A collection of ideal social studies essays. Unified State Exam

This time period refers to a period when Russia was experiencing great upheavals. And among such events, the following most important can be identified: firstly, Russia’s participation in the First World War; secondly, the February Revolution of 1917 and the liquidation of the monarchy, the October Revolution of 1917. and the coming to power of the Bolsheviks.

The First World War was the result of worsening contradictions between the world's major powers. The rapid growth of Germany's economic power prompted it to strive to redistribute the world and expand its colonial possessions. Russia, after Germany declared war on it, could not stand aside, because... its interests with Germany came into conflict due to the Balkan issue, where Russia was afraid of losing its position. Despite the superiority of the Entente, the conditions of the war had a heavy impact on Russia; by the end of 1914, reserves of weapons and ammunition were at a standstill. were completely exhausted, the country experienced a decline in many industries, and devastation began. General A.A. played an important role in this process. Brusilov, who in 1916 organized the success of a powerful breakthrough of the Austro-Hungarian positions, which overall ensured the success of the 1916 campaign. for the Russian army. In general, the war became protracted and painful for all its participants; it ended in defeat for Russia, Germany and its allies.

Military defeats, the unresolved agrarian, labor, and national issues, dissatisfaction with the policies of tsarism led to the beginning of the bourgeois-democratic revolution in February 1917. Under these conditions, Tsar Nicholas 2 was pushed to abdicate the throne, because the growth of dissatisfaction with the tsar began with the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, as well as the assumption of the role of commander in chief in the First World War and its protracted nature, “Rasputinism” - all this led to the fall of the monarchy. A dual power was formed: the power of the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies and the Provisional Government. The most important figure of this period and in particular of this process was V.I. Lenin - one of the main organizers and leaders of the October Revolution of 1917, as a result of which the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, managed to overthrow the Provisional Government and completely seize power. The gradual domination of power by the Bolsheviks will further lead to a split of society into two parts, i.e. to the Civil War.

The main significance of the period 1914-1918 is that the form of government actually changed in Russia. The thousand-year-old monarchy gave way to a young republic. Events that occurred in 1917 radically changed the course of Russian history and had a significant impact on the political situation throughout the world in the first half of the 20th century.

World War I.

2. The beginning of the war

3. Goals of the warring powers

5. Results and consequences of the war , Russian military leaders:

6. Results

7. Conclusion

1. Duration - 1554 days.

2. Number of participating countries - 38.

4. The number of neutral states is 17.

5. The number of states on whose territory military operations took place - 14.

6. The population of the countries participating in the war is 50 million people.

7. The number of mobilized people is 74 million people.

8. The number of dead is 10 million people.

Background to the conflict:

History of the First World War for the world history of the 20th century. is the most important part. At the same time, the participation of the Russian Empire in the First World War is little known in the West and almost forgotten in Russia. Modern schoolchildren know more about the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon than about the First World War. Even the popular name for the war—“German”—disappeared from use: the war began to be called “imperialist.” In Soviet historiography, the history of the First World War was exclusively considered from class positions - as a prelude to the revolution, and secret documents were “forged” that compromised tsarism, exposing its role in the outbreak and preparation for the First World War. Some of the works of its witnesses and participants have been published. But the First World War needs further development and study by historical memory.

Long before the war, contradictions were growing in Europe between the great powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain, and Russia.

2). Beginning of the war:

Russia's entry into the war

Russia's involvement in the First World War was a consequence of the imperial ambitions of tsarism, as well as the ruling bureaucracy, in particular in the Balkans, which did not allow even a partial renunciation of its great-power role. The national-patriotic spirit of the Russian public belonged to the imperial policy of the state. This so-called attitude, which pushed the government towards war, played a huge role in the days of the summer crisis of 1914.

After the start of military operations by Austria-Hungary against Serbia, Russian Tsar Nicholas II signed a decree on mobilization on July 16 (29), 1914. But, the next day, he canceled the decision (after receiving a telegram from the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, the tsar took the contents of the telegram as a request not to bring the matter to war). But the arguments of S. D. Sazonov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, convinced the Tsar that “it is better, without fear of causing war by our preparations for it, to carefully take care, rather than being caught by surprise by it out of fear of war.”

Germany sent an ultimatum to Russia, demanding that the mobilization be suspended. The German ambassador, having received a refusal, in St. Petersburg F. Pourtales (who himself was an opponent of the war with Russia) on July 19 (August 1), 1914, handed Sazonov a German note declaring war.

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"Essay. World War I"

World War I.

1. Main characteristics of war

2. The beginning of the war

3. Goals of the warring powers

4. Major combat actions and events

5. Results and consequences of the war, Russian military leaders:

7. Conclusion

1). Main characteristics of the First World War:

1. Duration – 1554 days.

2. Number of participating countries – 38.

3. Composition of coalitions: England, France, Russia, USA and 30 other countries (Portugal, Siam, Liberia, 14 Latin American states);

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Türkiye, Bulgaria (Quadruple Alliance).

4. The number of neutral states is 17.

5. The number of states on whose territory military operations took place – 14.

6. The population of the countries participating in the war is 50 million people.

7. The number of mobilized people is 74 million people.

8. The number of dead is 10 million people.

Cause:

Balkans –

Hotbed of international tension

"Bosnian crisis" caused by annexation

Austria-Hungary Bosnia and Herzegovina

with German support

Balkan wars.

The threat of a pan-European

conflict

The struggle of European countries for the Turkish inheritance and influence on politics in the Balkans

Background to the conflict:

History of the First World War for the world history of the 20th century. is the most important part. At the same time, the participation of the Russian Empire in the First World War is little known in the West and almost forgotten in Russia. Modern schoolchildren know more about the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon than about the First World War. Even the popular name for the war - “German” - disappeared from use: the war began to be called “imperialist”. In Soviet historiography, the history of the First World War was exclusively considered from class positions - as a prelude to the revolution, and secret documents were “forged” that compromised tsarism, exposing its role in the outbreak and preparation for the First World War. Some of the works of its witnesses and participants have been published. But the First World War needs further development and study by historical memory.

Long before the war, contradictions were growing in Europe between the great powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain, and Russia.

The German Empire, formed after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, sought political and economic dominance on the European continent. Having joined the struggle for colonies only after 1871, Germany wanted the redistribution of the colonial possessions of England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal in its favor.

Russia, France and Great Britain sought to counteract the hegemonic aspirations of Germany. Why was the Entente formed?

2). Beginning of the war:

Russia's entry into the war

Russia's involvement in the First World War was a consequence of the imperial ambitions of tsarism, as well as the ruling bureaucracy, in particular in the Balkans, which did not allow even a partial renunciation of its great power role. The national-patriotic spirit of the Russian public belonged to the imperial policy of the state. This so-called mood, which pushed the government towards war, played a huge role in the days of the summer crisis of 1914.

After the start of hostilities by Austria-Hungary against Serbia, Russian Tsar Nicholas II signed a decree on mobilization on July 16 (29), 1914. But, the next day, he canceled the decision (after receiving a telegram from the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, the tsar perceived the contents of the telegram as a request not to bring the matter to war). But the arguments of S. D. Sazonov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, convinced the tsar that “it is better, without fear of causing a war with our preparations for it, to take careful care than out of fear of war to be caught by surprise.”

Germany sent an ultimatum to Russia, demanding that mobilization be suspended. The German ambassador, having received a refusal, in St. Petersburg F. Pourtales (who himself was an opponent of the war with Russia) on July 19 (August 1), 1914, handed Sazonov a German note declaring war.

3). Goals of the warring powers:

Germany- sought to establish world domination

Austria-Hungary- sought to establish control over the Balkans = control over the movement of ships in the Adriatic Sea = enslave the Slavic countries.

England- sought to seize Turkish possessions, as well as Mesopotamia and Palestine with their oil possessions

France- sought to weaken Germany, return Alsace and Lorraine (lands); seize the coal basin, claims to be the hegemon in Europe.

Russia- sought to undermine Germany’s position and ensure free passage through the Baspor and Dardanelles straits in the Mediterranean Sea. Strengthen influence in the Balkans (by weakening German influence on Turkey).

Türkiye-sought to leave the Balkans under its influence, to seize Crimea and Iran (raw material base).

Italy- sought to establish dominance in the Mediterranean and southern Europe.

Progress of the First World War:

1914 Campaign

1915 Campaign

1916 Campaign

1917 campaign

1918 Campaign

Russia's exit from the war

4). Main combat actions and events:

1914 –1915

1916 –1917

5). Results and consequences of the war, Russian military leaders:

Results and consequences of the war:

Truce of Compiègne

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Treaty of Versailles

Truce of Compiegne:

Terms of the Compiegne Truce:

Immediate withdrawal of German troops from the western occupied territories and the left bank of the Rhine

2. Immediate repatriation without reciprocity of all prisoners of war

3. Concession by the German army of the following military material: 5 thousand cannons, 25 thousand machine guns, 3 thousand mortars and 1,700 airplanes

4. Return of all German troops to Germany

Peace of Brest-Litovsk:

1. Russia's refusal to give up the territories of Estonia and Latvia

2. Withdrawal of Russian troops from Finland, Ukraine

3. Return to Turkey of the fortresses of Kars, Ardahan, Batum

4. Demobilization of the Russian army and navy

5. Contribution of 6 billion. stamps

Treaty of Versailles:

Agreement conditions:

Germany lost 1/8 of its territory and all its colonies.

Germany had to pay reparations totaling 132 billion gold marks (52% to France, 22% to Great Britain, 10% to Italy, 8% to Belgium);

The imposition of military restrictions on Germany - it was forbidden to have a submarine fleet, large surface ships, tank formations, military and naval aviation, the maximum army size was determined at 100 thousand people. General conscription was abolished.

Demilitarization of the Rhineland. Occupation of the Rhineland by Allied forces for a period of 15 years

Germany was recognized as the culprit for starting the world war.

Russian military leaders:

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, Nicholas II, M.V. Alekseev, RENNENKAMPF Pavel-Georg Karlovich von, Lavr Georgievich Kornilov, Nikolai Nikolaevich Dukhonin, A.A. Brusilov, Samsonov Alexander Vasilievich.

6). Results:

The results of the First World War were the February and October revolutions in Russia and the November Revolution in Germany, the liquidation of four empires: the German, Russian, Ottoman empires and Austria-Hungary, and the latter two were divided. Germany, having ceased to be a monarchy, is reduced territorially and weakened economically. The Civil War begins in Russia. The USA is becoming a superpower. The payment of reparations by the Weimar Republic and revanchist sentiments in Germany actually led to World War II. The First World War spurred the development of new weapons and means of warfare. For the first time, tanks, chemical weapons, gas masks, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns were used. Airplanes, machine guns, mortars, submarines, and torpedo boats became widespread. The firepower of the troops increased sharply.

7). Conclusion:

Analyzing all the material, I came to the conclusion that the war that began in the era

tsarism, From my point of view, the war could have been avoided if not for the so-called tsarism. Waging a political struggle. The First World War showed that armed

the struggle requires massive, multimillion-strong armies equipped with a variety of military equipment. If at the beginning of the First World War the number of armies

both sides did not exceed approximately 70 million people, which was almost 12%

the entire population of the largest states participating in the war. In Germany and

France had 20% of the population. Over a million people took part in individual operations. By the end of the war, the armies of its participants (at the front and in the rear) numbered approximately: 18.5 million.

rifles, 183 thousand guns and mortars, 480 thousand machine guns, over 8 thousand.

tanks, 84 thousand aircraft, 340 thousand cars. Military equipment has found its way

application in the mechanization of engineering work, the use of various new

means of communication.

The result of the wars of the tsarist era indicates that, along with growth, the

their scope and their destructive nature.

In terms of damage done to humanity, the First World War surpassed

all previous wars. Only one casualty during the war amounted to

39.5 million, of which 9.5 million were killed and wounded. There were approximately 29 million

wounded and maimed. First in number of irretrievable losses

the world war has doubled all wars, together in 125 years, starting from the wars

bourgeois France.

Also, one of the important social changes was the change in the status of women. The “women’s issue” was acute in the beginning XX V.

A participant in the First World War, N. Babintseva, expressed her opinion regarding the problem of “woman and war”: “War is an anti-human activity in general, and especially for a woman. We are people without youth, we are forever wounded by the war.”

In wartime conditions, when men were mobilized into the army, the maintenance of families fell entirely on women's shoulders. This led to a radical change in the status of women in society, forced her to take on new family and social responsibilities, but also to occupy new niches in society that were closed to women in the pre-war years. If the history of previous wars was divided between the male experience on the battlefield and the experience of the woman who waited for her husband on the home front, then the First World War changed this relationship. During the war years, women not only served at the front as nurses and nurses, but also worked in defense factories and did “non-female” hard work in agriculture, industry, the service sector, and transport.

The difficulties of wartime placed a heavy burden on women, but at the same time, new responsibilities also brought changes in women’s worldview, gave it self-esteem and opened the door to a world that traditionally belonged to men. Finally, this was one of the difficult steps towards establishing equality between men and women and the formation of harmonious relations in society. During the war, the lives of children also changed. When parents and older brothers joined the army, childhood ended for many teenagers: they began to be forced to participate in the production process, in peasant farms, or get hired work, also in factories and factories, replacing conscripted men.

Many children who lost their parents at the front, during mass displacements and due to many other circumstances during wartime had to experience the bitter and terrible fate of orphanhood. This usually concerned poor peasant and working families.

In the rear regions of Russia during the war, another category of people appeared for peacetime - refugees. These were residents of Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic countries, usually women, children, and elderly people. Local authorities placed them in small towns and villages, where it was easier at that time to solve the problem of employment and food. The number of prisoners of war who found themselves on Russian territory during the war also reached hundreds of thousands of people. They worked in mines, heavy industrial enterprises, on landowners' estates and on the farms of wealthy peasants. Communicating with the local population, refugees and prisoners of war became an additional source of information about unfamiliar foreign countries, their people and customs. This had a great influence on changing the worldview of residents of the rear regions and expanded their understanding of the world.

The war of the tsarist era revealed the increasing role of economic and moral

factors. This was a direct consequence of the creation, as well as the growth of mass armies,

the masses of various equipment and the protracted nature of wars increased, in which all the economic, as well as political foundations of the state were tested. The experience of these wars, in particular the First World War, was confirmed by V.I. Lenin, back in 1904, that modern wars are waged by peoples.

The people are the decisive force in war. The participation of the people in the war is manifested not only through its recruitment of modern mass armies, but

and the fact that the base of modern warfare is also the rear. During the war, the rear feeds the front with reserves, weapons and food, sentiments,

ideas, thereby exerting a decisive influence on the morale of the army, on its

combat effectiveness.

The war showed that the strength of the rear is included in the concept and morale

people, is one of the decisive, operating factors,

determining not only the course but also the outcome of modern war.

References:

1). A.A. Danilov, L.G. Kosulina, M.Yu. Brandt / History of Russia XX – early XXI century 9th grade / 3rd edition / Moscow “Enlightenment” 2006.

2). Scientific and methodological journal / teaching history and social studies at school 4/2014.

3). Comprehensive teacher support / history everything for the teacher! Scientific and methodological journal No. 9 (33) September 2014

Internet resources:

http://ppt4web.ru/istorija-mirovaja-vojjna2.html.

http://ppt4web.ru/istorija/pervaja-vojjna0.html.

http://ppt4web.ru/istorija/pervaja-mirovaja-vojjna4.html.

http://works.tarefer.ru/33/100499/index.html.

Caricature of European powers on the eve of World War I

1914 – 1918 – the period of participation of the Russian Empire in the First World War.

Beginning of the First World War

The reason for the outbreak of World War I was the assassination of the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo by a Serbian terrorist. After the terrorist attack, the Emperor of Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to the Serbian government, and after Serbia refused to accept its conditions, declared war on it. Russia supported Serbia and announced mobilization. Austria-Hungary, in turn, enlisted the support of Germany, and on August 1, 1914, the German Empire declared war on Russia.

Fighting on the Eastern Front

Russian army in the First World War

Fighting in 1914

In 1914, the main hostilities took place on the Western Front. Germany concentrated its main forces against France, and Russia did not have time to complete mobilization and was faced with a shortage of ammunition.
In the summer of 1914, the 1st and 2nd Russian armies, commanded by Generals Rennenkampf and Samsonov, launched an offensive against East Prussia. The Southwestern Front under the command of General Ivanov completed a successful offensive, capturing Galicia and defeating the troops of Austria-Hungary, thereby saving Serbia from defeat from the superior forces of the Austrians.

Fighting in 1915

In 1915, Germany transferred its main forces to the eastern front, trying to take Russia out of the war. In April-June 1915, Russian troops were driven out of Galicia, and in June-August 1915 - from Poland, but Russia was not defeated. On August 10, 1915, Nicholas II removed Prince Nikolai Nikolaevich, popular among the troops, from command and assumed the duties of Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, which subsequently negatively affected the authority of the emperor.

Fighting in 1916

In May-July 1916, the Brusilov breakthrough took place - a successful offensive of the Russian army in Galicia against the Austrians. That same year, Romania entered the war with the Central Bloc, but was almost immediately defeated by Austrian troops, which only worsened the situation on the Eastern Front.

Events of 1917

In 1917, a revolution broke out in Russia. The emperor announced his abdication from the throne. The provisional government that replaced the emperor told the allies to continue the war with the Central Powers until victory. In June 1917, Russia launched an offensive against Austria-Hungary, but due to the collapse of the army and revolutionary propaganda it ended in failure. After the defeat of the Russian troops and the complete disintegration of the army, large-scale operations at the front were no longer carried out.

Results of the First World War in Russian history

The defeats of the Russian army and the unsuccessful decisions of the imperial government led to public discontent, which resulted in the revolution of 1917. As a result, Russia emerged from the period 1914–1918 defeated in the war, with a destroyed statehood and a beginning revolution.

Assessments of the period 1914 - 1918 by historians

Russian historians, for example, A. A. Danilov, assess the period 1914-1918 - the period of the First World War - mostly negatively. Russia was drawn into a world war for which it was poorly prepared and for which it had no definite goals.

First World War 1914 – 1918

Plan:

2. Companies 1915-1916

3. Events of 1917-1918

1. The beginning of the First World War. 1914

The main reason for the First World War was the sharp aggravation of contradictions between the leading countries of the world due to their uneven development. An equally important reason was the arms race, on the supply of which the monopolies received super-profits. The militarization of the economy and the consciousness of huge masses of people took place, and sentiments of revanchism and chauvinism grew.

The deepest contradictions were between Germany and Great Britain. Germany sought to end British dominance at sea and seize its colonies. Germany's claims to France and Russia were great. The plans of the top German military leadership included the seizure of the economically developed regions of northeastern France, the desire to tear away the Baltic states, the “Don region”, Crimea and the Caucasus from Russia. In turn, Great Britain wanted to maintain its colonies and dominance at sea, and take away oil-rich Mesopotamia and part of the Arabian Peninsula from Turkey. France, which suffered a crushing defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, hoped to regain Alsace and Lorraine and annex the left bank of the Rhine and the Saar coal basin.

Austria-Hungary nurtured expansionist plans for Russia (Volyn, Podolia) and Serbia. Russia sought to annex Galicia and take possession of the Black Sea straits of the Bosporus and Dardanelles.

By 1914 the contradictions between the two military-political groupings of the European powers - the Triple Alliance and the Entente - escalated to the limit. The Balkan Peninsula has become a zone of particular tension. The ruling circles of Austria-Hungary, following the advice of the German emperor, decided to finally establish their influence in the Balkans with one blow to Serbia. Soon a reason was found to declare war. The Austrian command launched military maneuvers near the Serbian border. The head of the Austrian “war party,” heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand, made a demonstrative visit to the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo. On June 28, a bomb was thrown at his carriage, which the Archduke threw away, demonstrating his presence of mind. On the way back, a different route was chosen. But for some unknown reason, the carriage returned through a labyrinth of poorly guarded streets to the same place. A young man ran out of the crowd and fired two shots. One bullet hit the Archduke in the neck, the other in the stomach of his wife. Both died within minutes.

The terrorist act was carried out by Serbian patriots Gavrilo Princip and his associate Gavrilović from the paramilitary organization “Black Hand”.

July 5, 1914 Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Austrian government received assurances from Germany to support its claims against Serbia. Kaiser Wilhelm II promised the Austrian representative Count Hoyos that Germany would support Austria even if the conflict with Serbia led to war with Russia. On July 23, the Austrian government presented an ultimatum to Serbia. It was presented at six in the evening, a response was expected within 48 hours.

The terms of the ultimatum were harsh, some seriously hurting Serbia's pan-Slavic ambitions. The Austrians did not expect or desire that the terms would be accepted. On July 7, having received confirmation of German support, the Austrian government decided to provoke war - an ultimatum was drawn up with this in mind. Austria was also encouraged by the conclusions that Russia was not ready for war: the sooner it happened, the better, they decided in Vienna.

The Serbian response to the ultimatum of July 23 was rejected, although it did not contain unconditional recognition of the demands, and on July 28, 1914. Austria declared war on Serbia. Both sides began to mobilize even before a response was received,

August 1, 1914 Germany declared war on Russia, and two days later on France. After a month of mounting tension, it became clear that a major European war could not be avoided, although Britain still hesitated.

A day after the declaration of war on Serbia, when Belgrade was already bombed, Russia began mobilization. The original order for general mobilization - an act tantamount to a declaration of war - was almost immediately canceled by the Tsar in favor of partial mobilization. Perhaps Russia did not expect large-scale actions from Germany.

On August 4, German troops invaded Belgium. Luxembourg had suffered the same fate two days earlier. Both states had international guarantees against attack, but only Belgium's guarantees provided for the intervention of a guaranteeing power. Germany made public the "reasons" for the invasion, accusing Belgium of being "not neutral" but no one took it seriously. The invasion of Belgium brought England into the war. The British government presented an ultimatum demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of German soldiers. The demand was ignored and all the great powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Russia and England - were drawn into the war.

Although the great powers had been preparing for war for many years, it still took them by surprise. For example, England and Germany spent enormous amounts of money on the construction of navies, but bulky floating fortresses played a minor role in the battles, although they undoubtedly had strategic importance. Likewise, no one expected that infantry (especially on the Western Front) would lose the ability to move, being paralyzed by the power of artillery and machine guns (although this was predicted by the Polish banker Ivan Bloch in his work “The Future of War” in 1899).

In terms of training and organization, the German army was the best in Europe. In addition, the Germans burned with patriotism and faith in their great destiny, which had not yet been realized. Germany understood better than anyone the importance of heavy artillery and machine guns in modern combat, as well as the importance of railway communications.

The Austro-Hungarian army was a copy of the German army, but was inferior to it due to the explosive mixture of different nationalities in its composition and mediocre performance in previous wars. The French army was only 20% smaller than the German one, but its manpower was barely more than half. The main difference, therefore, was the reserves. Germany had a lot of them, France had nothing at all. France, like most other countries, hoped for a short war. She was not ready for a prolonged conflict. Like the rest, France believed that movement would decide everything, and did not expect static trench warfare.

Russia's main advantage was its inexhaustible human resources and the proven courage of the Russian soldier, but its leadership was corrupt and incompetent, and its industrial backwardness made Russia unsuited to modern warfare. Communications were very poor, the borders were endless, and the allies were geographically cut off. It was assumed that Russia's participation, billed as a "pan-Slavic crusade", represented a desperate attempt to restore ethnic unity under the deteriorating tsarist regime. Britain's position was completely different. Britain never had a large army and, as late as the 18th century, was dependent on naval forces and traditions rejected a “standing army” from even more ancient times. The British army was, therefore, extremely small, but highly professional and had the main goal of maintaining order in overseas possessions. There were doubts whether the British command would be able to lead a real company. True, this shortcoming was also inherent in Germany.

The most striking example of the incorrect assessment of the nature of modern warfare by the commands of both sides was the widespread belief in the overriding role of cavalry. At sea, traditional British supremacy was challenged by Germany. In 1914 Britain had 29 capital ships, Germany - 18. Britain also underestimated enemy submarines, although it was especially vulnerable to them due to its dependence on overseas supplies of food and raw materials for its industry. Britain became the main factory for the Allies, as Germany was for its own.

The First World War was fought on almost a dozen fronts in different parts of the globe. The main fronts were the Western, where German troops fought against British, French and Belgian troops, and the Eastern, where Russian troops confronted the combined forces of the Austro-Hungarian and German armies. The human, raw material and food resources of the Entente countries significantly exceeded those of the Central Powers, so the chances of Germany and Austria-Hungary to win a war on two fronts were slim. The German command understood this and therefore relied on a lightning war.

The military action plan, developed by the Chief of the German General Staff von Schlieffen, proceeded from the fact that Russia would need at least a month and a half to concentrate its troops. During this time, it was planned to defeat France and force it to surrender. Then it was planned to transfer all German troops against Russia. According to the Schlieffen Plan, the war was supposed to end in two months. But these calculations did not come true.

At the beginning of August, the main forces of the German army approached the Belgian fortress of Liege, which covered crossings across the Meuse River, and after bloody battles captured all its forts. On August 20, German troops entered the capital of Belgium, Brussels. German troops reached the Franco-Belgian border and in a “border battle” defeated the French, forcing them to retreat deeper into the territory, which posed a threat to Paris. The German command overestimated its successes and, considering the strategic plan in the West completed, transferred two army corps and a cavalry division to the East. In early September, German troops reached the Marne River in an attempt to encircle the French. In the Battle of the Marne River September 3-10, 1914. Anglo-French troops stopped the German advance on Paris and even managed to launch a counteroffensive for a short time. One and a half million people took part in this battle. Losses on both sides amounted to almost 600 thousand people killed and wounded. The result of the Battle of the Marne was the final failure of the “lightning war” plans.

The weakened German army began to “burrow” into the trenches. The Western Front, stretching from the English Channel to the Swiss border, by the end of 1914. stabilized. Both sides began building earthen and concrete fortifications. The wide strip in front of the trenches was mined and covered with thick rows of barbed wire. The war on the Western Front turned from a maneuver to a positional one.

The offensive of Russian troops in East Prussia ended unsuccessfully; they were defeated and partially destroyed in the Masurian swamps. The offensive of the Russian army under the command of General Brusilov in Galicia and Bukovina, on the contrary, pushed the Austro-Hungarian units back to the Carpathians. By the end of 1914 there was also a respite on the Eastern Front. The warring parties switched to a long trench war.

On November 5, 1914, Russia, England and France declared war on Turkey. In October, the Turkish government closed the Dardanelles and Bosporus to Allied ships, virtually isolating Russia's Black Sea ports from the outside world and causing irreparable damage to its economy. This move by Turkey was an effective contribution to the war efforts of the Central Powers. The next provocative step was the shelling of Odessa and other southern Russian ports at the end of October by a squadron of Turkish warships.

The declining Ottoman Empire gradually collapsed and over the course of the last half century lost most of its European possessions. The army was exhausted by unsuccessful military operations against the Italians in Tripoli, and the Balkan Wars caused further depletion of its resources. The Young Turk leader Enver Pasha, who as Minister of War was a leading figure on the Turkish political scene, believed that an alliance with Germany would best serve his country's interests, and on August 2, 1914, a secret treaty was signed between the two countries. The German military mission had been active in Turkey since the end of 1913. She was tasked with reorganizing the Turkish army.

Despite serious objections from his German advisers, Enver Pasha decided to invade the Russian Caucasus and launched an offensive in difficult weather conditions in mid-December 1914. The Turkish soldiers fought well, but suffered a severe defeat. However, the Russian high command was concerned about the threat that Turkey posed to Russia's southern borders, and German strategic plans were well served by the fact that this threat in this sector pinned down Russian troops that were in great need on other fronts.

2. Companies 1915-1916

The year 1915 began with an intensification of military actions by the warring parties.

Symbolizing the emergence of sinister new means of warfare, on January 19, German Zeppelins began raiding the east coast of England. Several people died in the ports of Norfolk, and several bombs fell near the royal house at Sandringham.

On January 24, a short but fierce battle took place off Dogger Bank in the North Sea, during which the German cruiser Blücher was sunk and two battlecruisers were damaged. The British battlecruiser Lion was also seriously damaged.

On February 12, the French launched a new offensive in Champagne. The losses were enormous, the French lost about 50 thousand people, having advanced almost 500 yards. This was followed by a British offensive on Neuschtal in March 1915 and a new French offensive in April in an easterly direction. However, these actions did not bring tangible results to the Allies.

In the east, on March 22, after a siege, Russian troops captured the Przemysl fortress, which dominated the bridgehead on the San River in Galicia. Over 100 thousand Austrians were captured, not counting the heavy losses suffered by Austria in unsuccessful attempts to lift the siege.

Russia's strategy at the beginning of 1915 amounted to an offensive in the direction of Silesia and Hungary while securing reliable flanks. During this company, the capture of Przemysl was the main success of the Russian army (although it managed to hold this fortress only for two months). At the beginning of May 1915, a major offensive by the troops of the Central Powers began in the East.I

The strike forces of Field Marshal Mackensen's 11th German Army, supported by the 40th Austro-Hungarian Army, went on the offensive along a 20-mile front in Western Galicia. Russian troops were forced to leave Lvov and Warsaw. In the summer, the German command broke through the Russian front near Gorlitsa. Soon the Germans launched an offensive in the Baltic states and Russian troops lost Galicia, Poland, part of Latvia and Belarus. The enemy was preoccupied with the need to repel the impending attack on Serbia, as well as to return troops to the Western Front before the start of a new French offensive. During the four-month campaign, Russia lost 800 thousand soldiers alone as prisoners.

However, the Russian command, switching to strategic defense, managed to withdraw its armies from the enemy’s attacks and stop its advance. Concerned and exhausted, the Austro-German armies went on the defensive along the entire front in October. Germany faced the need to continue a long war on two fronts. Russia bore the brunt of the struggle, which provided France and England with a respite to mobilize the economy for the needs of the war.

On February 16, 1915, British and French warships began shelling Turkish defenses in the Dardanelles. With interruptions caused in part by bad weather, this naval operation continued for two months.

The Dardanelles operation was undertaken at the request of Russia to launch a diversionary attack on Turkey, which would relieve pressure on the Russians fighting the Turks in the Caucasus. In January, the Dardanelles, a strait about 40 miles long and 1 to 4 miles wide, connecting the Aegean Sea with the Sea of ​​Marmara, was chosen as a target.

The operation to capture the Dardanelles, opening the way to an attack on Constantinople, figured in the Allied military plans before the war, but was rejected as too difficult. With Turkey's entry into the war, this plan was revised as possible, although risky. Initially, a purely naval operation was planned, but it immediately became clear that it was necessary to undertake a combined one. sea ​​and land operations. This plan found active support from the English First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. The outcome of the operation - which, if successful, would have opened the "back door" to Russia - was questioned by the Allies' reluctance to commit large enough forces at once and the choice of largely outdated warships. At the beginning, Türkiye had only two divisions to defend the strait. At the time of the Allied landings, it had six divisions and outnumbered five Allied divisions, not counting the presence of magnificent natural fortifications.

Early on the morning of April 25, 1915, Allied troops landed at two points on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The British landed at Cape Ilyas, at the southern tip of the peninsula, while the Australians and New Zealand units advanced along the Aegean coast about 15 miles to the north. At the same time, the French brigade launched a diversionary attack on Kumkala on the Anatolian coast.

Despite barbed wire and heavy machine-gun fire, both groups managed to seize a bridgehead. However, the Turks controlled the heights, as a result of which the British, Australian and New Zealand troops were unable to advance. As a result, as on the Western Front, a lull established itself here.

In August, British troops landed at Suvla Bay in an attempt to capture the central part of the peninsula opposite the pass. Although the landing in the Gulf was sudden, the command of the troops was unsatisfactory, and the opportunity for a breakthrough was lost. The offensive in the south also proved unsuccessful. The British government decided to withdraw troops. W. Churchill was forced to resign as First Lord of the Admiralty.

On May 23, 1915, Italy declared war on Austria, signing a secret treaty with the Allies in London in April. The Triple Alliance, which linked Italy to the Central Powers, was denounced, although at this time it refused to declare war on Germany.

At the beginning of the war, Italy declared its neutrality on the grounds that the Triple Alliance did not oblige it to take part in a war of aggression. However, the main reason for Italy's actions was the desire to gain territorial gains at the expense of Austria. Austria did not want to make the concessions that Italy sought, such as giving up Trieste. Moreover, by 1915, public opinion began to swing in favor of the Allies, and both former pacifists and radical socialists, led by Mussolini, saw an opportunity to bring about a revolution in the face of the lack of stability in society during the war.

In March, the Austrian government took steps to
to meet Italy's demands, but it was already too late. Under the Treaty of London, the Italians got what they wanted, or most of what they wanted. Under this treaty, Italy was promised Trentino, South Tyrol, Trieste, Istria and other predominantly Italian-speaking regions.

On May 30, the Italians began military operations against Austria with the launch of an offensive by the 2nd and 3rd armies under the overall command of General Cadorna in the northeast direction.

Italy had very limited capabilities for warfare; its army had low combat effectiveness, especially after the Libyan campaign. The Italian offensive floundered and the fighting in 1915 became positional.

The year 1916 began with the offensive of Russian troops in the Caucasus. On February 16, they took the Turkish fortress of Erzurum. Meanwhile, in England, parliament approved a law on universal conscription, which was strongly opposed by trade unions and Labor. Conservatives and some liberals, led by D. Lloyd George, voted for the introduction of the law. And a food riot broke out in the capital of Germany - there was a catastrophic shortage of food in Berlin. In the same year, the battles of Verdun and the Somme River ended.

These battles were the bloodiest during the war on the Western Front. They were characterized by the massive use of artillery, aviation, infantry, and cavalry and did not bring success to either side. The main reason for this balance was the unconditional advantage of defensive methods of warfare over offensive ones.

The Verdun Offensive signified the desire of the Chief of the German General Staff, Falkenhayn, to deliver a decisive blow on the Western Front, which was postponed in 1915 after the successes achieved in the East. Falkenhayn believed that Germany's main enemy was England, but at the same time he recognized that England could not be conquered, partly because an offensive in the English sector had little chance of success, and also because a military defeat in Europe would not England from the war. Submarine warfare was the best hope for realizing this possibility, and Falkenhayn saw his task as defeating the British allies in Europe. Russia seemed already defeated, and the Austrians showed that they could cope with the Italians.

That left France. Given the proven strength of the defenses in trench warfare, Falkenhayn abandoned the idea of ​​​​trying to break through the French lines. At Verdun, he chose a strategy of war of attrition. He planned a series of attacks to lure out the French reserves and destroy them with artillery. Verdun was chosen partly because it was on a salient and disrupted German communications, but also because of the important historical significance of this major fortress. As soon as the battle began, the Germans were determined to capture Verdun and the French to defend it.

Falkenhayn was right in his assumption that the French would not give up Verdun easily. However, the task was complicated by the fact that Verdun was no longer a strong fortress and was practically deprived of artillery. Nevertheless, the French, forced to retreat, maintained their forts, while reinforcements filtered through a very narrow corridor that was not exposed to German artillery fire. By the time General Petain, commanding the Second Army, was sent to Verdun at the end of the month to lead its defense, the immediate threat had passed. The German crown prince, who commanded the army corps, scheduled the main offensive for March 4. After two days of shelling, the offensive began, but by March 9 it was stopped. However, Falkenhayn's strategy remained the same.

On June 7, the Germans captured Fort Vaux, which controlled the right flank of the French positions at Verdun. The next day they captured Fort Tiomon, which had already changed hands twice since the offensive began on June 1. It seemed that an immediate threat loomed over Verdun. In March, the Germans failed to achieve a quick victory at Verdun, but they continued their attacks with great persistence, which were carried out at short intervals. The French repulsed them and launched a series of counterattacks. German troops continued their offensive.

On October 24, General Nivelle, who took over the 2nd Army after Petain became commander-in-chief, launched a counteroffensive near Verdun. With the start of the Somme offensive in July, German reserves were no longer sent to Verdun. The French counterattack was covered by the “creeping artillery attack,” a new invention in which infantry advanced behind a gradually moving wave of artillery fire according to a precisely timed schedule. As a result, the troops captured the initially set objectives and captured 6 thousand prisoners. The next offensive was hampered by bad weather at the end of November, but was resumed in December and became known as the Battle of Luvemen. Almost 10 thousand prisoners were taken and more than 100 guns were captured.

In December, the Battle of Verdun ended. About 120 divisions were crushed in the Verdun meat grinder, including 69 French and 50 German.

During the Battle of Verdun, on July 1, 1916, after a week of artillery preparation, the Allies launched an offensive on the Somme River. As a result of the exhaustion of French troops at Verdun, British units became the main part of the offensive forces, and England became the leading Allied power on the Western Front.

The Battle of the Somme saw the first appearance of tanks, a new type of weapon, on September 15th. The effect of the British vehicles, which were initially called “land ships,” was quite uncertain, but the number of tanks taking part in the battle was small. In the fall, the British advance was blocked by swamps. The Battle of the Somme River, which lasted from July to the end of November 1916, did not bring success to either side. Their losses were enormous - 1 million 300 thousand people.

The situation on the Eastern Front was more successful for the Entente. At the height of the battles near Verdun, the French command again turned to Russia for help. On June 4, the Russian 8th Army under the command of General Kaledin advanced into the Lutsk area, which was considered as a reconnaissance operation. To the surprise of the Russians, the Austrian defense line collapsed. And General Alexei Brusilov, who exercised overall command of the southern sector of the front, immediately intensified his offensive, bringing 3 armies into battle. The Austrians were soon put into panic flight. In three days, the Russians captured 200 thousand prisoners. The army of General Brusilov broke through the Austrian front on the Lutsk - Chernivtsi line. Russian troops again occupied most of Galicia and Bukovina, putting Austria-Hungary on the brink of military defeat. And although the offensive dried up by August 1916, the “Brusilovsky breakthrough” suspended the activity of the Austrians on the Italian front and greatly eased the situation of the Anglo-French troops at Verdun and the Somme.

The war at sea came down to the question of whether Germany could successfully resist England's traditional superiority at sea. As on land, the presence of new types of weapons - aircraft, submarines, mines, torpedoes, radio equipment - made defense easier than attack.

The Germans, having a smaller fleet, believed that the British would seek to destroy it in a battle, which they therefore tried to avoid. However, the British strategy was aimed at achieving other goals. Having relocated the fleet to Scala Flow in the Orkney Islands at the beginning of the war and thereby establishing control over the North Sea, the British, wary of mines and torpedoes and the inaccessible coast of Germany, chose a long blockade, being constantly ready in case of an attempt to break through the German fleet. At the same time, being dependent on supplies by sea, they had to ensure security on ocean routes. In August 1914, the Germans had relatively few battleships based abroad, although the cruisers Goeben and Breslau had successfully reached Constantinople early in the war, and their presence contributed to Turkey's entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers. The most significant force, including the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, was destroyed during the fighting off the Falkland Islands, and by the end of 1914 the oceans were - at least on the surface - cleared of German raiders.

The main danger to ocean trade routes was not combat squadrons, but submarines. As the war progressed, Germany's inferiority in capital ships forced her to increasingly concentrate her efforts on submarines, which the British, suffering heavy losses in the Atlantic, viewed as an illegal means of warfare. Ultimately, the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare which turned out to be almost disastrous for England, indirectly brought death to Germany, since it was the direct reason for the entry of the United States of America into the war in 1917.

On May 7, 1915, the huge American liner Lusitania, on a voyage from New York to Liverpool, was sunk by a torpedo attack by a German submarine off the Irish coast. The steamer quickly sank, and with it, about 1,200 people went forever into the cold waters of the ocean - almost three-quarters of all those on board.

The sinking of the Lusitania, whose speed was thought to make it invulnerable to torpedoes, necessitated a response. The fact that the Germans gave a cautious warning to the Americans not to sail on this ship only confirmed that the attack on it was most likely pre-planned. It caused sharp anti-German protests in many countries, primarily in the United States. Among the dead were nearly 200 American citizens, including such famous figures as millionaire Alfred Vanderbilt. This sinking had a major impact on President Woodrow Wilson's declared policy of strict neutrality, and from that time on, US entry into the war became a potential possibility.

On July 18, 1915, the Italian cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi sank after being torpedoed by an Austrian submarine. A few days earlier, the English cruiser Dublin was attacked in a similar way, but she managed to escape despite serious damage. The French fleet, based in Malta, fell to the task of implementing a blockade in the Adriatic Sea. Austrian submarines were active, and after the loss of the battleship Jean Bart in December 1914, the French were wary of releasing their heavy ships, relying on cruisers and destroyers. German U-boats also entered the Mediterranean in the summer of 1915, and the Allies' position was complicated by the task of protecting the numerous transports and supply ships making raids to and from the Gallipoli Peninsula, and later to Thessaloniki. In September, an attempt was made to block the Strait of Otranto using nets, but German submarines managed to pass under them.

Military operations in the Baltic intensified. Russian sailors disabled a German minelayer, and a British submarine torpedoed the cruiser Prinz Adalbert.

The Russian naval forces, supplemented by several British submarines, as a rule, successfully thwarted German plans to land troops in Courland and prevented the laying of mines. British submarines also tried to disrupt the supply of iron and steel from Sweden to Germany, later sinking 14 ships engaged in these shipments in 1915.

But the British losses also grew. By the end of 1915, the total number of British merchant ships sunk by German submarines exceeded 250.

The Battle of Jutland between the British and German fleets in the summer of 1916 led to large mutual losses, but in strategic terms it changed little. England retained superiority at sea and the blockade of Germany continued. The Germans had to return to submarine warfare again. However, its effectiveness became less and less, especially after the United States entered the war.

3. Events of 1917-1918

The 1917 revolution was a turning point in human history. It had a significant influence on the course of the world war.

After the victory of the February Revolution, a Provisional Government was formed in early March 1917, which, together with the Soviets, exercised real power in the country.

In the field of foreign policy, the Provisional Government advocated the continuation of the world war, despite the difficult situation in Russia. On April 18, a note from Foreign Minister P. N. Milyukov was published to the governments of the Entente countries about Russia’s continuation of the war and its fidelity to its allied obligations. This note and the intensification of military operations at the front caused a powerful demonstration on April 20-21 by soldiers of the Petrograd garrison and city workers against the policy of continuing the war, demanding the resignation of Miliukov. At the end of April, Miliukov and Guchkov were forced to resign.

After the April crisis of the Provisional Government, a second coalition government was formed. The post of Minister of War in it was taken by A.F. Kerensky, and M.I. Tereshchenko became Minister of Foreign Affairs. Disagreements over war and peace again dominated the many political issues.

Right-wing parties, officers and generals, government officials, and major entrepreneurs were ready to continue the war. Supporters of Russia's liberal-democratic development sought to achieve an honorable peace. Left and left-radical forces expressed an irrepressible desire to turn the world war into a world revolution.

In June 1917, a new offensive of the Russian army began under the overall command of Brusilov. The morale of the army improved somewhat after the February Revolution, despite Bolshevik propaganda, but the offensive itself was dictated by political considerations. Success could force the Germans to agree to peace. Failure could help strengthen the position of German revolutionary socialists supporting Russia. The offensive was poorly prepared and ended in a heavy defeat for Russia. During 18 days of fighting at the front, about 60 thousand soldiers and officers died.

After the suppression of the mass uprising of workers and soldiers of Petrograd on July 4, 1917, power completely passed to the Provisional Government. The appointment of General L.G. Kornilov as commander-in-chief of the Russian army was met with approval in the West, but Kornilov attempted a military coup, which ended in failure for the monarchists, the military supporters of continuing the war.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks were one of the first to adopt the Decree on Peace, which reflected their intention to withdraw from the world war. At the end of the year, the Council of People's Commissars began unprecedented separate negotiations with Germany.

According to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Soviet Russia recognized Germany as the territory of the Baltic states, Poland, and part of Belarus. She pledged to renounce claims to Finland, transfer Kara, Batum, Ardagan to Turkey, make peace with the Ukrainian Central Rada, democratize the army, disarm the fleet, renew the old trade agreement, and pay reparations to Germany in the amount of 6 billion marks. Thus, Soviet Russia lost a territory of 800 thousand square meters. km, where 26% of the population lived. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk meant Russia's withdrawal from the war. It operated until November 1918. After the November revolution in Germany, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee suspended its operation.

On April 6, 1917, the United States officially declared war on Germany. In his speech addressed to Congress with a request to approve the adoption of this declaration, President Wilson denied that the United States had any territorial claims and argued that it was necessary to save the world for democracy. His policies received the approval of an overwhelming majority - only 6 people voted against in the Senate and 50 (out of 423) in the House of Representatives.

The immediate reasons for Wilson's change in policy towards Germany were her resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare at the end of January 1916 against both neutral and allied ships, as well as the discovery of the Germans' attempt to persuade Mexico to start a war against the United States. Up to this point, official US policy had been strict neutrality, which most Americans approved of.

Meanwhile, in Europe, the Allies launched their planned large-scale offensive in the spring of 1917. On April 9, the British 3rd Army began fighting near Arras in Artois. The offensive was initially successful - most of the Vishli mountain range was captured. English gas had a paralyzing effect on German artillery - it killed the horses carrying ammunition. But the spring offensive of the French army in the Reims area was unsuccessful. The Germans were well prepared, and the French units were thrown against barbed wire and a shower of machine gun fire. By May 7, the French, having suffered heavy losses, had advanced only 4 miles.

In the summer of 1917, British troops carried out a successful offensive in Flanders, but their efforts at Ypres were unsuccessful.

In the autumn, German troops under the command of General Gouthières captured Riga, encountering weak resistance from the demoralized Russian army. By occupying the island of Ezel in October, the Germans secured a dominant position in the Baltic. However, soon the British, having launched a series of attacks on German battleships, forced the German fleet to retreat. In November 1917, the British occupied German East Africa. That same fall, American troops arriving in Europe began fighting in France.

In March, the Germans made a desperate attempt to break through the Allied defenses in the Somme River area. Thanks to the Brest-Litovsk Treaty with Russia, Germany transferred significant forces to the West. However, it was clear that the successful start of the operation was short-lived, especially as American troops began to arrive in France in increasing numbers.

Despite the extremely unfavorable strategic position, Germany made new attempts to seize the initiative in the war. In April, General Ludendorff launched an offensive in Flanders, 7 British submarines were sunk in the Baltic, and a major battle took place on the Marne. But Germany's forces were already running out. On August 8, British and French troops launched an offensive to relieve German pressure on Amiens. By the second half of September, the Allies crossed the Somme and approached Saint-Quentin. The Germans were once again on the Siegfried Line, from which they had begun their spring offensive. This Allied operation was the most successful of the entire war on the Western Front. The autumn of 1918 brought with it serious geopolitical changes. Bulgaria capitulated in September, and Türkiye capitulated on October 31. On November 3, Austria signed an armistice. The bloc of central powers practically no longer existed. The war was approaching its logical end.

The inevitability of defeat forced Germany to look for ways to end the war. Created on September 30, 1918, the new German government with the participation of Social Democrats turned to the United States with a request for an armistice based on Wilson’s “14 points.” At the same time, German troops, by decision of the command, began a major naval operation, which was supposed to show that German forces had not yet exhausted, on October 30, the German military squadron, located in the harbor of the city of Kiel, received an order to go to sea and attack the English fleet. The sailors, exhausted by the war, realizing the adventurism of the order, refused to obey the order; on November 3, 1918, demonstrations of sailors, soldiers and workers began in the city of Kiel. , which soon grew into an uprising. The city was in the hands of the rebels, the rebels created the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. Following Kiel, councils arose in other cities. A revolution began in Germany.

On the night of November 10, Wilhelm 2 fled to the Netherlands. Post of Reich Chancellor Max. Badensky handed it over to the first Social Democrat Friedrich Ebert.

On November 9, an armed uprising took place in Berlin, the participants of which captured the city by mid-day. A coalition government was formed - the Council of People's Representatives (SNU), which included representatives of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (NSPD). The new government carried out a number of democratic reforms: abolished martial law, abolished some reactionary laws, and proclaimed freedom of speech, press, and assembly. This government ended the war by signing an armistice agreement with the Entente powers on November 11. With the formation of the SNU, the first stage of the November Revolution ended. In Germany, the monarchy was overthrown and a “Social Republic” was proclaimed.

The First World War had a catastrophic effect on the economic situation of Germany and extremely aggravated the socio-political situation in the country. The war cost the German people dearly: 2 million Germans were killed, more than 4.5 million were wounded, 1 million were captured. The country was suffocating in the grip of economic ruin, high prices, hunger, and taxes increased monstrously. The beginning of the November Revolution was a natural manifestation of the deepest crisis in German society.

The approaching military collapse coincided with a revolutionary crisis in Austria-Hungary. The general political strike in the Czech Republic on October 14, 1918 grew into a national liberation democratic revolution. On October 28, when it became known that the Austro-Hungarian government had agreed to accept the peace terms proposed by President Wilson, the National Committee, created in the summer of 1918, announced the creation of the Czechoslovak state. On October 30, the Slovak National Council announced the separation of Slovakia from Hungary and its annexation to the Czech lands. The formation of the Czechoslovak state ended the long struggle of the two fraternal peoples for national liberation. On November 14, 1918, the National Assembly, formed by expanding the membership of the National Committee, declared Czechoslovakia a republic and elected Tomas Masaryk as president.

The revolutionary actions of the soldiers of Istria, Dalmatia, and Croatia led to the separation of all South Slavic provinces from Austria-Hungary. On December 1, 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed. It included Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Dalmatia, part of Macedonia and Montenegro. The new state was a constitutional monarchy led by the Serbian royal dynasty of Karadjordjević, and the king had the right, together with the parliament (assembly), to legislative power. At the same time, Northern Bukovina announced its annexation to Ukraine, and Galicia - to Poland. In October 1918, the once dual Austro-Hungarian Habsburg monarchy effectively ceased to exist. On November 3, the new Austrian government, on behalf of the now defunct Austria-Hungary, signed the terms of the armistice dictated by the Entente. Two more new states appeared on the map of Europe - Austria and Hungary. On November 16, the National Council of Hungary proclaimed the Hungarian Republic. During the emerging democratic revolution, tendencies to create a more just structure of society dominated. Representatives of the independent and radical parties came to power. The government was headed by Count M. Karolyi. Democratic transformations began: general equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot was established, laws on freedom of assembly, unions, and political organizations were adopted. Large-scale agrarian reform was planned.

However, in Hungary, unlike Austria, where a democratic revolution also took place, the strong influence of the Communist Party remained, mainly consisting of Hungarian prisoners of war, led by Bela Kun, who had returned from Russia and had attended Bolshevik universities there." The communists called for a socialist revolution and the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat according to the Soviet model. They began active work to expand their influence in the Soviets created throughout the country. In 1919, the communists managed to seize power in the country for a short time.

Early in the morning of November 11, 1918, in the saloon car of the headquarters train of the Commander-in-Chief of the Entente forces, Marshal Foch, which stood near the Retonde station in the Compiegne Forest, a truce was signed by representatives of the armed forces of Germany and its allies. The war ended with the defeat of the countries of the German bloc. At 11 o'clock that same day, 101 artillery salvos rang out in Paris, signaling the end of the First World War.

In its scale and consequences, the First World War had no equal in the entire previous history of mankind. It lasted 4 years, 3 months and 10 days (from August 1, 1914 to November 11, 1918), covering 38 countries with a population of over 1.5 billion people. 70 million people were mobilized into the armies of the warring countries.

The war required colossal financial costs, which were many times greater than the costs of all previous wars. There is no scientifically sound estimate of the total cost of the First World War. The most common estimate in the literature is given by the American economist E. Bogart, who determined the total cost of the war at 359.9 billion dollars in gold.

The growth of military production was achieved at the expense of peaceful industries and overstrain of the national economy, which led to a general breakdown of the economy. In Russia, for example, 2/3 of all industrial production went to military needs and only 1/3 remained for consumption by the population. This gave rise to commodity hunger, high prices and speculation in all warring countries. The war caused a reduction in the production of many types of industrial products. The smelting of cast iron, steel and non-ferrous metals, the production of coal and oil, and the production of products in all sectors of light industry decreased significantly. The war destroyed the productive forces of society and undermined the economic life of peoples.

Agriculture was especially badly damaged. Mobilization into the army deprived the village of its most productive labor force and taxes. Cultivated areas have decreased, crop yields have fallen, and the number of livestock and its productivity have decreased. In the cities of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, there was an acute shortage of food, and then real famine broke out. It even spread to the army, where food standards were reduced.

The war required the mobilization of all material resources and showed the decisive role of the economy. During the armed struggle, it was characterized by the massive use of a variety of military equipment. The industry of the warring countries gave the front millions of rifles, over 1 million light and heavy machine guns, over 150 thousand guns, 47.7 billion cartridges, over 1 billion shells, 9200 tanks, 183 thousand aircraft.

The war brought unprecedented hardships and suffering, general hunger and ruin, and brought all of humanity to the brink of abyss and despair. During the war, there was a massive destruction of material assets, the total cost of which amounted to 58 billion rubles. Entire areas (especially in Northern France) were turned into desert, 9.5 million people were killed and died from wounds, 20 million people were injured, of which 3.5 million were left crippled. Germany suffered the greatest losses. Russia, France and Austria-Hungary (66.6% of all losses), the US accounted for only 1.2% of total losses. Famine and other disasters caused by the war led to an increase in mortality and a decrease in the birth rate. The population decline for these reasons was: in Russia 5 million people, in Austria-Hungary 4.4 million people, in Germany 4.2 million people. Unemployment, inflation, rising taxes, rising prices - all this exacerbated need, poverty, and extreme insecurity for the vast majority of the population of the warring countries.

At the same time, the profits of the German monopolies by 1918 amounted to 10 billion gold marks, and the American monopolies received income for 1914-1918. 3 billion dollars.

The First World War should be considered as a milestone in the world historical process. The immediate result of the war and one of its most far-reaching consequences was the complete collapse of the multinational empires - Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, Russian. It caused an unprecedented scale of the revolutionary and national liberation movement, intensified the confrontation between totalitarianism and democracy, contributed to the emergence of various political regimes, and significantly redrew the map of the world.

Until recently, due to certain political and ideological reasons and dogmatic attitudes, it was generally accepted that the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia was a turning point in the history of human civilization and opened its new era. It was considered as an independent, isolated phenomenon that stood at the origins of the world historical process in modern history.

However, the October Revolution and the subsequent series of European revolutions were organically connected with the First World War and the peculiarities of the socio-economic and socio-political development of each country. There is plenty of evidence for this. Firstly, the war put on the agenda not only at the front, but also in the rear, the problem of human physical survival. Secondly, the short-sighted policies of the governments of the warring countries, who did not care about the social protection of the working population during the war and about maintaining at least the appearance of justice in the distribution of its burdens between the “tops” and “bottoms” of society, steadily undermined the patriotic feelings of peoples and pushed them to revolution. Thirdly, the weakening of all structures of state power and the transformation of the “man with a gun” into a real participant in the country’s political life created additional preconditions for military confrontation, sharply reducing the chances of achieving a socio-political compromise.

Thus, the October Revolution, like other revolutions in this period of history, was generated by the First World War and internal specific reasons in each of the countries where revolutionary upheavals occurred.

Literature:

1. Berdichevsky Ya.M., Ladichenko T.V. The World History. 3rd edition. Zaporozhye 1998

2. “History of state and law of foreign countries” Ed. O.A. Zhidkova and N.A. Krasheninnikova. Moscow 1998

3. Z.M. Chernilovsky “General history of state and law.” Moscow, 1996

SECONDARY SCHOOL No. 33 - CENTER FOR AESTHETIC AND DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION NAMED AFTER L.A. KOLOSOVA

FOREIGN HISTORY

First World War 1914-1918

Belozerov Anton

Supervisor:

GOlovanov V.A.

PLAN

Introduction

Causes and nature of the war

2. Armed forces and plans of the parties

Beginning of the war

3.1 Company 1914

2 Company 1915

3 Company 1916

4 Company 1917

5 Company 1918

Military-political results of the war

Conclusion

Introduction

There are many reasons why the First World War began, but various scientists and various records of those years tell us that the main reason is that Europe was developing very rapidly at that time. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were no longer any territories around the world that were not captured by capitalist powers. During this period, Germany surpassed all of Europe in terms of industrial production, and since Germany had very few colonies, it sought to capture them. By capturing them, Germany would have new markets. At that time, England and France had very large colonies, so the interests of these countries often clashed.

I chose this topic because I decided to figure out why the war started? What was the reason for this? How did the war affect the course of history? What technological advances occurred during the war? What lessons did the participating countries learn from this war, and why did the First World War serve as an impetus for the Second?

It seems to me that this topic in itself is very interesting. Even when analyzing only companies, we come to different conclusions each time, and each time we extract something useful from these situations. During the First World War, it is possible to trace how the technical and economic development of each country developed. During the four years of war, we find how new technical means influence the course of the war, how the war helps scientific progress. The war even changes the idea of ​​the army. The greater the economic and technological progress, the more murder weapons appear, the bloodier the war itself becomes, and the more countries become participants in this war.

Analyzing the collected material, I came to the conclusion that the First World War, and especially the Treaty of Versailles, was one of the main reasons why the Second World War broke out.

1. Causes and nature of the war

I will start my essay with the main causes of the First World War. The First World War arose as a result of the intensification of the political and economic struggle between the largest imperialist countries for markets and sources of raw materials, for the redivision of an already divided world. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the division of the world had already been completed, there were no territories left on the globe that had not yet been captured by the capitalist powers, there were no more so-called “free spaces” left. “It has arrived,” V.I. pointed out. Lenin, “inevitably the era of monopoly ownership of colonies, and, consequently, a particularly intensified struggle for the division of the world.”

As a result of the uneven, spasmodic development of capitalism in the era of imperialism, some countries that took the capitalist path of development later than others quickly caught up and surpassed such old colonial countries as England and France in technical and economic terms. Particularly indicative was the development of Germany, which by 1900 had surpassed these countries in terms of industrial production, but was significantly inferior in the size of its colonial possessions. Because of this, the interests of Germany and England collided most often. Germany openly sought to capture British markets in the Middle East and Africa.

Germany's colonial expansion was met with resistance from France, which also had huge colonies. Very sharp contradictions between the countries existed over Alsace and Lorraine, captured by Germany back in 1871.

With its penetration into the Middle East, Germany created a threat to Russian interests in the Black Sea basin. Austria-Hungary, allied with Germany, became a serious competitor to Tsarist Russia in the struggle for influence in the Balkans.

The aggravation of foreign policy contradictions between the largest countries led to the division of the world into two hostile camps and the formation of two imperialist groupings: the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and the Triple Agreement, or Entente (England, France, Russia).

The war between the major European powers was beneficial to the US imperialists, since as a result of this struggle, favorable conditions emerged for the further development of American expansion, especially in Latin America and the Far East. American monopolies relied on maximizing benefits from Europe.

In preparing for war, the imperialists saw in it not only a means of resolving external contradictions, but also a means that could help them cope with the growing discontent of the population of their own countries and suppress the growing revolutionary movement. The bourgeoisie hoped during the war to destroy the international solidarity of the workers, to physically exterminate the best part of the working class, for the socialist revolution.

Due to the fact that the war for the redivision of the world affected the interests of all imperialist countries, most of the world's states gradually became drawn into it. The war became global, both in its political goals and in scale.

By its nature, the war of 1914-1918 was imperialistic, aggressive, unfair on both sides. It was a war over who could plunder and oppress more. The majority of the parties of the Second International, betraying the interests of the working people, advocated war in support of the bourgeoisie and the governments of their countries.

The Bolshevik Party led by V.I. Lenin, having determined the nature of the war, called for a fight against it, for turning the imperialist war into a civil war.

2. Armed forces and plans of the parties

In my opinion, the strengths of each side were very important. By the beginning of the war, all major European states, except England, had standing armies, recruited on the basis of universal conscription. In England the army was mercenary. Only after the outbreak of war did the British government introduce universal conscription.

The main branch of troops in the armies of all states was infantry. The ground forces included cavalry and artillery. Special troops had a very insignificant share (about 2%).

The highest tactical infantry formation is the corps, which usually consisted of two or three infantry divisions, cavalry, artillery and other units of reinforcement and support units.

The infantry division had from 16 to 21 thousand people, 36-48 guns and about 30 machine guns.

In infantry regiments, the main means of combat was a repeating rifle with an effective firing range of about 200 m and a rate of fire of 10-12 rounds per minute. In addition, the regiment had 6-8 heavy machine guns. The regiment, as a rule, did not have standard artillery. The artillery was at the disposal of the division commander.

The main type of divisional artillery were 75-76 mm caliber guns with a firing range of 7-8 km. There was little heavy artillery.

By the beginning of the war, the Russian armed forces had 263 aircraft, Germany - 232, England - 258, France - 156. The army corps included detachments of 3-6 aircraft intended for reconnaissance. All armies had armored cars and armored trains in small quantities. By 1914, the armed forces of Germany had about 4,000 vehicles, Russia - 4,500, England - 900, France - 6,000.

The main burden of the fight continued to fall on the infantry, armed with a rifle. The political and military leaders of the countries participating in the war were unable to correctly foresee the nature of the future war and determine the amount of forces and means required to wage it. Bourgeois military theorists on the eve of the First World War saw the highest achievement of military thought in reproducing the examples of military leadership of Napoleon, Moltke and other commanders of the 19th century. The experience of later wars was not taken into account sufficiently. Changes in the methods of combat that occurred in these wars were considered a random phenomenon, caused either by the characteristics of the theater of military operations, or by poor training of troops, or by erroneous actions of commanders. The emergence of a positional front during the Russo-Japanese War was considered an accident. Therefore, the problem of breaking through positional defenses was not even theoretically studied. All attention was paid to attacking shallow focal defenses. The main form of combat formation of troops was considered to be a rifle chain.

In addition to battleships, which for a long time were considered the basis of the fleet, the navies included destroyers and submarines. However, the theory of the combat use of these weapons was in its infancy. A naval battle was still viewed as a one-act clash between battleships. Destroyers and submarines were considered means of coastal defense. The issues of interaction between the diverse forces of the fleet were not developed.

The military action plans of the main participants in the war did not sufficiently take into account the increased role of economic and moral factors and were designed to conduct battles only at the expense of mobilization reserves accumulated in peacetime. It was believed that the war would be short-lived.

The essence of the German plan was the desire to beat the opponents consistently and thus avoid a war on two fronts. It was planned to first strike France and defeat its army, then transfer the main forces to the east and defeat the Russian army. This circumstance determined the choice of the strategic form of the offensive - a flank bypass and encirclement of the main enemy forces. In order to bypass and encircle the French army, a flank maneuver was planned to be carried out through Belgium, bypassing the main forces of the French army from the north. In the east, it was planned to deploy 15-16 divisions, which were supposed to cover East Prussia from a possible invasion by Russian troops. Active operations at this time were to be carried out by Austro-Hungarian troops.

The main flaw of the German plan was to overestimate the enemy's strength.

The Austro-Hungarian war plan was strongly influenced by the demand of the German General Staff to pin down the Russian armies during the period when Germany delivered the main blow to France. In this regard, the Austro-Hungarian general staff planned active actions against Russia, Serbia and Czechoslovakia. The main blow was planned to be delivered from Galicia to the east and northeast. The Austro-Hungarian plan was built without real consideration of the country's economic and moral capabilities. This clearly demonstrated the influence of the German military school - underestimating the enemy's forces and overestimating one's own forces. The available forces did not correspond to the assigned tasks.

The French plan, although it provided for active offensive actions, was of a passive wait-and-see nature, since the initial actions of the French troops were made dependent on the actions of the enemy. The plan provided for the creation of three strike groups, but only one of them (Lorraine) received an active task - to attack Lorraine and Alsace. The central group was supposed to become a connecting link, covering the border in its own zone, and the Belgian group was supposed to act depending on the enemy’s position. If the Germans violate the neutrality of Belgium and begin to advance through its territory, then this army must be ready to attack in a north-easterly direction.

The British plan was based on the fact that the allies - Russia and France - should bear the brunt of waging war on land. The main task of the British armed forces was to ensure supremacy at sea. For operations on land, it was planned to transfer seven divisions to France.

The Russian war plan, due to the economic and political dependence of Tsarist Russia on Anglo-French capital, provided for simultaneously offensive actions against Austria-Hungary and against Germany. The plan had two options. According to option “A”: if Germany concentrates its main forces against France, then the main efforts of the Russian army were directed against Austria-Hungary. According to option “D”: in the event of Germany delivering the main blow to Russia, the Russian army would turn its main efforts against Germany. The Northwestern Front was supposed to defeat the 8th German Army and capture East Prussia. The Southwestern Front was given the task of encircling and defeating the Austro-Hungarian troops located in Galicia.

By the beginning of hostilities, the strategic deployment of troops in accordance with the adopted war plan was completed only by Germany. The Germans deployed 86 infantry and 10 cavalry divisions (about 1.6 million people and 5 thousand guns) against France and Belgium. The German troops were opposed by 85 infantry and 12 cavalry divisions of French-Anglo-Belgian troops (over 1.3 million people and 4640 guns). 75 Russian divisions (over 1 million people and 3,200 guns) were concentrated in the Eastern European theater of war against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Russia's opponents had 64 divisions (about 1 million people and 2,900 guns). Consequently, at the beginning of the war, neither side had an overall superiority in forces.

3. The beginning of the war

The immediate reason for the outbreak of hostilities was the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne in Sarajevo. The Austrian-Hungarian government, with German approval, presented an ultimatum to Serbia, demanding freedom to interfere in Serbia's internal affairs. Despite Serbia's acceptance of almost all conditions. Austria-Hungary declared war on her on July 28. Two days later, the Russian government, in response to the opening of hostilities by Austria-Hungary, announced general mobilization. Germany used this as a pretext and launched a war against Russia on August 1, and against France on August 3. England declared war on Germany on August 4. At the end of August, Japan took the side of the Entente, which decided to take advantage of the fact that Germany would be pinned down in the west and seize its colonies in the Far East. On October 30, 1914, Türkiye entered the war on the side of the Entente.

In 1914, Italy did not enter the war, declaring its neutrality. She began military operations in May 1915 on the side of the Entente. In April 1917, the United States entered the war on the side of the Entente.

Military operations that began in August 1914 unfolded in several theaters and continued until November 1918. Based on the nature of the tasks being solved and the military-political results achieved, the First World War is usually divided into five campaigns, each of which includes several operations.

3.1 Company 1914

In the literature, the tsarist government is traditionally accused of poorly preparing the Russian army and military industry for the First World War. And indeed, with regard to artillery, especially heavy artillery, the Russian army turned out to be worse prepared than Germany, in terms of the saturation of vehicles it was worse than France, the Russian fleet was inferior to the German one. There were shortages of shells, ammunition, small arms, uniforms and equipment. But in fairness, it must be said that none of the war planners in any general headquarters of any country imagined that it would last 4 years and 3 and a half months. Not a single country had weapons, equipment, or food for such a long period. The General Staffs expected a maximum of 3-4 months, in the worst case, six months.

Accordingly, all sides sought to quickly launch offensive actions. The Germans were counting on a lightning campaign on the Western Front with the goal of defeating France, and then on actions against Russia, whose armed forces were supposed to be shackled by Austria. Russia, as can be seen from the memorandum of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army led. book Nikolai Nikolaevich (uncle of Nicholas II), intended to launch an attack on Berlin by the forces of the Northwestern Front (commander Ya.G. Zhilinsky) and an attack on Vienna by the forces of the Southwestern Front (commander N.I. Ivanov). There were relatively few enemy troops on the Eastern Front at that time - 26 German divisions and 46 Austrian. The French armies did not plan an immediate offensive and were counting on the effect of the Russian offensive.

The direction of a possible German attack was determined incorrectly by the French military command. Germany adhered to the "Schlieffen Plan", named after the long-time chief of the German General Staff, who died shortly before the war. She hoped to break through the weakly defended borders of Luxembourg and Belgium into France and force it to capitulate even before Russia concentrated its troops for a strike.

A powerful group of German troops drove back the Belgian army and invaded France. The French and the English corps that landed on the northern coast of France were forced to retreat under pressure from superior forces. The enemy moved towards Paris.

Emperor Wilhelm, calling for ruthlessness, promised to put an end to France in the fall. Mortal danger looms over France. The government temporarily left the capital.

To save the allies, the Russian armies accelerated the preparation of the offensive and launched it with an incomplete deployment of all their forces. A week and a half after the declaration of war, the 1st and 2nd armies under the command of generals P.K. Rennkampf and A.V. Samsonov invaded East Prussia and defeated enemy troops during the Battle of Gumbinnen-Goldan. At the same time, forces were concentrated in the area of ​​Warsaw and the new fortress of Novogeorgievsk for the main strategic attack on Berlin. At the same time, the offensive of the 3rd and 8th armies of the Southwestern Front against the Austrians began. It developed successfully and led to the occupation of the territory of Galicia (Lviv was captured on August 21). At the same time, the armies in East Prussia, without achieving coordination in their actions, were defeated piecemeal by the enemy. The defeat in East Prussia in August 1914 deprived Russian troops of activity in this area for the entire duration of the war. They now received only defensive tasks - to defend Moscow and Petrograd.

The successful offensive in Galicia led to the fact that reserves for the Southwestern Front began to be withdrawn even from near Warsaw, parting with plans for an attack on Berlin. The center of gravity of the Russian army's operations as a whole is moving south, against Austria-Hungary. On September 12 (25), 1914, by order of Headquarters, the offensive on the Southwestern Front was suspended. In 33 days, Russian troops advanced 280-300 km, and reached the line of the Vistula River 80 km from Krakow. The powerful fortress of Przemysl was besieged. A significant part of Bukovina with the main city of Chernivtsi was occupied. Austrian combat losses reached 400 thousand people. Of these, 100 thousand were prisoners, 400 guns were captured.

The Galician offensive operation was one of the most brilliant victories of the Russian army during the entire First World War.

During October - November, two major battles took place on Polish territory: Warsaw-Ivanogodsky and Lodz.

At times, over 800 thousand people took part in the battles on both sides. Neither side managed to completely solve their problems. However, in general, the actions of Russian troops were more effective. Although the attack on Berlin never materialized, the Western Allies, especially France, who were in dire straits, were given a respite.

More than 1.5 million people took part on both sides in the Battle of the Marne in September 1914. French and English troops went on the offensive. On September 9, the Germans began retreating along the entire front. They were able to stop the advancing enemy only at the Aisne River. The government and diplomatic corps, who hastily fled to Bordeaux, were able to return to Paris.

By the end of 1914, the Western Front had stabilized from the North Sea to the Swiss border. The soldiers dug into the trenches. War of maneuver turned into positional warfare.

At the end of November 1914, at a meeting of the commanders of the fronts of the Russian army in Brest, it was decided to suspend offensive operations, and until January 1915, a lull reigned on the Eastern Front.

Serbian troops waged a heroic struggle against the onslaught of the Austro-Hungarian army, which captured Belgrade twice in the fall of 1914, but in December 1914 the Serbs expelled the occupiers from the entire territory of Serbia and until the fall of 1915 waged a positional war with the Austro-Hungarian army.

Turkish troops, instructed by German military specialists, launched an offensive on the Transcaucasian Front in the fall of 1914. However, Russian troops repulsed this offensive and successfully advanced in the Erzurum, Alakshert and Vienna directions. In December 1914, two corps of the Turkish army under the command of Enver Pasha launched an offensive near Sarakamysh. but here, too, the Russian army forced one corps to capitulate, and the second corps was completely destroyed. Subsequently, Turkish troops did not attempt to continue any active military operations.

Russian troops also expelled the Turks from Iranian Azerbaijan: only some areas of Western Iran were retained by the Turks.

By the end of 1914, on all fronts, the armies of both warring coalitions switched to protracted trench warfare.

The war on the seas and oceans in the second half of 1914 essentially came down to a mutual blockade of the coasts. The first naval battle was the raid on August 28, 1914, by the English squadron of Admiral Beatty on German ships stationed in the bay of the island of Heligoland. As a result of this raid, three German cruisers and one destroyer were sunk, while the British only damaged one cruiser. Then two more minor battles took place: on November 1, 1914, in the Battle of Coronel off the coast of Chile, the English squadron was defeated by German ships, losing two cruisers, and on December 8, the English squadron defeated German ships off the Falkland Islands, completely destroying Admiral Spee's squadron. These naval battles did not change the balance of naval forces: the English fleet was still superior to the Austro-German one, which took refuge in the bays of the island of Heligoland, in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven. The Entente fleet dominated the oceans, North and Mediterranean seas, cutting off power to its communications. But already in the first months of the war, a great threat to the Entente fleet was revealed from German submarines, which on September 22 sank, one after another, three British battleships carrying out patrol duty on the sea routes.

The pirate raid of "Goeben" and "Breslay" on the Black Sea coast of Russia did not produce significant results. Already on November 18, the Russian Black Sea Fleet inflicted severe damage to the Goeben and forced the Turkish fleet to take refuge in the Bosphorus. The Russian Baltic Fleet was in the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Finland under a reliable minefield in the Baltic Sea.

Thus, by the end of 1914, the failure of the military-strategic plan of the German command became obvious. Germany was forced to fight a war on two fronts.

3.2 Company 1915

The Russian command entered 1915 with the firm intention of completing the victorious offensive of its troops in Galicia.

There were stubborn battles for the capture of the Carpathian passes and the Carpathian ridge. On March 22, after a six-month siege, Przemysl capitulated with its 127,000-strong garrison of Austro-Hungarian troops. But Russian troops failed to reach the Hungarian plain.

In 1915, Germany and its allies directed the main blow against Russia, hoping to defeat it and take it out of the war. By mid-April, the German command managed to transfer the best combat-ready corps from the Western Front, which, together with the Austro-Hungarian troops, formed a new shock 11th Army under the command of the German General Mackensen.

Having concentrated on the main direction of the counteroffensive troops that were twice as large as the Russian troops, bringing up artillery that outnumbered the Russians by 6 times, and by 40 times in heavy guns, the Austro-German army broke through the front in the Gorlitsa area on May 2, 1915.

Under the pressure of Austro-German troops, the Russian army retreated from the Carpathians and Galicia with heavy fighting, abandoned Przemysl at the end of May, and surrendered Lviv on June 22. Then, in June, the German command, intending to pincer the Russian troops fighting in Poland, launched attacks with its right wing between the Western Bug and the Vistula, and with its left wing in the lower reaches of the Narew River. But here, as in Galicia, the Russian troops, who did not have enough weapons, ammunition and equipment, retreated after heavy fighting.

By mid-September 1915, the offensive initiative of the German army was exhausted. The Russian army was entrenched on the front line: Riga - Dvinsk - Lake Naroch - Pinsk - Ternopil - Chernivtsi, and by the end of 1915 the Eastern Front extended from the Baltic Sea to the Romanian border. Russia lost vast territory, but retained its strength, although since the beginning of the war the Russian army had by this time lost about 3 million people in manpower, of which about 300 thousand were killed.

While the Russian armies were waging a tense, unequal war with the main forces of the Austro-German coalition, Russia's allies - England and France - on the Western Front throughout 1915 organized only a few private military operations that were of no significant importance. In the midst of bloody battles on the Eastern Front, when the Russian army was fighting heavy defensive battles, there was no offensive on the Western Front by the Anglo-French allies. It was adopted only at the end of September 1915, when the offensive operations of the German army on the Eastern Front had already ceased.

Lloyd George felt the remorse of ingratitude towards Russia with great delay. In his memoirs, he later wrote: “History will present its account to the military command of France and England, which, in its selfish stubbornness, doomed its Russian comrades in arms to death, while England and France could so easily have saved the Russians and thus would have helped themselves best.” ".

Having received a territorial gain on the Eastern Front, the German command, however, did not achieve the main thing - it did not force the tsarist government to conclude a separate peace with Germany, although half of all the armed forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary were concentrated against Russia.

Also in 1915, Germany attempted to deal a crushing blow to England. For the first time, she widely used a relatively new weapon - submarines - to stop the supply of necessary raw materials and food to England. Hundreds of ships were destroyed, their crews and passengers were killed. The indignation of neutral countries forced Germany not to sink passenger ships without warning. England, by increasing and accelerating the construction of ships, as well as developing effective measures to combat submarines, overcame the danger hanging over it.

In the spring of 1915, Germany, for the first time in the history of wars, used one of the most inhumane weapons - toxic substances, but this ensured only tactical success.

Germany also experienced failure in the diplomatic struggle. The Entente promised Italy more than Germany and Austria-Hungary, which faced Italy in the Balkans, could promise. In May 1915, Italy declared war on them and diverted some of the troops of Austria-Hungary and Germany.

This failure was only partially compensated by the fact that in the fall of 1915 the Bulgarian government entered the war against the Entente. As a result, the Quadruple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria was formed. The immediate consequence of this was the offensive of German, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian troops against Serbia. The small Serbian army heroically resisted, but was crushed by superior enemy forces. The troops of England, France, Russia and the remnants of the Serbian army, sent to help the Serbs, formed the Balkan Front.

As the war dragged on, suspicion and distrust of each other grew among the Entente countries. According to a secret agreement between Russia and its allies in 1915, in the event of a victorious end to the war, Constantinople and the straits were to go to Russia. Fearing the implementation of this agreement, on the initiative of Winston Churchill, under the pretext of an attack on the straits and Constantinople, allegedly to undermine the communications of the German coalition with Turkey, the Dardanelles expedition was undertaken with the aim of occupying Constantinople.

On February 1915, the Anglo-French fleet began shelling the Dardanelles. However, having suffered heavy losses, the Anglo-French squadron stopped bombing the Dardanelles fortifications a month later. On the Transcaucasian front, Russian forces in the summer of 1915, having repelled the offensive of the Turkish army in the Alashkert direction, launched a counteroffensive in the Vienna direction. At the same time, German-Turkish troops intensified military operations in Iran. Relying on the uprising of the Bakhtiari tribes provoked by German agents in Iran, Turkish troops began to advance to the oil fields and by the fall of 1915 occupied Kermanshah and Hamadan. But soon the arriving British troops drove the Turks and Bakhtiars away from the oil field area, and restored the oil pipeline destroyed by the Bakhtiaris. The task of clearing Iran of Turkish-German troops fell to the Russian expeditionary corps of General Baratov, who landed in Anzali in October 1915. Pursuing German-Turkish troops, Baratov’s detachments occupied Qazvin, Hamadan, Qom, Kashan and approached Isfahan.

In the summer of 1915, British troops captured German South-West Africa. In January 1916, the British forced German troops surrounded in Cameroon to surrender.

3.3 1916 campaign

The 1915 military campaign on the Western Front did not produce any major operational results. Positional battles only delayed the war. The Entente moved to an economic blockade of Germany, to which the latter responded with a merciless submarine war. In May 1915, a German submarine torpedoed the British ocean-going steamer Lusitania, on which over a thousand passengers died.

Without undertaking active offensive military operations, England and France, thanks to the shift in the center of gravity of military operations to the Russian front, received a respite, and focused all their attention on the development of the military industry. They accumulated strength for further war. By the beginning of 1916, England and France had an advantage over Germany by 70-80 divisions and were superior to it in the latest weapons (tanks appeared).

The severe consequences of active offensive military operations in 1914-1915 prompted the leaders of the Entente to convene a meeting of representatives of the general staffs of the allied armies in December 1915 in Chantilly, near Paris, where they came to the conclusion that the war could be ended victoriously only with coordinated active offensive operations on the main fronts .

However, even after this decision, the offensive in 1916 was scheduled primarily on the Eastern Front - June 15, and on the Western Front - July 1.

Having learned about the planned timing of the Entente offensive, the German command decided to take the initiative into their own hands and launch an offensive on the Western Front much earlier. At the same time, the main attack was planned on the area of ​​​​the Verdun fortifications: for the protection of which, in the firm conviction of the German command, “the French command will be forced to sacrifice the last man,” since in the event of a breakthrough of the front at Verdun, a direct path to Paris will open. However, the attack on Verdun, launched on February 21, 1916, was not crowned with success, especially since in March, due to the advance of Russian troops in the area of ​​​​the city of Dvinsky Lake Naroch, the German command was forced to weaken its onslaught near Verdun. However, bloody mutual attacks and counterattacks near Verdun continued for almost 10 months, until December 18, but did not produce significant results. The Verdun operation literally turned into a “meat grinder”, into the destruction of manpower. Both sides suffered colossal losses: the French - 350 thousand people, the Germans - 600 thousand people.

The German offensive on the Verdun fortifications did not change the Entente command's plan to launch the main offensive on July 1, 1916 on the Somme River.

The Somme battles intensified every day. In September, after a continuous barrage of Anglo-French artillery fire, British tanks soon appeared on the battlefield. However, technically still imperfect and used in small numbers, although they brought local success to the attacking Anglo-French troops, they could not provide a general strategic operational breakthrough of the front. By the end of November 1916, the Somme fighting began to subside. As a result of the entire Somme operation, the Entente captured an area of ​​200 square meters. km, 105 thousand German prisoners, 1,500 machine guns and 350 guns. In the battles on the Somme, both sides lost over 1 million 300 thousand killed, wounded and prisoners.

Carrying out the decisions agreed upon at a meeting of representatives of the general staffs in December 1915 in Chantilly, the high command of the Russian army planned for June 15 the main offensive on the Western Front in the direction of Baranovichi with a simultaneous auxiliary attack by the armies of the Southwestern Front under the command of General Brusilov in the Galician-Bukovinian direction.

However, the German offensive on Verdun, which began in February, again forced the French government to ask the Russian tsarist government for help through an offensive on the Eastern Front. At the beginning of March, Russian troops launched an offensive in the area of ​​​​Dvinsk and Lake Navoch. The attacks of Russian troops continued until March 15, but led only to tactical successes. As a result of this operation, Russian troops suffered heavy losses, but they pulled over a significant number of German reserves and thereby eased the position of the French at Verdun.

French troops were given the opportunity to regroup and strengthen their defenses.

The Dvina-Naroch operation made it difficult to prepare for the general offensive on the Russian-German front, scheduled for June 15. However, after the help to the French, there was a new persistent request from the command of the Entente troops to help the Italians. In May 1916, the 400,000-strong Austro-Hungarian army went on the offensive in Trentino and inflicted a heavy defeat on the Italian army. Saving the Italian army, as well as the Anglo-French in the west, from complete defeat, the Russian command began an offensive of troops in the southwestern direction on June 4, earlier than planned. Russian troops under the command of General Brusilov, having broken through the enemy’s defenses on an almost 300-kilometer front, began to advance into Eastern Galicia and Bukovina (Brusilovsky breakthrough). But in the midst of the offensive, despite General Brusilov’s requests to reinforce the advancing troops with reserves and ammunition, the high command of the Russian army refused to send reserves to the southwestern direction and began, as previously planned, an offensive in the western direction. However, after a weak blow in the direction of Baranovichi, the commander of the northwestern direction, General Evert, postponed the general offensive to the beginning of July.

Meanwhile, the troops of General Brusilov continued to develop the offensive they had begun and by the end of June had advanced far into Galicia and Bukovina. On July 3, General Evert resumed the attack on Baranovichi, but attacks by Russian troops on this section of the front were not successful. Only after the complete failure of the offensive of General Evert’s troops did the high command of the Russian troops recognize the offensive of General Brusilov’s troops on the Southwestern Front as the main one - but it was already too late, time was lost, the Austrian command managed to regroup its troops and pull up reserves. Six divisions were transferred from the Austro-Italian front, and the German command, at the height of the Verdun and Somme battles, transferred eleven divisions to the Eastern Front. Further advance of Russian troops was suspended. As a result of the offensive on the Southwestern Front, Russian troops advanced deep into Bukovina and Eastern Galicia, occupying about 25 thousand square meters. km of territory. 9 thousand officers and over 400 thousand soldiers were captured. However, this success of the Russian army in the summer of 1916 did not bring a decisive strategic result due to the inertia and incompetence of the high command, backwardness of transport, and lack of weapons and ammunition. Still, the offensive of Russian troops in 1916 played a major role. It eased the position of the Allies and, together with the offensive of the Anglo-French troops on the Somme, negated the initiative of the German troops and forced them in the future to strategic defense, and the Austro-Hungarian army after the Brusilov attack in 1916 was no longer capable of serious offensive operations.

When Russian troops under the command of Brusilov inflicted a major defeat on the Austro-Werger troops on the Southwestern Front, the Romanian ruling circles considered that the opportune moment had come to enter the war on the side of the winners, especially since, contrary to the opinion of Russia, England and France insisted on the entry of Romania into the war. On August 17, Romania independently began the war in Transylvania and initially achieved some success there, but when the Somme fighting died down, Austro-German troops easily defeated the Romanian army and occupied almost all of Romania, obtaining a fairly important source of food and oil. As the Russian command foresaw, 35 infantry and 11 cavalry divisions had to be transferred to Romania in order to strengthen the front along the Lower Danube - Braila - Focsani - Dorna - Vatra line.

On the Caucasian front, developing an offensive, Russian troops captured Erzurum on February 16, 1916, and occupied Trabzond (Trebizond) on April 18. Battles developed successfully for the Russian troops in the Urmia direction, where Ruvandiz was occupied, and near Lake Van, where Russian troops entered Mush and Bitlis in the summer.

3.4 1917 campaign

By the end of 1916, the superiority of the Entente was clearly revealed, both in the number of armed forces and in military equipment, especially in artillery, aviation and tanks. The Entente entered the military campaign of 1917 on all fronts with 425 divisions against 331 enemy divisions. However, differences in the military leadership and the self-interested goals of the Entente participants often paralyzed these advantages, which was clearly manifested in the inconsistency of the Entente command during major operations in 1916. Having switched to strategic defense, the Austro-German coalition, still far from defeated, confronted the world with the fact of a protracted, exhausting war.

And every month, every week of the war entailed new colossal casualties. By the end of 1916, both sides had lost about 6 million people killed and about 10 million people wounded and maimed. Under the influence of enormous human losses and hardships at the front and in the rear, all the warring countries experienced a chauvinistic frenzy in the first months of the war. Every year the anti-war movement grew in the rear and at the fronts.

The prolongation of the war inevitably affected, among other things, the morale of the Russian army. The patriotic upsurge of 1914 was lost long ago, and the exploitation of the idea of ​​“Slavic solidarity” also exhausted itself. Stories about German cruelties also did not have the desired effect. War fatigue was becoming more and more evident. Sitting in the trenches, the immobility of positional warfare, the absence of the simplest human conditions in the positions - all this was the background of the increasing frequency of soldier unrest.

To this we must add a protest against cane discipline, abuses by superiors, and embezzlement of the rear services. Both at the front and in the rear garrisons, cases of non-compliance with orders and expressions of sympathy for striking workers were increasingly observed. In August - September 1915, during a wave of strikes in Petrograd, many soldiers of the capital's garrison expressed solidarity with the workers, and demonstrations took place on a number of ships of the Baltic Fleet. In 1916, there was an uprising of soldiers at the Kremenchug distribution point, and at the same point in Gomel. In the summer of 1916, two Siberian regiments refused to go into battle. Cases of fraternization with enemy soldiers appeared. By the autumn of 1916, a significant part of the 10 million army was in a state of ferment.

The main obstacle to victory was now not material shortcomings (weapons and supplies, military equipment), but the internal state of society itself. Deep contradictions spanned layers. The main contradiction was between the tsarist-monarchist camp and the other two - liberal-bourgeois and revolutionary-democratic. The Tsar and the court camarilla grouped around him wanted to retain all their privileges, the liberal bourgeoisie wanted to gain access to government power, and the revolutionary-democratic camp, led by the Bolshevik Party, fought to overthrow the monarchy.

The broad masses of the population of all the warring countries were gripped by ferment. More and more workers demanded immediate peace and condemned chauvinism, protested against merciless exploitation, lack of food, clothing, fuel, and against the enrichment of the elite of society. The refusal of the ruling circles to satisfy these demands and the suppression of protests by force gradually led the masses to the conclusion that it was necessary to fight against the military dictatorship and the entire existing system. Anti-war protests grew into a revolutionary movement.

In such a situation, anxiety grew in the ruling circles of both coalitions. Even the most extreme imperialists could not help but take into account the mood of the masses who yearned for peace. Therefore, maneuvers were undertaken with “peace” proposals in the hope that these proposals would be rejected by the enemy, and in this case all the blame for the continuation of the war could be blamed on him.

So on December 12, 1916, the Kaiser’s government of Germany invited the Entente countries to begin “peace” negotiations. At the same time, the German “peace” proposal was designed to create a split in the Entente camp and to support those layers within the Entente countries that were inclined to achieve peace with Germany without a “crushing blow” to Germany by force of arms. Since Germany’s “peace” proposal did not contain any specific conditions and completely hushed up the question of the fate of the territories of Russia, Belgium, France, Serbia, and Romania occupied by Austro-German troops, this gave the Entente a reason to respond to this and subsequent proposals with specific demands for the liberation of Germany of all occupied territories, as well as the division of Turkey, the “reorganization” of Europe based on the “national principle,” which actually meant the Entente’s refusal to enter into peace negotiations with Germany and its allies.

German propaganda noisily announced to the whole world that the Entente countries were to blame for the continuation of the war and that they were forcing Germany to take “defensive measures” through merciless “unrestricted submarine warfare.”

In February 1917, the bourgeois-democratic revolution won in Russia, and a movement for a revolutionary way out of the imperialist war developed widely in the country.

In response to the unrestricted submarine warfare on the part of Germany, which began in February 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with the latter, and on April 6, declaring war on Germany, entered the war in order to influence its results in its favor.

Even before the arrival of American soldiers, Entente troops launched an offensive on the Western Front on April 16, 1917. But the attacks of the Anglo-French troops, following one after another on April 16-19, were unsuccessful. The French and British lost more than 200 thousand killed in four days of fighting. In this battle, 5 thousand Russian soldiers from the 3rd Russian brigade, sent from Russia to help the allies, died. Almost all 132 British tanks participating in the battle were knocked out or destroyed.

In preparing for this military operation, the Entente command persistently demanded that the Russian Provisional Government launch an offensive on the Eastern Front. However, preparing such an offensive in revolutionary Russia was not easy. Nevertheless, the head of the Provisional Government, Kerensky, began intensively preparing an offensive, hoping, in case of success, to raise the prestige of the bourgeois Provisional Government, and in case of failure, to blame the Bolsheviks.

The Russian offensive in the Lvov direction, launched on July 1, 1917, initially developed successfully, but soon the German army, reinforced by 11 divisions transferred from the Western Front, launched a counteroffensive and threw the Russian troops far beyond their original positions.

Thus, in 1917, on all European fronts, despite the Entente’s superiority in manpower and military equipment, its troops failed to achieve decisive success in any of the offensives undertaken. The revolutionary situation in Russia and the lack of necessary coordination in military operations within the coalition thwarted the implementation of the Entente's strategic plans, designed for the complete defeat of the Austro-German bloc in 1917. And at the beginning of September 1917, the German army launched an offensive on the northern sector of the Eastern Front with the aim of capturing Riga and the Riga coast.

The Germans’ choice of the moment to attack near Riga was not accidental. This was the time when the Russian reactionary military elite, preparing a counter-revolutionary coup in the country, decided to rely on the German military. At a state meeting convened in Moscow in August, General Kornilov expressed his “assumption” about the imminent fall of Riga and the opening of roads to Petrograd, the cradle of the Russian revolution. This served as a signal for the German army to attack Riga. Despite the fact that there were every opportunity to hold Riga, it was surrendered to the Germans by order of the military command. Clearing the way for the Germans to revolutionary Petrograd, Kornilov began his open counter-revolutionary rebellion. Kornilov was defeated by revolutionary workers and soldiers under the leadership of the Bolsheviks.

The 1917 campaign was characterized by further attempts by the warring parties to overcome the positional impasse, this time through the massive use of artillery, tanks and aircraft.

The saturation of troops with technical means of combat significantly complicated the offensive battle; it became in the full sense a combined arms battle, the success of which was achieved by the coordinated actions of all branches of the military.

During the campaign operation, there was a gradual transition from dense rifle chains to group formations of troops. The core of these formations were tanks, escort guns and machine guns. Unlike rifle chains, groups could maneuver on the battlefield, destroy or bypass the firing points and strongholds of the defender, and advance at a faster pace.

The growth of the technical equipment of the troops created the preconditions for breaking through the positional front. In some cases, troops managed to break through enemy defenses to the entire tactical depth. However, in general, the problem of breaking through the positional front was not solved, since the attacker could not develop tactical success to an operational scale.

The development of means and methods of conducting an offensive led to further improvement of defense. The depth of defense of the divisions increased to 10-12 km. In addition to the main positions, they began to build forward, cutoff and rear positions. There has been a transition from rigid defense to maneuver of forces and means when repelling an enemy offensive.

3.5 1918 campaign

The preparation of the parties for hostilities in the 1918 campaign took place in the context of a growing revolutionary movement in the countries of Western Europe under the influence of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Already in January 1918, mass strikes of workers broke out in a number of countries, and uprisings occurred in the armies and navies. The revolutionary movement grew especially quickly in Germany and Austria-Hungary.

The growth of the revolutionary movement in European countries was the main reason why the American imperialists began to transfer their troops to France.

By the beginning of 1918, the Entente (without Russia) had 274 divisions, 51,750 guns, 3,784 aircraft and 890 tanks. The countries of the German coalition had 275 divisions, 15,700 guns and 2,890 aircraft; there were no tanks in their army.

Having lost numerical superiority in forces due to Russia's withdrawal from the war, the Entente command decided to switch to strategic defense in order to accumulate forces and begin active operations in the second half of 1918.

The German command, planning military operations for 1918, planned to carry out two strikes: in the west - with the aim of defeating the allies, ahead of the arrival of the main contingent of US troops in France, and in the east - with the aim of unleashing a military intervention against the Soviet Republic.

The Germans struck the first blow in the West on March 21 on the right flank of the British in Picardy. Superiority in forces and surprise of actions ensured their success in the first days of the offensive. The British troops had to retreat and suffered significant losses. In this regard, the German command clarified the initial plan of the operation, deciding to defeat the French troops south of the Somme. However, during the operation, superiority in forces was lost. Fighting south of the Somme continued until April 4, when the German advance was completely stopped. It was not possible to defeat the main forces of the Anglo-French troops.

Five days later, the Germans launched an offensive against the British on the northern sector of the front in Flanders. As in March, here, due to the surprise of the offensive and significant superiority in forces, they initially managed to put the British in a critical position. But French reserves were brought forward to help, and this saved the British troops from defeat. Fighting in this direction continued until May 1. The Germans advanced 16-20 km, captured a number of settlements, but did not achieve their main goal - they failed to defeat the British.

Despite the failure of two operations, the Germans did not give up hope of defeating the Entente and forcing it to at least a compromise peace. To this end, a new operation began on May 27, now against French troops in the Paris direction. The French front was broken through on the first day of the offensive. To cause panic in Paris, the Germans began shelling it with super-heavy guns, the firing range of which reached 120 km.

By May 30, German troops advancing in the center reached the Marne River, finding themselves 70 km away. From Paris. However, on the left wing their advance was stopped. Attempts to expand the breakthrough towards the flanks were unsuccessful. The forces of the Entente were constantly growing. The balance of enemy forces was almost equalized, and by June 7 active hostilities ceased. The Germans failed to form the Marne. On June 11, the French launched a strong counterattack on the right flank of the German troops. The German offensive was stopped completely.

July, the German command launched a new offensive operation on the Marne with the aim of delivering the final crushing blow. The operation was prepared carefully with the expectation of a surprise attack. However, the French learned about the place and time of the upcoming attack and took a number of preventive measures, in particular, they withdrew their main forces to the rear. As a result of this, the German fire strike hit an empty place.

On the first day of the offensive, German troops crossed the Marne in several places and moved 5-8 km into the French positions. Having met the main forces of the French, the Germans were unable to advance further.

In July, French troops launched a counterattack on the right flank of German troops located on the Marne ledge, and threw them back 20-30 km beyond the Aisne River, that is, to the line from which they began their offensive in May.

The Entente command planned a number of private operations for the second half of 1918 with the aim of eliminating the ledges formed during the German offensive operations. It believed that if these operations were successful, then larger operations could be carried out in the future.

The offensive of the Anglo-French troops with the aim of eliminating the Amenien ledge began on August 8. An unexpected and strong blow from the Allies led to a breakthrough of the German defenses and the rapid development of the operation. He contributed to the decline in morale of the German army. In just one day, over 10 thousand German soldiers and officers surrendered.

In the second half of August, the Entente command organized a number of new operations, expanding the offensive front, and on September 26, the Anglo-French launched a general offensive. Germany's military disaster was fast approaching. This accelerated the defeat of the German troops. During October, Anglo-French troops successively overcame several German defensive zones in Northern France. On November 5, German troops began to retreat along the entire front, and on November 11, Germany capitulated.

The First World War, which lasted just over four years, is over.

4. Military-political results of the war

The most important political result of the war was that it accelerated the maturation of the objective preconditions for the proletarian revolution. Following the Great October Socialist Revolution in Russia, revolutions took place in Germany, Austria-Hungary and other countries. The First World War and the Great October Socialist Revolution marked the beginning of a general crisis of capitalism.

The main military result of the First World War was the defeat of Germany and its allies.

According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost all its colonies; Alsace, Lorraine, Saarland and other territories were taken from it. It was forbidden to have an army exceeding 100 thousand people, aviation, tanks and submarines.

However, the Treaty of Versailles did not, and could not, eliminate the contradictions between the imperialist powers. “...The Treaty of Versailles,” noted V.I. Lenin, “was a predator and showed that France and England were actually fighting Germany in order to consolidate their power over the colonies and increase their imperialist power.”

Participation in the war of massive armies equipped with a variety of military equipment led to the development and improvement of methods of preparing and conducting combat and operations. Military operations began to unfold over a large area and during the course of the war they broke up into a number of separate battles, battles and maneuvers, united by a unity of plan and purpose. In this regard, in the First World War, the operation took on a completed form as a set of coordinated actions of troops, carried out according to the purpose, place and time of military operations of troops, carried out according to a single plan by operational formations to achieve the goal.

The emergence of new technology caused changes in tactics, primarily in the forms of combat formations. Dense shooting targets were replaced by group formations of troops. The density of artillery increased sharply. She began to support the infantry attack with a fiery shaft. Aircraft and chemical warfare agents were widely used to suppress defenses. The main problem of offensive combat tactics was the need to ensure close interaction of all forces and means participating in the battle.

The improvement of defense was expressed in increasing its depth by creating a system of positions and defensive lines. Resistance units and cut-off positions began to appear inside the strips, and reinforced concrete and metal defensive structures appeared.

The main branch of the military throughout the war remained the infantry. Although the proportion of infantry decreased by an average of 20%, the saturation of troops with automatic weapons led to an increase in their firepower.

During the war, new types of artillery equipment, mainly heavy guns, were developed and put into service. The range of artillery as a whole increased by 30% and for a number of guns already exceeded 10 km. The use of aviation and tanks led to the creation of anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery and supported the infantry advance to a depth of 3-4 km. The artillery not only prepared an attack with its fire, but the problem of continuous interaction between the infantry and artillery was not completely solved.

The advancing infantry, having advanced 3-4 km, was forced to stop, as it was deprived of the support of artillery, which during this period changed its firing positions.

By the beginning of the First World War, all armies had numerous cavalry, but they did not play their role as a mobile branch of troops when performing operational tasks. In none of the operations was cavalry used to develop success. Like infantry, it was used to break through positional defenses, which, given the significant saturation of troops with machine guns, inevitably led to large losses. By the end of the war, both the absolute number of cavalry and its relative weight in the overall composition of all armed forces had noticeably decreased.

One of the main means of combat that appeared during the World War was tanks. They combined armor protection, firepower and relatively high mobility. During the war, the number of tanks increased sharply, and their combat capabilities increased.

The use of tanks to break through defenses led to changes in infantry combat formations, complicated the organization of interaction between tanks and other branches of the military, and necessitated the organization of anti-tank defense as the most important combat support measure.

The use of chemical agents, as well as tanks, was one of the attempts to find a means to facilitate the breakthrough of the positional front. During the war, the chemical agents themselves and the methods of their combat use were improved - from primitive gas release from cylinders to shelling from special gas launchers, mortars and artillery. The use of chemical means of combat caused the emergence of another new element of combat support - anti-chemical protection (ACD).

The share of engineering troops during the war increased by one and a half times. The most typical tasks of the engineering troops were the construction of defensive structures and barriers, the production of road and bridge works, and the destruction of enemy defensive structures and obstacles. first world war armed

Positional forms of struggle left a deep imprint on the development of communications. The slow pace of development of operations and the relatively rare movement of headquarters did not create a need for mobile control, and therefore the development of communications was organic. Only the emergence of new types of troops placed greater demands on communications technology and its organization. During the war, relatively new types of communications became most developed: radio, long-distance telephone communications, direct-printing telephone equipment, airplanes and communication vehicles.

The increased scope of operations placed high demands on the implementation of rapid maneuver of human and material reserves. In solving these problems, the use of railway and road transport has become increasingly important. During the war years, the number of automobile fleets of the main participants in the war grew from 15 to 340 thousand different vehicles. The war showed that motor transport not only increases the mobility of troops, but can also ensure uninterrupted delivery of all necessary types of supplies, complementing the work of railways, and can independently ensure the transportation of goods and troops on a large scale and over long distances.

Aviation developed rapidly during the war years. The power of aircraft engines increased from 60-80 to 300-400 hp, horizontal flight speed - from 80 to 200 km/h, range - up to 300-500 km, and ceiling - up to 7 km. The ascent time to a height of 2 km decreased to 8-15 minutes. Airplanes armed with machine guns appeared. The bomb load increased to 1000 kg. Qualitative and quantitative changes in aircraft have increased the combat capabilities of aviation, and the range of tasks it can solve has expanded. During the war, aviation ceased to be just a means of reconnaissance, it turned into an independent branch of the military, solving a variety of tasks to support combat operations of ground troops.

From the use of individual aircraft and small groups of them, both warring sides switched to massive aviation operations, which led to the emergence of a new type of combat support - air defense (air defense).

The changed conditions and nature of warfare led to the further development of means and methods of conducting military operations at sea. Along with the improvement of previous means of warfare at sea, such as naval artillery, mine and torpedo weapons, depth charges, antenna and proximity mines, hydroacoustic devices, etc. have become widespread. The main means of destroying enemy ships were mines and torpedoes.

The development of combat weapons led to a decrease in the relative weight of battleships and cruisers and led to an increase in the importance of light forces and submarines. Aircraft carriers, torpedo boats, landing and patrol ships, submarine hunters, and underwater minelayers appeared. During the war, a branch of the naval forces emerged - naval aviation.

The development of forces and means of combat at sea and their massive use changed the conditions and nature of this struggle and created the need to develop new techniques and methods of conducting combat operations at sea. There became a need for daily combat activities of the fleet, which arose during the Russian-Japanese War and included reconnaissance in the theater of war and the implementation of all types of defense. Achieving major goals through one naval battle became impossible. A new form of fleet activity has emerged - naval operations.

The importance of close interaction between all naval forces and their reliable and comprehensive support has sharply increased. New types of combat support have appeared, such as mine, anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and anti-boat defense. Trawling became a mandatory type of combat support for fleet operations.

Conclusion

Analyzing all the material, I came to the conclusion that the war that began in the era of imperialism, and in particular the First World War, showed that armed struggle requires massive, multi-million-strong armies, equipped with a wide variety of military equipment. If at the beginning of the First World War the number of armies on both sides did not exceed about 70 million people, which amounted to almost 12% of the total population of the largest states participating in the war. In Germany and France, 20% of the population was under arms. More than a million people simultaneously took part in individual operations. By the end of the war, in the armies of its most important participants (at the front and in the rear), there were a total of: 18.5 million rifles, 480 thousand machine guns, 183 thousand guns and mortars, over 8 thousand tanks, 84 thousand aircraft, 340 thousand cars. Military equipment has also found its application in the mechanization of engineering work and in the use of various new means of communication.

The result of the wars of the era of imperialism indicates that as their scope grew, so did their destructive nature.

In terms of damage caused to humanity, the First World War surpassed all previous wars. Only human casualties during the war amounted to 39.5 million, of which 9.5 million were killed and wounded. About 29 million were wounded and maimed. In terms of the absolute number of irretrievable losses, the First World War was twice as large as all wars taken together for 125 years, starting with the wars of bourgeois France.

The war of the era of imperialism revealed the increasing role of economic and moral factors. This was a direct consequence of the creation and growth of massive armies, the masses of various equipment and the protracted nature of wars increased, in which all the economic and political foundations of the state were tested. The experience of these wars, especially the First World War, was confirmed by V.I. Lenin, made back in 1904, that modern wars are waged by peoples. The people are the decisive force in war. The participation of the people in war is manifested not only in the fact that modern mass armies are recruited at their expense, but also in the fact that the base of modern war is the rear. During the war, the rear feeds the front not only with reserves, weapons and food, but also with moods and ideas, thereby exerting a decisive influence on the morale of the army and its combat effectiveness.

The war showed that the strength of the rear, which includes the moral spirit of the people, is one of the decisive, constantly operating factors determining the course and outcome of a modern war.

In my opinion, the Treaty of Versailles was one of the main reasons why the Second World War began.

List of used literature

1. Military history: Textbook/I.E. Krupchenko, M.L. Altgovsen, M.P. Dorofeev and others - M.: Voenizdat, 1984.-375 p.
2. History: Directory/V.N. Ambarov, P. Andreev, S.G. Antonenko and others - M.: Bustard, 1998. - 816 p.
3. General history: Handbook/F.s. Kapitsa, V.A. Grigoriev, E.P. Novikova et al.-M.: Philologist, 1996.- 544 p.
4. History of the First World War 1914 - 1918: Rostunova I.I. - M.: Nauka, 1975.-215 p.
5. World War I. 1914 - 1918: /collection of scientific articles/ Editorial board: Sidorov (chief editor) and others - M.: Nauka, 1975. - 44 p.