Part 3-3 Unfinished Business
RamscoopRaider
Donor
…German military limitations were something that were fairly easy to negotiate, at least in comparison to the other major issues at the Paris Peace Conference. Both Britain and France felt that Germany had to be totally defanged, and neither the United States nor Italy saw any real reason not to agree with them. That said there were some issues in the implementation…
…Britain insisted that Germany be banned from having any submarines, and that nothing like the High Seas Fleet could be allowed to exist. This was agreed upon without issue, the discussion quickly turned to what Navy the Germans would be allowed. They could not be limited to a mere Coast Guard, but could not be a significant threat to France or Italy on their own…
…After much debate it was decided to limit Germany to 8 “Armored Ships” of up to 15,000 tons, this would allow them to deploy two squadrons of four and defend both of their coasts. The ships would be large enough to be more than just mere coastal defense ships, but small enough that they could not be adequate as raiders or line warships. They would be supported by 12 light cruisers of up to 6,000 tons, 18 destroyers of up to 1,000 tons, and 18 torpedo boats of up to 300 tons, with a total of 30,000 men at most, include shore personnel and marines. Vessels could not be replaced before they were 20 years old for capital ships and 15 for escorts…
…Germany was banned from having an air force or a naval air arm, either heavier than air or lighter than air. The German aviation industry would be shut down for six months after the signing of the treaty to help ensure compliance…
…The German Land forces were a thornier question. France wanted a German Army as small as possible in order to never be a threat to France again. However Germany still needed an Army, for there were active communist revolts in progress and the Soviet Union was not particularly far away. As such a reasonable sized Army had to be allowed to Germany….
…The German Army was to be capped at 120,000 men, though an additional 50,000 men could be maintained in East Prussia for three years as a guarantee against Communist aggression. These men would have to be organized as laid out by the Entente. No more than 3000 machine guns, 360 Mortars and 450 artillery pieces would be allowed for the field army, and no artillery over 105mm. An Entente Commission would determine what fortifications and fortress artillery pieces could be maintained and what were to be destroyed or turned over. Stocks of ammunition were to be highly limited…
…Officers in the German Army and Navy would serve for at least 25 years, with enlisted for at least 12 years. Only limited provisions were allowed for ending terms of service early and former service members were banned from military exercises and military related activities, in order to prevent the formation of a trained reserve. Military education was similarly limited, as was the size of German police, forestry services, coast guards and customs agents to prevent paramilitary forces from being created. German Nationals were forbidden from serving in the armed forces of other countries, with an exception for the French Foreign Legion…
…Germany was forbidden the manufacturing arms and warlike materials for export. She was further forbidden from possessing armored vehicles and chemical weapons…
…Surplus Arms, Ammunition, planes, ships, tanks and other equipment was to be turned over to the Entente for either use or scrapping. The Entente would determine what the Germans would be allowed to retain and would take the best for themselves. This equipment would not count against the reparations imposed on Germany…
…A system of control boards with temporary supervisory powers were established to ensure Germany abided by the terms of the treaty …
…The matter of Reparations, second only to the question of territory proved the thorniest issue and one that even caused divisions within national delegations…
…The first issue to deal with was in allocation. France and Belgium wanted for reparations to be allocated based on damages from the war, a view that was supported by Italy and the United States. Britain, and Lloyd George in particular, wanted to add widows pensions and the cost of care for the disabled, which would give Britain a greater share of the money. The United States would not let themselves be convinced, with the delegation considering the matter to be absurd.
As such George was forced to turn to horse trading, and in exchange for supporting a harder line than he preferred regarding German territorial losses, convinced Clemenceau to come around to his view. Combined with supporting Japan in the matter of Tsingtao and he managed to convince three of the Big Five to support this measure. Finding himself outvoted Lansing agreed to accept the British way for allocating reparations…
…Both Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau did not actually want ruinous reparations to be inflicted on Germany, they viewed her value as a trade partner greater than squeezing more blood from her stone. The British Treasury as represented by John Maynard Keynes, determined that Germany could pay 60 billion Goldmarks, and that receiving 40 billion would be satisfactory from the point of view of the Treasury. Both George and Clemenceau though 40 billion was a sufficient number and matters should have ended there…
…The new British Parliament had seen the Treasury’s report on Germany’s ability to pay and rejected it. They appointed a commission under Lords Sumner and Cunliffe to study the matter, the so called “Heavenly Twins” determined that Germany could pay at least 500 billion Goldmarks, and that 1 Trillion Goldmarks was not out of the question. Parliament much preferred this answer and mandated that Sumner and Cunliffe would handle financial matters for the British delegation, with the Treasury officially excluded from high level talks…
…Upon hearing the British proposal for a half trillion Goldmarks in reparations, the other representatives were dumbstruck. No one had thought Germany could pay such sums. In the case of the American delegation it was one more proposal that they thought patently absurd, the US treasury estimated a maximum of 100 billion Goldmarks. The French delegation had the opposite reaction.
The possibility of such a financial windfall, at a time when France was broke and devastated, proved irresistible. With the Chamber of Deputies right there in Paris, the French quickly became the biggest supporter of the 500 billion Goldmark number. Lloyd George was forced to publicly go along with it lest he face a vote of no confidence from Parliament.
The Americans however were adamantly opposed. As the United States was the primary creditor for both Britain and France, in this financial matter she held a greater hand than elsewhere in the treaty. After consulting with the American treasury representatives they reduced their figure to a “mere” 175 billion Goldmarks.
This was still too high for the Americans, and indeed still too high for Llyod George, Clemenceau and the French Treasury. A secret committee was set up between the three nations, which returned a similar 100 billion Goldmark figure to the one the US Treasury came up with. However neither the British, nor the French delegation could publicly support this number, having to support the revised 175 billion number as a minimum, those advocating for less, such as Keynes were already being smeared as German lovers or worse. The Americans for their part would not accept the 175 billion Goldmark number. The deadlock looked fair to wreck the whole conference.
In the end Lloyd George proposed a compromise. Namely that the Peace Treaty would not have a final number for reparations, but merely an interim amount to last a few years. A committee would be set up as part of the Peace Treaty that would determine the final amount. This would be done after passions had cooled and a reasonable number for reparations could be arrived at. The compromise worked and was included in the final treaty. George and Clemenceau could argue that they were getting 175 billion marks or more from the committee, while Lansing could argue the committee would produce a rational figure for Germany to pay…
…The reparations committee, despite the hopes of the leaders at the Paris Peace Conference did not produce a rational number. Or rather it did and it did not. Officially Germany was required to pay 155 billion Goldmarks of reparations either in Gold or in Goods. However this number was divided into class A, B and C bonds, and the latter were dependent on Germany’s ability to pay, with no real expectation of that occurring among those in the know. Only 60 billion Goldmarks were set in stone as reparations, the other 95 billion were included for domestic consumption in France and Britain. However the 155 billion number also gained traction among the German far right as part of all that was wrong with the Peace Agreement and the Weimar Republic…
…Along with Reparations as a form of recompense Germany would be required to grant the victorious Entente most favored Nation status as well as fishing rights within her waters for the duration of the repayment term. This increased competition would make it more difficult for her to pay off her reparations, yet was not offset against them…
…In addition to direct reparations Germany was to be forced to recognize the wartime seizure of German property in the belligerent nations, including intellectual property. The value of this lost property exceeded 4 billion Goldmarks in the United States alone. This further hurt Germany’s ability to pay reparations…
-Excerpt from Unfinished Business: The Making of the Second World War, New American Press, Chicago, 2007
A/N May have to preempt next week's update again and probably the week after that as well, tis booksale time for me
Also edited an older update slightly as I realized I had some tense issues resulting in my intent being mistaken, I won't say which one
…Britain insisted that Germany be banned from having any submarines, and that nothing like the High Seas Fleet could be allowed to exist. This was agreed upon without issue, the discussion quickly turned to what Navy the Germans would be allowed. They could not be limited to a mere Coast Guard, but could not be a significant threat to France or Italy on their own…
…After much debate it was decided to limit Germany to 8 “Armored Ships” of up to 15,000 tons, this would allow them to deploy two squadrons of four and defend both of their coasts. The ships would be large enough to be more than just mere coastal defense ships, but small enough that they could not be adequate as raiders or line warships. They would be supported by 12 light cruisers of up to 6,000 tons, 18 destroyers of up to 1,000 tons, and 18 torpedo boats of up to 300 tons, with a total of 30,000 men at most, include shore personnel and marines. Vessels could not be replaced before they were 20 years old for capital ships and 15 for escorts…
…Germany was banned from having an air force or a naval air arm, either heavier than air or lighter than air. The German aviation industry would be shut down for six months after the signing of the treaty to help ensure compliance…
…The German Land forces were a thornier question. France wanted a German Army as small as possible in order to never be a threat to France again. However Germany still needed an Army, for there were active communist revolts in progress and the Soviet Union was not particularly far away. As such a reasonable sized Army had to be allowed to Germany….
…The German Army was to be capped at 120,000 men, though an additional 50,000 men could be maintained in East Prussia for three years as a guarantee against Communist aggression. These men would have to be organized as laid out by the Entente. No more than 3000 machine guns, 360 Mortars and 450 artillery pieces would be allowed for the field army, and no artillery over 105mm. An Entente Commission would determine what fortifications and fortress artillery pieces could be maintained and what were to be destroyed or turned over. Stocks of ammunition were to be highly limited…
…Officers in the German Army and Navy would serve for at least 25 years, with enlisted for at least 12 years. Only limited provisions were allowed for ending terms of service early and former service members were banned from military exercises and military related activities, in order to prevent the formation of a trained reserve. Military education was similarly limited, as was the size of German police, forestry services, coast guards and customs agents to prevent paramilitary forces from being created. German Nationals were forbidden from serving in the armed forces of other countries, with an exception for the French Foreign Legion…
…Germany was forbidden the manufacturing arms and warlike materials for export. She was further forbidden from possessing armored vehicles and chemical weapons…
…Surplus Arms, Ammunition, planes, ships, tanks and other equipment was to be turned over to the Entente for either use or scrapping. The Entente would determine what the Germans would be allowed to retain and would take the best for themselves. This equipment would not count against the reparations imposed on Germany…
…A system of control boards with temporary supervisory powers were established to ensure Germany abided by the terms of the treaty …
…The matter of Reparations, second only to the question of territory proved the thorniest issue and one that even caused divisions within national delegations…
…The first issue to deal with was in allocation. France and Belgium wanted for reparations to be allocated based on damages from the war, a view that was supported by Italy and the United States. Britain, and Lloyd George in particular, wanted to add widows pensions and the cost of care for the disabled, which would give Britain a greater share of the money. The United States would not let themselves be convinced, with the delegation considering the matter to be absurd.
As such George was forced to turn to horse trading, and in exchange for supporting a harder line than he preferred regarding German territorial losses, convinced Clemenceau to come around to his view. Combined with supporting Japan in the matter of Tsingtao and he managed to convince three of the Big Five to support this measure. Finding himself outvoted Lansing agreed to accept the British way for allocating reparations…
…Both Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau did not actually want ruinous reparations to be inflicted on Germany, they viewed her value as a trade partner greater than squeezing more blood from her stone. The British Treasury as represented by John Maynard Keynes, determined that Germany could pay 60 billion Goldmarks, and that receiving 40 billion would be satisfactory from the point of view of the Treasury. Both George and Clemenceau though 40 billion was a sufficient number and matters should have ended there…
…The new British Parliament had seen the Treasury’s report on Germany’s ability to pay and rejected it. They appointed a commission under Lords Sumner and Cunliffe to study the matter, the so called “Heavenly Twins” determined that Germany could pay at least 500 billion Goldmarks, and that 1 Trillion Goldmarks was not out of the question. Parliament much preferred this answer and mandated that Sumner and Cunliffe would handle financial matters for the British delegation, with the Treasury officially excluded from high level talks…
…Upon hearing the British proposal for a half trillion Goldmarks in reparations, the other representatives were dumbstruck. No one had thought Germany could pay such sums. In the case of the American delegation it was one more proposal that they thought patently absurd, the US treasury estimated a maximum of 100 billion Goldmarks. The French delegation had the opposite reaction.
The possibility of such a financial windfall, at a time when France was broke and devastated, proved irresistible. With the Chamber of Deputies right there in Paris, the French quickly became the biggest supporter of the 500 billion Goldmark number. Lloyd George was forced to publicly go along with it lest he face a vote of no confidence from Parliament.
The Americans however were adamantly opposed. As the United States was the primary creditor for both Britain and France, in this financial matter she held a greater hand than elsewhere in the treaty. After consulting with the American treasury representatives they reduced their figure to a “mere” 175 billion Goldmarks.
This was still too high for the Americans, and indeed still too high for Llyod George, Clemenceau and the French Treasury. A secret committee was set up between the three nations, which returned a similar 100 billion Goldmark figure to the one the US Treasury came up with. However neither the British, nor the French delegation could publicly support this number, having to support the revised 175 billion number as a minimum, those advocating for less, such as Keynes were already being smeared as German lovers or worse. The Americans for their part would not accept the 175 billion Goldmark number. The deadlock looked fair to wreck the whole conference.
In the end Lloyd George proposed a compromise. Namely that the Peace Treaty would not have a final number for reparations, but merely an interim amount to last a few years. A committee would be set up as part of the Peace Treaty that would determine the final amount. This would be done after passions had cooled and a reasonable number for reparations could be arrived at. The compromise worked and was included in the final treaty. George and Clemenceau could argue that they were getting 175 billion marks or more from the committee, while Lansing could argue the committee would produce a rational figure for Germany to pay…
…The reparations committee, despite the hopes of the leaders at the Paris Peace Conference did not produce a rational number. Or rather it did and it did not. Officially Germany was required to pay 155 billion Goldmarks of reparations either in Gold or in Goods. However this number was divided into class A, B and C bonds, and the latter were dependent on Germany’s ability to pay, with no real expectation of that occurring among those in the know. Only 60 billion Goldmarks were set in stone as reparations, the other 95 billion were included for domestic consumption in France and Britain. However the 155 billion number also gained traction among the German far right as part of all that was wrong with the Peace Agreement and the Weimar Republic…
…Along with Reparations as a form of recompense Germany would be required to grant the victorious Entente most favored Nation status as well as fishing rights within her waters for the duration of the repayment term. This increased competition would make it more difficult for her to pay off her reparations, yet was not offset against them…
…In addition to direct reparations Germany was to be forced to recognize the wartime seizure of German property in the belligerent nations, including intellectual property. The value of this lost property exceeded 4 billion Goldmarks in the United States alone. This further hurt Germany’s ability to pay reparations…
-Excerpt from Unfinished Business: The Making of the Second World War, New American Press, Chicago, 2007
A/N May have to preempt next week's update again and probably the week after that as well, tis booksale time for me
Also edited an older update slightly as I realized I had some tense issues resulting in my intent being mistaken, I won't say which one
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