<P> After Scheidemann ′ s resignation , a new coalition government was formed under Gustav Bauer . President Friedrich Ebert knew that Germany was in an impossible situation . Although he shared his countrymen 's disgust with the treaty , he was sober enough to consider the possibility that the government would not be in a position to reject it . He believed that if Germany refused to sign the treaty , the Allies would invade Germany from the west -- and there was no guarantee that the army would be able to make a stand in the event of an invasion . With this in mind , he asked Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg if the army was capable of any meaningful resistance in the event the Allies resumed the war . If there was even the slightest chance that the army could hold out , Ebert intended to recommend against ratifying the treaty . Hindenburg -- after prodding from his chief of staff , Wilhelm Groener -- concluded the army could not resume the war even on a limited scale . However , rather than inform Ebert himself , he had Groener inform the government that the army would be in an untenable position in the event of renewed hostilities . Upon receiving this , the new government recommended signing the treaty . The National Assembly voted in favour of signing the treaty by 237 to 138 , with five abstentions ( there were 421 delegates in total ) . This result was wired to Clemenceau just hours before the deadline . Foreign minister Hermann Müller and colonial minister Johannes Bell travelled to Versailles to sign the treaty on behalf of Germany . The treaty was signed on 28 June 1919 and ratified by the National Assembly on 9 July by a vote of 209 to 116 . </P>
who was the german leader who signed the treaty of versailles
President Friedrich Ebert