Russian culture 14 17. Russian culture of the XIV–XVII centuries
Timeline of World War I dates and events (1914-1918)
1914
1914.06.28 As a result of an assassination attempt in Sarajevo, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife were killed. The murder was committed by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip, a seventeen-year-old student associated with the nationalist Serbian organization Black Hand.
1914.07.5 Germany promises support for Austria-Hungary in the event of a conflict with Serbia.
1914.07.23 Austria-Hungary, suspecting Serbia of participation in the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, announces an ultimatum to it.
1914.07.24 Edward Gray proposes the candidacies of the four great powers as mediators in resolving the Balkan crisis. Serbia turns to Russia for help.
1914.07.25 Serbia announces mobilization into the army. Germany is pushing Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia.
07/1914/26 Austria-Hungary announces general mobilization and concentrates troops on the border with Russia.
1914.07.30 Mobilization into the army was announced in Russia (at first the option of partial mobilization was considered so as not to frighten Germany, but it soon became clear that then the planned mobilization would be disrupted if it had to be resorted to. So the government took a step after which it was impossible to stop ).
1914.07.31 Germany demands that Russia stop conscription. France, Austria-Hungary and Germany are mobilizing. Great Britain demands that Germany respect Belgium's neutrality.
1914.08.1 Germany declares war on Russia. The First World War begins.
1914.08.1 In Constantinople, Germany and Türkiye sign a treaty.
1914.08.2 Germany occupies Luxembourg and demands that Belgium allow its troops through.
1914.08.2 Russia invades East Prussia.
1914.08.2 Italy declares its neutrality in the European conflict.
1914.08.2 Germany declares war on France.
1914.08.4 The full-time Prussian operation began - an offensive operation (August 4 (17) - September 2 (15), 1914) of Russian troops, which were tasked with striking
8th defeat German army and the conquest of East Prussia.
1914.08.4 German troops invade Belgium.
1914.08.4 Great Britain declares war on Germany and sends warships to the North Sea, English Channel and Mediterranean Sea to blockade states Central Europe.
1914.08.4 President Wilson declares US neutrality regarding the war in Europe.
1914.08.5 The 2nd German Army reaches Liege, where it encounters fierce resistance from Belgian troops (the battle lasted until August 16).
1914.08.6 Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia.
1914.08.6 Serbia and Montenegro declare war on Germany.
1914.08.8 British troops land in France.
1914.08.8 British and French troops occupy the German protectorate of Togoland (the territory of modern Togo and the Volta region in the Republic of Ghana).
1914.08.10 France declares war on Austria-Hungary.
1914.08.10 The German cruisers Breslau and Goeben in the Mediterranean manage to slip past the British ships and enter the Black Sea, where they were then sold to Turkey to replace the ships captured by England.
08/1912 Great Britain declares war on Austria-Hungary.
1914.08.14 Russia promises autonomy for that part of Poland that is part of Russia, in exchange for Polish help in the war.
1914.08.15 Japan sends Germany an ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of troops from the German-owned port of Jiaozhou in China.
1914.08.20 Germany occupies Brussels.
1914.08.20 (August 7, O.S.). Meeting battle between the Russian and German armies near the city of Gumbinnen.
1914.08.21 The British government announces the creation of the first “New Army”, formed from volunteers.
1914.08.21 The battle of Charleroi begins (August 21-25), - English and French troops retreat.
1914.08.22 Retired General Paul von Hindenburg is appointed commander of the Eighth German Army in East Prussia.
1914.08.23 Russian victory at Frankenau in East Prussia.
1914.08.23 The Lublin-Kholm operation began, the offensive of the 4th and 5th Russian armies of the Southwestern Front against the 1st and 4th Austro-Hungarian armies. Lasted 10-12 (23-25) August.
1914.08.23 Japan declares war on Germany.
1914.08.26 Changes in the French cabinet of ministers. General Gallieni is appointed governor of Paris.
1914.08.26 Germany defeats Russia at the Battle of Tannenberg in East Prussia (before August 28).
1914.08.27 German General Otto Liman von Sanders is appointed commander-in-chief of the Turkish army.
08/1914/28 The British fleet under the command of David Beatty raids Heligoland Bight.
1914.08.28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Belgium.
1914.08.30 Germany captures Amiens.
1914.09.1 The capital of Russia, St. Petersburg, is renamed Petrograd.
1914.09.2 The French government moves to Bordeaux.
1914.09.3 German troops cross the Marne.
1914.09.5 Battle of the Marne (until September 10). From September 10 to 12, German troops retreated, trying to establish a front line along the Aisne River. By the end of the battle on the Western Front, the parties switched to trench warfare.
1914.09.5 In London, France, Russia and Great Britain agree not to enter into separate peace negotiations with the opposing side.
1914.09.6 Battle in the Masurian swamps, East Prussia (until September 15). German units pushed back Russian troops.
1914.09.8 Battle of Lviv (until September 12). Russian troops occupy Lvov, the fourth largest city in Austria-Hungary.
09/19/13 The offensive of the French and English armies continued on the Aisne River in Northern France (the left tributary of the Oise River) (September 13-15, 1914)
1914.09.14 The Allies liberate Reims.
1914.09.14 Erich von Falkenhayn succeeds Helmuth von Moltke as Commander-in-Chief of the German Army.
1914.09.15 Battle of the Aisne (until September 18). The Allies attack German positions. The infantry begins to dig trenches.
1914.09.15 In the Pacific region, in German New Guinea, German units surrender to British troops.
1914.09.17 “Run to the sea” was the name given to the operation when Allied and German troops tried to outflank each other (until October 18). As a result, the Western Front stretched from the North Sea through Belgium and France to Switzerland.
1914.09.18 Paul von Hindenburg is appointed commander of all German troops on the Eastern Front.
1914.9. The Augustow Operation (first) began - an offensive operation in September - October 1914 in the area of the Polish city of Augustow of Russian armies against the German army.
1914.09.27 Russian troops cross the Carpathians and invade Hungary.
1914.09.27 The city of Douala in German Cameroon is captured by British and French troops.
1914.09.28 The first battle for Warsaw (until October 27) - the Warsaw-Ivangorod operation. German and Austrian troops attack Russian positions from the south, but are forced to retreat.
1914.10.1 Türkiye closes the Dardanelles to ships.
1914.10.9 Antwerp is captured by German troops.
1914.10.12 The first battle of Ypres, Belgium, begins on the Western Front, during which German units try to break through the defenses of the Allied forces (until November 11).
1914.10.14 The first Canadian units arrive in England.
1914.10.17 During the battle on the Yser in Belgium (Western Front), attempts by German troops to reach the English Channel ports were repelled (until October 30).
1914.10.17 The first units of the Australian Expeditionary Force sail for France.
1914.10.20 The Battle of Flanders began in 1914, fighting between German and Anglo-French troops in Flanders during the First World War. Lasted from October 20 to November 15.
1914.10.29 Turkish ships fire at Odessa and Sevastopol.
1914.11.1 Battle of Coronel (Chile). The German squadron under the command of Maximilius von Spee defeats the British naval forces.
1914.11.2 Russia declares war on Turkey.
1914.11.5 France and Great Britain declare war on Turkey.
1914.11.5 Naval battle off Cape Sarych (Southern coast of Crimea) on November 5, 1914 between the German battle cruiser Goeben under the command of Rear Admiral V. Souchon and a Russian squadron of five battleships under the command of Admiral A. A. Eberhard.
1914.11.5 Great Britain annexes Cyprus, which it occupied back in June 1878.
1914.11.9 The German warship Emden sank off the Cocos Islands.
1914.11.11 The Lodz operation of 1914 began. October 29 (November 11) - November 11 (24). The command of the German army, pinning down the 2nd and 5th Russian armies with attacks from the front, tried to attack their flank with the forces of the 9th Army to encircle and defeat the Russian troops in the Lodz area. Russian forces managed not only to resist this blow, but also to push back the enemy.
11/19/18 On the Eastern Front, German troops break through the defenses of Russian troops in the Kutno area.
1914.11.18 The French government returns to Paris.
1914.11.19 The battle began on the Bzura River (November 19 - December 20) between Austro-German and Russian troops during the First World War of 1914-1918.
1914.11.21 Indian troops occupy the Turkish city of Basra.
1914.11.23 The British navy bombards Zeebrugge.
1914.12.2 A vote on war loans takes place in the German Reichstag. Karl Liebknecht votes against.
1914.12.5 On the Eastern Front, Austrian troops defeat the Russian army at Limakovy, but they fail to break through the defenses at Krakow (both battles lasted until December 17).
1914.12.6 On the Eastern Front, German troops capture Lodz.
1914.12.8 Battle of the Falkland Islands, the British navy under the command of Admiral Frederick Sturdee destroys the German squadron.
12/19/17 Great Britain declares Egypt its protectorate (December 18, Khedive Abbas II is deprived of power and Prince Hussein Kemel becomes his successor).
12/19/21 The first German air raid on England (a bomb attack on the southern coast).
1914.12.22 (December 9 to Julian calendar). The Sarykamysh operation began: the Turkish army unsuccessfully tried to attack the positions of Russian troops in the Caucasus. The operation ended on January 4 (17), 1915.
1914.12.26 The German government announces control over the supply and distribution of food.
1915
1915.01.3 On the Western Front, Germany begins to use gas-filled shells.
1915.01.8 On the Western Front, heavy fighting takes place in the area of the Basse Canal and near Suasok on French territory (until February 5).
1915.01.13 South African troops occupy Swakopmund in German South-West Africa.
1915.01.18 Japan presents “21 demands” to China.
1915.01.19 The first raid of a German airship on England. Seaports in East Anglia are being bombed.
1915.01.23 On the Eastern Front there is a fierce battle between Russian and Austro-Hungarian troops in the Carpathians (until mid-April).
1915.01.24. In the North Sea near the Dogger Bank, the English fleet destroys the German cruiser Blücher.
1915.01.25 The Augustow operation (second) begins - an offensive from January 25 to February 13, 1915 in the Augustow area of the German armies against the Russian army.
1915.01.30 Germany begins to use submarines in the war. The port of Le Havre on the northern coast of France is attacked.
1915.02.3 In the Turkish Empire, British troops begin advancing along the Tigris River in Mesopotamia.
1915.02.4 Germany announces the establishment of an underwater blockade of England and Ireland (starting February 18). It warns that it will consider any foreign vessel located in the specified area as its legitimate target.
1915.02.4 In Egypt, the Turks repel an attack by allied forces in the direction of the Suez Canal.
1915.02.4 The British Foreign Office states that any ship delivering grain to Germany will be intercepted by the British Navy.
1915.02.8 On the Eastern Front, during the winter battle in Masuria, troops of Germany and Austria-Hungary force the Russian army to retreat (ends February 22).
1915.02.10 The US government announces that Germany will be responsible for any damage caused to the US fleet and American citizens.
02/1915/16 On the Western Front, French artillery conducts a massive bombardment of German positions in Champagne, France (until February 26).
02.1915.17 On the Eastern Front, German troops recapture the city of Memel in Northwestern Germany (modern Lithuanian city of Klaipeda) from Russian troops.
1915.02.19 British and French naval formations fire at Turkish fortifications at the entrance to the Dardanelles.
02/1915/20 The first Prasnysz operation began, one of the operations of the troops of the Russian North-Western Front against German troops in the Prasnysz region (now Przasnysz, Poland) in February - July 1915.
1915.03.9 Alexander Parvus presents to the German leadership the Plan of the Russian Revolution - a program of subversive activities aimed at overthrowing the existing system in Russia.
1915.03.10 On the Western Front, the battle takes place near the village of Neuve Chapelle (until March 13). As a result, British and Indian troops capture this locality in North-Eastern France.
03/1915/18 In Turkey, British and French naval formations are trying to break through the Dardanelles, but Turkish coastal batteries repulse the attack. During the battle, three main ships of the allied squadron were sunk.
1915.03.21 German airships bomb Paris.
1915.03.22 On the Eastern Front, Russian troops capture Przemysl (in the Polish lands in the northeast of Austria-Hungary).
1915.04.8 The deportation of Armenians from Turkey began, accompanied by their mass extermination.
1915.04.22 On the Western Front, near the town of Langemarck on Ypres, German troops use poison gases for the first time: the second battle of Ypres begins. During the offensive operation, German troops break through the front in Southwestern Belgium and advance 5 kilometers (until May 27).
1915.04.25 In Turkey, allied troops land on the Gallipoli Peninsula. British and French units at Cape Helles, Australian and New Zealand (Anzac block) - in Anzac Cove.
1915.04.26 A secret agreement is concluded in London between England, France and Italy. Italy must enter the war and, if victorious, receive territory and reparations from Germany and Austria-Hungary.
04/1915/26 On the Eastern Front, during offensive battles, German troops invade Courland (modern Latvia) and capture Lithuania on April 27.
1915.05.1 German submarines suddenly attack the American ship Gulflight and sink it.
1915.05.1 The voyage of the Black Sea Fleet squadron (5 battleships, 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers, 1 air transport with 5 seaplanes) to the Bosphorus began (May 1-6, 1915).
1915.05.2 On the Eastern Front, during offensive operations (until September 30), Austro-German troops break through the Russian front in Galicia (Northwestern Austria-Hungary) - Gorlitsky breakthrough.
1915.05.4 Italy refuses to participate in the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary (the Treaty of Alliance was extended in December 1912).
1915.05.4 On the Western Front, the second battle takes place in Artois (until June 18). After a diversionary maneuver by British troops, French troops manage to break through the front in North-Eastern France, but progress is insignificant.
1915.05.7 Close south coast In Ireland, German submarines sink the British liner Lusitania. 1,198 people die, including 128 US citizens.
1915.05.9 On the Western Front, the battle of Obers Ridge (until May 10). Unsuccessful offensive of British troops in North-Eastern France.
05/1915/12 South African troops under the command of Louis Botha occupy Windhoek, the capital of German South-West Africa.
1915.05.15 On the Western Front, the battle of Festubert (until May 25). Unsuccessful offensive by British and Canadian troops in North-Eastern France.
1915.05.15 In England, First Sea Lord John Fisher leaves his post, protesting against the government's policy towards the Dardanelles.
1915.05.23 Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary and seizes part of its territory. A battle took place on the Isonzo River.
1915.05.27 The Turkish government decides to deport 1.8 million Turkish citizens of Armenian origin to Syria and Mesopotamia. A third of these people were deported, another third were killed, and the rest managed to escape.
1915.06.1 The first airship attack on London.
1915.06.3 On the Eastern Front, the southern flank of the Russian troops collapsed after German units retook Przemysl.
1915.06.9 Riots in Moscow.
1915.06.23 German Social Democrats issue a manifesto demanding the start of peace negotiations.
1915.06.23 On the Eastern Front, in the northeast of Austria-Hungary, German and Austrian troops recapture the city of Lemberg (modern Ukrainian city of Lviv) from the Russian army.
1915.06.23 First battle of Isonzo (before July 7). Italian troops are trying to capture Austrian-held bridgeheads on the Isonzo (border river in North-Eastern Italy).
1915.06.26 The Alashkert operation began - the battle of June 26 - July 21, 1915 in the Alashkert region (Eastern Turkey) between the Turkish army and the Russian Caucasian Corps.
1915.07.2 (According to the Julian calendar - June 19). The Battle of Gotland took place between a Russian brigade of cruisers and a detachment of German ships - sea battle off the Swedish island of Gotland.
1915.07.9 In South-West Africa, German units surrender to the army under the command of Louis Botha.
1915.08.5 On the Eastern Front, German troops took Warsaw, which was part of the Russian Empire.
1915.08.6 In Turkey, Allied forces land at Suvla Bey on the Gallipoli Peninsula, attempting to open a third front. But they manage to hold only a small area of land.
1915.08.25 Italy declares war on Turkey.
1915.08.26 On the Eastern Front, German troops occupy Brest-Litovsk in the southern part of Russian-owned Polish lands.
1915.08.30 Taking into account protests from the United States, the German command orders its commanders of submarines and surface warships to warn enemy passenger ships about the attack.
1915.08-09 The Battle of Vilna begins - defensive operation 10th Russian Army (General E. A. Radkevich) against the 10th German Army (General G. Eichhorn) in August - September 1915
1915.09.5 The first international socialist conference takes place in Zimmerwald (from 5 to 8 September).
1915.09.6 On the Eastern Front, Russian troops stop the advance of German troops near Ternopil. The parties switch to trench warfare.
1915.09.6 Bulgaria signs a military treaty with Germany and Turkey.
1915.09.8 Tsar Nicholas II takes command of the Russian army.
1915.09.9 The USA demands that Austria recall its ambassador (the ambassador leaves New York on October 5).
1915.09.18 Germany withdraws its submarines from the English Channel and Western Atlantic to reduce the danger to American ships.
09/19/18 On the Eastern Front, German troops capture the city of Vilna (modern Lithuanian city of Vilnius).
1915.09.23 Mobilization announced in Greece.
1915.09.25 The third battle in Artois begins on the Western Front (until October 14). French units attack German positions in North-East France and south-east Champagne. British troops are trying to break through the German defenses near Laos (the operation ended on November 4 with minimal success).
1915.09.25 The USA provides England and France with a loan of 500 million dollars.
1915.09.28 British troops, developing an offensive along the Tigris River in Mesopotamia, occupy the city of Kut el-Imara.
1915.10.5 To assist Serbia, allied troops land in neutral Greece, in Thessaloniki.
1915.10.6 Bulgaria enters the war on the side of the Central European states.
1915.10.6 In England it was announced that Lord Derby had been appointed responsible for the mobilization (continued until December 12).
1915.10.7 Austria-Hungary again invades Serbia (the offensive continued until November 20) and captures Belgrade (October 9). The Serbian army retreats in a southwestern direction. Bulgarian units hold the line against allied forces in Thessaloniki.
1915.10.12 The German occupation authorities execute the English nurse Edith Cavell for harboring British and French prisoners and for facilitating their escape.
1915.10.12 The Allies declare that they will provide assistance to Serbia in accordance with the Treaty of Bucharest of August 10, 1913.
1915.10.12 Greece refuses to help Serbia contrary to their 1913 treaty.
1915.10.13 Protesting against sending troops to Thessaloniki, French Foreign Minister Théophile Delcasse resigns.
1915.10.15 Great Britain declares war on Bulgaria.
1915.10.19 Japan signs the Treaty of London, assuring the other participants that it will not conduct separate peace negotiations with the opposing side.
1915.10.21 Third battle of Isonzo (until November 4). The Italian troops advanced very little.
1915.10.30 The Hamadan operation began, an offensive operation of Russian troops in Northern Iran, carried out on October 17 (30). — 3 (16) Dec.
1915.11.12 Great Britain annexes the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (modern Tuvalu and Kirkbati), turning the protectorate into a colony.
1915.11.13 After the failure of the operation on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Winston Churchill resigns from the British cabinet.
1915.11.21 Italy declares solidarity with the allies in refusing separate peace negotiations.
1915.11.22 Battle of Ctesiphon (until December 4). Turkish troops in Mesopotamia force the British to retreat to the city of Kut el-Imara.
1915.12.3 Joseph Joffre is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French army.
1915.12.8 The Turks surround British troops near the city of Kut el-Imara in Mesopotamia.
12/19/18 The Allies withdraw their troops from the Gallipoli Peninsula (the operation ends on December 19).
1915.12.19 Douglas Haig succeeds John French as Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in France and Flanders.
1916
1916.01.8 The Allies withdraw troops from Cape Helles on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey (the operation lasted until January 9).
1916.01.8 Austria-Hungary is fighting in Montenegro (until January 17, the Serbian army retreats to the island of Corfu).
1916.01.10 (December 28 according to the Julian calendar). The Russian army in the Caucasus advances on Turkish positions (until April 18). The Erzurum operation of 1915/1916 began. December 28 (January 10) - February 18 (March 2). Units of the 2nd Turkestan Corps and 1st Caucasian Corps under the command of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich defeated the forces of the 3rd Turkish Army and captured the Erzurum fortress. The Turkish army lost up to 50% of its personnel (Russians - up to 10%). The success of this operation led to the conclusion of an agreement between Russia, England and France on the transfer of the Black Sea Turkish straits to Russia after the war. To achieve this, the military command of the Russian army and navy planned for 1917 the landing of military troops in the straits and the final withdrawal of Turkey from the war. The offensive did not take place due to revolutionary events in Russia.
1916.01.29 The last airship raid on Paris.
1916.02.2 Stürmer becomes prime minister in Russia.
1916.02.5 The Trebizond operation began. Lasted from January 23 (February 5) to April 5 (18), 1916. As a result of the capture of Trebizond by Russian troops, the 3rd Turkish Army was cut off from Istanbul.
1916.02.16 Russian troops occupy the city of Erzurum in North-Eastern Turkey.
1916.02.18 The last German garrison in Cameroon capitulates.
1916.02.21 The battle of Verdun begins on the Western Front (until December 18). German troops are trying to capture the French city of Verdun, but are met with fierce resistance. As a result of heavy fighting, the losses of Germany and France amounted to almost 40 thousand killed and wounded on each side.
1916.03.2 Russian troops capture the city of Bitlis in South-Eastern Turkey (recaptured by the Turks on August 7).
1916.03.9 Germany declares war on Portugal.
1916.03.13 Germany changes the rules for attacking naval targets. Its submarines can now attack all British non-passenger ships in UK coastal waters.
1916.03.15 Alfred von Tirpitz, German Secretary of State for naval affairs, resigns.
03/1916/18 The Naroch operation of 1916 began, an offensive operation of the Russian troops of the Western and Northern fronts on March 5 (18) - March 17 (30) in the Dvinsk region.
1916.03.2 °The allies agree on the post-war division of Turkey.
1916.03.2 Allied aircraft raid the German submarine base at Zeebrugge, Belgium.
1916.03.24 A German submarine sinks the passenger ship Sussex without warning. Among the victims are US citizens.
1916.03.27 French Prime Minister Aristide Briand opens the Paris Conference of the Allied Powers on Military Issues.
04/1916 Russian troops occupy the city of Trabzond in North-Eastern Turkey.
1916.04.2 °The United States warns Germany about the possibility of severing diplomatic relations.
1916.04.29 Turkish troops recapture the city of Kut el-Imara in Mesopotamia from the British army.
1916.05.15 Offensive near Asiago. Austro-Hungarian troops attack Italian positions, but achieve minimal success (until June 26).
1916.05.31 The Battle of Jutland begins in the North Sea, the main battle of the German and English navies in this war. The British lost most of their ships, but the German fleet was locked in ports until the end of the war (ended June 1).
1916.06.4 The Brusilovsky breakthrough was carried out on the Eastern Front. Russian armies under the command of General Brusilov break through the Austrian-Hungarian defenses in the south of the Pripyat marshes. However, active military operations by German troops reduced the effect of the Russian offensive (the fighting continued until August 10).
06/1916/13 Jan Smuts, commander-in-chief of the Allied forces, captures Wilhelmstahl in German East Africa (modern Tanzania).
1916.06.14 The Conference of the Allied Powers on Economic Issues takes place in Paris.
1916.06.18 On the Eastern Front, Russian troops occupy Chernivtsi (the modern Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi).
1916.06.19 The battle of Baranovichi began (June 19-25) between the Russian army and the Austro-German group.
1916.06.23 Greece announces its agreement to submit to the demands of the Allies and demobilize the army.
1916.06. The blockade of the Bosphorus by the Russian fleet began.
1916.07.1 The Battle of the Somme begins on the Western Front (until November 19). A massive offensive by French and British troops, who managed to advance 8 kilometers. On the first day of the offensive, Great Britain lost 60 thousand soldiers (20 thousand killed). During the entire operation, Great Britain and France lost a total of over 620 thousand soldiers, and German losses amounted to about 450 thousand soldiers.
1916.07.9 The German submarine Deutschland manages to pass through the sea barriers of the Allied fleet and reach the shores of the United States.
1916.08.6 Sixth battle of Isonzo (before August 17). Italian troops go on the offensive and capture the city of Horatia in Austria-Hungary.
1916.08.17 Bulgarian troops attack the positions of the allies surrounded in Thessaloniki (before September 11).
1916.08.19 The Royal Navy in the North Sea disabled the German battleship Westphalen.
1916.08.19 German artillery shells the coast of England.
1916.08.27 Romania joins the Allied powers and declares war on Austria-Hungary. Romanian troops go on the offensive in Transylvania (at that time the territory of Hungary).
1916.08.28 Italy declares war on Germany.
1916.08.30 Paul von Hindenburg is appointed Chief of the General Staff of the German Army.
1916.08.30 Türkiye declares war on Russia.
1916.09.1 Bulgaria declares war on Romania.
1916.09.4 British troops capture the city of Dar es Salaam, the administrative center of German East Africa (modern Tanzania).
1916.09.6 The states of Central Europe create the Supreme Military Council.
1916.09.12 British and Serbian troops begin an offensive in the Thessaloniki region, but cannot help the Romanian army (until December 11).
1916.09.14 Seventh battle of Isonzo (until September 18). Italian troops achieve minor success.
1916.09.15 On the Western Front, during the offensive on the Somme, Great Britain uses tanks for the first time.
1916.10.4 In Romania, troops of Austria-Hungary and Germany conduct a successful counter-offensive against the Romanian army (until December).
1916.10.9 Eighth battle of Isonzo (until December 12). Italian troops achieve minimal success.
1916.10.16 Allied troops occupy Athens.
1916.10.24 On the Western Front, the offensive of French troops east of Verdun begins (lasted until November 5).
1916.11.5 The states of Central Europe proclaim the creation of the Kingdom of Poland.
1916.11.25 In Germany, the air force is created as a separate branch of the military.
1916.12.6 In Romania, German troops occupy Bucharest (hold it until November 30, 1918).
12/19/12 Germany sends a note to the Entente powers informing them that the states of Central Europe are ready for negotiations (December 30, the response is transmitted through the US Ambassador in Paris).
1916.12.13 In France, General Joffre is appointed technical adviser to the government without the right to give orders (he resigns on December 26).
12/1916/15 On the Western Front, French troops go on the offensive between Meuse and Vevre Plain (until December 17).
12/19/20 The President of the United States sends a note to all participants in the war in Europe with a proposal to begin peace negotiations.
1917
1917.01.5 (December 23, 1916 according to the Julian calendar). The Mitavsky operation of 1916 began on December 23-29 (January 5 - 11, 1917). Offensive operation of Russian troops in the Riga region by the forces of the 12th Army of the Northern Front (commander - General Radko-Dmitriev). It was opposed by the 8th German Army. The offensive of the Russian troops was unexpected for the Germans. Nevertheless, they managed not only to repel the advance of Russian units, but also to push them back. For Russia, the Mitau operation ended in vain (except for the loss of 23 thousand people killed, wounded and captured).
1917.02.1 Germany announces the beginning of an all-out submarine war.
1917.02.1 The Petrograd Conference of the Allies begins. I walked along the station. style January 19 - February 7 (February 1-20).
1917.02.2 In Great Britain, rationed distribution of bread is introduced.
1917.02.3 A German submarine sinks the American passenger ship Housetonic off the coast of Sicily. The United States breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany.
03/1917/11 In Mesopotamia, British troops capture Baghdad.
1917.03.14 (March 1 according to the Julian calendar). In Russia, during the outbreak of the revolution, the Petrograd Council, with its Order No. 1, called on soldiers to elect committees in units and thus made the army uncontrollable and unable to conduct further military operations.
1917.03.16 On the Western Front, German troops retreat to the Hindenburg Line - a specially prepared defensive line between Arras and Soissons.
1917.03.17 On the Western Front, British troops occupy Bapaume and Peronne (the offensive continued until March 18).
1917.03.19 (06 March according to the Julian calendar). In Russia, the Provisional Government announces that it intends to honor the treaties concluded with the allies and fight the war to a victorious end.
1917.03.25 (March 12 according to the Julian calendar). In Russia, the death penalty in the military has been abolished, which makes it impossible offensive operations, associated with a risk to the lives of military personnel.
1917.04.2 In the United States, President Wilson convenes a special session of Congress to discuss the issue of declaring war. April 6 The United States declares war on Germany.
1917.04.9 On the Western Front, the battle of Vimy Rige (until April 14). Canadian troops manage to occupy Vimy Ridge.
1917.04.9 The “Nivelle Operation” of 1917 began, an offensive operation of the Anglo-French troops during the First World War, carried out from April 9 to May 5.
1917.04.16 (April 3 according to the Julian calendar). Bolshevik leader Lenin arrives in Petrograd, having made the move from Switzerland to Russia through Germany, Sweden and Finland with the help of the German authorities.
1917.04.17 On the Western Front, unrest began in the French army (more serious unrest occurred on April 29; lasted until August).
1917.05.12 (April 29 according to the Julian calendar). In Russia, Minister of War A.I. Guchkov resigned due to the army’s complete disobedience to him.
1917.06.4 May 22 (June 4). And A. Brusilov replaces M.V. Alekseev as Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
1917.06.7 The battle of Metz began on the Western Front (until June 14). British troops manage to prepare a bridgehead in South-Eastern Belgium for the main offensive.
1917.06.7 Operation Messines began, an operation of British troops in the area of Messines (West Flanders), carried out on June 7-15, 1917 with limited goals - to cut off the 15-km bulge of German defense and thereby improve their positions.
06/1914 An American mission led by I. Root arrives in Petrograd to ensure Russia’s continued participation in the war.
1917.06.29 June offensive of Russian troops 1917 June 16 (29) - July 15 (28). The offensive of the Russian troops undertaken by the political and military command was defeated, including due to the growth of anti-war sentiment in the troops. The army's losses amounted to up to 30 thousand killed, wounded and prisoners. Defeat at the front led to the July political crisis in Petrograd and weakening political positions Provisional Government. The enemy's advance was stopped only on the line Brody, Ebarazh, Grzhilov, Kimpolung.
1917.07.1 June 18 (July 1). Russian offensive in Galicia (launched by order of A.F. Kerensky on June 16/29 under the command of A.A Brusilov). Having started successfully, the offensive was stopped in mid-July. Counter-offensive of the Austro-German troops, which occupied Ternopil on July 11 (24). Cases of desertion are becoming more frequent in the Russian army.
07/1917 On the Eastern Front, troops of Germany and Austria-Hungary launch a successful counter-offensive on Russian positions (until August 4).
07/1917 Raid of German airships on industrial areas of Great Britain.
1917.07.19 The German parliament proposes to begin peace negotiations between the warring powers.
07/1917/20 The Battle of Maresesti of 1917 began, fighting in July - August 1917 on the Romanian Front.
07/1917/31 The third battle of Ypres began on the Western Front. Suffering huge losses, British troops advanced 13 km into Belgium (the fighting continued until November 10).
1917.08.3 Unrest among sailors at the German military base in Wilhelmshaven.
1917.08.3 On the Eastern Front, Russian troops recapture Chernivtsi (the modern Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi).
08/1917 China declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary.
1917.08.17 Eleventh battle of Isonzo (until September 12). Italian troops manage to move forward a little.
1917.09.1 The Riga operation of 1917 began. August 19 (September 1) - August 24 (September 6). An offensive operation of German troops undertaken with the aim of capturing Riga. It ended in success for the attacking side. On the night of August 21 (September 3), Russian troops left Riga and Ust-Dvinsk and retreated to Wenden. The losses of the defending 12th Russian Army amounted to 25 thousand people, 273 guns, 256 machine guns, 185 bomb throwers and 48 mortars.
1917.9. 16 (September 3, old style). In the military camp of La Curtin near Limoges
(France) there was an uprising of soldiers of the Russian expeditionary force in France; Over the course of five days, February 16-21, the camp was shelled by artillery.
1917.10.12 The Moonsund operation of 1917, or Operation Albion, began - an operation of the German fleet to capture the Moonsund archipelago, carried out on September 29 (October 12) - October 6 (19).
1917.10.15 German troops launch a new offensive in East Africa - the battle of Mahiwa.
1917.10.24 The battle of Caporetto begins on the Italian front (until November 10). The troops of Austria-Hungary and Germany manage to break through the front line. Italian units create a new line of defense along the Piave River.
1917.11.6 On the Western Front, Canadian and British troops occupy Passchendaele in Northwestern Belgium.
1917.11.7 (October 25 according to the Julian calendar). In Petrograd, the rebels take possession of almost the entire capital, except for the Winter Palace. At night, the Military Revolutionary Committee announces the overthrow of the Provisional Government and, in the name of the Council, takes power into its own hands.
1917.11.8 26 Oct. (8 Nov). In Russia, the Bolsheviks issue a Decree on Peace: it contains a proposal to all warring parties to immediately begin negotiations on signing a just democratic peace without annexations and indemnities.
1917.11.20 The battle of Cambrai begins on the Western Front - the first military operation in which tank formations were widely used (until December 7). British tanks manage to break through the German defenses near Cambrai, North-East France (German troops later push back the British).
1917.11.21 (November 08 according to the Julian calendar). A note from the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs L. Trotsky, in which all warring parties are invited to begin peace negotiations.
1917.11.26 The Soviet government proposes to Germany and Austria-Hungary to conclude
truce.
1917.11.27 (November 14 according to the Julian calendar). The German command accepts the proposal to begin negotiations on an armistice.
1917.12.3 (November 20 Julian calendar). Negotiations on a truce between Russia and the Central European powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey) open in Brest-Litovsk.
1917.12.3 (November 20 Julian calendar). N.V. Krylenko takes over Headquarters in Mogilev. N. N. Dukhonin was brutally killed by soldiers and sailors.
1917.12.15 (December 2 according to the Julian calendar). German and Russian representatives conclude a truce in Brest-Litovsk (modern Belarusian city of Brest).
1917.12.22 (December 9 according to the Julian calendar). Opening of the peace conference in Brest-Litovsk: Germany is represented by State Secretary (Minister of Foreign Affairs) Richard von Kühlmann and General M. Hoffmann, Austria by Foreign Minister Chernin. The Soviet delegation, headed by A. Ioffe, demands the conclusion of peace without annexations and reparations, with respect for the right of peoples to decide their own destinies.
1918
1918.01.18 05 (18) Jan. In Brest-Litovsk, General Hoffmann, in the form of an ultimatum, presents the peace conditions put forward by the Central European powers (Russia is deprived of its western territories).
1918.01.24 11 (24) Jan. In the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party, three positions regarding the negotiations in Brest-Litovsk collide: Lenin stands for accepting the proposed peace conditions for the sake of strengthening revolutionary power in the country; “left communists” led by Bukharin advocate the continuation of the revolutionary war; Trotsky proposes an intermediate option (to stop hostilities without making peace), for which the majority votes.
1918.01.28 (January 15 according to the Julian calendar). Decree on the organization of the Red Army (Workers' and Peasants' Red Army). Trotsky is organizing it, and soon it will become a truly powerful and disciplined army (voluntary recruitment has been replaced by compulsory military service, a large number of old military specialists have been recruited, officer elections have been cancelled, and political commissars have appeared in units).
1918.02.9 (January 27 according to the Julian calendar). A separate peace was signed in Brest-Litovsk between the Central European powers and the Ukrainian Rada.
1918.02.10 January 28 (February 10 according to the Julian calendar). Trotsky declares that “the state of war between Russia and the Central European powers is ending,” implementing his formula: “neither peace, nor war.”
1918.02.14 (January 31 according to the Julian calendar). A new chronology is being introduced in Russia - the Gregorian calendar. January 31st according to the Julian calendar immediately followed February 14th according to the Gregorian calendar.
1918.02.18 After an ultimatum was presented to Russia, an Austro-German offensive was launched along the entire front; despite the fact that the Soviet side accepted the peace terms on the night of February 18-19, the offensive continued.
1918.02.23 New German ultimatum with even more difficult peace conditions. Lenin manages to get the Central Committee to accept his proposal for the immediate conclusion of peace (7 are in favor, 4, including Bukharin, are against, 4 abstained, among them Trotsky). A decree was adopted - the appeal “The Socialist Fatherland is in danger!” The enemy was stopped near Narva and Pskov.
1918.03.1 With the support of Germany, the Central Rada returns to Kyiv.
1918.03.3 The Brest Peace Treaty is signed in Brest-Litovsk. Soviet Russia and the Central European powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary) and Turkey. Under the agreement, Russia loses Poland, Finland, the Baltic states, Ukraine and part of Belarus, and also cedes Kars, Ardahan and Batum to Turkey. In general, losses amount to 1/4 of the population, 1/4 of cultivated land, and about 3/4 of the coal and metallurgical industries. After the signing of the agreement, Trotsky resigned from the post of People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and on April 8. becomes People's Commissar of Naval Affairs.
1918.03.3 The Bolsheviks transfer the capital of Russia from Petrograd to Moscow, moving it further from the Russian-German front.
1918.03.9 Landing of the British in Murmansk (initially this landing was planned to repel the offensive of the Germans and their Finnish allies).
1918.03.12 Turkish troops occupy Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan (they held the city until May 14).
1918.03.21 The spring offensive of German troops begins on the Western Front (until July 17). As a result, the German army manages to advance significantly in the direction of Paris.
1918.03.23 German artillery uses large-caliber cannons to bombard Paris from a distance of 120 km (until August 15).
1918.04.9 The Battle of Flanders began in 1918, fighting between German and Anglo-French troops in Flanders during the First World War. Occurred April 9-29.
1918.04.22 The British Navy attacks the Belgian city of Zeebrugge and blocks the entrance to the Bruges Canal and the German submarine base (on May 10, the British cruiser Vindictive is sunk at the entrance to the submarine base in Ostend).
1918.05.1 German units occupy Sevastopol.
1918.05.7 Romania signs a peace treaty with Germany and Austria-Hungary in Bucharest. Romania is allowed to annex Bessarabia, but Russia refuses to recognize its legality.
1918.05.29 On the Western Front, German troops occupy Soissons and Reims.
1918.05.29 A Decree on general mobilization into the Red Army was issued in Russia.
1918.06.9 On the Western Front, the offensive of the German army begins near Compiegne (until June 13).
1918.06.15 Battle on the Piave River (until June 23). Austrian-Hungarian troops attempt to attack Italian positions, but are forced to retreat.
1918.07.6 During the congress, the Left SRs attempt a rebellion in Moscow: I. Blumkin kills the new German ambassador, Count von Mirbach; F. Dzerzhinsky, chairman of the Cheka, was arrested; Telegraph is busy. The threat of renewed war between Russia and Germany.
1918.07.15 The second battle on the Marne begins on the Western Front (until July 17). Allied forces are stopped German offensive to Paris.
07/19/18 On the Western Front, the Allies launch a counteroffensive (until November 10) and advance a considerable distance.
07/1918/22 On the Western Front, Allied forces cross the Marne River.
1918.08.2 On the Western Front, French troops capture Soissons.
1918.08.8 A “black day for the German army” begins on the Western Front. British troops break through the front line.
1918.09.1 On the Western Front, British units liberate Peron.
1918.09.04 On the Western Front, German troops retreat to the Siegfried Line.
1918.09.12 The battle of Saint-Mihiel begins on the Western Front (until September 16).
The 1st US Army under the command of General Pershing eliminates the German group in the Saint-Mihiel salient.
1918.09.14 Austria-Hungary offers peace (September 20, the Allied powers reject this proposal).
1918.09.29 German Quartermaster General Ludendorff and Commander-in-Chief of the German Army Hindenburg advocate a constitutional monarchy in Germany and the beginning of peace negotiations.
1918.09.30 Bulgaria concludes a truce with the Allied powers.
1918.10.1 On the Western Front, French troops liberate Saint-Quentin.
1918.10.3 Prince Max of Baden is appointed Chancellor of Germany.
1918.10.3 Germany and Austria-Hungary, through Switzerland, transmit a joint note to the US government, in which they agree to conclude an armistice based on the 14 points announced by President Wilson (received in the US on October 4).
1918.10.6 French troops liberate Beirut.
1918.10.9 On the Western Front, British units enter Cambrai and Le Chateau.
1918.10.12 Germany and Austria-Hungary agree to Woodrow Wilson's terms and are ready to withdraw troops to their territory before armistice negotiations begin.
1918.10.13 French troops liberate Laon, and on October 17 the British army occupies Lille.
1918.10.20 Germany suspends submarine warfare.
1918.10.24 Battle of Vittorio Veneto (until November 2). The battle with the Italian army ends with the complete defeat of the Austrian-Hungarian troops.
1918.10.26 Ludendorff is removed from his post as Quartermaster General of the German Army.
1918.10.27 Austria-Hungary turns to Italy with a request for an armistice.
1918.10.28 Revolt of German sailors in Kiel.
1918.11.3 The Allied Powers sign an armistice with Austria-Hungary (to take effect on November 4).
1918.11.3 Revolts and unrest in Germany.
1918.11.4 The Conference of the Allied Powers at Versailles develops an Agreement on the terms of an armistice with Germany.
1918.11.6 The German delegation at the armistice negotiations meets with the delegation of the Allied powers led by Foch in a railway carriage in Compiegne. An Armistice Agreement has been concluded, which should come into force on November 11.
1918.11.6 On the Western Front, American troops occupy Sedan.
1918.11.7 A republic is proclaimed in Bavaria, Germany.
1918.11.9 In Germany, social democrat Philipp Scheidemann proclaims a republic, trying to forestall the creation of a communist republic. Friedrich Ebert succeeds Prince Max of Baden as chancellor. Kaiser Wilhelm II flees to the Netherlands.
1918.11.10 In Germany, Ebert's government receives support from the armed forces and the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies in Berlin.
1918.11.11 The Armistice Agreement between the Allied Powers and Germany comes into force (from 11 o'clock in the afternoon).
1918.11.12 In Austria-Hungary, Emperor Charles I abdicates the throne (on November 13, he also abdicates the Hungarian throne).
1918.11.12 Austria-Hungary proclaims the creation of a state union with Germany (this union was later prohibited by the Paris Peace Conference and treaties signed at Versailles, Saint-Germain and Trianon).
1918.11.13 In connection with the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany, the Soviet government announces the annulment of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty.
1918.11.14 Evacuation of German troops from France.
1918.11.20 The German government surrenders submarines at Harwich, East Anglia (surface vessels are surrendered at Firth of Forth, Scotland, November 21).
1918.12.1 Beginning of the occupation of Germany by Allied forces.
1919.05.7 At the Paris Peace Conference, the Allied Powers set a number of unconditional conditions for Germany: renounce a significant part of their territory, demilitarize the Rhineland and agree to its partial occupation for a period of 5 to 15 years, pay reparations, agree to limit the size of their armed forces , agree with the article on “war crimes”, admitting their responsibility for the outbreak of the First World War.
1919.05.29 The German delegation makes counterproposals to the participants of the Paris Peace Conference.
1919.06.20 Due to the refusal to sign a peace treaty on the terms of the allied powers, German Chancellor Scheidemann resigns (on June 21, Social Democrat Gustav Bauer forms a new government from representatives of Social Democrats, centrists and democrats).
1919.06.21 German sailors sank their ships at the British Naval Base on the Orkney Islands.
1919.06.22 The German National Assembly decides to sign a peace treaty.
1919.06.28 German representatives sign a peace treaty (Treaty of Versailles) in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles near Paris.
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Timeline of World War I dates and events (1914-1918) Updated: December 3, 2016 By: admin
November 11, 1918 was the first joyful day in more than four years of suffering. In the middle of the day the last skirmishes on the Western Front fell silent. Fireworks lit up over the trenches, yesterday's opponents fraternized and celebrated the end of the Great War together. Few people remembered why it started, as well as their own chauvinism, frivolous hopes of defeating the enemy with little bloodshed in a few months. At least 11.5 million dead were unable to share the joy of the world. But even after November 11, alas, he did not come to the land of Europe: the crowns of monarchs rolled along the pavements, the deadly epidemic of Spanish flu and other diseases, hunger and cold, and the bloody civil war in Russia continued. “By the living” they were cut into new countries of the earth former subjects Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Empire. The new borders were not “settled”, which after only 20 years led to a new world war, and with its echoes (in the form, for example, of the collapse of Yugoslavia) reached even beginning of the XXI century.
Diplomacy and public life
Truce of Compiègne
On November 9, an important condition of the truce put forward by the Entente countries of Germany was fulfilled - the mandatory abdication of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II from the throne. The Kaiser did not want to leave the throne for a long time. The last chancellor of the German Empire, Maximilian of Baden, urged Wilhelm to abdicate, if only to prevent civil war in Germany, which was already engulfed in revolution. But Wilhelm, who was at headquarters in the town of Spa (in eastern Belgium), preferred to contact the generals and prepare a “march against Berlin.” Even when the generals (including the staunch monarchist Chief of the General Staff Paul von Hindenburg) replied that they would not carry out such an order, the Kaiser continued to hesitate. And then Maximilian of Baden actually arbitrarily announced both the abdication of Wilhelm II and his resignation. A republic was proclaimed in Berlin. Having learned about this, the Kaiser decided to flee: on November 10, he crossed the border of the Netherlands, and did not appear in Germany for the rest of his life. He signed the formal “paper” of abdication on November 28, 1918.
After the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty, the Entente countries demanded the extradition of the fugitive Kaiser as a war criminal, but the Queen of the Netherlands managed to defend him. Gradually, attitudes towards him began to soften in Germany itself: the government of the Weimar Republic allowed the ex-emperor to export 23 carriages of furniture to Holland, as well as 27 containers with things, including a car and a boat from the New Palace in Potsdam. In 1926, his land holdings, initially confiscated by the Republicans, were returned to Wilhelm's ownership. Wilhelm also showed signs of attention to the Nazis: he received Hermann Goering at his Dutch estate, and sent a congratulatory telegram to Adolf Hitler after the capture of Paris. The former Kaiser invested his capital in Hitler's industry, and during the 1930s it doubled. Wilhelm would die only in June 1941 at the age of 82.
The historic armistice agreement between Germany and the Entente countries was signed at 5 a.m. on November 11 in the railway carriage of the Allied Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Ferdinand Foch, in the Compiegne Forest (40 kilometers north of Paris). According to its terms, the “Great War” ended six hours later, at 11 am.
Allied representatives at the signing of the First Compiegne Armistice. Ferdinand Foch (second from right) near his carriage in the Compiegne Forest. Photo: Jan Dąbrowski “Wielka wojna 1914-1918”.
British historian Neil Grant comments on the capitulation: “From a strategic point of view, Germany’s position was difficult, but not hopeless. If the Allies were to capture Germany, then hard, lengthy work lay ahead. The Germans were forced to accept the terms of surrender not on the battlefields, but on the internal front. Anarchy and civil unrest spread throughout the country. Revolutionaries called "Spartacists" took the lead in inciting revolution in the cities. Even Catholic and conservative Munich became involved in the events. Councils of workers and soldiers were created in many places.” It was also impossible to fight in such conditions, just as it was impossible for the Russian army by the end of 1917.
The main conditions of the truce were the requirements to withdraw all German troops from the occupied areas of France and Belgium, Luxembourg, Alsace and Lorraine (then part of Germany, but required to be returned by France) within 15 days. Next, the Germans had to “demilitarize” the Rhine zone in 17 days, that is, withdraw troops from the west of Germany itself, from the left bank of the Rhine River and from a strip 30 kilometers wide along the right bank of the Rhine River. In the east of Europe, the Germans had to withdraw troops from all territories east of the Vistula River, transferring control over the lands of Poland, the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine and Georgia, the German city of Danzig (now Polish Gdansk) to the Entente troops (in practice, the Entente managed to send in its troops only on November 23 to Sevastopol and December 2 to Odessa). Separate treaties with Romania and Soviet Russia were declared no longer valid. Germany had to transfer almost the entire military fleet, 5,000 artillery pieces, 25,000 machine guns, 3,000 mortars, 1,700 aircraft, 5,000 steam locomotives and 150,000 railway cars to the Entente allies.
On November 11, immediately after the announcement of the armistice, the German government ordered troops to begin a partial withdrawal of troops from the occupied territories of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. Also on this day, the troops of the disintegrated Austria-Hungary that were still there began to completely leave Ukraine.
On November 13, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was annulled by Soviet Russia itself, but it was no longer able to benefit from the fruits of the common victory and be among the winners: the Black Sea straits and the areas of the Armenian Highlands conquered in 1915-17 never became Russian territories.
The railway carriage in which the truce, so humiliating for the Germans, was signed in 1918, was used again in 1940 - it was in it that the truce was signed with France, defeated and already humiliated by the Germans. It was later taken to Germany and burned in 1945 on Hitler's orders to avoid a "third use."
Germany
On November 5, the German government, led by Maximilian of Baden, declared all representatives of Soviet Russia persona non grata in connection with “the participation of Soviet personnel in organizing the revolutionary movement in Germany.” The next day, November 6, the entire Soviet embassy, headed by Adolf Joffe, left Berlin. Meanwhile, the revolution in Germany continued to gain momentum. Maximilian of Baden entrusted the “pacification” of the uprising in Kiel (in northern Germany) to Gustav Noske, a Social Democrat, but from the “right” wing of the party. Guided by the slogan, “if you can’t win, then you need to lead,” Noske, as an experienced politician, offered his services to the revolutionary sailors and really led local council, trying to reduce its role to a minimum. But Noske was unable to stop the unrest from spreading to other German cities.
On November 5, the red flags of the revolution were raised on almost all ships of the German fleet - uprisings of sailors and workers were crowned with success in Lübeck, Bremen, Brunsbüttel and Cuxhaven (cities in northwestern Germany). A general strike began in Hamburg, which also developed into an armed uprising in the evening. Not only in Kiel, but also in the cities of northwestern Germany, their own councils of workers' and soldiers' deputies appeared.
On November 7, mass demonstrations began in Munich (in southern Germany, the capital of the state of Bavaria). They were led by the radical Social Democrat Kurt Eisner, who proclaimed the local Bavarian king, Ludwig III, deposed and Bavaria a socialist republic. On November 8, a new government of Bavaria was formed, with Eisner as prime minister. Finally, on November 9, serious unrest engulfed Berlin. Many sailors arrived in the German capital, where they formed the People's Naval Division. They, as well as local pro-communist “Spartacists,” seized the War Ministry and the Imperial Chancellery, the navy administration, the city commandant’s office and other administrative buildings. The printing house of the Berliner Local Anzeiger newspaper was also seized, where the Spartacists began printing their newspaper Rote Fahne (Red Banner). Workers and soldiers began to create their own councils. The local garrison went over to the side of the Berlin Soviets.
On November 9, it was against this backdrop that Maximilian of Baden announced the Kaiser’s abdication and his own resignation. The new Reich Chancellor was the Social Democrat Friedrich Ebert, who immediately, through the mouth of his comrade-in-arms Philipp Scheidemann, declared Germany democratic republic and, accordingly, renamed his position “chairman of the council of people’s representatives.” In 1919, Ebert would become the first president of Weimar Germany, and Scheidemann would become its first chancellor.
On November 10, a Soviet republic was proclaimed in Alsace (in the east of what is now France and in the west of what was then Germany), but it lasted only 12 days, until Alsace was occupied by French troops and its return to France began.
It is worth noting that the German councils differed significantly from the Russian ones: the soldiers' councils included officers, and the workers' councils included trade union and social democratic leaders. It was important fact, why the German revolution turned out to be much “softer” than the Russian one. In Soviet Russia, this fact was not immediately realized and at first they hoped that the “world revolution” almost promised by Marx had begun.
On November 11, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Georgy Chicherin sent a telegram to Berlin to the new German leadership calling on them to “achieve complete unity with the revolutionary movement led by Liebknecht.” It was also proposed to conclude a “defensive and offensive alliance between two revolutionary socialist republics Soviets" against the Entente. As help, Soviet Russia sent two trains with bread on November 11 for starving German workers and soldiers and announced the creation of a relief fund (how donations were collected for it can be seen in the film “Heart of a Dog”).
Austria and Hungary
On November 12, the day after the German surrender, the last emperor of Austria-Hungary, Charles I, announced that under the current conditions he was “removing himself from governing the state,” which, however, did not mean a final abdication. Earlier, on November 5, the Hungarian Parliament announced the deposition of Charles I from the Hungarian throne.
Charles failed to return to the throne, although he tried to do so in Hungary in 1921. In 1922, the former emperor fell ill with severe pneumonia and died at the age of 34 on the Portuguese island of Madeira. A republic was also proclaimed in Austria.
Poland
On November 8, the Germans were forced to release the most popular leader of the Poles, Józef Pilsudski, from prison in the Magdeburg fortress. On November 10, he arrived in Warsaw, and already on November 11, Polish troops began to disarm the German garrison in Warsaw. This day is considered in Poland the date of restoration of true independence. Three days later, the Polish Regency Council (a puppet pro-German government created back in 1916) will transfer all powers to Pilsudski, and he will be declared head of state.
From the very first days, independent Poland had to start a war with the Ukrainians over disputed territories. On November 11, Polish armed detachments, with the support of armored vehicles and an armored train confiscated from the Germans, and artillery pieces, knocked out the troops of the Western Ukrainian people's republic from the city of Przemysl (now Przemysl in southeastern Poland). The capture of Przemysl by the Poles allowed them to launch an offensive on Lviv, where intense street battles between Poles and Ukrainians had been going on since November 4th. The city actually changed hands several times over the course of three weeks, and only by November 22 did the Poles take control of it.
On November 6, in the southeast of Poland (in its former “Austrian” part), at a meeting of thirty thousand local peasants and workers, the so-called “Tarnobrzeg Republic” (with its center in the city of Tarnobrzeg) was also proclaimed. It was another republic “on the Soviet model” but with a Polish flavor. In particular, one of its leaders was the local socialist and then communist Tomas Dombal, and the other was the local priest Eugeniusz Okon. The neighboring cities of Kolbuszova, Mielec and Sandomierz joined the republic. Local revolutionaries abandoned “bourgeois” parliamentarism, began to carry out agrarian reform, and form a people’s militia. This proto-state formation existed for about two months and at the beginning of 1919 was absorbed by Poland.
On November 5, in the south-east of Poland, in the foothills of the Carpathians, the completely “exotic” Comanche Republic (also known as the East Lemko Republic) arose, uniting 30 villages inhabited by Lemkos (an ethnographic group of Carpathian Ukrainians, sometimes they are considered a separate small people). In December 1918, the Lemkos voted to unite with the Western Ukrainian People's Republic, but in January 1919 their lands were also absorbed into Poland.
Balkans
On November 6, negotiations took place in Geneva between representatives of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (SSHS, which existed after the collapse of Austria-Hungary for about a month in the territories of present-day Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Serbia. The parties discussed the idea of creating a joint government and uniting the Southern Slavs into a single state. On November 10, negotiations ended with the first agreement on the formation of a common government.
Baltics
On November 8, a general strike began in Reval (now Tallinn) demanding the restoration of Estonia's independence. On November 9, in Libau (now Liepaja in western Latvia), German sailors rebelled, joining their comrades in Germany itself. Even before the conclusion of the armistice between Germany and the Entente countries, Maximilian of Baden ordered the German military in the Baltic states to transfer power into the hands of the Regency Council of the Baltic Duchy (a pro-German puppet proto-state), but he was never able to seize it. The power structures of Latvians and Estonians, which first emerged on the eve of the occupation, began to rapidly recover. On November 11, the independence of Estonia, declared in February 1918, literally the day before the German occupation of Revel, was restored, and on November 18, the independence of Latvia was again proclaimed.
Ukraine
On November 11, after receiving news of the end of the Great War, a strike began at the Kharkov locomotive plant demanding the restoration of Soviet power. At an underground meeting of the local Bolshevik provincial committee, a decision was made to prepare an uprising against the power of Hetman Pavel Skoropadsky. A general strike on this day also took place in Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk), and a temporary working committee was created there. Strikes and unrest with the raising of red flags swept through other cities of Ukraine in early November.
On November 11, the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) and the Revolutionary Military Council of Soviet Russia adopted a directive to begin “within ten days an offensive by the Red Army in support of the workers and peasants of Ukraine who rebelled against the hetman.” Even earlier, on November 5, the Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army, Joachim Vatsetis, issued a directive to bring all Soviet troops stationed along the demarcation line with the Germans to combat readiness and bring the numbers to combat strength. It was planned to attack to the west and occupy territories as the German and Austrian units retreated, which began on November 17-18. The Red Army soldiers avoided direct clashes with former opponents of Russia and “kept a distance” of 10-15 kilometers from the retreating Germans.
Left without German protection, Pavel Skoropadsky began to seek contacts with Russian White Guards. On November 14, he appointed a new cabinet of ministers, consisting almost entirely of supporters of the restoration of the Russian monarchy and put forward the idea of a “federation” (that is, the return of Ukraine to the future non-Bolshevik Russian state on the basis of autonomy).
Belarus
On November 5, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the pro-German Belarusian People's Republic (BPR), Anton Lutskevich, visited Moscow, where he tried to negotiate the survival of Belarusian statehood in the new realities. The BPR agreed to join a single federal state with Soviet Russia, but on the condition that the RSFSR recognizes the independence of the BPR. Lenin's government did not agree with this proposal. The BPR, unlike Ukraine, did not have its own armed units at all, since the Germans during the occupation prevented their creation, and therefore the BPR remained completely defenseless against the Red Army after the Germans left.
On November 9, the Council of Ministers of the BPR issued a resolution on the formation of troops; on November 11, an agreement was concluded with Lithuania that in the event of defeat, Belarusian armed units could retreat to the territory of Lithuania. After denunciation by Soviet Russia Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The BPR government appealed to the Entente with a request to send international troops to Belarus, but received no response.
Soviet Russia
On November 5, the Revolutionary Military Council approved the creation of a Registration Directorate at the Field Headquarters with the functions of coordinating the efforts of the intelligence agencies of the Red Army. Subsequently, it is this structure that will turn into what is today known as the GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation).
Russian Federation. The first head of Soviet military intelligence was Semyon Aralov, known in 1917 as an active Menshevik and member of the Pre-Parliament under Kerensky.
Semyon Aralov. Photo: E. Stopalov/RIA Novosti
On November 6, the VI Extraordinary All-Russian Congress of Soviets opened in Moscow, where changes in the situation around Russia and throughout the world in connection with the end of the Great War were discussed. The congress invited all countries whose troops were on Russian territory (primarily Great Britain, France, the USA and Japan) to begin peace negotiations. As a gesture of goodwill, the congress decided on an amnesty for many prisoners in connection with the first anniversary of the October Revolution, and it was also decided to “wind down” the activities of the committees of the poor in the countryside (in practice, they would remain in a number of regions until the early 1920s) .
On November 7, a magnificent celebration of the first anniversary of the Bolsheviks’ coming to power took place on Red Square in Moscow (“Pantomime Great Revolution"), including a plane flying over the square, scattering leaflets. Monuments to Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and the French socialist and opponent of aggressive wars Jean Jaurès, who was killed by a nationalist in the center of Paris on the eve of the outbreak of the World War, were unveiled.
Western Front
On November 5, after stubborn fighting, French troops broke through the German defenses west of Verdun (150 kilometers east of Paris) and launched an offensive towards the eastern part of Belgium. The French also advanced on the city of Maubeuge (near the middle part of the Franco-Belgian border). German troops began a disorderly retreat to the Antwerp-Meuse defensive position, passing through the central regions of Belgium.
On November 6, American troops liberated the city of Sedan (60 kilometers northeast of Reims, near the border with Belgium), and on October 10, another French border city, Montmédy, 25 kilometers southeast of Sedan.
On November 10, the city of Ghent (in western Belgium) was liberated by French and Belgian troops. Military historian, General Andrei Zayonchkovsky wrote that at the time of the armistice “the German army was east of the line Ghent - Lessines - Mons - Maubeuge - Chimay - Charleville - Sedan - Fresnes - Pont-a-Mousson.” After this, the Germans began to hastily withdraw their troops from the occupied regions of Belgium and France and even the western regions of Germany itself across the Rhine River.
On November 6, American inventor Robert Goddart demonstrated new types of missiles - prototypes of modern solid-fuel missiles, and on November 7, firing them from an airplane. New technology could be used as a weapon if the war continued.
Balkan Front
On November 10, the penultimate day of the war, hostilities resumed again in the Balkans, which seemed to have died down due to the surrender and collapse of Austria-Hungary. On this day, Romania broke the Bucharest Peace Treaty with Germany and again declared war on Germany. But the main forces that attacked the German troops still in the south of Romania were the British and French.
On November 10, Entente troops, who had previously occupied part of the northern regions of Bulgaria, crossed the Danube near the cities of Nikopol, Svishtov and Ruse (in the middle part of the Bulgarian-Romanian border). But the next day the war ended and no serious hostilities occurred.
On November 11, another detachment of Entente troops, moving along the Aegean Sea to the east, near the city of Dedeagach (now Alexandroupolis in north-eastern Greece) crossed the Turkish border and began to occupy, in accordance with the terms of the surrender of the Ottoman Empire, the area of the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits.
On November 6, the Romanians themselves, not so active in the fight against the Germans, decided not to miss the chance to expand their territory in the north and entered Bukovina, which was part of Austria-Hungary (now the northern regions of Romania and the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine). Previously, the Romanian-speaking population of Bukovina did express a desire for unification with Romania, but the Ukrainians, who make up the majority of the population of northern Bukovina, just as strongly hoped to become part of Ukraine. Their wish will come true only in 1940.
War in Africa
On November 9, the last German detachment to continue resistance outside Europe, under the command of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, broke into the city of Kasama (in the northeast of what is now Zambia) and captured it, receiving new trophies to continue the resistance. Only on November 14, Lettov-Vorbeck learned about the surrender of Germany, after which on November 23 he also laid down his arms in front of the British. At this time, Lettow-Vorbeck’s detachment consisted of only 30 German officers, 125 German non-commissioned officers and soldiers, and 1,168 black mercenary soldiers, who turned out to be in fact more persistent fighters and greater “patriots of Germany” than the Germans themselves. Despite the apparent insignificance of the East African campaign to capture the small detachment of Lettow-Vorbeck, it played an important role in the war, since his army, quickly moving from place to place, searched throughout East Africa for up to 300 thousand enemy troops, which the Entente so lacked in larger scale fronts. Subsequently, Lettow-Vorbeck, who returned to Germany, showed himself to be a conservative anti-communist, but at the same time an opponent of fascism. He rejected all of Hitler's attempts to support the "Third Reich" with his authority as a skilled warrior. In 1953, at the age of 83, Lettow-Vorbeck visited again East Africa, and will die in 1964 at the age of 94.
Russian Civil War
On November 5, a division of Red Army soldiers under the command of Latvian Vladimir Azin launched an attack on Izhevsk, which for several months had remained the center of a major uprising of local workers and peasants against the Bolsheviks. The rebels deftly fought off previous Red attacks.
On November 6, the “Reds” approached Izhevsk and began shelling the city with artillery. On November 7 the assault began. By that time, the local rebels had run out of ammunition and responded with a “psychic attack”: they walked in rows with rifles at the ready, but without firing. The attackers were accompanied by several accordionists, the whistles of Izhevsk factories were blaring and the bells of the city churches were ringing. Approaching the positions of the “reds,” the workers engaged them in hand-to-hand combat, using bayonets and knives. The frightened Red Army soldiers were overthrown, their Second Muslim Regiment fled from the battlefield. But the Izhevsk residents also suffered huge losses (up to 1,500 people killed) and were eventually forced to retreat to the city quarters.
On the night of November 7–8, about 15,000 residents of Izhevsk left the city; at dawn on November 8, the “Reds” finally established long-awaited control over it. On November 11, the rebels surrendered the neighboring city of Votkinsk to the Reds. Immediately after the capture of Izhevsk by the “Reds”, up to 400-500 people were shot in the city. Those who managed to leave the city fought with the “Reds,” retreating to Vladivostok, until 1922, after which they emigrated to Chinese Manchuria and the United States.
On November 5, the “Reds” managed to oust the “Whites” in the eastern part of the North Caucasus: the siege was lifted from the blocked garrison in the city of Kizlyar (in the north of present-day Dagestan). At the same time, the Turks, leaving Dagestan under the terms of the truce with the Entente, briefly entered Petrovsk-Port (now Makhachkala) on November 8th. On November 10, the Red Army entered Mozdok (in the north of what is now North Ossetia) and lifted the siege of the garrison in Grozny, which remained loyal to them. Also in the North Caucasus, from November 8 to 11, heavy fighting took place in the vicinity of Armavir (in the east of the present Krasnodar Territory) and Stavropol. By November 11, the “Whites” managed to push the “Reds” to the east from the entire territory of the then Kuban region. On November 15, Stavropol was recaptured by the Whites. Thus ended the months-long and bloody Second Kuban Campaign. The front stabilized briefly, as both sides suffered heavy losses and were unable to successfully attack each other for some time.
On November 10, the “Reds” under the command of Mikhail Tukhachevsky occupied the city of Belebey (in the west of modern Bashkortostan)
On November 10, a peasant uprising began in the Medynsky district of the Kaluga province (in the north of the current Kaluga region). The peasants, extremely dissatisfied with the surplus appropriation system, opposed the mobilization into the Red Army that had begun in the district. In the village of Aduevo (5 kilometers east of Medyn), a military commissar was killed, the volost council was dispersed, and all weapons issued for general training were dismantled.
When suppressing the uprising, the Red Army used artillery, threatening to “sweep away” rebellious villages.
War at sea
In total, in the last week of the war, German submarines sank or damaged 6 ships, and until January 22, 1919, there were three more cases when German submarines UC-53 UC-27, refusing to capitulate, sank British and French ships. But most great tragedy The last days of the war was the death of the British battleship Britannia, torpedoed by the German submarine UB-50.
On November 9, she sank near Gibraltar (south of the Iberian Peninsula), killing 50 sailors and injuring 80. Fortunately, most of the team was saved (712 people). Death is so big ship occurred because the torpedo hit the shell store, and the ship was severely destroyed by the explosion.
Dated August 1, 1914. The main reasons for the start of this bloody action can be called political and economic conflicts between states that were part of two military-political bloc: The Triple Alliance, consisting of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary, and the Entente, which included Russia, France and Great Britain.
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Tip 2: Why Germany failed to implement the Schlieffen Plan
Schlieffen's strategic plan, which envisioned a quick German victory in World War I, was not implemented. But it still continues to excite the minds of military historians, because this plan was unusually risky and interesting.
Most military historians are inclined to think that if the plan of the Chief of the German General Staff Alfred von Schlieffen had been implemented, the First World War could have gone completely as planned. But back in 1906, the German strategist was removed from his post and his followers were afraid to implement Schlieffen’s plan.
Blitz War Plan
At the beginning of the last century, Germany began planning for a major war. This was due to the fact that France, defeated several decades earlier, clearly harbored plans for military revenge. The German leadership was not particularly afraid of the French threat. But in the east, Russia, an ally of the Third Republic, was gaining economic and military power. For Germany there was real danger war on two fronts. Well aware of this, Kaiser Wilhelm ordered von Schlieffen to develop a plan for a victorious war in these conditions
And Schlieffen, in a fairly short time, created such a plan. According to his idea, Germany was supposed to start the first war against France, concentrating 90% of all its armed forces in this direction. Moreover, this war was supposed to be lightning fast. Only 39 days were allotted for the capture of Paris. For final victory – 42.
It was assumed that Russia would not be able to mobilize in such a short period of time. After the victory over France, German troops will be transferred to the border with Russia. Kaiser Wilhelm approved the plan, saying the famous phrase: “We will have lunch in Paris, and we will have dinner in St. Petersburg.”
Failure of the Schlieffen Plan
Helmuth von Moltke, who replaced Schlieffen as chief of the German General Staff, accepted the Schlieffen plan without much enthusiasm, considering it excessively risky. And for this reason, I subjected it to thorough revision. In particular, he refused to concentrate the main forces of the German army on the western front and, for reasons of precaution, sent a significant part of the troops to the east.
But Schlieffen planned to envelop the French army from the flanks and completely encircle it. But due to the transfer of significant forces to the east, the German group of troops on the western front simply did not have enough available funds for this. As a result, the French troops not only were not surrounded, but were also able to deliver a powerful counterattack.
The reliance on the slowness of the Russian army in terms of protracted mobilization also did not justify itself. The invasion of East Prussia by Russian troops literally stunned the German command. Germany found itself in the grip of two fronts.
Sources:
- Plans of the parties
The First World War began in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and lasted until 1918. The conflict pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire (Central Powers) against Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the United States (Allied Powers).
Thanks to new military technologies and the horrors of trench warfare, the First World War was unprecedented in terms of bloodshed and destruction. By the time the war ended and the Allied Powers won, more than 16 million people, both soldiers and civilians, were dead.
Beginning of the First World War
Tension hung over Europe, especially in the troubled Balkan region and southeastern Europe, long before the actual outbreak of the First World War. Some alliances, including the European powers, the Ottoman Empire, Russia and other powers, existed for years, but political instability in the Balkans (particularly Bosnia, Serbia and Herzegovina) threatened to destroy these agreements.
The spark that ignited World War I began in Sarajevo, Bosnia, where Archduke Franz Ferdinand – heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire – was shot dead along with his wife Sophia by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. Princip and other nationalists were fed up with Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand set off a rapidly spreading chain of events: Austria-Hungary, like many other countries around the world, blamed the Serbian government for the attack and hoped to use the incident to, under the pretext of restoring justice, settle the issue of Serbian nationalism once and for all.
But because Russia supported Serbia, Austria-Hungary delayed declaring war until their leaders received confirmation from German ruler Kaiser Wilhelm II that Germany would support their cause. Austria-Hungary was afraid that Russian intervention would also attract Russia's allies - France, and possibly Great Britain.
On July 5, Kaiser Wilhelm secretly promised his support, giving Austria-Hungary the so-called carte blanche to take active action and confirm that Germany would be on their side in the event of war. The dualist Monarchy of Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia with conditions so harsh that they could not be accepted.
Convinced that Austria-Hungary is preparing for war, the Serbian government orders the mobilization of the army and requests help from Russia. July 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia and the fragile peace between the greatest European powers collapses. Within a week, Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Serbia oppose Austria-Hungary and Germany. Thus began the First World War.
Western Front
Under an aggressive military strategy known as the Schlieffen Plan (named after the Chief of the German General Staff, General Alfred von Schlieffen), Germany began fighting World War I on two fronts, invading France through neutral Belgium in the west and confronting powerful Russia in the east. .
On August 4, 1914, German troops crossed the border into Belgium. In the first battle of the First World War, the Germans laid siege to the heavily fortified city of Liege. They used the most powerful weapon in their arsenal - heavy artillery pieces and captured the city by August 15. Leaving death and destruction in their path, including the execution of civilians and the execution of a Belgian priest who was suspected of organizing civil resistance, the Germans advanced through Belgium towards France.
In the First Battle of the Marne, which took place September 6–9, French and British troops fought a German army that had penetrated deep into France from the northeast and was already 50 kilometers from Paris. Allied forces stopped the German advance and launched a successful counterattack, pushing the Germans back north of the Ein River.
The defeat meant the end of German plans for a quick victory over France. Both sides dug in, and the western front became a hellish war of extermination that lasted more than three years.
Particularly long and large battles of the campaign took place at Verdun (February-December 1916) and on the Somme (July-November 1916). The combined losses of the German and French armies amount to about a million casualties in the Battle of Verdun alone.
The bloodshed on the battlefields of the Western Front and the hardships faced by soldiers would later inspire works such as All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and In Flanders Fields by Canadian doctor Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae.
Eastern front
On the eastern front of World War I, Russian forces invaded the German-controlled regions of Eastern Poland and Poland, but were stopped by German and Austrian forces at the Battle of Tannenberg in late August 1914.
Despite this victory, the Russian attack forced Germany to transfer 2 corps from the western to the eastern front, which ultimately influenced the German defeat at the Battle of the Marne.
Fierce Allied resistance in France, coupled with the ability to quickly mobilize Russia's vast war machine, resulted in a longer and more debilitating military confrontation than the quick victory Germany had hoped for under the Schlieffen Plan.
Revolution in Russia
From 1914 to 1916, the Russian army launched several attacks on the eastern front, but Russian army was unable to break through the German defensive lines.
Defeats on the battlefields, coupled with economic instability and shortages of food and basic necessities, led to growing discontent among the bulk of the Russian population, especially among poor workers and peasants. Increased hostility was directed against the monarchical regime of Emperor Nicholas II and his extremely unpopular German-born wife.
Russian instability exceeded the boiling point, which resulted in the Russian Revolution of 1917, led by and. The revolution ended monarchical rule and led to the end of Russia's participation in the First World War. Russia reached an agreement to end hostilities with the Central Powers in early December 1917, freeing German forces to fight the remaining Allies on the Western Front.
USA enters World War I
At the outbreak of hostilities in 1914, the United States preferred to remain on the sidelines, adhering to President Woodrow Wilson's policy of neutrality. At the same time, they maintained commercial relations and trade with European countries on both sides of the conflict.
Neutrality, however, became more difficult to maintain, as German submarines became aggressive against neutral ships, even those carrying only passengers. In 1915, Germany declared the waters around the British Isles a war zone and German submarines sank several commercial and passenger ships, including US ships.
Wide public protest was caused by the sinking of the British transatlantic liner Lusitania by a German submarine, en route from New York to Liverpool. Hundreds of Americans were on board, which in May 1915 caused a shift in American public opinion against Germany. In February 1917, the US Congress passed a $250 million arms appropriations bill so the US could prepare for war.
Germany sank four more US merchant ships that same month, and on April 2, President Woodrow Wilson appeared before Congress calling for a declaration of war on Germany.
Dardanelles Operation and Battle of the Isonzo
When World War I brought Europe into a stalemate, the Allies attempted to defeat the Ottoman Empire, which had entered the war on the side of the Central Powers in late 1914.
After a failed attack on the Dardanelles (the strait connecting the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea), Allied forces, led by Britain, landed numerous troops on the Gallipoli Peninsula in April 1915.
The invasion was a disastrous defeat and in January 1916, Allied forces were forced to retreat from the coast of the peninsula after suffering 250,000 casualties.
Young, First Lord of the British Admiralty resigned as commander after the lost Gallipoli campaign in 1916, accepting appointment to command an infantry battalion in France.
British-led forces also fought in Egypt and Mesopotamia. At the same time, in northern Italy, Austrian and Italian troops met in a series of 12 battles on the banks of the Isonzo River, located on the border of the two states.
The first Battle of the Isonzo took place in the late spring of 1915, shortly after Italy entered the war on the Allied side. At the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, also known as the Battle of Caporetto (October 1917), German reinforcements helped Austria-Hungary achieve a landslide victory.
After Caporetto, Italy's allies entered into a standoff to provide Italy with support. British, French, and later American troops landed in the region, and Allied forces began to retake lost ground on the Italian front.
First World War at sea
In the years leading up to the First World War, the superiority of the British Royal Navy was undeniable, but the German Imperial Navy made significant progress in narrowing the gap between the forces of the two navies. The strength of the German navy in open waters was supported by deadly submarines.
After the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, in which Britain launched a surprise attack on German ships in the North Sea, the German navy chose not to engage the mighty British Royal Navy in major battles throughout the year, preferring to adhere to the strategy of covert attacks by submarines.
The largest naval battle of the First World War was the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea (May 1916). The battle confirmed Britain's naval superiority, and Germany made no further attempts to lift the Allied naval blockade until the end of the war.
Towards a truce
Germany was able to strengthen its position on the Western Front after the armistice with Russia, which left Allied forces scrambling to hold off the German advance until the arrival of promised reinforcements from the United States.
On July 15, 1918, German forces launched what would become the war's final attack on French troops, joined by 85,000 American soldiers and the British Expeditionary Force, in the Second Battle of the Marne. The Allies successfully repelled the German offensive and launched their own counterattack just 3 days later.
Having suffered significant losses, German forces were forced to abandon the plan to attack in the north in Flanders, a region stretching between France and Belgium. The region seemed particularly important to Germany's prospects for victory.
The Second Battle of the Marne shifted the balance of power in favor of the Allies, who were able to take control of large parts of France and Belgium in the following months. By the fall of 1918, the Central Powers were suffering defeats on all fronts. Despite the Turkish victory at Gallipoli, subsequent defeats and the Arab Revolt destroyed the Ottoman Empire's economy and devastated their lands. The Turks were forced to sign a peace agreement with the Allies at the end of October 1918.
Austria-Hungary, corroded from within by the growing nationalist movement, concluded a truce on November 4. The German army was cut off from supplies from the rear and faced diminishing resources for combat due to encirclement by Allied forces. This forced Germany to seek an armistice, which it concluded on November 11, 1918, ending the First World War.
Treaty of Versailles
At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Allied leaders expressed a desire to build a post-war world capable of protecting itself from future destructive conflicts.
Some hopeful conference participants even dubbed World War I "The War to End All Wars." But the Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28, 1919, did not achieve its goals.
As the years passed, German hatred of the Treaty of Versailles and its authors would be considered one of the main reasons that provoked World War II.
Results of the First World War
The First World War claimed the lives of more than 9 million soldiers and injured more than 21 million. Civilian casualties amounted to about 10 million. The most significant losses were suffered by Germany and France, which sent about 80 percent of their male populations aged 15 to 49 to the war.
The collapse of political alliances that accompanied the First World War led to the displacement of 4 monarchical dynasties: German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Turkish.
The First World War led to a massive shift in social strata, as millions of women were forced into blue-collar jobs to support the men fighting at the front and to replace those who never returned from the battlefields.
The first, such a large-scale war, also caused the spread of one of the world's largest epidemics, the Spanish flu or "Spanish Flu", which claimed the lives of 20 to 50 million people.
The First World War is also called the “first modern war”, since it was the first to use the latest military developments at that time, such as machine guns, tanks, aircraft and radio transmissions.
The serious consequences caused by the use of chemical weapons such as mustard gas and phosgene against soldiers and civilians have intensified public opinion towards prohibiting their further use as weapons.
Signed in 1925, it has banned the use of chemical and biological weapons in armed conflicts to this day.
World War I was the result of the aggravation of the contradictions of imperialism, the unevenness and spasmodic development of capitalist countries. The most acute contradictions existed between Great Britain - the oldest capitalist power and the economically strengthened Germany, whose interests collided in many areas globe, especially in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Their rivalry turned into a fierce struggle for dominance in the world market, for the seizure of foreign territories, for the economic enslavement of other peoples. Germany's goal was to defeat the armed forces of England, deprive it of colonial and naval primacy, subjugate the Balkan countries to its influence, and create a semi-colonial empire in the Middle East. England, in turn, intended to prevent Germany from establishing itself in the Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East, to destroy its armed forces, and to expand its colonial possessions. In addition, she hoped to capture Mesopotamia and establish her dominance in Palestine and Egypt. Acute contradictions also existed between Germany and France. France sought to return the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, captured as a result of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, as well as to take away the Saar Basin from Germany, to maintain and expand its colonial possessions (see Colonialism).
Bavarian troops are sent by rail towards the front. August 1914
Territorial division of the world on the eve of the First World War (by 1914)
Poincaré's arrival in St. Petersburg, 1914. Raymond Poincaré (1860-1934) - President of France in 1913-1920. He pursued a reactionary militaristic policy, for which he received the nickname “Poincare War.”
Division of the Ottoman Empire (1920-1923)
American infantryman who suffered from exposure to phosgene.
Territorial changes in Europe in 1918-1923.
General von Kluck (in a car) and his staff during large maneuvers, 1910
Territorial changes after the First World War in 1918-1923.
The interests of Germany and Russia collided mainly in the Middle East and the Balkans. The Kaiser's Germany also sought to tear Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states away from Russia. Contradictions also existed between Russia and Austria-Hungary due to the desire of both sides to establish their dominance in the Balkans. Tsarist Russia intended to seize the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, Western Ukrainian and Polish lands under Habsburg rule.
The contradictions between the imperialist powers had a significant impact on the alignment of political forces in the international arena and the formation of military-political alliances opposing each other. In Europe at the end of the 19th century. - early 20th century two largest blocs were formed - the Triple Alliance, which included Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy; and the Entente consisting of England, France and Russia. The bourgeoisie of each country pursued its own selfish goals, which sometimes contradicted the goals of the coalition allies. However, all of them were relegated to the background against the background of the main contradictions between two groupings of states: on the one hand, between England and its allies, and Germany and its allies, on the other.
The ruling circles of all countries were to blame for the outbreak of the First World War, but the initiative in unleashing it belonged to German imperialism.
Not the least role in the outbreak of the First World War was played by the desire of the bourgeoisie to weaken in their countries the growing class struggle of the proletariat and the national liberation movement in the colonies, to distract the working class from the struggle for their social liberation by war, to decapitate its vanguard through repressive wartime measures.
The governments of both hostile groups carefully concealed the true goals of the war from their people and tried to instill in them a false idea about the defensive nature of military preparations, and then of the conduct of the war itself. Bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties of all countries supported their governments and, playing on patriotic feelings masses, came up with the slogan “defense of the fatherland” from external enemies.
The peace-loving forces of that time could not prevent the outbreak of a world war. The real force capable of significantly blocking its path was the international working class, numbering over 150 million people on the eve of the war. However, the lack of unity in the international socialist movement thwarted the formation of a united anti-imperialist front. The opportunistic leadership of Western European social democratic parties did nothing to implement the anti-war decisions taken at the congresses of the 2nd International held before the war. A misconception about the sources and nature of the war played a significant role in this. Right-wing socialists, finding themselves in warring camps, agreed that “their” own government had nothing to do with its emergence. They even continued to condemn the war, but only as an evil that had come upon the country from outside.
The First World War lasted over four years (from August 1, 1914 to November 11, 1918). 38 states took part in it, over 70 million people fought on its fields, of which 10 million people were killed and 20 million were maimed. The immediate cause of the war was the murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Franz Ferdinand, by members of the Serbian secret organization “Young Bosnia” on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo (Bosnia). Incited by Germany, Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an obviously impossible ultimatum and declared war on it on July 28. In connection with the opening of hostilities in Russia by Austria-Hungary, general mobilization began on July 31. In response, the German government warned Russia that if mobilization was not stopped within 12 hours, then mobilization would also be declared in Germany. By this time, the German armed forces were already fully prepared for war. The tsarist government did not respond to the German ultimatum. On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia, on August 3 on France and Belgium, on August 4, Great Britain declared war on Germany. Later, most of the countries of the world were involved in the war (on the side of the Entente - 34 states, on the side of the Austro-German bloc - 4).
Both warring sides started the war with multimillion-dollar armies. Military actions took place in Europe, Asia and Africa. The main land fronts in Europe: Western (in Belgium and France) and Eastern (in Russia). Based on the nature of the tasks being solved and the military-political results achieved, the events of the First World War can be divided into five campaigns, each of them included several operations.
In 1914, in the very first months of the war, the military plans developed in general headquarters of both coalitions long before the war and designed for its short duration. Fighting on the Western Front began in early August. On August 2, the German army occupied Luxembourg, and on August 4, it invaded Belgium, violating its neutrality. The small Belgian army was unable to provide serious resistance and began to retreat north. On August 20, German troops occupied Brussels and were able to freely advance to the borders of France. Three French and one British armies were advanced to meet them. On August 21-25, in a border battle, the German armies drove back the Anglo-French troops, invaded Northern France and, continuing the offensive, reached the Marne River between Paris and Verdun by the beginning of September. The French command, having formed two new armies from reserves, decided to launch a counteroffensive. The Battle of the Marne began on September 5. 6 Anglo-French and 5 German armies (about 2 million people) took part in it. The Germans were defeated. On September 16, oncoming battles began, called the “Run to the Sea” (they ended when the front reached the sea coast). In October and November, bloody battles in Flanders exhausted and balanced the forces of the parties. A continuous front line stretches from the Swiss border to the North Sea. The war in the West took on a positional character. Thus, Germany’s hope for the defeat and withdrawal of France from the war failed.
The Russian command, yielding to the persistent demands of the French government, decided to take active action even before the end of the mobilization and concentration of its armies. The goal of the operation was to defeat the 8th German Army and capture East Prussia. On August 4, the 1st Russian Army under the command of General P.K. Rennenkampf crossed state border and entered the territory of East Prussia. During fierce fighting, German troops began to retreat to the West. Soon the 2nd Russian Army of General A.V. Samsonov also crossed the border of East Prussia. The German headquarters had already decided to withdraw troops beyond the Vistula, but, taking advantage of the lack of interaction between the 1st and 2nd armies and the mistakes of the Russian high command, German troops managed to inflict a heavy defeat on the 2nd Army first, and then throw the 1st Army back to her starting positions.
Despite the failure of the operation, the invasion of the Russian army into East Prussia had important results. It forced the Germans to transfer two army corps and one cavalry division from France to the Russian front, which seriously weakened their strike force in the West and was one of the reasons for its defeat in the Battle of the Marne. At the same time, by their actions in East Prussia, the Russian armies shackled the German troops and kept them from assisting the allied Austro-Hungarian troops. This made it possible for the Russians to inflict a major defeat on Austria-Hungary in the Galician direction. During the operation, the threat of invasion of Hungary and Silesia was created; The military power of Austria-Hungary was significantly undermined (Austro-Hungarian troops lost about 400 thousand people, of which more than 100 thousand were captured). Until the end of the war, the Austro-Hungarian army lost the ability to conduct operations independently, without the support of German troops. Germany was again forced to withdraw some of its forces from the Western Front and transfer them to the Eastern Front.
As a result of the 1914 campaign, neither side achieved its goals. Plans for waging a short-term war and winning it at the cost of one general battle collapsed. On the Western Front, the period of maneuver warfare was over. Positional, trench warfare began. On August 23, 1914, Japan declared war on Germany; in October, Turkey entered the war on the side of the German bloc. New fronts formed in Transcaucasia, Mesopotamia, Syria and the Dardanelles.
In the 1915 campaign, the center of gravity of military operations shifted to the Eastern Front. Defense was planned on the Western Front. Operations on the Russian front began in January and continued with minor interruptions until late autumn. In the summer, the German command broke through the Russian front near Gorlitsa. Soon it launched an offensive in the Baltic states, and Russian troops were forced to leave Galicia, Poland, part of Latvia and Belarus. However, the Russian command, switching to strategic defense, managed to withdraw its armies from the enemy’s attacks and stop his advance. The bloodless and exhausted Austro-German and Russian armies in October went on the defensive along the entire front. Germany faced the need to continue a long war on two fronts. Russia bore the brunt of the struggle, which provided France and England with a respite to mobilize the economy for the needs of the war. Only in the fall did the Anglo-French command carry out an offensive operation in Artois and Champagne, which did not significantly change the situation. In the spring of 1915, the German command used chemical weapons (chlorine) for the first time on the Western Front, near Ypres, as a result of which 15 thousand people were poisoned. After this, gases began to be used by both warring sides.
In the summer, Italy entered the war on the side of the Entente; in October, Bulgaria joined the Austro-German bloc. The large-scale Dardanelles landing operation of the Anglo-French fleet was aimed at capturing the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits, breaking through to Constantinople and withdrawing Turkey from the war. It ended in failure, and the Allies stopped hostilities at the end of 1915 and evacuated troops to Greece.
In the 1916 campaign, the Germans again shifted their main efforts to the West. For their main attack, they chose a narrow section of the front in the Verdun area, since a breakthrough here created a threat to the entire northern wing of the Allied armies. The fighting at Verdun began on February 21 and continued until December. This operation, called the “Verdun Meat Grinder,” boiled down to grueling and bloody battles, where both sides lost about 1 million people. The offensive actions of the Anglo-French troops on the Somme River, which began on July 1 and continued until November, were also unsuccessful. The Anglo-French troops, having lost about 800 thousand people, were unable to break through the enemy’s defenses.
Operations on the Eastern Front were of great importance in the 1916 campaign. In March, Russian troops, at the request of the allies, carried out an offensive operation near Lake Naroch, which significantly influenced the course of hostilities in France. It not only pinned down about 0.5 million German troops on the Eastern Front, but also forced the German command to stop attacks on Verdun for some time and transfer some of its reserves to the Eastern Front. Due to the heavy defeat of the Italian army in Trentino in May, the Russian high command launched an offensive on May 22, two weeks earlier than planned. During the fighting, Russian troops on the Southwestern Front under the command of A. A. Brusilov managed to break through the strong positional defense of the Austro-German troops to a depth of 80-120 km. The enemy suffered heavy losses - about 1.5 million people killed, wounded and captured. The Austro-German command was forced to transfer large forces to the Russian front, which eased the position of the Allied armies on other fronts. 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. The success of the Russian troops was ensured by the use by General A. A. Brusilov of a new form of breaking through the front through simultaneous attacks in several areas. As a result, the enemy lost the opportunity to determine the direction of the main attack. Along with the Battle of the Somme, the offensive on the Southwestern Front marked the turning point in the First World War. The strategic initiative completely passed into the hands of the Entente.
On May 31 - June 1, the largest naval battle of the entire First World War took place off the Jutland Peninsula in the North Sea. The British lost 14 ships in it, about 6,800 people killed, wounded and captured; The Germans lost 11 ships, about 3,100 people killed and wounded.
In 1916, the German-Austrian bloc suffered huge losses and lost its strategic initiative. Bloody battles drained the resources of all the warring powers. The situation of workers has sharply worsened. The hardships of the war and their awareness of its anti-national character caused deep discontent among the masses. In all countries, revolutionary sentiments grew in the rear and at the front. A particularly rapid rise of the revolutionary movement was observed in Russia, where the war revealed the corruption of the ruling elite.
Military operations in 1917 took place in the context of a significant growth of the revolutionary movement in all the warring countries, strengthening of anti-war sentiments in the rear and at the front. The war significantly weakened the economies of the warring factions.
The advantage of the Entente became even more significant after the United States entered the war on its side. The condition of the armies of the German coalition was such that they could not take active action either in the West or in the East. The German command decided in 1917 to switch to strategic defense on all land fronts and focused its main attention on waging unlimited submarine warfare, hoping in this way to disrupt the economic life of England and take it out of the war. But, despite some success, the submarine war did not give the desired result. The Entente military command moved to coordinated strikes on the Western and Eastern fronts in order to inflict the final defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary.
However, the offensive of the Anglo-French troops launched in April failed. On February 27 (March 12), a bourgeois-democratic revolution took place in Russia. The Provisional Government that came to power, taking a course to continue the war, organized, with the support of the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks, a large offensive of the Russian armies. It began on June 16 on the Southwestern Front in the general direction of Lvov, but after some tactical success, due to the lack of reliable reserves, the enemy’s increased resistance choked. The inaction of the Allies on the Western Front allowed the German command to quickly transfer troops to the Eastern Front, create a powerful group there, and launch a counteroffensive on July 6. The Russian units, unable to withstand the onslaught, began to retreat. The offensive operations of the Russian armies on the Northern, Western and Romanian fronts ended unsuccessfully. Total number losses on all fronts exceeded 150 thousand people killed, wounded and missing.
The artificially created offensive impulse of the soldier masses was replaced by an awareness of the pointlessness of the offensive, an unwillingness to continue the war of conquest, to fight for interests alien to them.
