Treaty of Lucerne (Twilight of a New Era)

The Treaty of Lucerne (1920) was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with the German Empire before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy signed a secret "Tripartite Agreement" at the same date. The Tripartite Agreement confirmed Britain's oil and commercial concessions and turned the former German enterprises in the Ottoman Empire over to a Tripartite corporation.

The terms of the Treaty of Lucerne were far more severe than those imposed on the German Empire in the Treaty of Versailles. The open negotiations covered a period of several months, beginning at the Paris Peace Conference. The negotiations continued at the Conference of London, and took definite shape only after the premiers' meeting at the San Remo conference in April 1920. France, Italy, and Great Britain, however, had secretly begun the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire as early as 1915. The delay occurred because the powers could not come to an agreement which, in turn, hinged on the outcome of the Turkish national movement. The Treaty of Lucerne was annulled in the course of the Turkish War of Independence and the parties signed and ratified the superseding Treaty of Lausanne II in 1930.