Changes

World War I (view source)

Revision as of 06:35, April 20, 2008

13 bytes removed , 06:35, April 20, 2008

no edit summary

Line 1: Line 1: −

'''World War I''', also known as '''The Great War''', was waged primarily in [[Europe]] from 1914 to 1918. World War I also saw the first use of [[~~chemical warfare|~~poison gas]], large artillery, armored [[tank|tanks]], and [[airplane]]s. It was a "[[total war]]" because the governments involved took control over the economy and factories, giving first priority to the goods needed for war. Wage and price controls were imposed, there was rationing of goods for civilians, and free speech was limited. The governments put out [[propaganda]] to maximize support for the war and dislike of the enemy.

+

'''World War I''', also known as '''The Great War''', was waged primarily in [[Europe]] from 1914 to 1918. World War I also saw the first use of [[poison gas]], large artillery, armored [[tank|tanks]], and [[airplane]]s. It was a "[[total war]]" because the governments involved took control over the economy and factories, giving first priority to the goods needed for war. Wage and price controls were imposed, there was rationing of goods for civilians, and free speech was limited. The governments put out [[propaganda]] to maximize support for the war and dislike of the enemy.

On one side of the war were the [[Central Powers]]: [[Austria-Hungary]], [[Germany]], [[Bulgaria]], and the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The [[Allies]] consisted of the [[Britain|British]] and [[France|French Empires]], the Tsarist [[Russian Empire]](until 1917), [[Italy]], [[Japan]], [[Portugal]], and after 1917 the [[United States]].

Line 7: Line 7:

''Main article: [[Causes of World War I]]''

−

On June 28, 1914, teenage [[Serbia|Serbian]] [[nationalism|nationalist]] [[Gavrilo Princip]] assassinated the [[Austrian]] [[Archduke~~]] [[~~Franz Ferdinand]] and his wife Sophie in [[Sarajevo]]. This action led to Austria-[[Hungary]] giving an ultimatum <ref>http://teachers.sduhsd.k12.ca.us/mmontgomery/world_history/world_war1/ultimatum.htm</ref> to Serbia. Serbia agreed to comply with all of the demands, except the ones which violated their sovereignty, and, due to a number of military alliances throughout [[Europe]], a full scale war was soon in progress. Serbia requested support from its ally, [[Russia]], which mobilized its military forces. This mobilization led to [[Germany]] invading both Russia and [[France]] (which had an existing alliance with Russia), which was a part of Germany's [[Schlieffen Plan]] of war on two fronts. En route to France, German forces passed through neutral [[Belgium]]. The violation of this [[neutrality]] led [[Britain]] to declare war on Germany. [[Italy]] had an alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, but refused to join the war.

+

On June 28, 1914, teenage [[Serbia|Serbian]] [[nationalism|nationalist]] [[Gavrilo Princip]] assassinated the [[Austrian]] [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] and his wife Sophie in [[Sarajevo]]. This action led to Austria-[[Hungary]] giving an ultimatum <ref>http://teachers.sduhsd.k12.ca.us/mmontgomery/world_history/world_war1/ultimatum.htm</ref> to Serbia. Serbia agreed to comply with all of the demands, except the ones which violated their sovereignty, and, due to a number of military alliances throughout [[Europe]], a full scale war was soon in progress. Serbia requested support from its ally, [[Russia]], which mobilized its military forces. This mobilization led to [[Germany]] invading both Russia and [[France]] (which had an existing alliance with Russia), which was a part of Germany's [[Schlieffen Plan]] of war on two fronts. En route to France, German forces passed through neutral [[Belgium]]. The violation of this [[neutrality]] led [[Britain]] to declare war on Germany. [[Italy]] had an alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, but refused to join the war.

Alternative theories cite the building of the Berlin-Baghdad railway and the problems it would have created for England. <ref>http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA138432</ref>

Line 17: Line 17:

'''Gallipoli Campaign'''

−

In 1915, Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, proposed a daring plan to attack the Dardanelles, a narrow section of ocean south of what is now Turkey, in order to open a supply route to Russia. Unfortunately, he made his plans based of bad intelligence.

+

In 1915, [[Winston Churchill]], then First Lord of the Admiralty, proposed a daring plan to attack the [[Dardanelles]], a narrow section of ocean south of what is now [[Turkey]], in order to open a supply route to Russia. Unfortunately, he made his plans based of bad intelligence.

A preliminary attack was launched in February of 1915, bombarding artillery of the Ottoman Empire. However, in March, a fleet of British and French warships attempted to navigate the Dardanelles and ran into mines at its narrowest point (which is only a mile wide).

−

The British and Churchill, not wanting to admit defeat, diverted British, Australian, New Zealander and French troops from training in Egypt to their campaign in Turkey. Putting together an amphibious Allied force, a plan was put together to land on the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli on April 25. Although the Allies greatly outnumbered the Turks, poor counter-intelligence efforts by the Allies allowed the Ottoman Empire to resupply and reinforce the Gallipoli peninsula. Additionally, the Allies did not understand the terrain adequately and suffered from limited knowledge of their enemy. The Turkish soldiers were also very tenacious and very able fighters.

+

The British and Churchill, not wanting to admit defeat, diverted British, Australian, New Zealander and French troops from training in [[Egypt]] to their campaign in Turkey. Putting together an amphibious Allied force, a plan was put together to land on the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli on April 25. Although the Allies greatly outnumbered the Turks, poor counter-intelligence efforts by the Allies allowed the Ottoman Empire to resupply and reinforce the Gallipoli peninsula. Additionally, the Allies did not understand the terrain adequately and suffered from limited knowledge of their enemy. The Turkish soldiers were also very tenacious and very able fighters.

However, the bloody-mindedness of the British commanders led to nine months wasted on the peninsula, with 44,000 deaths among over 100,000 casualties.

Line 36: Line 36:

=== The United States Joins the War ===

----

−

For the first three years of World War I, the [[United States]] attempted to stay out of the war. The United States had allies and [[citizens]] on both sides of the war, and the ~~wise move~~ was not to move, to ~~remain [[~~neutral]]. When the Germans used a [[U-boat]] to sink the ''[[Lusitania]]'' in 1915, killing over one thousand people, the Americans were outraged. Later, when Britain implemented a [[naval]] blockade of Germany, the Germans announced they would sink any ship entering or leaving Britain. They held true to their word and sunk three ships from America with the U-boats. The Germans had taken ads out in most American newspapers, warning Americans that they travelled on British ships at their own risk. However, only the [[Des Moines]] Register ran the ads.<ref> Morgan, Hal. ''More Rumor''. New York: Paradox Press, 1987. </ref>America now had many reasons to fight back, but she was still not ready to join the war.

+

For the first three years of World War I, the [[United States]] attempted to stay out of the war. The United States had allies and [[citizens]] on both sides of the war, and the decision was not to move, but rather to stay neutral. When the Germans used a [[U-boat]] to sink the ''[[Lusitania]]'' in 1915, killing over one thousand people, the Americans were outraged. Later, when Britain implemented a [[naval]] blockade of Germany, the Germans announced they would sink any ship entering or leaving Britain. They held true to their word and sunk three ships from America with the U-boats. The Germans had taken ads out in most American newspapers, warning Americans that they travelled on British ships at their own risk. However, only the [[Des Moines]] Register ran the ads.<ref> Morgan, Hal. ''More Rumor''. New York: Paradox Press, 1987. </ref>America now had many reasons to fight back, but she was still not ready to join the war.

The German Foreign Minister [[Arthur Zimmermann]] sent an encrypted [[Zimmerman Note|telegram]] to the German ambassador in [[Mexico]] which sought to induce Mexico to declare war on the United States. British intelligence intercepted and deciphered the telegram, however, and gave it to the United States to help the British cause. President [[Woodrow Wilson]] made the contents of the telegram public. The telegram promised that Germany would help Mexico regain land it had lost to the United States in the [[Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo]] which ended the [[Mexican War]] if it would declare was on the United States. At first, the Americans doubted if the telegram was real and thought it had been forged by the British to make America favor them. But then Zimmermann was foolish enough to promise the pledge to Mexico in a public speech.

Line 48: Line 48:

Losses and hardship of the war had weakened Russian [[Czar Nicholas II]]. He abdicated the throne in March 1917 in favor of a provisional government headed by [[Alexander Kerensky]]. Hopes for a democratic revolution still existed at this time. But in October 1917, [[Vladimir Ilyich Lenin]], and the [[Communist Party]], which was never strong enough to challenge the Czar, overthrew the fledgling provisional government. The Communists later executed every member of the Czar's family including the children.

−

Lenin became the founder of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] state. He was both a writer and a revolutionary, a rare combination. He was the brother of the "bomb thrower" [[Alexander Ulyanov]] who was hanged for his involvement in terrorist activity and an assassination attempt on Czar Alexander III in 1887. An atheist, he became a [[Marxism|Marxist]] in 1889. He obtained a law degree shortly afterwards, and by 1895 was a subversive who was arrested and sent to the Tsarist gulag along the Lena River in frigid Siberia where he adopted the name Lenin after the place of his internment. Once he served his time he left for Zurich, where he developed his ideas further and became a leader of the [[Bolsheviks]]. He was returned to Russia by the Germans in the wake of chaos during the [[Kerensky]] regime with the hope to led the Bolsheviks to power and negotiate a peace settlement with the Germans. After the [[Treaty of Versailles]] failed to recognize the settlement between Germany and the Soviet Union in the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]], he then ruled the Soviet Union and imposed a system of [[Marxism-Leninism]] (communism) that remained in force there until the [[Stalin]]'s rise to power.

+

Lenin became the founder of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] state. He was both a writer and a revolutionary, a rare combination. He was the brother of the "bomb thrower" [[Alexander Ulyanov]] who was hanged for his involvement in terrorist activity and an assassination attempt on Czar Alexander III in 1887. An atheist, he became a [[Marxism|Marxist]] in 1889. He obtained a law degree shortly afterwards, and by 1895 was a subversive who was arrested and sent to the Tsarist gulag along the Lena River in frigid [[Siberia]] where he adopted the name Lenin after the place of his internment. Once he served his time he left for [[Zurich]], where he developed his ideas further and became a leader of the [[Bolsheviks]]. He was returned to Russia by the Germans in the wake of chaos during the [[Kerensky]] regime with the hope to led the Bolsheviks to power and negotiate a peace settlement with the Germans. After the [[Treaty of Versailles]] failed to recognize the settlement between Germany and the Soviet Union in the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]], he then ruled the Soviet Union and imposed a system of [[Marxism-Leninism]] (communism) that remained in force there until the [[Stalin]]'s rise to power.

=== The Western Front ===

Line 54: Line 54:

The exit of Russia allowed Germany to shift a majority of their troops from the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|eastern front]] to the [[Western Front (World War I)|western front]]. This gave them a final chance to try and break the Allies before the Americans arrived. Known as [[Operation Michael]], the German offensive began in March of 1918.

−

The Germans launched five major campaigns in a four month period in 1918 on the [[Western Front]]. The Germans had technology and lots of energy. They had elite storm-troopers with [[automatic ~~rifles~~]], light [[machine ~~guns~~]], [[flame-~~throwers~~]] and [[artillery]] fire. They used [[poisonous]] [[mustard gas]] lavishly. They easily defeated the [[British Fifth Army]]. The Germans were advancing and taking property.

+

The Germans launched five major campaigns in a four month period in 1918 on the [[Western Front]]. The Germans had technology and lots of energy. They had elite storm-troopers with [[automatic rifle]]s, light [[machine gun]]s, [[flame-thrower]]s and [[artillery]] fire. They used poisonous [[mustard gas]] lavishly. They easily defeated the British Fifth Army. The Germans were advancing and taking property.

But fresh American troops entered the scene. In the [[Second Battle of the Marne]] in July 1918, the Allies started winning. Nine American divisions fought in this battle about 75 miles northeast of [[Paris]]. The Germans started this battle on another one of their offensives, but the Americans valiantly turned the tables and enabled the Allies to win it. Casualties were enormous for everyone, including the Americans. Former President [[Teddy Roosevelt]]’s son Quentin was killed in this battle.

Line 62: Line 62:

=== The War Ends ===

----

−

As the Americans and the Allies advanced toward Germany, the [[Ottoman~~]] [[~~Turks]] and [[~~Bulgarians~~]] surrendered. There was a [[revolution]] in Austria-Hungary that overthrew its government, and Germany would not recognize that new [[government]]. [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] abdicated his throne in Germany on November 1918, and the Germans formed a new republic. Members of the German republic signed an armistice (agreement to stop fighting) on November 11, 1918. The "war to end all wars", was over.

+

As the Americans and the Allies advanced toward Germany, the [[Ottoman Turks]] and [[Bulgarian]]s surrendered. There was a [[revolution]] in Austria-Hungary that overthrew its government, and Germany would not recognize that new government. [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] abdicated his throne in Germany on November 1918, and the Germans formed a new republic. Members of the German republic signed an armistice (agreement to stop fighting) on November 11, 1918. The "war to end all wars", was over.

=== Aftermath ===

----

−

Austria-Hungary was dismantled, mostly along ethnic lines. The Ottoman Empire was also dismantled. For the first time in over 1000 years Palestine was not under [[Muslim control]], as Britain assumed control of the area as a colony. Germany was forced to sign the [[Treaty of Versailles]] accepting full responsibility for the war and had to pay for the entire cost of the war. This led Germany into economic collapse and sowed the seeds for anyone who could get them out of this collapse and restore their pride to be view as almost a savior. Italy felt they were shortchanged in their portion of the spoils and led to a bitterness that would cause them to side with Germany in the years ahead. The initial causes of the war, alliances and imperialism, were not dealt with. Only 20 years after the Treaty of Versailles, [[World War II]] would start.

+

Austria-Hungary was dismantled, mostly along ethnic lines. The Ottoman Empire was also dismantled. For the first time in over 1000 years [[Palestine]] was not under Muslim control, as Britain assumed control of the area as a colony. Germany was forced to sign the [[Treaty of Versailles]] accepting full responsibility for the war and had to pay for the entire cost of the war. This led Germany into economic collapse and sowed the seeds for anyone who could get them out of this collapse and restore their pride to be view as almost a savior. Italy felt they were shortchanged in their portion of the spoils and led to a bitterness that would cause them to side with Germany in the years ahead. The initial causes of the war, alliances and imperialism, were not dealt with. Only 20 years after the Treaty of Versailles, [[World War II]] would start.

== Chronology of World War I ==

Line 75: Line 75:

== '''1914''' ==

|-

−

| June 28 || In [[Sarajevo]], [[Serbia]], [[Austria]]-[[Hungary]] [[Archduke]] [[Franz Ferdinand]] is murdered, and somebody is responsible.

+

| June 28 || In [[Sarajevo]], [[Serbia]], [[Austria]]-[[Hungary]] Archduke [[Franz Ferdinand]] is murdered, and somebody is responsible.

|-

| July 28 || War is declared on [[Serbia]] by [[Austria]]-[[Hungary]]

Learn together

nsTeam1RO, nsTeam1RW, nsTeam1_talkRO, nsTeam1_talkRW

13,818

edits