Great War

Germany's plan (named the Schlieffen plan) to deal with the Franco-Russian alliance involved delivering a knock-out blow to the French and then turning to deal with the more slowly mobilized Russian army. Rather than attack France directly, it was deemed prudent to attack France from the north. To do so, the German army had to march through Belgium. Germany demanded this free passage from the Belgian government, promising that Belgium would be Germany's firm ally if this was agreed to. When Belgium refused, Germany invaded and began marching through Belgium anyway, after first invading and securing tiny Luxembourg. It soon encountered resistance before the forts of the Belgian city of Liège. Britain sent an army to France, which advanced into Belgium.

The delays brought about by the resistance of the Belgians, French and British forces and the unexpectedly rapid mobilization of the Russians upset the German plans. Russia attacked in East Prussia, diverting German forces intended for the Western Front. Germany defeated Russia at the Battle of Tannenburg, but this diversion allowed French and British forces to finally halt the German advance on Paris at the First Battle of the Marne (September 1914) as the Central Powers (the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires) were forced into fighting a war on two fronts.

1915:

• May 23, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary;
• October: Bulgaria entered the war on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary.

1916

• August 27, Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary;
• August 28, Italy declared war on Germany;

1917:

• February 24 - United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, Walter H. Page, was given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which German Empire offered to give the American Southwest back to Mexico if Mexico would declare war on the United States
• April 6, the United States declared war on Germany;
• August 14, the Republic of China declared war on Germany.

Entry of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in October - November 1914, threatening Russia's Caucasian territories and Britain's communications with India and the East via the Suez canal. British action opened another front in the South with the Gallipoli (1915) and Mesopotamia campaigns, though initially the Turks were successful in repelling enemy incursion. But in Mesopotamia, after the disastrous Siege of Kut (1915-16), the British reorganized and captured Baghdad in March 1917. Further to the west in Palestine, initial British failures were overcome with Jerusalem being captured in December 1917 and the Egyptian Expeditionary Force under Edmund Allenby going on to break the Ottoman forces at the Battle of Megiddo (September 1918).

Central Powers Soldiers Killed:

• Austria-Hungary: 1,200,000
• Bulgaria: 87,500
• Germany: 1,770,000
• Turkey: 325,000

Civilians Killed:

• Austria-Hungary: 300,000
• Belgium: 30,000
• Britain: 31,000
• Bulgaria: 275,000
• France: 40,000
• Germany: 760,000
• Greece: 132,000
• Romania: 275,000
• Russia: 3,000,000
• Serbia: 650,000
• Turkey: 1,000,000

Distinguishing features of the War

The First World War was different from prior military conflicts: it was a meeting of 20th century technology with 19th century mentality and tactics. This time, millions of soldiers fought on all sides and the casualties were enormous, mostly because of the more efficient weapons (like artillery and machine guns) that were used in large quantities against old tactics. Although the First World War led to the development of air forces, tanks, and new tactics (like the Rolling barrage and Crossfire), much of the action took place in the trenches, where thousands died for each square metre of land gained. The First World War also saw the use of chemical warfare, and aerial bombardment, both of which had been outlawed under the 1909 Hague Convention. The effects of gas warfare were to prove long-lasting, both on the bodies of its victims (many of whom, having survived the war, continued to suffer in later life) and on the minds of a later generation of war leaders (Second World War) who, having seen the effects of gas warfare in the Great War, were reluctant to use it for fear that the enemy would retaliate and might have better weaponry.

As a result of the Bolsheviks' failure to cede territory, German and Austrian forces defeated the Russian armies, and the new communist government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918. In that treaty, Russia renounced all claims to Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland (specifically, the formerly Russian-controlled Congress Poland of 1815) and Ukraine, and it was left to Germany and Austria-Hungary "to determine the future status of these territories in agreement with their population."

• Newfoundland Memorial Park at Beaumont-Hamel
• The Cenotaph, London
• Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium
• Montfaucon American Memorial
• Mort-Homme
• Ossuaire Memorial
• Pennsylvania Memorial
• Thiepval Memorial
• Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing at Passchendaele
• Verdun Memorial Museum
• Vimy Ridge Memorial, Vimy, France

Resources

For more details on the subject, consult these histories:

(list of histories here)

• Hew Strachan ed.: "The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War" is a collection of chapters from various scholars that survey the War.
• Barbara Tuchman: The Guns of August tells of the opening diplomatic and military manoeuvres.

See also:

• List of people associated with World War I
• Literature of World War I
• Gott straf England
• List of battles 1901-forward

External links