Above: Map during World War I, 1914-1918

Innumerable countries across the world got involved in a giant conflict which came to be known as World War I. Also known as The Great War it was meant to end all other wars.

Above: US Tank destroyed after passing through German’s Mine In this war tanks were used for the first time. Also air power gained primacy as never before. Submarines or underwater boats came to be introduced. Above: Picture of Archduke Franz Ferdinand The immediate cause of the war was the murder of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, at Sarajevo(Bosnia) whom many thought to be the future King of Austria. He was killed by Gavrilo Princep, a Serbain terrorist. The real causes were far deeper. Europe was divided into two groups – friends who promised to stand beside each other in times of trouble. On the one side was the Allies consisting of Russia, France, Britain to be joined later by Italy and the USA. On the other side was the group of Central Powers consisting of Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottoman Empire. Above: Map of Austria-Hungary 1918 (click map to enlarge) Austria-Hungary comprised of many people speaking many languages. In the south there were the Slavs. They wanted to live together and form a country with Slavs residing in Montenegro and Serbia. One of these Slav occupied regions was Bosnia – the latter had only in recent years become a part of Austria-Hungary. So they too wanted to be part of Serbia. Once both Serbia and Bosnia had been parts of Turkey. Serbia got her independence but Bosnia came to be part of Austria-Hungary. Seeing that violence was the only option left before them, young Slvas of Bosnia formed a terrorist group called ‘Young Bosnia’. Another group ‘Black Hands’ of Serbia decided to help them. Above: Picture during the arrest of Gavrilo Princep At this point of time Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, came to Sarajevo, the most important Bosnian city. Ferdiand’s father was the brother of the Austria-Hungary Emperor. Most thought that he would replace his uncle and ascend the throne. So the ‘Young Bosnia’ group decided to assisinate him. Gavrilo Princep went up to Ferdinand’s car and killed both him and his wife on 28th June 1914. Above: Picture of a machine gunner who died during war The crime was strongly condemned by the Austro-Hungarian government. Serbia came to be blamed for aiding and abetting the terrorists. They asked many things from Serbia so as to put an end to further killings. Serbia agreed to most but as a different country refused to shut down all newspapers. The Austrians were adamant not to give in even to a single point. Germany, as a friend of Austria declared its support for Austrian demands. Above: Germany’s ultimate air combat weapon, Gotha Bomber Taking Sierbia’s refusal to shut down newspapers as a plea Austria-Hungary declared war. The real reason was that like Bosnia, Austria too wanted to take the land from Serbia. Russia, under the Tsar, as a friend of Serbia, decided to call upon the young men of the country to join the army and fight. Simultaneously war machines like tanks, planes and shells were mobilized into action. The Kaiser of Germany undertook similar action because he wanted to stand beside Austria-Hungary. He declared war on Russia. Germany also declared war on France because the latter was a friend of Russia. Above: Infantry unit soldiers marching to battle during the first world war Germany decided to tackle both Russia and France on the logic that swift action would give dividends. Germany had listed conscripts and would in a planned manner entrain them on to their destinations. France lacked in equal precision of movement. The army at Russia’s disposal was huge in numbers but unweildy. It was a difficult time consuming task to organize them into action and start off an offensive against Germany. Above: American machine gunner attacking during the battle in France of World War I Surmising that Russia would not immediately attack Germany, the latter decided to take the offensive with France – thus avoiding the possibility of battling two fronts. Germany remembered that in the recent past the German army had swiftly overrun France, occupied Paris and thus won the war. On the other hand France wanted to avoid a repeat embarrasment. Russia’s cause for annoyance was the way the Slavs, who were related to the Russians, were being treated by Germany. Germany had been eyeing regions around the Baltic which were now possessed by Russia but had once been owned by Germany. This was an area which brought in funds for Russia and she was most apprehensive about losing it. Germany was under the impression that Russia was weak because she had been frequently defeated in wars, the masses were disgruntled with the rulers and in comparison to Germany the army was archaic. Above: Map showing areas and borders occupied by involved countries in the war Britain was friendly with both France and Russia and initially was cautious about joining the fray. But when Germany attacked Belgium to get through to France, Britain decided to pitch in. The main fear was that Germany might slice into the huge colonies Britain possessed and also carve into those occupied by France. Germany would then become the dominant power in the world. Britain viewed with apprehension the growing military might of Germany which could very well soon equal that of Britain. The naval power of all the countries were formidable. Above: Pictorial of Turkish soldiers being trained of using the machine gun Turkey had her reasons for joining the war. Hitherto Turkey had lost most of her empire and was keen in wanting to get back to her former status. Serbia had taken away much from Turkey and so the latter joined hands with Austria to avenge the wrong. Greece went against Austria because of its friendship with Serbia. Both Serbia and Greece had been free before being taken over by Turkey. Many Greeks still lived in lands occupied by Turkey. They were especially keen on getting back ancient Constantinople (Istanbul). All this made Greece join the war against Turkey. Above: Map of Bulgaria Bulgaria too had once been under Turkish domination and in the process of gaining independence had come away with Turkish regions. But in the ensuing war, strangely enough Bulgaria took sides with Turkey because the Greeks and the Serbians claimed that the land Bulgaria had taken from Turkey actually belonged to them. This embittered relationships. Italy sided with Germany and Austria-Hungary in the beginning but later switched sides when they came to fear that taking advantage of the situation Austria would annex parts of northern Italy as it had done in previous times. Romania, being a friend of Russia was an enemy of Bulgaria. So it sided with the Allies. Above: Picture of Lord Kitchener IMPORTANT EVENTS: None had calculated that the war would continue for long or that so many people would get killed. Nobody had any idea of the devastation. Only few, like Lord Kitchener expressed fears that things were otherwise. Germany planned that the easiest way to reach France was through Belgium. The French army on both the north and south sides would be then exposed. On 4th August Germany marched into Belgium. On that very day Britain declared war against Germany. In 1839 Britain had promised that she would never allow invasion of Belgium and so she jumped into the fray. Above: Image depicting the terror world war I has brought The Belgiums put up a strong fight before allowing the Germans to take Liege. The Belgiums were forced out of the city but the Germans had not calculated that it would take such a long time. It was the turn of the French army in the north to face the German onslaught. The French and the British worked together. The stiff resistance at Liege had given them the required time to coordinate their actions. Nevertheless the Germans managed to push back the two powers till Marne River. Meanwhile the death toll had risen. The new guns fell like rain. Holes were dug to escape this barrage. These holes joined the trenches all the way from Switzerland to the North Sea. The trenches were fenced off by barbed wire that would cut through any trying to climb these. The no-mans-land between the trenches was covered with mines that would blow up the enemy to shreds. Above: Trench Map during the first world war (click map to enlarge) On the eastern front the Russians attacked the Germans and pushed them back. But the Germans defeated the Russians at the Battle of Tannenburg. From that time on, like the western sector, in the east too the idea of digging trenches caught on. Many soldiers did not want to fight on Christmas day in 1914. They sang songs, came out of the trenches and shook hands, played football and went so far as to refuse to fight even on the following day. The Generals became afraid of going against them. The trenches, machine guns and mines made it difficult for the enemy to easily attack. It took time for the Generals to gauge the situation and they ordered attack as usual. At the Battle of Somme in 1916 a single day claimed many British lives. It was a black day for Britain. Often skirmishes over a small piece of land led to death. Above: Map Europe showing the area and borders by Treaty of Brest-Litovsk As war continued the internal picture began to change. 1917 saw the outbreak of the Russian Revolution. The Tsar was replaced by the power of the people. Initially it was thought that a new Russia would give a stiffer fight. But the Russian people did not want to fight. They hated the new government for not putting an end to it. In this situation took place the October Revolution by the Communists, lead by Lenin and inspired by Marx. The new power wanted peace from the Germans. By the Treaty of Brest Litovsk peace was restored between Russia and Germany. Germany was the gainer by gaining many regions in East Europe and the Baltic. Above: British submarine destroyed during German’s naval attacks Germany planned to use submarines to attack ships carrying essential food supplies to Britain. They reasoned that the people of Britain would go hungry and beg for peace. But in the actual sortie some Americans died. Immediately USA jumped into the fray against Germany. Above: Picture during the aggression of German troops Germany decided in the spring of 1918 to step up their attack before soldiers arrived from Amercia. They targeted the weak spots leaving aside the points where the Allies were strong. The British and French were pushed back for sometime but soon they rallied with renewed energy. The German Generals then had no alternative but to tell their government that the war had to be stopped – Germany could no longer carry on. Officially World War I ended on 11th November 1918. Above: Dead soldiers during the war AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR I: Germany agreed to the Treaty of Versailles by paying $33 billion. The main issue after the devastating war was that the countries decided to come together to form an international organisation called the League of Nations. The USA Senate did not agree to it although it was the brainchild of the American President Woodrow Wilson. He tried hard to convince the people of America but failed. The war had caused great damage to Europe and the memory of the destruction and bloodshed remained for long in the minds of the people. Below: Graph showing estimated casualties during the war