It also required Germany to pay 6,600 million Euros to countries that faced damages due to the war. German troops were restricted to a maximum of 100,000 and were not allowed to have an air force and submarines, and were restricted to only have 6 battleships. They were also banned from using any kind of heavy artillery, gas bombs, and tanks. The restrictions on their army made Germany vulnerable to getting
In 1923, Germany had failed to make a reparations payment resulting in France occupying the Ruhr. This had a disastrous effect on the German economy, resulting in the German government printing more money as the currency collapsed and by November 1923, one US dollar was worth 4.2 trillion marks. Leading economists still believe that the reparations accounted for most of Germany’s deficit in 1921 and 1922 and that they caused hyperinflation. Furthermore, Germany was stripped of 25,000 square miles of
The military clause was the harshest and most damaging clause, and was greatly disapproved of by Germany. The size and power of the German army was one of her greatest assets. The Treaty wanted to make Germany a lesser threat by cutting its army down to 100,000 men, making them
There equipment was literally frozen, the Germans were stuck where they were and couldn’t do anything. In the pacific, Japan underestimated the United States ability to make war in the Pacific. The Japanese defeat at the battle of Midway proved decisive for the American navy and turned the tide of naval warfare in the pacific. The U.S. tactic “island hopping” was proved affective and helped the U.S. turn the tide of the war. In conclusion, this is my view on how the allies defeated the allied powers
On the other hand, the anguished effects of WWI were still enduring in the Germanic collective memory. Many Germans perceived The Versailles Treaty, signed by the Allies in 1919, as a humiliation. The treaty contained a number of heavy impositions to Germany which were socio-economically unbearable to a once great and powerfu l nation. The amount that had to be paid to the Allies as war damage 2 made the Mark lost all its value, causing a hyperinflation so severe that the prices increased by over 100 times in just one year (Bresciani -Turroni, 1968.). The hyperinflation crisis, which was only solved in 1924, lasted enough time to ruin thousands of Germanic families, thus worsening the general feeling of rage against the treaty.
As well, the only way that the Wilson plan would have survived the political intrigue of the Europeans was either through a league that had real teeth, or a super power willing to intervene as a worldwide police officer. Neither of which existed in 1918. Clemenceau’s views represented the average sentiment of the European Allies after the war. In the closing days of the war, a war weary European population must have tried to make sense of the carnage, of the loss. Clemenceau casts a pale light on the German population, blaming the war on the aims of “the intolerable German Aristocracy.” (Clemenceau, p. 73) The entire argument for the French and nay, European view, was the perceived threat that Europeans felt of German arrogance.
On 4 February 1915, in response to the German submarine blockade of Great Britain, the Royal Navy seized all food destined for Germany which led to extreme food shortages. Prior to this, Germany had imported 25% of what was consumed and was not self-sufficient in terms of food. In response to this, a War Food Office was set up in 1916 but its actions were often counter-productive for example when they ordered the killing of 9 million pigs due to that fact they consumed grain. This consequently led to less pork and fertiliser and ultimately had a negative impact. Following the Auxiliary Service Law in December 1919, which required all able-bodied Germans to work for the war effort, there was a sharp increase of social unrest as Germans felt their rights being curtailed.
The League also didn’t work because America didn’t join and it was the American President Woodrow Wilson who created it and it would never have worked unless all the nations were allowed to join. The failure of this organisation encouraged Hitler because he had witnessed how weak and inefficient it was. The Abyssinia Crisis is a good example of how the League
America, despite its efforts, could not remain neutral and was forced to enter World War 1. Germany did not respect America’s decision to stay neutral and purposely sunk their ships in the British Isles. They sent the Zimmerman Telegram uniting other countries against America. Lastly, they blockaded British ports and prevented American trade with France and GB. Over 100,000 Americans died during WW1, but were rewarded with patriotism, an Allie victory and trade which once again
The Great Depression: Did America Need it? Dawood Nadeem CHA3U1 Aside from the Civil War, the Great Depression was the gravest crisis in American history. Just as in the Civil War, the United States appeared—at least at the start of the 1930s—to be falling apart. But for all the turbulence and the panic, the ultimate effects of the Great Depression were less reassuring than revolutionary. I feel that the great depression was needed to shape the new Republic.