THE COURSE AND EFFECTS OF WW1:

 Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

and his wife Sophia on June 28 1914, the Austrian government got to work to bring the
suspects to book.
 Although preliminary investigations had not yet been completed into who had committed
the murders, the government was already pointing at Serbia.
 Serbia had a hostile policy towards Austria Hungary especially over the control of the
Balkans since the early 1900s.
 It seemed plausible that only the Serbian terrorists could have done this gruesome murder.
 Truthfully speaking, every country wanted a world war in 1914. It provided the perfect
excuse to settle all their age-old grudges on the battle field.
 The murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand set in motion a chain of tragic events that would
lead to a four-year world war with more than twenty million dead and twenty-one million
wounded.

A chain of events
• Germany and Austria Hungary immediately got to work in 1914 to make those responsible
for the murders pay. Kaiser Wilhelm particularly felt a dep sense of loss because Ferdinand
had been his close friend. He promised Austria Hungary ‘unlimited support’ in their quest for
justice. This unlimited support made Austria Hungary even more reckless in its dealings with
Serbia.
 Austria sent an ultimatum to Serbia, with a list of demands. The demands were
outrageous and pushed Serbia into a tight corner. They were unacceptable and designed to
make Serbia angry.
Austria Hungary, over confident because of German support, sent an impossible ultimatum to
Serbia.
The terms of the ultimatum were:
1) Serbia was to crush Slav nationalism immediately.
2) Serbia was to crush the propaganda campaign against Austria Hungary in the Balkans
immediately.
3) Austrian officials were to be let into Serbia to investigate and arrest the terrorists.
• Serbia agreed to most of the terms except one. Austria Hungary, growing impatient with
what they deemed as a slow response, declared war on Serbia and mobilised an army to
invade immediately.
• This was a grave miscalculation because this time, Russia stood by Serbia. Two days after
the Austrians declared war on Serbia, Tsar Nicholas ii, the emperor of Russia declared war on
Austria Hungary. Russia had had enough of Austrian bullying tactics.
• Germany sent an ultimatum demanding the Russian forces to stand down. Another
ultimatum was sent to France, demanding that that they keep out of the crisis. Both Russia
and France refused and Germany immediately declared war against them. The Schlieffen plan
had been constructed years before, and the Germans knew what to do. They were also very
strong militarily and were confident that both France and Russia would be cleaned out by the
superior German forces. Germany demanded free passage in Belgium and in the process
provoked Britain which was protecting the neutrality of Belgium.
THE WAR BEGINS, 1914.

THE INVASION OF BELGIUM:

The war began with Germany immediately putting the Schlieffen plan into action. On the 4th of
august 1914, the Germans entered the capital city of Belgium, Brussels. Belgium was not
neutral as the Germans presumed. In fact, they offered stiff resistance. They blew up railway
lines which made it difficult for the Germans to transport their weapons and basically denied
them free passage. The violation of Belgium attracted British intervention. The British
mobilised and began sailing towards central Europe to come to the aid of Belgium. The
Germans were not deterred by the Belgian resistance. In September 1914, German forces
crossed the Aisne River and made way towards Paris, the French capital.

MAJOR BATTLES OF WORLD WAR ONE:

1. THE BATTLE OF MARNE.

It was the first battle of the war. It was fought from the 6 th to the 12th of September 1914. The
Germans had invaded France, and came within about 50 miles of Paris. However, combined
British and French forces offered a very stiff resistance and the Germans were stopped at the
battle of Marne. The battle was very indecisive as both sides dug trenches and the war
reached a stalemate.

2. TRENCH WARFARE.

The Germans were the first to dig trenches on the western

front during the battle of Marne. The British and French forces
also dug trenches. A trench was protected with barbed wire. A
‘no man`s land’ existed
between
the trenches of the opposite
camps. There were very few
combat deaths in
the trenches. Many deaths
resulted from air strikes or
bombings because
the soldiers were well
 protected in the trenches. However, the single most lethal cause of death was the trenches
themselves. The conditions in the trenches were appalling. They were a type of prison for the
soldiers. Many soldiers got a fungal infection called trench foot which was caused by rubber
boots continuously. It resulted in the amputation of the infected foot and deformity for life.
The trenches were also very dirty and flooded during rainy seasons. There was also poor
sanitation and many soldiers suffered from mental stress whilst living in those trenches for
four years.

WAR ON THE EASTERN FRONT:

War on the eastern side of Europe started with Russia

invading East Prussia on 17 august 1914. The
Russians were strong and determined, and
defeated the Germans in the first battle.
Germany was forced to send troops from
the western front which was fighting Britain and
France and send
them to
the eastern front
to ward off
Russia. Germany
was now fighting
a war on two fronts. When Germany
received reinforcements, Russia started
to suffer losses. The Russians were
defeated by the Germans and driven out
of Poland and Lithuania

In the meantime, the war between Austria Hungary and Serbia

raged. In about two weeks from the start of the war, Serbia had driven off Austria. Russia sent
reinforcements to Serbia to assist in the fight against Austria Hungary. Many deadly battles were
fought on the eastern front including the use of poisonous gases. Both sides recorded huge
casualties.

4. THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN:

This campaign was initiated by Britain and France. It was aimed at weakening Germany by
defeating her allies. This campaign was not successful because although Austria Hungary and
turkey were relatively weak, Italy put up a good fight against Britain and France. Italy became
increasingly aware of the reality of the defeat of the triple alliance, and made plans to save
herself. Italy signed the secret treaty of London with Britain and France in which she agreed
to turn against the triple alliance members and in exchange would be given territories when
the war ended. These territories were south Tyrol, trending, Istria, Dalmatia and a
protectorate over Albania.

5. WAR AT SEA:

The British released their massive dreadnoughts during the battles at sea. The Germans
responded by launching submarines. The idea was to bomb British ships using these
submarines so that they could not make deliveries on the western front.

6. THE BATTLE OF VERDUN AND RIVER SOMME.

 These battles were fought in 1916 as the war progressed. They were fought at Verdun
and river some. The Germans made a fierce attack on France, hoping to knock the
French out of the war once and for all.
  Unfortunately, the French resisted and both sides lost almost a million military
personnel each.
 The British organised a major attack against Germany on river some.
 The weather was dreadful torrential rainfall and blizzards. The trenches became very
muddy and uninhabitable. The Germans pumped sewage into British trenches and this
caused an immediate outbreak of diseases and infections.
 As the cold winter wore off, the British and
Germans switched to more confrontational
methods of fighting. The British were
mowed down by German machine guns.
 The British responded by sending in tanks
but they would often get stuck in the mud.
They resorted to air strikes where they
dropped missiles from aeroplanes onto the
German trenches.

7. THE BRITISH NAVAL BLOCKADE (ECONOMIC WARFARE).

 The British naval blockade was a system of economic warfare. It entailed the British detaining German ships,
searching them and denying them free passage on the seas.
 That way, supplies could not get to where they were needed on time. This frustrated the Germans as their forces
were getting demotivated on the frontlines.

8. THE U-BOAT CAMPAIGN AND US ENTRY INTO THE WAR.

 In 1917, Germany was extremely exhausted from the war effort. Her ally’s turkey and
Austria Hungary had failed to hold the fronts in eastern and central Europe.
 Italy had deserted and Germany was in a desperate situation. The British naval
blockade made things worse because German ships were stuck for several weeks at
the seas whilst German troops languished.
 The Germans decided to confront the problem head on.
 The German military launched unrestricted submarine warfare against Britain and her
allies.
 This means that they would attack any ship that was aiding Britain. Two American
ships that were carrying passengers were sunk by German submarines. The Germans
claimed they had no idea the ship was carrying American civilians. The us government
did not buy this since Germany was conducting unrestricted submarine warfare.
 Also, a secret telegram had leaked between the German government and the
Mexican government. It showed that Germany was interfering in politics that
directly threatened use.
 The us government declared war on Germany in 1917 and joined the allies.
 The defeat of Germany and her allies.
 Perhaps one of the greatest questions of the day is whether Germany was defeated or
she surrendered.
 In 1918, things were not going well for the German army. Many generals had been
sacked and soldiers on the war front were deserting. Kaiser Wilhelm ii abdicated in
1918 and left the country in a dire mess. Without a leader, Germany was forced into a
surrender. The us entry into the war had been a major source of defeat for Germany.
Her allies, too, had given up on the other fronts.
 The war was concluded, but Germany was to be made accountable for all her war
crimes. Germany was labelled as the principal cause of the war and thus was to be
punished accordingly.
 The victorious allies took full command of punishing Germany and her defeated allies.
Germany was to be treated like a criminal. The punishment on Germany was very
harsh and involved taking away
valuable territory, making Germany
pay reparations and disarming
the German military and navy. The
Germans detested the manner in
which the war was concluded and felt
that they had been cornered to accept
 humiliating and unfair terms. This unfair treatment of Germany was to lead to the rise
of Hitler and the outbreak of world war two.

CONSEQUENCES OF WORLD WAR ONE.

 There were a number of consequences of the First World War.

1. POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES:

(A) PEACE TREATIES:

All the defeated countries were forced to sign peace treaties in which they accepted the war
guilt clause, lost land, were forced to disarm and were to pay reparations. The most
devastating of these treaties was the treaty of Versailles signed with Germany in 1919. In
total, Germany lost about 13% of her territory and 7 million citizens. Austria Hungary also
suffered a similar fate with Austria and Hungary being separated and forced to sign separate
treaties. Austria signed the treaty of sty germane where she lost 4/5 of her total population.
Hungary signed the treaty of treason and lost about 2/3 of its population. Turkey also signed a
peace treaty known as the treaty of serves. Bulgaria signed the treaty of Neuilly.

(B) COLLAPSE OF EUROPEAN EMPIRES.

The first world war led to the collapse of 4 main empires in Europe and these were; the tsarist
regime or Romanov empire, the German Hohenzollern empire, the Turkish empire and the
Hapsburg or austral Hungarian empire. These empires were replaced with new systems
of government.

(C) CREATION OF NEW STATES:

The entire map of Europe had to be redrawn after the First World War. There are a number of
new states that were created after the war. These were Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia,
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. These states were created by taking various regions
from different European countries.

(D) BALANCE OF POWER.

The reduction in size of defeated countries in Europe like Germany and France tilted the
balance of power once again. Britain and France emerged as powerful after the defeat of
Germany and her allies. Although Russia had been an ally to Britain and France,
domestic problems that had led to the fall of the tsarist monarchy and the rise of the
communist dictatorship ensured there were new problems in Eastern Europe. The soviet
Russia was now frowned upon by her former allies and basically ‘left out’ by the other powers.

(E) LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

At the suggestion of the American president, Woodrow Wilson, all nations were to form a
brotherhood of nations. This organisation would promote international dialogue and
cooperation to avoid a future world war. Some of the defeated powers were not allowed to
immediately join and benefit from the League of Nations. The league would look into political
and social issues in the world, and promote the dignity and wellbeing of all human beings on
earth.

(F) THE RISE OF DICTATORSHIPS.

The world seemed to be doing quite well in terms of preventing a future world war; until the
great depression of 1929 hit. It originated in America and was basically the crash of the us
dollar on Wall Street as a result of gambling in stocks. This had a profound effect on
world economies. The League of Nations became very weak at this point because its main
objective was now to save as many jobs as it could. This involved turning a blind eye to more
political issues. This paved the way for dictators such as Hitler, Mussolini and General Franco
to emerge in Europe and ultimately drive the world to a second world war.

2. ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES:

(A) TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS.

There were many new inventions that were made after the First World War. More countries
invested in technological advancement. Many household appliances were developed during
this period like refrigerators, stoves, telephones, washing machines and vacuum cleaners.

(B) WAR DEBTS AND COLLAPSE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE:

Almost all European countries were heavily in debt because of the war. Industry and
production had been on a virtual standstill since the war started. There were massive job
losses as the military was downsized in every country now that the war was over. The allies
borrowed money from use after the war. These loans were to be repaid over a number of
years with interest. During the early years after the war, many economies struggled as
nations sought to stabilise their new government systems and reboot production in industries.
This affected world trade. There was also a heavy reliance on American goods and services, a
phenomenon which led to what became known as the ‘boom’ in American history. This is
when American industries flourished as a result of the demand of goods and services in
Europe after the Great War.

3. SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES:

(A) DISPLACED PERSONS AND REFUGEES.

There were a number of social problems that emerged after the Great War. Although the war
had been concluded peacefully, the effects
would last for many generations. There were
many displaced people all over Europe after
the war. These people had nowhere to go or
no means to make a living. They were
minorities in the countries where they lived
and were therefore subject to abuse by the
local governments in those regions or by the
general society. Such people required
decent housing, piped water, access to
education and health care and legal
documents to secure employment or return
to their original countries.

(B) THE RISE OF NEW-AGE IDEAS.

There were many new age ideas that emerged from the Great War. Many European soldiers
interacted with American soldiers and were influenced strongly by the principles of
democracy. This led to a change in the class order of society. New opportunities were given to
ordinary people like the right to vote. This elevated the social status of many people to
‘gentlemen’.
Women were also emancipated nag given rights to seek employment and assert greater
independence for themselves. They were now permitted by law to own properties and seek a
legal divorce if they so desired. Other new age ideas that infiltrated society were feminism
and homosexuality.

(c) UNEMPLOYMENT AND CRIME.

There were many social problems after the war.
Homes had been devastated with many households
running without males. Those who survived the war
were severely handicapped and could not have
normal lives thereafter. This created a lot of tensions
in the home. Ex-soldiers were supposed to receive
pensions from their governments to cater for their
welfare, but failing economies and inflation eroded
these initiatives. Many ex-soldiers were still armed
and therefore engaged in criminal activity. This
involved petty crimes like robbery and other more
serious ones like insurrections against the
government. Many ex-soldiers felt that the world had
forgotten their contributions and sacrifices in the war. It required international, concerted
action to bring about a positive and lasting change to the world.