The First World War
IN 1914, a war began in Europe which soon engulfed almost the entire world. In the earlier wars,
the civilian populations were not generally involved and the casualties were generally
confined to the warring armies. It affected the
economy of the entire world the casualties suffered by the civilian population
from bombing of the civilian areas and the famines and epidemics, caused by the
war far exceeded those suffered by the armies. The battles of the
war were fought in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Because of the
unprecedented extent of its spread and its total nature, it is known as the First World War.
Imperialist Rivalries
The underlying causes of the war were the rivalries and conflicts among the
imperialist countries.Sometimes the imperialists were able to come to
‘peaceful settlements’ and agree to divide a part of Asia or Africa among
themselves without resorting to the use of force against each other. At other
times their rivalries created situations of war. Wars were generally avoided at
that time because the possibilities of further conquest were still there. If an
imperialist country was excluded from a certain area, it could find some other
area to conquer. Sometimes wars did break out between imperialist countries as
happened, for instance, between Japan and Russia. By the end of the nineteenth
century, however, the situation had changed. Most of Asia and Africa had
already been divided up and further conquests could take place only by
dispossessing some imperialist country of its colonies. So in the period
beginning from the last decade of the nineteenth century, imperialist rivalries
resulted in attempts to redivide the world, creating conditions of war.You have read before that Germany entered the scramble for colonies late. After the unification of Germany had been achieved, it made tremendous economic progress. By 1914, it had left Britain and France far behind in the production of iron and steel and in many manufactures. It had entered the shipping trade in a big way. One of its ships, the Imperator, built in 1912, was the largest in the world. Both Britain and France were alarmed at the expansion of German manufactures as they considered it a serious threat to their position. You have seen that Germany could not grab many colonies, having arrived late on the scene. Most of Asia and Africa had already been occupied by the older imperialist powers. The German imperialists, therefore, dreamed of expanding in the east. Their ambition was to control the economy of the declining Ottoman empire. For this purpose, they had planned the construction of a railway from Berlin to Baghdad. This plan created a fear in Britain, France and Russia as the completion of the Berlin-Baghdad railway would endanger their imperialist ambitions in the Ottoman empire. The Germans had imperialist ambitions elsewhere also, including in Africa.
Like Germany, all the major powers
in Europe, and Japan also had their imperialist ambitions. Italy, which after
her unification had become almost an equal of France in power, coveted Tripoli
in North Africa which was under the Ottoman empire. She had already occupied
Eritrea and Somaliland. France wanted to add Morocco to her conquests in
Africa. Russia had her ambitions in Iran, the territories of the Ottoman empire
including Constantinople, the Far East and elsewhere. The Russian plans clashed
with the interests and ambitions of Britain, Germany and Austria. Japan which
had also become an imperialist power had ambitions in the Far East and was on
way to fulfilling them. She defeated Russia in 190405 after having signed an
agreement with Britain and was able to extend her influence in the Far East.
Britain was involved in a conflict
with all other imperialist countries because she had already acquired a vast
empire which was to be defended. The rise of any other country was considered a
danger to the British empire. She also had her vast international trade to
defend against the competition from other countries, and to maintain her
control over what she considered the lifeline of her empire. Austria had her
ambitions in the Ottoman empire The United States of America had emerged as a
powerful nation by the end of the nineteenth century She had annexed the
Philippines Her main interest was to preserve the independence of trade as her
trade was expanding at a tremendous rate The expansion of other major powers’
influence was considered a threat to American interests.
Besides the conflicts resulting from
rivalries over colonies and trade, there were conflicts among the major
European powers over certain developments within Europe. There were six major
powers in Europe at this time—Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, France
and Italy. One of the questions with which almost all these countries got
involved concerned the countries comprising the Balkan peninsula in Europe. The
Balkan countries had been under the rule of Ottoman Turks. However, in the
nineteenth century, the Ottoman rule had begun to collapse. There were revolts
by various nationalities for independence. The Russian Czars hoped that these
areas would come under their control once the Ottomans were ousted from there.
They encouraged a movement called the Pan-Slav movement which was based on the
theory that all the Slays of eastern Europe were one people. Many
areas in Austria-Hungary were
inhabited by the Slays Russia, therefore, encouraged movements both against the
Ottoman empire and Austria-Hungary The major Balkan country, Serbia, led
the movement for uniting the areas inhabited by the Slavs in the Ottoman empire
as well as in Austria-Hungary . The Serbian nationalism was encouraged by
Russia. Other major European powers were alarmed at the growth of Russian
influence in the Balkans, They wanted to check the Russian influence, while
Austria Hungary had plans of expansion in this area.
Corresponding to the Pan-Slav
movement, there was a PanGerman movement which aimed at the expansion of
Germany all over central Europe and in the Balkans. Italy claimed certain areas
which were under Austrian rule. France hoped to recover not only Alsace
Lorraine which she had lost to Germany in 1871 but also to wreak vengeance on
Germany for the humiliating defeat that she had suffered in the war with
Germany in 187071.
The conflicts within Europe and the
conflicts over colonies mentioned earlier had begun to create a very tense
situation in Europe from the last decade of the nineteenth century. European
countries began to form themselves into opposing groups. They also started
spending vast sums of money to increase the size of their armies and navies, to
develop new and more deadly weapons, and to generally prepare themselves for
war, Europe Was gradually becoming a vast armed camp Simultaneously, propaganda
for war, to breed hatred against other countries, to paint one’s own country as
superior to others, and to glorify war, was started in each country.
There were, of course, people who
raised their voice against the danger of war and against militarization. You
have read of the attitude of the Second International and the various socialist
parties. But soon all these voices were to be drowned in the drumbeats of war
The opposing groups of countries of
alliances that were formed in Europe not only added to the danger of war, but
also made it inevitable that when the war broke out it would assume a worldwide
magnitude. European countries had been forming and reforming alliances since
the nineteenth century. Finally, in the first decade of the twentieth century,
two groups of countries or alliances, emerged and faced each other with their
armed might In 1882 was formed the Triple Alliance comprising Germany,
Austria-Hungary and Italy. However, Italy’s loyalty to this Alliance was
uncertain as her main aim was to gain territories in Europe from
Austria-Hungary and in conquering Tripoli with French support As opposed to
this, emerged the Triple Entente comprising France, Russia and Britain in 1907.
In theory it was only a loose group based on mutual understanding as the word
‘Entente’ (meaning ‘an understanding’ indicates. The emergence of these two
hostile camps made it inevitable that a conflict involving any one of these
countries would become an all-European war. As the aims of the countries in
these camps included the extension of their colonial possessions, an
all-European war almost certainly would become a world war. The formation of
these hostile camps was accompanied with a race to build more and more deadly
weapons and have larger and larger armies and navies.
A series of crises took place during
the years preceding the war. These crises added to the bitterness and tension
in Europe and engendered national chauvinism European countries also entered
into secret treaties to gain territories at the expense of others. Often, these
secret treaties leaked out and fear and suspicion grew in each country about such
treaties. These fears and suspicions brought the danger of war near.
The outbreak of the war was preceded
by a series of incidents which added to the prevailing tension and ultimately
led to the war. One of these was the clash over Morocco. In 1904 Britain and
France had entered into a secret agreement according to which Britain was to
have a free hand in Egypt, and France was to take over Morocco. The agreement
became known to Germany and aroused her indignation. The German emperor went to
Morocco and promised the Sultan of Morocco his full support for the
independence of Morocco. The antagonism over Morocco, it appeared, would lead
to a war. However, the war was averted when in 1911 France occupied most of
Morocco and, in exchange, gave Germany a part of French Congo. Even though the
war had been averted, the situation in Europe, with each country preparing for
war, had become dangerous.
The other incidents which worsened
the already dangerous situation in Europe occurred in the Balkans. In 1908
Austria annexed the Ottoman provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These
provinces were also coveted by Serbia which had the backing of Russia in
establishing a united Slav state in the Balkans. Russia threatened to start a
war against Austrian annexation but Germany’s open support to Austria compelled
Russia to retreat. The incident, however, not only embittered feelings in
Serbia but also created further enmity between Russia and Germany. The
situation in Europe had become even more tense.
The crisis resulting from the
annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria was followed by Balkan wars in
1912, four Balkan countries — Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Greece —started
a war against the Turks. As a result of this war, Turkey lost almost all her
possessions in Europe However, the Balkan countries fought another war over the
question of distributing the former Turkish territory among themselves.
Finally, Austria succeeded in making Albania, which had been claimed by Serbia,
as an independent state. The frustration of Serbia’s ambitions further
embittered her feelings against Austria. These incidents brought Europe on the
verge of war.
The war was precipitated by an
incident which would not have created much stir if Europe had not stood divided
into two hostile armed camps, preparing for war for many years On 28 june 1914
Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary , was
assassinated at Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia. (Bosnia, it may be recalled, had
been annexed by Austria only a few years earlier.) Austria saw the hand of
Serbia behind the assassination and served her with an ultimatum. Serbia
refused to accept one of the demands of the ultimatum which went against the
independence of Serbia On 28 July 1914 Austria declared war on Serbia. Russia
had promised full support to Serbia and started full scale preparations for
war. On 1 August, Germany declared war on Russia and on 3 August on France.
German troops marched into Belgium to press on to France on 4 August and on the
same day Britain declared war on Germany.
Many other countries soon entered
the war. Japan declared war on Germany with a view to capturing German colonies
in the Far East, Turkey and Bulgaria joined on the side of Germany Italy, in
spite of her membership of the Triple Alliance, remained neutral for some time,
and joined the war against Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1915.
Germany had hoped that through a
lightning strike through Belgium, she would be able to defeat France within a
few weeks and then turn against Russia. The plan seemed to succeed for a while
and the German troops were within 20 km of Paris. Russia had opened attacks on
Germany and Austria and some German troops had to be diverted to the eastern
front. Soon the German advance on France was halted and the war in Europe
entered a long period of stalemate. In the meantime the war had spread to many
other parts of the world and battles were fought in West Asia, Africa and the
Far East.
After the German advance had been
halted, a new type of warfare developed. The warring armies dug trenches from
which they conducted raids on each other. The kind of warfare that the armies
were used to earlier — fighting in the open almost disappeared. On the Western
Front, which included eastern France and Belgium, the troops of the warring
sides dug trenches and continued their raids on each other’s positions. For
about four years, neither side could dislodge the other. The European countries
made use of the troops recruited from their colonies in the war. Labour from
colonies was also used to dig trenches in Europe. On the Eastern Front, Germany
and Austria succeeded in repulsing the Russian attack and capturing parts of
the Russian empire. They were also successful against Rumania, Serbia and
Italy. Outside Europe, there were campaigns against the Ottoman empire in
Palestine, Mesopotamia and Arabia and against Germany and Turkey in Iran where
they were trying to establish their influence. Japan occupied German
possessions in East Asia, and Britain and France seized most of the German
colonies in Africa.
A large number of new weapons were
introduced. The machine gun and liquid fire were two such weapons. For the
first time, aircrafts were used in warfare and for bombing the civilian
population. The British introduced the use of the tank which was to become a
major weapon later. Both the warring groups tried to block each other’s supplies
of food, manufactures and arms and the sea warfare played an important part in
this Submarines called Uboats were used by Germany on a large scale not only to
destroy enemy ships but also ships of neutral countries heading for British
ports. Another horrible weapon used in the war was poison gas. The war dragged
on, taking a toll of hundreds of thousands of human lives.
On 6 April 1917, the United States
of America declared war on Germany. USA had become the main source of arms and
other essential supplies for the Entente countries. In 1915, the German UBoats
had sunk a British ship Lusitania. Among the 1153 passengers killed were 128
Americans. The Americans were generally sympathetic to Britain, and this
incident further roused antiGerman feelings in USA. Economic considerations had
turned them even more in favour of the Entente countries. These countries had
raised vast amounts of loans in USA to pay for the arms and other goods bought
by them. Many Americans had subscribed to these loans which could be paid back
only, if these countries won the war. There was also a fear that if Germany won
the war, she would become a serious rival to USA. The sinking of ships,
including American ships carrying American citizens, by the German Uboats
finally led USA to join the war.
Another major development that took
place in 1917 was the withdrawal of Russia from the war after October
Revolution. The Russian revolutionaries had opposed the war from the beginning
and, under the leadership of Lenin, had decided to transform it into a
revolutionary war to overthrow the Russian autocracy and to seize power. The
Russian empire had suffered serious reverses in the war. Over 600,000 Russian
soldiers had been killed. The day after theBolshevik government came to power,
it issued the Decree on Peace with proposals to end the war without any
annexations and indemnities. Russia decided to withdraw from the war and signed
a peace treaty with Germany in March 1918. Realizing that the Russian
government was not prepared to continue the war, Germany imposed terms which
were very harsh on Russia. But the Russian government accepted these terms. The
Entente powers which were opposed to the revolution in Russia and to the
Russian withdrawal from the war started their armed intervention in Russia in
support of the elements which were opposed to the revolution. This led to a
civil war which lasted for three years and ended with the defeat of foreign
intervention and of those Russians who had taken up arms against the
revolutionary government.
Many efforts were made to bring the
war to an end. In early 1917, a few socialist parties proposed the convening of
an international socialist conference to draft proposals for ending the war
without annexations and recognition of the right of peoples to
self-determination. However, the conference could not be held. The proposal of
the Bolshevik government in Russia to conclude a peace “without annexations and
indemnities, on the basis of the self-determination of peoples” was welcomed by
many people in the countries which were at war. However, these proposals were
rejected. The Pope also made proposals for peace but these too were not taken
seriously. Though these efforts to end the war did not get any positive
response from the governments of the warring countries, antiwar feelings grew
among the people. There was widespread unrest and disturbances and even
mutinies began to break out. In some countries, following the success of the
Russian Revolution, the unrest was soon to take the form of uprisings to
overthrow the governments.
In January 1918, Woodrow Wilson,
President of the United States, proposed a peace programme. This has become
famous as President Wilson’s Fourteen Points. These included the conduct of
neotiations between states openly, freedom of navigation, reduction of
armaments, independence of Belgium, restoration of Alsace Lorraine to France,
creation of independent states in Europe, formation of an international
organization to guarantee the independence of all states, etc. Some of these
points were accepted when the peace treaties were signed at the end of the war
Britain, France and USA launched a
military offensive in July 1918 and Germany and her allies began to collapse.
Bulgaria withdrew from the war in September, and Turkey surrendered in October.
Political discontent had been rising
in Austria-Hungary and Germany. The emperor of Austria-Hungary
surrendered on 3 November. In Germany revolution broke out. Germany
became a republic and the German emperor Kaiser William II fled to Holland. The
new German government signed an armistice on 11 November 1918 and the war was
over. The news was received with tremendous Jubilation all over the world.
The victorious powers or the Allies,
as they were called, met in a conference first in Versailles, a suburb of
Paris, and later in Paris, between January and June 1919. Though the number of
countries represented at the conference was 27, the terms of the peace treaties
were really decided by three countries — Britain, France and USA. The three
persons who played the determining role in framing the terms of the treaties
were Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, Lloyd George, Prime
Minister of Britain, and George Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France. The defeated
countries were not represented at the conference. The victorious powers also
excluded Russia from the conference. The terms of the treaty were thus not the
result of negotiations between the defeated and the victorious powers but were
imposed on the defeated by the victors.
The main treaty was signed with
Germany on 28 June 1919. It is called the Treaty of Versailles. The republican
government of Germany was compelled to sign this treaty under the threat of
invasion. The treaty declared Germany and her allies guilty of aggression.
AlsaceLorraine was returned to France. The coal mines in the German area called
Saar were ceded to France for 15 years while that area was to be governed by
the League of Nations. Germany also ceded parts of her prewar territory to
Denmark, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The area of the Rhine valley was
to be demilitarized. The treaty also contained provisions for disarming
Germany. The strength of her army was to be limited to 100,000 and she was
required not to have any air force and submarines She was dispossessed of all
her colonies which were taken over by the victors. Togo and the Cameroon were
divided and shared by Britain and France. German colonies in SouthWest Africa
and East Africa were given to Britain, Belgium, South Africa and Portugal.
German colonies in the Pacific and the spheres under her control in China were
given to Japan China was aligned with the Allies during the war and was even
represented at the Paris Conference. But her areas under German possession of
control were not restored to China; instead they were given away to Japan.
Germany was also required to pay for the loss and damages suffered by the
Allies during the war. The amount of reparations was fixed at an enormous
figure of $6,500,000,000.
Separate treaties were signed with
the allies of Germany. Austria-Hungary was broken up and Austria was required
to recognize the independence of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and
Poland. She had to cede territories to them and to Italy. Many changes were
made in the Balkans where new states were created and transfers of territories
from one state to another took place Baltic states which earlier formed parts
of the Russian empire were made independent. The treaty with Turkey stipulated
the complete dismemberment of the Ottoman empire Britain was given Palestine
and Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Syria went to France as what were called ‘mandates’.
In theory, the ‘mandatory’ powers, that is Britain and France, were to look
after the interests of the people of the ‘mandates’ but actually they were
governed as colonies. Most of the remaining Turkish territories were to be
given to Greece and Italy and Turkey was to be reduced to a very small state.
However, there was a revolution in Turkey under the leadership of Mustapha
Kemal. The Sultan was deposed and Turkey was proclaimed a republic in 1922.
Turkey regained control of Asia Minor and the city of Constantinople (Istanbul)
and the Allies were forced to abandon the earlier treaty.
An important part of the peace treaties
was the Covenant of the League of Nations. Wilson’s Fourteen Points included
the creation of an international organization for the preservation of peace and
to guarantee the independence of all states. The League of Nations was created.
It was intended as a world organization of all independent states. It aimed at
the preservation of peace and security and peaceful settlement of international
conflicts, and bound its members ‘ not to resort to war’ One of its important
provisions was with regard to sanctions. According to this provision, economic
and military action would be taken against any country which committed
aggression. It also bound its members to improve labour and social conditions
in their countries. For this the International Labour Organization was set up
which is now one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations.
The hopes of having a truly world
organization devoted to the preservation of peace and independence of nations
were, however, not realized with the formation of the League. Two major
countries – Germany and the Soviet Union — were not allowed to become its
members for many years while India, which was not independent, was made a
member. The United States which had played an important part in the setting up
of the League ultimately decided not to join it. The League was never an
effective organization. In the 1930s when many countries resorted to
aggression, the League was either ignored or defied
An important feature of the peace
treaties which indicates its nature was the decision with regard to the
colonies of the defeated powers. The Allies had entered into many secret
agreements for dividing the spoils of war The Soviet government, to bring out
the imperialist nature of the war, made these treaties public. During the war,
the Allies had been claiming that the war was being fought for freedom and
democracy. President Wilson had said that the war was being fought “to make the
world safe for democracy”. The publication of secret treaties by the Soviet
government exposed these claims. However, in spite of this, the distribution of
the colonies of the defeated countries among the victors took place as has been
mentioned before. Of course, the Soviet Union which had repudiated all the
secret agreements did not receive any spoils which had been promised to the
Russian emperor. The League of Nations also recognised this division of the
spoils. Legally most of the colonies which were transferred to the victorious
powers were ‘mandates’ and could not be annexed.
The First World War was the most
frightful war that the world had so far seen. The devastation caused by it, as
stated earlier, had no precedent. The number of persons who fought in the war
is staggering. Estimates vary between 53 and 70 million people. The total
number of those killed and dead in the war are estimated at about nine million,
that is, about one seventh of those who participated in it. Several million
became invalids. The air raids, epidemics and famines killed many more among
the civilian populations. Besides these terrible human losses, the economy of
many countries was shattered. It gave rise to many serious social problems. The
political institutions as they had been evolving in various countries also
suffered a serious setback
The war and the peace treaties
transformed the political map of the world, particularly of Europe. Three
ruling dynasties were destroyed — the Romanov in Russia during the war itself,
the Hohenzollern in Germany and the Habsburg in Austria-Hungary. Soon after the
war, the rule of Ottomans came to an end in Turkey. Austria and Hungary became
separate independent states. Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia emerged as
independent states. Poland which had been divided among Russia, Austria and
Prussia in the eighteenth century was reformed as an independent state.
The period after the war saw the war
saw the beginning of the end of the European supremacy in the world.
Economically and militarily, Europe was surpassed by the United States which
emerged from the war as a world power The Soviet Union was also to soon come up
as a major world power. The period after the war also saw the strengthening of
the freedom movements in Asia and Africa. The weakening of Europe and the
emergence of the Soviet Union which declared her support to the struggles for
national independence contributed to the growing strength of these struggles.
The Allied propaganda during the war to defend democracy, and the participation
of Asian and African soldier in the battles in Europe also helped in arousing
the peoples of Asia and Africa. The European countries had utilized the
resources of their colonies in the war. The forced recruitment of soldiers and
labourers for war, and the exploitation of resources of the colonies for war by
the imperialist countries had created resentment among the people of the
colonies. The population of the colonial countries had been nurtured on the
myth that the peoples of Asia and Africa were inferior to the Europeans. The
role played by the soldiers from Asia and Africa in winning the war for one
group of nations of Europe against another shattered this myth. Many Asian
leaders had supported the war effort in the hope that, once the war was over,
their countries would be given freedom. These hopes were, however, belied.
While the European nations won the right to self-determination, colonial rule
and exploitation continued in the countries of Asia and Africa.
The contrast between the two
situations was too glaring to be missed. Its increasing awareness led to the
growth of nationalist feelings in the colonies. The soldiers who returned to
their respective countries from the theatres of war in Europe and elsewhere
also brought with them the new stirrings. All these factors strengthened
nationalist movements in the colonies. In some countries, the first stirrings
of nationalism were felt after the war.
The First World War had been
believed to be ‘a War to end all war’. However, the Peace Treaties had failed
to ensure this. On the contrary, the treaties contained certain provisions
which were extremely harsh on the defeated countries and thus they sowed the
seeds of further conflicts. Similarly, some victorious countries also felt
cheated because all their hopes had not been fulfilled. Imperialism was not destroyed
as a result of the war. The victorious powers had in fact enlarged their
possessions. The factors which had caused rivalries and conflicts between
imperialist countries leading to the war still existed. Therefore, the danger
that more wars would be fought for another ‘redvision’ of the world. remained
lurking. The emergence of the Soviet Union was considered a danger to the
existing social and economic system in many countries. The desire to destroy it
influenced the policies of those countries.
These factors, combined with certain
developments that took place in the next twenty years, created conditions for
another world war.
