of the one part,

and GERMANY,

of the other part,

with regard to the military occupation of the territories of the Rhine.

The Undersigned, acting under the powers conferred upon them by their respective Governments, have come to the following agreement as provided for in Article 432 of the Treaty of Peace of even date.

ARTICLE 1.

In accordance with Article 428 and the following Articles of the Treaty of even date, the armed forces of the Allied and Associated Powers will continue in occupation of German territory (as such occupation is defined by Article 5 of the Armistice Convention of the 11th November 1918, as extended by Article 7 of the Additional Convention of the 16th January 1919), as a guarantee of the execution by Germany of the Treaty.

No German troops, except prisoners of war in process of repatriation, shall be admitted to the occupied territories, even in transit; but police forces of a strength to be determined by the Allied and Associated Powers may be maintained in these territories for the purpose of ensuring order.

Note

The articles of the armistice conventions referred to are:

Armistice Convention, November 11, 1918

"V. Evacuation by the German armies of the districts on the left bank of the Rhine.

"These districts on the left bank of the Rhine shall be administered by the local authorities under the control of the allied and United States armies of occupation.

"The occupation of these territories by allied and United States troops will be assured by garrisons holding the principal crossings of the Rhine (Mainz, Coblenz, Cologne), together with bridgeheads at these points of a 30-kilometer (about 19 miles) radius on the right bank, and by garrisons similarly holding the strategic points of the region.

"A neutral zone shall be reserved on the right bank of the Rhine, between the river and a line drawn parallel to the bridgeheads and to the river, and 10 kilometers (61/4 miles) distant from them, between the Dutch frontier and the Swiss frontier.

Note-Continued

"Evacuation by the enemy of the Rhine districts (right and left banks) shall be so ordered as to be completed within a further period of 16 days, in all 31 days after the signing of the armistice.

"All movements of evacuation and occupation will be regulated according to the note (Annex 1) drawn up at the time of the signing of the armistice."

(For text of Annex 1, see Treaties, Conventions, etc., 1910-23, III, 3313.)

Convention prolonging the Armistice with Germany,

January 16, 1919

"VII. As a further guaranty, the supreme allied command reserves to itself the right to occupy, whenever it shall consider this desirable, the sector of the fortress of Strassburg formed by the fortifications on the right bank of the Rhine, with a strip of territory extending from 5 to 10 kilometers in front of such fortifications, within the boundaries defined on the map appended hereto.

"The supreme allied command shall give six days' notice prior to such occupation, which shall not be preceded by any destruction of material or buildings.

"The limits of the neutral zone will, in consequence, be advanced by 10 kilometers."

ARTICLE 2.

There shall be constituted a civilian body styled the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission, and hereinafter called the High Commission, which, except in so far as the Treaty may otherwise provide, shall be the supreme representative of the Allied and Associated Powers within the occupied territory. It shall consist of four members representing Belgium, France, Great Britain and the United States.

ARTICLE 3.

(a) The High Commission shall have the power to issue ordinances so far as may be necessary for securing the maintenance, safety and requirements of the Allied and Associated forces. Such ordinances shall be published under the authority of the High Commission, and copies thereof shall be sent to each of the Allied and Associated Governments and also to the German Government. When so published they shall have the force of law and shall be

recognised as such by all the Allied and Associated military authorities and by the German civil authorities.

(b) The members of the High Commission shall enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities.

(c) The German courts shall continue to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction subject to the exceptions contained in paragraphs (d) and (e) below.

(d) The armed forces of the Allied and Associated Powers and the persons accompanying them, to whom the General Officers Commanding the Armies of Occupation shall have issued a revokable pass, and any persons employed by, or in the service of such troops, shall be exclusively subject to the military law and jurisdiction of such forces.

(e) Any person who commits any offence against the persons or property of the armed forces of the Allied and Associated Powers may be made amenable to the military jurisdiction of the said forces.

ARTICLE 4.

The German authorities, both in the occupied and in the unoccupied territories, shall, on the demand of any duly authorised military officer of the occupying forces, arrest and hand over to the nearest commander of the Allied or Associated troops any person charged with an offence who is amenable under paragraph (d) or paragraph (e) of Article 3 above to the military jurisdiction of the Allied or Associated Forces.

ARTICLE 5.

The civil administration of the provinces (Provinzen), Government departments (Regierungsbezirke), Urban Circles (Stadtkreise), Rural Circles (Landkreise), and Communes (Gemeinde), shall remain in the hands of the German authorities, and the civil administration of these areas shall continue under German law and under the authority of the Central German Government, except in so far as it may be necessary for the High Commission by Ordinance under Article 3 to adapt that administration to the needs and cir cumstances of military occupation. It is understood that the German authorities shall be obliged, under penalty of removal, to conform to the ordinances issued in virtue of Article 3 above.

ARTICLE 6.

The right to requisition in kind and to demand services in the manner laid down in the Hague Convention, 1907, shall be exercised by the Allied and Associated Armies of Occupation.

The charges for the requisitions effected in the zone of each Allied and Associated army and the estimate of damage caused by the troops of occupation shall be determined by local Commissions composed in equal representation of German civilians appointed by the German civil authorities and Allied or Associated military officers, and presided over by some person appointed by the High Commission.

The German Government shall continue to be responsible for the cost of maintenance of the troops of occupation under the conditions fixed by the Treaty. The German Government shall also be responsible for the costs and expenses of the High Commission, and for its housing. Suitable premises for the housing of the High Commission shall be selected after consultation with the German Government. Note

The convention respecting the laws and customs of war on land, signed at The Hague, October 18, 1907, is at Treaties, Conventions, etc., 1776-1909, 11, 2269. Section III of the annexed regulations deals with "military authority over the territory of the hostile state”.

ARTICLE 7.

The Allied and Associated troops shall continue undisturbed in possession of any premises at present occupied by them, subject to the provision of Article 8 (b) below.

ARTICLE 8.

(a) The German Government shall undertake, moreover, to place at the disposal of the Allied and Associated troops and to maintain in good state of repair all the military establishments required for the said troops, with the necessary furniture, heating and lighting, in accordance with the regulations concerning these matters in force in the various armies concerned. These shall include accommodation for officers and men, guard-rooms, offices, administrative, regimental and staff headquarters, workshops, store-rooms, hospitals, laundries, regimental schools, riding schools, stables, training grounds and rifle and artillery ranges, aviation grounds, grazing grounds, warehouses for supplies and grounds for military manœuvres, also theatre and cinema premises, and reasonable facilities for sport and for recreation grounds for the troops.

(b) Private soldiers and non-commissioned officers shall be accommodated in barracks, and shall not be billeted on the inhabitants, except in cases of exceptional emergency.

In the event of the existing military establishments being insufficient or not being considered suitable, the Allied and Associated troops may take possession of any other public or private establishment with its personnel, suitable for those purposes, or, if there are no such suitable premises, they may require the construction of new barracks.

Civilian and military officers and their families may be billeted on the inhabitants in accordance with the billeting regulations in force in each army.

ARTICLE 9.

No German direct taxes or duties will be payable by the High Commission, the Allied and Associated armies or their personnel. Food supplies, arms, clothing, equipment and provisions of all kinds for the use of the Allied and Associated Armies, or addressed to the military authorities, or to the High Commission, or to canteens and officers' messes, shall be transported free of charge and free of all import duties of any kind.

ARTICLE 10.

The personnel employed on all means of communication (railways, railroads and tramways of all kinds, waterways (including the Rhine), roads and rivers), shall obey any orders given by, or on behalf of, the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied and Associated armies for military purposes.

All the material and all the civil personnel necessary for the maintenance and working of all means of communication must be kept intact on all such means of communication in the occupied territory.

The transport on the railways of troops or individual soldiers or officers, on duty or furnished with a warrant, will be effected without payment.

Note

The railroad Régie yielded total profits for the reparation account of 576,408,607.37 francs.

In all 4200 lawsuits were brought against it for claims amounting to 75,000,000 francs, the Régie being condemned to pay about 6,000,000 francs.

ARTICLE 11.

The Armies of Occupation may continue to use for military purposes all existing telegraphic and telephonic installations.