What were the roles played by Georges Clemenceau in the peacemaking process?
It was Clemenceau that insisted on, and achieved, a peace treaty that punished Germany for WW1 at the Paris Peace Conference. Clemenceau wanted revenge for France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 (which Clemenceau remembered from his youth),and for the loss of life and damage caused to France by the Germans in WW1.Clemenceau’s ultimate objective was to cripple Germany economically and financially to the extent that Germany couldn’t pose any threat to France for the foreseeable future. He was able to get the (reluctant) support of Britain’s Lloyd George for this. The alternative was a peace based on US President Wilson’s Fourteen Points, many of which were unrealistic or unacceptable to France and/or Britain. The idea that Wilson had “rock star” status when he arrived in Paris is nonsense. Most people didn’t even know who he was. Lloyd George and Clemenceau were far better known on the international stage as global statesmen.Additionally, the idea that everyone believed Wi
