World War I: Causes, Trench Warfare, and End of the Great War

The Causes of World War I

The First World War developed between 1914 and 1918. The causes of this war began in the late nineteenth century.

Colonialism and Nationalism

Among the causes of conflict were:

• The rivalry between the colonial powers.
• National glorification.
• The conflict in the Balkans.

Arms Races and Alliances

The discomfort between the major powers led to an arms race. Much money was spent on weapons, building warships, and training troops.

Also, all powers launched a complex system of military alliances to prepare for a possible confrontation.

In 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy signed the Triple Alliance.

France, fearful of German military power, allied with Russia and improved relations with Britain. The three powers ended up signing the Triple Entente (1907).

The Outbreak of War

On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo.

Austria declared war on Serbia, convinced it was time to end it and extend its domination over the Balkans.

Russia intervened to protect Serbia, and Germany, an ally of Austria, declared war on Russia and France.

Events rushed forward, and in one week, the countries were declaring war.

Britain also declared war when, in the early military campaigns, the German armies invaded Belgium.

The Great War

Mobile Warfare

The German armies attacked France, entering through Belgium and Luxembourg, to beat them faster and direct all their efforts after the Russian front.

At first, this tactic seemed to work, but the French and English armies regrouped and managed to stop the advancing German army at the Battle of the Marne. On the eastern front, the Germans also advanced quickly, but the Russians reacted and reached the borders of the Austrian Empire.

Trench Warfare

After the first movement, the fronts were immobilized. On the Western Front, trenches were opened from Switzerland to the North Sea, and a hard phase of war began.

It was necessary to seek new allies to contribute more troops to the war.

In 1915, Italy intervened on behalf of the Allies, and Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire helped the Central Powers. The war did not seem to have a winning side.

In 1916, the Germans launched an offensive to break the French front in the battle of Verdun.

The War in 1917 and the End of War

During 1917, Russia triumphed in the Bolshevik Revolution, and the revolutionaries, preoccupied with their internal problems, made peace with Germany and withdrew from the war.

The abandonment of Russia was offset by U.S. intervention, after the sinking of the liner Lusitania by a German submarine, they decided to go to war.

In 1918, on the Eastern front, British, Italian, and French forces defeated Austria and its allies. Austria-Hungary and Turkey asked for an armistice, and the fighting stopped.

In the West, the Germans were defeated, and the November 11, 1918 armistice was signed. In Germany, the republic was proclaimed.

The War in the Rear

The First World War was a conflict of a new type of resource mobilization and the involvement of the population, civil and military.

The technical advancements in transportation and weaponry resulted in many dead and maimed and were too destructive.

Contestants converted their industries to manufacture weapons, borrowed money, and replaced the male labor force with women.

Modern techniques of propaganda were used to mobilize public opinion.