The First World War

HISTORY CHAPTER 11 – FIRST WORLD WAR


1) Explain the basic reasons for the conflicts between European nations from nineteenth century to the early years of the twentieth century.
OR
1) How far were the imperialist rivalries the basic cause of the First World War?

Industrialization led to increase of trade activity as never before. The capitalists had invested huge amounts in the means of production and wanted profits to make good these investment. Profits meant sale of goods, low wages to the workers and getting the raw materials at a rate much lower than that available in the local markets. This led to forming of colonies in Asia and Africa. The continents of Asia and Africa still had not come under the influence of industrial revolution and it was easy for the European powers to subjugate these continents with colonies every where.
The race for colonies meant gaining of raw material at a very low rate, ready market for finished goods and fulfillment of imperialist ambitions. By the late 19th century, every country of Europe wanted a share in the pie, i.e., they wanted to have a colony in the said two continents. By this time all of Asia and Africa had been taken over by the European countries and forming more of colonies meant dislodging some other European imperialist power through treaties. Sometimes treaties were signed and the colonies were further divided but some times there was war which caused destruction and mistrust among the European powers.
These imperialist rivalries and mistrust led to piling up huge warfare and the countries which had never before thought of the most modern warfare, started piling up the warfare not only to keep itself secure but also to show strength and power to its rivals. Piling up of the latest warfare also added to the egos of the imperialist powers and this was the scenario in the late 19th century and early 20th century which added the tension which ultimately led to the First World War.

2) What were the countries comprising the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente? What were the main aims of these groupings?

The conflicts within Europe in the race for colonies created a very tense situation and war seemed imminent. The socialist parties, though loosely connected, tried to discourage war arguing that it would economically hurt the nations involved in the war. But the situation at that time was that to project one’s own country as superior than that of others and glorified war and encouraged piling up of war fare.
In the midst of this alliances were also formed just to protect oneself from the other countries and furthering one’s own interest. Among many alliances formed was the Triple Alliance. This alliance was formed in 1882 and comprised of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. Italy’s loyalty to this alliance lay in furthering her own imperialist ambitions in Europe from Austria-Hungary and winning Tripoli. As against to this Triple Alliance, Triple Entente was formed comprising of Russia, Britain and France in1907. In theory it was only a loose group based on mutual understanding as the word Entente meant.
The emergence of these two hostile groups made it inevitable that a conflict which would involve any of the two groups would lead to an all European war. All European war meant involving the colonies of these European countries in a bid to win the war. The hostility of these two groups led to building of larger armies and navies and the latest possible warfare.
3) What is meant by Pan-Slav movement? Why did it add to the conflict between Russia and Austria?

The Balkan countries had been under the Ottoman Empire. By 19th century the empire started disintegrating and there were revolts by various nationalities for independence. The Russian czars hoped that these areas would come under their control once the Ottomans were ousted from there. They encouraged a movement called the Pan Slav Movement which was based on the theory that all the Slavs of Eastern Europe were one. Many areas in Austria- Hungary were also inhabited by the Slavs. Russia therefore encouraged movements both against Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. The major Balkan country – Serbia led the movement for uniting the areas inhabited by the Slavs in the Ottoman Empire as well as in Austria-Hungary.
As Russia was supporting Serbia in its mission to unite all the Slavs and especially in the areas of Austria, and Austria had its own plans of expansion in the Balkan countries, it ultimately led to the conflict between Russia and Austria. When eventually the situation came to a head, the first firing shot came from Austria towards Serbia. Serbia which had been supported by Russia ultimately led to war between Austria and Russia.

4) Explain the reasons for the entry of United States in the First World War?

The war started in Europe between the triple alliance and triple entente countries. The triple alliance countries consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy and the triple entente countries consisted of Britain, France and Russia. The hostilities came to such a stead that the war broke out in Europe between the two groups. Because of the alliances signed, many countries were directly drawn into the war. Many countries which were colonies too were pulled into the war with their manpower and resources.
USA on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean was not involved in the war directly but supplied arms and ammunition to the triple entente countries. The Government of Germany in order to cut off the supplies of arms and ammunition to the triple entente countries sank some of the ships of USA. Some of the ships that were sunk by the German U Boats and Submarines were not only ships of arms but also civilian ships which forced USA to enter the war on the side of the triple entente.
The entry of USA in the First World War on the side of triple entente decided the end result of the war. Though Russia did withdraw from the war in 1917 due to the revolution but the entry of USA changed the end result in favor of the triple entente and Germany and other countries of triple alliance had to sign peace treaties after being defeated in the war.

5) Why is the war that broke out in the year 1914 called the First World War?

Many wars have been fought in the history of the world before and after 1914. Some of the wars have changed the course of history and some others have changed the society itself. Some of the wars though worst than the 1914 war did not affect the world at large as the 1914 war had done.
This war engulfed the entire Europe and was a total war in which all the resources of the warring states were mobilized. Previously any wars that were fought affected only the warring countries. But the 1914 war affected the economy of the entire world. The casualties suffered by the civilian population from bombing of the civilian areas the famines and epidemics caused by the war far exceeded those suffered by the armies. In its impact also, the war had no precedent. It marked the turning point in the world history. Countries from all the continents were involved in this war. The battles were fought not only in the countries of Europe but also their colonies in Asia and Africa.
Because of the extent of the war and the damage that it caused to the world it is called world war and because it is one of the first wars to involve the whole world, it is called First World War.

6) Explain the consequences of the First World War on Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey.

After Germany’s debacle in the war, a treaty was signed with her on 28th June 1919 and it was called the Treaty of Versailles. It declared Germany and her allies guilty of aggression. Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France. The coal mines at Saar were ceded to France for 15 years and the area was to be governed by the League of Nations. The area of Rhine Valley was demilitarized and she had to cede parts of her pre war territory to Denmark, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The strength of her army was to one lakh and she had to do away with her air force and submarines. She was dispossessed of her colonies including those in China. She was also required to pay for the damages and loss suffered by the Allies in the war.

Austria and Hungary were broken up and Austria was forced to recognize the independence of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Poland. She had to cede many of her territories to them and to Italy. Many states were created in the Balkan area and exchange of territories took place.
The treaty with Turkey stipulated the complete dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. Most of the Turkish territories were distributed as mandates to Britain and France and actually they were ruled as colonies and Turkey was reduced to a small state. A revolution in Turkey led by Mustafa Kemal deposed the Sultan and Turkey became a republic in 1922. Turkey regained control on Asia Minor and Istanbul and allies were forced to abandon the earlier treaty.

7) What were the purposes for which the League of Nations was established?

The most important consequence of First World War was the formation of League of Nations. The 16 point programme formulated by Wilson included the formation of an International organization which would promote peace and guarantee the independence of all states. It was also intended to encourage the nations towards settling disputes through peaceful methods and not through war. Another important point in the League of Nations was with regard to sanctions. Any country which would resort to war, economic and military action would be taken against that country. Every member country had to work for the development of its labour and social conditions. International labour organization was formed to help the countries to realize the motto of improving the cause of labour in the respective countries.
But the League of Nations did not prove to be truly international though it proclaimed to be. Soviet Union and Germany were not made its members and India though had not gained independence was made one of its members. In 1930s when many countries committed acts of aggression on other nations, League of Nations could not stop them and it was totally ignored and defied.

8) Why did Russia withdraw from the war after 1917 revolution?

One of the major developments during the war was the withdrawal of Russia after the October revolution. The Russian revolutionaries had opposed the war from the beginning and when Russia suffered heavy damages during the war and the revolutionaries under the leadership of Lenin decided to transform the war into a revolutionary war and use it to overthrow autocracy and seize power. The day after the Bolshevik government came to power it issued a Decree of peace with proposals to end the war and signed peace treaties with Germany in 1918. When Germany realized that Russia was withdrawing from the war, it imposed very harsh terms on Russia which was duly accepted by the new government.
The Entente powers such as Britain and France which were opposed to the revolution in Russia and its withdrawal from the war started armed intervention and supported those elements in Russia which were opposed to the revolution. Thus, it started the civil war which lasted for three years and ultimately the revolutionaries won.

9) Do you think the peace treaties laid the foundations of a just and stable peace? Discuss.

Peace treaties were signed to end all war and to bring about peace, harmony and independence to all the states in the world. But in reality it failed to ensure this. On major setback was that the peace treaties contained harsh terms imposed on the defeated nations and thus sowed seeds for further conflicts. Some of the victorious countries felt that though they had played an important part in the war, their hopes had been belied. Though League of Nations had been formed to end imperialism but in reality it did not end imperialism but instead the imperialist countries expanded their holding. The reasons for the start of the First World War had not been solved and remained and thus sowed the seeds of further conflict. Soviet Union which had emerged as a super power with result to the change of government was looked upon with suspicion by the west European countries lest their countries too may end up with the type of government that of soviet Russia. Thus peace treaties did not do justice to world peace but instead laid the foundation stone for further conflicts which after a span of nearly 30 years culminated into First World War.

10) How is that an otherwise minor incident led to the outbreak of a world war? Discuss.

The rush for colonies in Asia and Africa and also the need to amass more and more wealth by the imperialist countries ultimately led to the formation of hostile groups and by the middle of 19th century the whole of Europe was divided into two hostile camps. The old empires were crumbling and the imperialist countries of west Europe were not loosing any opportunity to form colonies or to please friendly countries even went to the extent of dividing the colonies into small fragments.
For example, the ottoman provinces were annexed by Austria and Serbia coveted these provinces. Russia supported the cause of Serbia hoping that in the end it would benefit from these colonies. Germany supported the cause of Austria. The situation was already tense in Europe and when ultimately the four Balkan countries annexed the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire, the tension grew on the issue as to how to share the spoils of the war. In the midst of all this Albania secured her independence and Serbia held Austria responsible for the Albanian independence. Thus such incidents came to such a head that the situation was tense in Europe and it was on the brink of war with almost all the countries piling up war fare to have security from its neighbour. The small incident of assassination of the arch duke would have been ignored but for the already tense situation which ultimately led to the First World War.

11) Explain in detail the causes of the First World War.

Before 1914, many wars had been fought but no war was fought on such a large scale where countries were involved directly and indirectly. The wars before First World War were confide to the few countries and were fought in a particular region and civilian population was least affected. Things would not have reached this extent if the simmering causes and the immediate causes for the First World War had been amicably settled. The causes for the First World War were:
Ø Imperial causes: Imperialism had started in the 18th and 19th centuries and the entire continents of Asia and Africa had become colonies of countries like England, France, Portugal, Holland, Spain, Italy and Germany. Each country wanted more territories and this was possible either through wars, peaceful settlements or through treachery. Germany, Italy, and Japan came very late into imperialism. Germany and Italy badly needed the fragments of the Ottoman Empire and Japan coveted Far East. Austria also needed the Ottoman Empire and the US joined the scene by starting with Philippines.
Ø Conflicts within Europe: The second major cause was the division of the world into two informal groups. On one side were the capitalist countries like Britain, Germany, and Austria-Hungary etc. and on the other side was Russia under the czarist rule. Both these groups wanted to increase their influence in the areas of the Balkans which were under the Ottoman rule. Russia started a movement known as the pan Slav movement which aimed at uniting all the Slav communities. It was spread in the Balkans and Austria-Hungary. It would serve the proposal of getting the territories of the Ottoman Empire and destroying the power of Austria and Hungary. Serbia was used by Russia to spread this movement.
Germany to counter the effect of the pan Slav movement started the pan German movement in the same area of the Balkans to create a powerful base for herself. The pan German movement aimed at uniting the people of the German origin in the Balkans and in Europe. Italy wanted certain areas of Austria and France and hoped to recover Alsace-Lorraine from the Germans as it was a region rich in natural resources.
Ø Formation of alliances: At this time Europe was full of deadly weapons of warfare and each imperialist country glorified colonization and war. In view of this a war was inevitable. These powers got divided into two groups. In 1882, was formed the triple alliance comprising of Germany, Austria – Hungary and Italy. Italy was a half hearted partner as she wanted some of the territories from Austria-Hungary and hoped to win Tripoli with French support. As opposed to this alliance, the triple entente (an understanding) was formed in 1907 comprising of France, Russia and Britain. Since the aim of both the camps was gaining more territory, war was the only option.
Ø Incidents preceding the wars: Three incidents just before the First World War contributed directly to the increase in tension. In 1904, Britain and France signed an agreement according to which Britain could do whatever it liked in Egypt and France would take over Morocco. Germany came to know of this and promised the sultan of Morocco its full support for her independence. Suddenly France occupied Morocco and to pacify Germany gave her a large part of the French Congo.
In 1908, Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina which were the territories of the Ottoman Empire. Serbia wanted this area with Russia’s help and Austria had the support of Germany. Things got heated up but war was averted.
As a result of the above mentioned incident, in 1912, four Balkan countries fought wars with Turkey over the territories of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey lost but the Balkans started fighting over the issue who get what area.
Ø Other contributing factors :
a) Militarism: Each country had a standing army, efficient spy system, trade officers and latest weapons creating a situation for war.
b) Economic imperialism: The need for raw material, manpower and markets made it necessary to re divide the world leading up to the war.
c) Narrow nationalism: The love of one’s country was so extreme that it resulted in the hatred of all other countries.
d) Poisoning of public opinion: The newspapers of each country twisted events in their favors misrepresenting information.
e) Charter of William II the emperor of Germany: He was an arrogant ruler and wanted to have his own way in everything and considered England a weak nation.
f) Lack of an international organization: There was no common power that could maintain peace in the world.

12) Mention the immediate causes that led to the start of the First World War?

Arch Duke Francis Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of Austria. Serbia and Austria were great enemies. Many secret societies had planned to kill the governor of Bosnia just to take revenge on Austria as Austria had annexed Bosnia. Suddenly it was found that the Archduke was coming to Bosnia with his wife. The Serbian government helped the actual murderers to carry out their plans. According to the plan, they were to be murdered on 28th June 1914 when they were visiting Sarajevo. Unfortunately that day was the day of mourning as the Serbians remembered the heroes of Kosovo. When the official party was going towards the town hall, the conspirators threw a bomb on the automobile but the official party escaped unhurt. The accused were captured. After finishing the ceremonies at the town hall, the party proceeded to visit the city museum. Their automobile went into the wrong street and while the driver was backing the assassin came forward and fired two shots point blank. As a result both the archduke and his wife were killed. Austria saw the hand of Serbia behind the assassination and served her with an ultimatum of 7 demands. Serbia refused to accept the following demand:
“The representative of Austria-Hungary government should participate in the inquiry which the Serbs were to carry out regarding the plot of the murder of archduke and his wife.”

13) Explain the consequences of the First World War?

The war which was fought for the first time on such a large scale had far reaching effects. The whole world started witnessing changes which it had never witnessed before and some of them were advantageous to the world history and some were not advantageous to the world history.
a) The human loss: 53-70million people fought in the war and out of these 9 million died or were killed. This comes to 1/7th of those who fought in the war. Several millions became handicapped. Due to the war there were air raids, epidemics and famines that killed millions among the civilian population.
b) The world economy was shattered: The allies as well as the central powers were badly shaken economically. The economy of each country suffered a major setback. The Allies could hope to recover but the central powers were completely destroyed.
c) The world maps changed: New boundaries were drawn after the war not only in Europe but in Asia and Africa as well. The Ottoman Empire came to an end and its territories were distributed. Austria and Hungary became two separate states and so did Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Poland. The colonies of the defeated powers were divided by the victorious powers.
d) Responsibility after the war: Article 23 of the peace treaties put the entire responsibility of the war on Germany. This forced responsibility made the Germans bitter and it became one of the causes of the First World War. Serbia was guilty of murdering Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria. She also encouraged the secret societies to function on her soil. She was the first country to have started the preparations for war. Austria-Hungary was guilty of aggression against Serbia in the provocation of Russia.
e) Europe lost its supremacy: The USA emerged as a world power in terms of the economy and weapons of warfare. It surpassed Europe. With the weakening of Europe, the colonies in Asia and Africa started demanding freedom. Many imperialist powers had earlier promised independence to their colonies if they supported them in the First World War. The British had made this promise to the Indians.
f) Formation of the League of Nations: It was regarded necessary that a world body should be formed that maintains peace and order in the world preventing an outbreak of another world war.

14) Explain the Peace Settlements and the other treaties signed at the end of the First World War.

Ø Paris Settlement (1919-1920): After the overthrow of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey, the allied statesmen met at Paris to decide the future map of Europe. Paris was a poor choice because the war had hit them hard and any conference would have been prejudice. President Wilson of US, Lloyd George of Britain, Clemenogue of France and Orlando played a crucial role. The work of negotiations was not easy because the lots of things had to be adjusted based on the 14 points of President Wilson. There was the problem of the Secret treaties of the allies and it was difficult to adjust them in the 14 points. So the settlement of Paris was unsatisfactory in many ways.

Ø Treaty of Versailles (1919): On 28th June 1919, the Allies signed a treaty with Germany laying the entire responsibility of the war on her shoulders. The allies asked Germany to send some officials to take this treaty from France to Germany. The Germans decided to send some junior officials which were regarded as an insult by the allies. Finally a German delegation led by its foreign minister went to Versailles. The Germans were treated as prisoners, kept in a hotel behind barbed wires. They were not allowed to communicate with anybody and were insulted by not being given the guard of honour.

Ø Provisions of the Treaty of Versailles:

· Germany had to give Alsace-Lorraine to France, Futon and Malmedy to Belgium, Mendel and Lithuania and a large part of Posen and western Prussia to Poland.
· Danzig was taken away from Germany and set up as a free city under the League of Nations.
· Rhineland was demilitarized. No fortifications were allowed and Germany could not keep any army there.
· As a payment for the damages of the war, Saar Valley was taken away and given to the League of Nations.
· Germany promised to respect the independence of Austria and removed the fortifications from certain islands.
· Germany gave up all her colonies, rights, titles etc over her overseas possession which was then divided by the allies amongst themselves.
· The independence of Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia was accepted by Germany.
· The German military strength was destroyed. Its general staff was abolished. It could keep an army of one lakh soldiers and that army could only maintain law and order in Germany and in the frontiers.
· The German navy could keep only six battleships, 6 light cruises, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats. No submarines were allowed.
· The King of Germany, William II was to be tried by a special tribunal for his responsibility of starting the war.
· Germany had to admit that she was responsible for the war. She had to pay for 10 categories of losses and damages. She was to compensate Belgium for all the money she had taken and pay an interest of 5%.
· Repatriation commission was appointed to ensure that Germany pays the amount that she is supposed to, to the allies.
· Germany had to return trophies, works of art, flags, holy books etc which she had taken during the war from other countries.
· The Elb, Danube, Oder and Niemen rivers were internationalized.
· The German territory west of the Rhine was to be occupied by Allied troops for 15 years and only to be given back to Germany if she met the demands of the Treaty of Versailles.