The 20th century has forever gone down in world history not only thanks to a number of discoveries that radically changed the face of human civilization, but also because of two large-scale military conflicts called world wars.

About the First World War

One of the most global and bloody wars lasted four years - from 1914 to 1918. Despite the fact that these events are separated from us by much less time than from the legendary battles of the Middle Ages, a lot of information remains unknown to a large number of people. But even the generally known data is striking. It was during First World War tanks and gas weapons were used for the first time. Historians are still arguing whether it was possible to resolve the existing conflicts between the alliances of European countries peacefully, or whether war was the only way out. The two main opposing parties were the Quadruple Alliance (Austria-Hungary, Germany, Turkey (or the Ottoman Empire) and Bulgaria) and the Entente, which included France, England, the Russian Empire and many other countries.

The First World War is divided by historians into five military campaigns. Military operations were carried out on two fronts - Eastern and Western. The Western Front moved across the territory of France, gradually moving towards the sea coast.

On the Eastern Front, the troops of the Russian Empire began an offensive on the eastern territories of Prussia, and to the south, in the Balkans, Austria was in conflict with Serbia. Japan also joined the war, beginning active operations against Germany.

The First World War is also known for its huge number of casualties. According to modern scientists, almost 10 million soldiers died during the war. Despite the fact that there is no exact data on civilian casualties, historians believe that famine, epidemics and harsh living conditions caused the death of about 20 million people. Both the victors and the defeated countries in this war found themselves in a difficult situation.

The Great Patriotic War

In the time since the end of World War II, a lot has been said and written about this large-scale military conflict. Every now and then new information emerges about the actions of the command, the secret development of new weapons that could radically change the course of history.

The Great Patriotic War began on June 22, 1941. The Barbarossa plan, developed by the German military command, envisaged a very quick capture of the main cities of the USSR with the help of tanks, armored personnel carriers and other mobile equipment. At the start of the war, the Soviet army was dispersed over a large area and was unable to provide effective resistance, which resulted in the retreat of Soviet soldiers. During military operations near Kiev, several Soviet armies were defeated. The winter Battle of Stalingrad became the bloodiest battle in the entire history of human civilization - according to historians, more than two million people died here.

The Great Patriotic War ended in May 1945 with the capture of Berlin. On May 7, the act of surrender of Germany was signed. The second, more famous document was the act signed on May 8, which was adopted by Marshal Zhukov, representing the forces of the Soviet Union. The Victory Parade took place on Red Square in Moscow on June 24.

Memory of wars

The Great Patriotic War ended almost 70 years ago, but studying the history of the first half of the twentieth century and two world wars is a very important part of the school history course. Despite all the exploits and heroic deeds of the fighters during the war, the war itself remains a terrible shock for human civilization.

Both sides pursued aggressive goals. Germany sought to weaken Great Britain and France, seize new colonies on the African continent, tear Poland and the Baltic states away from Russia, Austria-Hungary - to establish itself on the Balkan Peninsula, Great Britain and France - to retain their colonies and weaken Germany as a competitor in the world market, Russia - to seize Galicia and take possession of the Black Sea straits.

Causes

Intending to go to war against Serbia, Austria-Hungary secured German support. The latter believed that the war would become local if Russia did not defend Serbia. But if it provides assistance to Serbia, then Germany will be ready to fulfill its treaty obligations and support Austria-Hungary. In an ultimatum presented to Serbia on July 23, Austria-Hungary demanded that its military units be allowed into Serbia in order to, together with Serbian forces, suppress hostile actions. The answer to the ultimatum was given within the agreed 48-hour period, but it did not satisfy Austria-Hungary, and on July 28 it declared war on Serbia. On July 30, Russia announced general mobilization; Germany used this occasion to declare war on Russia on August 1, and on France on August 3. Following the German invasion of Belgium on 4 August, Great Britain declared war on Germany. Now all the great powers of Europe were drawn into the war. Together with them, their dominions and colonies were involved in the war.

Progress of the war

1914

The war consisted of five campaigns. During the First Campaign, Germany invaded Belgium and northern France, but was defeated at the Battle of the Marne. Russia captured parts of East Prussia and Galicia (East Prussian Operation and Battle of Galicia), but was then defeated by the German and Austro-Hungarian counter-offensive. As a result, there was a transition from maneuvering to positional forms of combat.

1915

Italy, the disruption of the German plan to withdraw Russia from the war and bloody, inconclusive battles on the Western Front.

During this campaign, Germany and Austria-Hungary, concentrating their main efforts on the Russian front, carried out the so-called Gorlitsky breakthrough and ousted Russian troops from Poland and parts of the Baltic states, but were defeated in the Vilna operation and were forced to switch to positional defense.

On the Western Front, both sides fought a strategic defense. Private operations (at Ypres, Champagne and Artois) were unsuccessful, despite the use of poison gases.

On the Southern Front, Italian troops launched an unsuccessful operation against Austria-Hungary on the Isonzo River. German-Austrian troops managed to defeat Serbia. Anglo-French troops successfully carried out the Thessaloniki operation in Greece, but were unable to capture the Dardanelles. On the Transcaucasian front, Russia, as a result of the Alashkert, Hamadan and Sarykamysh operations, reached the approaches to Erzurum.

1916

The city's campaign is associated with the entry of Romania into the war and the waging of a grueling positional war on all fronts. Germany again turned its efforts against France, but was unsuccessful at the Battle of Verdun. The operations of the Anglo-French troops on Somna were also unsuccessful, despite the use of tanks.

On the Italian front, Austro-Hungarian troops launched the Trentino offensive, but were driven back by a counter-offensive by Italian troops. On the Eastern Front, troops of the Southwestern Russian Front carried out a successful operation in Galicia on a wide front stretching up to 550 km (Brusilovsky breakthrough) and advanced 60-120 km, occupied the eastern regions of Austria-Hungary, which forced the enemy to transfer up to 34 divisions to this front from the Western and Italian fronts.

On the Transcaucasian front, the Russian army carried out the Erzurum and then Trebizond offensive operations, which remained unfinished.

The decisive Battle of Jutland took place on the Baltic Sea. As a result of the campaign, conditions were created for the Entente to seize the strategic initiative.

1917

The city's campaign is associated with the entry of the United States into the war, Russia's revolutionary exit from the war and the conduct of a number of successive offensive operations on the Western Front (Nivelle's operation, operations in the Messines area, Ypres, near Verdun, and Cambrai). These operations, despite the use of large forces of artillery, tanks and aviation, practically did not change the general situation in the Western European theater of military operations. In the Atlantic at this time, Germany launched an unrestricted submarine war, during which both sides suffered heavy losses.

1918

The campaign was characterized by a transition from positional defense to a general offensive by the Entente armed forces. First, Germany launched the Allied March offensive in Picardy and private operations in Flanders and on the Aisne and Marne rivers. But due to lack of strength, they did not develop.

From the second half of the year, with the entry of the United States into the war, the Allies prepared and launched retaliatory offensive operations (Amiens, Saint-Miel, Marne), during which they eliminated the results of the German offensive, and in September they launched a general offensive, forcing Germany to surrender ( Truce of Compiegne).

Results

The final terms of the peace treaty were worked out at the Paris Conference of 1919-1920. ; During the sessions, agreements regarding five peace treaties were determined. After its completion, the following were signed: 1) the Treaty of Versailles with Germany on June 28; 2) Saint-Germain Peace Treaty with Austria on September 10, 1919; 3) Neuilly Peace Treaty with Bulgaria on November 27; 4) Trianon Peace Treaty with Hungary on June 4; 5) Treaty of Sèvres with Turkey on August 20. Subsequently, according to the Treaty of Lausanne on July 24, 1923, changes were made to the Treaty of Sèvres.

As a result of the First World War, the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires were liquidated. Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire were divided, and Russia and Germany, ceasing to be monarchies, were reduced territorially and economically weakened. Revanchist sentiments in Germany led to World War II. The First World War accelerated the development of social processes and was one of the prerequisites that led to revolutions in Russia, Germany, Hungary, and Finland. As a result, a new military-political situation in the world was created.

In total, World War I lasted 51 months and 2 weeks. Covered the territories of Europe, Asia and Africa, the waters of the Atlantic, North, Baltic, Black and Mediterranean seas. This is the first military conflict on a global scale, in which 38 of the 59 independent states that existed at that time were involved. Two-thirds of the world's population took part in the war. The number of warring armies exceeded 37 million people. The total number of people mobilized into the armed forces was about 70 million. The length of the fronts was up to 2.5-4 thousand km. The casualties of the parties amounted to about 9.5 million killed and 20 million wounded.

During the war, new types of troops were developed and widely used: aviation, armored forces, anti-aircraft troops, anti-tank weapons, and submarine forces. New forms and methods of armed struggle began to be used: army and front-line operations, breaking through front fortifications. New strategic categories have emerged: operational deployment of the armed forces, operational cover, border battles, initial and subsequent periods of the war.

Used materials

  • Dictionary "War and Peace in Terms and Definitions", First World War
  • Encyclopedia "Around the World"

Relation to the Brest-Litovsk Treaty

    “Left Communists” (Bukharin) - against peace, for revolutionary war

    L. Trotsky: “No peace, no war!”

    V.I. Lenin: “Peace at any cost!”

    Other political forces: against peace with Germany.

Consequences of the Brest-Litovsk Peace:

    The Bolsheviks received a respite and retained power

    Loss of grain-producing areas led to famine

    Carrying out a policy of “war communism” - requisitioning grain from peasants, which led to discontent

    Open Entente intervention

    Russia was not invited to the Versailles Conference and did not receive any compensation

Consequences of the war for Russia

Political:

    Defeat in the war

    End of the Empire

    October Revolution of 1917, Soviet power

Economic:

    Militarization of the economy

    Reduction of enterprises and production

    Loss of a significant part of economically important territories

Social:

    Significant decline in the standard of living of the population

    Population decline. Declining birth rate

    Famine, epidemics, diseases

From the history of the First World War:

    The war lasted from July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918(officially the state of the world was approved on June 28, 1919)

    38 states took part in the war (4 on the side of the German bloc: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria), the rest on the side of the Entente.

    About 74 million people were mobilized, over 10 million were killed, over 20 million were wounded.

    August 21-25, 1914 - battle of Charleroi, defeat of the British and French troops.

    September 5-12, 1914 - defeat of Germany in the Battle of Marne, the German offensive in France was stopped.

    February-December 1916- Verdun operation(“Verdun meat grinder”, more than 2 million soldiers died)

    July-November 1916 - battles on the river Somme.

    In the war first were used tanks, aircraft. chemical weapon.

    All countries were seriously affected by the war. Only Great Britain remained the winner - new colonies were added, and the country began to own almost a quarter of the land.

    November 11, 1918 - signing of an armistice between the victors (the Entente countries) and Germany in Compiègne forest(France)

    Parisian peace conference (January 18, 1919 - January 21, 1920) 27 countries participated. The conference prepared the main treaties following the war. Russia - did not participate (it was considered a country that lost the war, Soviet power was considered temporary)

    Versailles peace treaty signed June 28, 1919, entered into force on January 10, 1920. The treaty officially ended the First World War and secured a new redistribution of the world. Russia did not participate (for the same reasons as at the Paris Conference)

IN THE First World War FOR THE FIRST TIME:

    Applied chemical weapon– Germans, near the Ypres River (hence the mustard gas) in 1915

    Tanks- the British were the first to use them in the Battle of the Somme on September 15, 1915 against Turkey

    Submarines- England, Germany

    Aviation- by the beginning of the war, aviation was part of the armies of developed countries as auxiliary forces. (The first combat use of aircraft dates back to the Balkan Wars in 1912-1913)

Some terms

Schlieffen plan - plan for a lightning war in Germany (2-3 months) - defeat of France, without which Great Britain would not have been able to wage the war. Then a peace conference would be held and the colonies would be divided in a new way.

Trench warfare - a war in which the struggle is waged on continuous, relatively stable fronts (positions), with much attention paid to defense.

"Progressive block "- created in 1915, this is a coalition of progressive deputies in the State Duma, demanding reforms.

Organizations created during the war in Russia:

    May 1915- Central Military-Industrial Committee to organize production for defense needs and distribute military orders (led by an Octobrist Guchkov)

    July 10, 1915 - joint committee of the All-Russian Zemstvo and City Unions - Zemgor- supplying the army, helping it (led by Lviv, close to the cadets)

Versailles system- world order approved by the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919: strengthening the positions of the victorious countries in the war (France and Great Britain)

Russia received nothing as a result of the war, and this is one of the greatest historical injustices of the 20th century.

Fighting World War I ended on November 11, 1918. The Compiegne Truce, concluded by the Entente and Germany, ended one of the bloodiest wars in human history.

The final result was summed up later, the division of spoils between the winners was officially confirmed by the Versailles Peace Treaty of June 28, 1919. However, already in November 1918 it was clear to everyone that Germany had suffered a complete defeat. Its allies withdrew from the war even earlier: Bulgaria on September 29, Turkey on October 30, and finally Austria-Hungary on November 3.

The winners, primarily England and France, received significant acquisitions. Reparations, territories in Europe and beyond, new economic markets. But most of the other participants in the anti-German coalition were not left without spoils.

Romania, which entered the war only in 1916, was defeated in two and a half months and even managed to sign an agreement with Germany, sharply increased in size. Serbia, completely occupied by enemy troops during the fighting, turned into a large and influential state, at least in the Balkans. Belgium, defeated in the very first weeks of 1914, received something, and Italy ended the war with its own benefit.

Russia received nothing, and this is one of the greatest historical injustices of the 20th century. The Russian army completed the 1914 campaign on enemy territory; in the most difficult year of 1915, the year of retreat, the Germans were still stopped along the Riga-Pinsk-Ternopol line, and inflicted heavy defeats on Turkey on the Caucasus front.

The year 1916 was a turning point on the Russian front; all year Germany and Austria-Hungary, straining all their strength, barely held back the powerful attacks of our army, and the Brusilov breakthrough shook our enemy to the core. In the Caucasus, the Russian army won new victories.

German generals looked at Russia's preparations for 1917 with great concern and even fear.

The Chief of the German General Staff, Paul von Hindenburg, admitted in his memoirs: “We should have expected that in the winter of 1916-1917, as in previous years, Russia would successfully compensate for losses and restore its offensive capabilities. We did not receive any information that would indicate serious signs of disintegration of the Russian army. We had to take into account that Russian attacks could once again lead to the collapse of the Austrian position."

There were no doubts about the overall victory of the Entente even then.

The English General Knox, who was with the Russian army, spoke more than definitely about the results of 1916 and the prospects for 1917: “Troop control was improving every day. The army was strong in spirit... There is no doubt that if the home front had rallied... the Russian army would have won further laurels for itself in the 1917 campaign and, in all likelihood, would have developed the pressure that would have made possible an Allied victory by the end of that year."

Russia by that time had fielded a ten-million-strong army, the largest army of the First World War. Its supply has improved dramatically compared to 1915, the production of shells, machine guns, rifles, explosives and much more has noticeably increased. In addition to this, significant reinforcements were expected in 1917 from foreign military orders. New factories working for defense were built at a rapid pace, and those already built were re-equipped.

In the spring of 1917, a general offensive of the Entente in all directions was planned. At that time, famine reigned in Germany, Austria-Hungary was hanging by a thread, and victory over them could actually have been won as early as 1917.

This was also understood in Russia. Those who had real information about the situation on the fronts and in the economy understood. The fifth column could rant as much as they wanted about “incompetent tsarism”; for the time being, the noisy public could believe them, but a quick victory put an end to this. The senselessness and absurdity of the accusations against the Tsar will become obvious to everyone, because it was he, as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, who led Russia to success.

The oppositionists were well aware of this. Their chance was to overthrow the legitimate government before the spring offensive of 1917, and then the laurels of the winners would go to them. A number of generals also thought that it was their time to redistribute power in their favor and took part in the February Revolution. Some of the king’s relatives, those who dreamed of the throne, did not stand aside either.

External and internal enemies, united into a powerful anti-Russian force, struck in February 1917. Then began a chain of well-known events that unbalanced public administration. Discipline in the army fell, desertion increased, and the economy began to stumble.

The crooks who came to power in Russia did not have any authority in the world and the Western allies no longer had obligations to them. England and France did not intend to fulfill the agreements signed with the tsarist government.

Yes, they had to wait a while with victory, but London and Paris knew that the United States was ready to join the war on their side, which means that Germany still could not avoid defeat. However, the Russian front, although weakened, still continued to exist. Despite the revolutionary chaos, neither the Germans nor the Austro-Hungarians still managed to bring Russia out of the war. Even in October 1917, on the eve of the Bolsheviks coming to power, Germany alone held 1.8 million people on the Eastern Front, not counting the armies of Austria-Hungary and Turkey.

Even in conditions of noticeable desertion and a semi-paralyzed economy, by October 1, 1917, on 100 versts of the Russian front, there were 86 thousand infantry bayonets on the Russian side, against 47 thousand from the enemy, 5 thousand checkers against 2 thousand, 263 light guns against 166, 47 howitzers against 61 and 45 heavy guns versus 81. Note that the enemy refers to the combined forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary. It is no coincidence that the front still stood at a distance of 1000 km from Moscow, and 750 from Petrograd.

It seems incredible, but in December 1917 the Germans were forced to keep 1.6 million of their soldiers and officers in the East, and in January 1918 - 1.5 million. For comparison, in August 1915, during the powerful German-Austrian offensive on Russia Germany fielded 1.2 million troops. It turns out that even at the beginning of 1918 the Russian army forced people to reckon with themselves.

There is no doubt that under the sad rule of a gang of provisional ministers together with the political adventurer Kerensky, the situation in Russia has sharply worsened. But the inertia of pre-revolutionary development was so great that for almost another year Germany and Austria-Hungary were unable to achieve any obvious successes on the eastern front. But it was vitally important for them to get the southern Russian provinces rich in grain. But the front stubbornly stood not far from Riga, Pinsk and Ternopol. Even a small part of Austria-Hungary remained in the hands of our army, which would seem completely incredible, given the realities of the end of 1917.

The sharp collapse of the eastern front only happened under the Bolsheviks. In fact, having dismissed the army to their homes, they then declared that they had no other option than to sign the obscene Brest-Litovsk Treaty.

The Bolsheviks promised peace to the peoples. But, of course, no peace came to Russia. Vast territories were occupied by the enemy, who tried to squeeze everything they could out of them in the vain hope of saving a lost war.

And soon the Civil War began in Russia. Europe stopped fighting, and in our country bloody chaos and hunger reigned for several years.

This is how Russia lost to the losers: Germany and its allies.

The First World War began on August 1, 1914. It lasted more than 4 years (ended on November 11, 1918), 38 states took part in it, over 74 million people fought on its fields, of which 10 million were killed and 20 million were maimed. This war led to the collapse of the most powerful European states and the formation of a new political situation in the world.

On the eve of the war, relations between the strongest countries - England and Germany - worsened. Their rivalry turned into a fierce struggle for dominance in the world, for the seizure of new territories. Alliances of states were also formed that were at enmity with each other.

The reason for the war was the murder on June 28, 1914 in the city of Sarajevo (in Bosnia on the Balkan Peninsula) of the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand. As a result, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia within a month. On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia, on August 3 on France and Belgium, and on August 4, England declared war on Germany. Most countries of the world were involved in the war. On the side of the Entente (England, France, Russia) there were 34 states, on the side of Germany and Austria - 4. Military operations covered the territory of Europe, Asia and Africa, and were carried out on all oceans and many seas. The main land fronts in Europe, on which the outcome of the war was decided, were the Western (in France) and the Eastern (in Russia).

In August 1914, German troops were already almost near Paris, where bloody battles were fought. A continuous front line stretched from the Swiss border to the North Sea. But Germany's hope for a quick defeat of France failed. On August 23, Japan declared war on Germany; in October, Türkiye entered the war on Germany’s side. It became clear that the war was becoming protracted.

On the home front in many countries, people faced poverty and there was no longer enough food. The situation of the peoples, especially the warring states, has deteriorated sharply. To change the course of the war, Germany decided to use a new type of weapon - poisonous gases.

It was very difficult to fight on two fronts. In October 1917, Russia experienced a revolution and emerged from the war by signing a peace treaty with Germany. But this did not help Germany much; its offensive on the Western Front in 1918 failed.

In August-September, the Allied armies, using their superiority in troops and equipment (in March 1918, troops from the United States, which entered the war in 1917, began to arrive on the Western Front), went on the offensive and forced German troops to leave French territory.

At the beginning of October, Germany's situation became hopeless. Defeats on the fronts and devastation led to revolution in Germany. On November 9, its monarchy was overthrown, and on November 11, Germany admitted itself defeated. The final terms of peace treaties with Germany and its allies were signed at the Paris Conference of 1919-20. Germany paid large sums to the victors in compensation for damages (except for Russia, which left the Entente after the October Revolution). In 1918, Austria-Hungary also collapsed.

The First World War changed the entire map of Europe.