World War I: A Comprehensive Overview
The War of Positions
New Fronts and Stalemate
Both the Central Powers and the Allied Powers opened new fronts and incorporated new participants:
- The Central Powers, joined by the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, attempted to seize the Dardanelles but failed. Russia launched successful attacks in the Caucasus. The Allies encouraged the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman persecution of Armenian Christians, supported by their allies, led to the Armenian genocide, resulting in over a million and a half civilian deaths.
- The Allies welcomed Italy and Romania into their ranks.
Despite the immense human cost, these new fronts did not alleviate the pressure on the Western Front. Offensives there resulted in minimal territorial gains but caused unprecedented casualties in battles like Verdun, the Somme, and Ypres. The war seemed to have reached a stalemate.
Attrition and Submarine Warfare
The war entered a phase of attrition. Both sides bombarded enemy trenches relentlessly. Germany attempted to strangle the Allied war effort by attacking their maritime supply lines, including neutral ships. Submarine warfare became a pivotal aspect of the conflict.
Turning Points: 1917
The balance of power shifted in 1917 due to two major events:
- The Russian Revolution benefited the Central Powers. Separate peace talks between Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary culminated in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918.
- The United States declared war on Germany in response to unrestricted submarine warfare.
The Failure of the German Offensive
Desperate Gamble
By early 1918, the Central Powers had achieved victory on the Italian Front and neutralized Russia with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. However, Germany faced severe internal problems, including the threat of revolution. The German High Command decided to launch a major offensive in France to break the stalemate before American aid could arrive.
Collapse and Armistice
By the autumn of 1918, Germany was exhausted. The Allies, bolstered by American reinforcements, began to push back. Revolutionary councils, inspired by the Soviet model, formed in German cities. The German army was defeated, the Kaiser abdicated, and a republic was proclaimed. On November 11th, 1918, Germany requested an armistice.
Peace Treaties
The Paris Peace Conference
The negotiations that ended World War I are collectively known as the Paris Peace Treaties. Some treaties are also referred to by the locations where they were signed: Versailles (Germany), Saint-Germain (Austria), Trianon (Hungary), Neuilly (Bulgaria), and Sèvres (Ottoman Empire).
Treaty of Versailles and its Consequences
- The Treaty of Versailles placed the blame for the war squarely on Germany. Alsace and Lorraine were returned to France. Germany was forced to pay reparations and cede territories in the East, including parts of East Prussia and the Danzig corridor. Germany also lost its colonies and was subjected to demilitarization of the Rhineland and limitations on its army and weaponry.
- The Austro-Hungarian Empire was disintegrated. New states emerged, including Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Serbia expanded its territory. Italy and Romania also gained land. Hungary and Austria were reduced to small, landlocked states.
- Bulgaria lost its Aegean coastline to Greece.
- The Ottoman Empire was dissolved and replaced by a republic. Its Arab territories were divided into mandates controlled by Britain and France.
The Balance of the Great War
:
TheWorld War I produced the highest mortality in Cnoc entonces.europa conflict to politics and am very weak moralmente.Aunque empires the conquerors retained their peacekeeping mission used as a pretext for war was desmentida.Esta colonization was the suicide of Europe, whose decline contrast with the subsequent rise of non-European powers like the U.S. and peace tanbn japon.La estubo errores.Llego filled too so late that it is impossible to establish a lasting order. The immense desire not resisted nor pacifist unageneracion.Una of the reasons for this failure was the weakness of the League of Nations.
ECONOMIC Transform:
The war changed the way of conceiving the role of government in the strife economia.Durante authorities were forced to intervene in the economy Consumnes rationing, planning the production or gathering new obra.La contingent labor war meant the bankruptcy of beligerantes.Los winners all had contracted a great debt to mortgage his future and expected amortized through vencidos.Estos repairs required of countries could not pay and the consequence was hiperinflacion.Ademas United States was already the leading economic power of planeta.Argentina.Australia and Japan were made hole in the world market and Spain experienced a boom industry during the war.