The Great War

The Great War: the facts preceding the conflict, the economic and political causes, the sides, the peace treaties and the consequences.

The Great War is the epochal event that changed the course of history and humanity. It is the first war that affected the entire world, both directly and indirectly. Eric Hobsbawm, a famous historian, wrote the essay “ The Short Century ” in which he says that the contemporary age began with the First World War (1914) and ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989), that is, the wall that divided the city into East Berlin and West Berlin, therefore the Soviet Union against the democratic countries.

The First World War is also called the “ Great War ” because it was the first and above all because it also involved civilians on a massive scale, who had to face a great effort: the men at the front and the women employed in the factories . This great war caused 9 million dead soldiers and 5 million civilians. With the First World War the largest empires of the European continent (German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and Russian) dissolved. The First World War was the consequence of the precariousness of the international balances that had arisen in the Congress of Vienna (1814) and then in the Restoration , then again during the hundred years of peace following the Congress, revolutionary movements occurred (1848-1849), the Great Depression and then the recovery with the second industrial revolution , colonialism and imperialism.

And all this brought a heated climate in Europe, the economic competition between the European powers. It must also be taken into account that from the second half of the 19th century onwards new nations arose, but above all Germany was born, having become a very strong economic power, it had by now established itself as a nation that competed with England in terms of production and industrial trade. The nations were convinced that they could wage a quick war without spending too much money.

WORLD WAR I: CAUSES

The first cause of the outbreak of the Great War is the struggle for hegemony, or rather the supremacy on the economic-territorial level in Europe and in the world. The economic and political causes:

economic causes : Germany begins its colonial conquests in Africa, creating tensions with other nations. England, France and Russia (Germany was thinking of expanding towards the East) against Germany. With the battle of Sedan (1870) Germany and France come into conflict because the French had lost very important mineral basins.
Political causes : strong contrast between Austria and Russia for the Balkan countries (Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia and Greece) that were part of the Ottoman Empire, which was now in decline. In those years weapons were mass produced and this was one of the many incentives for war. Army officers tended to pressure governments to resolve these tensions. From this warmongering climate also arose nationalist movements with the idea that their nation should have hegemony over other European nations and the world for the superior race.

WORLD WAR I: BEGINNING OF THE CONFLICT

On June 28, 1914, the Austrian Archduke, visiting Sarajevo, was killed by a student, Gavrilo Princip, of Serbian origin who was arrested after the attack.

It did not actually start the war but was used as a pretext to start the conflict. Austria, hurt by the incident, accused the Serbian government of co-responsibility in the attack. On July 23, 1914, an ultimatum was sent to Serbia. Several points were included that the country accepted willingly, the only one it refused was to have Austrian police agents participate in the investigation (used as a trigger). On July 28, 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia: Russia mobilized its troops to support Serbia. On August 1 of the same year, Germany, seeing itself threatened by Russia, declared war on it. On August 4, Germany invaded Belgium. Austria and Germany ( Triple Alliance ) against France, England and Russia ( Triple Entente ). England at war and in support of France and Belgium. Japan, which aspired to eastern territories that were German colonies, declared war on Germany.

THE DEBATE ON ITALY’S ENTRY INTO THE WAR

Italy, one of the states of the Triple Alliance, remained neutral at the beginning of the conflict, because the pact stipulated was of a defensive nature and Austria had been the first to begin. Giolitti and the moderates were however on the side of neutrality because the economic resources were scarce and they feared a political fragility. It entered the war in May 1915 against Austria and Germany and was on the side of the Triple Entente.

In Italy there was a strong debate between interventionists, irredentists, nationalists and neutralists. The interventionists wanted Italy to intervene in the war (the revolutionary socialists), because they hoped that the war could be transformed into a popular revolution, thus destabilizing the government and creating a new revolutionary political system. While the irredentists wanted to liberate and conquer the Italian lands under Austrian rule. The nationalists are a movement of people who were inspired by the ideas of social evolutionism and who wanted to make Italy a powerful country superior to all others.

Neutralists (moderate liberals of Giolitti) are those who wanted to maintain Italy’s neutrality because they believed that the country was unprepared to sustain the economic costs and political risks: a war is always destabilizing for a government and our state was recent and did not have the solidity to be able to face such an important war. The only advantage of Italy would have been to have an important position in Europe and to have the irredentist lands, which however would also have been obtained through diplomacy. Other neutral characters are the Catholics and they were against the war because the church professed peace and also the moderate socialists because they were driven by the idea that the poorest always pay the consequences of war and the advantages are only for the powerful. They saw the war as an advantage only for the capitalist classes and not for the workers.

In 1915 Sonino signed a secret pact with France and England which declared that within a month Italy had to enter the war on the side of France, England and Russia in exchange for territorial concessions (unredeemed lands).

All this without asking for the authorization of the parliament (which he was able to do because according to the Albertine Statute the foreign advisor had the same power as the monarch) and which he had to accept without discussion because by then the pact had been concluded. On May 24, 1915, Italy definitively entered the war on the side of the Entente, against Austria and Germany.

DEPLOYMENTS IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Triple Entente Allies :

1914: England – Russia – France – Japan.
1915: Italy.
1916: Portugal – Romania – Serbia – Greece – Montenegro.
1917: United States – China.

Allies Triple Alliance :

1914: Austria-Hungary – Germany – Ottoman Empire.
1915: Bulgaria.

Neutrals : Spain – Switzerland – Netherlands – Norway – Sweden – Finland.

END OF THE GREAT WAR

In 1917 a turning point in the war occurs: the intervention of the United States in April 1917 which transforms the conflict into a world war. Russia withdraws from the war following the Soviet revolution , where the population rebels and the Tsar abdicates and is then killed, and from here the new communist government is born which withdraws because the world of the people does not want war and must radically reorganize Russia. Russia signs the Peace of Brest-Litovsk which is very burdensome because it will lose territories of the former Poland and economic resources.

On October 24, 1917, Italy suffered the defeat of Caporetto , that is, the Italian army was forced to retreat to the Piave River. It was a disastrous event because the military conduct of the Italian soldiers was a failure. The soldiers were sent like cannon fodder in a disorganized manner, creating discomfort and a sense of mistrust, the entire population began to spread strikes and riots all hostile to the war. Famous is the speech of Pope Leo Benedict XV who appealed to the heads of the government and the belligerent countries defining the war as a useless massacre. After the defeat, Diaz, the officer who took Cadorna’s place, reorganized the army and tried to equip the Italian soldiers with modern weapons and the class of 1899 was called to arms to try to swell the Italian army. Furthermore, to push the soldiers to fight and the population to support the sacrifices of the war, promises were made that were never kept. This will be one of the reasons that increased discontent and fascism manages to take power easily. In October 1918 Italy wins in Vittorio Veneto.

The United States entered the war because they had already helped the Entente countries economically, because France and England were democratic countries and the other reason was because they had investment ties in industries and because after Russia’s withdrawal they decided to enter to defend their loans. Another reason was that after the Entente blockade, Germany had started submarine warfare, a fleet that torpedoed, that is, that hit French and English ships and all the ships that circulated in the waters of the Channel and in the Atlantic Ocean near France.

They entered with great economic resources and after their entry the war turned in favor of the Entente.

In the history of women, the war becomes a decisive moment: for the first time in history there is a sudden change, women begin to have awareness of work as workers and their rights. Cognitive life opportunity. They tried to make propaganda with women too, such as supporting the sacrifices of their husbands, fiancés who were at the front fighting.

On November 4 , 1918, Italy asks for an armistice with the Entente countries. From here, a republic will be born and the king will lose all power. In Germany, a republic is also born and asks for an armistice.

PEACE CONFERENCE

Prepared by American President Wilson even before the war ended, and in January 1919 until June of the same year the peace tables were opened. Here five different treaties were made . The Europe of the war was still that of Napoleon’s defeat but after the First World War the geography of Europe changed radically. From the moment they met they decided the new borders and also what treatment to use against the defeated countries. The two main objectives according to Wilson are: to ensure peace for the years to come since every country in the world is now closely linked to others and to guarantee international trade if we want the world to go towards development. America arose as the strongest nation economically, while before Europe was the strongest. From here he presents the text famous in history with the name ” Fourteen points ” by Wilson, created to avoid a massacre of this level for a second time. Among these, the most important are:

the adoption of the principles of self-determination of peoples (in defining the borders of European states new states are born) to avoid states being suppressed by larger states;
freedom of trade and customs freedom (creating relationships between all the states of the world by breaking down all the protectionist barriers that had arisen in previous years);
the reduction of armaments to the bare minimum;
the end of secret diplomacy (the public must always be aware of everything).

At the end of the points Wilson states that it is necessary to build an organization called the League of Nations , an international body formed by members of all nations that had the task of regulating international conflicts, that is, avoiding wars and maintaining peace in the world. It is based on the principles of the various peace treaties. Created after the First World War but will not be able to prevent the Second World War because it is not seen as a significant society but only formal. It will dissolve after the Second World War and the UN will be born.

With the peace treaty the Ottoman Empire will disappear after about 1000 years of existence and many lands will be placed under the rule of the victorious forces.

The war had only worsened the decline of the empire by worsening the ethnic differences within it, leading to a real genocide against the Armenians.

Decisions were made by the victors (America, France, Great Britain, Italy) and five peace treaties were signed: Paris Conference, Versailles, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Neuilly and Trianon.

TERRITORIAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER THE WAR

Ottoman Empire: Turkey. Russian Empire: USSR (which lost Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland). Austro-Hungarian Empire: Austrian Republic, Hungary and Czechoslovakia are created, the Balkan countries (Albania Macedonia Greece Yugoslavia). Some of the unredeemed lands (Trento and Trieste) arrive in Italy. Germany is divided in two thus creating East Prussia because a corridor is built for Danzig to allow a maritime outlet for Poland as well, and loses all its colonies in Africa and the East.

ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE GREAT WAR

Europe has lost its hegemony in the world, it is no longer the most important continent and no longer decides the fate of the world. And the United States becomes the strongest country in the world at an economic and political level. After the war all states intervene in national economies. Governments will take care of regulating the economic activities of their country. Economic interests were linked to political choices. Problem to reconvert the work of industries (many industries had modified their production in function of the war); the reconversion occurs, that is, to return to producing goods useful for the period of peace. This led to the dismissal of workers who were instead needed to produce weapons for the war, while other workers are trained. Unemployment of many workers which leads to a decrease in purchases by workers and this working class. In this way, demand decreases and one begins to sell less and consequently investments and production decrease.

American investments . In European countries the consequences are very negative so much so that Europe (winners and losers) were forced to ask for loans from America. They invest and support European countries but at the same time impose a certain prestige in the political field. This situation generates social tensions.

Social tensions. The ones who lose the most are certainly the classes with a fixed income and the middle class. It is the period of the red two years (1919-1920): workers’ and peasants’ struggles and factory occupations. The governments of the states were therefore faced with a very difficult situation to manage because on one side there is the economic crisis and on the other the conflict between entrepreneurs and workers that has become increasingly heated. In the most recent countries where the liberal state was born recently and with the advance of the social classes and the disillusionment will lead to the defeat of the governments and the birth of movements, such as Nazism and Fascism.

Why is World War I also called the Great War?
Because it was the first conflict on a global scale, involving many nations and causing millions of deaths. It was also an unprecedented event for the use of new weapons, trench warfare and the enormous social and economic impact.
When does the Great War begin?
The Great War began on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Why did Germany declare war on France in the Great War?
Germany declared war on France on August 3, 1914 because it was part of the Schlieffen strategic plan, which called for a rapid attack on France to avoid a two-front war. Furthermore, France was an ally of Russia, against whom Germany had already declared war on August 1, 1914.

THE GREAT WAR