UNIT 12.

THE FIRST WORLD WAR

12.1. CHARACTERISTICS OF CONFLICT

The First World War had different characteristics to the other wars that had seen so far. These
differences are due to the world was different because there was imperialism and the Second
Industrial Revolution. The characteristics were as follows:

Large extension: Almost all states of the world and its colonies fought in the conflict.
Never before have faced many powers.
Long life: It lasted from 28 July 1914 until November 11, 1918. The novelty with other
wars is that the clashes were practically almost daily.
New and sophisticated weapons: Due to technological advances from the Industrial
Revolution, many powers improved their weapons, making them more deadly. For examples
began using tanks, submarines, aircraft, battleships, guns, chemical gases, mortars,
flamethrowers, etc ...
Huge mobilization: The European population went to the war massively excited and
driven by a strong nationalist sentiment, believing that the war would be quick. It soon
became apparent that the war would be long and hard and demotivation and opinions
against war arose.
Use of advertising: Due to nationalism and hatred they had, for countries was very easy to
recruit many people to participate in the war. However the countries used advertising
campaigns for greater recruitment and extolling his country against the other.
Importance of the rearguard: So important was the battlefront as the cities. In the cities,
they had to change industries to manufacture only war material and supplies for the
soldiers. Likewise hospitals in cities should operate at peak performance to treat the
wounded.

12.2. THE ARMED PEACE IN EUROPE

From the end of the 19th century, and especially during the first decade of the 20th century,
increased tensions between the major European powers led to a period of “armed peace” that
eventually resulted in the First World War.

A. THE IMPORTANCE OF GERMAN EMPIRE

During the period of Armed Peace, the role of the German Empire was important. After the
unification of Germany in 1871, it became the most important power in Europe because of its
economic and military development. There were two phases of German foreign policy during this
period.
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The Bismarckian system (1871-1890)

In the first phase, the German emperor Wilhelm I used diplomacy to maintain the balance of
power between European countries. The chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, established a system of
alliances with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire and Italy, known as the
Bismarckian alliance system.
The objectives of these alliances were:
To maintain Germany hegemony in Europe to such an extent that the main concern of other
European countries would be to maintain friendly relations with Germany.
 To prevent France from declaring war on Germany to recover Alsace-Lorraine, lost during
the unification of Germany (the Franco-Prussian War from 1870 to 1871).

With his foreign policy, Bismarck managed to avoid conflict in Europe for twenty years. However,
in order to do this he had to strengthen the German army. This forced the other European
countries to build up their armies too because if they did not, their armies would be weaker than
the German army if there was a war. This was known as the arms race.

Important. THE BISMARCKIAN SYSTEM

The first system: in 1872 the Three Emperor’s League was signed by Wilhelm I of Germany, Franz
Joseph of Austria-Hungary and Tsar Alexander II of Russia. It failed due to rivalry between
Austria-Hungary and Russia over control of the Balkans.
The second system: between 1879 and 1882 various treaties were signed.
- 1879: the secret Double Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary.
- 1881: the Alliance of the three emperors was re-signed, although problems soon began to
reappear between the Austrians and the Russians.
- 1882: the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (Italy was angry
with France, because it had expanded into Tunisia, an area which Italy wanted).
The third system: in 1887, the Triple Alliance was renewed between Germany, Austria-Hungary
and Italy. Germany also signed a secret alliance with the Russian Empire, the Reinsurance Treaty,
in which both countries promised to remain neutral if either went to war against another country.

The expansionist foreign policy of Wilhelm II (1890-1914)

In the second phase, the German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, who came to the throne in 1888,
changed the system of alliances for an expansionist policy, focusing on obtaining a colonial empire
that reflected Germany’s growing economic power. Bismarck disagreed with Wilhelm II on foreign
policy issues and resigned from his position in 1890.
Wilhelm II did not renew the Reinsurance Treaty with the Russian Empire because he did not
think that Russia would ally with France (a potential rival of Germany). However, France and
Russia did become allies because of France’s economic investment in Russian industry.
Ultimately, the political hegemony of Wilhelm II caused concern in France and Great Britain. They
formed the Triple Entente (1907) with Russia in order to try to stop Germany’s expansion.

Questions

1. Why was this period referred to as the Armed Peace? When did it take place?
2. What was the Bismarckian alliance system? What were the objectives of these alliances?
3. What were the Wilhelm II’s objectives? How were they different form Bismarck’s objectives?
4. Why did France and Russia become allies?
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B. THE CAUSES OF THE WAR

A. COLONIAL CONFLICTS
The Berlin Conference (1885) had tried to establish rules for the colonization of the African
continent by European empires. However, the rise of powers such as the German Empire, one of
the last to join the colonial race, reopened conflicts between European countries.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Morocco was the main scene of international tension, as
European powers competed to control it. The possibility of war was constantly present.
The Moroccan crises. In 1905, the German Empire offered to help Morocco against France, who
wanted to establish a protectorate in the region. The Algeciras Conference (1906), which
authorized a Franco-Spanish protectorate, forced the Germans to back down.
In 1911, because of an uprising in southern Morocco, the Germans sent gunboats to the port of
Agadir under the pretext of protecting German trade interests. France had Great Britain’s support,
but ceded Kamerun to the Germans.

B. RIVALRY BETWEEN POWERS AND NATIONALISM

European powers also became increasingly nationalistic in order to defend their interests in
Europe and their colonial empires. The promotion of national identity values causes a general
climate of fear.
Some European peoples had nationalist aspirations and wanted to become independent states,
while others defended their status as great traditional empires.
The Balkans, still ruled by the Ottoman Empire as it had been for centuries, was the center of
heightened international tension.
The German Empire annexed the French region of Alsace-Lorraine following its victory in the
Franco-Prussian war. There was also strong rivalry between the British and German Empires over
economic control of Europe and its trade routes.

C. THE BALKAN WARS

As the Ottoman Empire was in a state of collapse, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was planning to
gain power over the Balkans. However, Serbia and Russia also wanted to increase their influence
there, and occupy the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, which would give them control over the
Mediterranean Sea.
The annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary (1908) increased tensions in the
Balkans, which would result in the Balkan Wars in 1912 and 1913. Serbia allied with Russia and
emerged as the victor. As Serbia was clearly becoming stronger, Austria-Hungary, fearing a
general Slav uprising while under its control, looked to the Germans for support.

D. UNDERLYING CAUSES OF CONFLICT

There were some underlying long-term causes of the First World War.

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12.3. THE SPARK OF WAR: THE SARAJEVO ASSASSINATION
On June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was shot dead
in Sarajevo by a Bosnian Serb called Gavrilo Princip. Princip belonged to an organization that
wanted Bosnia to leave Austria-Hungary and become part of a Slavic nation led by Serbia.
Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia, and issued an ultimatum with ten demands. Serbia was given
just 48 hours to accept. It accepted almost all of the demands, but Austria-Hungary wanted an
excuse for war, so some of the demands were wanted an excuse for war, so some of the demands
were unreasonable. For example, Serbia had to let Austro-Hungarian soldiers and police into
Serbia. When Serbia refused this, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
Russia, which was an ally of Serbia, declared war on Austria-Hungary. The alliances between
European countries meant that soon most of Europe was at war:
The Central Powers were led by Germany and Austria-Hungary
The Allies were led by France, Russia and Britain
In 1915, Italy joined the Allies, although it had been part of the Triple Alliance. The war between
the Central Powers and Allies has various names: World War One, the Frist World War or the
Great War.

12.4. THE CONTENDERS

The contenders were grouped into two camps:
The Central Powers. Germany, Austria-Hungary and
the Ottoman Empire formed the TRIPLE ALLIANCE in
1882. Bulgaria and other states joined later on. They
agreed to give each other military support if there was
a war.
The Allies. France, Russia, United Kingdom and Serbia
formed the TRIPLE ENTENTE in 1907. This
agreement said that the countries had a “moral
obligation” to support each other.

Questions
5. What nationality was Franz Ferdinand’s killer?
6. Why did Austria-Hungary issue an ultimatum to Serbia?
7. Why didn’t Serbia accept all of the terms of the ultimatum?
8. Why did Russia declare war on Austria-Hungary?

12.5. PHASES OF THE CONFLICT

1- The War of Movements. (1914)

Germany renewed the Schliefen Plan, the strategy of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. This plan
consisted on avoiding a two-front war by concentrating their troops in the west, quickly
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defeating the French and then, if necessary, rushing those troops by rail to the east to face the
Russians before they had time to mobilize fully. However, the French and British managed to stop
the Germans in the Battle of the Marne and the Russians mobilized before it was expected so the
German offensive failed and resulted in years of Trench (or Positions) warfare.

2- The Trench (or Positions) warfare. (1914-1917)

This was the most inhuman stage of the conflict. The armies still made war in the old-fashioned
way of launching huge masses of soldiers against the enemy positions. A new weapon, the
machine gun, ruined this strategy by sweeping the frontline and killing hundreds of soldiers in
the infantry charges. Both sides had to fix their positions in Trenches separated by the so-called
No Man’s Land.
Two main frontlines were established very early in the War, the Western Front (Franco-German
Border and Belgium) and the Eastern Front (Russia) as well as some other minor Fronts (The
Dardanelles, the Austro-Italian Border and the Serbo-Austrian Border).
The soldiers spent several months in these static fronts under the shelling of the Artillery and the
recurrent incursions of the enemy. Thousands of men died in useless charges that brought no
change of the frontline. Some new modern weapons appeared (Poison Gas, Airplanes, Tanks,
Submarines…) but nothing seemed to alter the standoff.
The Germans took the initiative in the Battle of Verdun, and the Franco-British in the Battle of
the Somme. Both clashes were the bloodiest and longest lasting episodes of the War but none of
them meant a definitive change in the course of the conflict. Something similar happened in Italy
though the Russian Front was much more dynamic in favour of the Germans.

The Most important Naval Battle of the war was the Battle of Jutland where the British Royal
Navy confronted the German Hochseeflotte. The clash ended with no real winner so the British
maintained their dominance in the North Sea.
In 1915 a German U-boot torpedoed the British ocean Liner RMS Lusitania off the coast of
Ireland and sank her with many Americans onboard. The government of the USA protested since
the German submarines were not only sinking British warships but also neutral merchants (it was
the answer to the Naval Blockade that Germany suffered). In the long run this strategy turned
public opinion in many countries against Germany and contributed to the entry of the United
States into World War I in April 1917.

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3- The Final Stage of the War 1917-1918

Early 1917, the War entered in a new Dynamic. In February Nicholas II Czar of Russia abdicated
and in October the Bolshevik Revolution gave power to the Communists led by Lenin and
Trotsky. Their first measure was to take Russia out of the War. Besides, a joint Austro-German
offensive broke the Italian Frontline in Caporetto, which seemed to tip the scales in favour of the
Central Powers.
The Germans negotiated peace with Russia in Brest-Litovsk, (1918) and hoped they would be
able to take the eastern troops to the western Front before the Americans could mobilize.
Nevertheless President Woodrow Wilson was already sending a million soldiers to Europe to
fight Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Despite the German efforts in the Kaiserslacht or Spring Offensive, the year 1918 showed a slow
but unbending decline of the Triple Alliance in every front: Bulgaria surrendered in September,
Turkey in October and finally after many negotiations an Armistice was signed November 11th
1918 at 11:00 (11/11 at 11 AM). The defeated and humiliated Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and
went into exile in The Netherlands. The newly proclaimed Republic of Weimar had to sign the
Peace of Paris and the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Was signed before the end of the War on March 3, 1918 between the Soviet Russia and the
Central Powers, marking Russia's exit from World War I.
• While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year, it did provide some relief
to Bolsheviks who were tied up in the Russian civil war
• It affirmed the independence of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as a Cordon
Sanitaire around the Red Russia (Also Belarus and Ukraine did but they were regained by the
Bolsheviks in the Civil War).

12.6. THE CONSEQUENCES OF WWI

The immediate consequences were the material and human losses, but the medium-term social
and political aftermaths as the territorial changes in central Europe were even deeper.

Social and economic consequences

1. Decrease in population. There were tens of millions of victims of the war, and millions were
injured mutilated or disappeared. As a result, there was a drastic reduction in the available
workforce and in birth rates.
2. Destruction of the cities. Transport networks, factories and agricultural land were damaged
and destroyed in areas of combat, creating a negative impact on the economies of these
countries.
3. Incorporation of women in the workplace. Women did not accept the return to traditional
roles after the war. They had demonstrated that they were capable of doing the same jobs as
men. In many countries, women began to fight for the right to vote.
However, many women had to return to the home once the fighting was over and soldiers
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returned, as there were not enough jobs.

4. Loss of Europe’s economic power. Due to material losses and loans from the United States
during the war. The United States became the world’s leading economic power.

Territorial consequences
5. Redistribution of the colonies. The peace treaties included the redistribution of the colonies
belonging to the defeated countries between the victorious countries. This guaranteed the
Allied powers industrial development and provided them with raw materials, a workforce and
markets. The countries which benefited the most were Great Britain, which gained Palestine
and Iraq; and France, which gained Syria and Lebanon.
6. The new map of Europe. A new map of Europe was drawn up, owing on the one hand, to the
end of the last of the European empires (the German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and Russian
Empires disappeared) and on the other hand, to the creation of new states.

Questions
9. What were the consequences of the redistribution of the defeated countries’ colonies?
10. Describe the economic and social consequences of the First World War

12.7. THE FOURTEEN POINTS OF WOODROW WILSON

The United States President Woodrow Wilson had proposed a peace agreement during the war, in
January 1918, called the Fourteen Points, intended as a basis for peace negotiations. It was based
on creating a League of Nations, the establishment of democratic states, freedom of trade and
respect for a nation’s right to self-determination.

The plan was rejected by the Allied countries (France, Britain and Italy), who had been devasted
during four years of war. France in particular insisted on severe conditions for defeated countries.
It considered Germany to be responsible for the war and wanted it to pay for the damage it had
caused.
After long negotiations between the representatives of the victorious countries at the conference
(the defeated countries were not invited to the negotiations), the Paris Peace Settlement was
agreed on (1919-1920). Five separate treaties were ratified by the Allied countries and then
signed by each of the defeated countries.
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11. What were the principles that President Wilson wanted to establish with his Fourteen Points? Who
opposed the agreement? Why?

12.8. THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE

The Treaty of Versailles, signed with Germany in the Hall of Mirrors (June 28th 1919).
Territorial clauses:
•France recovered Alsace-Lorraine
• Eupen and Malmedy passed under control of Belgium
 • The German Territories of the Polish Corridor were ceded to the newly
independent Poland who had thus access to the sea. The problem was that East
Prussia, still a German territory was cut off from the German manila from the German
mainland
• Danzig and Memel, both German cities in the Baltic, were declared free cities.
•Denmark annexed northern Schleswig-Holstein.
• The province of Saarland was to be under the control of the League of Nations for
15 years, after which a plebiscite between France and
Germany, was to decide to which country it would belong. Its coal would be sent to
France.
• As a guarantee of compliance by Germany of the war reparations, the Treaty established
that the Rhineland would be occupied by Allied troops for a period of fifteen years.
• The German Colonies in Africa and the Pacific were divided between Belgium,
Britain, France and Japan.
Military Restrictions:
•German armed forces would number no more than 100,000 troops, and conscription
would be abolished.
• The Rhineland would remain as demilitarized zone.
War Reparations:
• The Treaty of Versailles assigned blame for the war to Germany. She was forced to
pay 269 billion gold marks (the equivalent of around 100,000 tonnes of pure gold)
Other clauses:
• Germany was forbidden from merging with Austria.
• Germany was banned from entering the League of Nations.

The Treaty of Saint-Germain, signed with Austria. 1919

• The Treaty meant the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• The collapse of the Habsburg Empire led to the birth of some new States like
Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Yugoslavia and to some cessions to Italy,
Southern Tyrol, Trieste, Istria and part of Dalma

The Treaty of Trianon, signed with Hungary. 1920

• Hungary suffered the same clauses imposed to Austria.
• Three million Hungarian, a third of the total population, remained outside the new
Hungarian State: Voivodina to Yugoslavia and Transylvania to Romania.

The Treaty of Neuilly signed with Bulgaria. 1919

• Bulgaria had to accept territorial cessions to Greece (Thrace, the access to the
Aegean Sea), and Yugoslvavia.
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The Treaty of Sèvres signed with Turkey. 1920

• The Treaty meant the end of the Ottoman Empire.
• Division of the Turkish possessions in the middle East between France (Syria and
Lebanon) and Britain (Palestine, Transjordan, and Palestine, Transjordan and Irak)
 EXERCISES

Questions:

12. Why was the First World War such a different conflict from the previous ones?
13. What’s the real impact of the colonial policy and the industrial development on the outbreak of the
war?
14. What’s the role of the German Chancellor Bismarck in the international order of the 1870’s and 1880’s?
15. What were the European powers interested in the Balkans? Why?
16. What are the countries that joined the Triple Entente from 1914?
17. What were the causes of the war?
18. List the stages of the Great War.
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19. Point out the weapons that had a decisive impact on the war.
20. What are the main aftermaths of the War?
21. What are the empires that stood still when the war ended?