The first world war class 10 icse notes
The First World War (1914-1918 A.D.) engulfed almost the whole world. It was fought on a wide scale on the land, the sea and in the air. About 86 nations took part in this war. Because of the unprecedented extent of its spread, impact and its total nature, it was called a World War.
Causes of The First World War
The causes of the First World War can be divided into two categories :
(a) The long-term causes, and
(b) The Immediate causes.
(a) The Long-Term Causes:
1. Division of Europe : Europe was divided into two hostile camps at the dawn of the 20th century. The major European nations were divided into Blocs. For example, Britain, France and Russia had formed the Triple Entente in 1907 A.D. Earlier than this, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy had formed a Triple Alliance in 1882 A.D. They had made treaties of mutual help to each other in case of a war with the opponents. Tension prevailed in their relations with each other, bloc-wise. In the words of Prof. Fay, "The system of secret alliances made it inevitable that if war did come it would involve all the Great Powers of Europe".
2. Nationalism and Mutual Rivalries : The 19th century was an era of narrow and militant nationalism. Patriotism, love for one's own nation, meant hatred towards the other nations. Each nation thought about her own national interests. Nationalism had become competitive and aggressive, taking the shape of chauvinism. Germany had Kaiser William II as her new Emperor. He wanted to establish a vast German empire. France and Germany were old rivals. Defeating France in the Franco-Prussian War 1870-71 Germany had seized the province of Alsace and parts of Lorraine which were rich in minerals and industrial products. The French dreamed of taking revenge and taking back their lost provinces.
3. Militarism and Armament Race: In the later half of the 19th century, militarism was growing in Europe. It was caused by narrow nationalism, economic competition and international tension. Germany had acquired her colonies in Africa and few Islands in the Pacific Ocean. In order to protect these, she made more warships and developed a powerful navy. Her Ship lmperator built in 1912 was the largest in the world. She had left Britain and France far behind in the production of iron and steel. She also dug the Keil canal deeper for the warships to remain there. Britain and France felt concerned with German war-preparations and thus, they were forced to enter the armament race. The defence spending had increased enormously between 1908 and 1914.
4.Clash of Imperialist Interests and Colonial Rivalry : By the end of the 19th century, many of the countries of Asia and Africa had been occupied by Britain. France, Spain, Holland, Portugal and Belgium.
- These colonies provided new markets, raw materials, increased manpower for national armies and missionaries to preach the gospel. But in due course of time, Germany surpassed other European nations in industrial production. She wanted a share in the world market. It became necessary for Germany to have her own colonies. This brought her into a direct clash with the existing colonial powers like Britain, France and others. This created a warlike situation.
- In 1904, Britain and France made a secret agreement in which Britain would have political control over Egypt and France over Morocco. But the French claim over Morocco was opposed by Germany which declared that all the nations had equal opportunities to trade with it.
- The plan of Germany to construct a railway line from Berlin to Baghdad created a fear in the minds of Britain, France and Russia.
- Italy's ambitious plans in Africa and Ottoman Empire also alarmed the big powers.
- Russia's expansion plan in Ottoman Empire clashed with the interest of Britain, Germany and Austria.
Japan which had become an imperialist power had ambitions in the Far East and was on the way to fulfil them.
Thus, the rivalry over the colonies became a major cause of the World War I.
5. Balkan Issue : (i) The most serious source of nationalist tension in Europe after 1871 was the area called the Balkans.
(ii) A large part of the Balkans was under the control of the Ottoman Empire which started disintegrating in the 19th century.
(iii) One by one, its European subject nationalities broke away from its control and declared independence.
6. Negative Role of the Press : Newspapers and the media poisoned public opinion by presenting views in such a manner so as to increase their sale. Their hostile propaganda created an atmosphere of doubt, distrust and tension which proved harmful to world peace.
7. Absence of an effective International Machinery : There was no effective International machinery to enforce International laws and norms amongst nations. In the First Hague Conference of 1899 A.D. called on the invitation of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, where 26 nations sent their delegates, a proposal was made that no nation should increase its armies or defence budget for five years. But nothing could be finalised there, mainly because of the German opposition to the said proposal. A second conference again met at Hague in 1907 A.D. but it could also not achieve the desired result. In the absence of any International organization or Forum to sort out the causes of conflict amongst nations, they were left to themselves to safeguard their own interests through armaments, media and newspapers, secret diplomacy and alliances.
(b) The Immediate Causes of First World War
The Sarajevo Incident : In June 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Heir-Apparent to the throne of Austria went on an official visit to
Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. There, on June 28, 1914, he and his wife were shot dead. The assassin, Gavrilo Princep, was a nineteen year old Bosnian. This dual murder had been planned in Serbia by a secret society of patriotic terrorists, called the "Black Haund". The Austrians blamed the Serbians for this crime, as the assassin and the fellow conspirators had received their guns and bombs in the Serbian capital, with the help of Serbian officials. Presuming this to be true, Austria made eleven demands and sent a stiff ultimatum to Serbia on 23rd July, to apprehend the criminals and hand them over to the Austrian government. Austria also sought a ban on anti-Austrian publications, anti-Austrian meetings and institutions in Serbia.
The War Begins : When Serbia refused to comply with some of the above conditions (because of Russian instigation), especially those that would have led to loss of her sovereignty. Austria declared a War on Serbia on July 28, 1914. Upon this, Russia warned Austria and mobilized her troops. Thereupon Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, and on France on August 3, 1914. Next day, Britain declared war upon Germany, when the German army invaded Belgium, whose neutrality had been guaranteed by Britain. When Germany moved fast, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia on August 6, 1914.
Two Major Events of the War of First world war
Entry of the USA in War (USA) : On 6th April 191 7, the United States of America declared war on Germany due to the following reasons :
- In 1915, the German U-Boats had sunk, a British ship Lusitania sailing from New York for Liverpool in which 128 Americans were killed.
- The Americans were generally sympathetic to Britain. Many Americans had invested their money in Entente countries which could be paid back if these countries won the War. This placed at the disposal of the Allies America's huge resources, both in men and money.
America also feared if Germany won the war, she would become a serious rival of USA.
Exit of Russia : Another major development took place in 1917. Russia withdrew from the war for the following reasons :
(i) The Russian Revolution (the Bolshevik Revolution) of 191 7 in which the Russian government passed into the hands of the communists.
(ii) Russia had lost more than 6,00,000 soldiers.
(iii) The new Bolshevik Party was not in favour of war. Russia withdrew from the War after the Revolution and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed. Germany imposed a heavy war indemnity of six billion marks on Russia. She also occupied many prosperous and industrial cities of Russia
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