The First World War

(1914-1918)

I r1ning AheadJJ. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - •
~ War Was C~lled the First World War?
t Main causes of the First World War
~ The world War Begins
i The course of the War
~ The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918)
~ The Armistice Day (11 November, 1918)
~ The Treaty of Versailles, 1919
~ Remaining Peace Treaties
~ Territorial Rearrangements that Changed Political Map of the World
~ various Other Results of the War
~ The League of Nations
I

lf(p ~ ~ t-ro ~ ~ ~ •)1 MAIN CAUSES OF THE FIRST

g rnnm w•1mm ,~,n~ WORLD WAR '.

l
The ' War that broke out in 1914 was The Great War of 1914 was not due to any
single cause, but due to accumulatio n of
different from the previous wars in many
I explosive material for many years.
war;;. .J

Firstly, the War was fought on the land
andlin the air, on the sea and under it.
~e War were mobilised all methods
of dfstruction, such as tanks, submarines,
· e and bombardments.
1 was going to be the leader of the world."
Secondly, the War began in Europe,
f
bu~ ery soon it spread to continents of
:As~ and Africa as well.
1f irdly, the War accounted for the
y1est ever loss of human lives known
1 then. Its deadly consequences were
l~J all over the world. These are the
1 ns why the War is referred to as the
1rs World War.
1. Intense Nationalism: An important
cause of the war was intense nationalism
or "competitive patriotism". Germany had
Kaiser Wilhelm II as her new Emperor. He
went about proclaiming that "Germany
He wanted to establish a vast German
Empire and gain important position
in the international sphere. France and
Germany were old rivals. After defeating
France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-
71) Germany had seized the province of
Alsace and most parts of Lorraine. The
French dreamed of revenge. The Italians

227
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In 187 9 German ll<f ~
Entente:
.,...-.. Hungary ha d signed a Treity toh
¾ci A~srfp

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·

. case of enemy atta k 'rt. elp e

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,. other m .. C
'J' later Ita ly Joi ned the Pact, ~·ll~ee ~
to be known as the Triple ~ch
~&nee.
opposed to the Triple Alliance
-1 ? ~· . ~erge~
,1
.
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~-? '
Triple Entente comprising 8
and Russia in 1907 to con ol G
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expans10rusm.
Th e French
~alll, Pr

'Entente' means 'an alliance' Thexp

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was divided into two m~
jo us Euro
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Fr cainp
on one side were England ' ranee
G
Russia and on the other
b t proclaimingerthaoft Austria-Hungary, Italy and
Turkelllt
"The Kaiser wen ou be the lead· the
t_a ity bey.
Germany was going to suspicions, rivalry and enm etwe
hat step tow
the world; that she wanted ati;ai:a'·nt the two camps was a major ~
K~/ tur,
Sun; that her_fu~ure was on d her " World War I.
it was her m1ss1on to sprea ~
4. Imperialism, i.e., the Race
or culture, throughoutJ~:a:;;:~j Neh
ru d stru ;
Colonies: There was a ma
among the European nat
territories in Africa and Asia
ion s for ;
in the
hed many
1:
desired to get back Trentino and
the ~ort century. Great Britain establis
by France, ·
of Trieste which were inhabited
by Italians colonies in Africa, followed
Britain and
but were still the part of Austria-
Hung~. Spain, Portugal and Belgium.
the regions
Th there was the "unsatisfib'ed France had occupied most of
vided raw
en
national spirit of the Balkan Sta
tes-Ser ia of Africa . The colonies pro
and markets
and Bulgaria, of Poland and of
the people materials for their industries
Developed
of Austria-Hungary." The politic
al leaders for their finished products.
al control
were fanning hatred and passio
n under countries' economic and politic
imp ortant
the cover of nationalism. over w~aker nations was an
·,,. ·
2. An Armament Race: It
was this cause of the First World War.
Europe the race
intense nationalism which turned When Germany entered
ed camps. · Bn·tam · and
into an assembly of vast arm fo r establishing colorues,. 1904
for war lrnt m .
•

Each country went on preparing France made a secret agree~ B · · was

I

and arming itself to the teeth.

Germany
According to this agreement
,n.~~
d
began to build a powerful nav y England r ~gpt ~
ke such to have political control ove
requested Germany not to ma France was to take over Mo ro~co?uf fl;
naval preparations. · d that he , WOiiHe
cerned German Emperor proclaime
Britain and France were con uphold the independence of Mor
occo .qu~
about Germany's growing
military
race and said all the nations sho'th uld have :try.
strength. There was an arms to tra d e WI
thatjnio co n o!l
a rac e is that po rtunities
the peculiar feature of such op
her op pan//tef,
if one country increases its arm
aments, Germany tried to force gun boanst, seeIIled
to do d . a .
other countries are compelled France by sen mg
io d partlY
the same. For every battles hip bu ilt by The war between these nat ave rte '
.
Germany, two such ships we
re built imminent, but it was . · J!Jl
aments · mediatiOn· JnternafiO
by England. Such a race for arm owing to Amencan .
could end only in a war. 5 No Effective ano . of fe
o Armed . P erv n
3. Division of Europe into Tw Organisation for the res
 ··· ···· ··············· ····························· ······ ······· ···· ··· ·· ········· ····· ······· ··· ··· ·· ··· ········ ····· ···
The First World Wa r (19 14-1918)
.... ··· ····· ····••t••···· ····· ··· ········ ···· ·· ····· ······· ··· ·················· ···· ··········· ··· ······························· ··
..•··· effective machinery to enforce They wanted to achieve the union of all
v;asno
(here ong nations. Two attempts South Slavs under Serbia.
p· l w atn
tile 11 de to arrive at an agreement on Serbia was blamed for Archduke's
were ma . n of limitation of armaments. assassination. Austria presumed that
uesno .
tile q j_rst Hague Conference met m 1899 Princep and fellow conspirators had
111e f . vitation of Tsar Nicholas II of received their guns and bombs with the
at ~e ~ important proposal before the help of Serbian officials. Austria sent a
RtJ 551a. nee was that the nations should
C0 ~::e not to increase their armies for
deCl ars. Nothing of this sort could
stiff ultimatum to Serbia for arresting
the criminals and handing them over
to Austrian government. She sought a
'11 ,e ye
: decided there, because of Germany's ban on all anti-Austrian publications
b sition to the said proposal. A Second and anti-Austrian meetings. They were
oppo . 1 . also required to take steps to suppress
nference met at Hague m 907. This
Ci°0 failed to secure the desired results. all revolutionary movements against the
5
a 6. Sarajevo Crisis-The Immediate Austrian Government.
cause: The people of Bosnia which was The Serbian government refused
annexed by Austria in 1908 were Serbians to accept some of the demands of the
by ancestry. They wanted a union with ultimatum on the ground that they
other Slavic states and they fought against involved violation of its sovereignty, i.e.,
the Austro-Hungarian Government. its power to govern itself.
On 28 June, 1914, the Archduke Francis
1 Ferdinand, the Crown Prince of Austria
THE
. WORLD -WAR BEGINS ...,
I
and his wife were assassinated at Sarajevo, Austria declared war on Serbia on 28
the Capital City of Bosnia. The . assassin, July, 1914. Russia mobilised her troops to
Gavrilo Princep was nineteen year old defend Serbia. Germany declared war on
Bosnian, the first student revolutionary Russia on August 1 and on France on 3rd
to change the course of the history of August.
Europe. Great Britain declared war on Germany
Though Princep was an Austrian on 4th August, when the German army
subject, the assassination had been invaded Belgium. Thus, all the five
planned in Serbia by a secret society of powers-Austria, Germany, Russia,
patriotic terrorists called 'Black Hand'. France and Britain joined in the open

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One of the Early British Tanks

warfare. This made it a World War. Turkey The Western Front

and Bulgaria joined the side of Germany. For about three years the scales of Warw
Italy left the Triple Alliance and join~d tild
te rn. Germap.y'sfavour. The German ere
the war against Germany and Austna- army could reach up to the Mame riv
Hungary. Japan declared war on Germany only 15 miles from Paris. But the Ang}:
with the aim of capturing German colonies French armies succeeded in checking the
in the Far East. onrush of the German armies. For the first
time Britain used tanks which became a
THE COURSE 0~:TH_~··w~R major weapon in the war.
Germany launched submarine warfare
The Great War was fought on all the three
against Britain. Britain's newest and
continents.
fastest Atlantic liner (ship) Lusitania had
sailed from New York for Liverpool,
carrying many American and European
passengers. A few miles off the Irish
Coast, she was struck by a torpedo from
a submerged U-Boat. The people of the
United States were extremely shocked.
On 6th April 1917 America declared War
on Germany. This placed at the disposal
of the Allies America's huge resources,
both in men and money. There was now
no doubt about which side would finally
win the War.

The Eastern Front th

The Eastern Front lay from the
Baltic fighte
to
Black Sea. The Russians had now ~o ting
on two Fronts, because they were A~trla-
against Germany as well as . _..,.A
Military aviators played an important role in World any captuI"""
War I. Pilots, such as these members of the British Hungary. In 1916 Germ . B
Royal Flying Corps, fought enemy planes in aerial Bucharest, the Capital o f Romania·
battles called dogfights.
 .•· ···· ........ ···················································· · ·········;.h~ ·Fi~~~·w~·~1d·w~~·(19·i~i9i·a,·~ ~ ..... .
. •······ ........................................................................................................ ........... .

Gennan U-Boat 011 Blockade duty stops a British supply ship. The Allied Crew takes to the Life Boats.

apturing Romania, Germany received July 1918. The German Emperor Kaiser
kerosene, petrol and grain in abundance. Wilhelm lost hopes of winning the war.
He abdicated the throne and fled to the
Turkey Netherlands. Germany became a Republic
In November 1914 Germany secured the and the new government signed the
support of Turkey against her enemies in Armistice (An agreement to stop fighting)
the War. The British army defeated the on 11th November, 1918 to mark their
Turkish army and captured Syria and surrender to the Allies. Thus the Great
Palestine. Later the Turkish army was War came to an end.
forced to evacuate Mesopotamia (Iraq).
~
Turkey surrendered on 31 October 1918.
THE TREATY OF
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk VERSAILLES, 1919 DJ
(March 1918)
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on
Two important events transformed the 28th June, 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors at
War in 1917. One was the entry of the Versailles (France). The Treaty refers to the
United States in the War and the other agreement made with Germany, who was
was the 1917 Communist Revolution in
blamed for imposing a war on the Allies.
Russia. The Communist leader Lenin
The persons who played an active role in
signed a Peace Treaty with Germany. The
framing the Terms of the Treaty included
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended the war
between Russia and Germany. In fact, the British Prime Minister, Lloyd George,
Germany had occupied many prosperous President Woodrow Wilson of the United
and industrial cities of Russia. States, George Clemenceau, the French
Premier and V. Orlando of Italy.
The War Ends (11 November 1918
Terms (Provisions) of the Treaty
Was the Armistice Day)
The following were the main terms of the
The entry of USA in the Great War
brightened the hope of victory to the Treaty:
1. War Indemnity: The Treaty declared
Allies. Britain France and the United States
Germany guilty of aggression. She had
la~ed a ~assive military offensive in
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to pny n v~1·y heavy sum estim ated at ' ••·

33 hllllon dollarA Oft War Indem nity or 4. Schleswig: ···· ······......~::··.

rt'J'Htrntlon to the Allies. Germ any was taken away fro:rn ~ e fate of ··. .
tn l'Vn~unte the plnces she hod captured determined by a e~ ark in Schleg
durin ~ the wm-.
zone voted for . p1ebiscite ,.._ 1~ \
·1.. The Rhine Valley: The area of the and the central lllcorporation · 'rte ' ~
. n°Tlb..\
zone Vot It\ Do..'.''
1-!hine Valk•y wns to be demilitarised. ? Eu pen and Ma~d f0r C'..2•~~
Germany could not "maintain or construct ma1or territorial re llledy, -"ntla~\
nny fortificnlion (buildings or ditches Germany had to arrangernent· ·111()11,. A. ,.
surrend
that wrre built lo protect a place) either Eu pen and Malmedy t er the\Vaas~ ·~

on the left bank of the Rhine or on the of Memel went to L·tho Bel.siun,, · r~,
'T'l ~
t uan1a
6. I nd ependence of p · ineq11.
right bank". To gunrnntce the execution ·1
of the 'Jh,nt y, the Germ an territory west created State of Pola doland: The n
of Rhine was to be occupied by the Allied territories she had lo: ing~t back al~
Troop s for 15 yea rs. and almost the whole of;War. P~
~'· Alsace-Lorraine and the Saar were also included in th p _est Pru~
Basin: The Treaty broug ht abou t some provi•de Poland with a e olish slate.~
. f the r-. .
vital territorial rearrangements. The city o Danzig was port, int . -~,.~
It was kept as a 'Free City' ernation 1;._,
Treaty benefited France in these ways: a~
.
(i) Franc e got back Alsace-Lorraine which un d er the protection of Leagu andf Nplacei
e ati
she had lost in the Franco-Prussian War Trading rights through the cityoof Da:
increased Poland's wealth and resource;
(1870-1871), (ii) to compensate France
for the deliberate destruction of her coal 7. Germany lost all her Colonies and
Overseas Possessions: Besides territorial
mines, she was given full ownership of
losses in Europe, Germany lost al] her
the rich coal mines in the Saar basin, a
colonies and overseas poS5e$ions,
di.strict adjoining Lorraine for a period
Togoland and the Cameroon (in ~
of 15 years. An another way the Treaty Africa) were partitioned between Britain
benefited France was that Togoland and and France. German East Africa was
the Cameroon (in West Africa) were shared betwe~n Britain and Bel~UDL
partitioned between Britain and France. However, the Allied powers (Britain.
(as mentioned unde r Point 7 also). France and 'Belgium) held these territoriEs

t±1
1:t
•-..i
. r
•--· .
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- d Georgeo,
I d of Italy, Lloy rl. ht>
The Big Four Who attended the Paris Peace Confemice: V. ~ran
England, George Clemen ceau of France and Woodrow Wdson of
°USA (Fromleft to g
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1918)
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1 • 5 of the League of Nations. peace arrangem t th
datordie 1L4·esopotamia (present-day d ens, erefore, broke
an in own a~d ~ermany under Hitler showed
i,e tso held by Britain under a aggression in its political activities. Th.
ere a the League of Nations. beca . 18
from me an important cause of World
t~ , A governing Mandate means War II.
uide, overn a territory for carrying
r to ~ and political reforms and
nornic . h
. to gain freedom m t e course
g 1t UHJMh'tiHGliiiiJi!U
1
,, . · Separate treaties were signed
e · order to prevent Future
1 wi th Austria (Treaty of Saint-Germain,
8. ~ Germany's Military Strength September 1919) and with Bulgaria. These
ss1on
Crippled: The German Army :vas treaties disarmed Austria and Bulgaria
d to a force of 1,00,000 soldiers, respectively.
was limited to 15,000 men and 2. Austria-Hungary was broken up.
Navy
~ ps and the Air Force was totally Hungary was recognised as a separate
.No submarines were to be allowed. State. A separate Treaty was made with
Germany was neither to make nor Hungary.
purd1ase from outside tanks and 3. Turkey signed the Treaty of Sevres
d cars. in August 1920. She surrendered her
9. Supply of Coal: Germany had to authority practically on all non-Turkish
y huge quantities of coal to France, races.
and Belgium for ten years. J
-;
..
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Several Countries gained

The complete
dence of Belgium, Poland
Czechoslovakia was recognised
Germany. The Czeches got Silesia,
·a and Morvia and thus was created
of Czechoslovakia. Serbia obtained
·c states of Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia
erzegovina and assumed the name
oslavia, with its Capital at Belgrade. Cheering the end of World War I, a joyful crowd
streamed through the streets of a French town on
• The League of Nations: Finally, 11 Nov., 1918.
venant (the Pact) of the League
.tions was added to the Treaty of TERRITOR1AL
_,...-"• .- ~~
es.
'ticism of the Treaty of Versailles: REARRANGEMENTS THAT
reaty of Versailles was undoubtedly a CHAN(jED POLITICAL MAP
d peace", one that would assign all OF THE WORLD
r guilt to Germany. The principle at
The political map of the world, particularly
of the Treaty was: "To the Victors
the Spoils and the Allies are the that of Europe, was transfo~ed ~fter the
Peace Treaties. Their results, in bnef, were
.'' The German representatives had
the Treaty under coercion. as follows: .
1 We have already stated that Austria-
Treaty of Versailles deprived
Hu~gary was broken up and Hungary
Y of all its colonial possessions ;~ad as a separate state.Als
Posed enormous compensation in was recogn~
Germany was fo to cede ace-
l'll\ of War damages. Her military 2· s to surrender
\Vas completely crushed. The Lorraine to France.
~ Contemporary World ........... ..... .

t~~ ~;e~~ ~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~;~~~~· t~ · . ~..~~;I~ ·~~~

Belgium. Germany was also compelled
. :. . . : >
November 1 ~~ The Arrtiistt
9
to hand over to Poland large parts of the Points which p ~as baaed ce ~~
industrial area of Silesia. had formulat ~esident Wu~"~~\
3. New States, such as Romania, were: (1) ;e · A ~ew irn Of A~
Czechoslovakia, Finland and Yugoslavia, (2) J d duchon
n ependence f
O
rtan1 i
Aflll ~
ol
were created keeping in view the principles (3) Formation of or Poland~~
of nationality and nationalism. Organisation to an 1 ~ ~
111
4. The War saw the end of autocratic Independence of all Statguara111ee a¾
monarchies in Germany, Russia and There is no doubt t~s. ~
Austria-Hungary. After the outbreak of and militarily USA at econ ,
· Revo1uhon
t11.e Russ1an · in 1917, the Czarist power after the F' entergedasa11,''l 0111
lcia.
di·ctatorship in Russia also came to an end. . . irst ¥,1 I
pos1hon which England or d W1r, 1'. "~

- - .
.. .,VARIOUS OTHER RESULTS
OF
~ - THE WAR
No previous War had affected so many
governments and so many people in the
world. A few other consequences of the
Vvar were as follows:
1. Death and Destruction: The loss
of life was terrible and shocking indeed.
It was believed that nearly nine million
people were killed. Economy of most of
the European countries was shattered.
2. National Self-Determination: Great
emphasis was laid on the concepts of
nationalism and self-determination at
the Peace Conference in Paris. We have
already referred to the creation of new
States of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.
Poland which had been divided among
Russia, Austria and Prussia in the
eighteenth century was brought together
as Creditor of Europe had long~
to America. passed ~ ~
5. The League of Nati .
Wilson's 14-Points relat dons,One ot t.
. . e to a •r _ ·
Association of Nations' t "'Iler;
indepe~dence of al] nations.oTh~aran'!t
of Nations was an Assoa· ti ~
aon of ~
kind. It was actually established in l~
and had its headquarters at Gen "'
Switzerland. eva ]
THE LEACiUE OF NATIONS
Objectives of the League of Nation.,: Tu
chief aim of the League of Nations '.Ill
"to promote international coopentil
and to achieve international pm
and security." In order to achievelb
objective, the members of the let~.:t
were required: (a) not to resort ,tow~
(b) to establish 'International Law .ii!J
actual rule of conduct among goveffl)l\dl!,
and (c) to respect all treaty Obligabllfll ; 1

as an Independent State. their dealings with one-ano thtr.th "

:;. Emergence of New Ideologies: A few
countries that came under Dictatorship:
For a time democracy and republican
Besides prevention of war, t
objectives of the League
(a) Maintenance of :;ta •.~ »1
~i:
~Ill.I itiM

is , the s1tua ti·Ons that

forms of government seemed to be gaining . t:(J:i
.hi....,,,"
Co1u1olP~
ground . But soon there came a total distrust result of the Pt?aCI? tiOfllU
of democracy in some countries. In Russia {b) The protection of n.i
the Czarist dictatorship was replaced by minorities. . . trilb·.,n 1
., ilk ....
the dictatorship of the Communist party. (() Proper ad~ k> .s ~
In Italy, Germany and Spain the failure territories ,: : ~· (autflll"~1J
of democratic governments led to the rise under the tuJllli, ,r,J
of dictatorial systems such as Fascism the League of Na t,t,ol .Jf
and Nazism. (d) Dtaaling with thf ~ ~
4. Emergence of the United States as the social and ec
 The First World War (1914-1918)

c;tctn of communicc1tion Pc rmc1n ent C ourt of fn te rna ti onal Ju s tice.

d 11ic 5 Y·
,111 .
1
,prlc1tion. The C ons titution of th e fntemati o nal
;ind 111 l . ,. 11,e Le;igue began
• ,,,i,ers 1HJ . Ad . . l .c1bour Organisation (fLO) w as prepared
.. ~,,r . . members. m1ss10n
,,~ ,ng1nil 1 by c1 C ommiss ion set up by the Peace
42 l . rcrntired not less th ,m
cnil1e1s ,, C onfere nce. Th e rr .0 becam e a part of the
...,.," 111 . , (,f th e Assembl y. Th e
,,. . -jc; \ () 1l Tre at y of Ve rsaill es.
...... -th tfl · ver b ccc1mc it s membe r,
c;1;1 tcc; nc
i · · · -;in Scn.1le did not rntify The League's Failure: Th e League did
the An, en L
ll ~r ic 'c; Cl1\·cn ,·r nt. G ermiln y and her mu ch of social and humanitarian w o rk.
t r ,, ~ · ,, eli\~ible for entry for a few Be tween 1925 and 1930 it was able to settle
\\·(' !"C Ill 1 o . . .
. tl c -0 111111 g of German y m a few international di s putes. H o w eve r, it
\\'1t 11 l 1
·· L n_ic 's p osition and s trength
thr .ent!, ~ failed when it had to deal with disputes
t,1ch . in which any o f the major powers w as
' s·
It§ organ .
n,e
Principal Organs of th e
c 0 f 7"ation s w e re-the A ssembly, invol ved . It failed in its main object of
~ C maintaining peace in the world.
llf ('U O 0 ·1, the Secretariat and the

First World War was one of the most destructive wars in the history of ma nkind . It
• dtfere:1t trom the previous wars in many ways. The War began in Europe, but very
•n 11 spread to Con tinents of Asia and Africa as well.
c ' the War: (i) Intense nationalism, (ii) An Armament Race. Germ any built
e powerlul navy w ith a view to achieving parity with Britain . Britain and France w ere
c::i"lce~ned about Germany's growing military strength, (iii) Division of Europe into tw o
,k r.-ied umps- Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy) and Triple Entente
Bm.am , France an d Russia), (iv) Imperialism, i.e., th e race for colon ies, (v) No effective
l '1ternat,onal Organisa tion for the preservation of peace, and (vi) The Sarajevo Crisis that
!.*.came the immediate cause of the War-Assassination of the Archduke Franc.is Ferdinand.
t•,f crown pri nce of Au stria-Austria declared war on Serbia-Ru ,;sia supported Serbia--
Gt'fna.ny dt:-c!cit:-d war on Russ ia and Great Britain declared w ar on Germany-Ital y left
tr,f Tnpk: A lliance and jo ined th e w ar against Germ any.
• · ~,.. • /I r . (i) The Western Front- Germany en tered France and reached
/✓i:i.,ne- R1v1:-r- Anglo -French army checked th e German advance-Germany launched
ti,r-
,u~rnar,ne warfare-Passe nger ship Lusitania w as su nk on 6th April, ·1917. America declared
"'illon Germany, (1i) £astern Fron t lay from the Baltic to the Black Sea-Russia achieved
~::ueany successe-s, bu t they w ere short -lived , (i ii) In Nove m ber ·1_9 ·14, Germany ~ecured
., f pport of Turkey agamst her enerm es in th e w ar- The Bri tish army defeated the
,ur .1sh arrny
• l.c ,
" ' 1 1 ,._ t I tv,•lt UI-J.r t1 191tiJ In 1917 ~evolution broke o u t in ~uss1..i- Len 1n
••t:ntd Pt - •
• J; Clc..e Treaty with Germany.
<t •'rr r
.a"air t rhli hnt.11 t, , 1'111::1 , , I'> A,111 ,i 1, 'I M ..l'>'>I Ve 11111! t,1ry ottens1ve
11Pt> •s Ctrrna ·
as '!ii riy in July 1918- The Cem1dr1 Emperor fled t~) th e Netherl..imh- An Amustrce
It r
Med on i1th Noveml>er 191u
• 0
,~ • ' ,:. 1 I .
d to • t' t (1) The h eaty de<ldred GernMny guil ty ot .Jggre s-i1L1 n- Gerrn,1n y
} Thep~ _htavy sum as W d.r lndeninity, arid h.td tu evdrn.1te lht.> pl..1.i.:e,; she hJ.r.l c.1ptL1ted ,
) Fate /"ne Valley lo be der111litd.rt'>ed , O) Ge,rn,rn y lu'lt Ab..ice .ind Lorr..1i r1e to Fr,mce,
0
d Mai Schleswig was deteonined l,y a plebi">ute , ('1) Gtmn.iny had to surre nder Eupen
e had ~:edy to Belgium, (6) Independence a t Poldnd . She got b,1ck all the ter ritories
st 7
• < ) Germany lost all her colonies and overwas pos-,es-,ion<,, (8) Germany 's
b). . ·.
·. co~t~~-P~~~-;y·W~rld : .. ·::.·::···:.::::·::··:·:.::.::·:::·:::::.::·:-:·.: ::: ···· ..
.. ... ,., ,

military strength was crippled, (9) Germany had to supply huge uan
.
and Italy, (1 O) The Treaty affirmed the complete independence :f P:~ies
of coal ~
and Yu goslavi a, and (11) Covenant of the League of Nations w
and, Czec~ ~,i,
Versaill es. The Treaty was criticise d as a "dictated peace" and beas added
to th, 011r,,i(
of World War 11. came an ,1 1rp ~ i
rnportJn; 1r,1
+ Romnlnlng Ponce Trontloa : Separate Treaties were signed with Aust
tii,~
Hungary was broken up. Hungary was recogni.sed as a separate stat rIa and B I
u garla A
Treaty of Sevres .in Au gust 1920-Sh e surren dered her authority on e-rurk . -~llt
all ey sign~ l• 1

~ Territorial Rearrangements : (1) Hungary recogni.sed as a separate state non-TUrk·15h }~

() ri,-€i
to surre~der Alsace- Lorr~ine'. Eu~en and ~al~ edy, (3) ~ew States, 2
s~ch a~ermany for~
Yugoslavia created keeping in view the principle of nationality, and
(4) The ~0rnaniair
end of autocracy in Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary. 1
Nar >c11, }~
♦ Var Ious Other Results of the War: (1) Death and Destruction, (2)
Roma~ ia, ~zechoslova~ia , ~inland and Yug~slavia were cre~t~d, keeping
of nationality and nationalism, Poland which had been d1v1ded among
.
New
in view
Russ·
5
~:s
5_'.l(h

Pnllr.i~
11

Prussia was brought toget her as an .in dependent State, (3) Emergence of new ia, Au%
ide ir1
(4) USA emerged as a World Power, and (5) Format ion of League of Nations
foll ~s~
of the 14-Points which President Wilson of America had formula ted.
' OWlng '1 ~
+ The League of Nations: It had its headquarters at Geneva in Switzerla
nd-Its Ch:et
was "to promote international cooperation and to achieve internat ional
peace and ~-rt-
League 's other objectives were the maintenance of status quo, protectio
n of na~
minorities and proper administration of the territories assigned under
the 'Manda:e- ;r
authority of the League of Nations-Its Principal Organs were: the Assembly
, the Coc.-cl.
the Secretariat and the Permanent Court of International Justice -The
IL0 became aA.
of the Treaty of Versailles.

/.i.. //\ultip le Choice Quest ions (MCQ s) (1 mar< •1:·

Which of the followi ng was not a Cause of the First World War
(191+-1918\;
(a) An Armam ent Race
(b) Divisio n of Europe into two Armed Camps
(c) Trea ty of Versailles
(d) Sarajev o Crisis
A11 . (c) Treaty of Versail les.
. \\ ,
' Which among the followi.ng became an 1mmed
. . · th F'
1ate cause ot e tr~ ·t WurlJ .u
(a) An armam ent race
(b) Divisio n of Europe into two Armed Camps
(c) Jmperi alism
(d) Sarajev o C risis
(d ) Saraje vo Crisis.
A 11:, .
. . •t u11Jil
.. , , . . .
' N am(: the rn unt ry th<t t was declare d guilty of aggress ion and hal:i t0 suffer ou.l~
the Treaty of Versaill es, 1919.
(a) Jtaly (b) Cerma ny (d) Franc~
(() Britain
Aus. (b) Germa ny.
4. The League of Nation s' failure w as mainly d ue to the fo llowing
factor:
(a) It did not do much of social w ork

J
 ....
• f • • • • • f O t O O f f I O • 0 f O O • o • 0 0 • 0 • 0 0 • o • t • o t O o O O • f O O • 0 I t o O • • 0 0 • I o o O O o O • o o O o • • 0 o

..................................................................!~.e············ ··
First World W~~-(i9i~·i9i'B) ..
.

, ·•'
· ·••'
············• ··· ··•····
.. · d"d not do much of humanitarian work
It I
(b) did not do much for the working classes
(c) ~: failed in its m~in objc~t of maintaining peace in the world, because it failed
to
(d) take a strong ach~n a~amst any of the major powers.
It failed in its m~m obJc~t of maintaining peace in the world, because it failed to
,n•· (d) take a strong action agamst any of the major powers.
~. ,i,e rreaty_ of Versailles mandated Germany to p~~ of war reparation of ..............
.. .
· a) 35 bilhon dollars (b) 40 btlhon dollars
~c) 33 billion dollars (d) 50 million pounds
UCSE Sepecimen Question)
•n (c
) 33 billion dollars.
J ~hort Answer!, Questions (2 m~rkr 01rh)
Mention any two reasons why the War that broke out in 1914 is referred to as the
1 First
World War.
Or
Mention the two ways in which the War that began in 1914 was different from
the
pwious Wars.
~ How did Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm's intense nationalism become
an important cause
of First \,\iorld War?
) Gte any one instance to suggest how the race for armaments contributed to
the
b e ~ of World War I.
' !\ame the two rival blocs formed in Europe before World War I.
~ Name the countries which formed the Triple Alliance .
• ~ame the countries which formed the Triple Entente.
• How did the formation of Alliances lead to First World War ?
, What is meant by Imperialism? Why was it an important cause of the First World
War?
"' What became the most immediate cause for the First World War?
Or
What was the Sarajevo Crisis?
,L 'Who was assassinated at Sarajevo? Which country was blamed
for the assassination
of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand?
11
When did the First World War break out? Which country declared war on
28 July, 1914? Serbia on
·, H
~ ow did Russia react to Austria's declarat ion of War on Serbia?
:) Why did Britain declare war on Germany in August 1914?
,~ Name the five major powers that got involved in the hostilities in l 914.
I Wh ·d.
Y id America dt!elare war on Germany in April 19 l7?
Wl Or
1:, Ho! di~ the USA join the Firt;t World War? . . . .
. did America's entry into the fin;t World War tilt t~ bal.m(e m favour ot the
17
Allies?
~ Was the Armisti~ tdg~, whkh ended t~ Firttt World War? Wh~n w.is the
1
ij ~~ of Versailles signed?
l~. Naineon an~ two terms of the Treaty of Wn;aill~.
the Big Four who attended t~ Paris Peace Confe~m-e?
 ··..c~~t~·~p~~~~v·w~·~1d ·.. ············.. ···.. ·········.. ····.. ··.. ·.. ··...... ·........ ·.... ······ .....
·· ···· ······································ ········· ····················· ·· ········· ··· ····· ·· ···· ············· ··········· ...
?O. Name two importa nt regions in Eur~pe which had to be given ············•.....
per provisio ns of the Treaty of Versailles. away by
21 What was done to demilita rise the area of the Rhfae Valley und
· er theT \
¾nt
2?. How was Denmar k affected by the Treaty of Versailles? reaty 0fVi
2J. How was Poland affected by the Treaty of Versailles? ~ii~
2 1. What happene d to German y's colonies and overseas pos .
provisio ns of the Treaty of Versaille s? sessions .
Ut Africa
2~1. How did the First Wor]d War affect Austria and Hungary ? -~
26. Name any two countrie s that were held by Britain after First Wi
Mandat e from the League of Nations. orld War llnd"
27. Mention any three ways in which the Treaty of Versailles ben fit d 1

2~. When was the League of Nations formed? What was the chief . e e Fran
ce.
Nations? aim of th ,.
e ~gtle r;
Or
Why was the League of Nations establish ed?
29 . Mention two other objective s of the League of Nations besides prom ti
' 0 on of PtaQ.
30. Name the country which emerged as a World Power after the First w Id'"
was its Presiden t at that time? nor nat r~,.
·~
31 . Name any two countrie s which came under dictators hip after the First World Wu

C. Structured Questions (10 marli; .,,•

• . The Great War of 1914 was not due to any single cause, but due to accumulatioo :i
explosiv e material for many years. Describe the factors that widened the rift bet'~
the rival powers with referenc e to the followin g:
(a) Intense Nationa lism
(b) Race for Armame nts
- . There were many causes responsi ble for the outbreak of the First World War.~
how did the followin g lead to the First World War?
(a) Division of Europe into two armed camps
(b) Imperial ism, i.e., race for Colonies . :,
3. TI1e Treaty of Versa illes was not negotiat ed, but dictated by the VIC · torioUS pcwe!S-
this context answer the followin g question s: ?
(a) How did German y s uffer terri torial losses in the mainland of Europt?· «flli
(b) How did German y have to lose all her African colorues . do~r o
an
possessi ons? .. ~-j
.
1
The Treaty of Versailles so ught to cripple once and for all the militarY
German y. In this context answer the followin g question s: reJi,."e""
(a) What did the Allie<l Powers do to curb German Militarism (or to
of the German army)? to the! i,p"'
(b) Is it correct to say that the Tre.1ty of Vers.iillt•s subja:tfd Gefllbll\Y
posi,ible conditio ns? .... 4
Or ~dP"
T he ·freaty
· o f Versa1·11es came m
· for s~v~r~ crl·t·1cism.
· What was the
against it?
 The First World War (1914-1918)

ce to the resuJts of the First World War describe:

"1dt re~rOP Territorial rearrangements that changed political map of the world
~ Anf uu--
. ,,1 . . al Organs of the League of Nations
pnr:°!ree
jltl objectives of the League of Nations
(cl "11)•'- questions based on this picture.
·er u,e
. .I#" - - - -- - -- - ~ ~ -----;-::~~=--- -,

(a) Identify the e\·ent depicted in the picture.

(t> ) Mentionhow this event became the immediate cause of the First World War.
{c) !\ame any four major European nations who were at War in 191-1.