WORLD WAR I

The global conflict that happened between 1914 and 1918 was known in
history as World War I. It involved the most powerful and strongest nations in
Europe and the United States. It affects spread to other countries around the world.
This war was the most destructive event experienced by man before 1939. It was
called the Great War or the war to end all wars. World War I was considered a total
war because it covered and affected the entire population, and all the resources of
the involved countries were maximized and used to win the war.
The European leaders did not expect that this war would last for four years. It
only started when a European country retaliated because of the assassination of its
future king.

Long Term Causes of the War

Even before 1914, there were already events in Europe that led to the
ignition of World War I. These were the rise of extreme nationalism, European
imperialism, militarism, and forming alliances.’
Nationalism is a movement wherein the people of a country expressed their
loyalty to their descent, religion, and language. During the nineteenth century, it
was the main factor that united the divided countries like Italy and Germany.
However, at the start of 1900, extreme nationalism among Europeans developed
and became a threat to the continent’s stability. The people showed great
admiration to their country and believed that they were more superior than the
others. The dominance of a country over the other resulted to rivalry, mistrust, and
hatred that led to a destructive war.
Imperialism is the policy of extending power and authority of a country over
the other countries. It was intensified at the end of the nineteenth century. The
countries competed to conquered, to maintain, and to expand territories. Hence, it
became inevitable among the imperialist countries to be rivals. In 1898, France and
Britain had a conflict in claiming Egypt. Russia and Britain had a conflict in claiming
Egypt. Russia and Britain questioned Germany when Germans started to build
railways that would connect Germany from Berlin to Baghdad, Iraq. These incidents
resulted to a war.
Militarism is a policy of the government of investing heavily in military and
strengthening the country’s military forces. The European leaders believed that a
strong and powerful nation should have a strong-armed force. The political power a
country can be maintained through a superior army. Aside from that, the citizens
felt more secured if they knew that they could be protected and saved. The
countries released funds for military development. At the start of 1914, all powerful
countries of Europe kept strong armed forces that could be used if a war would
break out.
Alliance is an association of nations that agreed to help and to support each
other. Because of the competition brought by imperialism and the political and
economic issues among countries, it would be advantageous if a country had an
alliance so that there would be reinforcement in case the situation would end in a
crisis. Others would hesitate to fight a country knowing that the enemy would not
only involve one nation but its allies as well. In 1907, two main alliances emerged:
The Triple Alliance which was composed of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy;
and the Triple Entente which included Great Britain, France, and Russia.
The Road to War
In the entire continent of Europe, the Balkan region experienced the most
intense situation that could lead to a war. The fervor for nationalism grew within the
Slavs in the Balkan. Serbia wanted to include all the Slavs living in the peninsula.
The aim of Serbia resulted to the direct involvement of Russia and Austria-Hungary.
The Russians supported the Serbian nationalists while Austria-Hungary was
threatened to the emerging power of Russia in the Balkans.
In 1908, Austria-Hungary took over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkan.
These places were occupied by the Slavs. Serbia sympathized with Bosnia and
Herzegovina and wanted these countries to be free from Austria-Hungary. The
situation worsened in the Balkan Peninsula when Russia supported Serbia while
Germany formed an alliance with Austria-Hungary.

Beginning of the War

The war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia was inevitable after an
assassination that happened on June 28, 1914.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand together with his wife, Sophie, visited Sarajevo,
the capital of Bosnia. Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary.
While the couple was in an open car for parade in Sarajevo, the royal couple
was shot by Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year-old Serbian youth and a member of the Black
Hand. Black Hand was a secret organization which aimed to free Bosnia from the
control of Austria.
The assassination devastated and angered the leaders of Austria-Hungary. Austria
issued an ultimatum to Serbia. It included the unconditional demands and if Serbia
failed to do these, Austria would carry out a drastic move. One of the demands was
for Austro-Hungarian officials to take part in the investigation and trial of those
involved in the assassination. The Serbian officials refused to agree because this
would interfere with the sovereignty of Serbia.
The Serbian officials knew that Austria was very powerful, and Serbia was not
ready for war. Despite that, Austria was decided to ignite a war as a retaliation for
the assassination. On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war against Serbia.
As expected, Russia sided with Serbia and prepared the military troops at the
border of Russia and Austria. Germany supported Austria and declared war against
Russia. France also helped Serbia and since Great Britain was an ally of France, the
British also extended their support to Serbia. Before the end of August 1914, the
powerful nations in Europe were already involved in the war between Austria and
Serbia. Thus, World War I began.

The Spread of the War

The countries involved in World War I were divided into two alliances. The
first alliance was called the Central Powers led by Austria-Hungary and Germany
including Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire which was centered in Turkey. The
opposing group was the Allied Powers composed of France, Great Britain, and
Russia. The countries of Italy, United States, and Japan were included in the alliance
at the latter part of the war.
There were two major war zones that served as the battleground of the war.
One was called Western Front that covered eastern France, western Germany, and
Belgium. The other one was the Eastern Front that included western Russia, Austria-
Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and eastern Germany.

The Western Front

During the initial months of the war, Germany executed their military
strategy called Schlieffen Plan which was named after its designer General Alfred
Graf Schlieffen. According to the plan, Germany would not attack Russia and France
at the same time. Since the mobilization of the Russian troops was slow, Germany
decided to fight France first at the Western Front. Because of that, majority of the
German troops positioned at the Western Front to destroy Paris, the capital of
France. To execute the plan immediately, the German army needed to pass through
Belgium. Even if Belgium was a neutral country, Germany invaded it to find
strategic places to attack Paris.
The invasion of Germany in Belgium angered Great Britain. Thus, the British
declared war against Germany on August 4, 1914.
Germany thought that the attack in France would only last for six weeks, but it was
extended to months. One of the major battles in the Western front was the Battle of
the Marne.
The Battle of the Marne happened on September 6 to 9,1914. This was
considered as one of the decisive battles during the war. The defeat of Germany
forced the troops to retreat away from Paris.
The war continued in the Western Front. One of the tactics used by both sides was
called the trench warfare. In this strategy, the soldiers dug long and deep holes on
the ground that served as their protection from the bullets. They also placed barbed
wires along the trench to prevent the opponents to easily attack their place. The
situation of the soldiers was worsened because of the trenches. They slept on mud
and had no fresh food to eat. There was also the danger of diseases from insects
and rats.

The Eastern Front

The Eastern Front was the battleground of the Russians and Serbs against the
Austrians, Germans, and Ottoman Turks. At the start, the Russians were winning but
their army eventually weakened because of insufficient weapons, foods, and
clothing. The Germans made the entire Russian force retreated to the west in 1914.
After two years, almost one million Russian soldiers died and wounded during the
attack in Austria.
The failures and internal conflicts in Russia resulted to their ultimate
surrender. The Russian leaders were forced to sign the Treaty of Brest Litovsk in
Germany. Russia gave up its territories including Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania,
Ukraine, and some parts of Poland.
Both sides invented and used new weapons in their battles. Airplane was used to
monitor the movements of the opponents on the ground. It was also utilized to drop
bombs and to fire at the opponents.
The Germans first used the submarine called the U-boat to fire missile at the
enemy’s warships. They also used the automatic machine gun that could kill a big
number of opponents. In 1915, the Germans invented the poison gas. After a year,
the British used the war tank for the first time.

Outside Europe
 To defeat the opponent, the opposing countries tried to find more allies.
Japan sided with the Allied Powers and declared war against Germany. Japan
conquered the territories controlled by Germany in China and the islands in the
Pacific region.
On the other hand, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria supported Germany.
Australia and New Zealand joined the British forces.
The colonies of Britain and France in Asia and Africa were also involved. They sent
their soldiers to fight the Central Powers.
In 1915, Great Britain wanted to open the campaign of the Allied Forces in
Dardanelles. Dardanelles is strait in the northwestern Turkey. According to the
British, if they could successfully control Dardanelles, they could attack
Constantinople of the Ottoman Empire. If that would happen, Britain could weaken
the Turks. Also, they could provide ammunitions to Russia and Austria could be safe
from sudden attack.
Despite this plan, Britain failed to conquer Constantinople. One of the reasons
was the lack of coordination and enough forces. The Turks also fought very hard to
protect their territory.

The United States and the War

The United States was a neutral country during the first three years of World
War I. It avoided being involved in neither the Allied nor the Central Powers. But
there were two events that forced the United States to join the Great War.
The first event was the bombing of the British passenger ship Lusitania.
Germany implemented the unrestricted submarine warfare in the waters of Great
Britain. All sailing ships in the war zone were bombed and were destroyed by the
German U-boats. On May 7, 1915, Lusitania passed in the war zone and was
attacked by Germany. There were 1, 198 passengers who died which included 128
Americans. US President Woodrow Wilson immediately condemned that act of
Germany. Many Americans showed their anger and wanted to support a war against
Germany.
In February 1917, a telegram message from Arthur Zimmermann, Germany’s
foreign secretary, was intercepted by Britain. It was a message for the German
ambassador of Mexico. According to the telegram, if Mexico would side with
Germany, the Germans would help the Mexicans take back the former territories
which were already owned by the United States. The message reached the
Americans and immediately clamored the government to join the Allied Forces and
fight Germany. On April 6, 1917, the US Congress declared war against Germany.
They sent American troops to Europe to support the Allied Forces.

The Conclusion of the War

The inclusion of the United States to the Allied Forces helped them defeat the
opposing Central Power. Thousands of soldiers from America strengthened the force
of France and Great Britain against Germany.
On July 15, 1918, the opposing countries met once more during the Second
Battle of the Marne. It was a decisive battle led by General Erich Ludendorff of
Germany and General Ferdinand Foch, a French commander of the Allied Forces.
The four-year war of the German troops drained the strength of Germany. The
scarcity of food and ammunition led Germany to its defeat. The Battle of the Marne
ended on August 4, 1918.
 The Central Power eventually dismantled, and King Wilhelm II was forced to
step down from the throne on November 9, 1918. Germany was also asked to sign
the armistice or halt to fight against the Allied Forces on November 11, 1918. This
event finally concluded World War I.

Effects of the War

First World War resulted in massive damage. These included the death of
million soldier and 13 million civilians.
To bring back peace, 32 countries gathered for the Paris Peace Conference in
January 1919. Among these who participated were the Big Four: They were US
President Woodrow Wilson, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, French
Premier Georges Clemenceau, and Italian Premier Vittorio Orlando. Among the
important the important matters they agreed on were the establishment of the
League of Nations, the enforcement of the Mandate system, and the signing of the
Treaty of Versailles.

League of Nations – Established in 1920, its objective was to serve as a forum for
international talks and promoter of world peace. Although the US proposed the
founding, it did not join the league.

Mandate System – Under this, German and Turk colonies in Africa and West Asia
would be under the control of the Allies until they were ready for self-governance.

The Treaty of Versailles - On June 28, 1919, five years the assassination of
Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria, Germany and the Allied Forces signed a
treaty in Versailles known as Treaty of Versailles. The following are some of the
important provisions of the treaty:
o The League of Nations was established as an international organization to
preserve peace and solve the disputes and conflict of different countries.
o Germany was required to pay war damages amounting to $33 billion in 30
years.
o Some territories were taken away from Germany and were given to Allied
Forces such as Alsace and Lorraine for France, the colonies in Africa for
Britain, and Pacific Islands for Japan.
o The military power of Germany was limited. It reduced the number of
soldiers, it prohibited the importation and manufacturing of weapons and
ammunitions, and it prohibited the building of submarines.
The political territories of Europe also changed after the world war. New
countries emerged like Austria which was separated from Hungary. Yugoslavia and
Czechoslovakia became independent countries. Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and
Lithuania, which were part of the Russia Empire also became independent nations.
There were territories of Russia which were given to Poland and Romania.
After the Treaty of Versailles, there were even more treaties signed by the
Allies and the defeated countries. The agreements only gave way to meager
intentions for peace. The peace settlement was quite harsh for Germany and its
former allies. The agreement also failed to answer the question of how to achieve
peace and stability in the world after the war and in the future.