Turning to the international relations of the first decades of the 20th century, historians most often try to find an answer to the question: why did the World War? Consider events and phenomena that will help to find out the causes of its occurrence.
International relations in the late XIX - early XX century
The rapid industrial development of European countries and North America at that time pushed them to enter the broad world market, spread their economic and political influence in different parts Sveta.
The powers that already had colonial possessions sought to expand them in every possible way. So, France in the last third of the XIX - early XX century. increased the territory of its colonies by more than 10 times. The clash of interests of individual European powers led to armed confrontation, as, for example, in Central Africa where the British and French colonizers competed. Great Britain also tried to strengthen its position in South Africa - in the Transvaal and the Orange Republic. The determined resistance of the descendants of European settlers who lived there - the Boers - led to Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902).
The guerrilla struggle of the Boers and the cruelest methods of warfare by the British troops (up to the burning of peaceful settlements and the creation concentration camps, where thousands of prisoners died) showed the whole world the terrible face of war in the coming 20th century. Great Britain defeated the two Boer republics. But this inherently imperialist war was then condemned by most European countries, as well as by democratic forces in Britain itself.
Completed by the beginning of the 20th century. the colonial division of the world did not bring calm to international relationships. Countries that have made significant progress in industrial development (USA, Germany, Italy, Japan) are actively involved in the struggle for economic and political influence in the world. In some cases, they tore away the colonial territories from their owners by military means. This is what the United States did by unleashing a war against Spain in 1898. In other cases, the colonies "bargained". This was done, for example, by Germany in 1911. Having declared its intention to seize part of Morocco, it sent a warship to its shores. France, which had previously penetrated into Morocco, in exchange for the recognition of its priority, ceded to Germany part of its possessions in the Congo. The following document testifies to the decisiveness of Germany's colonial intentions.
From the parting words of Kaiser Wilhelm II to the German troops heading to China in July 1900 to suppress the Yihetuan uprising:
“The newly emerged German Empire faces great tasks across the sea ... And you ... must present to the enemy good lesson. Converging with the enemy, you must beat him! Give no mercy! Take no prisoners! With those who fall into your hands, do not stand on ceremony. Just as a thousand years ago, under their king Attila, the Huns glorified their name, which is still preserved in fairy tales and legends, so the name of the Germans should evoke such feelings in China in a thousand years, so that no Chinese would ever again dare to look askance to the German!
The increased conflicts between the great powers in different parts of the world caused concern not only in public opinion, but also among the politicians themselves. In 1899, at the initiative of Russia, a peace conference was held in The Hague with the participation of representatives of 26 states. The second conference in The Hague (1907) already involved 44 countries. At these meetings, conventions (agreements) were adopted that contained recommendations on the peaceful settlement of international disputes, limiting cruel forms of warfare (prohibiting the use of explosive bullets, poisonous substances, etc.), reducing military spending and armed forces, humane treatment of prisoners, and also determined the rights and obligations of neutral states.
The discussion of general problems of maintaining peace did not prevent the leading European powers from dealing with completely different issues: how to ensure the achievement of their own, not always peaceful, foreign policy goals. It was increasingly difficult to do this alone, so each country was looking for allies. With late XIX in. two international blocs began to take shape - the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and the Franco-Russian alliance, which outgrew at the beginning of the 20th century. in the Triple Entente of France, Russia, Great Britain.
Dates, documents, events
Triple Alliance
1879 - secret treaty between Germany and Austria-Hungary on joint defense against Russian attack.
1882 - Triple alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy.
Franco-Russian alliance
1891-1892 - Consultative pact and military convention between Russia and France.
Entente
1904 - agreement between Great Britain and France on the division of spheres of influence in Africa.
1906 - negotiations between Belgium, Great Britain and France on military cooperation.
1907 - agreement between Great Britain and Russia on the division of spheres of influence in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet.
International conflicts of the early XX century. were not limited to disputes over overseas territories. They also appeared in Europe itself. In 1908-1909. the so-called Bosnian crisis. Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were formally part of Ottoman Empire. Serbia and Russia protested, as they were in favor of granting independence to these territories. Austria-Hungary announced mobilization and began to concentrate troops on the border with Serbia. The actions of Austria-Hungary received the support of Germany, which forced Russia and Serbia to come to terms with the capture.
Balkan Wars
Other states also sought to take advantage of the weakening of the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro formed the Balkan Union and in October 1912 attacked the empire in order to liberate the territories inhabited by Slavs and Greeks from Turkish rule. In a short time, the Turkish army was defeated. But the peace negotiations turned out to be difficult, because the great powers joined in: the Entente countries supported the states of the Balkan Union, and Austria-Hungary and Germany supported the Turks. Under the peace treaty signed in May 1913, the Ottoman Empire lost almost all of its European territories. But less than a month later, a second Balkan war broke out - this time between the victors. Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece, trying to get its part of Macedonia liberated from Turkish rule. The war ended in August 1913 with the defeat of Bulgaria. She left behind unresolved interethnic and interstate contradictions. These were not only mutual territorial disputes between Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Romania. The dissatisfaction of Austria-Hungary with the strengthening of Serbia as a possible center for the unification of the South Slavic peoples, some of which were in the possession of the Habsburg Empire, also grew.
The beginning of the war
On June 28, 1914, in the capital of Bosnia, the city of Sarajevo, a member of the Serbian terrorist organization Gavrilo Princip killed the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife.
June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofia in Sarajevo Five minutes before the assassination attempt
Austria-Hungary accused Serbia of instigation, to which an ultimatum note was sent. The fulfillment of the requirements contained in it meant for Serbia the loss of its state dignity, consent to Austrian interference in its affairs. Serbia was ready to fulfill all the conditions, except for one, the most humiliating for it (about the investigation by the Austrian services on the territory of Serbia of the reasons for the Sarajevo assassination attempt). However, on July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Two weeks later, 8 states of Europe were involved in the war.
Dates and events
August 1 - Germany declares war on Russia.
August 2 - German troops occupied Luxembourg.
August 3 - Germany declared war on France, its troops moved to France through Belgium.
August 4 - Britain enters the war against Germany.
August 6 - Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia.
August 11 - France enters the war against Austria-Hungary.
August 12 - Great Britain declares war on Austria-Hungary.
On August 23, 1914, Japan declared war on Germany and began seizing German possessions in China and the Pacific. In the autumn of the same year on the side tripartite alliance The Ottoman Empire entered the fray. The war went beyond the borders of Europe and turned into a world war.
The states that entered the war, as a rule, explained their decision by “higher interests” - the desire to protect themselves and other countries from aggression, allied duty, etc. But the true goals of most of the participants in the conflict were to expand their territories or colonial possessions, to increase the influence in Europe and other continents.
Austria-Hungary wanted to subjugate the growing Serbia, to weaken Russia's position in the Balkans. Germany sought to annex the border territories of France and Belgium, the Baltic states and other lands in Europe, and also to expand its colonial possessions at the expense of English, French, and Belgian colonies. France resisted the onslaught of Germany and at least wanted to return Alsace and Lorraine captured from her in 1871. Britain fought to preserve its colonial empire and wished to weaken Germany, which had gained strength. Russia defended its interests in the Balkans and the Black Sea, and at the same time was not averse to annexing Galicia, which was part of Austria-Hungary.
Some exceptions were Serbia, which became the first victim of the attack, and Belgium, occupied by the Germans: they fought the war primarily for the restoration of their independence, although they also had other interests.
War and Society
So, in the summer of 1914, the wheel of war rolled out of the hands of politicians and diplomats and invaded the lives of millions of people in dozens of countries in Europe and the world. How did people feel when they learned about the war? In what mood did the men go to the mobilization points? What were those who were not supposed to go to the front preparing for?
Official announcements about the beginning of hostilities were accompanied by patriotic appeals and assurances of an imminent victory.
French President R. Poincaré noted in his notes:
“The German declaration of war aroused in the nation a magnificent outburst of patriotism. Never in all its history has France been so beautiful as in these hours which we have been given to witness. The mobilization, which began on August 2, ended today, was carried out with such discipline, in such order, with such calmness, with such enthusiasm, that the government and military authorities admire ... In England, the same enthusiasm as in France; the royal family was the subject of repeated standing ovations; patriotic demonstrations everywhere. The Central Powers aroused the unanimous indignation of the French, English and Belgian peoples.
A significant part of the population of the countries that entered the war was seized by nationalist sentiments. The attempts of pacifists and some socialists to raise their voice against the war were drowned out by a wave of jingoistic patriotism. The leaders of the workers' and socialist movement in Germany, Austria-Hungary, France put forward the slogans of "civil peace" in their countries and voted for war loans. The leaders of the Austrian Social Democracy called on their supporters "to fight against tsarism", while the British socialists decided above all to "fight against German imperialism". The ideas of the class struggle and the international solidarity of the workers were relegated to the background. This led to the collapse of the Second International. Only a few groups of social democrats (including the Russian Bolsheviks) condemned the outbreak of the war as imperialist and called on the working people to refuse to support their governments. But their voices were not heard. Thousands of armies went to fight, hoping for victory.
The failure of the lightning war plans
Although the leadership in declaring war belonged to Austria-Hungary, the most decisive action was immediately launched by Germany. She sought to avoid a war on two fronts - against Russia in the east and France in the west. The plan of General A. von Schlieffen, developed even before the war, provided first for the rapid defeat of France (in 40 days), and then for an active struggle against Russia. The German strike group, which invaded Belgian territory at the beginning of the war, approached the French border in a little over two weeks (later than planned, because the fierce resistance of the Belgians prevented it). By September 1914, the German armies crossed the Marne River and approached the fortress of Verdun. It was not possible to fulfill the plan of "blitzkrieg" (blitzkrieg). But France was in a very difficult position. Paris was in danger of being invaded. The government left the capital and turned to Russia for help.
Despite the fact that the deployment and equipping of the Russian troops had not been completed by that time (this is exactly what Schlieffen was counting on in his plan), two Russian armies under the command of Generals P.K. Rennenkampf and A.V. Samsonov were abandoned on the offensive in August East Prussia(here they soon failed), and the troops under the command of General N.I. Ivanov in September - in Galicia (where they dealt a serious blow to the Austrian army). The offensive cost the Russian troops heavy losses. But to stop him, Germany transferred several corps from France to Eastern front. This allowed the French command to gather forces and repel the onslaught of the Germans in a difficult battle on the Marne River in September 1914 (more than 1.5 million people participated in the battle, losses on both sides amounted to almost 600 thousand killed and wounded).
The plan to quickly defeat France failed. Unable to get the better of each other, the opponents “sat down in trenches” along the huge front line (600 km long) that crossed Europe from the North Sea coast to Switzerland. A protracted positional war broke out on the Western Front. By the end of 1914, a similar situation had developed on the Austro-Serbian front, where the Serbian army managed to liberate the country's territory, which had previously been captured (in August - November) by Austrian troops.
During a period of relative calm on the fronts, diplomats became more active. Each of the warring groups sought to attract new allies into their ranks. Both sides negotiated with Italy, which at the beginning of the war declared its neutrality. Seeing the failure of the German and Austrian troops in conducting a blitzkrieg, Italy in the spring of 1915 joined the Entente.
On the fronts
Since the spring of 1915, the center of hostilities in Europe has moved to the Eastern Front. The combined forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary carried out a successful offensive in Galicia, driving out Russian troops from there, and the army under the command of General P. von Hindenburg captured the Polish and Lithuanian territories that were part of the Russian Empire (including Warsaw) by autumn.
Despite the difficult situation Russian army, the French and British command was in no hurry to advance on their front. Military reports of the time included the proverbial phrase: "All Quiet on the Western Front." True, positional warfare was also an ordeal. The fight intensified, the number of victims steadily increased. In April 1915, on the Western Front near the Ypres River, the German army carried out its first gas attack. About 15 thousand people were poisoned, of which 5 thousand died, the rest remained disabled. In the same year, war at sea between Germany and Great Britain intensified. To block the British Isles, German submarines began to attack all ships going there. During the year, over 700 ships were sunk, including many civilian ships. Protests from the United States and other neutral countries forced the German command to abandon attacks on passenger ships for some time.
After the successes of the Austro-German forces on the Eastern Front in the fall of 1915, Bulgaria entered the war on their side. Soon, as a result of a joint offensive, the Allies occupied the territory of Serbia.
In 1916, believing that Russia was sufficiently weakened, the German command decided to deliver a new blow to France. The goal of the German offensive, undertaken in February, was the French fortress of Verdun, the capture of which would open the way for the Germans to Paris. However, it was not possible to take the fortress.
This was explained by the fact that during the previous break in active operations on the Western Front, the British-French troops secured a superiority over the Germans by several dozen divisions. In addition, at the request of the French command in March 1916, an offensive was launched by Russian troops near Lake Naroch and the city of Dvinsk, which diverted significant German forces.
Finally, in July 1916, a massive offensive by the British-French army began on the Western Front. Particularly heavy fighting took place on the Somme. Here the French concentrated powerful artillery, which created a continuous shaft of fire. The British, for the first time, used tanks, which caused a real panic among the German soldiers, although they had not yet been able to turn the tide of battles.
The bloody battle, which lasted almost half a year, in which both sides lost about 1 million 300 thousand people killed, wounded and captured, ended with a relatively small advance of the British and French troops. Contemporaries called the battles of Verdun and the Somme "meat grinders".
Even the inveterate politician R. Poincare, who at the beginning of the war admired the patriotic upsurge of the French, now saw a different, terrible face of the war. He wrote:
“How much energy does this life of troops require daily, half underground, in trenches, in rain and snow, in trenches destroyed by grenades and mines, in shelters without clean air and light, in parallel ditches, always subject to the destructive action of projectiles, in side passages that can suddenly be cut off by enemy artillery, in advanced posts, where a patrol can be caught at any moment by an impending attack! How can we still know moments of deceptive calm in the rear, if there, at the front, people like us are doomed to this hell?
Significant events unfolded in 1916 on the Eastern Front. In June, Russian troops under the command of General A. A. Brusilov broke through the Austrian front to a depth of 70-120 km. The Austrian and German command hastily transferred 17 divisions from Italy and France to this front. Despite this, Russian troops occupied part of Galicia, Bukovina, entered the Carpathians. Their further advance was suspended due to lack of ammunition, isolation of the rear.
In August 1916, Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente. But by the end of the year, her army was defeated, the territory was occupied. As a result, the front line for the Russian army increased by another 500 km.
Position in the rear
The war required the belligerent countries to mobilize all human and material resources. The life of people in the rear was built according to the laws of wartime. The working hours were extended at the enterprises. Restrictions were imposed on holding meetings, rallies, strikes. The newspapers were censored. The state strengthened not only political control over society. During the war years, its regulatory role in the economy grew noticeably. State bodies distributed military orders and raw materials, disposed of the produced military products. They formed an alliance with the largest industrial and financial monopolies.
Has changed and everyday life of people. The work of young, strong men who left to fight fell on the shoulders of old men, women and teenagers. They worked in military factories, cultivated the land in immeasurably more difficult conditions than before.
From the book by S. Pankhurst "The Home Front" (the author is one of the leaders of the women's movement in England):
“In July (1916) I was approached by women who worked in aviation enterprises in London. They covered airplane wings with camouflage paint for 15 shillings a week, working from 8 o'clock in the morning until half past six in the evening. They were often asked to work until 8 o'clock in the evening, and they were paid for this overtime work as usual ... According to them, constantly six or more of the thirty women who worked on the painting were forced to leave the workshop and lie down on the stones for half an hour and more before they could return to their workplace.”
In most of the warring countries, a system of strictly rationed distribution of food and essential goods on cards was introduced. At the same time, the norms, compared with the pre-war level of consumption, were cut two to three times. It was possible to buy products in excess of the norm only on the "black market" for fabulous money. Only industrialists and speculators who got rich on military supplies could afford it. Most of the population was starving. In Germany, the winter of 1916/17 was called "rutabaga", because due to a poor potato harvest, rutabaga became the main food product. People also suffered from lack of fuel. In Paris, during the said winter, there were cases of people dying from the cold. The prolongation of the war led to an ever greater deterioration in the situation in the rear.
The crisis is ripe. The final stage of the war
The war brought ever-increasing losses and suffering to the peoples. By the end of 1916, about 6 million people died on the fronts, about 10 million were injured. The cities and villages of Europe became battlefields. In the occupied territories, the civilian population was subjected to robbery and violence. In the rear, both people and machines worked for wear and tear. The material and spiritual forces of the peoples were depleted. This was already understood by both politicians and the military. In December 1916, Germany and its allies proposed that the Entente countries begin peace negotiations, and representatives of several neutral states spoke in favor of the same. But each of the warring parties did not want to recognize itself as a loser and sought to dictate its own terms. The negotiations did not take place.
Meanwhile, in the warring countries themselves, dissatisfaction with the war and those who continued to wage it was growing. "Civil Peace" was falling apart. Since 1915, the strike struggle of the workers has intensified. At first, they demanded mainly higher wages, which were depreciated all the time due to rising prices. Then, anti-war slogans began to sound more and more often. The ideas of struggle against the imperialist war were put forward by the revolutionary Social Democrats in Russia and Germany. On May 1, 1916, during a demonstration in Berlin, the leader of the leftist Social Democrats, Karl Liebknecht, issued calls: "Down with the war!", "Down with the government!" (for this he was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison).
In England, the strike movement of workers in 1915 was led by the so-called guild elders. They presented the demands of the workers to the administration and steadily achieved their fulfillment. Active anti-war propaganda was launched by pacifist organizations. The national question has also become aggravated. In April 1916 there was an uprising in Ireland. Rebel detachments led by socialist J. Connolly seized government buildings in Dublin and proclaimed Ireland an independent republic. The uprising was mercilessly crushed, 15 of its leaders were executed.
An explosive situation has developed in Russia. Here the matter was not limited to the growth of strikes. The February Revolution of 1917 overthrew the autocracy. The provisional government intended to continue the war "to the bitter end." But it did not retain power over either the army or the country. In October 1917, Soviet power was proclaimed. As for their international consequences, the most tangible at that moment was Russia's withdrawal from the war. At first, unrest in the army led to the collapse of the Eastern Front. And in March 1918, the Soviet government concluded the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany and its allies, under whose control vast territories in the Baltic States, Belarus, Ukraine and the Caucasus remained. Impact Russian revolution it was not limited to events in Europe and the world, it, as it became clear later, also touched the internal life of many countries.
Meanwhile, the war continued. In April 1917, the United States of America declared war on Germany, and then on its allies. They were followed by several states of Latin America, China and other countries. The Americans sent their troops to Europe. In 1918, after the conclusion of peace with Russia, the German command made several attempts to attack France, but to no avail. Having lost about 800 thousand people in battles, the German troops withdrew to their original lines. By the autumn of 1918, the initiative in the conduct of hostilities passed to the Entente countries.
The question of ending the war was decided not only on the fronts. Anti-war protests and discontent grew in the warring countries. At demonstrations and rallies, the slogans put forward by the Russian Bolsheviks were increasingly heard: “Down with the war!”, “A world without annexations and indemnities!” AT different countries workers' and soldiers' councils began to appear. The French workers adopted resolutions stating: "From the spark ignited in Petrograd, light will light up over the rest of the world enslaved by militarism." In the army, battalions and regiments refused to go to the front lines.
Germany and her allies, weakened by defeats on the fronts and internal difficulties, were forced to ask for peace.
September 29, 1918 stopped fighting Bulgaria. On October 5, the German government made a request for a truce. On October 30, the Ottoman Empire signed a truce with the Entente. On November 3, Austria-Hungary capitulated, liberation movements the peoples who lived in it.
On November 3, 1918, an uprising of sailors broke out in Germany in the city of Kiel, which marked the beginning of the revolution. On November 9, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II was announced. On November 10, a Social Democratic government came to power.
On November 11, 1918, the commander-in-chief of the allied forces in France, Marshal F. Foch, in his staff car in the Compiègne forest, dictated the terms of the armistice to the German delegation. Finally, the war ended, in which more than 30 states participated (by the number of inhabitants they accounted for more than half of the world's population), 10 million were killed and 20 million were injured. The road to peace lay ahead.
References:
Aleksashkina L. N. / General History. XX - the beginning of the XXI century.
The starting point in the history of the war, later called the First World War, is considered 1914 (July 28), and ending - 1918 (November 11). Many countries of the world took part in it, divided into two camps:
- Entente ( block, originally France, England, Russia, which after a certain period of time were also joined by Italy, Romania, and many other countries)
- Quadruple Union(Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire).
If we briefly describe the period of history known to us as the First World War, then it can be divided into three stages: the initial one, when the main participating countries entered the arena of actions, the middle one, when the situation turned in favor of the Entente, and the final one, when Germany and its the allies finally lost their positions and capitulated.
First stage
War started with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand(heir to the Habsburg Empire) and his wife, the Serbian nationalist terrorist Gavrila Princip. The murder led to conflict between Serbia and Austria, and, in fact, served as a pretext for the outbreak of war, which has long been brewing in Europe. Germany supported Austria in this war. This country went to war with Russia August 1, 1914, a two more days later - with France; further, the German army broke into the territory of Luxembourg and Belgium. The enemy armies advanced towards the sea, where the line of the Western Front eventually closed. For some time the situation here remained stable, and France did not lose control over its coast, which the German troops unsuccessfully tried to capture. In 1914, namely in mid-August, the Eastern Front opened: here the Russian army attacked and quickly seized territories in eastern Prussia. Victorious for Russia Galician battle took place August 18, which temporarily put an end to violent clashes between the Austrians and Russians.
Serbia retook Belgrade, previously captured by the Austrians, after which there were no particularly active battles. Japan also turned against Germany, capturing its island colonies in 1914.. This secured the eastern borders of Russia from invasion, but from the south it was attacked by the Ottoman Empire, which acted on the side of Germany. At the end of 1914 she opened Caucasian Front , which cut Russia off from convenient communication with allied countries.
Second phase
The Western Front has intensified: here in 1915 year resumed fierce fighting between France and Germany. The forces were equal, and the front line remained almost unchanged at the end of the year, although both sides suffered significant damage. On the Eastern Front, the situation changed for the worse for the Russians: the Germans committed Gorlitsky breakthrough, having won Galicia and Poland from Russia. By autumn, the front line had stabilized: now it ran almost along the pre-war border between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia.
AT 1915 (May 23) into the war Italy entered. First, she announced the war of Austria-Hungary, but soon Bulgaria also joined the fighting, opposing the Entente, which eventually led to the fall of Serbia.
In 1916 happened Battle of Verdun, one of the largest battles in this war. The operation lasted from late February to mid-December; during this confrontation between the German troops, who had lost 450,000 soldiers, and the Anglo-French forces, which suffered losses in 750 000 man, the flamethrower was first used. On the Western Russian Front, Russian troops committed Brusilovsky breakthrough, after which Germany transferred most of its troops there, which played into the hands of England and France. Fierce battles were also fought on the water at this time. So, spring 1916 major Battle of Jutland who strengthened the positions of the Entente. At the end of the year, the Quadruple Alliance, having lost its dominant position in the war, proposed a truce, which the Entente rejected.
Third stage
AT 1917 the United States joined the allied forces. The Entente was close to victory, but Germany held a strategic defense on land, and also tried to attack the forces of England with the help of a submarine fleet. Russia in October 1917 years after the Revolution almost completely out of the war engulfed in internal problems. Germany liquidated the Eastern Front by signing armistice with Russia, Ukraine and Romania. AT March 1918 year between Russia and Germany was concluded Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the conditions of which turned out to be extremely difficult for Russia, but soon this agreement was canceled. Under Germany, the Baltic states, part of Belarus and Poland still remained; The country transferred the main military forces to the west, but, together with Austria (the Habsburg Empire), Bulgaria and Turkey (Ottoman Empire), was defeated by the Entente troops. Completely exhausted Germany was forced to sign the Act of Surrender - it happened in 1918, on November 11th. This date is considered the end of the war.
The Entente troops won a final victory in 1918.
After the war, the economies of all participating countries suffered greatly. A particularly deplorable state of affairs was in Germany; in addition, this country lost an eighth of the territories that belonged to it before the war, which went to the Entente countries, and the banks of the Rhine River remained occupied by the victorious allied forces for 15 years. Germany was ordered to pay reparations to the allies for 30 years, imposed strict restrictions on all types of weapons and the size of the army- it should not have exceeded 100 thousand military men.
However, the victorious member countries of the Entente bloc also suffered losses. Their economy was extremely depleted, all industries National economy suffered a severe decline, the standard of living deteriorated sharply, and only the military monopolies found themselves in a winning position. The situation in Russia has also become extremely destabilized, which is explained not only by internal political processes (primarily October Revolution and the events that followed it), but also the participation of the country in the First World War. The United States was the least affected- mainly because military operations were not conducted directly on the territory of this country, and its participation in the war was not long. The US economy experienced a real boom in the 1920s, which was replaced only in the 1930s by the so-called Great Depression, but the war that had already passed and did not greatly affect the country had nothing to do with these processes.
And, finally, about the losses that the First World War brought, briefly: human losses are estimated at 10 million soldiers and about 20 million civilians. The exact number of victims of this war has not been established. The lives of many people were claimed not only by armed conflicts, but also by famine, epidemics of disease, and extremely difficult living conditions.
Allies (Entente): France, Great Britain, Russia, Japan, Serbia, USA, Italy (participated in the war on the side of the Entente since 1915).
Friends of the Entente (supported the Entente in the war): Montenegro, Belgium, Greece, Brazil, China, Afghanistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, Siam, Haiti, Liberia, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica.
Question about the causes of the First World War has been one of the most discussed in world historiography since the outbreak of the war in August 1914.
The beginning of the war was facilitated by the widespread strengthening of nationalist sentiments. France hatched plans for the return of the lost territories of Alsace and Lorraine. Italy, even being in alliance with Austria-Hungary, dreamed of returning her lands to Trentino, Trieste and Fiume. The Poles saw in the war an opportunity to recreate a state destroyed by the divisions of the 18th century. Many peoples who inhabited Austria-Hungary aspired to national independence. Russia was convinced that it could not develop without limiting German competition, protecting the Slavs from Austria-Hungary and expanding influence in the Balkans. In Berlin, the future was associated with the defeat of France and Great Britain and the unification of the countries of Central Europe under the leadership of Germany. In London, it was believed that the people of Great Britain would live in peace only by crushing the main enemy - Germany.
In addition, international tension was intensified by a series of diplomatic crises - the Franco-German clash in Morocco in 1905-1906; the Austrian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908-1909; Balkan wars in 1912-1913.
The immediate cause for the war was the Sarajevo massacre. June 28, 1914 Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nineteen-year-old Serbian student Gavrilo Princip, who was a member of the secret organization "Young Bosnia", fighting to unite all South Slavic peoples in one state.
July 23, 1914 Austria-Hungary, enlisting the support of Germany, presented an ultimatum to Serbia and demanded that its military formations be allowed into the territory of Serbia in order to stop hostile actions together with the Serbian forces.
Serbia's response to the ultimatum did not satisfy Austria-Hungary, and July 28, 1914 she declared war on Serbia. Russia, having received assurances of support from France, openly opposed Austria-Hungary and July 30, 1914 announced general mobilization. Germany, taking advantage of this occasion, announced August 1, 1914 Russian war, and August 3, 1914- France. After the German invasion August 4, 1914 Britain declared war on Germany in Belgium.
The First World War consisted of five campaigns. During first campaign in 1914 Germany invaded Belgium and northern France, but was defeated at the Battle of the Marne. Russia captured part of East Prussia and Galicia (the East Prussian operation and the Battle of Galicia), but then was defeated as a result of the German and Austro-Hungarian counter-offensive.
Campaign of 1915 connected with the entry into the war of Italy, the failure of the German plan to withdraw Russia from the war and the bloody inconclusive battles on the Western Front.
Campaign of 1916 associated with the entry into the war of Romania and the conduct of an exhausting positional war on all fronts.
Campaign of 1917 associated with the US entry into the war, Russia's revolutionary withdrawal from the war, and a number of successive offensive operations on the Western Front (Operation Nivelle, operations in the Messines region, on Ypres, near Verdun, near Cambrai).
Campaign of 1918 characterized by a transition from positional defense to a general offensive of the Entente armed forces. From the second half of 1918, the Allies prepared and deployed retaliatory offensive operations(Amiens, Saint-Miyel, Marne), during which the results of the German offensive were liquidated, and in September 1918 they went on the general offensive. By November 1, 1918, the allies liberated the territory of Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, entered the territory of Bulgaria after the armistice and invaded the territory of Austria-Hungary. On September 29, 1918, Bulgaria signed a truce with the Allies, on October 30, 1918 - Turkey, on November 3, 1918 - Austria-Hungary, on November 11, 1918 - Germany.
June 28, 1919 signed at the Paris Peace Conference Treaty of Versailles with Germany, officially ending the First World War of 1914-1918.
On September 10, 1919, the Treaty of Saint-Germain was signed with Austria; November 27, 1919 - Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria; June 4, 1920 - Treaty of Trianon with Hungary; August 20, 1920 - Treaty of Sevres with Turkey.
In total, the First World War lasted 1568 days. 38 states participated in it, in which 70% of the population lived the globe. The armed struggle was carried out on the fronts with a total length of 2500-4000 km. The total losses of all warring countries amounted to about 9.5 million people killed and 20 million people wounded. At the same time, the losses of the Entente amounted to about 6 million people killed, the losses of the Central Powers were about 4 million people killed.
During the First World War, for the first time in history, tanks, aircraft, submarines, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, mortars, grenade launchers, bomb throwers, flamethrowers, super-heavy artillery, hand grenades, chemical and smoke shells, poisonous substances were used. New types of artillery appeared: anti-aircraft, anti-tank, infantry escorts. Aviation became an independent branch of the armed forces, which began to be subdivided into reconnaissance, fighter and bomber. There were tank troops, chemical troops, air defense troops, naval aviation. Increased role engineering troops and reduced the role of the cavalry.
The results of the First World War were the liquidation of four empires: German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman, the latter two being divided, and Germany and Russia were cut down territorially. As a result, new independent states appeared on the map of Europe: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Finland.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
Attitude towards the Brest Peace
"Left Communists" (Bukharin) - against peace, for a revolutionary war
L. Trotsky: "No peace, no war!"
V. I. Lenin: "Peace at any cost!"
Other political forces: against peace with Germany.
Consequences of the Brest peace:
The Bolsheviks got a breather and retained power
The loss of grain-producing areas led to famine
Pursuing a policy of "war communism" - the requisition of bread from the peasants, which led to discontent
Open intervention of the Entente
Russia was not invited to the Versailles Conference and received no compensation
Consequences of the war for Russia
Political:
Defeat in the war
End of an empire
October Revolution of 1917, power of the Soviets
Economic:
Militarization of the economy
Reduction of enterprises and output
Loss of a significant part of economically important territories
Social:
Significant decline in the standard of living of the population
Population decline. Decreasing birth rate
Famine, epidemics, diseases
From the history of the First World War:
The war lasted from July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918(officially the state of the world was approved on June 28, 1919)
38 states participated in the war (4 on the side of the German bloc: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria), the rest on the side of the Entente.
About 74 million people were mobilized, over 10 million were killed, over 20 million were wounded.
August 21-25, 1914 - battle at Charleroi, the defeat of the British and French troops.
September 5-12, 1914 - German defeat at the Battle of marne, stopped the advance of Germany in France.
February-December 1916- Verdun operation(“Verdun meat grinder”, more than 2 million soldiers died)
July-November 1916 - fighting on the river Somme.
In war for the first time used tanks, aviation. chemical weapon.
All countries were seriously affected by the war. Only Great Britain remained the winner - new colonies were added, the country began to own almost a fourth of the land.
November 11, 1918 - signing of an armistice between the victors (the Entente countries) and Germany in Compiègne forest(France)
Parisian peace conference (January 18, 1919 - January 21, 1920) 27 countries participated. The conference prepared the main treaties following the results of the war. Russia - did not participate (it was considered a country that lost the war, the Soviet government was considered temporary)
Versailles peace treaty signed June 28, 1919, entered into force - January 10, 1920. The treaty officially ended the First World War, secured a new redistribution of the world. Russia - did not participate (for the same reasons as at the Paris Conference)
In the First World War FOR THE FIRST TIME:
Applied chemical weapon- Germans, near the river Ypres (hence mustard gas) in 1915
tanks- the British were the first to use them in the battle on the Somme on September 15, 1915 against Turkey
Submarines- England, Germany
Aviation- By the beginning of the war, aviation was part of the armies of developed countries as auxiliary forces. (The first combat use of aircraft refers to the Balkan wars in 1912-1913)
Some terms
The Schlieffen Plan - Germany's blitzkrieg plan (2-3 months) - the defeat of France, without which Great Britain would not be able to wage war. Then a peace conference would be held and the colonies would be divided in a new way.
Trench warfare - a war in which the struggle is fought on continuous, relatively stable fronts (positions), much attention is paid to defense.
"Progressive bloc '- created in 1915, it is a coalition of progressive deputies in State Duma, the demand for reform.
Organizations created during the war in Russia:
May 1915- Central Military Industrial Committee for the organization of production for defense needs and the distribution of military orders (headed by the Octobrist Guchkov)
July 10, 1915 - the joint committee of the All-Russian Zemsky and City Unions - Zemgor- supplying the army, helping it (at the head- Lviv, close to the cadets)
Versailles system- the world order approved by the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919: strengthening the positions of the victorious countries in the war (France and Great Britain)
The last century brought to mankind two of the most terrible conflicts - the First and Second World Wars, which captured the whole world. And if the echoes of the Patriotic War are still heard, then the clashes of 1914-1918 have already been forgotten, despite their cruelty. Who fought with whom, what were the reasons for the confrontation, and in what year did the First World War begin?
Military conflict does not start suddenly, there is whole line prerequisites that directly or indirectly eventually become the causes of an open clash of armies. Differences between the main participants in the conflict, the powerful powers, began to grow long before the start of open battles.
Started to exist German Empire, which was the natural end of the Franco-Prussian battles of 1870-1871. At the same time, the government of the empire argued that the state had no aspirations regarding the seizure of power and domination on the territory of Europe.
After the devastating internal conflicts of the German monarchy, it took time to recuperate and build military power, for this it is necessary peacetime. In addition, European states are willing to cooperate with it and refrain from creating an opposing coalition.
Developing peacefully, by the mid-1880s, the Germans were getting stronger enough in the military and economic spheres and changing their foreign policy priorities, starting to fight for dominance in Europe. At the same time, a course was taken for the expansion of the southern lands, since the country did not have overseas colonies.
The colonial division of the world allowed the two strongest states - Great Britain and France to seize economically attractive lands around the world. In order to get overseas markets, the Germans needed to defeat these states and seize their colonies.
But in addition to the neighbors, the Germans also had to defeat the Russian state, since in 1891 it entered into a defensive alliance, which was called "Cardial Accord", or Entente, with France and England (joined in 1907).
Austria-Hungary, in turn, tried to hold on to the annexed territories (Herzegovina and Bosnia) and at the same time tried to resist Russia, which set itself the goal of protecting and uniting the Slavic peoples in Europe and could start a confrontation. Russia's ally, Serbia, also posed a danger to Austria-Hungary.
The same tense situation was in the Middle East: it was there that the foreign policy interests of European states that wanted to gain new territories and greater benefits from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire clashed.
Here Russia claimed its rights, claiming the shores of two straits: the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. In addition, Emperor Nicholas II wanted to gain control over Anatolia, since this territory allowed access to the Middle East by land.
The Russians did not want to allow the withdrawal of these territories of Greece and Bulgaria. Therefore, European clashes were beneficial to them, since they made it possible to seize the desired lands in the East.
So, two alliances were created, the interests and opposition of which became the fundamental basis of the First World War:
- Entente - it included Russia, France and Great Britain.
- The Triple Alliance - it included the empires of the Germans and Austro-Hungarians, as well as the Italians.
It is important to know! Later, the Ottomans and Bulgarians joined the Triple Alliance, and the name was changed to the Quadruple Alliance.
The main reasons for the start of the war were:
- The desire of the Germans to own large territories and occupy a dominant position in the world.
- France's desire to take a leading position in Europe.
- Britain's desire to weaken European countries that posed a danger.
- Russia's attempt to seize new territories and protect the Slavic peoples from aggression.
- Confrontations between European and Asian states for spheres of influence.
The crisis of the economy and the discrepancy between the interests of the leading powers of Europe, and after that of other states, led to the beginning of an open military conflict, which lasted from 1914 to 1918.
German goals
Who started the battles? Germany is considered the main aggressor and the country that actually started the First World War. But at the same time, it is a mistake to believe that she alone wanted a conflict, despite the active preparation of the Germans and the provocation, which became the official cause of open clashes.
All European countries had their own interests, the achievement of which required victory over their neighbors.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the empire was developing rapidly and was well prepared from a military point of view: it had a good army, modern weapons and a powerful economy. Due to the constant strife between the German lands, until the middle of the 19th century, Europe did not consider the Germans as a serious adversary and competitor. But after the unification of the lands of the empire and the restoration of the domestic economy, the Germans not only became an important character in the European arena, but also began to think about seizing colonial lands.
The division of the world into colonies brought England and France not only an expanded market and cheap hired labor, but also an abundance of food. The German economy began to move from intensive development to stagnation due to market glut, and population growth and limited territories led to food shortages.
The country's leadership decided to completely change foreign policy, and instead of peaceful participation in European unions, they chose illusory domination through the military seizure of territories. The First World War began immediately after the assassination of the Austrian Franz Ferdinand, which was rigged by the Germans.
Participants in the conflict
Who fought with whom throughout the battles? The main participants concentrate in two camps:
- Triple and then Quadruple Union;
- Entente.
The first camp included Germans, Austro-Hungarians and Italians. This alliance was created back in the 1880s, its main goal was to oppose France.
At the beginning of the First World War, the Italians took up neutrality, thereby violating the plans of the allies, and later completely betrayed them, in 1915 going over to the side of England and France and taking an opposing position. Instead, the Germans had new allies: the Turks and Bulgarians, who had their own clashes with members of the Entente.
In the First World War, briefly listing, in addition to the Germans, Russians, French and British participated, who acted within the framework of one military bloc "Consent" (as the word Entente is translated). It was created in 1893-1907 in order to protect the Allied countries from the ever-growing military power of the Germans and to strengthen the Triple Alliance. The allies were also supported by other states that did not want to strengthen the Germans, among them Belgium, Greece, Portugal and Serbia.
It is important to know! Russia's allies in the conflict were also outside Europe, among them China, Japan, and the United States.
Russia in the First World War fought not only with Germany, but with a number of smaller states, for example, Albania. Only two main fronts unfolded: in the West and in the East. In addition to them, battles took place in the Transcaucasus and in the Middle Eastern and African colonies.
Interests of the parties
The main interest of all battles was the land, due to various circumstances, each side sought to conquer additional territories. All states had their own interest:
- Russian empire wanted to have open access to the seas.
- Great Britain sought to weaken Turkey and Germany.
- France - to return their lands.
- Germany - expand the territory by capturing neighboring European states, as well as get a number of colonies.
- Austria-Hungary - control the sea routes and hold the annexed territories.
- Italy - to gain dominance in southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
The approaching collapse of the Ottoman Empire made the states also think about seizing its lands. The map of hostilities shows the main fronts and advances of the opponents.
It is important to know! In addition to maritime interests, Russia wanted to unite all the Slavic lands under itself, while the Balkans were especially interested in the government.
Each country had clear plans to seize territories and was determined to win. Most of the countries of Europe participated in the conflict, while their military capabilities were approximately the same, which led to a protracted and passive war.
Results
When did World War I end? Its end came in November 1918 - it was then that Germany capitulated, concluding an agreement in Versailles in June of the following year, thereby showing who won the First World War - the French and the British.
The Russians were the losers on the winning side as they withdrew from the battles as early as March 1918 due to serious internal political divisions. In addition to Versailles, 4 more were signed peace treaties with the main opposing sides.
For four empires, the First World War ended with their collapse: the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, the Ottomans were overthrown in Turkey, the Germans and Austro-Hungarians also became republicans.
There were also changes in the territories, in particular the capture of Western Thrace by Greece, Tanzania by England, Romania took possession of Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia, and the French - Alsace-Lorraine and Lebanon. The Russian Empire lost a number of territories that declared independence, among them: Belarus, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, Ukraine and the Baltic states.
French occupied german area Saara, and Serbia annexed a number of lands (including Slovenia and Croatia) and subsequently created the state of Yugoslavia. Russia's battles in the First World War were costly: in addition to heavy losses on the fronts, the already difficult situation in the economy worsened.
The internal situation was tense long before the start of the campaign, and when, after an intense first year of fighting, the country switched to positional struggle, the suffering people actively supported the revolution and overthrew the objectionable tsar.
This confrontation showed that from now on all armed conflicts will be total in nature, and the entire population and all available resources of the state will be involved.
It is important to know! For the first time in history, adversaries used chemical weapons.
Both military blocs, entering into a confrontation, had approximately the same firepower, which led to protracted battles. Equal forces at the beginning of the campaign led to the fact that after its end, each country was actively engaged in building up firepower and actively developing modern and powerful weapons.
The scale and passive nature of the battles led to a complete restructuring of the economy and production of countries in the direction of militarization, which in turn significantly influenced the development of the European economy in 1915-1939. Characteristic for this period were:
- strengthening state influence and control in the economic sphere;
- creation of military complexes;
- rapid development of energy systems;
- the growth of defense products.
Wikipedia says that in that historical period the First World War was the bloodiest - it claimed only about 32 million lives, including the military and civilians who died from hunger and disease or from bombing. But even those soldiers who survived were psychologically traumatized by the war and could not lead a normal life. In addition, many of them were poisoned by chemical weapons used at the front.
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Summing up
Germany, which was sure of its victory in 1914, ceased to be a monarchy in 1918, lost a number of its lands and was severely weakened economically not only by military losses, but also by mandatory payments of reparations. The difficult conditions and general humiliation of the nation that the Germans endured after being defeated by the Allies engendered and fueled nationalist sentiments that subsequently led to the conflict of 1939-1945.
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