WORLD WAR ONE

World War I

People to Meet

c Otto von Bismarck – a German Chancellor who started the approach to conducting foreign affairs. He is Known as the “Iron Chancellor”, masterminded the drive to unify Germany under Prussian leadership.

c William II – new kaise who came to the German throne in 1888, that forced Bismarkd to out of office.

c Czar Nicholas II of Russia – Russian lead during World War I

c Gavrilo Princip – a Serbian nationalist who  assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand

c Archduke Francis Ferdinand – Archduke of Austria – Hungary, who was assassinated by Serbian Nationalist in Sarajevo, a Bosnian City

c Edward Gray – Britain’s Foreign Secretary

c Pres. Woodrow Wilson – US President, who announced a policy of neutrality for the US

c Arthur Zimmermann – German Foreign Secretary, who tried to make an alliance with Mexico through a secret telegram code

c Gen. John F. Pershing – lead the American Expeditionary Force

c Marshal Ferdinand Foch – French General  who lead the allied forces

c David Lloyd George – Prime Minister of Great Britain

c George Clemenceau – Premier of France

c Vittorio Orlando – Premier of Italy

Places to Identify

c Germany

c Alsace and Lorraine – France boarder Provinces

c France

c Austria – Hungary

c Italy

c Russia

c Great Britain

c Serbia

c Balkan Kingdom Of Serbia

c Ottoman Empire – Turkey now

c Bosnia

c Herzegovina

c Sarajevo

c Belgium

c Bulgaria

c United States

c Marne River

c English Channel

c Paris

c Saar

c Ypres, Belgium

c Verdun

c Austria – Itallian Border

c Caporetto

c Japan

c China

c New Zealand

c Dardanelles

c Black Sea

c Gallipoli

c Constantinople

c Togoland and Kamerun (Cameroons now)

c German East Africa (Tanganyika)

c Mexico

c American Southwest

c Chateau – Thierry

c Versailles

c Poland

c Baltic Sea

c East Prussia

c Baltic Sea Port of Danzig

c Rhaine River

c Shantung Peninsula

c Polish Corridor

c Danzig

c Czechoslovakia – Czechs and Slovakia

c Yugoslavia – Croats, Slovenes, and Serbs of Austria – Hungary joined with Serbia

Terms to Understand:

c Triple Alliance – alliance organized by Bismarck between, Austria – Hungary and Italy

c Triple Entente – a treaty of friendship, not a firm military alliance /understanding among France, Britain and Russia due to mutual fear of Germany.

c Russian Pan – Slavist – a unity of all Slavic people, who wanted Russia to rule over the Slavs of Eastern Europe

c Allies – alliance in war by the Triple Entente, the France, Britain, and Russia and favored in the side of Serbia and later joined by the US

c Central Power – alliance in war by the Triple Alliance, the Austria – Hungary and Germany and joined also by Italy, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.

c Treaty of Brest – Litovsk – a treaty signed by Germany with Russia, were Russia had to give up great amounts of valuable land, resources and population

c Treaty of Versailles – the most important of the treaties that settlement with Germany, which German land and power reduces.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

World War I (1914–1918) Timeline

(http//:factmonsters.com)

Imperial, territorial, and economic rivalries led to the “Great War” between the Central Powers ( Austria-Hungary , Germany , Bulgaria , and Turkey ) and the Allies ( U.S. , Britain , France, Russia , Belgium , Serbia , Greece , Romania , Montenegro , Portugal , Italy , and Japan ). About 10 million combatants killed, 20 million wounded.

1914

Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and wife assassinated in Sarajevo by Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip (June 28).  Austria declares war on Serbia (July 28).  Germany declares war on Russia (Aug. 1), on France (Aug. 3), invades Belgium (Aug. 4).  Britain declares war on Germany (Aug. 4). Germans defeat Russians in Battle of Tannenberg on Eastern Front (Aug.). First Battle of the Marne (Sept.). German drive stopped 25 miles from Paris . By end of year, war on the Western Front is “positional” in the trenches.

1915

German submarine blockade of Great Britain begins (Feb.). Dardanelles Campaign—British land in Turkey (April), withdraw from Gallipoli (Dec.–Jan. 1916). Germans use gas at second Battle of Ypres (April–May).Lusitania sunk by German submarine—1,198 lost, including 128 Americans (May 7). On Eastern Front, German and Austrian “great offensive” conquers all of Poland and Lithuania ; Russians lose 1 million men (by Sept. 6). “Great Fall Offensive” by Allies results in little change from 1914 (Sept.–Oct.).  Britain and France declare war on Bulgaria (Oct. 14).

1916

Battle of Verdun—Germans and French each lose about 350,000 men(Feb.). Extended submarine warfare begins (March). British-German sea battle of Jutland (May); British lose more ships, but German fleet never ventures forth again. On Eastern Front, the Brusilov offensive demoralizes Russians, costs them 1 million men (June–Sept.). Battle of the Somme —British lose over 400,000; French, 200,000; Germans, about 450,000; all with no strategic results (July–Nov.).  Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary (Aug. 27).  Bucharest captured (Dec.).

1917

U.S. declares war on Germany (April 6). Submarine warfare at peak(April). On Italian Front, Battle of Caporetto—Italians retreat, losing 600,000 prisoners and deserters (Oct.–Dec.). On Western Front, Battles of Arras, Champagne, Ypres (third battle), etc. First large British tank attack (Nov.).  U.S. declares war on Austria-Hungary (Dec. 7). Armistice between new Russian Bolshevik government and Germans (Dec. 15).

1918

Great offensive by Germans (March–June). Americans' first important battle role at Château-Thierry—as they and French stop German advance (June). Second Battle of the Marne (July–Aug.)—start of Allied offensive at Amiens , St. Mihiel, etc. Battles of the Argonne and Ypres panic German leadership (Sept.–Oct.). British offensive in Palestine (Sept.). Germans ask for armistice (Oct. 4). British armistice with Turkey (Oct.). German Kaiser abdicates (Nov.). Hostilities cease on Western Front (Nov. 11).

CHAPTER 29

World War I

(History of the World by Marvin Perry)

1.)  ) European Nations Drawn into War

While Europe seemingly was reaching new heights of civilization, the continent was being drawn toward disaster by deep rivalries, intense nationalistic feelings, and the appeal of war. By 1914, the situation in Europe had become so tense that a single incident could serve as the cause for a war involving many nations.

Germany begins a system of alliances. One important cause of tension was the division of the continent into two hostile alliance systems. This approach to conducting foreign affairs had been started by the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck. He began to make alliances with other European powers. The first, with Austria-Hungary, and Italy (1882), became as the Triple Alliance. The other alliance, with Russia (1887) was weak; however for Russia and Austria were potential enemies.

When a new kaiser, William II, came to the German throne in 1888, Bismarck was forced out of office. The new leaders of Germany adopted a more aggressive foreign policy, built up the e navy, and sought more possessions. Germany abandoned its treaty with Russia and drew closer to Austria- Hungary, which it considered a more reliable ally.

France and Britain agree to oppose German Power. Fearful of Germany’s increasing military strength, expanding industries and growing population, the French Third Republic began to seek allies of its own. After the split between Germany and Russia, France entered into an alliance with Russia in 1894.

Great Britain also was alarmed by the growing might of Germany, which had become a serious rival for sea power and for colonies in Africa. France was eager to have Britain as an ally and so move to end their long colonial rivalry. In 1904 the two countries formed the Entente Cordiale, which means friendly understanding.

Although Russia and Britain were colonial rivals in western Asia, Czar Nicholas II of Russia also feared Germany and recognized his own nation’s weaknesses. In 1907, out of their mutual fear of Germany, Britain and Russia signed an agreement. This created the Triple Entente- an understanding among France, Britain, and Russia. It was a treaty of friendship, not a firm military alliance. The Germans, however, regarded the Triple Entente as a hostile alliance that threatened Germany from both the east and the west.

The alliance system increases tensions. By 1914 an armed and uneasy peace existed in Europe. The alliance system was one cause of this tense situation. A country that knew it had allies was more likely to take chances in a crisis and act aggressively. Alliance system held the danger of chain reaction. A conflict between any two nations was likely to expand and involve those countries’ allies.

European nations   compete in an arms race. Another cause of increasing tension in Europe wasmilitarism. This term describes the attitude of a powerful class of military leaders who had great influence on the policies of their countries. Militarists glorified war and urged a constant build-up of weapons and armed forces.

For some years the great power of Europe had spend huge sums for armaments and, except for Britain, had maintained large armies during peacetime. If one army increased the size of its army or built new and mightier battleships, other countries did the same.

Nationalist feelings conflict. Extreme nationalism also increased tensions between several European states. French nationalists wanted to regain Alsace and Lorraine, but German nationalist wanted to extend German power and territory.  

Austria sees Serbia as a threat. Another Slavic nationalist movement was centered n the Balkan Kingdom of Serbia. Serbia and other Balkan states had gained their independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878, but the Slavs in Bosnia and Herzegovina had come under Austrian rule. The Serbs now sought to create a “Greater Serbia” by uniting with other Slavic states and with the millions of south Slavs who lived in Austrian-controlled lands. The dream of a “Greater Serbia” caused nightmares in Austria, where minority nationalities were a long-standing problem. Austrian leaders feared a revolt by the south Slavs, believing that it could break up the empire, regarding Serbia as a grave threat, some Austrian leaders urged the destruction of the small kingdom.

A shooting triggers a world war. On June 28, 1914, in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo, a Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary.  By killing the archduke and his wife, the Serbian nationalists hoped to increased the tensions within the Hapsburg lands and prepare the way for a Slavic revolution. The Austrian authorities, however, used the assassination as an excuse for an attack against Serbia.

 Austria calls on its ally. To carry out its plan against Serbia, Austria turned for support to its ally, Germany. Their alliance held firm, and German leaders promised to back Austria. Both countries wanted a quick attack that would defeat Serbia before other nations could come to its aid.

Confident o German backing, on July 23, 1914, Austria sends Serbia an ultimatum- a list of demands that Serbia had to answer within forty-eight hours. If Serbia did not accept he ultimatum, Austria would declare war. Because militarists in the Austrian Government now wanted war some of the demands were deliberately made too harsh for Serbia to accept.

The Austrian ultimatum alarmed Russia. Although Russia had long considered itself the protector of the Slavs in the Balkans, it had failed to keep Austria from taking Bosnia. To many people’s surprise, the Serbs accepted all but one of Austria’ demands. They refused only to let Austrian officials take over the investigation of the shooting at Sarajevo. The Austrians, however, had already decided that there could not be a peaceful settlement. They declared that this refusal meant that Serbia had rejected the entire ultimatum.

German leaders knew that an Austrian attack on Serbia could bring Russia- and perhaps France- into the conflict. Nevertheless, they insisted that Germany must support Austria, since the Austrian alliance was important to German security. Confident German generals believed their armies could defeat Russia and France and make Germany the world’s greatest power.

War breaks out. On July 28, 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia. Two days later Russia ordered full mobilization of its forces, for its military plans called for war against both Austria and Germany. Similarly, German military planners wanted the advantage of attacking first. When Russia ignored a German warning to stop war preparations, Germany declared war on August 1. Two days later Germany declared war on France, since it was Russia’s ally.

More nations join the war. The war in Europe escalated quickly. The system of alliances and military plans trapped the nations one by one in a chain reaction from which they could not escape. To attack France, the German Government requested Belgium’s permission to march through Belgian lands. When Belgium refused, Germany invaded that country on august 3. The British were now involved, for Britain was p edge to guarantee Belgium’s neutrality moreover, the British realized that if Belgium and France fell, Germany would be master of western Europe. On august 4, Britain joined the war on the side of its allies, Russia and France. Two days later, Austria declared war on Russia.

Less than six weeks after the shooting at Sarajevo, all the great powers of Europe- and several smaller nations- were involved in war. Still more countries would become involved until it was truly “world war,” though fought mainly in Europe.

2.)  The War Involves Many Nations

When war broke out in Europe in august, 1914, most generals and statesmen were confident that the conflict would be short. Filled with dreams of adventure and glory, few people thought of the horrors of war. They expected their soldiers to return home in few months.

The central powers confront the allies. The opposing sides reflected the alliance system. The triple entente countries- France, Britain, Russia- came t be called the allies. Germany, and Austria- Hungary, members of the triple alliance were now called the central powers. In 1917 the United States joined the war alongside the Alliance. Other nations in Europe, Asia and Latin America also allied themselves with one side or another, though most did not send troops into battle.

The war is fought on two fronts. The German army invaded Belgium in August, 1914, confident of a quick victory in Western Europe. Accor ding to he German war plan, the bulk of German army would swing through Belgium into France, capture Paris, and so defeat France.

Germany’s carefully laid plan failed, however. The Russians moved faster than expected and invaded East Prussia late in August. Germany had to withdraw some troops from France and rush them eastward.

The remaining German on the western front advances to within 40 miles of Paris. Then a French counterattack drove a wedge between the advancing German armies. Instead of winning a quick victory, German troops now face stubborn British and French resistance along the Marne River, which stopped they push westward. The Germans then tried to reach the coast of the English Channel, capture the port cities, and then swing back toward Paris. Again they were stopped, in battles near Ypres, Belgium, that took nearly 250,000 lives- French, British, Canadian, Belgian, and German.

Trench warfare is fought on the western front. In the first four months of the war, more than one and a half million soldiers were killed or wounded. As the winter of 1914-1915 began, the troops of both armies prepared for a long war. Between the opposing lines lay “no man’s land,” a wasteland of barbed wire, mud, torn earth, and shattered trees. Attacking soldiers had to climb out of their trenches and race across no man’s land.

New weapons add to war casualties. The frightful loss of life in trench warfare was due partly to the use of new kinds of weapons. The rapid fire of machine guns was deadly to soldiers trying to cross no man’s land. Many soldiers were blinded or had their lungs scarred by poison gas. Tanks were first used in the war in 1916, and aerial battles between daring pilots took place for the first time late in the war.

The war enters a period of stalemate. Despite the heavy losses, little territory changed hands. In February, 1916, the German army began a major offensive aimed at the French town of Verdun, which was protected by a ring of forts. In five months of siege, the Germans gained a little territory but failed to capture Verdun, and by December the French had gained their losses. More than 700,000 French and German soldiers were killed in the long, inconclusive siege of Verdun, and thousands more were wounded.

War continues on the eastern front. There was more movement in the fighting on the eastern front than in the trench warfare of he western front. While the German was attacking France in 1914, the Russians won some early victories in eastern Germany. They were badly beaten at Tannenberg, however, by the armies if the German commander, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg. In the spring of 1915, another Austro-German offensive forced the Russians into a retreat.

By late 1916, the Russian war effort was near collapse. The Russian army was poorly trained, inadequately equipped and incompetently led. It had suffered staggering losses- more than two million men were killed, wounded or captured in 1915 alone. Moreover Russia’s allies could not ship supplies into its ports. German naval forces blocked the Baltic Sea, while Ottoman Turkey still controlled the straits leading from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.

Russia is forced out of the war. The Russian army also suffered from poor morale. The heavy casualties at the front an food shortages at home increased the Russian’s long-standing discontent with the czar’s rule. In March, 1917, a revolution overthrew the czar, and civil war spread through Russia. Leaders of the new government, realizing that Russia could not continue the war, signed a humiliating treaty with Germany in March, 1918. In the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Russia had to give up great amounts of valuable land, resources, and population. Germany thus was victorious in Eastern Europe.

The war involves many parts of the world. The major battles of the World War I were fought on the western or eastern fronts in Europe. As more nations became involved, fighting broke out elsewhere in Europe as well as in other parts of the world.

1.  Italy – although it remained neutral at first, in 1915 Italy made a secret agreement with France and Britain and was promised territory in Austria and Africa. Italy then joined the war on the Allied side, and fighting broke out on the Austrian-Italian border.

2.  Asia and the Pacific – Japan, which had become an ally of Britain, moved to take over the German spheres of influence on China’s Shantung Peninsula, as well as German-held islands in the Pacific Ocean. In return for help from the Japanese navy, the Allies promised to support Japan’s claim to these territories after the war.

3. The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) – some of the hardest fighting of the war took place along the coast of Turkey. Ottoman Turkey had put mines into Dardanelles and heavy artillery on the shore of the straits. These fortifications not only prevented Allied aid from reaching Russian ports but also kept the Russian fleet bottled up in the Black Sea. A combined force of British, French, New Zealand, and Australian troops landed at Gallipoli in 1915, trying to reach Constantinople by land and gain control of Dardanelles with German help, the Turks resisted strongly, and the Allied forces finally had to withdraw after heavy losses.

4. Africa – in West Africa, British and French troops seized the German coastal colonies of Togoland and Kamerun, while troops from the Union of South Africa took over the neighboring German colony of South West Africa. In German East Africa, a small German army was never decisively defeated. Retreating into the African interior, the German soldiers did not surrender until they received news of the war’s end.

The United States tries to remain neutral. Pres. Woodrow Wilson had announced a policy of neutrality for the US, when war broke out in 1914. This policy was hard to maintain for a number of reasons. Most Americans sympathized with Britain and France because they were democratic countries. A victory of German and Austria would be a triumph for authoritarian government. Support for Britain and France was strengthen by effective propaganda, news and information designed to win support for allies by convincing people of the rightness of the allied cause. War news that came to the US from Britain pictured the Germans as arrogant and cruel.

Economic reasons also worked against neutrality. Both Britain and Germany interfered with shipping neutral nations, including US. To keep war supplies from reaching Germany, Britain stopped merchant ships and seized and seized their cargoes. The German, however, turned their marine fleet, called U – Boats (short for Untersee a German word means “Under Sea”), into a fearsome new weapon of war. U – Boats attacked neutral merchant ships carrying food and supplies to Britain, and many sailor and passengers were killed. In May 1915, nearly 1, 200 people were lost when a U –Boat sank the British ship Lusitania. Among the Lusitania casualties were more than a hundred Americans, and anti – German feeling in the US grew stronger.

The US government was officially neutral, but individual American banks and businesses had loaned one and a half billion dollars to allied governments. Much of this money was used to buy needed supplies from the US. American bankers and manufacturers realized that they would probably lose their money if the allies lost the war.

The US enters the war. Early in 1917, Americans pushed closer to war by another threatening German action. In a secret telegram in code, German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann had tried to make an alliance with Mexico. He promised that a German victory would return Texas and other parts of the American Southwest to Mexico. The British broke the code, and Zimmermann’s offer was made public. Although Mexico remained neutral, the “Zimmermann telegram” angered Americans.

In April 1917, the US declared war on Germany, with Pres. Wilson stating that his aim was to “make the world safe for democracy”. Germany now tried to end the war quickly, before large numbers of American troops could be trained for combat and sent to France. The treaty with Russia in the spring of 1918 released German troops from the eastern front. Rushed west, they joined the German troops in France in a massive attack along 60miles of the western front, aiming for Paris. British and French lines reeled before the German advance.

By early summer, troops of the American Expeditionary Force, under the command of Gen. John F. Pershing, began to arrive in France.  They joined with Allied forces, which were led by a French General, Marshal Ferdinand Foch (FOHSH). In June 1918, the German Offensive was halted at Chateau – Thierry (TOH – TYEH – ree), on the Marne River.

The Central Power Collapse. The German leaders had thrown all their resources into this last, but unsuccessfully, attack. Now Germany faced acute shortages of food, medicine, oil and munitions. Allied troops swept eastward in a massive counterattack. It was now clear to the German Generals that the war was lost. In late September they urge the government to ask for an armistice – a halt to the fighting.

Germany’s position worsened steadily. In October and November 1918, Austria and Turkey surrendered, and rebellions in Germany forced the Kaiser to give up the throne. The government of the newly established German Republic quickly signed the armistice terms drawn up by Marshal Foch.

On November 11, 1918, the armistice was signed. Soldiers on both sides came out of the trenches and cheered. Enemies embraced in the midst of no man’s land, rejoicing that the fighting was over. A newspaper correspondent with the British army in France wrote: “Last night for the first time since August in the first year of the war, there was no light of gunfire in the sky, no spreading glow above black trees where for four years of nights human beings were smashed to death. The fires of hell had been put out.”

3.)  The Peace Treaties Create Problems

The most terrible war the world had yet experienced ended in November 1918. There remained the problem of drawing up a peace settlement. In January 1919, representatives of victorious powers assembled in Paris to make decisions that would dramatically change the political map of the World. Twenty – seven Europeans and Asians nations were represented. Most of the decisions were made by the leaders of the four Allied Nations: David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Great Britain; Georges Clemenceau (cleh – manh – SOH), Premier of France; Woodrow Wilson, Pres. Of the US; and Vittorio Orlando, Premier of Italy.

THE PEACE SETTLEMENT

President Wilson sets forth a plan for peace. Even before the armistice, Pres. Wilson had offered a plan for peace in his “Fourteen Points” speech to congress (January 8. 1918). The points covered several principles that Wilsons thought basic word peace, as well as specific provisions for certain nations.

1.)    Self – determination. The right of national groups to determine their own political status. This meant, for example, that Austrian lands inhabited by Italians would belong to Italy. The south Slavs and the Czechs in Austria – Hungary would be free to from their own states, while the Poles would once again have a country of their own.

2.)    “Peace without victory” Wilsons declared that the end of the war should bring “a peace without victory”. He urged fair treatment for Germany, believing that the harsh punishment would cause Germany to seek revenge. Wilson hoped that a just settlement would encourage the defeated nations to work with the victorious Allies fir a new and better world. He envisioned free trade and freedom of the seas for all nations.

3.)    Disarmament. Wilson believed that there could be no hope for peace until militarism had been eliminated. He wanted the nations of the world to disarm so that no country would fear his neighbors or seek to invade them. He also felt that secret treaties were dangerous and the nations should negotiate openly.

4.)    Fair treatment colonial peoples. Wilson wanted fair treatment for colonial people’s, calling for (a free, open – minded, absolutely impartial adjustments of all colonial claims”. He hoped that the imperialist nations would eventually apply the principle of self – determination to their colonies, considering the interests of the people as well as their own concerns.

5.)    League of Nations. To preserved peace, Wilson urged the formation of International Organization, to be called the League of Nations. It was his hope that the League would help both large and small nations settle their quarrels and would discourage aggressors from taking up arms.

Wilson’s idealism clashes with European realities.  Wilson wanted to get his views written into the peace treaties negotiated in 1919. His idealism, however, clashes with the outlooks of the victorious European Allies. The war had caused great losses and great bitterness. Hatred between nations and peoples had not died when the guns were silenced.

Wilson’s idealism clashed especially with French demands. France had suffered greatly during the war, for most of the battles on the western front had been fought on French soil. Almost one and a half million French soldiers had died, and more than 3 million had been wounded. The French deeply feared a future German attack and were skeptical of Wilson’s ideals. They wanted to punished Germany and destroy its capacity to wage war. The French also wanted payment for their industries and farms that had been ruined.

The idea of self – determination meets obstacle. The intermingling of nationalities in European countries complicated attempts to apply the principle of self – determination. No matter how the peacemakers juggled boundary lines, they could not create a Europe free minority problems. Self – determinations for one nationality was likely to violate the rights of one another. For example, self – determination called for an independent Poland, which needed access to the sea. The land between the New Poland and the Baltic Sea was inhabited mainly by Germans, However. Giving this land to Poland would violate the principle of self determination for these people.

Secret treaties drawn up during the war acted as another barrier to self – determination. The European allies had already agreed on how to share the spoils of war. Italy, for example, had been promised Austrian Lands inhabited by Slavs, Germans, and Italians. In the Middle East, Arab lands freed from ottoman rule had been promised independence during the war. The Allies, however, had agreed among themselves that these lands would come under British and French control through the League of Nations.

Separate peace treaties are signed. The peace settlement made in Paris consisted of 5 separate treaties. One (1) with each of the defeated states – Germany, Austria, Hungary Bulgaria and Ottoman Empire. (The Dual Monarchy of Austria – Hungary had broken apart in the last weeks of the war) the settlement with Germany, the Treaty of Versailles (June 1919), was the most important of the treaties.

The Versailles Treaty reduces German land and Power. France was granted many of its demands by the Treaty of Versailles. Germany had to return Alsace – Lorraine and give France control of the coal mines of the Saar region for 15 years (to make up for the destruction of French mines by the Germans). Germany also lost land to Poland. To give Poland access to the Baltic Sea, the “Polish Corridor” was created a strip of land that separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany. The Baltic Sea port of Danzig was turned into a free trading city, controlled by neither Poland nor Germany. The Treaty of Brest – Litovsk that Germany had signed with Russia also was repealed.

German territory on both sides of the Rhine River was demilitarized. That is, it was to remain free of German troops and fortifications. To prevent Germany from again becoming a military threat, the German army was reduced to only 100, 000 men, with no heavy artillery, tanks, or war planes. The draft was abolished; new Ger man army could consist only of volunteers. The navy was limited to a small fleet, and no submarines were permitted.

Germany also lost its overseas territories in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Ocean. Its African colonies were given to France and Britain as mandates, to be administered by those countries under the League of Nations. Japan gained mandate over some of the Pacific islands but its claims on the Shantung Peninsula were not settled. They were left to be worked out between Japan and china, creating another area of friction in Asia.

The Versailles Treaty blamed war on “the aggression of Germany and her allies”. It therefore required Germany to pay Reparations to other nations. That is, Germany had to pay them for property, factories, farms, ships and other things destroyed in the war. The exact amount, $33 billion, was not determined until 1921; 2 years after Germany had signed the treaty. The demand for separations caused great bitterness among the German people. Many thought the amount greater than Germany’s capacity to pay. They also said that all the warring powers, not just Germany, had been responsible for the war.

New nations are formed. The German losses were not the only territorial changes resulting from the war. After the collapse of the Austro – Hungarian empire, the various nationalities in the empire carve out their own states. The peacemakers recognized these as independent nations. Czechs and Slovaks formed the new nation of Czechoslovakia (chek – uh – sloh – VAH – kee – uh). The Croats, Slovenes and the Serbs of Austria with Serbia to form Yugoslavia. Italy and Rumania also gained land from the old empire. Finally, Austria – Hungary became separate nations. The new Austria, greatly reduced in sized and power, was forbidden to unite with Germany.

Territorial changes were also made in the Middle East. The Ottoman Empire was stripped of all its lands outside Turkey. Some parts becomes independent, while others came under the control of Britain, France, and Greece. Within turkey, nationalist took advantage of the government’s weakness. The Ottoman sultan was overthrown, and in 1923 Turkey became a republic.

The League of Nation is Established. The Versailles treaty included provisions for the establishments of a League of Nations, Pres. Wilson’s great hope for avoiding another world war. Members of the league agreed to respect and preserve the borders of fellow members and to submit all disputes to the league. Eventually more than 60 nations joined the League of Nations. The US senate, however, refused to ratify the Versailles treaty, and the US never became a League member, thereby weakening the organization’s efforts.

THE AFTERMATH OF WAR

WWI, called by many “the Great War”, was a crucial turning point in world history. The changes that it brought about and the problems that it created continued long after the fighting ended.

The Versailles Treaty is Controversial. The fairness of the Versailles treaty – particularly the treatment of Germany – was debated for many years. Critics of the treaty pointed out that by 1919 a new democratic German government had replaced the leaders who had encouraged war. The peace treaty made it very difficult for his government to survive. Defenders of the treaty, on the other hand, pointed out that the German economy recovered quickly and that German production of iron, steel, and coal soon surpassed prewar levels. The real mistake, they said, was not on the treaty itself but the failures of the allies to enforce it.

The war takes a devastating toll of soldiers and civilians. The loss of life and property in WWI was enormous. At least 10 million soldiers died in the war and 21 million were wounded, nearly wiping out an entire generation of young men. Ten of thousands who returned home were disabled in body or mind.

Civilians also suffered from the effects of the war. The French Revolution had started a trend toward the involvement of all the human and material resources of a nation in wartime. In World War I, civilians not only produced weapons and equipments for the war effort but also faced dangers and hardships themselves. Food shortages were severe; fuel and clothing were scarce. Many civilians were killed or injured and other died from hunger and from an influenza epidemic that swept through both neutral and warring countries.

Countries at war depended on civilian’s effort and morale. Governments on both sides of the war used propaganda skillfully. Posters, speeches and news were designed to inspire civilians to contribute their all to the war effort and to unite in love for their country and hatred of the enemy. Newspapers were censored to avoid news of defeats and hereby keep up morale at home. Increasingly governments extended control over the entire economy. Production had one goal – to support the war efforts.

Women gain rights and responsibilities. At the outbreak of the war, women suffragist in Britain and the US postponed their efforts to gain equality and responded to their countries’ wartime needs. To release men for military service, many women took jobs on farms and in offices, factories and service industries. Women worked as cook in army camps and hospitals. They drove ambulances, mail trucks and buses, worked in munitions factories, read gas meters, and collected railway tickets. They worked as laboratory assistants, plumbers’ helpers and bank clerks. There were few jobs for women did not take on and performed efficiently.

Their wartime service made is clear that women had an essential role in the economic life of nation. Many now also sought better educations and careers in professions that had earlier been closed them. During the war, a number of political leaders, including President Wilson, argued that extending the right to vote to women would aid the war effort. By the end of the war, little oppositions remained to granting women political rights.

In 1918, British women over the age of 30 gained the vote. By 1928 parliament lowered the voting age for British women to 21, same as for men. Also in 1918, the US Congress approved a constitutional amendment extending the right to vote to women. The 19 amendment became a law in the US in 1920. It was not only in Britain and the US that the war brought acceptance of women’s political equality. By 1920 women had the right to vote in most northern European countries and in Russia.

The war brings great political changes. WWI brought the downfall of four empires. Revolution put an end to the rule of Czar in Russia and the Kaiser in Germany. New nations emerged from the ruins of Austria – Hungary. The war brought the Ottoman Empire, “the sick man of Europe,” nearer its final collapse.

WWI and the peace settlements intensified nationalist rivalries. The Germans swore to tear up the Versailles Treaty and to regain lost lands. Italy, though on the winning side, felt that it should have received more Austrian territory as well as a share of Germany’s African colonies. Hungary could not accept its loss of land to Rumania. The Japanese were disappointed by the territorial settlement helped to fuel the fires for another war.

Militarist ideas also persisted, especially in those countries that felt cheated by the peace settlements. Some veterans were reluctant to put away their uniforms and weapons and missed the excitement of battle. In the decade after the war, some of these men joined extremist political parties that glorified war and violence. The philosophies of these extremist parties and the discontent they stirred up paved the way for their leaders to take power in some countries.

The US avoids involvements in Europe.

When the US had entered the war, the American people had been told that they were fighting “a war to ends war”. They too were disappointed with the outcome of the war and began to feel that American soldiers had died in vain. In the period after WWI, many Americans adopted an attitude of isolationism – the feeling that their country should avoid involvement in foreign affairs. One reason why the senate never approved the Treaty of Versailles was the belief that membership in the League of Nations would bring the US into more wars.

SOURCE: History of the World by M. Perry