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The World War 1, also known as the First World War or the Great War, began in Europe and lasted between 1914 and 1918. As the war began, the world’s super powers had formed alliances to take part in the war. When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28 1914, Great Britain, France, Russia, and Germany soon joined the previously small conflict. More countries later joined the war with each finding basis on different reasons. In his book “The Origins of the First World War,” Martel (2006) attributes the countries’ participation to the preceding agreement among the different countries. This in turn saw a need for the said countries to assist each other upon the detection of a threat. For instance, Germany declared war on France and intended to cross Belgium, a neutral territory, to access France’s borders. This saw Britain declare war on France as the British had a protection agreement with the now threatened Belgium.
According to Ferguson (1992), Germany signed the first treaty, the Treaty of Versaillespresented by the Allied Powers in June 28 1919. The process that saw the formulation of the treaty had however lasted six months during which the Paris Peace Conference took place. The treaty marked an official end to the war but left Germany crippled in its wake. Ferguson (1992) goes further to explain this notion by arguing that the treaty aimed at disabling Germany as a nation and in turn, ensure the superiority of the Allied Powers (p. 730). Stevenson (1998) attests to the idea as he points out that the terms in the treaty were not only a crime against Germany as a country but a major contributor to World War 2 that came afterwards.
According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was to take full responsibility of the damage caused by the Great War and was in turn expected to compensate the Allied Nations for the said damages (Ferguson, 1992). The Compensation amounted to a total of one hundred and thirty two billion deutsche marks that the enforcers of the treaty were to divide amongst themselves. In addition, Germany had to disarm and give up her colonies, as a move to ensure that the country does not rise up against the super powers.
All these terms saw Germany weaken politically and economically while the Allied Powers gained from the same (Stevenson, 1998). The money paid as compensation saw Germany’s economy lag behind as most resources were repaying the imposed fines. In a bid to further, maim the country politically, the treaty also dictated that the country could recruit only one hundred thousand men into the army while at the same time, as stated above, there was disarming of the country. In “The First World War and International Politics,” Stevenson (1998) confirms this by pointing out that the Germans were unable to purchase military weapons and eventually, the German governmenthad to sign the treaty after realizing they had no other option in the matter.
On September 10 1919, the Republic of Austria and the Allied Powers signed the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Sheffield, 2011). According to the treaty terms, it forbade Austria from seeking any defensive or political union with other countries without the consent from the League of Nations (Stevenson, 1998). In other words, Austria could notgain any colonies around its boundaries thus, standing alone. Therefore, we can also argue that the signed treaty left the country defenseless politically as any form of alliance was against the treaty. There was tension in theperiod after the First World War and most countries felt the need to defend their countries somehow and ensure some stability in case of another war. Instead, Austria did not have this option, because the country had its small army to defend it and the treaty was more of a constraint than protection.
Next was the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine of the Allied Powers and Bulgaria (Sheffield, 2011). Like in Germany’s case, the treaty required Bulgaria to pay one hundred million pounds as compensation for the war, reduce its militiamen power, and give up territories to the Allied Powers. Though slightly mild in comparison to the German’s, Bulgaria still suffered from the set phrases of the treaty and was as a result, exposed to diverse threats as a country. In fact, it dismantled the political aspect of the Bulgarian government, because the country was unable to expand its territories and had to spend most of the country’s economic resources to repay the debt mentioned above.
On June 4 1920,the Hungarians and the Allied Powerssigned the Treaty of Trianon (Sheffield, 2011). The major clause in the treaty dictated a limitation to the Hungarian boundaries meaning the country was to remain as it was at the time of signing the treaty. This led to major losses to Hungary as it failed to maximize on the lands surrounding its borders hence hindered it from expanding on its political powers. Perhaps the major loss to the Hungarians lay in the fact that a power that was not even present on the Hungarian soil dictated their country. The government’s power was limited to a certain geographic area within which most decisions lay upon the Allied Powers.
Finally, there was the Peace Treaty of Sèvres (Sheffield, 2011) signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Italian, British, and French governments. This was in August 10 1920 and it saw Turkey lose land and the control of the Black Sea. For instance, Syria was up to that time part of Turkey but made a separate country afterwards. The country was justlike the others, crippled politically while its major source of economic stability, the black sea taken.
The political effects of the First World War mostly lay in the effects of the signed treaties. Leaders no longer had supreme power over their countries as the treaties’ clauses ensured they be answerable to yet another power. The treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a good example of this as Austria’s governance was placed under the League of Nations (Stevenson, 1998). Territories were lost while at the same time, insecurity levels rose especially in areas where army numbers were limited. In addition, there were high levels of mistrust among government leaders as countries like Germany lost part of their land while France and Italy gained more of the same. Sheffield (2011), argues that the war also saw the collapse of the Ottoman Empire as Syria was separated from Turkey making them two separate countries.
In conclusion, the outcomes of the World War 1 were mainly punitive to the defeated forces enclosed in the treaties discussed. While most people believed the agreements to be a way of maintaining peace after years of war, the terms of the same treaties dictated control over the defeated countries. The economic and political structures of the said countries were the basis of the control. A good example is the treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye that saw the separation of Austria and Hungary while at the same time stopping an alliance between Austria and Germany. This saw Austria losing political stability and a financial system in terms of the possible trade that Austria carried out with the other two countries. This was to ensure that there would be no replica of the Great War at any point in future. Therefore, the treaties aimed at minimizing the political power of the involved governments and ensuring that the same governments were unable to purchase weaponry or gain allies. All countries that lost the war paid compensation in one way or the other. A good example lies in Germany giving monetary compensation while Bulgaria lost its access to the sea after giving the rights to the Power Allies.
References
Dawson, B. (2003). The Treaty of Trianon: A Hungarian Tragedy - June 4, 1920. The American Hungarian Federation .
Ferguson, N. (1992). Germany and the Origins of the First World War: New Perspectives. The Historical Journal, Vol 35, No.3 , 725-752.
Martel, G. (2006). The Origins of the First World War. London: Longman.
Sheffield, G. (2011). The Aftermath of World War One. New York: BBC Books.
Stevenson, D. (1998). The First World War and International Politics. London: Oxford University Press.
