are some photos:
A German Bunker position on Hill 60
The Cross of Sacrifice Tyne Cot Cemetery—In the center of the cemetery is the Cross of Sacrifice constructed over a German bunker captured in 1917. This monument was built at the request of King George V of the British Empire.. The words on the Cross of Sacrifice reads
THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE.
Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial
The Menin Gate—the cars and people give you a sense of how large this gate is. It is the most famous memorial of the British Commonwealth in Flanders. It lists the names of 54,896 soldiers reported missing in the 1914 to 15 August 1917 in the Ypres salient
A Lion guards the Menin Gate
3. Visit the trenches of Sanctuary Woods in Belgium. It also includes a good museum with recovered soldier’s equipment and weapons used in World War I.
4. Verdun Battlefield Tour (1 hour, 15-minute drive to Verdun from Reims). This tour will help you understand more about the 300-day battle of Verdun. Sites include the 2 floor Verdun Memorial Museum, L’Ossuaire Cemetery and two forts—Fort Douaumont (with the nearby Trenches of Bayonets) and Fort Vaux.
5. Drive the 40-mile Circle of Remembrance which takes you to numerous battle sites, museums, and monuments about the Somme battle. In the Somme, over 1 million soldiers on both sides died during this conflict on the Western Front.
6. Visit the battle area of Vimy Ridge in France. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the larger Battle of Arras that lasted 4 days. It was a battle between Canadian forces against German forces. There is a large stone monument for the Canadians, and it is possible to see restored trenches and tunnels used during this battle.
7. Many Americans would probably like to visit areas where Americans fought in WW I. They should then visit the Picardy region of northern France and learn about the Battle of the Marne and Belleau Woods where they can see the trenches in the Belleau Woods, visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, and learn more about this conflict in the Museum of the Great War in Meaux.
8. The Italian Front in the Dolomites may be the hardest area to see, as tours sometimes requires trekking into the Alps. This front was fighting between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Italians, who wanted to liberate Trento and Trieste from their foes. I did find a tour that included visiting the trenches and bunkers, the Grenadiers Mule track on Monte Cengio, and the museum of the battle of Caporetto in Kobarid.
9. Visit the battle areas in a tour of some of the Turkish Front sites. These include Gallipoli, and the Anzac Cove and other combat sites and memorials. These tours usually start from Cannakkale in Turkey.
Our Final Thoughts
World War I is a conflict that shaped much of modern Europe and exposed the world to advanced weapons that made warfare an extremely bloody affair. Tactics would evolve and useless slaughters of attacking well defended and protected positions were finally rejected by military leaders by using combined force tactics and bypassing strong points when possible.
The cost of humans lost was horrific and the treaties, especially the treaty of Versailles led to resentment and hardships for Germans and was a cause of WW II some 21 years later.
We hope you enjoyed this report and realize the futility of war to solve conflicts which is a theme repeated over and over in the Great War, especially on the Western Front, where many were killed to gain 300 yards of territory. I hope we learn some lessons from this conflict but it seems some countries want to gain power at the expense of other countries still today.
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ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 50 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
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