World War I
The First World War (1914-1918) was the first industrial total war, killing millions and destroying empires.
The outbreak
On 28 June 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary's throne, in Sarajevo. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia; alliance commitments then drew in Russia, Germany, France, and Britain within weeks. Germany's plan to defeat France quickly by invading through neutral Belgium brought Britain into the war.
Trench warfare
On the Western Front, the war bogged down into trench warfare stretching from the English Channel to Switzerland. Machine guns, artillery, barbed wire, and poison gas made attacks deadly. At the Somme in 1916, Britain suffered about 57,000 casualties on the first day alone; the battle cost over a million casualties on all sides.
A global war
The war spread beyond Europe. The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers; Allied forces fought at Gallipoli (1915-1916), where Australian and New Zealand troops suffered heavy losses. Fighting took place in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Colonies supplied soldiers and labourers: over a million Indian soldiers served, along with troops from Africa and elsewhere.
Total war
Governments mobilised entire economies, introduced conscription, rationing, and propaganda, and controlled industry. Women took on new jobs in factories and services. Civilians suffered from blockades, especially in Germany, and from the Armenian genocide, in which the Ottoman government killed an estimated one million or more Armenians from 1915.
The Russian Revolution
Russia suffered huge losses. In February 1917 (March in the Western calendar), revolution toppled Tsar Nicholas II. In October 1917, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, seized power, promising 'peace, land, and bread'. Russia left the war with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918). A civil war followed, and the Soviet Union was founded in 1922.
The end of the war
The US entry in 1917 brought fresh troops and resources. Germany's final offensive in 1918 failed, its allies collapsed, and revolution broke out at home. An armistice took effect on 11 November 1918. About 9-10 million soldiers and millions of civilians died. The 1918 influenza pandemic then killed tens of millions worldwide.
The peace settlement
The Paris Peace Conference produced the Treaty of Versailles (1919), which forced Germany to accept responsibility for the war, pay reparations, lose territory, and limit its military. The Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian empires broke apart into new states. The League of Nations was created, and former German and Ottoman territories became 'mandates' controlled by Britain and France.
Worked example
The Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916), a secret Anglo-French plan to divide Ottoman Arab lands, conflicted with British promises of Arab independence and the Balfour Declaration (1917) supporting a Jewish 'national home' in Palestine. These contradictory commitments shaped the post-war mandates and contributed to lasting conflicts in the Middle East.
Key takeaways
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand in June 1914 triggered war through alliances. Trench warfare on the Western Front, as at the Somme, caused enormous casualties. The war was global, with colonial troops and campaigns such as Gallipoli. Total war mobilised societies; the Armenian genocide killed over a million. The Russian Revolution brought the Bolsheviks to power. The war ended on 11 November 1918. Versailles punished Germany, empires collapsed, and the League of Nations was created.
Flashcard
Assassinated 28 June 1914
Check your understanding
Why did the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand lead to a wider war?