_Military, Naval, and Aerial Clauses_
'In order to render possible the initiation of a general limitation
of the armaments of all nations, Germany undertakes directly to
observe the military, naval, and air clauses which follow.'
MILITARY
The Military terms provide for the demobilisation of the German
armies and the imposition of other military restrictions, within
two months of the signing of the Treaty (as the first step towards
international disarmament). All compulsory military service is to
be abolished in German territory, and recruiting regulations on a
voluntary basis are to be incorporated into the German military
laws, providing for the enlistment of non-commissioned officers
and men for a period of not less than twelve consecutive years,
and stipulating that officers shall serve for twenty-five years,
and shall not be retired until the age of forty-five. No reserve
of officers with war service will be permitted. The total number
of German effectives is fixed at one hundred thousand, including
not more than four thousand officers, and it is provided that there
shall be no other military forces raised outside this figure.
Increase in the number of customs, forestry officials or police, or
the military training of these services is specially prohibited.
The function of the German Army is to keep internal order and
control of frontiers. The High Command is to confine itself to
administrative duties, and it will not be allowed to retain a
General Staff. Civilian personnel at the Ministry of War and similar
institutions is to be reduced to one-tenth of that in 1913. There
will be not more than seven Infantry and three Cavalry Divisions,
and not more than two Corps Staffs. Surplus war academies, and
schools for officers, cadets, etc., are to be suppressed, and
the number of students admitted to the schools retained for the
recruitment of officers is to be limited to the vacancies occurring
in the establishments provided. The production of armaments,
munitions, and material of war in Germany is limited to a schedule,
based on the amount considered necessary for an army on the scale
decided upon. No reserves may be formed, and all existing armaments,
guns, and stores above the limit fixed must be handed over to the
Allies for disposal. No poisonous gas or liquid fire shall be
manufactured or imported, nor any tanks nor armoured cars. The
Germans are obliged to notify to the Allies for approval the names
and situation of all factories manufacturing munitions, together
with particulars of their output. The German Government arsenals are
to be suppressed and their personnel dismissed. Munitions for use
in fortified works will be limited to 1500 rounds apiece for guns
of 10·5 cm. calibre and under, and 500 rounds for guns of a higher
calibre. Germany is prohibited from manufacturing armaments and
munitions for foreign countries and from importing them from abroad.
Germany must not maintain or construct any fortifications situated
on German territory less than fifty kilometres east of the Rhine,
and in the above area no armed forces either permanent or temporary
may be maintained. The _status quo_ is to be reserved in respect of
the fortifications on the original southern and eastern frontiers
of the German Empire. No military manœuvres may be held nor any
permanent works kept for the purposes of helping mobilisation.
The demobilisation of fortifications must take place within three
months.
APPENDIX VII
NAVAL
The Naval terms provide that within two months the German naval
forces in commission must not exceed six battleships of the
_Deutschland_ or _Lothringen_ type, six light cruisers, twelve
destroyers, and twelve torpedo boats, or an equal number of ships
constructed to replace them. No submarines are to be included,
and all other warships are to be placed in reserve or devoted
to commercial purposes. Germany may keep in commission a fixed
number of mine-sweeping vessels until the mines within certain
specified areas in the North Sea and Baltic have been swept up.
After the expiration of two months the total exclusive personnel
of the Navy must not exceed 15,000, including a maximum of 1500
officers and warrant officers. All German surface warships interned
in Allied or neutral ports are to be finally surrendered. Within
two months certain additional warships enumerated in the Treaty
and now in German ports will be surrendered at Allied ports. The
German Government must undertake the breaking-up of all German
surface warships under construction. Auxiliary cruisers, etc., are
to be disarmed and treated as merchant ships. Within one month
all German submarines, salvage vessels, and docks for submarines
capable of proceeding under their own power or being towed must have
been handed over at Allied ports. The remainder and those under
construction must be broken up by Germany within three months.
Material arising from the breaking-up of German warships may not be
used except for industrial purposes, and may not be sold to foreign
countries. Except under specified conditions for replacement,
Germany is forbidden to construct or acquire any warships, and
the construction or acquisition of any submarines whatever is
prohibited. Vessels of war are only to have a fixed allowance of
arms, munitions, and war material. All excess of arms, munitions and
war material is to be surrendered, and no stocks or reserves are
allowed.
The personnel of the German navy must be recruited entirely
by voluntary engagements for a minimum period of twenty-five
consecutive years for officers and warrant officers, and twelve
consecutive years for petty officers and men, under various
restrictions.
In order to ensure free passage into the Baltic Germany is not
to erect any fortifications in certain specified areas, nor to
install any guns commanding maritime routes between the North Sea
and the Baltic. Existing fortifications within those areas are to
be demolished and guns removed. Other fortified works within fifty
kilometres of the German coast or on German islands are to remain,
as being of a defensive nature, but no new fortifications may be
constructed and the armaments may not be increased. The maximum
stocks of ammunition allowed for such defences are 1500 rounds per
piece for 4·1 inch guns and under, and 500 rounds per piece for guns
exceeding that calibre.
The German wireless stations at Nauen, Hanover, and Berlin are not
to be used for naval, military, or political messages without the
assent of the Allied and Associated Governments during three months,
but only for commercial purposes, under supervision. During the same
period Germany is not to build any more high-power wireless stations.
AERIAL
The Air clauses provide that the armed forces of Germany must not
include any military or naval air forces. Germany is, however, to be
allowed to maintain a maximum of 100 unarmed seaplanes up to the 1st
October 1919, to be exclusively employed in searching for submarine
mines. The entire personnel of the air forces in Germany is to be
demobilised within two months, except for a total of 1000 men,
including officers, which may be retained up to October 1919.
Until the complete evacuation of German territory by the Allies and
Associated troops, the aircraft of the Allied and Associated Powers
shall enjoy in Germany freedom of passage through the air, freedom
of transit and of landing.
All military and naval aircraft (including dirigibles) and
aeronautical material are to be delivered to the Allied and
Associated Governments within three months, except for the hundred
seaplanes already specified.