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World War I (1914-1918)

World War I was a global battle that commenced on July 28, 1914, and concluded on November 11, 1918. World War I (commonly known as the Great War) occurred from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918. World War I was fought between the Allies and the Central Powers. The conflict drew several European nations, as well as their colonial territories, at the time. France, Russia, and Britain were the primary members of the Allied Powers. After 1917, the United States also fought with the Allies. The Central Powers were primarily composed of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

Causes of Friction within Europe

The Main Causes of War were:

Navy Competition between Germany and Britain

Germany was in demand of a larger capacity of Navy that could compete with the Sea force of the United Kingdom. The British were not concerned about these by the introduction to ‘Dreadnought Battleship, which occurred in 1906, changed the whole scenario.

Serbian Nationalism

This is further considered as the most threatening Cause of War. Within the early 1900s, the Ottoman Empire started to fade away rapidly with the Balkans. In these phases of the War, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, and Montenegro started to grow up after gaining the independence of the Turkish Rulers, with the dominant force of nationalism.

The assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The terrifying incident took place on June 28, 1914, in Bosnia, Sarajevo, and Herzegovina’s capital and forced Austria-Hungary to announce an attack on Serbia, which slowly promoted World War I (1914-1918).

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Imperialism and Colonial rivalry in Africa

This phase continued in the epidemic of war in the European regions. In 1905 and 1911, France and Germany were ready to fight with Morocco for possessions. However, Germany became successful as the bulk of Europe was on the side of France.

A ‘tragedy of miscalculation’

The concerned Origins of World War I is the tragedy of miscalculation. The Australians made the miscalculation and trusted Russia. At this time, Germany also created a great miscalculation by assuring complete shielding to the Australians; where, both of them became the main part of the war.

Events of the War

DateEvent
June 28, 1914Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand. Austria declared war on Serbia and ordered the army to prepare for an attack. Along with the eruption of the Australian and Siberian War, conflicts started to occur between other countries.
August 4, 1914Germany invaded troops over Belgium, and then at midnight, Britain transit war. These other countries also got involved, which resulted in Japan attacking Germany in August.
May, 1915Italy announced war against Australia. Russia, Romania, Portugal, Greece, France, and Britain made the same alliance with their other allied members.
October, 1915Bulgaria went with Germany and Australia. Later, in November, Turkey announced war against Russia, partnering with Australia. Along with their allies, these countries were commonly known as the Central Powers.
1917The USA entered this war on the side of the countries, which enlarged the duration of the war. After the October Revolution, Russia got withdrawn from the market, and USA’s great economic resources provided great effect over the central powers.
July 1918Also, in Germany and Austria-Hungary, the navies and armies performed several strikes and mutinies. In the middle of 1918, it started to turn towards Germany.
August to November, 1918Bulgaria surrendered on September 29, 1918, and Germany remained the only major Central Power held until August 1918. The Habsburg resigned on November 12, and the Ottoman discontinued by the end of October.
November 11, 1918An Armistice was signed by the new government of Germany, which also ended World War I on the same day at 11 A.M.

Phases of the War outside Europe

  1. These wars went outside of Europe and involved West Asia and North America.
  2.  In 1916, apparent support to the cause of getting free of The Arab Countries from Turkish, France, and Britain signed a secret agreement called the Sykes-Picot agreement.
  3. During this war, the allied powers seized possessions in Africa and Asia from the Germans.
  4.  The South African troops further captured the South-West German colony from 1884-1915. Also, the fight between German East Africa and the British continued till the last day of the war.

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Consequences of World War I

  1.  The effects were devastating in the whole history of the Word as the severe monetary cost was involved.
  2.  Four monarchies of Turkey, Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary fell off.
  3.  Also, this war involved a lot of new technologies.
  4.  Almost 8.5 million soldiers died in this war, and 21 million were wounded badly.
  5. Also, countless civilians lost their lives due to slaughter, starvation, and diseases.
  6. It created a huge economic imbalance in the world economy, where Europe also went into debt.
  7. The Treaty of Versailles was the consequence of the war in the creation of new nations along with new countries and boundaries. From 1919-1920, the western powers also performed separate treaties among the lost countries, including Bulgaria, Austria, Ottoman Empire, and Hungary.

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Conclusion

World War I was a global battle that commenced on July 28, 1914, and concluded on November 11, 1918. It spanned much of Europe, Russia, the United States, and Turkey and was fought in the Middle East, Africa, and portions of Asia. During one of history’s worst battles, an estimated 9 million people were murdered while fighting, while another 5 million perished as a result of bombings, famine, or illnesses. The genocides committed by the Ottomans, as well as the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic spread by the mobility of fighters during the war, resulted in many millions more fatalities globally.