Key Historical Events and Geopolitical Shifts of World War I

The Triple Alliance (1882)

In 1882, political tensions between France and Germany resulted in Chancellor Bismarck signing the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, effectively isolating France.

The Triple Entente (1904)

After the failure in 1870, the French Empire was dissolved. In 1904, France managed to sign the Triple Entente between Russia, Britain, and France.

The Schlieffen Plan

• Defeat France as quickly as possible.
• Fight Russia, who would stand alone.

President Wilson's Fourteen Points

1. The evacuation of all Russian territory.
2. Belgium must be evacuated and restored.
3. The removal, as far as possible, of all economic barriers.
4. Absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims.

Consequences for Germany

• Germany had to pay for all war damages.
• The German army had to be reduced.
• The navy was limited to 36 ships, and its submarines were destroyed.
• Germany lost all its overseas colonies.

The Russian Revolution

One of the main consequences of the First World War was the Russian Revolution, which brought about the collapse of the Russian Empire. The causes were economic, social, and political. By 1917, the Russians did not want to be in the war. By 1920, Trotsky's Red Army had won the civil war, and the first communist state, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was founded.

Tension Factors

• Patriotism
• The arms race
• War plans
• Rival empires
• Alliances
• The Kaiser

Phases of the War

The different phases of the war were: Movement Phase (1914) and Trench Warfare (1915–1917).

New Countries in 1919

Yugoslavia, Finland, Latvia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and others.

Territorial Changes

Former empires dissolved or reorganized: Serbia and Montenegro became part of Yugoslavia; the Russian and German Empires ceded territory to form Poland.

Global Colonial Powers

Oceania

France (Vanuatu), Germany (Papua New Guinea, Palau, Nauru), The Netherlands, United Kingdom (Australia, New Zealand, Fiji), USA.

America

France, The Netherlands (Aruba, Suriname), UK (Canada, Jamaica, Barbados), USA (Cuba, Panama), Denmark.

Europe

UK (Malta), Italy, Denmark (Iceland), Austria (Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland), Germany, Russia (Finland, Estonia, Ukraine).

Africa

Germany (Tanzania, Rwanda, Togo), France (Morocco, Mali, Niger), UK (Egypt, Sudan, Zambia), Belgium, Portugal (Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde), Italy, Spain (Morocco, Equatorial Guinea).

Asia

France (Vietnam), The Netherlands (Indonesia), UK (Oman, Malaysia, Singapore), Japan (Taiwan), USA (Philippines), Portugal, Russia (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan).