Both sides pursued aggressive goals. Germany sought to weaken Great Britain and France, seize new colonies on the African continent, tear Poland and the Baltic states away from Russia, Austria-Hungary - to establish itself on the Balkan Peninsula, Great Britain and France - to retain their colonies and weaken Germany as a competitor in the world market, Russia - to seize Galicia and take possession of the Black Sea straits.

Causes

Intending to go to war against Serbia, Austria-Hungary secured German support. The latter believed that the war would become local if Russia did not defend Serbia. But if it provides assistance to 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 units be allowed into Serbia in order to, together with Serbian forces, suppress hostile actions. 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. On July 30, Russia announced general mobilization; Germany used this occasion to declare war on Russia on August 1, and on France on August 3. Following the German invasion of Belgium on 4 August, 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.

Progress of the war

1914

The war consisted of five campaigns. During the First Campaign, Germany invaded Belgium and northern France, but was defeated at the Battle of the Marne. Russia captured parts of East Prussia and Galicia (East Prussian Operation and Battle of Galicia), but was then defeated by the German and Austro-Hungarian counter-offensive. As a result, there was a transition from maneuvering to positional forms of struggle.

1915

Italy, the disruption of the German plan to withdraw Russia from the war and bloody, inconclusive battles on the Western Front.

During this campaign, Germany and Austria-Hungary, concentrating their main efforts on the Russian front, carried out the so-called Gorlitsky breakthrough and ousted Russian troops from Poland and parts of the Baltic states, but were defeated in the Vilna operation and were forced to switch to positional defense.

On the Western Front, both sides fought a strategic defense. Private operations (at Ypres, Champagne and Artois) were unsuccessful, despite the use of poison gases.

On the Southern Front, Italian troops launched an unsuccessful operation against Austria-Hungary on the Isonzo River. German-Austrian troops managed to defeat Serbia. Anglo-French troops successfully carried out the Thessaloniki operation in Greece, but were unable to capture the Dardanelles. On the Transcaucasian front, Russia, as a result of the Alashkert, Hamadan and Sarykamysh operations, reached the approaches to Erzurum.

1916

The city's campaign is associated with the entry of Romania into the war and the waging of a grueling positional war on all fronts. Germany again turned its efforts against France, but was unsuccessful at the Battle of Verdun. The operations of the Anglo-French troops on Somna were also unsuccessful, despite the use of tanks.

On the Italian front, Austro-Hungarian troops launched the Trentino offensive, but were driven back by a counter-offensive by Italian troops. On the Eastern Front, troops of the Southwestern Russian Front carried out a successful operation in Galicia on a wide front stretching up to 550 km (Brusilovsky breakthrough) and advanced 60-120 km, occupied the eastern regions of Austria-Hungary, which forced the enemy to transfer up to 34 divisions to this front from the Western and Italian fronts.

On the Transcaucasian front, the Russian army carried out the Erzurum and then Trebizond offensive operations, which remained unfinished.

The decisive Battle of Jutland took place on the Baltic Sea. As a result of the campaign, conditions were created for the Entente to seize the strategic initiative.

1917

The city's campaign is associated with the entry of the United States into the war, Russia's revolutionary exit from the war and the conduct of a number of successive offensive operations on the Western Front (Nivelle's operation, operations in the Messines area, Ypres, near Verdun, and Cambrai). These operations, despite the use of large forces of artillery, tanks and aviation, practically did not change the general situation in the Western European theater of military operations. In the Atlantic at this time, Germany launched an unrestricted submarine war, during which both sides suffered heavy losses.

1918

The campaign was characterized by a transition from positional defense to a general offensive by the Entente armed forces. First, Germany launched the Allied March offensive in Picardy and private operations in Flanders and on the Aisne and Marne rivers. But due to lack of strength, they did not develop.

From the second half of the year, with the entry of the United States into the war, the Allies prepared and launched retaliatory offensive operations (Amiens, Saint-Miel, Marne), during which they eliminated the results of the German offensive, and in September they launched a general offensive, forcing Germany to surrender ( Truce of Compiegne).

Results

The final terms of the peace treaty were worked out at the Paris Conference of 1919-1920. ; During the sessions, agreements regarding five peace treaties were determined. After its completion, the following were signed: 1) the Treaty of Versailles with Germany on June 28; 2) Saint-Germain Peace Treaty with Austria on September 10, 1919; 3) Neuilly Peace Treaty with Bulgaria on November 27; 4) Trianon Peace Treaty with Hungary on June 4; 5) Treaty of Sèvres with Turkey on August 20. Subsequently, according to the Treaty of Lausanne on July 24, 1923, changes were made to the Treaty of Sèvres.

As a result of the First World War, the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires were liquidated. Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire were divided, and Russia and Germany, ceasing to be monarchies, were reduced territorially and economically weakened. Revanchist sentiments in Germany led to World War II. The First World War accelerated the development of social processes and was one of the prerequisites that led to revolutions in Russia, Germany, Hungary, and Finland. As a result, a new military-political situation in the world was created.

In total, the First World War lasted 51 months and 2 weeks. Covered the territories of Europe, Asia and Africa, the waters of the Atlantic, North, Baltic, Black and Mediterranean seas. This is the first military conflict on a global scale, in which 38 of the 59 independent states that existed at that time were involved. Two-thirds of the world's population took part in the war. The number of warring armies exceeded 37 million people. The total number of people mobilized into the armed forces was about 70 million. The length of the fronts was up to 2.5-4 thousand km. The casualties of the parties amounted to about 9.5 million killed and 20 million wounded.

During the war, new types of troops were developed and widely used: aviation, armored forces, anti-aircraft troops, anti-tank weapons, and submarine forces. New forms and methods of armed struggle began to be used: army and front-line operations, breaking through front fortifications. New strategic categories have emerged: operational deployment of the armed forces, operational cover, border battles, initial and subsequent periods of the war.

Used materials

• Dictionary "War and Peace in Terms and Definitions", First World War
• Encyclopedia "Around the World"

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; of these, 9.5 million were killed or died from wounds, more than 20 million were wounded, 3.5 million were left crippled.
Main reasons. The search for the causes of the war leads to 1871, when the process of German unification was completed and Prussian hegemony was consolidated in the German Empire. Under Chancellor O. von Bismarck, who sought to revive the system of unions, the foreign policy of the German government was determined by the desire to achieve a dominant position for Germany in Europe. To deprive France of the opportunity to avenge defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck tried to bind Russia and Austria-Hungary to Germany with secret agreements (1873). However, Russia came out in support of France, and the Alliance of the Three Emperors disintegrated. In 1882, Bismarck strengthened Germany's position by creating the Triple Alliance, which united Austria-Hungary, Italy and Germany. By 1890, Germany took the leading role 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, it concluded a military convention and an alliance treaty with Russia. The Russian-French alliance was supposed to serve as a counterweight to the Triple Alliance. Great Britain has so far stood aloof from competition on the continent, but the pressure of political and economic circumstances eventually forced it to make its choice. The British could not help but be concerned about the nationalist sentiments that reigned in Germany, its aggressive colonial policy, rapid industrial expansion and, mainly, the increase in 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 agreement" (Entente Cordiale). Obstacles to Anglo-Russian cooperation were overcome, and in 1907 an Anglo-Russian agreement was concluded. 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 they believed that the people of Great Britain would live in peace only by crushing their main enemy - Germany. Tensions in international relations were heightened by a series of diplomatic crises - the Franco-German clash in Morocco in 1905-1906; annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Austrians in 1908-1909; finally, the Balkan wars of 1912-1913. Great Britain and France supported Italy's interests in North Africa and thereby weakened its commitment to the Triple Alliance so much that Germany could practically no longer count on Italy as an ally in a future war.
The 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 Young Bosnia secret organization, 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 training exercises with the Austro-Hungarian troops. Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in the city of Sarajevo by high school student 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 become local if Russia did not defend Serbia. But if it provides assistance to 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 units be allowed into Serbia in order to, together with Serbian forces, suppress hostile actions. 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. S.D. Sazonov, Russian Foreign Minister, openly opposed Austria-Hungary, receiving assurances of support from French President R. Poincaré. On July 30, Russia announced 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. Following the German invasion of Belgium on 4 August, 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 stalemate. This period ended with negotiations for 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 of the United States into the war 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 offensive of the Central Powers in the west. The failure of this offensive was followed by revolutions in Austria-Hungary and Germany and the capitulation of the Central Powers.
First period. The 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 copper, tin and nickel were supplied to German enterprises before the war. 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 effect the Schlieffen plan, which proposed to ensure rapid success in the West by attacking France with large forces through Belgium. After the defeat of France, Germany hoped, together with Austria-Hungary, by transferring the liberated troops, to deliver a decisive blow in the East. But this plan was not implemented. 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 invasion of southern Germany. On the night of August 4, the Germans invaded Belgium. It took them several days to break the resistance of the defenders of the fortified areas of Namur and Liege, which blocked the route to Brussels, but thanks to this delay, the British transported an almost 90,000-strong expeditionary force across the English Channel to France (August 9-17). The French 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 Kluck found itself 40 km from Paris. Continuing the offensive, the Germans crossed the Marne River and stopped along the Paris-Verdun line on September 5. The commander of the French forces, General J. Joffre, having formed two new armies from the reserves, decided to launch a counteroffensive. The First Battle of the Marne began on September 5 and ended on September 12. 6 Anglo-French and 5 German armies took part in it. 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 offensive on the weakened right flank made the withdrawal of the German armies to the north, to the line of the Aisne River, inevitable. The battles in Flanders on the Yser and Ypres rivers from October 15 to November 20 were also unsuccessful for the Germans. As a result, the main ports on the English Channel remained in Allied hands, ensuring communication between France and England. Paris was saved, and the Entente countries had time to mobilize resources. The war in the West took on a positional character; Germany’s hope of defeating and withdrawing France from the war turned out to be untenable. The confrontation followed a line running south from Newport and Ypres in Belgium, to Compiegne and Soissons, then east around Verdun and south to the salient near Saint-Mihiel, and then southeast to the Swiss border. Along this line of trenches and wire fences, the length is approx. Trench warfare was fought for 970 km 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. There remained hopes 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 towards Konigsberg. The German generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff were entrusted with leading 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 drive 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 southern direction, broke through the defenses of the Austro-Hungarian troops and, taking several thousand people prisoner, occupied the Austrian province of Galicia and part of Poland. The advance of Russian troops created a threat to Silesia and Poznan, important industrial areas for Germany. Germany was forced to transfer additional forces from France. But an acute shortage of ammunition and food stopped the advance of Russian troops. The offensive cost Russia enormous casualties, but undermined the power of Austria-Hungary and forced Germany to maintain significant forces on the Eastern Front. Back in August 1914, Japan declared war on Germany. In October 1914, Türkiye entered the war on the side of the Central Powers bloc. At 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 secret London negotiations in March-May 1915, the Entente countries promised to satisfy Italy's territorial claims during the post-war peace settlement if Italy came 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 at the Second Battle of Ypres. Here, during battles that lasted for a month (April 22 - May 25, 1915), chemical weapons were used for the first time. After this, poisonous gases (chlorine, phosgene, and later mustard gas) began to be used by both warring sides. The large-scale Dardanelles landing operation, a naval expedition that the Entente countries equipped at the beginning of 1915 with the goal of taking Constantinople, opening the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits for communication with Russia through the Black Sea, bringing Turkey out of the war and winning the Balkan states to the side of the allies, also ended in defeat. On the Eastern Front, by 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 never possible to force Russia to a separate peace. In October 1915, Bulgaria declared war on Serbia, after which the Central Powers, together with their 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 lines of communication open for US merchant ships. German colonies were captured, and German trade through sea routes was suppressed. In general, the German fleet - except for the submarine one - was blocked in its ports. Only occasionally did small flotillas emerge to strike 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 one 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. 6800 people killed, captured and wounded; the Germans, who considered themselves victors, - 11 ships and approx. 3100 people killed and wounded. Nevertheless, the British forced the German fleet to retreat to Kiel, where it was effectively blocked. The German fleet no longer appeared on the high seas, and Great Britain remained the mistress of the seas. Having taken a dominant position at sea, the Allies gradually cut off the Central Powers from overseas sources of raw materials and food. Under international law, neutral countries, such as the United States, could sell goods that were not considered “war contraband” to other neutral countries, such as the Netherlands or Denmark, from where these goods could also be delivered to Germany. However, warring countries usually did not bind themselves to adherence to international law, and Great Britain had so expanded the list of goods considered smuggled that virtually nothing was allowed 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 easily 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 rescue 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 steamer Lusitania with hundreds of passengers on board, including 115 US citizens. President William Wilson protested, and the United States and Germany exchanged harsh diplomatic notes.
Verdun and Somme. Germany was ready to make some concessions at sea and look for a way out of the impasse in actions 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 to launch a large-scale offensive operation on the Western Front that would turn the tide of the war and force France to sue for peace. The ancient fortress of Verdun served as a key point of French defense. After an unprecedented artillery bombardment, 12 German divisions went on the offensive on February 21, 1916. The Germans advanced slowly until the beginning of July, but did not achieve their intended goals. The Verdun “meat grinder” clearly did not live up to the expectations of the German command. During the spring and summer of 1916, operations on the Eastern and Southwestern Fronts were of great importance. In March, Russian troops, at the request of the allies, 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, keeping 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 achieve a breakthrough of the Austro-German troops to a depth of 80-120 km. Brusilov's troops occupied part of Galicia and Bukovina and 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 ease the 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 continuous 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.
Foundations for peace negotiations. At the beginning of the 20th century. The methods of warfare have completely changed. The length of fronts increased significantly, armies fought on fortified lines and launched attacks from trenches, and 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 resident 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 place left for ordinary civilian life: everything was subordinated to titanic efforts aimed at maintaining the military machine. The total cost of the war, including property losses, was variously estimated to range from $208 billion to $359 billion. By the end of 1916, both sides were tired of the war, and it seemed that the time had come to begin peace negotiations.
Second period.
On December 12, 1916, the Central Powers turned to the United States with a request to transmit a note to the allies with a proposal to begin peace negotiations. The Entente rejected this proposal, suspecting that it was made with the aim of breaking up the coalition. Moreover, she did not want to talk about a peace that did not include the payment of reparations and recognition of the right of nations to self-determination. President Wilson decided to initiate peace negotiations and on December 18, 1916, asked the warring countries to determine mutually acceptable peace terms. On December 12, 1916, Germany proposed convening a peace conference. The German civil authorities clearly sought peace, but they were opposed by the generals, especially General Ludendorff, who was confident of victory. The Allies specified their conditions: 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 the idea of ​​peace negotiations seriously. Germany intended to take part in the peace conference in December 1916, relying on the benefits of its military position. It ended with the Allies signing secret agreements designed to defeat the Central Powers. Under these agreements, Great Britain claimed the German colonies and part of Persia; France was to gain 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 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 - such as Irish Americans who were hostile to England and German Americans - supported Germany. Over time, government officials and ordinary citizens became increasingly inclined to side with the Entente. This was facilitated by several factors, most notably the propaganda of the Entente countries and the submarine war of Germany. On January 22, 1917, President Wilson outlined peace terms acceptable to the United States in the Senate. The main one boiled down to the demand for “peace without victory,” i.e. without annexations and indemnities; others included the principles of equality of peoples, the right of nations to self-determination and representation, freedom of the seas and trade, the reduction of armaments, and the rejection of the system of rival alliances. If peace were made on the basis of these principles, Wilson argued, a world organization of states could be created that would guarantee security for all peoples. On January 31, 1917, the German government announced the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare with the aim of disrupting enemy communications. The submarines blocked the Entente's supply lines and put the Allies in an extremely difficult position. There was growing hostility toward Germany among Americans, since the blockade of Europe from the West foreshadowed troubles for the United States as well. In case of victory, Germany could establish control over the entire Atlantic Ocean. Along with the above-mentioned circumstances, other motives also pushed the United States to war on the side of its allies. US economic interests were directly linked to the Entente countries, as military orders led to the rapid growth of American industry. In 1916, the warlike spirit was spurred by plans to develop combat training programs. Anti-German sentiment among North Americans increased even more after the publication on March 1, 1917 of Zimmermann's secret dispatch of January 16, 1917, intercepted by British intelligence and transferred to Wilson. German Foreign Minister A. Zimmermann offered Mexico the states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona if it supported Germany's actions in response to the US entry into the war on the side of the Entente. By early April, anti-German sentiment in the United States had reached such intensity that Congress voted on April 6, 1917 to declare war on Germany.
Russia's exit from the war. In February 1917, a revolution occurred in Russia. Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne. 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 Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty was concluded. Russia renounced its rights to Poland, Estonia, Ukraine, part of Belarus, Latvia, Transcaucasia and Finland. Ardahan, 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 ample reason to be optimistic. The German leadership used the weakening of Russia, and then its 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 attack. The Allies, not knowing where the attack would come from, were forced to strengthen positions along the entire front. American aid was late. In France and Great Britain, defeatism was growing with alarming force. On October 24, 1917, Austro-Hungarian troops broke through the Italian front near Caporetto and defeated the Italian army.
German offensive 1918. On the foggy morning of March 21, 1918, the Germans launched a massive attack on British positions near Saint-Quentin. The British were forced to retreat almost to Amiens, and its loss threatened to break the Anglo-French united 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 Chateau-Thierry. The situation of 1914 repeated itself: the Germans reached the Marne River just 60 km from Paris. However, the offensive cost Germany major losses - both human and material. The German troops were exhausted, their supply system was shaken. The Allies managed to neutralize 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 the 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 Chateau-Thierry. The second decisive battle of the Marne unfolded. In the event of a breakthrough, the French would have to abandon Reims, which, in turn, could lead to an Allied retreat along the entire front. In the first hours of the offensive, German troops advanced, but not as quickly as expected.
The last Allied offensive. On July 18, 1918, a counterattack by American and French troops began in order to relieve pressure on Chateau-Thierry. At first they advanced with difficulty, but on August 2 they took Soissons. At the Battle of Amiens on August 8, German troops suffered a heavy defeat, and this undermined their morale. Previously, German Chancellor Prince von Hertling believed that by September the Allies would sue for peace. “We hoped to take Paris by the end of July,” he recalled. “That’s what we thought on the fifteenth of July. And on the eighteenth, even the greatest optimists among us realized that everything was lost.” Some military personnel convinced Kaiser Wilhelm II that the war was lost, but Ludendorff refused to admit defeat. The Allied offensive began on other fronts as well. On June 20-26, the Austro-Hungarian troops were thrown 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 desertion of Poles, Czechs and South Slavs. The Central Powers mustered their remaining forces to hold off the expected invasion of Hungary. The path to Germany was open. Tanks and massive artillery shelling were important factors in the offensive. At the beginning of 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 into captivity almost without a fight. By the end of September even Ludendorff was ready to capitulate. After the September offensive of the Entente on the Soloniki front, Bulgaria signed an armistice on September 29. A month later, Türkiye capitulated, and on November 3, Austria-Hungary. To negotiate peace 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. 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 entire battle its name. On October 27, Emperor Charles I made an appeal for a truce, and on October 29, 1918 he agreed to conclude peace on any terms.
Revolution in Germany. On October 29, the Kaiser secretly left Berlin and went to the general headquarters, feeling safe only under the protection of the army. On the same day, in the port of Kiel, the crew of two warships disobeyed and refused to go to sea on a combat mission. By November 4, Kiel came under the control of the rebel sailors. 40,000 armed men intended to establish councils of soldiers' and sailors' deputies in northern Germany on the Russian model. By November 6, the rebels took power in Lübeck, Hamburg and Bremen. Meanwhile, the Supreme Allied Commander, General Foch, said that he was ready to receive representatives of the German government and discuss the terms of the armistice with them. The Kaiser was informed that the army was no longer under his command. On November 9, he abdicated the throne 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 Compiegne Forest (France), the German delegation signed the Compiegne Armistice. 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 cars, 5,000 automobiles; release all prisoners immediately. The Navy was required to surrender all submarines and almost all 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 - payment of reparations for destruction and return of valuables. The Germans tried to negotiate an armistice based on Wilson's Fourteen Points, which they believed could serve as a preliminary basis for a "peace without victory." The terms of the truce required almost unconditional surrender. The Allies dictated their terms to a bloodless Germany.
Conclusion of peace. The peace conference took place in 1919 in Paris; During the sessions, agreements regarding 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) Peace Treaty of Sevres with Turkey on August 20, 1920. Subsequently, according to the Treaty of Lausanne on July 24, 1923, changes were made to the Treaty of Sevres. Thirty-two states were represented at the peace conference in Paris. Each delegation had its own staff of specialists who provided information regarding the geographical, historical and economic situation of the countries on which decisions were made. After Orlando left the internal council, not satisfied with the solution to the problem of territories in the Adriatic, the main architect of the post-war world became the “Big Three” - Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George. Wilson compromised on several important points in order to achieve the main goal of creating the League of Nations. He agreed to 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 conscription was abolished; The German armed forces were to be staffed by volunteers with a service life of 12 years for soldiers and up to 45 years for officers. Germany was prohibited from having combat aircraft and submarines. Similar conditions were contained in peace treaties signed with Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria. A fierce debate ensued between Clemenceau and Wilson over 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 state. France's plan contradicted the proposals of Wilson, who opposed annexations and favored self-determination of nations. A compromise was reached after Wilson agreed to sign loose war 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 a 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. The coal deposits known as the Saar Basin also became the property of France for 15 years; the Saar region itself came under the control of the League of Nations commission. After the expiration of the 15-year period, a plebiscite was envisaged on the issue of statehood 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 resolve the issue of the disputed territories themselves. According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was deprived of its colonial possessions. Great Britain acquired German East Africa and the western part of German Cameroon and Togo; South-West Africa, the north-eastern regions of New Guinea with the adjacent archipelago and the Samoan islands were transferred to the British dominions - the Union of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. France received most of German Togo and eastern 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 envisaged 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 repealed the Treaty of Sèvres and allowed Turkey to retain Eastern Thrace. Türkiye regained Armenia. Syria went to France; Great Britain received Mesopotamia, Transjordan and Palestine; the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea were given to Italy; the Arab territory of Hejaz 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 proposed that instead of actually transferring the colonies to new owners, they should be allowed to govern as trustees of the League of Nations. Such territories were called “mandatory”. Although Lloyd George and Wilson opposed punitive measures for damages, the fight on this 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 subject to lengthy discussion. At first, the exact amount was not mentioned, only in 1921 its size was determined - 152 billion marks (33 billion dollars); this amount was subsequently reduced. The principle of self-determination of nations became key for many peoples represented at the peace conference. Poland was restored. The task of determining its boundaries was not easy; Of particular importance was the transfer to her of the so-called. the "Polish corridor", which gave the country access to the Baltic Sea, separating East Prussia from the rest of Germany. New independent states emerged 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, and Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania arose in its place; the borders between these states were controversial. The problem turned out to be complex due to the mixed settlement of different peoples. When establishing the borders of the Czech state, the interests of the Slovaks were affected. Romania doubled its territory at the expense of 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 had decreased greatly and was 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 like-minded people, the League of Nations was supposed to become a guarantee of security for all peoples. Finally, the League's charter was adopted and, after much 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 offered to sign. But the German delegation refused to sign it on the grounds that the agreement did not comply with Wilson's Fourteen Points. Ultimately, 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 of the first half of the 20th century. M., 1989 To the 75th anniversary of the beginning 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. Turning to the origins of the First World War. Paths to safety. M., 1994 World War I: 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 prospects for social development in Russia. Komsomolsk-on-Amur, 1995 World War I: Prologue of the 20th century. M., 1998
Wikipedia

The First World War: the tragedy of the beginning of the century

At the beginning of the 20th century, disagreements between world powers reached their peak. A relatively long period without major European conflicts (since about the 1870s) allowed the accumulation of contradictions between the leading world powers. There was no single mechanism for resolving such issues, which inevitably led to “détente.” At that time it could only be war.

Background and background of the First World War

The background of the First World War goes back to the 19th century, when the growing German Empire entered into colonial competition with other world powers. Germany, which was late to the colonial division, often had to enter into conflicts with other countries in order to secure a “piece of the pie” of African and Asian capital markets.

On the other hand, the decrepit Ottoman Empire also caused many inconveniences to the European powers, who sought to take part in the division of its inheritance. These tensions eventually resulted in the Tripolitan War (which resulted in Italy taking over Libya, which had previously belonged to the Turks) and the two Balkan Wars, during which Slavic nationalism in the Balkans reached its highest point.

Austria-Hungary also closely monitored the situation in the Balkans. It was important for the empire, which was losing its prestige, to regain respect and consolidate diverse national groups within its composition. It was for this purpose, as well as for an important strategic bridgehead from which Serbia could be threatened, that Austria occupied Bosnia in 1908, and later included it in its composition.

At the beginning of the 20th century, two military-political blocs almost completely took shape in Europe: the Entente (Russia, France, Great Britain) and the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy). These two alliances united states primarily according to their foreign policy goals. Thus, the Entente was mainly interested in maintaining the colonial redistribution of the world, with minor changes in its favor (for example, the division of the colonial empire of Germany), while Germany and Austria-Hungary wanted a complete redistribution of the colonies, achieving economic and military hegemony in Europe and expanding their markets.

Thus, by 1914 the situation in Europe had become quite tense. The interests of the great powers collided in almost all spheres: trade, economic, military and diplomatic. In fact, already in the spring of 1914, war became inevitable, and all that was needed was a “push”, a reason that would lead to conflict.

On June 28, 1914, in the city of Sarajevo (Bosnia), the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was killed along with his wife. The killer was the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, who belonged to the Young Bosnia organization. Austria's reaction was not long in coming. Already on July 23, the Austrian government, believing that Serbia was behind the Young Bosnia organization, presented an ultimatum to the Serbian government, according to which Serbia was required to stop any anti-Austrian actions, ban anti-Austrian organizations, and also allow the Austrian police to enter the country for investigations.

The Serbian government, rightly believing that this ultimatum was an aggressive diplomatic attempt by Austria-Hungary to limit or completely destroy Serbian sovereignty, decided to satisfy almost all Austrian demands except one: allowing Austrian police into Serbian territory was clearly unacceptable. This refusal was enough for the Austro-Hungarian government to accuse Serbia of insincerity and preparing provocations against Austria-Hungary and to begin concentrating troops on its border. Two days later, on July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.

Goals and plans of the parties in the First World War

The military doctrine of Germany at the beginning of the First World War was the famous “Schlieffen Plan”. The plan envisaged inflicting a rapid, crushing defeat on France, as in 1871. The French campaign was supposed to be completed within 40 days, before Russia could mobilize and concentrate its army on the eastern borders of the German Empire. After the defeat of France, the German command planned to quickly transfer troops to the Russian borders and launch a victorious offensive there. Victory, therefore, had to be achieved in a very short period of time - from four months to six months.

Austria-Hungary's plans consisted of a victorious offensive against Serbia and at the same time a strong defense against Russia in Galicia. After the defeat of the Serbian army, it was planned to transfer all available troops against Russia and, together with Germany, carry out its defeat.

The Entente's military plans also included achieving military victory in the shortest possible time. So. It was assumed that Germany would not be able to withstand a war on two fronts for any long time, especially with active offensive actions by France and Russia on land and a naval blockade by Great Britain.

Beginning of the First World War - August 1914

Russia, which traditionally supported Serbia, could not remain aloof from the outbreak of the conflict. On July 29, a telegram from Emperor Nicholas II was sent to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, proposing to resolve the Austro-Serbian conflict through international arbitration in The Hague. However, the German Kaiser, carried away by the idea of ​​hegemony in Europe, left his cousin’s telegram unanswered.

Meanwhile, mobilization began in the Russian Empire. It was initially carried out exclusively against Austria-Hungary, but after Germany clearly outlined its position, mobilization measures became universal. The reaction of the German Empire to Russian mobilization was an ultimatum demand, under the threat of war, to stop these massive preparations. However, it was no longer possible to stop mobilization in Russia. As a result, on August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia.

Simultaneously with these events, the German General Staff initiated the implementation of the “Schlieffen Plan”. On the morning of August 1, German troops invaded Luxembourg and the next day completely occupied the state. At the same time, an ultimatum was presented to the Belgian government. It consisted in the demand for the unhindered passage of German troops through the territory of the Belgian state for actions against France. However, the Belgian government refused the ultimatum.

A day later, on August 3, 1914, Germany declared war on France, and the next day on Belgium. At the same time, Great Britain entered the war on the side of Russia and France. On August 6, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia. Italy, unexpectedly for the countries of the Triple Alliance, refused to enter the war.

World War I breaks out - August-November 1914

By the beginning of the First World War, the German army was not fully prepared for active combat operations. However, just two days after the declaration of war, Germany managed to capture the cities of Kalisz and Częstochowa in Poland. At the same time, Russian troops, with the forces of two armies (1st and 2nd), launched an offensive in East Prussia with the goal of capturing Königsberg and leveling the front line from the north in order to eliminate the unsuccessful configuration of the pre-war borders.

Initially, the Russian offensive developed quite successfully, but soon, due to the uncoordinated actions of the two Russian armies, the 1st Army came under a powerful German flank attack and lost about half of its personnel. Army commander Samsonov shot himself, and the army itself retreated to its original positions by September 3, 1914. From the beginning of September, Russian troops in the northwestern direction went on the defensive.

At the same time, the Russian army launched a major offensive against the Austro-Hungarian troops in Galicia. On this section of the front, five Russian armies were opposed by four Austro-Hungarian ones. The fighting here initially did not develop entirely favorably for the Russian side: Austrian troops put up fierce resistance on the southern flank, due to which the Russian army was forced to retreat to its original positions in mid-August. However, soon, after fierce battles, the Russian army managed to capture Lvov on August 21. After this, the Austrian army began to retreat in a southwestern direction, which soon turned into a real flight. The catastrophe faced the Austro-Hungarian troops in full force. Only by mid-September the offensive of the Russian army in Galicia ended approximately 150 kilometers west of Lvov. In the rear of the Russian troops was the strategically important fortress of Przemysl, in which about 100 thousand Austrian soldiers took refuge. The siege of the fortress continued until 1915.

After the events in East Prussia and Galicia, the German command decided to go on the offensive with the goal of eliminating the Warsaw salient and leveling the front line by 1914. Already on September 15, the Warsaw-Ivangorod operation began, during which German troops came close to Warsaw, but with powerful counterattacks the Russian army managed to push them back to their original position.

In the West, German troops launched an offensive on the territory of Belgium on August 4. Initially, the Germans did not encounter serious defense, and pockets of resistance were dealt with by their advanced detachments. On August 20, having occupied the Belgian capital Brussels, the German army came into contact with French and British forces. Thus began the so-called Border Battle. During the battle, the German army managed to inflict a serious defeat on the Allied forces and capture northern France and most of Belgium.

By the beginning of September 1914, the situation on the Western Front became threatening for the Allies. German troops were 100 kilometers from Paris, and the French government fled to Bordeaux. However, at the same time, the Germans acted with full strength, which was melting away. To deliver the final blow, the Germans decided to carry out a deep encirclement of the Allied forces covering Paris from the north. However, the flanks of the German strike force were not covered, which the Allied leadership took advantage of. As a result of this battle, part of the German troops was defeated, and the chance to take Paris in the fall of 1914 was missed. The "Miracle of the Marne" allowed the Allies to regroup their forces and build a strong defense.

After the failure near Paris, the German command launched an offensive to the North Sea coast in order to envelop the Anglo-French troops. At the same time, Allied troops were moving towards the sea. This period, which lasted from mid-September to mid-November 1914, was called the “Run to the Sea.”

In the Balkan theater of operations, events developed extremely unsuccessfully for the Central Powers. From the very beginning of the war, the Serbian army put up fierce resistance to the Austro-Hungarian army, which managed to capture Belgrade only in early December. However, a week later the Serbs managed to recapture the capital.

Entry of the Ottoman Empire into the war and prolongation of the conflict (November 1914 – January 1915)

From the very beginning of the First World War, the government of the Ottoman Empire closely monitored its progress. At the same time, the government of the country did not have a common opinion on which side to take. However, it was clear that the Ottoman Empire would not be able to resist entering the conflict.

During numerous diplomatic maneuvers and intrigues, supporters of the pro-German position gained the upper hand in the Turkish government. As a result, almost the entire country and army came under the control of German generals. The Ottoman fleet, without declaring war, on October 30, 1914, fired at a number of Russian Black Sea ports, which was immediately used by Russia as a reason to declare war, which happened on November 2. A few days later, France and Great Britain declared war on the Ottoman Empire.

Simultaneously with these events, an offensive by the Ottoman army began in the Caucasus, with the goal of capturing the cities of Kars and Batumi, and in the long term, the entire Transcaucasus. However, here the Russian troops managed to first stop and then push the enemy back beyond the border line. As a result, the Ottoman Empire was also drawn into a large-scale war with no hope of a quick victory.

Since October 1914, troops on the Western Front took up positional defense, which had a significant impact on the next 4 years of the war. The stabilization of the front and the lack of offensive potential on both sides led to the construction of strong and deep defenses by German and Anglo-French troops.

First World War - 1915

The year 1915 was more active on the Eastern Front than in the West. This is primarily explained by the fact that the German command, when planning military operations for 1915, decided to deliver the main blow precisely in the East and take Russia out of the war.

In the winter of 1915, German troops launched an offensive in Poland in the Augustow region. Here, despite initial successes, the Germans encountered stubborn resistance from Russian troops and were unable to achieve decisive success. After these failures, the German leadership decided to shift the direction of the main attack further south, to the area of ​​the southern Carpathians and Bukovina.

This strike almost immediately reached its target, and German troops managed to break through the Russian front in the Gorlice area. As a result, in order to avoid encirclement, the Russian army had to begin a retreat in order to level the front line. This withdrawal, which began on April 22, lasted 2 months. As a result, Russian troops lost large territories in Poland and Galicia, and Austro-German forces came almost close to Warsaw. However, the main events of the 1915 campaign were still ahead.

The German command, although it managed to achieve good operational success, was still unable to collapse the Russian front. It was precisely the goal of neutralizing Russia that, from the beginning of June, planning began for a new offensive, which, according to the German leadership, should have led to the complete collapse of the Russian front and the speedy withdrawal of the Russians from the war. It was planned to deliver two strikes under the base of the Warsaw ledge with the aim of encircling or displacing enemy troops from this ledge. At the same time, it was decided to attack the Baltic states in order to divert at least part of the Russian forces from the central sector of the front.

On June 13, 1915, the German offensive began, and a few days later the Russian front was broken through. In order to avoid encirclement near Warsaw, the Russian army began to retreat to the east in order to create a new united front. As a result of this “Great Retreat,” Russian troops abandoned Warsaw, Grodno, and Brest-Litovsk, and the front stabilized only by the fall on the Dubno-Baranovichi-Dvinsk line. In the Baltic states, the Germans occupied the entire territory of Lithuania and came close to Riga. After these operations, there was a lull on the Eastern Front of the First World War until 1916.

On the Caucasian front during 1915, hostilities spread to the territory of Persia, which, after long diplomatic maneuvers, took the side of the Entente.

On the Western Front, 1915 was marked by reduced activity of German troops and higher activity of Anglo-French troops. Thus, at the beginning of the year, fighting took place only in the Artois region, but it did not lead to any noticeable results. In terms of their intensity, these positional actions, however, could not in any way claim the status of a serious operation.

Unsuccessful Allied attempts to break through the German front led in turn to a German offensive with limited targets in the Ypres region (Belgium). Here, German troops used poison gases for the first time in history, which turned out to be quite unexpected and stunning for their enemy. However, not having sufficient reserves to build on their success, the Germans were soon forced to stop the offensive, achieving very modest results (their advance was only 5 to 10 kilometers).

At the beginning of May 1915, the Allies launched a new offensive in Artois, which, according to their command, should have led to the liberation of most of France and a major defeat of the German troops. However, neither thorough artillery preparation (lasting 6 days) nor large forces (about 30 divisions concentrated in an area of ​​30 kilometers) did not allow the Anglo-French leadership to achieve victory. This was not least due to the fact that the German troops here built a deep and powerful defense, which was a reliable remedy against frontal attacks by the Allies.

The larger offensive of the Anglo-French troops in Champagne, which began on September 25, 1915 and lasted only 12 days, ended with the same result. During this offensive, the Allies managed to advance only 3-5 kilometers with losses of 200 thousand people. The Germans suffered losses of 140 thousand people.

On May 23, 1915, Italy entered the First World War on the side of the Entente. This decision was not easy for the Italian leadership: a year ago, on the eve of the war, the country was an ally of the Central Powers, but refrained from entering into the conflict. With the entry of Italy into the war, a new - Italian - front appeared, to which Austria-Hungary had to divert large forces. During 1915, no significant changes occurred on this front.

In the Middle East, the Allied command planned operations in 1915 with the goal of bringing the Ottoman Empire out of the war and finally strengthening its superiority in the Mediterranean. According to the plan, the allied fleet was supposed to break through to the Bosphorus Strait, bombard Istanbul and the Turkish coastal batteries, and, having proven to the Turks the superiority of the Entente, force the Ottoman government to capitulate.

However, from the very beginning this operation developed unsuccessfully for the Allies. Already at the end of February, during a raid by an allied squadron against Istanbul, three ships were lost, and the Turkish coastal defense was never suppressed. After this, it was decided to land an expeditionary force in the Istanbul area and lead the country out of the war with a swift offensive.

The landing of the Allied troops began on April 25, 1915. But here, too, the Allies encountered fierce Turkish defense, as a result of which they were able to land and gain a foothold only in the Gallipoli area, about 100 kilometers from the Ottoman capital. The Australian and New Zealand troops (ANZAC) landed here fiercely attacked Turkish troops until the end of the year, when the complete futility of the landing in the Dardanelles became absolutely clear. As a result, already in January 1916, the Allied expeditionary forces were evacuated from here.

In the Balkan theater of war, the outcome of the 1915 campaign was determined by two factors. The first factor was the “Great Retreat” of the Russian army, due to which Austria-Hungary was able to transfer some troops from Galicia against Serbia. The second factor was the entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers by Bulgaria, emboldened by the success of the Ottoman troops at Gallipoli and suddenly stabbing Serbia in the back. The Serbian army was unable to repel this blow, which led to the complete collapse of the Serbian front and the occupation of the territory of Serbia by the end of December by Austrian troops. However, the Serbian army, retaining its personnel, managed to retreat into Albania in an organized manner and subsequently participated in battles against Austrian, German and Bulgarian troops.

Progress of the First World War in 1916

The year 1916 was marked by passive German tactics in the East and more active ones in the West. Having failed to achieve a strategic victory on the Eastern Front, the German leadership decided to concentrate the main efforts in the 1916 campaign in the West in order to withdraw France from the war and, by transferring large forces to the East, achieve a military victory over Russia.

This led to the fact that for the first two months of the year there were practically no active hostilities on the Eastern Front. However, the Russian command was planning major offensive operations in the western and southwestern directions, and a sharp jump in military production made success at the front very possible. In general, the entire year of 1916 in Russia passed under the sign of general enthusiasm and high fighting spirit.

In March 1916, the Russian command, meeting the wishes of the allies to conduct a diversionary operation, launched a major offensive to liberate the territory of Belarus and the Baltic states and drive German troops back to East Prussia. However, this offensive, which began two months earlier than planned, failed to achieve its goals. The Russian army lost approximately 78 thousand people, while the German army lost approximately 40 thousand. Nevertheless, the Russian command may have managed to decide the outcome of the war in favor of the Allies: the German offensive in the West, which by that time was beginning to take a critical turn for the Entente, was weakened and gradually began to fizzle out.

The situation on the Russian-German front remained calm until June, when the Russian command began a new operation. It was carried out by the forces of the Southwestern Front, and its goal was to defeat the Austro-German forces in this direction and liberate part of Russian territory. It is noteworthy that this operation was carried out at the request of the allies in order to divert enemy troops from threatened areas. However, it was this Russian offensive that became one of the most successful operations of the Russian army in the First World War.

The offensive began on June 4, 1916, and just five days later the Austro-Hungarian front was broken in several dreams. The enemy began to retreat, alternating with counterattacks. It was as a result of these counterattacks that the front was kept from complete collapse, but only for a short time: already at the beginning of July, the front line in the southwest was broken through, and the troops of the Central Powers began to retreat, suffering huge losses.

Simultaneously with the offensive in the southwestern direction, Russian troops delivered the main blow in the western direction. However, here the German troops were able to organize a strong defense, which led to large losses in the Russian army without any noticeable results. After these failures, the Russian command decided to shift the main attack from the Western to the Southwestern Front.

A new stage of the offensive began on July 28, 1916. Russian troops again inflicted a major defeat on the enemy forces and in August captured the cities of Stanislav, Brody, and Lutsk. The position of the Austro-German troops here became so critical that even Turkish troops were transferred to Galicia. However, by the beginning of September 1916, the Russian command was faced with stubborn enemy defense in Volyn, which led to heavy losses among the Russian troops and, as a consequence, to the fact that the offensive fizzled out. The offensive, which brought Austria-Hungary to the brink of disaster, was named after its executor - the Brusilov breakthrough.

On the Caucasian front, Russian troops managed to capture the Turkish cities of Erzurum and Trabzon and reached a line 150-200 kilometers from the border.

On the Western Front in 1916, the German command launched an offensive operation, which later became known as the Battle of Verdun. In the area of ​​this fortress there was a powerful group of Entente troops, and the configuration of the front, which looked like a protrusion towards the German positions, led the German leadership to the idea of ​​encircling and destroying this group.

The German offensive, preceded by extremely intensive artillery preparation, began on February 21. At the very beginning of this offensive, the German army managed to advance 5-8 kilometers deep into the Allied positions, but the stubborn resistance of the Anglo-French troops, who inflicted significant losses on the Germans, did not allow them to achieve complete victory. It was soon stopped, and the Germans had to fight stubbornly to retain the territory that they managed to capture at the beginning of the battle. However, everything was in vain - in fact, from April 1916, the Battle of Verdun was lost by Germany, but it still continued until the end of the year. At the same time, German losses were approximately half that of the Anglo-French forces.

Another important event of 1916 was the entry into the war on the side of the Entente powers of Romania (August 17). The Romanian government, inspired by the defeat of the Austro-German troops during the Brusilov breakthrough of the Russian army, planned to increase the territory of the country at the expense of Austria-Hungary (Transylvania) and Bulgaria (Dobruja). However, the low fighting qualities of the Romanian army, the unfortunate configuration of the borders for Romania and the proximity of large Austro-German-Bulgarian forces did not allow these plans to come true. If at first the Romanian army managed to advance 5-10 km deep into Austrian territory, then, after the concentration of enemy armies, the Romanian forces were defeated, and by the end of the year the country was almost completely occupied.

Fighting in 1917

The results of the 1916 campaign had a major influence on the 1917 campaign. Thus, the “Verdun Meat Grinder” was not in vain for Germany, and the country entered 1917 with almost completely depleted human resources and a difficult food situation. It became clear that if the Central Powers failed to defeat their opponents in the near future, the war would end in defeat for them. At the same time, the Entente was planning a major offensive for 1917 with the goal of a speedy victory over Germany and its allies.

In turn, for the Entente countries, 1917 promised truly gigantic prospects: the exhaustion of the Central Powers and the seemingly inevitable entry of the United States into the war was supposed to finally turn the situation in favor of the Allies. At the Petrograd Conference of the Entente, held from February 1 to 20, 1917, the situation at the front and action plans were actively discussed. However, the situation in Russia, which was getting worse every day, was also discussed unofficially.

Ultimately, on February 27, the revolutionary unrest in the Russian Empire reached its peak, and the February Revolution broke out. This event, along with the moral decay of the Russian army, practically deprived the Entente of an active ally. And although the Russian army still occupied its positions at the front, it became clear that it would no longer be able to advance.

At this time, Emperor Nicholas II abdicated the throne, and Russia ceased to be an empire. The new provisional government of the Russian Republic decided to continue the war without breaking the alliance with the Entente in order to bring the fighting to a victorious end and thereby still end up in the camp of the winners. The preparations for the offensive were carried out on a grand scale, and the offensive itself was supposed to be a “triumph of the Russian revolution.”

This offensive began on June 16, 1917 in the Southwestern Front, and in the first days of the Russian army there was success. However, then, due to catastrophically low discipline in the Russian army and due to high losses, the June offensive “stalled.” As a result, by the beginning of July, Russian troops had exhausted their offensive impulse and were forced to go on the defensive.

The Central Powers were not slow to take advantage of the depletion of the Russian army. Already on July 6, the Austro-German counteroffensive began, which in a matter of days managed to return the territories abandoned since June 1917, and then advance deeper into Russian territory. The Russian retreat, at first carried out in a fairly organized manner, soon became catastrophic. Divisions scattered at the sight of the enemy, troops retreated without orders. In such a situation, it became increasingly clear that there could be no talk of any active actions on the part of the Russian army.

After these failures, Russian troops went on the offensive in other directions. However, both on the North-Western and Western fronts, due to complete moral decay, they simply could not achieve any significant success. The offensive initially developed most successfully in Romania, where Russian troops showed virtually no signs of disintegration. However, against the backdrop of failures on other fronts, the Russian command soon stopped the offensive here too.

After this, until the very end of the war on the Eastern Front, the Russian army no longer made serious attempts to attack or indeed resist the forces of the Central Powers. The October Revolution and the ferocious struggle for power only worsened the situation. However, the German army could no longer conduct active combat operations on the Eastern Front. There were only isolated local operations to occupy individual settlements.

In April 1917, the United States of America joined the war against Germany. Their entry into the war was due to closer interests with the Entente countries, as well as aggressive submarine warfare on the part of Germany, which resulted in the deaths of American citizens. The entry of the United States into the war finally changed the balance of forces in the First World War in favor of the Entente countries and made its victory inevitable.

In the Middle Eastern theater of operations, the British army launched a decisive offensive against the Ottoman Empire. As a result of this, almost all of Palestine and Mesopotamia was cleared of the Turks. At the same time, an uprising was launched against the Ottoman Empire on the Arabian Peninsula with the goal of creating an independent Arab state. As a result of the 1917 campaign, the situation of the Ottoman Empire became truly critical, and its army was demoralized.

First World War - 1918

At the beginning of 1918, the German leadership, despite the previously signed truce with Soviet Russia, launched a local offensive in the direction of Petrograd. In the area of ​​Pskov and Narva, their path was blocked by detachments of the Red Guard, with whom military clashes took place on February 23-25, which later became known as the date of birth of the Red Army. However, despite the official Soviet version of the victory of the Red Guard troops over the Germans, the real outcome of the battles is debatable, since the Red troops were forced to retreat to Gatchina, which would have been meaningless in the event of a victory over the German troops.

The Soviet government, realizing the instability of the truce, was forced to sign a peace treaty with Germany. This agreement was signed in Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918. According to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states were transferred to German control, and the independence of Poland and Finland was recognized. Additionally, Kaiser Germany received a huge indemnity in resources and money, which essentially allowed it to prolong its agony until November 1918.

After the signing of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, the bulk of the German troops were transferred from the east to the Western Front, where the fate of the war was decided. However, the situation in the German-occupied areas of the former Russian Empire was turbulent, and therefore Germany was forced to keep about a million soldiers there until the end of the war.

On March 21, 1918, the German army launched its last large-scale offensive on the Western Front. His goal was to encircle and destroy the British troops located between the Somme and the English Channel, and then go behind the French troops, capture Paris and force France to surrender. However, from the very beginning of the operation it became clear that German troops would not be able to break through the front. By July they managed to advance 50-70 kilometers, but by this time, in addition to the French and British troops, large and fresh American forces began to operate at the front. This circumstance, as well as the fact that the German army was completely exhausted by mid-July, forced the German command to stop the operation.

In turn, the Allies, realizing that the German troops were extremely exhausted, launched a counter-offensive with virtually no operational pause. As a result, the Allied attacks were no less effective than the German ones, and after 3 weeks the German troops were thrown back to the same positions that they occupied by the beginning of 1918.

After this, the Entente command decided to continue the offensive with the goal of leading the German army to disaster. This offensive went down in history as the “hundred-day offensive” and ended only in November. During this operation, the German front was broken, and the German army had to begin a general retreat.

On the Italian front in October 1918, the Allies also launched an offensive against the Austro-German forces. As a result of stubborn battles, they managed to liberate almost all Italian territories occupied in 1917 and defeat the Austro-Hungarian and German armies.

In the Balkan theater of operations, the Allies launched a major offensive in September. A week later they managed to inflict a serious defeat on the Bulgarian army and begin advancing deeper into the Balkans. As a result of this crushing offensive, Bulgaria left the war on September 29. By early November, as a result of this operation, the Allies managed to liberate almost the entire territory of Serbia.

In the Middle East, the British Army also launched a major offensive operation in the fall of 1918. The Turkish army was completely demoralized and disorganized, thanks to which the Ottoman Empire already concluded a truce with the Entente on October 30, 1918. On November 3, after a series of failures in Italy and the Balkans, Austria-Hungary also capitulated.

As a result, by November 1918, the situation in Germany had become truly critical. Hunger, exhaustion of moral and material strength, as well as heavy losses at the front gradually escalated the situation in the country. Revolutionary ferment began among the naval crews. The reason for a full-fledged revolution was an order from the German command of the fleet, according to which it was to give a general battle to the British Navy. Given the existing balance of forces, the implementation of this order threatened the complete destruction of the German fleet, which became the reason for the revolutionary uprising in the ranks of the sailors. The uprising began on November 4, and on November 9, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated the throne. Germany became a republic.

By that time, the Kaiser's government had begun peace negotiations with the Entente. Germany was exhausted and could no longer continue to resist. As a result of negotiations, a truce was signed on November 11, 1918 in the Compiegne Forest. With the signing of this truce, the First World War ended.

Losses of sides in the First World War

The First World War caused enormous damage to all the warring countries. The demographic echoes of this conflict are still felt today.

Military losses in the conflict are generally estimated at about 9-10 million people killed and about 18 million wounded. Civilian losses in the First World War are estimated at between 8 and 12 million people.

Entente losses total approximately 5-6 million people killed and about 10.5 million wounded. Of these, Russia lost about 1.6 million dead and 3.7 million wounded. French, British and US casualties in killed and wounded are estimated at 4.1, 2.4 and 0.3 million respectively. Such low losses in the American army are explained by the relatively late time when the United States entered the war on the side of the Entente.

The losses of the Central Powers in the First World War are estimated at 4-5 million killed and 8 million wounded. Of these losses, Germany accounted for approximately 2 million killed and 4.2 million wounded. Austria-Hungary lost 1.5 and 26 million people killed and wounded, respectively, the Ottoman Empire - 800 thousand killed and 800 thousand wounded.

Results and consequences of the First World War

The First World War was the first global conflict in human history. Its scale became disproportionately larger than that of the Napoleonic Wars, as did the number of forces involved in the struggle. The war was the first conflict that showed the leaders of all countries a new type of war. From now on, complete mobilization of the army and economy became necessary to win the war. During the conflict, military theory underwent significant changes. It became clear that it was very difficult to break through a well-fortified defense line and that this would require enormous expenditures of ammunition and large losses.

The First World War revealed to the world new types and means of weapons, as well as the use of those means that had not previously been appreciated. Thus, the use of aviation increased significantly, tanks and chemical weapons appeared. At the same time, the First World War showed humanity how terrible war can be. For a long time, millions of wounded, maimed and maimed were a reminder of the horrors of war. It was with the aim of preventing such conflicts that the League of Nations was created - the first international community designed to preserve peace throughout the world.

Politically, the war also became a turning point in world history. As a result of the conflict, the map of Europe has become noticeably more colorful. Four empires disappeared: Russian, German, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian. States such as Poland, Finland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and others gained independence.

The balance of power in Europe and the world has also changed. Germany, Russia (soon reorganized along with parts of the former Russian Empire into the USSR) and Turkey lost their former influence, which shifted the center of gravity in Europe to the west. The Western powers, on the contrary, seriously strengthened themselves due to war reparations and colonies acquired at the expense of losing Germany.

When signing the Treaty of Versailles with Germany, French Marshal Ferdinand Foch declared: “This is not peace. This is a truce for 20 years.” The peace conditions were very difficult and humiliating for Germany, which could not help but awaken strong revanchist sentiments in it. Further actions of France, Great Britain, Belgium and Poland (the seizure of the Saarland and part of Silesia from Germany, the occupation of the Ruhr in 1923) only intensified these grievances. It can be said that the Treaty of Versailles was one of the causes of World War II.

Thus, the point of view of a number of historians considering the years 1914-1945. as a period of one big global world war, is not unreasonable. The contradictions that the First World War was supposed to resolve only deepened, and therefore a new conflict was not far off...

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1914, June 28 Murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife by the secret organization “Young Bosnia” in Sarajevo. The reason for the outbreak of the First World War.

1914, August - September East Prussian operation of the Russian North-Western Front. It ended in the defeat of the Russian troops.

1914, August - September In the Galician operation, troops of the Russian Southwestern Front repelled the offensive of the Austro-Hungarian armies in Galicia and Poland.

1914, September Marne operation of the Anglo-French troops. The German troops advancing on Paris were stopped on the Marne River. The German plan to quickly defeat France was thwarted.

1914, October November First battle of Ypres (Hungary). Failures of the German armies. The continuous line of the Western Front stretched to the North Sea. The war became protracted and positional.

1914, December Naval battle between the German and British squadrons near the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. Almost all German ships were sunk; the English squadron had no losses.

1915, April - May Second Battle of Ypres. German troops used chemical weapons for the first time - chlorine.

1916, February - December Verdun operation on the Western Front. The German army tried to break through the front of French troops in the Verdun area, but met stubborn resistance. In long, fierce battles, both sides suffered huge losses.

1916, May 31 - June 1, Battle of Jutland between the English and German fleets. England retained its dominance at sea.

1916, June - August Offensive of the Russian South-Western Front ("Brusilovsky breakthrough"), commander - General Brusilov. Russian troops broke through the positional defenses of the Austro-Hungarians.

1916, July - November Anglo-French troops on the Somme River (east of Amiens) tried to break through the positional defenses of the German army. On the Somme, on September 15, British troops used tanks for the first time.

1916, August Romania entered the war against Germany (by the end of the year the Romanian army was defeated). Italy declared war on Germany.

1917, July - November Third Battle of Ypres. On July 12, the Germans used mustard gas for the first time, which was called mustard gas (after the battlefield).

1917, October - December German-Austrian troops inflicted a major defeat on the Italian army near the village of Kobarid in Slovenia.

1917, December 15 (2) The Soviet government signed an armistice agreement with Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey.

1918, March 3 Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty between Russia and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey. Germany annexes Poland, the Baltic states, part of Belarus and Transcaucasia.

1918, May - June German offensive on the Aisne and Oise rivers. Having broken through the French defenses, German troops reached the Marne River, finding themselves less than 70 km from Paris.

1918, July 15 - August 4 Second Battle of the Marne. German troops crossed the river. But during the counteroffensive, the Allies advanced 40 km and saved Paris from the threat of capture.

1918, September 26 Beginning of the offensive of the armies of the anti-German coalition (Entente) on the Western Front.

1918, September - November Surrender of Bulgaria (September 29), Austria-Hungary (November 3) and Germany (November 11); Truce between Turkey and England (October 30). The end of the First World War.

1919, June 28 Treaty of Versailles. Secured the redivision of the world in favor of the victorious powers. Germany recognized the independence of all territories that were part of the former Russian Empire by August 1, 1914, as well as the abolition of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty of 1918 and all treaties concluded by it with the Soviet government. The Statute of the League of Nations was an inseparable part of the treaty.

Numerical results of the war	Duration: 4 years, 3.5 months.
	Number of warring states: more than 30.
	Area of ​​military operations: 4 million square meters. km.
	Direct military spending: $208 billion.
	Use of equipment: 182 thousand aircraft,
	9.2 thousand tanks, 170 thousand guns.
	Property damage: $152 billion.
	Population affected by war: 1 billion
	Number of mobilized in the army: 74 million, including:
	Russia 12 million,
	Germany 11 million,
	UK 8.9 million,
	France 8.4 million,
	Austria-Hungary 7.8 million,
	Italy 5.6 million,
	USA 4.35 million,
	Türkiye 2.85 million,
	Bulgaria 1.2 million,
	other countries 11.9 million
	Losses in the war:
	Killed: 10 million, including:
	Germany 1.77 million,
	Russia 1.7 million,
	France 1.35 million,
	Austria-Hungary 1.2 million,
	UK 0.9 million,
	Italy 0.65 million,
	Romania 0.335 million,
	Türkiye 0.325 million,
	USA 0.115 million,
	the remaining 1.655 million.
	Wounded: 21 million
	Civilian deaths: 10 million.

1917, November 7 (October 25) October socialist revolution in Russia. Head - Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin).

1918, November 9 Abdication and flight to Holland of Kaiser Wilhelm I. Overthrow of the monarchy in Germany.

1918 - 1922 Civil War in Russia. Armed struggle between Soviet power and its opponents. According to various sources, during the civil war, from 8 to 13 million people died from hunger, disease, terror and battles; about 2 million ended up in exile. Main events:

1918, March - April - troops of England, France and the USA landed in Murmansk, troops of Japan landed in Vladivostok;

1918, May - August - mutiny of the Czechoslovak military corps (former prisoners of war) in the Volga region, the Urals and Siberia;

1918, summer - formation of the White Guard, Russian military formations that fought against Soviet power;

1919, March - May - offensives of the White Guard forces from the east, south and west (Admiral A.V. Kolchak, generals A.I. Denikin and N.N. Yudenich), all of them were defeated;

1919, autumn - defeat of Yudenich's army near Petrograd;

1921, March 1-18 - Kronstadt uprising, caused by dissatisfaction with the Soviet government due to famine, economic ruin and repression; suppressed by Red Army units

1919, July 31, the German Constituent National Assembly adopted the Weimar Constitution, which formalized the replacement of the semi-absolutist monarchy with a parliamentary republic.

1920, June 12 Official opening of the Panama Canal (the first ship passed through the canal in August 1914).

1922, April 16 Rapallo Soviet-German Treaty on the restoration of diplomatic relations and trade and economic ties. It meant a breakthrough in the economic and political blockade of Soviet Russia.

1922, October 27 Fascists came to power in Italy, led by Benito Mussolini (head of government since October 30).

1922, December 30 Treaty on the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) consisting of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Federation of Transcaucasian Republics.

1922, October 29 A republic was proclaimed in Turkey, and Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) became its first president.

1923, November Nazi "Beer Hall Putsch" in Munich to overthrow the Bavarian government. The organizers are General Erich Ludendorff and the leader of the National Socialist Party, Adolf Hitler. The latter was arrested and imprisoned.

1924, January 21 Death of the leader of the USSR Lenin. The beginning of the struggle for leadership between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky.

1929, October The world economic crisis (1929-1933) began with a sharp drop in stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange.

1929, December 27 Proclamation of I.V. Stalin set a course for the beginning of “complete collectivization” in the USSR.

1931, April Overthrow of the monarchy and proclamation of a republic in Spain. In December 1931, a republican constitution was adopted.

1931, February - March Formation of the state of Manchukuo on the territory of Northeast China occupied by Japanese troops.

1933-1945 Franklin Roosevelt - 32nd President of the United States. He carried out a number of reforms to eliminate the economic crisis of 1929-1933 and mitigate the contradictions of American capitalism. On November 17, 1933, the Roosevelt government established diplomatic relations with the USSR. Since the beginning of the Second World War, he offered to provide support to Great Britain, France and the USSR (from June 1941) in their fight against Nazi Germany. He made a significant contribution to the creation of the anti-Hitler coalition. He attached great importance to the formation of the UN and post-war international cooperation, including between the USA and the USSR.

1934, July 25 Austrian Federal Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss was assassinated by supporters of the Anschluss (annexation to Germany).

1934, August 2, Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler became President of Germany. He concentrated legislative and executive power in his hands, established a regime of Nazi dictatorship in the country and launched active preparations for war.

1935-1936 Italo-Ethiopian War. Ended with the annexation of Ethiopia by Italy.

1936-1939 Spanish Civil War. The Republican government of socialists and communists was defeated by the army of General Franco. With military support from Italy and Germany, a far-right regime led by Franco was established.

1936, October The Berlin Agreement formalized the military-political alliance of Germany and Italy (“Berlin-Rome axis”).

1936, November “Anti-Comintern Pact” between Germany and Japan. A year later, Italy joined them.

1937, July - 1938, October Invasion of Japanese troops into China, capture of Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing and Guangzhou.

1938, March German troops occupied Austria; Its annexation to Germany (Anschluss) was proclaimed.

1938, September Munich Agreement between Great Britain (N. Chamberlain), France (E. Daladier), Germany (A. Hitler) and Italy (B. Mussolini). It provided for the separation from Czechoslovakia and the transfer of the Sudetenland to Germany, as well as the satisfaction of territorial claims to Czechoslovakia from Hungary and Poland.

1939, August Soviet-German non-aggression pact (“Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact”) with a secret annex establishing the delimitation of the “spheres of interest” of the parties; The Soviet Union, under this agreement, could annex Eastern Poland, the Baltic states, Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and part of Finland (the seizure occurred in 1939-1940).

This unprecedented war must be brought to complete victory. Whoever thinks now about peace, who desires it, is a traitor to the Fatherland, its traitor.

August 1, 1914 Germany declared war on Russia. The First World War (1914-1918) began, which became the Second Patriotic War for our Motherland.

How did it happen that the Russian Empire became embroiled in the First World War? Was our country ready for it?

Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, chief researcher at the Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IWI RAS), president of the Russian Association of Historians of the First World War (RAIWW) Evgeniy Yuryevich Sergeev told Foma about the history of this war, what it was like for Russia.

Visit of French President R. Poincaré to Russia. July 1914

What the masses don't know about

Evgeniy Yurievich, The First World War (WWI) is one of the main directions of your scientific activity. What influenced the choice of this particular topic?

This is an interesting question. On the one hand, the significance of this event for world history leaves no doubt. This alone can motivate a historian to study WWI. On the other hand, this war still remains, to a certain extent, “terra incognita” of Russian history. The Civil War and the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) overshadowed it and relegated it to the background in our consciousness.

No less important are the extremely interesting and little-known events of that war. Including those whose direct continuation we find during the Second World War.

For example, there was such an episode in the history of WWII: On August 23, 1914, Japan declared war on Germany., being in an alliance with Russia and with other Entente countries, supplied weapons and military equipment to Russia. These supplies went through the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER). The Germans organized an entire expedition (sabotage team) there in order to blow up the tunnels and bridges of the Chinese Eastern Railway and interrupt this communication. Russian counterintelligence intercepted this expedition, that is, they managed to prevent the liquidation of the tunnels, which would have caused significant damage to Russia, because an important supply artery would have been interrupted.

- Marvelous. How can it be, Japan, with whom we fought in 1904-1905...

By the time WWII began, relations with Japan were different. The corresponding agreements have already been signed. And in 1916, an agreement on a military alliance was even signed. We had a very close collaboration.

Suffice it to say that Japan gave us, although not free of charge, three ships that Russia lost during the Russo-Japanese War. The Varyag, which the Japanese raised and restored, was among them. As far as I know, the cruiser "Varyag" (the Japanese called it "Soya") and two other ships raised by the Japanese were bought by Russia from Japan in 1916. On April 5 (18), 1916, the Russian flag was raised over the Varyag in Vladivostok.

Moreover, after the Bolshevik victory, Japan participated in the intervention. But this is not surprising: the Bolsheviks were considered accomplices of the Germans, the German government. You yourself understand that the conclusion of a separate peace on March 3, 1918 (Brest-Litovsk Peace) was essentially a stab in the back of the allies, including Japan.

Along with this, of course, there were very specific political and economic interests of Japan in the Far East and Siberia.

- But there were other interesting episodes in WWII?

Certainly. It can also be said (few people know about this) that military convoys known from the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 were present during WWII, and also went to Murmansk, which in 1916 was specially built for this purpose. A railway was opened connecting Murmansk with the European part of Russia. The supplies were quite significant.

A French squadron operated together with Russian troops on the Romanian front. Here is a prototype of the Normandy-Niemen squadron. British submarines fought in the Baltic Sea alongside the Russian Baltic Fleet.

Cooperation on the Caucasian front between the corps of General N.N. Baratov (who fought there against the troops of the Ottoman Empire as part of the Caucasian Army) and British forces is also a very interesting episode of WWII, one might say, the prototype of the so-called “meeting on the Elbe” during the Second World War . Baratov made a forced march and met with British troops near Baghdad, in what is now Iraq. Then these were Ottoman possessions, naturally. As a result, the Turks found themselves caught in a pincer movement.

Visit of French President R. Poincaré to Russia. Photo 1914

Grand plans

- Evgeniy Yuryevich, who is to blame for this? the outbreak of the First World War?

The blame clearly lies with the so-called Central Powers, that is, Austria-Hungary and Germany. And even more so in Germany. Although WWII began as a local war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, without the strong support that was promised to Austria-Hungary from Berlin, it would not have acquired first a European and then a global scale.

Germany really needed this war. Its main goals were formulated as follows: to eliminate British hegemony on the seas, seize its colonial possessions and acquire “living space in the East” (that is, in Eastern Europe) for the rapidly growing German population. There was a geopolitical concept of “Middle Europe”, according to which Germany’s main task was to unite European countries around itself into a kind of modern European Union, but, naturally, under the auspices of Berlin.

To ideologically support this war, a myth was created in Germany about “surrounding the Second Reich with a ring of hostile states”: from the West - France, from the East - Russia, on the seas - Great Britain. Hence the task: to break through this ring and create a prosperous world empire centered in Berlin.

- What role did Germany assign to Russia and the Russian people in the event of its victory?

In case of victory, Germany hoped to return the Russian kingdom to the borders of approximately the 17th century (that is, before Peter I). Russia, in the German plans of that time, was to become a vassal of the Second Reich. The Romanov dynasty was supposed to be preserved, but, of course, Nicholas II (and his son Alexei) would be removed from power.

- How did the Germans behave in the occupied territories during WWII?

In 1914-1917, the Germans managed to occupy only the extreme western provinces of Russia. They behaved there rather restrainedly, although, of course, they requisitioned the property of the civilian population. But there were no mass deportations to Germany or atrocities directed against civilians.

Another thing is 1918, when German and Austro-Hungarian troops occupied vast territories in conditions of the virtual collapse of the tsarist army (let me remind you that they reached Rostov, Crimea and the North Caucasus). Mass requisitions for the needs of the Reich had already begun here, and resistance units appeared, created in Ukraine by nationalists (Petlyura) and Socialist Revolutionaries, who spoke out sharply against the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty. But even in 1918, the Germans could not make much of a turn, since the war was already coming to an end, and they sent their main forces to the Western Front against the French and British. However, the partisan movement against the Germans in 1917–1918 in the occupied territories was still noted.

World War I. Political poster. 1915

Meeting of the III State Duma. 1915

Why did Russia get involved in the war?

- What did Russia do to prevent war?

Nicholas II hesitated to the end whether to start a war or not, proposing to resolve all controversial issues at a peace conference in The Hague through international arbitration. Such proposals on the part of Nicholas were made to Wilhelm II, the German Emperor, but he rejected them. And therefore, to say that the blame for the start of the war lies with Russia is absolute nonsense.

Unfortunately, Germany ignored Russian initiatives. The fact is that German intelligence and ruling circles were well aware that Russia was not ready for war. And Russia’s allies (France and Great Britain) were not quite ready for it, especially Great Britain in terms of ground forces.

In 1912, Russia began to carry out a large program of army rearmament, and it was supposed to end only by 1918–1919. And Germany actually completed preparations for the summer of 1914.

In other words, the “window of opportunity” was quite narrow for Berlin, and if a war was to start, it had to start in 1914.

- How justified were the arguments of opponents of the war?

The arguments of the opponents of the war were quite strong and clearly formulated. There were such forces among the ruling circles. There was a fairly strong and active party that opposed the war.

There is a well-known note from one of the major statesmen of that time, P. N. Durnovo, which was submitted at the beginning of 1914. Durnovo warned Tsar Nicholas II about the destructiveness of the war, which, in his opinion, meant the death of the dynasty and the death of Imperial Russia.

There were such forces, but the fact is that by 1914 Russia was in allied relations not with Germany and Austria-Hungary, but with France, and then with Great Britain, and the very logic of the development of the crisis associated with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria -The Hungarian throne, brought Russia to this war.

Speaking about the possible fall of the monarchy, Durnovo believed that Russia would not be able to withstand a large-scale war, that there would be a crisis of supply and a crisis of power, and this would ultimately lead not only to the disorganization of the political and economic life of the country, but also to the collapse of the empire , loss of control. Unfortunately, his prediction was largely justified.

- Why did anti-war arguments, for all their validity, clarity and clarity, not have the desired impact? Russia could not help but enter the war, even despite such clearly expressed arguments of its opponents?

Allied duty on the one hand, on the other hand - fear of losing prestige and influence in the Balkan countries. After all, if we had not supported Serbia, it would have been catastrophic for Russia’s prestige.

Of course, the pressure of certain forces inclined towards war, including those associated with some Serbian circles at court and with Montenegrin circles, also had an effect. Famous “Montenegro women”, that is, the wives of the grand dukes at court, also influenced the decision-making process.

It can also be said that Russia owed significant amounts of money received as loans from French, Belgian and English sources. The money was received specifically for the rearmament program.

But I would still put the issue of prestige (which was very important for Nicholas II) to the fore. We must give him his due - he always advocated maintaining the prestige of Russia, although, perhaps, he did not always understand this correctly.

- Is it true that the motive of helping the Orthodox (Orthodox Serbia) was one of the decisive factors that determined Russia’s entry into the war?

One of the very significant factors. Perhaps not decisive, because - I emphasize again - Russia needed to maintain the prestige of a great power and not turn out to be an unreliable ally at the very beginning of the war. This is probably the main motive.

A sister of mercy writes down the last will of a dying person. Western Front, 1917

Myths old and new

WWII became for our Motherland the Patriotic War, the Second Patriotic War, as it is sometimes called. In Soviet textbooks, WWI was called “imperialist.” What is behind these words?

Giving WWI an exclusively imperialist status is a serious mistake, although this point is also present. But first of all, we must look at it as the Second Patriotic War, remembering that the First Patriotic War was the war against Napoleon in 1812, and we had the Great Patriotic War back in the 20th century.

By taking part in WWII, Russia defended itself. After all, it was Germany that declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914. The First World War became the Second Patriotic War for Russia. In support of the thesis about the main role of Germany in the outbreak of WWII, it can be said that at the Paris Peace Conference (which took place from 01/18/1919 to 01/21/1920), the Allied powers, among other demands, set a condition for Germany to agree to the article on the “war crime” "and admit their responsibility for starting the war.

The whole people then rose up to fight against the foreign invaders. War, I emphasize once again, was declared on us. We didn't start it. And not only the active armies, where, by the way, several million Russians were drafted, but also the entire people took part in the war. The rear and the front acted together. And many of the trends that we later observed during the Great Patriotic War originated precisely during the WWII period. Suffice it to say that partisan detachments were active, that the population of the rear provinces actively showed themselves when they helped not only the wounded, but also refugees fleeing the war from the western provinces. The sisters of mercy were active, and the clergy who were on the front line and often raised troops to attack performed very well.

It can be said that the designation of our great defensive wars by the terms: “First Patriotic War,” “Second Patriotic War,” and “Third Patriotic War” is the restoration of that historical continuity that was broken in the period after WWI.

In other words, whatever the official goals of the war, there were ordinary people who perceived this war as a war for their Fatherland, and died and suffered precisely for this.

- And what, from your point of view, are the most common myths about WWI now?

We have already named the first myth. It is a myth that WWII was clearly imperialist and was carried out exclusively in the interests of the ruling circles. This is probably the most common myth, which has not yet been eradicated even on the pages of school textbooks. But historians are trying to overcome this negative ideological legacy. We are trying to take a different look at the history of WWII and explain to our schoolchildren the true essence of that war.

Another myth is the idea that the Russian army only retreated and suffered defeats. Nothing like this. By the way, this myth is widespread in the West, where, apart from the Brusilov breakthrough, that is, the offensive of the troops of the Southwestern Front in 1916 (spring-summer), even Western experts, not to mention the general public, there were no major victories of Russian weapons in WWII They can’t name it.

In fact, excellent examples of Russian military art were demonstrated in WWI. Let's say, on the Southwestern Front, on the Western Front. This is both the Battle of Galicia and the Lodz operation. Osovets’ defense alone is worth it. Osowiec is a fortress located on the territory of modern Poland, where the Russians defended themselves against superior German forces for more than six months (the siege of the fortress began in January 1915 and lasted 190 days). And this defense is quite comparable to the defense of the Brest Fortress.

You can give examples of Russian hero pilots. You can remember the sisters of mercy who saved the wounded. There are many such examples.

There is also a myth that Russia fought this war in isolation from its allies. Nothing like this. The examples I gave earlier debunk this myth.

The war was a coalition one. And we received significant assistance from France, Great Britain, and then the United States, which entered the war later, in 1917.

- Is the figure of Nicholas II mythologized?

In many ways, of course, it is mythologized. Under the influence of revolutionary agitation, he was branded almost as an accomplice of the Germans. There was a myth according to which Nicholas II allegedly wanted to conclude a separate peace with Germany.

In fact, this was not the case. He was a sincere supporter of waging war to a victorious end and did everything in his power to achieve this. Already in exile, he received the news of the Bolsheviks concluding a separate Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty extremely painfully and with great indignation.

Another thing is that the scale of his personality as a statesman turned out to be not entirely adequate for Russia to be able to get through this war to the end.

None I emphasize , no documentary evidence of the desire of the emperor and empress to conclude a separate peace not found. He didn't even allow the thought of it. These documents do not exist and could not exist. This is another myth.

As a very clear illustration of this thesis, we can cite Nicholas II’s own words from the Act of Abdication (March 2 (15), 1917 at 3 p.m.): "In the days of the greatstruggle against an external enemy who had been striving to enslave our homeland for almost three years, the Lord God was pleased to send Russia a new and difficult test. The outbreak of internal popular unrest threatens to have a disastrous effect on the further conduct of the stubborn war.The fate of Russia, the honor of our heroic army, the good of the people, the entire future of our dear Fatherland require bringing the war to a victorious end at all costs. <…>».

Nicholas II, V.B. Fredericks and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich at Headquarters. 1914

Russian troops on the march. Photo 1915

Defeat a year before victory

The First World War, as some believe, was a shameful defeat of the tsarist regime, a disaster, or something else? After all, as long as the last Russian Tsar remained in power, the enemy could not enter the Russian Empire? Unlike the Great Patriotic War.

You are not entirely right that the enemy could not enter our borders. It nevertheless entered the Russian Empire as a result of the offensive of 1915, when the Russian army was forced to retreat, when our opponents transferred virtually all their forces to the Eastern Front, to the Russian front, and our troops had to retreat. Although, of course, the enemy did not enter the deep regions of Central Russia.

But I would not call what happened in 1917-1918 a defeat, a shameful defeat of the Russian Empire. It would be more accurate to say that Russia was forced to sign this separate peace with the Central Powers, that is, with Austria-Hungary and Germany and with other participants in this coalition.

This is a consequence of the political crisis in which Russia finds itself. That is, the reasons for this are internal, and not at all military. And we must not forget that the Russians actively fought on the Caucasian front, and the successes were very significant. In fact, the Ottoman Empire was dealt a very serious blow by Russia, which later led to its defeat.

Although Russia did not fully fulfill its allied duty, this must be admitted, it certainly made its significant contribution to the victory of the Entente.

Russia literally didn't have enough for a year. Maybe a year and a half in order to finish this war with dignity as part of the Entente, as part of a coalition

How was the war generally perceived in Russian society? The Bolsheviks, representing an overwhelming minority of the population, dreamed of the defeat of Russia. But what was the attitude of ordinary people?

The general mood was quite patriotic. For example, women of the Russian Empire were most actively involved in charitable assistance. Many people signed up to become nurses without even being professionally trained. They took special short-term courses. A lot of girls and young women from different classes took part in this movement - from members of the imperial family to the simplest people. There were special delegations of the Russian Red Cross Society that visited prisoner of war camps and monitored their maintenance. And not only in Russia, but also abroad. We traveled to Germany and Austria-Hungary. Even in war conditions this was possible through the mediation of the International Red Cross. We traveled through third countries, mainly through Sweden and Denmark. During the Great Patriotic War, such work, unfortunately, was impossible.

By 1916, medical and social assistance to the wounded was systematized and took on a targeted character, although initially, of course, much was done on private initiative. This movement to help the army, to help those who were wounded in the rear, had a nationwide character.

Members of the royal family also took an active part in this. They collected parcels for prisoners of war and donations for the wounded. A hospital was opened in the Winter Palace.

By the way, one cannot help but say about the role of the Church. She provided enormous assistance both to the active army and to the rear. The activities of regimental priests at the front were very versatile.
In addition to their immediate duties, they were also involved in drawing up and sending “funerals” (death notices) to the relatives and friends of fallen soldiers. Many cases have been recorded when priests walked at the head or in the first ranks of advancing troops.

The priests had to do the work of, as they would say now, psychotherapists: they held conversations, reassured, tried to remove the feeling of fear that was natural for a person in the trenches. It's at the front.

On the home front, the Church provided assistance to the wounded and refugees. Many monasteries set up free hospitals, collected parcels for the front, and organized the sending of charitable aid.

Russian infantry. 1914

Remember everyone!

Is it possible, given the current ideological chaos in society, including in the perception of WWI, to present a sufficiently clear and clear position on WWII that would reconcile everyone regarding this historical phenomenon?

We, professional historians, are working on this right now, striving to create such a concept. But this is not easy to do.

In fact, we are now making up for what Western historians did back in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century - we are carrying out work that, due to the peculiarities of our history, we did not do. The entire emphasis was on the October Socialist Revolution. The history of WWI was hushed up and mythologized.

Is it true that it is already planned to build a temple in memory of the soldiers who died in WWI, just as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was once built with public money?

Yes. This idea is being developed. And there is even a unique place in Moscow - a brotherly cemetery near the Sokol metro station, where not only Russian soldiers who died here in rear hospitals, but also prisoners of war of the enemy armies were buried. That's why it's fraternal. Soldiers and officers of different nationalities are buried there.

At one time, this cemetery occupied quite a large space. Now, of course, the situation is completely different. Much has been lost there, but the memorial park has been recreated, there is already a chapel, and restoring the temple there would probably be a very correct decision. The same as the opening of a museum (with a museum the situation is more complicated).

You can announce a fundraiser for this temple. The role of the Church is very important here.

In fact, we can put an Orthodox church at the crossroads of these historical roads, just as we used to put chapels at the crossroads where people could come, pray, and remember their dead relatives.

Yes, that's absolutely right. Moreover, almost every family in Russia is connected with WWI, that is, with the Second Patriotic War, as well as with the Great Patriotic War.

Many fought, many had ancestors who took part in this war in one way or another - either on the home front or in the active army. Therefore, it is our sacred duty to restore historical truth.