World Politics
The Aftermath of WWI
March 3, 2008

WWI: Turned horrid. In Europe they had greeted the outbreak of hostilities with nothing short of euphoria. They expected a short war.

The Schlieffen plan almost worked. The Germans zipped through Belgium, into France, and moved quickly towards Paris. But they fell just short, for a number of reasons:

1) Moltke (German commander) changed some of the troop ratios from 7-1 to 3-1, and shifted troops to Alsace;

2) Belgium offered an heroic defense;

3) A large army can't go more than 200 miles without pausing to regroup - the right wing was expected to go 400 miles, and became disorganized, and exhausted;

4) As the army approached Paris, the line of advance started to get thin, and Gen. von Kluck decided to turn east of Paris to keep in contact;

5) A garrison in Paris was able to attack the turning flank (under Gallieni) causing Gen. Kluck to lose contact with Gen. Von Bulow;

6) The British Plan W -expeditionary force, had been outflanked when the Germans went through Belgium, now they were to benefit from luck. The Brits happened to be between German armies! This scared Moltke.

Moltke then ordered a retreat. Meanwhile, the French were charging into Alsace via Plan 17, but were getting slaughtered. Gen. Joffre turned the troops around and attacked the Germans at the Battle of the Marne - September 9-13.

The Plan had failed. Now what?

Years of war -- casualties, plans that didn’t work. Germany had grandiose plans, even taking over Europe and the East for Lebensraum (literally ‘room to live’ – more land for Germany to expand), others wanted a peace treaty. For years there was no real possibility for peace, and France and England getting the worst of it. But some Germans concluded by 1916 they’d lost the war due to British naval blockade. Still, nothing was clear, and public opinion would not let Germany quit the war without major gains. By 1917, though Bethmann-Holwegg was Chancellor, Ludendorf and Hindenburg were virtual co-dictators as the military led.

Bethmann resisted attempts to use U-Boots (submarines) in all out unrestricted U-boot warfare. But the decision made on Jan 8, 1917, with the U.S. informed on January 31. This helped lead the US to join the war. Then German Foreign Minister Alfred Zimmerman sent a telegram to Mexico offering it one third of the U.S., and suggested a base for Japan in California. This brought the American public to almost completely support allied cause. The British leaked telegram to UPI on March 1, 1917 to play American public opinion, Wilson argues for a new world order, based on democracy and rule of law, and Congress declares war on April 6, 1917.

Still, the U-Boots almost succeeded, but Lloyd George conjured up the idea of the convey to better keep them in place.

Ludendorf Offensive: The last German offensive, actually a series of five offensives, first two vs. British, then a revival of the Schlieffen Plan. But with a million troops in the East to enforce the settlement with Russia, they couldn't succeed. They got close -- they pushed to the Marne river again, but were surprised by the American presence -- well fed soldiers with the morale that the Germans and French had lost after 1914. Lines cracked 30 Aug 1918. The collapse of Bulgaria broke links between Germany and Rumania (which supplied Germany with food), and Ludendorf told the Kaiser Germany had lost. He recommended the Kaiser appeal to Wilson for peace, and Ludendorf left for Sweden. He wanted the Social Democrats and anti-war parties to negotiate the settlement. Also, there was mutiny in the North over planned offensives that were suicide offensives and naval battles (any rational soldier would have mutinied), but all of this laid the ground work for the "stab in the back" legend.

The French in WWI

The French "plan" in WWI was Plan 17, a full frontal offensive into Germany through Alsace and Lorraine, which rested more than anything else on the "superiority of the French will" to succeed. While the Germans had scientifically planned their military strategy, the French were focused on more romantic ideals of will. Science turned out to be more effective, and the French slowly adapted. Nearly 1.35 million French died in the war, over 3 million were injured. That created a huge social cost of the conflict. Also, much of the war was fought on French territory, creating real disruptions of French life.

Nonetheless, most of the French supported the war, especially in the first three years.

Few thought the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand would lead to war. Something minor in the Balkans certainly can’t spread into a conflict between the major states, it was assumed that military involved against Serbia could be limited, and French politicians compartmentalized the conflict.

Left: syndicalists and some socialists opposed the conflict from the beginning, but most joined the union sacree -- Poincare’s call for a united France to fight the battle and put aside political differences for the greater good.

Gen. Joffre: mouthpiece for fanatics, who had their military thinking rooted in the philosophy of Henri Bergson. Their focus: a desire for perpetual offensive, they thought more Germans than French were dying, but reality ultimately destroys illusions based on wishful thinking. The Germans were better equipped for war, they brought shovels, wire cutters, and other necessary equipment. They put big Bertha guns outside of Paris to bombard the city.

1917 - awful year for entente

Nivelle - replaced Joffre, and promised to win the war "in 24 hours" with an infantry charge(!) He refused to give weight to reports of a German strategic retreat, and Germans got wind of the plan. French had already had 3,000,000 casualties, and when this failed, they went on strike, stayed in trenches.

Marshall Petain then replaced Nivelle, and he ultimately became the hero of WWI for France. He went up and down the line, listened to complaints, and saved France by re-moralizing the army. He knew the Americans would enter the war shortly, and wanted "to wait for them". Both sides made war a moral crusade, and neither could back down.

France also got strong leadership when Georges Clemenceau, by then 76 years old, took over in 1917. When the war was won, France was devastated. It was a great victory, at great cost.

1919 - 10 million died of influenza (aided by malnourishment) in Europe, more than died in the war (double that world wide).

Europe had experienced four horrid years of bloodshed and trench warfare. Barbed wire lines moved only feet in days, and back and forth. A regular stalemate. Read: Alls Quiet on the Western Front, an excellent book about the reality of warfare in WWI. Only when Socialists began to lead national protests against the costs of the war did the governments realize the war had to end in order to prevent a massive popular revolt. Also, read: The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman, which explains how Germany almost won the war against France, and a few mistakes and miscalculations turned near victory into a long term disaster.

After the war, there were a lot of questions. Why did the war occur?

One answer: everyone wanted it. Yellow journalism had hopes of victory high, Paris and Berlin were joyous when mobilization orders were sounded, and one could say that social pressures leading to the war were so great that diplomacy could only push off the inevitable.

Another answer: mistakes. It shouldn't have happened. That was also true: diplomats had tried to avoid the war. But many in each country had wanted it. Probably a question not of if WWI, but when, when would a spark ignite it. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was inevitable, but a lot of things pointed to a conflict coming.

Still, it was seen as a war nobody had wanted, and really no one won.

Led to two reactions: 1) Leninism

2) Idealism, associated with Woodrow Wilson

IDEALISM: Woodrow Wilson: 14 points

Main ones: Self-determination

League of nations

Collective security

Needed to create order, so that the world could be run democratically. After all WWI was a war to make the world safe for democracy. This is idealism: just, fair order, with diplomacy and international law allowing for the peaceful resolution of conflict.

* No more secret treaties or European ‘politics as usual’

* Democracy should be the way of government

* International law and organization, not chaos and anarchy

Realpolitik like Bismarck’s, along with alliances led to a war nobody wanted. That should not have happened, Wilson argued: a result of a failure in the system. Power and alliances are not the way to build stability, but organization, cooperation, and the development of a "family of nations." Wilson’s critique was very persuasive. But his style was not. He preached, seemed arrogant, and basically told the Europeans they should be more like the Americans.

Wilson didn’t get his way. 1. Status of Rheinland: On this issue, Wilson threatened to go home. Clemenceau wanted French occupation. With the French in the Rheinland, an attack through Belgium would be impossible. Also, an attack eastward was impossible since France could strike German economic centers. But this went against 14 points Wilson had promised.

Compromise: A 50 kilometer strip of Rheinland (right bank of Rhein) was to be permanently demilitarized "for eternity". Together with Wilson, Lloyd George promised an unambiguous Anglo-American guarantee of French and Belgian security. However, this area was remilitarized by Hitler in 1936.

This was the Western settlement, and most of the haggling was over this. However, it was the eastern settlement that drove the German public into hysterics!

Setting for Crisis #1: The new Austria voted to become a part of the larger Germany, something known as Anschluss. This was logical, since Wien (Vienna) had been the administrative capital of the Hapsburg Empire, and it felt out of place in a small rural country. Italy and France refused this, however, esp. since this would mean that German troops could be placed on the Brenner Pass between Italy and Austria.

Setting for Crisis #2: Sudeutenland. The western Czechoslovakian Sudeutenland had three million Germans, and most of the area’s industry. In order to keep this out of German hands and give the Czech state a reasonable chance at developing a good economy, this section was given to Czechoslovakia. The Germans were very upset, and shocked, especially since people living there wanted to be part of Germany (formerly part of Austro-Hungary) – this was counter to Wilson’s promise of self-determination which said after the war no people should be forced into a country they do not want to be a part of.

Setting for Crisis #3: Polish Corridor (West Prussia). This was given to Poland. It had been claimed by Prussia in 1772, though Polish was the most spoken language. Germans considered it German, especially the very German city of Danzig (now Gdansk). This was done to give Poland a sea coast, and this helped precipitate the crisis that triggered the 1939 war.

IN ALL, Germany lost 10% pop, 13% territory, 15% farmland -- a very modest settlement compared to Brest-Litovsk, but the Germans were in no mood for comparing. Also they lost all their colonies, the navy was cut to six battleships, no submarines. They also lost trading rights in special areas, lost sovereignty of Rhein river, and lost control of the Kiel Canal. The Interallied Control Commission was able to go all over the country and monitor German compliance with treaty.

WHAT ABOUT THE ARMY? This was a difficult question. The solution came from Lloyd George's and he later would regret it. The army was reduced to 100,000, with 96,000 men serving twelve years, and 4,000 officers serving 25 years. This was akin to a large police force. But this plan for the Reichswehr backfired. The army became even more elite, due to the long terms, and attracted the very best. Also, the limit later led to the Freikorps movement, unofficial militias that were tolerated, and ultimately helped spread unrest that made it easier for the Nazis to come to power.

Also, war criminals were named. The Kaiser was Number One, but the Dutch government refused to hand him over -- they were neutral and did not like the Brits and French ordering them to hand someone over to whom they gave asylum. Also, the Kaiser was old and rather pathetic. He lived until 1942, and later remarried. When his first wife died, the funeral procession in Germany (where her body was returned to) was 400 miles long! This showed that the Germans still had sympathy for the Monarch as the figure of government.

Ultimate Outrage: Article 231: Germany had to bare full responsibility of the cost of the damage done by her and her allies. To the German public, this suggested that the war had been for an ignoble cause with only Germany to blame. It was the opposite of Wilson’s promise for ‘no war guilt,’ but Wilson had been pushed aside by this time.

This opened up the debate. The Germans sent Brockdorff-Rantzau to the peace conference to sign the document. He was a Prussian aristocrat, very snobby. His ancestors had been in service of the King of France (Louis XIV and XV) and one of the later Kings was considered to be an illegitmate offspring of Brockdorff's ancestors. The train carrying him to Paris went very slow through damaged areas, and after he was picked up, the French escort, to make small talk, mentioned that "I hear that one of our Kings was the bastard offspring of one of your ancestors." Brockdorff responded that in his opinion, "all French Kings were bastards."

The German group was penned in a small area, with their luggage dumped literally in the yard, they were treated poorly.

The next day, Brockdorff was summoned in, and Clemenceau stated that the "discussion was over" and Brockdorff's only duty was to sign the document. A whole book was brought out. Herbert Hoover notes that this was the first time that the three leaders actually saw the agreement in whole. Lloyd George and Wilson only then realized how bad it was, but it was really too late to make changes.

When Brockdorff got to Article 231, he stood and gave a lecture, calling the three hypocrites and refused to go further. When he left he lit a cigarette and puffed smoke -- read by the "big three" as a gesture of defiance. (Actually, Brockdorff claims that he didn't mean it that way, and just wanted a smoke). Clemenceau leaned to Wilson and said "see what I mean, they're all like that." Wilson considered it the most inept speech he ever heard. Brockdorff was bright, but not diplomatic. Still, he tried to work out a compromise. Brockdorff proposed revisions that were generous on territorial situations, but he resisted the financial clauses.

Lloyd George: Said that he thought Brockdorff had a point.

Clemenceau: In a low point of the entire affair said he had a room full of French women raped by German soldiers that he would like Lloyd George to talk to if he wanted to change the agreement.

Wilson: By now was more ill, and also sick of all the bickering. He just wanted to go home.

So, no changes were made.

Brockdorff went home, and suggested that the Germans go on with the war, arguing that Germany would be occupied, but that they could play upon the victor's disagreements when they tried to divide the spoils.

(Note: if this had been done, perhaps there would not have been a stab in the back legend, and no world war II.)

The Provisional government asked Hindenberg if this would be possible, and he said "no." Probably, he was right. Brockdorff resigned and a socialist was sent to sign the Peace Treaty on June 19, 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles palace.

95% of the German people hated the treaty. Germany felt betrayed -- they had agreed to peace on the basis of Wilson's 14 points, and the peace looked nothing like those!

At Versailles they put together new states like Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, hoping that somehow they would stay together. The Czechoslovak state was really problematic: they put in an area dominated by Germans the Sudetenland. This was contrary to self-determination, as the Germans didn’t want to be Czech citizens, but instead wanted to be German. But self-determination didn’t matter, the key to Clemenceau and Lloyd George was to punish Germany. Also, that region was needed to assure the Czechoslovaks could defend themselves.

They broke up Austria, and the Serbs would get their southern Slav state: Yugoslavia would be mix of Serbs, Croats and Muslims, whose bickering had started the whole war. Parts of Germany and Russia were given to Poland.

Realpolitik, not idealism dominated Versailles. Also, Germans were forced to admit war guilt, something that they resented greatly, and forced to pay reparations.