Assignment First World War
Assignment First World War
Assignment First World War
2.0
2.1
Nationalism in Germany
Germany was united in 1871 as a result of the Franco-Prussian
War, and they rapidly became the strongest economic and military
power in Europe. From 1871 to 1890, Germany wanted to preserve
their hegemony in Europe by forming a series of peaceful alliances
with other powers. After 1890, Germany was more aggressive. They
wanted to build up their influence in every part of the world. German
foreign policy in these years was best expressed by the term
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Nationalism in France
France had been the dominant power in Europe for centuries.
Napoleon I and Napoleon III had attempted to dominate Europe. In
1871, France was defeated by Germany. They had to lose two
provinces: Alsace and Lorraine. They also needed to pay heavy
indemnities. From 1871 onwards, France's greatest ambition was to
recover Alsace and Lorraine from Germany. They also wanted to
prevent another defeat by Germany, to recover their national prestige
by acquiring overseas colonies (e.g. Morocco) and to make diplomatic
alliances with other important powers in Europe.
2.1.3
Nationalism in Italy
Italy was unified in 1870. They was barely powerful enough to
be counted as a great power. Their parliamentary system was corrupt
and inefficient. Their industrial progress was slow. But Italy had great
territorial ambitions. They wanted Tunis and Tripoli in northern Africa.
This brought her into conflicts with France because Tunis was adjacent
to the French colony, Algeria, and was long regarded by France as
French sphere of influence. Italy also wanted Italia Irredenta--Trieste,
Trentio and Tyrol. Although the majority of the people in these places
were Italians, they were kept under the rule of the Dual Monarchy .
Thus Italy came into serious conflicts with Austria-Hungary.
2.1.4
Nationalism in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary was established as the Dual Monarchy in
1867. The Dual Monarchy ruled over a large empire consisting of
many nationalities, but only the Austrians (racially they were German)
and the Hungarians had the right to rule. The other nationalities
Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, Rumanians and Poles resented their
loss of political freedom. They desired for political independence. Thus
the policy of the Dual Monarchy was to suppress the nationalist
movements both inside and outside the empire. The particular object of
the Dual Monarchy was to gain political control over the Balkan
Peninsula, where nationalist movements were rife and were always
giving encouragement to the nationalist movements within the AustroHungarian Empire. The centre of the nationalist movements in the
Balkans was Serbia. Serbia always hoped to unite with the Serbs in the
Austro-Hungarian Empire so as to create a large Serbian state.
Therefore the first enemy of Austria-Hungary from 1871 to 1914 was
Serbia. Besides Serbia, Austria-Hungary also hated Russia because
Russia, being a Slav country, always backed up Serbia in any AustroSerbian disputes.
2.1.5
Nationalism in Russia
Russia was the largest and most populous country in Europe. It
extended from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to those of the Black Sea
and from the Baltic Sea eastwards to the Pacific Ocean. Two thirds of
her people were Slavs. Russia was still territorially ambitious. They
wanted to expand in all directions. In 1870, Russia broke the Treaty of
Paris (see below) and renewed her aggression in the Balkans. Thus,
their territorial ambitions clashed with the interests of Austria-Hungary
and Britain. However, Russia did not retreat. Being a 'landlocked' state,
they wanted to acquire warm water ports in the Balkans (e.g.
Constantinople). Moreover, as most of the Balkan peoples were of the
Slavic race, Russia could claim to be the protector of her brother races
in her expansion.
2.2
ALLIANCES
The System of Alliance
Before 1914 Europe's main powers were divided into two armed camps by a series
of alliances. These were
Bismark the Kaiser of Germany, under fear of possible attack form France
initiated a system of military alliances. He therefore set about building European
This caused tension, especially to France and Rusia. Britain was also
concerned by the growth in the German Navy and in 1904 the two countries signed
the Entente Cordiale (friendly understanding). In 1904, Britain made an agreement or
Entente with French to end all hostilities between the 2 countries. Three years later,
Russia, who feared the growth in the German Army, joined Britain and France. In
1907, Britain, France and Russia formed. A separate diplomatic group known as the
Triple Entente. The objective of the alliance was to encourage co-operation against
the perceived threat of Germany. Though a diplomatic group, it also become a power
to counter any threat from Germany.
Rather than discussing plans and settling disputes, most countries in Europe
sought peace through military superiority. No one would attack the country with the
largest army or navy, because they knew they couldnt win. The Entente was created
to balance the growing power of Germany by being more powerful itself. The Russian
government was also concerned about the possibility of Austria-Hungary increasing
the size of its empire. It therefore made promises to help Serbia if it was attacked by
members of the Triple Alliance.
2.3
MILITARY BUILD-UP
In all of the Great powers, military spending increased greatly in the
years prior to the war. All except Britain had conscription. Over 85% of men
of military age in France and 50% in Germany had served in the army or navy.
This led England to expand her navy. Russia too adopted a program of army
expension. France increased compulsory military service from 2 to 3 years.
Thus, France had the highest proportion of its population in the army. This
armament race produced fear and hostility among all nations in Europe.
Percentage Increase in
1890-1913
Military Spending
Britain
France
Russia
Germany
Austria Hungary
430
970
1,500
760
480
The armies of both France and Germany had more than doubled
between 1870 and 1914. The rivalry between the powers led to a building up
of weapons and an increase in distrust.
Colonial rivalry had led to a naval arms race between Britain and
Germany. This had seriously worsened relations between both countries. The
British-German dispute also led to greater naval co-operation between Britain
and France.
2.4
IMPERIALISM
Among the many complex causes of World War I was imperialism.
European imperialism was a constant source a friction among the powers. At
that time the greatness of a nation depended not only on its standing in Europe
but upon its non-European possessions. England, France and Russia all had
colonial empires. Germany had limited possessions. Conflicts between
European imperial powers around the globe heightened tensions between the
countries that would go to war in 1914. In the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, economic competition among European countries led
them to seek out colonies far from home. This race to conquer and colonize
often led to clashes between Europeans, helping to create the situation in
which World War I broke out. In Persia and Afghanistan, Britain and Russia
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clashed. In Siam and along the Nile River in Egypt, old rivals Britain and
France competed.
The most intense and dangerous competition, however, involved
Germany. Germany had only been unified since 1871 and joined the race for
colonies late. Once it launched its imperial efforts, the British and French
often frustrated German designs because they had begun earlier. This tension
led to a series of imperial clashes that led to several international crises that
threatened the peace in Europe.
In 1905, Germany and France faced off in a crisis in Morocco. This
first Moroccan crisis resulted from Germany's concern over the recent
agreement known as the Entente Cordiale between longtime rivals France and
Great Britain. Germany hoped a minor international crisis would weaken
French- British relations. Knowing that France sought to establish a
protectorate in Morocco, the Germans announced their support for Moroccan
independence. France responded to this German interference by threatening
war. Only an international conference in Spain in 1906 prevented an armed
conflict between France and Germany. A second Moroccan crisis in 1911
further exacerbated the French-German rivalry and intensified British worries
over an increasingly powerful and threatening Germany.
Rivalry between Great Britain and Germany had already been growing
in southern Africa starting in the late nineteenth century. Tensions already
existed between Great Britain and the Afrikaners, who were descendents of
Dutch settlers in South Africa. The situation became more complicated when
Germany established a colony in neighboring German South-West Africa
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3.0
3.1
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Germany lost World War I. In the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, the victorious
powers (the United States, Great Britain, France, and other allied states) imposed
punitive territorial, military, and economic provisions on defeated Germany. In the
west, Germany had to returned Alsace-Lorraine to France. Back then, it had been
seized by Germany more than 40 years earlier. Several German provinces were
given to Poland, Denmark and Belgium.
Further, Belgium received European and Malmedy; the industrial Saar
region was placed under the administration of the League of Nations for 15 years
and Denmark received Northern Schleswig. Finally, the Rhineland was
demilitarized, that is no German military forces or fortifications were permitted
there.
In the east, Poland received parts of West Prussia and Silesia from
Germany. In addition, Czechoslovakia received the Hultschin district from
Germany and the largely German city of Danzig became a free city under the
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3.2
required to sign special minority rights treaties or make similar declarations to the
League of Nations (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia,
Austria, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Turkey and Iraq). All
these states complained that the great powers were not required to agree to similar
provisions. Wilson, though, argued that the Peace Conference was attempting to
eliminate as far as possible sources of potential disturbance.
While the Great Powers were attempting to arrange an equitable
distribution of territory, the reality of minority populations left a possible source of
later upheavel. Therefore, it was necessary to do everything possible to ensure that
minorities would not feel unjustly treated. Then, 4 independent countries was
emerged from the Russian empire- Finland, Estonia, Latuia and Lithuania. From
Austria-Hungary empire emerged Czechoslovokia and Serbia and from the Turkish
empire emerged Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Palestine. Romania and Italy were
enlarged.
The Allies, concerned by the potential threat to their plans posed by the
growing Nationalist movement lead by Mustafa Kamal made a peace treaty with
the Sultans government. The Ottoman Empires Middle Eastern provinces became
League of Nations Mandates. Britain received the mandates for Palestine and Iraq
while France received Lebanon and Syria, with control of the area around Adana in
Turkey.
3.3
END OF MONARCHY
World War I probably had more far-reaching consequences than any other
proceeding war. Politically, it resulted in the downfall of four monarchies, in
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3.4
LEAGUE OF NATIONS
The high contracting, in order to promote international co-operation and to
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3.5
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3.6
LOSS OF LIFE
First world war caused the death of about 10 million soldiers, sailors and
flyers and more than 20 million were maimed. Another 13 million ordinary people
died due to injury, hunger, poor health and lack of medical care involved many
countries. For the monetary loss, it been estimated to have cost about 338 billion US
dollars, $186 billion in direct costs and another $151 billion in indirect costs than any
previous war in history. It was the first war to use airplanes, tanks, long range
artillery, submarines, and poison gas.
Young men were away for four years and approximately twenty percent never
returned. At war's end, there were fewer jobs and many discharged soldiers looking
for work. Others were seriously injured, permanently disabled and requiring pensions
and other supports. By the end of the First World War, almost one million British
soldiers, sailors and airmen had been killed. However, nearly another two million had
been permanently disabled, over 40,000 had lost legs or arms. All these people needed
medical treatment, ongoing care and work or financial support in order to survive in
peacetime.
Prisoners of war were beginning to be released. In their camps, tens of
thousands had died in the influenza pandemic. Of the 300,000 Austrian troops taken
prisoner at the beginning of November 1918, as many as 30,000 had died in captivity
by the autumn of 1919.
The destructiveness of the First World War, in terms of the number of soldiers
killed, exceeded that all of other wars known to history. The following list gives the
number of those who were killed in action, or who died of wounds received in action.
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The figures are inevitably approximate, nor do they encompass all the victims of the
war. In the case of Serbia, more civilians died (82,000) than the soldiers listed here. In
the United States army, more soldiers died of influenza (62,000) than were killed in
battle. The number of Armenians massacred between 1914 and 1919 was more than
one million. The number of German civilians dying as a result of the Allied blockade
has been estimated at more than three quarters of a million. The number of war dead
of the principal belligerents was, according to the minimum estimates.
The Central Powers, the losers in the war, lost 3,500,000 soldiers on the
battlefield. The Allied Powers, the victors, lost 5,100,000 men. On average, this was
more than 5,600 soldiers killed on each day of the war.
4.0
CONCLUSION
The years that followed the conclusion of the peace treaties with the
Central Powers clearly revealed their weakness. In particular the unworkability of
the financial settlement imposed upon Germany was disrupting not only the
stability of Europe but also Euro-American relations. After the vast expenditures of
the war, governments were under pressure to cut expenditure and lower taxes. The
United States was also insisting on the repayment of loans made by it to the Allies.
At the same time, the origins of the war came to be scrutinized and many
came to the conclusion that the arms races of the prewar period were a contributing
factor to the outbreak of first world war. All these factors led to efforts to reduce
armaments, handle debt issues, and tackle the problem of reparations. Then, The
Paris Peace Conference and The Versailles Treaty came up with the idea that
Germany must take responsibility effect from the war. This give an impact towards
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Germany and causes the loss of territory and military power. First world war also
gave an outstanding views when theres a lot loss of life at the times.
5.0
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Book:
Martin Gilbert (1994) First World War, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, The Orion
Publishing Group Ltd, Orion House, 5 Upper Saint Martins Lane, London WC2H
9EA
Erik Goldstein (2002) The First World War: Peace Settlements 1919-192, Pearson
Education Limited, 128 Long Acre, London WC2E 9AN (First published), Typeset
by 7 in 10/12 Sabon Roman, Produced by Pearson Education Asia Pte Ltd., Printed
in Malaysia, KVP
Online:
How did the First World War Start? Gary Sheffield (military historian)
http://www.theweek.co.uk/world-news/first-world-war/59782/how-did-the-firstworld-war-start (8/11/2014) (3:31 PM)
The Road to War: The Triple Entente (Who was in the Triple Entente and why was it
formed) http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/hq/causes2_01.shtml
(8/11/2014) (4:48 PM)
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End of WWI: the Treaty of Versailles & the League of Nations http://educationportal.com/academy/lesson/end-of-wwi-the-treaty-of-versailles-the-league-ofnations.html#lesson (16/11/2014) (9:20 AM)
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