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Facts about the First World War. Interesting facts about the First World War. The changes also affected food.

The first World War (1914 - 1918)

The Russian Empire collapsed. One of the goals of the war has been accomplished.

Chamberlain

The First World War lasted from August 1, 1914 to November 11, 1918. 38 states with a population of 62% of the world took part in it. This war was quite ambiguous and extremely contradictory described in modern history... I deliberately cited Chamberlain's words in the epigraph to once again emphasize this inconsistency. A prominent politician in England (Russia's ally in the war) says that one of the goals of the war has been achieved by overthrowing the autocracy in Russia!

The Balkan countries played an important role at the beginning of the war. They were not independent. Their policies (both foreign and domestic) were greatly influenced by England. Germany by that time had lost its influence in this region, although it controlled Bulgaria for a long time.

• Entente. Russian Empire, France, Great Britain. The USA, Italy, Romania, Canada, Australia, New Zealand were allies.
• Triple Alliance. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire. Later they were joined by the Bulgarian Kingdom, and the coalition became known as the "Quadruple Alliance".

The following large countries took part in the war: Austria-Hungary (July 27, 1914 - November 3, 1918), Germany (August 1, 1914 - November 11, 1918), Turkey (October 29, 1914 - October 30, 1918), Bulgaria (October 14, 1915 - 29 September 1918). Entente countries and allies: Russia (August 1, 1914 - March 3, 1918), France (August 3, 1914), Belgium (August 3, 1914), Great Britain (August 4, 1914), Italy (May 23, 1915), Romania (August 27, 1916) ...

One more important point. Italy was originally a member of the Triple Alliance. But after the outbreak of the First World War, the Italians declared neutrality.

Causes of the First World War

The main reason for the outbreak of the First World War is the desire of the leading powers, primarily England, France and Austria-Hungary, to redistribute the world. The fact is that the colonial system collapsed by the beginning of the 20th century. The leading European countries, which for years flourished through the exploitation of colonies, now could not get resources just like that, taking them away from the Indians, Africans and South Americans. Now resources could only be won back from each other. Therefore, contradictions grew:

• Between England and Germany. England sought to prevent the strengthening of Germany's influence in the Balkans. Germany sought to gain a foothold in the Balkans and the Middle East, and also sought to deprive England of naval domination.
• Between Germany and France. France dreamed of regaining the lands of Alsace and Lorraine, which it had lost in the war of 1870-71. Also, France sought to seize the German Saar coal basin.
• Between Germany and Russia. Germany sought to take Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states away from Russia.
• Between Russia and Austria-Hungary. The contradictions arose because of the desire of both countries to influence the Balkans, as well as the desire of Russia to subjugate the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.

The reason for the start of the war

The events in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) served as a pretext for the beginning of the First World War. On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand of the Young Bosnia movement, assassinated Archduke Frans Ferdinand. Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, so the murder had a huge resonance. This was the reason for Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia.

The behavior of England is very important here, since Austria-Hungary on its own could not start a war, because this practically guaranteed a war in all of Europe. The British at the level of the embassy tried to convince Nicholas II that Russia, in the event of aggression, should not leave Serbia without help. But then all (I emphasize this) the English press wrote that the Serbs are barbarians and Austria-Hungary should not leave the murder of the Archduke unpunished. That is, England did everything so that Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia did not evade the war.

Important nuances of the reason for war

In all textbooks we are told that the main and only reason for the outbreak of the First World War is the assassination of the Austrian Archduke. At the same time, they forget to say that the next day, June 29, another significant murder took place. The French politician Jean Jaures, who actively opposed the war and had great influence in France, was killed. A few weeks before the assassination of the Archduke, there was an attempt on the life of Rasputin, who, like Jaures, was an opponent of the war and had a great influence on Nicholas 2. I also want to note some facts from the fate of the main characters of those days:

• Gavrilo Principin. He died in prison in 1918 from tuberculosis.
• Russian Ambassador to Serbia - Hartley. In 1914 he died at the Austrian Embassy in Serbia, where he attended a reception.
• Colonel Apis, leader of the Black Hand. Shot in 1917.
• In 1917, Hartley's correspondence with Sozonov (the next Russian ambassador to Serbia) disappeared.

All this indicates that there were a lot of black spots in the events of the days, which have not been revealed until now. And this is very important to understand.

England's role in starting the war

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 2 great powers in continental Europe: Germany and Russia. They did not want to openly fight against each other, since the forces were approximately equal. Therefore, in the "July crisis" of 1914, both sides took a wait-and-see attitude. English diplomacy came to the fore. She, through the press and secret diplomacy, conveyed to Germany the position - in case of war, England would remain neutral or take the side of Germany. By open diplomacy, Nicholas II received the opposite idea that in the event of the outbreak of war, England would side with Russia.

It must be clearly understood that one open statement by England that it will not allow war in Europe would be enough for neither Germany nor Russia to think about anything of the kind. Naturally, in such conditions, Austria-Hungary would hesitate to attack Serbia. But England, with all her diplomacy, pushed European countries to war.

Russia before the war

Before the First World War, Russia carried out an army reform. In 1907, a reform of the fleet was carried out, and in 1910 a reform of the ground forces. The country has multiplied military spending, and the total army in peacetime was now 2 million people. In 1912, Russia adopted a new Charter of the Field Service. Today it is rightfully called the most perfect charter of its time, since it motivated soldiers and commanders to show personal initiative. An important point! Army doctrine Russian Empire was offensive.

Despite the fact that there were many positive changes, there were also very serious miscalculations. The main one is the underestimation of the role of artillery in the war. As the course of events of the First World War showed, it was a terrible mistake, which clearly showed that at the beginning of the 20th century, Russian generals were seriously behind the times. They lived in the past when the role of the cavalry was important. As a result, 75% of all losses of the First World War were inflicted by artillery! This is a sentence to the imperial generals.

It is important to note that Russia never completed preparations for war (at the proper level), and Germany completed it in 1914.

The balance of forces and means before the war and after it

Artillery

According to the data from the table, it can be seen that Germany and Austria-Hungary were many times superior to Russia and France in heavy guns. Therefore, the balance of forces was in favor of the first two countries. Moreover, the Germans, as usual, created an excellent war industry before the war, which produced 250,000 rounds daily. By comparison, Britain was producing 10,000 shells a month! As they say, feel the difference ...

Another example showing the importance of artillery is the fighting on the Dunajec Gorlice line (May 1915). In 4 hours, the German army fired 700,000 shells. For comparison, during the entire Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) Germany fired just over 800,000 shells. That is, in 4 hours a little less than in the entire war. The Germans clearly understood that heavy artillery would play a decisive role in the war.

Armament and military equipment

Production of weapons and equipment during the First World War (thousand units).

This table clearly shows the weakness of the Russian Empire in terms of equipping the army. In all the main indicators, Russia is much inferior to Germany, but also inferior to France and Great Britain. Largely because of this, the war turned out to be so difficult for our country.

Number of people (infantry)

The number of fighting infantry (millions).

The table shows that Great Britain made the smallest contribution, both in terms of belligerents and in terms of deaths, to the war. This is logical, since the British did not really participate in major battles. Another example from this table is indicative. We are told in all textbooks that Austria-Hungary, due to heavy losses, could not fight on its own, and she always needed the help of Germany. But pay attention to Austria-Hungary and France in the table. The numbers are identical! Just as Germany had to fight for Austria-Hungary, so Russia had to fight for France (it was no coincidence that the Russian army three times during the First World War saved Paris from surrender by its actions).

The table also shows that in fact the war was between Russia and Germany. Both countries lost 4.3 million people killed, while Britain, France and Austria-Hungary together lost 3.5 million. The numbers are eloquent. But it turned out that the countries that fought the most and made efforts in the war ended up with nothing. First, Russia signed the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, shameful for itself, having lost many lands. Then Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, essentially losing its independence.

The course of the war

Military events of 1914

On July 28, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. This entailed the involvement in the war of the countries of the Triple Alliance, on the one hand, and the Entente, on the other.

Russia entered World War I on August 1, 1914. Nikolai Nikolayevich Romanov (Nikolai's uncle 2) was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

In the first days of the outbreak of the war, St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd. Since the war with Germany began, and the capital could not have the name of German origin - "burg".

Historical reference

German "Schlieffen Plan"

Germany was under the threat of war on two fronts: the East with Russia, the West with France. Then the German command developed the "Schlieffen plan", according to which Germany must defeat France in 40 days and then fight with Russia. Why 40 days? The Germans believed that that was exactly how much Russia would need to mobilize. Therefore, when Russia is mobilized, France will already be out of the game.

On August 2, 1914, Germany captured Luxembourg, on August 4, they invaded Belgium (a neutral country at that time), and by August 20, Germany reached the borders of France. The implementation of the Schlieffen plan began. Germany advanced deep into France, but on September 5 was stopped at the river Marne, where a battle took place, in which about 2 million people from both sides participated.

Northwestern Front of Russia in 1914

At the beginning of the war, Russia did something stupid that Germany could not possibly calculate. Nicholas 2 decided to enter the war without fully mobilizing the army. On August 4, Russian troops, under the command of Rennenkampf, launched an offensive in East Prussia (present-day Kaliningrad). Samsonov's army was equipped to help her. Initially, the troops operated successfully, and Germany was forced to retreat. As a result, part of the forces of the Western Front was transferred to the Eastern. The result - Germany repulsed the offensive of Russia in East Prussia (the troops acted unorganized and lacked resources), but as a result, the Schlieffen plan failed, and France was not captured. So, Russia saved Paris, though by defeating its 1st and 2nd armies. After that, trench warfare began.

Southwestern Front of Russia

On the southwestern front in August-September, Russia launched an offensive operation against Galicia, which was occupied by the troops of Austria-Hungary. The Galician operation was more successful than the offensive in East Prussia. In this battle, Austria-Hungary suffered a catastrophic defeat. 400 thousand people killed, 100 thousand captured. For comparison, the Russian army lost 150 thousand people killed. After that, Austria-Hungary actually withdrew from the war, since it lost the ability to conduct independent actions. Austria was saved from complete defeat only by the help of Germany, which was forced to transfer additional divisions to Galicia.

The main results of the military campaign in 1914

• Germany failed to implement Schlieffen's plan for lightning war.
• No one has won a decisive advantage. The war turned into a trench war.

Map of military events 1914-15 years

Military events of 1915

In 1915, Germany decided to shift the main blow to the eastern front, directing all its forces to the war with Russia, which was the weakest country of the Entente, according to the Germans. It was a strategic plan developed by the commander of the Eastern Front, General von Hindenburg. Russia managed to thwart this plan only at the cost of colossal losses, but at the same time 1915 turned out to be simply terrible for the empire of Nicholas II.

Position on the northwestern front

From January to October, Germany led an active offensive, as a result of which Russia lost Poland, western Ukraine, part of the Baltic states, and western Belarus. Russia went into deep defense. The losses of the Russians were gigantic:

• Killed and wounded - 850 thousand people
• Captured - 900 thousand people

Russia did not capitulate, but the countries of the "Triple Alliance" were convinced that Russia would no longer be able to recover from the losses it had received.

The successes of Germany in this sector of the front led to the fact that on October 14, 1915, Bulgaria entered the First World War (on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary).

Position on the southwestern front

The Germans, together with Austria-Hungary, organized the Gorlitsky breakthrough in the spring of 1915, forcing the entire southwestern front of Russia to retreat. Galicia, which was captured in 1914, was completely lost. Germany was able to achieve this advantage thanks to the terrible mistakes of the Russian command, as well as a significant technical advantage. German superiority in technology reached:

• 2.5 times with machine guns.
• 4.5 times in light artillery.
• 40 times with heavy artillery.

It was not possible to withdraw Russia from the war, but the losses in this sector of the front were gigantic: 150 thousand killed, 700 thousand wounded, 900 thousand prisoners and 4 million refugees.

Position on the western front

"Everything is calm on the western front." This phrase can be used to describe the course of the war between Germany and France in 1915. There was a sluggish military action in which no one strove for the initiative. Germany implemented plans in Eastern Europe, and England and France calmly mobilized the economy and the army, preparing for further war. Nobody provided any assistance to Russia, although Nicholas II repeatedly appealed to France, first of all, so that she would go over to active operations on the Western Front. As usual, no one heard him ... By the way, this sluggish war on the western front for Germany is perfectly described by Hemingway in his novel A Farewell to Arms.

The main result of 1915 was that Germany was unable to withdraw Russia from the war, although all forces were thrown into this. It became obvious that the First World War would drag on for a long time, since no one was able to gain an advantage or strategic initiative during 1.5 years of the war.

Military events of 1916

"Verdun meat grinder"

In February 1916, Germany launched a general offensive against France, with the aim of capturing Paris. For this, a campaign was carried out to Verdun, which covered the approaches to the French capital. The battle lasted until the end of 1916. During this time, 2 million people died, for which the battle was named "Verdun meat grinder". France resisted, but again thanks to the fact that Russia came to its rescue, which became more active on the southwestern front.

Events on the southwestern front in 1916

In May 1916, Russian troops launched an offensive that lasted 2 months. This offensive went down in history under the name "Brusilov Breakthrough". This name is due to the fact that the Russian army was commanded by General Brusilov. The breakthrough of the defense in Bukovina (from Lutsk to Chernivtsi) happened on June 5. The Russian army managed not only to break through the defenses, but also to advance into its depths in places up to 120 kilometers. The losses of the Germans and Austro-Hungarians were catastrophic. 1.5 million dead, wounded and prisoners. The offensive was stopped only by additional German divisions, which were hastily transferred here from Verdun (France) and from Italy.

This offensive of the Russian army was not without a fly in the ointment. The allies threw her up, as usual. On August 27, 1916, Romania entered the First World War on the side of the Entente. Germany very quickly defeated her. As a result, Romania lost the army, and Russia received an additional 2 thousand kilometers of the front.

Events on the Caucasian and Northwestern Fronts

Positional battles continued on the North-Western Front during the spring-autumn period. As for the Caucasian Front, here the main events lasted from the beginning of 1916 to April. During this time, 2 operations were carried out: Erzurmur and Trebizond. According to their results, Erzurum and Trebizond were conquered, respectively.

Outcome of 1916 in the First World War

• The strategic initiative went over to the side of the Entente.
• The French fortress of Verdun survived thanks to the offensive of the Russian army.
• Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente.
• Russia launched a powerful offensive - the Brusilov Breakthrough.

Military and political events 1917

The year 1917 in the First World War was marked by the fact that the war continued against the background of the revolutionary situation in Russia and Germany, as well as the deterioration of the economic situation of the countries. Let me give you an example of Russia. Over the 3 years of the war, prices for basic products have grown by an average of 4-4.5 times. Naturally, this caused discontent among the people. Add to this the heavy losses and the exhausting war - it is an excellent ground for revolutionaries. The situation is similar in Germany.

In 1917, the United States entered the First World War. The positions of the "Triple Alliance" are deteriorating. Germany with its allies cannot effectively fight on 2 fronts, as a result of which it goes on the defensive.

The end of the war for Russia

In the spring of 1917, Germany launched another offensive on the Western Front. Despite the events in Russia, Western countries demanded that the Provisional Government implement the agreements signed by the Empire and send troops on the offensive. As a result, on June 16, the Russian army launched an offensive in the Lvov region. Again, we saved the allies from major battles, but we ourselves were completely substituted.

The Russian army, exhausted by the war and losses, did not want to fight. The issues of provisions, uniforms and provision of supplies during the war years were not resolved. The army fought reluctantly, but moved forward. The Germans were forced to redeploy troops here, and Russia's allies in the Entente again isolated themselves, watching what would happen next. On July 6, Germany launched a counteroffensive. As a result, 150,000 Russian soldiers were killed. The army actually ceased to exist. The front fell apart. Russia could no longer fight, and this catastrophe was inevitable.

People demanded that Russia withdraw from the war. And this was one of their main demands on the Bolsheviks, who seized power in October 1917. Initially, at the 2nd congress of the party, the Bolsheviks signed the decree "On Peace", actually proclaiming Russia's withdrawal from the war, and on March 3, 1918, they signed the Brest Peace. The conditions of this world were as follows:

• Russia makes peace with Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey.
• Russia loses Poland, Ukraine, Finland, part of Belarus and the Baltic states.
• Russia yields to Turkey Batum, Kars and Ardahan.

As a result of its participation in the First World War, Russia lost: about 1 million square meters of territory, about 1/4 of the population, 1/4 of arable land and 3/4 of the coal and metallurgical industries were lost.

Historical reference

Events in the war in 1918

Germany got rid of the Eastern Front and the need to wage a war in two directions. As a result, in the spring and summer of 1918, she attempted an offensive on the Western Front, but this offensive had no success. Moreover, as it went on, it became obvious that Germany was squeezing the maximum out of herself, and that she needed a break in the war.

Autumn 1918

The decisive events in the First World War took place in the fall. The Entente countries, together with the United States, went on the offensive. The German army was completely driven out of France and Belgium. In October, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria signed a truce with the Entente, and Germany was left to fight alone. Her position was hopeless after the German allies in the Triple Alliance had effectively surrendered. This resulted in the same thing that happened in Russia - the revolution. On November 9, 1918, Emperor Wilhelm II was overthrown.

End of World War I

On November 11, 1918, the First World War of 1914-1918 ended. Germany signed a complete surrender. It happened near Paris, in the Compiegne forest, at the Retonde station. The capitulation was accepted by the French Marshal Foch. The terms of the signed peace were as follows:

• Germany admits complete defeat in the war.
• The return of France to the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to the borders of 1870, as well as the transfer of the Saar coal basin.
• Germany lost all of its colonial possessions, and also pledged to transfer 1/8 of its territory to its geographical neighbors.
• For 15 years, the Entente troops are on the left bank of the Rhine.
• By May 1, 1921, Germany had to pay the members of the Entente (Russia was not entitled to anything) 20 billion marks in gold, goods, securities, etc.
• For 30 years Germany has to pay reparations, and the amount of these reparations is set by the winners themselves and can increase them at any time during these 30 years.
• Germany was forbidden to have an army of more than 100 thousand people, and the army was obliged to be exclusively voluntary.

The conditions of "peace" were so humiliating for Germany that the country actually became a puppet. Therefore, many people of that time said that although the First World War ended, it ended not in peace, but in a truce for 30 years. So it ultimately happened ...

Results of the first world war

The First World War was fought on the territory of 14 states. It was attended by countries with a total population of more than 1 billion people (this is about 62% of the total population of the world at that time). In total, 74 million people were mobilized by the participating countries, of which 10 million died and another 20 million were injured.

As a result of the war political map Europe has changed significantly. Such independent states as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Albania appeared. Austria-Hungary split into Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Romania, Greece, France, Italy have increased their borders. The losers and losers in the territory were 5 countries: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey and Russia.

World War I 1914-1918 map

The First World War was one of the most destructive wars known to mankind up until the Second World War. Although political divisions between the countries led to the war, it began after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie by a Serb nationalist.
However, before the assassination, several countries and empires sought funds to expand their territory, opposing the expansion of other empires. This forced most of them to form alliances. By the time the Archduke was assassinated, their alliances had dragged them into the war.

Three leading empires were ruled by cousins

Russia, Germany and Britain - the three empires at the center stage of World War I - were ruled by cousins. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and King George V of Great Britain were cousins, King George V and Tsar Nicholas II were cousins, and Tsar Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilhelm II were second cousins.

Considering that the three emperors were descendants of King George II of Great Britain, the mother of William II was the sister of the father of George V, and the mother of George V and the mother of Nicholas II were sisters, the three emperors were also five cousins.

At that time, Queen Victoria was called the "Mother of Europe" because she was closely associated with most of the reigning dynasties of Europe.
For example, George V and Wilhelm II were her grandchildren. However, she did not encourage any relationship between them and never wanted to see them together. George V's mother, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, also discouraged any fraternization between George V and William II. However, she encouraged George V to maintain a close relationship with Nicholas II, the son of her sister Dagmara. By the time they became emperors, the cousins ​​maintained a rivalry. While all three never believed that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria would lead to war between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, they knew it was possible. And such a war will definitely drag them out, because Austria-Hungary was tied to Germany and Serbia was tied to Russia. At the same time, Russia was associated with France, and France with Great Britain.
The cousins ​​could no longer stop the war by the time it became inevitable.
The assassination and subsequent crises played into the hands of army generals, politicians who were more interested in "national pride" and arms dealers who simply wanted to make money.

Russia asked Germany to stop the war


World War I officially began on July 28, 1914, the day Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. On the same morning, Nicholas II sent a telegram to Wilhelm II, begging him to end the war. The telegram was partly unofficial, and Nicholas II even signed it with his nickname Niki. Nicholas II explained that the war against Serbia would lead to the participation of Russia, which he did not want. Wilhelm replied that the impending war had no political effect and simply had to deal with the people who killed the Archduke. He added that he was doing everything possible for Austria-Hungary to reach an agreement with Russia. He also signed the telegram with his nickname, Willie.
The cousins ​​continued to exchange telegrams. However, they did not reach an agreement, although they did not want war. At some point, Wilhelm said that the Austro-Hungarian troops would go to Belgrade, Serbia, not attacking the Serbs, but waiting for Serbia to destroy the Black Hand terrorist group that killed the archduke.
He instructed his chancellor to forward this proposal to Russia, but the chancellor instructed the German ambassador to Russia to inform Russia that Germany would mobilize its troops in response to Russia's mobilization. Both emperors continued to exchange telegrams. They also did not stop mobilizing their armies. They did nothing to postpone the war. On August 1, a few days after the first telegram was sent, Germany declared war on Russia.

Communists in Russia


With the passage of time, we can safely say that the First World War became an important reason for the revolutions in Russia and the victory of the communists led by Lenin.
The war affected the Russian economy. It was longer than expected and there was no hope that Russia would win.

After a series of defeats, Tsar Nicholas II fired his inexperienced cousin, whom Nicholas II had appointed general, and took control of the army. And that was the end! Before that, the generals were accused of military failures, now they began to blame the tsar. Nicholas II made another mistake when he transferred control of the empire to his wife Alexandra instead of the prime minister. First, Alexandra was German, which didn't sound very good because Russia was at war with Germany. Then Alexandra became too close to Grigori Rasputin, the healer with whom she hoped to cure her son of hemophilia.
However, Rasputin had other intentions and soon began to interfere with national problems... In December 1916, worried Russians killed Rasputin. But this did little to change the situation.
At the same time, the protracted war damaged the Russian economy.
In February 1917, inflation and food shortages sparked massive protests that quickly turned into a revolution. Nikolai left the front line to return home. But on the way, he had to sign an abdication.
The provisional government gained the upper hand, but was unable to solve the problems that caused the revolution. The second revolution, led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin, followed in November 1917. She overthrew the interim government. The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, promised the Russian people "peace, bread and land."
Lenin also entered into negotiations with Germany, which led to the 1918 Brest-Litovsk Treaty, which ended Russia's involvement in World War I. Russia ceded to Germany a part of Ukraine, Finland, Poland and the Baltic territories. In return, Germany retreated from Russia.

World War I led to the collapse of three empires and the creation of several new states


World War I changed European and Asian borders forever. This led to the fall of three empires and the creation of several countries. The German, Ottoman and Russian empires collapsed at the end of the war.
Poland became independent from the Russian Empire, and Austria-Hungary was divided into Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Austria ceded land to Italy and Czechoslovakia and became landlocked.
Bulgaria abandoned the coastline in the Mediterranean. Hungary lost most of its land to Czechoslovakia and part of Romania.
Complete collapse Ottoman Empire... Her land was divided between Britain and France. Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovenia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates were either wholly or part of the empire.

Renaming all German in the USA


Before the declaration of war German was the second most spoken language in the US after English. However, anti-German sentiment that followed the declaration of war quickly led to a ban on the German language.
The language has been removed from the curriculum of many American schools and German books became illegal. Music dealers have also refused to sell German songs. Anti-German sentiment spread to everything - everything was renamed. Even dogs were affected, and the German Shepherd Dogs were renamed Alsatian, after the region of Alsace in France, where they were once bred. Meanwhile, the dachshund was renamed "badger dog" and "freedom puppy". The dog itself became the personification of Germany and was used to represent Germany in political cartoons. There was also evidence that some dachshunds were stoned to death in the UK.

Trench war


During the First World War, machine guns were widely used. To protect themselves, the soldiers quickly learned to shoot from trenches that connected into long trenches. As the war progressed, up to three additional trenches were dug up to the original trench. Thus, the enemy will still have to deal with three more trenches, even if they manage to defeat the front trenches.
The longest trenches were on the Western Front, from the coast of Belgium to France to the coast of Switzerland. It was impossible to get around the trench, so a head-on attack was the only option. These were suicide missions because both sides defended their front trenches with barbed wire and machine guns.
The attacking infantry was usually supported by heavy artillery, which itself quickly became a problem and even contributed to the failure of attacks. An artillery storm signaled to the enemy that an assault was under way, forcing the enemy to quickly fortify their positions.
The artillery assault on the attacking army also slowed down the infantry because the shells exploded right in front of them.

Tanks appeared


The trench warfare quickly led to a stalemate. Nobody won and nobody lost. Both sides continued to hide in their trenches and carry out frontal attacks, which almost always ended in disaster. Then the tanks appeared.
Before the war, proposals to build tanks in England, France and Germany were rejected. However, during the war, England and France secretly and independently worked on the creation of the tank, hoping to use it to defeat the enemy.
England was the first to create a practical tank, which he deployed at the Battle of the Somme on September 15, 1916. The Germans fled at the sight of tanks that broke through two of the three German trenches. But the tanks had to retreat due to command and control problems. They weren't perfect either. The stuffiness and toxic fumes were a big problem for their crews, and tanks often broke down.
Of the 50 deployed, half broke before the attack.
Germany soon became accustomed to tanks and developed anti-tank weapons and tactics. However, it was not enough to stop the thousands of tanks deployed by the Allies. In contrast, Germany deployed only 20. Allied tanks broke through the German trenches, forcing them to surrender. In fact, machine guns drove the soldiers into the trenches, and tanks drove them out.
Fun fact: Tanks were originally called land ships. They are now called tanks because the British military told their workers that they were building "mechanized water tanks" to transport water to British troops in the deserts of today's Iraq. Workers reduced "mechanized water tanks" to "water tanks" and then "tanks."

World War I was not called World War


In the United States, it was called the European War, and everyone else called it the Great War. The first mention of "World War" came from the United States after American newspapers began using the name when the United States was involved in 1917.
The war was called "Great" because of the large number of warring parties. It was believed that this was a war that would end the evil of the German state. How wrong they were. Besides the Great War, the war was also called “ Great War for civilization "

The growing role of the United States


The war destroyed the industries and economies of Germany, Russia, Great Britain and France. With the exception of Germany, the other three were dependent on US supplies.
The Allies bought so much from the United States that the American economy switched from producing civilian goods to military goods. By the time the war ended, the Allies were heavily indebted to the United States.
For example, Russia was indebted to France, which was indebted to the United States and Britain. France was more in debt to Britain than it was to the United States, but Britain itself was heavily indebted to the United States. France wanted to pay off its debts to the United States and Great Britain with money that Russia owed. However, Lenin refused to pay, because the tsarist government, and not his, took the debt.
On the other hand, Britain was dependent on money owed from France and Italy to repay the United States. But France could not pay because Russia did not pay. France tried to pay off its debts through Germany. But Germany had no money and could only make money if they exported goods to the United States. However, in the 1920s, the US suffered a recession and was unable to buy goods imported from Germany.
Things got so bad that the United States gave the money to Germany in 1924 so that Germany could pay its reparations to France and Great Britain. In turn, France and Britain used the money to pay off their debts to the United States.
At the same time, most of the belligerents abandoned the gold standard at the start of the war, leading to the devaluation of their currencies towards the end. This left the US with the most gold, and thus the country became the custodian of the global gold standard.

Significance of the Treaty of Versailles


The Treaty of Versailles formalized the end of the First World War.
Under the treaty, Germany was to pay 269 billion gold marks (Germany's currency at the time), equivalent to 100,000 tons of gold, to the Allies. It also forced Germany to take the blame for the war. Reparations were subsequently reduced to 112 billion gold marks, but this did little to weaken the mood of opponents in Germany.
This debt has placed a heavy burden on Germany. In fact, the country finished paying it in 2010.
In Germany was economic crisis, unemployment, inflation. But the country had to pay reparations to the victors and take the blame for the war on itself. The population of Germany did not want to do this.
These factors contributed to the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. The Nazis promised to bring the people out of poverty. Hitler, having come to power, refused to pay reparations. Instead, he created an army and started World War II.

The First World War forever changed the face of battle, making it massive, bloody, dynamic and merciless. The use of toxic substances, the appearance of mortars and fragmentation grenades, the massive use of anti-personnel mines and machine guns, the production of tanks and aircraft carriers, a leap in encryption and reconnaissance, this is just a small list of what this war gave to mankind.

1.Armored mobile combat device Tsar-tank, developed by engineer Nikolai Lebedenko in Russia in 1914-1915.

Strictly speaking, the object was not a tank, but a wheeled combat vehicle. The tank was built and tested in 1915. Based on the test results, it was concluded that the tank was generally unsuitable for use in battle conditions, which led to the closure of the project. The constructed copy was subsequently dismantled for scrap.

2. The British have done better with this invention. Tanks were first used during the First World War and were the "answer" to the problem of protracted "trench wars", when the parties could literally always sit in their trenches opposite each other. For several decades ahead, tanks became the main striking force in land battles.

3. For the first time, aircraft capable of carrying a serious bomb load appeared. Bomber Ilya Muromets is the general name of several series of four-engine solid-wood biplanes produced in Russia during 1913-1918. The aircraft set a number of records for carrying capacity, number of passengers, time and maximum flight altitude.

4. Improved medical care. A Renault truck with a mobile X-ray unit is another know-how of that war, which greatly facilitated the treatment of wounded and crippled soldiers.

5. The appearance of iron helmets among soldiers - another invention of the First World War. Considering the massive use of machine guns and fragmentation grenades, a hail of bullets, shrapnel, shell fragments literally fell on the soldiers' heads. In addition, the "trench" nature of the fighting led to the fact that the most vulnerable part of the infantryman's body was precisely the head, which, willy-nilly, periodically "Protruded" out of the trench.

6. The evolution of military thought did not stop there and turned to the Middle Ages. Individual armor protection could stop bullet and shrapnel

Russian troops were the first to use the so-called mobile barricades.

7. The First World War was held under the sign of competition between armor and a projectile. Trains, cars, ships and even motorcycles were booked.

8. World War I - the time when machine guns began to be used en masse on the battlefields, forever changing the dynamics of battle.

Legendary Lewis machine gun (below)

9. Wired and wireless communication has become widely used. German signalmen use a tandem bicycle to charge the generator of a mobile radio station. Rear of the Eastern Front, September 1917

10. Mortars began to be actively used only during the First World War. Its purpose was to deliver a fragmentation or shrapnel charge into the enemy's trenches. Then mortars began to be actively used in chemical warfare. Several hundred mines were fired at one site in a salvo and immediately created a thick cloud. All life died in this cloud. For firing chemical ammunition, mortars of a simpler device were used, which were called gas cannons. The first in the First World War mortars were used by German artillerymen during the siege of the Belgian
fortresses Maubeuge, Liege, Antwerp in August 1914.


British 81-mm mortar system of Captain Stokes (above)

9-cm bomb type G.R. and 58-mm mortar FR model 1915 (above)
British in position with a gas cannon (below)

The British made their first gas-jet attack on 4 April 1917 near Arras. With the advent of gas cannons, chemical warfare entered its most dangerous phase.

11. The massive use of submarines also began during the First World War.

12. British aircraft carrier HMS Argus, 1918. Aircraft carriers - ships that allowed aircraft to take off from their deck and land on it - were first used during the First World War.

13. The officer takes from the hands of the pilot camera, which has just been used to photograph the area. The massive use of aviation, both in military operations and for reconnaissance, is another innovation of the First World War.

The First World War is the most ambitious, one of the tragic events and not only of the 20th century, but practically the entire history of mankind. The First World War takes its beginning in June 1914, but the end of the bloody war was recorded in November. 11th 1918. Despite the fact that the hostilities lasted for 4 years and all actions were thoroughly documented by historians - many facts still remain unknown to many connoisseurs and admirers of history. To at least slightly lower the veil of mystery - get acquainted with several interesting and unusual facts and historical moments during the First World War.

What is the story behind

The pretext for the war was precisely the premeditated murder of the Austrian duke in Sarajevo. F. Ferdinand- 28th of 1914. The killer was Gavrilo Princip, who turned 19 at that time - he was a terrorist from Bosnia, who belonged to the "Young Bosnia" group, who fought for the country's independence. At that moment, there were only 59 states on the map of world countries, and 38 of them participated in the war itself.

The very name of the First World War was approved as such by historians only in the 39th year of the last century, after the Second World War began. Before that, it was called the Great War, the Second Patriotic War or the Great War.


Countries participating in this war have lost from among their subjects more than 22 million of its people and 55 million were injured.

It was during the First World War that the military began to use flamethrowers and it was the German troops that were the first to adopt them. During the war, the very first prototype of the tank was constructed - it was affectionately called "Little Willie". Such a combat vehicle intervened with 3 fighters and moved at a speed of 4.8 kilometers per hour - not much, but still it was a combat power that had to be reckoned with.

Many celebrities participated in the First World War - for example, the famous writer of famous world detectives Agatha Christie. During the period of hostilities, she was a nurse and was well versed in many poisons, and therefore in many of her stories and detectives, murders were committed with the help of poisons.

During the period of the First World War, a ceasefire was declared several times in the war - the first time it was done at Christmas in 14, when the troops of England and Germany decided to celebrate it together on the front line. The second time this fact took place in the winter of 1916-17, when severe frosts and wolves were raging. It was in the harsh winter that they had to shoot back from the hungry drags - when several hundred of them were killed, only then did they continue all hostilities at the front.

He became the most courageous and successful pilot of that war - he managed to shoot down 80 enemy aircraft. The second place is taken by the French pilot - ace - on account of his 75 downed enemy vehicles, while not far behind the German fighter pilot.

So, not only soldiers and military equipment, but also animals were enrolled in the army - it was during this period that many attempts were made to teach military science and cunning techniques to animals. So the famous trainer V. Durov in 1915 submitted to the military leadership a proposal to train seals to search for war mines. in a short period of time, it was really possible to train only 20 of these animals, but as historical evidence points out, one day they were simply found poisoned. According to modern historians, this result was the result of the actions of military intelligence.

Who exactly attacked the ground target with darts from the air?

In the arsenal of military aviation, both bombs, missiles and metal darts were used to defeat ground targets. During the First World War, it was metal darts that found their use against enemy ground forces. So flying out of special cassettes, and when approaching the ground, they developed incredible speed and successfully smashed the infantry. In addition, it was such a psychological attack on people and animals - such an invention belongs by right to the French, but was used in service by the German and Russian troops.

Hungarian soldier wounded in the temple could no longer sleep

So, according to historical data, a Hungarian soldier in the name was wounded by a bullet in the temple area during the First World War. Despite the seriousness of the injury and the fact that most of the frontal lobe of the brain was smashed by a bullet, the warrior was able to survive. But as a result of such an injury, he could no longer fall asleep, and even the examinations carried out, the course of treatment could not eliminate this phenomenon, Paul argued that his condition was excellent and he felt great, without feeling tired and drowsy. Kern lived another 40 years after the war and could not sleep and died in 195.

Why were ships painted in zebra patterns in World War I?

During the war of 1914-1918, for warships, most of the British and American fleets, unusual camouflage was very often used - the ship was simply repainted in fragmentary, between themselves patterns, weaves and stripes made with contrasting colors and colors. The purpose of such a war paint is not to hide the ship itself, but to do everything in order to complicate the calculation of its course, speed. During the Second World War, unusual camouflage was also used, but it was the radars that appeared in service that nullified all the arguments and arguments for his asset and support.

Why did the Fuhrer shave his mustache in the First World War?

So, according to the words and written testimony of the writer A. Moritz Fry, which found their reflection in his autobiography, who served with the future Fuhrer of the nation in the same regiment, Hitler, who at the very beginning wore a lush, long mustache in the style of Emperor Wilhelm II, shaved them off, leaving such a brush for myself. The thing is that a lush and long mustache prevented from putting on a gas mask and the regiment commander ordered Adolf to shave them off.