Paris Peace Conference: Role of the Consequences of a War of Attrition and Trench Warfare

Part A: Plan Of Investigation:

This historical investigation will assess the role that the consequences of a war of attrition and trench warfare played on the terms drafted by the Allies within the Treaty of Versailles, by answering the question, “To what extent did the labours of trench warfare and the subsequent war of attrition lead to the decision made against Germany at the Paris Peace Conference by the Big Three?” The political and economic effect of the war on the different Allied nations led to different intentions at the Conference. To evaluate the opposing goals of nations at the conference, the contrasting views of Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points and the goals of David Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau at the Conference will be assessed. Social devastation was also a factor in the decisions made at the conference, as will be evaluated through death and casualty rates of both sides involved in the war, as recorded by the American Public Broadcasting Service. This will all be assessed to evaluate the effect on the direct clauses from the Treaty itself, including the War Guilt Clause, thereby evaluating the political, economic, and social affects trench warfare had on the Allies.

Part B: Summary Of Evidence:

Economic Effect:

• 1914-1920, industrial production in Britain, and France decreased: 12%, 34%

• “The Allies' traditional markets had been lost to the United States and Japan”

• French national debt 1914-1922; $6.5 billion-$27.8 billion

• British debt: $3.4 billion-$34.2 billion

• US was owed $10 billion by the end of the war, had actually profited

Social Effects:

• French suffered most casualties: 1.4 million dead, 6.2 million casualties, 73.3% casualty rate

• Britain lost 900,000 men, 3.1 million casualties....

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