Let's suppose that for whatever reason a rather mild Treaty of Versailles is imposed on Germany; what do you think its contents should/could be. You are also welcome to think of a POD for such a treaty. I personally can't think of one, not with Clemenceau aka 'le tigre' in charge of a pissed off France. Anyway, these are my thoughts on what its contents should be.
- Germany must cede Alsace-Lorraine to France.
- A demilitarized zone on the French border is to be created that stretches 50 km (about 32 miles) inward.
- The German army is limited to 350.000 men in active service with another 200.000 in the reserves. Artillery calibers above 210 mm are not allowed.
-Germany's navy is limited to:
- 6 dreadnoughts (limited to 35.000 tons)
- 6 pre-dreadnoughts (idem)
- 10 battlecruisers/cruisers (limited to 25.000 tons)
- 25 destroyers (limited to 800 tons)
- 40 torpedo boats (limited to 200 tons)
- 20 submarines (range limited to the North Sea and Baltic)
- The maximum caliber gun for all of these ships is 14 inches (356 mm)
-War reparations are to be payed to Belgium and France in the amount of 30 billion marks.
-No war-guilt clause.
-Germany loses its colonies except for German East Africa
-plebiscites are to be held in Malmedy (which might want to join Belgium) and Posen (which might want to join Poland).
What do you think? I could see Germany accepting this treaty more easily and perhaps curbing the rise of Nazism. Germany could be militarized even further. Once the Soviet Union becomes a threat the west might want to renegotiate the terms to keep Germany as a bulwark against the bolsheviks.
EDIT: changed it a bit.