WORLD WAR 1

 INTRODUCTION
World War I also called The Great War or The Global War was a major conflict fought
in Europe and around the world between July 28, 1914, and November 11, 1918.
Nations from across all non-polar continents were involved, although Russia, Britain,
France, Germany, and Austria-Hungary dominated. Much of the war was
characterized by stagnant trench warfare and massive loss of life in failed attacks.

 CAUSES OF WORLD WAR 1

The causes of World War 1 can be combined in a single word, “MANIA”. Here “M”
means Militarism, “A” means Alliances, “N” means Nationalism, “I” means
Imperialism and “A” means Assassination. We will discuss these in detail:
1. MILITARISM
“Militarism is the belief that a country should maintain a strong military
capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote
national interests.”
Militarism was one of the causes of destructive World War 1. In order to
compete with each other, all the participant countries started to invest
heavily in strengthening their military in order to protect their national
interests. Another reason for militarism was to take control on land and other
resources.
2. ALLIANCES
“An alliance is a relationship in which two or more countries work together
for some specific purpose.”
The alliance system was one of the main causes of World War 1. The alliance
system was made up of two groups:
 Central Alliances (Germany, Austrian-Hungary Empire and Ottoman
Empire which is now Turkey)
 Allied Alliances (Russia, France, Great Britain, and United states)
The reason for which countries made alliances is that they can protect each
other if attacked by their opponent alliances.
The alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary was formed in secret in
1879.It was called the Dual alliance.
3. NATIONALISM
“Nationalism is defined as a feeling of loyalty and pride in one's nation or
people and is sometimes accompanied by feelings of superiority over other
nations.”
During the 19th century, the sense of nationalism began to grow in Western
Europe. The European States who were slaves of other states wanted to get
freedom. They wanted to get their own states and get rid of the life of
slavery. This slogan of nationalism was one of the cause of World War 1.
EXAMPLE
 Black Hand, a society in Serbia struggled for the freedom of Serbs from
Austrian-Hungary Empire. They believe that Bosnia belongs to Serbia.
4. IMPERIALISM
“Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through
colonization, use of military force, or other means.”
Before World War One many of the European countries were on a quest to
expand their empires in order to increase their power and wealth; they
sought to acquire new territories especially in Asia and Africa. The
competition for these new lands, often rich with desired natural resources,
led to friction between these mighty countries which would be a major factor
as to why World War One started.
5. ASSASSINATION
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand along with his wife Sophie,
who was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, occurred on June 28th
1914 in Bosnia, Sarajevo. The assassin was Gavrilo Princip who was part of a
group who wanted certain provinces under Austria-Hungary's rule to be given
to Serbia. This led to Austria-Hungary making certain demands on Serbia and
then finally to the outbreak of war.

 FORMATION OF ALLIANCES
By 1914, Europe's six major powers were split into two alliances that would form the
warring sides in World War I.
 Central Alliances (Germany, Austrian-Hungary Empire and Ottoman
Empire which is now Turkey)
 Allied Alliances (Russia, France, Great Britain, and United states)
At the end of war, Allied Alliances won the World War 1. Germany was the main
loser, along with Austria - Hungary, and The Ottoman Empire.

 THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES

The Treaty of Versailles was the most important of the peace treaties that brought
World War I to an end. It was signed on 28 June 1919 in Versailles, exactly five years
after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which had directly led to the
war.
The provisions of this treaty impose many sanctions on Germany including:
1) It requires Germany and her allies to accept all the damages and losses
happened in World War 1.
2) The colonies of Germany were stripped.
3) It requires Germany to shrink the size of her army and it ban Germany from
possessing certain weapons.
4) It imposed numerous other financial obligations upon Germany.
 CONSEQUENCES OF WAR
The consequences of World War 1 were very severe and destructing. About 16
million soldiers killed and 2 million were injured. Germany and Russia suffered most,
both countries lost almost two million men in battle. These consequences may be
divided into following:
 ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES
Economy all across Europe broke down. The participating countries borne the
high cost of money in World War 1. As a result they increased rate of taxes to
generate more revenue. Moreover, they also print money in order to buy
weapons and other things needed for war. This causes a high inflation after
the war.
 POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES
World War I brought an end to four monarchies:
Czar Nicholas II of Russia
Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany
Emperor Charles of Austria
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
The World War 1 results in the emergence of new countries on world map.
These countries include Poland, Finland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Latvia,
Estonia and Lithuania.
 SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES
World War I changed society completely. Birth rates went down because
millions of young men died. Civilians lost their homes and fled to other
countries.
The role of women also changed. They played a major part in replacing men
in factories and offices. Many countries gave women more rights after the
war had ended, including the right to vote. This was the rise of Feminism.