Editing Treaty of Versailles (section)

===Rhineland occupation===
{{main|Occupation of the Rhineland}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R09876, Ruhrbesetzung.jpg|thumb|French soldiers in the Ruhr, which resulted in the American withdrawal from the Rhineland|alt=A soldier, on the right, faces a civilian, on the left. A second soldier, far center, walks towards the two.]]

In late 1918, American, Belgian, British, and French troops entered the Rhineland to enforce the armistice.{{sfn|Martel|1999|p=18}} Before the treaty, the occupation force stood at roughly 740,000 men.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=84}}{{sfn|Liverman|1996|p=92}}{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=2}}{{sfn|Collar|2012|p=78}} Following the signing of the peace treaty, the numbers drastically decreased and by 1926 the occupation force numbered only 76,000 men.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=117}}
As part of the 1929 negotiations that would become the [[Young Plan]], [[Gustav Stresemann]], and [[Aristide Briand]] negotiated the early withdrawal of Allied forces from the Rhineland.{{sfn|Mommsen|Foster|1988|p=273}}
On 30 June 1930, after speeches and the lowering of flags, the last troops of the Anglo-French-Belgian occupation force withdrew from Germany.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|pp=181–182}}

Belgium maintained an occupation force of roughly 10,000 troops throughout the initial years.{{sfn|Liverman|1996|p=92}}
This figure fell to 7,102 by 1926, and continued to fall as a result of diplomatic developments.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=117}}{{sfn|Jacobson|1972|p=135}}

The British [[Second Army (United Kingdom)|Second Army]], with some 275,000 veteran soldiers, entered Germany in late 1918.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=2}} In March 1919, this force became the [[British Army of the Rhine]] (BAOR). The total number of troops committed to the occupation rapidly dwindled as veteran soldiers were demobilized, and were replaced by inexperienced men who had finished basic training following the cessation of hostilities.{{sfn|Williamson|2017|pp=19, 245}}
By 1920, the BAOR consisted of only 40,594 men and the following year had been further reduced to 12,421. The size of the BAOR fluctuated over the following years, but never rose above 9,000 men.{{sfn|Edmonds|1943|p=147}} The British did not adhere to all obligated territorial withdrawals as dictated by Versailles, on account of Germany not meeting her own treaty obligations.{{sfn|Williamson|2017|pp=246–247}}
A complete withdrawal was considered, but rejected in order to maintain a presence to continue acting as a check on French ambitions and prevent the establishment of an autonomous [[Rhineland Republic]].{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=94}}

The French Army of the Rhine was initially 250,000 men strong, including at a peak 40,000 African colonial troops ({{lang|fr|[[Troupes coloniales]]}}). By 1923, the French occupation force had decreased to roughly 130,000 men, including 27,126 African troops.{{sfn|Collar|2012|p=78}}
The troop numbers peaked again at 250,000 during the occupation of the Ruhr, before decreasing to 60,000 men by 1926.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=117}}{{sfn|McDougall|1978|p=155}} Germans viewed the use of French colonial troops as a deliberate act of humiliation, and used their presence to create a propaganda campaign dubbed the [[Black Horror on the Rhine|Black Shame]]. This campaign lasted throughout the 1920s and 30s, although peaked in 1920 and 1921. For example, a 1921 German Government memo detailed 300 acts of violence from colonial troops, which included 65 murders and 170 sexual offenses. Historical consensus is that the charges were exaggerated for political and propaganda purposes, and that the colonial troops behaved far better than their white counterparts.{{sfn|Collar|2012|p=78}} An estimated 500–800 [[Rhineland Bastard]]s were born as a result of fraternization between colonial troops and German women, and who would later be persecuted.{{sfn|Appiah|Gates|2005|p=781}}

The [[United States Third Army]] entered Germany with {{nowrap|200,000 men}}. In June 1919, the Third Army demobilized and by 1920 the US occupation force had been reduced to {{nowrap|15,000 men}}.{{sfn|Baker|2004|p=21}}{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=84}} Wilson further reduced the garrison to {{nowrap|6,500 men}}, before [[Warren G. Harding]]'s inauguration in 1921.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=84}} On 7 January 1923, after the Franco–Belgian occupation of the Ruhr, the US senate legislated the withdrawal of the remaining force.{{sfn|Mommsen|Foster|1988|p=129}}{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=87}}
On 24 January, the American garrison started their withdrawal from the Rhineland, with the final troops leaving in early February.{{sfn|Nelson|1975|pp=251–252}}