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As
a guarantee for the execution of the present Treaty by . Germany,
the German territory situated to the west of the Rhine, together
with the bridgeheads, will be occupied by Allied and Associated
troops for a period of fifteen years from the coming into force of
the present Treaty.
If
the conditions of the present Treaty are faithfully carried out by
Germany, the occupation referred to in Article 428 will be
successively restricted as follows:
(1)
At the expiration of five years there will be evacuated: the
bridgehead of Cologne and the territories north of a line running
along the Ruhr, then along the railway Julich, Duren, Euskirchen,
Rheinbach, thence along the road Rheinbach to Sinzig, and reaching
the Rhine at the confluence with the Ahr; the roads, railways and
places mentioned above being excluded from the area evacuated.
(2)
At the expiration of ten years there will be evacuated: the
bridgehead of Coblenz and the territories north of a line to be
drawn from the intersection between the frontiers of Belgium,
Germany and Holland, running about from 4 kilometres south of
Aix-la-Chapelle, then to and following the crest of Forst Gemund,
then east of the railway of the Urft valley, then along Blankenheim,
Valdorf, Dreis, Ulmen to and following the Moselle from Bremm to
Nehren, then passing by Kappel and Simmern, then following the ridge
of the heights between Simmern and the Rhine and reaching this river
at Bacharach; all the places valleys, roads and railways mentioned
above being excluded from the area evacuated.
(3)
At the expiration of fifteen years there will be evacuated: the
bridgehead of Mainz, the bridgehead of Kehl and the remainder of the
German territory under occupation.
If
at that date the guarantees against unprovoked aggression by Germany
are not considered sufficient by the Allied and Associated
Governments, the evacuation of the occupying troops may be delayed
to the extent regarded as necessary for the purpose of obtaining the
required guarantees.
In
case either during the occupation or after the expiration of the
fifteen years referred to above the Reparation Commission finds that
Germany refuses to observe the whole or part of her obligations
under the present Treaty with regard to reparation, the whole or
part of the areas specified in Article 429 will be reoccupied
immediately by the Allied and Associated forces.
If
before the expiration of the period of fifteen years Germany
complies with all the undertakings resulting from the present
Treaty, the occupying forces will be withdrawn immediately.
All
matters relating to the occupation and not provided for by the
present Treaty shall be regulated by subsequent agreements, which
Germany hereby undertakes to observe.
As
a guarantee for the execution of the provisions of the present
Treaty, by which Germany accepts definitely the abrogation of the
Brest-Litovsk Treaty, and of all treaties, conventions and
agreements entered into by her with the Maximalist Government in
Russia, and in order to ensure the restoration of peace and good
government in the Baltic Provinces and Lithuania, all German troops
at present in the said territories shall return to within the
frontiers of Germany as soon as the Governments of the Principal
Allied and Associated Powers shall think the moment suitable, having
regard to the internal situation of these territories. These troops
shall abstain from all requisitions and seizures and from any other
coercive measures, with a view to obtaining supplies intended for
Germany, and shall in no way interfere with such measures for
national defence as may be adopted by the Provisional Governments of
Esthonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
No
other German troops shall, pending the evacuation or after the
evacuation is complete, be admitted to the said territories.
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