Stages of the First World War briefly. Periodization of the main events of the First World War

32.I World War: background, course, results.

Causes and nature of World War I, its impact on the internal situation in

Prerequisites

1. Germany from a backward, fragmented state becomes strong

power.

2. Two blocks of countries have been formed:

1) England, France and Russia;

2) Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (new capitalist countries;

General features: high economy. pace of development, the almost complete absence

colonies.).

3. 80s: treaties between Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary (first

economic, then political, and then military.) "Triple Alliance" - 1st

military alliance.

4. "Triple Alliance" - colonies are needed (for trade and extraction of raw materials), i.e.

they are for the redistribution of the already "divided" world.

5. 90s: "Entente" - 2nd military unit (England, France, Russia) General.

signs: low rates of economy. development; had colonies. they wanted

At the beginning of the 20th century, Anglo-German, Franco-German, Russian-German,

Russian-Austrian relationship.

1. Anglo-German. relations: England is trying to weaken Germany by directing her to

2. Franco-German. relations: France wants revenge, Germany wants to stay

in 1st place.

3. Russian-German, Russian-Austrian: due to Russian influence in the Balkans:

Avto-Hungarian. req. ending aid to the Balkans.

State goals.

1. Germany: colonies, leadership in most of Europe., control over

Middle East: i.e. practically world domination.

2. Austria-Hungary: control over the Balkans => control over the movement of ships

in the Adriatic Sea.

3.England: weaken Germany => capture a German colony in the Middle

East; weaken Turkey => division of Turkey and the capture of its colonies.

4. France: weaken Germany, return Alsace and Lorraine (lands);

seize the Saar coal basin, claims to be the hegemon in Europe.

5. Russia: increasing influence in the Balkans (by weakening the influence

Germany to Turkey).

6. Türkiye: leave the Balkans under its influence, seize the Crimea and Iran (

resource base).

7. Italy: dominance in the Mediterranean and Southern Europe.

Causes of the First World War. 1. Weak peace forces (weak.

labor movement). 2. Rev. movement in the period of recession (except for Russia).

3. Desire to stifle the roar. movement (Russia). 4. The desire to divide the world.

The nature of the war. For everyone it is predatory, for Serbia it is fair, because.

was just a pretext for starting hostilities.

countries of the world. In total, 74 million people will be put under arms.

Causes of the war

The First World War began on August 1, 1914, ended in November 1918 with the defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Russia withdrew from the war in March 1918, in connection with the conclusion of a separate Brest peace.

The First World War engulfed 38 states of Europe, Asia and Africa. It was conducted on a vast territory, which amounted to 4 million km 2 and involved more than 1.5 billion people, i.e. more than 3/4 of the world's population.

The reason for the war was the tragic shot in Sarajevo, but its true causes were rooted in complex contradictions between the participating countries.

Reasons for the war: a) the struggle for the redivision of the world, markets and colonies; b) intensification of the confrontation between the great powers, primarily England and Germany; c) the growing contradictions between the Entente and the Triple Alliance; d) the desire of governments to divert the attention of their peoples from social problems and internal conflicts.

International contradictions were primarily determined by the difference in the interests of the "old" and "new" powers. There was a struggle for colonies, for spheres of influence, for military predominance on land and at sea. In foreign policy, power politics was combined with secret diplomacy.

Side plans. The leaders of Germany considered the summer of 1914 the most suitable time to start the war, since the Entente countries, especially Russia, were not fully prepared for war. The German General Staff planned to quickly defeat France and, together with Austria-Hungary, throw all their forces into the fight against Russia. Russia expected, after the completion of mobilization, to launch an offensive in the northwest to

Berlin and in the southwest to Vienna. Both sides assumed victory in the war within 3-4 months.

On June 15, 1914, in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, was assassinated by a young Serb, Gabriel Princip. Austria, accusing the Serbian nationalist organization and supported by Germany of the murder of the heir, on July 15 began shelling the capital of Serbia - Belgrade. Russia announced a general mobilization. Germany, in an ultimatum form, demanded an end to the mobilization and, having received no answer, on July 19 (August 1, according to a new style), 1914, declared war on Russia. Soon the war engulfed all of Europe.

The course of hostilities in 1914-1916. and the role of the Eastern Front

The Eastern Front played an important role in the war. After the defeat of the Franco-British troops on the border of France and the rapid advance of the German troops to Paris, Russia, even before the completion of mobilization, launched an offensive in East Prussia and Galicia at the request of France. In East Prussia, advancing from the east - the 1st (Rennenkampf) and from the south - the 2nd (Samsonov) Russian armies at the end of August inflicted a number of defeats on the German grouping. After the transfer of 2 corps from France and the involvement of reserve units, Germany, using the inconsistency in the actions of the Russian troops, surrounded and defeated the 2nd Army. General Samsonov committed suicide. In the south, during the Battle of Galicia, the Austro-Hungarian troops were defeated by the Russian army.

In the first months of the war, all sectors of society supported the government. Thousands of people demonstrated in support of the war in front of the Winter Palace. St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd. Workers' strikes have practically ceased. The political parties supported the war to a victorious end and voted in the Duma for the provision of war credits. However, already in 1915 the socio-political situation changed. Defeats at the front caused dissatisfaction with the government. The strike movement resumed, peasant unrest began.

After some Russian successes in January-March 1915 (taking Przemysl, reaching the Carpathian Range, repulsing the German offensive from East Prussia), the situation changed in April-May. The Austro-German troops, using massive artillery shelling, forced the Russian troops to retreat, who were forced to leave Poland, part of the Baltic states, Western Ukraine and Western Belarus. But the front in the southwest was not broken through. During the fighting in 1915, almost the entire composition of the pre-war trained cadre army went out of order.

In 1916, the German command transferred the main military efforts to the Western Front. The battle began for the fortress of Verdun, which protected the path to Paris. Saving France, the Russian command, which planned to launch an offensive by the forces of the Western Front in Lithuania and Belarus in the summer with the support of the Southwestern and Northern Fronts, was forced to change the timing and direction of the main attack. In May, the 8th Army General AL Brusilova carried out a breakthrough of the Austrian positions, throwing the enemy back 120 km. In the Caucasus, units of the Russian army occupied the cities of Erzurum, Trebizond, Ruvanduz, Mush, and Bitlis. England won in the North Sea in the largest naval battle of the First World War (Battle of Jutland). In general, the successes of the Entente provided a turning point in the course of hostilities.

But Russia was already "sick with the war." And although in 1916 the army began to be better supplied (the efforts of the rear, the more skillful activity of the government affected), the fear of a possible famine, the bitterness of huge losses, the feeling that "there is no end in sight to the war" - all this caused growing irritation against the authorities among many. At the forefront, desertion increased, discipline weakened, it came to the fraternization of Russian and German soldiers. The war pulled millions of people out of their usual world existence, accustomed them to blood and death. Human life became more and more depreciated. Less and less consideration was given to power. The socio-economic, political and moral crisis was growing in the country.

Military operations in 1917-1918 and the end of the war

Throughout 1917, military operations on the Western Front continued. In the spring, the French launched a major offensive using artillery, tanks and aircraft. However, it was not possible to break through the German front. In general, the offensive ended in failure and led to numerous casualties. In the autumn of the same year, the British for the first time used a massive tank attack with the participation of almost 400 tanks.

In 1918, a single allied command of the Entente countries was created. Despite the absence of a Russian front, the Germans and Austrians still kept up to 75 divisions in Russia, playing a difficult game in the prevailing conditions after the October Revolution.

By the middle of 1918, the Entente's superiority had become overwhelming, especially after the United States came out on its side. In September, the Allied offensive began. The German front was broken.

On October 5, 1918, the German government turned to US President Woodrow Wilson with a request to conclude a truce. In November, a revolution broke out in Germany and a republic was proclaimed. Emperor Wilhelm II fled the country.

On November 11, 1918, in Compiegne, in the staff car of the French Marshal Foch, representatives of Germany signed an act of surrender. According to the Treaty of Versailles, the territory of Germany was reduced by 70 thousand km 2, it lost all the few colonies; military articles obligated Germany not to introduce military service, to dissolve all military organizations, not to have modern types of weapons, to pay reparations. The map of Europe was fundamentally redrawn.

Results of the war. The First World War demonstrated the crisis state of modern civilization. Democracy was curtailed in all the warring countries, the sphere of market relations was shrinking, giving way to strict state regulation. The crisis was witnessed by political changes in a number of countries: the October Revolution

in Russia, socialist revolutions in Finland, Germany, Hungary.

World War I was the catalyst for industrial development. The military orientation of industrial progress became obvious, the next step was the creation of equipment and technologies for the mass destruction of people. The consequences of the war were catastrophic for the economies of most countries. They resulted in long economic crises, which were based on serious economic disproportions that arose during the war years.

The First World War in world history is conditionally divided into three periods, or stages:

Maneuverable - summer 1914 - summer 1915;
Positional - 1916 - 1917;
Final - 1917 - November 1918.

The maneuvering period of the First World War is not named in this way in vain, since the hostilities that began in the summer of 1914 cannot be called either retreat or offensive, the warring parties performed a number of maneuvers to help them gain a foothold in their positions, leaving the enemy the most unsuccessful in terms of strategy and battleground tactics.

The maneuvers undertaken did not provide for active hostilities, but nevertheless they were available, so on the Eastern Fronts the Austrian forces very actively tried to resist the Russians, and in the west the Germans opposed the British and French, while two Russian armies of Generals Samsonov marched across the territory of East Prussia and Renenkomff. Fearing to get surrounded during this maneuver, the German command, in turn, undertook a retaliatory maneuver - transferring part of the troops from the Marne to the eastern front.

The support received made it possible to stop the Russians, but the British and French, having learned about him, intensified their offensive in the direction of the Marne and broke through the front, trying to encircle the German army. In principle, both maneuvers had very good chances of success, but due to the complete incompetence of the command and the lack of speed of action necessary in this case, both of them did not end quite the way the Entente allies expected. At the same time, the Battle of Galicia, which began in the fall of 1914, ended in the complete defeat of the German army, again due to the fact that the Russians undertook a completely unexpected maneuver for the Germans, reaching out to the enemy where he least expected it. Only towards the end of autumn did the Germans manage to stop the breakthrough of Russian troops in Poland and prevent the transfer of hostilities to German territory. As a result of a very successful enemy maneuver by the Russian soldiers, the front was held only due to personal courage and courage, which also had to be shown in the battles with the Turks in the Caucasus that followed in December of the same year.

Having considered all possible scenarios for the development of events, the German command decided in the spring of 1915 to pay more attention to the Eastern Front, transferring most of the troops available in the reserve to suppress the military power of Russia, knowing full well that without the support of the latter, neither England nor France would be able to fight for a long time. . in April, the German armies began to actively prepare for the offensive, during which the Germans regained Galicia and Poland, and the Russian troops were forced to retreat, the enemy entered the territory of Russia. Almost all of the lands conquered during the summer-autumn maneuvering of 1914 were lost. A new positional stage has begun in the war.

Position period

By the beginning of this stage, the front was an elongated line between the Baltic and Black Seas. Courland and Finland were completely occupied by German troops, the front line approached Riga, advancing along the Western Dvina, up to the fortress of Dvinsk, some Russian provinces, including Minsk, were occupied by Germany. In some places, the border, passing through Bessarabia, approached right up to Romania, while maintaining a neutral position. Since the front line had no irregularities, the armies opposing each other filled it almost completely, in some places even mixing with each other, there was no way to move further and the armies began to strengthen their own positions, actually moving on to the so-called positional war. At the same time, the obvious failed victory in the east did not please the German command much, because it decided in the next 1916 to send most of its forces to suppress the resistance of the French troops, but in the famous battle of Verdun and in the no less famous Jutland naval battle, the Germans could not achieve all the tasks set for themselves, the Entente allies clearly won, losing thousands of soldiers, but not retreating a single step back. In the winter of 1916, Germany asked for peace, but this request was rejected, since the terms of the peace did not satisfy the British, French and even Russian ambitions. The war continued, which meant the quick and complete defeat of exhausted Germany and its weakened allies - Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria and the victory of the Entente, which by this time received significant support from America, which actually ends the positional stage in the war, Germany proceeds to a clear retreat .

Final period

At the final stage of hostilities, one important political event takes place that had a direct impact on the plans of the allies - the Revolution in Russia and the premature withdrawal of the latter from hostilities by concluding a separate peace with Germany. Neither England nor France expected such actions from Russia and were absolutely not ready for them, considering them illegal and unlawful, which led to negative consequences for these countries - emboldened Germany tried to buy time and recapture part of the lands occupied by the Allies, from which the Russian troops were leaving.

A few months before the events indicated above - in November 1917, the Austro-Hungarian army defeated the Italian allies of the Entente and stood on the outskirts of Venice, stopped by the forces of the British and French pulled there. But at the same time, Germany and its allies were defeated on all fronts, including the African one, being pressed by an ever-increasing enemy in numbers. In March 1918, peace was finally concluded between Germany and Russia, which went down in history as Brest, but this did not save the situation, Germany, in turn, asked for peace from the former Entente allies in the summer, agreeing to fulfill the conditions they proposed. As a result, on June 28, 1919, Germany and its allies signed the Treaty of Versailles, which ended not only the third period of the First World War, but its entirety.

The First World War began on August 1, 1914 to November 11, 1918.The First World War with the participation of 38 countries was unfair and predatory.The main goal of the First World War was precisely the redivision of the world. The initiators of the outbreak of the First World War were Germany and Austria-Hungary.

With the development of capitalism, the contradictions between the big powers and the military-political blocs intensified;

weaken England.
struggle for the redivision of the world.
split France and seize its main metallurgical bases.
seize Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the Baltic countries and thereby weaken Russia.
cut off Russia from the Baltic Sea.

The main goal of Austria-Hungary was:

capture Serbia and Montenegro;
gain a foothold in the Balkans;
tear off Podolia and Volhynia from Russia.

Italy's goal was to gain a foothold in the Balkans. Involving in the First World War, England wanted to weaken Germany and divide the Ottoman Empire.

Russia's goals in World War I:

to prevent the strengthening of German influence in Turkey and the Middle East;
gain a foothold in the Balkans and in the Black Sea straits;
take possession of the lands of Turkey;
capture Galicia, which is under the control of Austria-Hungary.

The Russian bourgeoisie intended to enrich itself through the First World War. The assassination in Bosnia by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 was used as a pretext for war.
On July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia announced mobilization to help Serbia. Therefore, on August 1, Germany declared war on Russia. On August 3 Germany declared war on France and on August 4 attacked Belgium. Thus, the treaty on the neutrality of Belgium, signed by Prussia, was declared "a simple piece of paper." On August 4, England stood up for Belgium and declared war on Germany.
On August 23, 1914, Japan declared war on Germany, but did not send troops to Europe. She began to seize German lands in the Far East and subjugate China.
In October 1914, Turkey entered World War I on the side of the Triple Alliance. In response, on October 2, Russia, on the 5th - England and on the 6th - France declared war on Turkey.

First World War 1914
At the beginning of the First World War, three fronts were formed in Europe: Western, Eastern (Russian) and Balkan. A little later, a fourth was formed - the Caucasian front, on which Russia and Turkey fought. The Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) plan prepared by Schlieffen came true: on August 2, the Germans took Luxembourg, on the 4th - Belgium, and from there entered Northern France. The French government temporarily left Paris.
Russia, wishing to help the Allies, on August 7, 1914 introduced two armies into East Prussia. Germany removed two infantry corps and a cavalry division from the French front and sent them to the Eastern Front. Due to inconsistency in the actions of the Russian command, the first Russian army died near the Masurian Lakes. The German command was able to concentrate its forces on the second Russian army. Two Russian corps were surrounded and destroyed. But the Russian army in Galicia (Western Ukraine) defeated Austria-Hungary and moved into East Prussia.
To stop the advance of the Russians, Germany had to withdraw 6 more corps from the French direction. So France got rid of the danger of defeat. On the seas, Germany waged a cruising war with Britain. On September 6-12, 1914, on the banks of the Marne River, the Anglo-French troops repulsed the German attack and launched a counteroffensive. The Germans managed to stop the Allies only on the River Aisne. Thus, as a result of the Battle of the Marne, the German plan for "Lightning War" failed. Germany was forced to wage war on two fronts. The war of maneuver turned into a positional war.

World War I - military operations in 1915-1916
In the spring of 1915, the Eastern Front became the main front of the First World War. In 1915, the main attention of the "Triple Alliance" was turned to the withdrawal of Russia from the war. In May 1915, the Russians were defeated in Gorlice and retreated. The Germans took Poland and part of the Baltic lands from Russia, but they failed to withdraw Russia from the war and conclude a separate peace with it.
In 1915, there were no major changes on the Western Front. Germany used submarines for the first time against England.
German attacks without warning on civilian ships aroused the indignation of neutral countries. April 22, 1915 Germany first used the poison gas chlorine in Belgium.
To divert the attention of the Turkish army from the Caucasian front, the Anglo-French fleet fired on the fortifications in the Dardanelles, but the allies suffered damage and retreated. Under a secret agreement, in the event of victory in the Entente war, Istanbul was transferred to Russia.
The Entente, having promised Italy a number of territorial acquisitions, won it over to its side. In April 1915 in London, England, France, Russia and Italy concluded a secret agreement. Italy joined the Entente.
And in September 1915, the Quadruple Alliance was formed, consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria.
In October 1915, the Bulgarian army captured Serbia, and Austria-Hungary captured Montenegro and Albania.
In the summer of 1915, on the Caucasian front, the offensive of the Turkish army on Apashkert ended in vain. At the same time, England's attempt to seize Iraq ended in failure. The Turks defeated the British near Baghdad.
In 1916, the Germans became convinced of the impossibility of withdrawing Russia from the war and again concentrated their efforts on France.
On February 21, 1916, the battle of Verdun began. This battle went down in history under the name "Verdun Meat Grinder". The belligerents lost up to a million soldiers near Verdun. For six months of fighting, the Germans conquered a piece of land. The counterattack of the Anglo-French forces also did nothing. After the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, the parties again returned to trench warfare. The Battle of the Somme saw the first use of tanks by the British.
And on the Caucasian front in 1916, the Russians captured Erzurum and Trabzon.
In August 1916, Romania also entered the First World War, but was immediately defeated by the Austro-German-Bulgarian troops.

World War I-last years
On June 1, 1916, in the Battle of Jutland, neither the English nor the German fleets achieved an advantage.

In 1917, active actions began in the warring countries. In February 1917, a bourgeois-democratic revolution took place in Russia, the monarchy fell. And in October, the Bolsheviks staged a coup d'état and seized power. On March 3, 1918, the Bolsheviks in Brest-Litovsk concluded a separate peace with Germany and its allies. Russia left the war. Under the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk:

Russia has lost all territories up to the front line;
Kars, Ardagan, Batum were returned to Turkey;
Russia recognized the independence of Ukraine.

Russia's withdrawal from the war eased Germany's position.
The United States, which gave out large loans to European countries and wished for the victory of the Entente, became worried. In April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany. But France and England did not want to share the fruits of victory with America. They wanted to end the war before the US troops arrived. Germany, on the other hand, wanted to defeat the Entente before the arrival of US troops.
In October 1917, at Caporetto, the troops of Germany and Austria-Hungary defeated a significant part of the Italian army.
In May 1918, Romania signed peace with the Quadruple Alliance and withdrew from the war. In order to help the Entente, which lost after Russia and Romania, the United States sent 300,000 soldiers to Europe. With the help of the Americans, the German breakthrough to Paris was stopped on the banks of the Marne. In August 1918, the American-Anglo-French troops besieged the Germans. And in Macedonia, the Bulgarians and Turks were defeated. Bulgaria withdrew from the war.

On October 30, 1918, Turkey signed the Armistice of Mudros, and on November 3, Austria-Hungary surrendered. Germany, on the other hand, adopted the 14 Points program put forward by W. Wilson.
On November 3, 1918, a revolution began in Germany, on November 9, the monarchy was overthrown and a republic was proclaimed.
On November 11, 1918, the French Marshal Foch, in a staff car in the Compiègne forest, accepted the surrender of Germany. The First World War is over. Germany undertook to withdraw its troops from France, Belgium, Luxembourg and other occupied territories within 15 days.
Thus, the war ended with the defeat of the Quadruple Alliance. The advantage of the Entente in manpower and equipment decided the fate of the First World War.
The German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and Russian empires collapsed. In place of the former empires, new independent states arose.
The First World War claimed millions of lives. Only the United States enriched itself in this war, turning into a world creditor to which England, France, Russia, Italy and other European countries were indebted.
Japan also successfully emerged from the First World War. It seized the German colonies in the Pacific Ocean and increased its influence in China. The First World War was the beginning of the crisis of the world colonial system.

The First World War is a very large and multifaceted event in the history of mankind. To study such a capacious topic, this article will form the Table “World War I 1914 1918”, which will outline the main fronts and the course of hostilities on the western and eastern fronts.

Briefly about the war

It is known that the main cause of the First World War of 1914-1918 was the colonial race between France, Britain on the one hand and Germany on the other. The results of this race was the war of the Entente and the Triple Alliance, followed by the collapse of the four largest empires in the world and a change in the political map of Europe in subsequent years.

More than two dozen different states arose on the territory of the former Russian Empire, Yugoslavia and other states were created at the expense of Austria-Hungary. Germany, although it lost, was ready to take revenge, which happened in 1939.

Rice. 1. Military alliances in Europe in 1914.

The chronology of an event of this magnitude is quite diverse, but we will talk briefly about the stages of the First World War, analyze its events and results, bringing the course of the war into a chronological table.

The pretext for war was the assassination on June 28, 1914, of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. After that, Vienna officially declared war on Belgrade, starting shelling the city.

Rice. 2. Gavrilo Princip.

Table "First World War"

*date*	*Event*	*Results*
	Declaration of war by Austria-Hungary on Serbia	The beginning of the First World
	Germany declared war on Russia
	Germany declares war on France	The beginning of the offensive of German troops on Paris through Belgium
	Russian offensive in East Prussia	The defeat of Samsonov's army
	Beginning of the Battle of Galicia	The Russians are pushing the Austrians out of the region
September 1914	Battle of the Marne	German offensive in France stopped
	Operation Run to the Sea	Establishment of a static Franco-German front line
	Defense of the fortress Osovets
	Sarykamysh operation	The defeat of Turkish troops in the Caucasus
	Battle of Ypres	First use of poison gases by Germany
	Gorlitsky breakthrough	The beginning of a large-scale retreat of Russian troops to the east
	Italy's entry into the war
	The landing of the Entente troops in Greece	Opening of the Thessaloniki Front
	Beginning of the Battle of Verdun
	Naroch operation
April 1916	Operation Nivelle	It was not possible to break through the German front in the west
	Brusilovsky breakthrough	The expulsion of the Austrians from Galicia
	Battle of Jutland	The Germans could not break the naval blockade
	Battle of the Somme	First use of tanks
	The beginning of the submarine war	Germany began sinking civilian ships
	US entry into the war
	October Revolution	The coming to power in Russia of the Bolsheviks
	Brest Peace	Russia withdraws from the war
	Entente counteroffensive	The beginning of the defeat of the German troops
	Revolution in Germany	The overthrow of the German monarchy
	Compiègne truce	Cessation of hostilities
	Peace of Versailles	End of the First World War

The White Guard movement in Russia did not recognize the results of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and continued de jure to wage war against Germany. The Supreme Ruler of Russia A. V. Kolchak intended, after the attack on Moscow and Petrograd, to continue the war against the Bolsheviks until complete victory, together with the Entente.

Rice. 3. Tanks on the Somme.

The defeat of Germany led to the redistribution of all its colonies among the victorious countries, not counting Russia. The new Soviet government found itself in political isolation, abandoning the imperial legacy and intending to "ignite the fire of the world revolution."

What have we learned?

These events are far from all that have taken place over the years. There were many more tragic pages that the younger generation really should learn about. The lessons that the war taught were not perceived by the victors, which very soon led to the Second World War.

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Contemporaries said that this would be a war that would put an end to all wars, and they were greatly mistaken. World War I began on August 1, 1914 with a provocation and regicide and ended with the first Compiègne truce on November 11, 1918. The influence on the territories and countries that participated in the war was so great that it became possible to sum up its results and conclude the Treaty of Versailles only in the middle of the next, 1919 of the year. Six out of ten people across the planet have experienced this war in one way or another. This is one of the dark pages in the history of mankind.

They say she was inevitable. The disagreements between the future participants were too strong, leading to constantly creating and collapsing alliances. The most inconsistent was precisely Germany, which almost at the same time tried to turn Great Britain against France and organize a continental blockade of Britain itself.

Prerequisites for World War I

If you look at the positions from which the countries were involved in the First World War of 1914-1918, the reasons, in fact, will lie on the surface. England, France and Austria-Hungary at the beginning of the twentieth century sought to redistribute the world map. The main reason for this was the collapse of colonialism and prosperity only at the expense of its own satellites. The main European powers were faced with a difficult choice, since the resources important for the economy and prosperity of the country (primarily its elite) could no longer be taken away from India or Africa.

The only possible solution lay precisely in military conflicts over raw materials, labor and territories for life. Major conflicts that flared up on the basis of territorial claims were as follows:

What started the war

It is very clear to say when World War I (WWI) started. At the end of June 1914, on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the city of Sarajevo, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire Franz Ferdinand was killed. It was a provocation on the part of the Austrians and, with the active participation of British diplomats and the press, a reason for the escalation of the conflict in the Balkans.

The killer was a Serbian terrorist, a member of the extremist organization "Black Hand" (otherwise called "Unity or Death") Gavrilo Princip. This organization, along with other similar underground movements, attempted to spread nationalist sentiment throughout the Balkan Peninsula in response to the 1908 annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary, setting off the Bosnian crisis.

There have already been several assassination attempts on the account of such formations. both successful and unsuccessful, to prominent political figures of the empire and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The day of the assassination attempt on the Archduke was not chosen by chance, because on June 28 he was supposed to participate in events dedicated to the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. Such events on this date were considered by many Bosnians a direct insult to their national pride.

In addition to the assassination of the Archduke, these days there were several attempts to liquidate public figures who opposed the outbreak of hostilities. So, a few days before June 28, an unsuccessful attempt was made on the life of Grigory Rasputin, known, among other things, for his anti-war sentiments and great influence at the court of Emperor Nicholas II. And the next day, June 29, Jean Jaures was killed. He was an influential French politician and public figure who fought against imperialist sentiments, colonialism and, like Rasputin, was an ardent opponent of the war.

British influence

After the tragic events in Sarajevo, the two largest powers in Europe - Germany and the Russian Empire - tried to avoid an open military confrontation. But this situation did not suit the British at all and diplomatic levers were put into play. So, after the murder of Franz Ferdinand by Princip, the English press openly began to call the Serbs barbarians and call on the top of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to give them a decisive and tough answer. At the same time, through the ambassador, they created pressure on the Russian emperor, calling for Serbia to provide all possible assistance if Austria-Hungary decides on any provocations.

And she made up her mind. Almost a month after the successful assassination attempt on the heir, Serbia was presented with demands that were impossible to fulfill. For example, one of its points was the admission of police officers to the territory of a foreign state. The Serbs did not accept only this point, which, as expected, served as a declaration of war. Moreover, the first bombs fell on its capital the very next morning, which clearly indicated the readiness of the Austro-Hungarians to fight immediately.

The Russian Empire, which has always been considered a shield of Orthodoxy and Slavism, had, after unsuccessful attempts at a diplomatic ceasefire, to declare the mobilization of the entire country. Thus, Russia's participation in the First World War was inevitable.

The course of the war

After a series of provocations, hotbed of military conflict began to flare up even faster. In about six months, two main military alliances were formed that took part in the confrontation:

Events of 1914

There were several major theaters of war- the war blazed in France, in Russia, in the Balkans, the Middle East and the Caucasus and in the former colonies of Europe. The German Schlieffen plan, which included a blitzkrieg, lunch in Paris and dinner in St. Petersburg, failed due to Germany's systematic underestimation of its rivals and repeated revision of strategic tables. In general, the vast majority of the participants in the war were absolutely sure of its imminent end, confidently speaking about the possibility of winning in a few months. No one expected the conflict to take on such proportions, especially on the Western Front.

First, Germany occupied Luxembourg and Belgium. At the same time, the French invaded Alsace and Lorraine, which were important to them, where, after the successful actions of the German army, which held back and then reversed the offensive, the situation changed dramatically. The French, instead of capturing their historical territories, ceded part of their land without putting up a strong enough resistance. After the events called by historians the "Run to the Sea" and the holding by France of its most important ports, a period of trench warfare followed. The confrontation severely exhausted both sides.

Eastern front was opened by an offensive on the territory of Prussia by Russian troops on August 17, and the very next day a major victory was won over the Austro-Hungarians in the Battle of Galicia. This made it possible to withdraw the empire from the confrontation with Russia for a long time.

Serbia this year drove the Austrians out of Belgrade and firmly occupied it. Japan declared war on the Triple Alliance and launched a campaign to take control of the German island colonies. At the same time, in the Caucasus, Turkey entered the war with Russia, entering into a coalition with the Austrians and Germans. Thus, she cut off the country from the allies and involved in hostilities on the Caucasian front.

The failure of Russia in 1915

On the Russian front, the situation worsened. The army was poorly prepared for an offensive in the winter, failed it and received a counter-offensive operation from the Germans in the middle of the year. Poorly organized supply of troops led to a large-scale retreat, the Germans carried out the Gorlitsky breakthrough and, as a result, first received Galicia, and then a significant part of Polish territory. After that, the stage of trench warfare began, largely due to the same reasons as in the west.

In the same year, on May 23, Italy entered the war with Austria-Hungary, which led to the collapse of the coalition. However, Bulgaria, which took part in the confrontation on its side in the same year, not only marked the rapid formation of a new union, but also accelerated the fall of Serbia.

Key moments in 1916

During this year of the war, one of its largest battles continued - battle of verdun. Because of its scale, the nature of the collisions and the consequences, it was called the Verdun meat grinder. This is where the flamethrower was used for the first time. The losses of all troops amounted to over a million people. At the same time, the Russian army launched an offensive known as the Brusilovsky breakthrough, pulling significant German forces away from Verdun and easing the Entente's situation in the region.

The year was also marked by the largest naval battle - Jutland, after which the Entente fulfilled its main goal - to dominate the region. Some members of the enemy tried even then to agree on peace negotiations.

1917: Russia's exit from the war

1917 was rich in major events in the war. It was already obvious who would win. It is worth noting The 3 most important moments for understanding the situation:

The United States, after waiting for time, joined the obvious winner - the Entente.
The revolution in Russia actually brought her out of the war.
Germany uses submarines, hoping thereby to turn the tide of battles.

1918: German capitulation

Russia's withdrawal from active hostilities made things easier for Germany, because without the Eastern Front, she could concentrate her forces on more important things. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was concluded, parts of the Baltic region and the territory of Poland were occupied. After that, active operations began on the Western Front, which were not crowned with success for her. Other participants began to withdraw from the Quarter Union and conclude peace treaties with the enemy. In Germany, a revolution began to flare up, forcing the emperor to leave the country. The end of the active phase of hostilities can be considered the signing of the act of surrender of Germany on November 11, 1918.

If we talk about the results of the First World, then for almost all participating countries they were with a minus sign. Briefly on points:

It is worth noting that even then the prerequisites for the Second World War began to take shape. It was only a matter of time before a leader emerged who would rally the revenge-hungry inhabitants of defeated Germany.