World War I (1914-1918): A Summary

Posted on Oct 20, 2024 in History

World War I (1914-1918)

The Outbreak of War

The First World War (1914-1918): States were joining the two blocks in conflict.

August 1914:

  • Entente Powers: France, United Kingdom, Serbia, and Belgium.
  • Central Powers: Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Later Entrants:

  • 1914: Japan (Entente), Turkey (Central Powers)
  • 1915: Italy (Entente), Bulgaria (Central Powers)
  • 1916: Romania (Entente)
  • 1917: USA (Entente), Russia withdraws (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk)

1914: The War of Movement

No one expected a long war.

Western Front – The Schlieffen Plan:

  • German attack against France through Belgium.
  • Moltke directs the neutral troops from Germany.
  • The French army, commanded by Joffre, manages to stop the German attack in the Battle of Marne (November 1914).
  • Stabilization of the fronts initiates trench warfare.

The Schlieffen Plan (1833-1913):

  • Chief of Staff until 1905, Alfred von Schlieffen, planned to invade neutral Belgium and Luxembourg to attack the undefended northern French frontier.
  • Foch managed to curb the German attack at Marne in November 1914.

War of Attrition (1915-1916)

The confrontation between major industrial powers led to a new level of violence and horror. The invention of new weapons (grenades, flamethrowers, tanks, gas) increased the horror and massacres but led to a tactical stalemate on the Western Front. The armies dug in along hundreds of kilometers. Trench warfare became a nightmare for millions of men for several years.

Western Front:

  • Fronts stabilized, attempts to break through resulted in bloody battles with minimal progress. This was the war of trenches.
  • Italy enters the war with the Allies after signing the secret Treaty of London (1915), opening the Alpine front between Italy and Austria-Hungary.

Eastern Front:

  • German advances under the direction of Hindenburg; Germany occupies Russian Poland and Lithuania.
  • Austria-Hungary conquers Galicia and recovers Serbia.
  • Bulgaria joins the Central Powers in October 1915.

Other Fronts:

  • The Turkish army advances in the Caucasus against the Russians.
  • The British begin their advance from Egypt, capturing Palestine.
  • Bloody failure of the British landing at Gallipoli, Turkey (Gallipoli Campaign, March 1915 – January 1916).

Trench Warfare: Western Front

Spring 1915:

  • The Germans used toxic chemical gases for the first time in Ypres (Belgium).
  • Erich von Falkenhayn (1861-1922), German War Minister in 1913, replaced Moltke as German Chief of Staff and tested the war of attrition at Verdun (1916).
  • The results were more than 600,000 casualties without significant progress.
  • The naval Battle of Jutland reaffirms the naval blockade of Germany. The Germans begin unrestricted submarine warfare.
  • The sinking of the luxury liner Lusitania led the U.S. to consider intervention.

The Final Crisis of the War (1917)

The enormous cost of lives on the fronts, the hardship of the civilian population, and the realization that the war would not end soon spread discouragement among all contenders.

Examples include:

  • Wave of strikes in Britain in 1916
  • Riots in the French army in 1917
  • Rising nationalist demands in Austria-Hungary

Key events that decided the course of the war:

  • The Soviet revolution in Russia
  • The U.S. entry into the conflict

Western Front:

  • January: Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare.
  • Large economic and human losses lead the U.S., under President Wilson, to enter the war in April 1917.
  • Discontent spreads among the Central Powers. Mutinies in the French army are crushed.
  • Italian defeat at Caporetto (October 1917).

Eastern Front:

  • Russian Revolution (February 1917).
  • Moderate Russians sign an armistice, allowing the Central Powers to advance.
  • Greece joins the war with the Entente.

Other Fronts:

  • British troops advance through the Middle East (Baghdad, Jerusalem).

The Outcome (1918)

  • Russia’s withdrawal allowed Germany to concentrate its forces on the Western Front.
  • The summer of 1918 witnessed the last, desperate German attacks.
  • The arrival of U.S. troops tipped the balance in favor of the Entente.
  • On November 11, 1918, the war ended, leaving millions dead, economic devastation, and widespread resentment.
  • Efforts began to build a new world order, hoping that the Great War would be the “war to end all wars.”

Balkan Wars (1912-1913)

  1. Alliance between Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Greece defeats the Turks, resulting in the loss of their European territories and Albanian independence.
  2. Confrontation between former allies over the territories seized from the Turks. Serbia expands its territory and influence in the Balkans, threatening the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The Immediate Cause of World War I: The Assassination of Sarajevo

  • June 28, 1914: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
  • July 23: Austro-Hungarian ultimatum rejected by Serbia.
  • July 28: Declaration of war triggers a chain reaction in European alliances.

Underlying Causes of the War

Military:

  • Military alliances that turned any local conflict into an international one.
  • Steady increase in military personnel and spending.

Political:

  • The idea of an inevitable and just war to satisfy “legitimate” territorial claims.

Economic:

  • The rise of Germany as an industrial power, rivaling Britain and France.

Summary 1: The Era of Armed Peace (1870-1914)

Triple Entente: Britain, France, Russia (1907)

Political Crises Before the War:

  • 1905-1906: Morocco
  • 1908-1909: Bosnia-Herzegovina
  • 1912-1913: First and Second Balkan Wars
  • 1914: Assassination of Sarajevo (direct cause of World War I)

Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy (1882)

Summary 2: World War I (1914-1918)

Underlying Causes:

  • Military factors: Arms race, military alliances.
  • Political factors: Nationalist claims, previous political crises.
  • Economic factors: Industrial and trade rivalry between Germany and the Entente Powers.

Consequences:

  • Social: High number of civilian and military casualties.
  • Economic: Physical destruction and economic crisis.
  • Political: Territorial changes.

Summary 3: The Paris Peace Conference (1919-1923)

Objectives:

  • End of secret diplomacy.
  • Democratization of international relations.
  • Right to self-determination of peoples.
  • Return to free trade.
  • Creation of the League of Nations.

Treaties:

  • Versailles (Germany)
  • Saint-Germain (Austria)
  • Trianon (Hungary)
  • Neuilly (Bulgaria)
  • Sèvres (Turkey)