Until the beginning of the 20th century, mankind experienced a series of wars in which many states took part and large territories were covered. But only this war was called the First World War. It was dictated by the fact that this military conflict has become a global war. Thirty-eight of the fifty-nine independent states that existed at that time were involved in it to one degree or another.

Causes and start of the war

At the beginning of the 20th century, the contradictions between the two European coalitions of European states - the Entente (Russia, England, France) and the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy) - intensified. They were caused by the intensification of the struggle for the redistribution of already divided colonies, spheres of influence and markets. Having begun in Europe, the war gradually acquired a global character, covering the Far and Middle East, Africa, the waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Indian oceans.

The reason for the start of the war was the terrorist attack committed in June 1914 in the city of Sarajevo. Then a member of the Mlada Bosna organization (a Serbian-Bosnian revolutionary organization that fought for the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Greater Serbia) Gavrilo Princip killed the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with unacceptable ultimatum terms, which were rejected. As a result, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia stood up for Serbia, true to its obligations. France promised to support Russia.

Germany demanded that Russia stop the mobilization actions, which were continued, as a result, on August 1, she declared war on Russia. Germany declares war on France on August 3, and on Belgium on August 4. Great Britain declares war on Germany and sends troops to help France. August 6 - Austria-Hungary vs. Russia.

In August 1914, Japan declared war on Germany, in November Turkey entered the war on the side of the Germany-Austria-Hungary bloc, and in October 1915 Bulgaria entered the war.

Italy, which initially held a position of neutrality, in May 1915, under British diplomatic pressure, declared war on Austria-Hungary, and on August 28, 1916, on Germany.

Main events

1914

		The troops of Austria-Hungary were defeated by the Serbs in the region of the Cera ridge.
		The invasion of troops (1st and 2nd armies) of the Russian North-Western Front into East Prussia. The defeat of the Russian troops in the East Prussian operation: the losses amounted to 245 thousand people, including 135 thousand prisoners. The commander of the 2nd Army, General A.V. Samsonov, committed suicide.
		Russian troops of the Southwestern Front defeated the Austro-Hungarian army in the Battle of Galicia. On September 21, the Przemysl fortress was besieged. Russian troops occupied Galicia. The losses of the Austro-Hungarian troops amounted to 325 thousand people. (including up to 100 thousand prisoners); Russian troops lost 230 thousand people.
		Border battle of French and British troops against the advancing German armies. The allied troops were defeated and were forced to retreat across the Marne River.
		The German troops were defeated in the Battle of Marne and were forced to retreat across the rivers Aisne and Oise.
		Warsaw-Ivangorod (Demblin) defensive-offensive operation of Russian troops against the German-Austrian armies in Poland. The enemy suffered a crushing defeat.
		Battle in Flanders on the rivers Yser and Ypres. The parties switched to positional defense.
		The German squadron of Admiral M. Spee (5 cruisers) defeated the English squadron of Admiral K. Cradock in the Battle of Coronel.
		Battles of Russian and Turkish troops in the Erzurum direction.
		An attempt by German troops to encircle the Russian armies in the Lodz region was repulsed.

1915

	An attempt by German troops to encircle the 10th Russian army in the August operation in East Prussia (Winter battle in Masuria). Russian troops retreated to the Kovno-Osovets line.
	During the Prasnysh operation (Poland), German troops were driven back to the borders of East Prussia.
February March	During the Carpathian operation, the 120,000-strong garrison of Przemysl (Austro-Hungarian troops) capitulated by Russian troops.
	Gorlitsky breakthrough of the German-Austrian troops (General A. Mackensen) on the Southwestern Front. Russian troops left Galicia. On June 3, the German-Austrian troops occupied Przemysl, on June 22 - Lvov. Russian troops lost 500 thousand prisoners.
	The offensive of the German troops in the Baltic. On May 7, Russian troops left Libau. German troops reached Shavli and Kovno (taken on August 9).
Aug. Sept	Sventsyansky breakthrough.
September	British troops defeated by the Turks near Baghdad and besieged in Kut-el-Amar. At the end of the year, the British Corps was transformed into an expeditionary army.

1916

		Erzurum operation of the Russian Caucasian army. The Turkish front was broken through and the Erzurum fortress was taken (February 16). Turkish troops lost about 66 thousand people, including 13 thousand prisoners; Russians - 17 thousand killed and wounded.
	Trebizond operation of the Russian troops. Busy Turkish city of Trebizond.
February-December	Battle of Verdun. Losses of the Anglo-French troops-750 thousand people. German 450 thousand.
	Brusilovsky breakthrough.
July-November	Battle of the Somme. Losses of allied troops 625 thousand, Germans 465 thousand.

1917

	February bourgeois-democratic revolution in Russia. The overthrow of the monarchy. Formed Provisional Government.
	The unsuccessful April offensive of the allies ("Nievel massacre"). Losses amounted to 200 thousand people.
	Successful offensive of the Romanian-Russian troops on the Romanian front.
	The offensive of the Russian troops of the Southwestern Front. Unsuccessful.
	During the Riga defensive operation, Russian troops surrendered Riga.
	Moonsund defensive operation of the Russian fleet.
	Great October Socialist Revolution.

1918

	Separate Brest peace of Soviet Russia with Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey. Russia renounced sovereignty over Poland, Lithuania, parts of Belarus and Latvia. Russia pledged to withdraw troops from Ukraine, from Finland, Latvia and Estonia and to carry out a complete demobilization of the army and navy. Russia abandoned Kars, Ardagan and Batum in Transcaucasia.
	The offensive of the German troops on the Marne River (the so-called Second Marne). By a counterattack of the allied forces, the German troops were driven back to the Aisne and Vel rivers.
	The Anglo-French armies in the Amiens operation defeated the German troops, who were forced to withdraw to the line from which their March offensive began.
	The beginning of the general offensive of the allied forces on the 420th front, from Verdun to the sea. The defense of the German troops was broken through.
	Compiègne truce of the Entente countries with Germany. The surrender of German troops: the cessation of hostilities, the surrender of land and naval weapons by Germany, the withdrawal of troops from the occupied territories.

1919

Treaty of Versailles with Germany. Germany returned Alsace-Lorraine to France (within the borders of 1870); Belgium - the districts of Malmedy and Eupen, as well as the so-called neutral and Prussian parts of Morena; Poland - Poznan, parts of Pomerania and other territories of West Prussia; the city of Danzig (Gdansk) and its district was declared a "free city"; the city of Memel (Klaipeda) was transferred to the jurisdiction of the victorious powers (in February 1923 it was annexed to Lithuania). As a result of the plebiscite, part of Schleswig passed to Denmark in 1920, part of Upper Silesia in 1921 to Poland, the southern part of East Prussia remained with Germany; Czechoslovakia received a small part of the Silesian territory. Saar passed for 15 years under the control of the League of Nations, and after 15 years the fate of the Saar was to be decided by a plebiscite. The coal mines of the Saar were transferred to French ownership. The entire German part of the left bank of the Rhine and a strip of the right bank 50 km wide were subject to demilitarization. Germany recognized the protectorate of France over Morocco and Great Britain over Egypt. In Africa, Tanganyika became a British mandated territory, the Ruanda-Urundi region became a Belgian mandate, the Kyong Triangle (Southeast Africa) was transferred to Portugal (the named territories previously constituted German East Africa), Great Britain and France divided Togo and Cameroon; SA received a mandate for South West Africa. In the Pacific Ocean, the German-owned islands north of the equator were assigned to Japan as mandated territories, German New Guinea to the Australian Union, and the Samoa Islands to New Zealand.

The results of the war

The main result of the First World War was huge human losses. In total, more than 10 million people died, with a significant part of the losses being civilians. As a result, hundreds of cities were destroyed, the economies of the participating countries were undermined.

The result of the war was the collapse of four empires - the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, German and Russian. Only the British Empire survived.

Literally everything has changed in the world - not only relations between states, but also their inner life. Human life, clothing style, fashion, women's hairstyles, musical tastes, norms of behavior, morality, social psychology, the relationship between the state and society have changed. The First World War led to an unprecedented devaluation of human life and the emergence of a whole class of people who were ready to solve their own and social problems at the cost of violence. Thus ended the period of modern history, and mankind entered another historical epoch.

WORLD WAR I
(July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918), the first military conflict on a global scale, in which 38 of the 59 independent states that existed at that time were involved. About 73.5 million people were mobilized; 9.5 million of them were killed and died from wounds, more than 20 million were injured, 3.5 million were left crippled.
Main reasons. The search for the causes of the war leads to 1871, when the process of unification of Germany was completed and the hegemony of Prussia was consolidated in the German Empire. Under Chancellor O. von Bismarck, who sought to revive the system of alliances, the foreign policy of the German government was determined by the desire to achieve Germany's dominant position in Europe. To deprive France of the opportunity to avenge the defeat in the Franco-Prussian war, Bismarck tried to link Russia and Austria-Hungary with Germany by secret agreements (1873). However, Russia came out in support of France, and the Union of the Three Emperors fell apart. In 1882, Bismarck strengthened Germany's positions by creating the Tripartite Alliance, which united Austria-Hungary, Italy and Germany. By 1890, Germany came to the fore in European diplomacy. France emerged from diplomatic isolation in 1891-1893. Taking advantage of the cooling of relations between Russia and Germany, as well as Russia's need for new capital, she concluded a military convention and an alliance treaty with Russia. The Russian-French alliance was supposed to serve as a counterbalance to the Triple Alliance. Great Britain has so far stood aloof from rivalry on the continent, but the pressure of political and economic circumstances eventually forced her to make her choice. The British could not but be disturbed by the nationalist sentiments prevailing in Germany, its aggressive colonial policy, rapid industrial expansion and, mainly, the buildup of the power of the navy. A series of relatively quick diplomatic maneuvers led to the elimination of differences in the positions of France and Great Britain and the conclusion in 1904 of the so-called. "cordial consent" (Entente Cordiale). Obstacles to Anglo-Russian cooperation were overcome, and in 1907 an Anglo-Russian agreement was concluded. Russia became a member of the Entente. Great Britain, France and Russia formed an alliance Triple Entente (Triple Entente) as opposed to the Triple Alliance. Thus, the division of Europe into two armed camps took shape. One of the causes of the war was the widespread strengthening of nationalist sentiments. In formulating their interests, the ruling circles of each of the European countries sought to present them as popular aspirations. France hatched plans for the return of the lost territories of Alsace and Lorraine. Italy, even being in alliance with Austria-Hungary, dreamed of returning their lands to Trentino, Trieste and Fiume. The Poles saw in the war an opportunity to recreate the state destroyed by the divisions of the 18th century. Many peoples who inhabited Austria-Hungary aspired to national independence. Russia was convinced that it could not develop without limiting German competition, protecting the Slavs from Austria-Hungary and expanding influence in the Balkans. In Berlin, the future was associated with the defeat of France and Great Britain and the unification of the countries of Central Europe under the leadership of Germany. In London, it was believed that the people of Great Britain would live in peace only by crushing the main enemy - Germany. Tension in international relations was intensified by a series of diplomatic crises - the Franco-German clash in Morocco in 1905-1906; the Austrian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908-1909; finally, the Balkan wars of 1912-1913. Great Britain and France supported Italy's interests in North Africa and thereby weakened her commitment to the Triple Alliance so much that Germany could hardly count on Italy as an ally in a future war.
July crisis and the beginning of the war. After the Balkan Wars, active nationalist propaganda was launched against the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. A group of Serbs, members of the conspiratorial organization "Young Bosnia", decided to kill the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The opportunity for this presented itself when he and his wife went to Bosnia for the teachings of the Austro-Hungarian troops. Franz Ferdinand was killed in the city of Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. Intending to start a war against Serbia, Austria-Hungary enlisted the support of Germany. The latter believed that the war would take on a local character if Russia did not defend Serbia. But if she helps Serbia, then Germany will be ready to fulfill its treaty obligations and support Austria-Hungary. In an ultimatum presented to Serbia on July 23, Austria-Hungary demanded that its military formations be allowed into Serbian territory in order to prevent hostile actions together with Serbian forces. The answer to the ultimatum was given within the agreed 48-hour period, but it did not satisfy Austria-Hungary, and on July 28 it declared war on Serbia. SD Sazonov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, openly spoke out against Austria-Hungary, having received assurances of support from French President R. Poincaré. On July 30, Russia announced a general mobilization; Germany used this occasion to declare war on Russia on August 1, and on France on August 3. Britain's position remained uncertain due to its treaty obligations to protect Belgium's neutrality. In 1839, and then during the Franco-Prussian War, Great Britain, Prussia and France provided this country with collective guarantees of neutrality. After the Germans invaded Belgium on August 4, Great Britain declared war on Germany. Now all the great powers of Europe were drawn into the war. Together with them, their dominions and colonies were involved in the war. The war can be divided into three periods. During the first period (1914-1916), the Central Powers achieved superiority on land, while the Allies dominated the sea. The situation seemed to be a stalemate. This period ended with negotiations on a mutually acceptable peace, but each side still hoped for victory. In the next period (1917), two events occurred that led to an imbalance of power: the first was the entry into the war of the United States on the side of the Entente, the second was the revolution in Russia and its exit from the war. The third period (1918) began with the last major advance of the Central Powers in the west. The failure of this offensive was followed by revolutions in Austria-Hungary and Germany and the surrender of the Central Powers.
First period. Allied forces initially included Russia, France, Great Britain, Serbia, Montenegro and Belgium and enjoyed overwhelming naval superiority. The Entente had 316 cruisers, while the Germans and Austrians had 62. But the latter found a powerful countermeasure - submarines. By the beginning of the war, the armies of the Central Powers numbered 6.1 million people; Entente army - 10.1 million people. The Central Powers had an advantage in internal communications, which allowed them to quickly transfer troops and equipment from one front to another. In the long term, the Entente countries had superior resources of raw materials and food, especially since the British fleet paralyzed Germany's ties with overseas countries, from where before the war German enterprises received copper, tin and nickel. Thus, in the event of a protracted war, the Entente could count on victory. Germany, knowing this, relied on a lightning war - "blitzkrieg". The Germans put into action the Schlieffen plan, which was supposed to ensure a rapid success in the West with a large offensive against France through Belgium. After the defeat of France, Germany hoped, together with Austria-Hungary, by transferring the liberated troops, to strike a decisive blow in the East. But this plan was not carried out. One of the main reasons for his failure was the sending of part of the German divisions to Lorraine in order to block the enemy's invasion of southern Germany. On the night of August 4, the Germans invaded Belgian territory. It took them several days to break the resistance of the defenders of the fortified areas of Namur and Liège, which blocked the path to Brussels, but thanks to this delay, the British transported almost 90,000 expeditionary force across the English Channel to France (August 9-17). The French, on the other hand, gained time to form 5 armies that held back the German advance. Nevertheless, on August 20, the German army occupied Brussels, then forced the British to leave Mons (August 23), and on September 3, the army of General A. von Kluk was 40 km from Paris. Continuing the offensive, the Germans crossed the Marne River and on September 5 stopped along the Paris-Verdun line. The commander of the French forces, General J. Joffre, having formed two new armies from the reserves, decided to go on the counteroffensive. The first battle on the Marne began on 5 and ended on 12 September. It was attended by 6 Anglo-French and 5 German armies. The Germans were defeated. One of the reasons for their defeat was the absence of several divisions on the right flank, which had to be transferred to the eastern front. The French advance on the weakened right flank made it inevitable that the German armies would retreat northward to the line of the Aisne River. The battles in Flanders on the rivers Yser and Ypres on October 15 - November 20 were also unsuccessful for the Germans. As a result, the main ports on the English Channel remained in the hands of the Allies, which ensured communication between France and England. Paris was saved and the Entente countries got time to mobilize resources. The war in the west took on a positional character; Germany's hopes of defeating and withdrawing France from the war turned out to be untenable. The opposition followed a line running south from Newport and Ypres in Belgium to Compiègne and Soissons, then east around Verdun and south to the salient near Saint-Miyel, and then southeast to the Swiss frontier. Along this line of trenches and barbed wire, approx. 970 km trench war was fought for four years. Until March 1918, any, even minor changes in the front line were achieved at the cost of huge losses on both sides. Hopes remained that on the Eastern Front the Russians would be able to crush the armies of the Central Powers bloc. On August 17, Russian troops entered East Prussia and began to push the Germans to Koenigsberg. The German generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff were entrusted with directing the counteroffensive. Taking advantage of the mistakes of the Russian command, the Germans managed to drive a "wedge" between the two Russian armies, defeat them on August 26-30 near Tannenberg and force them out of East Prussia. Austria-Hungary did not act so successfully, abandoning the intention to quickly defeat Serbia and concentrating large forces between the Vistula and the Dniester. But the Russians launched an offensive in a southerly direction, broke through the defenses of the Austro-Hungarian troops and, having captured several thousand people, occupied the Austrian province of Galicia and part of Poland. The advance of the Russian troops posed a threat to Silesia and Poznan, important industrial regions for Germany. Germany was forced to transfer additional forces from France. But an acute shortage of ammunition and food stopped the advance of the Russian troops. The offensive cost Russia huge losses, but undermined the power of Austria-Hungary and forced Germany to keep significant forces on the Eastern Front. As early as August 1914, Japan declared war on Germany. In October 1914, Turkey entered the war on the side of the bloc of the Central Powers. With the outbreak of war, Italy, a member of the Triple Alliance, declared its neutrality on the grounds that neither Germany nor Austria-Hungary had been attacked. But at the secret London talks in March-May 1915, the Entente countries promised to satisfy the territorial claims of Italy in the course of the post-war peace settlement if Italy came out on their side. On May 23, 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, and on August 28, 1916, on Germany. On the western front, the British were defeated in the second battle of Ypres. Here, during the battles that lasted for a month (April 22 - May 25, 1915), chemical weapons were used for the first time. After that, poison gases (chlorine, phosgene, and later mustard gas) began to be used by both warring parties. The large-scale Dardanelles landing operation, a naval expedition that the Entente countries equipped in early 1915 with the aim of taking Constantinople, opening the Dardanelles and Bosporus for communication with Russia through the Black Sea, withdrawing Turkey from the war and attracting the Balkan states to the side of the allies, also ended in defeat. On the Eastern Front, towards the end of 1915, German and Austro-Hungarian troops ousted the Russians from almost all of Galicia and from most of the territory of Russian Poland. But it was not possible to force Russia to a separate peace. In October 1915 Bulgaria declared war on Serbia, after which the Central Powers, together with a new Balkan ally, crossed the borders of Serbia, Montenegro and Albania. Having captured Romania and covered the Balkan flank, they turned against Italy.

War at sea. Control of the sea allowed the British to freely move troops and equipment from all parts of their empire to France. They kept sea lanes open for US merchant ships. The German colonies were captured, and the trade of the Germans through the sea routes was suppressed. In general, the German fleet - except for the submarine - was blocked in their ports. Only occasionally did small fleets come out to attack British seaside towns and attack Allied merchant ships. During the entire war, only one major naval battle took place - when the German fleet entered the North Sea and unexpectedly met with the British off the Danish coast of Jutland. The Battle of Jutland May 31 - June 1, 1916 led to heavy losses on both sides: the British lost 14 ships, approx. 6,800 killed, captured and wounded; Germans who considered themselves winners - 11 ships and approx. 3100 people killed and wounded. Nevertheless, the British forced the German fleet to withdraw to Kiel, where it was effectively blockaded. The German fleet no longer appeared on the high seas, and Great Britain remained the mistress of the seas. Having occupied a dominant position at sea, the Allies gradually cut off the Central Powers from overseas sources of raw materials and food. According to international law, neutral countries, such as the United States, could sell goods that were not considered "military contraband" to other neutral countries - the Netherlands or Denmark, from where these goods could be delivered to Germany. However, the warring countries usually did not bind themselves to the observance of international law, and Great Britain so expanded the list of goods considered contraband that in fact nothing passed through its barriers in the North Sea. The naval blockade forced Germany to resort to drastic measures. Its only effective means at sea remained the submarine fleet, capable of freely bypassing surface barriers and sinking merchant ships of neutral countries that supplied the allies. It was the turn of the Entente countries to accuse the Germans of violating international law, which obliged them to save the crews and passengers of torpedoed ships. On February 18, 1915, the German government declared the waters around the British Isles a military zone and warned of the danger of ships from neutral countries entering them. On May 7, 1915, a German submarine torpedoed and sank the ocean-going steamship Lusitania with hundreds of passengers on board, including 115 US citizens. President Wilson protested, the US and Germany exchanged sharp diplomatic notes.
Verdun and the Somme. Germany was ready to make some concessions at sea and seek a way out of the deadlock in action on land. In April 1916, British troops had already suffered a serious defeat at Kut-el-Amar in Mesopotamia, where 13,000 people surrendered to the Turks. On the continent, Germany was preparing for a large-scale offensive operation on the Western Front, which was supposed to turn the tide of the war and force France to ask for peace. The key point of the French defense was the ancient fortress of Verdun. After an artillery bombardment of unprecedented power, 12 German divisions went on the offensive on February 21, 1916. The Germans slowly advanced until the beginning of July, but they did not achieve their intended goals. The Verdun "meat grinder" clearly did not justify the calculations of the German command. Operations on the Eastern and Southwestern Fronts were of great importance during the spring and summer of 1916. In March, at the request of the Allies, Russian troops carried out an operation near Lake Naroch, which significantly influenced the course of hostilities in France. The German command was forced to stop attacks on Verdun for some time and, holding 0.5 million people on the Eastern Front, transfer an additional part of the reserves here. At the end of May 1916, the Russian High Command launched an offensive on the Southwestern Front. During the fighting under the command of A.A. Brusilov, it was possible to carry out a breakthrough of the Austro-German troops to a depth of 80-120 km. Brusilov's troops occupied part of Galicia and Bukovina, entered the Carpathians. For the first time in the entire previous period of trench warfare, the front was broken through. If this offensive had been supported by other fronts, it would have ended in disaster for the Central Powers. To relieve pressure on Verdun, on July 1, 1916, the Allies launched a counterattack on the Somme River, near Bapaume. For four months - until November - there were incessant attacks. Anglo-French troops, having lost approx. 800 thousand people were never able to break through the German front. Finally, in December, the German command decided to stop the offensive, which cost the lives of 300,000 German soldiers. The 1916 campaign claimed more than 1 million lives, but did not bring tangible results to either side.
Basis for peace negotiations. At the beginning of the 20th century completely changed the way of warfare. The length of the fronts increased significantly, the armies fought on fortified lines and attacked from the trenches, machine guns and artillery began to play a huge role in offensive battles. New types of weapons were used: tanks, fighters and bombers, submarines, asphyxiating gases, hand grenades. Every tenth inhabitant of the warring country was mobilized, and 10% of the population was engaged in supplying the army. In the warring countries, there was almost no room for ordinary civilian life: everything was subordinated to the titanic efforts aimed at maintaining the military machine. The total cost of the war, including property losses, according to various estimates, ranged from 208 to 359 billion dollars. By the end of 1916, both sides were tired of the war, and it seemed that the right moment had come to start peace negotiations.
Second period.
On December 12, 1916, the Central Powers asked the United States to send a note to the Allies with a proposal to start peace negotiations. The Entente rejected this proposal, suspecting that it was made to break up the coalition. In addition, she did not want to talk about a world that would not provide for the payment of reparations and the recognition of the right of nations to self-determination. President Wilson decided to initiate peace negotiations and December 18, 1916 turned to the warring countries with a request to determine mutually acceptable peace terms. As early as December 12, 1916, Germany proposed to convene a peace conference. The civil authorities of Germany were clearly striving for peace, but they were opposed by the generals, especially General Ludendorff, who was confident of victory. The Allies specified their terms: the restoration of Belgium, Serbia and Montenegro; withdrawal of troops from France, Russia and Romania; reparations; the return of Alsace and Lorraine to France; liberation of subject peoples, including Italians, Poles, Czechs, elimination of the Turkish presence in Europe. The Allies did not trust Germany and therefore did not take seriously the idea of ​​peace negotiations. Germany intended to take part in a peace conference in December 1916, relying on the benefits of her martial law. The case ended with the Allies signing secret agreements designed to defeat the Central Powers. Under these agreements, Great Britain laid claim to the German colonies and part of Persia; France was to receive Alsace and Lorraine, as well as establish control on the left bank of the Rhine; Russia acquired Constantinople; Italy - Trieste, Austrian Tyrol, most of Albania; Turkey's possessions were to be divided among all the allies.
US entry into the war. At the beginning of the war, public opinion in the United States was divided: some openly sided with the Allies; others - like the Irish-Americans who were hostile to England, and the German-Americans - supported Germany. Over time, government officials and ordinary citizens leaned more and more on the side of the Entente. This was facilitated by several factors, and above all the propaganda of the Entente countries and the German submarine war. On January 22, 1917, President Wilson presented in the Senate terms of peace acceptable to the United States. The main one was reduced to the demand for "peace without victory", i.e. without annexations and indemnities; others included the principles of the equality of peoples, the right of nations to self-determination and representation, freedom of the seas and trade, the reduction of armaments, the rejection of the system of rival alliances. If peace is made on the basis of these principles, Wilson argued, then a world organization of states can be created that guarantees security for all peoples. On January 31, 1917, the German government announced the resumption of unlimited submarine warfare in order to disrupt enemy communications. Submarines blocked the supply lines of the Entente and put the allies in an extremely difficult position. There was growing hostility towards Germany among Americans, as the blockade of Europe from the west boded ill for the United States. In the event of a victory, Germany could establish control over the entire Atlantic Ocean. Along with the noted circumstances, other motives also pushed the United States to the war on the side of the allies. The economic interests of the United States were directly connected with the countries of the Entente, since military orders led to the rapid growth of American industry. In 1916, the warlike spirit was spurred on by plans to develop combat training programs. The anti-German sentiments of the North Americans increased even more after the publication on March 1, 1917 of Zimmermann's secret dispatch of January 16, 1917, which was intercepted by British intelligence and handed over to Wilson. German Foreign Minister A. Zimmerman offered Mexico the states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona if it would support Germany's actions in response to the US entry into the war on the side of the Entente. By the beginning of April, anti-German sentiment in the United States reached such a pitch that on April 6, 1917, Congress voted to declare war on Germany.
Russia's exit from the war. In February 1917, a revolution took place in Russia. Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. The provisional government (March - November 1917) could no longer conduct active military operations on the fronts, since the population was extremely tired of the war. On December 15, 1917, the Bolsheviks, who took power in November 1917, signed an armistice agreement with the Central Powers at the cost of huge concessions. Three months later, on March 3, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was concluded. Russia gave up its rights to Poland, Estonia, Ukraine, part of Belarus, Latvia, Transcaucasia and Finland. Ardagan, Kars and Batum went to Turkey; huge concessions were made to Germany and Austria. In total, Russia lost approx. 1 million sq. km. She was also obliged to pay Germany an indemnity in the amount of 6 billion marks.
Third period.
The Germans had good reason to be optimistic. The German leadership used the weakening of Russia, and then her withdrawal from the war, to replenish resources. Now it could transfer the eastern army to the west and concentrate troops on the main directions of the offensive. The allies, not knowing where the blow would come from, were forced to strengthen their positions along the entire front. American help was late. In France and Great Britain, defeatism grew with threatening force. On October 24, 1917, Austro-Hungarian troops broke through the Italian front near Caporetto and defeated the Italian army.
German offensive 1918. On a foggy morning on March 21, 1918, the Germans launched a massive attack on the British positions near Saint-Quentin. The British were forced to retreat almost to Amiens, and its loss threatened to break the united Anglo-French front. The fate of Calais and Boulogne hung in the balance. On May 27, the Germans launched a powerful offensive against the French in the south, pushing them back to Château-Thierry. The situation of 1914 was repeated: the Germans reached the Marne River, just 60 km from Paris. However, the offensive cost Germany heavy losses - both human and material. The German troops were exhausted, their supply system was shattered. The Allies were able to neutralize the German submarines by creating convoy and anti-submarine defense systems. At the same time, the blockade of the Central Powers was carried out so effectively that food shortages began to be felt in Austria and Germany. Soon long-awaited American aid began to arrive in France. The ports from Bordeaux to Brest were filled with American troops. By the beginning of the summer of 1918, about 1 million American soldiers had landed in France. On July 15, 1918, the Germans made their last attempt to break through at Château-Thierry. A second decisive battle unfolded on the Marne. In the event of a breakthrough, the French would have to leave Reims, which, in turn, could lead to the retreat of the allies along the entire front. In the first hours of the offensive, the German troops advanced, but not as fast as expected.
The last offensive of the allies. On July 18, 1918, a counterattack by American and French troops began to relieve pressure on Château-Thierry. At first they advanced with difficulty, but on August 2 they took Soissons. In the battle of Amiens on August 8, the German troops suffered a heavy defeat, and this undermined their morale. Earlier, German Chancellor Prince von Gertling believed that the Allies would sue for peace by September. “We hoped to take Paris by the end of July,” he recalled. “So we thought on the fifteenth of July. And on the eighteenth, even the most optimistic among us realized that everything was lost.” Some military men convinced Kaiser Wilhelm II that the war was lost, but Ludendorff refused to admit defeat. The Allied advance began on other fronts as well. On June 20-26, the Austro-Hungarian troops were driven back across the Piave River, their losses amounted to 150 thousand people. Ethnic unrest flared up in Austria-Hungary - not without the influence of the Allies, who encouraged the defection of Poles, Czechs and South Slavs. The Central Powers mustered the last of their forces to contain the expected invasion of Hungary. The way to Germany was open. Tanks and massive artillery shelling became important factors in the offensive. In early August 1918, attacks on key German positions intensified. In his Memoirs, Ludendorff called August 8 - the beginning of the battle of Amiens - "a black day for the German army." The German front was torn apart: entire divisions surrendered almost without a fight. By the end of September, even Ludendorff was ready to surrender. After the September offensive of the Entente on the Solonik front, Bulgaria signed a truce on September 29. A month later, Turkey capitulated, and on November 3, Austria-Hungary. For peace negotiations in Germany, a moderate government was formed, headed by Prince Max of Baden, who already on October 5, 1918, invited President Wilson to begin the negotiation process. In the last week of October, the Italian army launched a general offensive against Austria-Hungary. By October 30, the resistance of the Austrian troops was broken. The Italian cavalry and armored vehicles made a swift raid behind enemy lines and captured the Austrian headquarters in Vittorio Veneto, the city that gave the battle its name. On October 27, Emperor Charles I issued an appeal for a truce, and on October 29, 1918, he agreed to a peace on any terms.
Revolution in Germany. On October 29, the Kaiser secretly left Berlin and headed for the General Staff, feeling safe only under the protection of the army. On the same day, in the port of Kiel, a team of two warships broke out of obedience and refused to go to sea on a combat mission. By November 4, Kiel came under the control of the rebellious sailors. 40,000 armed men intended to establish councils of soldiers' and sailors' deputies on the Russian model in northern Germany. By November 6, the rebels took power in Lübeck, Hamburg and Bremen. Meanwhile, the Supreme Allied Commander, General Foch, announced that he was ready to receive representatives of the German government and discuss with them the terms of a truce. The Kaiser was informed that the army was no longer under his command. On November 9, he abdicated and a republic was proclaimed. The next day, the German emperor fled to the Netherlands, where he lived in exile until his death (d. 1941). On November 11, at the Retonde station in the Compiègne forest (France), the German delegation signed the Compiègne truce. The Germans were ordered to liberate the occupied territories within two weeks, including Alsace and Lorraine, the left bank of the Rhine and the bridgeheads in Mainz, Koblenz and Cologne; establish a neutral zone on the right bank of the Rhine; transfer to the allies 5,000 heavy and field guns, 25,000 machine guns, 1,700 aircraft, 5,000 steam locomotives, 150,000 railway wagons, 5,000 vehicles; immediately release all prisoners. The naval forces were to surrender all submarines and almost the entire surface fleet and return all Allied merchant ships captured by Germany. The political provisions of the treaty provided for the denunciation of the Brest-Litovsk and Bucharest peace treaties; financial - the payment of reparations for the destruction and the return of valuables. The Germans tried to negotiate a truce based on Wilson's Fourteen Points, which they believed could serve as a provisional basis for a "peace without victory." The terms of the armistice demanded almost unconditional surrender. The Allies dictated their terms to a bloodless Germany.
The conclusion of the world. A peace conference was held in 1919 in Paris; during the sessions, agreements on five peace treaties were determined. After its completion, the following were signed: 1) the Treaty of Versailles with Germany on June 28, 1919; 2) Saint-Germain peace treaty with Austria on September 10, 1919; 3) Neuilly peace treaty with Bulgaria November 27, 1919; 4) Trianon peace treaty with Hungary on June 4, 1920; 5) Sevres peace treaty with Turkey on August 20, 1920. Subsequently, according to the Lausanne Treaty on July 24, 1923, amendments were made to the Sevres Treaty. At the peace conference in Paris, 32 states were represented. Each delegation had its own staff of specialists who provided information on the geographical, historical and economic situation of those countries on which decisions were made. After Orlando left the internal council, dissatisfied with the solution of the problem of territories in the Adriatic, the "big three" - Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George - became the main architect of the post-war world. Wilson compromised on several important points in order to achieve the main goal - the creation of the League of Nations. He agreed with the disarmament of only the Central Powers, although he initially insisted on general disarmament. The size of the German army was limited and was supposed to be no more than 115,000 people; universal military service was abolished; the German armed forces were to be recruited from volunteers with a service life of 12 years for soldiers and up to 45 years for officers. Germany was forbidden to have combat aircraft and submarines. Similar conditions were contained in the peace treaties signed with Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria. Between Clemenceau and Wilson unfolded a fierce discussion on the status of the left bank of the Rhine. The French, for security reasons, intended to annex the area with its powerful coal mines and industry and create an autonomous Rhineland. France's plan ran counter to the proposals of Wilson, who opposed annexations and advocated the self-determination of nations. A compromise was reached after Wilson agreed to sign free military treaties with France and Great Britain, under which the United States and Great Britain pledged to support France in the event of a German attack. The following decision was made: the left bank of the Rhine and the 50-kilometer strip on the right bank are demilitarized, but remain part of Germany and under its sovereignty. The Allies occupied a number of points in this zone for a period of 15 years. Coal deposits, known as the Saar basin, also passed into the possession of France for 15 years; the Saarland itself came under the control of the Commission of the League of Nations. After a 15-year period, a plebiscite was envisaged on the question of the state ownership of this territory. Italy got Trentino, Trieste and most of Istria, but not the island of Fiume. Nevertheless, Italian extremists captured Fiume. Italy and the newly created state of Yugoslavia were given the right to decide for themselves the issue of disputed territories. Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost its colonial possessions. Great Britain acquired German East Africa and the western part of German Cameroon and Togo, the British dominions - the Union of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand - were transferred to South-West Africa, the north-eastern regions of New Guinea with the adjacent archipelago and the Samoa Islands. France got most of the German Togo and the eastern part of Cameroon. Japan received the German-owned Marshall, Mariana and Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean and the port of Qingdao in China. Secret treaties among the victorious powers also assumed the division of the Ottoman Empire, but after the uprising of the Turks, led by Mustafa Kemal, the allies agreed to revise their demands. The new Treaty of Lausanne canceled the Treaty of Sevres and allowed Turkey to retain Eastern Thrace. Turkey took back Armenia. Syria passed to France; Great Britain received Mesopotamia, Transjordan and Palestine; the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean were ceded to Italy; the Arab territory of the Hijaz on the Red Sea coast was to gain independence. Violations of the principle of self-determination of nations caused Wilson's disagreement, in particular, he sharply protested against the transfer of the Chinese port of Qingdao to Japan. Japan agreed to return this territory to China in the future and fulfilled its promise. Wilson's advisers suggested that, instead of actually handing over the colonies to new owners, they should be allowed to administer as trustees of the League of Nations. Such territories were called "mandatory". Although Lloyd George and Wilson opposed penalties for damages, the fight over the issue ended in victory for the French side. Reparations were imposed on Germany; the question of what should be included in the list of destruction presented for payment was also subjected to lengthy discussion. At first, the exact amount did not figure, only in 1921 was its size determined - 152 billion marks (33 billion dollars); later this amount was reduced. The principle of self-determination of nations has become a key one for many peoples represented at the peace conference. Poland was restored. The task of defining its boundaries proved to be difficult; of particular importance was the transfer to her of the so-called. "Polish corridor", which gave the country access to the Baltic Sea, separating East Prussia from the rest of Germany. New independent states arose in the Baltic region: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. By the time the conference was convened, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy had already ceased to exist, in its place were Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania; the borders between these states were disputed. The problem turned out to be difficult due to the mixed settlement of different peoples. When establishing the borders of the Czech state, the interests of the Slovaks were hurt. Romania doubled its territory with Transylvania, Bulgarian and Hungarian lands. Yugoslavia was created from the old kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro, parts of Bulgaria and Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Banat as part of Timisoara. Austria remained a small state with a population of 6.5 million Austrian Germans, a third of whom lived in impoverished Vienna. The population of Hungary has greatly decreased and is now approx. 8 million people. At the Paris Conference, an exceptionally stubborn struggle was waged around the idea of ​​creating a League of Nations. According to the plans of Wilson, General J. Smuts, Lord R. Cecil and their other associates, the League of Nations was to become a guarantee of security for all peoples. Finally, the League's charter was adopted, and after lengthy debate, four working groups were formed: the Assembly, the Council of the League of Nations, the Secretariat and the Permanent Court of International Justice. The League of Nations established mechanisms that could be used by its member states to prevent war. Within its framework, various commissions were also formed to solve other problems.
See also LEAGUE OF NATIONS. The League of Nations Agreement represented that part of the Treaty of Versailles that Germany was also asked to sign. But the German delegation refused to sign it on the grounds that the agreement was not in line with Wilson's Fourteen Points. In the end, the German National Assembly recognized the treaty on June 23, 1919. The dramatic signing took place five days later at the Palace of Versailles, where in 1871 Bismarck, ecstatic with victory in the Franco-Prussian War, proclaimed the creation of the German Empire.
LITERATURE
History of the First World War, in 2 vols. M., 1975 Ignatiev A.V. Russia in the imperialist wars of the early 20th century. Russia, the USSR and international conflicts in the first half of the 20th century. M., 1989 On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the start of the First World War. M., 1990 Pisarev Yu.A. Secrets of the First World War. Russia and Serbia in 1914-1915. M., 1990 Kudrina Yu.V. Returning to the origins of the First World War. Pathways to safety. M., 1994 The First World War: debatable problems of history. M., 1994 World War I: pages of history. Chernivtsi, 1994 Bobyshev S.V., Seregin S.V. The First World War and the prospects for the social development of Russia. Komsomolsk-on-Amur, 1995 World War I: Prologue of the 20th century. M., 1998
Wikipedia

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1. What were the goals pursued by the powers in the First World War?

Answer: If Germany and Austria-Hungary intended to create a "new Europe" where the influence of England, France and Russia would be reduced to zero, then the members of the Entente expected to eliminate the German threat by dividing the territories of the members of the Triple Alliance into several states.

The plans of Wilhelm II included territorial conquests in the east of Europe and the Mediterranean, which could provide the Reich with living space and natural resources. The victory allowed Germany to establish control over the overseas colonies of England and France. In turn, the Vienna Cabinet sought to prevent the disintegration of the dualistic empire at the expense of military success, to strengthen its positions in the Balkans and in the Carpathians.

The main goal of the British government was to defeat its main competitor - Germany and restore the international prestige of the British Empire. The French ruling circles dreamed of the return of Alsace and Lorraine, the capture of the Rhine industrial zone and the elimination of German influence in the Middle East. Finally, Russia claimed territories with a Slavic population within Germany and Austria-Hungary. In addition, Tsar Nicholas II cherished plans to capture Constantinople (Istanbul) and turn the Black Sea into a "Russian lake".

The offensive of the Entente troops on the Western Front.

4. What is the contribution of Russia to the victory of the Entente?

Answer: Russia's military actions on the Eastern Front contributed to the fact that the forces of the Triple Alliance were forced to wage war on 2 fronts, which quickly depleted the enemy's forces. Also, successes during the hostilities with the troops of the Ottoman Empire cooled the military ardor of Turkey, which entered the war on the side of the Triple Alliance.

5. What is the state regulation of the military economy?

Answer: State regulation of the military economy - state regulation of the socio-economic sphere in order to ensure the front, providing the front with weapons, food and other necessary items.

6. What are the results of the First World War?

Answer: The First World War, which lasted more than four years, was the greatest disaster in the history of mankind. It involved 38 states (including the British dominions) with a population of 1.5 billion people (60% of the world's inhabitants). Military operations unfolded over an area of ​​over 4 million square kilometers. More than 70 million people were under arms, of which 9.5 million were killed and more than 20 million were injured and maimed.

The prolonged stay of military personnel in the trenches and prisoner of war camps, the need and calamity of the population in the rear negatively affected the psyche of many people.

Many months of hostilities caused enormous material damage: thousands of cities and villages were turned into ruins, factories, roads, bridges, cultural monuments were destroyed.

As a result of the war, changes took place on the political map of the world. The Russian, Austro-Hungarian, German and Ottoman empires collapsed. New states emerged in Europe: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia. The peoples of the colonial and dependent countries saw the prospect of liberation.

The First World War ushered in an era of unprecedented upheavals and revolutions. A new page in the history of the 20th century began.

1. Could the war have been avoided if Archduke Franz Ferdinand had not been killed? (p. 29)

Answer: The assassination of the Archduke was only a pretext for war. Germany was ready for war, so another reason would have been found for starting hostilities.

2. Which front was decisive at each stage of the First World War? Justify your answer. (p. 29)

Both fronts mattered as they ruined Germany's plans for a blitzkrieg.

The Eastern front, since the German waxes launched a mobile war here during this period, pushing the front line further to the East, gradually inflicting crushing blows on the Russian army. However, the successes were not long in coming - the Brusilovsky breakthrough, as a result of which the enemy was thrown back to the Carpathian Mountains.

The Western Front, since the February Revolution had already taken place in Russia, after which demands were put forward for the withdrawal of Russia from the war. And on the Western Front at that time, Germany was making its last attempts to defeat the Entente.

Western front - the offensive of the Entente troops and the surrender of Germany and its allies.

3. What is the role of propaganda in creating an atmosphere of patriotic enthusiasm? (p. 29)

Answer: Propaganda unites the population of the country against a common enemy. Helps to strengthen the patriotic feelings of a person and the desire to protect his family, loved ones.

4. What are the reasons for the victory of the Entente in the war? Could the Entente have won without the participation of the United States? (p. 29)

Answer: Depletion of Germany's resources and US aid. The Entente could have won without the help of the United States, since back in 1917 Germany offered peace negotiations to the Entente.

Documents (p. 30)

What was the psychological effect of the gas attack of the German troops near Ypres?

Answer: There was a panic among the soldiers, since they had not encountered such a thing before.

How do you think the Russian retreat in the summer of 1915 affected the course of the First World War? (p. 30)

Answer: actions on the Eastern Front during this period helped the Entente countries to rebuild their economies for the needs of the war. During the retreat, the German troops suffered significant losses. However, the spirit of the Russian army was broken.

What measures were top-priority for the Entente in the process of cessation of hostilities? How was it envisaged to limit the military activity of Germany? (p. 31)

Answer: Evacuation of German troops from occupied countries. The transfer of part of the weapons to the Entente countries.

Limitation of Germany's military activity - the return of German troops to Germany, the reduction of armament of German troops.

The First World War, which began because of the crisis of capitalism, became the largest military conflict at the time of its completion. The war was aggressive in nature, and the main confrontation was between Great Britain and Germany. As in any long-term conflict, the stages of a world war can be distinguished. A brief description of them follows below.

The first stage was not successful for all participants in the war. Germany occupied a small part of France but failed to capture the key cities. Russian troops captured part of Prussia, at the same time the Ottoman Empire struck from the Caucasus. Japan began to seize the German colonies.

The second stage can be characterized as a period of protracted war, which lasted from 1915 to 1916. The quadruple alliance was weakened, the advantage in hand weapons (machine guns) was suppressed by the advantage in technology (the first British tanks). At the same time, Russian troops were driven out of present-day western Ukraine and eastern Poland, after which trench warfare began here as well. However, on the Caucasian front, the Turks were traditionally forced to retreat, Russian troops fought in Mesopotamia, and the English fleet tried to storm the Dardanelles. The Serbian army was forced to retreat by sea from their own country. This period ended with a complete blockade of the German sea coasts, the death of the German surface fleet - only submarines caused some damage to the ships of the Entente.

A new stage began in 1917 when the economies of all participating countries faltered. Germany was forced to strike on the defensive, and soon the Entente began to overcome due to the advantage in resources and military strength. However, due to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, lavishly financed by the Germans, and the general inconsistency of the Allies, all offensives against Germany that year failed.
Only in 1918 did the final stage of the war begin. Germany was forced to capitulate due to a lack of resources and military strength. So did her allies.

carried out according to the years of its conduct. The main content of 1914 was the attempt to implement the German Blitzkrieg plan (the Schlieffen plan) and its collapse. The Germans expected to win "before autumn leaf fall."

On August 2, Luxembourg was taken, on August 4, Belgium was captured. A border battle unfolded on a front of 250 km. from the Scheldt to the Moselle. Opposed 5 German, 3 French and 1 English army. The Germans were successful and the road to Paris was opened. Salvation for the allies was the blow of Russia in the East. However, in late August - early September, the Russian army was defeated in the Masurian swamps. At the end of August, the Galician offensive of the Russian army began, as a result of which the Austro-Hungarian troops were defeated (their losses amounted to 400 thousand people, Russians - 230 thousand).

In autumn, the fighting went on with varying degrees of success. In December, the front stabilized and there was a transition to a positional war in the East.

In September, the battle began on the Marne (for Paris). The German army retreated to Belgian territory. By December, on the Western Front, 700 km wide. there was a transition to positional warfare. As a result, the "blitzkrieg" plan suffered a complete collapse.

On the peripheral fronts: Japan occupied the German colonial possessions in the Pacific, Anglo-French troops achieved success in Africa, Serbia won a victory in the Balkans, the Russian army defeated the Turkish army in Transcaucasia.

The overall result of the hostilities was a certain superiority of the Entente, but no one had a decisive advantage, and the war dragged on.

1915 In the West - a positional war. In the East, Germany became more active in order to force Russia to a separate peace. In February, the German offensive began; in March, the order for defense was given to the Russian Headquarters; in May, the Russian troops were defeated in Galicia. By autumn, Germany controlled the entire territory of Poland and a significant part of the Baltic states.

In the West, the Germans switched to methods of intimidation: gas attacks, the use of zeppelins, submarine warfare.

On October 11, Bulgaria entered the war with 500,000 troops. As a result, the resistance of Serbia was broken, the Anglo-French expeditionary force landed in Greece and a new Thessaloniki front opened, the Turks stabilized the front in Transcaucasia.

The overall result of this year was an increase in the scale of the war (Bulgaria and Italy entered it), the strategic initiative was in the hands of the German army.

1916 Germany shifted the center of gravity of hostilities to the West. There was a bloody battle of Verdun. For the first time, tanks, flamethrowers, light machine guns, chemical weapons, mortars, aviation, and vehicles were used. On a front 15 km long. 50 out of 125 German divisions, 65 out of 95 French divisions participated in the battle. No one has achieved decisive success. Losses ranged from 70 to 100% of the personnel; the French lost 362 thousand people killed and wounded, the Germans - 337 thousand. The density of artillery fire was very high - 50 tons of steel per 1 ha.

From June 1 to November, the Entente armies advanced in the Somme region, but were not successful. The losses of the British amounted to 420 thousand people, the French - 200 thousand, the Germans -450 thousand. On June 1, the loss of the British amounted to 20 thousand killed and 40 thousand wounded (a record).

In the summer, the Russian army became more active. An offensive plan was developed from the Baltic to Romania. A.A. Brusilov developed and applied a plan for a maneuverable “crushing” offensive simultaneously in several directions. On June 4, the Southwestern Front was broken through, and the offensive lasted until early September. Russian losses amounted to 500 thousand, Austro-Hungarians - 1.5 million.

Actions on the Italian, Greek, Asian and Caucasian fronts were scattered and less active. Montenegro capitulated, Romania entered the war.

The largest naval battle of Jutland took place, in which 250 ships of Great Britain and Germany participated. The balance of power has been maintained. As a result, it became completely clear that it was impossible to turn the tide of the war “by one general battle”.

The overall result of the year: the ratio of the overall military-economic potential of the coalitions began to play a decisive role. Here the Entente had a clear advantage, the Germans felt the exhaustion of forces.

At the turn of 1916-17. there was a possibility of signing peace. There were counter declarations of peaceful intentions from Germany and the United States. However, the Entente spoke out against such plans.

1917 Germany went on the defensive. Submarine warfare intensified. In April, the United States entered the war. The preponderance of the Entente countries became obvious. From April 9 to May, there were “battles of attrition” between Reims and Soissons (losses on each side were 200 thousand people). The Entente is successfully liquidating the last pockets of resistance on the African and Middle Eastern fronts.

In May, Italy was defeated at the Battle of Caporetto. After the February Revolution, the combat effectiveness of the Russian army deteriorated. On July 1-7, the Russians launched an offensive (commander Kornilov) on the southwestern front. The German-Austrian troops launched a counterattack and by September captured Riga, the Moonsund archipelago, forced the Russian fleet to leave the Gulf of Riga.

1918 March 3, Russia signed an agreement with Germany in Brest-Litovsk. Russia lost Finland, the Baltic States, Ukraine, the Don and Black Sea regions, Transcaucasia. Germany's military operations in the West became more successful: in March they went to Picardy (the shelling of Paris began), in April they captured Flanders, in May they went to the Marne. In the spring, the strategic initiative passed to Germany.

However, in the summer there was a turning point in the direction of the Entente. In the Battle of the Marne, the morale of the German army was undermined. In September-October, the Entente armies advanced on the front from the North Sea to Italy, the “Siegfried Line” was broken through. On November 3, Austria-Hungary capitulated. On November 11, the Compiègne armistice between Germany and the Entente countries was signed, which put an end to the First World War.

The war can be divided into three periods:

During the first period (1914-1916), the Central Powers achieved superiority on land, while the Allies dominated the sea. This period ended with negotiations on a mutually acceptable peace, but each side still hoped for victory.

In the next period (1917), two events occurred that led to an imbalance of power: the first was the entry into the war of the United States on the side of the Entente, the second was the revolution in Russia and its exit from the war.

The third period (1918) began with the last major advance of the Central Powers in the west. The failure of this offensive was followed by revolutions in Austria-Hungary and Germany and the surrender of the Central Powers.

14. Features of inter-allied relations within the Entente during WWI The desire of the United States to act as the supreme arbiter at the final stage of the war caused discontent in Great Britain and France. After receiving the news about Max Badensky's note, the US allies gathered in Versailles and turned to Wilson with a statement about the inadmissibility of discussing the terms of a peace treaty without the consent of all the participants in the Entente.

The demarche of the Allies forced the US President in a note sent to Berlin on October 14 to take into account their opinion. Washington's demands included a cessation of hostilities by the German army and navy before peace negotiations began, the formation of a responsible German government, and recognition of Allied military superiority over the Kaiser's empire. To coordinate diplomatic efforts with members of the Entente, a special emissary of the American president, Colonel Edward House, was sent to Europe.

Arriving in the French capital, House was faced with the hard line of the Allies regarding the terms of the truce. As French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, commander-in-chief of the Entente, later noted in his memoirs, they were harsh to the extent that the Allied forces had already occupied Berlin. The point of view of Clemenceau and Lloyd George contradicted the views of Wilson, who feared that excessively harsh demands could, on the one hand, cause revolutions in the Central Powers according to the "Bolshevik model", and, on the other hand, make Britain and France masters of the situation at the expense of solving the main task of American foreign policy - the spread of US influence in Europe. Therefore, the president spoke out against the Allied occupation of Alsace and Lorraine, the eastern bank of the Rhine and those points on the sea coast where German submarine bases were located. This caused a new wave of discontent in Paris and London.

As a result of diplomatic consultations, when Colonel House was even forced to intimidate his French, British and Italian interlocutors with the threat of a unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the war, the Entente powers, albeit with certain reservations, actually adopted Wilson's 14 points as the basis for the program of peace negotiations with the Central Powers. The corresponding note was sent to Berlin on November 5, 1918. The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, Marshal Foch, was instructed to receive the German representatives and explain to them the terms of the armistice.

Meanwhile, the uprising of sailors in Kiel, which began on November 3, became a signal for revolution in Germany. On November 9, Emperor Wilhelm II abdicated and fled to the neutral Netherlands, and the next day a new government was formed, headed by the Social Democrat Friedrich Ebert. On November 11, 1918, in Foch's staff car parked in the Compiègne Forest, the Allied and German delegates signed an armistice agreement. The First World War ended with the victory of the Entente.