This war lasted for about 4 years (officially from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918). In essence, this is the first military conflict on a global scale, in which 38 of the 59 independent states that existed at that time were involved.
The First World War is a war between two coalitions of powers: the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria) and the Entente (Russia, France, Great Britain, Serbia, later Japan, Italy, Romania, the USA, etc.; a total of 34 states ).
Causes of World War I
The reason for the outbreak of hostilities in 1914 was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo by a Serbian nationalist, a member of the Young Bosnia organization, Gavrilo Princip. However, from the very beginning of the First World War, historians have been concerned about a more significant question: what were the reasons for its start?
The reasons for the outbreak of the First World War are likely to be many. But most historians are inclined to regard the main of them as the competing interests of the largest European powers. What were these interests from the point of view of historians?
Great Britain (as part of the Entente)
Fearing a potential German threat, she abandoned the country's traditional policy of "isolation" and switched to the policy of forming an anti-German bloc of states.
She did not want to put up with the penetration of Germany into areas that she considered "her own": East and South-West Africa. And she also wanted to take revenge on Germany for supporting the Boers in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. In this connection, she was already waging an undeclared economic and trade war against Germany and was actively preparing in case of aggressive actions by Germany.
France (as part of the Entente)
She wanted to recoup the defeat inflicted on her by Germany in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
She wanted to return Alsace and Lorraine, separated from France in 1871.
She could not come to terms with her losses in traditional markets due to competition with German goods.
Feared a new German aggression.
Russia (as part of the Entente)
She demanded a revision in her favor of the regime of control over the Dardanelles, because she wanted to have free passage for her fleet in the Mediterranean Sea.
She assessed the construction of the Berlin-Baghdad railway (1898) as an act unfriendly to Germany. Russia saw this construction as an infringement on its rights in Asia. Although, as historians note, in 1911 these differences with Germany were settled by the Potsdam Agreement.
She did not want to put up with the Austrian penetration into the Balkans and the fact that Germany was gaining strength and began to dictate its terms in Europe.
She wanted to dominate all the Slavic peoples, so she supported anti-Austrian and anti-Turkish sentiments among the Serbs and Bulgarians in the Balkans.
Serbia (as part of the Entente)
Having gained full independence only in 1878, she sought to establish herself in the Balkans as the leader of the Slavic peoples of the peninsula.
She wanted to form Yugoslavia, including all the Slavs living in the south of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Unofficially supported the nationalist organizations that fought against Austria-Hungary and Turkey.
German Empire ( Triple Alliance)
As an economically developed country, it aspired to military, economic and political dominance on the European continent.
Since Germany needed markets, and entered the struggle for colonies only after 1871, joining the struggle for colonies only after 1871, she longed to gain equal rights in the colonial possessions of England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal.
In the Entente, she saw an alliance against herself in order to undermine her power.
Austria-Hungary (Triple Alliance)
Due to its multinationality, it played the role of a permanent hotbed of instability in Europe.
She fought to keep Bosnia and Herzegovina captured by her in 1908.
Opposed to Russia, because Russia took on the role of defender of all Slavs in the Balkans, and Serbia.
USA (supported the Entente)
Here historians do not express themselves specifically, citing only the fact that before the First World War the United States was the world's largest debtor, and after the war became the sole world creditor.
These are the causes of the First World War cited by historians.
62. Analyze the content of the diplomacy of the Entente countries during the First World War.
The First World War is a war between two coalitions of powers: Central Powers, or Quadruple Union(Germany, Austria-Hungary, Türkiye, Bulgaria) and Entente(Russia, France, Great Britain).
In addition to these main countries, more than twenty states grouped on the side of the Entente, and the term "Entente" began to be used to refer to the entire anti-German coalition. Thus, the anti-German coalition included the following countries: Andorra, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Italy (since May 23, 1915), Japan, Liberia, Montenegro , Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Siam, USA, Uruguay
Negotiations on the division of future booty began in the camp of the Entente soon after the start of the war. On September 5, 1914, an agreement was concluded between Russia, England and France, according to which they mutually undertook:
- not to conclude in the ongoing war separate peace;
- "when the time comes to discuss the terms of peace, none of the allies will lay down peace terms without prior agreement with each of the other allies."
On September 14, 1914, Sazonov outlined to Ambassadors Paleologus and Buchanan the main milestones of the future world. This program assumed the defeat of the German Empire and its allies. Its content was as follows: 1. Accession to Russia of the lower reaches of the Neman, Eastern Galicia, the transition of Poznan, Silesia and Western Galicia to the future Poland. 2. The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France, the transfer to her "at her discretion" of the Rhineland and the Palatinate. 3. A significant increase in Belgium at the expense of German territories. 4. Return of Denmark Schleswig and Holstein. 5. Restoration of the Hanoverian kingdom. 6. The transformation of Austria-Hungary into a triune monarchy, consisting of Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary. 7. Transfer of Bosnia, Herzegovina, Dalmatia and northern Albania to Serbia. 8. The reward of Bulgaria at the expense of Serbian Macedonia and the annexation of southern Albania to Greece. 9. Transfer of Valona to Italy. 10. Partition of the German colonies between England, France and Japan. 11. Payment of military indemnity. September 26 Sazonov put forward Additional requirements Russia in relation to Turkey: Russia should receive a guarantee of free passage of its warships through the straits. Russia did not present any claims to the seizure of Turkish territory.
The question of dividing Turkey was first raised by British diplomacy. Responding to Sazonov's suggestion, Gray opined that if Turkey were to join Germany, "it would have to cease to exist."
In general, Gray accepted Sazonov's offer. But he called for the inclusion in the future "peace" program of demands for the extradition of the German fleet and the neutralization of the Kiel Canal. He also insisted on taking into account the territorial interests of Italy and Romania. Finally, Gray objected to the transfer of the Rhineland to France. Thus, from the very first months of the war, Anglo-French contradictions emerged, which subsequently developed so widely at the peace conference in 1919. Obviously, under pressure from British diplomacy, the French government was forced to declare that its territorial demands in Europe were limited to Alsace and Lorraine.
Because of the division of the Turkish inheritance, already in 1914 a diplomatic struggle unfolded between the allies. On November 9, in a conversation with Benckendorff, Gray tried to convince him that the Russian government should not use Persian territory for military operations against Turkey. At the same time, Gray developed the favorite motifs of both Western allies: Russia should not divert forces from the German front. The fight against Germany will also determine the outcome of the war against Turkey. For greater persuasiveness, Gray added that if Germany was defeated, then the fate of Constantinople and the straits would be decided in accordance with the interests of Russia. Such promises testified that the activity of the Russian army, despite the Marne, was extremely necessary for the Western Front. Soon the words of Gray were repeated by Benckendorff and the king. George V was even more specific: he explicitly stated that Constantinople "must be yours." But in the official English note of November 14, addressed to the Russian government, the main motive came to the fore: it was necessary to send maximum forces to the German front, and to limit ourselves to defense on the Turkish front. To this was added the assurance that the question of the straits and Constantinople "should be resolved in agreement with Russia." Thus, on paper, Gray spoke less clearly than in oral conversations.
On March 12, 1915, by an official note, England undertook to give Russia the city of Constantinople with a small hinterland, including the western coast of the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, the Gallipoli Peninsula and southern Thrace along the Enos-Media line. Further, Russia was to receive the eastern coast of the Bosporus to the Ismid Gulf, the islands of the Sea of Marmara and the islands of Imbros and Tenedos. Russia received all this at the end of the war and only if England and France carried out their plans in Asiatic Turkey and in other areas. The British demanded in particular the annexation of the neutral zone of Persia to the sphere of British influence. The Russian government agreed, basically accepting these conditions. On April 10, France also agreed with the terms of the Anglo-Russian deal.
Short
Great Britain:
· Germany - the main rival in European politics, in trade at sea and in the struggle for colonies;
· An undeclared economic and trade war took place between countries;
Great Britain could not forgive Germany for supporting the Boers in the Boer War of 1899–1902
· It sought to take away from Turkey the oil-rich lands of Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula.
These and other foreign policy interests led Britain to abandon the policy of "brilliant isolation" and join the anti-German alliance.
France:
Germany is the main enemy on the European continent;
· Strived to take revenge for the defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870;
· She hoped to return Alsace and Lorraine, to join the Saar coal basin and the Ruhr;
· French goods could not compete with German in the European market;
· Afraid of losing colonies in North Africa.
For these reasons, France became an active participant in the anti-German bloc.
Russia:
· Strived to expand its territory at the expense of Austria-Hungary, annexing Galicia;
· Claimed control over the Black Sea straits Bosphorus and Dardanelles;
· Considered the construction of the Berlin-Baghdad railway as a violation of the agreement on the division of spheres of influence in the Balkans;
· With the help of a victorious war, Russia sought to postpone the time for solving urgent domestic problems.
To solve these problems, Russia found allies in the person of Great Britain and France.
Terms of the Compiègne truce:
Cessation of hostilities;
Withdrawal of German troops from occupied territories in the West
· Occupation by the troops of the Entente and the US areas on the left bank of the Rhine;
· Surrender of German troops in East Africa;
· Transfer to the Entente of a significant part of the German weapons;
· Return of prisoners of war of the Entente countries;
· Germany's rejection of the Bucharest and Brest-Litovsk peace treaties.
The results of the war;
Ended with the victory of countries that personified the process of developing democracy (Great Britain, France, USA)
· Huge loss of life: 10 million killed and died from wounds and 20 million wounded;
· A large number of military personnel: during the war, over 25 million people were mobilized in the army of the German bloc, in the Entente countries - 48 million people.
Improving the strategy of modern warfare: large-scale military operations, widespread use military equipment(tanks, submarines, aircraft, artillery)
· Significant material costs: estimated at about $1 trillion.
63. Analyze the content of the diplomacy of the Quadruple Bloc countries during the First World War.
Quadruple union - the military-political bloc of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, which opposed the Entente countries in the First World War of 1914-1918.
The attack of the bourgeoisie on the working class
From the spring of 1919 to the summer of 1920, the British economy experienced a commercial and industrial boom. It was caused by an increased demand for consumer goods, the output of which was sharply reduced during the war years. However, the purchasing power of the workers was limited. The standard of living of the masses was undermined by inflation. Prices for basic necessities rose rapidly. The capacity of foreign markets was also small. In the middle of 1920 England entered the economic crisis.
Coal mining, iron and steel smelting, shipbuilding, and textile production have all declined. The volume of foreign trade has significantly decreased. The number of bankruptcies has increased. In the summer of 1921, a fifth of the members of the trade unions were unemployed. Lloyd George's government cut social spending and raised taxes. In October 1920 Parliament passed a reactionary Emergency Powers Act, which gave the government broad powers to crack down on the labor movement.
After this, the bourgeoisie went over to a broad offensive against the working class. In 1921, entrepreneurs reduced the wages of 6 million workers. But the workers continued to resist. Communists took an active part in the leadership of this movement. They called on the workers to stop the offensive of the bourgeoisie, to overcome the isolation of the trade unions and create a single leading center. In 1921 the General Council of the Congress of Trade Unions was formed. The leadership of this body was in the hands of right-wing trade union leaders. The leaders of the Labor Party and the trade unions, by their conciliatory policy, disarmed and divided the working class. The organization of the labor movement weakened. The ranks of the trade unions decreased in 1921-1923. for 3 million people.
The struggle of British imperialism against the national liberation movement
In an effort to weaken the national liberation movement in the colonies and to strengthen their national liberation positions there, the British ruling circles undertook a number of political maneuvers. In order to prevent the growth of the revolutionary struggle in India, the British government worked out in 1919 a project to reform the administration of this colony. The anti-imperialist struggle in India reached its peak in 1921. At the head of the popular movement was the Indian National Congress, the party of the patriotic national bourgeoisie, led by Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi. In the midst of the struggle, the Congress, fearful of the masses getting out of its control, called on the people to stop the campaign of civil disobedience against the British administration. The anti-imperialist movement in India began to wane.
IN post-war years the struggle of the Egyptian people also unfolded, which came out for complete release from the rule of the British, who imposed a protectorate regime on the country. Britain's rejection of Egypt's lawful demands provoked an armed uprising there in the spring of 1919. Fearing the victory of the people, the national bourgeoisie entered into an agreement with the British authorities. The uprising of the masses was suppressed, but the struggle continued. In December 1921, Egypt was again engulfed in revolt. The British government had to make a partial concession. It formally proclaimed Egypt an independent kingdom, but retained its troops on its territory and exercised economic and political control over the country.
With particular tenacity, the Irish people sought freedom and independence. The national liberation war of the Irish people against British imperialism lasted from 1919 to 1921. However, the Irish proletariat was not yet strong enough. But the Sinn Fein party was active. In January 1919, after winning the elections to the British Parliament, the Sinn Feiners convened the first Irish Parliament in Dublin, which proclaimed the independence of Ireland. I. De Valera became president. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched active hostilities against the British troops and police. Against the backdrop of other events, England found itself in unpleasant circumstances. So in December 1921, a peace treaty was signed between Great Britain and Ireland. Ireland (with the exception of the six most industrialized counties of the North East, which remained part of the United Kingdom) received the status of a dominion (the so-called Irish Free State). However, Great Britain retained military bases in Ireland. However, the majority did not like such a soft treaty towards the British, and a split occurred in the party of shinfeiners. As a result, in Ireland itself began Civil War(192223). With the help of partial concessions, the British imperialists succeeded in splitting the ranks of the national liberation movement in the colonies and dependent countries. Thus, the crisis of the British Empire was alleviated.
Conservatives in power
The government of Lloyd George faced serious difficulties both domestically and internationally. The government of Lloyd George, taking into account the mood in business circles, was forced to enter into negotiations with the Soviet government, which ended with the signing of the Anglo-Soviet trade agreement on March 16, 1921. England recognized de facto the Soviet government. After this contradiction in the British leadership on the question of relations with Soviet Russia even more aggravated. War Secretary Churchill, Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon and others demanded the continuation of the interventionist policy. Lloyd George, on the contrary, believed that the restoration of capitalism in Russia could be achieved through financial pressure, trade and the penetration of foreign capital into the Russian economy.
In the current situation, the continued existence of the coalition of liberals and conservatives was in jeopardy. Some of the leaders of the conservative party (Austin Chamberlain, Balfour) spoke out in favor of maintaining the coalition. Another part of the Conservatives (Baldwin, Bonar Law) believed that the Liberals had fulfilled their mission and, in the conditions of the decline of the revolutionary movement, England could have a one-party government. Influential bourgeois circles expressed dissatisfaction with Lloyd George's concessions on domestic and colonial issues, considering them excessive. On the eve of the 1922 elections, the Conservatives withdrew their support for the coalition. On October 19, 1922, Lloyd George's government resigned.
The new all-Conservative cabinet was led by Andrew Bonar Law. The government dissolved Parliament and called elections, in which the Conservatives won. Great success was achieved by the Laborites, who took the place of the Shor Party in Parliament. The Liberal Party has lost its former role.
The conservatives tried again to resort to an interventionist policy towards the Soviet state. On May 8, 1923, Lord Curzon sent a note to the Soviet government containing a number of false accusations and ultimatum demands. There was a threat of breaking the trade agreement. The Soviet government rejected Curzon's ultimatum, but made some concessions of a private nature in order to peacefully resolve the conflict. The attacks on the USSR aroused indignation among the British workers, who demanded the recognition of the Soviet Union.
In order to ensure the recovery of the economy of England, which was experiencing stagnation, the Conservatives intended to raise duties on imported goods and, with the help of protectionism, improve the economic situation of the country. Stanley Baldwin, the prime minister, hoped that new elections under the slogan of protectionist tariffs would unite the party and eliminate the divisions at the top that had arisen when discussing the issue of a coalition with the Liberals. Indeed, the differences in the leadership of the party were weakened, but in the elections of December 6, 1923, the conservatives were defeated.
General strike
British General Strike (May 1926), largest social conflict in the history of England in the 20th century. After the Baldwin government set the pound sterling high and returned to the gold standard, English coal rose in price on the world market and its exports began to fall. The coal industry has entered a period of crisis. The owners of the mines said that the exit from it is a simultaneous reduction in production and wages. The miners called on the General Council of the British Trade Unions to support them and began to prepare for a strike. Baldwin, in an attempt to prevent conflict, gave subsidies to the coal industry. At the same time, a Royal Commission was formed to study the true state of affairs in the industry. She recommended the rationalization of the industry, the closure of obviously unprofitable mines and agreed with the need for some reduction in wages. The miners' union rejected these proposals. Then the government stopped paying subsidies to the industry, and the mine owners announced a massive layoff of lockout miners. The General Council of Trade Unions called for a general strike. It began on May 4, 1926. More than 2.5 million people took part in the strike, including a million laid-off miners, but it never became truly general. The most active participants in the strike were workers in transport, the printing industry, and the steel industry. B.C. the leader of the Labor Party MacDonald and many leaders of branch trade unions did not openly support it. Under these conditions, the General Council hastened to agree to minor amendments to the commission's report. When the miners' union rejected this concession, the General Council unexpectedly announced the end of the general strike from May 12th. It was a real surrender. The miners held out until November, but were forced to retreat. Taking advantage of the defeat of the trade unions, Parliament passed laws prohibiting solidarity strikes, civil servants were forbidden to join trade unions that are members of the British Congress of Trade Unions.
Defeat of the Conservatives
During 1924-1929 the conservative government of S. Baldwin could not bring the British economy out of the crisis and solve the problem of unemployment, the society needed changes. In 1928, an electoral reform was carried out that equalized the rights of men and women, which increased the number of voters from 21.75 to 28.85 million (British, 1994, p. 240). Gradually, confidence in Labor was restored, which affected the results of the 1929 parliamentary elections. Labor won 288 seats, while the Conservatives received 260 seats (Cook, 2001, p. 98). However, having regained power, the Laborites faced a growing global economic crisis, the problem of unemployment, and were even forced to curtail social programs, which extremely outraged the workers, ordinary members of the party. Evidence of the deep crisis of the Labor Party was the expulsion of James Ramsay MacDonald and his followers from its ranks. The exiles formed the National Labor Party, which in 1931 entered into a coalition with the Conservatives and Liberals to form the National Government. In the parliamentary elections of 1931, the total losses of the Labor Party amounted to more than 200 seats.
Results of the First World War for England
The First World War and the victory of the revolution had a great influence on the further development of England and the entire British Empire. England was one of the victorious powers, but its financial and economic positions were seriously weakened as a result of the war. There was an acute shortage of raw materials and wear and tear of outdated equipment.
During the war years, agricultural production increased. 3.75 million acres of grazing land have been plowed up and planted with grain crops. However, food was in short supply. England was still dependent on food imports.
The export of British goods during the war was almost halved. At the same time, imports almost doubled, for which loans abroad were required. The public debt of Great Britain increased by more than 12 times during the war years. Foreign investments decreased by 25%.
The military losses of England amounted to 743 thousand killed and 1693 thousand wounded. The burden of war lay its weight on the shoulders of the people. The position of the working class worsened. Work in military factories required a lot of effort, but wages were low. The rising cost of living and poor living conditions further exacerbated material difficulties. The aggravation of class contradictions led to the rise of the labor movement.
After the US and Japan, England benefited the most from the war. Her main rival - Germany - was temporarily disabled. At the expense of German possessions in Africa and territories taken from Turkey, the British colonial empire expanded. The total size of territorial increments amounted to 2.6 million square meters. km, and the population of the new colonies is over 9 million people. England accounted for a significant part of the reparations that Germany undertook to pay under Treaty of Versailles.
The English bourgeoisie greeted the birth of the Land of Soviets with undisguised hatred. England was one of the main organizers and participants in the military intervention in Soviet Russia.
Results of the First World War The British Empire expanded due to the German colonies in Africa and the territories taken away from Turkey. In 1914 -1918, new industries were developed that produced military products - automotive, aviation, chemical. As a result of the war, she was seriously weakened, losing a third of her national wealth. Industrial production fell by 20%.
The consequences of the First World War for Great Britain world war Great Britain passed as part of the Entente military-political bloc; continuously developing, the country achieved its goal by defeating the bloc of the Central Powers (German Empire, Austria. Hungary, Ottoman Empire and the Bulgarian kingdom).
Effects of World War I on Britain Positive sides Imports almost doubled, for which loans abroad were required. Negative sides The export of British goods during the war was almost halved. England began to be forced out in the foreign market. In 1914 - 1918. New branches of industry producing military products have been developed. Increased steel production. Production in the old industries (coal mining, shipbuilding, etc.) has declined significantly. Disproportions in industry hampered the development of the economy; for a long time, English industry remained uncompetitive.
Consequences of the First World War for Great Britain Positive sides Negative sides Due to the German colonies in Africa and the territories taken from Turkey, the British colonial empire expanded. Industrial production fell by 20%. England accounted for a significant part of the reparations that Germany undertook to pay under the Treaty of Versailles. Financial and economic Britain's position was seriously weakened by the war. The United States ousted England in the foreign market. England's rivals in Europe were France, in Asia - Japan.
Liberals are representatives of an ideological and socio-political trend that unites supporters of representative government and individual freedom, and in the economy - freedom of enterprise.
Conservatives 1) an adherent of conservative views, an opponent of progress and change. 2) In the UK and a number of other states, a member of the Conservative Party.
Arthur Neville Chamberlain British statesman, leader of the Conservative Party. In 1923-1924 and 1931-1937. Chancellor of the Exchequer. Prime Minister of Great Britain 1937-1940. Adhered to a pro-German position. She was closely associated with the German financial and industrial magnates and advocated cooperation with Germany.
George Frederick Ernest Albert King of Great Britain from the Windsor dynasty, who ruled from 1910-1936. He received a naval education and served in the navy. During World War I, George V changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg. Gothic to Windsor. During the economic crisis in 1931, he accelerated the protracted negotiations of party leaders and proposed the candidacy of Macdonald as head of the coalition government.
Macdonald James Ramsay British politician and statesman. One of the leaders and founders of the Labor Party. During the years of the Great Depression (1931-1935) he formed a government with the Conservatives, giving the latter the majority of seats in the cabinet, for which he was expelled from the Labor Party.
David Lloyd George British politician, the last Prime Minister of Great Britain from the Liberal Party (1916-1922).
CONCLUSION: Great Britain had a huge colonial empire. She tried to solve her economic problems through the British Cooperation and unite the empire. Unlike the United States, England did not carry out programs of large, cheap construction and public works, but important measures were taken to expand social insurance and help the unemployed. Britain has traditionally refrained from participating in coalitions with countries of Eastern Europe. But at the same time, since 1939, Britain announced guarantees of the independence of Poland, Romania and Greece.
The consequences of the First World War for England. The First World War had severe consequences for the British economy. Despite the fact that she was among the victorious countries and one of her main competitors, Kaiser's Germany, was defeated, England emerged from the war very weakened.
The war put a lot of stress on the economy. Never before has the country produced so many weapons for such a huge army and navy. If in 1914 military spending accounted for 19% of the national income, then in 1916 it was 56.3%. While industries that worked directly for the war were intensively developing, the rest were in decline: in general industrial production decreased by 20%. Hundreds of thousands of able-bodied people were mobilized into the army, the industry experienced a shortage work force. During the war years, foreign trade turnover more than halved, exports suffered especially, the exchange of banknotes for gold ceased, the pound sterling depreciated, taxes increased almost sevenfold. The British government was forced to sell £800 million worth of foreign securities. Art., which, along with internal and external loans, served as a source of financing military spending.
During the war, the tendency to rally English entrepreneurs in the face of objective difficulties intensified noticeably. In 1916, the Federation of British Industry was created, which united thousands of firms and hundreds of associations and had the goal of resisting foreign competitors in the struggle for sources of raw materials and markets. Later, already in the post-war years, the British Bankers Association (1920) arose.
During the war years, the British government tried to protect domestic industry, so import duties were set on a number of goods in the amount of 33% of their value. In particular, these duties greatly helped the young British car industry in its fight against American competitors.
In the same period, England faced a rather acute food problem, since military operations prevented the import of food, and there was simply not enough money to buy it. This forced the government to take a series of measures aimed at
support for the agricultural sector of the country. In 1917, state purchases of agricultural products from farmers at favorable prices were introduced, and a guaranteed minimum wage was established for employees working on farms. Land formerly occupied by pastures was re-ploughed, increasing the area under grain crops by 3.75 million acres. This made it possible to raise the grain harvest by a third, but the food problem was never solved. England was still forced to buy from abroad a large number of food.
At the end of the war, the British government managed to carry out a number of measures to maintain the living standards of workers employed in the branches of the military-industrial complex, as well as soldiers demobilized from the front. So, from November 1917, 200 thousand workers began to receive increased (by 12.5%) wages, and demobilized soldiers were guaranteed benefits up to their employment. Of course, not all 4 million demobilized military personnel were able to find work. Most of them, in the conditions of post-war stagnation, remained outside the scope of production activities. Unemployment benefits were also paid to workers employed in military production if their enterprises ceased to operate.
As a result of the war, England lost 743 thousand people killed, 1.5 million were injured, the country lost almost a third of its national wealth. Substantial part navy was destroyed during the fighting, in addition, up to 70% of the English merchant fleet was sunk.
And although under the Treaty of Versailles, England received a significant part of the reparations from Germany, the British financial system was in a deep crisis. Since the total cost of the war exceeded 11 billion pounds. Art., domestic public debt increased by more than 12 times compared with the pre-war level (from 0.6 billion pounds. St. in 1914 to 7.8 billion in 1918). External debt by the end of the war amounted to 1.15 billion pounds. st., of which 850 million (or $4 billion) is debt to the United States. Payments on this debt dragged on for many years, annually accounting for up to 40% of all expenses. state budget countries. London gradually lost its role as a world financial center. In this capacity, New York and Amsterdam became more and more famous, and England turned from a world creditor into a debtor (primarily the United States).
Britain's economic situation was greatly influenced by the fact that after the revolution in October 1917, Russia, which had previously acted as its traditional partner, fell out of the sphere of investment of British capital. England lost huge incomes from the mining, oil, coal mining and gold mining industries. The traditional Russian market for the sale of industrial goods was also lost. This forced the British government to accept Active participation in the military intervention of the Entente countries against Russia, but this action did not bring success to England.
Under the Versailles Peace Treaty, almost all German and Turkish colonies in the Middle East, Africa and Oceania passed to England. Under English control Southwest Africa, most of Tanganyika, a third of Togo, part of Cameroon and New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Mesopotamia, Transjordan, Palestine and others were included. The British colonial empire increased to 35 million square meters. km, and its population was now 450 million people. Half of Africa's population lived in the British colonies.
The expansion of the colonies made it possible to improve the supply of raw materials and food to the metropolis. However, the decline in international economic ties and the weakening of the world positions of England had a negative impact on its relations with countries within the sphere of British interests. The presence of American and Japanese goods and capital was increasingly felt in the markets of colonial and dependent countries.
For more than two centuries, England dominated the oceans. It has always been believed that the power of its fleet should be at least no less than that of the fleets of any two countries in the world combined. But at a conference in Washington (1922), England had to agree to bring its fleet to the level of the American one. This decision had a significant impact on the international prestige of Great Britain and hurt the pride of British politicians.
Immediately after the First World War, the British economy experienced a short-term recovery, which was associated with the export of equipment to Europe to restore the destroyed economy, as well as with the partial satisfaction of the population’s demand for consumer goods that had been deferred during the war. But by the end of 1920 this revival of the economy began to wane.
In 1919-1928, the British economy experienced a period of prolonged chronic depression, resulting in a decline in economic activity. England was one of the few industrialized countries that never managed to reach pre-war levels by the mid-1920s: total industrial products in 1924 was only 91% of the same figure in 1913. And it was only in 1929 that industrial production reached its pre-war levels with difficulty.
inevitable process post-war conversion was associated with a reduction in the role of the state in the economy. The implementation of this task was entrusted to the government of David Lloyd George (one of the leaders of the Liberal Party), which already in 1919 abolished almost all the control bodies created during the war. But despite the fact that the government organized the sale of a significant number of military factories, four times more enterprises remained in the hands of the state than before the war. This indicated that the government had no intention of abandoning state regulation of the economy.
So, in 1921, control over railways, for which the railway companies were combined into four regional groups. The state began to play a significant role in social sphere, it carried out programs for housing construction and assistance to the unemployed, developed a system public education. Since 1918, a universal initial education children under 14 free of charge. The Labor government led by James Macdonald, which won the 1924 elections, carried out the same social programs. In the same years, indirect taxes (excise taxes on tea, sugar and other products) were partially reduced.
After the Russian-"Japanese" war of 1904-1905, which was also organized by the masters of England and the United States, in order to pit the Russians and the Japanese, to knock out Russian empire from the shores Pacific Ocean and force it to focus on European affairs (where the Balkan “powder magazine” was already being prepared and Russians were pitted against the Germans and Austrians), to rehearse the world war and the revolution in Russia, the main attention was focused on pitting the Russians against the Germans and Austrians. Now the main "ram" aimed at crushing the Russians and the Russian Empire was to be the German Empire in alliance with the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire.
It is clear that the masters of England and the United States needed to destroy all attempts by St. Petersburg and Berlin to get closer. This problem was successfully solved. All the rather timid attempts of Nicholas II to get closer to the German Kaiser were sunk (including the Bjork Treaty of 1905), all friendly signs of attention from Germany were ignored in St. Petersburg. A major role in this was played by the Russian Foreign Ministry and the agent of influence of the West - S. Witte. The most prominent opponents of the fight against Germany were able to neutralize. In particular, P. A. Stolypin was killed, and in 1914, when it came to war, G. Rasputin was assassinated (he was seriously wounded). In 1916, when Rasputin spoke decisively in favor of Russia withdrawing from the war and concluding a separate peace with Germany, which could save the monarchy and the Romanov dynasty, British intelligence, through the hands of the degenerate Russian aristocracy, organized the murder of the old man.
At the same time, in the external arena, they were preparing big war in Europe, the prerequisites for a clash of Russians with Germans and Austrians. First, in the 1890s, a Russo-French alliance was created against Germany. France was then Germany's main rival in Western Europe. Russia did not have to support the French to the detriment of its own national interest. The British then prepared the groundwork for an Anglo-French alliance. Paris, which also feared the growing power of Germany and longed for revenge for the war of 1870, forgot about colonial disputes and traditional enmity towards England. In 1904, the signing of the Anglo-French agreement (fr. Entente cordiale - lit. "cordial agreement") took place.
The next stage was the establishment of Russian-English relations, complicated by contradictions in Persia-Iran, in Central Asia and Far East. The Russian Foreign Ministry, fearing a confrontation with England, gladly fell into this trap. In August 1907, an Anglo-Russian agreement was signed. Russia recognized the British protectorate over Afghanistan; both sides recognized China's sovereignty over Tibet and gave up trying to control it. Persia was divided into three spheres of influence: Russian in the north, British in the south and neutral in the center of the country. The Entente was fully formed.
Thus, Britain created an anti-German alliance in Europe, received "cannon fodder" - Russians and French. At the same time, London managed to mislead Berlin, where, until the very beginning of the World War, they believed that England would remain neutral. If Germany had known that England would definitely take the side of France, there might not have been a war at all. Thus, the masters of Britain carried out a brilliant operation that created profitable scenarios for decades to come, aimed at playing off the main competitors of the Anglo-Saxons - Russians and Germans. Russia and Germany were skillfully led, doomed to death. Russia and Germany destroyed each other, and London and Washington received all the benefits. Also, the war was organized on the territory of the Old World, that is, continental Europe became a battlefield, and after the war needed material, financial and economic assistance from England and the United States.
At the same time, Russians and Austrians were actively pitted against each other. For this they used the Balkan problem. The new Balkan states were penetrated by the Masonic network, Masons, hiding behind nationalist slogans, actively pushed the Balkans to a big war. The great powers were drawn into the war - Turkey, Austria-Hungary (Germany was behind it) and Russia. Masons, with the help of Slavic nationalists, organized the assassination of the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand. The Austrian archduke was opposed to the war in the Balkans, which led to an inevitable clash with Russia, and wanted to reform the Habsburg empire - both the Habsburgs and the Slavic peoples benefited from the transformation of the dualistic empire into a "trialistic" one. As a result, the Balkan "powder magazine" rushed and provoked a pan-European fight.
Destroy, dismember and subjugate the Russian Empire - the Russian civilization, which was the only one on the planet that retained independence from the West, an autocratic form of government and had the potential to create an alternative, just world order and society. Capture the richest resources of Russia, necessary to consolidate the "new world order" - a slave-owning, infernal civilization;
To destroy a possible union of Germany and Russia, Germans and Russians - the great Aryan (Indo-European) peoples, who have a great culture and preserve the ideals of chivalry. The union of Germany and Russia (with the involvement of Japan in the East, in the future - China and India) could create an alternative world order that preserves peace and prosperity in Eurasia;
Played off Germany and France, all the main hostilities were to be conducted on the continent. As a result of the war, it led to a serious destruction of the economy, infrastructure of France, Germany, part of Italy, Austria-Hungary and the Balkans. England and the United States mostly fought in Europe with proxy, and as a result of the war they caved in old light under yourself. The Anglo-Saxon Protestant and Jewish elites sought complete dominance over the old Romano-Germanic elite. It was a hidden confrontation within the westernmost project. World War bled Germany, Austria-Hungary and France. The masters of England and the United States completely subjugated the European "houses".
Thus, the First World War became the war of the West against Russia and the war of England and the USA against Old Europe and Russia for absolute power on the planet.
At the same time, a cunning combination was played, in which Russia allegedly became an "ally and partner" of England and France (and then the United States). Although the main task of the Entente was the destruction of the gullible Russian "ally". England and France during the campaigns of 1914-1916. "fought to the last Russian soldier", exhausting the strength of their gullible "ally". The British and French themselves waged a positional war, and they demanded decisive action from the Russians, large-scale offensive operations. Russia was losing gold, giving it to its "allies" for the supply of military materials and ammunition. The gullible tsarist government even sent an expeditionary force to France to support the "allies". The country's economy was in disarray, the people, bled white and destitute during the war, were imbued with rebellious moods. "Allies" in the Entente prepared the ground for revolutionary explosion within the Russian Empire. Detachments of professional revolutionaries were trained from various socialists, nationalists and separatists, many of whom lived abroad and were supported from various funds and banks.
It is worth noting that at the beginning of the war, the masters of the West relied on the military defeat of Russia. The Russian empire was to fall from the burden of war. Or weaken so much that, at the end of the war, prevent it from sharing the booty and start an already open war and occupation of Russia. It is clear that France and England were not going to give Tsargrad-Constantinople, the straits and Galicia to St. Petersburg. After the division of the “skins” of the German bear, the division of a weakened and bled Russia should have followed. However, even with such “allies”, the mediocrity of the Russian high command and the collapse of the rear, Russia remained a powerful power. Since 1916, the growth of the military industry began, the Russian army during the Brusilov breakthrough showed high combat effectiveness. And the armies of France and England were also exhausted by the war. New big american army was unfired, with low combat capability. England and the United States, as island powers, were incapable of waging direct, traditional land wars. They were good at pirating at sea, crushing weak peoples and tribes, and organizing punitive operations. England, the USA and France were not ready to fight even with the weakened Russian Empire.
Leaving behind illusions about the military defeat of Russia and its collapse, the masters of the West realized that Russia can only be taken from within. Therefore, the main efforts were directed to the formation of the "fifth column". The main role was played by the Februaryists-Westerners - the bourgeois-pro-Western part of the social elite of Russia, the degenerate aristocracy, part of the generals, political and social forces that opposed the autocracy. Masonic structures acted as an organizational, binding force. Hysterical, slanderous propaganda against the imperial family, Rasputin, against all those statesmen, which still held back the decay processes.
royal power under these conditions was weak. She was unable to identify the goals of the "fifth column", its connections in the West and destroy the subversive, revolutionary forces. At the same time, it is worth remembering that everything should not be blamed on the Bolsheviks. They were then an extremely small, marginal party, were practically on the sidelines political life Russian Empire, as they came out from a defeatist position at the beginning of the war. The Russian Empire, the autocracy and the Romanov dynasty were toppled by the Februaryists-Westerners- members of the ruling dynasty itself, representatives of the degenerate aristocracy, senior officials, generals, liberal bourgeois circles, bankers and industrialists. The organizing force was the Masonic lodges, which were controlled by the masters of the West. Diplomats and intelligence agencies of the “allied” Western powers also took an active part.
