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World War 1: A History From Beginning to End by Henry Freeman.
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Succinct, and yet very well summed, introduction:-
""The First World War, known at the time as “The Great War”, was a four-year conflict that spanned the globe––involving thirty-two countries in total.
" It was an unforeseen war that resulted from a series of calamities that broke the delicate arrangement of European powers, and ended with the loss of over eleven million military personnel and seven million civilians.
"What had started as a diplomatic feud brought on by the assassination of a monarch erupted into a conflict that engulfed the world and changed the map of Europe - forever. The war brought about revolution; it ended empires, dissolved monarchies and led to the development of war machines that play a crucial role in the modern conflicts of today.
"It was thought at the time that the war wouldn’t last more than a few months, and that victory would be won easily and without much cost. However as the months turned into years and the war spread like hell-fire, it scorched Europe and surrounding continents. Entire cities were leveled, genocides were committed and exploited for strategic advantage, and all sides were hit with immense losses.""
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"On the outset of war, the continent was split by powerful nations and congealed into opposing alliances that faced each other with strong militaristic and industrial vigor.
"Europe was divided into two major alliances: The “Triple Entente”, an Anglo-Russian agreement between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the “Triple Alliance”, which was formed of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy."
"By 1871, the nation of Germany was in its infancy. It had grown from a confederation of German states into an overbearing empire, having massively expanded its industrial and colonial interests.
"In 1879, Germany––with a desire for further European and Baltic expansion––took advantage of the waning Austro-Hungarian Empire and formed a “Dual Alliance” to protect against possible Russian aggression in the Baltic regions.
"In 1882, Italy, fearing conflict with France after the latter took colonial territory from her in Tunisia, signed the Triple Alliance agreement with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Italy’s allegiance to its previous enemy, Austria-Hungary, was met with some incredulity from the Italian public."
"In opposition, The Franco-Russian Alliance, signed in 1894, was an agreement that promised that if either nation were to be attacked by a member of the Triple Alliance, each would aid its ally in defense. The treaty also stipulated that should any member of the Triple Alliance begin mass mobilization of its military, France and Russia would respond in kind."
"The “Entente Cordiale” put an end to centuries of aggression between the two countries and settled significant differences. Meanwhile, the “Anglo-Russian Entente” was a treaty agreed in 1907 between Great Britain and Russia. It settled British and Russian animosities surrounding control of countries in Persia, Mesopotamia and Asia."
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"To this day, there’s still a debate among historians as to which of a plethora of possible events led to the outbreak of the First World War. The most commonly agreed cause, and perhaps the most seismic event, was the assassination of the Arch Duke of Austria-Hungary.
"On June 28th, 1914, Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Duchess Sophie Chotek of Austria, were assassinated whilst on a state visit to Sarajevo, in Austro-Hungarian Bosnia. The assassin was a nineteen-year-old nationalist: Gavrilo Princip."
"Princip was with seven other would-be assassins that day who also resented the Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and dreamt of a free and independent Serbia and a greater kingdom uniting all Slavs––which became Yugoslavia.
"Though there’s no doubt that these men, Princip included, acquired their weapons and training in Belgrade, Serbia, history has ruled out any official involvement by the Serbian government in the assassination of the Arch Duke. Nonetheless, Austria-Hungary declared that Serbia was complicit in the assassination and held it accountable.
"On the 5th of July, Kaiser Wilhelm II, the emperor of Germany, signed what became known as Germany’s “Blank Cheque”. He promised full solidarity with Austria-Hungary, even if they declared war on Serbia. The Kaiser decreed that Germany wouldn’t yield in its support of Austro-Hungarian aggression into Serbia, even if it resulted in conflict with Russia.
"The Hungarian Prime Minister István Tisza, whose approval, among others, was required in order to launch an attack on Serbia, was highly skeptical of any action that could incur the military might of Russia. Instead, he and other Austro-Hungarian leaders elected to issue Serbia an ultimatum. The intention of some was to demand that the ultimatum be so damaging, so humiliating and punishing that Serbia would have no option but to reject it, thus leading to the war that some Austro-Hungarian politicians intently craved.
"The ultimatum was tantamount to the loss of Serbian sovereignty to Austria-Hungary. Serbia rejected the impossible ultimatum on the 25th of July, thirty-seven days after the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand. Three days later on July 28th, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, though it took some time before she fully mobilized her forces along the border."
"In a final effort to avert all-out war across Europe, Sir Edward Grey, the British foreign secretary, proposed peace talks between all sides. However his plea was rejected by Kaiser Wilhelm. War looked inevitable."
"Germany insisted that Belgium provide passage of German troops through her borders. The plan exercised by Germany, known as “The Schlieffen Plan”, was to flank the French forces mobilized along the border by entering Belgium and circling behind the French front, then after what was planned to be a quick defeat, Germany would withdraw vast swaths of her military to meet the Russians.
"The Treaty of London, signed in 1839, was an agreement brokered by Great Britain between the major nations of Europe, guaranteeing Belgium’s neutrality and sovereignty after she broke away from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Schlieffen Plan, that had been in development for nine years prior to the war, ignored Belgium's neutrality and was considered an act of war. Britain demanded that Germany cease her march into Belgium and withdraw. On the 4th of August, after Germany ignored the demands to halt the incursion, Britain declared war on Germany."
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"The first significant battle at sea took place on the 28th of August, when a British naval squadron sunk three German cruisers off the coast of Helgoland. The British had a superior navy, and were able to enforce a blockade in the North Sea. The aim was to prevent supplies from reaching the Central Powers (The remaining members of the Triple Alliance). The blockade lasted from 1914 until 1919, when it was lifted eight months after armistice."
"On the 5th of September, British and French forces halted their retreat and held ground at the Marne River to prevent the German incursion from reaching Paris. The following day, the Germans caught up with the Allied forces and the Battle of the Marne began. The Allied efforts succeeded in preventing the advancing German force from reaching Paris, and pushed them back towards the border––but at the combined cost of over half a million men from each side.
"In the weeks that followed, Allied and Central Powers began a “Race to the Sea”, an attempt by both sides to gain ground in unoccupied territory along the French northern flank. There were a total of twelve battles fought during this time, culminating at the Battle of Ypres. From that point, both Allied and Central Powers began a new tactic by which to hold and gain ground: trench-warfare."
"Both sides dug trenches that stretched from the Channel to Switzerland. The vast trench networks, which ran approximately three hundred fifty and miles, formed the Western Front."
”On the Eastern Front, German forces began using chemical weapons––a new device of death designed to bring a more resolute and quick ending to battles.
"The Germans unleashed xylyl bromide on the Russian forces at the Battle of Bolimów, but the attack backfired when the wind blew the chemical back over German lines. Luckily for the German forces, a combination of cold weather and the primitive concentration of the deadly mist prevented the xylyl bromide from doing too much harm. In reaction to the failed chemical assault, the Germans called off the attack.
"The Battle of Bolimów preluded the more successful German assault that was launched on February the 7th, which became known as The Second Battle of the Masurian Lake. Field Marshal von Hindenburg led the Central forces in an attack, which wiped out over two hundred thousand Russian soldiers and secured German victory."
"The Ottoman Empire began the annexation of up to a million Armenians from its Turkish regions––leading to the Armenian Genocide. The Armenians had suffered long and terrible persecution, and were viewed by the Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire as a people of differing religious and political allegiances. The able-bodied Armenian men were subjected to conscription, hard labor and murder. The women, children and elders were driven into the Syrian Desert without food or water and left to die. The genocide prompted outrage from the Allies who decreed the annexation a crime against humanity."
"On April 25th, a huge Allied force consisting of English, French and Indian troops, as well as ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), landed in Gallipoli. ... Turks were prepared and had amassed a virtually impenetrable defense force. When the Allies landed on the Gallipoli peninsula, they were met with extreme force and were pinned on the beach for over twenty-four hours. The water that lapped the beaches ran red with Allied blood. Meanwhile, the Anzac forces landed on the wrong beach, having lost their bearings in the dark, and faced an impossible climb up treacherous cliffs, facing the onslaught of Turkish forces."
"On May 7th, German U-boat SM U-20 torpedoed the British ocean liner the RMS Lusitania off the Irish coast. ... "
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"In mid-January, British intelligence intercepted a communication from the German Foreign Office. The communication was decoded and revealed a telegram sent by the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Alfred Zimmermann, to the German embassy in Mexico. This infamous missive became known as the “Zimmerman Telegram”, revealing a proposition of alliance between Germany and Mexico; Germany would provide the necessary support for an attack on the southern states to reclaim historic land taken from Mexico by the United States. The telegram was quickly dispatched to the US government. The plan was announced to the US public and demand for US intervention increased pressure on Washington to re-evaluate its position of neutrality."
"On November 7th to the 8th, the Bolshevik party in Russia, led by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, staged the October Revolution, which dissolved the Russian provisional government and supplanted it with a Marxist-Soviet government. The revolution put an end to Russian involvement in the Great War, and shortly after the takeover, Russia signed an armistice agreement with Germany."
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July 23, 2021 - July 24, 2021.
Kindle Edition, 50 pages
Published September 12th 2016
by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Original Title:-
World War 1: A History From Beginning to End
ASIN:- B01M03OKDA
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