Another factor that increased the rivalry in Europe was imperialism. Before World War 1, Africa and parts of Asia were areas of conflict between the European countries. This was because of the raw materials these areas could provide. The increasing competition and desire for greater empires led to an increase in conflict that helped start World War I.
Militarism means that the army and military forces are given a high profile by the government. The division between European countries and militarism, or a policy of glorying military power and keeping an army prepared for war, led to an arms race between the main countries, another cause of World War I. The armies of both France and Germany had more than doubled between 1870 and 1914, and there was fierce competition between Britain and Germany for mastery of the seas.
In the fall of 1914, a series of battles occured in the region of northern France known as the Western Front. During this time a German general, named Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, had drawn up a plan, called the Schlieffen Plan, which called for attacking and defeating France in the west and rushing to fight Russia in the east. By early September, German troops had reached the outskirts of Paris. But, on September 5, the Allies attacked the Germans northeast of Paris, in the valley of Marne River. The Germans retreated after four days of fighting. The Battle of the Marne was an important battle because the French and British forces were able to stop the Schlieffen plan for a quick victory. However, the German army was not beaten, and its successful retreat ended all hope of a short war.
By early 1915, armies on the Western Front began digging long trenches to protect themselves from opposing armies. This became known as trench warfare where soldiers fought each other from trenches. New technology, such as machine guns, poison gas, tanks, and submarines, allowed armies to wipe out each other more quickly.
War was also going on in a region known as the Eastern Front, which strecthed along the Russian and German border. In this region, the Russian and the Serbs fought the Germans and Austro-Hungarians. Here, the Russians lost many lives. Near the town of Tannenberg, the Germans defeated the Russians killing over 30,000 Russian soldiers. In September 1914, after defeating the Austrians twice, the Russians were defaeted by the Austrians pushing them out of Austria-Hungary. By 1916, Russia was near collapse. Russia was less industrialized than the other European countries, but they had a large population which allowed their army to rebuilt its ranks.
In Feburary 1915, the Allies made an effort to take the Dardanelles strait, which led to the Ottoman capital Constantinople. Taking over this region, would allow them to defeat the Turks and make a supply line to Russia. This became known as the Gallipoli campaign. The Gallipoli peninsula was attacked by British, French, Australian, and New Zealand troops. By May, the campaign turned bloody. In December, the Allies began to evacuate. They had lost over 250,000 soldiers.
Germany's colonies in Africa and Asia were attacked. The Japanese defeated the Germans in China and captured Germany's Pacific island colonies. Four of Germany's colonies were attacked by France and England who took control of three of the colonies. Soldiers and laborers from India, South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, and Indochina joined their French or British rulers in hope that their service would lead to their independence.
In 1917, many wars took place on the sea. During the year, the Germans used unrestricted submarine warfare, in which the submarines would sink without warning any ships in the water around Britain. In Janurary 1917, a German submarine sunk the British passenger ship Lusitania which left 1,198 people dead, including 128 United States citizens.
Germany claimed the ship had been carrying ammunition, but still recevied strong protests from President Woodrow Wilson. After two more attacks, the Germans agreed to stop attacking neutral and passenger ships.
In February 1917, United States officals intercepted a telegram from Arthur Zimmermann, Germany's foreign secretary, which stated that Germany would help Mexico regain the land it lost to the United States if Mexico would help Germany fight. This pushed President Wilson, on April 2, 1917, to ask Congress to declare war on Germany. The United States then joined the Allies. When the United States entered the war, the war had already been going on for three years.
World War 1 became a total war because all of the countries devoted their resources to the war. The wartime government took control of the economy and told factories what and how much to produce. Nearly every civilian able to work was put to work. Governments began rationing or limiting the number of goods people bought that might be needed at war and using propaganda to put people in favor of the war. Women were also a big help by taking over factories jobs and helping the wounded on the battlefield. In March 1917, Czar Nicholas was forced to step down due the shortages of fuel and food in Russia. By 1917, about 5.5 million Russian soldiers were either killed, wounded, or a prisoner of war. Russia refused to fight anymore. In November 1917, a Communist leader, named Vladimie llyich Lenin took control and insisted on pulling Russia out of the war. Germany and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk which ended the war between them in March 1918.
In May 1918, the Germans again reached the Marne River. In July 1918, the Allies and the Germans fought the second battle of Marne. The weakened Central Powers were unable to fight off the Allies. The Bulgarians first surrendered and then the Ottomans.
In Germany, the soldiers and the people revolted. On November 9, 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II stepped down, and Germany became a republic with socialist Friedrich Elbert as president. A representative of the new German government met with Commander Marshal Foch near Paris. They signed an armistice or an agreement to stop fighting. On November 11, the Great War came to an end.
World War 1 left the nations of Europe devastated. France and England had large debts. Germany, near economic collapse, was told to pay reparations that it could not pay. For hope the Germans turned to a man, named Adolf Hitler, that promised to avenge Germany's defeat. This would soon lead to another bloody war in the years to come.
