Turning Point - Sekigahara: Toyotomi's Global Expansion and its Consequences

Phase 31 - Versailles System

The curtain falls for the "Great War."

It came to an end in 1917, so it lasted for approximately 3 years and 4 months. Then, in January of the following year, 1918, a peace conference was held at the Palace of Versailles on the outskirts of Paris.

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The victors were the Entente, but the defeated party was not so much the Alliance but rather Germany alone. However, countries that had already made separate peace treaties or ceasefires were also invited to the conference, so representatives from many nations gathered.

As for the defeated countries on the side of the Alliance, they included Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), Bulgaria, the Qing Dynasty, and the United States. Japan was supposed to be included as a major defeated nation, but Japan was the first among the Alliance to withdraw and then fought reluctantly as part of the Entente. Moreover, in the case of Japan, the period of fighting as part of the Entente was longer than the period they fought as an Alliance power. Therefore, Japan was allowed to sit on the side of the victors at this conference. In reality, the only nation judged as a defeated country was Germany, which resisted until the end.

Turkey and Austria essentially collapsed as nations, Japan, the United States, and the Qing Dynasty made peace earlier, with Japan later joining the Entente.

As for the victors on the side of the Entente, they included Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Portugal, China, Yamato, the Confederate States of America, and Japan in Asia. However, Russia, where the revolution was ongoing and there was no legitimate government, was not invited to the conference, and regions treated as autonomous territories or protectorates by various countries had no speaking rights.

Australia and New Zealand (Shinkai), which sent large armies to Europe, were considered part of Britain just like Canada, so they were allowed to sit in on the conference but only as observers.

Japan had the most delicate position in this conference and even received derogatory remarks from some of the German representatives as an unofficial comment, such as "traitor." On the other hand, the view of the Entente nations toward Japan was relatively sympathetic. There was a certain level of appreciation for Japan's fierce fighting on the Western Front and its contribution to victory. For Britain and France, Japan was more of a rescued friend and comrade than an enemy country, so the impression was stronger in that direction. Relations with regions of Japanese descent, such as Yamato and Oceania, were somewhat delicate, but the Japanese delegation's dignified attitude at the conference helped ease the overall atmosphere.

Japan's chief delegate was often ridiculed by conference participants and the media as the "mute philosopher" because he rarely spoke about himself. His attitude was primarily to protect Japan's honor, with minimal responses to questions from other countries. Of course, there was nothing to say against Germany.

Furthermore, Japan had informed all the relevant countries before the conference that it would waive all reparations as a victorious nation.

Other countries could not simply focus on dealing with Japan, which seemed to want to retire like a saint until the last storm passed. Japan's attitude could be seen as keeping a low profile until the storm had completely passed.

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The biggest issue for the victorious countries was how much they could extract from Germany, which was saddled with an astronomical reparation of 98 billion marks. Furthermore, they lost all overseas colonies and foreign privileges, 13% of their total population, and 9% of their mainland territory. Additionally, they faced unilateral and substantial military restrictions.