Article 231 and German Guilt

During the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, the Entente diplomats from Great Britain, France, United States, and Italy created a document which would seal their future for the upcoming years. The reason the treaty would become infamous resulted from one article, article 231. This simple article in one phrase summed up the entire philosophy and rationale of the end of the war, according to the Entente leaders, “The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies” (Part VIII, Article 231). In terms of the logic behind the onset of World War I the Allies statements remain valid because of Germany first breaching Belgian neutrality. The event would be in the days leading up to the first German soldier to cross into neutral Belgium when Kaiser Wilhelm called for a complete reversal of troop movement to the east, only to have it denied. In addition, both the French and British military decisions predicated on Germany first breaking through Belgium.

In any circumstance, whether it is the dilemma faced by German, British, or French military leaders, Belgium and her neutrality would be the crux of any future war. Before Germany set about invading Belgium, French military leaders were keenly aware of the tactical benefit Belgium played. The reason for this was due in part by the row of fortresses the French had erected after the Franco-Prussian war along the French-German frontier. An added geographical problem lay just south of the fortresses in the mountain range...

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... to continue on the course to invade France by way of Belgium, the Germans would be guilty of imposing a war on Western Europe. In the language of the infamous article 231, Germany had begun the war for France and England. It is worth noting here that Russia was already present in the war after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand because Russia signed a protective alliance with the Serbian nationals. As a consequence of Germany’s inability to understand political issues stemming from their war plans and their incessant goal to conquer France, Germany and her people would be found guilty of starting the war in the west.

Works Cited

"Treaty of Versailles 1919 - Wikisource." Wikisource, the Free Library. Web. 21 July 2011. .

Tuchman, Barbara Wertheim. The Guns of August. New York: Macmillan, 1988.