The First World War, lasting just four years, from 1914 to 1918, was without parallel, the first true global conflict in which all of the earth's great powers participated.
A Short History of the First World War tells the story of this cataclysmic event describing the background to war, the international rivalries and conflicts of the previous decades that led to the nations of Europe forming virtual armed camps, the relentless build-up of military and naval hardware that characterized the early years of the 20th century and the great figures that tried to prevent conflict or enthusiastically pushed for it.
A Short History of the First World War provides a superb introduction to the events of this epochal conflict.
The First World War, lasting just four years, from 1914 to 1918, was without parallel, the first true global conflict in which all of the earth's great powers participated.
A Short History of the First World War tells the story of this cataclysmic event describing the background to war, the international rivalries and conflicts of the previous decades that led to the nations of Europe forming virtual armed camps, the relentless build-up of military and naval hardware that characterized the early years of the 20th century and the great figures that tried to prevent conflict or enthusiastically pushed for it.
A Short History of the First World War provides a superb introduction to the events of this epochal conflict.
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Overview
The First World War, lasting just four years, from 1914 to 1918, was without parallel, the first true global conflict in which all of the earth's great powers participated.
A Short History of the First World War tells the story of this cataclysmic event describing the background to war, the international rivalries and conflicts of the previous decades that led to the nations of Europe forming virtual armed camps, the relentless build-up of military and naval hardware that characterized the early years of the 20th century and the great figures that tried to prevent conflict or enthusiastically pushed for it.
A Short History of the First World War provides a superb introduction to the events of this epochal conflict.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781843440956 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Oldcastle Books |
| Publication date: | 10/01/2014 |
| Series: | Short History |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 160 |
| File size: | 362 KB |
About the Author
Gordon Kerr worked in bookselling and publishing before becoming a full-time writer. He is the author of several titles including A Short History of Europe, A Short History of Africa, A Short History of China, A Short History of Brazil, A Short History of the First World War, A Short History of the Vietnam War, A Short History of the Middle East, A Short History of Religion and The War That Never Ended. He divides his time between Dorset and Southwest France.
Read an Excerpt
A Short History of the First World War
By Gordon Kerr
Oldcastle Books
Copyright © 2014 Gordon KerrAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-84344-097-0
CHAPTER 1
The Inevitability of War
... The old lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori. From 'Dulce et Decorum Est', by Wilfred Owen
Death in Sarajevo: 28 June 1914
In 1888, the wily German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck (1815–98), predicted that, 'One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans', and he was right. Several bullets fired by a young Bosnian Serb radical in Sarajevo were all it took to enflame the suspicions and hatreds that had built up amongst the nations of Europe for many decades.
In 1912, aged 18, Gavrilo Princip (1894–1918) had travelled to Belgrade to continue his education and while in Serbia, he had joined the secret nationalist organisation, Unification or Death, unofficially known as the Black Hand society. For the next two years, most of his spare time was spent with fellow nationalists who sought a union between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia and independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
When it was announced that Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863–1914), the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, would be visiting Bosnia-Herzegovina in June 1914, Dragutin Dimitrijevic (1876–1917), the chief of the Intelligence Department in the Serbian Army and head of the Black Hand, sent Princip, Nedjelko Cabrinovic (1895–1916), Trifko Grabez (1895–1918) and four others to Sarajevo to assassinate the Archduke. Dimitrijevic considered Franz Ferdinand a serious threat to a union between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia, concerned that Ferdinand's plans to grant concessions to the South Slavs would make it more difficult to achieve an independent unified Serbian state.
On Sunday 28 June the Archduke and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg (1868–1914), arrived by train at Sarajevo station from where they were to be taken to a reception hosted by General Oskar Potiorek (1853–1933), Governor of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Mayor of Sarajevo and the city's Commissioner of Police rode in the first car and in the second, the top rolled back to let the crowd see the royal couple, were the Archduke and his wife, accompanied by Potiorek and the Archduke's bodyguard, Count Franz von Harrach (1870–1934).
Seven members of the Black Hand group were posted along the route, but when one of them threw a bomb that exploded under the car following the royal vehicle, Franz Ferdinand's car sped off to the reception, making it impossible for the conspirators to carry out their plans. The reception went ahead and after it, Franz Ferdinand insisted on being driven to the hospital to visit those who had been injured in the explosion. En route, however, his driver took a wrong turn, driving his Gräf & Stift Double Phaeton car into Franz Josef Street where Gavrilo Princip just happened to be standing on a corner. As the car tried to reverse out of the street, Princip stepped forward, raised his gun and, from a distance of about five feet, fired two shots into the open vehicle, the first bullet hitting the Archduke in his jugular vein, the second striking Archduchess Sophie in the abdomen. The terrified driver immediately slammed his foot down hard on the accelerator and the vehicle sped off in the direction of the Governor's residence. But, it was too late; Sophie was dead on arrival and Franz Ferdinand succumbed to his wound ten minutes later. During the next four years, as a result of these two deaths, many millions more would die in the horror of the First World War.
The Great Powers
The reasons for the outbreak of the war are a matter of ongoing debate. Each of the powers that took up arms during those terrible four years adhered to the claim that it had done so in the face of aggression by another power or group of powers. There was, however, an inevitability about the progress of events. The alliances that had been formed amongst the various nations meant that by 1914 Europe was made up of what have come to be known as 'armed camps'. Occupying one were Germany and Austria while in the other were France and Russia. In such a volatile situation, it would not take a great deal to light the 'powder keg' of European politics and once conflict was finally threatened, the other nations of Europe fell into line according to their alliances or on whichever side they thought would bring them most benefit in the event of victory.
In 1914, a map of Europe would have looked very different to how it looks today, especially where central and Eastern Europe were concerned. Germany, for instance, covered a much larger expanse than now, extending into areas of modern northern Poland and the Czech Republic. To the south lay the vast territory of Austria-Hungary, incorporating the modern-day nations of Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, large parts of Serbia and Romania and some lands that are now part of Italy, Montenegro, Poland and Ukraine. The Russian Empire stretched to the east, within its borders the modern-day states of Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. To the west, the frontiers of Spain, France and Portugal were much the same as they are today, but Great Britain incorporated all of Ireland, north and south.
There were five major European powers in 1914: Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary. Amongst these Great Britain was a superpower with an empire of some 13 million square miles that stretched around the globe and included around 20 per cent of the world's population. The Industrial Revolution had brought unimagined prosperity to Britain and the raw materials for her industries were transported from every corner of the globe, under the protection of the Royal Navy, the world's most powerful fleet. Britain stood alone on the fringes of the Continent. In the late nineteenth century, Great Britain, in the words of Canadian Finance Minister George Eulas Foster (1847–1931), stood 'splendidly isolated in Europe'. This concept of 'splendid isolation' nurtured under the leadership of Conservative Prime Ministers Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) and the Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903), was felt at the time to be the best way to preserve the prevailing balance of power on the continent. Meanwhile, Britain fought to preserve its interests in its colonies and dominions, going to war, for instance, with the Boers of South Africa, an ostensibly unequal contest that damaged Britain's reputation, leading to several European nations, most notably the Germans, expressing sympathy for the Boers. Another war, with France this time, was narrowly averted at the Sudanese town of Fashoda.
France had endured a turbulent few decades. In 1870, the German states, led by Prussia, humiliated her in the Franco-Prussian War that resulted in the loss of the eastern regions of Alsace and Lorraine and the payment of crippling reparations. Victory hastened German unification, with Wilhelm I (r. 1861–88) – King of Prussia – installed as Kaiser (Emperor). The French, traumatised by their crushing defeat, ousted their emperor, Napoleon III (r. 1852–70), nephew of Napoleon I (r. 1804–14, 1815), replacing his empire with the Third Republic. They remained embittered and determined to regain the territories that they had lost to the Germans.
German unification was principally the work of Otto von Bismarck (1815–98), Prime Minister of Prussia. A consummate politician, Bismarck involved Prussia in wars that gave it dominance over Austria and France and persuaded the smaller German states to accept Prussian leadership, with him as the first Chancellor of a united Germany. In 1888, Frederick III (r. 1888), married to Victoria 1840–1901), Princess Royal and daughter of British Queen Victoria (r. 1837–1901), succeeded Wilhelm I, but succumbed to cancer just four months later. The imperial crown passed to Wilhelm II (r. 1888–1918) who in 1890 forced Bismarck to resign and began to pursue policies that would contribute greatly to the outbreak of war in 1914. This 'New Course' as it is known, involved more direct personal rule by Wilhelm and the appointment of Chancellors whom he could control more easily than he could Bismarck.
The austere Emperor Franz-Joseph I (r. 1848–1916) had come to the throne of Austria-Hungary in 1848 and ruled over an unwieldy, multi-racial empire. His time on the throne was plagued by nationalism but he ensured a peaceful reign with the Ausgleich – the Austro-Hungarian Compromise – of 1867. With this he created a dual monarchy, making him Emperor of Austria as well as King of Hungary, re-establishing the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hungary. Franz-Joseph had his share of tragedy in his lifetime. His son, Crown Prince Rudolf (1858–1889) committed suicide in 1889 and his wife, Empress Elizabeth, was assassinated in 1898. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, victim of Gavrilo Princip's June 1914 attack, was his nephew.
The vast Russian Empire, ruled by Tsar Nicholas II (r. 1894–1917), stretched from Europe in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east but Nicholas's autocratic rule was under constant threat from revolutionary groups seeking sweeping reforms. The Tsar's position was not helped by his domineering German-born wife, Alexandra Feodorovna (1872–1918) and her scandalous relationship with the unhinged mystic, Rasputin (1869–1916). In 1904, believing an easy victory would make him more popular, Nicholas led Russia into a foolhardy war against Japan, a conflict that ended in humiliation for the Tsar and his people, resulting in strikes, demonstrations and attempted revolutions in 1905 and 1906. To placate the angry Russian people, Nicholas promised to introduce civil liberties. He issued the October Manifesto in 1905, creating the State Duma, an elected assembly that he promised would have legislative and oversight powers, but he remained an autocrat.
Rivalries and Jealousies
In the late nineteenth century, suspicions and jealousies were a feature of the political landscape in Europe. As has already been noted, the French were anxious to redeem themselves and restore their lost territories following their crushing defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. They believed it inevitable that there would be a war by which this could be achieved. The Germans, on the other hand, were not satisfied merely with the acquisition of Alsace and Lorraine. The Kaiser was jealous of British colonial success and the wealth it brought. He looked at the power of the Royal Navy and determined that Germany too must have a powerful maritime force if she was to become a global power. He made his views clear in a 1901 speech at the Elbe regatta: 'We have fought for a place in the sun and won it. Our future is on the water.'
In 1906, Britain stunned the world with the launch of a new class of ironclad battleship. With its range, speed, armoury of heavy-calibre guns – the 'all-big-gun' design – and steam-turbine propulsion, HMS Dreadnought rendered all other battleships obsolete. It made such an impression, in fact, that 'dreadnought' became the generic name for such vessels and everything that came before was dubbed 'pre-dreadnought'. The Germans were horrified, describing their own vessels as fünf-minuten ships because five minutes was the length of time it was thought they would survive if they were unlucky enough to encounter a British dreadnought.
The launch of the Dreadnought initiated a naval arms race between Britain and Germany, each new vessel built being bigger than the last and each demonstrating the latest developments in armament, armour and propulsion. Eventually, 'super-dreadnoughts' were being constructed at vast expense, many of which were still being used several decades later during the Second World War. It had been the Royal Navy's intention to establish a two-to-one ratio of battleships against Germany, but Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz (1849–1930) responded with the building of a powerful German Navy while debate raged in Great Britain about how many dreadnoughts should be built.
Meanwhile, there were problems at the other end of Europe. The Balkans had long been the continent's most troubled region. They had been part of the Ottoman Empire from the sixteenth century until the late nineteenth but by the turn of the century, most of the countries of the region had gained independence. It was an area of great strategic importance and Austria-Hungary and Russia, which each shared common borders with the former Turkish conquests, had been trying to gain influence there since the decline of the Ottoman Empire. The Russians, of course, shared Slav ethnicity with many of the Balkan nations and, understandably, felt a kinship with them. The German Kaiser naturally supported Austro-Hungarian ambitions in the region and Germany itself had attempted to curry favour with the Turks by promising aid and building a railway between Berlin and Baghdad.
The Slavs, however, had their own ambitions. There was talk of an independent Slav state that would survive without the involvement of the major powers. The chief proponent of this notion was Serbia.
Lighting the 'Powder Keg'
Bismarck had devised a set of alliances that would safeguard Germany against its two principal threats – Russia and France. Initially, Russia had been a member of the League of the Three Emperors with Austria-Hungary and Germany, an agreement that Bismarck hoped would isolate France. That league was not renewed, however, after the 1878 Treaty of Berlin left Russia feeling cheated of the gains made in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–88. In 1879, Germany signed the Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary, each signatory agreeing to come to the aid of the other in the event of an attack. Three years later, Italy joined with them to form the Triple Alliance but the Italians were far from wholehearted in their adherence to the agreement, especially in view of the fact that they clandestinely concluded a similar agreement with France shortly after. Furthermore, the Italians insisted that the alliance's undertakings should not be regarded as being directed against the British.
Despite claims by the Kaiser that these alliances were no more than defensive, they gave cause for concern across Europe. The Russians and French realised, of course, that the alliances were directed mainly against them, leading them, in turn, to sign their own alliance in 1894. In 1904, Britain and France signed the Anglo-French Entente or Entente Cordiale, not really a treaty, but a series of agreements aimed at peaceful co-existence. This, in turn, developed into the Triple Entente in 1907, when Russia signed the Anglo-Russian Entente with Britain. Germany now had every right to feel threatened, finding herself with enemies both to the east and west. The peace of Europe looked increasingly fragile with the continent split into these two armed camps and it would not take much to set the European powers at each other's throats.
There were a couple of crises before 1914 that could have brought war. The first occurred in 1905 when Kaiser Wilhelm, on a visit to Morocco, made a provocative speech in support of Moroccan independence from French control. Britain and Russia supported the indignant French. In 1911, tribesmen attacked the Moroccan city of Fez, forcing the French to dispatch troops to restore order. In an act of brinksmanship, the Kaiser sent a gunboat to the Moroccan port of Agadir, ostensibly to protect German interests in the region. When the British again expressed support for France in its actions and began the partial mobilisation of the Royal Navy, the Kaiser was forced to withdraw. Germany was embarrassed and, with Britain considered the source of her embarrassment, anti-British feeling swept across the country. The arms race became even more frenetic.
The second crisis erupted in the Balkans where Bismarck had feared a European war would begin. In 1912, the four states of the Balkan League – Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia – defeated the Turks and in the following year, Bulgaria, disappointed at the secret division of the spoils from the first war, attacked its allies, Greece and Serbia. The Ottoman Empire and Romania joined in on the side of the Greeks and Serbians and Bulgaria was defeated. The result was a region seething with bitterness, distrust and a desire for revenge.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from A Short History of the First World War by Gordon Kerr. Copyright © 2014 Gordon Kerr. Excerpted by permission of Oldcastle Books.
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Table of Contents
Introduction 11
Chapter 1 The Inevitability of War 14
Chapter 2 1914: 'Home for Christmas' 27
Chapter 3 1915: Digging In 55
Chapter 4 1916: A New Kind of Hell 80
Chapter 5 1917: The Beginning of the End 98
Chapter 6 1918: Endgame 120
Chapter 7 Peace at a Price 141
Further Reading 155
Index 156