Allies (Entente): France, Great Britain, Russia, Japan, Serbia, USA, Italy (participated in the war on the side of the Entente since 1915).

Friends of the Entente (supported the Entente in the war): Montenegro, Belgium, Greece, Brazil, China, Afghanistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, Siam, Haiti, Liberia, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica.

Question about the causes of the First World War is one of the most discussed in world historiography since the outbreak of the war in August 1914.

The outbreak of the war was facilitated by the widespread strengthening of nationalist sentiments. France hatched plans to return the lost territories of Alsace and Lorraine. Italy, even being in an alliance with Austria-Hungary, dreamed of returning its lands to Trentino, Trieste and Fiume. The Poles saw in the war an opportunity to recreate the state destroyed by the partitions of the 18th century. Many peoples inhabiting Austria-Hungary sought national independence. Russia was convinced that it could not develop without limiting German competition, protecting the Slavs from Austria-Hungary and expanding influence in the Balkans. In Berlin, the future was associated with the defeat of France and Great Britain and the unification of the countries of Central Europe under the leadership of Germany. In London they believed that the people of Great Britain would live in peace only by crushing their main enemy - Germany.

In addition, international tension was heightened by a series of diplomatic crises - the Franco-German clash in Morocco in 1905-1906; the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Austrians in 1908-1909; Balkan wars in 1912-1913.

The immediate cause of the war was the Sarajevo Murder. June 28, 1914 Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by nineteen-year-old Serbian student Gavrilo Princip, who was a member of the secret organization "Young Bosnia", fighting for the unification of all South Slavic peoples in one state.

July 23, 1914 Austria-Hungary, having secured the support of Germany, presented Serbia with an ultimatum and demanded that its military units be allowed into Serbian territory in order to, together with Serbian forces, suppress hostile actions.

Serbia's response to the ultimatum did not satisfy Austria-Hungary, and July 28, 1914 she declared war on Serbia. Russia, having received assurances of support from France, openly opposed Austria-Hungary and July 30, 1914 announced a general mobilization. Germany, taking advantage of this opportunity, announced August 1, 1914 war against Russia, and August 3, 1914- France. After the German invasion August 4, 1914 Great Britain declared war on Germany in Belgium.

The First World War consisted of five campaigns. During first campaign in 1914 Germany invaded Belgium and northern France, but was defeated at the Battle of the Marne. Russia captured parts of East Prussia and Galicia (East Prussian Operation and Battle of Galicia), but was then defeated as a result of the German and Austro-Hungarian counteroffensive.

1915 Campaign associated with Italy’s entry into the war, the disruption of the German plan to withdraw Russia from the war, and bloody, inconclusive battles on the Western Front.

1916 campaign associated with the entry of Romania into the war and the waging of a grueling positional war on all fronts.

1917 campaign associated with the entry of the United States into the war, Russia's revolutionary exit from the war and a series of successive offensive operations on the Western Front (Nivelle's operation, operations in the Messines area, Ypres, near Verdun, and Cambrai).

1918 Campaign was characterized by a transition from positional defense to a general offensive of the Entente armed forces. From the second half of 1918, the Allies prepared and launched retaliatory offensive operations (Amiens, Saint-Miel, Marne), during which they eliminated the results of the German offensive, and in September 1918 they launched a general offensive. By November 1, 1918, the Allies liberated the territory of Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, entered the territory of Bulgaria after the armistice and invaded the territory of Austria-Hungary. On September 29, 1918, a truce with the allies was concluded by Bulgaria, October 30, 1918 - Turkey, November 3, 1918 - Austria-Hungary, November 11, 1918 - Germany.

June 28, 1919 was signed at the Paris Peace Conference Treaty of Versailles with Germany, officially ending the First World War of 1914-1918.

On September 10, 1919, the Saint-Germain Peace Treaty with Austria was signed; November 27, 1919 - Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria; June 4, 1920 - Treaty of Trianon with Hungary; August 20, 1920 - Treaty of Sèvres with Turkey.

In total, the First World War lasted 1,568 days. It was attended by 38 states, in which 70% of the world's population lived. The armed struggle was carried out on fronts with a total length of 2500–4000 km. The total losses of all countries at war amounted to about 9.5 million people killed and 20 million people wounded. At the same time, the losses of the Entente amounted to about 6 million people killed, the losses of the Central Powers amounted to about 4 million people killed.

During the First World War, for the first time in history, tanks, airplanes, submarines, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, mortars, grenade launchers, bomb throwers, flamethrowers, super-heavy artillery, hand grenades, chemical and smoke shells, and toxic substances were used. New types of artillery appeared: anti-aircraft, anti-tank, infantry escort. Aviation became an independent branch of the military, which began to be divided into reconnaissance, fighter and bomber. Tank troops, chemical troops, air defense troops, and naval aviation emerged. The role of engineering troops increased and the role of cavalry decreased.

The results of the First World War were the liquidation of four empires: German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman, the latter two being divided, and Germany and Russia being reduced territorially. As a result, new independent states appeared on the map of Europe: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Finland.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

The First World War is the largest military conflict of its time. The confrontation arose due to a crisis in relations between European countries. All participants had their own motives. At the time of the outbreak of hostilities, there were two poles - the Entente and the Triple Alliance.

Formation of coalitions

Participants in the First World War included almost all European countries. As events unfolded, they joined one of the sides in the confrontation. Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Spain, and Denmark remained neutral.

One of the parties to the conflict was the Entente - a coalition created by Russia, Great Britain and France. A characteristic feature of the agreement is that there was no single agreement; the participants limited themselves to bilateral agreements. One was signed in 1904, between Great Britain and France, the second - in 1907, the parties were Great Britain and Russia. Romania, Italy (since 1915), Greece and other Balkan countries fought on the side of the Entente. Even before the end of hostilities, due to the crisis in the country, Russia withdrew from the war.

Why did the Entente countries enter into conflict?

All participants in the First World War had their reasons for participating in the confrontation:

• Russia sought to expand its sphere of influence in Europe - to become a leader among the Slavic countries. I was especially interested in access to the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, there were obvious aggressive attacks from Germany against Russia.
• France had harbored a grudge against Germany since the Franco-Prussian War and wanted revenge. At the same time, there was a fear of losing colonies in Africa. By the beginning of the twentieth century, France could no longer withstand competition in the market, so it wanted to regain its importance by eliminating its strongest opponent.
• Great Britain also had a number of reasons to fight Germany. First, England sought to prevent German penetration of the British colonies in Africa. There has been a trade war between the countries for a long time. Secondly, she wanted revenge on Germany because the latter supported Great Britain’s opponents in the Anglo-Boer War.
• Serbia was not the founder of the Entente, but also had reasons to enter into the conflict. The state was very young, it lacked influence - participation in such a confrontation could turn it into a leader. Serbia secretly fought against Austria-Hungary.

Lists of participants in the First World War indicate that the conflict affected the whole of Europe in a certain way.

Block of opponents - Triple Alliance

The military-political of Austria-Hungary and Italy was formed at the end of the 19th century. The first agreement was signed in 1879. The founders were Austria-Hungary and Germany, and Italy joined them 3 years later.

Türkiye and Bulgaria fought on the side of the Triple Alliance. Italy left the coalition in 1915. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Türkiye and Bulgaria became known as the Quadruple Alliance.

It included strong countries. Germany was a leader in economic and political relations and successfully pursued colonial policy in Africa. Austria-Hungary was a powerful state. It was on its territory that the incident took place, which became the main reason for the outbreak of hostilities - the murder of the heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand.

Why did the Triple Alliance countries want war?

The First World War provided an opportunity to deal with political and economic opponents. The participating countries that were part of the Tripartite Agreement had a number of motives to start hostilities:

• Germany sought undisputed leadership in Europe. Tried to destroy the influence of Russia and France. An important motive was the desire to get more colonies in Africa.
• Austria-Hungary wanted to preserve its existing territories and annex new ones. She strived, like Russia, to become the leader of all Slavs.

After the end of the conflict, participants in the First World War experienced a weakened economy and government instability. After this confrontation, all empires that existed at that time collapsed.

First World War 1914-1918, an imperialist war between two coalitions of capitalist powers for the redivision of an already divided world, the redistribution of colonies, spheres of influence and investment of capital, the enslavement of other peoples. First, the war involved 8 European countries: Germany and Austria-Hungary, on the one hand, Great Britain, France, Russia, Belgium, Serbia and Montenegro, on the other. Later, most countries of the world were involved in it. In total, 4 states participated in the war on the side of the Austro-German bloc, and 34 states on the side of the Entente (including 4 British dominions and the colony of India, which signed the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919). By its nature, the war was aggressive and unfair on both sides; only in Belgium, Serbia, and Montenegro did it include elements of the national liberation war. The imperialists of all countries took part in starting the war, but the main culprit was the German bourgeoisie, which began the P. m. war. in “... the most convenient, from its point of view, moment for war, using its latest improvements in military technology and preventing new weapons already planned and predetermined by Russia and France” (Lenin V.I., Complete collection of works. , 5th ed., vol. 26, p. 16).

Countries participating in the 1st World War 1914-18 (all dates - new style)

The reason for P. m.v. was the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on June 15 (28), 1914 in Sarajevo (Bosnia) by Serbian nationalists (see. Sarajevo murder ). The German imperialists decided to use the favorable moment to start a war. Under pressure from Germany, Austria-Hungary presented an ultimatum to Serbia on July 10 (23) and, despite the agreement of the Serbian government to fulfill almost all of its demands, broke off diplomatic relations with it on July 12 (25), and declared war on it on July 15 (28). The capital of Serbia, Belgrade, came under artillery fire. On July 16 (29), Russia began mobilization in the military districts bordering Austria-Hungary, and on July 17 (30) announced general mobilization. On July 18 (31), Germany demanded that Russia stop mobilization and, having received no response, declared war on it on July 19 (August 1). July 21 (August 3) Germany declared war on France and Belgium; On July 22 (August 4), Great Britain declared war on Germany, along with which its dominions - Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa and the largest colony of India - entered the war. On August 10 (23), Japan declared war on Germany. Italy, formally remaining part of the Triple Alliance, declared its neutrality on July 20 (August 2), 1914.

Causes of the war. At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. capitalism developed into imperialism. The world turned out to be almost completely divided between the largest powers (see. Colonies and colonial policy ). The uneven economic and political development of countries has increased. The states that entered the path of capitalist development later than others (the USA, Germany, Japan) quickly moved forward and pushed the old capitalist countries - Great Britain and France - out of world markets, persistently seeking the redistribution of colonies. The most acute contradictions arose between Germany and Great Britain, whose interests collided in many areas of the globe, but especially in Africa, East Asia and the Middle East, where German imperialism mainly directed its trade and colonial expansion. The construction of Baghdad Railway, which opened up a direct route for Germany through the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor to the Persian Gulf and provided it with important positions in the Middle East, which threatened Britain’s sea and land communications with India. The contradictions between Germany and France were deep. Their sources were the desire of the German capitalists to forever secure Alsace and Lorraine, taken from France as a result of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, and the determination of the French to return these areas. The interests of France and Germany also clashed in the colonial issue. France's attempts to seize Morocco met with strong opposition from Germany, which also laid claim to this territory. From the end of the 19th century. Russian-German contradictions grew. The expansion of German imperialism in the Middle East and its attempts to establish control over Turkey affected the economic, political and military-strategic interests of Russia. In its customs policy, Germany sought to limit the import of grain from Russia through high duties and at the same time ensure free penetration of German industrial goods into the Russian market. Deep contradictions existed between Russia and Austria-Hungary in the Balkans. Their main reason was the expansion of the Habsburg monarchy, supported by Germany, into the neighboring South Slavic lands - Bosnia, Herzegovina and Serbia in order to establish dominance in the Balkans. Russia, supporting the struggle of the peoples of the Balkan countries for freedom and national independence, considered the Balkans as its sphere of influence. Tsarism and the Russian imperialist bourgeoisie sought to capture the Bosporus and Dardanelles in order to consolidate positions in the Balkans. Many controversial problems existed between Great Britain and France, Great Britain and Russia, Austria-Hungary and Italy, Turkey and Italy, but they all receded into the background before the main contradictions: between Germany and its rivals - Great Britain, France, Russia. The aggravation and deepening of these contradictions pushed the imperialists to redivide the world, and it “... could not, on the basis of capitalism, happen otherwise than at the cost of a world war” (Lenin V.I., ibid., vol. 34, p. 370) .

In the 1910s The class struggle and national liberation movement grew. The Revolution of 1905-07 in Russia had a huge influence on the rise of the struggle of the working masses for their social and national liberation. In Germany, France, and Great Britain there was a significant growth in the labor movement. The class struggle reached its highest level in Russia, where a new revolutionary upsurge began in 1910 and an acute political crisis was brewing. The national liberation movement in Alsace expanded (see. Zabern incident 1913 ), Ireland, as well as the struggle of the enslaved peoples of Austria-Hungary. The imperialists sought, through war, to suppress the developing liberation movement of the working class and oppressed peoples within their countries and to delay the world revolutionary process.

The imperialists have been preparing for a world war as a means of resolving external and internal contradictions for many years. Its initial stage was the creation of a system of military-political blocs. This started Austro-German Treaty 1879, the participants of which pledged to provide assistance to each other in the event of war with Russia. In 1882, Italy joined them, seeking support in the fight against France for the possession of Tunisia. Thus arose in the center of Europe Triple Alliance 1882, or the alliance of the Central Powers, directed against Russia and France, and later against Great Britain. In contrast to him, another coalition of European powers began to take shape. Formed Russian-French alliance 1891-93, which provided for joint actions of these countries in the event of aggression from Germany or aggression from Italy and Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany. The growth of Germany's economic power at the beginning of the 20th century. forced Great Britain to gradually abandon traditional politics "brilliant insulation" and seek rapprochement with France and Russia. The Anglo-French agreement of 1904 settled disputes between Great Britain and France on colonial issues, and the Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907 cemented the agreement between Russia and Great Britain regarding their policies in Tibet, Afghanistan, and Iran. These documents formalized the creation of the Triple Entente, or Entente,- bloc of Great Britain, France and Russia, which opposed the Triple Alliance. In 1912, the Anglo-French and Franco-Russian maritime conventions were signed, and in 1913 negotiations began on concluding an Anglo-Russian maritime convention.

The creation of military-political groupings in Europe and the arms race further aggravated imperialist contradictions and increased tension in international relations. The relatively calm period of world history gave way to “... more impetuous, spasmodic, catastrophic, conflicting ...” (ibid., vol. 27, p. 94). The aggravation of imperialist contradictions manifested itself in Moroccan crises 1905-06 and 1911, Bosnian crisis 1908-09, Italo-Turkish War 1911-12, Balkan Wars 1912-13. A major international conflict was caused by Germany sending a military mission to Turkey led by General O. Liman von Sanders to reorganize and train the Turkish army (December 1913).

In preparation for a world war, the ruling circles of the imperialist states created a powerful military industry, the basis of which was large state factories - weapons, gunpowder, shells, cartridges, shipbuilding, etc. Private enterprises were involved in the production of military products: in Germany - Krupp factories, in Austria - Hungary - Skoda, in France - Schneider-Creuzot and Saint-Chamon, in Great Britain - Vickers and Armstrong-Whitworth, in Russia - Putilov Plant, etc.

The imperialists of both hostile coalitions energetically strengthened their armed forces. The achievements of science and technology were put at the service of the war. More advanced weapons appeared: repeating rapid-fire rifles and machine guns, which greatly increased the firepower of the infantry; In artillery, the number of rifled guns of the latest systems has sharply increased. Of great strategic importance was the development of railways, which made it possible to significantly accelerate the concentration and deployment of large military masses in theaters of military operations and to ensure an uninterrupted supply of active armies with human replacements and all types of logistics. Road transport began to play an increasingly important role. Military aviation emerged. The use of new means of communication in military affairs (telegraph, telephone, radio) facilitated the organization of command and control of troops. The number of armies and trained reserves increased rapidly (Table 1). In the field of naval armaments there was persistent rivalry between Germany and Great Britain. Since 1905, ships of a new type were built - "dreadnoughts". By 1914, the German fleet had firmly taken second place in the world after the British fleet. Other states also sought to strengthen their navies, but financial and economic capabilities did not allow them to implement the adopted shipbuilding programs (Table 2). The exorbitant arms race required enormous financial resources, which placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of the working people.

The ideological preparation for war acquired a wide scope. Imperialists

Table 1. - Composition of the ground forces of the main warring powers

1 For Great Britain and France, including colonial troops in theaters of war.

Table 2. - Composition of the forces of the navies of the main warring powers 1

1 Except for outdated ships.

3 Removed from the active fleet as obsolete.

they tried to instill in the people the idea of ​​the inevitability of armed clashes, instilled militarism in every possible way, and incited chauvinism. For this purpose, all means of propaganda were used: print, literature, art, church. The bourgeoisie of all countries, playing on the patriotic feelings of peoples, justified the arms race and disguised aggressive goals with false arguments about the need to protect the fatherland from external enemies.

The real force capable of largely tying the hands of the imperialist governments was the international working class, numbering over 150 million people. The labor movement on a worldwide scale was led by International 2nd, which united 41 social democratic parties from 27 countries with 3.4 million members. But the opportunist leaders of the European social democratic parties did nothing to implement the anti-war decisions of the congresses of the 2nd International, held before the war, and when it began, the leaders of the social democratic parties of Western countries came out in support of their governments, voted in parliaments for the war loans. The socialist leaders of Great Britain (A. Henderson), France (J. Guesde, M. Samba, A. Thomas) and Belgium (E. Vandervelde) even joined the military bourgeois governments. The 2nd International suffered an ideological and political collapse; it ceased to exist, breaking up into separate social-chauvinist parties. Only the left wing of the 2nd International, in the vanguard of which was the Bolshevik Party led by V.I. Lenin, was a consistent fighter against militarism, chauvinism and war. The main principles that determined the attitude of Marxist revolutionaries to the war were set out by Lenin in Manifesto of the Central Committee of the RSDLP “War and Russian Social Democracy”. The Bolsheviks resolutely opposed the war and explained its imperialist nature to the masses. Bolshevik faction of the 4th State Duma refused to support the tsarist government and vote for war loans. The Bolshevik Party called on the working people of all countries to achieve the defeat of their governments in the war, the transformation of the imperialist war into a civil war, and the revolutionary overthrow of the power of the bourgeoisie and landowners. Revolutionary anti-war positions were occupied by the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party (Tesnyaki), led by D. Blagoev, G. Dimitrov and V. Kolarov, and the Serbian and Romanian Social Democratic parties. A small group of left-wing Social Democrats in Germany, led by K. Liebknecht, R. Luxemburg, K. Zetkin, F. Mehring, and some socialists in France, led by J. Jaurès, as well as a number of others, also actively opposed the imperialist war. countries

War plans and strategic deployment. The general staffs developed plans for the war long before it broke out. All strategic calculations were focused on the short duration and transience of the future war. The German strategic plan called for quick and decisive action against France and Russia. It was supposed to defeat France within 6-8 weeks, after which it would attack Russia with all its might and victoriously end the war. The bulk of the troops (4/5) were deployed on the western border of Germany and were intended to invade France. They were tasked with delivering the main blow with the right wing through Belgium and Luxembourg, bypassing the left flank of the French army west of Paris and, throwing it back to the German border, forcing it to capitulate. A cover (one army) was set up against Russia in East Prussia. The German military command believed that it would have time to defeat France and transfer its troops to the East before the Russian army went on the offensive. The main forces of the German fleet (the so-called High Seas Fleet) were supposed to be located in the bases of the North Sea and, through the actions of light forces and submarines, weaken the British fleet, and then destroy its main forces in a general battle. Several cruisers were allocated for operations on British maritime communications. In the Baltic Sea, the task was to prevent active actions by the Russian fleet.

The Austro-Hungarian command planned military operations on two fronts: in Galicia - against Russia and in the Balkans - against Serbia and Montenegro. The possibility of forming a front against Italy, which was an unreliable member of the Triple Alliance and could go over to the side of the Entente, was not excluded. This led to the drawing up of three versions of the war plan and the division of ground forces into three operational echelons (groups): group “A” (9 corps), intended for action against Russia, the “minimum group of the Balkans” (3 corps) - against Serbia and Montenegro, and group “B” (4 corps), which was the reserve of the high command and could be used both to strengthen the first two groups and to form a new front in the event of an Italian attack. The General Staffs of Austria-Hungary and Germany maintained close contact with each other, coordinating their strategic plans. The Austro-Hungarian plan for war against Russia envisaged delivering the main blow from Galicia between the Vistula and Bug to the north-east. towards the German troops, who were supposed to simultaneously develop an offensive from East Prussia to the south-east. to Siedlce in order to encircle and defeat a group of Russian troops in Poland. The Austro-Hungarian fleet on the Adriatic Sea had the task of defending the coast.

The Russian General Staff developed two versions of the war plan, which were offensive in nature. Option “A” provided for the deployment of the main forces of the Russian army against Austria-Hungary, option “D” - against Germany if it would deliver the main blow on the Eastern Front. Option “A,” which was actually carried out, planned concentric offensives in Galicia and East Prussia in order to defeat opposing enemy groups, and then a general offensive into Germany and Austria-Hungary. To cover Petrograd and the South of Russia, two separate armies were allocated. The Caucasian Army was also created in case Turkey entered the war on the side of the Central Powers. The Baltic Fleet was tasked with defending the sea approaches to Petrograd and preventing the German fleet from breaking through into the Gulf of Finland. The Black Sea Fleet did not have an approved action plan.

The French plan for the war against Germany (“Plan No. 17”) provided for an offensive with the forces of the right wing of the armies in Lorraine and the forces of the left wing against Metz. The possibility of an invasion of German troops through Belgium was not initially taken into account, since the neutrality of Belgium was guaranteed by the great powers, including Germany. Only on August 2 was a version of “Plan No. 17” approved, which contained a clarification: in the event of an offensive by German troops through Belgium, develop combat operations on the left wing to the line of the river. Meuse from Namur to Givet.

The French plan reflected the uncertainty of the French command in the fight against a stronger Germany and actually made the actions of the French army dependent on the actions of German troops. The Mediterranean fleet was supposed to ensure the transportation of colonial troops from North Africa to France, blocking the Austro-Hungarian fleet in the Adriatic Sea; part of the forces of the French fleet was allocated to defend the approaches to the English Channel.

Great Britain, counting on the fact that military operations on land would be carried out by the armies of its allies - Russia and France, did not plan ground operations. She only undertook to send an expeditionary force to the continent to help the French. The fleet was given active tasks - to establish a long-range blockade of Germany in the North Sea, to ensure the safety of sea communications, and to defeat the German fleet in a general battle.

In accordance with these plans, the strategic deployment of the armed forces took place. Germany advanced to the border with Belgium, Luxembourg and France on the 380 front km from Krefeld to Mühlhausen (Mulhouse) seven armies (1st - 7th; 86 infantry and 10 cavalry divisions; a total of about 1,600 thousand people, up to 5 thousand guns). The main grouping of these forces (five armies) was located north of Metz on the front 160 km. The defense of the northern coast of Germany was entrusted to the Northern Army (1 reserve corps and 4 landwehr brigades). The supreme commander was Emperor Wilhelm II, the chief of staff was General H. Moltke Jr. (from September 14, 1914 - E. Falkenhayn, from August 29, 1916 until the end of the war - Field Marshal P. Hindenburg). The French armies (1st - 5th; 76 infantry and 10 cavalry divisions; a total of about 1,730 thousand people, over 4 thousand guns) deployed at the front to 345 km from Belfort to Irson under the command of General J. Joffre (from December 1916 - General R. Nivelle, from May 17, 1917 until the end of the war - General A. Pétain; on May 14, 1918, Marshal F. Foch became the supreme commander of the allied forces). The Belgian army (6 infantry and 1 cavalry division; a total of 117 thousand people, 312 guns) under the command of King Albert 1 occupied a line east of Brussels. The British Expeditionary Army (4 infantry and 1.5 cavalry divisions; a total of 87 thousand people, 328 guns) under the command of Field Marshal J. French (from December 1915 to the end of the war - General D. Haig) concentrated in the Maubeuge area, joining the left flank of the French army group. The main grouping of Allied troops was located northwest of Verdun.

Germany deployed the 8th Army against Russia in East Prussia. (14.5 infantry and 1 cavalry divisions; a total of over 200 thousand people, 1044 guns) under the command of General M. Prittwitz, in Silesia - the Landwehr Corps of General R. Woyrsch (2 Landwehr divisions and 72 guns). Austria-Hungary had on the front from Czernowitz to Sandomierz 3 armies (1st, 3rd, 4th), on the right flank the army group of G. Köves von Kövesshaz (from August 23 - 2nd Army) and in the Krakow region - Kummer's army group (35.5 infantry and 11 cavalry divisions; total up to 850 thousand people, 1848 guns). The Supreme Commander was Archduke Friedrich, from November 1916 - Emperor Charles 1; Chief of Staff - Field Marshal F. Konrad von Hötzendorff, from February 28, 1917 - General A. Artz.

Russia on its western border had 6 armies (52 infantry and 21 cavalry divisions; a total of over 1 million people, 3203 guns). Two fronts were formed: Northwestern (1st and 2nd armies) and Southwestern (3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th armies), the 6th Army defended the Baltic Sea coast and covered Petrograd, and the 7th covered the northwestern coast of the Black Sea and the border with Romania. Secondary and Siberian divisions approached the front later - at the end of August - September. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief on July 20 (August 2) (for a list of persons who subsequently held this position, see Art. Supreme Commander ). The chiefs of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief were: General N. N. Yanushkevich, General M. V. Alekseev. At the end of 1916 and in 1917, General V. I. Romeiko-Gurko, V. N. Klembovsky, A. I. Denikin, A. S. Lukomsky, N. N. Dukhonin were acting chief of staff. From November 20 (December 3), 1917, the chiefs of staff were M. D. Bonch-Bruevich (until February 21, 1918), S. I. Kuleshin, M. M. Zagyu.

In the Balkans, Austria-Hungary fielded two armies against Serbia: the 5th and 6th (13 infantry and 1 cavalry divisions; a total of 140 thousand people, 546 guns) under the command of General O. Potiorek. Serbia fielded four armies: 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th (11 infantry and 1 cavalry divisions; a total of 250 thousand people, 550 guns) under command. governor R. Putnik; Montenegro - 6 infantry divisions (35 thousand people, 60 guns). The strategic deployment of the armed forces of the parties was largely completed by August 4-6 (17-19). Military operations took place in Europe, Asia and Africa, on all oceans and many seas. The main operations took place in five land theaters: Western European (since 1914), Eastern European (since 1914), Italian (since 1915), Balkan (since 1914) and Middle Eastern (since 1914). In addition, military operations were carried out on the territory of German colonies in Africa (German East Africa - until the end of the war, German South-West Africa - until 1915, Togo - in 1914, Cameroon - until 1916), in East Asia (Qingdao - in 1914) and the Pacific Islands (Oceania). The main land theaters throughout the war were Western European (French) and Eastern European (Russian). Of the maritime theaters, the Northern, Mediterranean, Baltic, Black Seas, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans played a particularly important role.

Campaign of 1914. In the Western European theater of war, operations began with the invasion of German troops into Luxembourg (August 2) and Belgium (August 4), which rejected the German ultimatum to allow German troops through its territory. The Belgian army, relying on the fortified areas of Liege and Namur, put up stubborn resistance to the enemy at the turn of the river. Maas. Leaving Liege (August 16) after fierce fighting, she retreated to Antwerp. The German command, having deployed about 2 corps (80 thousand people, 300 guns) against it, sent the main group of its armies to the southwest. to the Franco-Belgian border. The French armies of the left wing (3rd, 4th and 5th) and the British army were advanced to meet the German troops. August 21-25 happened Border battle 1914. In view of the threat of the enemy bypassing the left flank of the Allied forces, the French command began to withdraw armies into the interior of the country in order to gain time to regroup their forces and prepare a counteroffensive. The French armies of the right wing (1st and 2nd) launched an offensive in Alsace and Lorraine from August 7-14, but due to the invasion of German troops into France through Belgium, it was stopped and both armies were withdrawn to their original positions. The main grouping of the German armies continued to advance in a southwestern direction towards Paris and, having won a number of private victories over the armies of the Entente at Le Cateau (August 26), Nel and Prouillard (August 28-29), Saint-Quentin and Giza (August 29-29), August 30), by September 5 she reached the river. Marne between Paris and Verdun. The French command completed the regrouping of its troops and, having formed two new armies from reserves (6th and 9th), created superiority in forces in this direction. IN Battle of the Marne 1914 (September 5-12) German troops were defeated and were forced to retreat beyond the river. Aisne and Oise, where they gained a foothold and stopped the Allied counter-offensive by September 16. The opponents' desire to seize the “free space” west of the river. Oise to the coast of Pas-de-Calais, by enveloping each other's open flanks from the north, resulted from September 16 - October 15 in three maneuver operations, which were called "Running to the Sea". Troops of both sides reached the coast west of Ostend. The Belgian army, leaving Antwerp on October 8, occupied a sector on the left flank of the allied armies. The battle in Flanders (on the Iser and Ypres rivers) from October 15 to November 20 did not change the general situation. German attempts to break through the Allied defenses and occupy ports on the Pas-de-Calais coast were unsuccessful. The parties, having suffered heavy losses, stopped active hostilities and consolidated on the achieved lines. A positional front was established from the Swiss border to the North Sea. In December 1914 it had a length of 720 km, of which the French army accounted for 650 km, British - 50 km and Belgian - 20 km.

Military operations in the East European Theater began on August 4-7 (17-20) with the invasion of insufficiently trained troops of the Russian North-Western Front (commander-in-chief General Ya. G. Zhilinsky, chief of staff General V. A. Oranovsky) into East Prussia. During East Prussian operation 1914 The 1st Russian Army (commanded by General P.K. Rennenkampf), advancing from V., on August 4 (17) defeated units of the 1st German Corps at Stallupönen, and on August 7 (20) in the Battle of Gumbinnen-Goldap defeated the main forces 8th German Army; On August 7 (20), the 2nd Russian Army (commanded by General A.V. Samsonov) invaded East Prussia, striking the flank and rear of the 8th German Army. The commander of the 8th Army decided to begin the withdrawal of troops from East Prussia beyond the Vistula, but the German high command, dissatisfied with this decision, changed the leadership of the army on August 10 (23), appointing General P. Hindenburg as commander, and General E. Ludendorff as chief of staff. The offensive of Russian troops in East Prussia forced the German command to withdraw 2 corps and 1 cavalry division from the Western Front and send them on August 13 (26) to the Eastern Front, which was one of the reasons for the defeat of German troops in the Battle of the Marne. Taking advantage of the lack of interaction between the 1st and 2nd armies and the mistakes of the Russian command, the enemy managed to inflict a heavy defeat on the 2nd and then the 1st Russian armies and drive them back from East Prussia. Simultaneously with the East Prussian operation, there was Battle of Galicia 1914, in which the troops of the Russian Southwestern Front (commander-in-chief General N.I. Ivanov, chief of staff General M.V. Alekseev) inflicted a major defeat on the Austro-Hungarian troops, occupied Lvov on August 21 (September 3), and besieged the fortress on September 8 (21) Przemysl and, pursuing the enemy, by September 13 (26) they reached the river. Wisłoka and the foothills of the Carpathians. There was a threat of invasion of Russian troops into the German province of Silesia. The German High Command hastily transferred large forces from East Prussia to the region of Częstochowa and Krakow and formed a new (9th) army with the aim of launching a counterattack on Ivangorod (Demblin) to the flank and rear of the troops of the Southwestern Front and thereby disrupt the upcoming offensive of the Russian troops in Silesia. Thanks to the timely regrouping of forces carried out by the Russian Headquarters, the Russian armies in Warsaw-Ivangorod operation 1914 by September 26 (October 9), they stopped the offensive of the 9th German and 1st Austro-Hungarian armies on Ivangorod, and then repelled the attack of German troops on Warsaw. On October 5 (18), Russian troops launched a counteroffensive and pushed the enemy back to the starting line. The Russian armies again began preparing for the invasion of Germany. The German command transferred its 9th Army from the Częstochowa area to the north, deciding to strike on the right flank and to the rear of the Russian offensive group. IN Lodz operation 1914, which began on October 29 (November 11), the enemy managed to thwart the Russian plan, but his intention to encircle the 2nd and 5th Russian armies in the Lodz area ended in failure, and the German troops were forced to retreat with heavy losses. At the same time, Russian troops of the Southwestern Front in the Czestochowa-Krakow operation defeated the Austro-Hungarian troops and reached the approaches to Krakow and Czestochowa. Having exhausted their capabilities, the parties went on the defensive. The Russian armies, experiencing an acute shortage of ammunition, gained a foothold at the line of the river. Bzura, Ravka, Nida.

In the Balkan theater, on August 12, Austria-Hungary troops invaded Serbia. In the oncoming battle in the area of ​​the Tsera mountain range, which began on August 16, the Austro-Hungarian troops were defeated and by August 24 were thrown back to their original positions beyond the river. Drina and Sava. On September 7 they resumed their offensive. The lack of artillery and ammunition forced the Serbs to retreat to East across the river on November 7. Kolubara, but on December 3, having received supply assistance from Russia and France, they launched a counteroffensive and by mid-December liberated their country from enemy troops. The parties took up defensive positions on the border river lines.

At the end of 1914, military operations began in the Middle Eastern theater. On July 21 (August 3), Turkey declared its neutrality, preparing to take the side of the Central Powers at a convenient moment. Germany, encouraging Turkey’s aggressive aspirations in the Caucasus, at the beginning of the war (August 10) sent a battle cruiser to the Black Sea to support the Turkish fleet "Goeben" and the light cruiser Breslau. On October 16 (29), Turkish and German ships suddenly fired at Odessa, Sevastopol, Feodosia, and Novorossiysk. On October 20 (November 2), Russia, followed by Great Britain (November 5) and France (November 6), declared war on Turkey; On November 12, Türkiye declared a “holy war” against the Entente powers. Turkish ground forces (about 800 thousand people in total) were deployed: the 1st, 2nd and 5th armies in the straits area, the 3rd in Turkish Armenia, the 4th in Syria and Palestine, 6 -I - in Mesopotamia (the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was nominally Sultan Mehmed V, but in fact he was the Minister of War Enver Pasha; the Chief of Staff was the German General F. Bronzart von Schellendorff). Russia advanced the Caucasian Army to the border with Turkey (commander-in-chief I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov, his assistant General A.Z. Myshlaevsky; 170 thousand people, 350 guns). In the 2nd half of October (early November) there were clashes between troops in the Erzurum direction; on October 25 (November 7) the Russians captured fortified positions near Keprikey (at 50 km north of Erzurum), but under the pressure of superior enemy forces, by November 26 (December 9) they retreated to their original positions. On December 9 (22), the 3rd Turkish Army went on the offensive, but during Sarykamysh operation 1914-15 was destroyed. November 10 at the mouth of the river. The British Expeditionary Force landed on the Tigris and Euphrates, forming the Mesopotamian Front. On November 22, the British occupied Basra, abandoned by the Turks, captured El-Qurna on December 9 and firmly fortified themselves in the southern part of Mesopotamia.

Fighting in Africa, the Far East and the Pacific Ocean was unsuccessful for Germany, depriving it of most of its colonies during one military campaign. In 1914, the Caroline, Mariana and Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean and the German naval base of Qingdao in China were captured by Japan, the German part of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands by the Australians, and the Samoan Islands by the New Zealanders. Anglo-French troops occupied German colonies in Africa: Togo - in August 1914, Cameroon - in January 1916, South-West Africa - by July 1915, East Africa - by the end of 1917 (German troops continued to conduct partisan operations here on the territory of the Portuguese colony of Mozambique and the British colony of Rhodesia until the end of the war).

Military operations at sea in 1914 were limited. On August 28, a battle took place between the light forces of the British and German fleets in the North Sea near the island Heligoland; November 5 (18) on the Black Sea near Cape Sarych (at 50 km southeast of Sevastopol), the Russian squadron fought with the German ships Goeben and Breslau, which, having received damage, left. The German command tried to intensify the actions of its fleet on British sea lanes in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. The squadron of Admiral M. Spee (5 cruisers) on November 1 defeated the English squadron of Admiral K. Cradock in Battle of Coronel 1914, but on December 8 it was destroyed Falkland Islands English squadron of Admiral F. Sturdy. By the beginning of November, 3 more German cruisers operating in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans were sunk.

The 1914 campaign did not bring decisive results to either side. In France, both sides switched to positional defense. Elements of positional forms of struggle also emerged in the East European Theater. Military actions showed the fallacy of the general staff's pre-war calculations regarding the short-term nature of the war. In the very first operations, the accumulated reserves of weapons and ammunition were used up, at the same time it became clear that the war would be long and urgent measures were needed to mobilize industry and expand the production of weapons and ammunition:

Campaign 1915. The Anglo-French command decided to switch to strategic defense in the Western European theater in order to gain time to accumulate material resources and prepare reserves. The main burden of the armed struggle in the 1915 campaign was shifted to Russia. The Russian command, at the request of the allies, planned an offensive simultaneously against Germany (in East Prussia) and Austria-Hungary (in the Carpathians). The prospect of a long war did not suit the German high command, which understood that Germany and its allies could not withstand a protracted struggle with the Entente powers, which had superiority in manpower and material resources. Therefore, the German campaign plan for 1915 was offensive in nature, counting on quickly achieving victory. Not having the strength to conduct a simultaneous attack on the West and East, the German command decided to concentrate its main efforts on the Eastern Front in order to defeat Russia and withdraw it from the war. Defense was planned on the Western Front.

Russia had 104 divisions against 74 divisions of the Central Powers (36 German and 38 Austro-Hungarian). In an effort to forestall the impending Russian offensive, the German command launched an offensive in East Prussia on January 25 (February 7) - February 13 (26) August operation 1915, but it did not achieve its goal - the encirclement of the 10th Army of the Russian North-Western Front. In February - March, the Russian command of the 10th, 12th and 1st armies carried out the Prasnysh operation (see. Prasnysh operations 1915 ), during which the enemy was driven back to the borders of East Prussia. On the southern wing of the Eastern Front, the command of the Russian Southwestern Front carried out Carpathian operation 1915. On March 9 (22), the 120,000-strong garrison of Przemysl, besieged by Russian troops, capitulated. Heavy but ineffective battles in the Carpathians continued until April 20. Experiencing an acute shortage of weapons and ammunition, Russian troops ceased active operations in April 1915.

By the summer of 1915, the German command, from troops transferred from the Western Front, formed the 11th Army in Galicia, which, together with the 4th Austro-Hungarian Army under the overall command of German General A. Mackensen, went on the offensive on April 19 (May 2). Having a huge superiority in forces and means (especially in artillery), the enemy broke through the defenses of the 3rd Russian Army in the Gorlice area. Gorlitsky breakthrough 1915 led to a deep retreat of the troops of the Southwestern Front, which left Galicia in May - June. At the same time, German troops advanced in the Baltic states: on April 24 (May 7) they occupied Libau (Liepaja) and reached Shavli (Shauliai) and Kovno (Kaunas). In July, the German command tried, with a strike from the newly formed 12th Army in the Prasnysh area, to break through the defenses of the 1st Russian Army and, in cooperation with the 4th Austro-Hungarian and 11th German armies, advancing from Galicia in a north-eastern direction, to encircle the main group of Russian troops stationed in Poland. This plan failed, but Russian troops were forced to leave Poland. In August in Vilna operation 1915 The Germans tried to encircle the Russian 10th Army in the Vilna region. The enemy managed to break through the Russian defenses on August 27 (September 9) ( Sventsyansky breakthrough 1915 ) and go to the rear of the 10th Army, but the Russian command eliminated this breakthrough. In October 1915, the front stabilized on the line Riga, r. Western Dvina, Dvinsk, Smorgon, Baranovichi, Dubno, r. Stripa. The plan of the German command to withdraw Russia from the war in 1915 failed.

In the Western European Theater at the beginning of 1915 there were 75 French, 11 British and 6 Belgian divisions against 82 German ones. In September 1915, the number of British divisions was increased to 31, and in December - to 37. Without planning major operations, both sides fought local battles in this theater of operations during the 1915 campaign. On April 22, the German command used chemical weapons (chlorine) for the first time on the Western Front near Ypres - 15 thousand people were poisoned; German troops advanced by 6 km. In May - June, the Allies launched an offensive in Artois, but it was carried out by insignificant forces and did not have an impact on the course of hostilities on the Russian Front. In the interests of coordinating the strategic efforts of the Entente powers, the Inter-Allied Military Council was formed in Chantilly on July 7. In order to help Russia, the Council decided to launch an offensive on the Western Front in order to divert significant German forces from the Eastern Front. However, offensive operations were carried out only on September 25 - October 6 in Champagne and Artois, when active military operations on the Russian Front virtually ceased. At the same time, the allied forces failed to break through the powerful enemy defenses.

In the Middle Eastern theater, the most active military operations were carried out by Russian troops. During the Alashkert operation, they cleared the areas of lakes Van and Urmia from the enemy. The activation of German and Turkish agents in Iran forced the Russian command to send troops into the northern part of Iran. The Caucasian Expeditionary Corps of General N.N. Baratov (about 8 thousand people, 20 guns) was transferred from Tiflis to Baku, transported across the Caspian Sea and on October 17 (30) landed in the Iranian port of Anzali (Pahlavi). In November, the corps occupied the city of Qazvin, and on December 3 (16) - the city of Hamadan. Attempts by Germany and Turkey to consolidate their influence in Iran and persuade it to war against Russia were thwarted. In October 1915, the Caucasian Front was formed (commander-in-chief Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich), uniting all Russian forces operating in the Middle Eastern theater. On the Mesopotamian front in September 1915, British troops (commander General Charles Townsend) slowly advanced towards Baghdad, but on November 22 at 35 km from it they were attacked by the Turks, defeated and besieged in Kut el-Amar on December 7. The Russian command proposed organizing interaction between British troops and the troops of the Caucasus Front, but the British command rejected this proposal, not wanting Russian troops to enter the oil-bearing region of Mosul. At the end of 1915, the British corps in Mesopotamia was replenished and transformed into an expeditionary army. On the Syrian front, the 4th Turkish Army tried, advancing from Palestine to Egypt, to seize the Suez Canal, but was repulsed by two Anglo-Indian divisions. The Turks took up defensive positions in the El-Arish area.

In 1915, the Entente managed to attract Italy to its side. Promises of the Entente powers to satisfy Italy's territorial claims more fully than Germany offered put an end to the hesitation of the Italian government: on April 26 it was signed Treaty of London 1915. On May 23, 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, and on Germany only on August 28, 1916. The Italian army (commander-in-chief King Victor Emmanuel III, chief of staff General L. Cadorna), which had 35 divisions (total of up to 870 thousand people, 1700 guns) , began military operations on May 24 in two directions: on Trento and at the same time on the river. Isonzo with the task of reaching Trieste. On both fronts the Italians failed to achieve success. Already in June 1915, military operations in the Italian theater assumed a positional character. Four offensives of Italian troops on the river. Isonzos ended in failure.

In the Balkan theater, the position of the Allies was complicated by the entry into the war in October 1915 on the side of the Central Powers of Bulgaria (see. Bulgarian-German Treaty 1915 And Bulgarian-Turkish Treaty 1915 ). On September 8 (21), Bulgaria announced the mobilization of its army (12 divisions, up to 500 thousand people). At the end of September (beginning of October), 14 German and Austro-Hungarian and 6 Bulgarian divisions were deployed against Serbia under the overall command of Field Marshal A. Mackensen. The Serbs had 12 divisions. To assist Serbia, Great Britain and France, by agreement with Greece, began on September 22 (October 5) landing their expeditionary force in Thessaloniki and moving it to the Greek-Serbian border. On September 24 (October 7), Austro-German and Bulgarian troops launched a concentric attack on Serbia from the north, west, and east. For two months, the Serbian army courageously repelled the onslaught of superior enemy forces, but was forced to retreat through the mountains to Albania. Up to 140 thousand people was transported by the Entente fleet from Durres (Durazzo) to the Greek island of Corfu (Kerkyra). The Anglo-French expeditionary force retreated to the Thessaloniki region, where the Thessaloniki Front was formed at the end of 1915 (see. Thessaloniki operations 1915-18 ). The occupation of Serbia provided the Central Powers with the establishment of direct rail links with Turkey to provide military assistance to it.

During 1915, the German Navy continued to try to weaken the fleets of its opponents and undermine Britain's supply by sea. On January 24, a battle between English and German squadrons took place near Dogger banks (North Sea), in which none of the opponents achieved success. On February 18, 1915, Germany announced that it was beginning "unrestricted submarine warfare." However, the sinking of the passenger ships Lusitania (May 7) and Arabic (August 19) caused protests from the United States and other neutral countries. This forced the German government to limit submarine warfare to warships only. In February 1915, the Anglo-French command began implementing amphibious assault Dardanelles Operation 1915, trying to force the Dardanelles Strait with the help of the fleet, break through to Constantinople and bring Turkey out of the war. The breakthrough failed; Then, in April 1915, a large landing was landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, but Turkish troops put up stubborn resistance. The Allied command was forced in December 1915 - January 1916 to evacuate the landing troops, which were transported to the Thessaloniki front. The preparation and conduct of the Dardanelles operation were accompanied by an intense diplomatic struggle between the allies. The operation was undertaken under the guise of assistance to Russia, by agreement with which in March - April 1915, Great Britain and France agreed to transfer Constantinople and the straits to it after the war, on the condition that it would not interfere with the division of Asian Turkey. In fact, the Allies themselves intended to seize the straits and prevent Russia from accessing them. Anglo-French negotiations on the division of Asian Turkey ended with the signing Sykes - Picot Treaty 1916. In August the German fleet undertook Moonsund operation 1915, ended in vain. The Russian Black Sea Fleet continued to operate on Turkish sea lanes, and during the Dardanelles operation, on April 21 (May 2), it shelled the Bosporus fortifications. The 1915 campaign did not live up to the hopes of both warring coalitions, but its outcome was more favorable for the Entente. The German command, having not solved the problem of successively defeating the enemy this time, found itself faced with the need to continue a long war on two fronts. Russia bore the brunt of the struggle in 1915, which provided France and Great Britain with a respite to mobilize the economy for the needs of the war. Russia also began to mobilize industry. In 1915, the role of the Russian Front increased, on which in the summer of 1915 there were 107 Austro-German divisions (54% of all forces of the Central Powers), whereas at the beginning of the war there were only 52 (33%).

The war placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of the working people. The popular masses gradually freed themselves from the chauvinistic sentiments that had spread at the beginning of the war, and increasingly opposed the imperialist massacre. In 1915, anti-war demonstrations took place and the strike movement began to grow in the warring countries. This process developed especially rapidly in Russia, where military defeats sharply aggravated the situation within the country and in the fall of 1915 a revolutionary situation arose again. At the fronts, cases of fraternization between soldiers of hostile armies arose. The awakening of the revolutionary activity of the masses was facilitated by the propaganda of the Bolsheviks led by Lenin and the left groups of socialist and social democratic parties. In Germany, in the spring of 1915, the Internationale group was created, led by K. Liebknecht and R. Luxemburg (in 1916 it became known as the Spartak group). The international socialist movement was important for the consolidation of revolutionary, anti-war forces. Zimmerwald Conference 1915 (September 5-8). The manifesto she adopted meant “... a step towards an ideological and practical break with opportunism and social chauvinism” (Lenin V.I., Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 27, p. 38).

Campaign 1916. By early 1916, the Central Powers, having expended enormous effort during the first two campaigns, had significantly depleted their resources, but were still unable to bring France or Russia out of the war. The Entente increased the number of its divisions to 365 against the 286 divisions of the German bloc.

The operations of 1916 by the armies of the Central Powers were based on the plan of General E. Fahlkenhayn, according to which the main efforts were again planned to be directed against France. The main blow was supposed to be delivered in the Verdun area, which had important operational significance. A breakthrough in this direction created a threat to the entire northern wing of the Allied armies. At the same time, active operations were planned in the Italian theater by the forces of the Austro-Hungarian armies. In the East European Theater, it was decided to limit ourselves to strategic defense. The basics of the plan for the 1916 Entente campaign were adopted at a conference in Chantilly (France) on December 6-9, 1915. It was planned to carry out offensives in the Eastern European, Western European and Italian theaters. The Russian army was to begin offensive operations first, then the Anglo-French and Italian troops. The Allied strategic plan was the first attempt to coordinate the actions of troops on various fronts.

The Entente plan scheduled the transition to a general offensive for the summer of 1916. This ensured that the German command retained the strategic initiative in its hands, which it decided to take advantage of. At the Western European Theater on a front stretching 680 km German troops had 105 divisions against 139 allied divisions (95 French, 38 British, 6 Belgian). Lacking overall superiority in forces, the German command began on February 21 Verdun operation 1916. Fierce fighting, in which both sides suffered heavy losses, continued until December. The Germans spent enormous efforts, but were unable to break through the defenses.

In the Italian theater, the command of the Italian army in March 1916 launched the fifth unsuccessful offensive on the river. Isonzo. On May 15, Austro-Hungarian troops (18 divisions, 2000 guns) struck back in the Trentino area. The 1st Italian Army (16 divisions, 623 guns) was unable to contain the enemy onslaught and began to retreat south. Italy requested urgent assistance from its allies.

Of particular importance in the 1916 campaign were operations in the East European Theater, where at the front in 1200 km 128 Russian divisions were deployed against 87 Austro-German ones. On March 5-17 (18-30), the Naroch operation was carried out, which forced German troops to temporarily weaken their attacks on Verdun. The Russian offensive on the Southwestern Front (commander-in-chief General A.A. Brusilov), which began on May 22 (June 4), played an important role. The defense of the Austro-German troops was broken through to a depth of 80-120 km(cm. Southwestern Front offensive 1916 ). The enemy suffered heavy losses (over 1 million people killed and wounded, over 400 thousand people captured). The command of the Central Powers was forced to transfer II German divisions from France and 6 Austro-Hungarian divisions from Italy to the Russian Front. The Russian offensive saved the Italian army from defeat, eased the position of the French at Verdun, and accelerated the appearance of Romania on the side of the Entente. On August 14 (27), Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary, on August 15 (28), on Germany, on August 17 (30), on Turkey, and on August 19 (September 1), on Bulgaria. The Romanian armed forces consisted of 4 armies (23 infantry and 2 cavalry divisions, 250 thousand people). To help the Romanian troops, the Russian 47th Army Corps was transferred across the Danube (to Dobruja). Romanian troops, with the support of the Russians, launched an offensive in Transylvania and later in Dobruja on August 20 (September 2), but were unsuccessful. The Austro-German command concentrated in Transylvania the army group of General E. Falkenhayn (9th German Army and 1st Austro-Hungarian Army, a total of 26 infantry and 7 cavalry divisions), in Bulgaria - the Danube German Army of Field Marshal A. Mackensen ( 9 infantry and 2 cavalry divisions). On September 13 (26), both groups under the overall command of E. Falkenhayn simultaneously went on the offensive. The Romanian army was defeated. On November 22 (December 6), German troops entered Bucharest, abandoned by the Romanians without a fight. The Russian command deployed 35 infantry and 13 cavalry divisions to assist Romania. A new Russian Romanian Front was formed, whose troops by the end of 1916 delayed the further advance of the Austro-German armies at the Focsani line, the mouth of the Danube. The formation of the Romanian Front increased the total length of the front line by 500 km and distracted about 1/4 of all Russian armed forces, which worsened the strategic position of the Russian army. Anglo-French troops, after lengthy preparation, launched a major offensive on the river on July 1. Somme, which, however, developed extremely slowly. On September 15, the British used tanks for the first time. The Allies continued their offensive until mid-November, but despite huge losses, they advanced only 5-15 km. The German positional front was not broken through.

In the Middle Eastern theater, the troops of the Russian Caucasian Front successfully carried out Erzurum operation 1916, Trebizond operation 1916, Erzincan and Ognot operations. The Messrs. were busy. Erzurum, Trebizond, Erzincan. The 1st Caucasian Cavalry Corps of General N.N. Baratov launched an offensive in the Mosul and Baghdad directions in order to assist the British besieged in Kut el-Amar. In February, the corps occupied Kermanshah, and in May it reached the Turkish-Iranian border. In connection with the surrender of the Kut el-Amara garrison on April 28, 1916, the corps stopped further offensive, taking up defense east of Kermanshah. Military operations at sea were characterized by the continuation of the long-range blockade of Germany by the British fleet. German submarines were actively operating on sea lanes. The minefield system was improved. An important event was Battle of Jutland 1916 - the only major naval battle during the entire war between the main forces of the British (Admiral J. Jellicoe) and German (Admiral R. Scheer) fleets. 250 surface ships took part in it, including 58 large ones (battleships and battlecruisers). Due to superiority in forces, the British fleet, despite greater losses than the Germans, won, undermining the German command's faith in the possibility of breaking the naval blockade. The Russian Black Sea Fleet continued to operate on enemy sea communications, blocking the Bosphorus from August 1916.

The 1916 campaign did not lead to the achievement of the goals set at its beginning by both coalitions, but the superiority of the Entente over the Central Powers became obvious. The strategic initiative completely passed into the hands of the Entente, and Germany was forced to defend itself on all fronts.

The bloody battles of 1916, accompanied by huge casualties and large expenditure of material resources, depleted the resources of the warring powers. The situation of workers continued to deteriorate. The year 1916 was marked by a further strengthening of the revolutionary movement. played a major role in uniting the revolutionary forces Kienthal Conference 1916 (April 24-30) internationalists. A particularly rapid rise in the revolutionary movement took place in Russia, where the war finally revealed to the masses all the rottenness of tsarism. A powerful wave of strikes, led by the Bolsheviks, swept across the country under the slogans of the struggle against war and autocracy. In July - October the national liberation movement unfolded Central Asian uprising of 1916. In the fall, a directly revolutionary situation developed in Russia. The inability of tsarism to win the war caused discontent among the Russian imperialist bourgeoisie, which began to prepare a palace coup. The revolutionary movement grew in other countries. April 24-30 happened Irish Rebellion 1916, brutally suppressed by British troops. On May 1, a massive anti-war demonstration took place in Berlin. K. Liebknecht. The aggravation of the revolutionary crisis forced the imperialists to strive for a quick end to the war. In 1916, attempts were made by Germany and Tsarist Russia to enter into separate peace negotiations.

Campaign 1917 was prepared and took place in an atmosphere of significant growth of the revolutionary movement in all countries. Among the masses at the front and in the rear, there was growing protest against the war with its enormous losses, the sharp decline in living standards, and the growing exploitation of workers. The revolutionary events in Russia had a huge impact on the further course of the war.

By the beginning of the 1917 campaign, the parties had: the Entente 425 divisions (21 million people), the Central Powers 331 divisions (10 million people). In April 1917, the United States entered the war on the side of the Entente. The Allies adopted the fundamentals of the 1917 campaign plan at the 3rd conference in Chantilly on November 15-16, 1916 and clarified it in February 1917 at a conference in Petrograd. The plan provided for private operations on all fronts at the beginning of the year in order to maintain the strategic initiative, and in the summer of 1917 a transition to a general offensive in the Western European and Eastern European theaters in order to completely defeat Germany and Austria-Hungary. The German command decided to abandon offensive operations on land and focus on conducting “unlimited submarine warfare.” It believed that in this way it would be possible to disrupt the economic life of Great Britain within six months and bring it out of the war. On February 1, 1917, Germany declared “unlimited submarine warfare” for the second time to Great Britain. During February - April 1917, German submarines destroyed over 1,000 merchant ships of allied and neutral countries with a total tonnage of 1,752 thousand. T. By mid-1917, Great Britain, which had lost about 3 million. T tonnage of its merchant fleet, found itself in a difficult situation, because it could only make up for losses by 15%, which was not enough for the exports and imports it needed. However, by the end of 1917, after organizing enhanced protection of communications and creating various anti-submarine defense systems, the Entente managed to reduce the losses of merchant ships. “Unrestricted submarine warfare” did not live up to the hopes of the German command, and the ongoing blockade of Germany caused famine in the country. The Russian command, in pursuance of the general campaign plan, on December 23-29, 1916 (January 5-11, 1917) carried out the Mitavsky operation in order to divert part of the forces from the Western European theater. On February 27 (March 12) in Russia there was February bourgeois-democratic revolution 1917. The proletariat, led by the Bolsheviks, demanding peace, bread and freedom, led the majority of the army, consisting of workers and peasants, and overthrew the autocracy. However, the bourgeois came to power Provisional Government, which, expressing the interests of Russian imperialism, continued the war. Having deceived the masses of soldiers with false promises of peace, it launched an offensive operation by the troops of the Southwestern Front, which ended in failure (see. June offensive 1917 ). By the summer of 1917, with the help of Russia, the combat effectiveness of the Romanian army was restored, and in July - August, Russian-Romanian troops in the Battle of Maresesti drove back German troops trying to break into Ukraine. On August 19-24 (September 1-6), during the Riga defensive operation, Russian troops surrendered Riga. September 29 (October 12) - October 6 (19) revolutionary sailors of the Baltic Fleet in Moonsund operation 1917 heroically defended the Moonsund archipelago. These were the last operations on the Russian Front. October 25 (November 7), 1917 happened Great October Socialist Revolution, in which the proletariat, in alliance with the poor peasantry under the leadership of the Communist Party, overthrew the power of the bourgeoisie and landowners and ushered in the era of socialism. Fulfilling the will of the people, the Soviet government appealed to all the warring powers with a proposal to conclude a just democratic peace without annexations and indemnities (see. Peace Decree ). Due to the refusal of the Entente and the United States to accept this proposal, the Soviet government on December 2 (15) was forced, without their participation, to conclude a truce with the German coalition and begin peace negotiations. On November 26 (December 9), Romania concluded the Focsani Truce with Germany and Austria-Hungary. In the Italian theater in April 1917 there were 57 Italian divisions against 27 Austro-Hungarian ones. Despite their numerical superiority, the Italian command was unable to achieve success. Three successive attacks on the river. The isonzos failed. October 24 in the area Caporetto Austro-Hungarian troops, going on the offensive, broke through the Italian defenses and inflicted a major defeat on them. Only with the help of 11 British and French divisions transferred to the Italian theater was it possible to stop the offensive of the Austro-Hungarian troops on the river by the end of November. Piave. In the Middle East theater, British troops successfully advanced in Mesopotamia and Syria: on March 11 they occupied Baghdad, and at the end of 1917 - Beersheba, Gaza, Jaffa and Jerusalem.

The plan of Entente operations in France, developed by General R. J. Nivelle, provided for the delivery of the main blow to the river. Aisne, between Reims and Soissons, in order to break through the enemy defenses and encircle German troops in the Noyon salient. The German command, having learned about this, by March 17 withdrew its troops to 30 km to the pre-prepared “Siegfried Line”. The French command then decided to launch an offensive on a broad front, introducing large forces and means: 6 French and 3 British armies (90 infantry and 10 cavalry divisions), over 11 thousand guns and mortars, 200 tanks, about 1 thousand aircraft. The Allied offensive began on April 9 in the Arras area, April 12 - near Saint-Quentin, on April 16 - in the Reims area and lasted until April 20-28, and in some areas until May 5. The April offensive (“Nivelle’s massacre”) ended in complete failure. Having lost up to 200 thousand people, the allied forces were unable to break through the front. Unrest began in the French army, which was brutally suppressed. In the attack on the river. Aisne was attended by a Russian brigade that had been in France since 1916. In the 2nd half of 1917, Anglo-French troops carried out a number of private operations: at Messines (June 7 - August 30), Ypres (July 31 - November 6), Verdun (20 - 27 August), Malmaison (October 23-26) and Cambrai (November 20 - December 6), where tanks were used on a massive scale for the first time.

The 1917 campaign did not bring the expected results to either warring party. The revolution in Russia and the lack of coordinated actions by the allies thwarted the Entente's strategic plan, designed to defeat the Austro-Hungarian bloc. Germany managed to repel the attacks of its opponents, but its hopes of achieving victory through “unrestricted submarine warfare” were in vain, and the troops of the Central Powers coalition were forced to go on the defensive.

Campaign 1918. By the beginning of 1918, the military-political situation had changed radically. After the revolution, Soviet Russia withdrew from the war. In other warring countries, a revolutionary crisis was brewing under the influence of the Russian Revolution. The Entente countries, having 274 divisions (excluding Russia), at the beginning of 1918 had approximately equal forces with the German bloc, which had 275 divisions (not counting 86 divisions in Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states and 9 divisions in the Caucasus). The military-economic position of the Entente was stronger than that of the German bloc. The Allied command believed that for the final defeat of Germany it was necessary to prepare, with the help of the United States, even more powerful human and material resources. In the 1918 campaign, strategic defense was planned in all theaters. The decisive offensive against Germany was postponed to 1919. The Central Powers, whose resources were coming to an end, sought to end the war as quickly as possible. Having concluded with Soviet Russia on March 3 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918, The German command decided in March to go on the offensive on the Western Front in order to defeat the armies of the Entente. At the same time, German and Austro-Hungarian troops, in violation of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, began to occupy Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states (see. Civil war and military intervention 1918-20 ). Romania was drawn into the anti-Soviet intervention, which on May 7 concluded an enslaving Treaty of Bucharest 1918 with the Central Powers.

On March 21, the German command launched a major offensive operation on the Western Front (the so-called March Offensive in Picardy). It intended to cut off the British troops from the French with a blow to Amiens, defeat them and reach the sea. Having ensured superiority in forces and means (62 divisions, 6824 guns and about 1000 aircraft against 32 divisions, about 3000 guns and about 500 aircraft from the British), German troops broke through the Allied defenses to a depth of 60 km. By bringing reserves into the battle, the Allied command eliminated the breakthrough. Having suffered heavy losses (about 230 thousand people), the German troops did not achieve their goal. On April 9, they again went on the offensive in Flanders on the river. Fox, advanced by 18 km, but by April 14 they were stopped by the Allies. On May 27, the German armies struck north of Reims (Battle of Chemin des Dames). They managed to cross the river. Ena, break through the defenses of the allied forces to a depth of 60 km and by May 30 reach the river. Marne (in the Chateau-Thierry area). Finding yourself in less than 70 km from Paris, they did not overcome the resistance of the French and on June 4 went on the defensive. Equally ineffective was the attempt of German troops to advance on June 9-13 between Montdidier and Noyon. On July 15, the German command made a final attempt to defeat the Allied armies by launching a major offensive on the Marne. The Battle of the Marne 1918 (the so-called second Marne) did not live up to the hopes of the Germans. Having crossed the river Marne, they could only advance 6 km. On July 18, the allied forces launched a counterattack and by August 4 drove the enemy back to the river. Ena and Vel. During four months of offensive operations, the German command completely exhausted all its reserves, but was unable to achieve the defeat of the Entente armies. The Allies firmly seized the strategic initiative. 8-13 August Anglo-French armies in Amiens operation 1918 inflicted a major defeat on the German troops and forced them to retreat to the line from which their March offensive of 1918 began. E. Ludendorff called August 8 “the black day of the German army.” On September 12-15, the 1st American Army (commander General J. Pershing) defeated German troops at Saint-Miel (Saint-Miel Operation). On September 26, a general offensive of the Allied forces began (202 divisions against 187 weakened German divisions) along the entire 420-km front from Verdun to the sea coast. The German defense was broken through.

The 1918 campaign in other theaters ended in the defeat of Germany's allies. In the Italian theater, the Entente had 56 divisions (including 50 Italian), over 7040 guns and over 670 aircraft; Austria-Hungary - 60 divisions, 7,500 guns and 580 aircraft. On June 15, Austro-Hungarian troops, going on the offensive south of Trento, broke through the enemy defenses and advanced 3-4 km, but by a counterattack of the allied forces on June 20-26 they were driven back to their original line. On October 24, the Italian army launched an offensive on the river. Piave, but made only minor progress. On October 28, units of the 6th and 5th Austro-Hungarian armies, refusing to fight, began to leave their positions. Soon they were joined by troops from other armies, and on November 2, a disorderly retreat of all Austro-Hungarian troops began. On November 3, in Villa Giusti (near Padua), Austria-Hungary signed an armistice with the Entente. In the Balkan theater, allied forces (29 infantry divisions - 8 French, 4 English, 6 Serbian, 10 Greek, 1 Italian and French cavalry group; a total of about 670 thousand people, 2070 guns) and troops of the Central Powers (11th German Army , 1st, 2nd and 4th Bulgarian armies and the Austro-Hungarian corps; only about 400 thousand people, 1138 guns) opposed each other on the front from the Aegean to the Adriatic Sea (350 km). On September 15, the Allies launched an offensive and by September 29 had advanced 250 miles along the front. km to a depth of 150 km. The 11th German Army was surrounded and capitulated on September 30, the Bulgarian armies were defeated. On September 29, in Thessaloniki, Bulgaria signed a truce with the Entente. On the Syrian front, the British army of General E. G. Allenby and the Arab army under the command of Emir Faisal and the English intelligence officer Colonel T. E. Lawrence (total 105 thousand people, 546 guns) operated on the Allied side. Turkey had three armies (4th, 7th and 8th; a total of 34 thousand people, up to 330 guns). The Allied offensive began on September 19. Having broken through the enemy’s defenses and advanced cavalry units to his rear, the allied forces forced the 8th and 7th Turkish armies to capitulate; The Turkish 4th Army retreated. From September 28 to October 27, the Allies occupied Akka, Damascus, Tripoli and Aleppo. On October 7, a French amphibious assault was landed in Beirut. On the Mesopotamian front, the British Expeditionary Army of Gen. W. Marshall (5 divisions) in September went on the offensive against the 6th Turkish Army (4 divisions). On October 24, the British occupied Kirkuk, and on October 31, Mosul. On October 30, on board the English battleship Agamemnon in Mudroye Bay (Lemnos Island), the Entente and Turkey signed Truce of Mudros 1918.

At the beginning of October, Germany's situation became hopeless. On October 5, the German government turned to the US government with a request for an armistice. The Allies demanded the withdrawal of German troops from all occupied territories in the West. Military defeat and the economic exhaustion of the country accelerated the brewing of a revolutionary crisis in Germany. The victory and development of the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia had a great influence on the growth of the revolutionary movement of the German people. On October 30, 1918, a sailors' uprising began in Wilhelmshaven, and on November 3, Kiel Uprising 1918 in the German Navy. On November 6, the uprising spread to Hamburg, Lubeck and other cities. On November 9, revolutionary German workers and soldiers overthrew

Table 3. - Number of weapons produced during the war

First World War (1914 - 1918)

The Russian Empire collapsed. One of the goals of the war has been achieved.

Chamberlain

The First World War lasted from August 1, 1914 to November 11, 1918. 38 states with a population of 62% of the world took part in it. This war was quite controversial and extremely contradictory in modern history. I specifically quoted Chamberlain’s words in the epigraph in order to once again emphasize this inconsistency. A prominent politician in England (Russia's war ally) says that by overthrowing the autocracy in Russia one of the goals of the war has been achieved!

The Balkan countries played a major role in the beginning of the war. They were not independent. Their policies (both foreign and domestic) were greatly influenced by England. Germany had by that time lost its influence in this region, although it controlled Bulgaria for a long time.

• Entente. Russian Empire, France, Great Britain. The allies were the USA, Italy, Romania, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
• Triple Alliance. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire. Later they were joined by the Bulgarian kingdom, and the coalition became known as the “Quadruple Alliance”.

The following large countries took part in the war: Austria-Hungary (July 27, 1914 - November 3, 1918), Germany (August 1, 1914 - November 11, 1918), Turkey (October 29, 1914 - October 30, 1918), Bulgaria (October 14, 1915 - 29 September 1918). Entente countries and allies: Russia (August 1, 1914 - March 3, 1918), France (August 3, 1914), Belgium (August 3, 1914), Great Britain (August 4, 1914), Italy (May 23, 1915), Romania (August 27, 1916) .

One more important point. Initially, Italy was a member of the Triple Alliance. But after the outbreak of World War I, the Italians declared neutrality.

Causes of the First World War

The main reason for the outbreak of the First World War was the desire of the leading powers, primarily England, France and Austria-Hungary, to redistribute the world. The fact is that the colonial system collapsed by the beginning of the 20th century. The leading European countries, which had prospered for years through the exploitation of their colonies, could no longer simply obtain resources by taking them away from Indians, Africans and South Americans. Now resources could only be won from each other. Therefore, contradictions grew:

• Between England and Germany. England sought to prevent Germany from increasing its influence in the Balkans. Germany sought to strengthen itself in the Balkans and the Middle East, and also sought to deprive England of maritime dominance.
• Between Germany and France. France dreamed of regaining the lands of Alsace and Lorraine, which it had lost in the war of 1870-71. France also sought to seize the German Saar coal basin.
• Between Germany and Russia. Germany sought to take Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states from Russia.
• Between Russia and Austria-Hungary. Controversies arose due to the desire of both countries to influence the Balkans, as well as Russia's desire to subjugate the Bosporus and Dardanelles.

The reason for the start of the war

The reason for the outbreak of the First World War was the events in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand of the Young Bosnia movement, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, so the resonance of the murder was enormous. This was the pretext for Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia.

The behavior of England is very important here, since Austria-Hungary could not start a war on its own, because this practically guaranteed war throughout Europe. The British at the embassy level convinced Nicholas 2 that Russia should not leave Serbia without help in the event of aggression. But then the entire (I emphasize this) English press wrote that the Serbs were barbarians and Austria-Hungary should not leave the murder of the Archduke unpunished. That is, England did everything to ensure that Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia did not shy away from war.

Important nuances of the casus belli

In all textbooks we are told that the main and only reason for the outbreak of the First World War was the assassination of the Austrian Archduke. At the same time, they forget to say that the next day, June 29, another significant murder took place. The French politician Jean Jaurès, who actively opposed the war and had great influence in France, was killed. A few weeks before the assassination of the Archduke, there was an attempt on the life of Rasputin, who, like Zhores, was an opponent of the war and had great influence on Nicholas 2. I would also like to note some facts from the fate of the main characters of those days:

• Gavrilo Principin. Died in prison in 1918 from tuberculosis.
• The Russian Ambassador to Serbia is Hartley. In 1914 he died at the Austrian embassy in Serbia, where he came for a reception.
• Colonel Apis, leader of the Black Hand. Shot in 1917.
• In 1917, Hartley’s correspondence with Sozonov (the next Russian ambassador to Serbia) disappeared.

This all indicates that in the events of the day there were a lot of black spots that have not yet been revealed. And this is very important to understand.

England's role in starting the war

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 2 great powers in continental Europe: Germany and Russia. They did not want to openly fight against each other, since their forces were approximately equal. Therefore, in the “July crisis” of 1914, both sides took a wait-and-see approach. British diplomacy came to the fore. She conveyed her position to Germany through the press and secret diplomacy - in the event of war, England would remain neutral or take Germany's side. Through open diplomacy, Nicholas 2 received the opposite idea that if war broke out, England would take the side of Russia.

It must be clearly understood that one open statement from England that it would not allow war in Europe would be enough for neither Germany nor Russia to even think about anything like that. Naturally, under such conditions, Austria-Hungary would not have dared to attack Serbia. But England, with all its diplomacy, pushed European countries towards war.

Russia before the war

Before the First World War, Russia carried out army reform. In 1907, a reform of the fleet was carried out, and in 1910, a reform of the ground forces. The country increased military spending many times over, and the total peacetime army size was now 2 million. In 1912, Russia adopted a new Field Service Charter. Today it is rightly called the most perfect Charter of its time, since it motivated soldiers and commanders to show personal initiative. Important point! The doctrine of the army of the Russian Empire was offensive.

Despite the fact that there were many positive changes, there were also very serious miscalculations. The main one is the underestimation of the role of artillery in war. As the course of events of the First World War showed, this was a terrible mistake, which clearly showed that at the beginning of the 20th century, Russian generals were seriously behind the times. They lived in the past, when the role of cavalry was important. As a result, 75% of all losses in the First World War were caused by artillery! This is a verdict on the imperial generals.

It is important to note that Russia never completed preparations for war (at the proper level), while Germany completed it in 1914.

The balance of forces and means before and after the war

Artillery

According to the data from the table, it is clear that Germany and Austria-Hungary were many times superior to Russia and France in heavy weapons. Therefore, the balance of power was in favor of the first two countries. Moreover, the Germans, as usual, created an excellent military industry before the war, which produced 250,000 shells daily. By comparison, Britain produced 10,000 shells per month! As they say, feel the difference...

Another example showing the importance of artillery is the battles on the Dunajec Gorlice line (May 1915). In 4 hours, the German army fired 700,000 shells. For comparison, during the entire Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), Germany fired just over 800,000 shells. That is, in 4 hours a little less than during the entire war. The Germans clearly understood that heavy artillery would play a decisive role in the war.

Weapons and military equipment

Production of weapons and equipment during the First World War (thousands of units).

This table clearly shows the weakness of the Russian Empire in terms of equipping the army. In all main indicators, Russia is much inferior to Germany, but also inferior to France and Great Britain. Largely because of this, the war turned out to be so difficult for our country.

Number of people (infantry)

Number of fighting infantry (millions of people).

The table shows that Great Britain made the smallest contribution to the war, both in terms of combatants and deaths. This is logical, since the British did not really participate in major battles. Another example from this table is instructive. All textbooks tell us that Austria-Hungary, due to large losses, could not fight on its own, and it always needed help from Germany. But notice Austria-Hungary and France in the table. The numbers are identical! Just as Germany had to fight for Austria-Hungary, so Russia had to fight for France (it is no coincidence that the Russian army saved Paris from capitulation three times during the First World War).

The table also shows that in fact the war was between Russia and Germany. Both countries lost 4.3 million killed, while Britain, France and Austria-Hungary together lost 3.5 million. The numbers are eloquent. But it turned out that the countries that fought the most and made the most effort in the war ended up with nothing. First, Russia signed the shameful Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, losing many lands. Then Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, essentially losing its independence.

Progress of the war

Military events of 1914

July 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. This entailed the involvement of the countries of the Triple Alliance, on the one hand, and the Entente, on the other hand, into the war.

Russia entered World War I on August 1, 1914. Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov (Uncle of Nicholas 2) was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

In the first days of the war, St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd. Since the war with Germany began, the capital could not have a name of German origin - “burg”.

Historical reference

German "Schlieffen Plan"

Germany found itself under the threat of war on two fronts: Eastern - with Russia, Western - with France. Then the German command developed the “Schlieffen Plan”, according to which Germany should defeat France in 40 days and then fight with Russia. Why 40 days? The Germans believed that this was exactly what Russia would need to mobilize. Therefore, when Russia mobilizes, France will already be out of the game.

On August 2, 1914, Germany captured Luxembourg, on August 4 they invaded Belgium (a neutral country at that time), and by August 20 Germany reached the borders of France. The implementation of the Schlieffen Plan began. Germany advanced deep into France, but on September 5 it was stopped at the Marne River, where a battle took place in which about 2 million people took part on both sides.

Northwestern Front of Russia in 1914

At the beginning of the war, Russia did something stupid that Germany could not calculate. Nicholas 2 decided to enter the war without fully mobilizing the army. On August 4, Russian troops, under the command of Rennenkampf, launched an offensive in East Prussia (modern Kaliningrad). Samsonov's army was equipped to help her. Initially, the troops acted successfully, and Germany was forced to retreat. As a result, part of the forces of the Western Front was transferred to the Eastern Front. The result - Germany repelled the Russian offensive in East Prussia (the troops acted disorganized and lacked resources), but as a result the Schlieffen plan failed, and France could not be captured. So, Russia saved Paris, albeit by defeating its 1st and 2nd armies. After this, trench warfare began.

Southwestern Front of Russia

On the southwestern front, in August-September, Russia launched an offensive operation against Galicia, which was occupied by troops of Austria-Hungary. The Galician operation was more successful than the offensive in East Prussia. In this battle, Austria-Hungary suffered a catastrophic defeat. 400 thousand people killed, 100 thousand captured. For comparison, the Russian army lost 150 thousand people killed. After this, Austria-Hungary actually withdrew from the war, since it lost the ability to conduct independent actions. Austria was saved from complete defeat only by the help of Germany, which was forced to transfer additional divisions to Galicia.

The main results of the military campaign of 1914

• Germany failed to implement the Schlieffen plan for lightning war.
• No one managed to gain a decisive advantage. The war turned into a positional one.

Map of military events of 1914-15

Military events of 1915

In 1915, Germany decided to shift the main blow to the eastern front, directing all its forces to the war with Russia, which was the weakest country of the Entente, according to the Germans. It was a strategic plan developed by the commander of the Eastern Front, General von Hindenburg. Russia managed to thwart this plan only at the cost of colossal losses, but at the same time, 1915 turned out to be simply terrible for the empire of Nicholas 2.

Situation on the northwestern front

From January to October, Germany waged an active offensive, as a result of which Russia lost Poland, western Ukraine, part of the Baltic states, and western Belarus. Russia went on the defensive. Russian losses were gigantic:

• Killed and wounded - 850 thousand people
• Captured - 900 thousand people

Russia did not capitulate, but the countries of the Triple Alliance were convinced that Russia would no longer be able to recover from the losses it had suffered.

Germany's successes on this sector of the front led to the fact that on October 14, 1915, Bulgaria entered the First World War (on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary).

Situation on the southwestern front

The Germans, together with Austria-Hungary, organized the Gorlitsky breakthrough in the spring of 1915, forcing the entire southwestern front of Russia to retreat. Galicia, which was captured in 1914, was completely lost. Germany was able to achieve this advantage thanks to the terrible mistakes of the Russian command, as well as a significant technical advantage. German superiority in technology reached:

• 2.5 times in machine guns.
• 4.5 times in light artillery.
• 40 times in heavy artillery.

It was not possible to withdraw Russia from the war, but the losses on this section of the front were gigantic: 150 thousand killed, 700 thousand wounded, 900 thousand prisoners and 4 million refugees.

Situation on the Western Front

"Everything is calm on the Western Front." This phrase can describe how the war between Germany and France proceeded in 1915. There were sluggish military operations in which no one sought the initiative. Germany was implementing plans in eastern Europe, and England and France were calmly mobilizing their economy and army, preparing for further war. No one provided any assistance to Russia, although Nicholas 2 repeatedly turned to France, first of all, so that it would take active action on the Western Front. As usual, no one heard him... By the way, this sluggish war on Germany’s western front was perfectly described by Hemingway in the novel “A Farewell to Arms.”

The main result of 1915 was that Germany was unable to bring Russia out of the war, although all efforts were devoted to this. It became obvious that the First World War would drag on for a long time, since during the 1.5 years of the war no one was able to gain an advantage or strategic initiative.

Military events of 1916

"Verdun Meat Grinder"

In February 1916, Germany launched a general offensive against France with the goal of capturing Paris. For this purpose, a campaign was carried out on Verdun, which covered the approaches to the French capital. The battle lasted until the end of 1916. During this time, 2 million people died, for which the battle was called the “Verdun Meat Grinder”. France survived, but again thanks to the fact that Russia came to its rescue, which became more active on the southwestern front.

Events on the southwestern front in 1916

In May 1916, Russian troops went on the offensive, which lasted 2 months. This offensive went down in history under the name “Brusilovsky breakthrough”. This name is due to the fact that the Russian army was commanded by General Brusilov. The breakthrough of the defense in Bukovina (from Lutsk to Chernivtsi) happened on June 5. The Russian army managed not only to break through the defenses, but also to advance into its depths in some places up to 120 kilometers. The losses of the Germans and Austro-Hungarians were catastrophic. 1.5 million dead, wounded and prisoners. The offensive was stopped only by additional German divisions, which were hastily transferred here from Verdun (France) and from Italy.

This offensive of the Russian army was not without a fly in the ointment. As usual, the allies dropped her off. On August 27, 1916, Romania entered the First World War on the side of the Entente. Germany defeated her very quickly. As a result, Romania lost its army, and Russia received an additional 2 thousand kilometers of front.

Events on the Caucasian and Northwestern fronts

Positional battles continued on the Northwestern Front during the spring-autumn period. As for the Caucasian Front, the main events here lasted from the beginning of 1916 to April. During this time, 2 operations were carried out: Erzurmur and Trebizond. According to their results, Erzurum and Trebizond were conquered, respectively.

The result of 1916 in the First World War

• The strategic initiative passed to the side of the Entente.
• The French fortress of Verdun survived thanks to the offensive of the Russian army.
• Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente.
• Russia carried out a powerful offensive - the Brusilov breakthrough.

Military and political events 1917

The year 1917 in the First World War was marked by the fact that the war continued against the background of the revolutionary situation in Russia and Germany, as well as the deterioration of the economic situation of the countries. Let me give you the example of Russia. During the 3 years of the war, prices for basic products increased on average by 4-4.5 times. Naturally, this caused discontent among the people. Add to this heavy losses and a grueling war - it turns out to be excellent soil for revolutionaries. The situation is similar in Germany.

In 1917, the United States entered the First World War. The position of the Triple Alliance is deteriorating. Germany and its allies cannot effectively fight on 2 fronts, as a result of which it goes on the defensive.

The end of the war for Russia

In the spring of 1917, Germany launched another offensive on the Western Front. Despite the events in Russia, Western countries demanded that the Provisional Government implement the agreements signed by the Empire and send troops on the offensive. As a result, on June 16, the Russian army went on the offensive in the Lvov area. Again, we saved the allies from major battles, but we ourselves were completely exposed.

The Russian army, exhausted by the war and losses, did not want to fight. The issues of provisions, uniforms and supplies during the war years were never resolved. The army fought reluctantly, but moved forward. The Germans were forced to transfer troops here again, and Russia's Entente allies again isolated themselves, watching what would happen next. On July 6, Germany launched a counteroffensive. As a result, 150,000 Russian soldiers died. The army virtually ceased to exist. The front fell apart. Russia could no longer fight, and this catastrophe was inevitable.

People demanded Russia's withdrawal from the war. And this was one of their main demands from the Bolsheviks, who seized power in October 1917. Initially, at the 2nd Party Congress, the Bolsheviks signed the decree “On Peace,” essentially proclaiming Russia’s exit from the war, and on March 3, 1918, they signed the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty. The conditions of this world were as follows:

• Russia makes peace with Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey.
• Russia is losing Poland, Ukraine, Finland, part of Belarus and the Baltic states.
• Russia cedes Batum, Kars and Ardagan to Turkey.

As a result of its participation in the First World War, Russia lost: about 1 million square meters of territory, approximately 1/4 of the population, 1/4 of arable land and 3/4 of the coal and metallurgical industries were lost.

Historical reference

Events in the war in 1918

Germany got rid of the Eastern Front and the need to wage war on two fronts. As a result, in the spring and summer of 1918, she attempted an offensive on the Western Front, but this offensive had no success. Moreover, as it progressed, it became obvious that Germany was getting the most out of itself, and that it needed a break in the war.

Autumn 1918

The decisive events in the First World War took place in the fall. The Entente countries, together with the United States, went on the offensive. The German army was completely driven out of France and Belgium. In October, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria concluded a truce with the Entente, and Germany was left to fight alone. Her situation was hopeless after the German allies in the Triple Alliance essentially capitulated. This resulted in the same thing that happened in Russia - a revolution. On November 9, 1918, Emperor Wilhelm II was overthrown.

End of the First World War

On November 11, 1918, the First World War of 1914-1918 ended. Germany signed a complete surrender. It happened near Paris, in the Compiègne forest, at the Retonde station. The surrender was accepted by the French Marshal Foch. The terms of the signed peace were as follows:

• Germany admits complete defeat in the war.
• The return of the province of Alsace and Lorraine to France to the borders of 1870, as well as the transfer of the Saar coal basin.
• Germany lost all its colonial possessions, and was also obliged to transfer 1/8 of its territory to its geographical neighbors.
• For 15 years, Entente troops were on the left bank of the Rhine.
• By May 1, 1921, Germany had to pay members of the Entente (Russia was not entitled to anything) 20 billion marks in gold, goods, securities, etc.
• Germany must pay reparations for 30 years, and the amount of these reparations is determined by the winners themselves and can be increased at any time during these 30 years.
• Germany was prohibited from having an army of more than 100 thousand people, and the army had to be exclusively voluntary.

The terms of the “peace” were so humiliating for Germany that the country actually became a puppet. Therefore, many people of that time said that although the First World War ended, it did not end in peace, but in a truce for 30 years. That’s how it ultimately turned out...

Results of the First World War

The First World War was fought on the territory of 14 states. Countries with a total population of over 1 billion people took part in it (this is approximately 62% of the entire world population at that time). In total, 74 million people were mobilized by the participating countries, of whom 10 million died and another 20 million were injured.

As a result of the war, the political map of Europe changed significantly. Such independent states as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Albania appeared. Austro-Hungary split into Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Romania, Greece, France, and Italy have increased their borders. There were 5 countries that lost and lost territory: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey and Russia.

World War I map 1914-1918