During the development of the treaty, the British wanted Germany to abolish compulsory military service, but to be able to maintain an army of volunteers. The French wanted Germany to maintain a military military army of up to 200,000 men to justify maintaining a similar force. Thus the allocation of 100,000 volunteers in the contract was a compromise between the British and French positions. Germany, on the other hand, considered the terms to be devoid of any potential enemy. [173] Bernadotte Everly Schmitt wrote that “there is no reason to believe that allied governments were dishonest when they declared at the beginning of Part V of the Treaty … that in order to facilitate a general reduction in the armament of all nations, Germany had to disarm first. The absence of American ratification of the treaty or membership of the League of Nations did not allow France to disarm, which gave rise to a German desire for disarmament. [73] Schmitt argued that if the four allies had remained united, they could really have forced Germany to disarm, and the German will and the ability to resist other provisions of the treaty would have diminished accordingly. [174] The treaty itself was based on Germany`s guilt in the war. The document deprived Germany of 13 per cent of its territory and one tenth of its population. The Rhineland was occupied and demilitarized and the German colonies were taken over by the new League of Nations.

The German army was reduced to 100,000 men and the country was banned from dislodging soldiers. His weapons were widely seized and the navy freed from large ships. Germany was forced to try William II, its emperor, for war crimes. And the contract required Germany to pay 269 billion gold marks, which is equivalent to $37 billion. The Paris Peace Conference opened on 18 January 1919, an important date marking the anniversary of the coronation of German Emperor William I, which took place at the Palace of Versailles at the end of the Franco-German War in 1871. Prussia`s victory in this conflict led to German unification and the conquest of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine by France. In 1919, France and its Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau had not forgotten the humiliating loss and wanted to avenge it in the new peace agreement. French negotiators demanded reparations to make Germany pay for the destruction caused during the war and reduce German power. [33] The French also wanted iron ore and coal from the Saarte Valley by annexation to France. [41] The French were prepared to accept less reparations than the Americans would grant, and Clemenceau was ready to discuss Germany`s solvency with the German delegation before the final agreement was drawn up. In April and May 1919, the French and Germans had separate discussions on mutually acceptable agreements on topics such as reparation, reconstruction and industrial cooperation. France, along with the British Dominions and Belgium, refused warrants and supported the annexation of former German colonies.

[42] In the end, the European Allies imposed difficult peace conditions on Germany, forcing the nation to abandon about 10 percent of its territory and all its overseas properties. Other important provisions of the Treaty of Versaille called for the demilitarization and occupation of the Rhineland, remained the German army and navy, prohibiting it from maintaining an air force, and requiring it to stand trial for war crimes against Emperor William II and other leaders because of its aggression. Most importantly, Article 231 of the treaty, better known as the “war debt clause,” forced Germany to take full responsibility for the start of the First World War and pay huge reparations for Allied war losses. Article 231, commonly known as the war debt clause, required Germany to take responsibility for the cause of the “loss and harm” inflicted on the Allies. This provision became the basis for the German Allies` requirement to pay for reparations that were set at $33 billion (approximately 4 billion