Negotiating the Paris peace settlement was a difficult task.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1-4] 'Turkey lost land in the Middle East to Britain and France.'
2. [1-4] 'Territory was lost to Greece and Italy.'
3. [1-4] 'The Dardanelles Strait became an international waterway.'
4. [1-4] 'Turkey was forced to recognise the independence of Armenia.'
5. [1-4] 'Turkey was harshly treated.'
6. [2-3] 'Clemenceau did not want Germany to be able to attack France again.'
7. [2-3] 'Clemenceau wanted the Rhineland to be demilitarised.'
8. [2-3] 'France was worried about its Eastern border.'
9. [2-3] 'France had been invaded during the war and suffered huge damage and casualties.'
10. [2-3] 'Wilson did not want Germany to be burdened with high reparations.'
11. [2-3] 'Wilson wanted Germany to retain the Rhineland.'
12. [4-5] 'One reason Wilson and Clemenceau disagreed was that they had different opinions on how Germany should be treated. Wilson did not want Germany to be treated too harshly so that it would not become resentful and would continue to contribute to the world economy. However, Clemenceau thought that Germany should be punished very harshly so that they would be incapable of attacking France again.'
13. [6] Level 4 Explains TWO reasons (e.g., differing views on Germany's treatment and national interests).
14. [2-3] 'Lloyd George feared the spread of communism from the East.'
15. [2-3] 'The British public wanted Germany to be punished harshly.'
16. [2-3] 'The British had suffered high casualties during the war.'
17. [2-3] 'Germany was an important trading partner for Britain before 1914.'
18. [2-3] 'The British economy had suffered as a result of the war.'
19. [2-3] 'There was a general election in Britain in November 1918.'
20. [4-6] 'In some ways Lloyd George wanted Germany to be punished harshly. He knew that the British public thought that Germany should be punished for the heavy casualties which had been inflicted on Britain during the war. There was a general election in November 1918 and Lloyd George understood that, if he were to stand a chance of being re-elected, he would have to insist on Germany paying the full cost of the war. He was also keen to benefit from Germany's loss of colonies.'
21. [4-6] 'However, when it came down to agreeing the peace settlement in January 1919, Lloyd George seemed not to support such a hard peace. Germany had been an important trading partner of Britain and he was worried that British trade would suffer if Germany was punished too harshly and made to pay severe reparations. This was one reason he went against Clemenceau's idea of establishing the Rhineland as an independent state – it was too important to the German economy. Lloyd George was also worried about the influence of Communism and saw Germany as a barrier against that. This meant he was less keen on a severe peace settlement than it first appeared.'
22. [7-9] Level 4 Explanation of both sides (A L4 answer will have a minimum of three explanations (2 on one side; 1 on the other). Fuller explanation of one issue to be given two marks. An answer which only has one explanation on one side of the argument cannot be awarded more than 8.)
23. [10] Level 5 Explains with evaluation of 'how far' (As Level 4 plus evaluation.)