I’d like to tell you about the First World War.

And let’s start with the

reasons/background/pretext and sides.

In the 19th century, the major European powers organized a huge complex
network of political and military alliances throughout the continent. That process
had started in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria.
Then, in October 1873, German Chancellor Bismarck negotiated the League of the
Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria–Hungary, Russia and Germany.
This agreement failed because Austria–Hungary and Russia could not agree over
Balkan policy, leaving Germany and Austria–Hungary in an alliance formed in 1879,
called the Dual Alliance. This was seen as a method of countering Russian influence
in the. In 1882, this alliance was expanded to include Italy in what became the
Triple Alliance.

After 1870, European conflict was averted largely due to a carefully planned
network of treaties between the German Empire and the remainder of Europe
orchestrated by Chancellor Bismarck. He especially worked to hold Russia at
Germany's side to avoid a two-front war with France and Russia. With the ascension
of Wilhelm II as German Emperor (Kaiser), Bismarck's system of alliances was
gradually de-emphasized. For example, the Kaiser refused to renew the
Reinsurance Treaty with Russia in 1890. Two years later the Franco-Russian
Alliance was signed to counteract the force of the Triple Alliance. In 1904, the
United Kingdom and Russia signed the Anglo-Russian Convention. This system of
interlocking bilateral agreements formed the Triple Entente.

So, as you can see, there were two main sides: on the one side there was
Triple Entente, where Russia (the alliance between the Great Britain, the French
Third Republic, and Russia); on the other side there was Triple Alliance (the alliance
between Germany, Austria–Hungary, and Italy).

At the same time German industrial and economic power had grown greatly
after unification and the foundation of the empire in 1870. German used this base
to devote significant economic resources to building up the Imperial German Navy,
in rivalry with the British Royal Navy for world naval supremacy. The arms race
between Britain and Germany eventually extended to the rest of Europe, with all
the major powers devoting their industrial base to the production of the equipment
and weapons necessary for a pan-European conflict. Between 1908 and 1913, the
military spending of the European powers increased by 50 percent.

One more serious reason is the situation with the Balkans region. There were
a number of overlapping claims to territories and spheres of influence between the
major European powers such as Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary
and, to a lesser degree, Imperial Germany, Great Britain, and Italy. In addition to
the imperialistic interests in this region, there was a growth in nationalism (I mean
pan-Slavism movement). The first Balkan War between Balkan League (it was the
alliance between Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro) and the Ottoman
Empire just further destabilized the region.

And finally the assassination of the heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne made
the cup run over. With the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand a period of diplomatic
maneuvering between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain called
the July Crisis began:

Austria-Hungary delivered the July Ultimatum to Serbia, ten demands which

were totally unacceptable. When Serbia acceded to only eight of the ten demands,
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914. The Russian Empire,
unwilling to allow Austria–Hungary to eliminate its influence in the Balkans, and in
support of its long time Serb proteges, ordered a partial mobilization one day later.
When the German Empire began to mobilize on 30 July 1914, France ordered
mobilization on 1 August. Germany declared war on Russia on the same day. The
United Kingdom declared war on Germany, on 3 August 1914.

The main dates.

1914

August 23rd The BEF (British Expeditionary Force) started its retreat from Mons.
Germany invaded France. The Battle of Mons was the first major
battle of World War One.
August 26th Russian army defeated at Tannenburg and Masurian Lakes
October 29th Turkey entered the war on Germany’s side.

1915

February Britain bombarded Turkish forts in the Dardanelles

19th

April 25th Allied troops landed in Gallipoli

May 23rd Italy declared war on Germany and Austria

August 5th The Germans captured Warsaw from the Russians
December The Allies started the evacuation of Gallipoli (say more about the
19th Gallipoli plan)

1916

January 27th Conscription introduced in Britain

February 21st Start of the Battle of Verdun (the longest single battle of World War
One)

May 31st Battle of Jutland (The Battle of Jutland is considered to be the only
major naval battle of World War One. After the battle the British
Navy remained a powerful fighting force whereas the German High
Seas fleet was not)

June 4th Start of the Brusilov Offensive

July 1st Start of the Battle of the Somme

August 10th End of the Brusilov Offensive

September First use en masse of tanks at the Somme

15th

1917

April 6th USA declared war on Germany

October 24th Battle of Caporetto where the Italian Army was heavily defeated

November British tanks won a victory at Cambrai (Cambrai was the first battle
20th in which tanks were used en masse In fact)

December Armistice between Germany and Russia signed

5th

December Britain captured Jerusalem from the Turks

9th

1918

March 3rd The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed between Russia and
Germany. (Under the treaty, Russia lost Riga, Lithuania, Livonia,
Estonia and some of White Russia. What Russia needed now was an
end to the war with Germany and he wanted peace, effectively at
any cost.)

July 15th Second Battle of the Marne started. The start of the collapse of the
German army

August 8th The advance of the Allies was successful

September Turkish forces collapsed

19th
October 4th Germany asked the Allies for an armistice

October 29th Germany’s navy mutinied

October 30th Turkey made peace

November Austria made peace

3rd
November Kaiser William II abdicated
9th
November Germany signed an armistice with the Allies – the official date of the
11th end of World War One.

Consequences

Governmental Changes

As a result of World War I, socialistic ideas experienced (enjoyed) a boom as they

spread not only in Germany and the Austrian empire but also made advances in
Britain and France. However, the most popular type of government to gain influence
after World War I was the republic.

Economic Change

Technology experienced a great boost after the war, as the production of

automobiles, airplanes, radios and even certain chemicals, skyrocketed. The
advantages of mass production and the use of machinery to perform former human
labor tasks, along with the implementation of the eight hour work day, proved to
stimulate the economy. However, much of Europe suffered devastating losses of
physical property and landscape as well as finances. By 1914, Europe had won the
respect of the world as a reliable money-lender, yet just four years later was greatly
in debt. In an effort to pay back their allies, the governments of many European
countries began to rapidly print more and more money, which led to a period of
inflation.

Disillusionment
Psychologically, World War I had effects similar to those of a revolution. Many
citizens were angered that peacemakers had not expressed their ideals fervently
enough, and people began to wonder why the war was fought at all. A feeling of
disillusionment spread across the world as people decided that their governments in
no way knew how to serve the best interests of the people. Altogether, the war
killed 10 to 13 million people, with nearly a third of them civilians.

Summary
World War I did not completely end with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, for
its political, economic and psychological effects influenced the lives of people long
after the last shot was fired. Despite the advantages brought forth by developing
technologies, the war mainly had a damaging effect on the economies of European
countries. People's hopes and spirits also floundered.