Why Did Germany Sign the Armistice
The treaty of Versailles was engineered to prevent any future wars or conflicts . After experiencing the horrors of the First World War , the Treaty of Versailles was designed by the allies in order to bring peace and prosperity around the globe. However, all the allies differed , in opinion on how to achieve this particular goal . Britain and France wanted to exact revenge by imposing harsh conditions on Germany. Germany was not included in the Paris Peace Conference. The terms of the treaty were one sided , placing Germany in complete and utter destruction. This led to many German resenting the treaty. This created the power vacuum which helped in the rise of Hitler and national socialism, ultimately resulting in the Second World War.
The terms of the treaty were very harsh . Germany had to pay reparation for 1.6 billion dollars to the allies. The coalmines of Alsace and Lorraine were stripped along with colonies in Africa. The German people were humiliated and enraged with the treaty as they staunchly believed that they had lost the war due to democrats and the Jews, stabbing the German people in the back. However , Germany had not lost the war due this reason .There were many big and small factors that had a knock on effect ,which led to Germany being forced to sign the armistice which led to the end of The First World War .
Historians disagree over the extent to which political pressure from the top and the bottom of the political system forced Germany to surrender , on one hand . While on the other, historians counter this argument by saying , the military disasters and campaign setbacks on the western and eastern front were key for Germany’s surrender in 1919.
Mass starvation and poor economic and social conditions, was a key factor , which resulted in Germany to surrender and sign the armistice . At first the German upper class: the Junker class , thought that the war was a method to get rid of German political and geographical rivals – Britain, Russia and France . The Schlieffen Plan was originally planned and designed to win the war in a short period of time by neutralizing Belgium and conquering France by encircling the French armed forces . The people of Germany were extremely enthusiastic of the war – Spirit of 1914. The German people supported the war and considered it an opportunity for Germany to rise towards its global dominance. The slogan “our place under the sun” became a popular slogan amongst the people. However, neither the German army nor the German economy was prepared to face war. Germany heavily depended on imports of food and other raw material, which was blocked by Britain. This led to food shortages, scarce rations for troops . In 1915, 5 million pigs were massacred in order to make food and preserve grain. Germany did not expect the war to continue so long, therefore they were not prepared for it . The economy had no war regulation and was badly organized