The fighting stopped in November 1918, but governments still had to agree on borders, payments and protection against another war.
On 11 November 1918, Germany accepted an armistice: an agreement to stop fighting. The war was ending, but the peace terms were still undecided. Governments had to decide who would control disputed land, how war damage would be paid for, and how to prevent another attack.
The First World War had begun in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Rivalries, alliances and decisions to mobilise armies turned the crisis into a wider war. Britain and France fought Germany and Austria-Hungary, alongside other allies. Industrial weapons, mass armies and blockades caused enormous losses. The United States entered in 1917; Russia left after revolution.
By the end of the war, the German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Ottoman empires had collapsed or were breaking apart. New governments needed people to accept their right to rule. People in disputed territories also needed to know which country would govern them.
The peacemakers had to meet immediate needs while creating terms that countries would accept over time. These aims could clash. Weakening Germany might reassure France, but it could also make Germans resent the peace settlement.
Worked example: Stopping a war and agreeing on peace
Germany signed the armistice in November 1918 and the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919.
- The armistice explains when organised fighting on the Western Front stopped.
- The treaty explains the terms imposed on Germany after negotiations among the victors.
- A claim about long-term peace needs evidence about the settlement and later choices, not just the date fighting ended.
Watch out for this
The Treaty of Versailles caused every problem in post-war Europe.
Separate wartime losses, revolution, the terms of several peace treaties and later decisions. Versailles was one part of the settlement.
Check your understanding
Why is an armistice different from a peace settlement?
- An armistice settles every border.
- An armistice stops fighting while a settlement defines the terms of peace.
- A peace settlement always prevents another war.