During the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, the Entente diplomats of Great Britain, France, the United States and Italy created a document that would seal their future for years to come. The reason why the treaty would become infamous stemmed from one article, Article 231. This simple article in one sentence summed up the entire philosophy and rationale of ending the war, according to the Entente leaders: “The Allied and Associated Governments affirm, and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all loss and damage to which the Allied and associated governments and their citizens have been subjected as a result of the war imposed on them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." (Part VIII, Article 231). In terms of the logic behind the start of World War I, the Allied declarations remain valid because Germany violated Belgian neutrality first. The event reportedly occurred in the days before the first German soldier crossed into neutral Belgium, when Kaiser Wilhelm requested a complete reversal of troop movement eastward, only to be denied. Furthermore, both French and British military decisions called for Germany to break through Belgium first. In any circumstance, be it the dilemma faced by German, British or French military leaders, Belgium and its neutrality would be the crux of any future war. . Before Germany began invading Belgium, French military leaders were keenly aware of the tactical advantage Belgium offered. The reason for this was partly due to the row of fortresses that the French had erected after the Franco-Prussian War along the Franco-German frontier. A further geographical problem lay just south of the mountain range fortresses... middle of the map... to continue on the road to invading France through Belgium, the Germans would be guilty of imposing a war on Western Europe . According to the language of the infamous Article 231, Germany had started the war for France and England. It is worth noting here that Russia was already present in the war after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand because Russia had signed a protective alliance with Serbian citizens. As a result of Germany's failure to understand the political issues arising from its war plans and its relentless goal of conquering France, Germany and its people would be found guilty of starting the war in the West. Works Cited "Treaty of Versailles 1919 - Wikisource." Wikisource, the Free Library. Network. July 21, 2011. .Tuchman, Barbara Wertheim. The Cannons of August. New York: Macmillan, 1988.