With reference to the Treaty of Versailles, explain the following :

(a) Consequences of the First World War on Germany.

(b) Consequences of the First World War on Austria-Hungary.

(a) Treaty of Versailles was signed between the Allies and Germany on June 28, 1919. Germany was compelled to sign the Treaty of Versailles and was forced to accept the following terms which were comparatively very harsh.

1. Germany and her allies were held guilty for aggression and hence she was forced to cede certain parts of her pre-war territories to Denmark, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
2. Alsace and Lorraine were returned to France. Moreover, the Saar Valley, known for its coal mines, was ceded to France for 15 years. Moreover, the two Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein which were captured by Prussia (or Germany) from Denmark in 1864 were returned back to Denmark.
3. Germany had also to lose all her colonial empire to the victors.
4. The area of the Rhine Valley was also demilitarised. The German territory west of the Rhine was to be occupied by the Allies for 15 years.
5. The German army was also reduced to 1,00,000 and she was not to have any air force and submarines.
6. Germany had to accept the war-guilt and she was compelled to pay a heavy sum (of 33 billion dollars) as war-indemnity to the Allies.

(b) After the First World War, the autocratic monarchies in Austria-Hungary ended. Austria and Hungary became separate independent States.