Blog #3 : The Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles... can it be called a peace treaty?

The Treaty of Versailles is a peace treaty written by the major powers at the end of World War 1. It is truly a significant historical event to Canada. Firstly, Robert Borden insisted that Canada would sit at the Paris Peace Conference in its own right. It was a another step for Canada toward its independence from Britain. Secondly, Canada was given two seats at the peace conference. The Canadian delegates had no votes, and the peace treaties were written by the major powers, however by participating in the conference, Canada earned a seat and a vote in the new League of Nations, which was created by the Treaty of Versailles.

            The new League of Nations' role was to punish all the aggressive nations and guarantee the peace. Also, the Treaty of Versailles was meant to ensure that World War 1 would be the war to end all wars and keep a lasting peace in Europe. It is known to be a peace treaty, however, the question is.... 'is it?' Did it contribute in maintaining  a lasting peace in Europe after WW!? Personally, I think writing the Treaty of Versailles and forming the League of Nations were huge mistakes made by the major powers in 1918 because they resulted the exact opposite of the expected outcomes. Now, let's look deeper into The Treaty of Versailles and its dreadful outcomes. The key clauses of the Treaty of Versailles were the surrender of all German overseas investments, coal mines to the Allied Powers, reduce its military forces, acknowledge the independence of Austria and Czechoslovakia, pay war reparations to France, Britain, Russia and other countries affected by the war and take all blame for the war. Even though it was a peace treaty, it ensured that exhausted Germany was forced to accept all the conditions and blames. Its harshness of the Treaty of Versailles resulted an unstable peace in Europe because Germans were not content with the settlement also, it resulted Germany's sense of desire for revenge. I think if the League of Nations really desired peace in Europe, they would not have been too harsh on Germany because as they all knew, there were many causes of World War 1 and it was not something that one nation could entirely be responsible for. As Robert Borden wrote in his diary "The world has drifted from its old anchorage and no one can with certainty prophecy what the outcome will be. No one realized that the Treaty of Versailles had sowed the bitter seeds of World War 2.

Questions:
1. Would WW2 have been prevented If the Treaty of Versailles did not blame everything on Germany, and the other nations took some responsibility for the war? (if the conditions of the treaty were different?)
2. Do you think the positive effects of the Treaty of Versailles' on Canada's independence outweigh the negative outcomes of it?

Blog #2 : Could WW1 have been prevented? What If it never had happened?

       

Could  WW1 have been prevented? 
What If it never had happened?

Could  WW1 have been prevented? What If it never happened? World War1, also known as the Great War, was a disastrous and gruesome war in Europe which began on July 28th,1914 and continued until November 11th, 1918. The number of dead bodies pointlessly lying on the battle fields doubled everyday, the families at home were being terrible tortured by tremendous worries and were burdened with financial problems. After these 4 years and 3 months of appalling days, the war had finally ended. I would like to pose a question here. Could this disastrous war have been avoided by any changes in the actions, words, or thoughts of people? Or was it a cruel destiny that people had to face?

                 Personally, I think there were possible ways to prevent this war and the countless deaths caused by it because it was just another horrible final work of humans, formed by their acquisitiveness and ambition. There are indirect and direct causes of world war 1. The indirect causes are militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. The direct cause is the assassination of the archduke of Australia, Francis Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo, Bosnia by a 19 year old Serbian male, Gavrillo Princip. It all begins here. First, the war would have been prevented if Serbia attempted to make deals or use words to solve conflicts of Serbians and Slavs against Austro Hungarians because the Serbians and Slavs earned nothing out of the assassination. They just gave away an excuse or an opportunity for the Austro Hungarians to attack them. I think it was a not thoughtful action done by the Serbians to be acting so drastic when they are in hold of much smaller power compared to the Austro Hungarians. Secondly, WW1 would not have happened if the ultimatum sent by Austro Hungary was different. Serbia refused to accept the third condition which was to allow Austro Hungarian officials into their country. I think it was obvious that Serbia wouldn't accept the last condition because it meant that Austro Hungary will be aware of all the movements or actions in Serbia and the officials will interfere with them. If Austro Hungary really didn't have any ambition to take that as a chance crush Serbia they would not have added the last condition in the ultimatum which would cause conflicts between the two nations. Lastly, If Germany did not attack Belgium, Britain, along with is allies would have not joined and the war, and If Germany just supported its ally, Austria Hungary instead of declaring war on Russia, then France would not have declared war on Germany and the scale of the war would have smaller than it had been.


  What if WW1 never happened, specifically in Canada? If WW1 never took place, then the changes in Canada due to the war would not have occurred  First of all, there would not have been such thing as conscription, which means there would have been less tension or conflicts between English and French Canadians, secondly, Canadian women would have never gotten their chance to fight for their rights to vote or have the opportunities to take larger roles in the society because men would always be in control of the important positions in the society, Thirdly,if there was no war, there would not have been such thing as the paris peace conference or the treaty of Versailles and Canada would not have gotten the chance to be recognized as an independent country.



Therefore, there were many ways that war could have been prevented. And if it had been avoided, then many lives would not have been killed, however, for Canada, it was an opportunity and a chance of change because it managed to show its potentials, earn a stronger position in the world and  turn the bloody war into a turning point of the nation.

Blog #1 : The Schlieffen Plan

World War 1

The Schlieffen Plan...  Was it the best plan for Germany?

 The Schlieffen plan was a risky plan conceived by the German general Alfred von Schlieffen in 1905. Since a direct frontal attack across the French - German border would consume too much time, Schlieffen planned on sending a small force to the French - German border to attract the French troops while attacking France with a larger army through the backdoor, Belgium. The plan was that after Germany defeats France with the giant trap, they would then turn its full firepower on Russia, which would have been preparing its forces during the fight against France. However, as many of us know, this plan failed as the French troops stopped the German army on the River Marne, preventing the enemy to reach the gates of Paris, resulting Britain's joining into the war and the destruction of the hope of a short war. 

       Was it really the best plan for the Germans and the others? Personally, I do not think that it was an outstanding plan. Firstly, if Germany did not attack France through Belgium, disregarding its neutrality, then Britain would not have joined the war to protect Belgium. Even though Germany knew that Britain was a strong nation with fine economy, had the strongest naval force and an army that is as powerful as Germany, was the undisputed ruler of the high seas and the controller of a colonial empire that covered on quarter of the earth's land mass, they called in Britain as their enemy. Britain itself was a powerful nation, but it also brought its colonial country, Canada along with it which supported with a large number of volunteers. This resulted a longer and intenser war as the Triple Entente gained more force and support. Secondly, Why didn't the Germans attack Russia first instead of France? Even though the Russian army was large, they were poorly trained and they needed time to equip themselves. If Germany attacked Russia first when it is not ready to fight back and before it gets stronger, wouldn't that have been safer than trapping France and then attacking Russia which requires more time, attraction of the French troops at the border and some luck that Russians would take enough the time to prepare for the war as Germans attack France? 

Question: What would have changed if the German army did not attack France through Belgium or attacked Russia first?