§ 76. Military operations in 1914-1918.

The beginning of the First World War.

On June 28, 1914, in the city of Sarajevo, which was part of Bosnia and Herzegovina annexed by Austria-Hungary, the Serbian nationalist Gavrila Princip killed the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, a supporter of a hard line towards Serbia. Accusing the Serbian government of the assassination attempt, Austria-Hungary presented him with an ultimatum. German Emperor Wilhelm II supported the actions of his ally.
The Serbian government complied with all the requirements presented by Austria-Hungary, except for the point about the investigation of the murder by Austrian officials, but agreed to negotiate on this point. However, on July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and began bombing Belgrade the next day.
On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, then France. Violating the neutrality of Belgium, German troops launched an offensive through its territory. Great Britain entered the war. On the side of the Entente were Montenegro, Japan and Egypt, and on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary - Bulgaria and Turkey (Germany and its allies are often called the coalition of the Central Powers).
The reasons for the war were the contradictions between the powers of the Entente and Germany with Austria-Hungary. The desire to capture aliens and preserve their colonies in Africa and Asia has become one of the main aspirations of the belligerents. Territorial disputes in Europe itself played a significant role. There were also huge trade and economic contradictions between the powers, they fought for the marketing of their products and for the sources of raw materials. The initiator of the war was the German bloc, which considered itself deprived in all respects.

Military action in 1914

The main fronts, on which heavy battles began in August 1914, were the French West and Russian East. At the first stage of the war, in early September, the main grouping of the German armies reached the Marne River between Paris and Verdun, and then forced it. On September 6, a counterattack by Anglo-French troops began on the entire front from Paris to Verdun. Only by September 12 did German troops gain a foothold behind the Aisne River and on the line east of Reims. On September 15, the Allies stopped their offensive.
The unsuccessful German offensive on Paris and the defeat of the German troops on the Marne led to the failure of the German strategic war plan, designed to quickly defeat the enemy on the Western Front. A positional front was established from the Swiss border to the North Sea.
In the Eastern European theater, hostilities began on 4-7 (17-20) August. During the East Prussian operation l-i Russian the army defeated the German corps. Continuing to advance, she defeated one of the German armies. At the same time, the 2nd Russian army began to move to the flank and rear of the Germans. The successful offensive of Russian troops in East Prussia forced the German command to transfer additional troops from the Western to the Eastern Front. German troops, taking advantage of the mistakes of the Russian command, which did not establish interaction between the l-th and 2-nd armies, managed to inflict a heavy defeat first on the 2-nd, and then the l-th Russian armies. Russian troops withdrew from East Prussia.
At the same time, a battle was taking place in Galicia, in which the troops of the Russian South-Western Front inflicted a major defeat on the Austro-Hungarian troops. The Russians occupied Lvov. The Austro-Hungarian garrison of the Przemysl fortress was blocked, the advanced Russian units reached the foothills of the Carpathians.
The German High Command hastily deployed large forces here. However, the timely regrouping of forces carried out by the Russian Headquarters made it possible, during the Warsaw-Ivangorod operation, to stop the enemy's offensive on Ivangorod, and then repel the attack on Warsaw. Soon the sides, having exhausted all the possibilities, went on the defensive.
On August 10, Germany sent the battle cruiser Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau to the Black Sea to support the Turkish fleet. Turkish and German ships suddenly fired at Sevastopol, Odessa, Novorossiysk and Feodosia. Russia, Great Britain and France have declared war on Turkey. Russia moved the Caucasian army to the border with Turkey. In December, the 8th Turkish army went on the offensive, but was defeated.
Military action in 1915
The next campaign, the German command decided to devote entirely to the defeat of the Russian troops. Almost 30 infantry and 9 cavalry divisions were transferred from France. In February 1915, Russian troops crossed the Carpathians in winter conditions, and in March, after a long siege, they took Przemysl. About 120 thousand enemy soldiers and officers surrendered.
However, the passivity of Russia's western allies in 1915 allowed the German command to go on the offensive on April 19 (May 2). Under the onslaught of the enemy, who had a huge superiority in forces, the defense of the 3rd Russian army was broken through in the region of Gorlice. The troops of the Southwestern Front were forced to leave Galicia. At the same time, German troops were advancing in the Baltic states. They occupied Libava, went to Kovno. To avoid encirclement, Russian troops were forced to leave Poland. During the 1915 campaign, Russia lost about 2 million people in killed, wounded and captured.
In August 1915, Nicholas II assumed the supreme command of the active forces, hoping to turn the tide of events with his authority. In October 1915, the front was established on the line Riga - Baranovichi - Dubno.
In the Western European theater throughout 1915, both sides fought local battles without planning major operations. In 1915, the Entente, promising to satisfy Italy's territorial claims more fully than Germany had offered, drew this country to their side. The Italian army launched an offensive, but it was not successful. In October 1915 Bulgaria entered the war on the side of the Central Powers.
In the fall of 1915, the Austro-German and Bulgarian forces launched an offensive against Serbia. The Serbian army resisted for 2 months and then was forced to retreat to Albania. Part of the Serbian troops was transported by the Entente fleet to the Greek island of Corfu.
The 1915 campaign did not live up to the hopes of both warring coalitions, but its course was more favorable for the Entente. The German command, having failed to liquidate the Eastern Front, found itself in a difficult situation.
Military action in 1916
On February 21, the German command began the Verdun operation on the Western Front. During the fierce fighting, both sides suffered heavy losses. The Germans could not break through the front.
On May 22 (June 4), the Southwestern Front (commanded by General AA Brusilov) launched a decisive offensive at the East European Theater. The defense of the Austro-German troops was torn to a depth of 80 to 120 km. The command of the Central Powers urgently transferred here 11 German divisions from France and 6 Austro-Hungarian divisions from Italy.
The offensive of the Southwestern Front eased the position of the French at Verdun, and also saved the Italian army from defeat and accelerated the advance of Romania on the side of the Entente countries. However, Romania's actions were unsuccessful. To provide assistance to Romania, the Russian Romanian Front was formed.
In July, Anglo-French troops launched a major offensive on the Somme River. It lasted until mid-November, but, despite huge losses, the Allies advanced only 5-15 km, and failed to break through the German front.
The troops of the Caucasian Front successfully carried out a number of operations, as a result of which the cities of Erzurum and Trebizond were occupied.
At the end of 1916, the superiority of the Entente over the countries of the German bloc became obvious. Germany was forced to defend itself on all fronts.
Military operations in 1917-1918
The 1917 campaign was prepared and proceeded in the conditions of the growth of the revolutionary movement in all countries, big influence on the course of the war as a whole.
In February 1917, a revolution broke out in Russia. In June 1917, the offensive of the Southwestern Front was carried out, which ended in failure. The last military operations of Russia were the defense of Riga and the defense of the Moonsund Islands.
After the October Revolution in Russia, the new government on December 2 (15), 1917, concluded an armistice with the German coalition. The revolution in Russia thwarted the strategic plan of the Entente, designed to defeat Austria-Hungary. However, the troops of the Central Powers were still forced to go on the defensive.
In March 1918, a major German offensive began in France. German troops broke through the allied defenses to a depth of 60 km, but then the allied command, introducing reserves into the battle, eliminated the breakthrough. At the end of May, German armies struck north of the Rhine, and reached the Marne River, being less than 70 km from Paris. Here they were stopped. On July 15, the German command made a last desperate attempt to defeat the allied armies. But the second Battle of Marne ended in failure.
In August 1918, the Anglo-French armies went on the offensive, inflicting a major defeat on the German troops. In September, a general Allied offensive began along the entire front. On November 9, the monarchy was overthrown in Germany. On November 11, 1918, the Entente signed an armistice with Germany. Germany declared itself defeated.

Section 77. War and society

The development of military equipment during the war.

The first World War gave a powerful impetus to the development of military technology. Since 1915, the breakthrough of the positional front has become the main problem of conducting military operations. The appearance in 1916 of tanks and new types of escort artillery increased the fire and strike POWER of the advancing troops. On September 15, 1916, the British used tanks for the first time. With the support of 18 tanks, the infantry was able to ADVANCE 2 km. The first case of massive use of tanks was the battle of Cambrai on November 20 - 21, 1917, where 378 tanks were in operation. Surprise and great superiority in manpower and equipment allowed the British troops to break through the German defenses. However, the tanks that broke away from the infantry and cavalry suffered heavy losses.
The war gave a sharp impetus to the development of aviation. Initially, airplanes, along with balloons, served as a means of reconnaissance and artillery fire adjustment. Then they began to put machine guns on the planes and hang bombs.
The most famous aircraft were the German Fokker, the English Sopwith, and the French Farman, Voisin and Nieuport. Military aircraft in Russia were built mainly according to French models, but there were also their own designs. So, in 1913, a heavy 4-engine plane by I. Sikorsky "Ilya Muromets" was built, carrying up to 800 kg of bombs and armed with 3-7 machine guns.
Chemical weapons were a qualitatively new type of weapon. In April 1915, 180 tons of chlorine were released from cylinders near Yprom by the Germans. As a result of the attack, about 15 thousand people were affected, of which 5 thousand were killed. Such large losses from relatively low-toxic chlorine were caused by the lack of protective equipment, the first samples of which appeared only a year later. On April 12, 1917, the Germans used mustard gas (mustard gas) in the region of Ypres. In total, about 1 million people were affected by toxic substances during the war.
State regulation of the economy.
In all the belligerent countries, to regulate the economy, state military-economic administrations were created, which put industry and agriculture under their control. State bodies distributed orders and raw materials, disposed of the products of enterprises. These bodies not only directed production process, but also regulated working conditions, wages, etc. In general, government intervention in the economy during the war years had a visible effect. This gave rise to the idea of ​​the beneficialness of such a policy.
In Russia, the relatively weak development of heavy industry could not but affect the supply of the army. Despite the transfer of workers to the position of military personnel, the growth of military production was initially insignificant. The supply of weapons and ammunition from the allies was carried out in extremely limited quantities. To establish military production, the government proceeded to sequester (transfer to the state) large military factories and banks. For the owners, this was a colossal source of income.
When major abuses of officials in supplying the fronts with everything necessary came to light, the government set up committees and conferences that were supposed to deal with military orders. But in practice, this only led to the distribution of military orders and the issuance of monetary subsidies.
Due to the massive mobilization of peasants into the army in Russia, the collection of grain sharply decreased, and the cost of processing it increased. A significant proportion of horses and cattle were also requisitioned as draft power and to feed the army. The food situation was sharply worsened by the Axis, speculation flourished and the prices of essential goods rose. Hunger began.
Public opinion during the war.
The outbreak of the war sparked an explosion of patriotic feelings in all the belligerent countries. There were massive rallies in support of the government's actions. However, by the end of 1915, the mood of the population of the belligerent countries began to gradually change. Everywhere the strike movement grew, and the opposition, including the parliamentary opposition, grew stronger. In Russia, where the military defeats of 1915 sharply exacerbated the internal political situation, this process was particularly rapid. The defeats aroused in the Duma opposition a desire to re-start the struggle against the autocratic regime, "which does not know how to wage a war." Several Duma groups led by the Cadet Party have united in " Progressive block", The purpose of which was to create a cabinet of public trust, Ie. government based on the Duma majority.
The activity of groups in the social democratic parties intensified, from the very beginning they spoke out with varying degrees of categoricalness against the war. On September 5-8, 1915, the Zimmerwald Conference of such groups took place. It was attended by 38 delegates from Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Poland, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands. They issued a statement against the war, called the peoples to peace. About a third of the delegates, headed by the leader of the Russian Bolsheviks V. I. Lenin, considered this appeal too soft. They spoke in favor of turning the "imperialist war into a civil war", taking advantage of the fact that in the hands of millions of "proletarians" are weapons.
On the fronts, there were more and more cases of fraternization of soldiers of the opposing armies. Anti-war slogans were put forward during the strikes. On May 1, 1916, at a mass demonstration in Berlin, the leader of the left-wing Social Democrats K. Liebknecht made an appeal "Down with the war!"
In multinational countries, national demonstrations intensified. In July 1916, the Central Asian uprising began in Russia, which was finally suppressed only in 1917. On April 24-30, 1916, the Irish uprising broke out, brutally suppressed by the British. There were also performances in Austria-Hungary.

Results of the war.

The First World War ended with the defeat of Germany and her allies. At the Paris Peace Conference contracts were prepared. June 28, 1919 was signed Treaty of Versailles with Germany, September 10 - the Senzhermen peace treaty with Austria, November 27 - the Nain peace treaty with Bulgaria, June 4 - the Trianon peace treaty with Hungary and August 10, 1920 - the Sevres peace treaty with Turkey. The Paris Peace Conference decided to establish League of Nations... Germany and its allies lost significant territories, and were also forced to significantly limit their military forces and pay large reparations.
The post-war peace settlement was completed by the Washington Conference held in 1921-1922. Its initiator, the United States, dissatisfied with the results of the Paris Conference, made a serious claim to leadership in the Western world. Thus, the United States managed to achieve recognition of the principle of "freedom of the seas", weaken Great Britain as a great maritime power, squeeze Japan in China, and also achieve the approval of the principle of "equal opportunities". Nevertheless, Japan's position in the Far East and the Pacific Ocean turned out to be quite strong.

Dated August 1, 1914. The main reasons for the beginning of this bloody action can be called political and economic conflicts between states that were part of two military-political blocs: the Triple Alliance, which consisted of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary, and the Entente, which included Russia, France and the UK.

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Tip 2: Why Germany failed to implement the Schlieffen plan

Schlieffen's strategic plan, which assumed a quick victory for Germany in the First World War, was not implemented. But it still continues to haunt the minds of military historians, because this plan was unusually risky and interesting.

Most military historians are inclined to believe that if the plan of the chief of the German General Staff, Alfred von Schlieffen, was implemented, the First World War could go completely to the scenario. But back in 1906, the German strategist was removed from his post and his followers were afraid to implement Schlieffen's idea.

Lightning War Plan

At the beginning of the last century, Germany began planning a major war. This was due to the fact that France, defeated several decades earlier, was clearly hatching plans for a military revenge. The German leadership was not particularly afraid of the French threat. But in the east, Russia was gaining economic and military power, which was an ally of the Third Republic. For Germany, there was real danger war on two fronts. Realizing this well, Kaiser Wilhelm ordered von Schlieffen to develop a plan for a victorious war in these conditions.

And Schlieffen, in a fairly short time, created such a plan. According to his idea, Germany was to start the first war against France, concentrating 90% of all its armed forces in this direction. Moreover, this war was supposed to be lightning fast. The capture of Paris was given only 39 days. For the final victory - 42.

It was assumed that Russia would not be able to mobilize in such a short time. After the victory over France, German troops will be transferred to the border with Russia. Kaiser Wilhelm approved the plan, while saying the famous phrase: "We will have lunch in Paris, and we will have dinner in St. Petersburg."

The failure of the Schlieffen plan

Helmut von Moltke, who replaced Schlieffen with the chief of the German General Staff, took the Schlieffen plan without much enthusiasm, considering it too risky. And for this reason, he underwent a thorough revision. In particular, he refused to concentrate the main forces of the German army on the western front and, for reasons of precaution, sent a significant part of the troops to the east.

But Schlieffen planned to cover the French army from the flanks and completely encircle it. But due to the transfer of significant forces to the east, the German grouping of troops on the western front simply did not have enough funds for this. As a result, the French troops were not only not surrounded, but also managed to deliver a powerful counterattack.

The reliance on the slowness of the Russian army in terms of protracted mobilization also did not justify itself. The invasion of Russian troops into East Prussia literally stunned the German command. Germany found itself in the grip of two fronts.

Sources:

• Parties plans

Russian-Swedish War 1808-1809
	Europe, Africa and the Middle East (briefly in China and the Pacific Islands)
	Economic imperialism, territorial and economic claims, trade barriers, arms race, militarism and autocracy, balance of power, local conflicts, allied obligations of European powers.
	Victory of the Entente. February and October revolutions in Russia and November revolution in Germany. Collapse of the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. The beginning of the penetration of American capital into Europe.
Opponents
	Bulgaria (from 1915)
Italy (from 1915)
Romania (from 1916)
USA (since 1917)
Greece (from 1917)
Commanders
Nicholas II †	Franz Joseph I †
Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich
M. V. Alekseev †	F. von Götzendorff
A. A. Brusilov	A. von Straussenburg
L. G. Kornilov †	Wilhelm II
A.F. Kerensky	E. von Falkenhain
N.N.Dukhonin †	Paul von Hindenburg
N. V. Krylenko	H. von Moltke (the Younger)
R. Poincaré
J. Clemenceau	E. Ludendorff
	Crown Prince Ruprecht
	Mehmed V †
R. Nivelles
	Enver Pasha
	M. Ataturk
G. Asquith	Ferdinand I
D. Lloyd George
J. Jellicoe	G. Stoyanov-Todorov
G. Kitchener †
L. Densterville
Prince Regent Alexander
R. Putnik †
Albert I
J. Vukotic
Victor Emmanuel III
L. Cadorna
Prince luigi
Ferdinand I
K. Presan
A. Averescu
T. Wilson
J. Pershing
P. Danglis
Okuma Shigenobu
Terauchi Masatake
Hussein bin Ali
War losses
Military killed: 5,953,372 Military wounded: 9 723 991 Soldiers missing: 4,000,676	Soldiers killed: 4,043,397 Military wounded: 8 465 286 Soldiers missing: 3,470,138

(July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918) - one of the largest armed conflicts in the history of mankind.

This name became firmly established in historiography only after the outbreak of World War II in 1939. In the interwar period, the name " Great War"(Eng. TheGreatWar, fr. La grandeguerre), in the Russian Empire it was sometimes called “ Second Patriotic", As well as informally (both before the revolution and after) -" German"; then in the USSR - " imperialist war».

The immediate reason for the war was the Sarajevo assassination on June 28, 1914 of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by 19-year-old Serbian student Gavrila Princip, who was one of the members of the Mlada Bosna terrorist organization, which fought to unite all the South Slavic peoples into one state.

As a result of the war, four empires ceased to exist: Russian, Austro-Hungarian, German and Ottoman. The participating countries lost about 12 million people killed (counting civilians), about 55 million were injured.

Participants

Allies of the Entente(supported the Entente in the war): USA, Japan, Serbia, Italy (participated in the war on the side of the Entente since 1915, despite being a member of the Triple Alliance), Montenegro, Belgium, Egypt, Portugal, Romania, Greece, Brazil, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Siam, Haiti, Liberia, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador.

Chronology of the declaration of war
	Who declared war	Who was war declared
	Germany
	Germany
	Germany
		Germany
		Germany
		Germany
	British Empire and France
		Germany
	British Empire and France
	Germany	Portugal
		Germany
		Germany
	Panama and Cuba	Germany
		Germany
		Germany
		Germany
		Germany
	Brazil	Germany
	The end of the war

Background to the conflict

Long before the war, contradictions between the great powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain, Russia - were growing in Europe.

The German Empire, formed after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, strove for political and economic dominance on the European continent. Having joined the struggle for the colonies only after 1871, Germany wanted to redistribute the colonial possessions of England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal in her favor.

Russia, France and Great Britain sought to oppose Germany's hegemonic aspirations. Why the Entente was formed.

Austria-Hungary, being a multinational empire, due to internal interethnic contradictions was a constant hotbed of instability in Europe. She tried to keep Bosnia and Herzegovina captured by her in 1908 (see: Bosnian Crisis). They opposed Russia, which took on the role of the defender of all Slavs in the Balkans, and Serbia, which claimed the role of a unifying center for the southern Slavs.

In the Middle East, the interests of almost all powers collided, striving to have time to divide the crumbling Ottoman Empire (Turkey). According to the agreements reached between the members of the Entente, at the end of the war, all the straits between the Black and Aegean Seas withdrew to Russia, thus Russia would receive full control of the Black Sea and Constantinople.

The confrontation between the Entente countries on the one hand and Germany with Austria-Hungary on the other led to the First World War, where the opponents of the Entente: Russia, Great Britain and France - and its allies were a bloc of the Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria, - in which Germany played a leading role. By 1914, two blocks were finally formed:

The Entente bloc (formed by 1907 after the conclusion of Russian-French, Anglo-French and Anglo-Russian allied treaties):

• Great Britain;

Block Triple Alliance:

• Germany;

Italy, however, entered the war in 1915 on the side of the Entente - but Turkey and Bulgaria joined Germany and Austria-Hungary during the war, forming the Quadruple Alliance (or a bloc of the Central Powers).

Mentioned in different sources the reasons for the war include economic imperialism, trade barriers, the arms race, militarism and autocracy, the balance of power, local conflicts that took place on the eve of local conflicts (the Balkan wars, the Italo-Turkish war), orders for general mobilization in Russia and Germany, territorial claims and allied obligations of European powers ...

The state of the armed forces at the beginning of the war

A strong blow to the German army was the reduction in its number: the reason for this is the short-sighted policy of the Social Democrats. For the period 1912-1916 in Germany, it was planned to reduce the army, which in no way contributed to an increase in its combat effectiveness. The Social Democratic government constantly cut funding for the army (which, however, does not apply to the navy).

This destructive policy towards the army led to the fact that by the beginning of 1914, unemployment in Germany increased by 8% (compared with 1910). The army experienced a chronic shortage of the necessary military equipment. There was a lack of modern weapons. There were not enough funds to sufficiently equip the army with machine guns - Germany lagged behind in this area. The same was true for aviation - the German aircraft fleet was large, but outdated. The main aircraft of the German Luftstreitkrafte was the most massive, but at the same time hopelessly outdated aircraft in Europe - a monoplane of the "Taube" type.

During the mobilization, a significant number of civil and mail aircraft were also requisitioned. Moreover, aviation was assigned to a separate branch of the armed forces only in 1916, before that it was listed in the "transport troops" ( Kraftfahrers). But aviation was given little importance in all armies, except for the French, where aviation had to carry out regular air raids on the territory of Alsace-Lorraine, Rhineland, and the Bavarian Palatinate. The total financial expenditures on military aviation in France in 1913 amounted to 6 million francs, in Germany - 322 thousand marks, in Russia - about 1 million rubles. The latter achieved significant success, having built, shortly before the start of the war, the world's first four-engine aircraft, which was destined to become the first strategic bomber. Since 1865, GAU and the Obukhov plant have successfully cooperated with the Krupp firm. This company "Krupp" cooperated with Russia and France until the very beginning of the war.

German shipyards (including Blohm & Voss) built, but did not manage to finish building 6 destroyers for Russia before the start of the war, according to the project of the later famous "Novik", built at the Putilov plant and armed with weapons produced at the Obukhov plant. Despite the Russian-French alliance, Krupp and other German firms regularly sent their latest weapons to Russia for testing. But under Nicholas II, preference was given to French guns. Thus, Russia, taking into account the experience of two leading artillery manufacturers, entered the war with good artillery of small and medium calibers, while having 1 barrel for 786 soldiers against 1 barrel for 476 soldiers in the German army, but in heavy artillery the Russian army lagged significantly behind of the German army, having 1 barrel for 22 241 soldiers and officers against 1 barrel for 2798 soldiers in the German army. And that's not counting the mortars, which were already in service with the German army and which were not at all in the Russian army in 1914.

Also, it should be noted that the saturation of infantry units with machine guns in the Russian army was not inferior to the German and French armies. So the Russian infantry regiment of the 4 battalion (16 company) composition had in its staff on May 6, 1910 a machine-gun command of 8 Maxim machine guns, that is, 0.5 machine guns per company, “in the German, and in the French armies there were six to the regiment "12 company composition.

Events before the outbreak of the First World War

On June 28, 1914, Gabriel Princip, a nineteen-year-old Bosnian Serb, student, member of the nationalist Serbian terrorist organization Mlada Bosna, murders in Sarajevo the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife Sofia Chotek. The Austrian and German ruling circles decided to use this Sarajevo murder as a pretext for unleashing a European war. On July 5, Germany promises to support Austria-Hungary in the event of a conflict with Serbia.

On July 23, Austria-Hungary, having declared that Serbia was behind the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, announces an ultimatum to her, in which it demands that Serbia fulfill deliberately impossible conditions, including: to purge the state apparatus and army from officers and officials seen in anti-Austrian propaganda; arrest suspects of aiding terrorism; to allow the Austro-Hungarian police to conduct investigations and punishments on the Serbian territory of those guilty of anti-Austrian actions. The answer was given in only 48 hours.

On the same day, Serbia begins mobilization, however, agrees to all the demands of Austria-Hungary, except for the admission of the Austrian police to its territory. Germany is persistently pushing Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia.

On July 25, Germany begins a hidden mobilization: without announcing it officially, they began to send summons to the reservists to the recruiting offices.

On July 26, Austria-Hungary announces mobilization and begins to concentrate troops on the border with Serbia and Russia.

On July 28, Austria-Hungary, declaring that the requirements of the ultimatum were not fulfilled, declares war on Serbia. Russia declares that it will not allow the occupation of Serbia.

On the same day, Germany gives Russia an ultimatum: stop conscription or Germany will declare war on Russia. France, Austria-Hungary and Germany are mobilizing. Germany is pulling troops to the Belgian and French borders.

At the same time, on the morning of August 1, British Foreign Secretary E. Gray promised German ambassador in London to Likhnovsky, that in the event of a war between Germany and Russia, England will remain neutral, provided that France is not attacked.

Campaign of 1914

The war unfolded in two main theaters of military operations - in Western and Eastern Europe, as well as in the Balkans, in Northern Italy (since May 1915), in the Caucasus and the Middle East (since November 1914) in the colonies of European states - in Africa, in China, Oceania. In 1914, all participants in the war were going to end the war in a few months by a decisive offensive; no one expected the war to become protracted.

The beginning of the first world war

Germany, in accordance with a pre-developed plan for waging a blitzkrieg (Schlieffen plan), sent the main forces to the western front, hoping to defeat France with a quick blow before the completion of the mobilization and deployment of the Russian army, and then deal with Russia.

The German command intended to deliver the main blow through Belgium to the unprotected north of France, bypass Paris from the west and take the French army, the main forces of which were concentrated on the fortified eastern, Franco-German border, into a huge "cauldron".

On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia, on the same day the Germans invaded Luxembourg without any declaration of war.

France turned to England for help, but the British government, by 12 votes to 6, refused to support France, stating that "France should not count on assistance that we are currently unable to provide," while adding that "if the Germans invade to Belgium and occupy only the "corner" of this country closest to Luxembourg, and not the coast, England will remain neutral. "

To which the French ambassador to Great Britain, Cambo, said that if England now betrayed her allies: France and Russia, then after the war she herself will have a bad time, regardless of who will be the winner. The British government, in fact, pushed the Germans into aggression. The German leadership decided that England would not enter the war and took decisive action.

On August 2, German troops finally occupied Luxembourg, and an ultimatum was issued to Belgium to allow the German armies to pass to the border with France. Only 12 hours were given for reflection.

On August 3, Germany declared war on France, accusing her of "organized attacks and aerial bombardments of Germany" and "violation of Belgian neutrality."

On August 4, German troops poured across the Belgian border. King Albert of Belgium asked for help from the guarantor countries of Belgian neutrality. London, contrary to its previous statements, sent an ultimatum to Berlin: stop the invasion of Belgium or England will declare war on Germany, to which Berlin declared "treason". After the expiration of the ultimatum, Great Britain declared war on Germany and sent 5.5 divisions to aid France.

The First World War has begun.

The course of hostilities

French Theater of War - Western Front

Strategic plans of the parties for the beginning of the war. By the beginning of the war, Germany was guided by a rather old military doctrine - the Schlieffen plan - which provided for an instant defeat of France before the "clumsy" Russia could mobilize and move its army to the borders. The attack was envisaged through the territory of Belgium (with the aim of bypassing the main French forces), it was originally supposed to take Paris in 39 days. In a nutshell, the essence of the plan was outlined by Wilhelm II: "We will have lunch in Paris, and dinner in St. Petersburg"... In 1906, the plan was modified (under the leadership of General Moltke) and acquired a less categorical character - a significant part of the troops was still supposed to be left on the Eastern Front, the attack should have been through Belgium, but without touching neutral Holland.

France, in turn, was guided by a military doctrine (the so-called Plan-17), prescribing to start the war with the liberation of Alsace-Lorraine. The French expected that the main forces of the German army would initially be concentrated against Alsace.

The invasion of Belgium by the German army. Crossing the Belgian border on the morning of August 4, the German army, following the Schlieffen Plan, easily swept away the weak screens of the Belgian army and moved deep into Belgium. The Belgian army, which the Germans outnumbered by more than 10 times, unexpectedly put up active resistance, which, however, could not significantly delay the enemy. Bypassing and blocking the well-fortified Belgian fortresses: Liege (fell on August 16, see: Storm of Liege), Namur (fell on August 25) and Antwerp (fell on October 9), the Germans drove the Belgian army in front of them and on August 20 took Brussels, on that the same day, having entered into contact with the Anglo-French forces. The movement of the German troops was swift, the Germans, without stopping, bypassed the cities and fortresses that continued to defend themselves. The Belgian government fled to Le Havre. King Albert I continued to defend Antwerp with the last remaining combat-ready units. The invasion of Belgium came as a surprise to the French command, but the French were able to organize the transfer of their units in the direction of the breakthrough much faster than was anticipated by the German plans.

Actions in Alsace and Lorraine. On August 7, the French, with the forces of the 1st and 2nd armies, launched an offensive in Alsace, and on August 14, in Lorraine. The offensive had symbolic meaning for the French - the territory of Alsace-Lorraine was annexed from France in 1871, after the defeat in the Franco-Prussian war. Although initially they managed to penetrate German territory, capturing Saarbrücken and Mulhouse, at the same time the unfolding German offensive in Belgium forced them to transfer part of their troops there. The ensuing counterattacks did not meet with sufficient resistance from the French, and by the end of August the French army withdrew to its former positions, leaving Germany with a small part of French territory.

Frontier battle. On August 20, the Anglo-French and German troops came into contact - the Battle of the Border began. By the time the war began, the French command did not expect that the main offensive of the German troops would take place through Belgium, the main forces of the French troops were concentrated against Alsace. From the beginning of the invasion of Belgium, the French began to actively move units in the direction of the breakthrough, by the time of contact with the Germans, the front was in sufficient disarray, and the French and British were forced to take battle with three non-contiguous groups of troops. On the territory of Belgium, at Mons, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was located, to the southeast, at Charleroi, was the 5th French army. In the Ardennes, approximately along the border of France with Belgium and Luxembourg, the 3rd and 4th French armies were stationed. In all three areas, the Anglo-French troops suffered a heavy defeat (the Battle of Mons, the Battle of Charleroi, the Ardennes operation (1914)), having lost about 250 thousand people, and the Germans from the north invaded France with a wide front, delivering the main blow to the west, bypassing Paris, thus taking the French army in giant pincers.

The German armies moved forward swiftly. British units retreated in disarray to the coast, the French command was not sure of the possibility of holding Paris, on September 2, the French government moved to Bordeaux. The defense of the city was led by the energetic General Gallieni. The French forces were regrouping to a new line of defense along the river Marne. The French were vigorously preparing to defend the capital by taking extraordinary measures. An episode is widely known when Gallieni ordered the urgent transfer of an infantry brigade to the front, using Parisian taxis for this purpose.

The unsuccessful actions of the French army in August forced its commander, General Joffre, to immediately replace a large number (up to 30% of the total number) of poor generals; the renewal and rejuvenation of the French generals was subsequently assessed extremely positively.

Battle of the Marne. To complete the operation to bypass Paris and encircle the French army, the German army did not have enough strength. The troops, having passed hundreds of kilometers with battles, were exhausted, communications stretched out, there was nothing to cover the flanks and emerging gaps, there were no reserves, the same units had to be maneuvered, driving them back and forth, so the Headquarters agreed with the commander's proposal: it was making a roundabout maneuver 1 von Kluck's army to reduce the front of the offensive and not to make a deep coverage of the French army bypassing Paris, but to turn east north of the French capital and strike in the rear of the main forces of the French army.

Turning to the east north of Paris, the Germans exposed their right flank and rear to the attack of the French grouping concentrated for the defense of Paris. There was nothing to cover the right flank and rear: 2 corps and a cavalry division, originally intended to strengthen the advancing group, were sent to East Prussia to help the defeated German 8th Army. Nevertheless, the German command went on a fatal maneuver: it turned its troops to the east before reaching Paris, hoping for the passivity of the enemy. The French command did not fail to take advantage of the opportunity and hit the open flank and rear of the German army. The First Battle of the Marne began, in which the Allies managed to turn the tide of hostilities in their favor and drive back the German troops on the front from Verdun to Amiens 50-100 kilometers back. The battle on the Marne was intense, but short-lived - the main battle began on September 5, on September 9 the defeat of the German army became obvious, by September 12-13, the withdrawal of the German army to the line along the Aisne and Vel rivers was completed.

The Battle of the Marne was of great moral importance to all sides. For the French, it was the first victory over the Germans, overcoming the shame of defeat in the Franco-Prussian war. After the Battle of the Marne, surrender sentiment in France markedly began to decline. The British realized the insufficient combat power of their troops, and subsequently took a course towards increasing their armed forces in Europe and strengthening their combat training. German plans to quickly crush France failed; Moltke, who headed the Field General Staff, was replaced by Falkenhain. Joffre, on the other hand, gained immense prestige in France. The Battle of the Marne was a turning point in the war in the French theater of operations, after which the continuous retreat of the Anglo-French troops ceased, the front stabilized, and the forces of the opponents were approximately equal.

"Run to the Sea". Battles in Flanders. The Battle of the Marne turned into the so-called "Run to the Sea" - while moving, both armies tried to flank each other, which only led to the fact that the front line closed, resting on the coast of the North Sea. The actions of armies in this flat, inhabited, saturated with roads and railways were characterized by extreme mobility; as soon as one clash ended with the stabilization of the front, both sides quickly moved their troops north, towards the sea, and the battle resumed at the next stage. At the first stage (the second half of September), battles were fought along the borders of the Oise and Somme rivers, then, at the second stage (September 29 - October 9), battles were fought along the Scarpa River (the battle of Arras); at the third stage, battles took place at Lille (October 10-15), on the Isère River (October 18-20), at Ypres (October 30-November 15). On October 9, the last center of resistance of the Belgian army, Antwerp, fell, and the battered Belgian units joined the Anglo-French, occupying the extreme northern position at the front.

By November 15, the entire space between Paris and the North Sea was densely filled with troops of both sides, the front stabilized, the offensive potential of the Germans was exhausted, both sides switched to positional combat. An important success of the Entente can be considered the fact that it managed to hold the ports most convenient for sea communication with England (primarily Calais).

By the end of 1914, Belgium was almost completely conquered by Germany. For the Entente remained only a small western part of Flanders with the city of Ypres. Further south to Nancy, the front passed through French territory (the territory lost by the French had the shape of a spindle, 380-400 km long along the front, 100-130 km deep at its widest point from the pre-war border of France towards Paris). Lille was given to the Germans, Arras and Lahn remained with the French; closest to Paris (about 70 km), the front approached in the area of ​​Noyon (behind the Germans) and Soissons (behind the French). The front then turned east (Reims remained with the French) and moved into the Verdun fortified area. After that, in the Nancy region (behind the French), the zone of active hostilities of 1914 ended, the front further went on as a whole along the border of France and Germany. Neutral Switzerland and Italy did not participate in the war.

Results of the 1914 campaign in the French theater of operations. The 1914 campaign was extremely dynamic. Large armies of both sides actively and quickly maneuvered, which was facilitated by the saturated road network of the combat area. The disposition of troops did not always form a continuous front, the troops did not erect long-term defensive lines. By November 1914, a stable front line began to take shape. Both sides, having exhausted their offensive potential, proceeded to build trenches and barbed wire, designed for permanent use. The war has entered a positional phase. Since the length of the entire Western Front (from the North Sea to Switzerland) was a little more than 700 kilometers, the density of the deployment of troops on it was significantly higher than on the Eastern Front. A special feature of the company was that intensive military operations were conducted only in the northern half of the front (north of the Verdun fortified area), where both sides concentrated their main forces. The front from Verdun and further south was regarded by both sides as secondary. The zones lost by the French (centered in Picardy) were densely populated and significant both agriculturally and industrially.

By the beginning of 1915, the warring powers were faced with the fact that the war took on a character that was not envisaged by the pre-war plans of either side - it became protracted. Although the Germans managed to capture almost all of Belgium and a significant part of France, their main goal - a swift victory over the French - was completely inaccessible. Both the Entente and the Central Powers had, in essence, to start a new type of war, which mankind had never seen before - exhausting, long, requiring total mobilization of the population and economies.

Germany's relative failure had another important result - Italy, the third member of the Triple Alliance, refrained from entering the war on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary.

East Prussian operation. On the Eastern Front, the war began with the East Prussian operation. On August 4 (17), the Russian army crossed the border, launching an offensive on East Prussia. 1st army moved to Konigsberg from the north of the Masurian Lakes, 2nd army - from the west of them. During the first week, the actions of the Russian armies were successful, the numerically inferior Germans gradually retreated; The Gumbinen-Goldap battle on August 7 (20) ended in favor of the Russian army. However, the Russian command was unable to take advantage of the fruits of the victory. The movement of the two Russian armies slowed down and became mismatched, which the Germans did not hesitate to take advantage of, who attacked the open flank of the 2nd army from the west. On August 13-17 (26-30), the 2nd army of General Samsonov was completely defeated, a significant part was surrounded and taken prisoner. In German tradition, these events are called the Battle of Tanneberg. After that, the Russian 1st Army, under the threat of encirclement by superior German forces, was forced to retreat to its original position with battles, the withdrawal was completed on September 3 (16). The actions of General Rennenkampf, commander of the 1st Army, were considered unsuccessful, which was the first episode of the subsequent typical distrust of military leaders with German surnames, and, in general, disbelief in the ability of the military command. In the German tradition, the events were mythologized and considered the greatest victory of German weapons; a huge memorial was built on the site of the battles, in which Field Marshal Hindenburg was later buried.

Battle of Galicia. On August 16 (23), the Battle of Galicia began - a huge-scale battle between the Russian troops of the South-Western Front (5 armies) under the command of General N. Ivanov and four Austro-Hungarian armies under the command of Archduke Friedrich. Russian troops launched an offensive along a wide (450-500 km) front, with the center of the offensive in Lvov. The fighting of large armies, taking place on an extended front, was divided into numerous independent operations, accompanied by both offensives and retreats on both sides.

Actions on the southern part of the border with Austria were initially unfavorable for the Russian army (the Lublin-Kholm operation). By August 19-20 (September 1-2), Russian troops retreated to the territory of the Kingdom of Poland, to Lublin and Kholm. Actions in the center of the front (Galich-Lvov operation) were unsuccessful for the Austro-Hungarians. The Russian offensive began on August 6 (19) and developed very quickly. After the first retreat, the Austro-Hungarian army put up fierce resistance on the borders of the Zolotaya Lipa and Rotten Lipa rivers, but was forced to retreat. The Russians took Lvov on August 21 (September 3), and Galich on August 22 (September 4). Until August 31 (September 12), the Austro-Hungarians did not stop trying to recapture Lviv, the battles went 30-50 km west and north-west of the city (Gorodok - Rava-Russkaya), but ended in complete victory for the Russian army. On August 29 (September 11), a general retreat of the Austrian army began (more like a flight, since the resistance to the advancing Russians was insignificant). The Russian army maintained a high rate of advance and in the shortest possible time captured a huge, strategically important territory - Eastern Galicia and part of Bukovina. By 13 (26 September) the front had stabilized at a distance of 120-150 km west of Lvov. The strong Austrian fortress of Przemysl was under siege in the rear of the Russian army.

The significant victory sparked jubilation in Russia. The capture of Galicia, with a predominantly Orthodox (and Uniate) Slavic population in it, was perceived in Russia not as an occupation, but as the return of the severed part of historical Russia (see Galician General Government). Austria-Hungary lost faith in the strength of its army, and in the future did not risk embarking on major operations without the help of German troops.

Military operations in the Kingdom of Poland. The pre-war border of Russia with Germany and Austria-Hungary had a configuration far from smooth - in the center of the border, the territory of the Kingdom of Poland sharply protruded to the west. Obviously, both sides began the war with attempts to flatten the front - the Russians tried to equalize the "dents", advancing in the north on East Prussia, and in the south on Galicia, while Germany sought to remove the "ledge", advancing in the center on Poland. After the Russian offensive in East Prussia failed, Germany could only advance southward, in Poland, so that the front would not fall apart into two disconnected parts. In addition, the success of the offensive in the southern part of Poland could have helped the Austro-Hungarians who were suffering defeat.

On September 15 (28), the German offensive began the Warsaw-Ivangorod operation. The offensive went in a northeastern direction, aiming at Warsaw and the Ivangorod fortress. On September 30 (October 12) the Germans reached Warsaw and reached the border of the Vistula River. Fierce battles began, in which the advantage of the Russian army was gradually determined. On October 7 (20), the Russians began to cross the Vistula, and on October 14 (27), the German army began a general retreat. By October 26 (November 8), the German troops, having failed to achieve results, withdrew to their original positions.

On October 29 (November 11), the Germans from the same positions along the pre-war border undertook a second offensive in the same northeastern direction (Lodz operation). The center of the battle was the city of Lodz, captured and abandoned by the Germans a few weeks earlier. In a dynamically unfolding battle, the Germans first surrounded Lodz, then themselves were surrounded by superior Russian forces and retreated. The results of the battles were uncertain - the Russians managed to defend both Lodz and Warsaw; but at the same time Germany managed to capture the northwestern part of the Kingdom of Poland - the front, which had stabilized by October 26 (November 8), went from Lodz to Warsaw.

The positions of the parties by the end of 1914. By the new 1915, the front looked like this - on the border of East Prussia and Russia, the front went along the pre-war border, then a gap poorly filled by the troops of both sides followed, after which a stable front began again from Warsaw to Lodz (northeast and east of the Kingdom of Poland with Petrokov , Czestochow and Kalisz was occupied by Germany), in the region of Krakow (remained behind Austria-Hungary), the front crossed the pre-war border of Austria-Hungary with Russia and crossed into the Austrian territory captured by the Russians. Most of Galicia went to Russia, Lviv (Lemberg) fell into the deep (180 km from the front) rear. In the south, the front rested on the Carpathians, which were practically unoccupied by the troops of both sides. Bukovina, located to the east of the Carpathians, with Chernivtsi passed to Russia. The total length of the front was about 1200 km.

Results of the 1914 campaign on the Russian front. The campaign as a whole has developed in favor of Russia. Clashes with the German army ended in favor of the Germans, and on the German part of the front, Russia lost part of the territory of the Kingdom of Poland. The defeat of Russia in East Prussia was morally painful and accompanied by heavy losses. But Germany was not able to achieve the results it had planned at any point, all of its successes from a military point of view were modest. Meanwhile, Russia managed to inflict a major defeat on Austria-Hungary and capture significant territories. A certain pattern of actions of the Russian army formed - the Germans were treated with caution, the Austro-Hungarians were considered a weaker enemy. Austria-Hungary has turned for Germany from a full-fledged ally into a weak partner requiring continuous support. The fronts stabilized by the new 1915, and the war passed into a positional phase; but at the same time, the front line (in contrast to the French theater of military operations) continued to remain unsmoothed, and the armies of the sides filled it unevenly, with large gaps. This unevenness next year will make events on the Eastern Front much more dynamic than on the Western. By the new year, the Russian army began to feel the first signs of an impending ammunition supply crisis. It also turned out that the Austro-Hungarian soldiers are prone to surrender, while the German ones are not.

The Entente countries were able to coordinate actions on two fronts - the offensive of Russia in East Prussia coincided with the most difficult moment of the fighting for France, Germany was forced to fight in two directions at the same time, as well as to transfer troops from front to front.

Balkan theater of war

On the Serbian front, things were not going well for the Austrians. Despite their large numerical superiority, they managed to occupy Belgrade, located on the border, only on December 2, but on December 15, the Serbs recaptured Belgrade and drove the Austrians out of their territory. Although the demands of Austria-Hungary against Serbia were the direct reason for the outbreak of the war, it was in Serbia that the military operations of 1914 were rather sluggish.

Japan's entry into the war

In August 1914, the Entente countries (primarily England) managed to persuade Japan to oppose Germany, despite the fact that these two countries did not have significant conflicts of interest. On August 15, Japan presented an ultimatum to Germany, demanding the withdrawal of troops from China, and on August 23, it declared war (see Japan in the First World War). In late August, the Japanese army began a siege of Qingdao, the only German naval base in China, which ended on November 7 with the surrender of the German garrison (see Siege of Qingdao).

In September-October, Japan actively began to seize the island colonies and bases of Germany (German Micronesia and German New Guinea. The Caroline Islands were captured on September 12, the Marshall Islands on September 29. In October, the Japanese landed in the Caroline Islands and captured the key port of Rabaul. At the end August, New Zealand troops captured German Samoa. Australia and New Zealand concluded an agreement with Japan on the division of the German colonies, the equator was adopted as the dividing line. The forces of Germany in the region were insignificant and sharply inferior to the Japanese, so that the hostilities were not accompanied by large losses.

The participation of Japan in the war on the side of the Entente turned out to be extremely beneficial for Russia, completely securing its Asian part. Russia no longer had the need to spend resources on the maintenance of the army, navy and fortifications directed against Japan and China. In addition, Japan has gradually become an important source of supplies for Russia with raw materials and weapons.

The entry into the war of the Ottoman Empire and the opening of the Asian theater of military operations

With the outbreak of the war in Turkey, there was no agreement - whether to enter the war and on whose side. In the unofficial Young Turkish triumvirate, Minister of War Enver Pasha and Minister of Internal Affairs Talaat Pasha were supporters of the Triple Alliance, but Jemal Pasha was a supporter of the Entente. On August 2, 1914, a German-Turkish allied treaty was signed, according to which the Turkish army was actually surrendered under the leadership of the German military mission. Mobilization was announced in the country. However, at the same time, the Turkish government issued a declaration of neutrality. On August 10, the German cruisers Goeben and Breslau entered the Dardanelles, leaving the pursuit of the British fleet in the Mediterranean. With the appearance of these ships, not only the Turkish army, but also the fleet were under the command of the Germans. On September 9, the Turkish government announced to all powers that it had decided to abolish the capitulation regime (preferential legal status of foreign citizens). This provoked a protest from all powers.

However, most of the members of the Turkish government, including the grand vizier, still opposed the war. Then Enver Pasha, together with the German command, began a war without the consent of the rest of the government, putting the country in front of a fait accompli. Turkey has declared "jihad" (holy war) to the Entente countries. On October 29-30 (November 11-12), the Turkish fleet under the command of the German admiral Sushon shelled Sevastopol, Odessa, Feodosia and Novorossiysk. On November 2 (15), Russia declared war on Turkey. England and France followed on 5 and 6 November.

The Caucasian Front arose between Russia and Turkey. In December 1914 - January 1915, during the Sarykamysh operation, the Russian Caucasian army stopped the Turkish offensive on Kars, and then defeated them and launched a counteroffensive (see Caucasian Front).

The usefulness of Turkey as an ally was diminished by the fact that the Central Powers had no communication with her either by land (between Turkey and Austria-Hungary was located Serbia, which had not yet been captured and so far neutral Romania), or by sea (the Mediterranean Sea was controlled by the Entente).

At the same time, Russia also lost the most convenient route of communication with its allies - through the Black Sea and the Straits. Russia has two ports left, suitable for the transportation of a large amount of cargo - Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok; the carrying capacity of the railways approaching these ports was low.

Fighting at sea

With the outbreak of war, the German fleet deployed cruising operations throughout the oceans, which, however, did not lead to a significant disruption of the merchant shipping of its opponents. Nevertheless, part of the fleet of the Entente countries was diverted to fight the German raiders. The German squadron of Admiral von Spee managed to defeat the English squadron in the battle at Cape Coronel (Chile) on November 1, but later it was itself defeated by the British in the Falklands battle on December 8.

In the North Sea, the fleets of the opposing sides carried out raiding operations. The first major clash occurred on 28 August at Helgoland Island (Battle of Helgoland). The English fleet was victorious.

The Russian fleets were passive. The Baltic Fleet of Russia occupied a defensive position, to which the German fleet, occupied with operations in other theaters, did not even come close. The Black Sea Fleet, which did not have large ships of the modern type, did not dare to clash with the two newest German-Turkish ships.

Campaign of 1915

The course of hostilities

French Theater of War - Western Front

Actions of the beginning of 1915. The intensity of operations on the Western Front since the beginning of 1915 has significantly decreased. Germany concentrated its forces on preparing operations against Russia. The French and British also preferred to take advantage of the resulting pause for the accumulation of forces. The first four months of the year at the front was almost complete calm, hostilities were fought only in Artois, in the area of ​​the city of Arras (an attempt by the French in February) and southeast of Verdun, where the German positions formed the so-called Ser-Miel salient towards France (an attempt French offensive in April). In March, the British made an unsuccessful attempt at an offensive near the village of Neuve Chapelle.

The Germans, in turn, launched a counterattack in the north of the front, in Flanders at Ypres, against the British troops (April 22 - May 25, see Second Battle of Ypres). At the same time, Germany, for the first time in the history of mankind and with complete surprise for the Anglo-French, used chemical weapons (chlorine was released from the cylinders). The gas affected 15 thousand people, of which 5 thousand died. The Germans did not have sufficient reserves to take advantage of the gas attack and break through the front. After the Ypres gas attack, both sides very quickly managed to develop gas masks of various designs, and further attempts to use chemical weapons no longer took large masses of troops by surprise.

In the course of these hostilities, which yielded the most insignificant results with noticeable casualties, both sides became convinced that the assault on well-equipped positions (several lines of trenches, dugouts, barbed wire fences) was futile without active artillery preparation.

Spring operation in Artois. On May 3, the Entente launched a new offensive in Artois. The offensive was carried out by joint Anglo-French forces. The French advanced north of Arras, the British - in the adjacent area in the Neuve Chapelle area. The offensive was organized in a new way: huge forces (30 infantry divisions, 9 cavalry corps, more than 1,700 guns) were concentrated on 30 kilometers of the offensive sector. The offensive was preceded by a six-day artillery preparation (2.1 million shells were expended), which, as expected, was supposed to completely suppress the resistance of the German troops. The calculations did not come true. The huge losses of the Entente (130 thousand people), incurred in six weeks of fighting, did not completely correspond to the results achieved - by mid-June, the French advanced 3-4 km along the front of 7 km, and the British - less than 1 km along the front of 3 km.

Autumn operation in Champagne and Artois. By the beginning of September, the Entente prepared a new major offensive, the task of which was to liberate the north of France. The offensive began on September 25 and took place simultaneously in two sectors spaced 120 km from each other - 35 km of the front in Champagne (east of Reims) and 20 km of the front in Artois (near Arras,). If successful, the troops advancing from both sides were to close on the French border (at Mons) after 80-100 km, which would lead to the liberation of Picardy. Compared with the spring offensive in Artois, the scale was increased: 67 infantry and cavalry divisions were involved in the offensive, up to 2,600 guns; during the operation, more than 5 million shells were fired. The Anglo-French troops used the new offensive tactics in several "waves". At the time of the offensive, the German troops managed to improve their defensive positions - a second defensive line was arranged 5-6 kilometers behind the first defensive line, poorly visible from the enemy's positions (each of the defensive lines consisted, in turn, of three rows of trenches). The offensive, which lasted until October 7, led to extremely limited results - in both sectors it was possible to break through only the first line of the German defense and recapture no more than 2-3 km of territory. At the same time, the losses on both sides were enormous - the Anglo-French lost 200 thousand people killed and wounded, the Germans - 140 thousand people.

The positions of the parties by the end of 1915 and the results of the campaign. For the whole of 1915, the front practically did not move - the result of all fierce offensives was the movement of the front line by no more than 10 km. Both sides, increasingly strengthening their defensive positions, were unable to develop tactics that would allow them to break through the front, even under conditions of an extremely high concentration of forces and many days of artillery preparation. The huge sacrifices on both sides did not produce any meaningful result. The situation, however, allowed Germany to increase the onslaught on the Eastern Front - the entire strengthening of the German army was aimed at fighting Russia, while the improvement of defensive lines and defense tactics allowed the Germans to be confident in the strength of the Western Front while gradually reducing the troops involved.

The actions of the beginning of 1915 showed that the prevailing type of military operations creates a huge burden on the economies of the belligerent countries. New battles required not only the mobilization of millions of citizens, but also a gigantic amount of weapons and ammunition. The pre-war stocks of weapons and ammunition were exhausted, and the belligerent countries began to actively rebuild their economies for military needs. The war from a battle of armies gradually began to turn into a battle of economies. The development of new military equipment has intensified as a means of overcoming the stalemate at the front; armies became more and more mechanized. The armies noticed the significant benefits of aviation (reconnaissance and adjustment of artillery fire) and automobiles. The methods of trench warfare improved - trench guns, light mortars, and hand grenades appeared.

France and Russia again attempted to coordinate the actions of their armies - the spring offensive in Artois was intended to distract the Germans from an active offensive against the Russians. On July 7, the first Inter-Allied Conference opened in Chantilly, aimed at planning joint actions of the allies on different fronts and organizing various kinds of economic and military assistance. The second conference was held there on November 23-26. It was considered necessary to begin preparations for a coordinated offensive by all allied armies in the three main theaters - French, Russian and Italian.

Russian theater of military operations - Eastern Front

Winter operation in East Prussia. In February, the Russian army undertook another attempt to attack East Prussia, this time from the southeast, from Masuria, from the city of Suwalki. The offensive, poorly prepared, unsecured with artillery support, instantly collapsed and went over to a counterattack by the German troops, the so-called August operation (after the city of Augustow). By February 26, the Germans managed to advance to drive out the Russian troops from the territory of East Prussia and advance 100-120 km deep into the Kingdom of Poland, capturing Suwalki, after which in the first half of March the front stabilized, Grodno remained behind Russia. XX Russian corps was surrounded and surrendered. Despite the victory of the Germans, their hopes for a complete collapse of the Russian front did not come true. During the next battle - the Prasnysh operation (February 25 - the end of March), the Germans met with fierce resistance from the Russian troops, which launched a counterattack in the Prasnysh area, which led to the withdrawal of the Germans to the pre-war border of East Prussia (the Suwalk province remained with Germany).

Winter operation in the Carpathians. On February 9-11, Austro-German troops launched an offensive in the Carpathians, pressing especially hard on the weakest part of the Russian front in the south, in Bukovina. At the same time, the Russian army launched a counter offensive, hoping to cross the Carpathians and invade Hungary from north to south. In the northern part of the Carpathians, closer to Krakow, the enemy forces turned out to be equal, and the front practically did not move during the battles in February and March, remaining in the foothills of the Carpathians on the Russian side. But in the south of the Carpathians, the Russian army did not manage to group, and by the end of March the Russians lost most of Bukovina with Chernivtsi. On March 22, the besieged Austrian fortress of Przemysl fell, more than 120 thousand people surrendered. The capture of Przemysl was the last major success of the Russian army in 1915.

Gorlitsky breakthrough. The beginning of the Great retreat of the Russian armies - the loss of Galicia. By mid-spring, the situation at the front in Galicia had changed. The Germans expanded their area of ​​operations, transferring their troops to the northern and central part of the front in Austria-Hungary, the weaker Austro-Hungarians were now responsible only for the southern part of the front. In a 35 km sector, the Germans concentrated 32 divisions and 1,500 guns; Russian troops were 2 times inferior in number, and were completely deprived of heavy artillery, and the lack of shells of the main (three-inch) caliber began to affect. On April 19 (May 2), German troops launched an offensive against the center of the Russian position in Austria-Hungary - Gorlice - aiming the main blow at Lvov. Further events developed unfavorably for the Russian army: the numerical predominance of the Germans, unsuccessful maneuvering and the use of reserves, the growing shortage of shells and the complete predominance of German heavy artillery led to the fact that by April 22 (May 5) the front in the Gorlitz region was broken through. The beginning of the withdrawal of the Russian armies continued until June 9 (22) (see The Great Retreat of 1915). The entire front south of Warsaw moved towards Russia. In the Kingdom of Poland, the Radom and Keletsk provinces were left, the front passed through Lublin (behind Russia); from the territories of Austria-Hungary, most of Galicia was left (the newly taken Przemysl was left on June 3 (16), and Lviv - on June 9 (22)), the Russians only left a small (up to 40 km deep) strip with Brody, the entire region Tarnopol and a small part of Bukovina. The retreat, which began in the breakthrough of the Germans, by the time Lvov was abandoned acquired a planned character, the Russian troops were retreating in relative order. But nevertheless, such a major military failure was accompanied by the loss of the Russian army's morale and massive surrenders.

Continuation of the Great Retreat of the Russian armies - the loss of Poland. Having achieved success in the southern part of the theater of operations, the German command decided to immediately continue an active offensive in its northern part - in Poland and in East Prussia - the Ostsee Territory. Since the Gorlitsky breakthrough did not ultimately lead to the complete fall of the Russian front (the Russians were able to stabilize the situation and close the front at the cost of a significant retreat), this time the tactics were changed - it was not supposed to break through the front at one point, but three independent offensives. Two directions of the offensive aimed at the Kingdom of Poland (where the Russian front continued to form a protrusion towards Germany) - the Germans planned front breakthroughs from the north, from East Prussia (a breakthrough to the south between Warsaw and Lomza, in the area of ​​the Narew River), and from the south, from sides of Galicia (to the north along the interfluve of the Vistula and the Bug); at the same time, the directions of both breakthroughs converged on the border of the Kingdom of Poland, in the region of Brest-Litovsk; if the German plan was fulfilled, the Russian troops had to leave all of Poland in order to avoid encirclement in the Warsaw area. The third offensive, from East Prussia towards Riga, was planned as an offensive on a wide front, without concentration in a narrow sector and a breakthrough.

The offensive between the Vistula and the Bug was launched on June 13 (26), and on June 30 (July 13) the Narew operation began. After fierce battles, the front was broken through in both places, and the Russian army, as envisaged by the German plan, began a general withdrawal from the Kingdom of Poland. On July 22 (August 4) Warsaw and the Ivangorod fortress were abandoned, on August 7 (20) the Novogeorgievsk fortress fell, on August 9 (22) - the Osovets fortress, on August 13 (26) the Russians left Brest-Litovsk, and on August 19 (September 2) - Grodno.

The offensive from East Prussia (the Rigo-Shavel operation) began on July 1 (14). For a month of fighting, Russian troops were pushed back beyond the Neman, the Germans captured Kurland with Mitava and the most important naval base Libava, Kovno, and came close to Riga.

The success of the German offensive was facilitated by the fact that by the summer the crisis in the military supply of the Russian army had reached its maximum. Of particular importance was the so-called "shell hunger" - an acute shortage of shells for the 75-mm guns prevailing in the Russian army. The capture of the Novogeorgievsk fortress, accompanied by the surrender of large units of troops and intact weapons and property without a fight, caused a new outbreak of spy mania and rumors of treason in Russian society. The Kingdom of Poland gave Russia about a quarter of the booty coal, the loss of Polish deposits was never compensated for, from the end of 1915 a fuel crisis began in Russia.

Completion of the great retreat and stabilization of the front. On August 9 (22), the Germans shifted the direction of the main attack; now the main offensive took place along the front north of Vilna, in the Sventsyan region, and was directed towards Minsk. On August 27-28 (September 8-9), the Germans, taking advantage of the leaky location of the Russian units, were able to break through the front (Sventsiansky breakthrough). The result was that the Russians were able to fill the front only after they had retreated directly to Minsk. The Vilna province was lost by the Russians.

On December 14 (27), the Russians launched an offensive against the Austro-Hungarian troops on the Strypa River, in the Ternopil region, due to the need to divert the Austrians from the Serbian front, where the situation of the Serbs became very difficult. The offensive attempts were unsuccessful, and on January 15 (29), the operation was stopped.

Meanwhile, the withdrawal of the Russian armies continued to the south of the Sventsyansky breakthrough zone. In August, the Russians left Vladimir-Volynsky, Kovel, Lutsk, Pinsk. On the more southern part of the front, the situation was stable, since by that time the forces of the Austro-Hungarians had been diverted by battles in Serbia and on the Italian front. By the end of September - the beginning of October, the front stabilized, and a lull set in along its entire length. The offensive potential of the Germans was exhausted, the Russians began to restore their troops, which had been badly damaged during the retreat, and to strengthen new defensive lines.

The positions of the parties by the end of 1915. By the end of 1915, the front had become practically a straight line connecting the Baltic and Black seas; the protrusion of the front in the Kingdom of Poland completely disappeared - Poland was completely occupied by Germany. Courland was occupied by Germany, the front came close to Riga and then went along the Western Dvina to the fortified region of Dvinsk. Further, the front passed through the North-Western Territory: Kovenskaya, Vilenskaya, Grodno provinces, the western part of the Minsk province was occupied by Germany (Minsk remained with Russia). Then the front passed through the South-Western Territory: the western third of the Volyn province with Lutsk was occupied by Germany, Exactly remained with Russia. After that, the front moved to the former territory of Austria-Hungary, where the Russians retained a part of the Tarnopol region in Galicia. Further, to the Bessarabian province, the front returned to the pre-war border with Austria-Hungary and ended at the border with neutral Romania.

The new configuration of the front, which did not have protrusions and was densely filled with troops from both sides, naturally prompted a transition to trench warfare and defensive tactics.

Results of the 1915 campaign on the Eastern Front. The results of the 1915 campaign for Germany in the east were in a certain way similar to the 1914 campaign in the west: Germany was able to achieve significant military victories and capture enemy territory, Germany's tactical advantage in mobile warfare was obvious; but at the same time, the general goal - the complete defeat of one of the opponents and his withdrawal from the war - was not achieved in 1915 either. With tactical victories, the Central Powers were unable to completely defeat the leading adversaries as their economies grew weaker and weaker. Russia, despite heavy losses in territory and manpower, fully retained the ability to continue the war (although its army lost its offensive spirit during the long period of retreat). In addition, by the end of the Great Retreat, the Russians were able to overcome the military supply crisis, and the situation with artillery and shells for it returned to normal by the end of the year. Fierce struggle and great human losses led the economies of Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary to overstrain, the negative results of which will be more and more noticeable in the following years.

Russia's failures were accompanied by important personnel changes. On June 30 (July 13), Minister of War V. A. Sukhomlinov was replaced by A. A. Polivanov. Subsequently, Sukhomlinov was brought to trial, which caused another outbreak of suspicion and spy mania. On August 10 (23), Nicholas II took over the duties of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, moving the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich to the Caucasian front. In this case, the actual leadership of military operations passed from N.N. Yanushkevich to M.V. Alekseev. The assumption of the supreme command by the tsar entailed extremely significant internal political consequences.

Italy's entry into the war

With the outbreak of the war, Italy remained neutral. On August 3, 1914, the Italian king informed William II that the conditions for the outbreak of war did not correspond to the conditions in the Treaty of the Triple Alliance, under which Italy should enter the war. On the same day, the Italian government issued a declaration of neutrality. After lengthy negotiations between Italy and the Central Powers and the Entente countries, the London Pact was concluded on April 26, 1915, according to which Italy pledged to declare war on Austria-Hungary within a month, as well as to oppose all the enemies of the Entente. A number of territories were promised as “payment for the blood” of Italy. England gave Italy a loan of 50 million pounds. Despite the subsequent reciprocal offers of territories from the Central Powers, against the background of fierce internal political clashes between opponents and supporters of the two blocs, on May 23, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary.

Balkan theater of operations, entry into the war of Bulgaria

There was no activity on the Serbian front until autumn. By the beginning of autumn, after the completion of a successful campaign to oust the Russian troops from Galicia and Bukovina, the Austro-Hungarians and Germans were able to transfer a large number of troops to attack Serbia. At the same time, it was expected that Bulgaria, impressed by the successes of the Central Powers, intends to enter the war on their side. In this case, a sparsely populated Serbia with a small army found itself surrounded by enemies from two fronts, and it faced inevitable military defeat. Anglo-French aid arrived with a great delay - only on October 5 did the troops begin to land in Thessaloniki (Greece); Russia could not help, since neutral Romania refused to let the Russian troops pass. On October 5, the offensive of the Central Powers from Austria-Hungary began, on October 14 Bulgaria declared war on the Entente countries and began military operations against Serbia. The troops of the Serbs, British and French were outnumbered by the forces of the Central Powers by more than 2 times and had no chance of success.

By the end of December, Serbian troops left Serbia, leaving for Albania, from where in January 1916 their remnants were evacuated to the island of Corfu and to Bizerta. In December, the Anglo-French troops withdrew to the territory of Greece, to Thessaloniki, where they were able to gain a foothold, forming the Thessaloniki Front along the Greek border with Bulgaria and Serbia. The cadres of the Serbian army (up to 150 thousand people) were retained and in the spring of 1916 they strengthened the Thessaloniki front.

The accession of Bulgaria to the Central Powers and the fall of Serbia opened up direct communication by land with Turkey for the Central Powers.

Military operations in the Dardanelles and the Gallipoli Peninsula

By the beginning of 1915, the Anglo-French command developed a joint operation to break through the Dardanelles and enter the Sea of ​​Marmara, to Constantinople. The task of the operation was to ensure free sea traffic through the straits and to divert Turkish forces from the Caucasian front.

According to the original plan, the breakthrough was to be carried out by the British fleet, which was to destroy the coastal batteries without landing. After the first unsuccessful attacks with small forces (19-25 February), the British fleet launched a general attack on 18 March, which involved more than 20 battleships, battle cruisers and obsolete battleships. After the loss of 3 ships, the British, without having achieved success, left the strait.

After that, the Entente's tactics changed - it was decided to land an expeditionary force on the Gallicpolian Peninsula (on the European side of the straits) and on the opposite Asian coast. The Entente landing force (80 thousand people), consisting of the British, French, Australians and New Zealanders, began landing on 25 April. The landing took place at three bridgeheads divided between the participating countries. The attackers managed to hold out only in one of the sections of Gallipoli, where the Australian-New Zealand Corps (ANZAC) was parachuted. Fierce battles and the transfer of new Entente reinforcements continued until mid-August, but none of the attempts to attack the Turks yielded significant results. By the end of August, the failure of the operation became obvious, and the Entente began to prepare for a gradual evacuation of troops. The last troops from Gallipoli were evacuated in early January 1916. A bold strategic plan, initiated by W. Churchill, ended in complete failure.

On the Caucasian front in July, Russian troops repelled the Turkish offensive in the area of ​​Lake Van, while losing part of the territory (Alashkert operation). The fighting spread to the territory of Persia. On October 30, Russian troops landed in the port of Anzali, by the end of December they defeated the pro-Turkish armed detachments and took control of the territory of Northern Persia, preventing Persia from advancing against Russia and securing the left flank of the Caucasian army.

Campaign of 1916

Having failed to achieve decisive success on the Eastern Front in the 1915 campaign, the German command decided in 1916 to deliver the main blow in the west and withdraw France from the war. It planned with powerful flanking attacks at the base of the Verdun salient to cut it off, surrounding the entire Verdun enemy grouping, and thereby create a huge gap in the allied defenses, through which it was then supposed to strike at the flank and rear of the central French armies and defeat the entire Allied front.

On February 21, 1916, German troops launched an offensive operation in the area of ​​the fortress of Verdun, called the Battle of Verdun. After stubborn battles with huge losses on both sides, the Germans managed to advance 6-8 kilometers ahead and take some of the forts of the fortress, but their advance was stopped. This battle lasted until December 18, 1916. The French and British lost 750 thousand people, the Germans - 450 thousand.

During the Battle of Verdun, a new weapon was used for the first time by Germany - a flamethrower. In the skies over Verdun, for the first time in the history of wars, the principles of aircraft warfare were worked out - the American squadron "Lafayette" fought on the side of the Entente troops. The Germans first began to use a fighter plane in which machine guns fired through a rotating propeller without damaging it.

On June 3, 1916, a large offensive operation of the Russian army began, called the Brusilov Breakthrough after the front commander A.A. Brusilov. As a result of the offensive operation, the Southwestern Front inflicted a heavy defeat on the German and Austro-Hungarian troops in Galicia and Bukovina, the total losses of which amounted to more than 1.5 million people. At the same time, the Naroch and Baranovichi operations of the Russian troops ended unsuccessfully.

In June, the Battle of the Somme began, which lasted until November, during which tanks were used for the first time.

On the Caucasian front in January-February in the Erzurum battle, Russian troops utterly defeated the Turkish army and captured the cities of Erzurum and Trebizond.

The successes of the Russian army prompted Romania to side with the Entente. On August 17, 1916, an agreement was concluded between Romania and the four Entente powers. Romania pledged to declare war on Austria-Hungary. For this she was promised Transylvania, part of Bukovina and Banat. On August 28, Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary. However, by the end of the year, the Romanian army was defeated and most of the country was occupied.

The military campaign of 1916 was marked by an important event. May 31 - June 1, the largest sea battle of Jutland in the entire war took place.

All the previous events described have demonstrated the superiority of the Entente. By the end of 1916, both sides had lost 6 million people killed, about 10 million were injured. In November-December 1916, Germany and its allies offered peace, but the Entente rejected the offer, stating that peace is impossible "until the restoration of violated rights and freedoms, recognition of the principle of nationalities and the free existence of small states is ensured."

Campaign of 1917

The position of the Central Powers in 1917 became catastrophic: there were no more reserves for the army, the scale of hunger, transport disruption and a fuel crisis grew. The Entente countries began to receive significant assistance from the United States (food, manufactured goods, and later reinforcements), while simultaneously strengthening the economic blockade of Germany, and their victory, even without offensive operations, became only a matter of time.

Nevertheless, when, after the October Revolution, the Bolshevik government, which came to power under the slogan of ending the war, concluded an armistice with Germany and its allies on December 15, the German leadership had hope for a favorable outcome of the war.

Eastern front

On February 1-20, 1917, the Petrograd Conference of the Entente countries was held, at which the plans for the 1917 campaign and, unofficially, the internal political situation in Russia were discussed.

In February 1917, the size of the Russian army, after a major mobilization, exceeded 8 million people. After the February Revolution in Russia, the Provisional Government advocated the continuation of the war, which was opposed by the Bolsheviks led by Lenin.

On April 6, the United States took the side of the Entente (after the so-called "Zimmermann telegram"), which finally changed the balance of forces in favor of the Entente, but the offensive that began in April (the Nivelle Offensive) was unsuccessful. Private operations in the area of ​​the city of Messin, on the Ypres River, near Verdun and at Cambrai, where tanks were first used on a massive scale, did not change the general situation on the Western Front.

On the Eastern Front, due to the defeatist agitation of the Bolsheviks and the indecisive policy of the Provisional Government, the Russian army was decaying and losing its combat effectiveness. The offensive undertaken in June by the forces of the Southwestern Front failed, and the armies of the front withdrew 50-100 km. However, despite the fact that the Russian army had lost the ability to actively engage in military operations, the Central Powers, which suffered huge losses in the 1916 campaign, could not use the opportunity created for themselves to inflict a decisive defeat on Russia and withdraw it from the war by military means.

On the Eastern Front, the German army limited itself to private operations that did not in any way affect the strategic position of Germany: as a result of Operation Albion, German troops captured the islands of Dago and Ezel and forced the Russian fleet to withdraw from the Gulf of Riga.

On the Italian front in October-November, the Austro-Hungarian army inflicted a major defeat on the Italian army at Caporetto and advanced 100-150 km deep into Italian territory, reaching the approaches to Venice. Only with the help of the British and French troops transferred to Italy was it possible to stop the Austrian offensive.

In 1917, there was a relative calm on the Thessaloniki front. In April 1917, the Allied forces (which consisted of British, French, Serbian, Italian and Russian troops) launched an offensive operation that brought little tactical results to the Entente forces. However, this offensive failed to change the situation on the Thessaloniki front.

Due to the extremely harsh winter of 1916-1917, the Russian Caucasian army did not conduct active operations in the mountains. In order not to incur unnecessary losses from frost and disease, Yudenich left only combat outposts at the achieved lines, and placed the main forces in the valleys in settlements. In early March, the 1st Caucasian Cavalry Corps, gen. Baratov defeated the Persian grouping of the Turks and, having seized the important road junction of Sinnach (Senendej) and the city of Kermanshah in Persia, moved south-west to Euphrates towards the British. In mid-March, units of the 1st Caucasian Cossack Division of Raddats and the 3rd Kuban Division, having overcome more than 400 km, joined up with the allies at Kizyl Rabat (Iraq). Turkey lost Mesopotamia.

After the February Revolution, the Russian army did not conduct active hostilities on the Turkish front, and after the conclusion of the Bolshevik government in December 1917, the armistice with the countries of the Quadruple Alliance ceased completely.

On the Mesopotamian Front, British forces in 1917 made significant strides. Having increased the number of troops to 55 thousand people, the British army launched a decisive offensive in Mesopotamia. The British captured a number of important cities: Al-Kut (January), Baghdad (March), and others. On the side of the British troops fought volunteers from the Arab population, who met the advancing British troops as liberators. Also, by the beginning of 1917, British troops invaded Palestine, where fierce battles began near Gaza. In October, having brought the number of their troops to 90 thousand people, the British launched a decisive offensive near Gaza and the Turks were forced to retreat. By the end of 1917, the British captured a number of settlements: Jaffa, Jerusalem and Jericho.

In East Africa, the German colonial troops under the command of Colonel Lettov-Forbeck, significantly outnumbered by the enemy, put up prolonged resistance and in November 1917, under pressure from the Anglo-Portuguese-Belgian troops, invaded the territory of the Portuguese colony of Mozambique.

Diplomatic efforts

On July 19, 1917, the German Reichstag adopted a resolution on the need for peace mutual agreement and no annexations. But on the part of the governments of England, France and the United States, this resolution did not meet with a sympathetic response. In August 1917, Pope Benedict XV offered his mediation to conclude peace. However, the Entente governments rejected the papal proposal, as Germany stubbornly refused to give unequivocal consent to the restoration of Belgian independence.

Campaign of 1918

Decisive victories of the Entente

After the conclusion of peace treaties with the Ukrainian People's Republic (ukr. Berestyeisky world), Soviet Russia and Romania and the elimination of the Eastern Front, Germany was able to concentrate almost all of its forces on the Western Front and try to inflict a decisive defeat on the Anglo-French troops before the main forces of the American army arrived at the front.

In March-July, the German army launched a powerful offensive in Picardy, Flanders, on the Aisne and Marne rivers, and during fierce battles advanced 40-70 km, but could neither defeat the enemy nor break through the front. The limited human and material resources of Germany were depleted during the war years. In addition, having occupied the vast territories of the former Russian Empire after the signing of the Brest Peace, the German command was forced to leave large forces in the east to maintain control over them, which negatively affected the course of hostilities against the Entente. General Kuhl, chief of staff of Prince Ruprecht's Army Group, estimates the number of German troops on the Western Front at about 3.6 million; on the Eastern Front, including Romania and excluding Turkey, there were about 1 million people.

In May, American troops began to operate at the front. In July-August, the second battle of the Marne took place, which marked the beginning of the Entente's counteroffensive. By the end of September, the Entente troops, in the course of a number of operations, eliminated the results of the previous German offensive. In the course of a further general offensive in October and early November, most of the captured French territory and part of the Belgian territory were liberated.

At the Italian Theater in late October, Italian forces defeated the Austro-Hungarian army at Vittorio Veneto and liberated Italian territory captured by the enemy the previous year.

In the Balkan theater, the Entente offensive began on 15 September. By November 1, the Entente troops liberated the territory of Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, entered after the armistice into the territory of Bulgaria and invaded the territory of Austria-Hungary.

On September 29, an armistice with the Entente was concluded by Bulgaria, on October 30 - Turkey, on November 3 - Austria-Hungary, on November 11 - Germany.

Other theaters of war

There was a lull on the Mesopotamian front throughout 1918, fighting here ended on November 14, when the British army, without encountering resistance from the Turkish troops, occupied Mosul. There was also a lull in Palestine, as the eyes of the parties were turned to the more important theaters of war. In the fall of 1918, the British army launched an offensive and occupied Nazareth, the Turkish army was surrounded and defeated. Having conquered Palestine, the British invaded Syria. The fighting here ended on October 30.

In Africa, German forces, pressed by superior enemy forces, continued to resist. Leaving Mozambique, the Germans invaded the English colony of Northern Rhodesia. It was only when the Germans learned of Germany's defeat in the war that the colonial troops (which numbered only 1,400 people) laid down their arms.

Results of the war

Political results

In 1919, the Germans were forced to sign the Versailles Peace Treaty, which was drawn up by the winning states at the Paris Peace Conference.

Peace treaties With

• Germany (Treaty of Versailles (1919))
• Austria (Peace Treaty of Saint Germain (1919))
• Bulgaria (Treaty of Neuilly (1919))
• Hungary (Trianon Peace Treaty (1920))
• Turkey (Peace Treaty of Sevres (1920)).

The results of the First World War were the February and October revolutions in Russia and the November revolution in Germany, the elimination of three empires: the Russian, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires, and the latter two were separated. Germany, having ceased to be a monarchy, is cut territorially and economically weakened. The Civil War began in Russia, on July 6-16, 1918, the Left SRs (supporters of Russia's continued participation in the war) organized the assassination of the German ambassador, Count Wilhelm von Mirbach in Moscow and the royal family in Yekaterinburg, in order to disrupt the Brest Peace between Soviet Russia and Kaiser Germany. After the February Revolution, despite the war with Russia, the Germans worried about the fate of the Russian imperial family, because the wife of Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna, was German, and their daughters were both Russian princesses and German princesses. The United States has become a great power. The difficult conditions of the Versailles Peace Treaty for Germany (payment of reparations, etc.) and the national humiliation suffered by it gave rise to revanchist sentiments, which became one of the prerequisites for the Nazis coming to power, who unleashed World War II.

Territorial changes

As a result of the war, the following occurred: the annexation of Tanzania and South-West Africa, Iraq and Palestine, parts of Togo and Cameroon by Britain; Belgium - Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda; Greece - Eastern Thrace; Denmark - Northern Schleswig; Italy - South Tyrol and Istria; Romania - Transylvania and South Dobrudja; France - Alsace-Lorraine, Syria, parts of Togo and Cameroon; Japan - the German islands in the Pacific Ocean north of the equator; the occupation of the Saar by France.

The independence of the Belarusian People's Republic, the Ukrainian People's Republic, Hungary, Danzig, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland and Yugoslavia was proclaimed.

Austrian Republic founded. The German Empire became a de facto republic.

The Rhineland and the Black Sea straits have been demilitarized.

Military results

The First World War spurred the development of new weapons and means of warfare. For the first time, tanks, chemical weapons, gas masks, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns were used. Airplanes, machine guns, mortars, submarines, and torpedo boats have become widespread. The firepower of the troops increased dramatically. New types of artillery appeared: anti-aircraft, anti-tank, infantry escort. Aviation became an independent branch of the military, which began to be subdivided into reconnaissance, fighter and bomber. Tank troops, chemical troops, air defense troops, and naval aviation emerged. The role of engineering troops increased and the role of cavalry decreased. Also appeared "trench tactics" of warfare with the aim of exhausting the enemy and depleting his economy, working on military orders.

Economic results

The enormous scale and protracted nature of the First World War led to the militarization of the economy unprecedented for industrial states. This influenced the course of economic development of all large industrial states in the period between the two world wars: strengthening of state regulation and planning of the economy, the formation of military-industrial complexes, the acceleration of the development of national economic infrastructures (energy systems, a network of paved roads, etc.) , an increase in the share of production of defense products and dual-use products.

Opinions of contemporaries

Humanity has never been in such a position. Not reaching much more high level virtue and without using much wiser guidance, people for the first time got into their hands such tools with which they can destroy all of humanity without a mistake. This is the achievement of all their glorious history, all glorious works of previous generations. And people will do well if they stop and reflect on this new responsibility of theirs. Death stands on the alert, obedient, expectant, ready to serve, ready to sweep away all peoples "en masse", ready, if necessary, to turn into powder, without any hope of rebirth, all that remains of civilization. She only waits for the word of the command. She is waiting for this word from a fragile, frightened creature that has long been her victim and who has now become her master for a single time. Churchill

Churchill on Russia in the First World War:

Losses in the First World War

The losses of the armed forces of all the countries participating in the world war amounted to about 10 million people. Until now, there is no generalized data on the loss of civilians from the impact of military equipment. Famine and epidemics caused by the war have killed at least 20 million people.

Memory of war

France, UK, Poland

Armistice Day (fr. jour de l "Armistice) 1918 (November 11) is the national holiday of Belgium and France, celebrated annually. In England, Armistice Day (eng. ArmisticeDay) is celebrated on the Sunday closest to November 11 as Remembrance Sunday. On this day, the fallen of both the First and Second World Wars are commemorated.

In the first years after the end of the First World War, each municipality in France erected a monument to the fallen soldiers. In 1921, the main monument appeared - the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under Triumphal arch in Paris.

The main British monument to those killed in the First World War is the Cenotaph (Greek Cenotaph - "empty coffin") in London on Whitehall Street, a monument to the Unknown Soldier. It was built in 1919 on the first anniversary of the end of the war. On the second Sunday of every November, the Cenotaph becomes the center of the National Memorial Day. A week earlier, millions of Englishmen have small plastic poppies on their chests, which are bought from a special charitable foundation assistance to veterans and widows of the military. At 11 o'clock on Sunday, the queen, ministers, generals, bishops and ambassadors lay poppy wreaths at the Cenotaph, and the whole country pauses for two minutes of silence.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw was also originally built in 1925 in memory of those who fell on the fields of the First World War. Now this monument is a monument to those who fell for the Motherland in different years.

Russia and Russian emigration

In Russia, there is no official day of remembrance for those killed in the First World War, despite the fact that Russia's losses in this war were the largest of all the countries that participated in it.

Tsarskoe Selo was to become a special place of memory of the war, according to the plan of Emperor Nicholas II. Laid there back in 1913, the Tsar's War Chamber was supposed to become the Museum of the Great War. By order of the emperor, a special area was allocated for the burial of the dead and deceased ranks of the Tsarskoye Selo garrison. This site became known as the "Cemetery of Heroes". At the beginning of 1915, the “Heroes' Cemetery” was named the First Bratsk Cemetery. On its territory on August 18, 1915, the laying of a temporary wooden church in honor of the icon took place Mother of God"Quench my sorrows" for the funeral service for soldiers who died and died from wounds. After the end of the war, instead of a temporary wooden church, it was planned to build a temple - a monument to the Great War, designed by the architect S. N. Antonov.

However, these plans were not destined to come true. In 1918, the people's museum of the war of 1914-1918 was created in the building of the War Chamber, but already in 1919 it was abolished, and its exhibits replenished the funds of other museums and depositories. In 1938, the temporary wooden church at the Bratsk cemetery was dismantled, and a wasteland overgrown with grass remained from the graves of the soldiers.

On June 16, 1916, a monument to the heroes of the Second Patriotic War was unveiled in Vyazma. This monument was destroyed in the 1920s.

On November 11, 2008, a memorial stele (cross) dedicated to the heroes of the First World War was erected on the territory of the Bratsk cemetery in the city of Pushkin.

Also in Moscow on August 1, 2004, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, at the site of the Moscow City Bratsk Cemetery in the Sokol district, commemorative signs were erected: "To the Fallen in the World War of 1914-1918", "Russian Sisters of Mercy", "Russian Aviators buried in the Moscow city fraternal cemetery. "

Today no one remembers when I was World War I who fought with whom and why the conflict itself began. But millions of soldiers' graves throughout Europe and modern Russia do not allow us to forget about this bloody page of history, including that of our state.

Causes and inevitability of war.

The beginning of the last century was quite tense - revolutionary sentiments in the Russian Empire with regular demonstrations and terrorist attacks, local military conflicts in southern Europe, the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the exaltation of Germany.

All this did not happen overnight, the situation developed and heated up for decades and no one knew how to “blow off steam” and at least postpone the start of hostilities.

By and large, each country had unfulfilled ambitions and claims to its neighbors, which they wanted to solve in the old fashioned way with the help of force of arms. Just a little did not take into account the moment that technological progress has put into human hands real "hellish machines", the use of which led to a bloody massacre. It was with these words that veterans described many of the battles of that period.

The alignment of forces in Europe.

But in a war there are always two conflicting parties who are trying to get their way. During WWI, these were Entente and Central Powers.

In unleashing a conflict, it is customary to place all the blame on the losing side, so let's start with that. The list of Central Powers at different stages of the war included:

• Germany.
• Austria-Hungary.
• Turkey.
• Bulgaria.

There were only three states in the Entente:

• Russian empire.
• France.
• England.

Both alliances were formed at the end of the nineteenth century, and for some time balanced political and military forces in Europe.

Awareness of the inevitable major war on several fronts at the same time often stopped from making hasty decisions, but for a long time the situation could not continue.

How did the First World War begin?

The first state to declare the beginning of hostilities was Austro-Hungarian Empire... As enemy spoke Serbia, which sought to unite under its rule all the Slavs in the southern region. Apparently, this policy did not particularly like the restless neighbor, who did not want to get a powerful confederation at his side, capable of jeopardizing the very existence of Austria-Hungary.

The reason for declaring war served as the murder of the heir to the imperial throne, who was shot by Serbian nationalists. Theoretically, this would be the end - this is not the first time two countries in Europe have declared war on each other and conducted offensive or defensive actions with varying success. But the fact is that Austria-Hungary was only a protégé of Germany, which had long wanted to reshape the world order in its favor.

The reason was failed colonial policy of the country who got involved in this struggle too late. One of the advantages of having a huge number of dependent states was the sales market, which was practically unlimited. Industrialized Germany desperately needed such a bonus, but couldn't get it. It was impossible to resolve the issue peacefully, the neighbors were happily receiving their profits and were not eager to share with anyone.

But the defeat in hostilities and the signing of the surrender could somewhat change the situation.

Allied member countries.

From the above lists, it can be decided that no more than 7 countries, but why then is the war called World War? The fact is that each of the blocks had allies who entered the war or left it at certain stages:

1. Italy.
2. Romania.
3. Portugal.
4. Greece.
5. Australia.
6. Belgium.
7. Empire of Japan.
8. Montenegro.

These countries did not make a decisive contribution to the overall victory, but we must not forget their active participation in the war on the side of the Entente.

In 1917, the United States joined this list, after another attack by a German submarine on a passenger ship.

Results of the war for the main participants.

Russia was able to fulfill the minimum plan for this war - to ensure the protection of the Slavs in Southern Europe... But the main goal was much more ambitious: control over the Black Sea straits could make our country a truly great maritime power.

But split Ottoman Empire and the then leadership did not manage to get some of its most "tasty" fragments. And given the social tension in the country and the subsequent revolution, slightly different problems arose. The Austro-Hungarian Empire also ceased to exist - the worst economic and political consequences for the initiator.

France and England were able to gain a foothold in a leading position in Europe, thanks to impressive contributions from Germany. But Germany was waiting for hyperinflation, abandonment of the army, a severe crisis with the fall of several regimes. This led to a desire for revenge and the NSDAP at the head of state. But the United States was able to capitalize on this conflict, having suffered minimal losses.

Do not forget about what the First World War is, who fought with whom and what horrors it brought to society. Growing tensions and conflicts of interest can once again lead to similar irreparable consequences.

Video about the First World War

Allies (Entente): France, Great Britain, Russia, Japan, Serbia, USA, Italy (participated in the war on the side of the Entente since 1915).

Friends of the Entente (supported the Entente in the war): Montenegro, Belgium, Greece, Brazil, China, Afghanistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, Siam, Haiti, Liberia, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica.

Question about the causes of the First World War is one of the most discussed in world historiography since the beginning of the war in August 1914.

The outbreak of the war was facilitated by the widespread strengthening of nationalist sentiments. France was hatching plans to reclaim the lost territories of Alsace and Lorraine. Italy, even being in an alliance with Austria-Hungary, dreamed of returning its lands of Trentino, Trieste and Fiume. The Poles saw in the war the possibility of rebuilding the state destroyed by the divisions of the 18th century. Many peoples inhabiting Austria-Hungary aspired to national independence. Russia was convinced that it would not be able to develop without restricting German competition, protecting the Slavs from Austria-Hungary and expanding its influence in the Balkans. In Berlin, the future was associated with the defeat of France and Great Britain and the unification of the countries of Central Europe under the leadership of Germany. In London, it was believed that the people of Great Britain would live in peace only by crushing the main enemy - Germany.

In addition, international tensions were exacerbated by a series of diplomatic crises - the Franco-German clash in Morocco in 1905-1906; the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Austrians in 1908-1909; The Balkan Wars in 1912-1913.

The immediate cause of the war was the Sarajevo murder June 28, 1914 Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand 19-year-old Serbian student Gavrila Princip, who was a member of the secret organization "Young Bosnia", fighting for the unification of all South Slavic peoples in one state.

July 23, 1914 Austria-Hungary, having enlisted the support of Germany, presented Serbia with an ultimatum and demanded that its military formations be admitted to Serbian territory in order, together with Serbian forces, to suppress hostile actions.

Serbia's response to the ultimatum did not satisfy Austria-Hungary, and July 28, 1914 she declared war on Serbia. Russia, having received assurances of support from France, openly opposed Austria-Hungary and July 30, 1914 announced a general mobilization. Germany, taking advantage of this opportunity, announced August 1, 1914 war on Russia, and August 3, 1914- France. After the German invasion August 4, 1914 in Belgium Great Britain declared war on Germany.

The First World War consisted of five campaigns. During first campaign in 1914 Germany invaded Belgium and northern France, but was defeated at the Battle of the Marne. Russia captured parts of East Prussia and Galicia (East Prussian operation and Battle of Galicia), but was then defeated by the German and Austro-Hungarian counteroffensive.

Campaign of 1915 connected with the entry into the war of Italy, the disruption of the German plan for the withdrawal of Russia from the war and bloody fruitless battles on the Western Front.

Campaign of 1916 associated with the entry into the war of Romania and the conduct of a grueling trench warfare on all fronts.

Campaign of 1917 connected with the entry into the war of the United States, the revolutionary withdrawal of Russia from the war and a number of successive offensive operations on the Western Front (Operation Nivelle, operations in the Messines region, on Ypres, near Verdun, at Cambrai).

Campaign of 1918 characterized by a transition from positional defense to a general offensive by the armed forces of the Entente. From the second half of 1918, the Allies prepared and launched retaliatory offensive operations (Amiens, Saint-Miyiel, Marne), during which they eliminated the results of the German offensive, and in September 1918 went over to a general offensive. By November 1, 1918, the allies liberated the territory of Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, entered the territory of Bulgaria after the armistice and invaded the territory of Austria-Hungary. On September 29, 1918, Bulgaria concluded an armistice with the allies, on October 30, 1918 - Turkey, on November 3, 1918 - Austria-Hungary, November 11, 1918 - Germany.

June 28, 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference was signed Treaty of Versailles with Germany, which officially ended the First World War of 1914-1918.

On September 10, 1919, the Saint-Germain Peace Treaty was signed with Austria; November 27, 1919 - Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria; June 4, 1920 - Trianon Peace Treaty with Hungary; August 20, 1920 - Peace Treaty of Sevres with Turkey.

In total, World War I lasted 1,568 days. It was attended by 38 states, in which 70% of the world's population lived. The armed struggle was fought on fronts with a total length of 2500-4000 km. The total losses of all the warring countries amounted to about 9.5 million killed and 20 million wounded. At the same time, the losses of the Entente amounted to about 6 million people killed, the losses of the Central Powers were about 4 million people killed.

During the First World War, for the first time in history, tanks, aircraft, submarines, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, mortars, grenade launchers, bomb throwers, flamethrowers, super-heavy artillery, hand grenades, chemical and smoke shells, and toxic substances were used. New types of artillery appeared: anti-aircraft, anti-tank, infantry escort. Aviation became an independent branch of the military, which began to be subdivided into reconnaissance, fighter and bomber. Tank troops, chemical troops, air defense troops, and naval aviation emerged. The role of engineering troops increased and the role of cavalry decreased.

The results of the First World War were the elimination of four empires: German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman, and the latter two were divided, and Germany and Russia were cut territorially. As a result, new independent states appeared on the map of Europe: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Finland.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources