The Rise and Fall of the Western Front
Elizabeth Leighton, Deryck Gallegos, Jaeson Howard, Jamie Kraft and Joseph Mrus

His/335
May 13, 2013
Tracy Cobden

Wilson’s Fourteen Points
“Wilson’s statement on peace terms came to be known as the Fourteen Points, which he first proclaimed in an address to Congress on January 8, 1918” [ (Lyons, 2000, p. ch. 20) ]. This was an unselfish declaration of war aims. Short reviews of these Fourteen Points are I. A call to end secret diplomatic agreements that he believed started the war in 1914. II. Freedom to navigate the open seas outside territorial waters. III. The removal of economic barriers and establish equal trade conditions to nations consenting to peace. IV. A guarantee armament will be reduced with domestic safety. V. An impartial adjustment of all colonial claims determining all questions of sovereignty. VI. Evacuation of all Russia territory and such a settlement of all questions affecting Russia. VII. Belgium to be evacuated and restored without limiting the sovereignty. VIII. All French territory be freed and the invaded portions restored and the wrong done to France by Prussia in 1871 should be righted. IX. A readjustment of the frontiers of Italy should be affected. X. The people of Austria-Hungary should be accorded the freest opportunity of autonomous development. XI. Rumania, Serbia, and Montengro be evacuated and Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea. XII. The Turkish portions of Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty. XIII. An independent Polish state should be erected, which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish population. XIV. A general association of nations be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence [ (Wilson, 1918) ].

When Wilson first announced the Fourteen Points, the Germans thought they may still win the war, the allies were outraged that Wilson would state such war aims [ (Lyons, 2000) ].
These points also raised questions about Britain’s control of the seas as well as its role in Ireland. Wilson gained little support by either side though the Fourteen Points were based in as on the principle of nationality. Germany decided that it had little to lose and accepted them as the basis for peace in October 1918 [ (Lyons, 2000) ].
While Ludendorff insisted on the Fourteen Points Prince Max wondered if the German High Command realized that they might lose not only German overseas colonies but also Alsace-Lorraine and Germany’s Polish- inhabited areas. The response was that the military leaders were willing to consider giving up “some small French-speaking parts of Alsace-Lorraine, if that is unavoidable. The cession of German territory on the eastern frontier is for them out of the question” [ (Lyons, 2000) ].
While Germany had accepted the proposal the president still encountered opposition from the British and the French. After a month of heated discussions between the Allies and the Central Powers hostilities finally ended.

References
Lyons, Michael J. Collapse of the Central Powers.: Pearson Education
Wilson, Woodrow. (1918) The Fourteen Points