A Brief History of Humanity: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century

Chapter 42 World War I

This chapter has only a few pages to tell a comprehensive account of World War I from 1914 to 1918.Many countries joined the war, millions of people were killed, millions of women and children were heartbroken and displaced; the old government was overthrown and a new government was established; conventions and agreements were signed during the struggle, and major treaties marked The end of the war.Various properties worth hundreds of millions have been damaged; countries have assumed unprecedented war debts; and various difficult problems related to peace have not yet been satisfactorily resolved.

[-]. German victory on land

Germany sparked this world war with high hopes, an army better organized and more advanced than any army in the world.Germany has the historical experience of quick wins in 1866 and the wars of 1870-1871.Its wealth and resources are enormous, and its people are patriotic.

Germany's plan Russia has a strong army and abundant resources, but its railway system is backward, so the speed of building troops is slow, and the action on Germany's eastern border is further delayed.Therefore, Germany intends to fight against the West first, and give France a contusive attack before Britain can provide powerful help to France; after that, it will jointly attack Russia with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, defeat Russia, and win the war.In many campaigns, Germany and Austria-Hungary seemed to be succeeding according to the established plan.

German Victory in the West In early August 1914, German forces crossed Luxembourg and Belgium to raid France.No difficulties were encountered when crossing the small principality of Luxembourg, but Belgium protested strongly and rose up to resist.Although they were defeated, they hindered the advance of the German army.This gave France time to defend and Britain time to send troops to France.This naturally made the Germans very angry.

Germany appointed a military governor stationed in Brussels, treating Belgium as a conquered province.They burned many public buildings, including KU Leuven's invaluable library.They also forced Belgians to help raise funds.The remnants of the Belgian army joined the ranks of the French and British troops and fought valiantly.

The long front of German steel and fire burns into France and almost reaches Paris.The cities of Lille, Sedan, and Reims, as well as hundreds of towns and villages, fell to the Germans.

The defeat of the Marne River In early September, the French army stuck to the Marne River area, and the east end of the line of defense crossed Verdun.The Germans were contained and then pushed back some distance, thus preserving Paris.The two sides dug trenches and confronted each other, separated by the silent "no man's land", winding and rugged from the Vosges Mountains to the North Sea, 9 miles long.

At the same time as Germany's victory in the east, Russia had begun to attack Germany and Austria-Hungary in the east.The resistance of Austria-Hungary is very weak, because Serbia and Austria-Hungary are fighting fiercely.But Germany soon overpowered Russia at the Battle of Tannenberg at the end of September.The Russian army has a very large number of soldiers, but many soldiers are illiterate and have not undergone strict and professional combat training and sophisticated equipment.In addition, the government in Russia is authoritarian and unpopular, and most of the Russian officials are corrupt and incompetent, which is also a reason for the failure.

The collapse of Russia until the spring of 1915, when Russia stopped its offensive.In the summer, General Hindenburg led a strong German army, smashed the Russian front, and all of Russian Poland was conquered. In the spring of 1917, a revolution in Russia overthrew the Tsar and established a republic.In the spring of 1918, Russia was disintegrated and chaotic to the point of surrender and peace talks with Germany and Austria.All this is a major victory for Germany and Austria, known as the Central European powers.Meanwhile, on the Western Front, they held positions, although another attack on Verdun failed.

Turkey and Italy In the autumn of 1914, Turkey joined the ranks of Central European powers, and in the spring of 1915, Italy joined the Entente.The Allied Powers suffered heavy losses in their attempt to capture Constantinople, and tens of thousands were killed and wounded in Italy's high mountain attack on Austria.

Bulgaria and Romania In the autumn of 1915, Bulgaria sided with Austria, Germany and Turkey when attacking Serbia, Montenegro and Albania. In August 1916, Romania joined the Allied Powers and invaded the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but was soon conquered by a coalition of central European powers.Greece intends to remain neutral.The Greek king was the brother-in-law of the German emperor, but many Greeks sympathized with the Entente.

New Tactics The world war soon became apparent to be protracted and costly, and to be very different in nature and method from previous wars.

Whole nations are armed: formerly there were thousands of soldiers fighting, now there are millions.Millions of soldiers were scattered on various battlefields, hiding in long trenches, such as 600 miles on the western front and 900 miles on the eastern front.Trenches and tunnels have been used on several occasions before, such as at Petersburg, Virginia, during the American Civil War in 1864-1865.But the trenches and tunnels of this world war were deeper and longer, and generally so.There are barbed wire fences between the trenches of the opposing sides. If the enemy's trenches are to be captured, the army must cross these obstacles.

Artillery In this world war, cavalry was rarely dispatched, but the role of artillery was played to an extreme level that was unimaginable in the past.Machine guns were also used extensively, and cannons were placed along the entire front to clear obstacles in "no man's land", destroy enemy positions and cover infantry charges.Initially Germany had the upper hand in artillery.Later they also had some giant guns that could shoot at Paris from 60 miles or more.But soon France and Britain held out in the artillery battle.

In addition to the shells fired by cannons, various bombs dropped by hand, dropped by aircraft, and placed in the sea have also been added.Germany used deadly poison gas, and the Allies followed suit.The Allied Powers created an iron tank, which could climb mountains and cross ditches, spray fireworks and fire bullets.Both sides also used highly capable aircraft.

Aircraft Airplanes are the prominent feature in this world war.Hundreds of planes flew over the trenches, filming and reconnaissing enemy movements, driving them away, and dropping bombs at strategic points on the enemy's front.

Gasoline Engines The war would have been very different without gasoline engines.Hulky tanks with gasoline engines knocked down trees, posts and fences.It also powers fast motorcycles, trucks, and high-speed airplanes.

[-]. British victories at sea

Britain has always placed its main combat power on the fleet.The number and firepower of the British navy were twice that of Germany's, giving full play to the power of the fleet in the war.

The British Navy (1) The British Navy blocked the German Navy, leaving German warships and other ships trapped in German harbors most of the time.This deprived Germany of the means to send troops to attack Britain, sparing Britain the horrors of invasions such as Belgium, France, and Poland.

(2) Britain can support France in time through its naval superiority.The United Kingdom can not only gather manpower from the British Isles, but also from all over the British Empire-Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India and other places, transport them to France, and fight with the French and Belgian troops.The supply of arms and food was also transported to France by British ships.

(3) The British Navy cut off most of Germany's foreign trade.In all parts of the world, British warships, with the French and Russian fleets, spread their nets and captured almost all of Germany's ocean-going commerce.Without maritime trade, Germany could not sell its goods on foreign markets, nor could it buy what it needed.

(4) The British behaved in this world war as they did in the Napoleonic Wars and some earlier wars, they went around and took the enemy's colonies.In 1914, with the help of Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Britain seized and occupied all the islands belonging to Germany in the Pacific Ocean.Japan also seized the German commercial port in Jiaozhou Bay, China.

In Africa, the British, with the help of French colonial troops, conquered Togo in 1914 and Cameroon in 1916.After the British army from South Africa suppressed the Boer riots in 1914, it swept across German Southwest Africa in 1915 and completed the conquest of German East Africa in 1918.

[-]. Loss and tragedy at sea

British losses at sea After Turkey joined the ranks of Central European powers in 1915, a combined Anglo-French fleet intended to force its way through the Dardanelles.The Dardanelles is a long and narrow strait from the Aegean Sea to the Sea of ​​Marmara and Constantinople.But the warships were helpless against the forts and batteries that Turkey used to control the narrow strait.Several ships were sunk, and plans to force their way through failed.The land armies of the Allies were also defeated by the Turks here.Nevertheless, thanks to the British navy, the Allies were able to contain a large Turkish army in the Dardanelles.The Allies captured the Greek port of Thessaloniki, a base of combat value, in October 1915.

Germany's losses at sea. Britain's sea power continued to expand, and the threats to the Central European powers and Turkey continued to increase.German warships occasionally fought the British fleet, but they did not prevail. On November 1914, 11, the German Far East Fleet defeated a British fleet off Cape Coronel off the coast of Chile, but it was wiped out by a larger British fleet off the Falkland Islands the next month. In the spring of 1, the German battle fleet sailed into the North Sea and severely damaged the British fleet in the Battle of Jutland, but its own losses were also quite serious, and it was forced to retreat to its territorial waters.German cruisers sometimes sneaked across the North Sea to bombard British coastal towns, but had to return quickly or some ships would be sunk.

Submarine The strength of the German and British navies in submarines is comparable, and submarines are referred to as U-boats for short.It is a small torpedo-carrying ship that can sail for a long distance underwater, aiming at the sides of enemy ships and launching powerful torpedoes in the water.But even in a battle with submarines, the British Navy was able to win.

Starvation Program Early in the war, the Germans initially used submarines not only to attack enemy warships, but also to sink merchant ships.The Germans had great confidence in submarines, mass-produced them, and expanded their operational scope to the surroundings of the British Isles, and even sailed into the Mediterranean Sea.Germany relied on submarines to cut off British trade, and in time, wanted to famine and starve Britain to death.

The success of the submarine program was based on destroying all merchant ships entering and leaving Great Britain.But if the ship of a neutral country is unfortunately sunk, they will protest, and if too many ships are sunk, they may join the Allied Powers to resist Germany.Therefore, the use of submarines is not only dangerous to Britain, but also to Germany.

The Tragedy of the Lusitania In May 1915, a German submarine sank a British ship, the Lusitania, off the coast of Ireland, killing 5 passengers, including more than 1200 Americans.The news reached the United States, which inspired a strong hatred of Germany against the Americans.The U.S. government staged an angry protest.The exchange of diplomatic notes between Germany and the United States lasted for a year, during which there were occasional submarine atrocities to aggravate the crisis.Until May 100, Germany promised not to launch torpedoes on merchant ships without warning or corresponding measures to save passengers from danger.

For almost a year, Germany, fearing provoking American hostility, halted submarine operations.At the same time, Britain held fast to Germany's commerce and colonies.

[-]. The world is in turmoil

The balance of power among the great powers continued until 1917, and the world war seemed to have ended in a draw.Germany won in Eastern Europe, but its army in Western Europe was stopped and repulsed, and Britain pinched the opponent's weakness at sea.The Germans' only hope of eventual victory lay in the destruction of British naval power.Only by doing this can Germany win over Italy and France, just as it has over Serbia, Romania and Russia.

The resurgence of submarine warfare was about to destroy Britain's sea power, and Germany used submarines again. On the last day of January, 1917, it broke its promise to the United States by announcing that thereafter, within certain limits around the British Isles, France and Italy, all sea traffic would be "without further notice , use all weapons to stop".

This means that within a certain area, German ships must sink all ships of the enemy or neutral countries as soon as they see them.

The United States was provoked by Germany's crude statement that inspired American hostility because it violated every right that the United States has ever claimed concerning freedom of the seas.They also learned that Germany had planned to attack the United States from Mexico and Japan, and American anger reached its peak.

The United States declares war The United States declares war on Germany in April 1917.In December of the same year, war was declared against Austria-Hungary.

The intervention of the United States was like a blessing to the Allies.The United States can provide them with hundreds of millions of dollars, useful metals, abundant food, countless shipyards, a huge fleet, huge manpower, and above all, its full enthusiasm and selfless ideals.

The world was in turmoil. Almost at the same time as the United States declared war, the October Revolution broke out in Russia, overthrowing the Tsar and establishing a republican government.During the period 1917-1918, all countries in the world were directly or indirectly involved in the war.Cuba and Panama quickly followed the United States in declaring war on the Central European powers. In late 1917, Greece, Siam, Liberia, China, and Brazil joined the war against Germany. In 1918, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Honduras all joined the war against Germany.By this time, 25 nations, including the wealthiest and most populous, had united against the Central European alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey.

A Call for Peace In August 1917, Pope Benedict XV issued a special call for peace, in view of the chaos and suffering in the world and the uncertainty of the outcome.He called on belligerents to end horrific conflicts by creating a "just and lasting peace" based on "spiritual force of justice" rather than power.

President Wilson of the United States spoke on behalf of the Allies.He replied that he agreed with the pope's efforts to pursue a just peace, and that he also felt that, because of the attitude of the German government, peace was not possible at this time and that the war must continue.

German optimism It is doubtful that the Central European powers would have ended the war by then, as they still had hope of success. Three important factors arose in 1917-1918 that augured their seeming victory.

(1) Advances in submarine warfare. From January to June 1917, the tonnage of ships sunk by German submarines reached 1 million tons.At this rate, they hoped, the submarine campaign would soon starve Britain and prevent the delivery of American troops to Europe.

(2) The increase of "defeatism".The conflicts caused by the war are so intense, and the loss of money and life is so serious that many people on both sides yearn for peace.But pacifism, or "defeatism," entered its most dangerous phase in Russia, Italy, and France.In France, following the defeat of the battle north of the Aisne in April 1917, mutinies ensued.Subsequently, Italy lost the battle with some places at Caporetto.In Russia, Bolshevism pacifists seized power and pulled Russia out of the war. In March 4 they negotiated a peace with Turkey on very favorable terms for the central European powers.

(3) Withdrawal of Russia.Russia's withdrawal from the war on terms beneficial to the Central European powers and Turkey was the third major event that gave the Central European powers hope.Basically, "defeatism" was expelled from Germany and the Battle of Jutland.The central European powers forgot their recent slogan of "no cedement, no compensation" and regrouped behind the warlords to obtain "peace won from victory".

V. The Best Efforts of Central and European Powers

Strive to Rise with Optimism Throughout the winter of 1917-1918, Germany prepared as much as it could to confront the Allied forces in France.The unified combat organization - the German General Staff has rapidly improved the combat capabilities of the Central European Empire's troops.Field Marshal Hindenburg and General Ludendorff were the heads of this institution.They assembled a large number of troops on the western front, and prepared a large number of cannons and munitions.

Germany's Final Offensive German forces attacked British forces in the Somme Valley near Saint-Quentin in March 1918 and opened a passage near Amiens. In April they attacked the British on the west flank of Lille, barely advancing some 3 miles. In May they attacked the French along the Aisne, advancing southward, over the barrier of hills, to Château-Thierry-sur-Marne, about forty miles from Paris.

Violent attacks and sledgehammer strikes allowed Germany to gain a lot of territory and a lot of spoils, pushing the front line almost to the positions it had occupied on the eve of the Battle of the Marne in 1914.

But the price of harvest was extremely high, and there were many casualties, not only French and British, but also Germans.The Allies put up a tenacious resistance, and Germany's arms and manpower were gradually exhausted.

The Austro-Hungarian defeat In June 1918, Austria-Hungary made a desperate attempt to defeat the Italians along the Piave River in northeastern Italy.They crossed the river at several points and advanced five miles in one place, but the Italians regrouped and drove them off with heavy losses.

The final defeat of the Austrians on the Piave marked a turn of events.The victory of the Teutons ended, and the success of the Entente began.

[-]. Victory of the Allies

Although Russia collapsed, Italy was forced to retreat to the Piave River, and France retreated to the Marne River again, the Central European powers did not win the war.Allied resistance in Italy, France and at sea was growing.For all this, the failure of the German submarine campaign bears the main responsibility.

Submarine failure German submarines suffered a disastrous defeat in the war.At least, its strength was offset by the Entente's efforts to fight back. In the first half of 1917, although the tonnage of the ships of the Allied Powers sunk by German submarines reached 330 million tons, since then, German submarines have not been so lucky.Because of the continuous vigilance of the British and American navies, the destructive effect of submarines continued to decrease. In the second half of 1917, they sank only 230 million tons. In the first half of 1918, it was less than 175 million tons.At the same time, the shipbuilding capabilities of the United States and Great Britain continued to steadily increase, so that in 1918 far more tons of merchant ships were launched than were damaged.

Therefore, the United Kingdom was not starved by Germany, and the sea transportation was not blocked.Britain stepped up its blockade of Germany and, in cooperation with the United States, continued to send manpower and arms to France and some fronts.Many other nations joined the Entente in 1917 and early 1918, motivated by growing Anglo-American prestige, outraged by submarine warfare.

In addition to the failure of German submarine warfare, there were two other achievements in 1917 and 1918 that benefited the Allied Powers. The speed of U.S. military training and the speed of transportation across the Atlantic Ocean.By the end of July 1918, more than 7 million American soldiers had come to France, planning to join the general offensive against Germany.

A further notable outcome of better organization was the strengthening of wartime governments and the unification of military leadership among the Allies.

David Lloyd George, the wartime government of the Allied Powers, became Prime Minister in December 1916 and, with the help of powerful figures from all parties, injected new strength and resolve into Britain. In November 12, Georges Clemenceau became Prime Minister of France and Vittorio Orlando became Prime Minister of Italy.Both were able politicians and ardent patriots.They suppressed "defeatism" and waged war forcefully.The President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, was brilliant and eloquent, and he cooperated sincerely with Orlando, Clemenceau, and Lloyd George.

Unified Military Leadership Central European empires relied on a unified military system. In March 1918, France, Great Britain, Italy, and the United States finally agreed to entrust their entire armies to the command of the Supreme Commander.The task was chosen by General Ferdinand Foch, a short, gray-haired, dark-eyed 3-year-old Frenchman.Under Foch's command were the French under Marshal Pétain, the British under Marshal Haig, the Italian under General Diaz, and the American army under General John J. Pershing.

The benefits of this wise plan soon became apparent.

In the Second Battle of the Marne, General Foch used ingenious means to deplete the German army's strength in the difficult advance on the Western Front in the spring of 1918 and prevented it from achieving a decisive victory.Then in July, the Germans intended to cross the Marne between Château-Thierry and Epernay, and Foch sent the newly arrived American troops into battle with his British and French veterans.

The Second Battle of the Marne in July 1918 was won by the Allies.Not only stopped the advance of the German army, but also allowed the French and American troops to capture Fort Thierry and drive the enemy north across the Aisne River.

A greater disaster For the Germans, the Second Battle of the Marne was even more costly than the first Battle of the Marne in 1914. In 1914, with superior artillery and more munitions reserves, the German army could hold their positions in France and Belgium in the trenches on the heights of the Aisne River from being breached.However, by 1918 they were on the brink of death, with heavy losses and no aid.In the end, they were unable to defeat the Allies in terms of strength and equipment.

The Allied Powers continued to win The Allies took advantage of the momentum of victory and did not stop.They stormed the German positions relentlessly in all directions. At the beginning of November 1918, the German army was almost completely driven out of France, and most of Belgium was also taken away.

The Entente's success in Palestine and Mesopotamia was not limited to France and the Western Front. In December 1917, a British force under General Allenby had advanced from Egypt to Palestine.They joined an Arab army, defeated the Turkish army, and captured Jerusalem. In 12, the British and Arab armies went north to capture Damascus and Aleppo, while a British army advanced from Baghdad up the Tigris River in Mesopotamia. In October 1918, Turkey lost all of Mesopotamia, Arabia, Palestine and Syria.

In September 1918, the Macedonian Allied Forces received support from the French, British, and Serbian, Greek, and Italian armies in Thessaloniki. The superiority in strength overwhelmed the Bulgarian army and reoccupied Serbia, Albania, and Italy. door of Negro.

The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire In the disintegration of the overall situation, the Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated.Czechoslovakians, Poles, and Yugoslavs stood up to fight one after another, declaring the unity and independence of their countries.The Allied forces attacked Hungary from the south via Serbia.The Romanians rejoined the war, threatening Austria-Hungary from the east.The Italians drove the Austro-Hungarian army out of the Piave and continued their pursuit until they captured Trento and Trieste in November 1918.

The Central Union of the Teutons is in jeopardy. Its armies are defeated and demoralized, its generals are discouraged, kings and statesmen are panicked, and the populace clamors for peace.

The last country to join the Teutonic Union was Bulgaria, and it was also the first to leave.It surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on September 1918, 9.A month later, Turkey and Austria-Hungary also surrendered.

Armistice Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies on November 1918, 11.The Entente took all the territory on the left bank of the Rhine (French side), France got Alsace-Lorraine and Mainz; American troops were stationed at Koblenz; and British troops were stationed at Cologne.

Germany surrendered all warships and submarines, a large number of locomotives, motorcycle trucks and railway carriages to the Allies.The Teutonic League fell and collapsed.Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria were disarmed and fell at the feet of the successful Allies.

十四点原则 德国在停战协议上签字要遵照美国总统威尔逊所提出来的著名的“十四点原则”，这十四点是威尔逊总统于1918年1月提出的，讲明了协约国的作战目标。这些原则包括：（1）取消秘密外交；（2）获取海上自由；（3）清除经济阻碍；（4）缩减诸国军备；（5）公平的调整一切对殖民地的主张；（6）自俄国撤兵；（7）光复比利时；（8）将阿尔萨斯—洛林还给法国；（9）完成对意大利的国家统一；（10）奥匈帝国的诸民族有自主权；（11）应给予巴尔干半岛诸民族自主权；（12）应给予土耳其自主权；（13）波兰获得独立；（14）建立国际联盟。

The Allies basically agreed with Wilson's "Fourteen Points", but they only had reservations about "obtaining freedom of the sea". Huge damage to property, all of which should be compensated by Germany."

[-]. Tragedy and loss
Loss of life The Allies dispatched 4000 million troops, the Central European powers had 2000 million, and the total was 6000 million!Out of this huge number, almost 900 million people lost their lives and 2000 million were injured.

Most of the casualties were the youngest, ablest, strongest, liveliest, and most promising members of the family.To them there must be millions of people—men, women, and children dying of starvation, sickness, and riots.Fertility rates have dropped significantly around the world.

Fiscal Loss To meet the enormous costs of military conflict, belligerents took on skyrocketing debts.Countries issued war bonds at home to raise huge debts from their citizens, and the European Allies borrowed from the United States about $100 billion.

The world's production of wealth has been declining at the same time that national debt is rising rapidly.Due to the more than 4 years of war, major European countries took away millions of manpower from farms, factories, and shops, some were sent to the battlefield as soldiers, and some were placed as workers in munitions factories.The cost of living is going up everywhere.In some countries, the governments are facing bankruptcy, and the people are particularly miserable.

The damage to property and the burden of the war debt had disastrous consequences in later years.After the war, most of the countries participating in the war had to repay war debts and interest, and rebuild destroyed urban facilities.Trade resumed extremely slowly, and only partially.Some governments intend to issue more paper money to cover expenditures, only to make the money almost worthless, skyrocketing prices, and deteriorating livelihoods.

(End of this chapter)