Commanders
Side forces
World War I(July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918) - one of the largest armed conflicts in the history of mankind. The first global armed conflict of the XX century. As a result of the war, four empires ceased to exist: Russian, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and German. The participating countries lost more than 10 million people killed soldiers, about 12 million civilians killed, about 55 million were injured.
Military operations at sea in the First World War
Members
The main participants in the First World War:
Central Powers: German Empire, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria.
Entente: Russian Empire, France, Great Britain.
For a complete list of participants, see: World War I (Wikipedia)
Background to the conflict
The naval arms race between the British Empire and the German Empire was one of the most important causes of the First World War. Germany wanted to increase her navy to a size that would allow German overseas trade not to depend on the goodwill of Britain. However, the increase in the German fleet to a size comparable to the British fleet inevitably threatened the very existence of the British Empire.
Campaign of 1914
Breakthrough of the German Mediterranean Division to Turkey
On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The Mediterranean squadron of the Kaiser Navy under the command of Rear Admiral Wilhelm Souchon (battlecruiser Goeben and light cruiser Breslau), not wanting to be captured in the Adriatic, went to Turkey. German ships avoided a collision with superior enemy forces and, having passed through the Dardanelles, came to Constantinople. The arrival of the German squadron in Constantinople was one of the factors that pushed the Ottoman Empire to enter the First World War on the side of the Triple Alliance.
Operations in the North Sea and the English Channel
Long-range blockade of the German fleet
The British fleet intended to solve its strategic tasks through a long-range blockade of German ports. The German fleet, inferior in strength to the British, chose a defensive strategy and began laying minefields. In August 1914, the British fleet carried out the transfer of troops to the continent. During the cover of the transfer, a battle took place in the Helgoland Bay.
Both sides actively used submarines. German submarines acted more successfully, so on September 22, 1914, U-9 sank 3 English cruisers at once. In response, the British Navy began to strengthen anti-submarine defenses, the Northern Patrol was created.
Operations in the Barents and White Seas
Actions in the Barents Sea
In the summer of 1916, the Germans, knowing that an increasing amount of military cargo was entering Russia by northern by sea sent their submarines into the waters of the Barents and White Seas. They sank 31 Allied ships. For confrontation, he created the Russian Flotilla of the Arctic Ocean.
Operations in the Baltic Sea
The plans of both sides for 1916 did not provide for any major operations. Germany kept insignificant forces in the Baltic, and the Baltic Fleet constantly strengthened its defensive positions by building new minefields and coastal batteries. Actions were reduced to raiding operations of light forces. In one of these operations, on November 10, 1916, the German 10th "destroyer" flotilla lost 7 ships at once in a minefield.
Despite the generally defensive nature of the actions of both sides, the losses in the ship composition in 1916 were significant, especially in the German fleet. The Germans lost 1 auxiliary cruiser, 8 destroyers, 1 submarine, 8 minesweepers and small ships, 3 military transports. The Russian fleet lost 2 destroyers, 2 submarines, 5 minesweepers and small ships, 1 military transport.
Campaign of 1917
Dynamics of losses and reproduction of the tonnage of allied countries
Operations in Western European waters and in the Atlantic
April 1 - a decision was made to introduce a system of convoys on all communications. With the introduction of the convoy system and the increase in anti-submarine defense forces and means, losses in merchant tonnage began to decline. Other measures were also introduced to strengthen the fight against boats - the mass installation of guns on merchant ships was begun. During 1917, guns were installed on 3,000 British ships, and by the beginning of 1918, up to 90% of all large-capacity British merchant ships were armed. In the second half of the campaign, the British began mass laying anti-submarine minefields - in 1917 they laid 33,660 mines in the North Sea and the Atlantic. In 11 months of unrestricted submarine warfare, she lost 1,037 ships with a total tonnage of 2,600,000 tons in the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean alone. In addition, the allies and neutral countries lost 1085 ships with a capacity of 1 million 647 thousand tons. During 1917, Germany built 103 new boats, and the losses were 72 boats, of which 61 were lost in the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
cruiser hike wolf
German cruiser raids
On October 16 - 18 and December 11-12, German light cruisers and destroyers attacked the "Scandinavian" convoys and achieved major successes - they sent 3 English escort destroyers, 3 trawlers, 15 steamers to the bottom and damaged 1 destroyer. Germany in 1917 completed operating on the communications of the Entente with surface raiders. The last raid was made by a raider wolf- in total, he sank 37 ships with a total tonnage of about 214,000 tons. The fight against Entente shipping switched exclusively to submarines.
Operations in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic
barrage of otranto
Combat operations in the Mediterranean boiled down mainly to the unrestricted operations of German boats on enemy sea communications and anti-submarine defense of the Allies. During 11 months of unrestricted submarine warfare in the Mediterranean, German and Austrian boats sank 651 Allied and neutral ships with a total tonnage of 1,647,000 tons. In addition, over a hundred ships with a total displacement of 61,000 tons were blown up and killed on mines laid by minelayer boats. Major losses from boats in 1917 were suffered by the Allied naval forces in the Mediterranean: 2 battleships (English - Cornwallis, French - Danton), 1 cruiser (French - Chateaurenault), 1 minelayer, 1 monitor, 2 destroyers, 1 submarine. The Germans lost 3 boats, the Austrians - 1.
Actions in the Baltic
Defense of the Moonsund Archipelago in 1917
The February and October revolutions in Petrograd completely undermined the combat capability of the Baltic Fleet. On April 30, the sailor's Central Committee of the Baltic Fleet (Tsentrobalt) was created, which controlled the activities of officers.
From September 29 to October 20, 1917, using quantitative and quality advantage, the German Navy and ground forces conducted Operation Albion to capture the Moonsund Islands in the Baltic Sea. In the operation, the German fleet lost 10 destroyers and 6 minesweepers, the defenders - 1 battleship, 1 destroyer, 1 submarine, up to 20,000 soldiers and sailors were captured. The Moonsund Archipelago and the Gulf of Riga were abandoned Russian forces, the Germans managed to create a direct threat of a military attack for Petrograd.
Actions in the Black Sea
Since the beginning of the year, the Black Sea Fleet continued to blockade the Bosphorus, as a result of which the Turkish fleet ran out of coal and its ships were in bases. The February events in Petrograd, the abdication of the emperor (March 2) sharply undermined morale and discipline. The actions of the fleet in the summer-autumn of 1917 were limited to raids by destroyers, which still disturbed the Turkish coast.
During the entire campaign of 1917, the Black Sea Fleet was preparing for a major landing operation on the Bosphorus. It was supposed to land 3-4 rifle corps and other units. However, the timing of the landing operation was repeatedly postponed, in October the Headquarters decided to postpone the operation on the Bosphorus to the next campaign.
Campaign of 1918
Events in the Baltic, the Black Sea and the North
On March 3, 1918, a peace treaty was signed in Brest-Litovsk by representatives of Soviet Russia and the Central Powers. Russia withdrew from the First World War.
All subsequent fighting that took place in these theaters of hostilities, historically date back to the Civil War in Russia.
Operations in European waters
Operations in the North Sea
The last military campaign in the North Sea did not differ from the previous one in terms of the nature of the combat operations of the fleets of the parties, the opponents solved the same tasks. German naval command main task fleet in the campaign of 1918 considered the continuation of the submarine war. German submarines from January to October 1918 in the North Sea, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean sank 1283 ships with a total displacement of 2 million 922 thousand tons. In addition, the Allies lost 1
In order to thoroughly understand how the First World War (1914-1918) began, you must first familiarize yourself with the political situation that developed in Europe by the beginning of the 20th century. The prehistory of the global military conflict was the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). It ended with the complete defeat of France, and the confederal union of German states was transformed into the German Empire. Wilhelm I became its head on January 18, 1871. Thus, a powerful state appeared in Europe with a population of 41 million people and an army of almost 1 million soldiers.
The political situation in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century
At first, the German Empire did not seek political dominance in Europe, as it was economically weak. But in 15 years, the country has gained strength and began to claim a more worthy place in the Old World. It must be said here that politics is always determined by the economy, and German capital had very few markets. This can be explained by the fact that Germany in its colonial expansion hopelessly lagged behind Great Britain, Spain, Belgium, France, and Russia.
Map of Europe by 1914 brown showing Germany and its allies. Entente countries are shown in green
It is also necessary to take into account the small areas of the state, the population of which was growing rapidly. It required food, but it was not enough. In a word, Germany gained strength, and the world was already divided, and no one was going to voluntarily give up the promised lands. There was only one way out - to take away the tidbits by force and provide their capital and people with a decent and prosperous life.
The German Empire did not hide its ambitious claims, but it could not stand alone against England, France and Russia. Therefore, in 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed a military-political bloc (Triple Alliance). Its consequence was the Moroccan crises (1905-1906, 1911) and the Italo-Turkish war (1911-1912). It was a test of strength, a rehearsal for a more serious and large-scale military conflict.
In response to the growing German aggression in 1904-1907, a military-political bloc of cordial consent (Entente) was formed, which included England, France and Russia. Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, two powerful military forces were formed on the territory of Europe. One of them, led by Germany, sought to expand its living space, and the other force tried to counteract these plans in order to protect its economic interests.
Germany's ally Austria-Hungary was a hotbed of instability in Europe. It was a multinational country, which constantly provoked interethnic conflicts. In October 1908 Austria-Hungary annexed Herzegovina and Bosnia. This caused sharp dissatisfaction with Russia, which had the status of a defender of the Slavs in the Balkans. Russia was supported by Serbia, which considered itself the unifying center of the southern Slavs.
A tense political situation was observed in the Middle East. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire that once dominated here began to be called the “sick man of Europe”. And therefore, stronger countries began to claim its territory, which provoked political disagreements and wars of a local nature. All of the above information general idea about the prerequisites for a global military conflict, and now it's time to find out how the First World War began.
Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife
The political situation in Europe was heating up every day and by 1914 had reached its peak. Only needed little push, a pretext for unleashing a global military conflict. And soon such an occasion presented itself. It went down in history as the Sarajevo murder, and it happened on June 28, 1914.
Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophia
On that ill-fated day, a member of the nationalist organization "Mlada Bosna" (Young Bosnia) Gavrilo Princip (1894-1918) killed the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914) and his wife, Countess Sofia Chotek (1868-1914). "Mlada Bosna" advocated the liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the rule of Austria-Hungary and was ready to use any methods for this, including terrorist ones.
The Archduke and his wife arrived in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the invitation of the Austro-Hungarian governor, General Oskar Potiorek (1853-1933). Everyone knew about the arrival of the crowned couple in advance, and the members of Mlada Bosna decided to kill Ferdinand. For this purpose, a battle group of 6 people was created. It consisted of young people, natives of Bosnia.
Early on the morning of Sunday, June 28, 1914, the royal couple arrived in Sarajevo by train. On the platform, she was met by Oskar Potiorek, journalists and an enthusiastic crowd of loyal associates. The arrivals and high-ranking greeters sat in 6 cars, while the Archduke and his wife were in the third car with a folded top. The motorcade pulled away and rushed towards the military barracks.
By 10 o'clock the inspection of the barracks was completed, and all 6 cars drove along the Appel embankment to the city hall. This time the car with the crowned couple moved second in the cortege. At 10:10 am, the moving cars caught up with one of the terrorists named Nedelko Chabrinovich. This young man threw a grenade at the car with the Archduke. But the grenade hit the convertible top, flew under the third car and exploded.
Detention of Gavrilo Princip, who killed Archduke Ferdinand and his wife
Shrapnel killed the driver of the car, injured passengers, as well as people who were at that moment near the car. A total of 20 people were injured. The terrorist himself swallowed potassium cyanide. However, that did not give the desired effect. The man vomited, and he, escaping from the crowd, jumped into the river. But the river in that place was very shallow. The terrorist was dragged ashore, and angry people brutally beat him. After that, the crippled conspirator was handed over to the police.
After the explosion, the cortege picked up speed and rushed to the city hall without incident. There, a magnificent reception awaited the crowned couple, and, despite the assassination attempt, the solemn part took place. At the end of the celebration, it was decided to curtail the further program due to the emergency situation. It was decided only to go to the hospital to visit the wounded there. At 10:45 a.m., the cars started off again and drove along Franz Josef Street.
Another terrorist, Gavrilo Princip, was waiting for the moving cortege. He was standing outside Moritz Schiller's Delicatessen, next to the Latin Bridge. Seeing a crowned couple sitting in a convertible car, the conspirator stepped forward, caught up with the car and was near it at a distance of only one and a half meters. He fired twice. The first bullet hit Sophia in the stomach, and the second in Ferdinand's neck.
After the execution of people, the conspirator tried to poison himself, but, like the first terrorist, he only vomited. Then Princip made an attempt to shoot himself, but people ran up, took away the gun and started beating the 19-year-old man. He was so beaten that in the prison hospital the killer had to amputate his hand. Subsequently, the court sentenced Gavrilo Princip to 20 years of hard labor, since, according to the laws of Austria-Hungary, he was a minor at the time of the crime. In prison, the young man was kept in the most difficult conditions and died of tuberculosis on April 28, 1918.
Wounded by the conspirator, Ferdinand and Sophia remained sitting in the car, which rushed to the governor's residence. There they were going to provide the victims medical care. But the couple died on the way. First, Sophia died, and after 10 minutes Ferdinand gave her soul to God. Thus ended the Sarajevo massacre, which became the reason for the start of the First World War.
July Crisis
The July crisis is a series of diplomatic clashes between the leading powers of Europe in the summer of 1914, provoked by Sarajevo assassination. Of course, this political conflict could be resolved peacefully, but strong of the world I really wanted this war. And such a desire was based on the belief that the war would be very short and effective. But it took on a protracted character and claimed more than 20 million human lives.
Funeral of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Countess Sofia
After the assassination of Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary stated that Serbian state structures were behind the conspirators. At the same time, Germany publicly announced to the whole world that in the event of a military conflict in the Balkans, she would support Austria-Hungary. This statement was made on July 5, 1914, and on July 23, Austria-Hungary issued a tough ultimatum to Serbia. In particular, in it the Austrians demanded that their police officers be allowed into the territory of Serbia to investigate and punish terrorist groups.
The Serbs could not agree to such a thing and announced mobilization in the country. Literally two days later, on July 26, the Austrians also announced mobilization and began to gather troops to the borders of Serbia and Russia. The final touch in this local conflict was July 28. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and began shelling Belgrade. After the artillery preparation, the Austrian troops crossed the Serbian border.
On July 29, Russian Emperor Nicholas II proposed to Germany to resolve the Austro-Serbian conflict at the Hague Conference by peaceful means. But Germany did not respond to this. Then July 31st Russian Empire general mobilization was announced. In response, Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, and war on France on August 3. Already on August 4, German troops entered Belgium, and its king Albert turned to the European countries-guarantors of its neutrality.
After that, Great Britain sent a note of protest to Berlin and demanded an immediate end to the invasion of Belgium. The German government ignored the note, and Great Britain declared war on Germany. And the final touch of this universal madness was August 6th. On this day, Austria-Hungary declared war on the Russian Empire. This is how the First World War began.
Soldiers in World War I
It officially lasted from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918. Military operations were carried out in the Central, Eastern Europe, in the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Middle East, Africa, China, Oceania. Nothing like this before the human civilization did not know. It was the largest military conflict that shook state foundations leading countries of the world. After the war, the world became different, but humanity did not grow wiser and by the middle of the 20th century unleashed an even larger massacre that claimed many more lives..
38 states participated in the First World War, more than one and a half billion people were involved in it, i.e. more than ¾ of the world's population.
The reason for the unleashing of an international conflict was the assassination by Serbian conspirators in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo in June 1914 of the heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand. On July 15, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. In response, Russia, as the guarantor of Serbia's independence, began mobilization. Germany demanded an ultimatum to stop it and, having received a refusal, declared war on Russia on July 19. France, an ally of Russia, entered the war on July 21, England the next day, and on July 26 a state of war was declared between Russia and Austria-Hungary.
Two fronts formed in Europe: the Western (in France and Belgium) and the Eastern (against Russia).
At the heart of the war 1914 — 1918 gg. lie growing over many decades of contradictions between groups of capitalist states, the struggle for spheres of influence, markets, which led to the redivision of the world. On the one hand, these were Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, which took shape in Triple Alliance. On the other hand, England, France and Russia ( Entente).
The course of hostilities on the Eastern Front
Main battles in Russian ( Eastern) theater of operations at the beginning of the war deployed on northwestern (against Germany) and southwestern (against Austria-Hungary) directions. The war for Russia began with the offensive of the Russian armies in East Prussia and Galicia.
East Prussian operation
The East Prussian operation (August 4 - September 2, 1914) ended in a serious failure for the Russian army, but had a great impact on the course of operations on the Western Front: the German command was forced to transfer large forces to the east. This was one of the reasons for the failure of the German attack on Paris and the success of the Anglo-French troops in the Battle of the Marne River.
Galician battle
The Battle of Galicia (August 10 - September 11, 1914) led to a significant military-strategic victory for Russia: the Russian army advanced 280 - 300 km, occupying Galicia and its ancient capital Lvov.
During the ensuing fighting in Poland(October - November 1914) the German army repelled attempts to advance Russian troops within its territory, but it failed to defeat the Russian armies.
Russian soldiers and officers had to fight in extremely difficult conditions. Russia's unpreparedness for war manifested itself particularly sharply in the poor supply of ammunition to the army. Member State Duma V. Shulgin, who visited the front shortly after the outbreak of hostilities, recalled: “The Germans covered our positions with hurricane fire, and we were silent in response. For example, in the artillery unit where he worked, it was ordered to spend no more than seven shells per day on one field ... gun. In such a situation, the front was held to a large extent due to the courage and skill of the soldiers and officers.
The difficult situation on the Eastern Front forced Germany to take a number of steps to curb Russia's activity. She managed in October 1914 to drag Turkey into the war with Russia. But the very first major operation of the Russian army on Caucasian Front in December 1914 g. led to the defeat of the Turkish army.
The active actions of the Russian army forced the German command in 1915 to radically revise their original plans; instead of defending in the east and attacking in the west, a different plan of action was adopted. Center of gravity in the war moved to Eastern front and specifically against Russia. The offensive began in April 1915 with a breakthrough in the defense of Russian troops in Galicia. By autumn, the German army occupied most of Galicia, Poland, part of the Baltic states and Belarus. However, their main task - the complete defeat of the Russian armed forces and the withdrawal of Russia from the war - was not solved by the German command.
By the end of 1915, the war on all fronts took positional character which was extremely disadvantageous for Germany. In an effort to achieve victory as soon as possible and not being able to carry out a broad offensive on the Russian front, the German command again decided to shift its efforts to the Western Front, making a breakthrough in the area of the French fortress Verdun.
And again, as in 1914, the Allies turned to Russia, insisting on an offensive in the East, i.e. on the Russian front. Summer 1916 troops Southwestern Front under the command of General A.A. Brusilov went on the offensive, as a result of which the Russian troops captured Bukovina and Southern Galicia.
As a result " Brusilov breakthrough“The Germans were forced to withdraw 11 divisions from the western front and send them to help the Austrian troops. At the same time, a number of victories were won on Caucasian front, where the Russian army deepened into Turkish territory for 250-300 km.
Thus, in 1914 - 1916. The Russian army had to take on the powerful blows of the enemy forces. At the same time, shortcomings in weapons and equipment reduced the combat effectiveness of the army and significantly increased its casualties.
The entire period of 1916 - the beginning of 1917. in the political circles of Russia there was a stubborn struggle between supporters of a separate peace with Germany and supporters of Russia's participation in the war on the side of the Entente. After the February Revolution of 1917, the Provisional Government declared Russia's loyalty to its obligations to the Entente countries and in June 1917 launched an offensive at the front, which turned out to be unsuccessful.
Russia's participation in the First World War ended with the signing in March 1918 Brest peace between Germany and Soviet Russia.
On the Western Front, hostilities continued until the autumn of 1918, when November 11, 1918 in the Forest of Compiègne(France) an armistice was signed between the victors (the Entente countries) and the defeated Germany.
The First World War is the first military conflict on a global scale, in which 38 of the 59 independent states that existed at that time were involved.
The main reason for the war was the contradictions between the powers of two large blocs - the Entente (a coalition of Russia, England and France) and the Triple Alliance (a coalition of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy).
The reason for the start of an armed clash, a member of the Mlada Bosna organization, a high school student Gavrilo Princip, during which on June 28 (all dates are given according to the new style) 1914 in Sarajevo, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed.
On July 23, Austria-Hungary presented an ultimatum to Serbia, in which it accused the country's government of supporting terrorism and demanded that its military formations be allowed into the territory. Despite the fact that the note of the Serbian government expressed readiness to resolve the conflict, the Austro-Hungarian government declared that it was not satisfied and declared war on Serbia. On July 28, hostilities began on the Austro-Serbian border.
On July 30, Russia announced a general mobilization, fulfilling its allied obligations to Serbia. Germany used this occasion to declare war on Russia on August 1, and on August 3 on France, as well as on neutral Belgium, which refused to allow German troops to pass through its territory. On August 4, Great Britain with its dominions declared war on Germany, on August 6, Austria-Hungary on Russia.
In August 1914, Japan joined the hostilities, in October, Turkey entered the war on the side of the Germany-Austria-Hungary bloc. In October 1915, Bulgaria joined the bloc of the so-called Central States.
In May 1915, under diplomatic pressure from Great Britain, Italy, which initially took a position of neutrality, declared war on Austria-Hungary, and on August 28, 1916, on Germany.
The main land fronts were the Western (French) and Eastern (Russian) fronts, the main maritime theaters of military operations were the North, Mediterranean and Baltic Seas.
Hostilities began on the Western Front - German troops acted according to the Schlieffen plan, which involved a large offensive against France through Belgium. However, Germany's calculation of a quick defeat of France turned out to be untenable; by mid-November 1914, the war on the Western Front took on a positional character.
The confrontation went along a line of trenches with a length of about 970 kilometers along the German border with Belgium and France. Until March 1918, any, even minor changes in the front line were achieved here at the cost of huge losses on both sides.
The eastern front during the maneuverable period of the war was located on the strip along the border of Russia with Germany and Austria-Hungary, then - mainly on the western border strip of Russia.
The beginning of the 1914 campaign on the Eastern Front was marked by the desire of the Russian troops to fulfill their obligations to the French and pull the German forces from the Western Front. During this period, two major battles took place - the East Prussian operation and the Battle of Galicia, during these battles the Russian army defeated the Austro-Hungarian troops, occupied Lvov and pushed the enemy back to the Carpathians, blocking the large Austrian fortress of Przemysl.
However, the losses of soldiers and equipment were colossal, due to the underdevelopment of transport routes, replenishment and ammunition did not have time to arrive on time, so the Russian troops could not build on their success.
On the whole, the 1914 campaign ended in favor of the Entente. German troops were defeated on the Marne, Austrian - in Galicia and Serbia, Turkish - at Sarykamysh. On the Far East Japan captured the port of Jiaozhou, the Caroline, Mariana and Marshall Islands, which belonged to Germany, British troops captured the rest of Germany's possessions in the Pacific.
Later, in July 1915, British troops captured German South West Africa (a German protectorate in Africa) after protracted fighting.
The First World War was marked by the testing of new means of warfare and weapons. On October 8, 1914, the first air raid was carried out: British aircraft equipped with 20-pound bombs attacked the German airship workshops in Friedrichshafen.
After this raid, aircraft of a new class, bombers, began to be created.
The large-scale Dardanelles landing operation (1915-1916) ended in defeat - a naval expedition, which was equipped by the Entente countries in early 1915 with the aim of taking Constantinople, opening the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus for communication with Russia through Black Sea, withdraw Turkey from the war and bring the Balkan states to the side of the allies. On the Eastern Front, by the end of 1915, German and Austro-Hungarian troops had driven the Russians out of almost all of Galicia and most of Russian Poland.
On April 22, 1915, during the battles near Ypres (Belgium), Germany used chemical weapons for the first time. After that, poison gases (chlorine, phosgene, and later mustard gas) began to be used regularly by both warring parties.
In the 1916 campaign, Germany again shifted its main efforts to the West in order to withdraw France from the war, but a powerful blow to France during the Verdun operation ended in failure. This was largely facilitated by the Russian Southwestern Front, which broke through the Austro-Hungarian front in Galicia and Volhynia. The Anglo-French troops launched a decisive offensive on the Somme River, but, despite all efforts and the involvement of huge forces and means, they could not break through the German defenses. During this operation, the British used tanks for the first time. At sea, the largest battle of Jutland in the war took place, in which the German fleet failed. As a result of the military campaign of 1916, the Entente seized the strategic initiative.
In late 1916, Germany and its allies first began to talk about the possibility of a peace agreement. The Entente rejected this proposal. During this period, the armies of the states actively participating in the war numbered 756 divisions, twice as many as at the beginning of the war, but they lost the most qualified military personnel. The bulk of the soldiers were reserve older ages and youth of early conscription, poorly prepared in military and technical terms and not physically trained enough.
In 1917, two major events radically influenced the alignment of forces of the opponents. On April 6, 1917, the United States, which had long been neutral in the war, decided to declare war on Germany. One of the reasons was an incident off the southeastern coast of Ireland, when a German submarine sank the British liner Lusitania, sailing from the USA to England, carrying a large group of Americans, killing 128 of them.
Following the United States in 1917, China, Greece, Brazil, Cuba, Panama, Liberia and Siam also entered the war on the side of the Entente.
The second major change in the confrontation of forces was caused by Russia's withdrawal from the war. On December 15, 1917, the Bolsheviks who came to power signed an armistice agreement. On March 3, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was concluded, according to which Russia renounced its rights to Poland, Estonia, Ukraine, part of Belarus, Latvia, Transcaucasia and Finland. Ardagan, Kars and Batum went to Turkey. In total, Russia has lost about one million square kilometers. In addition, she was obliged to pay Germany an indemnity of six billion marks.
The major battles of the 1917 campaign, Operation Nivelle and Operation Cambrai, showed the value of using tanks in battle and laid the foundation for tactics based on the interaction of infantry, artillery, tanks and aircraft on the battlefield.
On August 8, 1918, in the battle of Amiens, the German front was torn apart by the Allied forces: entire divisions surrendered almost without a fight - this battle was the last major battle of the war.
On September 29, 1918, after the Entente offensive on the Thessaloniki front, Bulgaria signed a truce, Turkey capitulated in October, and Austria-Hungary on November 3.
In Germany, popular unrest began: on October 29, 1918, in the port of Kiel, a team of two warships broke out of obedience and refused to go to sea on a combat mission. Mass mutinies began: the soldiers intended to establish councils of soldiers' and sailors' deputies in northern Germany on the Russian model. On November 9, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and a republic was proclaimed.
November 11, 1918 at the Retonde station in the Compiègne forest (France), the German delegation signed the Compiègne truce. The Germans were ordered to liberate the occupied territories within two weeks, establish a neutral zone on the right bank of the Rhine; transfer guns and vehicles to the allies, release all prisoners. The political provisions of the agreement provided for the abolition of the Brest-Litovsk and Bucharest peace treaties, the financial ones - the payment of reparations for the destruction and the return of valuables. The final terms of the peace treaty with Germany were determined at the Paris Peace Conference at the Palace of Versailles on June 28, 1919.
The First World War, which for the first time in the history of mankind engulfed the territories of two continents (Eurasia and Africa) and vast sea areas, radically redrawn the political map of the world and became one of the largest and bloodiest. During the war, 70 million people were mobilized into the ranks of the armies; of these, 9.5 million were killed and died of wounds, more than 20 million were injured, 3.5 million were left crippled. The greatest losses were suffered by Germany, Russia, France and Austria-Hungary (66.6% of all losses). total cost war, including property losses, according to various estimates, ranged from 208 to 359 billion dollars.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Berlin, London, Paris wanted to start big war in Europe, Vienna was not opposed to the defeat of Serbia, although they did not particularly want a pan-European war. The reason for the war was given by the Serbian conspirators, who also wanted a war that would destroy the "patchwork" Austro-Hungarian Empire and allow the plans to create a "Great Serbia" to be realized.
June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo (Bosnia) terrorists kill the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophia. Interestingly, the Russian Foreign Ministry and Serbian Prime Minister Pasic received a message through their channels about the possibility of such an assassination attempt and tried to warn Vienna. Pasic warned through the Serbian envoy in Vienna, and Russia through Romania.
In Berlin, they decided that this was an excellent reason to start a war. Kaiser Wilhelm II, who learned about the attack at the celebration of the "Week of the Fleet" in Kiel, wrote in the margins of the report: "Now or never" (the emperor was a lover of high-profile "historical" phrases). And now the hidden flywheel of war has begun to unwind. Although most Europeans believed that this event, like many before (like the two Moroccan crises, the two Balkan wars), would not become the detonator of a world war. In addition, the terrorists were Austrian subjects, not Serbian. It should be noted that the European society of the early 20th century was largely pacifist and did not believe in the possibility of a big war, it was believed that people were already “civilized” enough to decide contentious issues war, there are political and diplomatic tools for this, only local conflicts are possible.
In Vienna, they have long been looking for a reason to defeat Serbia, which was considered the main threat to the empire, "the engine of pan-Slavic politics." True, the situation depended on the support of Germany. If Berlin puts pressure on Russia and she retreats, then the Austro-Serbian war is inevitable. During the negotiations in Berlin on July 5-6, the German Kaiser assured the Austrian side of its full support. The Germans sounded the mood of the British - the German ambassador told British Foreign Minister Edward Gray that Germany, "taking advantage of Russia's weakness, considers it necessary not to restrain Austria-Hungary." Gray evaded a direct answer, and the Germans felt that the British would remain on the sidelines. Many researchers believe that in this way London pushed Germany to war, Britain's firm position would have stopped the Germans. Gray told Russia that "England will take a position favorable to Russia." On the 9th, the Germans hinted to the Italians that if Rome took a position favorable to the Central Powers, then Italy could get the Austrian Trieste and Trentino. But the Italians evaded a direct answer and, as a result, until 1915 they bargained and waited.
The Turks also began to fuss, began to look for the most profitable scenario for themselves. Naval Minister Ahmed Jemal Pasha visited Paris, he was a supporter of an alliance with the French. Minister of War Ismail Enver Pasha visited Berlin. And the Minister of the Interior, Mehmed Talaat Pasha, left for St. Petersburg. As a result, the pro-German course won.
In Vienna, at that time, they came up with an ultimatum to Serbia, and they tried to include such items that the Serbs could not accept. On July 14, the text was approved, and on the 23rd it was handed over to the Serbs. The answer had to be given within 48 hours. The ultimatum contained very harsh demands. Serbs were required to ban printed editions who promoted hatred of Austria-Hungary and the violation of its territorial unity; to ban the Narodna Odbrana society and all other similar unions and movements conducting anti-Austrian propaganda; remove anti-Austrian propaganda from the education system; dismiss from the military and civil service all officers and officials who were engaged in propaganda directed against Austria-Hungary; assist the Austrian authorities in suppressing the movement against the integrity of the empire; stop smuggling and explosives into Austrian territory, arrest border guards involved in such activities, etc.
Serbia was not ready for war, she had just gone through two Balkan wars, she was going through an internal political crisis. And there was no time to drag out the issue and diplomatic maneuvering. This was understood by other politicians, Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov, having learned about the Austrian ultimatum, said: "This is a war in Europe."
Serbia began to mobilize the army, and the Serbian Prince Regent Alexander "begged" Russia to help. Nicholas II said that all the efforts of Russia are aimed at avoiding bloodshed, and if the war starts, then Serbia will not be left alone. On the 25th, the Serbs responded to the Austrian ultimatum. Serbia agreed to almost all points except one. The Serbian side refused the participation of the Austrians in the investigation of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand on the territory of Serbia, since this affected the sovereignty of the state. Although they promised to conduct an investigation and announced the possibility of transferring the results of the investigation to the Austrians.
Vienna regarded this answer as negative. On July 25, the Austro-Hungarian Empire began a partial mobilization of troops. On the same day, the German Empire began a covert mobilization. Berlin demanded that Vienna begin military operations against the Serbs immediately.
Other powers tried to intervene with a view to a diplomatic settlement of the issue. London came up with a proposal to convene a conference of the great powers and peacefully resolve the issue. The British were supported by Paris and Rome, but Berlin refused. Russia and France tried to persuade the Austrians to accept a settlement plan based on Serbian proposals - Serbia was ready to transfer the investigation to the international tribunal in The Hague.
But the Germans had already decided on the issue of war, in Berlin on the 26th they prepared an ultimatum to Belgium, which stated that the French army planned to strike Germany through this country. Therefore, the German army must prevent this attack and occupy Belgian territory. If the Belgian government agrees, the Belgians were promised compensation for the damage after the war, if not, then Belgium was declared an enemy of Germany.
In London, there was a struggle between various power groups. Supporters of the traditional policy of "non-intervention" had very strong positions, and public opinion also supported them. The British wanted to stay out of the European war. The London Rothschilds, associated with the Austrian Rothschilds, financed an active propaganda of a non-interference policy. It is likely that if Berlin and Vienna had directed the main blow against Serbia and Russia, the British would not intervene in the war. And the world saw the “strange war” of 1914, when Austria-Hungary crushed Serbia, and the German army directed the main blow against the Russian Empire. In this situation, France could conduct a "positional war", limited to private operations, and Britain could not enter the war at all. London was forced to intervene in the war by the fact that it was impossible to allow the complete defeat of France and German hegemony in Europe. The First Lord of the Admiralty Churchill, at his own peril and risk, after the completion of the summer maneuvers of the fleet with the participation of reservists, did not let them go home and kept the ships in concentration, not sending them to their places of deployment.
Austrian cartoon "Serbia must perish".
Russia
Russia at this time behaved extremely cautiously. For several days, the emperor held lengthy meetings with Minister of War Sukhomlinov, Naval Minister Grigorovich, and Chief of the General Staff Yanushkevich. Nicholas II did not want to provoke a war with the military preparations of the Russian armed forces.
Only preliminary measures were taken: on the 25th of the holidays, the officers were recalled, on the 26th the emperor agreed to preparatory measures for partial mobilization. And only in a few military districts (Kazan, Moscow, Kiev, Odessa). In the Warsaw Military District, mobilization was not carried out, because. it bordered simultaneously with Austria-Hungary and Germany. Nicholas II hoped that the war could be stopped, and sent telegrams to "cousin Willy" (the German Kaiser), asking him to stop Austria-Hungary.
These fluctuations in Russia became proof for Berlin that “Russia is now unfit for combat,” that Nikolai is afraid of war. Wrong conclusions were drawn: the German ambassador and military attache wrote from St. Petersburg that Russia was planning not a decisive offensive, but a gradual retreat, following the example of 1812. The German press wrote about "complete decay" in the Russian Empire.
The beginning of the war
On July 28, Vienna declared war on Belgrade. It should be noted that the First World War began on a great patriotic upsurge. General rejoicing reigned in the capital of Austria-Hungary, crowds of people filled the streets, singing patriotic songs. The same mood reigned in Budapest (capital of Hungary). It was a real holiday, women filled up the military, who were supposed to smash the damned Serbs, with flowers and signs of attention. Then people believed that the war with Serbia would be a victory walk.
The Austro-Hungarian army was not yet ready for the offensive. But already on the 29th, the ships of the Danube Flotilla and the Zemlin fortress, located opposite the Serbian capital, began shelling Belgrade.
Reich Chancellor of the German Empire Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg sent threatening notes to Paris and Petersburg. The French were informed that the military preparations which France was about to begin "force Germany to declare a state of threat of war." Russia was warned that if the Russians continued military preparations, "then it would hardly be possible to avoid a European war."
London proposed another settlement plan: the Austrians could occupy part of Serbia as a "collateral" for a fair investigation, in which the great powers would take part. Churchill orders the ships to be moved north, away from a possible attack by German submarines and destroyers, and "preliminary martial law" is introduced in Britain. Although the British still refused to "have their say", although Paris asked for it.
In Paris, the government held regular meetings. The chief of the French General Staff, Joffre, carried out preparatory measures before the start of a full-scale mobilization and offered to bring the army to full combat readiness and take up positions on the border. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the French soldiers, according to the law, could go home during the harvest, half of the army went to the villages. Joffre reported that the German army would be able to occupy part of French territory without serious resistance. In general, the French government was confused. Theory is one thing, reality is quite another. The situation was aggravated by two factors: firstly, the British did not give a definite answer; secondly, apart from Germany, France could be attacked by Italy. As a result, Joffre was allowed to recall the soldiers from vacations and mobilize 5 border corps, but at the same time take them 10 kilometers from the border to show that Paris was not going to attack first, and not to provoke a war with some random conflict between German and French soldiers.
There was also no certainty in St. Petersburg, there was still hope that a big war could be avoided. After Vienna declared war on Serbia, Russia announced a partial mobilization. But it turned out to be difficult to implement, because. in Russia there were no plans for partial mobilization against Austria-Hungary, such plans were only against Ottoman Empire and Sweden. It was believed that separately, without Germany, the Austrians would not dare to fight with Russia. And Russia itself was not going to attack the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The emperor insisted on partial mobilization, the head of the General Staff, Yanushkevich, argued that without the mobilization of the Warsaw Military District, Russia risks missing a powerful blow, because. according to intelligence, it turned out that it was here that the Austrians would concentrate a strike force. In addition, if an unprepared partial mobilization is initiated, it will lead to a breakdown in rail transport schedules. Then Nikolai decided not to mobilize at all, to wait.
The information was the most contradictory. Berlin tried to buy time - the German Kaiser sent encouraging telegrams, reported that Germany was inciting Austria-Hungary to make concessions, and Vienna seemed to agree. And then there was a note from Bethmann-Hollweg, a message about the bombing of Belgrade. And Vienna, after a period of wagging, announced the refusal of negotiations with Russia.
Therefore July 30 Russian emperor gave the order to mobilize. But immediately canceled, because. several peace-loving telegrams from "Cousin Willy" came from Berlin, who reported on his efforts to persuade Vienna to negotiate. Wilhelm asked not to start military preparations, because. this would interfere with Germany's negotiations with Austria. Nikolai in response suggested that the issue be submitted for consideration by the Hague Conference. Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov went to the German Ambassador Pourtales to work out the main points for resolving the conflict.
Petersburg then received other information. The Kaiser changed his tone to a harsher one. Vienna refused any negotiations, there was evidence that the Austrians would clearly coordinate their actions with Berlin. From Germany there were reports that there full swing military preparations are underway. German ships from Kiel were transferred to Danzig in the Baltic. Cavalry units advanced to the border. And Russia needed 10-20 days more to mobilize its armed forces than Germany. It became clear that the Germans were simply fooling St. Petersburg in order to gain time.
On July 31, Russia announced mobilization. Moreover, it was reported that as soon as the Austrians cease hostilities and a conference was convened, Russian mobilization would be stopped. Vienna announced that a halt to hostilities was impossible and announced a full-scale mobilization directed against Russia. The Kaiser sent a new telegram to Nicholas, saying that his peace efforts had become "illusory" and that the war could still be stopped if Russia canceled military preparations. Berlin got a pretext for war. And an hour later, Wilhelm II in Berlin, to the enthusiastic roar of the crowd, announced that Germany was "forced to wage war." Martial law was introduced in the German Empire, which simply legalized the previous military preparations (they had been going on for a week).
France was sent an ultimatum about the need to maintain neutrality. The French had to answer within 18 hours whether France would be neutral in the event of a war between Germany and Russia. And as a pledge of "good intentions" they demanded to transfer the border fortresses of Tul and Verdun, which they promised to return after the end of the war. The French were simply stunned by such impudence, the French ambassador in Berlin was even ashamed to convey the full text of the ultimatum, limiting himself to the requirement of neutrality. In addition, in Paris they were afraid of mass unrest and strikes that the left threatened to organize. A plan was prepared according to which they planned, according to pre-prepared lists, to arrest socialists, anarchists and all "suspicious".
The situation was very difficult. Petersburg learned about Germany's ultimatum to stop mobilization from the German press (!). The German Ambassador Pourtales was instructed to hand it over at midnight from July 31st to August 1st, the deadline was given at 12 o'clock in order to reduce the opportunities for diplomatic maneuver. The word "war" was not used. Interestingly, St. Petersburg was not even sure of French support, because. the union treaty was not ratified by the French parliament. Yes, and the British offered the French to wait for "further developments", because. the conflict between Germany, Austria and Russia "does not affect the interests of England." But the French were forced to join the war, because. the Germans did not give any other choice - at 7 am on August 1, German troops (16th Infantry Division) crossed the border with Luxembourg and occupied the town of Trois Vierges ("Three Virgins"), where the borders and railway communications of Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg converged. In Germany, they later joked that the war began with the possession of three virgins.
Paris on the same day began a general mobilization and rejected the ultimatum. Moreover, they have not yet talked about the war, informing Berlin that "mobilization is not a war." Concerned Belgians (the treaties of 1839 and 1870 determined the neutral status of their country, Britain was the main guarantor of Belgium's neutrality) asked Germany for clarification about the invasion of Luxembourg. Berlin replied that there was no danger to Belgium.
The French continued to appeal to England, recalling that the English fleet, according to an earlier agreement, should protect the Atlantic coast of France and the French fleet should concentrate in the Mediterranean. During the meeting of the British government, 12 out of 18 of its members opposed the support of France. Gray informed the French ambassador that France must decide for herself, Britain was not currently in a position to provide assistance.
London was forced to reconsider its position because of Belgium, which was a possible springboard against England. The British Foreign Office asked Berlin and Paris to respect Belgium's neutrality. France confirmed the neutral status of Belgium, Germany remained silent. Therefore, the British declared that in an attack on Belgium, England could not remain neutral. Although London retained a loophole here, Lloyd George opined that if the Germans did not occupy the Belgian coast, then the violation could be considered "minor".
Russia offered Berlin to resume negotiations. Interestingly, the Germans were going to declare war anyway, even if Russia accepted an ultimatum to stop mobilization. When the German ambassador handed the note, he gave Sazonov two papers at once, in both Russia they declared war.
There was a dispute in Berlin - the military demanded to start a war without declaring it, they say, the opponents of Germany, having taken retaliatory actions, would declare war and become "instigators". And the Reich Chancellor demanded the preservation of the rules international law, the Kaiser took his side, because. loved beautiful gestures - the declaration of war was historical event. On August 2, Germany officially declared general mobilization and war on Russia. It was the day the implementation of the "Schlieffen plan" began - 40 German corps were to be transferred to offensive positions. Interestingly, Germany officially declared war on Russia, and troops began to be transferred to the west. On the 2nd, Luxembourg was finally occupied. And Belgium was given an ultimatum to let the German troops through, the Belgians had to respond within 12 hours.
The Belgians were shocked. But in the end they decided to defend themselves - they did not believe in the assurances of the Germans to withdraw troops after the war, to destroy a good relationship with England and France were not going. King Albert called for defense. Although the Belgians had the hope that this was a provocation and that Berlin would not violate the neutral status of the country.
On the same day, England was determined. The French were informed that the British fleet would cover the Atlantic coast of France. And the reason for the war will be the German attack on Belgium. A number of ministers who were against this decision resigned. The Italians declared their neutrality.
On August 2, Germany and Turkey signed a secret agreement, the Turks pledged to take the side of the Germans. On the 3rd, Turkey declared neutrality, which was a bluff given the agreement with Berlin. On the same day, Istanbul began the mobilization of reservists aged 23-45, i.e. almost universal.
On August 3, Berlin declared war on France, the Germans accused the French of attacks, "air bombardments" and even violation of "Belgian neutrality." The Belgians rejected the German ultimatum, Germany declared war on Belgium. On the 4th the invasion of Belgium began. King Albert asked for help from the guarantor countries of neutrality. London issued an ultimatum: stop invading Belgium or Britain would declare war on Germany. The Germans were outraged and called this ultimatum a "racial betrayal". At the end of the ultimatum, Churchill ordered the fleet to begin hostilities. Thus began World War I...
Could Russia have prevented the war?
There is an opinion that if Petersburg had given Serbia to be torn to pieces by Austria-Hungary, the war could have been prevented. But this is an erroneous opinion. Thus, Russia could only win time - a few months, a year, two. The war was predetermined by the course of development of the great Western powers, the capitalist system. Germany, the British Empire, France, the USA needed it, and sooner or later they would have started it anyway. Find another reason.
Russia could only change its strategic choice - for whom to fight - at the turn of about 1904-1907. Then London and the United States frankly helped Japan, while France adhered to cold neutrality. During that period, Russia could join Germany against the "Atlantic" powers.
Secret intrigues and the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
A film from a series of documentaries "Russia of the XX century". The director of the project is Smirnov Nikolai Mikhailovich, a military expert-journalist, author of the project "Our Strategy" and the series of programs "Our View. Russian Frontier". The film was made with the support of the Russian Orthodox Church. Its representative is Nikolai Kuzmich Simakov, a specialist in church history. Involved in the film: historians Nikolai Starikov and Pyotr Multatuli, Professor of St. Petersburg State University and Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University and Doctor of Philosophy Andrey Leonidovich Vassoevich, Chief Editor national-patriotic magazine "Imperial Renaissance" Boris Smolin, intelligence and counterintelligence officer Nikolai Volkov.
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