World War I: Causes and Consequences

The First World War (1914-1918)

The First World War, or Great War, was an armed conflict that took place between 1914 and 1918. It resulted in over 10 million casualties. More than 60 million European soldiers were mobilized from 1914 to 1918. Originating in Europe due to the rivalry between imperialist powers, it became the first conflict to cover more than half the planet. It was once the bloodiest conflict in history. Before the Second World War, this war was called the Great War or the War of Wars. It was the second most damaging war in history, after the Second World War.

The Outbreak of War

The war began as a clash between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Russia joined the conflict, as it was considered the protector of Slavic countries and wished to undermine Austria-Hungary’s position in the Balkans. After the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Russia on August 1, 1914, the conflict transformed into a military confrontation at the European level. Germany responded to Russia with war, bound by a secret pact with the Habsburg monarchy, and France mobilized to support its ally.

Hostilities involved 32 countries, 28 of them called the ‘Allies’: France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Serbia, Belgium, Canada, Portugal, Japan, the United States (from 1917), and Italy, which had left the Triple Alliance. This group faced a coalition of the “Central Powers,” made up of the Austro-Hungarian, German, and Ottoman Empires, accompanied by Bulgaria.

Underlying Causes: Imperial Rivalries

In the late nineteenth century, Britain dominated the world technologically, financially, economically, and especially politically. Germany and the United States were vying for industrial and commercial dominance. The second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries witnessed the division of Africa (except Liberia and Ethiopia) and South Asia, and the gradual increase in European presence in China, which was in serious decline.

The *Entente Cordiale*

England and France, the two major colonial powers, clashed in 1898 and 1899 in the so-called Fashoda Incident in Sudan. However, the rapid rise of the German Empire led the two countries to unite through the Entente Cordiale. Germany, which only possessed colonies in Cameroon, Namibia, East Africa, some Pacific islands (Solomon Islands), and commercial enclaves in China, began to demand more as its military and economic power increased after its unification in 1871. Misguided diplomacy isolated the Reich, which could only count on the unconditional alliance of Austria-Hungary. For their part, the U.S. and, to a lesser extent, the Russian Empire controlled vast territories, united by long railroads (Atlantic-Pacific Railway and Trans-Siberian, respectively).

French Revanchism

France sought revenge for its defeat against Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. While Paris was under siege, the German princes had proclaimed the Empire (the so-called Second Reich) at the Palace of Versailles, which was an insult to the French. The Third Republic lost Alsace and Lorraine, which became part of the new Germanic Reich. Generations of French in the late nineteenth century, especially in the Army, grew up with the idea of recovering and avenging those territories. In 1914, only 1% of the French army were deserters, compared with 30% in 1870.