University:
University of Cambridge
Course:
0470 IGCSE | History
Academic year:

2023
Views:

6

Pages:

3
Author:

anon

WWI The First World War: (1914 – 1918) ● 28th July Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. ● 4th August the Central Powers (Germany and Austria Hungary) were at war with the Allies (Britain, France and Russia) ● Stalemate in the west: ○ Everyone thought that the war was going to be quick. ○ German Schlieffen plan was to first knock-out France and then turn on Russia. ■ Avoid war on two fronts. ○ German attack was driven back from the River Marne and a frontline was established which did not change for the following three years. ○ The stalemate could not be broken and led to millions of casualties: Somme, Verdun, and Passchendaele. ○ No one knew how to end such a stalemate and the generals relied on the policy of attrition. ○ Bulgaria joined the Central Powers. ○ Romania and Italy joined the Allies. ○ Everyone was ready to fight until they got a ‘fair share’. ● Naval war and the Americans: ○ Naval war with Britain was indecisive and encouraged the Germans to turn to submarines (U-boats). ○ U-boats sunk many transport ships bound for Britain and were meant to cut off vital supplies: ■ The reason for this happening was probably because the Allies had blockaded German sea trade since the beginning of the war. This would have made them desperate for supplies and a means of ending the blockade. If they had been able to cause Britain to become desperate for supplies they may have been able to negotiate the removal of the blockade. ■ Speculation. ○ 1917, the U-boats attacked any ships that might be trading with Britain. ○ Some of these ships were American. ○ America declared war on Germany in April, 1917. ● Russian front: ○ The Russians were defeated. ○ Communist revolutions in Russia in 1917 brought about the collapse of the Russian war effort. ○ March 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed between Germany and Russia; this dealt very harshly with Russia. ● German defeat and the armistice: ○ Germans launched a major offensive in March 1918. ○ German attack petered out. ○ Allies counterattacked just as the Americans arrived on the scene. ○ Allied breakthrough was decisive and started in August 1918 and continued for about 100 days. ○ Germans asked the Americans for peace and the Armistice (arma-sistere) or Ceasefire was signed on the 11th of November, 1918. ○ The Kaiser lost influence but the military gained power. Damage: ● France, Belgium, and Italy all had large tracts of land, some of which was farmland, devastated by the fighting which occurred on their soil. Also, their communications and buildings suffered damage. ● Germany suffered the greatest number of casualties with Russia a close second. ● French, Belgian, Italian, German, and Russian civilians suffered directly on account of the war.