Largs Probus Club talk on the Treaty of Versailles in 1919

It was the subject of a recent talk to Largs Probus Club, as the final act of World War One that was signed on June 28, 1919 in the magnificent Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.

The speaker, Bill Fitzpatrick, captivated his audience with a clear explanatory narrative of the background to the Treaty and its far reaching consequences.

The Battle of Amiens in early August 1918 saw the start of the downfall of the German army, leading to the abdication of the Kaiser, and Ludendorff seeking an armistice.

Hostilities ceased on November 11, 1918, but it was to be nearly seven months before a peace conference was convened.

The French were rather keen to use the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, as that was where Wilhelm was crowned Kaiser of a unified Germany in 1871, following Germany’s defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian war.

In the end a series of fairly punitive conditions were imposed on Germany and reparations demanded, including a pretty hefty fine of 132 billion gold marks.

Although Germany had been humiliated, colonies and territory taken from them and their economy in tatters, their army had not been defeated and in less than two decades the country was once again a force to be reckoned with, with devastating consequences.

Largs Probus Club will next meet in the Willowbank Hotel on Wednesday, October 16 at 10am when Linda Nicholl will speak on Walking with Yaks.