History of World War I- by Marko Marelic

The two alliances were drawn into war because of conflicting interest in the Balkans. By 1914 this conflict was bitter as a result of two earlier crises there. The first took place in 1908. Russia, prevented by Japan from expanding in China and having settled its Persian conflict with Britain, turned again to Turkey and the Balkans. In the negotiations, however, Russia made a poor bargain. Austria merely agreed not to oppose Russia's demands that the Turkish Straits be opened to Russian warships. In return, Russia would not oppose the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Austrian Empire. In theory these provinces belonged to Turkey but they were controlled by Austria. The latter acted immediately, but other European states opposed Russia's plan. Russia felt cheated, especially because she pretended to be the protector of the Slavic people. After this defeat Russia was less willing to compromise.

Even more serious was the effect of Austria's action in Serbia. Serbian nationalists had long hoped to add Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were under Austrian control, to their kingdom. The Serbian government, encouraged by Russia, began large-scale military preparations and hoped for a Balkan alliance against Austria. Russia, however, was not ready to act and, for the moment, there was nothing which the Serbians could do. Austrian alarm subsided for the moment and the crisis passed, but suspicion, fear, and hatred remained.

Another crisis came when in 1911 Italy declared war on Turkey in order to get Tripoli. With Turkey so occupied, the Balkan states seized the opportunity to grab territory from Turkey. Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece joined forces and war began in 1912. By May, 1913, the first Balkan war had ended in Turkey's defeat. When the Balkan victors quarreled fiercely over the spoils of war, a second Balkan War took place. The war was a short one, for Bulgaria had to face Greece, Turkey, Serbia, and Romania. The Treaty of Bucharest (1913) marked the defeat of Bulgaria.

In the meantime, Serbian-Austrian relations had become very tense. Austria had consistently opposed Serbia's pursuit of her national ambitions. The Serbs in Bosnia were particularly bitter against Austria who had never tried to meet the demands of her Slavic people. The annexation of more dissatisfied Serbs added more trouble.

Russian leaders were angry because their Balkan and Turkish ambitions had been checked. France believed that it was necessary to support Russia. Germany did not approve Austria's Serbian policy, but she saw in Austria her only dependable ally. German leaders knew that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was weak. They were determined to prevent any diplomatic defeat of Austria which might increase Austrian difficulties. Only Britain and Italy remained, at least partly, free of this tangle of international rivalry in the Balkans. As the year 1914 rolled on the British even settled their differences with the Germans, who were building a Berlin to Baghdad railway and were training the Turkish army. But this hopeful move was soon overshadowed by more trouble in the Balkans.

On June 28, 1914, the nephew of Emperor Francis Josef and the heir of the Hapsburg Empire, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife visited Sarajevo in Bosnia. Both were murdered by Gavrilo Princip, a native of Bosnia and a Serbian nationalist. Princip and his assistants were members of The Black Hand, a terrorist organization that worked for Serbian unity and against the Austrian government. These nationalist terrorists allowed no moral law to restrain them. They were trained and equipped in Serbia.

The Austrian government suspected that the Serbian government had known about the details of the plot. The ugly incident provided Austria with an excuse for reducing Serbia's power to make future trouble. The German Kaiser was horrified by the assassination. Because he believed that Serbia should be punished and that Russia would not fight, he agreed to support any Austrian action against Serbia. On July 23, 1914, the Austrian government sent an ultimatum to Serbia. The terms were so harsh that the Austrian government did not expect the Serbians to accept them. The Serbian reply agreed to most but not all of the terms. Britain made desperate efforts to arrange an international conference. Austria and Germany refused. On July 28, 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia.

Each state in this quarrel acted to support its own interest and allies. No state really wanted a general war, but no state was prepared to limit its ambitions in the interest of peace. Austria, backed by Germany, was determined to weaken Serbia, Russia refused to allow the humiliation of Serbia, and France backed Russia. The Russian army was drawn up on Russia's frontiers, next to Austrian and German lands. Germany protested against the massing of Russian troops on the German-Russian frontier. When Germany believed that she would have to fight Russia, she also knew that she would have to fight France. On August 1, Germany declared war against Russia and on August 3, against France. The next day, Britain was in the war.

The alliances had helped a Balkan quarrel to become a European war. Since the European states had interests all over the world, nations outside of Europe were gradually drawn into the conflict that turned into a full scale world war.

Tank, submarine, gas mask, camouflage, trench, machine gun, bomber - these words came to have new meaning during World War I. They brought in an era of rapid development in destructive weapons and left a heavy toll of casualties in lives and property.

Most European leaders believed that the new deadly weapons would mean a short war. They expected that a few big battles would decide the war. Yet the war lasted more than fifty-one months. One important reason was that for every offensive development, a defensive weapon was devised. When machine guns made ground troop movements suicidal, trenches were dug and the bullets whizzed harmlessly overhead. When heavy artillery hurled shells that exploded twenty or more miles in enemy territory, helmets protected men from shell fragments. When poison gas swept into trenches, gas masks nullified its effect. Ships were protected from submarines by camouflage. And so it went. It took tanks, and vast numbers of Allied fighting men, to break the deadlock.

Before the War was over, civilians were also involved, for the machines of war called for frenzied production in factories, and bombing airplanes brought violence and death directly to the people at home.

Once Germany had decided to support Austria in her move against Serbia, her military leaders knew that she would have to fight both France and Russia. Such a conflict would ordinarily mean the division of Germany's forces between east and west - a violation of the principle of war that calls for concentration of forces. The Germans knew, however, that Russia with her poor railway system, would take a long time to get ready. Bearing this in mind, the German General Staff adopted the Schlieffen Plan to avoid dividing their forces.

This plan called first for a small German force to be stationed in the east to hold the Russians. The rest of the German army was to be massed in the west for a lightning attack on France. Large forces were placed in southern Germany reaching to the frontier of Switzerland. Then, the bulk of the German army was to attack France from the north by marching through Belgium. This attack, it was thought, would catch the French off balance and crush them between the invading German armies from the north and German forces in the southeast.

There were two flaws in this plan. First, it called for the violation of Belgian neutrality, which had been guaranteed by a treaty (1839) of all the major European states. When Germany marched into Belgium, she took a desperate and immoral gamble. This defiance of a treaty obligation turned many people in neutral countries against Germany. The second flaw was that the invasion of Belgium caused Britain to enter the war immediately on the side of France and Russia. Although her army was small, her fleet was able to blockade Germany and to escort troops from all parts of the British Empire and to gather war materials from the whole world.

At first, the plan seemed to be working, for the Germans advanced rapidly. When Russian resistance proved stronger than had been expected, some German troops were transferred from the western front to the eastern. As the invasion of France progressed, the French forces prepared for a desperate counter-attack. The German advance was stopped at the Battle of the Marne River (September 5-12, 1914). But the French had merely checked the Germans and were not able to drive the invaders back. The armies of each side began to spread out in a race to control the French and Belgian ports. Soon troops in trenches faced each other from the English Channel to the Swiss border.

It was soon clear that Germany could not win a quick victory, and the war settled down to an endurance contest. The armies faced each other across hundreds of miles of trenches. Gains were made by infantry attacks only at great cost of life. It was to break this stalemate that the German army (at Ypres, 1915) introduced poison gas warfare. Gas masks and uncertainty about the wind soon reduced the usefulness of poison gas, but the slaughter went on.

During the early months of 1916 the Germans grimly tried to take Verdun, a fortress in eastern France. The Germans, having more men to draw from, decided to continue attacking the French at that point in order to destroy as much of French manpower as possible. The French made good their rallying cry, "They shall not pass." The loss on both sides of this battle amounted to six hundred thousand men.

Equally costly was the British fighting along the Somme River. On one day alone the British lost sixty thousand men. During the entire Somme campaign the British lost four hundred thousand men, the French two hundred thousand, and the Germans about four hundred thousand. Nothing important was gained by either side. Such losses led to mutiny in a part of the French Army (in 1917) and to the demoralization of the British troops. The tank, which eventually proved to be a deadly offensive weapon, was first used by the British in the Battle of Cambrai, 1917. Tanks were very successful in penetrating enemy lines, but troops and cannons could not be moved fast enough to hold the gains. The bloody conflict continued for another year adding to the losses of manpower and property, and with little or no gain.

WORLD WAR I 1914 - 1918
ALLIES	CENTRAL POWERS
RUSSIA	GERMANY
FRANCE	AUSTRIA-HUNGARY
GREAT BRITAIN	TURKEY
BELGIUM	BULGARIA
RUMANIA
SERBIA
GREECE
MONTENEGRO
PORTUGAL
ITALY
UNITED STATES
JAPAN

Italy said that the Triple Alliance did not bind her to help Austria in an offensive war. At first, she remained neutral. As Italy feared Austrian power in the Balkans and wanted Austrian territory inhabited by Italians, the Allies were able to gain her aid by promises of indemnity. In a secret treaty (1915) Italy was promised big slices of Austrian and Turkish territory. In return Italy declared war on Austria. But Italy was a poor country in resources and industry. She did not have enough artillery and ammunition. For two years the Italians fought vainly in mountain country to reach Trieste. By the end of 1917 Italy's army was close to collapse.

Shortly after World War I began, Turkey entered the fight on the side of Germany. To strike at Turkey and to open up a supply route to Russia, the British attempted (April, 1915) to land at Gallipoli at the top of the Dardanelles. The plan was a daring one and, for a moment, promised to be successful. However, the British and French army leaders were unwilling to draw forces away from the western front. The attempt was not well supported and after heavy losses British forces were withdrawn. The Turks were hit from another direction. Large parts of their Empire consisted of Arabs. The British encouraged the Arabs to strike against the Turks and to gain Arab independence, providing such leaders at the fabulous T.E. Lawrence. With much help, the Arab "revolt in the desert" as it was called, was highly successful.

In their battles with the Germans and Austrians, the Russians were often defeated because of poor leadership and insufficient equipment. The tsar himself took command without helping matters. The Russian railways broke down, and made the shortage of supplies even more serious. Food shortages created desperate conditions. The Russian soldiers tired of the War and many deserted.

Finally, a revolution in March, 1917, gave Russia a liberal government, which tried to continue the War. But the Russian people were heartily sick of the fighting. Taking advantage of this discontent, the leaders of a new revolutionary group, called the Bolsheviks, asked for an end to the War. By November, 1917, they took over the government and began peace negotiations with the Germans.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March, 1918) ended the War between Russia and Germany. Russia was forced to give up Poland, Lithuania, the Ukraine, and much other territory. With Russia out of the War, more German forces could be turned against the western front.

The new German navy was of little service to the German war effort. The British navy blockaded Germany from the North Sea and the English Channel. Only one major naval battle took place. On May 31, 1916, the main German and British fleets met and fought a confused battle off Denmark (the Battle of Jutland). The British received most of the damage, for the German ships were more modern. Nevertheless, the British ships and guns greatly outnumbered the Germans. During the night the German navy was glad to escape. After that, the German navy did not come out to fight again.

With Germany unable to break out of Europe, Japan took German colonies in Asia, and Britain and France conquered the German colonies in Africa. More importantly still, Britain could draw men and supplies from all over the world.

To overcome this handicap, the Germans began to use a relatively new weapon, the submarine, against the British and Allied ocean supply line. This underwater craft, however, could not easily follow the traditional rules of naval warfare, which required that a commerce raider check on the cargo of a ship before sinking it. If the ship could legitimately be destroyed, its crew had to be provided for. Thus, vessels carrying cargo could not be secretly attacked. A submarine could not safely take such measures. It was slow and if it came to the surface it might easily be rammed by its intended victim. The submarines operated best in surprise attacks. Difficulties arose when passenger ships began to be sunk by the submarines which had no means of identifying ships. The sinking of the passenger liners Lusitania and Arabic brought vigorous protest from the American government. By September, 1915, the German government had promised not to sink liners without providing for the safety of the passengers. For another year and half the Germans refrained from all-out submarine warfare.

When they made no progress on the western front, however, the Germans decided to wage all-out submarine warfare with the United States, but once again, they were willing to gamble. They believed that if they could sink six hundred thousand tons of shipping monthly for six months, starvation would force England to surrender. If they could win the War in six months, they knew that such a short time would not be enough for the United States to get ready for war. Besides, the Germans thought that their submarines would sink the American troop ships as well.

American Aid And The End Of The War.
The United States Entered the War Against Germany.

President Wilson did not seek an immediate declaration of war. Only after the sinking of several American ships did Wilson finally act. In the meantime, the British Secret Service intercepted and passed on to Washington the Zimmerman Note, which revealed a German plan to invite Mexican and Japanese action against the United States. War was declared on April 6, 1917. In that very month the German submarines had more success than expected.

The United States mobilized quickly. The Selective Service System was introduced. By the end of World War I the United States had an army of three and one half million men. Five hundred thousand more were in the navy. In addition to this supply of manpower, the Allies received the tremendous production of American factories and farms. As a result of the war effort, the United States production increased enormously. Although the country shouldered a large debt, the increase in productive capacity was a permanent gain.

American entry into the War had a powerful effect on world opinion. The United States, the great democratic republic, was in the War and would shape the peace. President Wilson's stirring speeches were read and applauded throughout the world. His peace program, the Fourteen Points, called for a world league of free national states. These ideas also performed a good propaganda service, for they eventually caused the Germans to be more willing to surrender. Thus, to the warring Allies the United States brought its resources of men and machines, as well as an inspiring, idealistic program for peace. The United Stated did not win the War, for British and French forces did the bulk of the fighting. But without the United States the Allies would not have won.

In April 1917 Britain was near the breaking point because of the submarines. England, whose food and raw materials have to be imported, had only six weeks supply on hand. The subs were sinking most of the imports. Before it was too late, however, the British navy learned to protect the imports by escorting fleets of cargo ships (the convoy system). In addition, airplane patrols, fast moving destroyers, and depth bombs further reduced the effectiveness of the submarine.

Meanwhile, the American navy undertook an enormous task. It mined the North Sea from Norway to Scotland. This closed the only path of German Submarines out to the Atlantic shipping lanes. The German submarine gamble had failed. The United States had been drawn into the War. At the same time, the all-out submarine warfare had failed to force the surrender of Britain.

In early 1918, the German leaders knew that the submarine had failed. On the other hand, with Russia out of the War, the German Army could be concentrated in the west. A tremendous blow against the British and French was prepared. It was hoped that a military victory could be won before American soldiers arrived in large numbers.

In March the German offensive began and made large advances at the expense of the British. Another blow against the French around Rheims and Soissons (May-June 1918) revealed great French weaknesses. By May 30, the Germans had again reached the Marne River.

In the face of this German drive, Americans were rushed to France in large numbers. During July 1918, American and French troops stopped the German advance at Chateau-Thierry. While the German troops were weary, the commander-in-chief of the Allied Armies in France, Marshal Foch, was able to call on almost unlimited numbers of fresh American troops. In the last months of the War the Americans fought through the Argonne, and the British made big gains in Belgium.

Misfortune rained on the Germans. Their allies, Bulgaria and Turkey, collapsed. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was breaking up. The German navy at Kiel committed mutiny. A revolution occurred in Munich. Civilian discontent and revolt finally caused the Kaiser to give up his throne. A German Republic was proclaimed on November 9, 1918.

Negotiations for an armistice were arranged. Fighting was to stop at 11 A.M. on November 11. To make sure that the Germans were sincere about seeking peace, the armistice terms were tough. The German navy was to be handed over to the Allies, as well as the large stores of railroad equipment.

Finally the roar of the cannon was silenced and men looked over the trenches without fear. However, many difficult problems were still to be solved at the peace conference.

In this World War I the citizen at home also played an important part. The fighting countries had to have millions of workers to produce guns, tanks, ammunition, cars, uniforms, and food. The War and the armies drained off mountains of materiel. War on this scale had never existed before. As factories and civilians were so closely related to the fighting, bombing of cities and food blockades were adopted in order to disorganize the civilian life of an enemy and interfere with its war effort.

As a shortage of sulphur or steel or food, for example, would be fatal, economic life was strictly controlled. War production had first claim on scarce materials. Wages, prices, and profits were regulated. When men were drafted for fighting, labor was scarce. Care had to be taken that sufficient labor went into essential production.

News stories were supervised to make sure that they presented a favorable picture of the country's war effort. A host of speakers were used to keep up civilian morale. The demands of war tended to draw all human life into a machine for making war.

Compiled By:
Marko Marelic
Retired Mechanical Engineer
San Francisco, California December 2004