World War 1

Long-term causes

 Militarism: overall societal emphasis on the military, policies of deterrence, conscription in

all European states (exception of Britain – 1916, implemented in France 1913, Russia largest
army – 1.3 million men).
 Industrialization: by 1870 the industrial revolution that had started in England a century
before had spread all around Europe and across the Atlantic, but the increase was not
uniform (in 1913 France was behind every European power apart from Austria-Hungary).
Policies of neo-mercantilism
 The alliance system: Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary (1879) by
Bismarck to make France isolated and later Italy (1882 – Triple Alliance), Reinsurance treaty
with Russia (1887) and not renewal of it (1890 – isolation of Russia), Franco-Russian Alliance
(1894), “splendid isolation” of Britain in the meanwhile. 1904 Entente Cordiale between
Britain and France, 1907 Triple Entente (Russia joins), 1839 Britain guarantees Belgian
neutrality, alliance between Russia and Serbia
 Imperialism/nationalism: “scramble for Africa” and Berlin conference of 1885. Wilhelm’s
Weltpolitik
 The Balkans: crumbling influence of the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary’s desire to
expand her influence, Russia’s desire to gain influence. Italian conflict with the Ottoman
Empire gave the opportunity to Serbia to ally with Bulgaria and go against the Ottoman
Empire; Serbia defeats Bulgaria as well two years later.

alliance system prior to ww1

 Short-term causes

 The July Crisis: 28th of June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Habsburg throne is
shot in Sarajevo by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, member of the Black Hand group.
Germany sends the Blank Cheque, pledging unlimited support to Austria-Hungary, that
sends an ultimatum to the Serbs with very harsh conditions (most of them are satisfied, but
not all). Austria-Hungary mobilizes its army towards Serbia, Russia feels threatened and
mobilizes its army the following day, Germany did the same and mobilized its army towards
France.
 War plans: Germany had already carefully planned the Schlieffen Plan, to invade France
trough neutral Belgium and Luxembourg.

The Schlieffen Plan

The Western Front

 Belgium: the right wing of the German army planned to go through Belgium to reach Paris.
The Belgian army was insignificant compared to the German army, but Belgium had
projected a defence system based on forts, concentrated around Liège. The Germans
captured the forts in 11 days. Technology used: massive siege howitzers (“Big Bertha”) and
bomb-dropping Zeppelin.
 The Battle of the Frontiers: series of offenses by the French, part of Plan XVII,
counteroffensive by Sixth and Seventh armies of Germany. Defeat of the French.
 The battle of the Marne - September 1914: the Germans proceeded towards Paris, the
Anglo-French forces pulled back. The resistance of the Belgians gave the French the power
to cobble together a new army to defend Paris. The French, thanks to a reconnaissance
plane spotted the German army in a weak position and defeated it. Schlieffen Plan failed.
 The race to the Sea: the Germans retreated. Both armies went up north and entrenched.
 Trench warfare: uneven clash of technologies in which those who were defensive in nature
(Germans) were stronger than those who were offensive in nature. Technology: shovel,
barbed wire, defensive machine gun, flamethrowers, trench mortars, mines, tanks, gas (used
in the second battle of Ypres at first)
 The Battle of Verdun – February-October 1916: German attempt to break the stalemate on
the Western Front based on a massive attack against the French army centred around
Verdun. Massive use of German artillery, French used General defence (contesting every bit
of ground, counter attack only later). Huge number of casualties and no big progress.
 The Battle of the Somme – July-November 1916: the British army had grown exponentially
to 2 million men; the new strategy was a massive joint attack from the French and the Brits,
with a week-long artillery bombardment to the German barbed wire and artillery, plus a
network of landmines close to the German trenches. Huge number of casualties and no big
progress.
 The Battle of Passchendaele – July-November 1917: also known as the Third Battle of Ypres,
usual strategy, usual casualties, usual failure. After 1916 the Allies were exhausted, the
Russian army and the Russian Provisional Government that had taken control after the
abdication of the Tsar were both about to collapse, 50 French divisions were in various
states of mutiny, Italian army bent at Caporetto.
 1918: all armies exhausted. Huge numbers of American soldiers in France, but a French
society that cannot support the war anymore. The Germans tried an offensive of the 21 of
March that almost allowed them to get to Amiens, “rolling up” the British line and getting
the channel ports; they did not succeed because the casualties were too high for both sides
and Germans did not have Americans troops backing up. On 8 August, an offensive of the
Allies smashed the Germans on the Western front. The Germans asked for an armistice.
Hostilities would cease on 11 November 1918.

The Race to the Sea

The Western Front

 The war beyond the Western Front

 The Eastern Front: the Schlieffen Plan predicted a slow Russian mobilization, a great success
in the Western Front and a long drawn out of war in the Eastern. Instead, the Russian army
invaded Prussia before expected winning the Battle of Gumbinenn, but because of a lack of
cooperation between the two Russian armies, the Germans won at Tannenberg and a the
Masurian lakes in 1914. When Italy entered the war with the Allies in 1915, the Austrians
moved the troops to the Italian border, giving Russia to regain almost 100 miles of territory.
 Gallipoli: with the stalemate in France in 1914, the Allies were looking for another front. The
Anglo-French attacked in 1915 the Dardanelles strait but the campaign proved to be a fiasco
despite a backup by the ANZAC forces; the withdrawal was successfully ended in January
1916.
 Treaty of Brest Litovsk: the war was dragging on in the east and the west, something that the
Russian Empire couldn’t sustain, having fallen in revolution in 1917. The treaty was signed,
and the conflict abandoned.
 The War at Sea: the Brits had a 2:1 advantage over the Germans on Dreadnought
battleships. The aim of the Germans was to wage economic warfare on the enemy, but their
disadvantage didn’t allow it. Between 1914 and 1915 the Germans adopted a hit and run
approach. In 1916 there was a clash, with both sides claiming victory but with a withdrawal
of the Germans from the North Sea.
 The Home Front: a total war is a war in which a nation mobilizes all resources in the war
effort. The home front was the mobilization of all these resources. All countries created
governmental agencies to regulate this process, and the increase in war production was
consistent. The Germans tried to cut the flow of supplies to Britain with submarine warfare.

The Eastern Front