WWI Jana Musilová musilova@ped.muni.cz . References •DAVIES, Norman: Europe: A History. Oxford 1996. •GILBERT, Felix – LARGE, David-Clay: The End of the European Era: 1890 to the Present. New York 2002. •VINEN, Richard: History in Fragments: Europe in the Twentieth Century. London 2000. • Causes WWI •Imperialism •Militarism •Mutual Defense Alliances •Nationalism •Immediate Cause/PRETEXT: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand • Causes of WWI •Franco-German War 1870 – 1871: Germany’s takeover of Alsace - Lorraine created a desire for revenge by the French and establishment of German Empire •Unified - German Empire Source: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-61537-6_1 Source: http://www.emersonkent.com/map_archive/franco_prussian_war_1870.htm German Empire and Colonies •Although Prussia was one of several kingdoms, it had about 2/3 of Germany's population and territory •Prussian dominance was also constitutionally guaranteed •Chancellor Otto von Bismarck •German Empire – started to construct a colonial empire •Berlin Conference (Berlin West Africa Conference) of 1884–1885: meeting: major European powers negotiated and formalized claims to territory in Africa • • • Berlin Conference •Did not initiate European colonization of Africa, but it did legitimate and formalize the process •In addition, it sparked new interest in Africa •Following the close of the conference, European powers expanded their claims in Africa such that by 1900, European states had claimed nearly 90 percent of African territory Source: https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/le-cours-de-l-histoire/la-conference-de-berlin-en -1885-le-partage-de-l-afrique-4685354 Scrable for Africe •Berlin Conference marked the climax of the European competition for territory in Africa (Scramble for Africa) •During 1870s and early 1880s: GB, FR, GE began looking to Africa for natural resources for their growing industrial sectors as well as a potential market for the goods these factories produced •As a result, these governments sought to safeguard their commercial interests in Africa and began sending scouts to the continent to secure treaties from indigenous peoples or their supposed representatives •Belgium’s King Leopold II, who aspired to increase his personal wealth by acquiring African territory, hired agents to lay claim to vast tracts of land in central Africa •To protect Germany’s commercial interests, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who was otherwise uninterested in Africa, felt compelled to stake claims to African land Colonial Possessions •https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/images/article_images/library-political_africa_big.j pg • •German Empire – 3rd largest colonial empire Amrs race •Anglo-German arms race •Began with a plan (Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz) in 1897 to create a fleet in being to force Britain to make diplomatic concessions •Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz did not expect the Imperial German Navy to defeat the Royal Navy •Britain's economy was dependent on the ability to ship in raw materials and export out a finished product, crucial for GB - inability to guarantee free movement on the seas would result in food shortages •With the support of Wilhelm II, A. von Tirpitz began passing a series of laws to construct an increasing number of large surface warships •Construction of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 prompted A. von Tirpitz to further increase the rate of naval construction. While some British observers were uneasy at German naval expansion, alarm was not general until Germany's naval bill of 1908 •British public and political opposition demanded: government meeting, resulting in the funding of additional HMS Dreadnought in 1910 and escalating the arms race HMS Dreadnought - Royal Navy battleship Source: https://prints.rmg.co.uk/products/hms-dreadnought-1906-n00729 Arms race •Maintaining Europe's largest army and second-largest navy took an enormous toll on Germany's finances • Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg undertook a policy of détente with Britain to alleviate the fiscal strain •Under T. von Bethmann Hollweg, and particularly from 1912 onwards, Germany abandoned the dreadnought arms race and focused on a commerce raiding naval strategy to be conducted with submarines •One of the ironies of the arms race and subsequent conflict was that while the German battle fleet fought only one major surface engagement (Battle of Jutland), and never seriously threatened British naval supremacy Triple Alliance •Arms programme, which also included the construction of the German fleet •GB and France responded with their arms programme, resulting in arms races in which huge financial sums were invested •German Empire was preparing for the war for a long time and thoughtfully, both militarily and diplomatically - already under the German Emperor Wilhelm I - 1879 the Allied Treaty with the Austria-Hungary was signed - German Empire and Austria-Hungary had been closely allied since 1879 •Military alliance between Germany Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed 1882 •Later Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria Improvement in Anglo-French relations •Fashoda Incident 1898 (Fashoda Crisis) - international incident and the climax of imperialist territorial disputes between GB and France in East Africa •Crisis ended when France recognized British claims to the Nile basin, while Britain recognized French claims to the Sahara as well as Western Sudan •GB – railway (Cairo – Cape Town) and France – connection from Senegal (contemporary) to Djibouti (contemporary) – meeting point: Fashoda •The most serious Anglo-French rift in the second half of the 19th century and resulted in French humiliation; but it also revealed the limits of French foreign policy •France realistically decided on a cooperative framework for relations with GB •Entente Cordiale 1904 - ended antagonisms between GB and France and paved the way for their diplomatic cooperation against German Empire pressures in the decade preceding WWI • • • • Source: https://blogs.loc.gov/maps/2020/04/when-pride-mattered/ Triple Entente •Unification of Germany in 1871 had disturbed the old 'balance of power' in Europe •1914 Europe was an armed camp; two rival alliances •Fear of Germany encouraged France and Russia to form an alliance in 1894 •It pushed German Empire into closer alliance with Austro-Hungarian Empire •Members of these rival power blocs: maintained mass armies through compulsory military service and rapid developments in military technology forced them to spend huge sums on these armies •GB's policy was to maintain a balance of power in Europe •Germany's growing strength and manifest pursuit of 'world power' status persuaded GB to align with its traditional rivals: France in 1904 and Russia in 1907: Britain, France and Russia in the 'Triple Entente' Reduction of armaments: Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 •Series of international treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences + along with the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions were among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the body of secular international law • •1899 – first Hague Peace Conference of 1899 - it failed to reach agreement on the primary object for which it was called, namely the limitation or reduction of armaments, but adopted the three Conventions and the other acts mentioned in the Final Protocol •1907 – second meeting • • The Baklans – Power Keg •Decline of the Ottoman Empire created a vacuum waiting to be filled by new forces •Continuing collapse of the Ottoman Empire coincided with the rise of nationalism in the Balkans - led to increased tensions and conflicts •Balkans became an unstable place in which the interests of the major powers clashed with the national programmes of the emergent peoples of south-eastern Europe •Potential dangers not only for Ottoman Empire but also for the multinational Habsburg empire, which was itself having to deal with the emancipatory aspirations of the young nations (nacionalism) Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/the-balkan-powder-keg/ Balkan Wars •The Balkan nations were fighting against Ottoman Empire - occupying them •1912–1913 - 1st Balkan War – so called Balkan League (Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro) x Ottoman Empire – was defeated and its European areas were liberated •But then the former allies started to fight with each other because of dividing of the liberated areas; Bulgaria had greatest war casualties and invested the most but the deliberated areas (Macedonia, Thrakia) got especially Greece and Serbia → Bulgaria was dissatisfied - military conflict - Greece and Serbia → 2nd Balkan War – 1913 •Ottoman Empire and Romania joined Greece and Serbia and they were fighting against Bulgaria which was defeated and lost also the areas which obtained after the 1st Balkan War •But also Serbia was dissatisfied with the results of the wars (Serbia was expecting enlargement of its territory and wanted to raise Adriatic coast but instead of that Albania was formed) •Serbia started to prepair for the new war – wanted tu unify all the southern Slavs – who were living in Austria-Hungary • Balkan Wars •Continuing collapse of the Ottoman Empire led to two wars in the Balkans - 1912 and 1913, which was a prelude to World War I •By 1900 nation states had formed in Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia; nevertheless, many of their ethnic compatriots lived under the control of the Ottoman Empire •1912 - countries formed - Balkan League •There were three main causes of the First Balkan War: -Ottoman Empire was unable to reform itself, govern satisfactorily, or deal with the rising ethnic nationalism of its diverse peoples -Great Powers quarreled among themselves and failed to ensure that the Ottomans would carry out the needed reforms. This led the Balkan states to impose their own solution -members of the Balkan League were confident that it could defeat the Turks Source: https://maps.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/balkan_modifications_1914.jpg Source: https://etc.usf.edu/maps/pages/3600/3693/3693.htm Peace Treaty 1913 International Relationships before WWI •Great powers in the end of the 19th century: • USA - the strongest •Germany (2nd world industrial area), the most powerful state in Europe, strong army, developed economy and culture •France – the bank of the world, 2nd strongest European state, succesful colonial politicis – colonies in Africa and in Asia •Great Britain – the greatest colonial power – its domain included the greatest colony – India,… •Austria-Hungary – cooperation with Germany, its foreign politics focused on the Balkan Peninsula •Russia – economicaly and politicaly the weakest state among the great powers, military-political system, absolute power of the Tsar, no political rights for citizens, social movement, expansion to Asia – conflicts with Japan and Great Britain •Japan – constitutional monarchy, development of industry, expansive politics • Europe before WWI •Since Crimean War (1853–1856) there was a period without a great war in Europe (only local conflicts) •The tensions persisted on the Balkan Peninsula (1908 – the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary, 1912–1913 the Balkan Wars etc.) •Pacifist movement - peace conferences in Hague (1898 and 1907) - unsuccessful • •2 blocks of powers at the beginning of the war: •- Entente (Allied Powers): Great Britain + France + Russia •- Central Powers: Germany + Austria-Hungary + (later) Bulgaria + Turkey • •Italy – firstly neutral, in May 1915 joined the Entente (London Treaty - April 1915 - promised territorial gains to Italy) •Neutral countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Albania; USA – neutral at the beginning of the war, entered the war in April 1917 • • •The pretext for starting the war was the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo •28th July 1918 – Austria-Hungary declared the war on Serbia • Source: https://archive.nytimes.com/iht-retrospective.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/28/1914-archduke-francis-fe rdinand-fatally-shot-in-sarajevo/ Source: https://www.nacr.cz/verejnost/labyrintem-dejin-ceskych-zemi/velka-valka/rok-1914 Beginning of WWI •Assassination of Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand (28th June 1914) was the main catalyst for the start of WWI •After the assassination, the following series of events took place: •28th July -Austria declared war on Serbia •1st August– As Austria’s ally, Germany declares war on Russia, an ally of Serbia •3rd August – Germany declared war on France, an ally of Russia and immediately begins an invasion of neutral Belgium •4th August – Great Britain, an ally of France, declares war against Germany •US (President W. Wilson) declared that the United States will remain neutral World War I •World War I (First World War or Great War) - international conflict: 1914–18 •Central Powers: mainly German Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Ottoman Empire x against Allies: mainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan and US (1917) •WWI ended with the defeat of the Central Powers •The war was virtually unprecedented in the slaughter, carnage, and destruction it caused Four phases of the WWI qAugust – December 1914 – offensive operations • q1915–1916 – Trench warfare • q1917–1918 – Era of total exhaustion • qMarch 1918 – November 1918 – supremacy of Allied Powers (USA entered the war in April 1917) • Four main fronts •Balkan front (Balkan Peninsula, firstly in Serbia, then in Greece) •Western front (against France) •Eastern front (against Russia) •Italian front • •Also naval war (Pacific Ocean: Japan + Great Britain against Germany, in the Nothern Sea – Great Britain against Germany) •Warfare in the colonies • Balkan Front •A-H army was not succesful in Serbia •September 1915 – Bulgaria entered the war •During October and November 1915: German+ A-H and Bulgarian troops occupied Serbia •Spring 1915 – Allied Powers prepared the operation in Gallipoli against Ottoman Empire, British troops under the command of Winston Churchill, but the operation was not successful •Then in 1916 the Macedonian Front in Greece was opened •Bulgarians were defeated in September 1918 • • Western Front •The Germans attacked France according to the so called Schlieffen Plan - designed to attack France quickly through neutral Belgium •Great Britain declared war on Germany because of breaking Belgic neutrality •The German troops were stopped at the first: Battle of Marne in September 1914 – the offensive war changed into the trench warfare •March 1915 – Battle of Ypres – the Germans used chlorine gas – 15 thousands of men were poisoned •From February till September 1916 – bloody battle of Verdun – 600 thousands of casualties •From 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 • Eastern Front •In 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 •Already in 1914 – the Czech Company in Russian Army – Legions (originally – the Czechs living in Russia, prisoners of war, volunteers) •Summer 1916 – so called Brusilov offensive •1917 – the Czechoslovak Corps in Russia – from 38,000 to 70,000 •Russians were more succesful against Austria-Hungary in Galicia (today – western Ukraine) •Russia occupied parts of Galicia and Bukovina •July 1917 – Kerensky offensive – Battle of Zborov (Galicia) – Czechoslovak Legions won over the Austria-Hungary, the offensive was unsuccesfull for Russians •After the Russian Revolutions the Czechoslovak Legions were fighting against bolsheviks • Italian Front •Italy entered the war in April 1915 – Allied Powers promised to Italy Istria with Trieste, Dalmacia and Trentino (Austro-Hungarian provinces), so Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary and later also on Germany •But the Italians were not very succesful, their offensives along the Isonzo River were repelled by the Austro-Hungarians •1917 – Battle of Caporetto – Italian troops were defeated by Austro-Hungarian army and the front line was broken through, usage of poison gas •During 1916 the front stabilized at Piave River till 1918 – June 1918 – Battle of Piave River – participation of Czechoslovak Legions •The Austro-Hungarians were defeated in October – the Battle of Vittorio Veneto – participation of Czechoslovak Legions • •Two important developments in the war occurred in 1917: •- April US - angered by attacks upon its ships in the Atlantic, declared war on Germany •- November - Bolshevik Revolution prompted Russia to pull out of the war Final Period of WWI •April 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 •After the Russian revolutions in 1917 Russia concluded separate peace with Germany in Brest-Litovsk in March 1918 •General exhaustion – of sources, armies, people in real (lack of labour power – participation of women) •American troops came to Europe and after the great offensive of Allied Powers in summer 1918 the Central Powers collapsed very quickly •3rd November 1918 Austria–Hungary sent a flag of truce to ask for an Armistice and the armistice with A-H was signed in Vila Giusti near Padua •11th November 1918 – armistice with Germany signed in railroad carriage near Compiègne •At 11 a.m. on 11th November 1918 a ceasefire came into effect • Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/magazine/remembering-world-war-i-newsletter.html Innovations •Machine Guns •Grenades •Medical Treatment - facial reconstructive surgery and new types of prosthetics, neurosurgery for head wounds •Ersatz (substitute) - became commonplace on the German war and home fronts, as natural material sources dried up from overuse and the British naval blockade •For example: Nitrate crepe paper made from wood cellulose replaced gun cotton; Synthetic camphor replaced imported natural camphor; Sugar now replaced fats for making glycerin; •Sulfur was squeezed out of gypsum; Flowers and weeds produced alcohol for ammunition; Coal derivatives yielded rosins and gums; Newspapers were shredded and woven for cloth; Benzolspiritus (gasohol) was gasoline and grain alcohol; •Synthetic rubber, called kautschuk, did not really work • Czechoslovak national resistance •Goal to overthrow of Austria-Hungary and create an independent state •Resistance was represented by two important bodies: -Czechoslovak National Committee for the domestic resistance (Karel Kramář and Alois Rašín) -Czechoslovak National Council was active in the foreign resistance (Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Milan Rastislav Štefánik and Edvard Beneš) Czechoslovak National Council •Representatives of the Czechoslovak foreign resistance were concentrated on representatives of Allied Powers and the creation of foreign Czechoslovak military units, which were later known as the Czechoslovak Legion Results of WWI oCasualties: •10 million of soldiers died •7 million of civilians died • •The map of Europe has changed: •Dissolution of four monarchies (Russia, Austria-Hungary, German Empire and Ottoman Empire) •After dissolution of Austria-Hungary: constitution of 5 new states (Austrian Republic, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) •Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia was established, independent and unified Poland was renewed •Economic changes: •Development of industry (iron and steel, textiles, etc.) and technologies(armament industry, automobiles, aircrafts …) •Firstly the in many countries the war prosperity, later economic depresse •Social changes: •Social radicalism – rise of totalitarism, revaschism etc. •Social status of women has changed(sufrage) •Many veterans – problems with reintegration v • • Paris Peace Conference •The 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 •It 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 •The winning powers – France, Great Britain, USA, Italy, Japan •Other figthing states – Belgium, British dominiums, Poland, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Greece, Portugal and other non-european states •Defeated states – Germany, Austria - Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria •Russia was not invited to the Paris Peace Conference (bolshevik revolution and civil war in Russia) Paris Peace Conference •David Lloyd Geroge (GB), •Vittorio Orlando (It), George Clemencau (Fr), Woodrow Wilson (US) – from left to right 781px-Big_four.jpg Peace Treaties •The Paris Peace Conference ultimately produced five treaties, each named after the suburban locale in which it was signed: •1. Treaty of Versailles with Germany (June 28, 1919); •2.Treaty of Saint-Germain with Austria (Sept. 10, 1919); •3. Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria (Nov. 27, 1919); •4. Treaty of Trianon with Hungary (June 4, 1920); •5. Treaty of Sèvres with Ottoman Turkey (Aug. 10, 1920). • •Washington Conference treaties on naval armaments, China, and the Pacific (1921–22) established a postwar regime in those areas The Fourteen Points Source: https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/peace/fourteen-points League of the Nations •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 •W. Wilson's idea, developed by the American League to Enforce Peace (founded in 1915), found expression in the Fourteen Points as “a general association of nations” and was to be the cornerstone of Wilson’s edifice •He expected a functioning League of Nations to correct whatever errors and injustices might creep in to the treaties themselves •League of Nations, an organization for international cooperation established on January 10, 1920, at the initiative of the victorious Allied powers at the end of World War I • • • • League of Nation •LN was the first worldwide intergovernmental organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace • It was founded on 10 January 1920 following the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World •The organization's primary goals, as stated in its Covenant, included preventing wars through collective security and disarmament and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration •https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/changing-the-map-of-europe