World War I Features

It is called the first world war, (it is also called the great war or European war), the armed conflict that involved several countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and some of America, between 1914 and 1918, in mainly European, Asian and African territories, causing the dissolution of several empires and the creation of several states in the territories previously dominated by these empires, as well as changes in the world balance of power, with the emergence of new powers such as Japan and the United States on the global stage, and causing the death of approximately 31,300,000 deaths, of which at least 9,000,000, were soldiers from the various countries in conflict, as well as several million wounded, being the war of the twentieth century in which proportionally more have died soldiers.

This war began on July 28, 1914, after the declarations of war by Austria-Hungary against Serbia, motivated by the murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Archduchess Sophia, and the consequent declarations of war by countries such as Russia, Germany, France, England, etc., a consequence of the alliances that they had previously made, thus causing the beginning of the conflict.

Some of the characteristics of the First World War:

Causes of war. The causes of the war are found in the imperialist expansion of various powers and the search for new (colonial) markets and the consequent frictions and altercations between empires, coupled with a growing arms race that had already begun during the previous two decades, as well as unresolved territorial and other conflicts, such as losses French territories of Alsace and Lorraine against Germany, in the Franco-Prussian War, the annexation of Balkan territories by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the annexations of territories and the subjugation of the populations of various Baltic countries by Tsarist Russia, which cemented hatreds, which were exploited by these grudges by enemy powers already well entered the conflict. To this were added the nationalisms that had been accentuated since the end of the 19th century, such as French, German, English, Russian and Russian nationalism. Italian, as well as the growing nationalisms that began to emerge in a violent way, within the territories dominated by some empires or that were under its influence, such as Serbian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish and Arab. In addition to the claims of obtaining greater territorial, economic and geopolitical dominions of the powers (mostly European except for the USA and Japan). Claims of domain expansion that can be corroborated through the armed interventions carried out by several European countries in African and Asian territories, as well and from non-European countries, as in the cases of Japan in China (August 1, 1894 - April 17, 1895) or the United States in Mexico (April 21, 1914), before the start of the conflict world.

Alliances.- Some time before the conflict, military alliances had been made between various nations, and when the conflict broke out, other countries joined; on the one hand England, France and Russia, mainly, had formed the triple entente, supported by other nations, and by the other Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. As the war developed, other nations were added to the conflict, some from the beginning and others later in the conflict, countries such as such as Italy, Belgium, Japan, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Portugal, as well as countries or dominions of the French, and English empires, such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland and India, against the German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman empires and the small kingdom of Bulgaria.

Although the fighting extended to places like China (for a time), and North Africa, in addition to the European war scene, this war had the most important scenarios in Europe.

Extension of the conflict to other nations.- Once the contest has started, both for the policy of alliances, as well as for the economic, political and military interests of some powers within other nations, other countries were entering the war further extending the conflict armed.

The following countries fought for the side of the "allies":

Belgium, Serbia, France, Russian Empire, British Empire (including countries and territories subject to their empire such as Ireland, Australia, India, Canada, Newfoundland, South Africa, New Zealand and various British islands and overseas territories), Italy, United States, Montenegro, Empire of Japan, Portugal, Romania, Greece, Albania, Brazil, Armenia, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Nepal, Siam, San Marino, as well as other allies that, although they did not participate fully in the (European) armed conflict, did weaken the central powers through trade and other blockades. actions, such as materially or financially supporting the allies, such as: Andorra, Bolivia, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Liberia, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay.

And on the other side they participated:

Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.

Campaign planning.- This war stood out in the beginning, for having been carried out through detailed battle plans, several years in advance; such as the Schlieffen plan, which focused on an invasion of France attacking Belgian territory and thus surrounding the French forces, this plan even foresaw the advances that the Russian army might make on the opposite front. Although this plan was not carried out as it was projected.

Creation and use of new weapons.- Technological advances in different fields, such as chemistry and mechanics, had encouragement and important economic and technical support. and logistics by governments, for the development of new weapons, both before the start of the conflict and during it. It was the first "mechanized" war, creating new and better vessels, artillery, automatic and portable weapons, as well as ammunition, explosives and other recent technical implements, such as airplanes, submarines and the first tanks, which together with the development of chemical weapons and antipersonnel mines, caused more casualties (dead and wounded), in less time than in wars previous.

It is in this war that the use of chemical weapons occurs for the first time, with disastrous effects for the soldiers of both sides in conflict; This weapon causes suffocation, in addition to severe burns to the mucous membranes (respiratory tract and eyes), causing damage some temporary and others permanent, lung damage and larynx, blindness and chemical burns internal. Causing panic among the soldiers and being one of the causes of the discontent that was observed by the soldiers against their superiors. In this regard, it should be noted that contrary to what is commonly believed, the Germans were not the first to use gases during the war, but the Germans. French, who used pepper spray and bromide grenades against the German troops, being later responded by the Germans, who were the first to study and develop chemical weapons exprofeso and the first to use them on a large scale, by bombarding shells with ammunition with these lethal materials.

Use of indigenous soldiers from the colonies in European conflicts.- Both France, Belgium and England used hundreds of thousands of soldiers from their overseas domains in the conflict; an example was England which used thousands of Irish, Hindus, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders in the contest, as well as men from other domains.

Propaganda.- propaganda was widely used, both in favor of one's own actions and against the enemy; All the powers used propaganda for various purposes, such as distracting public opinion and raising the morale of the combatants and the people, such as using the lives and exploits of the military pilots "the aces of the air". this was used as much by the allied powers France and England, as by Germany. Making famous names like, Manfred von Richthofen (the red baron), René Fonck, Ernst Udet, Edward Mannock, Georges Guynemer, and Erich Loewenhardt, among others, becoming admired even by the enemy, as was the case with Manfred von Richthofen who became known as the Red Baron and was popular even after his death. Another form that propaganda took was "black" propaganda, especially English propaganda that gave false news about German atrocities in Europe, "news aimed at exacerbating spirits, such as those in which Germans allegedly bayonets babies or raped nuns in French convents and Belgians, these falsehoods being directed not only at European countries, but especially at the United States, Canada and Latin America, (they did this without any impediment, after having cut all the submarine communication cables that left Germany towards the North Sea, at the beginning of the war and consequently America and the rest the world, received only the communications that came from England), taking advantage of that isolation to through propaganda, attract towards his side the favor of the world. This resulted in the American media exposing Germany as "an aggressor of the world and of the freedom ”, even through films like“ The Little American (1917) ”inciting hatred towards Germans. This propaganda was aimed at provoking the US entry into the war, an entry that was not well regarded by the American people, until they were convinced by such propaganda. The same happened with several Latin American countries that supported the allies during the First World War, especially cooperating by giving them supplies.

Espionage.- During the war there was espionage both to obtain strategic and technical information as well as economic and other information. In this regard, the English espionage can be mentioned, which was very effective, especially when intercepting communications. An example of its effectiveness was the interception of messages, such as the "famous Zimmermann telegram", a telegram in which the minister of affairs outside the German empire, announced to the German ambassador that submarine attacks would increase and although it was intended to keep the United States as neutral nation, and in the event of war with the United States, the possibility of an alliance with Mexico was left free, through which the possibility for Mexico to recover the territories lost to the United States and also the possibility of inviting Japan to be part of that alliance. Being discovered and exposed to the United States government said information. Some characters also stood out as spies of one side or the other, one of the best known being the case of Margaretha Geertruida Zelle (Mata Hari), who was a double spy for both the Germans and the French, giving reports on the operations military, thanks to the circles in which she developed, which were frequented by high officers whom she seduced with her charms and exoticism.

Sabotage.- In addition to the aforementioned sabotages such as the cutting of communication cables by England, there were some sabotages in the industries by various individuals and Germany itself sabotaged Russia by financing the Bolshevik rebels and their revolution against the government tsarist.

Trench war.- In most of the previous wars, the combats almost always took place in the open field, or the soldiers protected themselves in the natural accidents of the terrain; trenches had already been used in some wars, such as the Russo-Japanese War and others, but It was in the First World War, where it had a more prominent use, especially on the front western. They were dug holes between one and a half meters and two meters deep or more, interconnected with each other, in which the soldiers protected themselves from enemy fire. However in them the conditions were deplorable, abounding unsanitary and hunger, human waste and of food, as well as the corpses of the fallen along with the wounded, who had not yet been evacuated from the front. In addition to being exposed to the rigors of the weather (rain, cold, sun), in addition to being introduced animals such as rats and mice in them and provided little protection against artillery or attack With gas.

Hunger.- As a large part of the peasant and cattle population of Europe remained, engulfed in the fighting, the consequent increase in prices and the blockades caused by the war, hunger began to rage in several regions, as well as in the trenches, where food it was scarce.

Continuous artillery bombardments. This was the first war of the 20th century, in which large continuous bombardments were carried out on the battlefield (mainly artillery), being one of the causes that caused the most deaths among the soldiers, due to shrapnel from the explosions.

Lack of anesthetics and medications. The fighting caused a large number of injuries, so many that the field hospitals and the rear-guard hospitals could not cope. Medicines, anesthetics, bandages and other medical products were in short supply, and shipments of them arrived late Due to the effects of the war itself, the human elements of the medical corps were also insufficient for the number of wounded.

Military strikes.- The trench warfare with its privations, hunger and continuous deaths, resulted in some (French) military mutinies, these mutinies stood out not, for a aggression towards superiors or disobedience itself, but in the refusal to continue to uselessly sacrifice their lives in massive attacks of men under the continuous cannonade of the various weapons, (mortars, cannons, machine guns and gases), always being carried out without losing order and discipline, but refusing to relieve their comrades in front of battle. This situation was remedied through some executions, reintroduction and hardening of discipline, as well as concessions to the requests of the soldiers, which were very necessary.

Psychological phenomena.- In this war they were observed for the first time, the traumatic psychological effects that they cause in the being the devastating effects of the destruction caused by the war, calling them as trauma of war. They were presented by panic attacks in the combatants, with variable effects, such as startles when listening noises or words, attacks of hysteria, hallucinations or the complete inaction of the person being paralyzed by the panic. At first, those affected by this psychological illness were taken for cowards, leading to execution, and these events were covered up for some time. At present this phenomenon is known as war neurosis.

Fraternization of the soldiers. During the fighting in the first year of the war, an unusual incident occurred; on Christmas of that year 1914, several soldiers from both sides (French and German) fraternized entering "no man's land", between enemy camps and celebrated Christmas, these contacts being repeated frequently for several days, not only by low-ranking soldiers, but also by officers of both armies. This fact, as well as the strike that took place by the French soldiers due to the conditions in which they were ordered to die, were hidden for decades.

Reordering of the political map and Disintegration of some empires.- The First World War was characterized by the dismemberment of the great empires of central and eastern Europe; the Austro-Hungarian, German, Russian and Ottoman empires disintegrated as a result of this conflagration.

The German empire was reduced territorially, losing the regions of Alsace and Lorraine in favor of France, Eupen-Malmedy went to Belgium, territories Eastern Prussia, Posen and the Dantzing corridor) became the new republic of Poland, Memel became part of Lithuania, a part of Schleswing in Upper Silesia passed to Denmark, the Saarland came under the administration of the League of Nations and was later militarily occupied by Belgium and France. The overseas territories, East Africa and the Southwest, as well as part of Togo and Cameroon, were divided between France and England and some Asian territories passed to the power of Japan.

The Austro-Hungarian empire was divided, prohibiting the union of Austria with Hungary, in addition to losing territories in favor of the new republic of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, territories on the Italian peninsula in favor of Italy, and Hungary lost Transylvania in favor of Romania.

The Russian Empire (a country that belonged to the allied side), after the Bolshevik revolt, the overthrow of the Tsarist government and the assassination of the royal family, left the conflict, giving up territories belonging to dominated countries, which after the culmination of the war, they regained their independence, such as Finland, Poland (which gained territories owned by Russia and Germany), Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The Ottoman empire after the war lost the territories it dominated for several centuries, creating countries such as Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. The empire decayed shortly afterwards becoming the Republic of Turkey. In this regard two related facts stand out: to diminish the war potential of the Turks the English sent Thomas Edward Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), to insurrection the Arabs, against the Turks, with the promise of the creation of a unified Arab state, and the non-compliance and deliberate arbitrary fractionation by England of the territory in several countries, which prevented the creation of an Arab state unified.

Small summary of the first world war:

Start of the war. Following the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, the Austro-Hungarian Empire issued an ultimatum on July 28 to Serbia, of which all the conditions imposed were not accepted, because they would have meant losing all its sovereignty.

The fighting began after the rejection of the ultimatum by Serbia, facing the Empire Austro-Hungarian with Serbia, Russia joined the conflict, as it considered itself the protector of all countries Slavs. After the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Russia on August 1, 1914, the conflict was transformed into a military confrontation on a European scale, due to the existing policy of alliances. After Austria-Hungary's attack on Serbia on July 30, Russia declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the German Empire in turn declared war on Russia on August 1, then on France on day 3 of the same month, and on August 4 the German army began the invasion of France violating the Belgian territory (neutral), declaring war on the German Empire by the British Empire.

Western Front.- At the beginning of hostilities, the two sides tried to obtain a quick victory by means of withering offensives, the French grouped their troops on the Franco-German border, Between Nancy and Belfort, divided into five armies, the Germans instead counted on the rapidity of a contour movement through territory belonging to Belgium, to surprise the French troops and march to the east of Paris (Schlieffen Plan devised in 1905) and then confront the French forces in Jura and Switzerland by means of a maneuver enveloping.

At the beginning the plan worked perfectly for the Germans and they defeated the French army at the Battle of Charleroi (August 21), the French launched a counterattack, but it was a catastrophe due to a premature withdrawal of the German troops towards their lines defensive.

The Germans advanced and found the Paris garrison and reserve troops, facing off in the First Battle of the Marne which marked the final abandonment of previous war plans.

The balance of forces facilitated defense against attack, and imposed a stabilization of the front, the soldiers built trenches and laid miles of barbed wire and minefields, thereby preventing any assault, as that would have caused major losses which would lead to a disadvantage against the adversary, so neither side decided to launch an offensive of wingspan.

At the end of 1915, Archduke Falkenhayn proposed to attack Verdun, a strong and impenetrable place according to French publicity, but that It was in a delicate position because it did not have a road or a railroad for its resupply, as well as being a symbol for the French.

The Germans advanced and the losses on the French side were enormous. On February 25, General Langle de Cary decided to leave the square, being the most reasonable from a strategic point of view, but the French command He thought they could not afford to lose Verdun because of its symbolic importance and named Philippe Pétain instead, who organized a series of violent counter attacks.

On July 1, the English unleashed a battle parallel to that of Verdun, the Battle of the Somme, in order to divide the German troops and reduce pressure on the army French. The Germans fell back on December 15, losing territories, which they subsequently quickly regained.

Eastern Front.- Meanwhile on the eastern front the Russians had advanced deeply into German and Austro-Hungarian territory, (this had already been foreseen in the German war plan), the war took place mainly in the Battle of Tannenberg (East Prussia) from August 26 to 30, 1914, and in the Battle of the Masurian Lakes from September 6 to 15, 1914. The Russians suffered severe defeats and in both battles they were forced to retreat. In the course of 1915, two new countries entered the war: Italy on the side of the Allies and Bulgaria on the side of the Central Powers. In the following months, the Germans advanced on Russia and conquered the Gulf of Riga through "Operation Albion."

Other fronts.- Other fronts were used to divert troops and resources from the main theaters of the war taking place in Europe.

Ottoman front.- The Battle of Gallipoli, started in 1915 by the allies to gain control of the Strait of Dardanelles, which would allow France and the British Empire to help the Russians, and lock up the empires central. This battle began with the landing of Gallipoli, but the allies failed to penetrate the Ottoman Empire by surprise and failed in successive offensives. The operation was a failure, but the expeditionary force would later help the Serbs and participate in the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Throughout the conflict, the British promoted the uprising of the Arab tribes against the Ottoman Turks, and for the same purpose, the Declaration was issued Balfour who proposed the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, to motivate American Jews to support the entry of that country to the war.

African front.- In Africa, the British and French attacked the German colonies, which were surrounded, on all fronts; German forces in Togoland and Cameroon surrendered to Anglo-French troops, while the German Southwest African colony was invaded by the South African army and occupied. The Tanganyika colony, under the leadership of General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, held out until the end of the the war, highlighting the help given by the natives of the country to the Germans against the Franco-British.

Asian and Pacific fronts. The combats in this region concentrated in the attack and appropriation of the German colonies; lstationed Australian troops occupied German New Guinea, Japan and New Zealand led attacks on German bases in the Islands Marianas, and the Chinese port of Qingdao which was the main German possession in the East, was bombed by the British navy and taken by the Japanese.

At sea.- The Germans, with the first submarines, tried to block the United Kingdom and France, preventing the support of their colonies and breaking the supply routes between America and Europe. In mid-1916 the British Royal Navy encountered the German fleet on the Jutland peninsula. engaging in combat, where the Germans tried to prevent the British supply from Norway.

Events prior to the end of the war.- After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the Bolsheviks allowed the Germans to advance into territory that belonged to the Russian Empire and signed an armistice with the central empires (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) and Germany occupied Poland, Ukraine, Finland, the Baltic countries and a part of Belarus.

That year the United States entered the conflict, in favor of the allies (the US for years and despite being neutral, supplied arms, ammunition and other products to England and hers allied to hers), officially entering the war in 1917 alongside the allies, replacing bled Russia, and fighting the weakened Germans.

There was a revolution in Berlin, which overthrew the monarchy and established the republic, (started after a mutiny by sailors of the German fleet in Kiel, who refused to sail to the combat of the English).

End of the war.- The Germans after leaving Russia, reinforced their armies with troops from the eastern front, starting a last offensive in the West from March 1918, on the Somme river, in Flandre, in Chemin des Dames and in Champagne But they could not resist the allied armies commanded and coordinated by General Foch and reinforced by American materiel and soldiers, tanks, and submarine and air superiority ally.

The government of the new republic signed the armistice in 1918, ending the war despite the fact that according to some of the military, it was still possible to continue and win, which motivated the feeling of the existence of a betrayal within Germany itself, which would largely lead to an even more serious subsequent conflict, the Second War world.