The War to End All Wars

World War I, known as the Great War, was the first total war between the European nations. Many soldiers had died in the terrible conditions of the trenches. Not only were countless lives lost in the war, but land, especially in France and Belgium, were also destroyed. There were also many controversies when the Great War finally ended. Many leaders had different and conflicting opinions on how the treaty was going to be put together. Some, like Clemenceau and Lloyd George of Britain, wanted the Treaty of Versailles to punish and blame Germany for starting the war. Others, like Woodrow Wilson of the US, felt that laying blame would not lead to peace. The United States, France, and Britain were called the "Big Three," since they dominated in the League of Nations and in the creation of the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles consisted of 440 clauses. Some of the most important clauses of the treaty was that Germany had to give up certain parts of her European territories and colonies, and limit the size and power of her army and navy (Articles 159-213). Articles 45-50 states that the Saar Basin, an important coal area, was to be owned and controlled by France because of the destruction of the coalmines north of France. Also, Articles 100-108 states that the city of Danzig was to be made a free city. This weakened Germany territorially, militarily, and economically. Moreover, a League of Nations (Articles 1-26) was created in order to maintain peace. Article 231, the famous "war guilt clause", was an important part of the Treaty of Versailles. It stated that Germany and her allies were responsible for the war and had to pay reparations for the damages done. Some argue that the treaty created peace, others argue that it created disputes that later led to World War II. I believe that to a small extent, the Treaty of Versailles did achieve the goal of creating the conditions that led to a peaceful world; in spite of its failures, the treaty was the first attempt at creating world peace.

The League of Nations was an important component of the Treaty of Versailles. It was first proposed in President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points. The League of Nations' main aims was to prevent to outbreak of wars, improve people's lives and jobs, agree to disarmament, and enforce the Treaty of Versailles. The League hoped it could influence countries to ensure peace by international diplomacy and mediation, economic sanction, force, and moral condemnation. This seemed to work well at first; however, later, there proved to be many weaknesses contained in the Treaty. For example, the League did not have an army of its own, which means that if any of the countries ignored the Leagues decision, then the League would have no power to do anything. The main strength of the League was that it was set up by the Treaty of Versailles. Later, people started to attack the treaty; this was also a major weakness of the League. In fact, one of the most serious weaknesses was that the League had limited membership. Most of the powerful countries were not members. For instance, the US refused to join although Woodrow Wilson was the one who proposed the idea of a League. Germany was not allowed to be a member, and communist Russia resented Britain and France's membership. Another critical weakness was the decision-making process established by the League. This process involves all the members acting together in order for the League to take action. Therefore, if one member disagrees or does not cooperate, then the League's decision would become useless.

An example of when the League failed to prevent war was the dispute over Manchuria. This dispute started when the world wide economic depression took place in the 1930s. Japan tried to overcome this depression by building an empire. They did this by invading Manchuria. When China asked the League to help, the League ordered Japan to leave. Japan refused to retreat from Manchuria and instead withdrew its membership from the League. Since many countries had important trading links with Japan, and Britain and France didn't want war, the League did nothing about this situation. Another example was the dispute over Abyssinia. This started when Mussolini wanted war and glory by invading Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). The League talked to Mussolini but he ignored the League and invaded Abyssinia. Subsequently, the League decided to put a ban a weapon sales and sanctions on rubber and metal. However, corruption in the League eventually led to the capture of Abyssinia. France and Britain had secretly agreed on giving Abyssinia to Italy; this was called the Hoare-Laval Pact. In these situations, the League was unable to help prevent territorial conquests, and so it failed to preserve peace between the nations.

When Germany was defeated in the west, they were forced to sign an armistice because they could not fight any longer.