USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

END OF WWI

[SOURCES]
True or false? Germany had to get rid of its air force, submarines, and large battleships due to the Treaty of Versailles.

(A) ** True

(B) False

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -Articles 181-197 reduced Germany’s naval forces to a skeleton force that included just six battleships, six light cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats, and totally eliminated the submarine fleet that had terrorized ships in the Atlantic.

Concept note-2: -The German army was restricted to 100, 000 men; the general staff was eliminated; the manufacture of armoured cars, tanks, submarines, airplanes, and poison gas was forbidden; and only a small number of specified factories could make weapons or munitions.

Concept note-3: -The Treaty of Versailles caused furious reactions in Germany. Germany had to pay huge sums of money to the countries it had fought in compensation for the damage. In addition, France, England, and the United States wanted to prevent Germany from becoming strong enough to start a new war.

Concept note-4: -Germany accepted responsibility for the war and lost 68, 000 km² of territory, including Alsace and Lorraine, which had been annexed in 1870, and 8 million inhabitants.

Concept note-5: -The Treaty restricted the Germans’ armed forces to only 100, 000 men in the army, no submarines or aeroplanes, and only six battleships. In addition, conscription was banned (soldiers had to be volunteers). The idea was to reduce Germany’s armed forces to a size where they could never endanger the countries round about.