Jana Hrabcova žtwo blocks of powers at the beginning of the war: žEntente (Allied Powers): Great Britain + France + Russia žCentral Powers: Germany + Austria-Hungary + (later) Bulgaria + Turkey ž žItaly – firstly neutral, in May 1915 joined the Entente (the London Treaty in April 1915 promised territorial gains to Italy) žneutral countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Albania žUSA – neutral at the beginning of the war, entered the war in April 1917 žthe pretext for starting the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 žJuly 28, 1918 – Austria-Hungary declared the war on Serbia ž žThe blocs of Powers Europe1914.gif žArchduke Franz Ferdinad and his wife Sofia in Sarajevo. františek_ferdinand.jpg žGermany – the most agresive, wanted new colonies and wanted to expand to the Middle East (Berlin-Baghdad), also wanted to rule in the Central, Eastern and South-East Europe (with the help of Austria-Hungary), Germany also wanted some areas in France and Belgium žAustria-Hungary – wanted to expand into the Balkan Peninsula and defeat the Kingdom of Serbia, which was independent, Serbia was enemy for A-H also becauce of Bosnia and Herzegovina žFrance – wanted to get back Alsace and Loraine from Germany + keep its colonial domains žRussia – wanted Galicia (which was Austro-Hungarian in those times), Silesia, and some parts of Balkan Peninsula, especially around the straits between Asia and Europe - Bosphorus and Dardanelles žSerbia – wanted to keep its independence and to form the Balkan federation – with Croats, Slovenes and Serbs living in Austria and Hungary žGreat Britain – wanted to keep its colonies and exclude Germany from world trade, stop its expansion to the Middle East žUSA – wanted to defend democracy in the world and the principle of self-determination of the nations (Woodrow Wilson) ž qAugust – December 1914 – offensive operations ž q1915–1916 – trench warfare ž q1917–1918 – the era of total exhaustion ž qMarch 191 –November 1918 – supremacy of Allied Powers (USA entered the war in April 1917) ž žBalkan front (Balkan Peninsula, firstly in Serbia, then in Greece) žWestern front (against France) žEastern front (against Russia) žItalian front ž žalso naval war (in the Pacific Ocean – Japan + Great Britain against Germany, in the Nothern Sea – Great Britain against Germany) žwarfare in the colonies ž žthe Germans attacked France according to the so called Schlieffen Plan - designed to attack France quickly through neutral Belgium žthe German troops were stopped at the First Battle of Marne in September 1914 – the offensive war changed into trench warfare žMarch 1915 – the second Battle of Ypres – the Germans used chlorine gas – 15 thousands of men were poisoned žfrom February till September 1916 – bloody battle of Verdun – 600 thousands of casualties, žfrom July till November 1916 the great battle of the Somme - totally 1 million casualties during the whole battle, the new British invention was used – the tanks ž žThe Second Battle of Ypres žThe Battle of the Somme fww0828.jpg Battle-of-the-Somme.jpg žAustrian army was not succesful in Serbia žSeptember 1915 – Bulgaria entered the war žduring October and November 1915 German-Austrian and Bulgarian troops occupied Serbia žin spring 1915 – the Allied Powers prepared the operation in Gallipoli under the command of Winston Churchill, but the operation was not succesful žthen in 1916 the Macedonian Front in Greece was opened žthe Bulgarians were defeated in September 1918 ž ž žIn the east, Russia attacked East Prussia but was defeated by German army at the series of battles colectively known as the Battle of Tannenberg in August 1914 žAlready in 1914 – the Czech Company in Russian Army – Legions žsummer 1916 – so called Brusilov offensive ž1917 – the Czechoslovak Corps in Russia – from 38,000 to 70,000 of men žthe Russians were more succesful against Austria-Hungary in Galicia žRussia occupied parts of Galicia and Bukovina žJuly 1917 – so called Kerensky offensive – the Battle of Zborov (Galicia) – Czechoslovak Legions, the offensive was unsuccesfull for Russians žAfter the Russian Revolutions tle Czechoslovak Legions were fighting against bolsheviks ž ž Italy entered the war in April 1915 – the Allied Powers promised to Italy Istria with Trieste, Dalmacia and Trentino, so Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary and later also on Germany žbut the Italians were not very succesful, their offensives along the Isonzo River were repelled by the Austro-Hungarians ž1917 – the Battle of Caporetto – Italian troops were defeated by Austro-Hungarian army and the front line was broken through, use of poison gas žduring 1916 the front stabilized at the Piave River till 1918 – June 1918 – the Battle of the Piave River – participation of Czechoslovak Legions žthe Austro-Hungarians were defeated in October – the Battle of Vittorio Veneto – participation of Czechoslovak Legions again ž žafter the Russian revolutions in 1917 Russia concluded separate peace with Germany in Brest Litevski in March 1918 žApril 1917 – USA declared war on Germany – originally USA persued the politics of non-interventions, but German submarines several times attacked merchant ships and civil ships with American passengers žThe United States were never formally a member of the Allies but became a self-styled "Associated Power" žAmerican troops came to Europe and after the great offensive of Allied Powers in summer 1918 the Central Powers collapsed very quickly žOn November 3, 1918 Austria–Hungary sent a flag of truce to ask for an Armistice and the armistice with Austira was signed in Vila Giusti near Padua žon November 11, 1918– an armistice with Germany signed in railroad carriage near Compiègne žat 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918 a ceasefire came into effect ž ždissolution of four monarchies (Russia, Austria-Hungary, German Empire and Otoman Empire) žafter dissolution of Austria-Hungary: constitution of 5 new states (Austrian Republic, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) žthe map of Europe changed: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia was established, independent and unified Poland was renewed ž ž žEurope after WW I žthe meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I – the aim was to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918 žIt took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities. They met, discussed various options and developed a series of treaties ("Paris Peace Treaties") for the post-war world žthe winning powers – France, Great Britain, USA, Italy, Japan žother figthing states – Belgium, British domoniums, Poland, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Czechoslovakia, Rumania, Greece, Portugal and other non-european states ždefeated states – Germany, Austria, Hungary, Turkey žRussia was not invited to the Paris Peace Conference (bolshevik revolution and civil war in Russia) žThe Big Four – žDavid Lloyd Geroge (GB), Vittorio Orlando (It), George Clemencau (Fr), Woodrow Wilson (US) 781px-Big_four.jpg žThe following treaties were prepared at the Paris Peace Conference: žthe Treaty of Versailles, 1919, 28 June 1919, (with the German Empire in Weimar Republic form) žthe Treaty of Saint-Germain, 10 September 1919, (with Austria) žthe Treaty of Neuilly, 27 November 1919, (with Bulgaria) žthe Treaty of Trianon, 4 June 1920, (with Hungary) žthe Treaty of Sèvres, 10 August 1920; subsequently revised by the Treaty of Lausanne, 24 June 1923, (withTurkey) ž ž žThe so-called "Paris Peace Treaties", together with the accords of the Washington Naval Conference of 1921-1922, laid the foundations for the so-called Versailles-Washington system of international relations ž žthe United States never ratified the Treaty of Versailles, never joined the League of Nations, and signed separate peace treaties with the three countries it had declared war against ž ž1920 – the League of the Nations was established – the all over the world organization which goal was to save peace in the World, USA did not join this organization ž žEconomy ž1921–1922 – economic depression as a consequence of the war ž1924–1929 – economic boom, liberal economic reforms, technical development, intensification and growth of production ž1929, October 24 – the Black Tuesday, New York Stock Market Crash (Wall Street) → The Great Depression – the longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century, drop of industrial production, high unemployment, social unrests, crisis of democracy žsince 1933 – economic development again, but slow ž žunstable peace, effort to avoid conflicts, era of democratism a pacifism žApril – May 1922 – Conference in Genova, Italy about economy after WWI žalso Russia and Germany invited žthe conference was about German reparations - Germany was not able to pay it but France insisted on it → no agreement žthe result of the conference: meeting of German and Soviet diplomats – they concluded an Agreement in Rappalo –Germany was the first state which recognized the Soviet Union de iure ž1924 – the Dawes Plan – the plan of stabilization of German economy and economical recovery (stabilization of mark, budget, sequential paying of reparations) žThe Dawes Plan relied on money given to Germany by the US – high loans ž žLocarno Conference, Switzerland – October 1925 ž4 great powers (Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany) – an attempt to overcome the differences between the winners and losers žThe principal treaty concluded at Locarno was the "Rhineland Pact" between Germany, France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The first three signatories undertook not to attack each other, with the latter two acting as guarantors žthe western borders of Germany were guaranted but the eastern were not – there could come up to some changes žGermany's admission to the League of Nations, the international organization established under the Versailles treaty to promote world peace and co-operation, and in the subsequent withdrawal (completed in June 1930) of Allied troops from Germany's western Rhineland ž žBriand-Kellog Pact - also called the General Treaty for the Renunciation of War or the World Peace Act) was signed on August 27, 1928 57 states žprohibited the use of war as "an instrument of national policy" and as an instrument of settlement of disputes between states žthe problem was that there were not defined any sanctions in case of breaching the Pact žno program of disarmement žThe Young Plan was a program for settlement of German reparations debts after World War I written in 1929 and formally adopted in 1930 žGermany was not able to pay the huge annual payments, so the amount of the reparation payments was reduced again – to 112 billion Gold Marks, Germany should pay them in next 59 years, 2 bilion marks every year žWWI: žhttp://www.firstworldwar.com ž žTreaty of Locarno žhttp://treaties.un.org/Pages/showDetails.aspx?objid=08000002801683d0 ž žHENIG, Ruth B. (1995). Versailles and after, 1919-1933. 2nd ed. London: Routledge. ž ž