HISTORY

WORLD WAR I

World War One 1914-1918

The year 1914 marked an abrupt end to the peace and plenty of the 19th century. It was in
August that the Great War, subsequently known as World War One broke out. For four years
Europe endured the tramp of marching armies, the thunder of cannon and the spit of machine
guns. WWI was a new kind of war more deadly than men had ever imagined. It was fought
under the sea by submarines, on the surface of the waters by giant battleships, in the air by
airplanes and on the land by huge, mechanized armies.
WWI was horrific, human beings had little chance against a barrage of shells, the fumes of
poison gas, or the entanglements of barbed wire. The First World War was fought in many
areas- in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Near East, tropical Africa and on
the seas. Some of the most bitter fighting during WWI took place in the trenches on the
Western Front in Belgium and in northern France.

Causes of World War One

How did the nightmare come about? Its causes, courses of development and outcomes will be
discussed.
The Main Causes

Militarism
Alliances
Imperialism
Nationalism

WWI was the result of leaders’ aggression towards other countries which was supported by
the rising nationalism of the European nations. Economic and imperial competition and fear
or war prompted military alliances and an arms race, which further escalated the tension
contributing to the outbreak of war.
1. The system of alliances in Europe was a contributing factor to WWI. For e.g.:
 a) Germany and Austria-Hungary were linked in the dual Alliance signed originally
in 1870.
b) These two powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary) were also linked with Italy in
the Triple Alliance signed 1882
c) France and Russia were associated in an alliance which was concluded in 1894,
and they were also attached to Britain by the loose arrangements often referred to
as the Triple Entente.

Alliances were in principle binding agreements under which the partners would
go to war in certain circumstances.

Entente is an agreement between two or more nations for cooperative action.

It is somewhat less binding and more limited than a full-scale alliance.

Entente (Anglo-French Entente of 1904 and the Anglo-Russian one of 1907) involved no such
commitment of going to war. It was limited to provisions for consultations and promises of
diplomatic support. The alliance system carried with it the danger that a dispute anywhere in the
continent my draw in the great powers through their alliance commitments and the Ententes
made Britain involvement also a possibility.
The Triple Entente countered the Triple Alliance. Europe was divided into two armed camps.
This led to much tension. This alliance system was inflexible, and members were forced to
support allies (Triple Alliance and Triple Entente).

2. This hostile division led to an arms race. This means that the counties aforementioned began
to stockpile arms. Each trying to outdo the other. Germany was the leader in this arms race
and in the expansion of her army and navy. Germany and other European countries also
carried out conscriptions (drafting of individuals into the army) and detailed military
planning in the event of a war. Technological and organizational developments led to the
formation of general staffs with precise plans for mobilization and attack that often could not
often be reversed once they began. For example, the Germans created the SCHLIEFFEN
PLAN which was a formula for fighting a two-front war against France in the west and
Russia in the east. This buildup of arms and naval equipment by the Europeans powers was
an attempt to maintain the ‘balance of power’. Armies and navies were greatly expanding.
The armies of France and Germany doubled in size between 1870 and 1914. As Britain
increased her output of battleships, Germany correspondingly stepped up their naval
production. International rivalry caused the arms race to continue to feed itself. Each country
has planned carefully for the day Europe would erupt.
3. There was a sharp rise in nationalism in the Balkans and especially in the Pan-Serb
sentiment. This was an obvious threat to the multi-national Austro-Hungarian Empire. If the
people of the Balkans gained their independence, then Austria-Hungary was heading for
 disintegration. Austria-Hungary wanted to acquire new territories, but its main goal was
simply to survive as an empire.

Let us now examine some more causes of WWI!

 The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 triggered the tension created by
the following into the outbreak of World War 1.
 The unease and tension in the Balkans
 Increase militarism (buildup of arms and navies)
 Competing and conflicting system of alliances


What was happening in the Balkans that caused unease and tension?
The Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir to the Austria-Hungary throne) and his wife Sophie,
Duchess of Hohenburg decided to visit Sarajevo, which was the empire’s most recent
acquisition. The Archduke wanted to add a “third crown” to the monarchy of Austria-Hungary.
He saw himself becoming the King of the Slavs as well as Emperor of Austria and King of
Hungary.

Who were the Slavs?

They belong to a large group of people who speak languages that are somewhat similar. They are
descendants of early people living near the western border of Russia. Russians, Poles and
Bulgarians all belong to the Slavic group of people. These people did not wish to be ruled by
Austria-Hungary. The Archduke and Duchess arrived in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Along the
route to their procession, the couple survived the explosion of a small bomb, but when their
driver took a wrong turn into a blind alley and backed out, Gavrilo Princip, a sickly youth
wracked by tuberculosis shot Franz Ferdinand and Sophie. Both were dead with minutes.
The Austrian government held Serbia responsible for the deaths. To teach Serbia a lesson they
gave Serbia an ultimatum demanding that they comply with a number of demands including
Austrian participation in the investigation of the crime.

What were the terms of the ultimatum? How do you think Serbia would have
responded to this ultimatum? Do you think the Serbian government played any
role in the assassination?
These demands nullified (made void) Serbia’s sovereignty. Surprisingly, Serbia was willing to
agree to most of them, although it asked for international mediation on some points, but Austria-
Hungary refused mediation. It became clear that Austria-Hungary did not simply want to avenge
the death of their Archduke heir to Hapsburg throne. It wanted to go to war. To attack and defend
little Serbia would crush a nationalistic movement and secure for Austria-Hungary a firmer
foothold in the Balkans. The decision to refute mediation and conciliation triggered a chain of
events that proceeded with an almost mechanical mindlessness.

What does this mean?

Germany supported Austria-Hungary to the hilt, ‘singing a blank cheque’ is the analogy often
used. The wheels of war began to roll as follows:
i. The archduke was assassinated on June 28,1914
ii. On July 5, 1914, the German Kaiser (Ruler of Germany) gave Austria a ‘blank cheque’, i.e.,
he gave Austria-Hungary unconditional support with the full knowledge that this might
involve war with Russia. Why would the ‘blank cheque’ cause Russia to be involved in a
war?
iii. Austrians delivered their ultimatum to Serbia on July 23, 1914.
iv. The Serbs replied on the 25th accepting most but not all of Austria-Hungary demands
v. On July 28, 1914, a month after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and fired the first shots bombarding Belgrade. Thus,
the die was cast. By the time another week was up virtually the whole of Europe was at war.
vi. Russia, bound by treaty to Serbia ordered general mobilization on July 30, 1914 (i.e., began
assembling troops for active service).
vii. Germany viewed the Russian mobilization as an act of war against its ally Austria-Hungary
and so declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914. On August 2, Germany delivered an
ultimatum to Belgium and on August 3, 1914, declared war on France.
viii. France bound by treaty to Russia declared war on Germany and by extension its ally
Austria-Hungary.
ix. Great Britain was more loosely bound to France by an entente- an understanding which did
not absolutely oblige it to join the fray (go to war), but Britain’s sympathies clearly lay with
the French and against the Germans, who presented a competitive threat to Britain’s colonial
empire. As a motive for war, Britain seized on the issue of protecting Belgian neutrality, as it
was bound to do so by a long-standing treaty with that nation. When Germany invaded
Belgium, Britain declared on August 4, 1914.
Three weeks after Britain’s declaration, Japan declared its military alliance with Britain.
N.B For now both Italy (although it was a part to the Triple Alliance with Germany and
Austria-Hungary) and the United States remained neutral. Italy would enter the war in
1916 and the United States would become involved the year after, 1917.
As a result of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Europe reached its breaking
point. The countries that were involved in the World War One were divided into two groups
known as the Allies and Central Powers.

A. Allies: i. Great Britain

ii. France
iii. Russia (dropped out of the war late 1917)
iv, Italy joined the allies in 1916
v. United States under President Woodrow Wilson joined WWI in April 1917
The US had maintained neutrality in what it had called the ‘European War’. However, the
German U-boats prowling the Atlantic sank Allied oceans liners such as the Lusitania (in 1915),
on which many Americans lost their lives. Although the Germans for a time, agreed to respect
US neutrality on the high seas by calling off unrestricted submarines warfare, they soon resumed
the practice. On February 3, 1917, the Housatanic, a US navy warship was torpedoed and sunk
without warning. This led President Wilson to sever diplomatic relations with Germany. The
next month, Wilson made public document known as the Zimmermann Note or Zimmermann
Telegram. It was a coded message sent on January 19, 1917, that had been intercepted by British
intelligence from Germany’s foreign secretary Alfred Zimmermann to his nation’s ambassador
to Mexico. The telegram proposed a German Mexican alliance against the USA. The
Zimmerman Telegram galvanized public opinion and on April 2, 1917, Woodrow Wilson asked
Congress for a declaration of war. It was approved on April 6, 1917. The USA went to war
especially because Woodrow Wilson noted in his message to Congress asking for a declaration
of war April 2, 1917, that ‘the world must be made safe for democracy’. The American soldiers
of WWI were called the ‘yanks.

B. The Central Powers- these were chiefly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey.
Increased international rivalries among European states for markets and trade in Africa,
South Asia, and the Caribbean as well as rivalries in Europe.
Economic and political rivalries in Europe, (Germany and Britain), (France and
Germany), (Russia and Austria) increased tensions.
EFFECTS OF WORLD WAR ONE
1. World War One lasted for four years and three months. It began on August 4, 1914 and
ended November 11, 1918. It involved sixty (60) sovereign states, overthrew four (4)
empires (German Empire, Hapsburg Empire, Turkish Empire and Russian Empire), gave
birth to seven (7) new nations, took 10 million combatants lives, another 30 million were
wounded and the war cost about £35,000 million.
2. A Peace Conference was held in Paris on January 1919 to write the peace treaties.
President Woodrow Wilson wrote 14 points (a blueprint for peace in the future). He was
an idealist and in his 14 points the third theme called for the establishment of an
international association that would among other things help to promote international
cooperation among the countries of the world. Thus, Wilson wanted to replace national
rivalries with international cooperation with the removal of the basic causes of WW1, e.g.
the arms race, economic rivalry, secret diplomacy, etc.
3. The defeated countries had to sign treaties. For e.g. (a) Germany signed the Treaty of
Versailles in June 1919.
(b) Austria-Hungary signed the Treaty of St. Germain in September 1919. The Treaty of
Versailles was mercilessly punitive (payback). It created in Germany the hopeless social,
political and economic conditions that sealed the doom of Germany’s fledging
democracy and virtually guaranteed the rise of a militaristic dictatorship. The treaty has
intended to end the German threat forever, but instead it gave the Germans a reason to
rearm and to follow a clique of evil leaders into a new more terrible war (World War II).
The Treaty of Versailles brought to Europe and the World nothing more than a 20 year
old truce WWI, the war to end all war, became the war that spawned the war.

What factors support the claim that Germany was primarily responsible for
the outbreak of war in 1914?

 The Kaiser ambitions for empire after 1890 helped to increase tension in European
relations.
 Germany was the strongest military power in Europe but failed to restrain Austria
 Militarists in Germany was very influential, the Chief of Staff Moltke.
 Rapid naval build up was a direct challenge to Britain.
 Germany’s preparation for was with the Schlieffen Plan
 It was also believed that Germany could have prevented the outcome of the assassination
of the Archduke instead they encouraged it by signing a ‘blank cheque’ giving Austria-
Hungary full support.
How did the Treaty of Versailles affect Germany?

 Germany lost all her past conquests to be returned to their national units. E.g. Alsace and
Lorraine were returned to France.
 The Saar, coal production area of Germany, was brought under the control of the League
of Nations for 15 years. Do you remember the countries that made up the League of
Nations? Plus France was to operate its coal mines to compensate for damages done to
the French mines as a result of the war.
 Germany also lost all her colonies in Africa and the Pacific most of them were transferred
to the League of Nations which allowed the victorious powers such as Britain, France,
Belgium, South Africa, New Zealand and Japan to rule over them as mandates
 Germany lost 13% of her land and 7 million of her former population
 Germany was totally disarmed and allowed an army of only 1000 men, submarines and
airplanes were strictly forbidden. The Rhineland would be occupied by allied forces for
15 years during which it would remain permanently demilitarized.
 The Germans had to agree to the war guilt clause that Germany had provoked WWI.
Do you think that the Germans were fairly treated? Give reasons for your answer.
This caused great harm to the German national pride. The war guilt clause allowed the allies to
have war trials and 12 Germans were tried and convicted of war crimes. The war guild clause
also allowed the Allied to slap reparations of £6.6 million on Germany, for not only direct loss
and damage as a result of the war but also indirect expenditure such as allowances paid to
families of soldiers, the cost of maintaining Allied occupations in the Rhine and the war loans on
the Belgian government part of the reparation was to be paid in annual installments, parts in
ships, coal and other kinds of goods.

4. The First World War left crushing economic burdens on all European countries, The
European victors owed an aggregate of 10 billion to the US. This economic burden
intensified because of a variety of reasons. Europe was devastated and had to be
reconstructed. It also intensified because trade and industry did not revive immediately
after the war. There was mass unemployment in Italy, Germany, Britain and France
shortly after the war. This made people discontented with their government.
5. Europe was devastated, completely reconfigured and lost the position of World
dominance while the US emerged unscathed from the war. The US became the major
world power. Japan emerged from the war as an important imperial power gaining
possessions in China and the Pacific.
ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS
1. What made the United States abandon its policy of neutrality?
2. How did the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand trigger World War I?
3. In what ways did the Treaty of Versailles satisfy the Allied Powers?
4. What were the chief effects of the Treaty terns on Germany?
5. Place these events of WWI in their correct chronological sequence and write the dates
which the event took place:
i. Luisitania was sunk
ii. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was murdered
iii. Armistice ended WWI was signed
iv. Britain declared war on Germany
v. Austria issued an ultimatum to Serbia
vi. Treaty of Versailles was signed
vii. United States declared war on Germany
viii. Treaty of St. Germain was signed
ix. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
x. US navy ship, Housatanic, was torpedoed and sank.