World War - I , A Note For UPSC

The world wars: 

World War I

World War-1 was the first mass global war of the industrialized age, a demo of the remarkable strength, resilience and massacre power of modern states. It was often called as "The Great War".

The war was also fought at a high point of nationalism and faith in the existing social hierarchy, beliefs that the war itself helped destroy, and that the modern world finds very hard to understand.

This war began on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Hungary confirmed war on Serbia. This apparently small conflict between two countries spread rapidly. Soon, Germany, Russia, Great Britain, and France were all drawn into the war, largely because they were involved in treaties that obligated them to protect certain other nations. Western and eastern fronts rapidly opened along the borders of Germany and Austria-Hungary.

The Western and Eastern Fronts: The first month of battle consisted of brave outbreaks and rapid troop movements on both fronts. In the west, Germany attacked first Belgium and then France. In the east, Russia attacked both Germany and Austria-Hungary. In the south, Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia. Following the Battle of the Marne (September 5-9, 1914), the western front became entrenched in central France and remained that way for the rest of the war. The fronts in the east also slowly locked into place.

The Ottoman Empire: In the end of 1914, the Ottoman Empire was brought into the fight as well, after Germany deceived Russia into thinking that Turkey had attacked it. As a result, much of 1915 was subjugated by Allied actions against the Ottomans in the Mediterranean. First, Britain and France launched an unsuccessful attack on the Dardanelles. This campaign was followed by the British attack of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Britain also launched a separate campaign against the Turks in Mesopotamia. Although the British had some successes in Mesopotamia, the Gallipoli campaign and the attacks on the Dardanelles resulted in British defeats.

Trench Warfare: The middle part of the war which was between 1916 and 1917, dominated by continuous ditch fighting in both the east and the west. Soldiers fought from dug-in positions, striking at each other with machine guns, heavy artillery, and chemical weapons. Though soldiers died by the millions in brutal conditions, neither side had any substantive success or gained any benefit.

The United States' Entrance and Russia's Exit: Regardless of the stalemate on both fronts in Europe, two important developments in the war happened in 1917. In early April, the United States, infuriated by attacks upon its ships in the Atlantic, declared war on Germany. Then, in November, the Bolshevik Revolution prompted Russia to draw out of the war.

Prime causes of World War 1:

1. Mutual Defence Alliances
2. Imperialism
3. Militarism
4. Nationalism
5. Immediate Cause- Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Among the harmful technological developments that were used for the first time (or in some cases used for the first time in a major conflict) during the Great War were the machine gun, poisonous gas, flamethrowers, tanks and aircraft. Artillery increased dramatically in size, range and killing power compared to its 19th-century counterparts. In the war at sea, submarines could attack hidden from under the waves, using torpedoes to send combat the merchant ships to the bottom. The End of the War and Armistice: Although both sides launched renewed assaults in 1918 in an all-or-nothing effort to win the war, both efforts were futile. The fighting between exhausted, disheartened troops continued to plod along until the Germans lost a number of individual battles and very gradually began to fall back. A lethal outbreak of influenza, meanwhile, took heavy tolls on soldiers of both sides. Ultimately, the governments of both Germany and Austria-Hungary began to lose control as both countries experienced multiple rebellions from within their military structure

After the announcement of ending World War I, it had been observed that there were considerable effects echoed in the world for decades such as changing politics, economics and public attitude. Many countries began to implement more liberal forms of government, and a hostile Germany was forced to pay for a large deal of war reparations.

As a consequence of World War I, socialistic ideas experienced successful as they spread not only in Germany and the Austrian realm but also made improvements in Britain (1923) and France (1924). However, the most popular type of government to gain power after World War I was the republic. Before the war, Europe contained 19 monarchies and 3 republics, yet only a few years afterward, had 13 monarchies, 14 republics and 2 regencies. Evidently, revolution was in the air and people began to more ardently express their desires for a better way of life (Dennis Cove, 2002).

Effects of a harsh Peace: Another political outcome of World War I centres merely on the treatment of Germany in the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. The Germans were enforced to sign an embarrassing treaty accepting responsibility for causing the war, as well as dispense large amount of money in order to compensate for war costs. Additionally, the size of the German state was reduced, while that of Italy and France was engorged. The Weimar government set up in Germany in 1918 was not preferred by most of the citizens and maintained little power to control the German state. Rising hostilities toward the rest of Europe grew, and many German soldiers rejected to give up fighting, even though Germany's military was ordered to be considerably reduced. Given such orders, numerous German ex-soldiers joined the Freikorps, an establishment of mercenaries available for street-fighting. The open aggression and rumbling feelings of retaliation showed by Germany foreshadowed the beginning of World War II.

Economic Change: There were many economic changes after World War 1. Technology advancement were experienced after the war, as the production of automobiles, airplanes, radios and even certain chemicals, rise steeply. The advantages of mass production and the use of technology to perform former human labour tasks, along with the enactment of the eight hour work day, demonstrated to motivate the economy, especially in the United States. Even much of Europe experienced major losses of physical property and landscape as well as finances. By 1914, Europe had won the respect of the world as a reliable money-lender, yet just four years later was greatly in debt to her allies for their generous financial contributions toward the war effort, owing them as much as $10 billion. In an effort to pay back their allies, the governments of many European countries began to quickly print more and more money, only to subject their countries to a period of inflation. Members of the middle class who had been living reasonably comfortably on investments began to experience unsteady financial period. Germany was hit the hardest in terms of struggling with war reparations, and inflation significantly lowered the value of the German mark. In a period of no more than three months in 1923, the German mark jumped from 4.6 million marks to the dollar to 4.2 trillion marks to the dollar (Dennis Cove, 2002).

Disillusionment: In psychological terms, World War I had effects related to those of a revolution. A growing sense of cynicism of political leaders and government officials transfused the minds of people who had observed the fear and destruction due to the war. Many citizens were annoyed that peacemakers had not conveyed their principles passionately enough, and people were shocked to experience that why warfare happened. It had been observed that a feeling of disillusionment spread across the world as people intensely decided that their governments had not taken action in favour of citizens. The loss of close relatives on the battlefield was highly upsetting, for in some parts of Western Europe, one of four young men had lost his life in battle. Overall, the war killed 10 to 13 million people, with nearly a third of them inhabitants. The future certainly did not look optimistic for the families of those killed in the war.

Consequences of World War 1: The outcome of World War I saw extreme political, cultural, and social revolution across Europe, Asia, Africa, and even in areas outside those that were directly involved. Four territories malformed due to the war, old countries were abolished, new ones were formed, boundaries were redrawn, international organizations were established, and many new and old ideologies took a firm hold in people's minds. World War I also had the effect of bringing political change to Germany and the United Kingdom by bringing near-universal suffrage to these two European powers, turning them into mass electoral democracies for the first time in history (Dennis Cove, 2002).