Russian culture 14-17 centuries. Russian culture of the XIV-XVII centuries

In the spring of 1918, the German command tried to defeat the Anglo-French troops before the arrival of large US armed forces in Europe. At the cost of heavy losses, German troops managed to advance to Paris. But it was not possible to defeat the Anglo-French armies before the arrival of US troops. Not only the material, but also the human reserves of Germany were exhausted.

The initiative passed to the Entente. The Anglo-French army and the US divisions that had already arrived pushed German troops back to their original positions. On August 8, the offensive of the troops of France, England and the United States began under the overall command of the French Marshal Foch. They broke through the enemy front, defeating 16 divisions in one day. Not wanting to fight, the German soldiers surrendered. Armed forces Germany could no longer resist the general offensive of the Franco-Anglo-American troops.

Anglo-French and Serbian troops were advancing on the Balkan front. The Bulgarian army was defeated and Bulgaria capitulated. After the defeat of the Turkish army in Palestine and Syria by British and French troops, the Ottoman Empire also capitulated. The soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army refused to fight. Austria-Hungary collapsed. A number of independent national states were formed on the territory. On November 3, 1918, the Austro-Hungarian command signed a truce dictated by the Entente.

On the same day, a revolution began in Germany. On November 9, the people overthrew the monarchy. The country became a republic. A new government was created. At dawn on November 11, 1918, in the Compiegne Forest, in Foch's headquarters car, an armistice was signed between Germany and its opponents. The First World War is over.

37. Results of World War I.

In 1914, Germany was better prepared for war than its opponents. However World War ended with the defeat of the Quadruple Alliance. The Entente's superiority in human and material resources was of decisive importance. The USA was on her side. The political system that existed in Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire could not withstand the tests of the World War and collapsed. As a result of the defeats and revolutions, all three empires disappeared from the political map. England, France and the USA achieved the defeat of their main competitors and began to redistribute the world.

The Russian monarchy also failed to withstand the trials of the World War. It was swept away within a few days by the storm of the February Revolution. The reasons for the fall of the monarchy are chaos in the country, a crisis in the economy, politics, and contradictions between the monarchy and broad sections of society. The catalyst for all these negative processes was Russia’s ruinous participation in the First World War. Largely due to the inability of the Provisional Government to solve the problem of achieving peace for Russia, the October Revolution took place. Soviet authority was able to bring Russia out of the world war, but only at the cost of significant territorial concessions. Thus, the tasks facing Russia in 1914 to expand the territory and spheres of influence of the Russian Empire were not fulfilled.

The world imperialist war of 1914-1918 was the bloodiest and cruelest of all the wars that the world knew before 1914. Never before have the opposing sides put up such huge armies for mutual destruction. The total number of armies reached 70 million people. All advances in technology and chemistry were aimed at exterminating people. They killed everywhere: on land and in the air, on water and under water. Poisonous gases, explosive bullets, automatic machine guns, heavy gun shells, flamethrowers - everything was aimed at destruction human life. 10 million killed, 18 million wounded - this is the result of the war.

45.Economics and internal political development countries of Western Europe and the USA in the yearsIWorld War.

Great Britain

With the outbreak of the war, the process of development of state-monopoly capitalism accelerated. Already in August 1914, the Defense of the Realm Act gave the authorities the right to requisition and control over industrial production, transport and commercial shipping. The newly created Ministry of Armaments was authorized to transfer any enterprise to the production of military products. In most industries that carried out defense orders, pre-war legislation on labor protection and limitation of working hours was repealed. The law on personal integrity was suspended and censorship was introduced.

The interests of increasing defense capability were served by the reorganization of the country's governance. In August 1914, the Liberals, Conservatives and Labor agreed to mutually renounce competition in early elections to the House of Commons and ended the traditional political struggle in Parliament. However, already at the beginning of 1915, the failures of the British army shook the party truce. Parliamentarians, the press and the public placed responsibility on the liberal cabinet and saw the solution in the formation of a coalition.

Putting national interests above narrow party ones, in the spring of 1915, 8 conservatives and Labor member Henderson entered the government. In 1916, Asquith was replaced as Prime Minister by Lloyd George.

The war caused a softening of political tension in the country. The masses adopted the slogans of “defense of the fatherland” and “struggle for democracy.” On August 6, 1914, the Labor faction of parliament voted in favor of war loans. The leaders of the trade unions agreed to an “industrial truce” with entrepreneurs, i.e. abandoned strikes.

The actual transformation of trade unions into an integral part of the military-state apparatus deprived workers of an instrument for protecting social and labor interests. The wave of workers' movement has risen again.

The socio-political upsurge of the broad masses caused by the war made significant economic and political transformations inevitable. Wages were increased for some categories of workers, the “dilution of labor” was suspended, and universal compulsory free education for children under the age of 14 was introduced. For the first time, women received the right to vote.

Ireland on the road to independence. On August 1, 1914, the day the military campaign began, the truncated Home Rule became law. There was, however, a significant caveat - Irish autonomy was to become a reality only after the end of the war.

The Irish Parliamentary Party (Home Rulers) and the part of the commercial, industrial and agricultural bourgeoisie that stood behind it immediately abandoned their opposition.

The war accelerated the maturation of the preconditions for complete national liberation. This is evidenced by the uprising in Dublin. It began on April 24, 1916, at the initiative of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. But even after its suppression and execution of the leaders, the revolutionary process continued to develop steadily, capturing ever larger masses of the people. The consolidation of the Irish nation accelerated, and national self-awareness increased. In December 1918, national forces led by Sinn Fein won a complete victory in the Irish constituencies in the first post-war elections to the British Parliament. The vast majority of the Irish people spoke in favor of independence and a future break with the British Crown.

France

With the outbreak of the war, the consolidation of political forces was ensured in the country. This stabilized the situation: the government even adopted a declaration “On the eternal union of parliament, nation and army.” Yes, and ourselves masses enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to punish the enemy for past defeats.

The protracted war created serious economic difficulties and complex domestic political problems for France. By the end of the war, industrial production had almost halved. The process of militarization of the economy began. Under the pretext of war, restrictions on the length of the working day were abolished, night shifts and work on Sundays were introduced. When, due to the mobilization of half of the workforce, a shortage in the military industry was revealed, some of those drafted into the army had to be returned to the enterprises. These workers were viewed as military personnel assigned to factories and subject to full subordination to military discipline.

The intractable problems of wartime, combined with the practice of changing cabinets inherent in the Third Republic at the slightest inter-party disagreement, led to repeated government reorganizations. In 1916, the government was formed by Ribot.

In May-June 1917, a number of French military units refused to go to the front and demanded the democratization of the army, an end to the war and the conclusion of peace without annexations and indemnities. The strike movement of workers intensified, demanding not only higher wages and shorter working hours, but also opposing the war. As always, they tried to neutralize the crisis by replacing the government. The question arose about the creation of a “government of national salvation” headed by strong personality. This was considered to be the 76-year-old Georges Clemenceau, who had not had an official position since 1909. On November 17, 1917, he took over as Prime Minister and remained as Prime Minister until January 18, 1920.

Clemenceau ruled the country with dictatorial methods, paying little regard even to French President Raymond Poincaré. Using the most severe measures, Clemenceau ensured a reduction in the strike movement and an end to unrest in the army, but at the same time he was able to give the troops at the front the will to further fight.

USA

None of the countries that entered the war took the United States into account in their plans and did not envisage their intervention, much less participation in the European conflict.

But the United States itself was in no hurry to join the armed struggle. Remoteness from the theaters of war, the weakness of the armed forces, pacifist and isolationist sentiments - all this forced the United States to declare its neutrality on August 4, 1914, which did not prevent it from supplying the warring powers with various kinds of supplies, weapons, and finances. The United States, in the wake of the military-economic boom, ensured its industrial prosperity and became a world economic and financial center. The dollar has finally established itself in the international money market as the most durable currency.

Further development of state-monopoly capitalism. A manifestation of this trend was the creation in September 1914 of the Federal Industrial Commission and in August 1916 of the Federal Shipping Administration. To implement the Act on Control over Food, Raw Materials and Fuel, adopted in August 1917, the Food, Fuel, and Railway Administrations operated.

Wilson formulated the American foreign policy program for the post-war period in a speech delivered on January 8, 1918 and containing the so-called “14 points”.

Taking advantage of Germany's transition to unrestricted submarine warfare, Wilson, on April 2, 1917, before full staff Congress proposed to declare the United States a belligerent. Congressmen and senators agreed, and on April 6 the United States officially entered the war. At the same time, the United States did not become part of the Entente, but only joined it. An expeditionary force was sent to Europe, but it did not play a decisive role in the hostilities.

Countries of the German bloc during the war

Germany

The protracted war required extreme strain on the country's economy. Already from August 1914, the Military Industrial Committee acted as the central body for placing military orders. The state carried out a forced merger of enterprises and firms into syndicates endowed with the exclusive right to receive raw materials and orders. The intensification of labor has reached its limit. The length of the working day was raised to 11-12 hours, the ban on child labor and the restriction on the working day of teenagers was abolished, it was prohibited to change jobs at will, and conscription was introduced for men from 18 to 60 and women from 20 to 55 years old. Production has almost halved Agriculture, which forced the introduction of a card supply system.

Already from the end of 1914, groups opposing the leadership arose in the Social Democratic Party of Germany. The leaders were accused of violating the anti-war resolutions of the Stuttgart and Basel Congresses of the Second International and supporting the government's imperialist plans. In April 1917, at the congress in Gotha, the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (NSPD) was established. A third of the members of the old SPD joined it.

The maturation of the economic and political crisis led to increased contradictions within the ruling camp. The dictatorship of the army elite became complete and undivided. The unrest of naval sailors was brutally suppressed, anti-war protests were persecuted, but revolutionary tendencies were increasingly intensified.

At the end of September 1918, the military dictators Hindenburg and Ludendorff, in view of the strategic failure of the spring-summer offensive on the Western Front, the depletion of human and material resources, which made it hopeless to continue the war despite the peace treaty signed with Soviet Russia on March 3, 1918, made an ultimatum demand the beginning of peace negotiations in the name of preventing disaster. This accelerated the “crisis at the top.”

Under the influence of military defeats and severe deprivations of the masses, a revolutionary situation arose in the empire. On November 4, 1918, a naval uprising began in Kiel. The revolution spread throughout the country. On November 9, the Hohenzollern monarchy fell. Germany was proclaimed a republic. William II fled to Holland.

Austria-Hungary

With the outbreak of the war, the Habsburg monarchy switched to military-administrative methods of managing the economy. The Military Control Directorate, created under the Ministry of War, controlled and regulated the work of economic associations and organizations throughout Austria-Hungary.

During the war, laws were introduced that sharply limited the rights of workers. Particularly important enterprises were declared “under state protection.” Refusal to work for them or attempt to negotiate a strike was subject to punishment under martial law. The food problem has worsened, forcing the introduction of food cards. By the beginning of 1917, the country's economy had fallen into deep decline, and the monarchy was on the verge of economic exhaustion.

Under the pretext of war, a military-police dictatorship was established in the empire. The Austrian Reichsrat and the Landtags of individual states were closed, constitutional guarantees and freedoms of citizens were suspended, and cases involving civilian charges were transferred to military courts. National oppression intensified. Czech bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties consolidated their forces by establishing the National Committee in Prague in the fall of 1916. T.G., who emigrated from Austria-Hungary to Paris. Masaryk created the Czechoslovak National Council, recognized in the summer of 1918 by France and England as the basis of the future Czechoslovak government.

A terrible symptom of the approaching agony of the monarchy was a powerful wave of strikes and anti-war protests, which in January 1918 brought together 600 thousand participants calling to follow the example of the revolution in Russia 20 . The decomposition of the most combat-ready part of the empire's armed forces, the navy, began: on February 1, 1918, an uprising began among the sailors of warships operating in the Adriatic Sea. He was suppressed, but the sailors - even before those of South Slavic origin - refused to serve the Habsburgs. Attempts to save the monarchy by breaking the alliance with Germany on October 26, 1918 and proposing a separate peace the next day were already belated. The military defeat of Austria-Hungary accelerated the collapse of the country. On October 28, 1918, the Prague National Committee announced the creation of an independent Czechoslovak state. On the night of October 28-29, the People's Assembly formed in Zagreb decided to break with the monarchy and form the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. On October 28, the Liquidation Commission created in Krakow announced the annexation of the Polish lands of the empire to the Polish state.

On November 11, the Provisional National Assembly proclaimed Austria a republic. The Habsburgs were expelled from the country. On November 16, Charles was deposed in Hungary. The Austro-Hungarian monarchy disappeared from the political map of Europe.

The First World War was an imperialist war between two political unions of states where capitalism flourished, for the redivision of the world, spheres of influence, the enslavement of peoples and the multiplication of capital. Thirty-eight countries took part in it, four of which were part of the Austro-German bloc. It was aggressive in nature, and in some countries, for example, Montenegro and Serbia, it was national liberation.

The reason for the outbreak of the conflict was the liquidation of the heir to the Hungarian throne in Bosnia. For Germany, this became a convenient opportunity to start a war with Serbia on July 28, whose capital came under fire. So Russia began general mobilization two days later. Germany demanded that such actions be stopped, but having received no response, it declared war on Russia, and then on Belgium, France and Great Britain. At the end of August, Japan declared war on Germany, while Italy remained neutral.

The First World War began as a result of uneven political and economic development states Strong conflicts arose between Great Britain and France and Germany, since many of their interests in dividing the territory of the globe collided. At the end of the nineteenth century, Russian-German contradictions began to intensify, and clashes also arose between Russia and Austria-Hungary.

Thus, the aggravation of contradictions pushed the imperialists to the division of the world, which was supposed to happen through a war, plans for which were being developed general staffs long before her appearance. All calculations were made on the basis of its short duration and shortness, so the fascist plan was designed for decisive offensive actions against France and Russia, which should have taken no more than eight weeks.

The Russians developed two options for conducting military operations, which were offensive in nature; the French envisaged an offensive by the forces of the left and right wing, depending on the offensive of the German troops. Great Britain did not make plans for operations on land, only the fleet was supposed to provide protection for sea communications.

Thus, in accordance with these developed plans, the deployment of forces took place.

Stages of the First World War.

1. 1914 Invasions of German troops into Belgium and Luxembourg began. In the battle of Maron, Germany was defeated, just as in the East Prussian operation. Simultaneously with the latter, the Battle of Galicia took place, as a result of which the Austro-Hungarian troops were defeated. In October, Russian troops launched a counteroffensive and pushed the enemy forces back to their original position. In November, Serbia was liberated.

Thus, this stage of the war did not bring decisive results to either side. The military actions made it clear that it was wrong to make plans to carry them out beyond short term.

2. 1915 Military operations mainly unfolded with the participation of Russia, since Germany planned its rapid defeat and withdrawal from the conflict. During this period, the masses began to protest against the imperialist battles, and already in the fall a

3. 1916 Great importance assigned to the Naroch operation, as a result of which German troops weakened their attacks, and to the Battle of Jutland between the German and British fleets.

This stage of the war did not lead to the achievement of the goals of the warring parties, but Germany was forced to defend itself on all fronts.

4. 1917 Began revolutionary movements In all countries. This stage did not bring the results that both sides of the war expected. The revolution in Russia thwarted the Entente's plan to defeat the enemy.

5. 1918 Russia left the war. Germany was defeated and pledged to withdraw troops from all occupied territories.

For Russia and other countries involved, military actions made it possible to create special government agencies, resolving issues defense, transportation and many others. Military production began to grow.

Thus, the First World War marked the beginning of the general crisis of capitalism.

At the negotiations that began in Brest, the Soviet government proposed signing a peace without annexations and indemnities based on the principle of self-determination of peoples. The countries of the Quadruple Alliance, who decided to improve their position through acquisitions in the East, declared claims to all the territories they had captured. These proposals caused a split among the Bolsheviks and a crisis in the Soviet government. Since by that time the Russian army had completely disintegrated, the German command took advantage of the hitch in the negotiations for a broad offensive along the entire Eastern Front.

On March 3, 1918, under the terms of the powers, the Quadruple Alliance was signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, according to which Russia was supposed to leave Ukraine, renounce claims to the Baltic states and Finland, and give the Ottoman Empire the regions of Kars, Ardahan and Batumi. Romania occupied Bessarabia in January 1918. The seizure of a huge territory, which produced a third of Russia's agricultural and a quarter of its industrial output, allowed the powers of the Quadruple Alliance to hope for an improvement in their position in 1918. But the war devastated these areas, and any measures to force the requisition of necessary food and raw materials encountered resistance from the population. So it was not possible to achieve a radical improvement in food supply.

Entente actions in Russia

The Entente countries tried to preserve the Eastern Front by any means possible, both directly by landing their troops in Russia and by supporting those forces that continued to advocate for the war until the victorious end. France had to act through Ukraine, the British - through Transcaucasia and Murmansk. The Japanese and Americans landed in Vladivostok. Everywhere, Entente troops were drawn into the fight against the Bolsheviks, who were considered the main culprits for the collapse of the front. Their actions became integral part foreign intervention against Soviet Russia.

Last offensive

Having transferred troops from the Eastern Front, concentrating 80% of divisions and 90% of artillery on the Western Front, the German command began in March 1918 the next, and, as it turned out, the last offensive. But the enemy was superior to Germany in all respects. Its forces grew as new American divisions arrived. There was no hope of victory under these conditions. New victims were pointless. By intensifying the war, they only worsened the prospects for peace for Germany.

First, the main blow was delivered by the Germans to the junction of British and French troops near Arras. German troops broke through the front and went 60 kilometers deep, creating a threat to Paris, on the one hand, and the encirclement of British troops near the coast, on the other. One of the most successful offensive operations of the First World War, however, soon came to a halt due to the lack of necessary reserves. Impressed by this blow, England and France finally decided to create a unified command, transferring it to the French general Ferdinand Foch. This battle cost both sides more than 300 thousand killed and wounded.

Then, just as energetically, German troops launched an offensive on the Marne, where they again found themselves 70 kilometers from Paris. On July 15, they struck again in this direction, but without results. On July 18, the French army began a counteroffensive on the flank of the advancing German divisions, which were forced to retreat. For the second time during the war, the battles on the Marne marked a turning point in military operations. From that moment on, the Entente advanced continuously. Initially, General Foch intended in 1918 to provide only strategic positions for a decisive blow in 1919. But events once again violated the command plan.

Hindenburg Peace Initiative

The general offensive of the Entente finally proved to Hindenburg that the war was lost. On August 14, he told Emperor Wilhelm II of the need to end the war diplomatically while German troops were still on enemy territory. At the end of September, a major Entente offensive began on the front from the North Sea to the Meuse River. By that time, the situation on other fronts had become critical for the Quadruple Alliance.

Truce with Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary

On September 15, Allied forces attacked Bulgaria and Austro-Hungarian forces on the Thessaloniki front. On September 28, the Bulgarians sued for peace. Bulgaria became the first of the Quadruple Alliance countries to withdraw from the war. After this, the Entente troops began a fan-shaped offensive through Albania to Montenegro, through Serbia to Budapest and through Bulgaria to Romania. The latter again went over to the side of the Entente. Austria-Hungary requested an armistice on October 29, which was signed on November 3.

Truce with the Ottoman Empire

In Asia, the British, moving up the Tigris Valley, reached areas inhabited by the Turkish population itself. In September, a decisive offensive began on the Palestinian front. October 30 Ottoman Empire was forced to sign a truce with the Entente.

The beginning of the German Revolution and Germany's exit from the war

Under these conditions, Germany began negotiations on an armistice. On October 4, William II appointed Prince Max of Baden as chancellor. His government's first step was to appeal to US President Wilson for a truce.

Events were further accelerated by the uprising of military sailors in Kiel that began on November 3-4. The rebels' demands boiled down to an end to the war; to protect their interests, they created the first Council in Germany. On November 6, a telegram was received from Wilson, in which it was reported that Marshal Foch was authorized to receive representatives of the German command. On November 9, the revolutionary wave raised by the sailors reached Berlin. Max Badensky announced the abdication of the Kaiser and transferred power to the Social Democrat F. Ebert. On November 10, a new German government was formed.

Truce of Compiègne

On behalf of this government, on November 11, the long-awaited truce was signed in the Compiegne Forest in the headquarters carriage of Marshal Foch. The First World War is over.

Creder A.A. Recent history foreign countries. 1914-1997

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 a state that had been destroyed sections XVIII 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 Central Europe under German leadership. 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 for Russia’s withdrawal from the war and the bloody, inconclusive battles in 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 deployed retaliatory offensive operations(Amiens, Saint-Miel, Marne), during which the results of the German offensive were eliminated, 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 population lived globe. 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 war led to the destruction of industrial production, agriculture, transport, and the severance of ties between countries. Mobilization economic resources to meet the needs of the war, it reduced the production of consumer goods and food products. About 75 million people were mobilized in the army. Every day the war claimed thousands of lives, absorbed colossal funds, and created devastation. The situation of the peoples of the warring countries worsened every year of the war. Spontaneous protests began to arise, resulting in “hunger riots” and fraternization of soldiers at the fronts. The strike movement grew, shaking civil peace.

As the war dragged on and unrest among the masses grew, powerful anti-war demonstrations began in the warring countries. On May 1, 1917, anti-war demonstrations took place in major cities Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy. Anti-war sentiments gripped the armies of both the Entente countries and the German bloc. February Revolution in Russia contributed to the rise of anti-war movements in Western countries. In the spring and summer of 1917, mass anti-war protests swept across Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, and England.

With the outbreak of the war, the United States took a position of neutrality, which gave it the opportunity to enrich itself by selling weapons, goods and food to both blocs of war, and to play the role of an arbiter. They were able to turn European countries in their debtors, concentrated in their hands more than half of the world's gold reserves. The growth of anti-war sentiment and the possible approach of the end of the war aroused fear in the American government that it might be late in redividing the world. Using attacks by German submarines on American merchant ships as a pretext, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany and declared war on it on April 6, 1917. American soldiers were sent to Europe to participate in Allied military operations.

The course of military operations in 1917 The German command in 1917 on the Western Front adhered to defensive tactics. The spring offensive of French troops under the command of General Nivelle in the Arras region ended in their defeat. The offensive of the Russian army in the Lvov direction, launched by the Provisional Government at the request of the Entente in July, ended in failure. The Italian army suffered a crushing defeat in the fall at Caporetto. More than 130 thousand Italian soldiers were killed or wounded, 300 thousand were captured, and the enemy captured many weapons. Military operations in the Balkans developed unsuccessfully for the Entente.

The October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, which had a huge impact on the subsequent development of events, aroused the support of the working people of the West, but at the same time the hatred of its bourgeois circles. The government of Soviet Russia called for an end to the war and for peace without annexations and indemnities. However, the Entente countries refused to negotiate peace and entered into contact with representatives of the overthrown Provisional Government, providing it with support.

In contrast to the Entente, Germany and Austria-Hungary announced their agreement to peace negotiations, which began on December 22 in Brest-Litovsk. Soviet Russia was offered extremely difficult peace conditions, which included the separation of Poland, part of Latvia, Belarus, and all of Lithuania. The Germans, if they were not accepted, began to threaten the outbreak of military action. In February, the German delegation signed a separate peace with the Central Rada of Ukraine. A few days later, the Germans sent their troops into Ukraine and launched an offensive along the entire front. Under these conditions, the Soviet government was forced to sign the predatory Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918, according to which Russia lost about 1 million square meters. km.

Defeat of the German bloc. In March - June 1918, the Germans launched four offensives on the Western Front, seeking to defeat the Anglo-French forces before the arrival of large US forces. Due to heavy losses they reached the river. The Marne was already 70 km from Paris. However, their partial successes could not lead to the achievement of the strategic goal - the defeat of the Entente.

On July 3, 1918, a counteroffensive by French troops began, followed by a general offensive by the combined allied forces, which received fresh reinforcements from the United States. German troops were gradually driven out of French territory. More than 150 thousand German soldiers and officers were captured. In September, Franco-American troops launched a general offensive along the entire front.

Allied victories accelerated the decay German army and its revolutionization. In September 1918, Germany was formed coalition government Max Badensky, which included both the Social Democrats and the leaders of the center party. It was supposed to save Germany. On October 4, the Badensky government sent a note to American President William Wilson asking for peace. The exchange of notes dragged on for a month, and at this time Germany’s allies were leaving the war one by one.

On September 15, a powerful offensive began on the Balkan front. The Bulgarian army was defeated. On September 29, the Bulgarian government asked for a truce. Bulgaria was dictated by demands to withdraw troops from Serbia, Romania, and Greece. Then it was Turkey's turn. In October, British and French troops defeated the Turkish army in Palestine and Syria. On October 31, Türkiye signed a capitulation in Mudros.

The military collapse of Austria-Hungary coincided with the revolutionary crisis. Powerful protests for national and social liberation swept across the empire. The general political strike in the Czech Republic in October grew into a national liberation revolution. The Czech Republic and Slovakia seceded from Austria-Hungary and proclaimed the creation of an independent Czechoslovak state. Then the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was announced. Northern Bukovina announced its annexation to Ukraine, Galicia - to Poland. On October 31, a democratic revolution began in Austria-Hungary, as a result of which the monarchy was overthrown. On November 3, the Austrian government, on behalf of the no longer existing Austria-Hungary, signed an act of surrender. The Allies blocked the territories of Austria and Hungary, disarmed the army, and half of the military property went to the Entente.

Although the German government expressed a desire to agree to an armistice on the basis of Wilson's 14 Points, announced in January 1918 and representing a skillful counterfeit of Soviet peace terms, it nevertheless undertook a major naval operation, ordering a military squadron based in Kiel harbor go to sea to attack the English fleet. However, the sailors refused to obey the order. On November 3, an uprising broke out in Kiel; the next day it engulfed the entire German fleet. In Kiel, the workers entered the struggle and created the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. On November 9, a revolution began in Germany. Emperor Wilhelm II was forced to leave the country. On November 10, power in the country passed into the hands of the Councils of People's Representatives, led by the right-wing Social Democrat Ebert. Germany was declared a republic and the Hohenzollern monarchy was overthrown.

Under these conditions, the German delegation, which arrived at the headquarters of the commander of the Entente forces, Marshal Foch, signed an armistice agreement on November 11, 1918 in the Compiegne Forest. Germany admitted itself defeated and pledged to withdraw all its troops from the occupied territories and the left bank of the Rhine, withdraw its fleet to the ports of the Allies, and transfer part of the German weapons to the Entente.