World War I began in Europe in August 1914. The spark that lit the fuse was the assassination of the Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Habsburg throne in Austria-Hungary. The Germanic country of Austria, which included the modern day Czech Republic (Bohemia) and the multiethnic country of Hungary (which then included Slovakia, Croatia and Romanian Transylvania) were joined in personal union in the person of the Habsburg emperor (Francis Joseph). The Austro-Hungarian Empire also included the province of Bosnia, which had a population of Catholic Croatians and Eastern Orthodox ethnic Serbs. The country of Serbia coveted Bosnia, and the ethnic Serbs in Bosnia desired union with Serbia. Austria felt profoundly threatened by Serb ethnic nationalism. In June 1914 the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was visiting Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. A Bosnian Serb nationalist, Gavrilo (Gabriel)Princip, assassinated the Archduke and his wife. Gavrilo Princip was a member of a nationalist organization called the Black Hand. Officials in the Serbian Government were secretly and privately connected with the organization.
The Government of Austria-Hungary blamed the assassination on the Government of Serbia, and used the assassination as a pretext to make impossible demands on Serbia. Austria demanded the arrest of two Serb officials whom it accused of involvement in the plot; suppression of anti-Austrian propaganda and publications; and suppression of anti-Austrian "propaganda" in the schools. The Austrians threatened war if their demands were not met. Serbia’s response was somewhat evasive. It seemed willing to agree to some of the demands, but wanted an international conference to consider the issue. Austria rejected the idea of an international conference (a question of national honor could not be submitted to the decisions of others).
There was a system of alliances in Europe. Austria and Germany were allies. Technically, Italy had been an ally of Austria and Germany since 1882. Russia had concluded alliances with France (between 1891 and 1894) and Britain (1907). Russia and Austria were rivals for influence in the Balkans, but Germany back in 1879 had taken Austria’s side. Russia had then gravitated toward France. Russia, France and Britain all feared the growing might of Germany. In addition, in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, Germany had won the war and annexed the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine from France. The French thirsted for revenge, and a chance to regain the lost provinces. Britain, for its part, felt threatened by the growing power of the German navy. Thus, the rivalries and mutual antagonisms among the European Powers were already in place long before the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. The assassination was just a pretext for war. It was merely the spark that lit the fuse.
Serbia was a little country, and an Eastern Orthodox country. Since the 1700s, the Russians had been allies with the Serbs. Russia, too, was an Eastern Orthodox country, and traditionally Russia was the protector of Serbia (and Greece, and the Romanians) against the Moslem Turks. Thus ties of culture and religion bound Russia together with the Slavic peoples of the Balkans. By the 1890s, Russia had become the protector of Serbia against Austria. Serbia was a "client state" of Russia. Bulgaria and Serbia had become enemies in 1885 (both wanted Macedonia), and so as Serbia opposed Austria after the 1880s, Bulgaria cozied up to Austria (my enemy’s enemy is my friend). Greece was friendly to Serbia (Greece and Serbia both distrusted the ambitions of Bulgaria in Macedonia), but the king of Greece (Constantine I) was married to a sister (Sophia) of the German kaiser (Wilhelm II). Rumania coveted the Austro-Hungarian province of Transylvania, and so cozied up to Russia and against Austria. Germany and Austria cultivated an alliance with the Ottoman Turks (opposite Russia).
Thus, in 1914, a dispute between a Great Power (a big country) and a little country set Europe on fire. When Serbia was confronted with the Austrian ultimatum, it consulted with its protector, Russia. Russia began to prepare for war against Austria, in the event that Austria actually attacked Serbia. Russia also consulted with its ally, France. France assured Russia that if Germany intervened in a war between Austria and Russia, then France would come to the aid of Russia. Germany would then be confronted with a two-front war, which is to say a war against Russia in the east and France in the west, simultaneously.
Germany then demanded that Russia de-mobilize, and threatened that if Russia went to war with Austria it would have to fight both Austria and Germany. The Germans gambled that the Russians would back down, but the Germans were confident that if the Russians did not back down then Germany would win whatever war broke out. The Germans were aware of the Franco-Russian alliance. Therefore the Germans also asked the French, directly, what they would do in the event of a war between Germany and Russia. The French gave a philosophical reply: France would be "guided by her interests," or would allow nature to take its course. The Germans understood that this meant that France would fight alongside Russia.
On July 31 Germany declared that there was a "state of threatening danger of war," and demanded that Russia cease preparations for war along the Russian border within twelve hours. Unfortunately, the Russians had no plans for preparing for war against Austria without also mobilizing forces next to the German border too. It was not really possible to move against Austria (to the south of Russian Poland and the Ukraine) without mobilizing next to Germany also (to the west of Russian Poland). At 5 pm on the 31st Austria decreed general mobilization.
The next day, August 1, at 3:55 pm, France began mobilization opposite Germany. Five minutes later, at 4 pm, Germany began mobilization (mostly against France, partly against Russia). At 7 pm, after Russia made no reply to the German ultimatum, Germany declared war on Russia. On August 3rd, Germany declared war on France. The Germans also invaded neutral Belgium on August 3rd. Britain used this as a pretext to enter the war, and declared war on Germany on August 4th. Many of Germany’s leaders had doubted that Britain would actually fight.
Germany feared the Russian "steam roller." It was slow, but Russia had an enormous population. Given enough time, Russia might overpower Germany. Germany calculated that in order to win the war it needed to rush through neutral Belgium, and sweep around the back of the French army and capture Paris. This would be a "knock out" punch that would crush France and knock it out of the war. The effort failed. The German army did not "sweep" far enough west to come up behind the French and capture Paris. The result was a prolonged war, with trench warfare in the west. Bulgaria entered the war as an ally of Austria and Germany against Serbia. And Turkey entered the war as an ally of Austria and Germany against Russia. The Russians and the Moslem Turks had been enemies for hundreds of years, and had last fought a war in 1878. Because Germany and Austria are located in the center of Europe, they were called the Central Powers. Americans referred to Russia, France and Britain, and their allies, as the Allies. Italy joined the allies in May 1915, after being promised that it could annex territory from Austria. The US did not enter the war until 1917.
The Russians were woefully unprepared for war with the most modern technological army in the world at that time, which was the German Army. Germany had miles of railroad, and only needed to transport her armies 200 to 300 miles to the front. Russia had relatively few railroads, and had to transport her army 900-1,000 miles. Worst of all, Russia did not even have enough guns for all of the soldiers. Russia needed 17.7 million rifles. It had only 11.3 million, for a shortage of 6 million. The soldiers at the back had to wait until the men in front were killed to pick up their guns, and even then there was no guarantee that there were bullets (W. Bruce Lincoln, In War’s Dark Shadow, p. 441). Germany had 381 batteries of heavy artillery. Russia had 60. As the war dragged on, there were terrible food shortages in the cities, and hundreds of thousands of Russians seemed to be sent to their deaths senselessly, for nothing, without even a fighting chance. Morale sank, and by March 1917 the Russian Army and the Russian people revolted against the Tsar (Nicholas II) and overthrew him. A provisional government was established under Alexander Kerensky. The Kernesky government continued the losing war, and by November 1917 Vladimir Lenin and the Communists staged a new revolt, and overthrew the Kerensky government. In March 1918, at the Treaty of Brest-Litowsk, Russia made a separate peace with Germany. Russia gave up Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Bessarabia. Now Germany would be free to bring all its power and weight to bear on France.
THE AMERICAN ROLE
From 1914-1917 the United States maintained a one-sided neutrality. US companies accepted contracts for war production, textiles, and grain from Britain and the Allies. US banks lent money to the Europeans. J.P. Morgan lent $500 million to Britain and France. Between 1914 and 1917 US investors lent $2 billion to the Allies, versus $27 million to Germany (Tindall and Shi, 984).
For Germany, the basic problem was that it needed to import grain, iron ore and raw materials from overseas. The British imposed a blockade around Germany, and strangled Germany economically. To combat the British blockade and Britain’s naval superiority, the Germans resorted to a desperate measure. It was the use of submarines to sink British ships and the vessels of any country that were suspected of carrying arms, food and supplies to Britain. In this way, American ships trading with Britain were sailing into harm’s way.
In February 1915 Germany declared a war zone around Britain, and began sinking British ships. The British began to put the flags of neutral countries on British commercial vessels as disguises. The Unterseeboats then began sinking the ships of neutral countries too. In May 1915 the Germans torpedoed and sank the British luxury liner Lusitania, which had on occasion been used to carry arms and troops. 1,198 people were killed, including 128 Americans who had defied German advertisements in American newspapers warning them not to sail on British ships.
The National Defense Act of 1916 expanded the regular army from 90,000 to 175,000, with gradual enlargement up to 223,000. It also provided for a National Guard of 440,000. The Naval Construction Act of August 1916 authorized more than $500 million for expansion of the navy over 3 years. An act of Sept. 7, 1916 created the US Shipping Board, with $50 million for the construction or purchase of merchant vessels suitable for use as naval auxiliaries (troop and materiel transports). Officially the US was still neutral, but the Government began making preparations "just in case."
In January 1917 Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. This was a dangerous gamble. Germany proclaimed that ALL ships in the war zone, both belligerent and neutral, would be sunk without warning. In March, the US began to arm merchant ships, but there was intense opposition in the US. Germany realized that the unrestricted submarine warfare might provoke the US. But it calculated that IF the US entered the war, Germany could finish off France before the US could get its army to Europe. Therefore, the war would be over, and the US would be too late.
In this climate, the Germans committed a diplomatic blunder. On January 19, 1917 the British intercepted and decoded a telegram, called the Zimmermann telegram. The German foreign minister, Alfred Zimmermann, instructed the German envoy in Mexico to offer an alliance and financial assistance to Mexico in the event of war between the US and Germany. In return for a diversionary action against the US, Mexico would recover "the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona." In some ways this was absurd, and comical. But On February 24th the British shared the intercept with the US, and on March 1, 1917 Secretary of State Robert Lansing shared it with the press. This episode created the impression of a hostile and aggressive intent on the part of Germany, seeking to stir up trouble for the US with Mexico.
Meanwhile, in February and March 1917, German submarines sank five American merchant ships. President Wilson called the Congress into special session. On April 4th the Senate voted 82-6 for a declaration of war against Germany. The House voted 373-50. On April 6, Wilson signed it. The Wilson Administration believed that if the US did not intervene, Germany would win the war. It believed that a Europe dominated by Germany was not in the best interests of the US.
The US began landing troops in Europe in June 1917, under General John Pershing. By the end of the war the military would expand to 3.7 million people, and 2 million US troops would reach Europe. I should point out that African Americans have served in every single war that America has ever been involved in. Accordingly, 367,000 African Americans served in WWI, in segregated units. In March 1918 the Germans launched a massive offensive in the west. But by May 1918 there were 1 million fresh American troops in Europe. The Germans had never imagined that the Americans could move so many soldiers so quickly. In June, at Belleau Wood and Chateau-Thierry, the allies blunted the German offensive.* By September 29, the German commander Erich von Ludendorff advised his government that Germany was losing the war against the Americans and the allies in France, and he told his government to seek the best terms it could get at the negotiating table. Germany was exhausted, while America was pouring millions of fresh troops into Europe. The handwriting was on the wall. In October the Ottoman Turks quit the war. In November Austria quit. On November 9, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated the German throne. On November 11, Germany agreed to an armistice. This ended hostilities while a treaty of peace was negotiated at the Paris suburb of Versailles. Simply put, the war officially ended in 1919 (Treaty of Versailles).
World War I marks the moment in history when the US went from being a debtor nation to a creditor nation. In 1914 Americans owed $3 billion abroad. By 1919 foreign governments owed the US $10 billion, and foreign citizens owed the US an additional $3 billion.
Germany was assessed 132 billion gold marks as war damages, which bankrupted the country and sowed a legacy of bitterness and hatred, mostly between France and Germany. The seeds of World War II in Europe were sown in the vengeful and humiliating peace treaty that the victors imposed on Germany. The Rhineland was occupied, and remained demilitarized until 1935 (when Hitler reintroduced troops and began re-arming Germany and raised 36 new divisions of German troops). Indeed, World War II in Europe was just a continuation of World War I, as if it were round two of the same fight. Austria Hungary was broken up. Hungary became completely independent from Austria. One Adolf Hitler was actually born in Austria, and lived in Bavaria, in southern Germany. Czechoslovakia became independent. Hungary had to relinquish Transylvania to Romania, and Hungary lost Croatia and Bosnia to Serbia, which took the name Yugoslavia. Poland regained independence, recovering lands lost previously to Russia, Prussia and Austria.
During the war the British also incited the Saudi Arabs against the Ottoman Turks. Saudi Arabia became independent, and the Ottoman Turks lost Syria, Iraq, Palestine and Jordan.
Country Dead Wounded
Britain 947,000 2,122,000
France 1,385,000 3,000,000
Russia 1,700,000 4,900,000
Italy 460,000 947,000
USA 115,000 206,000
Germany 1,800,000 4,200,000
Austria-Hung. 1,200,000 3,620,000
Turkey 325,000 400,000
For people in the British and French colonies, World War I had a profound impact. Before 1914, people in India and Africa, etc. stood in awe of the great military and technological power of the West. Western imperialists proclaimed their racial and cultural superiority. But in World War I, and again in World War II, the world was treated to the tragic spectacle of the "superior nations" engaged in senseless mass slaughter and destruction on a global scale. India and the African countries were now substantially less impressed by the alleged superiority of the West. For all of its advanced culture and civilization and technology, the Europeans turned out to be just another set of murderers after all. By 1945 Africans and the people of India would conclude that for all of its "superiority," all that Europe had done from 1492-1945 was to give the world five centuries of conquest and two world wars and the Holocaust. The Third World concluded that maybe the West really wasn’t so superior after all. The World Wars shattered and discredited the myth of Western superiority in the eyes of many people, even for many Europeans and Americans.