First World War.
2. The beginning of the war
3. Goals of the warring powers
5. Results and consequences of the war , Russian military leaders:
6. Results
7. Conclusion
1. Duration - 1554 days.
2. Number of participating countries - 38.
4. The number of neutral states is 17.
5. The number of states on whose territory military operations took place - 14.
6. The population of the countries participating in the war is 50 million people.
7. The number of mobilized people is 74 million people.
8. The number of dead is 10 million people.
Background to the conflict:
History of the First World War for the world history of the 20th century. is the most important part. However, participation in the First World War Russian Empire little known in the West and almost forgotten in Russia. Modern schoolchildren know more about the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon than about the First World War. Even popular name war - “German” - disappeared from use: the war was called “imperialist”. In Soviet historiography, the history of the First World War was exclusively considered from class positions - as a prelude to the revolution, and secret documents were “forged” that compromised tsarism, exposing its role in the outbreak and preparation for the First World War. Some of the works of its witnesses and participants have been published. But the First World War needs further development and study by historical memory.
Long before the war, contradictions were growing in Europe between the great powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain, and Russia.
2). Beginning of the war:
Russia's entry into the war
Russia's involvement in the First World War was a consequence of the imperial ambitions of tsarism, as well as the ruling bureaucracy, in particular in the Balkans, which did not allow even a partial renunciation of its great-power role. The national-patriotic spirit of the Russian public belonged to the imperial policy of the state. This so-called attitude, which pushed the government towards war, played a huge role in the days of the summer crisis of 1914.
After the start of military operations by Austria-Hungary against Serbia, Russian Tsar Nicholas II signed a decree on mobilization on July 16 (29), 1914. But, the next day, he canceled the decision (after receiving a telegram from the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, the tsar took the contents of the telegram as a request not to bring the matter to war). But the arguments of S. D. Sazonov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, convinced the Tsar that “it is better, without fear of causing a war with our preparations for it, to carefully take care, rather than being caught off guard by it out of fear of war.”
Germany sent an ultimatum to Russia, demanding that the mobilization be suspended. The German ambassador, having received a refusal, in St. Petersburg F. Pourtales (who himself was an opponent of the war with Russia) on July 19 (August 1), 1914, handed Sazonov a German note declaring war.
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"Essay. World War I"
World War I.
1. Main characteristics of war
2. The beginning of the war
3. Goals of the warring powers
4. Basic fighting and events
5. Results and consequences of the war, Russian military leaders:
7. Conclusion
1). Main characteristics of the First World War:
1. Duration – 1554 days.
2. Number of participating countries – 38.
3. Composition of coalitions: England, France, Russia, USA and 30 other countries (Portugal, Siam, Liberia, 14 Latin American states);
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Türkiye, Bulgaria (Quadruple Alliance).
4. The number of neutral states is 17.
5. The number of states on whose territory military operations took place – 14.
6. The population of the countries participating in the war is 50 million people.
7. The number of mobilized people is 74 million people.
8. The number of dead is 10 million people.
Cause:
Balkans –
Hotbed of international tension
"Bosnian crisis" caused by annexation
Austria-Hungary Bosnia and Herzegovina
with German support
Balkan wars.
The threat of a pan-European
conflict
The struggle of European countries for the Turkish inheritance and influence on politics in the Balkans
Background to the conflict:
History of the First World War for the world history of the 20th century. is the most important part. At the same time, the participation of the Russian Empire in the First World War is little known in the West and almost forgotten in Russia. Modern schoolchildren know more about the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon than about the First World War. Even the popular name for the war - “German” - disappeared from use: the war began to be called “imperialist”. In Soviet historiography, the history of the First World War was exclusively considered from class positions - as a prelude to the revolution, and secret documents were “forged” that compromised tsarism, exposing its role in the outbreak and preparation for the First World War. Some of the works of its witnesses and participants have been published. But the First World War needs further development and study by historical memory.
Long before the war, contradictions were growing in Europe between the great powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain, and Russia.
The German Empire, formed after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, sought political and economic dominance on the European continent. Having joined the struggle for colonies only after 1871, Germany wanted the redistribution of the colonial possessions of England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal in its favor.
Russia, France and Great Britain sought to counteract the hegemonic aspirations of Germany. Why was the Entente formed?
2). Beginning of the war:
Russia's entry into the war
Russia's involvement in the First World War was a consequence of the imperial ambitions of tsarism, as well as the ruling bureaucracy, in particular in the Balkans, which did not allow even a partial renunciation of its great power role. The national-patriotic spirit of the Russian public belonged to the imperial policy of the state. This so-called mood, which pushed the government towards war, played a huge role in the days of the summer crisis of 1914.
After the start of hostilities by Austria-Hungary against Serbia, Russian Tsar Nicholas II signed a decree on mobilization on July 16 (29), 1914. But, the next day, he canceled the decision (after receiving a telegram from the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, the tsar perceived the contents of the telegram as a request not to bring the matter to war). But the arguments of S. D. Sazonov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, convinced the tsar that “it is better, without fear of causing a war with our preparations for it, to take careful care than out of fear of war to be caught by surprise.”
Germany sent an ultimatum to Russia, demanding that mobilization be suspended. The German ambassador, having received a refusal, in St. Petersburg F. Pourtales (who himself was an opponent of the war with Russia) on July 19 (August 1), 1914, handed Sazonov a German note declaring war.
3). Goals of the warring powers:
Germany- sought to establish world domination
Austria-Hungary- sought to establish control over the Balkans = control over the movement of ships in the Adriatic Sea = enslave the Slavic countries.
England- sought to seize Turkish possessions, as well as Mesopotamia and Palestine with their oil possessions
France- sought to weaken Germany, return Alsace and Lorraine (lands); seize the coal basin, claims to be the hegemon in Europe.
Russia- sought to undermine Germany’s position and ensure free passage through the Baspor and Dardanelles straits in the Mediterranean Sea. Strengthen influence in the Balkans (by weakening German influence on Turkey).
Türkiye-sought to leave the Balkans under its influence, to seize Crimea and Iran (raw material base).
Italy- sought to establish dominance in the Mediterranean and southern Europe.
Progress of the First World War:
1914 Campaign
1915 Campaign
1916 Campaign
1917 campaign
1918 Campaign
Russia's exit from the war
4). Main combat actions and events:
1914 –1915
| Western Front | Eastern front |
|
| German invasion of Belgium and France under the Schlieffen Plan. | The offensive of Russian troops in East Prussia and Galicia |
|
| September | Battle of the Marne. Retreat of German troops to the Aisne River. | Retreat of Russian troops from East Prussia. |
| End of 1914 | The transition from maneuver to positional warfare. | |
| April-May 1915 | The first use of chemical warfare agents (chlorine) by the German command in the area of Ypres. | Breakthrough by German troops of the front in Galicia. Retreat of Russian troops. |
| September | Front stabilization. Trench warfare. |
1916 –1917
| March 1916 | Battle of Verdun. Jutlandic sea battle | |
| June August. | Brusilovsky breakthrough of the German-Austrian front. |
|
| July August | Anglo-French Somme offensive, first use of tanks | |
| Late 1916 | Germany's transition to strategic defense. Hindenburg plan. | |
| April 1917 | Unsuccessful French offensive near Arras. | Miliukov's note on Russia's participation in the war to a victorious end. |
| July-Autumn | British troops are trying to break through the German front in the Ypres region. | Capture of Riga by German troops, occupation of part of the Baltic states. |
| Armistice between Soviet Russia and Germany. |
||
| 1918, winter. | Occupation of Bessarabia by Romania |
|
| March-July | The offensive of German troops in the Paris direction, the use of troops transferred from the Eastern Front (Arras, Marne). | Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Germany and Russia |
| September-November | General offensive of the Entente troops. Defeat of the countries of the Quadruple Alliance. Truce of Compiègne. |
5). Results and consequences of the war, Russian military leaders:
Results and consequences of the war:
Truce of Compiègne
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Versailles
Truce of Compiegne:
Terms of the Compiegne Truce:
Immediate withdrawal of German troops from the western occupied territories and the left bank of the Rhine
2. Immediate repatriation without reciprocity of all prisoners of war
3. Concession by the German army of the following military material: 5 thousand cannons, 25 thousand machine guns, 3 thousand mortars and 1,700 airplanes
4. Return of all German troops to Germany
Peace of Brest-Litovsk:
1. Russia's refusal to give up the territories of Estonia and Latvia
2. Withdrawal of Russian troops from Finland, Ukraine
3. Return to Turkey of the fortresses of Kars, Ardahan, Batum
4. Demobilization of the Russian army and navy
5. Contribution of 6 billion. stamps
Treaty of Versailles:
Agreement conditions:
Germany lost 1/8 of its territory and all its colonies.
Germany had to pay reparations total amount 132 billion gold marks (52% - France, 22% - Great Britain, 10% - Italy, 8% - Belgium).;
The imposition of military restrictions on Germany - it was forbidden to have a submarine fleet, large surface ships, tank formations, military and naval aviation, the maximum army size was determined at 100 thousand people. General conscription was abolished.
Demilitarization of the Rhineland. Occupation of the Rhineland by Allied forces for a period of 15 years
Germany was recognized as the culprit for starting the world war.
Russian military leaders:
Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, Nicholas II, M.V. Alekseev, RENNENKAMPF Pavel-Georg Karlovich von, Lavr Georgievich Kornilov, Nikolai Nikolaevich Dukhonin, A.A. Brusilov, Samsonov Alexander Vasilievich.
6). Results:
The results of the First World War were the February and October revolutions in Russia and the November Revolution in Germany, the liquidation of four empires: the German, Russian, Ottoman empires and Austria-Hungary, and the latter two were divided. Germany, having ceased to be a monarchy, is reduced territorially and weakened economically. The Civil War begins in Russia. The USA is becoming a superpower. The payment of reparations by the Weimar Republic and revanchist sentiments in Germany actually led to World War II. The First World War spurred the development of new weapons and means of combat. For the first time, tanks, chemical weapons, gas masks, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns were used. Airplanes, machine guns, mortars, submarines, and torpedo boats became widespread. Has grown sharply firepower troops.
7). Conclusion:
Analyzing all the material, I came to the conclusion that the war that began in the era
tsarism, From my point of view, the war could have been avoided if not for the so-called tsarism. Waging a political struggle. The First World War showed that armed
the struggle requires massive, multimillion-strong armies equipped with a variety of military equipment. If at the beginning of the First World War the number of armies
both sides did not exceed approximately 70 million people, which was almost 12%
the entire population of the largest states participating in the war. In Germany and
France had 20% of the population. Over a million people took part in individual operations. By the end of the war, the armies of its participants (at the front and in the rear) numbered approximately: 18.5 million.
rifles, 183 thousand guns and mortars, 480 thousand machine guns, over 8 thousand.
tanks, 84 thousand aircraft, 340 thousand cars. Military equipment has found its way
application in mechanization engineering work, the use of various new
means of communication.
The result of the wars of the tsarist era indicates that, along with growth, the
their scope and their destructive nature.
In terms of damage done to humanity, the First World War surpassed
all previous wars. Only one casualty during the war amounted to
39.5 million, of which 9.5 million were killed and wounded. There were approximately 29 million
wounded and maimed. First in number of irretrievable losses
the world war has doubled all wars, together in 125 years, starting from the wars
bourgeois France.
Also, one of the important social changes was the change in the status of women. The “women’s issue” was acute in the beginning XX V.
A participant in the First World War, N. Babintseva, expressed her opinion regarding the problem of “woman and war”: “War is an anti-human activity in general, and especially for a woman. We are people without youth, we are forever wounded by the war.”
In wartime conditions, when men were mobilized into the army, the maintenance of families fell entirely on women's shoulders. This led to a radical change in the status of women in society, forced her to take on new family and social responsibilities, but also to occupy new niches in society that were closed to women in the pre-war years. If the history of previous wars was divided between the male experience on the battlefield and the experience of the woman who waited for her husband on the home front, then the First World War changed this relationship. During the war years, women not only served at the front as nurses and nurses, but also worked in defense factories and did “non-female” hard work in agriculture, industry, the service sector, and transport.
The difficulties of wartime placed a heavy burden on women, but at the same time, new responsibilities also brought changes in women’s worldview, gave it self-esteem and opened the door to a world that traditionally belonged to men. Finally, this was one of the difficult steps towards establishing equality between men and women and the formation of harmonious relations in society. During the war, the lives of children also changed. When parents and older brothers joined the army, childhood ended for many teenagers: they began to be forced to participate in the production process, in peasant farms, or get hired work, also in factories and factories, replacing conscripted men.
Many children who lost their parents at the front, during mass displacements and due to many other circumstances during wartime had to experience the bitter and terrible fate of orphanhood. This usually concerned poor peasant and working families.
In the rear regions of Russia during the war, another category of people appeared for peacetime - refugees. These were residents of Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic countries, usually women, children, and elderly people. Local authorities placed them in small towns and villages, where it was easier at that time to solve the problem of employment and food. The number of prisoners of war who found themselves on Russian territory during the war also reached hundreds of thousands of people. They worked in mines, heavy industrial enterprises, on landowners' estates and on the farms of wealthy peasants. Communicating with the local population, refugees and prisoners of war became an additional source of information about unfamiliar foreign countries, their people and customs. This had a great influence on changing the worldview of residents of the rear regions and expanded their understanding of the world.
The war of the tsarist era revealed the increasing role of economic and moral
factors. This was a direct consequence of the creation, as well as the growth of mass armies,
the masses of various equipment and the protracted nature of wars increased, in which all the economic, as well as political foundations of the state were tested. The experience of these wars, in particular the First World War, was confirmed by V.I. Lenin, back in 1904, that modern wars are waged by peoples.
The people are the decisive force in war. The participation of the people in the war is manifested not only through its recruitment of modern mass armies, but
and the fact that the base of modern warfare is also the rear. During the war, the rear feeds the front with reserves, weapons and food, sentiments,
ideas, thereby exerting a decisive influence on the morale of the army, on its
combat effectiveness.
The war showed that the strength of the rear is included in the concept and morale
people, is one of the decisive, operating factors,
determining not only the course but also the outcome of modern war.
References:
1). A.A. Danilov, L.G. Kosulina, M.Yu. Brandt / History of Russia XX – early XXI century 9th grade / 3rd edition / Moscow “Enlightenment” 2006.
2). Scientific and methodological journal / teaching history and social studies at school 4/2014.
3). Comprehensive teacher support / history everything for the teacher! Scientific and methodological journal No. 9 (33) September 2014
Internet resources:
http://ppt4web.ru/istorija-mirovaja-vojjna2.html.
http://ppt4web.ru/istorija/pervaja-vojjna0.html.
http://ppt4web.ru/istorija/pervaja-mirovaja-vojjna4.html.
http://works.tarefer.ru/33/100499/index.html.
One of the largest armed conflicts in history was the First World War, which broke out at the beginning of the 20th century between two coalitions. In essence, it was a conflict between the Entente (a military-political alliance of Russia, France and England) and the Central Powers (Germany and its allies). In total, more than 35 states took part in this war. The reason for the outbreak of hostilities was the assassination of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary by a terrorist organization.
If we talk about global reasons, then serious economic contradictions between world powers led to the war. It is possible that at that time there were peaceful ways to resolve this conflict, but Germany and Austria-Hungary decided to act more decisively. The beginning of the military campaign is considered to be July 28, 1914. Events on the Western Front unfolded rapidly. Germany, hoping to quickly capture France, staged Operation Run to the Sea. Their expectations were not met.
On Eastern Front hostilities began in mid-August. Russia quite successfully attacked East Prussia. On the same
period, the Battle of Galicia took place, after which Russian troops occupied several regions at once Eastern Europe. In the Balkans, the Serbs managed to return Belgrade, captured by the Austrians. Japan opposed Germany, thereby ensuring support for Russia from Asia. At the same time, Türkiye occupied the Caucasian front. As a result, by the end of 1914, neither country had achieved its goals.
The next year was no less stressful. Germany and France were involved in fierce fighting, with both sides suffering heavy losses. However, no major changes occurred. Due to a supply crisis, during the Gorlitsky breakthrough in May 1915, Russia lost some conquered territories, including Galicia. Around the same period, Italy entered the war. In 1916, the Battle of Verdun took place, during which England and France lost up to 750 thousand soldiers. In this battle, a flamethrower was used for the first time. In order to somehow distract the Germans and ease the situation for the Allies, the Western Russian Front intervened in the situation.
At the end of 1916 - beginning of 1917, the preponderance of forces was in the direction of the Entente. At the same time, the United States joined the Entente, but due to the weakening economic situation in the warring countries and the growth of revolutionary sentiments, no serious military activity occurred. After the October events, Russia actually left the war. The war ended in 1918 with the victory of the Entente, but the consequences were not at all rosy. After Russia left the war, Germany occupied many Eastern European territories, eliminating their front.
However, technical superiority remained with the Entente countries, which were soon joined by the German allies. In fact, by the end of 1918, Germany was forced to capitulate. According to some estimates, more than 10 million soldiers died during the First World War. The consequences of the war were disastrous, both for Germany and for the victorious countries. The economies of all these countries were in decline, except perhaps the United States. Germany lost 1/8 of its territory and some colonies.
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Military defeats, the unresolved agrarian, labor, and national issues, dissatisfaction with the policies of tsarism led to the beginning of the bourgeois-democratic revolution in February 1917. Under these conditions, Tsar Nicholas 2 was pushed to abdicate the throne, because the growth of dissatisfaction with the tsar began with the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, as well as the assumption of the role of commander in chief in the First World War and its protracted nature, “Rasputinism” - all this led to the fall of the monarchy. A dual power was formed: the power of the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies and the Provisional Government. The most important figure of this period and in particular this process was V.I. Lenin - one of the main organizers and leaders of the October Revolution of 1917, as a result of which the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, managed to overthrow the Provisional Government and completely seize power. The gradual domination of power by the Bolsheviks will further lead to a split of society into two parts, i.e. to the Civil War.
The main significance of the period 1914-1918 is that the form of government actually changed in Russia. The thousand-year-old monarchy gave way to a young republic. Events that occurred in 1917 radically changed the course of Russian history and had a significant impact on the political situation throughout the world in the first half of the 20th century.
First World War 1914 – 1918
Plan:
2. Companies 1915-1916
3. Events of 1917-1918
1. The beginning of the First World War. 1914
The main reason The First World War was a sharp aggravation of contradictions between the leading countries of the world due to their uneven development. An equally important reason was the arms race, on the supply of which the monopolies received super-profits. The militarization of the economy and the consciousness of huge masses of people took place, and sentiments of revanchism and chauvinism grew.
The deepest contradictions were between Germany and Great Britain. Germany sought to end British dominance at sea and seize its colonies. Germany's claims to France and Russia were great. The plans of the top German military leadership included the seizure of the economically developed regions of northeastern France, the desire to tear away the Baltic states, the “Don region”, Crimea and the Caucasus from Russia. In turn, Great Britain wanted to maintain its colonies and dominance at sea, and take away oil-rich Mesopotamia and part of the Arabian Peninsula from Turkey. France, which suffered a crushing defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, hoped to regain Alsace and Lorraine and annex the left bank of the Rhine and the Saar coal basin.
Austria-Hungary nurtured expansionist plans for Russia (Volyn, Podolia) and Serbia. Russia sought to annex Galicia and take possession of the Black Sea straits of the Bosporus and Dardanelles.
By 1914 the contradictions between the two military-political groupings of the European powers - the Triple Alliance and the Entente - escalated to the limit. The Balkan Peninsula has become a zone of particular tension. The ruling circles of Austria-Hungary, following the advice of the German emperor, decided to finally establish their influence in the Balkans with one blow to Serbia. Soon a reason was found to declare war. The Austrian command launched military maneuvers near the Serbian border. The head of the Austrian “war party,” heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand, made a demonstrative visit to the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo. On June 28, a bomb was thrown at his carriage, which the Archduke threw away, demonstrating his presence of mind. On the way back, a different route was chosen. But for some unknown reason, the carriage returned through a labyrinth of poorly guarded streets to the same place. A young man ran out of the crowd and fired two shots. One bullet hit the Archduke in the neck, the other in the stomach of his wife. Both died within minutes.
The terrorist act was carried out by Serbian patriots Gavrilo Princip and his associate Gavrilović from the paramilitary organization “Black Hand”.
July 5, 1914 Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Austrian government received assurances from Germany to support its claims against Serbia. Kaiser Wilhelm II promised the Austrian representative Count Hoyos that Germany would support Austria even if the conflict with Serbia led to war with Russia. On July 23, the Austrian government presented an ultimatum to Serbia. It was presented at six in the evening, a response was expected within 48 hours.
The terms of the ultimatum were harsh, some seriously hurting Serbia's pan-Slavic ambitions. The Austrians did not expect or desire that the terms would be accepted. On July 7, having received confirmation of German support, the Austrian government decided to provoke war - an ultimatum was drawn up with this in mind. Austria was also encouraged by the conclusions that Russia was not ready for war: the sooner it happened, the better, they decided in Vienna.
The Serbian response to the ultimatum of July 23 was rejected, although it did not contain unconditional recognition of the demands, and on July 28, 1914. Austria declared war on Serbia. Both sides began to mobilize even before a response was received,
August 1, 1914 Germany declared war on Russia, and two days later on France. After a month of mounting tension, it became clear that a major European war could not be avoided, although Britain still hesitated.
A day after the declaration of war on Serbia, when Belgrade was already bombed, Russia began mobilization. The original order for general mobilization - an act tantamount to a declaration of war - was almost immediately canceled by the Tsar in favor of partial mobilization. Perhaps Russia did not expect large-scale actions from Germany.
August 4 German troops invaded Belgium. Luxembourg had suffered the same fate two days earlier. Both states had international guarantees against attack, but only Belgium's guarantees provided for the intervention of a guaranteeing power. Germany made public the "reasons" for the invasion, accusing Belgium of being "not neutral" but no one took it seriously. The invasion of Belgium brought England into the war. The British government presented an ultimatum demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of German soldiers. The demand was ignored and all the great powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Russia and England - were drawn into the war.
Although the great powers had been preparing for war for many years, it still took them by surprise. For example, England and Germany spent enormous amounts of money on the construction of navies, but bulky floating fortresses played a minor role in the battles, although they undoubtedly had strategic importance. Likewise, no one expected that infantry (especially on the Western Front) would lose the ability to move, being paralyzed by the power of artillery and machine guns (although this was predicted by the Polish banker Ivan Bloch in his work “The Future of War” in 1899).
In terms of training and organization, the German army was the best in Europe. In addition, the Germans burned with patriotism and faith in their great destiny, which had not yet been realized. Germany understood better than anyone the importance of heavy artillery and machine guns in modern combat, as well as the importance of railway communications.
The Austro-Hungarian army was a copy of the German army, but was inferior to it due to explosive mixture different nationalities in its composition and mediocre performance in previous wars. The French army was only 20% smaller than the German one, but its manpower was barely more than half. The main difference, therefore, was the reserves. Germany had a lot of them, France had nothing at all. France, like most other countries, hoped for a short war. She was not ready for a prolonged conflict. Like the rest, France believed that movement would decide everything, and did not expect static trench warfare.
Russia's main advantage was its inexhaustible human resources and the proven courage of the Russian soldier, but its leadership was corrupt and incompetent, and its industrial backwardness made Russia unsuited to modern warfare. Communications were very poor, the borders were endless, and the allies were geographically cut off. It was assumed that Russia's participation, billed as a "pan-Slavic crusade", represented a desperate attempt to restore ethnic unity under the deteriorating tsarist regime. Britain's position was completely different. Britain never had a large army and, as late as the 18th century, was dependent on naval forces and traditions rejected the "standing army" from even earlier times. The British army was, therefore, extremely small, but highly professional and had the main purpose of maintaining order in overseas possessions. There were doubts whether the British command would be able to lead a real company. Some commanders were too old, True, this shortcoming was also inherent in Germany.
The most striking example of the incorrect assessment of the nature of modern warfare by the commands of both sides was the widespread belief in the overriding role of cavalry. At sea, traditional British supremacy was challenged by Germany. In 1914 Britain had 29 capital ships, Germany - 18. Britain also underestimated enemy submarines, although it was especially vulnerable to them due to its dependence on overseas supplies of food and raw materials for its industry. Britain became the main factory for the Allies, as Germany was for its own.
The First World War was fought on almost a dozen fronts in different parts of the globe. The main fronts were the Western, where German troops fought against British, French and Belgian troops, and the Eastern, where Russian troops confronted the combined forces of the Austro-Hungarian and German armies. The human, raw material and food resources of the Entente countries significantly exceeded those of the Central Powers, so the chances of Germany and Austria-Hungary to win a war on two fronts were slim. The German command understood this and therefore relied on a lightning war.
War plan developed by the commander General Staff Germany von Schlieffen, proceeded from the fact that Russia would need at least a month and a half to concentrate its troops. During this time, it was planned to defeat France and force it to surrender. Then it was planned to transfer all German troops against Russia. According to the Schlieffen Plan, the war was supposed to end in two months. But these calculations did not come true.
At the beginning of August the main forces German army approached the Belgian fortress of Liege, which covered crossings across the Meuse River, and after bloody battles captured all its forts. On August 20, German troops entered the capital of Belgium, Brussels. German troops reached the Franco-Belgian border and in a “border battle” defeated the French, forcing them to retreat deeper into the territory, which posed a threat to Paris. The German command overestimated its successes and, considering the strategic plan in the West completed, transferred two army corps and a cavalry division to the East. In early September, German troops reached the Marne River in an attempt to encircle the French. In the Battle of the Marne River September 3-10, 1914. Anglo-French troops stopped the German advance on Paris and even managed to launch a counteroffensive for a short time. One and a half million people took part in this battle. Losses on both sides amounted to almost 600 thousand people killed and wounded. The result of the Battle of the Marne was the final failure of the “lightning war” plans.
The weakened German army began to “burrow” into the trenches. The Western Front, stretching from the English Channel to the Swiss border, by the end of 1914. stabilized. Both sides began building earthen and concrete fortifications. The wide strip in front of the trenches was mined and covered with thick rows of barbed wire. The war on the Western Front turned from a maneuver to a positional one.
The offensive of Russian troops in East Prussia ended unsuccessfully; they were defeated and partially destroyed in the Masurian swamps. The offensive of the Russian army under the command of General Brusilov in Galicia and Bukovina, on the contrary, pushed the Austro-Hungarian units back to the Carpathians. By the end of 1914 there was also a respite on the Eastern Front. The warring parties switched to a long trench war.
On November 5, 1914, Russia, England and France declared war on Turkey. In October, the Turkish government closed the Dardanelles and Bosphorus to the passage of Allied ships, practically isolating Russia's Black Sea ports from outside world and causing irreparable damage to its economy. This move by Turkey was an effective contribution to the war efforts of the Central Powers. The next provocative step was the shelling of Odessa and other southern Russian ports at the end of October by a squadron of Turkish warships.
The declining Ottoman Empire gradually collapsed and over the course of the last half century lost most of its European possessions. The army was exhausted by unsuccessful military operations against the Italians in Tripoli, and the Balkan Wars caused further depletion of its resources. The Young Turk leader Enver Pasha, who as Minister of War was a leading figure on the Turkish political scene, believed that an alliance with Germany would best serve his country's interests, and on August 2, 1914, a secret treaty was signed between the two countries. The German military mission had been active in Turkey since the end of 1913. She was tasked with reorganizing the Turkish army.
Despite serious objections from his German advisers, Enver Pasha decided to invade the Russian Caucasus and launched an offensive in difficult weather conditions in mid-December 1914. The Turkish soldiers fought well, but suffered a severe defeat. However, the Russian high command was concerned about the threat that Turkey posed to Russia's southern borders, and German strategic plans were well served by the fact that this threat in this sector pinned down Russian troops that were in great need on other fronts.
2. Companies 1915-1916
The year 1915 began with an intensification of military actions by the warring parties.
Symbolizing the emergence of sinister new means of warfare, on January 19, German Zeppelins began raiding the east coast of England. Several people died in the ports of Norfolk, and several bombs fell near the royal house at Sandringham.
On January 24, a short but fierce battle took place off Dogger Bank in the North Sea, during which the German cruiser Blücher was sunk and two battlecruisers were damaged. The British battlecruiser Lion was also seriously damaged.
On February 12, the French launched a new offensive in Champagne. The losses were enormous, the French lost about 50 thousand people, having advanced almost 500 yards. This was followed by a British offensive on Neuschtal in March 1915 and a new French offensive in April in an easterly direction. However, these actions did not bring tangible results to the Allies.
In the east, on March 22, after a siege, Russian troops captured the Przemysl fortress, which dominated the bridgehead on the San River in Galicia. Over 100 thousand Austrians were captured, not counting the heavy losses suffered by Austria in unsuccessful attempts to lift the siege.
Russia's strategy at the beginning of 1915 amounted to an offensive in the direction of Silesia and Hungary while securing reliable flanks. During this company, the capture of Przemysl was the main success of the Russian army (although it managed to hold this fortress only for two months). At the beginning of May 1915, a major offensive by the troops of the Central Powers began in the East.I
Strike forces Field Marshal Mackensen's 11th German Army, supported by the 40th Austro-Hungarian Army, went on the offensive along a 20-mile front in Western Galicia. Russian troops were forced to leave Lvov and Warsaw. In summer German command carried out a breakthrough of the Russian front near Gorlitsa. Soon the Germans launched an offensive in the Baltic states and Russian troops lost Galicia, Poland, part of Latvia and Belarus. The enemy was preoccupied with the need to repel the impending attack on Serbia, as well as to return troops to the Western Front before the start of a new French offensive. During the four-month campaign, Russia lost 800 thousand soldiers alone as prisoners.
However, the Russian command, switching to strategic defense, managed to withdraw its armies from the enemy’s attacks and stop its advance. Concerned and exhausted, the Austro-German armies went on the defensive along the entire front in October. Germany faced the need to continue a long war on two fronts. Russia bore the brunt of the struggle, which provided France and England with a respite to mobilize the economy for the needs of the war.
On February 16, 1915, British and French warships began shelling Turkish defenses in the Dardanelles. With interruptions caused in part by bad weather, this naval operation continued for two months.
The Dardanelles operation was undertaken at the request of Russia to launch a diversionary attack on Turkey, which would relieve pressure on the Russians fighting the Turks in the Caucasus. In January, the Dardanelles, a strait about 40 miles long and 1 to 4 miles wide, connecting the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara, was chosen as a target.
The operation to capture the Dardanelles, opening the way to an attack on Constantinople, figured in the Allied military plans before the war, but was rejected as too difficult. With Turkey's entry into the war, this plan was revised as possible, although risky. Initially, a purely naval operation was planned, but it immediately became clear that it was necessary to undertake a combined one. sea and land operations. This plan found active support from the English First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. The outcome of the operation - which, if successful, would have opened the "back door" to Russia - was questioned by the Allies' reluctance to commit large enough forces at once and the choice of largely outdated warships. At the beginning, Türkiye had only two divisions to defend the strait. At the time of the Allied landings, it had six divisions and outnumbered five Allied divisions, not counting the presence of magnificent natural fortifications.
Early on the morning of April 25, 1915, Allied troops landed at two points on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The British landed at Cape Ilyas, at the southern tip of the peninsula, and the Australians and New Zealand units advanced along the Aegean coast about 15 miles to the north. At the same time, the French brigade launched a diversionary attack on Kumkala on the Anatolian coast.
Despite barbed wire and heavy machine-gun fire, both groups managed to seize a bridgehead. However, the Turks controlled the heights, as a result of which the British, Australian and New Zealand troops were unable to advance. As a result, as on the Western Front, a lull established itself here.
In August, British troops landed at Suvla Bay in an attempt to capture the central part of the peninsula opposite the pass. Although the landing in the Gulf was sudden, the command of the troops was unsatisfactory, and the opportunity for a breakthrough was lost. The offensive in the south also proved unsuccessful. The British government decided to withdraw troops. W. Churchill was forced to resign as First Lord of the Admiralty.
On May 23, 1915, Italy declared war on Austria, signing a secret treaty with the Allies in London in April. The Triple Alliance, which linked Italy to the Central Powers, was denounced, although at this time it refused to declare war on Germany.
At the beginning of the war, Italy declared its neutrality on the grounds that the Triple Alliance did not oblige it to take part in a war of aggression. However, the main reason for Italy's actions was the desire to gain territorial gains at the expense of Austria. Austria did not want to make the concessions that Italy sought, such as giving up Trieste. Moreover, by 1915, public opinion began to swing in favor of the Allies, and both former pacifists and radical socialists, led by Mussolini, saw an opportunity to bring about a revolution in the face of the lack of stability in society during the war.
In March, the Austrian government took steps to
to meet Italy's demands, but it was already too late. Under the Treaty of London, the Italians got what they wanted, or most of what they wanted. Under this treaty, Italy was promised Trentino, South Tyrol, Trieste, Istria and other predominantly Italian-speaking regions.
On May 30, the Italians began military operations against Austria with the launch of an offensive by the 2nd and 3rd armies under the overall command of General Cadorna in the northeast direction.
Italy had very limited capabilities for warfare; its army had low combat effectiveness, especially after the Libyan campaign. The Italian offensive floundered and the fighting in 1915 became positional.
The year 1916 began with the offensive of Russian troops in the Caucasus. On February 16, they took the Turkish fortress of Erzurum. Meanwhile, in England, parliament approved a law on universal conscription, which was strongly opposed by trade unions and Labor. Conservatives and some liberals, led by D. Lloyd George, voted for the introduction of the law. And a food riot broke out in the capital of Germany - there was a catastrophic shortage of food in Berlin. In the same year, the battles of Verdun and the Somme River ended.
These battles were the bloodiest during the war on the Western Front. They were characterized by the massive use of artillery, aviation, infantry, and cavalry and did not bring success to either side. The main reason for this balance was the unconditional advantage of defensive methods of warfare over offensive ones.
The Verdun Offensive signified the desire of the Chief of the German General Staff, Falkenhayn, to deliver a decisive blow on the Western Front, which was postponed in 1915 after the successes achieved in the East. Falkenhayn believed that Germany's main enemy was England, but at the same time he recognized that England could not be conquered, partly because an offensive in the English sector had little chance of success, and also because a military defeat in Europe would not England from the war. Submarine warfare was the best hope for realizing this possibility, and Falkenhayn saw his task as defeating the British allies in Europe. Russia seemed already defeated, and the Austrians showed that they could cope with the Italians.
That left France. Given the proven strength of the defenses in trench warfare, Falkenhayn abandoned the idea of trying to break through the French lines. At Verdun, he chose a strategy of war of attrition. He planned a series of attacks to lure out the French reserves and destroy them with artillery. Verdun was chosen partly because it was on a salient and disrupted German communications, but also because of the important historical significance of this major fortress. As soon as the battle began, the Germans were determined to capture Verdun and the French to defend it.
Falkenhayn was right in his assumption that the French would not give up Verdun easily. However, the task was complicated by the fact that Verdun was no longer a strong fortress and was practically deprived of artillery. Nevertheless, the French, forced to retreat, retained their forts, while reinforcements filtered through very narrow corridor not exposed to German artillery fire. By the time General Petain, commanding the Second Army, was sent to Verdun at the end of the month to lead its defense, the immediate threat had passed. The German crown prince, who commanded the army corps, scheduled the main offensive for March 4. After two days of shelling, the offensive began, but by March 9 it was stopped. However, Falkenhayn's strategy remained the same.
On June 7, the Germans captured Fort Vaux, which controlled the right flank of the French positions at Verdun. The next day they captured Fort Tiomon, which had already changed hands twice since the offensive began on June 1. It seemed that an immediate threat loomed over Verdun. In March, the Germans failed to achieve a quick victory at Verdun, but they continued their attacks with great persistence, which were carried out at short intervals. The French repulsed them and launched a series of counterattacks. German troops continued their offensive.
On October 24, General Nivelle, who took over the 2nd Army after Petain became commander-in-chief, launched a counteroffensive near Verdun. With the start of the Somme offensive in July, German reserves were no longer sent to Verdun. The French counterattack was covered by the “creeping artillery attack,” a new invention in which infantry advanced behind a gradually moving wave of artillery fire according to a precisely timed schedule. As a result, the troops captured the initially set objectives and captured 6 thousand prisoners. The next offensive was hampered by bad weather at the end of November, but was resumed in December and became known as the Battle of Luvemen. Almost 10 thousand prisoners were taken and more than 100 guns were captured.
In December, the Battle of Verdun ended. About 120 divisions were crushed in the Verdun meat grinder, including 69 French and 50 German.
During the Battle of Verdun, on July 1, 1916, after a week of artillery preparation, the Allies launched an offensive on the Somme River. As a result of the exhaustion of French troops at Verdun, British units became the main part of the offensive forces, and England became the leading Allied power on the Western Front.
The Battle of the Somme was where tanks first appeared on September 15th - the new kind weapons. The effect of the British vehicles, which were initially called “land ships,” was quite uncertain, but the number of tanks taking part in the battle was small. In the fall, the British advance was blocked by swamps. The Battle of the Somme River, which lasted from July to the end of November 1916, did not bring success to either side. Their losses were enormous - 1 million 300 thousand people.
The situation on the Eastern Front was more successful for the Entente. At the height of the battles near Verdun, the French command again turned to Russia for help. On June 4, the Russian 8th Army under the command of General Kaledin advanced into the Lutsk area, which was considered as a reconnaissance operation. To the surprise of the Russians, the Austrian defense line collapsed. And General Alexei Brusilov, who exercised overall command of the southern sector of the front, immediately intensified his offensive, bringing 3 armies into battle. The Austrians were soon put into panic flight. In three days, the Russians captured 200 thousand prisoners. The army of General Brusilov broke through the Austrian front on the Lutsk - Chernivtsi line. Russian troops again occupied most of Galicia and Bukovina, putting Austria-Hungary on the brink of military defeat. And although the offensive dried up by August 1916, the “Brusilovsky breakthrough” suspended the activity of the Austrians on the Italian front and greatly eased the situation of the Anglo-French troops at Verdun and the Somme.
The war at sea came down to the question of whether Germany could successfully resist England's traditional superiority at sea. As on land, the presence of new types of weapons - aircraft, submarines, mines, torpedoes, radio equipment - made defense easier than attack.
The Germans, having a smaller fleet, believed that the British would seek to destroy it in a battle, which they therefore tried to avoid. However, the British strategy was aimed at achieving other goals. Having relocated the fleet to Scala Flow in the Orkney Islands at the beginning of the war and thereby establishing control over the North Sea, the British, wary of mines and torpedoes and the inaccessible coast of Germany, chose a long blockade, being constantly ready in case of an attempt to break through the German fleet. At the same time, being dependent on supplies by sea, they had to ensure security on ocean routes. In August 1914, the Germans had relatively few battleships based abroad, although the cruisers Goeben and Breslau had successfully reached Constantinople early in the war, and their presence contributed to Turkey's entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers. The most significant force, including the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, was destroyed during the fighting off the Falkland Islands, and by the end of 1914 the oceans were - at least on the surface - cleared of German raiders.
The main danger For ocean trade routes, it was not combat squadrons, but submarines. As the war progressed, Germany's inferiority in capital ships forced her to increasingly concentrate her efforts on submarines, which the British, suffering heavy losses in the Atlantic, viewed as an illegal means of warfare. Ultimately, the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare which turned out to be almost disastrous for England, indirectly brought death to Germany, since it was the direct reason for the entry of the United States of America into the war in 1917.
On May 7, 1915, the huge American liner Lusitania, on a voyage from New York to Liverpool, was sunk by a torpedo attack by a German submarine off the Irish coast. The steamer quickly sank, and with it, about 1,200 people went forever into the cold waters of the ocean - almost three-quarters of all those on board.
The sinking of the Lusitania, whose speed was thought to make it invulnerable to torpedoes, necessitated a response. The fact that the Germans gave a cautious warning to the Americans not to sail on this ship only confirmed that the attack on it was most likely pre-planned. It caused sharp anti-German protests in many countries, primarily in the United States. Among the dead were nearly 200 American citizens, including such famous figures as millionaire Alfred Vanderbilt. This sinking had a major impact on President Woodrow Wilson's declared policy of strict neutrality, and from that time on, US entry into the war became a potential possibility.
On July 18, 1915, the Italian cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi sank after being torpedoed by an Austrian submarine. A few days earlier, the English cruiser Dublin was attacked in a similar way, but she managed to escape despite serious damage. The French fleet, based in Malta, fell to the task of implementing a blockade in the Adriatic Sea. Austrian submarines were active, and after the loss of the battleship Jean Bart in December 1914, the French were wary of releasing their heavy ships, relying on cruisers and destroyers. German U-boats also entered the Mediterranean in the summer of 1915, and the Allies' position was complicated by the task of protecting the numerous transports and supply ships making raids to and from the Gallipoli Peninsula, and later to Thessaloniki. In September, an attempt was made to block the Strait of Otranto using nets, but German submarines managed to pass under them.
Military operations in the Baltic intensified. Russian sailors disabled a German minelayer, and a British submarine torpedoed the cruiser Prinz Adalbert.
The Russian naval forces, supplemented by several British submarines, as a rule, successfully thwarted German plans to land troops in Courland and prevented the laying of mines. British submarines also tried to disrupt the supply of iron and steel from Sweden to Germany, later sinking 14 ships engaged in these shipments in 1915.
But the British losses also grew. By the end of 1915, the total number of British merchant ships sunk by German submarines exceeded 250.
The Battle of Jutland between the British and German fleets in the summer of 1916 led to large mutual losses, but in strategic terms it changed little. England retained superiority at sea and the blockade of Germany continued. The Germans had to return to submarine warfare again. However, its effectiveness became less and less, especially after the United States entered the war.
3. Events of 1917-1918
The 1917 revolution was a turning point in human history. It had a significant influence on the course of the world war.
After the victory of the February Revolution, a Provisional Government was formed in early March 1917, which, together with the Soviets, exercised real power in the country.
In the field of foreign policy, the Provisional Government advocated the continuation of the world war, despite the difficult situation in Russia. On April 18, a note from Foreign Minister P. N. Milyukov was published to the governments of the Entente countries about Russia’s continuation of the war and its fidelity to its allied obligations. This note and the intensification of military operations at the front caused a powerful demonstration on April 20-21 by soldiers of the Petrograd garrison and city workers against the policy of continuing the war, demanding the resignation of Miliukov. At the end of April, Miliukov and Guchkov were forced to resign.
After the April crisis of the Provisional Government, a second coalition government was formed. The post of Minister of War in it was taken by A.F. Kerensky, and M.I. Tereshchenko became Minister of Foreign Affairs. Disagreements over war and peace again dominated the many political issues.
Right-wing parties, officers and generals, government officials, and major entrepreneurs were ready to continue the war. Supporters of Russia's liberal-democratic development sought to achieve an honorable peace. Left and left-radical forces expressed an irrepressible desire to turn the world war into a world revolution.
In June 1917, a new offensive of the Russian army began under the overall command of Brusilov. The morale of the army improved somewhat after the February Revolution, despite Bolshevik propaganda, but the offensive itself was dictated by political considerations. Success could force the Germans to agree to peace. Failure could help strengthen the position of German revolutionary socialists supporting Russia. The offensive was poorly prepared and ended in a heavy defeat for Russia. During 18 days of fighting at the front, about 60 thousand soldiers and officers died.
After the suppression of the mass uprising of workers and soldiers of Petrograd on July 4, 1917, power completely passed to the Provisional Government. The appointment of General L.G. Kornilov as commander-in-chief of the Russian army was met with approval in the West, but Kornilov attempted a military coup, which ended in failure for the monarchists, the military supporters of continuing the war.
After the October Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks were one of the first to adopt the Decree on Peace, which reflected their intention to withdraw from the world war. At the end of the year, the Council of People's Commissars began unprecedented separate negotiations with Germany.
According to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Soviet Russia recognized Germany as the territory of the Baltic states, Poland, and part of Belarus. She pledged to renounce claims to Finland, transfer Kara, Batum, Ardagan to Turkey, make peace with the Ukrainian Central Rada, democratize the army, disarm the fleet, renew the old trade agreement, and pay reparations to Germany in the amount of 6 billion marks. Thus, Soviet Russia lost a territory of 800 thousand square meters. km, where 26% of the population lived. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk meant Russia's withdrawal from the war. It operated until November 1918. After the November revolution in Germany, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee suspended its operation.
On April 6, 1917, the United States officially declared war on Germany. In his speech addressed to Congress with a request to approve the adoption of this declaration, President Wilson denied that the United States had any territorial claims and argued that it was necessary to save the world for democracy. His policies received the approval of an overwhelming majority - only 6 people voted against in the Senate and 50 (out of 423) in the House of Representatives.
The immediate reasons for Wilson's change in policy towards Germany were her resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare at the end of January 1916 against both neutral and allied ships, as well as the discovery of the Germans' attempt to persuade Mexico to start a war against the United States. Up to this point, official US policy had been strict neutrality, which most Americans approved of.
Meanwhile, in Europe, the Allies launched their planned large-scale offensive in the spring of 1917. On April 9, the British 3rd Army began fighting near Arras in Artois. The offensive was initially successful - most of the Vishli mountain range was captured. English gas had a paralyzing effect on German artillery- he killed horses carrying ammunition. But the spring offensive of the French army in the Reims area was unsuccessful. The Germans were well prepared, and the French units were thrown against barbed wire and a shower of machine gun fire. By May 7, the French, having suffered heavy losses, had advanced only 4 miles.
In the summer of 1917, British troops carried out a successful offensive in Flanders, but their efforts at Ypres were unsuccessful.
In the autumn, German troops under the command of General Gouthières captured Riga, encountering weak resistance from the demoralized Russian army. By occupying the island of Ezel in October, the Germans secured a dominant position in the Baltic. However, soon the British, having launched a series of attacks on German battleships, forced the German fleet to retreat. In November 1917, the British occupied German East Africa. That same fall, American troops arriving in Europe began fighting in France.
In March, the Germans made a desperate attempt to break through the Allied defenses in the Somme River area. Thanks to the Brest-Litovsk Treaty with Russia, Germany transferred significant forces to the West. However, it was clear that the successful start of the operation was short-lived, especially as American troops began to arrive in France in increasing numbers.
Despite the extremely unfavorable strategic position, Germany made new attempts to seize the initiative in the war. In April, General Ludendorff launched an offensive in Flanders, 7 British submarines were sunk in the Baltic, and a major battle took place on the Marne. But Germany's forces were already running out. On August 8, British and French troops launched an offensive to relieve German pressure on Amiens. By the second half of September, the Allies crossed the Somme and approached Saint-Quentin. The Germans were once again on the Siegfried Line, from which they had begun their spring offensive. This Allied operation was the most successful of the entire war on the Western Front. The autumn of 1918 brought with it serious geopolitical changes. Bulgaria capitulated in September, and Turkey capitulated on October 31. On November 3, Austria signed an armistice. The bloc of central powers practically no longer existed. The war was approaching its logical end.
The inevitability of defeat forced Germany to look for ways to end the war. Created on September 30, 1918, the new German government with the participation of Social Democrats turned to the United States with a request for an armistice based on Wilson’s “14 points.” At the same time, German troops, by decision of the command, began a major naval operation, which was supposed to show that German forces had not yet exhausted, on October 30, the German military squadron, located in the harbor of the city of Kiel, received an order to go to sea and attack the English fleet. The sailors, exhausted by the war, realizing the adventurism of the order, refused to obey the order, on November 3, 1918, demonstrations of sailors, soldiers and workers began in the city of Kiel , which soon grew into an uprising. The city fell into the hands of the rebels, the rebels created the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. Following Kiel, councils arose in other cities. A revolution began in Germany.
On the night of November 10, Wilhelm 2 fled to the Netherlands. Post of Reich Chancellor Max. Badensky handed it over to the first Social Democrat Friedrich Ebert.
On November 9, an armed uprising took place in Berlin, the participants of which captured the city by mid-day. A coalition government was formed - the Council of People's Representatives (SNU), which included representatives of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (NSPD). The new government carried out a number of democratic reforms: abolished martial law, abolished some reactionary laws, and proclaimed freedom of speech, press, and assembly. This government ended the war by signing an armistice agreement with the Entente powers on November 11. With the formation of the SNU, the first stage of the November Revolution ended. In Germany, the monarchy was overthrown and a “Social Republic” was proclaimed.
The First World War had a catastrophic effect on the economic situation of Germany and extremely aggravated the socio-political situation in the country. The war cost the German people dearly: 2 million Germans were killed, more than 4.5 million were wounded, 1 million were captured. The country was suffocating in the grip of economic ruin, high prices, hunger, and taxes increased monstrously. The beginning of the November Revolution was a natural manifestation of the deepest crisis in German society.
The approaching military collapse coincided with a revolutionary crisis in Austria-Hungary. The general political strike in the Czech Republic on October 14, 1918 grew into a national liberation democratic revolution. On October 28, when it became known that the Austro-Hungarian government had agreed to accept the peace terms proposed by President Wilson, the National Committee, created in the summer of 1918, announced the creation of the Czechoslovak state. On October 30, the Slovak National Council announced the separation of Slovakia from Hungary and its annexation to the Czech lands. The formation of the Czechoslovak state ended the long struggle of the two fraternal peoples for national liberation. On November 14, 1918, the National Assembly, formed by expanding the membership of the National Committee, declared Czechoslovakia a republic and elected Tomas Masaryk as president.
The revolutionary actions of the soldiers of Istria, Dalmatia, and Croatia led to the separation of all South Slavic provinces from Austria-Hungary. On December 1, 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed. It included Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Dalmatia, part of Macedonia and Montenegro. The new state was a constitutional monarchy led by the Serbian royal dynasty of Karadjordjević, and the king had the right, together with the parliament (assembly), to legislative power. At the same time, Northern Bukovina announced its annexation to Ukraine, and Galicia - to Poland. In October 1918, the once dual Austro-Hungarian Habsburg monarchy effectively ceased to exist. On November 3, the new Austrian government, on behalf of the now defunct Austria-Hungary, signed the terms of the armistice dictated by the Entente. Two more new states appeared on the map of Europe - Austria and Hungary. On November 16, the National Council of Hungary proclaimed the Hungarian Republic. During the emerging democratic revolution, tendencies to create a more just structure of society dominated. Representatives of the independent and radical parties came to power. The government was headed by Count M. Karolyi. Democratic transformations began: general equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot was established, laws on freedom of assembly, unions, and political organizations were adopted. Large-scale agrarian reform was planned.
However, in Hungary, unlike Austria, where a democratic revolution also took place, the strong influence of the Communist Party remained, mainly consisting of Hungarian prisoners of war, led by Bela Kun, who had returned from Russia and had attended Bolshevik universities there." The communists called for a socialist revolution and the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat according to the Soviet model. They began active work to expand their influence in the Soviets created throughout the country. In 1919, the communists managed to seize power in the country for a short time.
Early in the morning of November 11, 1918, in the saloon car of the headquarters train of the Commander-in-Chief of the Entente forces, Marshal Foch, which stood near the Retonde station in the Compiegne Forest, a truce was signed by representatives of the armed forces of Germany and its allies. The war ended with the defeat of the countries of the German bloc. At 11 o'clock that same day, 101 artillery salvos rang out in Paris, signaling the end of the First World War.
In its scale and consequences, the First World War had no equal in the entire previous history of mankind. It lasted 4 years, 3 months and 10 days (from August 1, 1914 to November 11, 1918), covering 38 countries with a population of over 1.5 billion people. 70 million people were mobilized into the armies of the warring countries.
The war required colossal financial costs, which were many times greater than the costs of all previous wars. There is no scientifically sound estimate of the total cost of the First World War. The most common estimate in the literature is given by the American economist E. Bogart, who determined the total cost of the war at 359.9 billion dollars in gold.
The growth of military production was achieved at the expense of peaceful industries and overstrain of the national economy, which led to a general breakdown of the economy. In Russia, for example, 2/3 of all industrial production went to military needs and only 1/3 remained for consumption by the population. This gave rise to commodity hunger, high prices and speculation in all warring countries. The war caused a reduction in the production of many types of industrial products. The smelting of cast iron, steel and non-ferrous metals, the production of coal and oil, and the production of products in all sectors of light industry decreased significantly. The war destroyed the productive forces of society and undermined the economic life of peoples.
Agriculture was especially badly damaged. Mobilization into the army deprived the village of its most productive labor force and taxes. Cultivated areas have decreased, crop yields have fallen, and the number of livestock and its productivity have decreased. In the cities of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, there was an acute shortage of food, and then real famine broke out. It even spread to the army, where food standards were reduced.
The war required the mobilization of everyone material resources showed the decisive role of the economy during the armed struggle and was characterized by the massive use of a variety of military equipment. The industry of the warring countries gave the front millions of rifles, over 1 million light and heavy machine guns, over 150 thousand guns, 47.7 billion cartridges, over 1 billion shells, 9200 tanks, 183 thousand aircraft.
The war brought unprecedented hardships and suffering, general hunger and ruin, and brought all of humanity to the brink of abyss and despair. During the war there was a massive destruction of material assets, total cost which amounted to 58 billion rubles. Entire areas (especially in Northern France) were turned into desert, 9.5 million people were killed and died from wounds, 20 million people were injured, of which 3.5 million were left crippled. Germany suffered the greatest losses. Russia, France and Austria-Hungary (66.6% of all losses), the US accounted for only 1.2% of total losses. Famine and other disasters caused by the war led to an increase in mortality and a decrease in the birth rate. The population decline for these reasons was: in Russia 5 million people, in Austria-Hungary 4.4 million people, in Germany 4.2 million people. Unemployment, inflation, rising taxes, rising prices - all this exacerbated need, poverty, and extreme insecurity for the vast majority of the population of the warring countries.
At the same time, the profits of the German monopolies by 1918 amounted to 10 billion gold marks, and the American monopolies received income for 1914-1918. 3 billion dollars.
The First World War should be considered as a milestone in the world historical process. The immediate result of the war and one of its most far-reaching consequences was the complete collapse of the multinational empires - Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, Russian. It caused an unprecedented scale of the revolutionary and national liberation movement, intensified the confrontation between totalitarianism and democracy, contributed to the emergence of various political regimes, and significantly redrew the map of the world.
Until recently, due to certain political and ideological reasons and dogmatic attitudes, it was generally accepted that the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia was a turning point in the history of human civilization and opened its new era. It was viewed as an independent, isolated phenomenon that stood at the origins of the world historical process in modern history.
However, the October Revolution and the subsequent series of European revolutions were organically connected with the First World War and the peculiarities of the socio-economic and socio-political development of each country. There is plenty of evidence for this. Firstly, the war put on the agenda not only at the front, but also in the rear, the problem of human physical survival. Secondly, the short-sighted policies of the governments of the warring countries, who did not care about the social protection of the working population during the war and about maintaining at least the appearance of justice in the distribution of its burdens between the “tops” and “bottoms” of society, steadily undermined the patriotic feelings of peoples and pushed them to revolution. Thirdly, the weakening of all structures of state power and the transformation of the “man with a gun” into a real participant in the country’s political life created additional preconditions for military confrontation, sharply reducing the chances of achieving a socio-political compromise.
Thus, the October Revolution, like other revolutions in this period of history, was generated by the First World War and internal specific reasons in each of the countries where revolutionary upheavals occurred.
Literature:
1. Berdichevsky Ya.M., Ladichenko T.V. The World History. 3rd edition. Zaporozhye 1998
2. “History of state and law foreign countries"Ed. O.A. Zhidkova and N.A. Krasheninnikova. Moscow 1998
3. Z.M. Chernilovsky “General history of state and law.” Moscow, 1996
Since1914 to 1918 our state took part in the First World War. Let us highlight the following two events within this period. Firstly, this is the acceptance by Emperor NicholasIIcommand of the armed forces -post of Supreme Commander-in-Chief - in 1915.Secondly, thisimplementation of the offensive of Russian troops in May–July 1916Played an important role in the first eventEmperor Nicholas II , whichtook upon himself full responsibility for Russia's actions on the fronts. Having removed Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich from this post, he had all the powersconcentrated in his own hands. The Emperor almost constantlywas at Headquarters, wheredecided issues of front management, relying on the opinion of their military leaders.
The general played an important role in the second eventA. A. Brusilov , whichorganized and ensured success a powerful breakthrough of the Austro-Hungarian positions on the Southwestern Front.
Let's highlight the followingcause-and-effect relationships within this period.
Creation of a network of military-industrial committees in the country under the leadership of industrialist and banker P. P. Ryabushinskyallowed to provide mobilization of industry for military needs and continuation of military operations.
Exacerbation of socio-economic contradictions caused by a long and debilitating war, dissatisfaction with the policies of tsarism, population fatigue from the warled to the revolution of 1917 ., during which NicholasIIhad to abdicate the throne.
Characterizingimportance of this period in the history of our country, we note the following. The First World War became protracted for all its participants, including Russia. During this period, the political and socio-economic system of the state was tested, unable to cope with the challenges of wartime. For Russia, this turned into a civilizational catastrophe, as a result of which the monarchy collapsed and the state disintegrated. The ensuing Civil War split society into several warring factions, led to significant human losses, and aggravated socio-economic problems. According to historians, if not for the First World War, which so undermined the position of tsarism, there might not have been a revolution in Russia.
Ultimately, under these conditions, factors arose that contributed to the coming to power and the establishment of a political regime of a decisive political force, ready for radical changes, which became the Bolshevik Party. This opened the way to the establishment of a one-party political regime and the elimination of free thought, which would become a distinctive feature of the Soviet state for almost the entire duration of its existence.