World War I
Industrialisation, Colonialism and Imperialism created intense rivalry among the European nations over their possessions of colonies in Asia and Africa. This competition became more acute by the end of the 19th century when colonies were no longer available in Asia and Africa. Compromise was not possible due to mutual distrust and hostilities and in 1914 a war began in Europe which soon engulfed the entire world.
It involved all the major countries of the world and their colonies. The damage caused by this war had no precedent in history. For the first time in history all the resources of the warring states were mobilised.
It involved their army, navy and air force. The civilian population suffered tremendous casualties because of indiscriminate bombing. Since the war was spread over a very large part of the world for the first time, it is known as World War I.
It marked a turning point in world history. It was not a sudden occurrence but the culmination of a large number of forces and developments covering a long period before 1914.
Causes of World War I
Imperialist rivalries among the different nations like England, France, Germany and others were a major cause of the war. Earlier wars were averted because possibilities of acquiring more colonies were still there. But the situation had now changed. Most of Asia and Africa had already been divided up and possibilities of further expansion were not there. It was possible only by dispossessing some imperialist country of their colony. This division of colonies created conditions of war.
In the last quarter of the 19th century, Germany had made tremendous economic and industrial progress and left England and France far behind in industrial production. She needed colonies as much as Britain to fulfill her economic needs. In the imperial race, Germany became the main competitor of England.
British naval supremacy was also challenged when Germany built the largest warship ‘Imperator’ and built the Kiel Canal connecting the North Sea and Baltic Sea endangering the English coast line. Germany also built a railway line connecting Berlin with Baghdad which made it easier for Germany to send troops or suppliers to the East. But it posed a threat to British colonies there.
Like Germany, all other major powers of Europe and Japan also had their imperialistic ambitions. Italy after her unification wanted Tripoli in North Africa which was under the Ottoman Empire. France wanted to add Morocco to her conquest in Africa while Russia had her ambitions in Iran. Japan had her ambitions in the far East where she was able to extend her influence after the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.
Austria had her ambitions in the Ottoman Empire while the United States of America was slowly emerging as a powerful nation. Her main interest was to preserve the independence of trade as it was increasing at a fast pace. The expansion of influence of any great power was posing a major threat to world peace.
System of Alliances
Conflicts and confrontations for more colonies prompted the imperial powers to look for allies. In 1882, Germany, Austria and Italy signed the Triple Alliance pledging mutual military assistance against rival powers. England, Russia and France signed the Triple Entente in 1907.
Emergence of two mutually opposed groups divided Europe into hostile camps leading to tension and conflicts among European powers. These countries competed with one another in producing deadly weapons which led to a race for armaments. Mutual hatred and suspicion disturbed the atmosphere of peace. The propaganda which was created made it clear that if war broke out the whole of Europe would be drawn into it.
Pan Slav Movement and the Balkan Politics
Balkan region of Eastern Europe consisted of many states such as Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and many other smaller states. Originally these states were under the control of the Ottoman Emperor or the ruler of Turkey. By the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire began to decline.
Europeans powers including Austria and Russia rushed for obtaining a foothold in the region. The matter got complicated with the resurgence of Nationalism among the people in most of these states. They were called Slavs.
Since they were scattered in many of the east European states, they started a National Movement called the Pan Slav movement. Their main demand was to unite the Slavs in one state under Serbia, the state which had the largest Slav population in this movement.
Serbia was supported by Russia, whereas Austria opposed Serbia and their National Movement. This resulted in rivalry between Russia and Austria. Austria did not want a strong Serbian state which would hamper her ambition of expansion.
In 1908, Austria annexed two Slav states, Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to hostility between Serbia and Austria.
Between 1912 and 1914, four Balkan States fought two wars against the Ottoman Emperor for independence. Turkey was defeated and lost all her possessions in Europe. Austria hurriedly set up an independent state of Albania against the Serbian ambition of Greater Serbia. Hostility mounted between Austria on one side and Serbia and Russia on the other.
By 1914, the atmosphere in Europe was explosive. Against this background, Archduke Francis Ferdinand the heir to the Austrian throne went to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, on a state visit. As he was getting down from his car, he was assassinated by a Serbian youth on 28 June 1914. The murder of Archduke Francis Ferdinand became the immediate cause of the war.
Austria held Serbia responsible for the assassination of their prince and served her with an ultimatum with various conditions. Assured of Russian help, Serbia refused to accept the ultimatum and started mobilising her troops on the border.
On 28 July 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia. On 1 August 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. On 3 August 1914, Germany declared war on France. As German troops entered Belgium, England declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914. Thus, a minor incident in Europe triggered the war with all the countries joining in which soon took the shape of World War I.
The Course of the War (1914-1918)
World War I which started in August 1914 continued till November 1918. During this period many important battles were fought such as the Battle of Marne in 1914, Battles of Verdu, Battle of Somme and Battle of Jutland in 1916.
The year 1917 saw two important developments - one was the entry of USA into the war in April and second was the withdrawal of Russia from the war in November.
In 1915, a British passenger ship Lusitania was sunk by German U Boats killing 128 US civilians who were travelling in the ship. The US Senate took a very serious view of this. Besides becoming a powerful nation, Germany would pose a threat to US supremacy. Moreover, USA being the major supplier of arms and ammunition, the continuation of war would result in economic advantage for the US. Keeping all these in view, she decided to join the war in 1917.
During the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, one of the main demands of the revolutionaries was peace. So immediately after the Revolution under the leadership of Lenin, Russia withdrew from the war and signed a peace treaty with Germany in 1918.
By July 1918, Germany began to collapse. Bulgaria and Turkey surrendered in September and October respectively. On 3 November 1918, the Austrian Emperor surrendered due to widespread unrest in Austria.
After similar revolts by the German people, German Emperor Wilhelm II fled to Holland and Germany was proclaimed a Republic. The new government signed an armistice on 11 November 1918, bringing an end to World War I.
In the course of the war, many new weapons such as machine guns, poison gas, liquid fire, submarine and tanks were used. New strategies and military techniques were experimented by both sides. England used naval and economic blockade, tanks and air raids. The French used trench warfare and Germany used U Boats and submarines to sink ships under the sea.
Immediate Consequences of World War I
World War I was one of the most disastrous and frightening events the world had witnessed. A million people including innocent civilians lost their lives. There was a large scale damage of property in most of the European countries.
The total expenditure was estimated at a staggering figure of 180 billion dollars. The economy of most of the countries was shattered resulting in social tension, unemployment and poverty.
Between January and June 1919, the Allied Powers met at a conference in the palace of Versailles, Paris to decide the future of the defeated powers. Though the representatives of nearly 27 countries attended the conference, the decisions were taken by Heads of State of Britain, France and USA. Russia was excluded and the defeated powers were not allowed to attend.
The Allies signed different treaties with the defeated powers. The most important of them were the Treaty of Versailles signed with Germany, the Treaty of St. Germain with Austria and the Treaty of Serves with Turkey.
The Treaty of Versailles shattered Germany politically, economically and militarily. Germany was held guilty of aggression and was asked to pay a huge amount of money as compensation for the war. Alsace and Lorrain which were taken from France in 1871 were to be returned to France. Rhineland, the land between France and Germany, was demilitarised and brought under the control of the Allied powers.
The coal rich Saar Valley was given to France for 15 years. German army was disbanded. Ships were sunk and the army was restricted to 100,000 soldiers only. Germany was deprived of all her colonies. Much of her territories in Europe were given to Belgium and Poland.
The Treaty of St. Germain separated Hungary from Austria and Hungary was made an independent state. Austria had to recognise the independence of Hungary and had to give part of her territories to Czechoslovakia, Rumania and Yugoslavia.
The Treaty of Sevres broke up the Ottoman Empire. Some of its states were given to the Allied Powers as mandates. For example, Palestine and Mesopotamia were given to Britain and Syria to France. The Allied Powers were to look after these countries till they became self-reliant.
The war and the peace treaties transformed the political map of the world, particularly Europe. After the October Revolution in Russia, the ruling dynasty of the Romanovs was overthrown. By the end of the war, Hohenzollern Dynasty of Germany and Hapsburg Dynasty of Austria were removed and Republic Government was set up.
Monarchy was also abolished in Turkey after a Revolution in 1922. Two new states - Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia - were created out of the territories taken from the defeated powers. Hungary emerged as an independent state. Baltic States such as Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Finland were made independent states. The states of Rumania and Poland were enlarged in size. All this changed the boundaries of most of the states of Europe.
It was evident that the peace settlements were dictated and unequal settlements which were imposed upon the defeated powers. They had no say in the deliberations. The end of the war saw the end of European supremacy and emergence of USSR and USA as major powers.
The period also saw the strengthening of National Movement in the countries of Asia and Africa. Even before the war ended in November 1918, the US President Woodrow Wilson had proposed a peace program known as the Wilson’s Fourteen Points. The most important point was the proposal for the establishment of an international organisation maintaining peace and security in the world. On the basis of this proposal, the League of Nations was set up in 1920.
League of Nations
The League was the first international organisation set up in 1920 with its headquarters at Geneva. Its main aims were to maintain peace and security in the world, prevent future war, promote international co-operation, settle international disputes peacefully and improve the conditions of labourers in member countries.
But unfortunately, the League failed to prevent war and conflict for which it was set up. When Italy attacked Ethiopia in 1935 and Japan attacked Manchuria in 1936, the League could do nothing. Also, mutual rivalries among nations for the possession of colonies continued exposing their imperial ambitions.