Introduction
1. The beginning of the war.
2. Causes and nature of the war.
4. Attitude towards the war of various classes and parties in Russia.
5. Results of the First World War.
Conclusion.
Introduction
Reasons why the first one started World War very many, but various scholars and various records of those years tell us that the main reason is that at that time Europe was developing very rapidly. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were no territories left in the world that were not captured by the capitalist powers. Germany during this period bypassed industrial production all of Europe, and since Germany had very few colonies, she sought to capture them. By capturing them, Germany would have new markets. At that time, England and France had very large colonies, so the interests of these countries often clashed.
I chose this topic because I decided to figure out why the war started? What was the reason for this? What technological advances occurred during the course of the war? Consequences of the First World War for Russia?
It seems to me that this topic in itself is very interesting. During the First World War, one can trace how the technical and economic development of each country developed. For four years of war we find, as new technical means affect the course of the war, how war helps to move scientific progress. The more economic and technological progress, the more murderous weapons appear, the more bloody the war itself becomes, and the more countries become participants in this war.
1. The beginning of the war
The immediate cause for the outbreak of hostilities was the assassination in Sarajevo of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. The Austrian-Hungarian government, with German approval, issued an ultimatum to Serbia, demanding freedom to interfere in Serbia's internal affairs. Despite the acceptance by Serbia of almost all conditions. Austria-Hungary declared war on July 28. Two days later, the Russian government, in response to the opening of hostilities by Austria-Hungary, announced a general mobilization. Germany used this as a pretext and launched a war against Russia on August 1, and against France on August 3. England declared war on Germany on 4 August. At the end of August, Japan came out on the side of the Entente, which decided to take advantage of the fact that Germany would be pinned down in the west and seize its colonies in the Far East. On October 30, 1914, Turkey entered the war on the side of the Entente.
In 1914, Italy did not enter the war, declaring its neutrality. She began hostilities in May 1915 on the side of the Entente. In April 1917, the United States entered the war on the side of the Entente.
The hostilities that began in August 1914 unfolded in several theaters and continued until November 1918. According to the nature of the tasks being solved and the military-political results achieved, the First World War is usually divided into five campaigns, each of which includes several operations.
2. Causes and nature of the war.
The First World War arose as a result of the intensification of the political and economic struggle between the major imperialist countries for markets and sources of raw materials, for the redistribution of the already divided world. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the division of the world was already completed, the globe there are no territories left that have not yet been captured by the capitalist powers, there are no more so-called "free spaces". “It has come,” V.I. Lenin, "the era of monopoly possession of colonies is inevitable, and, consequently, a particularly intensified struggle for the division of the world."
As a result of the uneven, spasmodic development of capitalism in the era of imperialism, some countries that took the capitalist path of development later than others in a short time overtook and surpassed in technical and economic terms such old colonial countries as England and France. Particularly indicative was the development of Germany, which by 1900 bypassed these countries in terms of industrial production, but was significantly inferior in size to colonial possessions. Because of this, the interests of Germany and England clashed most often. Germany openly sought to capture British markets in the Middle East and Africa.
The colonial expansion of Germany met with resistance from France, which also had huge colonies. Very sharp contradictions between the countries existed because of Alsace and Lorraine, captured by Germany back in 1871.
With its penetration into the Middle East, Germany created a threat to Russia's interests in the Black Sea basin. Austria-Hungary, acting in alliance with Germany, became a serious competitor to tsarist Russia in the struggle for influence in the Balkans.
The aggravation of foreign policy contradictions between the major countries led to the division of the world into two hostile camps and to the formation of two imperialist groupings: the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and the Tripartite Agreement, or Entente (England, France, Russia).
The war between the major European powers was beneficial to the US imperialists, since this struggle created favorable conditions for the further development of American expansion, especially in Latin America and in the Far East. American monopolies relied on the maximum benefit from Europe.
In preparing for war, the imperialists saw in it not only a means of resolving external contradictions, but also a means that could help them cope with the growing discontent of the population of their own countries and suppress the growing revolutionary movement. The bourgeoisie hoped in the course of the war to destroy the international solidarity of the workers, to physically exterminate the best part of the working class, for the socialist revolution.
Due to the fact that the war for the redivision of the world affected the interests of all imperialist countries, most of the world's states gradually became involved in it. The war became a world war, both in its political aims and in its scope.
By its nature, the war of 1914-1918. was imperialistic, predatory, unjust on both sides. It was a war for who had more to rob and oppress. Most of the parties of the Second International, having betrayed the interests of the working people, came out in favor of the war in support of the bourgeoisie and the governments of their countries.
The Bolshevik Party, headed by V.I. Lenin, having determined the nature of the war, called for a struggle against it, for the transformation of the imperialist war into a civil war.
3. Armed forces and plans of the parties.
In my opinion, the forces of each side were very great importance. By the beginning of the war, all major European states, except England, had standing armies, completing on the basis of universal conscription. In England, the army was mercenary. Only after the outbreak of the war did the British government introduce universal service.
The main type of troops in the armies of all states was the infantry. IN ground forces included cavalry and artillery. Special troops had a very small proportion (about 2%).
The infantry division had from 16 to 21 thousand people, 36-48 guns and about 30 machine guns.
The regiment, as a rule, did not have regular artillery. Artillery was at the disposal of the division commander. By the beginning of the war, the armed forces of Russia had 263 aircraft, Germany - 232, England - 258, France - 156. The army corps included detachments of 3-6 aircraft intended for reconnaissance. All armies had armored cars and armored trains in small numbers. By 1914, there were about 4000 vehicles in the German armed forces, Russia - 4500, England - 900, France - 6000.1
The main burden of the struggle was still assigned to the infantry, armed with a rifle. The political and military leaders of the countries participating in the war could not correctly foresee the nature of the future war and determine the amount of forces and means required for its conduct. Bourgeois military theorists on the eve of the First World War saw the highest achievement of military thought in the reproduction of Napoleon's art of military leadership. The experience of later wars was not taken into account enough. Changes in the methods of warfare that occurred in these wars were regarded as a phenomenon of a random order, caused either by the peculiarities of the theater of operations, or by poor training of the troops, or by the erroneous actions of commanders. The emergence of a positional front during the Russo-Japanese War was regarded as an accident. Therefore, the problem of breaking through the positional defense was not even theoretically studied. All attention was paid to the offensive against a shallow focal defense. The main form of combat formation of troops was considered a rifle chain.
The military action plans of the main participants in the war did not sufficiently take into account the increased role of economic and moral factors and were designed to conduct battles only at the expense of mobilization reserves accumulated in peacetime. It was believed that the war would be short-lived.
The essence of the German plan was the desire to beat the opponents consistently and thus avoid a war on two fronts. It was planned to first strike at France and defeat its army, then transfer the main forces to the east and defeat the Russian army. This circumstance determined the choice of the strategic form of the offensive - flank bypass and encirclement of the main enemy forces. For the purpose of bypassing and surrounding French army a flank maneuver was planned to be carried out through Belgium, bypassing the main forces of the French army from the north. In the east, it was planned to deploy 15-16 divisions, which were supposed to cover East Prussia from a possible invasion of Russian troops. Active operations at this time were to be carried out by the Austro-Hungarian troops.
The main flaw in the German plan was the overestimation of the enemy's strength.
On the Austro-Hungarian war plan strong influence rendered the demand of the German general staff- to pin down the Russian armies during the period of Germany's main attack on France. In this regard, the Austro-Hungarian General Staff planned active operations against Russia, Serbia and Czechoslovakia. It was planned to deliver the main blow from Galicia to the east and northeast. The Austro-Hungarian plan was built without any real consideration of the economic and moral possibilities of the country. This clearly showed the influence of the German military school - an underestimation of the enemy's forces and an overestimation of their own forces. The available forces did not correspond to the assigned tasks.
The French plan, although it provided for active offensive operations, was passive - wait and see, since the initial actions of the French troops were made dependent on the actions of the enemy. The plan provided for the creation of three shock groups, but only one of them (Lorraine) received an active task - to advance on Lorraine and Alsace. The central grouping was supposed to become a link, covering the border in its lane, and the Belgian grouping was supposed to act depending on the position of the enemy. If the Germans violate the neutrality of Belgium and begin to advance through its territory, then this army should be ready to attack in a northeasterly direction.
The British plan proceeded from the fact that the allies - Russia and France - should take on the entire burden of waging war on land. The main task of the British armed forces was put forward to ensure dominance at sea. For operations on land, it was planned to transfer seven divisions to France.
The Russian war plan, due to the economic and political dependence of tsarist Russia on Anglo-French capital, provided for simultaneous offensive operations against Austria-Hungary and against Germany. The plan had two options. According to option "A": if Germany concentrates the main forces against France, then the main efforts of the Russian army were directed against Austria-Hungary. According to option "D": in the event that Germany inflicted the main blow on Russia, the Russian army turned its main efforts against Germany. The Northwestern Front was supposed to defeat the 8th German army and take over East Prussia. The Southwestern Front was tasked with encircling and defeating the Austro-Hungarian troops stationed in Galicia.
By the beginning of hostilities, the strategic deployment of troops in accordance with the adopted war plan was completed only by Germany. Against France and Belgium, the Germans deployed 86 infantry and 10 cavalry divisions (about 1.6 million people and 5 thousand guns). The German troops were opposed by 85 infantry and 12 cavalry divisions of the Franco-Anglo-Belgian troops (over 1.3 million people and 4640 guns). 75 Russian divisions (over 1 million men and 3,200 guns) were concentrated in the East European theater of war against Germany and Austria-Hungary. The opponents of Russia had 64 divisions (about 1 million people and 2900 guns).1
Consequently, by the beginning of the war, neither side had an overall superiority in strength.
4. Attitude towards the war of various classes and parties in Russia.
Unlike the Russo-Japanese War, which was unpopular, the 1914 war caused an explosion of patriotism among the population. The war began in the name of protecting the Serbian people. Sympathy for the younger brothers of the Slavs has been brought up in the Russian people for centuries. For their release from Turkish yoke a lot of Russian blood was shed.
With the announcement of mobilization, all strikes immediately ceased. The workers, who the day before staged demonstrations with slogans: "Down with the autocracy!", now sided with the tsar. At the meeting State Duma On July 26, 1914, the leaders of all the bourgeois-landowner factions issued an appeal to rally around "their sovereign tsar, who is leading Russia into a sacred battle with the enemy of the Slavs", putting aside "internal disputes and scores" with the government. At the same meeting, the Duma unanimously (the Social Democrats refused to vote) approved military credits. P.N. Milyukov, formulating the goals of the Russian bourgeoisie in this war, declared: “Only as a result of the war should our age-old national goal: free access to the sea." Miliukov also declared that in the name of this task the Cadet Party was abandoning the opposition for the duration of the war.
At the beginning of the war, all-Russian unions were created - Zemsky and City, which set as their goal to attract broad social strata to joint measures with the government to defend the state. But the tsarist bureaucracy treated these organizations with distrust, limiting their activities only to helping the sick and wounded, and allowing their activities only for the period of the war.
Appointed Supreme Commander of the Russian Army Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, who was very popular both in the army and among the people. Russia entered the war unprepared. Since the Russo-Japanese War, a lot of work has been done to reorganize and rearm Russian army and the fleet, which was supposed to end by 1917, the war had begun three years earlier.
The outbreak of the First World War led to the collapse of the Second International, which changed the principles of proletarian internationalism and voted for the support of the bourgeoisie in the war. On July 22 (August 4), 1914, the Social Democratic faction in the German Reichstag voted in favor of granting war credits to the government. British, Belgian and French socialists joined the imperialist governments. In Russia, the Menshevik faction in the Duma, fearful of losing all influence among the people, voted together with the Bolsheviks against war credits. But under pressure from the chairman of the bureau of the Second International, the Mensheviks declared that the war was "just" on the part of Russia and its allies and retired.
The only party that clearly stood on its positions was the party
Central Organ of the Social Democrat Party proclaimed the slogan
the transformation of the imperialist war into a civil war, into a revolution against the exploiting classes. The first steps towards this great goal were to be an unconditional refusal to approve war loans and the withdrawal of socialists from bourgeois governments, a complete break with the policy of "national peace", the creation of illegal organizations, support for fraternization at the front, organization of all kinds of revolutionary actions of the proletariat in the rear . The Bolsheviks countered the social-chauvinist slogan of defending the bourgeois fatherland with the slogan of revolutionary defeatism. This is the true internationalism of the Bolshevik tactics, calculated on the fraternal alliance of the workers of all countries in the struggle against the imperialist war, for the overthrow of all bourgeois governments, for the establishment of a universal democratic peace. The tactics of revolutionary defeatism proceeded from the interests of the development of the world socialist revolution. At the same time, it did not contradict the correctly understood national interest. According to the Bolsheviks, the development of the productive forces of society - the concentration of production and capital, the merging of industrial capital with banking, the formation of a system of state-monopoly capitalism - all this should create the material prerequisites for a socialist revolution. But since a revolution cannot be provoked artificially, it must grow out of an objectively overdue general political crisis. The First World War hastened the maturation of the revolutionary situation in all the belligerent countries. According to the Bolsheviks, such a situation could arise in any country.
The Bolsheviks were the first to follow this path. As early as July 16-18, 1914, leaflets of the Bolsheviks appeared at St. Petersburg plants and factories, calling on the workers to take active steps against the threat of war and to the international solidarity of the working people. On July 20, a procession of a "patriotic" manifestation took place along Tverskaya street with slogans: "Down with the war!", "No need for blood!" According to official, clearly underestimated data, anti-war demonstrations of workers and peasants took place in 17 provinces, some of them turned into armed clashes with the police.
In May 1915, at the All-Russian Congress of Representatives of Industry and
trade were established, with the aim of "organizing all the untapped power of Russian industry to meet the needs of the defense of the state," the Central Military-Industrial and Regional Committees in the province, which included prominent industrialists, bankers, and representatives of the technical intelligentsia. At the same time, the unions of zemstvos and cities expanded their functions, forming in July 1915 on an equal footing the Main Committee for the Supply of the Army. By uniting in military-industrial committees, expanding the range of activities of the Zemsky and City unions and establishing through a Special Conference under the Minister of War communication with the highest command staff, the bourgeoisie claimed to be the general leader of the military-economic mobilization in the country.
The continued withdrawal of Russian troops, the growth of the revolutionary movement caused fear that the government would not cope with the situation. Confusion reigned in the Council of Ministers. Ministers complained about the isolation of the government, which has no support "neither from below nor from above." The majority of ministers came to the conclusion that the only way out of the political impasse could be an agreement with the Duma on the basis of a definite program. At a meeting of members of the Duma and the State Council on August 11 and 12, 1915, the so-called Progressive Bloc was launched. The platform of the block was supposed to provide "preservation inner peace and the elimination of discord between nationalities and classes". To please the right-wing members of the bloc, it was decided not to include social reforms in the program and to maintain exceptional restraint in political matters. But the main task of the bloc was to change the government, that is, to create a "united government of persons enjoying trust of the country and agreed with the legislative institutions regarding the implementation of a certain program in the near future. "This formula meant the formation of a coalition, mixed cabinet, consisting of bureaucrats, bourgeois leaders and responsible to the tsar. At the heart of the bloc itself lay a compromise between two groups - moderate right ( progressive nationalists and the parties of the center) and bourgeois (Octobrists, Cadets and Progressives) elements with an alignment with the most moderate - the faction of Russian nationalists.
The successes of the Russian fleet in the Gulf of Riga and the troops of the Southwestern Front near Tarnopol strengthened the reactionary currents in ruling circles. The king took over the supreme command of the army. It was an attempt to strengthen the shattered throne, an attempt to convince the people that in difficult times "the tsar himself stood up to defend his country." It also meant an end to fluctuations in power.
Deprived of mass support and torn apart by internal contradictions, the progressive bloc turned out to be fragile and fruitless. He, in fact, did not have a program that would become an alternative to the government course and would impress the masses. Therefore, the ruling environment, after some hesitation, rejected the policy of concessions and agreements with the Duma Bolsheviks.
5. Results of the First World War
The First World War is one of the longest, bloodiest and most significant in terms of consequences in the history of mankind. It went on for over four years. It was attended by 33 countries out of 59, which at that time had state sovereignty. The population of the warring countries amounted to more than 1.5 billion people, that is, about 87% of all inhabitants of the Earth. A total of 73.5 million people were put under arms. Over 10 million were killed and 20 million wounded. Casualties among the civilian population affected by epidemics, famine, cold and other wartime disasters also amounted to tens of millions.
The shortcomings and miscalculations of the peace settlement after the First World War in many ways set the stage for the Second World War. The tragedy that befell mankind in the middle of the 20th century cast a shadow of oblivion on the First World War. Meanwhile, she left a deep mark on modern history. As time goes by, this becomes more and more obvious. The First World War changed the habits and morals of people, made them more tolerant of state forms violence and sowed the seeds of future international conflicts, which sprouted in bloody clashes in our time, for example, in Yugoslavia in the early 90s.
The needs of wartime forced the governments of the belligerent countries to resort to state regulation of industrial and agricultural production, price and consumption rationing, distribution of labor resources and goods, and dosing of socially significant information. All this not only expanded the functions of the state, but actually placed it above society. Here undoubtedly lies the source of the strengthening of totalitarian tendencies in the life of countries and peoples in the middle of the 20th century.
From the experience of the First World War, the theorists and practitioners of not only the fascist command economy in Germany and Italy, but also the "socialist planned economy"in the USSR. Directly or indirectly, it also influenced the experience of state regulation in democratic countries, for example, the development of a "new course" in the USA. Only as a result of liberal reforms and transformations that swept the world in the last third of our century, humanity is gradually parting with this legacy .
Conclusion
Analyzing all the material, I came to the conclusion that the war that began in the era of imperialism, and in particular the First World War, showed that armed struggle requires massive, multimillion-strong armies equipped with the most diverse military equipment. If at the beginning of the First World War, the number of armies of both sides did not exceed about 70 million people, which accounted for almost 12% of the total population of the largest states participating in the war. In Germany and France, 20% of the population was under arms. More than a million people took part in separate operations at the same time. By the end of the war, the armies of its most important participants (at the front and in the rear) had a total of 18.5 million rifles, 480 thousand machine guns, 183 thousand guns and mortars, over 8 thousand tanks, 84 thousand aircraft, 340 thousand cars. Military equipment found its application also in mechanization engineering work, in the application of various new means of communication.
The result of the wars of the era of imperialism shows that as their scope grew, so did their destructive nature.
In terms of damage to humanity, the First World War surpassed all previous wars. Only human casualties during the war amounted to 39.5 million, of which 9.5 million were killed and wounded from wounds. About 29 million were wounded and maimed. In terms of the absolute number of irretrievable losses, the First World War twice surpassed all the wars taken together in 125 years, starting from the wars of bourgeois France.
The war era of imperialism revealed the growing role of economic and moral factors. This was a direct consequence of the creation and growth of mass armies, the masses of various equipment and the protracted nature of wars, in which all the economic and political foundations of the state were tested. The experience of these wars, especially the First World War, was confirmed by V.I. Lenin, made back in 1904, that modern wars are waged by peoples.1 The people are the decisive force in war. The participation of the people in the war is manifested not only, and not only at its expense, modern mass armies are completed, but also in the fact that the basis of modern warfare is the rear. In the course of a war, the rear supplies the front not only with reserves, weapons and food, but also with moods and ideas, thereby exerting a decisive influence on the morale of the army and on its combat capability.
The war showed that the strength of the home front, which includes the morale of the people, is one of the decisive, constantly acting factors that determine the course and outcome of modern warfare.
List of used literature
1. Werth N. History of the Soviet state. 1990-1991. M., 1992. Ch. III.;
2. Military history: Textbook / I.E. Krupchenko, M.L. Altgovzen, M.P. Dorofeeev and others - M.: Military Publishing House, 1984.-375s.;
3. General history: Handbook / F.s. Kapitsa, V.A. Grigoriev, E.P. Novikova and others - M .: Philologist, 1996. - 544 p.;
4. History: Handbook / V.N. Ambarov, P. Andreev, S.G. Antonenko and others - M.: Drofa, 1998. - 816 p.;
34. History of the First World War 1914 - 1918: Rostunova I.I. - M.: Nauka, 1975.-215s.;
5. The First World War. 1914 - 1918: / collection of scientific articles / Editorial board: Sidorov (responsible editor) and others - M .: Nauka, 1975.- 44p.
Modern History
Yushchenko Olga Ivanovna
Teacher requirements:
Automated attendance score (3 passes allowed)
・Classic account
The history of modern times - 20-21 centuries.
1918 - the year of the end of the First World War, the beginning of modern history.
Results and consequences of the First World War (1914-1918)
Two warring blocs: the German bloc (Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria, Germany) and the Entente (Russia, France, England).
Reasons for the war:
Franco-German conflict
Anglo-German conflict
· Russo-German conflict.
The result - the victory of the Entente, but without the participation of Russia. In 1917, Russia withdrew from the war (as a result of revolutions).
Geopolitical results:
4 empires collapsed (Russian, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, German)
New states appeared political map(Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia)
Japan and the United States suffered minimal losses in the war and received maximum benefits
India and China gained independence
· The decline of the era of Eurocentrism begins, the world has become multipolar, new states enter the world arena.
Socio-economic consequences of the war:
Depletion of resources (financial, human)
Social problems (cards, duty)
Revolutions (in Russia, in Germany, in the Ottoman Empire, in Austria-Hungary)
Post-war reforms
· Changing the role of the state in socio-economic life (the state takes on broader functions - regulation, control, distribution). Direct regulation(individual enterprises, industries, industries, government orders) and indirect regulation(tax, budget, social policy).
· Since the 1920s, all countries have had a controlled economy (somewhere more, somewhere less).
Socio-political consequences of the war:
disillusionment with liberal values
The emergence of extreme political currents (extreme right - communism, extreme left - fascism)
· Politicization of the masses.
The war was a huge moral shock to the people.
4 years of war - a whole lost generation. Loss of values, orientation. Used to killing. Mass unemployment, lack of prospects.
The role of women has changed. The war greatly affected her status, self-awareness. Women were forced to work, to replace men in factories, factories. The woman became the breadwinner of the family. The war even changed the appearance of a woman (corsets disappeared, skirts became shorter, women's trousers appeared, short women's haircuts appeared). Women received political rights on an equal footing with men, they received the right to vote.
To sum up the results of the war, the Paris Peace Conference was created, the "meeting" lasted a year and a half. Russia was not invited. The formal reason is the civil war in Russia. All issues were decided by representatives of three states - England, France, USA. The rest of the countries were put before the fact and simply received peace treaties.
Wilson ran for the leadership of the United States. The doctrine of "America for Americans" is strong, but supporters of a different approach have already appeared. The American market was still wide, and the American bourgeoisie did not need external economic expansion.
The League of Nations is created - the winners of the war. The task of the League is peacekeeping.
The US suffered a diplomatic defeat in the war. America did not receive a single colony, its interests were not taken into account. The US refused to join the League of Nations. Wilson lost the election.
The Treaty of Versailles was a fatal decision. He contributed to the flourishing of fascism in Germany.
In the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was listed as the only perpetrator of the war and was obliged to pay compensation to all participants. The amount was unbearable for Germany. Germany was obliged to pay it until 1988. The demand was seen as a humiliation.
Germany lost 1/8 of the territories, which went to the neighbors, lost all the colonies. A tenth of the population of Germany lived on this territory; after the loss of this territory, national minorities appeared. Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria. The German coal deposit went into the department of special bodies created to control Germany. Germany is now a completely controlled country.
Germany could not have an army of more than 100,000 volunteers, the General Staff was dissolved, military schools were closed, the fleet, aviation and artillery were banned. For the Germans, it was a huge psychological shock. The Treaty of Versailles was perceived as insulting, humiliating for Germany. The slogan "Down with Versailles!".
However, Germany did not feel like a defeated country, did not sign a surrender. Its territory was not occupied, there were no active hostilities on it, there was no feeling of an active war. And after Versailles, Germany longed for revenge. Throughout the 1920s, Russia and Germany were partners under the anti-Versailles slogan.
Lecture 2
Modeled after Treaty of Versailles treaties were also drawn up with Germany's allies - with Austria, Turkey, etc. Here, too, it was locked up for military operations, etc.
A lot of questions arose: national minorities arose. A third of the Hungarians ended up in neighboring states - in Romania, in Yugoslavia. Many Germans ended up on the territory of Poland, Czechoslovakia. And after the 30s there were local border conflicts. National feelings are damaged, authoritarian charters have developed.
Division of colonies (Ottoman Empire and German Empire). The winners of the war resolved this issue in the following way: most of the colonies went to the strongest - England, France, the rest of the lands (minority) went to other countries. The Americans did not receive a single colony and felt disadvantaged.
Washington Conference for Solutions to the Pacific Issue. From November 1921 to February 1922. Soviet Russia was not again invited, although it was a Pacific power. In the Far East, hostilities had not yet ended, and this was the formal reason not to invite Russia.
In total, there were 9 participants at the Washington Conference. They came out with an agreement of four (on the inaccessibility of borders), an agreement of five (a treaty limiting the arms race, the first in history), an agreement of nine.
Britain's position strengthened, but by the end of the war England's debt to the United States was 4 million. And the role of the leading power passed to the United States. US rivalry with Japan navy). This confrontation continued in the Second World War.
A series of treaties was signed, the creation of the League of Nation, the division of the possessions of former empires, the sanctioned creation of new states. The Versailles-Washington system of international relations was formed, designed to regulate life after the war. But this system proved fragile.
There is an opinion that in the 20th century there was one world war - from 1918 to 1945 with a respite.
The contradictions between the winners of the First World War were smoothed out only temporarily. The main contradictions arose between the founders of the Versailles Conference - many were dissatisfied. France wanted to further weaken Germany, France was mortally afraid of the rebirth of Germany. Due to the weakening of France, Germany wanted to become the strongest power, to establish hegemony. But this desire was not fulfilled, the ambitions of France did not materialize.
Italy considered itself insulted (it violated the peace, took the side of the Entente in order to get the land). After the end of the war, Italy got a small part of the promised lands (Italy did not make a big contribution to the victory of the Entente). The Italian soldiers were nicknamed "pasta" and were defeated among the winners.
The population of Japan was perceived by the Americans as a threat to interests. Contradictions between the winners are the first reason for the weakness of the Treaty of Versailles. The second reason is the disagreement between the winners and the losers. Rejection of treaties, sabotage of slander. The treaty was especially painfully accepted by Germany (the Nazi movement was born). The shortsightedness of the victors - the beginning of the war in one regime, the end - in another. The third reason is the violation of the principle of the nation's right to self-determination, which gave rise to a lot of national conflicts. Local conflicts, local wars.
The winners did not keep their promises regarding India and China. India was the power of England, China has its own interests of the power. But after the war, the interests of these countries were ignored.
The failure of the League of Nations. The principle of collective responsibility for peace and security. The decisions of the League of Nations were taken by the leading powers based on their national or selfish interests, and not for the common good. The principle of equality was purely formal. world politics determined by several world powers. The decisions of the League of Nations were not binding, so few people followed them. The League of Nations proved to be ineffective, and the entire post-war system was fragile.
England, France - the two main winners who decided the issues of world politics.
Causes and beginning of the First World War. By the end of the 19th century, foreign policy contradictions between the great powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain and Russia - began to grow rapidly in Europe. The German Empire, formed after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, initially did not seek political and economic dominance on the European continent. But, contrary to the assurance of O. Bismarck that “as long as he holds the post of chancellor, Germany will not have colonies,” the country, which had strengthened economically and militarily, joined the struggle for new territories by the mid-1880s. Germany was in a hurry to occupy the regions that were disputed and did not fall into colonial dependence, thereby creating a threat to the largest empires in Europe: Great Britain and France, claiming not only their foreign possessions, but also territories subject to other states - Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal, etc.
Soon an ally of Germany becomes Austro-Hungarian Empire, which, due to internal ethnic conflicts, was a constant hotbed of instability in Europe. Having occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina, it began to seek to extend its influence to other Balkan countries. May 20, 1882 Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy signed a secret treaty on the Triple Alliance. They undertook obligations (for a period of 5 years) not to take part in any alliances or agreements directed against one of these countries, to consult on political and economic issues, providing each other with mutual support. Germany and Austria-Hungary pledged to provide assistance to Italy in the event that she "would be attacked by France without a direct challenge from her side." Italy was to do the same in the event of an unprovoked French attack on Germany. Austria-Hungary was assigned the role of a reserve in case Russia entered the war.
Russia, which carried out permanent territorial expansion throughout the 16th-19th centuries, having recently made significant acquisitions in Central Asia, took on the role of defender of all Slavs in the Balkans. In addition, Serbia, which became an ally of Russia during the Russian-Turkish wars, began to claim the role of a unifying center for the southern Slavs.
By 1907, in order to defend their positions in Europe, the Russian Empire, Great Britain and France formed the Entente bloc. The creation of the Entente was a natural reaction to the strengthening of Germany and the creation of the Triple Alliance. The German naval program also served as an important stimulus for Britain's positional choice. In turn, in Germany, this turn of events was announced as "encirclement" and served as a pretext for new military preparations, declared as purely defensive.
In 1914, the confrontation between the Entente and the Triple Alliance led to the First World War. The enemies of the Entente (Russia, Great Britain and France) and its allies were the bloc of the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria), where Germany played the leading role. Italy, originally part of Triple Alliance, in 1915 went over to the side of the Entente. Instead, during the war, Germany and Austria-Hungary were joined by Turkey and Bulgaria, forming the Quadruple Alliance (or bloc of the Central Powers).
The reason for the start of the war was an event that occurred on June 28, 1914 during a visit to Serbia to get acquainted with the newly acquired territories of the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofia Chotek. They were killed in Sarajevo by a representative of the nationalist Serbian terrorist organization Mlada Bosna, a student Gavrilo Princip. The ruling circles of Austria and Germany decided to use this incident as a pretext for unleashing a European war. On July 5, Germany promises to support Austria-Hungary in the event of a conflict with Serbia. On July 23, Austria-Hungary announces an ultimatum to Serbia, in which it imposes obviously impossible conditions: to purge the state apparatus and army of officers and officials seen in anti-Austrian propaganda; arrest suspected terrorists; allow the Austro-Hungarian police to carry out investigations and punishments of those responsible for anti-Austrian actions on Serbian territory. Only 48 hours were given for a response. On the same day, having agreed to all the requirements of Austria-Hungary, except for the admission of the Austrian police to its territory, Serbia begins mobilization, Germany persistently pushes Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia.
July 25 Germany begins covert mobilization. July 26 Austria-Hungary concentrates troops on the border with Serbia and Russia. July 28 Austria-Hungary, declaring that the requirements of the ultimatum have not been met, declares war on Serbia. Austro-Hungarian heavy artillery shells Belgrade, and regular Austro-Hungarian troops cross the Serbian border. On July 29, Nicholas II sent a telegram to Wilhelm II of Germany with a proposal to "transfer the Austro-Serbian question to the Hague Conference"] (to the international arbitration court in The Hague). But without receiving an answer to it in the Russian Empire on July 31, general mobilization into the army also began.
On the same day, "a situation threatening war" was declared in Germany. Germany gives Russia an ultimatum: stop conscription, or in case of disobedience, Germany will declare war on Russia. France, Austria-Hungary and Germany announce a general mobilization. Germany draws troops to the Belgian and French borders. August 1, 1914 Germany proclaims the beginning of the war with Russia. On the same day, the Germans suddenly invaded Luxembourg. On August 3, Germany, accusing France of "organized attacks and aerial bombing Germany" and "in violation of Belgian neutrality" begins fighting and against her. And on August 6, Austria-Hungary enters into an armed conflict with Russia. Thus began the First World War.
Thus, the main causes of the First World War included territorial claims and allied obligations of the leading European powers, the desire of developed states to redistribute the world into spheres of influence and economic expansion, the arms race, militarism and the local conflicts that took place the day before (the Balkan wars, the Italo-Turkish war) . In the Middle East, the interests of almost all countries clashed, striving to be in time for the division of the decaying Ottoman Empire (Turkey). At the same time, Russia's allies in every possible way counteracted its desire to gain control over the straits between the Black and Aegean Seas, in order to ensure its former presence in the Mediterranean Sea.
The First World War, in its origin, character and results, was of an aggressive nature for most of its European participants, with the exception of Serbia, Montenegro and Belgium, whose peoples fought for their independence. Despite the forced nature of participation in the war, the main tasks of Russia were to annex the territory of Galicia, Ugric Rus and Bukovina; the liquidation of the power of East Prussia and the division of its territory together with Poland; taking control of the situation in the Balkans; mastery of the Black Sea straits and political and military revenge for the defeat in the war with Japan.
Participation of Russia in the military campaigns of 1914-1917. In 1914, the war unfolded in two main theaters of military operations - French (western) and Russian (eastern), as well as in the Balkans (in Serbia), in the Caucasus and the Middle East (since November 1914), in the colonies of European states - in Africa, China, Oceania. In 1914, all participating countries were going to end the war in a few months by a decisive offensive. None of the leaders of the warring blocs expected that it would take on a protracted character.
By the beginning of the war, Germany was guided by a rather old military doctrine - the Schlieffen plan, which provided for the instant defeat of France before the "clumsy" Russia could mobilize and push its army to the borders. The attack was planned to be carried out through the territory of Belgium (in order to bypass the main French forces). It was originally supposed to take Paris in 39 days. The essence of the plan was outlined by Wilhelm II: "We will have lunch in Paris, and dinner in St. Petersburg." In 1906, the plan was modified (under the leadership of the chief German General Staff General Moltke Jr.) and acquired a less categorical character - a significant part of the troops was still supposed to be left on the Eastern Front.
By the beginning of 1915, the belligerent powers were faced with the fact that the war had taken on a character that was not envisaged by the pre-war plans of either side - it had become protracted. Although the Germans managed to capture almost all of Belgium and a large part of France, their main goal - a swift victory over the French - turned out to be completely inaccessible. Both the Entente and the Central Powers, in essence, had to start a new type of war that mankind had not yet seen - exhausting, long, requiring total mobilization of the population and the economy.
Despite the fact that in 1914 the Russian army was the largest and most armed among the Entente countries, it was not ready to participate in a large-scale conflict. According to the Russian General Staff, it was planned to fully equip and re-equip the armed forces and fleet only by 1918.
On August 4 (17), 1914, on the Eastern Front, the war began with the East Prussian operation, when the Russian army crossed the border, launching an offensive against East Prussia. The first week of the actions of the Russian armies were successful, the Germans, who were numerically inferior, gradually retreated; The Gumbinen-Goldap battle on August 7 (20) ended in favor of the Russian army. However, the Russian command was unable to take advantage of the fruits of victory. The movement of the two armies slowed down and mismatched, which was not slow to take advantage of the Germans, who struck from the west on the open flank of the 2nd Army. On August 13-17 (26-30) in the Battle of Tannenberg, the 2nd Army of General A. Samsonov was completely defeated, a significant part was surrounded and captured. After that, the Russian 1st Army, being under the threat of encirclement by superior German forces, was forced to retreat to its original position with battles. The actions of General P. Rennenkampf, who commanded the 1st Army, were considered unsuccessful.
On August 5 (18), 1914, the Battle of Galicia began - a large-scale battle between the Russian troops of the Southwestern Front (5 armies) under the command of General N. Ivanov and four Austro-Hungarian armies under the command of Archduke Friedrich. Russian troops went on the offensive against Lvov along a wide (450-500 km) front. The fighting of large armies, which took place on a long front, was divided into numerous independent operations, accompanied by both offensives and retreats on both sides.
Actions on the southern part of the border with Austria at first developed unfavorably for the Russian army (Lublin-Kholmskaya operation). By August 19-20 (September 1-2), Russian troops retreated to the territory of the Kingdom of Poland, to Lublin and Kholm. August 21 (September 3) Lvov was taken. The Russian army maintained a high pace of advance and in the shortest possible time captured a huge, strategically important territory - Eastern Galicia and part of Bukovina. By September 13 (26) the front had stabilized at a distance of 120-150 km west of Lvov. The strong Austrian fortress of Przemysl was under siege in the rear of the Russian army. This victory caused rejoicing in Russia. The capture of Galicia, with a predominantly Orthodox Slavic population, was perceived in Russia not as an occupation, but as a return of the torn away part of historical Rus'. Austria-Hungary lost faith in the strength of its army and in the future did not risk launching major operations without the help of German troops.
On the whole, the campaign of 1914 took shape in favor of Russia. However, on the German part of the front, Russia lost part of the territory of the Kingdom of Poland. The defeat of Russia in East Prussia was morally painful and was accompanied by heavy losses. But Germany was not able to achieve the results she planned, all her successes from a military point of view were quite modest. Meanwhile, Russia managed to inflict a major defeat on Austria-Hungary and capture significant territories.
By the new year of 1915, the fronts had stabilized, and the war moved into a positional phase. By this time, the Russian army began to feel the first signs of an impending ammunition supply crisis. To mobilize funds for the needs of the front in Russia, additional administrative bodies were created - ZemGor ( All-Russian Union of Zemstvos and Cities), military-industrial committees ( military-industrial complex) and the system of Special Meetings (for defence, refugees, food, fuel). The activities of these structures ultimately contributed to the fact that by the beginning of 1916 the Russian army was provided with the necessary ammunition, equipment, weapons and food by 80%. This made it possible not only to maintain military parity, but also to organize several offensive operations on the Eastern Front.
In 1915, while scoring tactical victories, the Central Powers were unable to completely defeat the leading opponents, while their economy was increasingly weakened. Russia, despite heavy losses in territory and manpower, fully retained the ability to continue the war. In addition, by the end of the Great Retreat, the Russians managed to overcome the military supply crisis, and the situation with artillery and shells for it returned to normal by the end of the year. Fierce struggle and great loss of life brought the economies of Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary to an overstrain, the negative results of which will be more and more noticeable in subsequent years.
On July 13, Minister of War V. Sukhomlinov was replaced by A. Polivanov. On August 23, Nicholas II assumed the duties of commander-in-chief of the Russian army, moving Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich to the Caucasian front. At the same time, the actual leadership of military operations passed from N. Yanushkevich to M. Alekseev. The assumption of the supreme command by the emperor led to major positive changes in the situation on the fronts and extremely significant domestic political consequences.
In June - July 1916, at the request of the Italian command on the Russian Western Front, the offensive Baranovichi operation was undertaken, which was aimed at breaking through the German front in Belarus and attacking the city of Brest-Litovsk, but turned out to be inconclusive. In parallel, on June 4, 1916, an auxiliary offensive operation of the Russian army began on the Southwestern Front, called the Brusilovsky breakthrough (after the front commander A. Brusilov). As a result, the Southwestern Front defeated the Austro-Hungarian army, while the fronts advanced up to 120 km deep into enemy territory. Russian troops occupied almost all of Volhynia, Bukovina and part of Galicia. The losses suffered by the Austro-Hungarian army (more than 1.5 million people) undermined its combat capability. The strategic initiative in the conduct of hostilities passed to the powers of the Entente.
The Entente countries were able to coordinate actions on two fronts - the Russian offensive in East Prussia coincided with the most difficult moment for France in the fighting, Germany was forced to fight in two directions at the same time, and also to carry out the transfer of troops from front to front.
Japan's participation in the war on the side of the Entente turned out to be extremely beneficial for Russia, completely securing its Asian part. Russia no longer needed to spend resources on maintaining the army, navy and fortifications directed against Japan and China. In addition, Japan has gradually become important source supplying Russia with raw materials and weapons.
During the war, Russia and Turkey created the Caucasian Front. In December 1914 - January 1915, during the Sarykamysh operation, the Russian Caucasian army stopped the advance of Turkish troops on Kars, and then defeated them and launched a counteroffensive. At the same time, Russia also lost the most convenient way of communication with its allies - through the Black Sea and the Straits. Russia has two ports left suitable for the transportation of a large amount of cargo - Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok; carrying capacity railways approaching these ports was low.
The Russian Baltic Fleet occupied a defensive position, to which the German fleet, busy with operations in other theaters, did not even approach.
Black Sea Fleet, whose main striking force was pre-dreadnought-type battleships, in the initial period of the war, waged an unequal struggle with the latest German heavy cruiser Goeben. The turning point came only at the end of 1915 with the commissioning of two modern dreadnought battleships Empress Maria (July 1915) and Empress Catherine the Great (October 1915). Until the end of 1917, the fleet took Active participation in support of the actions of the Caucasian Front. After October revolution the Russian fleet lost its combat capability, and hostilities in the Black Sea ceased. The base of the fleet in Sevastopol under the Brest Treaty came under the control of Germany.
The position of the Central Powers in 1917 became catastrophic: there were no more reserves for the army, the scale of famine, transport devastation and fuel crisis grew. The Entente countries began to receive significant assistance from the United States (food, industrial goods, and later reinforcements), while strengthening the economic blockade of Germany, and their victory, even without offensive operations, became only a matter of time.
Nevertheless, when, after the October Revolution, the Bolshevik government, which came to power under the slogan of ending the war, concluded a truce with Germany and its allies on December 15, the German leadership had hope for a favorable outcome of the war.
On the Eastern Front, due to anti-war agitation from the revolutionary parties and the populist policy of the Provisional Government, the Russian army was decomposing and losing combat effectiveness. The offensive launched in June by the forces of the Southwestern Front failed, and the armies of the front pushed their positions back 50-100 km. However, despite the fact that the Russian army had lost the ability for active hostilities, the Central Powers, which suffered huge losses in 1916, could not use the opportunity created for themselves to inflict a decisive defeat on Russia and withdraw it from the war by military means.
Russia's exit from the war. On October 25 (November 7), 1917, as a result of an armed coup in Russia, the Provisional Government was overthrown. On October 26 (November 8), the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets adopted a Decree on Peace, in which he proposed that all belligerent states immediately conclude a truce and begin peace negotiations. On the night of October 27 (November 9), the congress created the Soviet government - Soviet People's Commissars(SNK).
On the night of November 8 (21), the Council of People's Commissars sent a radio telegram to I. O. the supreme commander of the Russian army, General N. Dukhonin, ordering him to turn to the command of the enemy armies with a proposal to stop hostilities and start peace negotiations. The order stated that the Council of People's Commissars considered it necessary to "immediately formal proposal a truce to all belligerent countries, both allied and hostile with us. However, the refusal of the Entente to support the peace initiative of the Soviet government and active opposition to the conclusion of peace forced the Council of People's Commissars to take the path of separate peace negotiations with Germany. Armistice negotiations began in Brest-Litovsk on November 20 (December 3), 1917. After repeated breakdowns in the negotiation process, in the conditions of mass desertion of soldiers from Eastern Front and the resumption of the offensive of the German troops, the peace was officially signed by representatives of Soviet Russia and the delegations of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria on March 3, 1918.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ("Brest Peace") marked the defeat and withdrawal of Russia from the First World War. According to him, Russia was obliged to make many territorial concessions, also demobilizing its army and navy. However, during the beginning civil war in and foreign intervention November 13, 1918 Brest Treaty was annulled by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. After that, the withdrawal of German troops from the occupied territories of the former Russian Empire began.
Results and consequences of the war. World War I (July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918) is one of the largest armed conflicts in the history of mankind. Its result was the elimination of four empires: Russian, German, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian. The Austrian and German Republics (de facto) were founded. In 1917, the February and October revolutions took place in Russia, in 1918 in Germany - the November revolution.
During the First World War, about 21 million people died. (with a total population of the Earth of 1.474 billion people), including Russia's losses amounted to 2.7 million killed. and wounded 3.8 million people. (with a population of 175.1 million people in 1914). During the war, the Russian economy, in particular industry, Agriculture, transport and the financial system came into a state of deep crisis. The living conditions of the majority of the population deteriorated catastrophically, which caused mass strikes and protests against the government of Nicholas II. The nationwide crisis of 1916 accelerated the development of revolutionary processes, which culminated in the February and then October events of 1917.
The First World War accelerated the development and use of new weapons and means of warfare: tanks, chemical weapons, gas masks, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, and flamethrowers. Airplanes, machine guns, mortars, submarines, and torpedo boats were widely used. New types of artillery appeared: anti-aircraft, anti-tank, infantry escorts. Aviation became an independent branch of the military, which began to be subdivided into reconnaissance, fighter and bomber. The role has increased engineering troops and reduced the importance of cavalry on the battlefield. Also appeared "trench tactics" of warfare, which pursued the goal of exhausting the enemy at the front and depleting his economy, working for military orders.
The grandiose scale and protracted nature of the First World War led to an unprecedented militarization of the economy for industrial states, which influenced the course of development of all major developed countries in the period between the two world wars: strengthening state regulation and planning, the formation of military-industrial complexes, accelerating the development of national economic infrastructures (energy systems, a network of paved roads, etc.), an increase in the share of production of defense products and dual-use products.
From January 18, 1919 to January 21, 1920, a international Conference, convened by the victorious powers, in which 27 states and 5 dominions participated. On June 28, 1919, a peace treaty was signed at the Palace of Versailles, one of the conditions of which armed forces Germany was limited to a 100,000-strong land army; obligatory military service was canceled, the main part of the surviving navy was to be transferred to the winners. Germany was forbidden to have combat aircraft and armored vehicles. In addition, it was prescribed to compensate in the form of reparations the losses incurred by the governments and individual citizens of the Entente countries as a result of hostilities. According to Article 116 of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany recognized "the independence of all territories that were part of the former Russian Empire by August 1, 1914", as well as the abolition of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918 and all other agreements concluded by it with the Bolshevik government of Soviet Russia. In fact, Germany was cut down territorially and weakened economically. The difficult conditions of the Treaty of Versailles (payment of reparations, etc.) and the national humiliation she suffered a few years later gave rise to revanchist sentiments, which became one of the prerequisites for the subsequent coming to power of the Nazis, who unleashed the Second World War.
1. What was the main reason for Russia's entry into the First World War?
2. What was the nature of the warfare of the Russian army during the war and why?
3. What structures and bodies of emergency management were created in Russia during the war?
4. What was the attitude of the population and political parties to Russia's participation in the First World War?
5. In connection with what events did Russia withdraw from the First World War?
Literature
1. Shevelev V.N. Russian history. Lecture notes. M., 2012.
2. History of Russia from ancient times to the present day / Ed. Sakharova A.N. M., 2012.
3. Kasyanov V.V. and other History of Russia in schemes, tables and maps. M., 2011.
4.Normann S. The First World War. Short story. M., 2010.
According to the British historian Eric Hobsbawm, the 19th century begins in content in 1789, that is, with the French Revolution, and ends in 1913. In turn, the 20th century - not a calendar, but a historical 20th century - begins in 1914, with the First World War, and continues until 1991, when global changes took place in the world, primarily the unification of Germany in 1990 and the collapse of the USSR in 1991 -m. Such a chronology allowed Hobsbawm, and after him many other historians, to speak of a "long 19th century" and a "short 20th century."
Thus, the First World War is a kind of prologue to the short twentieth century. It was here that the key themes of the century were identified: social disagreements, geopolitical contradictions, ideological struggle, economic confrontation. This is despite the fact that turn of XIX and the twentieth century, it seemed to many that the wars in Europe had sunk into oblivion. If there are collisions, then only on the periphery, in the colonies. Development of science and technology, refined culture Fin de siecle, according to many contemporaries, did not envision the "carnage" that cost millions of lives and buried four great empires. This is the first war in the world that has a total character: all social strata of the population, all spheres of life were affected. There was nothing left that was not involved in this war.
balance of power
Crown Prince of Prussia; Photography from the Finckh – inheritance – See more at: http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en/contributions/445#prettyPhoto
The main participants: the countries of the Entente, which included the Russian Empire, the French Republic and Great Britain, and the Central Powers, represented by Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.
The question arises: what united each of these countries? What were the aims of each of the parties to the conflict? These questions are all the more important because after the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty on June 28, 1919, all responsibility for unleashing the war will fall on Germany (Article 231). Of course, all this can be justified on the basis of the universal principle Vae victis. But is Germany alone to blame for this war? Was it only she and her allies who wanted this war? Of course not.
Germany wanted war just as much as France and Great Britain wanted war. Slightly less interested in this were Russia, Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Empire, which turned out to be the weakest links in this conflict.
Interests of participating countries
In 1871, the triumphant unification of Germany took place in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. A second empire was formed. The proclamation took place against the backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War, when France was suffering a catastrophic defeat. This became a national disgrace: not only was Napoleon III, emperor of all the French, captured almost immediately, only ruins remained of the second empire in France. The Paris Commune arises, another revolution, as often happens in France. The war ends with France accepting Germany's defeat by signing the Frankfurt Treaty of 1871, according to which Alsace and Lorraine are alienated in favor of Germany and become imperial territories.In addition, France undertakes to pay Germany an indemnity of 5 billion francs. To a large extent, this money went to the development of the German economy, which subsequently led to its unprecedented rise by the 1890s. But it's not even about financial side question, namely the national humiliation experienced by the French. And more than one generation will remember him from 1871 until 1914.
It was then that the ideas of revanchism arise, which unite the entire Third Republic, born in the crucibles of the Franco-Prussian War. It becomes unimportant who you are: a socialist, a monarchist, a centrist - everyone is united by the idea of revenge on Germany and the return of Alsace and Lorraine.
Britannia
Britain was preoccupied with German economic dominance in Europe and the world. By the 1890s, Germany ranks first in terms of GDP in Europe, pushing Britain into second place. The British government cannot accept this fact, given that for many centuries Britain was the "workshop of the world", the most economically developed country. Now Britain is seeking some sort of revenge, but economic.
Russia
For Russia, the key topic was the question of the Slavs, that is, the Slavic peoples living in the Balkans. The ideas of pan-Slavism, which gain momentum in the 1860s, lead to the Russian-Turkish war in the 1870s, this idea remains in the 1880s and 1890s, and so it passes into the 20th century, and is finally embodied by 1915. The main idea was the return of Constantinople, to put a cross over Hagia Sophia. In addition, the return of Constantinople was supposed to solve all the problems with the straits, with the transition from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. This was one of the main geopolitical goals of Russia. And plus everything, of course, to push the Germans out of the Balkans.
As we can see, several interests of the main participating countries intersect here at once. Thus, in consideration this issue equally important is the political level, and geopolitical, and economic, and cultural. Do not forget that during the war, at least in its first years, culture becomes the basic part of the ideology.
The anthropological level is no less important. War affects a person from different sides, and he begins to exist in this war. Another question is whether he was ready for this war? Did he imagine what kind of war it would be? People who went through the First World War, lived in the conditions of this war, after its end became completely different. Not a trace will remain of beautiful Europe. Everything will change: social relations, domestic politics, social politics. No country will ever be the same as it was in 1913.
Formal cause for conflict
The formal reason for the start of the war was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife were shot dead in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. The killer turned out to be a terrorist from the Serbian nationalist organization Mlada Bosna. The Sarajevo assassination caused an unprecedented scandal, in which all the main participants in the conflict were involved and to what extent interested.
Austria-Hungary protests Serbia and asks for an investigation with the participation of the Austrian police in order to identify terrorist organizations directed against Austria-Hungary. Parallel to this, intense diplomatic secret consultations are taking place between Serbia and the Russian Empire on the one hand, and between Austria-Hungary and the German Empire on the other.
Was there a way out of the current impasse or not? It turned out that no. On July 23, Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, giving it 48 hours to respond. In turn, Serbia agreed to all the conditions, except for one related to the fact that the secret services of Austria-Hungary would begin to make arrests and take out terrorists and suspicious persons to Austria-Hungary without notifying the Serbian side. Austria, reinforced by the support of Germany, declares war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. In response to this, the Russian Empire announces mobilization, to which the German Empire protests and demands to stop the mobilization, in case of non-cessation, the German side reserves the right to start its own mobilization. On July 31, a general mobilization was announced in the Russian Empire. In response, on August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. The war has begun.
On August 3, France joins it, on August 4 - Great Britain, and all the main participants begin hostilities.
It is important to note that when announcing mobilization, no one talks about their selfish interests. Everyone proclaims the lofty ideals behind this war. For example, help to the fraternal Slavic peoples, help to the fraternal German peoples and the empire. Accordingly, France and Russia are bound by allied treaties, this is allied assistance. This also applies to Britain.
It is interesting to note that already in September 1914, another protocol was signed between the Entente countries, that is, between Great Britain, Russia and France - a declaration on the non-conclusion of a separate peace. The same document will be signed by the Entente countries in November 1915. Thus, we can say that among the allies there were suspicions and significant fears in matters of trust in each other: what if someone breaks loose and concludes a separate peace with the enemy side.
World War I as a new type of war
Germany waged war in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan, developed by the Prussian Field Marshal General and member of the German General Staff von Schlieffen. It was supposed to concentrate all forces on the right flank, inflict a lightning strike on France, and only after that switch to the Russian front.So, Schlieffen develops this plan just in late XIX century. As we can see, his tactics were based on blitzkrieg - delivering lightning strikes that stun the enemy, bring chaos and sow panic among the enemy troops.
Wilhelm II was sure that Germany would have time to defeat France before the general mobilization in Russia ended. After that, it was planned to transfer the main contingent of German troops to the East, that is, to Prussia, and organize offensive operation already in the Russian Empire. This is exactly what Wilhelm II meant when he declared that he would have breakfast in Paris and dinner in St. Petersburg.
Forced deviations from this plan began already from the first days of the war. So, German troops moved too slowly through the territory of neutral Belgium. The main blow to France came from Belgium. In this case, Germany grossly violated international agreements and neglected the concept of neutrality. What will then be reflected in the Versailles Peace Treaty, as well as those crimes, primarily the export of cultural property from Belgian cities, and is regarded by the world community as nothing more than "German barbarism" and savagery.
To repel the German offensive, France asked the Russian Empire to hastily launch a counteroffensive in East Prussia in order to pull part of the troops from the Western Front to the Eastern. Russia successfully carried out this operation, which largely saved France from the surrender of Paris.
Retreat in Russia
In 1914, Russia won a number of victories, primarily on the Southwestern Front. In fact, Russia inflicts a crushing defeat on Austria-Hungary, occupies Lviv (then it was the Austrian city of Lemberg), occupies Bukovina, that is, Chernivtsi, Galicia and approaches the Carpathians.
But already in 1915, a great retreat began, tragic for the Russian army. It turned out that there was a catastrophic lack of ammunition, according to the documents they should have been, but in fact they were not. In 1915, Russian Poland, that is, the Kingdom of Poland (Privislinsky region), was lost, the conquered Galicia, Vilna, modern western Belarus were lost. The Germans are actually approaching Riga, leaving Courland - for the Russian front it will be a disaster. And since 1916, in the army, especially among the soldiers, there has been a general fatigue from the war.
Discontent begins on the Russian front, of course, this will affect the disintegration of the army and play its tragic role in the revolutionary events of 1917. According to archival documents, we see that the censors, through whom the soldiers' letters passed, note decadent moods, the lack of fighting spirit in the Russian army since 1916. It is interesting that the Russian soldiers, who for the most part were peasants, begin to engage in self-mutilation - shoot themselves in the leg, in the arm in order to leave the front as soon as possible and end up in their native village.
The total nature of war
One of the main tragedies of the war will be the use of poisonous gases in 1915. On the Western Front, at the Battle of Ypres, for the first time in history, chlorine was used by German troops, resulting in the death of 5,000 people. The First World War is technological, it is a war of engineering systems, inventions, high technologies. This war is not only on land, it is under water. So, German submarines dealt crushing blows to the British fleet.
This is a war in the air: aviation was used both as a means of finding out the positions of the enemy (reconnaissance function), and for delivering strikes, that is, bombing.
The First World War is a war where there is no longer much room for valor and courage. Due to the fact that the war already in 1915 took on a positional character, there were no direct clashes when one could see the face of the enemy, look into his eyes. There is no enemy in sight. Death begins to be perceived in a completely different way, because it appears out of nowhere. In this sense, the gas attack is a symbol of this desacralized and demystified death.
History of the Great War, based on official documents. Medical Services, diseases of the war, volume II. London: HMSO, 1923. Map 1, German cloud gas attack April 30th, 1916. — See more at: http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en/europeana/reco...rd_L0029690#prettyPhoto
The First World War is a colossal number of victims, unprecedented before. We can recall the so-called "Verdun meat grinder", where there were 750 thousand killed by France and England, by Germany - 450 thousand, that is, the total losses of the parties amounted to more than a million people! Bloodshed on this scale history has not yet known.
The horror of what is happening, the presence of death from nowhere cause aggression and frustration. That is why, in the end, all this causes such bitterness, which will result in outbreaks of aggression and violence already in peacetime after the First World War. Compared with 1913, there is an increase in cases of domestic violence: fights in the streets, domestic violence, conflicts at work, etc.
In many ways, this allows researchers to talk about the readiness of the population for totalitarianism and violent, repressive practices. Here we can recall, first of all, the experience of Germany, where in 1933 National Socialism was victorious. This is also a kind of continuation of the First World War.
That is why there is an opinion that it is impossible to separate the First and Second World Wars. That it was one war that began in 1914 and ended only in 1945. And what happened from 1919 to 1939 was just a truce, because the population was still living with the ideas of war and was ready to fight further.
Aftermath of World War I
The war, which began on August 1, 1914, continued until November 11, 1918, when an armistice was signed between Germany and the Entente countries. By 1918, the Entente was represented by France and Great Britain. The Russian Empire will leave this union in 1917, when in October there will be a Bolshevik coup of a revolutionary type. The first decree of Lenin will be the Decree on peace without annexations and indemnities to all warring powers on October 25, 1917. True, none of the warring powers will support this decree, except for Soviet Russia.
At the same time, Russia will officially withdraw from the war only on March 3, 1918, when the famous Treaty of Brest-Litovsk of 1918 will be signed in Brest-Litovsk, according to which Germany and its allies, on the one hand and Soviet Russia on the other hand, they stopped hostilities against each other. At the same time, Soviet Russia lost part of its territories, primarily Ukraine, Belarus and the entire Baltic. No one even thought about Poland, and, in fact, no one needed it. The logic of Lenin and Trotsky in this matter was very simple: we do not bargain for territories, because the world revolution will win anyway. Moreover, in August 1918, an additional agreement to the Brest Peace would be signed, according to which Russia would undertake to pay indemnities to Germany, and even the first transfer would be made - 93 tons of gold. So, Russia leaves, which will be a violation of the allied obligations that the tsarist government assumed and to which the Provisional Government was loyal.
US role
In 1917, the United States of America enters the war. Subsequently, President Woodrow Wilson will play one of the key roles in the post-war world order. It was he who came up with the idea of creating the League of Nations - an international organization designed to prevent new military conflicts and clashes.
End of the war
By 1918, the need for finding a way to compromise with the Entente countries became obvious to the leadership of Germany. At the same time, I wanted to lose as little as possible. It was for this purpose that a counteroffensive was proposed on the Western Front in the spring and summer of 1918. The operation was extremely unsuccessful for Germany, which only increased discontent among the troops and among the civilian population. In addition, a revolution took place in Germany on November 9th. Its instigators were sailors in Kiel, who revolted, not wanting to follow the order of the command.
On November 11, 1918, the Armistice of Compiègne was signed between Germany and the Entente countries. It should be noted that the armistice is signed in Compiègne in Marshal Foch's carriage not by chance. This will be done at the insistence of the French side, for which it was very important to overcome the defeat complex in the Franco-Prussian War. France will insist on this place in order for an act of revenge to take place, that is, satisfaction will occur. It must be said that the carriage will surface again in 1940, when it will be brought in again so that Hitler accepts the surrender of France in it.
truce
Under the terms of the armistice, under which Germany ceases all hostilities, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is denounced. In addition, Germany undertakes to withdraw its troops from the territory of Belgium and gives Alsace and Lorraine to France. The troops of the Entente countries occupy the territory of the left bank of the Rhine. For the final settlement of the conflict, a conference is convened, which should put an end to the war. On January 18, 1918, the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 opened.
Second album of photos by Max Jacoby of the Eastern Front - See more at: http://www.europeana1914-1918.eu/en/contributions/4206#sthash.iekWbiyg.dpuf
On June 28, 1919, a peace treaty with Germany is signed. It was a humiliating world for her, she was losing all her overseas colonies, part of Schleswig, Silesia and Prussia. Germany was forbidden to have a submarine fleet, develop and have latest systems weapons. The contract, however, did not specify the amount that Germany had to pay as reparations, since France and Britain could not agree among themselves due to France's excessive appetites. It was unprofitable for Britain to create such a strong France. Therefore, the amount was not entered in the end. It was finally determined only in 1921. Under the London Accords of 1921, Germany had to pay 132 billion gold marks.
Germany was declared the sole culprit in unleashing the conflict. And, in fact, all the restrictions and sanctions imposed on it followed from this.
The Treaty of Versailles had disastrous consequences for Germany. The Germans felt insulted and humiliated, which led to the rise of nationalist forces. During the 14 difficult years of the Weimar Republic - from 1919 to 1933 - any political force set as its goal the revision of the Treaty of Versailles. First of all, no one recognized the eastern borders. The Germans turned into a divided people, part of which remained in the Reich, in Germany, part in Czechoslovakia (Sudetland), part in Poland. And in order to feel national unity, it is necessary to reunite the great German people. This formed the basis of the political slogans of the National Socialists, the Social Democrats, the moderate conservatives, and other political forces.The results of the war for the participating countries and the idea of great powers
For Austria-Hungary, the consequences of defeat in the war turned into a national catastrophe and the collapse of the multinational Habsburg empire. Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I, who over the 68 years of his reign became a kind of symbol of the empire, died in 1916. He was replaced by Charles I, who failed to stop the centrifugal national forces empire, which, coupled with military defeats, led to the collapse of Austria-Hungary.
Four of the greatest empires perished in the crucibles of the First World War: Russian, Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and German. New states will emerge in their place: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
At the same time, grievances and disagreements, as well as territorial claims of new countries to each other, remained.
Hungary was dissatisfied with the borders that were determined for it in accordance with the agreements reached, because Greater Hungary should also include Croatia.
Bulgaria is dissatisfied with the borders that she got, because Great Bulgaria should include almost all the territories up to Constantinople.
The Serbs also considered themselves deprived. In Poland, the idea of a Greater Poland from sea to sea is gaining ground.
Perhaps Czechoslovakia was the only happy exception of all the new Eastern European states, which was happy with everything.
After the First World War, in many European countries, the idea of \u200b\u200btheir own greatness and significance arose, which led to the creation of myths about national exceptionalism and their political formulation in the interwar period.
It seemed to everyone that the First World War would solve the problems, but it created new ones and deepened the old ones.
candidate historical sciences, Head of the Middle East Department of the HSE School of Oriental Studies, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute world history RAS, member of the School historical research Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, Board member in International Syriac Language project
According to the British historian Eric Hobsbawm, the 19th century begins in content in 1789, that is, with the French Revolution, and ends in 1913. In turn, the 20th century - not a calendar, but a historical 20th century - begins in 1914, with the First World War, and continues until 1991, when global changes took place in the world, primarily the unification of Germany in 1990 and the collapse of the USSR in 1991 -m. Such a chronology allowed Hobsbawm, and after him many other historians, to speak of a "long 19th century" and a "short 20th century."
Thus, the First World War is a kind of prologue to the short twentieth century. It was here that the key themes of the century were identified: social disagreements, geopolitical contradictions, ideological struggle, economic confrontation. This is despite the fact that at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries it seemed to many that the wars in Europe had sunk into oblivion. If there are collisions, then only on the periphery, in the colonies. The development of science and technology, the refined culture of the Fin de siècle, according to many contemporaries, did not imply a "carnage" that cost millions of lives and buried four great empires. This is the first war in the world that has a total character: all social strata of the population, all spheres of life were affected. There was nothing left that was not involved in this war.
The question arises: what united each of these countries? What were the aims of each of the parties to the conflict? These questions are all the more important because after the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty on June 28, 1919, all responsibility for unleashing the war will fall on Germany (Article 231). Of course, all this can be justified on the basis of the universal principle of Vae victis. But is Germany alone to blame for this war? Was it only she and her allies who wanted this war? Of course not.
Germany wanted war just as much as France and Great Britain wanted war. Slightly less interested in this were Russia, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, which turned out to be the weakest links in this conflict.
Interests of participating countries
In 1871, the triumphant unification of Germany took place in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. A second empire was formed. The proclamation took place against the backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War, when France was suffering a catastrophic defeat. This became a national disgrace: not only was Napoleon III, emperor of all the French, captured almost immediately, only ruins remained of the second empire in France. The Paris Commune arises, another revolution, as often happens in France.
The war ends with France accepting Germany's defeat by signing the Frankfurt Treaty of 1871, according to which Alsace and Lorraine are alienated in favor of Germany and become imperial territories.
In addition, France undertakes to pay Germany an indemnity of 5 billion francs. To a large extent, this money went to the development of the German economy, which subsequently led to its unprecedented rise by the 1890s. But the point is not even in the financial side of the issue, but in the national humiliation experienced by the French. And more than one generation will remember him from 1871 until 1914.
It was then that the ideas of revanchism arise, which unite the entire Third Republic, born in the crucibles of the Franco-Prussian War. It becomes unimportant who you are: a socialist, a monarchist, a centrist - everyone is united by the idea of revenge on Germany and the return of Alsace and Lorraine.
Britannia
Britain was preoccupied with German economic dominance in Europe and the world. By the 1890s, Germany ranks first in terms of GDP in Europe, pushing Britain into second place. The British government cannot accept this fact, given that for many centuries Britain was the "workshop of the world", the most economically developed country. Now Britain is seeking some sort of revenge, but economic.
Russia
For Russia, the key topic was the question of the Slavs, that is, the Slavic peoples living in the Balkans. The ideas of pan-Slavism, which gain momentum in the 1860s, lead to the Russian-Turkish war in the 1870s, this idea remains in the 1880s–1890s, and so it passes into the 20th century, and finally embodied by 1915. The main idea was the return of Constantinople, to put a cross over Hagia Sophia. In addition, the return of Constantinople was supposed to solve all the problems with the straits, with the transition from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. This was one of the main geopolitical goals of Russia. And plus everything, of course, to push the Germans out of the Balkans.
As we can see, several interests of the main participating countries intersect here at once. Thus, in considering this issue, the political, geopolitical, economic, and cultural levels are equally important. Do not forget that during the war, at least in its first years, culture becomes the basic part of the ideology. The anthropological level is no less important. War affects a person from different sides, and he begins to exist in this war. Another question is whether he was ready for this war? Did he imagine what kind of war it would be? People who went through the First World War, lived in the conditions of this war, after its end became completely different. Not a trace will remain of beautiful Europe. Everything will change: social relations, domestic policy, social policy. No country will ever be the same as it was in 1913.
The formal reason for the start of the war was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife were shot dead in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. The killer turned out to be a terrorist from the Serbian nationalist organization Mlada Bosna. The Sarajevo assassination caused an unprecedented scandal, in which all the main participants in the conflict were involved and to some extent interested.
Austria-Hungary protests Serbia and asks for an investigation with the participation of the Austrian police in order to identify terrorist organizations directed against Austria-Hungary. Parallel to this, intense diplomatic secret consultations are taking place between Serbia and the Russian Empire on the one hand, and between Austria-Hungary and the German Empire on the other.
Was there a way out of the current impasse or not? It turned out that no. On July 23, Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, giving it 48 hours to respond. In turn, Serbia agreed to all the conditions, except for one related to the fact that the secret services of Austria-Hungary would begin to make arrests and take out terrorists and suspicious persons to Austria-Hungary without notifying the Serbian side. Austria, reinforced by the support of Germany, declares war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. In response to this, the Russian Empire announces mobilization, to which the German Empire protests and demands to stop the mobilization, in case of non-cessation, the German side reserves the right to start its own mobilization. On July 31, a general mobilization was announced in the Russian Empire. In response, on August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. The war has begun. On August 3, France joins it, on August 4 - Great Britain, and all the main participants begin hostilities.
It is important to note that when announcing mobilization, no one talks about their selfish interests. Everyone proclaims the lofty ideals behind this war. For example, help to the fraternal Slavic peoples, help to the fraternal German peoples and the empire. Accordingly, France and Russia are bound by allied treaties, this is allied assistance. This also applies to Britain. It is interesting to note that already in September 1914, another protocol was signed between the Entente countries, that is, between Great Britain, Russia and France - a declaration on the non-conclusion of a separate peace. The same document will be signed by the Entente countries in November 1915. Thus, we can say that among the allies there were suspicions and significant fears in matters of trust in each other: what if someone breaks loose and concludes a separate peace with the enemy side.
World War I as a new type of war
Germany waged war in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan, developed by the Prussian Field Marshal General and member of the German General Staff von Schlieffen. It was supposed to concentrate all forces on the right flank, inflict a lightning strike on France, and only after that switch to the Russian front.
So, Schlieffen develops this plan just at the end of the 19th century. As we can see, his tactics were based on blitzkrieg - delivering lightning strikes that stun the enemy, bring chaos and sow panic among the enemy troops.
Wilhelm II was sure that Germany would have time to defeat France before the general mobilization in Russia ended. After that, it was planned to transfer the main contingent of German troops to the East, that is, to Prussia, and organize an offensive operation already against the Russian Empire. This is exactly what Wilhelm II meant when he declared that he would have breakfast in Paris and dinner in St. Petersburg.
Forced deviations from this plan began already from the first days of the war. So, the German troops moved too slowly through the territory of neutral Belgium. The main blow to France came from Belgium. In this case, Germany grossly violated international agreements and neglected the concept of neutrality. What will then be reflected in the Versailles Peace Treaty, as well as those crimes, primarily the export of cultural property from Belgian cities, and is regarded by the world community as nothing more than "German barbarism" and savagery.
