WorldWarI
General Information
Date of 4 August 1914
to 11 November 1918
Place Europe , Africa and the Middle East
(briefly also in China and in the Pacific Ocean )
Casus belli Sarajevo Assassination
Outcome Victory of the Entente , the Treaty of Versailles . Creation of the League of Nations .
Belligerents
Triple Entente ,
Allies : French Republic United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Russian Empire Kingdom of Serbia Kingdom of Italy United States of America, Kingdom of Belgium Empire of Japan and other
Triple Alliance ,
Central Powers : German Empire Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Bulgaria
The First World War a note is a military conflict that took place primarily in Europe from 1914 to 1918 . Considered one of the highlights of the xx th century , this war sometimes called the total has reached a scale and intensity previously unknown. It has involved more soldiers , caused more deaths and more destruction of property than any other previous war. More than 60 million soldiers took part 1 , 2 . During the war, about 9 million people died and about 20 million are injured 3 . Other events that occurred during this period: the Armenian genocide ( one thousand nine hundred fifteen – one thousand nine hundred and sixteen ), the first Battle of the Atlantic ( 1917 ), the Russian Revolution (1917) and the 1918 flu increased the distress of the people. For these reasons, this time a profound impact those who lived it.
This war has brought profound changes geopolitical , which have profoundly changed the course of the xx th century. It caused the collapse and fragmentation of empires the 
Austro-Hungarian , Russian and Ottoman . The German Empire is gone, and Germany saw its territory reduced. Consequently, the maps of Europe and the Middle East have changed. The monarchies have been replaced by state communists or by republican democracy . For the first time, an international institution was created in order to prevent war: the League of Nations .
The spark that caused the war occurred on 28 June 1914 , when Bosnian Serbs managed to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand , heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. The requirements of vengeance of Austria-Hungary (strongly encouraged by Germany) against the Kingdom of Serbia led to the activation of a series of alliances that forced several European powers to take the path of war. Many of these nations were at the head of empire spanning several continents, which accounts for the global conflict.
This war was mainly due to two major alliances: the Triple Entente and of the Central Powers . The Triple Entente consisted of France , the United Kingdom , of Russia , and the empires they controlled as a major colonial powers . Several states joined the coalition, including Japan in August 1914, the Italy in April 1915, Portugal in March 1916 and the United States in April 1917. The coalition of the Central Powers was originally composed of Germany , of Austria-Hungary , and the empires they controlled. The Ottoman Empire joined them in October 1914, followed a year later the Kingdom of Bulgaria . At the end of hostilities, only the Netherlands , the Swiss , the Spanish , the Scandinavian states and Monaco had remained officially neutral among the European nations, some had contributed financially or materially to the war effort of the protagonists.
The fighting took place mostly on different fronts that situèrent especially in Europe, but a small part of Asia and of Africa and the North Atlantic underwent conflicts. The Western Front was marked by a series of trenches and fortifications separated by an area known as the no man’s land 4 . These fortifications stretched over 600 km 4 , prompting a form of fighting known as ” trench warfare “. On the Eastern Front , the extent of plains and low-density rail prevented the stabilization of the battlefield, but the conflict was just as extensive. There was heavy fighting in the Balkans , the Middle East and Italy . The war was also held in the air, but are rudimentary compared to the Second World War .
The outbreak
If World War I is triggered by the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand , heir to the throne of Austria, this event is only crystallize tensions from earlier litigation. This is the detonator of a war prepared long, with deeper roots. It is one of the reasons a structural nationalism strong, the rise of imperialism and the expansionist desires or are associated, as the irredentist Italian, previous conflicts unresolved ( loss of Alsace-Lorraine by France , the Balkan Wars ), supplemented by economic rivalries, a complex system of military alliances developed between the different European countries during the xix th century after the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 and the Congress of Vienna that followed, misunderstandings diplomatic (the German believed in particular that the UK would remain neutral 5 , 6 ) … The prevailing climate of tension had pushed the European great powers to the arms race , and each staff had actively prepared for the conflict. The assassination in Sarajevo that will trigger the historian Jean-Baptiste Duroselle called a “mechanism” 7 , which will lead them almost in spite of the protagonists to a total war . For other historians, the war was desired by the leaders of Germany, see Fritz Fischer 8 .
Map of political regimes on the eve of the First World War.
Antagonism between European powers
The colonial question and economic
Representation of the Berlin conference (in 1884) which met the representatives of European powers.
Main articles: Foreign Policy of Germany and Weltpolitik .
The imperialism of European nations is made visible through the colonial question. Since the Berlin Conference of 1885, which allowed the sharing of Africa between the major European powers, colonial disputes are not going to stop growing, thereby maintaining the tension between the cities. First tensions between French and English in Egypt , and especially in Sudan with the Fashoda Crisis in 1898 and tensions between France and Italy on Tunisia in 1881, which will lead to the accession of Italy to Triple Alliance . Tensions between France and Germany appear in 1905 in Morocco. Since 1871 , unified Germany has caught up in a few decades, its economic backwardness of the rest of Western Europe by acquiring such a highly concentrated industry 9 . Germany therefore look overseas to Africa where she hopes to find raw materials cheap or even build counters to sell its manufactured goods 10 . However, France and the English have long shared the African and the Asian . Germany, except in rare places like in Cameroon , Namibia , Tanzania , Togo can not obtain spheres of influence in the colonies. It also feels like an injustice that the industry increasingly competitive encounters fear or selfishness of the other European powers 11 . Lacking settlements, William II wishes to take up to Morocco on behalf of the Weltpolitik . The two crises in 1905 with the Coup de Tanger and 1911 with the Coup d’Agadir , between it and France, leading to an increasing number of diplomatic incidents. For the German historian Fritz Fischer , this is one of the main causes of the outbreak of conflict. By 1905, the conflict seems inevitable between France and Germany
The concerns are economic. Although each country develops its economy, the economic rivalry between Germany and France increased from 1912 12 . The great German industrial power worries the European states, as German products flood the French and British markets 13 . The economic rivalry “(a) helped add to the overall climate between the two states and, thereby, facilitate the break 14 . ” The Germans, they are concerned about the economic and population growth of Russian power that leads them to believe they would be unable to resist him in a few years, so they may want to provoke a conflict before it’s too late 15 .
The Franco-German antagonism also draws its strength from the idea of revenge and a wow gold return to the motherland of the lost provinces of Alsace-Lorraine 16 where the resistance is strong in car transport Germany 17 . Antagonism also feeds the fear felt by the French before the population growth of Germany, while France is experiencing a population decline lasting 18 . Finally, the Emperor William II is highly influenced by the mid-Prussian officers 19 , guarantees the stability of the empire, all crowned with successes of the mid- xix th century and forged German unity against the Austria and France. For the emperor, chicago dui lawyer war, conflict located in the Balkans in particular, can be a solution to solve territorial problems for Germany and Austria.
Territorial ambitions in Europe
Map of the Balkans in 1913
Main articles: Balkan Wars and Bosnian crisis .
In the Austro-Hungarian empire, where no less than forty people live, the separatist tendencies are numerous, related to the awakening of national minorities (Bohemia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, etc..) Manifested since 1848 . The Ottoman Empire , already weakened, is shaken by the revolution of the Young Turks in 1908. Austria-Hungary took the opportunity to get their hands on the BiH neighbor and wants to continue its expansion in the valley of the Danube , to the Black Sea , or at least maintain the status quo inherited from the Treaty of San Stefano and the Treaty of Berlin . In Serbia , the new king, Peter I first consider the formation of a large Yugoslavia, bringing together the nations that belong to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the Balkans, Russia is an ally in Serbia, which has the ambition to unite chiropractic marketing the South Slavs. The Serbian nationalism is tinted will therefore 
imperialist, and the Servia joined the Pan-Slavism Russia, winning the support of the Czar to these what is road rage southern Slavs. The Balkans , subtracted from the Ottoman Empire , are indeed the object of rivalry between the great powers of Europe 20 . In 1878, following a revolt of the Bulgarians and the Russians and an intervention of the Austrians, the northern Balkans is detached from the Ottoman Empire. The rivalry between the Russians and Austrians in the Balkans is growing 21 . In 1912 and 1913 wars affecting the region: the first is directed against the Ottoman Empire loses all its territories in Europe with the exception of Eastern Thrace , the second is a conflict between Bulgaria and other Balkan countries. It results in a significant extension of the territory and nationalism in Serbia , Bulgaria’s discontent, deprived of part of its territory and the creation, under pressure from Austria, one of Albania , which prevents independent of Serbia have a coastline.
Has long nourished the ambitions of Russia against the Ottoman Empire: to have access to a warm sea ( Mediterranean Sea ). This policy requires the control of the Straits . In the Russian Empire, the Poles were deprived of a sovereign state and are shared by the Russian Empire, German and Austro-Hungarian. In Germany and England at the beginning of xx th century, industrial development and militarization have intensified and Germany has interests in the Ottoman Empire 22 .
The Italian , unified since 1860 , gave to France, following the victory of France over Austria, Savoy and the County of Nice . Despite a strong current pacifist, Italy wants to take the neighbor Austria, with whom she has an old dispute, the territories it considers Italy the irredentist lands , mainly because Italian speakers 23 . She wishes to expand in Dalmatia , historically linked to Italy, where Italian is spoken, and control the Adriatic Sea , as this was done by the Venetian Republic , and especially since his attempts to conquer an African colonial empire have failed after the collapse of Adowa in Abyssinia in 1896 . Only part of Tigray was attached to the Eritrea have Italian as well as Somalia . The Libya became an Italian colony in 1911 as a result of the Italo-Turkish War .
The system of alliances
The system of alliances
Articles: Triple Entente , Allies of the First World War and Triple Alliance .
Extensive system of alliances were formed in the late xix th and early xx th century. Two major alliance systems are emerging. The Triple Alliance , the oldest, is the work of Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck 24 . Aware of the hostility from the French annexation of Alsace-Lorraine , Bismarck sought, on the diplomatic front, isolating France from the III e Republic to prevent establish an alliance against the Reich. In 1879, under his leadership, a first approximation takes place between Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1881, Italy asked its integration into the Germano-Austrian association as opposed to France, which has gained a foothold in Tunisia , Italy claimed the territory. May 20, a tripartite agreement Thus the day: the Triple Alliance and Triple Alliance. However, Italy also boasts the Trentino and the Istria , the ” irredentist lands “under Austrian rule. The treaty was renewed several times, even if the attitude of Italy is becoming colder, especially with the signing of a secret agreement of neutrality with France in 1902 24 . The French diplomatic approach vis-à-vis the realm Alpine has the advantage of avoiding having to France to fight on two fronts. Moreover, in 1908 there was an earthquake in Messina : The Staff of Austria-Hungary then proposed a preventive war against Italy, the Emperor refused, but it shows the fragility of alliance between the two states.
In 1914, Germany can also count on the sympathy of the Ottoman Empire 24 , which was denied by Winston Churchill of two battleships built by the British. The Russian threat to take control of the Straits is accurate. Indeed, England that once protected the Ottoman Empire, is now allied with Russia. For Turkey, only a rapprochement with Germany of Wilhelm II can out of its isolation. She was able to find sympathy among colonized peoples throughout the Mediterranean basin, the Caucasus to Marrakech .
The end, however, France out of its isolation. On August 27, 1891, a secret military convention was signed between France and Russia after the launch of the first Russian loan on the Paris 25 . This choice is dictated by the diplomatic imperatives of international politics. This agreement is formalized December 27, 1893. The Franco-Russian alliance is strengthened in 1912 and provides a defensive alliance between the two countries. France has thus an ally, especially on the demographic and strategic, with the possibility of a second front east of Germany, or one front in India in case of war with the England, while the Tsarist empire can modernize the economy and the country’s army through the French capital. After the crisis of Fashoda in 1898 between French and English, the two countries settled their colonial disputes. In 1904, concerned about the economic and commercial progress of the German Empire and the power gained by sea the German fleet, the UK finally agreed to go out of its isolation. Theophile Delcasse , then French Foreign Minister , manages the Franco-British with the signing of the Entente Cordiale in 1904 26 . This is not a treaty of alliance between the two countries, but their fate is increasingly intertwined. Finally, in 1907 , at the instigation of France , the UK and Russia settle their disputes in Asia by defining their respective spheres of influence in Persia , in Afghanistan and China. Thus was born the Triple Entente .
Strategies and arms race
Battle plans staffs German ( Schlieffen Plan ) and French ( Plan XVII ).
Main article: Cult of the offensive .
Strategically, the top German staff is developing a new military between 1898 and 1905. Forced to fight on two fronts in case of war, Germany chose therefore to focus its efforts on a quick victory in the west. The fear of encirclement is the nightmare of Germany 27 . The Schlieffen Plan therefore plans to conduct a blitzkrieg on the Western Front in France and Belgium, while a small part of the German troops and all of the Austro-Hungarian troops would keep the Eastern Front, which would be directly threatened by Russia because of the slow mobilization. With this plan, Germany undo think France in six weeks 28 . For it to succeed, that is to say that the German army to take back the French army, the Germans are betting of deliberately violating the neutrality of Belgium guaranteed by international treaties that the Yet Germany had signed. After the victory gained in the west, the German armies have turned against Russia and destroy it. The Germans are more afraid of France as Russia. This plan requires, however, developed in Germany of William II to initiate military operations. This has been told to Yves-Marie Adeline in his book 1914, a European tragedy 29 , the outbreak of the war by Germany was due to technocratic reasons.
For its part, France is building from the 1913 Plan XVII 30 which, respecting Belgian 
neutrality, plans to attack Germany by Lorraine on a lot less favorable than the plains of Flanders . Finally, the British under the leadership of Henry Hughes Wilson , director of military operations in the Ministry of War, adopted a plan for the landing of the British Expeditionary Force in France in case of German attack. The staff of the Royal Navy opposed this idea because it would take too long to implement, the Germans would be halfway to Paris time to act. In addition, four to six divisions that the British might call up would have little weight in a war where both sides fielded between 70 and 80 divisions . They preferred to keep the army in the country, to be landed at Antwerp and the German coast, where it would be appropriate.
In both camps, the arms race is accelerating and there is escalation in the preparation of war. Spending on military fly. The border fortifications (at least at the end of the xix th century), artillery (the famous canon 75 of the French army) and the fleets of war (the Dreadnought British and German battleships) absorb much of the budgets States. The equipment is upgraded and extended duration of military service in several countries: in France, the duration of military service now 3 years old in August 1913 31 to compensate (to some extent) the numerical inferiority of France against the Germany. While in 1870 , both countries had a population almost identical, in 1914 Germany with a population of 67 million 32 , while France, having just closed the loss of Alsace-Lorraine , was population of about 40 million 33 .
The assassination in Sarajevo
Trial of Gavrilo Princip , following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on 28 June 1914 .
Main article: Sarajevo Assassination .
The detonator of the diplomatic process leading to war is the double assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand , heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary and his morganatic wife auto insurance rates Sophie Chotek , Duchess of Hohenberg in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 by a student nationalist Serbian Bosnia, Gavrilo Princip 34 . The Austrian authorities suspect immediately neighboring Serbia to be the cause of crime. Austria-Hungary Germany calls on this, but not Italy. On July 5 , the Germany ensures the Austria-Hungary for its support and advised the firm. The Austrians believe easily beat Serbia and thus giving him a good lesson to salve its expansionist fervor. It seems the German high command than ever the chances of success against Serbia , the Russia and France would not be as favorable. It is the policy of “calculated risk” as defined by Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg . Austria, meanwhile, has to take this opportunity to eliminate Serbia as a power in the Balkans 35 .
The entry into the war
In Germany, Wilhelm II of Austria provides its full support. That’s when the attack occurred in Sarajevo, a pretext for Austria to end the home that is pro-Slavic Serbia.
July crisis
Telegram from the Austro-Hungarian government to the Serbian government in the declaration of war on July 28, 1914.
The declaration of war of the German Empire, signed by Kaiser Wilhelm II
Main article: Crisis of July , and peace efforts during the First World War .
After consultation with Germany, July 23 , Austria-Hungary launches ultimatum ten point to Serbia in which it demands that the Austrian authorities can investigate in Serbia 36 . The next day, after the Council of Ministers held under the presidency of the Tsar to Krasnoe Selo, Russia ordered general mobilization for the military districts of Odessa , Kiev , Kazan and Moscow , as well as fleets of the Baltic and the Black Sea . It further requests to other regions to accelerate preparations for mobilization 37 . Serbs decreed general mobilization on 25 and at night, their agreement to all terms of the ultimatum, except the one claiming that Austrian investigators travel to the country 36 . As a result, Austria broke off diplomatic relations with Serbia, and orders the next day, a partial mobilization against this country for 28 , when, on the refusal to approve his ultimatum five days earlier, she said the war. Italy, which was not challenged by Austria declares its neutrality.
On July 29, Russia unilaterally declared – outside the conciliation procedure provided by the Franco-Russian military agreements – partial mobilization against Austria-Hungary 38 . Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg is then allowed up to 31 for an appropriate response. The 30, Russia ordered general mobilization against Germany. In response the next day declared a state of war on July 31. Germany declares “state of danger of war.” It is also a general mobilization in Austria for August 4 . Indeed, the Kaiser Wilhelm II asked his cousin Tsar Nicolas II to suspend the Russian general mobilization. When he refused, Germany issued an ultimatum demanding the cessation of its mobilization and commitment not to support Serbia. Another was sent to France, asking him not to support Russia if it were to come to the defense of Serbia. In France, Jean Jaurès is assassinated in Paris by Raoul Villain on July 31 . The 1 st August, following the Russian response, Germany mobilizes and declares war on Russia.
In France, the government decreed a general mobilization on the same day at 16:00 39 . The next day, Germany invaded Luxembourg , a neutral country and address an ultimatum to Belgium , too neutral, demanding free passage for his troops 40 . At the same time, Germany and the Ottoman Empire signed an alliance against Russia. On August 3 , the Belgium rejects German ultimatum. Germany, which will take the military initiative according to the Schlieffen Plan, declared war on France, which the German ultimatum, had said that “France would act in accordance with its interests” 41 . Germany then declared war on Belgium 42 . The United Kingdom declares that it ensures the neutrality of Belgium, and calls the next day that the German armies, which are to enter Belgium, are immediately removed. The British government receives no response, and therefore declares war on Germany. Only the Italian member of the Triple Alliance which links to Germany and Austria, reserves the right to speak later in the circumstances. On August 6 , Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia on the side of Germany. The 11, France declares war on Austria-Hungary, followed by England on 13 . As most countries have committed colonies, the confrontation quickly took a global: part of the Commonwealth , the Canada , the Australia , the Indian , the New Zealand and the South Africa automatically enter into war against Germany.
On August 23 , the Japan provides support to the Allies and declared war on Germany. On November 1, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers. The fate of the war, however, is played in Europe, especially France, who bears the heaviest load.
Forces in
Both sides are balanced. The Alliance and the Entente have almost identical numbers. In 1918, the war for most countries.
France, despite a population of about 39 million people, can have immediate access to nearly 800,000 soldiers on active duty since the adoption of the law of the three years (August 1913) that increases the length of military service 43 . Mobilization, over to the August 15 , complete the number. The uniform worn by French soldiers remarkably similar to those worn during the 1870 war with the famous pants madder . It is worn not only by tradition, but also to be seen from afar by artillery, and thus to avoid losses by friendly fire. Indeed, the French doctrine of the offensive was based on the rapid-fire guns of 75 , to accompany the infantry to reduce the enemy troops before the assault. It was not until 1915 that is distributed uniform blue horizon 44 .
At the beginning of hostilities, the British Expeditionary Force is still in small numbers, about 70,000 men 45 and plays only a minor role in the workflow. It is mainly composed of professional soldiers well trained, well equipped and experienced. England can also rely on the millions of soldiers from its colonies (India, Kenya, Nigeria, etc..), And especially of dominions : Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Newfoundland .
The Russian armies are huge, and France relies heavily on them to divide the German army, but this impressive number of soldiers (1.3 million active-duty soldiers and reservists 4,000,000 46 ) masks the fact that it s ‘acts mostly as farmers with no military training, poorly armed and poorly equipped. The Russian command proves himself poor.
The German is much more populated, 67 million people, but must reserve a portion of his forces to the Eastern Front. The average age of German soldiers is also lower than the French. At the beginning of the war, Germany, unlike France, has not recalled the high age and still has large reserves Human: 870 000 men 47 . The equipment of the German soldier is generally better than that of the French soldier. Apart from some anachronisms, such as spiked helmet , it generally takes into account the experience gained in the conflicts of the late xix th century and early xx th century.
The war of the right
Mobilization of soldiers Lübeck
The mobilized before the online cash advance Paris Gare de l’Est August 2, 1914
British Volunteers in August 1914.
Articles: Sacred Union (movement) and Burgfrieden .
When mobilization is ordered in France on 1 st August 1914 , France is in full harvest and do not think the war 48 . Duroselle called the hypothesis of a war of revenge as absurd 49 . The proof, however, have raised a genuine resolution to this war to be undertaken. The patriotism of the combatants is a patriotic defense 50 . In addition, many think the war will be scrabble word finder short. The moments of excitement are a reality, especially at the gathering raised at stations. But they remain an exception the French are no less determined to fight, as evidenced by the number of deserters, 1.5% of mobilized 51 .
In Germany and the United Kingdom is also reflected an unwavering patriotism 52 . Similarly, in Russia, an opposition to the war develops in liberal circles and revolutionary. The Socialists are divided between the Russian rally and defeatism. French President Raymond Poincare calls the Sacred Union 53 . The House and Senate vote for the French war credits unanimously. The same applies to the Reichstag where the Social Democrats also vote 14 for 78 against the war credits 54 despite their commitments against the arms race. Meanwhile, the Sacred Union is formed in Russia: The Duma vote for war credits.
As the armies begin to fight each other, the combatants engage in a fight media through publications selectively documented, showing essentially diplomatic exchanges. The White Paper of Germany and contains 36. The Yellow Book French, completed after three months of work, includes 164. They measure the effort made by the respective 
governments to convince public opinion and the people of the merits of their actions. Works of propaganda, they all facilities that betray the desired objectives. In the White Paper, cuts and eliminate anything that might benefit the Russian position 55 . The Yellow Book is a comprehensive “collection of falsifications” 56 to conceal the unconditional support given to Russia, guaranteeing a second front, and prove that it was enforced by the general mobilization of Austria- Hungary. It provides the basis on which the French government relied to make section 231 of the Versailles Treaty that affirms the exclusive responsibility of Germany and its allies.
The war aims
Belgian refugees. For the UK , relocation of Belgium ‘s rights is a war aim.
Main articles: War Aims in the First World War and the war aims of imperial Germany .
The formulation of war aims is difficult for most of the belligerent states. Many heads of state see this as dangerous and unnecessary, since the declaration of war aims could lead to concrete obligations they would rather avoid. Not achieving engagement ring the publicly stated war aims could indeed be seen later as a defeat. The Heads of State speak in the first phase of the war aims of the war only in general and that until 1917 57 and spend more willing to rally public opinion to the general idea of victory. Of war aims are detailed side, has only the heroic character of the war . On the other hand, aspirations for expansion have publicly expressed a negative influence on the position of the neutral states. Subsequently, the formulation of public war aims is often necessary to analyze whether it is still worth fighting for any particular ambition 58 . Like the Allies, the Central Powers use the war aims to encourage their people, their allies or neutral countries or brandished to threaten and deter their enemies 59 . The policy of the war aims of each side also has an economic aspect: occupy or influence in the commercial for its own exports on the one hand and obtain new sources of raw materials on the other.
Military operations
Main article: Timeline of the First World War .
August 1914: the war of movement
The German offensive, the halt of the Marne and the “race to the sea”
Albert I er , King of the Belgians in 1914.
The Chief of Staff German Helmut von Moltke applies the Schlieffen Plan . On August 4 , the Germany invaded Belgium and Luxembourg . The lightning attack in Belgium in early August, meeting fierce resistance around Liege . The Germans entering Belgium close to Aix-la-Chapelle . King Albert I er calls to France and the United Kingdom. He accuses the Germans to engage in atrocities, to execute civilians and cut off the hands of the prisoners they can not fight 60 . On August 8 , French troops enter Mulhouse , which falls again in German hands two days later 61 . The breakthrough in Lorraine, according to the plan XVII , is a failure for France ( Lorraine Battle of the August 19-20) and III E and IV th armies withdrew behind the Meuse. The Germans forced the V th French Army to retreat at the Battle of Charleroi on August 23 . Three days earlier, on August 20, German troops had entered Brussels 62 . All along the line of Belgian front, the Allies retreated. The Schlieffen Plan proceeds on schedule.
Main article: Battle of the Borders .
The British, led by General French and the French retreated hastily, but in order, on the Marne. They are pursued by three German armies who manage to cross the river, but can not isolate the Franco-British left wing. Joffre , Commander in Chief of the French army, managed to effect a shift of troops to the west to avoid overflow maneuver and encirclement of the German armies. The attack seems imminent in the capital: this is why the 29 August to 2 September , the French government left Paris and settled in Bordeaux , leaving the capital under the military government of General Gallieni . The civilian government of the military requires that the capital is prohibited and constitutes an army to defend Paris 63 .
Main electronic cigarette article: Great Retreat .
But Paris is not the purpose of the Germans. As they rotate, also in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan, to the south-east to encircle the French army. On September 4 , the German army occupied Reims . The command sees this as an opportunity to attack the Germans on their flank. The French army turned back on September 6 and goes on the attack. Reinforcements were sent from Paris by the requisition of Paris taxis . This is the first victory of the Marne ( 6 – 9 September ) 64 . After 4 days of fierce fighting, the German armies are stopped and fell back. All the German forces retreated to the Aisne and attaches along the Ardennes and the Argonne . Due to the failure of the German plan and the French victory, Erich von Falkenhayn became head of the German General Staff on September 14 , replacing von Moltke. On October 5 , the conflict taking its first aerial duels near Reims where a two-seater Aviatik German rifle is shot by French aviators and Frantz Quenault.
Main article: First vps hosting Battle of the Marne .
Northwest of the forehead, October 19 , the ” race to the sea “begins between the German armies, French and British. Each side seeks to outflank the other by the north and arrive first at sea the Germans want to reach the ports of Dunkirk , of Boulogne-sur-Mer and Calais the English to cut their supply bases and thus force them to surrender. But they fail to seize the French Channel ports, due to flooding caused by the Belgians in the region of the Yser . The British advance to Ypres , at the southwest corner of Belgium. They are few but as the English soldiers are professionals, they fight better than the Germans. After taking Antwerp on 10 October , the Germans attempted a breakthrough in the bloody battle of Flanders , in November, but they face the resistance of the allied troops commanded by Joffre. On October 27th , the Germans launched a major offensive in Belgium triggered the north, east and south of Ypres.
Main article: Race to the Sea .
On November 3rd , the British Admiralty did undermine the North Sea declared a “war zone”. The UK has confidence in its navy to protect the country and establish an economic blockade. It does indeed has a professional army of 250,000 men scattered throughout the world, only 60,000 are ready to leave Plastic Storage Bins for France.
In December, the Allied armies-attack against the entire length of the front from Nieuport in the west to Verdun in the east, but do not earn any decisive victory 65 . The “battle of Flanders” marks the end of warfare and fighting in the open on the Western Front, which is stabilized over nearly 800 km from Switzerland to the North Sea . At the end of 1914, both sides dug trenches. Warfare has failed. Then began a terrible wait, that of an offensive that will break the front.
The Eastern Front
Russian troops on their way to the front.
Main article: Eastern Front .
On the Eastern Front, following the plans of the Allies, the Tsar launched the offensive in East Prussia on August 17, earlier than expected by the Germans. In August, two Russian armies penetrate into East Prussia and four others invade the Austrian province of Galicia after the victories of Lemberg in August and September. The Russian armies spread terror in Prussia and are accused of murder and rape by the German propaganda 66 . Faced with the Austrian armed poorly equipped Russian armies advancing steadily. They seized Lvov (September 3) and Bukovina and drove the Austrians in the Carpathians , where the front stabilized in November.
Against the Germans, the Russians win at Gumbinnen (19-20 August) on the strengths of the eighth German army, outnumbered. They are about to evacuate the area when reinforcements led by General Paul von Hindenburg won on the Russians a decisive victory at the Battle of Tannenberg (27-30 August 1914), confirmed at the battle of the lakes Mazures in East Prussia, Sept. 15, forcing the Denver Divorce Attorney Russians to retreat to the border 67 . The Germans finally halt the Russian offensive in Prussia (end August 31). The same day, the Russians crushed the Austrians at the Battle of Lemberg , which ends Sept. 11. On 20 October, during the Battle of the Vistula , the Germans are in retreat before the Russians in the loop of the Vistula. In early November, Hindenburg became supreme commander of German armies on the Eastern Front. It is considered a hero and his opinions are always heard by the Kaiser.
On the front south-east, the Austrians tried three times to invade Serbia , but they were repulsed and suffered a defeat at Cer on August 24. Serbs return to Belgrade on December 13. And finally, between October 29 and November 20, the Turks bombard the Russian coast of the Black Sea . The Ottoman Empire joined the Germans and Austrians in the war.
Globalization Criminal Defense Attorney Chicago of the conflict
The 1 st November 1914, authorities Turkey officially declared war against the countries of the Triple Entente .
Gradually, the conflict is going global. The Japanese , as an ally of the United Kingdom declared war on Germany August 23, 1914, but his participation in the conflict is limited to the occupation of the German colonies of the Pacific ( Marshall Islands , Caroline Islands and Mariana ) and the German concessions in China ( Shandong ). It takes advantage of the conflict to strengthen its positions against major European powers in Asia.
Turkey entered the war against the countries of the Triple Entente on 1 st November 1914, as an ally of Germany 68 . The main motivation of Turkey in this war is to fight the Russian Empire that seeks to take control of the straits .
Italy, although a member of the Triple Alliance , declares war on Austria-Hungary in May 1915 after much hesitation. In August 1914, she had prudently declared neutral. Requested by both sides, it will eventually lean towards the countries of the Triple Entente . Indeed, by the secret Treaty of London of April 1915, France and the United Kingdom promised him the victory once gained, it would benefit large territorial compensation, namely: land irredentist but also an area of influence in Asia Minor and Africa.
Bulgaria, initially neutral, but sought by both sides, finally committed alongside the Central Powers in payday loan October 1915, at a time when they seem to outweigh the Balkan front. To remove the accession of Bulgaria, they did not hesitate to promise them if they win, the sale of Macedonia Serbia, the Dobrudja Romanian, and access to the Adriatic Sea , just claimed that Sofia.
The Portugal entered the war alongside the Agreement in March 1916 to consolidate its position in Europe and preserve its colonies, coveted by Germany. The Romania declares war on Germany in August 1916, after the victory against Russian-offensive on the Eastern Front leaving hope for a defeat of Austria-Hungary. She claims the Transylvanian Hungarians. In 1914, Greece remains neutral, and then joined the Entente by declaring war on Bulgaria in November 1916, then to Germany in June 1917 after the abdication and exile of King Constantine .
Strongly affected by the sinking of the liner Lusitania by German submarine in 1915 , and particularly after the decision to resume torpedoing of neutral vessels by Germany taken in January 1917 , the spa covers United States declared war on Germany on Cell Phone Accessories April 6 of that year. This entry into the war, albeit late, and despite the withdrawal of Russian war following the Bolshevik Revolution , was decisive.
Knowing that the colonies were also involved in the war effort of European cities, the war is now global.
The Christmas truce
Main article: Christmas Truce .
The soldiers on the Western Front were exhausted and shocked by the extent of the casualties they had suffered since August. In the early morning of December 25, the British who held the trenches around the Belgian town of Ypres heard Christmas carols coming enemy positions and then discovered that Christmas trees were placed along the trench German . Slowly, the columns of German soldiers left their trenches and advanced to the middle of no man’s land , where they called the British to join them. The two sides met in wedding ring the middle of a landscape devastated by shells, exchanged gifts, talked and played in football . This kind of truce was aware where the British and German troops faced each other, and fraternization continued even in places for a week until the military authorities to put a brake. This event was originally the film Merry Christmas from Christian Carion , released in 2005 .
Year 1915
The Western Front
Main article: Western Front (WWI) .
The year 1915 began with a technical innovation in the West. On January 19 , a zeppelin made the first aerial bombing of civilians in the United Kingdom and the March 21 bombing in which the same airship Paris. Throughout the war, airships are terrorizing the townspeople French and English. On 21 January, the Russians realize an offensive in the Carpathians and three days later, the victorious British fleet appears in front of the German fleet near the Dogger Bank , North Sea. In February, the first aircraft armed with a gun , the Vickers FB5 , fitted to a fighter squadron of the British Royal Flying Corps . The German government declared “war zone” the territorial waters of British and is the beginning of submarine warfare . The 1 st March, the Allies extend the blockade to the whole of German goods.
Thus war becomes a war of attrition, which is testing both the moral and material forces of the combatants. Staffs want to “bleed white” the opposing armies. To relieve the Russians, who are facing a major offensive of the Central Powers, the Turks are also to attack the Caucasus , French and British launched assault on assault in denver auto accident lawyer Artois and in Champagne, February 16. Four days later, Reims was bombarded by the Germans. Finally, on March 16, the Battle of solar power Champagne is complete: the attempt to break French is a failure. These offensives in 1915 managed to disrupt some features for the price of German terrible losses. The Allied high command regrets the insufficient means of attack and especially heavy artillery, a field in which Germany has an indisputable superiority since the beginning of the war.
On 22 April, a new weapon appears: the poison gas used to Strenstraate and Ypres by the Germans 69 . The effect is immediate and overwhelming. But never the Germans nor the Allies, who are trying to turn, shall not engage in routine use. Controlling the movement of ill winds, both groups were afraid that the ground does not return, and the soldiers are not equipped to fill the infected areas. Also, the use of gas never allowed to win more than a local success.
On April 26, the Treaty of London between members of the Agreement is signed and the Italy agrees to go to electronic cigarette review war against the Central Powers within a month. The Allies accepted the claims of March 9. After a lively campaign “interventionist” for the entry into the war in Italy , launched in particular by the speech of May 5, 1915 Gabriele D’Annunzio , Rome declared war on May 23 The decision was taken by three men: the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III , the chairman, Antonio Salandra and Foreign Minister, Sidney Sonnino 70 . This entry into the war of Italy on the Allied side was strategically important because it cuts a supply route of the Central Powers and allows the opening of a new front.
For the first time of war, countries at war will mobilize all their resources: human, economic and financial, in the conduct of total war .
The organization in armies , corps , divisions , brigades , regiments , battalions , companies , sections and squads is relatively similar in both camps. The allocation and distribution equipment and weapons are virtually identical. However, France has focused on the offensive and has a lighter artillery based in particular on the barrel 75 to facilitate movement. The German artillery has a heavier and longer range, driven in part by its production capacity capable of carrying more defensive battles. These choices have a significant importance at the beginning of the war and the difference is filled at the beginning of 1916.
The March 11 and April 10, the British and French governments are in agreement on the principle of an annexation of Constantinople by Russia 71 . Two weeks later, on April 24, more than 600 intellectuals Armenians in Constantinople were arrested and deported by the Young Turks , when seen as symbolically marking the beginning of the Armenian genocide .
The war in the east
British troops on landing at Gallipoli in May 1915.
Main articles: Great Arab Revolt of 1916-1918 , the Serbian Campaign , Battle of the Dardanelles and the Eastern Front .
Lawrence of Arabia fomented on behalf of the British uprising of the Arab tribes to hamper the Turks 72 . With the help of Bulgaria, the Austro-Germans managed to occupy all of Serbia in 1915, forcing the Serbian whole life insurance quotes royal army to cross the country to find free government money refuge in Corfu .
Instead of hitting the big enemy troops where they were well organized, installed in a network of trenches scholar, the headquarters of the Allies decided to bring his blows on vulnerable points of defense, those of an ally Turkish Germany. On April 25, 1915, an Allied Expeditionary Force arrived in the Dardanelles 73 . Control of the straits would allow France and the United Kingdom to supply Russia and encircle the Central Powers . This idea, championed especially by the head of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill , leads to a landing at Gallipoli of troops largely made up of Australians and New Zealanders. Despite the courage of the soldiers of the ANZAC , the Allies are unable to penetrate by surprise in the Ottoman Empire and fail in their successive offensives. The company cost 145,000 men to the Allies and is a total failure. The survivors were landed at Salonica , in violation of Greek neutrality to help the website hosting Serbs threatened by the Central Powers. The expeditionary force is the Army of the East . This army then submits the Serbs and is involved in the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 .
After stabilization of fronts, the Germans take the initiative on the Russian front. On February 7, 1915, the Germans launched an offensive southeast of Masurian Lakes led by Hindenburg. The Russians are surrounded and retreat to the Niemen locksmith . The Germans won spectacular successes, occupying the whole Poland , the Lithuanian and part of Latvia . Without ammunition and heavy artillery, the Russians could not stand up, they lose almost two million men, a disaster in the long run, undermines the regime. But it seems as though nothing the Russians retreated in good order on entrenched positions.
The year 1916
French soldiers of the 87 th regiment near Verdun (France) in 1916.
Main article: Battle of Verdun .
In early 1916 , the German command decided to use fully the French army by forcing it to engage fully. He chose to attack Verdun , Phen375 Review a fortified front pivot of the French want to defend at all costs 74 . The site offers the opportunity to attack the French lines on three sides. In addition, the German army has, unlike the French, many railroads to facilitate the supply of equipment and men. Finally, the approach operations may be conducted in a safe relative discretion of forest cover. In the spirit of the German High Command, “it was not primarily to Verdun set [...], but the French forces, to bring this battle they would defend every inch of [. ..], to bleed the French army with artillery superiority ” 75 . Bloodless, the French army would be unable to complete the planned offensive on the Somme .
On Monday, February 21, after a short but violent artillery preparation, the German command launched an attack with three army corps. The two French divisions defending the ten miles from the first line are submerged. Soon, the commander of the II th Army, Philippe Petain , organizing the response. It establishes a connection with Bar-le-Duc , in the back. In 24 hours, 6000 trucks mounted to the front in this route became the Sacred Way . The German assault was repulsed and the hole plugged. But Relevant Life Policy the attacks will be repeated for several months, ever contained. On 6 March, the Germans launched another attack on Mort Homme . “They will! “Petain wrote in the famous agenda of April 10. He obtained his troops are regularly renewed before they are tested too. This is the “revolving door” where the French army knows the hell of Verdun. The outbreak of the Somme offensive in July and a new Russian offensive on the Eastern Front forced the Germans to release the pressure on Verdun. In December, Mangin uses the lost forts. Nearly 700,000 French and German soldiers died on the battlefield 76 .
Between 1 st July and 18 November 1916 took place the Battle of the Somme 77 . The British and French troops trying to penetrate and attack the fortified German defense lines north of the Somme on a line north-south 45 km . The offensive was preceded by intense artillery preparation. For one week, 1.6 million shells fell on the German lines. The Allies are convinced to have liquidated any resistance from the enemy side. The offensive of the Somme offensive at the start of rupture, is gradually turning into a war of attrition. Most English soldiers are committed volunteers who have no experience of fire. The first few minutes, they die in large numbers in the barbed wire separating the enemies. The soldiers on both sides feel they are living in hell. The debauchery of artillery prevent any breakthrough of success. Soldiers often fight for a few meters and can not penetrate the enemy trenches protected by a heavy fire of artillery and rows of barbed wire. The results of the Battle of the Somme is very heavy. 650 000 allies, mainly the British, and 580,000 men on the German side are out of combat, killed, wounded or missing. Allied troops advance only to 13 km on a front of 35 km long.
The year 1917
The Western Front
Australian infantry in the trenches in 1917
Articles: Mutinies of 1917 and Russian soldiers mutiny in La Courtine .
1917 a crisis that affects all sectors. Despite the failures of the battles of Verdun and the Somme, General Nivelle is developing a new plan of frontal attack to be the last. He chose an area between Reims and Soissons: the Chemin des Dames , he considers poorly defended 78 . For six weeks from early April to mid-May, the successive assaults attempt to conquer this site. During the first assault, 40 000 French come under fire from German machine guns insurmountable. The attack was not a surprise. The Germans had learned of the prisoners the next offensive against their site and had greatly improved their position by putting more guns, building underground shelters for protection and underground 10 to 15 m deep. A total of 270,000 French soldiers perished.
Photo of Petain , who has addressed the mutinies of 1917.
The failure of the offensive of the Chemin des Dames was the immediate consequence of the riots 79 who speak out against the conditions of combat and non combat against the fact itself. Of the 40 000 mutineers, there is no desertion, no fraternization with the enemy. They remain in their quarters and refused to get online. They insult the officers as they deem incompetent. The mutineers are punished with relative moderation Pétain , who became the commander in chief of the French army in place of Nivelle. There are 629 death sentences and finally, counting cases of mutilation, 75 executions, including 27 acts of mutiny to 80 . Pétain tried to end the discontent of the soldiers by improving their daily lives by rest, food and pace of permissions 81 . The French command men dare not launch the attack as long as it does not have an absolute superiority in equipment by the Americans and the tanks . Yet, eager to win one of its own success, the staff launched an English offensive at Passchendaele in Flanders in the autumn of 1917. He succeeded only lead to unnecessary death hundreds of thousands of Britons and Germans.
In March 1917 , the Imperial German General Staff made the strategic decision to back the front to the north, the ” Hindenburg Line “and evacuated all its armies occupied positions since 1914 in the area of the Aisne . The Germans systematically dynamited buildings emblematic of towns and villages previously occupied. And disappear including the fortresses of Ham (Somme), located nearby, and Coucy (March 27, 1917). This decline can shorten the front and save the forces necessary for his defense. The only victorious Allied offensives of 1917 were held around of Arras and of Ypres in April and June 1917, when British and Commonwealth take a few villages to the Germans. The taking of Vimy by Canadians April 9, 1917 became a symbol of the strength of Canada and Canadians’ ability to earn a target without the help of the British.
To the south, Italian and Austrian forces clash without result for two and a half years on the front of Isonzo northwest of Trieste , with a slight advantage for the Italian army in 1916, had conquered the city of Gorizia at a cons-offensive. The Italians had also penetrated several kilometers into the Tyrol , but no major results. This balance is broken in the fall of 1917 when the Germans decided to support their Austrian allies on the Italian front and send seven divisions. On October 14, 1917 at the Battle of Caporetto , the Italian soldiers stop at the Austro-German offensive. More than 600,000 Italian soldiers, tired and demoralized, deserted or surrendered. Italy lived under the threat of a complete military defeat. But on November 7, the Italians managed to stop the advance of the Austro-German line on the Piave , about 110 km from the Isonzo front. The Italian defeat at Caporetto encouraged France and the UK to send reinforcements and set up the Supreme War Council to coordinate the Allied war effort.
The submarine warfare and entered the war the United States
During the First World War, the US Army publishes a recruitment poster featuring the Uncle Sam . The text I want you for US Army can mean “I will claim for the U.S. military.”
Main article: United States during the First World War .
In 1917, under pressure from the military, including Admiral Tirpitz 82 , the Kaiser decided to engage in submarine warfare to the death , in other words sink all ships visiting the United Kingdom, even neutral. The Germans hope to smother the UK economy and force it to withdraw from the conflict. In April 1917, German submarines have sunk 847,000 tons 83 , the equivalent quarter of the French commercial fleet. However, the organization of convoys under the protection of the British navy and minesweeping able to blunt the submarine. In the end, instead of lowering flags in the UK and terrorize neutral, the submarine warfare causes excessive U.S. intervention.
In addition, the United Kingdom requests the assistance of Japan . The cruiser Akashi and eight destroyers were sent to Malta , a figure which later increased to 17 vessels, excluding joint command ships. This fleet escort and casino support protecting Allied convoys in the Mediterranean, allowing Allied troops to be sent to Egypt to Salonika and Marseilles , to take part in the great offensive of 1918. The destroyer Matsu saved more than 3,000 soldiers and crew of the transport ship Transylvania , torpedoed off the French coast. In all, Japan has escorted 788 ships in the Mediterranean, 700 000 troops of the British Commonwealth.
In August 1914, the United States, very isolationist, remain neutral despite the close ties with the countries of the Agreement, in particular the United Kingdom. The blockade imposed by the fleet of the Entente countries is almost end to exchanges between the U.S. and Germany. At the same time, financial and commercial links between the U.S. and the Entente countries are growing. The sinking of the British liner Lusitania on May 7 1915 , killing 128 U.S. citizens, which touches the American public and tipped in favor of the war.
The blunders of German diplomacy help the turnaround in January 1917, Minister-Counsellor Zimmermann does not hesitate to promise Mexico Alliance of Germany against the United States with, for wages of victory, the return of lost provinces ( Texas , Arizona and New Mexico ) 84 . The intervention of the Kaiser in American affairs arouses indignation. The U.S. Congress decides to enter into war against the Central Powers. President Woodrow Wilson set in January 1918 when its objectives of peace. Several countries in Latin America also engage in the conflict together with the denver martial arts Agreement.
Such as the United Kingdom, the United States have only a professional army. Thus, when the proposal of President Wilson’s war to the Congress on April 2 is accepted, and that the United States entered the war on 6, the U.S. president has to rely mainly on a voluntary basis to build the strength of 1.2 million men in France who happen until October 1917 . This is the famous poster campaign with the symbol ‘s Uncle Sam pointing his finger to the player.
The body establishes its first U.S. military camps around Nantes and La Rochelle in October 1917 . The American uniform is green, complete with a helmet in a circle like the English model. Finally, it is an army that will contribute greatly to the victory over the Central Powers, as when the attack against General is launched by Marshal Foch in 1918 , the GI does not represent less than 31% of Allied fighting forces.
A total of 2 million U.S. military will be in Europe at the time of the armistice.
The Eastern Front and the Ottoman Empire
Russia can not support a war against an enemy better equipped and better organized. The effort requires a war, industrial and agricultural production increased, leads to rationing of the population and social unrest. In early 1917, Russia is exhausted, the desertions multiplied and cities are experiencing supply problems that make the situation explosive. It does not take much for everything explodes. In March 1917, the first revolution broke out. It brought to power the liberal bourgeoisie, which will continue the war while the Soviets , 
increasingly influential, demanding peace. But Russia is no longer an attacking force and the Allies feared an intensification of the German effort in the west. In October, Lenin organized the second revolution and start peace talks leading to the armistice in December.
The British Foreign Minister Lord Arthur Balfour , promised the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine among others to motivate American Jews to support entry into the war the United States 85 . The same year, the British attacked the Palestine , which they retain control until 1947 . Many Jews settled there after the trials of World War II .
1918, the end of the war
Territory occupied by the Central Powers after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed in March 1918.
French troops under the command of General Gouraud , with their sulfation among the ruins of a cathedral near the Marne , pushing the Germans. 1918
In early 1918, the Allies lost a front with the release of the conflict in Russia. Bolshevik Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (negotiated by Leon Trotsky ) in March 1918 . Germany receives a “gold train” (the content of it is confiscated to Germany by the Treaty of Versailles ), ranked Poland , the Ukraine , the Finland , the Baltic states and part of the Belarus . The Germans also benefit from this defection to send large reinforcements to the Western Front and seek a quick victory before the actual arrival of the Americans. This is the “return of warfare.”
The German High Command (Marshal Hindenburg and Quartermaster General Erich Ludendorff ) knows he has a period of several months – until June-July 1918 – to win a decisive victory over the allied troops. Reinforced by troops hcg diet plan from the Eastern Front, and wishing to make the decision before the arrival of American troops, the Germans put all their strength in final offensive in the west. The German command decided to launch a series of thrusts against the English, particularly hard since Passchendaele. They carry the effort at the junction of the French front: knowing the disagreement between Haig and Petain, they hoped to play. It does not take much as the English lines are washed away during the offensive of March 21, in Saint-Quentin 86 . Petain does not send reinforcements and should be authority Clemenceau and Foch Fayolle for help to bring the English and save the day. An offensive against the French, May 27, the Chemin des Dames , leads the German army at the height of Reims and Soissons, an advance of 60 kilometers.
Paris is again within reach of German guns at long range. Yet the decisive break the Allied front is not reached, the German high command is planning a final push and then wants to direct against the British troops, known more weakened in order to discharge into the sea by cutting the French army. This offensive must be preceded by an offensive against the French army in order to immobilize the reserves of the latter to prevent then to rescue the British army. Launched on 15 July 1918 by German troops in Champagne , the preliminary offensive “diversion” can be implemented for the first time on this scale tactics of the defensive zone (formalized by General Petain for almost a year) which will allow to defeat the German set. German troops entered because the first French lines, including the organized forces in depth, with piers of resistance, oppose a murderous fire. The advance of German troops is important, and they cross the Marne ( Second Battle of the Marne after the September 1914). Ventured far south and arranged in a point not to guard against attacks on its flanks, the troops were attacked by the German-French attack against the region of Villers-Cotterets , which began on 18 July 1918 87 . The results of this attack is devastating against these German troops must flow back northward narrowly avoiding encirclement.
Last moments and armistices
German submarine ( Unterseeboot ) to surrender in London in 1918.
Main article: Armistice of 1918 .
As of that date, the German army is never able to hire an offensive action, the initiative is now in the only camp of the Allies will engage in the months following the attacks against the return auctions online to lost ground in the spring of 1918 against then-major offensives. The great victorious offensive took place on 8 August 1918 88 . Canadian troops, backed by Australians, British and French, launched an attack in Picardy and sink the German lines. Further south, U.S. troops and French are also launching in the Meuse-Argonne offensive , victorious. For the first time, thousands of German soldiers go without a fight. German troops can not resist the allied armies now coordinated by General Foch . These are reinforced every day by the hardware weight loss pills and the American soldiers, for the first Renault FT-17 tanks and naval and air superiority.
The armistice was asked by the Bulgarians on September 26. The Turkish army is destroyed by the British during the Battle of Megiddo . The German generals, aware of the defeat of Germany in time, think of nothing but hasten the conclusion of the armistice. They would sign it before the opponent does not measure accurately the victory, before he regained French territory.
On the Italian front in spring 1918, the Austro-Hungarian army is trying to force the Italian lines, but it faces stiff resistance at the Battle of the Piave . On October 24, 1918, the Italian army (51 Italian divisions and 7 with two French allies) launches a major offensive against the Austro-Hungarian forces (63 divisions). The Italians managed to halve the Austrian lines in the battle of Vittorio Veneto . The Austrians, threatened with encirclement, retreat all the way from the front. On November 3, the Italians are the cities of Trento and Trieste . A foothold in the Italian army enters Slovenia to the town of Postumja. The Austro-Hungarian army, demoralized by the desertion of many Slavic troops, was defeated. She lost 350 000 soldiers and over 5,000 artillery pieces. Austria itself is almost helpless, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was forced to sign the armistice on November 4 at Villa Giusti in northern Italy. Charles I st abandons his throne. The defection of Austria-Hungary is a blow to the Germans lose their main ally.
In Germany, Wilhelm II refused to abdicate, which results in demonstrations for peace. On November 3, riots broke out in Kiel sailors refused to fight a battle “for the honor.” The revolutionary wave spread throughout Germany. On November 9, William II was forced to abdicate. The Military Staff requests that the armistice was signed 89 . The San Diego Homes For Rent government of the new German Republic then the sign in the Compiègne Forest near Rethondes on 11 November 1918 in the train of Marshal Foch , while Canadian troops launched the last offensive of the war by attacking Mons , Belgium. Thus, the Germans did not fight on their territory; having camped for four years in enemy territory, they imagine they are really bad losers. To save face, the German General Staff circulated the theory of stab in the back . The terms of the armistice they consider especially hard: surrender of the navy to evacuate the left bank of the Rhine, delivery of 5000 cannon and 30,000 machine guns, etc.. However, compared the devastation caused in enemy territory, they weaken that very few German power. In 1918, the strength of a nation lies in the power industry. Later, the Nazi propagandists were able to declare that the army had not done and that the defeat lay with civilians.
The consequences
A heavy human toll
Nations ravaged
The Douaumont ossuary contains the remains of 130,000 soldiers.
Main articles: Casualties of World War I and broken faces .
The human toll of the First World War amounted to about 9 million dead and about 8 million disabled 90 , approximately 6000 deaths a day 91 . Proportionally, the number of fighters killed, France is the country most affected with 1.4 million dead and missing 92 or 10% of the male labor force. Counting civilian casualties, the Serbia and Romania , who suffered famine and military occupations, were more severely affected, losing 6-10% of their total population 93 . The British casualties (including colonies) amounted to 1.2 free ipad million killed. This bleeding is accompanied by a considerable deficit of births. German deficit amounted to 5.436 million, the French deficit to 3.074 million, the deficit is the highest Russian and reaches 26 million 94 . The French demographic stagnation continues, with an aging population that is growing with the use of the immigration . The latter is involved in the reconstruction of a country whose north is in ruins. Is also the new phenomenon of broken faces , the name given to disabled veterans who survive thanks to advances in medicine while maintaining serious physical sequelae 95 . The integration of these war victims in number to the company must be done through new laws and organizations such as the Union of injuries of the face. While in France there are 10 000 to 15 000 major injuries of the face 96 . In the UK , sculptors, like Francis Derwent Wood , make masks to give a human face to the soldiers wounded 97 . Companies after the war will keep the brand alive in the war of many years.
Genocide, occupation, deportations and atrocities
Armenians killed during the 1918 Armenian genocide that killed more than a million victims.
Monument to Tamines , recalling the massacre of Tamines .
Main articles: Armenian Genocide , Massacre of the Assyrians and Pontic Greek Genocide .
The First World War is also the first conflict to lead an enterprise of extermination and deportation planned by a state of a people constituting a minority, under the pretext of sedition : the Armenian genocide is triggered April 24, 1915 by the Government Young Turkey of the Ottoman Empire who, officially, it is only a transfer of the Armenian population away from the front. This is mainly between April 1915 and July 1916 between 800,000 and 1.5 million Armenians were massacred, a large majority of the Ottoman Armenian population. At the same time, 275,000 Christian Assyrians 98 were massacred in the eastern Ottoman Empire, in the same vein of ethnic cleansing . The Ottoman Empire committed another genocide during and after the First World War, that of the Pontian Greeks . From 1916 to 1923, the massacre claimed nearly 360 000 victims 99 . Recognition of the Armenian genocide is still a problem in xxi th century, although it is recognized as such by a number of countries . The genocide of the Pontic Greeks also found a very limited recognition, like the massacre of the Assyrians .
Main articles: German atrocities and massacre Tamines .
During the conflict, killings also occur in some countries, particularly in Belgium where the German army commits atrocities against the civilian population. The myth of the maverick of the War of 1870 made its appearance soon 100 and in retaliation, the German troops will engage in the deportation and the implementation of a large number of civilians both in Belgium and in the northern France. The occupation of these regions is very hard for people who must initially provide the food necessary for the occupation troops 101 . Many civilians are conscripted for forced labor and many of them are captured and deported to Germany for example 1 500 inhabitants of Amiens , which are sent to labor camps 102 . Some prisoners will remain until 1918 102 .
The occupation and the deportations were accompanied by widespread destruction and executions, most of which take place in Belgium. At Tamines , August 22, 1914, are 422 people that run 103 to Haybes , city destroyed, 61 civilians were killed 100 and Dinant , this is 674 civilians were executed by firing squad 104 . At Louvain , the German troops set fire to the city and 29 people were shot 105 . Belgium and France are not the only countries to be affected. The city of Kalisz in Poland is bombed and burned by the Germans in August 1914, civilians were killed. In the ruins of the devastated city, including most of the population is part exodus , there are only 5000 people so she had before the war 65 affiliate marketing ebook 000 106 .
Tributes to soldiers
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Canberra , Australia.
Articles: Lest We Forget , War Memorial and Memorials of the First World War .
In the immediate post-war popping up everywhere memorials to honor fallen soldiers on the battlefield. In France, there are about 36 000 monuments 107 . In Germany , it is the municipalities and churches usually organize the construction of monuments. These usually consist of a list of the fallen soldiers and few monuments that bear national symbols which are preferred leaf oak , the Iron Cross or Christ symbolic, since Germany lost the war and the Empire have disappeared.
The soldiers of different nations lie in cemeteries and burial grounds, as the Douaumont Ossuary . Various associations concerned with graves and memory of the soldiers. For France, the French Memorial , for Germany the Deutsche Volksbund Kriegsgräberfürsorge dealing in France of 192 places of memory, for Austria the Österreichisches Schwarzes Kreuz , for the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the United States the American Battle Monuments Commission . In different countries, the cult of the Unknown Soldier is in place.
Material destruction
Main article: Reconstruction in France and Belgium after the First World War .
The agricultural and industrial production have collapsed because of the imperatives of the war economy and the mobilization of a large number of assets: France lost 17.3% of its mobilized, the United Kingdom 5.1% 9.8% and Germany 108 . War leads to disruption of normal commercial channels. It was necessary to rebuild, revitalize the business and return to a peacetime economy while facing a severe shortage of labor . In France for example, 50% of farmers have died 109 . So in addition to the problem of conversion of the war economy in peacetime economy.
The Americans were the first to know the effects, in 1920, with a recession due to a sudden return to a policy deflationary . U.S. production of steel down by half, and the car 40% 110 . The U.S. crisis will quickly spread. First in Japan , then to the United Bankruptcy Kingdom where the rate of unemployment of 20% in 1921 111 . In Italy , the main problem is the reintegration into the labor market of a mobilized population massively. There are then in effect unemployed 600 000 110 resulting in social unrest which will be the direct result Biennio rosso (literally “The Two Red Years”), a period marked by revolutionary agitation on the left. The reconversion of the economy will also generate disruption monetary system . Western economies abandoned the gold standard , preferring paper money 112 .
Map of all the areas destroyed during the First World War in northern and eastern France .
Material destruction are important and badly affect the homes, factories, farms and other communication infrastructures such as bridges, roads or railways, and this mainly in France 113 which devastated a large area of 120,000 hectares is called the ” red zone “. In the north and east of France, eleven departments will be classified in the red zone. Agriculture will be prohibited in many places before désobusage and clearance that will take several years (to be completed in the year 2600 at the current pace of discovery and removal of shells and other munitions active in the former red zone), without even considering the treatment of dumped munitions in the millions, because considered too dangerous to be dismantled, or lack of funds to store and process safety. Three million hectares of land are ravaged by the fighting 92 . Some villages in the Meuse, the Marne and North are wiped out and can not be rebuilt to their site. Cities are bombed as Reims Cathedral who sees his or severely affected London receives about 300 tons of bombs 114 . Louvain in turn sees his library burned. In France and Belgium established a Ministry of Reconstruction . It is a time-poor archives where all energies are devoted to reconstruction, with the first dark period where one involves the prisoners of war German 115 , the Chinese workers 116 spared the Spanish flu and a immigrant labor 117 , including the désobusage . This period will generate some great fortunes in the field of metal recovery. The German has not been on the other hand the destruction that had to undergo another. Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau and Annette Becker pointed out that the “productive potential in Germany is intact” 113 .
Aftermath of war
Main article: Sequelae of war .
The aftermath of war are important: the reconstruction must be tens of thousands of hectares where physically devastated towns, villages, factories, mine shafts and the fields are sometimes literally erased from the landscape, in polluted soils by thousands of human and animal corpses, made dangerous by the saps , the trenches and the billions of shells and other unexploded ordnance or not learned (dangerously lost or stored). Tens of thousands of hectares are severely contaminated with heavy metals and sometimes by chemical weapons that are dismantled or is being done without adequate precautions backfire.
Sequelae geographical
Moreuil , village Picard completely razed during the Second Battle of the Somme in March 1918 (Castel fighting Sénécat and wood in particular) and 3 e battle of Picardy in August 1918.
Alleys of the old village of Fleury-devant-Douaumont .
At sites where the most shocked explosives and toxic combat are still too many for one can make the land to agriculture or urbanization, will be planted forests of war , including the forest of Verdun the forest of Argonne , which have grown on old fields riddled with shell holes and trenches. In these forests, some villages are rebuilt . These effects are known in the art land, especially miners, but it seems that the pollution released by the tens of billions of lead balls of shrapnel and bullets, or mercury for primers are able to slowly accumulate in ecosystems and certain foods. This problem has not been treated by historians or specialists in public health. No formal studies have not seem interested in the fate of heavy metals and toxic action in soils and ecosystems in the red zone.
The aftermath marine, although concern appear to have been forgotten for 70 to 80 years. And the Baltic countries they see the environmental situation of the Baltic Sea to collapse the years 1990 to 2006, while rediscovering the tens of thousands of tonnes of dumped munitions from 1914 to 1918 and later (including chemical weapons, some starting at flee). Fishermen sometimes back of the mustard in their nets in the Baltic 118 . In Belgium, Zeebrugge , there is an incidental deposit submerged 35 000 tons of shells buried there shortly after 1918 and then forgotten. Of these shells, 12 000 tons STD Testing of mustard gas are responsible and chloropicrin still active, a few Container Store hundred meters from the beach and the harbor mouth LNG . This is even later in 2005 a few newspaper articles suggest the discreet publication of a report to the Commission OSPAR listing the deposits of millions of munitions dumped dangerous and polluting, dating from the Great War and subsequent periods. It is against the shore as the number of French immersion deposition is most important. While the ammunition began to run away and lose their toxic content, the question of their future raises. A hundred dead zones have been identified at sea by the UN , most coincide with areas of ocean disposal of munitions, which raises the question of environmental impact assessment of toxic and / or dangerous underwater . The rate of mercury increase alarmingly in ecosystems and particularly in fish. There is concern that some of this mercury comes from billions of primers to mercury fulminate heads shells and shell casings or bullets or other ammunition ( 1 g of mercury per primer on average) not used or not exploded and thrown into the sea after the war or the next.
Psychological sequelae
Main article: Flu of 1918 .
Coupled with this are serious psychological and health consequences: broken faces , psychological trauma, shock-shock and against the Spanish flu that killed between 20 and 50 million deaths 119 . There are also unspoken particular as regards the repression of riots in 1917 in French, Germans and British, as the mutiny of Etaples. In four years, 2400 “hairy” have been sentenced to death and executed 600, the others saw their sentences commuted to penal servitude 120 . Among the soldiers shot for example , some of which Felix Baudy were reinstated in their honor in the 1920 or 1930. Not to mention the fate of the deserters , shot early in the war and deported to prison when they refuse to submit, as Robert Porchet. This world war leaves millions of orphans, unemployed and most importantly, a spirit of hatred and revenge that is already preparing the Second World War . While in France and Belgium are constructed and decorated the ossuaries and hundreds of cemeteries military, while almost every municipality built its memorial, and then come the Roaring Twenties , where one seeks primarily to forget, a pacifist wind quickly controlled by the State claims that this war will be ” the end all wars . ”
A world redesigned by the peace treaties
Map of Europe in 1923.
The redrawing of the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of Sevres .
Main articles: Treaty of Versailles , Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye (1919) , Treaty of Trianon , Treaty of Neuilly , Sevres Treaty and the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) .
Four empires collapsed, which profoundly transforms the map of Europe redrawn by the peace treaties of 1919 121 .
After the Treaty of Versailles , the German Empire loses 1 / 7 th of its territory: in addition to the Alsace and Lorraine already returned to France, Eupen and Malmedy attached to Belgium, Germany lost to the is the Posen and part of East Prussia to allow the recreation of Poland , Upper Silesia was divided between Poland and Germany. German territory is bisected by the ” Danzig Corridor “demilitarized, observing the colonies confiscated, monitored, sentenced to heavy repairs are made solely responsible for the conflict. These repairs, the amount is set in 1921 , amounted to 132 billion gold marks , payable in thirty annual installments (it does pay to total 22.8 billion gold marks until 1932 ).
The Russian Empire , became the Communist Russia , can not find the territories ceded in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk : the Baltic countries and Finland became independent. Western Russia is awarded to Poland.
After the Treaty of Sèvres , the Ottoman Empire had to be cut to the right to self-determination of peoples and the division of Turkey between the great powers today. However, after the war waged by Atatürk and the Lausanne Treaty , the Ottoman Empire was reduced to what is now Turkey. Syria and Iraq become mandates French and British .
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was dismantled in turn – with the birth of an Austrian , a Hungarian and a Czechoslovakia . The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , which became the Yugoslavia , consists of the union of the Kingdom of Serbia with the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Kingdom of Montenegro . It brings together the South Slavs of the Balkans, but it must give the Istria to Italy after the Treaty of Rapallo of November 1920.
All these States adopt parliamentary systems. Democracy finally settled in many countries of Central and Eastern Europe, but in many, democracy does not survive the rapid installation of authoritarian regimes.
A new war
Main article: Technology in the First World War .
Trenches
British trenches in the Somme in July 1916.
Main article: War trenches .
This global conflict is characterized by a continuous front line of 700 km 122 , fortified, that will never be broken by any of the opposing armies before 1918. The front consists of several lines of defense dug in the earth, the trenches , connected by hoses to access 123 . Living conditions are appalling in the trenches, although the German trenches are best equipped 122 . The German troops were in fact very quickly cemented their trenches while the French side, there are sliced potatoes that resist somehow the shell. The soldiers are surrounded by mud, vermin, rats and the smell of rotting corpses. In addition, for the trenches ppi reclaim most exposed to the front, the supply may be inadequate.
A no man’s land rendered impassable by dense networks of barbed wire , beaten by the fire of machine guns , between the first two lines. The danger is permanent, even in times of calm when the activity of the forehead is low, death on anyone during a patrol, a chore, or is a bombardment of artillery .
Air observation by aircraft and balloons allows armies to know precisely the terrain enemy, so that the artillery never fall to chance. The shells that rained day and night do maximum damage. In 1918, there were 250 million shells fired for France 124 . The soldiers are safe only ten kilometers behind the lines when they are out of range of heavy artillery.
Excerpt from the film The Battle of the Somme where we see the barbed wire.
It has often been criticized military leaders have led their troops in this war of trenches so as costly in human lives useless. However, this war of position is a strategic choice. It is due to the fact that at the beginning of the industrial era , when Western nations are already capable of producing weapons en masse, technical progress, which will continue to succeed for four years, has concentrated on material and the power of destruction rather than the means to protect themselves.
The uniform of the various armies does not effectively protect the head of the soldiers. It was not until September 1915 that the Adrian helmet replaces the cap for the French. The English in turn distribute the Brodie helmet in the same period 125 . The spiked helmet German offers little protection and electric cigarette is gradually replaced by the Stahlhelm in 1916 126 .
The debauchery of artillery prevent any breakthrough of success. Soldiers often fight for a few meters and can not penetrate the enemy trenches protected by a heavy fire of artillery and rows of barbed wire. From 1914 to 1918, nearly 70% of casualties were caused by artillery, against 20% in previous conflicts 127 . Thus, to take the trenches and stop this kind of war, it takes an entirely new weapon, which appears later: the tank .
New weapons and new tactics
Military aircraft, German brand Aviatik , turning on the wing in the morning light. His machine gun LMG 14 Parabellum is visible on the back of the observer.
Main article: List of weapons of the First World War .
Aviation and armor: This war is an opportunity for the arms industry to introduce new materials that help the maturation of techniques and methods. Many industrial and military have developed whose aviation . Now, the aerial reconnaissance allows the adjustment of artillery fire and the precise mapping of enemy lines. Aviation also allows strafe and bomb the positions. This period saw indeed the first aerial bombardment in history. It is especially the zeppelin that handle this task, so first rudimentary (shells dropped by hand at the beginning, before the development of the first bombers, the first “heavy bomber,” the Zeppelin-Staaken VGO1 German , renamed Zeppelin Staaken-R1 , will fly for the first time April 11, 1915). The dogfights reveal many pilots known as the “ace” as the German Richthofen , the “Red Baron”, the French Roland Garros , Fonck and Guynemer , English Mannock , Canadian Bishop 128 , or the South African Andrew Beauchamp -Proctor .
The armored vehicles appear to cover the soldiers in the attack position, with the first massive attack of tanks English in the Battle of Cambrai . Railway cottages ( Pechot system are installed to serve the fronts. The naval guns mounted on cars are invented and carried close to the front.
Chemical Weapons
British soldiers victims of tear gas during the Battle of Estaires in April 1918.
Main article: Gas fighting in the First World War .
The use of chemical weapons during the First World War began in August 1914 when the French troops against German troops use a tear gas , the xylylbromide, a gas developed by the police in Paris. Subsequently, the various camps have sought to produce chemical weapons more effective although the Hague conferences have banned the use of poisonous weapons.
The German Empire , starved of raw materials, then uses the products he has 100 day loans in abundance, including chlorine, product rejected by the chemical, is available in large quantities. German troops use chlorine so by presenting it as an irritant and non-fatal, does not interfere with bringing the conference agreements of the Hague. The first massive use of gas takes place April 22, 1915 at the Second Battle of Ypres . 150 tons of chlorine are released by 5000 dead and 10,000 wounded. The gas war had begun.
Chemical weapons are contained in suspension lift kits candy, shells , and bombs or grenades . The gases used are very volatile: chlorine , phosgene , “mustard gas” , arsines or chloropicrin 69 . The detection of some of these chemical weapons is almost impossible at that time. Indeed, the consequences of inhalation on the human body being visible after three days, we can not know in time if there was contamination or not. Hence the production of preventive defenses such as gas masks .
The Home Front
The work of women
Women of all ages making shells, France, 1917.
Related articles: Feminism and Feminism in France .
In all countries, women are becoming an indispensable support for the war effort. In France, 7 August 1914 , they are called to work by the head of government Viviani 129 . In the cities, those that manufacture weapons in factories (such as factories Schneider at Le Creusot) is nicknamed “munitionnettes.” Women have made 300 million in four years of shells and more than 6 billion cartridges .
Now, women also distribute the mail, take care of administrative tasks and drive the vehicles. An allowance for women is scheduled mobilized 130 . For example in the Pas de Calais , a main allocation of 1.25 fr (fr increased to 1.50 August 4, 1917), with an increase of 0.50 francs in 1914 (increased to 1 fr the August 4, 1917), is paid to women called. According to the departmental archives, 171,253 applications were considered by the cantonal commissions at July 31, 1918, to over 115 000 beneficiaries selected, a monthly expenditure of 6 million francs of 2 August 1914 to July 21, 1918. The works of war and various solidarity movements complete the system.
In rural areas, women getting down to farming. Many young women undertake as nurses in hospitals that receive each day thousands of injuries. They assist doctors operating on the battlefield. Some are godmothers of war : they write letters of encouragement and send packages to soldiers, they sometimes encounter in their permissions.
With World War I, women have taken the first steps on the path of emancipation . But for many, after the war was a return to normal and traditional values. In 1921, working women in France were not more numerous than before 1914 . Some, however, have reached an unprecedented level of responsibility. Approximately 700,000 war widows also become heads of households. In some countries, like Germany and the United States , the right to vote is granted to women from 1919 . France is waiting for 1945 to finally allow women to become citizens.
The colonies
Postcard showing the French army in Africa running at Amiens , France , in 1914 or 1915.
Main article: Colonies in the First World War .
The colonies have played a key role during the First World War, providing Allied soldiers, labor and raw materials.
French Empire
134 000 ” Senegalese sharpshooters “(a military body formed in 1857 by Napoleon III ) are mobilized to reinforce the French troops, often at the forefront. Similarly, nearly 270,000 North Africans are mobilized and about 190,000 (including 125,000 Algerians) are fighting in Europe 131 . In October 1915 , a decree ordered the mobilization of Africans over 18 years. A member of Senegal, Blaise Diagne , think take is an opportunity for Africans to s’ emancipate 132 . These men come from black Africa ( Senegal , Burkina Faso , Benin , Mali and Niger ), North Africa ( Algeria , Tunisia , Morocco and Mauritania ) and Madagascar , in China 133 , of Indochina , the Caribbean and Guiana . In total, between 550,000 and 600,000 have been mobilized and nearly 450,000 are fighting in Europe and East 134 , 135 . The number of killed is estimated at over 70,000 with about 36,000 North Africans 136 and 30 000 “Senegal.” Loss rates, calculated relative to the number of fighters actually incurred or 450,000, are 16% overall, 19% for North Africans and 23% for “Senegalese” 134 , 137
On the facts of weapons made by these troops, some regiments are among the most decorated in the French Army after the war. Thus, of the sixteen regiments of infantry of North Africa 138 operating in August 31, 1918, all received the feed , the award at least two citations to the order of the army received the seven colors of the forage in Croix de Guerre 139 , feed the five colors of the Military Medal 140 and feed the four colors of the Legion of Honour, 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 . Africans, to a lesser extent, receiving awards since the 43 th battalion of Senegalese infantrymen is cited four times in the order of the Army, including a citation for the capture of Fort Douaumont in the Infantry Regiment Colonial Morocco (RICM) , and receives the feed in the colors of the Military Medal 146 .
British Empire
The British Empire involves approximately 1.3 million men in the Dominions, which will be used primarily on the French front, and just over 1.4 million in India (about 870 000 soldiers). The big difference is that the French colonial soldiers served on the European front in France and the Balkans, while the Indians overwhelmingly served in the Middle East. Only 12% came in France 147 . Indian losses were estimated at 64,000 killed 148 .
In Egypt, the Khedive Abbas Hilmi II called the Egyptians to fight against the United Kingdom , which placed Egypt under his protectorate and replaced payday loan by his uncle Abbas Hussein Kamal 149 .
Balance sheet
Main article: Casualties of the First World War .
Even if the image of the “native” gives way to the soldier, overall bias remains. Subsequently, before and after decolonization , the blood debt incurred by France during the two world wars weigh heavily in the reproaches of ingratitude made against him, even if, contrary to a persistent black legend, the number of “natives” killed in action was not proportionately higher than the metropolitan.
The loss of prestige of Europeans in the colonies and the world is important. In Africa , the Franco-British took over the German colonies , the Japanese do the same in China, capturing the German colony of Tsingtao and the Pacific, where they seized several islands north of the equator to form the mandate of the Pacific Islands . The Australians captured the German New Guinea and New Zealand the German Samoa . Settlements have provided food, raw materials and sharpshooters ‘Senegalese’ and North African who participated in all the “hard knocks” of Jewish Wedding Gifts war. After the war, the colonized people no longer believe in what they are inculcated – the natural superiority of the metropolis – and demand an improvement in their lot. At this early decline of European influence in the colonies coupled with the expansion of the United States , the biggest beneficiaries of the war, and Japan, whose funds are placed now in London and Paris [ref. needed] .
Industry and economy
Advertising Credit Lyonnais for a national loan.
This war is different from previous conflicts in that it is also the first “industrial war” 150 . Between 1915 and 1917, all countries involved in the conflict are forced to restructure their industry: it is immediately apparent that stocks are grossly inadequate to support the war effort. If she had not sought to increase its production, France , for example, would have to run short of ammunition for the heavy artillery, two months after the outbreak of hostilities 151 . In Italy, where Marinetti and other futurists are excited the singers of the era of the machine, the production of machine guns passes, between 1915 and 1918, from 613 to 19 904 units, the cars, 9200-20 000. Of 10 400, the manufacture of munitions to 88 400 units per day 152 .
Face to chemical attack of the German army, the Ministry of War encouraged the production of liquid chlorine in France. Several factories were born at that time, as in Jarrow Isère whose creation in 1916. They were often of sites that can exploit the hydroelectric power, because the chlorine was obtained by electrolysis. If the chemical unit still exists, the plant chlorine Boussens in Haute-Garonne, also launched in 1916, has disappeared. It is possible to consult a series of photographs that chronicle the development of this production unit with chlorine Boussens “reportage” photography by Jean Charrié engineer at the plant 153 .
The war costs weigh heavily on the budgets of states trying to cope with their large deficit by applying various methods: public borrowing (in Germany), the increase in direct taxes ( United Kingdom ), the issue of ‘borrowing and increasing the circulation of money (Italy and France). The workforce employed in industry sectors related to the war effort also increases. It should fill the positions left vacant by men called to the front. For this, we appealed to women and labor colonial or alien in France, at the end of the war, on 1.7 million people engaged in the war industry, there are 497,000 soldiers, 430 000 women, 425 000 civilians, 133 000 young people, 61 000 and 40 000 Colonial prisoners.
The war loans in France, the gold-raising campaigns are conducted with civilians to finance the war. But the main source of funding is the United States, either in cash or by credit purchase of equipment.
The State
Photo of the Imperial War Cabinet UK.
States benefit from the war to increase their powers and areas of expertise. So do we attend first to a phenomenon of centralization of power, visible in England through the Imperial War Cabinet of Lloyd George that only four ministers, including a general Jan Smuts 154 . In Germany, the powers of the Kaiser are also strengthened, and it applies to those of the emperor in Austria. In France, the Sacred Union allows a gel, temporary political divisions. After being cleared in 1914, the French Parliament resumes control of the government and soon the military command, despite the omnipotence of Joffre 155 .
The power then broadening the scope of its powers. The censorship is everywhere restored the name of national interest. In France, it takes the form of an Act of August 4, 1914, voted in an emergency, banning any item capable of revealing information to the enemy or to discourage the French (especially by revealing the reality of living in the trenches). This law was later relieved by Clemenceau in 1917, and was now allowed to criticize government policy. However it will remain effective until October 1919, one year after the end of hostilities. Ironically, censorship was much more rigorous in France than in Germany or England, which raises the question of its compatibility with democracy, but also helped to prevent the German staff know the seriousness of the moral crisis in 1917 156 .
Other aspects
Attempts at peace
Main article: Attempts at peace during the First World War .
Many attempts for peace are born during the First World War and that in 1914, ranging from quiet exhortation to secret negotiations to sign a peace. One of the players in these attempts at peace Pope Benedict XV , which is against the war when he was elected September 3, 1914 as the conflict rages 157 . In response to the socialists supporting the war, other socialists are meeting in Zimmerwald Chrome Wire Shelving in 1915 and speak iPhone Unlock out against the war. Early attempts date back to 1916 peace with the peace proposal of Germany, which proves to be unserious 158 and the proposal of U.S. President Wilson . Negotiations are also taking place between Germany and Japan to obtain a separate peace negotiations fail to Germany.
Photo of Pope Benedict XV around 1915.
It was in 1917 that we find the greatest number of times of peace, this year is sort of the height of the weariness of war. The most serious proposals for peace of 1 917 one hundred and fifty-nine is the secret negotiations of Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma , since, being the ideal middle brother of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Charles I st . Officer in the Belgian army, Sixtus of Bourbon Parma receives a note from the Emperor, in agreement with his foreign minister, in which he offers not only a separate peace, but also the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France no agreement on this with Germany 160 . Raymond Poincare and Lloyd George then appear very interested in these proposals, but the Italians, who do not want to hear a white peace with the Austria-Hungary are blocked . They want full implementation of the Pact of London . The negotiations are suspended.
No one can know exactly if it is the genuine expression of belief or a desire not to leave the grounds of pacifism to the Socialists 161 , the second major peace proposal of the year 1917 comes from the Pope Benedict XV . In his proclamation of August 9, 1917, released on 16, Pope calls on belligerents to peace, in very vague terms, making no mention of the case of Alsace-Lorraine 161 . These proposals are strongly rejected by the French Catholic opinion [ ref. desired] . In Germany, the Reichstag is trying to influence the political and proclaims a peace resolution July 17, 1917, that fails too.
Then follow a series of secret negotiations with the matter said Briand-Lancken in September 1917 beginning with the negotiations between the Earl of Brocqueville , Belgian Prime Minister in exile in Havre , and Baron Von Lancken, leader of the Government General of Belgium in German authority, which then support the Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg 162 . For Lancken, Belgium could serve as an intermediary for peace negotiations and asked to meet with French Prime Minister Aristide Briand , in September 1917. Based on a misunderstanding 162 , the case fails: Briand did not make the appointment and abort the negotiations even before they could begin. Further negotiations are carried out in 1918, such as the proposed separate peace between Austria-Hungary and the United States 163 , but they fail. It was not until November 11 so that the armistice comes to end four years of war.
Prisoners of War
Russian soldiers captured at Tannenberg
Main article: POWs of World War I Germany .
About eight million soldiers were taken prisoner in camps during the First World War. Each nation has undertaken to follow the agreements of the Hague conferences demanding fair treatment of prisoners of war . In general, the survival rate of prisoners of war was much higher than that of the soldiers at the front 164 . In general, these are whole units who surrender. Cases of individual prisoners on their way are rare. At the Battle of Tannenberg , it is 92 000 Russian soldiers were captured 165 . More than half of Russian losses were prisoners. The proportions for other countries are: Austria-Hungary 32%, Italy 26%, France 12%, Germany 9%, UK 7%. The number of Allied prisoners of approximately 1.4 million (this figure does not include Russia, 2.5 to 3.5 million soldiers were taken prisoner). The Central Powers are in turn 3.3 million men captured 166 .
During the war, Germany is 2.4 million make t shirts prisoners 167 , Russia 2.4 million 168 , UK 100 000 169 , France 450 000 170 Austria-Hungary, and between 1.2 and 1.86 million 171 . The time of capture is a moment of the most dangerous, because it is reported the case of some soldiers who were killed 172 , 173 . Once the prisoners reached their camps began for them a life of privation, labor and many die of disease. The conditions of captivity in Russia are the most terrible famine there havoc and from 15 to 20% of prisoners are dying. In Germany where the food situation is also dire, it is 5% who die.
The Ottoman Empire also treats its prisoners hit 174 . Nearly 11,800 British soldiers, most Indians, were taken prisoner during the siege of Kut in April 1916. 4250 of them die in captivity 175 . While the prisoners are very low, the Ottoman officers forced them to walk 1100 miles to the Anatolia . The survivors are forced to build a railway in the Taurus Mountains .
A melting pot of people
Many people fought side by side during the war:
140 000 China 176 ;
13,000 Indians ;
1.3 million Indians (of India at that time includes Pakistan , the Sri Lanka and Bangladesh ) 177 .
Historiography
Main article: Kriegsschuldfrage .
The chronology of events reveals how the hcg question of responsibility remains. The latter are in fact scattered over the decisions. Nothing in this succession was inevitable. Determine responsibilities is necessarily given a weight, a value to each episode, each decision:
the degree of involvement of service of the Serbian state, probably without the knowledge of its officers, in preparing and carrying out the attack;
neglect the warning given by the Ambassador of Serbia as a threat of attack ;
misjudgment of the Kaiser when he gave his conditional support to Austria-Hungary, convinced that Russia will not intervene;
the desired hardness of the ultimatum Austro-Hungarian
the degree of pressure that Germany has actually put on Austria-Hungary to negotiate the condition rejected by Serbia without losing face to the opposing parties;
the degree of flexibility in the face of pan-Slavic of Serbian Prime Minister, if in favor of good relations with its neighbor;
the fact that the Tsar Nicolas II was unable to oppose warmongers, or knew of his government, and to have accepted the idea of a secret engagement, which was almost immediately known to the Germans;
the unconditional support given discreetly to Russia by the French government, who, having already refused to support Russia in previous Balkan wars, fears that the Triple Entente alliance becomes a hollow;
acceptance of non-compliance with the military treaty that binds the two countries.