Project by Abhishek Sinha ECE Roll Number-25

Contents
Introduction Map of Europe Before the war Various Alliances Causes of friction Events leading up to war 1914 1915 1916 War at sea 1917 - Beginning of the End Tanks 1918 - victory for the allies Treaty of versailles League of nations Discontentment leading to world war 2 Stats and Figures

conclusion

Introduction-Causes for the War

Condition of Europe Each country had a different form of government which had its own unique way of ruling. The different ideologies of each government prevented them from agreeing on most issues. France and Britain had democracies ,Germany had a Chancellor and a Monarch ,Italy had an elected Parliament and a Monarch ,while Russia and Austria had complete monarchies.

Map of Europe before the War

Various Alliances
There were two major alliances before the war ensued:The Triple Alliance : comprising of Germany ,Austria-Hungary and Italy. The Triple Entente : comprising of Britain ,France and Russia. In addition Japan and Britain had signed an alliance in 1902. These two groups ,known as the armed camps ,had on several occasions seemed likely to cause war.

Causes of Friction
Anglo-German naval rivalry.

French loss of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany in the Franco-Prussian War.

Germany accused the Triple Entente of trying to encircle her. Serbian nationalism-with the intention of uniting all Serbians living across Europe.
Howitzer

British Royal Navy

Events leading up to the War

Morocco Crisis France wanted their colony in Morocco in return of British rule in Egypt. The Germans declared they would help the Sultan of Morocco to maintain its independence. Bosnia Crisis Taking advantage of a revolution in Turkey , Austria annexed its province of Bosnia. This caused resentment among the Serbs ,who viewed Bosnia as being home to millions of Serbs ,thus heightening tensions.

British Agreement with Russia

As a tactical move to protect its colonies ,Britain signed an alliance with Russia. Germany considered this as an attempt to team up against her despite the fact that this was totally a non-military alliance.

Balkan Wars
First Balkan War :Broke out in 1912 when Serbia ,Greece ,Montenegro and Bulgaria attacked Turkey ,capturing most of its territories. Second Balkan War :Broke out in 1913 ,when Bulgaria attacked Serbia ,due to disagreements over territory distribution won in the first war.

Sarajevo Crisis-Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

On 28th June ,on a visit to Sarajevo ,Bosnia ,the Austrian heir to the throne ,Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife was assassinated by a Serbian terrorist ,Gavrilo Princep. Princep belonged to the dreaded Serbian terror organization -the Black Hand. The Austrians blamed the Serbian government for this incident.

1914
Western Front
The Schlieffen Plan ,to capture Brussels and Paris ,was held up by strong Belgian resistance .This gave the French and the British enough time to prepare their forces for a counter-attack. The Germans after capturing Brussels moved towards Paris but never reached their destination .They penetrated till 20 miles of Paris ,but were held back on each offensive. In September that year ,the French under Joffre attacked the Germans and pushed them back to the river Aisne ,thus completely ruining the Schlieffen Plan.

Eastern Front
The Russians made the mistake of attacking both Austria and East Prussia simultaneously. They were successful against Austria but losses in the Battles at Tannenberg and Mansurian Lakes drove them out of Germany. They lost vast ammunitions and equipment and never recovered after this.

1915
Western Front
Most of the advances made here failed including the British attack at Neuve Chapelle and Loos ,the French offensive in Champagne and the German attack at Ypres. The cause for these failures were blamed on the lack of the surprise element due to strategic placements of bunkers and no cover for the soldiers in the no mans land.

French Armoured Cars

Howitzer

Eastern Front
The Russians further strengthened their position in Austria. The Germans captured Warsaw and then the rest of Poland.

The Russians and the British launched the Gallipoli Campaign to clear the Dardanelles and open up the supply line via the Black Sea which was being held by the Turkish.
This was a total failure .The British fleet was held up by mines ,which ruined the surprise element .The Turks in the meantime were able to strengthen their defenses and no advance could be made inland.

1916
Western Front
Two significant battles were fought in the region :- at Verdun and at Somme. The Germans attacked the French fortress stronghold at Verdun with a hope of defeating them and carrying out the final offensive to win the war .However ,the French defended stubbornly and the Germans had to abandon their mission . The British carried out a series of attacks at Somme against the Germans to ease the pressure off the French at Verdun by keeping the Germans occupied here .

Eastern Front
The Russians attacked Austria to divert German attention away from Verdun .They were successful in capturing territories ,prisoners and equipment. They were followed by the Romanians ,who however were not as successful ,being driven away by the might of the Germans.

The War at Sea

Allies Blockade
The Allies tried to blockade the Central Powers by capturing ports ,and preventing goods from entering or leaving Germany. They kept their own trade routes open . They were also successful in sending British troops to the continent and keeping them supplied using these ports. They were successful in their aims and went on to destroy the all the German surface ships except their main fleet.

German Retaliation
The Germans responded using mines and submarines to break the blockade. At first they respected neutral and passenger ships. Later the British started using passenger liners to transport arms and ammunitions. This led to the sinking of the British passenger liner Lusitania by torpedo attack.

The Battle of Jutland(1916)

This was the only significant battle at sea in this war. The German Admiral tried to lure part of the British fleet out to sea so that the Germans could make use of their numerical advantage. The number of British ships that engaged in the fight was more than the Germans expected . The Germans eventually retreated , firing torpedoes as they went. This event failed to destroy the British sea power ,while the main German fleet never again left the port , giving the British control of the seas.

British Royal Fleet

Hochseeflotte

1917-The Beginning of the End

Western Front
This year was marked by Allied failure in the Battle of Champagne and the Third Battle of Ypres. However ,the introduction of tanks into the war gave the Allies the upper hand. The Italians ,after being defeated by the Germans and Austrians ,retreating to their homeland and defended with all their might ,thus slowing down the German offensive.

St.Chamond tank(French)

Mark 1 Male Tank(Big Willie)

Eastern Front The Russians withdrew from the war citing lack of supplies.
The Allies were however spared of their miseries due to the timely intervention of USA . The role of the Germans in trying to instigate Mexico against the Americans brought them in to the war.

British Tank

Armstrong Gun

Tanks
Tanks were used for the first time in World War 1. The first tanks rolled into battle in 1917. Tanks were developed in response to a plea by the British troops for an improvement over their existing armoured cars. The earliest tanks could best be described as an enlarged tin box on wheels. These tanks ,uncomfortable as they were ,gave the Allies considerable advantage in land battles.

Renault FT17(first modern tank)

Panzer Tank

1918-Victory for the Allies

The Germans launched a last gasp attacked on the French in spring of 1918 by relocating all their soldiers here. It almost came off as they reached to within 40 miles of Paris. But strong French resistance slowed them down and exposed the Eastern Front. The Allied counter-offensive made the Germans retreat and this was effectively the last meaningful event of the war. The armistice was signed on 3rd October,1918 ,declaring the Allies as victorious.
Armistice Train

Treaty of Versailles
Terms of the Treaty
The Germans had to give up most of the territories it had captured in the war .Their African colonies were also taken away from them. German militarization was strictly prohibited .The Rhine valley was to be permanently de-militarized. The blame for the outbreak of the war was fixed solely on German and her allies. The Germans had to pay war compensation to the allies amounting to 6600 million. The League of Nations was setup.

Failure of the Treaty

The peace agreement was forced onto the Germans. The loss of territory by the Germans ,especially Alsace-Lorraine and West Prussia ,which were a part of Germany since before the war. The loss of German colonies in Africa. The Germans argued that demilitarization would provide other countries an opportunity to attack her. The blame for the war was not entirely Germanys. The Germans could not afford the war compensation.

The League of Nations

The League of Nations was conceptualized by Woodrow Wilson ,the American President at the time. It consisted of : The General Assembly The Council ,consisting of four permanent members ,Britain ,France ,Italy and Japan. The Permanent Court of International Justice The Secretariat Various commissions and committees to look into specific issues.

League of Nations Logo

Woodrow Wilson

Successes of the League of Nations

The leagues most significant achievement was the formation of the International Labour Organization. The Refugee Organization. The Health Organization ,the predecessor of the World Health Organization. The Mandates Commission. Resolved several political disputes in the early 1920s.

ILO Logo

WHO Logo

Failure of the League of Nations

It was closely linked to the Versailles treaty ,so it was considered a proAllies organization. USA did not join the League ,further weakening its position. Germany joined in 1926 and the USSR in 1934. With the absence of its founder Woodrow Wilson ,the League did not have anyone to take difficult decisions. The Economic Crisis(1929) further weakened the League. Attack of the Chinese province of Manchuria by the Japanese. Attack of Abyssinia by the Italians .

Europe after the War

Four major imperial powers Germany, Russia ,Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire had been militarily and politically defeated. The latter two ceased to exist as independent countries. Russia revolutionized into the Soviet Union. The map of Europe was divided into a number of smaller ,new and independent nations.

Discontentment leading to World War II

The Germans felt injustice done by the Treaty of Versailles. The entire country rallied behind Adolf Hitler when his Nazi party rose to power and promised world domination. The Italians strongly opposed the League of Nations and regularly flouted its rules. Benito Mussolini was able to set up his Fascist government which received mass approval. The Nazis and the Fascists joined forces under similar goals ,and together with Japan ,formed the Axis.

Adolf Hitler

Benito Mussolini

Stats & Figures

This war was just the beginning of a series of wars in Europe and the neighbouring regions for world domination ,which eventually led to the second world war. The loss of lives in this war was unprecedented ,bettered only by the losses in the second world war.
Allies Central Powers

Military Dead Military Wounded Military Missing Total Casualties

5,525,000 12,831,500 4,121,000 37 million

4,366,000 8,388,000 3,629,000

Total Deaths Total Wounded

Civilian Deaths

16 million 21 million
6.8 million

Conclusion
The World War 1 served as a reminder of the mindless ambitions of certain political and imperial leaders. As a result ,an entire continent was plunged into a four year long war which claimed millions of lives and injured countless others. No real attempt was made by either party to put a stop to these atrocities. Even after the end of the war the continent of Europe still teetered on the verge of another war because the peace measures taken were biased towards the Allies ,giving an excuse the Axis powers to launch a self redeeming war.

Bibliography
Reference Books :Mastering Modern World History (N.Lowe) Websites :Google.com Wikipedia.com Youtube.com