A Question about Versailles

Before you get all ranty at me, this isn't about the peace terms. Rather, this is in regards to the Eastern European territorial changes they did.

We all know they weren't the best ideas on the board, but what was the best set of options for Eastern Europe?

Should the powers that be have listened to France and made a strong series of countries all interlocked against Russia and Germany?
 
I don't know if anything short of Austria-Hungary could have done what you're suggesting. Post WWI Central Europe was as tough as it was going to get without being fused into a single nation. Without the Habsburgs, is the rest of the Balkans going to be any happier ruled from Bucharest, or Belgrade?
 
I don't know if anything short of Austria-Hungary could have done what you're suggesting. Post WWI Central Europe was as tough as it was going to get without being fused into a single nation. Without the Habsburgs, is the rest of the Balkans going to be any happier ruled from Bucharest, or Belgrade?
What I was more referring to, and could've phrased it better in the OP, is that the newly made nations had a bit of border issues with everyone else. Which ended up poisoning relations with all their neighbors, to their detriment.
 
The best you can do is two federal states. Northern one composes of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Ukraine. A federal republic which each ethnic group has its own province. Free trade and movement, minority protection. Second state similar but each has its own monarch. Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia.
 

Perkeo

Banned
Ironically, that would make more or less exactly the borders drawn by Germany...other than what Germany ceeded, of course.

But seriously, why not OTL borders plus an NATO-like alliance against Russia and Germany - in the long term only Russia since sooner or later a surviving or reinstalled German democracy will join.
 
A successful federal structure allows you, your say at home but still part of the group. Execpt here in the US not many federal states have civil wars. Alliance won't stop the ethnic grievances, look at Turkey and Greece.
 
What I was more referring to, and could've phrased it better in the OP, is that the newly made nations had a bit of border issues with everyone else. Which ended up poisoning relations with all their neighbors, to their detriment.

The problem in Eastern Europe is that different nationalities overlapped, and were also overlain by language, religion and history. There are not a set of borders that will satisfy everyone.
 
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