First world war

Warbackground

Threepairsofcontradictions

Attheendofthe19thcenturyandthebeginningoftheInthestruggleforworldhegemonyandcolonies,fiercestruggleswerelaunched.ThecontradictionsamongEuropeanpowerswerenumerousandcomplicated,buttherewerethreepairsofbasiccontradictions,namely,thecontradictionbetweenFranceandGermany,thecontradictionbetweenRussiaandAustria,andthecontradictionbetweenBritainandGermany.

ThecontradictionbetweenFranceandGermany

ThecontradictionbetweenFranceandGermanyisveryacute.France,whichwasdefeatedintheFranco-PrussianWar,lostitsoriginaldominanceinWesternandCentralEurope.Allclassesinthecountryunanimouslydemandedrevenge.GermanytriedtoexpanditsarmamentsinordertopreventFrancefromcomingback.

Russian-Austriancontradiction

ThemanifestationoftheRussian-AustriancontradictionisthestrugglefortheBalkanPeninsula.Overtheyears,underthebannerofGreaterSlavism,theRussianEmpirehasexpandedtothesouthernSlavs’settlementsontheBalkans.TheAustro-HungarianEmpire,whichislocatedinCentralEurope,isalsoexpandingtothenorthwestoftheBalkans,fearingthatitwillruleitself.ThesouthernSlavsunderwentindependencefromtheruleoftheAustro-HungarianEmpire.

British-Germancontradictions

Startingfromitstraditionalforeignpolicy,theUnitedKingdomstrivestomaintainthebalanceofpowerintheEuropeancontinent.UnwillingtoseeRussia’spowerintheBalkansswellingtoofar,withtheintensificationofconflictsoverthecolonyissue,thecontradictionbetweenBritainandGermanybegantointensifyandgraduallybecamethemaincontradictionbetweenimperialistcountries.

TheThree-PowerAlliance

Inthe1870sand1980s,Germany,Austro-HungaryandItalyestablishedtheThree-PowerAllianceagainsttheRussianEmpireandFrance.In1879,underthepromotionofBismarck,GermanyandAustriasignedthe"AllianceTreaty",whichisobviouslyanti-Russianinnature.Later,becauseItalyfailedinthestrugglewithFranceforTunisia,BismarcktooktheopportunitytowinoverItalyandjointlydealwithFrance.In1882,Germany,Austria,andItalysignedthe"AllianceTreaty"andtheThree-PowerAlliancewasformallyestablished.Germanybecamethecoreofthetri-nationalliance.

TheThreeKingdomsTreaty

Inordertodealwiththe"ThreePowersAlliance",FranceandtheRussianEmpirereachedamilitaryagreementin1892,whichstipulatesthatifFranceisattackedbyGermanyorItalybackedbyGermany,RussiawillattackGermanywithallitsmilitarypower.OnceRussiaisattackedbyGermanyortheAustro-HungarianEmpiresupportedbyGermany,FranceshouldattackGermanywithallitsmilitarypower.

AftertheformationoftheRussian-Frenchalliance,aconfrontationbetweenthetwomajormilitaryblocsbegantoappearinEurope.

ItisalsothefirststepinthedirectionoftheThree-nationAgreement.AsthecontradictionbetweenBritainandGermanydevelopedintothemaincontradictionbetweenimperialism,BritainadjusteditsrelationswithFranceandRussia.ItsignedtheAnglo-FrenchtreatyandtheAnglo-Russiantreatyin1904and1907respectively.Theestablishmentofthethree-nationtreatymadethetwomajormilitaryblocsinEuropefinallyform.

Thecauseofthewar

OnJune28,1914(SerbiaNationalDay),theAustro-HungarianCrownPrinceFerdinandandhiswife(picturedontheright)wereinspectedbytheyoungSerbianGaffwhentheyvisitedSarajevo.RilaPrincipewasshotandkilledandbecamethefuseoftheFirstWorldWar.

OnJuly28ofthesameyear,withthesupportofGermany,theAustro-HungarianEmpiredeclaredwaronSerbiaunderthepretextoftheSarajevoincident.ThenGermany,Russia,France,Britainandothercountrieswentintowaroneafteranother,andtheFirstWorldWarbrokeout.ThewarringpartiesaretheGermanEmpireandtheAustro-HungarianEmpireoftheAlliedPowers,aswellastheOttomanEmpireandBulgariathatsupportthem.TheotherpartyistheAlliedPowersofBritain,France,andtheRussianEmpire,aswellascountriessuchasSerbia,Belgium,Italy,andJapanthatsupportthem.

Italy,whichwasoriginallyamemberoftheAlliedPowers,tookintoaccountthestakesandjoinedthefightontheAlliedPowersside.

InordertoexpanditspowerinEastAsiaandinvadeChina,Japanusedthe"Anglo-JapaneseAlliance"concludedin1902asanexcusetodeclarewaronGermanyin1914andquicklyoccupiedGermany'ssphereofinfluenceinShandong,China.

Afterthewar

AftertheoutbreakoftheFirstWorldWar,thewarwasmainlyfoughtontheEuropeanbattlefield.TheWesternFront,wheretheBritish,French,andBelgiantroopsconfrontedtheGermans,andtheEasternFrontwhereRussiantroopsconfrontedtheAustro-HungarianEmpireandGermanforces,werethemainfronts.Amongthem,theWesternFrontplayedadecisiverole.

MilitarycountriesofWorldWarI

Thiswarcanbedividedintothreestages:

1914wasthefirststageofthewar.Inthisyear,accordingtotheSchlieffenplanformulatedbeforethewar,theGermanarmyfirstlaunchedalarge-scaleoffensiveonthewesternfront.DuetothefierceresistanceoftheBritish,French,andBelgiantroopsinbattlessuchastheBattleofMarneandtheRussianoffensiveontheeasternfront,ItbankruptedtheGermanplanforaquickfight.Thetwosidesfightingonthewesternfrontbuilttrenches,confrontedeachotherforalongtime,andswitchedtopositionalwarfare.

1915—1916wasthesecondstageofthewar.Becausebothsidesregarded1916asadecisiveyear,therewerethreelarge-scalelandbattlesinthisyear,namelythe"BattleofVerdun","BattleoftheSomme"andTheRussiansummeroffensive(Brasilovoffensive)ontheeasternfront,atsea,aftertheBattleofJutland,Britainstillfirmlycontrolledthesea.Atthisstage,thestrategicinitiativeofthewarwastransferredtotheAlliedPowers.

First world war

1917-1918wasthethirdstageofthewar.In1917,theUnitedStatesparticipatedinthewaragainstGermany,andChinaandothercountriessuccessivelyenteredthewar.ThecampoftheAlliedPowersincreasedto27countries.Russiabrokeoutthe"FebruaryRevolution"and"OctoberRevolution"andwithdrewfromtheimperialistwar.

InMarch1918,theGermanarmybegantolaunchanoffensiveontheWesternFrontandwasdefeated.OnAugust8,underthecommandofFoch,theAlliedforcesbeganacounterattack,drivingtheGermanforcesoutofthebordersofFranceandBelgium,andthemainGermanforceshadbeguntorapidlydisintegrate.OnSeptember15,theBulgarianarmywasdefeatedandsurrenderedtotheAlliesonthe29th.TurkeysurrenderedonOctober31.OnNovember3,theAustro-HungarianEmpiresurrendered.OnNovember4,thenavalfleetoftheKielmilitaryportheldanuprising.OnNovember9,Berlinworkersandsoldiersstagedageneralstrikeandanarmeduprising.Duetointernalandexternaldifficulties,KaiserWilhelmIIwasforcedtoabdicateandfledonthe10th.Netherlands.

OnNovember11,1918,Germanyofficiallyannounceditssurrender.GermanrepresentativessignedthearmisticeagreementonthemarchingtrainofGeneralFochintheCambianForestnorthofParis.ThisistheendoftheFirstWorldWar.

Theresultofthewar

WorldWarIwasanimperialistwarwithanunbalanceddistributionofspoilsbetweenimperialists.Itwasanunjustwarforbothsides,althoughSerbiaisfightingtodefenditssovereigntyandindependence.Thewaritisengagedinhasajustnationalliberationcharacter,butthiscannotfundamentallychangetheinjusticeoftheentirewar.

IntheFirstWorldWar,theAlliedPowersledbyBritain,FranceandRussiaandtheAlliedPowersledbyGermanyandAustriafoughtlifeanddeathinthemaintheaters.Inthiswar,allpartiesusedalotofmodernwarequipment.Inordertogivetheenemythegreatestdamage,thebattlewasunprecedentedlytragic,withheavycasualties.

In1918,USPresidentWilsonissuedthe"ProclamationoftheFourteenPointsofPeace",GermanyandAustriasurrendered,andtheFirstWorldWarended.

TheFirstWorldWarbroughtunprecedentedcatastrophestomankindandbroughthugedisasterstotheparticipatingcountries.Thewarlasted4years,morethan30countries,1.5billionpeoplewereinvolvedinthewar,30millioncasualties,andseriouseconomiclosses.Ontheotherhand,thewarpromotedtheformationofindependentAsianandAfricannationsandtheawakeningofthecolonialpeople.

Theimpactofwar

TheFirstWorldWarlastedmorethanfouryears.Morethan30countriesand1.5billionpeoplewereinvolvedinthewar.ItcausedhugematerialandMentallyimpaired.

ThemajorresultoftheFirstWorldWarwasthatitseverelyweakenedthepowerofimperialismanddestroyedtheChristianProtestantcountryineasternEurope,theGermanEmpireincentralEurope,andtheGermanEmpireincentralEurope.TheancientfeudalempiresofEurope,suchastheChristian-CatholicdualmonarchyinthenorthwestoftheBalkans,theAustro-HungarianEmpire,theimperialistcountriesofBritain,France,andItalywereweakened,andtheOttomanEmpirewastheIslamicfeudalmilitaryempirethatusedtospanEurope,AsiaandAfrica.Alsodeclareddisintegration.

Inthelatterpartofthewar,theRussianproletariatlocatedintheeasternborderofEuropeopenedaweaklinkinthechainofimperialismandwonthevictoryoftheOctoberSocialistRevolutioninRussia.Intheearlypost-warperiod,thecapitalistcountries’TheproletarianrevolutionarymovementandthenationalliberationmovementsinAsia,Africa,andLatinAmericahaveseenanewupsurge.

WarEvaluation

TheFirstWorldWarwasawarbetweenunjustimperialists.Itbroughtheavydisasterstopeopleallovertheworld.ItalsobroughtAmajoradvanceinscienceandtechnologyhascome,whichgreatlystrengthenedthepolitical,economic,technological,cultural,andmilitaryaspectsofvariouscountries.Atthesametime,theFirstWorldWaracceleratedthepaceoftherealizationofhumanrights.

Theestablishmentofnation-statesisthegreatestachievementbroughttomankindbythiswar.

Theformationofnationalconsciousnessandthebloomingofnationalconceptsbehindthiscanbesaidtobethebestopportunitygivenbyhistorytothereconstructionoftheinternationalorderafterthewar.

Warfigures

Introductionofmainwarfigures
Picture	Introduction
	DouglasHaigGeneral HagertakescommandofBritainattheBattleoftheSommeThearmyfought,andtherewereasmanyas60,000Britishcasualtiesonthefirstdayofthewar.Thisbattleresultedinthelossofmorethan600,000troopsfromtheAllies—buttheyonlyadvancedlessthaneightmiles.Haigledthearmytovictoryagainin1918,buthealsobecameoneofthemostcontroversialgeneralsinthehistoryofWorldWarI.
	KaiserWilhelmII KaiserWilhelmIIwasafanaticalmilitarist.AftertheSarajevoincident,WilhelmIIinstigatedtheAustro-HungarianEmpiretoadoptapolicyofaggression.WilliamisinchargeoftheGermanarmyinnameonly,butitishisgeneralswhoholdtherealpower.In1918,attheendoftheFirstWorldWar,hewasforcedtoabdicate.
	HelmutMochb> HelmutJohannesLudwigvonMoch,commonlyknownasLittleMoch.GeneraloftheGermanEmpireArmy,becauseofthenameofhisgreatuncleOldMochandhisoriginasamilitaryattachétoKaiserWilhelmII.Withaweakcharacter,hesurpassedmanymorecapablepeopleastheChiefofStaffoftheGermanArmyandpresidedovertheearlydaysoftheFirstWorldWar.TheSchlieffenplanwasdismissedaftertheplanfailedanddiedinobscurity.
	ErichvonFalkingham FarkinghamservedinChinafrom1896to1903andparticipatedintheEight-PowerAlliedForces'invasionofChina.In1913,hebecamethePrussianMinisterofWar(equivalenttotheGermanMinisterofDefense).HedidnotadvocatetheinvolvementofGermanyinafull-scalewaratthebeginning,butsoonhechangedhispositionandurgedKaiserWilhelmIItodeclarewaronBritainandFrance.HewasoneoftheinitiatorsoftheFirstWorldWar.
	HenryPhilippePetain MarshalofFrance,headofVichyFrance.Hislifewasquitebumpy,withnationalheroesandtraitorsallinone.GraduatedfromtheSaintCyrMilitaryAcademyin1878.DuringtheFirstWorldWar,hebecamefamousforleadingthe1916BattleofVerdunandbecameaheroatthattime.AfterthefiascooftheFrenchSomme,herestoredthemoraleoftheFrenchinthedarkesttime.AfterthedefeatofFranceinWorldWarII,hebecametheprimeministeroftheVichygovernmentandsignedthe"CombigneForestArmisticeAgreement"withGermanyonJune22,1940.FromJuly1940toAugust1944,heservedastheheadoftheVichygovernmentandbecameapuppetofNaziGermany.ArrestedinApril1945,hewassentencedtodeathbytheSupremeCourtinAugustofthesameyearfortreason,andlatercommutedtolifeimprisonment.
	JosephXiafei JosephJacquesCezerChafei,Frenchmarshalandmilitarystrategist.Thecommander-in-chiefoftheFrencharmyatthebeginningoftheFirstWorldWar.Hehasastablepersonality,dullandreticent.Althoughheisalittleslow,heisextremelytough.Heiscalled"theslowgeneral".
	FerdinandFoch TheFrenchMarshal,thecommander-in-chiefoftheAlliedForcesinthelastfewmonthsofWorldWarI,isrecognizedasthemostimportantleaderoftheAlliedForces.ParticipatedinmanybattlesaftertheoutbreakofWorldWarI.Afterachievingaseriesofvictories,hewasappointedcommanderoftheNorthernArmyandserveduntilRobertNevillesucceededJosephChaffeeasthecommander-in-chiefoftheFrencharmy,andwaslatertransferredtotheFrencharmyheadquarters.In1918,hewasappointedasthesupremecommanderoftheAlliedPowers.In1918,hesignedanarmisticeagreementwithGermanyonbehalfofFranceintheCompiègneForest,andlaterplayedanimportantroleintheParisPeaceConference.Therearemanybooksinhislifethatonceputforwardtheideathatvictoryliesinthewill.Later,herealizedthatthenewequipmentandmechanizationofthearmyaredecisive,andemphasizedtheprincipleofannihilatingideasandconcentratingsuperiorforces.Authorof"PrinciplesofWar","WarGuide"andsoon.
	GeorgeClemenceau GeorgeClemenceau(September28,1841-November24,1929),Frenchpolitician,journalist,andPrimeMinisteroftheThirdRepublic,oneofthefewmostnegativepeopleinmodernFrenchhistoryOneofthewell-knownpoliticians,hispoliticalcareerlastedmorethanhalfacenturyandwascloselyconnectedwithmanymajorpoliticaleventsinFrance.ItmadeimportantcontributionstothevictoryoftheAlliedPowersintheFirstWorldWarandthesigningoftheVersaillesPeaceTreaty,andwascalledthe"FatherofVictory"byEuropeansatthattime.
	TheKingofEnglandKingGeorgeV Duringthefour-yearwar,KingGeorgeVwentallouttosupportthevictoryofthewar.Heinspectedarmyandnavalforces,hospitals,factoriesanddocks.Hemadeadonationtothetreasury,andonthesuggestionofacongressman,hequitdrinkingandabidebytherationingregulations.HefelloffhishorsewhileinspectingtroopsinFranceandseverelyinjuredhispelvis.Healsosentthetwoprincestoserveinthearmy.
	CzarGulaII ThelasttsaroftheRussianEmpire,reignedfrom1894to1917.Hesuppressedinternallyandexpandedexternally,butachievednothing.AfterLushuninnortheasternChinawasconqueredbyJapanin1905,thebloodySundayincidentinthecapitaltriggeredthe1905Revolution.DuetoStolypin’sreforms,hetemporarilysurvivedthedifficulties,butfellintomorecomplicatedBalkanissues.ThenewsthattheRussianarmylostitstroopsonthefrontlinesofWorldWarIcompletelydestroyedtheimageoftheTsar's"littlefather".ThisimagehasremainedinthemindsoftheRussianpeopleforhundredsofyears.RussiahassuccessivelyeruptedthemagnificentFebruaryRevolutionandtheOctoberRevolution.Theformeroverthrewtheruleofthetsaristautocracy,andthelatterfinallyendedhislife.