Forgive me if this has been discussed previously.
I was reading in Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan that during the post-WWI peace treaty negotiations, France was obsessed with weakening Germany as much as possible. France originally wanted to annex German territory in the Rhineland, but the US and UK refused to consider this. France's second choice would have been to create an independent country in the Rhineland, which would serve as a buffer zone between France and Germany, and would remove from German control this resource-rich territory.
The following is a quote from the book.
...The Rhineland, Clemenceau argued, should be removed from German control to ensure France's security. "The Rhine was the natural boundary of Gaul and Germany." Perhaps the Allies could create an independent state with its neutrality guaranteed, just as Belgium's had been done, by the powers.
..."Henceforward," [Foch] insisted in a memorandum to the Peace Conference in January 1919, "Germany ought to be deprived of all entrance and assembling grounds, that is, of all territorial sovereignty on the left bank of the river, that is, of all facilities for invading quickly, as in 1914, Belgium, Luxembourg, for reaching the coast of the North Sea and threatening the United Kingdom, for outflanking the natural defences of France, the Rhine and the Meuse, conquering the Northern provinces and entering upon the Paris area.
...His preference was an independent Rhineland which could be grouped together with Belgium, France and Luxembourg in a defensive confederation.
...Foch's second choice was a neutral and demilitarized state, or perhaps states, in the Rhineland. Its inhabitants, he felt, were naturally inclined toward France; in time, they would recognize that their best interests lay in looking westward rather than to the east.
In Victoria, I have seen many times France defeating Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War. Afterwards, Prussia has no troops and the Rhineland descends into anarchy. I think that there should be a possibility for France or whomever to create a Rhineland satellite after defeating Prussia from 1871 onwards, and especially after a Great War in the 1910s. The French player would choose to create the satellite instead of annexing in order to not lose so much prestige or gain any badboy.
If this option is already available, sorry, I just haven't seen it happen.
I was reading in Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan that during the post-WWI peace treaty negotiations, France was obsessed with weakening Germany as much as possible. France originally wanted to annex German territory in the Rhineland, but the US and UK refused to consider this. France's second choice would have been to create an independent country in the Rhineland, which would serve as a buffer zone between France and Germany, and would remove from German control this resource-rich territory.
The following is a quote from the book.
...The Rhineland, Clemenceau argued, should be removed from German control to ensure France's security. "The Rhine was the natural boundary of Gaul and Germany." Perhaps the Allies could create an independent state with its neutrality guaranteed, just as Belgium's had been done, by the powers.
..."Henceforward," [Foch] insisted in a memorandum to the Peace Conference in January 1919, "Germany ought to be deprived of all entrance and assembling grounds, that is, of all territorial sovereignty on the left bank of the river, that is, of all facilities for invading quickly, as in 1914, Belgium, Luxembourg, for reaching the coast of the North Sea and threatening the United Kingdom, for outflanking the natural defences of France, the Rhine and the Meuse, conquering the Northern provinces and entering upon the Paris area.
...His preference was an independent Rhineland which could be grouped together with Belgium, France and Luxembourg in a defensive confederation.
...Foch's second choice was a neutral and demilitarized state, or perhaps states, in the Rhineland. Its inhabitants, he felt, were naturally inclined toward France; in time, they would recognize that their best interests lay in looking westward rather than to the east.
In Victoria, I have seen many times France defeating Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War. Afterwards, Prussia has no troops and the Rhineland descends into anarchy. I think that there should be a possibility for France or whomever to create a Rhineland satellite after defeating Prussia from 1871 onwards, and especially after a Great War in the 1910s. The French player would choose to create the satellite instead of annexing in order to not lose so much prestige or gain any badboy.
If this option is already available, sorry, I just haven't seen it happen.
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