World War I: Contenders, Characteristics, and Aftermath
Contenders (First World War)
The First World War broke out in Europe in 1914. It was a conflict that covered a large territorial extension and was known by its contemporaries as the Great War. The contenders were grouped into two camps:
- The Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire, which Bulgaria and other states joined later.
- The Allies or Triple Entente: France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Serbia, which the United States and other countries joined later.
Characteristics of the War
The characteristics of the war were different from those of previous conflicts, and this is the reason it came to be known as the Great War or World War. The most notable characteristics were its vast territorial extension, as sixteen nations took part in the conflict, some of these having extensive colonial empires, and the use of new offensive weapons (machine guns, flamethrowers, toxic gases, mines, submarines, airplanes), and new defense systems, like trenches; and new forms of combat such as psychological warfare.
The war also triggered economic and social transformations: the economy of the contending countries became focused on the production of war material. Society suffered hardships such as food rationing and bombings. Women joined the workforce to replace the men who were fighting at the front.
Phases and Events
The War of Movement (1914): The War began almost simultaneously on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. Germany attempted a flash victory over France in order to concentrate its forces on the Eastern Front and defeat Russia. But France resisted at the Battle of the Marne, and the rapid Russian advance through Prussia forced Germany to send troops to the Eastern Front. At the end of the year, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers.
Trench Warfare (1915-1916): In the absence of a decisive victory, the fronts were stabilized along extensive lines of trenches protected by machine guns and barbed wire. Exhausting offensives were launched from these trenches at Verdun, Somme, etc. In this phase, the war became a global conflict with the entry of the following countries: Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, Portugal, and Japan, amongst others.
The War Ends (1917-1918): The United States joined the War in 1917 on the side of the Allies, and Russia withdrew after the triumph of the communist revolution and the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. In 1918, the Allies launched an offensive on all fronts, thus causing the progressive surrender of the Central Powers. That same year, US President Woodrow Wilson set out the ‘Fourteen Points,’ a statement of principles for world peace.
The Paris Peace Conference and the League of Nations
At the Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920), the defeated countries signed treaties and had to reduce their armies, pay war reparations, and make territorial concessions which shaped the new map of Europe. Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost Alsace-Lorraine and all its colonies and was blamed for the war; this humiliation left the nation eager for revenge. The League of Nations, based in Geneva, was created in 1919 as an international organization for promoting peace.