WORLD WAR 1ST

Date : 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918 (Armistice)

Peace treaties.

Location : Europe, Africa, the Middle East, The Pacific Islands, China and off the coast of South and
North America.

Result : Allied victory

 End of the German, Russian, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian empires

 Formation of new countries in Europe and the Middle East
 Transfer of German colonies and regions of the former Ottoman Empireto other powers
 Establishment of the League of Nations.

How it begun

Differing viewpoints

 “Family Feud”

 “Fall of the Eagles”

  “The War to End All Wars”

 “The War to ‘Make the

World Safe for Democracy’”

The assasination

The period from the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian heir to the throne,
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on 28 June 1914, to the general declaration of war
in early August.

Elements within the Austro-Hungarian government had been itching to strike at

Serbia during the immediate pre-war years, but had lacked a credible excuse to
do so.

One Treaty after Another

For Russia was bound by agreement with Serbia to protect her in the event of
attack.

The Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary stated that if either
found itself at war with Russia the other would enter the fray to provide
assistance.

Similarly, the Franco-Russian Military Convention of 1892 provided for French

assistance should Russia find itself at war with either Germany or Austria-
Hungary.

Naval war

German U-boats attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain. The nature of
submarine warfare meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant
ships little hope of survival. The United States launched a protest, and Germany changed its rules of
engagement. After the sinking of the passenger ship RMS Lusitania in 1915, Germany promised not to
target passenger liners, while Britain armed its merchant ships, placing them beyond the protection of
the "cruiser rules", which demanded warning and placing crews in "a place of safety".

Finally, in early 1917, Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, realizing that the
Americans would eventually enter the war. Germany sought to strangle Allied sea lanes before the
United States could transport a large army overseas, but could maintain only five long-range U-boats on
station, to limited effect.

British Disinterest?

With the dominoes starting to fall, it remained unclear what position Britain would take. The German
Kaiser was inclined to believe that Britain would look to her interests first and foremost and remain
above the fray - after all, she had no obvious quarrel with either Austria-Hungary or Germany, at least
in this matter.

Nevertheless, Britain was practically committed to France's defence; and the French went to some
lengths to ingratiate themselves with the British during July. Yet the British government was aware that
in order to enter the war a better reason than vague commitments to France would be necessary in
order to convince British public opinion.

In the event Britain's guarantee to maintain Belgian neutrality - agreed at the 1839 Treaty of London -
served its purpose. Although there was much disagreement within the British political elite concerning
war, it was this guarantee that brought Britain into the war on 4 August.

Indian role in war

Indian political leaders from the Indian National Congress and other groups were eager to support the
British war effort, since they believed that strong support for the war effort would further the cause of
Indian Home Rule. The Indian Army in fact outnumbered the British Army at the beginning of the war;
about 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, while both
the central government and the princely states sent large supplies of food, money, and ammunition. In
all, 140,000 men served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East.

>. Russian withdrawal from the war in late 1917 as a result of the October Revolution meant that
Romania was forced to sign an armistice with the Central Powers on 9 December 1917.

Central Powers proposal for starting peace negotiations

In December 1916, after ten brutal months of the Battle of Verdun and a successful offensive against
Romania, the Germans attempted to negotiate a peace with the Allies. Soon after, the US president,
Woodrow Wilson, attempted to intervene as a peacemaker, asking in a note for both sides to state
their demands.

Allied victory: summer 1918 onwards

Hundred Days Offensive

> The Allied counteroffensive, known as the Hundred Days Offensive, began on 8 August 1918, with the
Battle of Amiens. The battle involved over 400 tanks and 120,000 British,Dominion, and French troops,
and by the end of its first day a gap 15 mi (24 km) long had been created in the German lines. The
defenders displayed a marked collapse in morale, causing Erich Ludendorff to refer to this day as the
"Black Day of the German army". After an advance as far as 14 miles (23 km), German resistance
stiffened, and the battle was concluded on 12 August.

Peace treaties and national boundaries

After the war, the Paris Peace Conference imposed a series of peace treaties on the Central Powers
officially ending the war. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles dealt with Germany, and building on Wilson's
14th point, brought into being the League of Nations on 28 June 1919.

National identities

Poland reemerged as an independent country, after more than a century. The Kingdom of Serbia and its
dynasty, as a "minor Entente nation" and the country with the most casualties per capita, became the
backbone of a new multinational state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later renamed
Yugoslavia. Czechoslovakia, combining the Kingdom of Bohemia with parts of the Kingdom of Hungary,
became a new nation. Russia became the Soviet Union and lost Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia,
which became independent countries. The Ottoman Empire was soon replaced by Turkey and several
other countries in the Middle East.