The First World War: A Global Conflict
The War Movement
The war began on the Western Front when the German army suddenly attacked France through Belgium and Luxemburg. The Germans hoped to win quickly so it would be able to then concentrate on the Eastern Front. In September of 1914, the Battle of Marne took place. On the Eastern Front, Germany beat Russia at the Battle of Tannenberg.
Trench Warfare
After the Battle of the Marne, the Western Front became immobile. Trenches were built from Switzerland to the North Sea. From that point on, both the Central Powers and the Allied Powers had to find new allies who could provide more soldiers.
The Ottoman Empire entered the war in 1914, followed by Italy and Bulgaria in 1915, and Romania in 1916.
1917: The Last Phases of the War
1917 was a decisive year for the war. On the one hand, the terrible conditions of trench warfare caused many soldiers to abandon their duties, and many revolts took place on the front. On the other hand, Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany in 1918 after the Bolshevik Revolution and withdrew from the war.
The United States entered the war in 1917 for various reasons, but mainly as a consequence of the sinking of a US ocean liner. Although the war was already being fought in the colonies of the European empires, the intervention of the US made it a truly global conflict.
In 1918, the Allies defeated Austria-Hungary on the Eastern Front, and the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires surrendered and called for an armistice. The Germans were defeated on the Western Front at the Second Battle of the Marne. There were revolts in the German army and navy. Germany surrendered. On November 11, 1918, the war ended.
A Total War
The war of 1914-1918 had such a profound impact on European society and involved so many countries and people that it was called the Great War.
The Involvement of the Civilian Population
A new type of national army emerged as a consequence of the 19th-century revolutions. Instead of using mercenaries or volunteers, compulsory enlistment meant the involvement of most of the male civilian population. In 1914, the armies were able to advance with greater speed and cover more territory using trains and motor vehicles. This caused an exodus of millions of civilians from Belgium, etc., who feared looting, destruction, and retaliation. It was one of the first great refugee movements in the modern period.
The war required the mass production of munitions and provisions. Women and men were recruited for the factories to produce these. They worked long hours. The war was the priority, and as the production of food went down, the population started to get hungry and live on the streets.
Propaganda and Public Opinion
For the first time, modern marketing techniques were used to create propaganda for the war, with the aim of keeping up public morale, as well as supporting the war effort. This propaganda generated feelings of patriotism as well as hatred towards the enemy and was a way of engaging the entire population in the conflict.
The Economy at the Mercy of the War
The governments of the countries at war established war economies with heavy state intervention. Munitions industries had to work to their full potential. The female population and non-enlisted males were forced to work in factories, and any complaints or poor performance were considered treason.
Why Revolution in Russia?
The war affected all the countries involved but had profound consequences for the Russian Empire. It led to an unprecedented revolution in 1917, which completely transformed the economic and social system.
Autocratic Empire
In the 20th century, the Tsar ruled a vast empire and maintained a system of absolute monarchy. Politically, it was an autocracy. The Tsar had absolute power. A loyal bureaucracy controlled the empire.
Feudal Agriculture and Dependent Industry
The economy and social structures of the Russian Empire were the most backward in Europe. Agriculture was the main economic activity, and land was controlled by an immensely powerful and wealthy aristocracy. Some areas, like Moscow, were industrialized.
Opposition to Tsarism
Opposition to the Tsarist regime first developed among the peasants, but they did not set any clear alternatives. Marxist ideas spread among industrial workers. In 1898, the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was created. In the 20th century, the Democratic Party and the Socialist Revolutionary Party were founded.
The Crisis of the First World War
Russia entered the First World War in 1914, but it was not prepared for such a long, hard, and expensive war. As economic resources were devoted to war, famine appeared in cities, spreading unrest among workers, peasants, and soldiers. In late 1916, at the height of the war, those who opposed Tsarism saw the chance to end the regime and take power.
The Russian Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917: The Fall of Tsarism
On February 23, 1917, there was a large demonstration in Petrograd, followed by a general strike and riots in the barracks. The Tsar abdicated, and a republic was proclaimed. It was headed by a provisional government, which promised to call constituent elections to make Russia a parliamentary democracy.
Social reforms were implemented by bourgeois parties. However, population discontent grew, and the Soviets, who wanted to withdraw from the war, began to demand the dismissal of the government.
The October Revolution Brings the Bolsheviks to Power
By then, most of the Soviets supported the Bolsheviks. Their leader, Lenin, returned to Russia from exile and published his new ideas in the April Theses. He wanted to establish a government of workers and peasants, giving workers control of the factories, nationalizing the banks, and recognizing the nationalities of the Russian Empire.
The Civil War and the Formation of the USSR
In early 1918, those who supported the retun of tsarism or the maintainance of liberal political system took up arms against the Soviet goverment.With the help of French,British,Japanese and American troops the WHITE ARMY confronted the RED ARMY,which was led by Trostky and the Bolsheviks.The civil war lasted 3 years and brought great miseary to the people who sufered food shortages and a high number of casualities.In 1921 the RED ARMY won the war
EUROPE AT THE END OF THE WAR
AN ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC DISASTER
The war caused the deaths of around 10 million soldiers and was responsible for a large number of civillian casualities due to malnutrition and disease.Death rate grew a up.
From a economic popint of view the First World War meant the permanent loss of European hegemony.The conflict left the warring nations impoverished.
In contrast,The United States was the great benefeciary of the war,and its economy became the most powerfull in the world.It groos domestic product doble in the war years and the dollar repleaced the pound staying the main currency.
THE ORGANISATION OF PEACE
Treaty of versailles imposed terms of peac with Germany and others, they drew new borders