World War I Page 5
With the Treaty of Versailles Germany lost all its colonies and some territory in Europe. It was obliged to accept total responsibility for the war, disband most of its armed forces, and pay the Allies an impossible 200 million gold marks (about 30 million dollars) in reparations (compensation) for war damage. Britain and France also took possession of the former Central Powers’ colonies. As the popular cry ran, Germany had been squeezed “until the pips squeaked.”
As many recognized at the time, the Versailles settlement was no recipe for long-term peace. It left the once proud Germany humiliated, weakened, and impoverished—ideal soil in which extremists might plant their wicked seeds of revenge. In this way, the ground was prepared for World War II, which broke out just over twenty years after the end of this “War to End All Wars.”
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN …
In introducing his Fourteen Points to the U.S. Congress on January 8, 1918, President Wilson spoke of the world he hoped would emerge after the war:
“What we demand in this war … is that the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealings by the other peoples of the world, as against force and selfish aggression. All the peoples of the world are in effect partners in this interest …”
—Quoted in Great Issues in American History: From Reconstruction to the Present Day, 1864-1969, edited by Richard Hofstadter
(Left to right) Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Great Britain, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France, and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson on their way to the Versailles peace talks, June 1919.
Post-war Europe, showing the much-reduced Austria, Germany, Russia, and Turkey, and the host of new states, such as Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Danzig was termed a Free City under League of Nations protection.
Into the Roaring Twenties—thousands of delighted citizens turn out for a victory parade on New York’s Fifth Avenue, 1919.
PROFILES OF MILITARY AND POLITICAL LEADERS
THE GENERALS
GENERAL ALEXEI BRUSILOV (1853-1926)
Unlike most World War I commanders, the energetic Alexei Brusilov showed both flair and imagination. Having made a name for himself in Russia’s war with Turkey, 1877-8, he was key to his country’s advance into Galicia in 1914. His finest moment was the spectacular but ultimately unsuccessful offensive of 1916 which greatly helped his hard-pressed French allies on the Western Front. After the war he served with the communist Red Army.
MARSHAL FERDINAND FOCH (1851-1929)
Having lived under occupation in Lorraine, a province that France had surrendered to Germany after military defeat in 1871, Ferdinand Foch needed no motivation in his quest to drive out the invader. An author of two books on strategy, he distinguished himself at the Battle of the Marne (1914). For much of the war he had called for all Allied forces to be under a single command. When the idea finally became reality in 1918, the task fell to him. Showing great skill, insight and tact, he masterminded the successful Allied offensives of the final months of the war.
FIELD MARSHAL DOUGLAS HAIG (1861-1928)
Douglas Haig is one of the most controversial military commanders in British history. His supporters refer to his steely character, his determination to succeed against all odds (a man of powerful faith, he seemed to have believed that God was guiding him), and his skilful offensives of 1918. Opponents accuse him of being rigid in strategy and insensitive to human losses, particularly during the British Somme, Arras, and Passchendaele offensives, 1916-17.
FIELD MARSHAL PAUL VON HINDENBURG (1847-1934)
The aristocratic Paul von Hindenburg went to army cadet school at the age of eleven and served with distinction until retirement in 1911. On the outbreak of war, he was recalled and sent, with the more able second-in-command Ludendorff, to meet the Russian attack on Prussia. His reputation was made by victories at Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes. Placed in overall command of Central Powers strategy in 1916, he concentrated, unsuccessfully, on defence. He was elected president of Germany in 1925, and appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor in 1933.
GENERAL FRANZ CONRAD VON HOTZENDORF (1852-1925)
Having been put in charge of the Austrian Army in 1906, Franz Conrad was eager for war with Serbia and Italy. When war came, however, he found it more testing than he expected, especially against Serbia. In the end, his most likely chance of success – against Italy in 1916 – was cut short by the Brusilov Offensive. He was put under Hindenburg’s overall command in September 1916 and dismissed the following year.
MUSTAFA KEMAL (1881-1938)
Known in later life as the ‘father of the Turks’ (Ataturk), Kemal played a vital role in resisting the Allied landings in Gallipoli in 1916. He then fought with distinction in the Caucasus, remaining the only undefeated Turkish commander. First president of the new Turkish Republic (1924), he crowned his military career with an even more successful one as a modernizing politician.
GENERAL ERICH VON LUDENDORFF (1865-1937)
Extremely able but occasionally flawed in judgement, von Ludendorff helped re-arrange the Schlieffen Plan (see pages 6-7) and guided Hindenburg in the key victories against Russia in 1914. Thereafter, Hindenburg and Ludendorff worked closely together, becoming virtual masters of Germany by 1918. Having almost won the war with his Spring 1918 offensives, Ludendorff’s fortunes declined rapidly. He fled to Sweden in disguise in 1918, re-emerging after the war as a Nazi politician.
GENERAL HELMUTH VON MOLTKE (1848-1916)
Nephew of one of Prussia’s greatest generals, Helmuth von Moltke (sometimes known as ‘von Moltke the Younger’) is principally remembered for working with Ludendorff to alter the Schlieffen Plan to attack western France. By weakening the German right flank, which was to sweep down to the west of Paris, he was partly responsible for the failure of the German strategy at the Battle of the Marne, 1914. He was dismissed two days later.
GENERAL JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING (1860-1948)
John Pershing’s military experience, gained in small-scale encounters such as chasing bandits in Mexico, hardly fitted him for what he was to meet on the Western Front. However, appointed to command the AEF in 1917, he built it up into an effective fighting force. Although Clemenceau called for his dismissal after a poor showing in the Argonne Forest, the idea was rejected and Pershing’s armies played an important part in the Allies’ last offensives of 1918.
MARSHAL PHILIPPE PÉTAIN (1856-1951)
Philippe Pétain, a keen student of war, realized earlier than most experts that offensives against artillery, barbed wire, and machine guns would be virtually impossible. His advice was ignored. Not until the Germans threatened breakthrough at Verdun in February 1917 did he get the chance to put his ideas to the test. The dramatic defence of Verdun made him a national hero, and he was made commander-in-chief of the French Army in May 1917. Tragically, the ‘hero of Verdun’ ended his life in prison for treacherous co-operation with the Nazis in World War II.
THE POLITICIANS
GEORGES CLEMENCEAU (1841-1929)
French Prime Minister
A tough and energetic man of peasant stock, the seventy-six-year-old Clemenceau (nicknamed ‘the Tiger’) took over the leadership of France in the grim days of 1917. His speeches and single-minded dedication lifted the nation, and guided it to victory the following year. A keen admirer of the USA, he was always eager for it to join the Allies.
DAVID LLOYD GEORGE (1863-1945)
British Prime Minister
Lloyd George had doubts about going to war, but changed his mind after the German invasion of Belgium. Thereafter, as Minister of Munitions and Prime Minister (December 1916 onwards), he used his considerable skills to gear the nation’s industrial might to winning the war. As a radical, he did not always see eye to eye with high-born military commanders.
NICHOLAS II (1868-1918)
Tsar of Russia
> Russia could hardly have had a less suitable leader during World War I. Nicholas, the hereditary tsar, was blessed with neither intelligence, nor steadfastness, nor insight. He chose poor ministers and generals, and allowed his court to become a nest of scandal. Having abdicated in 1917, he and his family were executed by the communists the following year.
WILHELM II (1859-1941)
Emperor of Germany
Rather out of his depth in the world of international politics into which he had been born, on several occasions Wilhelm II (emperor or kaiser from 1888 onwards) upset relations with Britain through his tactless statements and actions. Having offered to support Austria-Hungary against Serbia in 1914, thereby making war likely, his influence declined. He abdicated on 9 November 1918 and fled the country.
WOODROW WILSON (1856-1924)
In some ways the most attractive of the war leaders, the idealistic Wilson worked as an academic before being elected US president in 1912. He reluctantly took his country to war in 1917, then worked tirelessly for a better world once victory had been achieved. Sadly, having moderated his allies’ calls for vengeance at Versailles, illness prevented him from taking his plans further.
STATISTICS CONCERNING COMBATANT NATIONS
All statistics taken from John Ellis and Michael Cox, eds., The World War I Databook, Aurum Press, 1993.
AGGREGATE MILITARY CASUALTIES AND CIVILIAN DEATHS 1914–18
AGGREGATE NAVAL LOSSES OF THE MAJOR POWERS, BY TYPE OF SHIP, AND AGGREGATE PERSONNEL LOSSES 1914–18
ANNUAL GERMAN U-BOAT LOSSES BY LOCALITY 1914–18
BRITISH, OTHER ALLIED, AND NEUTRAL MERCHANT SHIPPING LOST THROUGH ENEMY ACTION 1914–18 (GROSS TONNAGE*)
*recorded in metric tonnes
TIME LINE
1830
Greece gains independence from the Turkish Empire.
1839
Treaty of London guarantees the neutrality of Belgium.
1859–70
Kingdom of Italy created.
1861
Romania formed.
1870–71
Franco-Prussian War.
JANUARY 1871
German Empire proclaimed at Versailles.
MAY 1871
Treaty of Paris. France cedes Alsace and Lorraine to Germany.
1878
Congress of Berlin. Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Romania granted independence from Turkey.
1879
Austro-German Dual Alliance.
1882
Italy agrees to Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary.
1888
Wilhelm II becomes Kaiser (emperor) of Germany.
1894
Franco-Russian Alliance signed.
1898
Germany begins its naval build-up.
1902
Anglo-Japanese Alliance.
1904
Anglo-French entente cordiale.
1905
Schlieffen Plan drawn up.
1907
British Expeditionary Force formed.
Anglo-Russian entente.
1908
Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina.
1912
Woodrow Wilson elected president of the United States.
1912–13
Two Balkan Wars.
JANUARY 1914
German officer commands Constantinople garrison in Turkey.
JUNE 28, 1914
Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
JULY 28, 1914
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Russia mobilizes.
AUGUST 1, 1914
Germany declares war on Russia. France mobilizes.
AUGUST 3, 1914
Germany declares war on France.
AUGUST 4, 1914
German troops enter Belgium. (Midnight) Britain declares war on Germany.
AUGUST 12, 1914
Britain and France declare war on Austria-Hungary.
23 AUGUST 1914
Japan joins Allies.
AUGUST 26–30, 1914
Germans defeat Russians at Tannenberg (see photo, above).
SEPTEMBER 5–9, 1914
German advance on the Western Front stopped at the Battle of the Marne.
SEPTEMBER 9–14, 1914
Germans defeat Russians at Masurian Lakes.
SEPTEMBER 14, 1914
Falkenhayn becomes German commander in chief.
OCTOBER 29, 1914
Turkey joins Central Powers.
OCTOBER 30–NOVEMBER 4, 1914
First Battle of Ypres.
NOVEMBER 1914
Russian advances in Galicia.
DECEMBER 29 1914–JANUARY 3, 1915
Russians defeat Turks at Sarikamish.
FEBRUARY 1915
Germany begins unrestricted submarine warfare (to September). Allied naval forces fail to pass through the Dardanelles.
MARCH 1915
Allied offensive at Neuve-Chapelle.
APRIL 25, 1915
Allies land at Gallipoli.
APRIL–MAY 1915
Second Battle of Ypres—first use of poison gas.
MAY 1915
Italy joins Allies.
Allied offensive in Artois. Germans making gains on Eastern Front.
AUGUST 1915
Germans capture Warsaw (Poland). Nicholas II takes command of Russian armies.
SEPTEMBER 1915
French offensive in Champagne. Allied Artois-Loos offensive (to November). Bulgaria joins Central Powers. Serbia overwhelmed.
OCTOBER 1915
Allies land at Salonika in Greece.
DECEMBER 1915
Joffre becomes French commander in chief. Haig becomes British commander in chief.
21 FEBRUARY 1916
German attack on Verdun, France, begins (to December). Pétain ordered to defend Verdun.
31 MAY-1 JUNE 1916
Battle of Jutland (see photo, below).
JUNE 4, 1916
Brusilov offensive begins (to September).
JULY 1, 1916
British Somme offensive begins (to November) (see photo, right).
AUGUST 1916
Romania joins Allies.
Hindenburg replaces Falkenhayn as German commander in chief.
DECEMBER 1916
Lloyd George becomes British prime minister. Nivelle becomes French commander in chief.
JANUARY 1917
Zimmerman telegram urging Mexico to attack United States in alliance with Germany intercepted.
FEBRUARY 1917
Germans begin to fall back to Hindenburg Line. Germany reintroduces unrestricted submarine warfare.
MARCH 1917
Nicholas II abdicates after revolution in Russia. British take Baghdad in Mesopotamia.
APRIL 6, 1917
United States declares war on Germany.
APRIL 9–MAY 16, 1917
British offensive at Arras.
APRIL 16–MAY 9, 1917
Nivelle’s disastrous offensive on River Aisne.
MAY 1917
Allies introduce convoys to protect merchant shipping. Pétain becomes French commander in chief.
JUNE 1917
First U.S. troops land in France.
JULY 1917
Russia’s Kerensky offensive on Eastern Front.
JULY 31, 1917
Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) begins (to November).
SEPTEMBER 1917
Germans advance on Petrograd, Russia.
OCTOBER 24–NOVEMBER 12, 1917
Italians defeated at Caporetto, Italy.
NOVEMBER 1917
Communist revolution in Russia. Clemenceau becomes prime minister of France.
DECEMBER 1917
British take Jerusalem.
1918
Civil War in Russia (to 1921).
JANUARY 1918
Wilson puts forward his Fourteen Points.
MARCH 3, 1918
Germany and Russia sign Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (see photo, right).
MARCH 21–APRIL 5, 1918
Ludendorff offensive on Somme. Foch appointed to be supreme commander of Allied forces.
APRIL 9–29, 1918
Ludendorff’s Lys offensive.
MAY 27–JUNE 2, 1918
Ludendorff’s offensive on Aisne River.
MAY 28, 1918
U.S. forces see action at Cantigny.
JUNE 9–13, 1918
Ludendorff’s offensive on the Oise River.
JULY 15–AUGUST 5, 1918
Ludendorff’s last offensive, on the Marne, met by Foch’s counterattack.
AUGUST 8–SEPTEMBER 4, 1918
Allied Amiens offensive.
SEPTEMBER 12–16, 1918
U.S. offensive at St. Mihiel.
SEPTEMBER 26, 1918
Allies launch Meuse-Argonne offensive (see photo, below).
SEPTEMBER 27, 1918
Allies launch Cambrai-St. Quentin and Flanders offensives.
SEPTEMBER 29, 1918
Bulgaria signs an armistice.
OCTOBER 1, 1918
British take Damascus in Syria.
OCTOBER 4, 1918
Germans abandon Hindenburg Line.
OCTOBER 23–NOVEMBER 1918
Austro-Hungarians overwhelmed on Italian Front.
OCTOBER 30, 1918
Turkey signs armistice.
NOVEMBER 3, 1918
Austria-Hungary signs armistice.
NOVEMBER 6, 1918
Allies take Sedan.
NOVEMBER 11, 1918
Armistice on Western Front.
JANUARY 1919
Paris Peace Conference opens at Versailles.
JUNE 28, 1919
Germany signs Treaty of Versailles.
SEPTEMBER 10, 1919
Austria signs Treaty of St. Germain en Laye.
NOVEMBER 27, 1919
Bulgaria signs Treaty of Neuilly.
JUNE 4, 1920
Hungary signs Treaty of Trianon.