<P> In June 1919 , the Allies declared that war would resume if the German government did not sign the treaty they had agreed to among themselves . The government headed by Philipp Scheidemann was unable to agree on a common position , and Scheidemann himself resigned rather than agree to sign the treaty . Gustav Bauer , the head of the new government , sent a telegram stating his intention to sign the treaty if certain articles were withdrawn , including Articles 227 , 230 and 231 . In response , the Allies issued an ultimatum stating that Germany would have to accept the treaty or face an invasion of Allied forces across the Rhine within 24 hours . On 23 June , Bauer capitulated and sent a second telegram with a confirmation that a German delegation would arrive shortly to sign the treaty . On 28 June 1919 , the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand ( the immediate impetus for the war ) , the peace treaty was signed . The treaty had clauses ranging from war crimes , the prohibition on the merging of Austria with Germany without the consent of the League of Nations , freedom of navigation on major European rivers , to the returning of a Koran to the king of Hedjaz . </P>
who was the german leader who signed the treaty of versailles
Gustav Bauer