The First World War (1914 to 1918) and the League of Nations
Colonial rivalry, rival alliances, an arms race and Balkan nationalism made Europe explosive. The Archduke's murder at Sarajevo in 1914 started a war that redrew the world map.
Causes of the war
- Imperialist rivalry: most of Asia and Africa was already taken. A power could gain colonies only by seizing another's.
- Germany's rise: it overtook England and France in industry and wanted colonies. It built a big navy, the Kiel Canal (joining the North Sea and the Baltic Sea) and a Berlin to Baghdad railway. Britain felt threatened. (Your NIOS lesson calls Germany's Imperator the largest warship; it was in fact a giant passenger liner. The naval race was over battleships.)
- Other ambitions: Italy wanted Tripoli, France wanted Morocco, Russia eyed Iran and Austria eyed Ottoman lands. Japan grew stronger after defeating Russia in 1905.
- System of alliances: Europe split into two hostile camps, the Triple Alliance (1882) and the Triple Entente (1907).
- Arms race: rivals competed to build deadly weapons, and distrust and propaganda grew.
- Balkan nationalism: the Pan Slav movement clashed with Austria's plans.
- Immediate cause: the murder of Archduke Francis Ferdinand at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
The Pan Slav movement and Balkan politics
The Balkans in south eastern Europe included Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro. The weakening Ottoman Empire (Turkey) had ruled them. Many Balkan people were Slavs. The Pan Slav movement wanted to unite all Slavs in one state under Serbia. Russia backed Serbia, while Austria opposed it, fearing a strong Serbia. In 1908, Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, angering Serbia. Just before 1914, four Balkan states fought two wars and drove Turkey out of nearly all its European lands. Austria then set up Albania to block a 'Greater Serbia'. The region was ready to explode.
How the war began and ended
- 28 June 1914A Serbian youth shoots Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, at Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia.
- 28 July 1914Austria declares war on Serbia after Serbia, sure of Russian help, refuses to accept its ultimatum (a final list of demands) in full.
- 1 to 4 August 1914Germany declares war on Russia (1 August) and on France (3 August). German troops enter Belgium, and England declares war on Germany (4 August).
- 1914 to 1916Great battles at the Marne (1914), Verdun, the Somme and, at sea, Jutland (1916). New weapons appear: machine guns, poison gas, tanks and submarines; armies fight from trenches.
- 1915A German U-boat (submarine) sinks the British passenger ship Lusitania, killing 128 Americans.
- 1917The USA joins the war in April. After the October Revolution, Russia withdraws and signs a peace treaty with Germany in 1918.
- Late 1918Bulgaria and Turkey surrender, and Austria gives up on 3 November. Kaiser Wilhelm II flees to Holland and Germany becomes a republic.
- 11 November 1918Germany signs the armistice (an agreement to stop fighting), and the war ends.
Peace treaties after the war
| Treaty | Signed with | Main terms |
|---|---|---|
| Treaty of Versailles | Germany (1919) | Germany was held guilty of the war and made to pay huge compensation. Alsace and Lorraine went back to France, the Rhineland was demilitarised, and the coal of the Saar went to France for 15 years. The army was cut to 100,000 soldiers, and Germany lost all its colonies. |
| Treaty of St. Germain | Austria | Hungary became a separate state. Austria gave land to Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia. |
| Treaty of Sevres | Turkey | The Ottoman Empire broke up. Some lands became mandates (run by an Allied power until ready for self-rule): Palestine and Mesopotamia went to Britain, and Syria to France. |
Results of the war
- Huge loss of life and property. Historians estimate that between 15 and 20 million soldiers and civilians died; your NIOS lesson's 'a million' is far too low. The cost was estimated at about 180 billion dollars in the money of that time, and economies were shattered.
- Old ruling families fell: the Romanovs of Russia, the Hohenzollerns of Germany and the Habsburgs of Austria. Turkey ended its monarchy in 1922.
- New states appeared: Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland became independent, and Romania and Poland gained territory.
- The treaties were dictated to the defeated powers, who had no say. This bred deep anger, above all in Germany.
- Europe's supremacy declined, the USA and the USSR rose, and national movements in Asia and Africa grew stronger.
- The League of Nations was set up in 1920 to keep peace.
The League of Nations
US President Woodrow Wilson proposed a peace plan called the Fourteen Points. Its key idea was an international body to keep peace. So the League of Nations was set up in 1920, with its headquarters at Geneva. It aimed to keep world peace, prevent war, settle disputes peacefully, promote cooperation and improve the lives of workers. But it failed. It could do nothing when Italy attacked Ethiopia in 1935 or when Japan attacked Manchuria in 1931 (your NIOS lesson gives 1936), and rivalry for colonies went on.
More than a million Indian soldiers served in the First World War, and India Gate in New Delhi honours those who died. India was also a founding member of the League of Nations.
1 marks: “Name the British passenger ship sunk by a German U-boat in 1915.” The Lusitania.
3 marks: “How did imperial rivalry, the alliance system and Balkan nationalism together lead to war in 1914?” (1) Imperialist rivalry, as Germany competed with Britain and France for colonies. (2) The system of alliances, which split Europe into the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. (3) Balkan nationalism, the Pan Slav movement backed by Russia and opposed by Austria. The immediate cause was the murder at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
6 marks: “'The First World War redrew the map of Europe and changed the balance of power in the world.' Explain this statement with six results of the war.” (1) Huge loss of life and money, and shattered economies. (2) Harsh Treaty of Versailles: guilt, compensation, army of 100,000, colonies lost. (3) Ottoman Empire broken up; mandates to Britain and France. (4) Fall of the Romanov, Hohenzollern and Habsburg dynasties. (5) New states such as Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. (6) Rise of the USA and USSR, and the League of Nations (1920).
Causes are MAIN: Militarism (arms race), Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism. The spark: Sarajevo, 28 June 1914. The end: 11-11-1918.