28 July 2014: Centenary of the Commencement of World War I that changed the destiny of the world

By Dr. Eugene DSouza, Moodubelle
Bellevision Media Network

28 July 2014: The assassination of the Austrian Prince Archduke Francis Ferdinand and Duchess Sophie by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian terrorist on 28 June 1914  sparked the outbreak of World War I exactly a month later on 28 July 1914. The centenary of the commencement of World War I is being observed in many parts of the world, especially in Europe from  28 July 2014 which will last till 2018 marking the end of the war.

World War I (1914-1918) was unique in the art of warfare. Its causes are varied and consequences far reaching. It was a large-scale war more widespread than any other previous war. For the first time in the history of the world, many countries became involved in this war directly or indirectly and its impact was felt over a large part of the world. The knowledge of science and technology was applied for producing new and more destructive weapons like machine guns, explosive shells, armoured tanks, submarines, airplanes and chemical and biological weapons. Unlike the previous wars, World War I was a multi-dimensional war. It was fought on the land and under it in trenches, on the sea and under the sea and in the air. For the first time almost all countries of the world were directly or indirectly involved in it. Similarly, its impact was also felt by the entire world.

Background of World War I:

Though apparently, the killing of the Austrian Archduke and Duchess triggered World War I, also known as the ‘Great War’, historians believe that the war had deeper causes. It was the outcome of many factors such as secret military alliances, the growth of extreme national pride among various European nationas, an enormous increase in European armed forces and development of a military cult, a race for colonies and imperial rivalries and lack of an effective machinery to settle mutual disputes among the European nations which led to a number of armed conflicts.

Following the unification of Germany under the leadership of the ‘Iron Chancellor’ Otto Von Bismarck in 1871, there was comparative peace in Europe. This was the period of technological advancement, industrial progress and economic prosperity in many of the European countries. This newfound economic development was reflected in the general increase in the standard of living of the people, increase in the military and naval might of the nations and overseas expansion. However, these developments brought out competition, jealousy and rivalry among the European nations, which led to conflicts culminating in World War I.

Bismarck, the architect of the unification of Germany and the Chancellor of the German Empire was chiefly responsible for the division of Europe into two rival alliance system. In his attempt to isolate, France, the arch enemy and rival  of Germany, Bismarck entered into a number of alliances and agreements that eventually led to the Triple Alliance  comprising of Germany, Austria and Italy, later joined by Bulgaria and Turkey. Members of the Triple Alliance were known as the ‘Central Powers’. As against this group of nations, mutual agreements and alliances between England, France and Russia led to the emergence of the Triple Entente which was also known as ‘Allies’. Japan and Serbia were the camp followers of the Allies.

Aggressive and jingoistic nationalism in Germany and   suppressed and submerged nationalism in the eastern European empires of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Ottoman Turkey in their own way contributed to World War I.

Militarism and race for armaments among the two rival group of nations, imperialism and colonial conflicts and aggressive policy of the German Emperor Kaiser William II and pre-World War I conflicts among different European countries provided enough fodder for the outbreak of the war.

 

Sarajevo Murder

 

Gavrilo Princip

 

 

The crisis came without warning on 28 June 1914. On that day, the Archduke of Austria, Francis Ferdinand and his Czech wife, Sophie were shot dead in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. On the following morning major newspapers across the world carried the news of the assassination.

The assassin was Gavrilo Princip, a member of the secret society of Young Bosnia, and the Black Hand, a secret society in Serbia, had supplied his weapons. Its aim was to bring about the union of all Serbs by a ruthless campaign of violence. The Austrian government chose to regard the murder as having been inspired by the Serbian government. Austria delivered an ultimatum to Serbia. The Serbian government was required to renounce all propaganda directed against Austria-Hungary, to suppress all propaganda within Serbia and to dismiss all officials associated with it. It was to report the measures taken to Vienna and “to accept the collaboration in Serbia of representatives of the Austro-Hungarian Government for the purpose of suppressing the subversive movement directed against the territorial integrity of the Habsburg monarchy”. Austria-Hungary gave Serbia forty-eight hours to reply.

The Serbians accepted most of the Austrian terms, but they asked that others be referred to the Court of Arbitration at The Hague, or to an international conference. They could not agree to the policing of Serbian affairs by Austro-Hungarian ‘representatives’. Austria was bent on war, and the ultimatum was little more than a formality. The Serbian reply was brushed aside and Austro-Hungarian troops were mobilized, and war was declared on Serbia on 28 July 1914.

Beginning and Progress of World War I:

With the declaration of war by Austria on Serbia on 28 July 1914,  World War I began. Russia mobilized her troops in favour of Serbia. As Russia refused to halt the mobilization as demanded by Germany, she declared war on Russia on 1August 1914. Germany also declared war on France on 3 August 1914, as France refused to be neutral. When German army invaded Belgium on 4 August, England declared war on Germany as the neutrality of Belgium was guaranteed by the European powers. Italy was a member of the Triple Alliance along with Germany and Austria. However, she was not prepared to help Austria and Germany in their aggressive wars. Italy made a secret agreement with France and remained neutral till 1915. Later Italy joined the Allies being promised that the territories inhabited by Italians, which were within the Austrian Empire, would be granted to her.
Russia invaded Germany and Austria. However, the Russian army was neither well trained nor well equipped. The Germans defeated Russians and occupied Russian Poland. Following the success of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Russia withdrew from World War I by signing the Treaty of Brest Litovsk.

 

 

Turkey entered the war in 1914 on the side of the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary). In February 1915, England inflicted a crushing defeat on Turkey and captured the straits of Dardanelles and the port of Constantinople.

The Allies also attacked the German colonies in Western and Eastern Africa. They also deprived Germany of her concessions in China. Alarmed by these successes of the Allies, Germany intensified the submarine warfare and sunk a number of British ships. England and France launched a counter offensive and inflicted heavy losses on the Germans.

The United States of America remained neutral when World War I broke out. In May a German U-boat sank a British steamer Lusitania with 1,200 passengers including 100 Americans. This created a strong public opinion in the United States for joining the war on the side of the Allies. Besides, Germany violated the freedom of seas and the Americans came to know about a secret plan of Germany to attack Mexico and Japan. Under these circumstances, the United States declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917 and on Austria in December 1917. The entry of the United States was a turning point in World War I. It greatly strengthened the Allies by placing at their disposal enormous resources in men, money and material and boosted the morale of the Allies.

 

Lusitania

In the Eastern sector Greece helped the Allies in scoring a victory over the Central Powers. Bulgaria, which had joined the Central Powers was defeated in September 1918. One by one the Central Powers were defeated. On 9 November 1918, apprehending eventual defeat, the German Emperor Kaiser William II fled to Holland and on 11 November 1918, Germany signed the armistice with the Allies which brought the curtains down on World War I.

Consequences of World War I:

World War I caused immeasurable destruction. Nearly ten million soldiers died as a result of the war - far more than had died in all the wars during the previous 100 years. About twenty one million men were wounded. No one knows how many civilians died of disease, starvation and other war related causes. Belligerent governments had spent more than £ 40,000,000,000 in pursuit of victory. The cost of devastation was incalculable.

 

  Kaiser William I, Tsar Nicholas II and Emperor Francis Joseph

World War I resulted in the toppling of four monarchies and collapse of their empires. The first monarch to fall was Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in 1917. Kaiser William II of Germany and Emperor Charles of Austria-Hungary who had succeeded Emperor Francis Joseph in 1916  left their thrones in 1918. The reign of the Ottoman Sultan, Muhammad VI came to an end 1922. The collapse of old empires led to the creation of new nations on the basis of the principle of self determination proclaimed by the U.S. President,  Woodrow Wilson. The pre-war territory of Austro-Hungarian empire formed the independent republics of Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, as well as parts of Italy, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia. Russia and Germany also gave up territory to Poland. Finland and Baltic states-Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania gained independence from Russia. Most of the Arab lands in the Ottoman Empire were placed under the control of France and Britain. The rest of the Ottoman Empire became Turkey. Collapse of the empires and rise of new nations led to the redrawing the map of Europe.

 

Europe 1914

 

Outside Britain and France the democratic honeymoon in Europe was brief. The war had devastated the countries. The European democracies, apart from England with her solid two-party system, had parliaments based on five or six different political groups. Their governments were based on coalitions with narrow majorities. This weakened the democratic governments. They were unable to solve the post war economic problems and provide strong and stable government. Thus, the post-war Europe witnessed the rise of dictatorships in various countries. Fascist dictatorship was established in Italy under Mussolini; Nazi dictatorship in Germany under Hitler; Communist dictatorship in Russia under Stalin and military dictatorship in Japan under Tojo. Dictators also emerged in Spain (General Franco), Portugal (Dr. Salazar) and Turkey (Mustafa Kemal Pasha).

The terms of the peace settlement, which followed World War I, were debated around the programme of war and peace aims included in President Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Wilson believed that the Fourteen Points would bring about a just peace settlement, which he termed “peace without victory”. In November 1918, Germany agreed to an armistice. Germany expected that the peace settlement would be based on the Fourteen Points.

In May 1919, the Peace Conference approved the Treaty of Versailles and presented it to Germany. Germany agreed to it only after the Allies threatened to invade her territory. With grave doubts, German representatives signed the treaty in the Palace of Versailles near Paris on 28 June 1919. The date was the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand.

 

’Big Four’-1. Lloyd George (PM of England) 2.Orlando(PM of Italy) 3.Clemenceau(PM of France) 4. Woodrow Wilson (President of USA)

 

Paris Peace Conference

In addition to the treaty of Versailles with Germany, the peacemakers drew up separate treaties for the other Central Powers. The Treaty of St. Germain was imposed on Austria in September 1919, the Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria in November 1919, the Treaty of Trianon with Hungary in June 1920 and the Treaty of Sevres with the Ottoman Empire in August 1920.

By the Treaty of Versailles, Germany gave up territories to Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France and Poland and lost her overseas colonies. France gained control of coalfields in Germany’s Saar Valley for 15 years. An Allied military force, paid for by Germany, was to occupy the west bank of the River Rhine for 15 years. Other clauses in the treaty limited Germany’s armed forces and required the country to turn over materials, ships livestock and other goods to the Allies. A total sum of reparations was not fixed until 1921. The total indemnity to be paid by Germany was fixed at $ 33 billion by a Reparation Commission.
The post First World War era witnessed the emergence of the Allies as great powers. England emerged as a powerful colonial empire. France recovered Alsace and Lorraine from Germany. The U.S.A. though followed a policy of isolation before entering the war on the side of the Allies, emerged as a major economic power providing the European nations with arms and ammunitions and consumer items, which were in short supply in Europe. In the Far East Japan became a powerful nation.

 

 Woodrow Wilson

The ideals of Woodrow Wilson, such as the justification of the U.S. entry into World War I ‘to make the world safe for democracy’ and ‘the principle of self-determination of the people’ greatly inspired and encouraged the people of Asia, struggling under the European imperialism. In many of the Asian countries such as in India, national movements were already in progress. The colonial powers under pressing demands from the nationalist organizations such the Indian National Congress in India, were forced to grant some measure of political reforms to their respective colonies. In India the Mont-Ford Reforms were introduced in 1919, providing for - Diarchy in the provinces through which partial representative and responsible government was introduced at the provincial level.

The horrors of death and destruction witnessed during World War I convinced leaders all over the world that war must be avoided and peace should be promoted. Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Points made a provision for the establishment of the League of Nations bound by a Covenant or agreement to prevent war and to settle aggression or disputes between nations by peaceful means and the rules of international law.

Thus, World War I had far reaching consequences on the subsequent history of Europe in particular and world in general. World War I produced disastrous consequences in the field of politics, economy and society. There was greater political instability in the war-ravaged countries as their governments were unable to solve the post-war economic and social problems. This consequently led to the rise of dictatorships in different countries of Europe. The dictators were to shape the future course of the European history leading the world to another major catastrophe twenty year later resulting in World War II in 1939.

 

 

Excerpted from history text book "Landmarks in World History" by Dr.Eugene D’Souza