Versailles #36: The Pressures of Detail and Time

Gathering together on 12th February, time was of the essence, a fact which had certainly been relevant before, but which the allies had still somehow managed to essentially ignore. On this day though, the allies could not ignore the fact that Germany was a sticky situation, one which was so sticky in fact, that they would still be dealing with the core question several months later. How could the allies simultaneously do everything which the conference demanded of them while also disarming Germany, or even determining the extent to which she should be disarmed? It was an immensely difficult balancing act, yet it was very important to get it right, because if the allies didn’t disarm Germany soon, they would be swamped with expenses relating to maintaining so many soldiers at once, most of whom remained idle.

A solution was supposed to be at hand, because the allies had actually worked to create a committee whose task was to devise these military terms. Yet, this committee was not able to bring anything revolutionary to the table, as the allies learned for themselves this afternoon 100 years ago. Thus, in the absence of time, and with the severe pressures weighing down on them, the allies decided that in order to give Germany the attention to detail it required, yet another committee would be required. Seriously though, this time, their committee would actually do stuff – it would be empowered to act independently of the Council of Ten and its terms for Germany could be imagined without the constant intervention of the American President, who was about to go on a considerable vacation himself. Facing into this administrative abyss, it was only sensible that some delegating be done, but it remained to be seen how, when under the pressures of detail and time, the allies would actually reach a settlement that pleased everyone and achieved their goals. They better hurry, because the next day would be all about another issue altogether – the League of Nations…

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