In the trenches of World War I

So, the Eastern Front was liquidated, and Germany could concentrate all its forces on the Western Front.

This became possible after a separate peace treaty was signed on February 9, 1918 between the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Central Powers in Brest-Litovsk (the first peace treaty signed during the First World War); a separate international peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918 in Brest-Litovsk by representatives of Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria) and a separate peace treaty concluded on May 7, 1918 between Romania and the Central Powers. This treaty ended the war between Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey on the one hand, and Romania on the other.

Russian troops leave the Eastern Front

The offensive of the German army

Germany, having withdrawn its troops from the Eastern Front, hoped to transfer them to the Western, having received a numerical superiority over the troops of the Entente. Germany's plans included a large-scale offensive and the defeat of the allied forces on the Western Front, and then the end of the war. It was planned to dismember the allied grouping of troops and thereby achieve victory over them.

In March-July, the German army launched a powerful offensive in Picardy, Flanders, on the Aisne and Marne rivers, and during fierce battles advanced 40-70 km, but could neither defeat the enemy nor break through the front. The limited human and material resources of Germany were depleted during the war years. In addition, having occupied after signing Brest Peace vast areas of the former Russian Empire, the German command, in order to maintain control over them, was forced to leave large forces in the east, which negatively affected the course of hostilities against the Entente.

By April 5, the first phase of the Spring Offensive (Operation Michael) was over. The offensive continued until mid-summer 1918, culminating in the second Battle of the Marne. But, as in 1914, here the Germans were also defeated. Let's talk about this in more detail.

Operation Michael

german tank

This is the name of the large-scale offensive of the German troops against the armies of the Entente during the First World War. Despite tactical success, the German armies failed to complete the main task. The offensive plan provided for the defeat of the Allied forces on the Western Front. The Germans planned to dismember the allied grouping of troops: the British troops were "thrown into the sea", and the French were forced to retreat to Paris. Despite initial successes, the German troops failed to complete this task. But after the operation "Michael", the German command did not abandon active operations and continued offensive operations on the Western Front.

Battle on the Fox

Battle of the Fox: Portuguese Forces

The battle between the German and allied (1st, 2nd British armies, one French cavalry corps, as well as Portuguese units) troops during the First World War in the region of the Lys River. It ended with the success of the German troops. The operation on the Fox was a continuation of Operation Michael. In making an attempt to break through in the Lis area, the German command hoped to turn this offensive into the "main operation" to defeat the British troops. But the Germans did not succeed. As a result of the battle on the Lys, a new ledge 18 km deep was formed in the Anglo-French front. The Allies suffered heavy losses during the April offensive on Lisa and the initiative in the conduct of hostilities continued to remain in the hands of the German command.

Battle on the Aisne

Battle on the Aisne

The battle took place on May 27-June 6, 1918 between the German and allied (Anglo-French-American) troops, it was the third phase of the German Army's Spring Offensive.

The operation was carried out immediately after the second phase of the Spring Offensive (Battle of the Fox). The German troops were opposed by French, British and American troops.

On May 27, artillery preparation began, which caused great damage to the British troops, then the Germans used a gas attack. After that, the German infantry managed to move forward. The German troops were successful: 3 days after the start of the offensive, they captured 50,000 prisoners and 800 guns. By June 3, German troops approached 56 km to Paris.

But soon the offensive began to subside, the attackers did not have enough reserves, the troops were tired. The allies put up fierce resistance, and the newly arrived American troops were brought into battle. On June 6, in view of this, the German troops were ordered to stop on the Marne River.

End of the Spring Offensive

Second Battle of the Marne

On July 15-August 5, 1918, a major battle took place between German and Anglo-French-American troops near the Marne River. This was the last general offensive of the German troops in the entire war. The battle was lost by the Germans after a French counterattack.

The battle began on July 15, when 23 German divisions of the 1st and 3rd armies, led by Fritz von Bülow and Carl von Einem, attacked the French 4th army, led by Henri Gouraud, east of Reims. At the same time, 17 divisions of the 7th German Army, with the support of the 9th, attacked the 6th French Army west of Reims.

The Second Battle of the Marne took place here (modern photo)

American troops (85,000 men) and the British Expeditionary Force came to the aid of the French troops. The offensive in this area was stopped on July 17 by the joint efforts of the troops of France, Great Britain, the USA and Italy.

Ferdinand Foch

After stopping the German offensive Ferdinand Foch(Commander of the Allied Forces) launched a counteroffensive on July 18, and already on July 20 the German command gave the order to retreat. The Germans returned to the positions they occupied before the spring offensive. By August 6, the Allied counterattack had fizzled out after the Germans had established themselves in their old positions.

The catastrophic defeat of Germany led to the abandonment of the plan to invade Flanders and was the first of a series of Allied victories that ended the war.

The Battle of the Marne marked the beginning of the Entente counteroffensive. By the end of September, the Entente troops liquidated the results of the previous German offensive. In the course of a further general offensive in October and early November, most of the occupied French territory and part of Belgian territory were liberated.

At the Italian theater in late October, Italian troops defeated the Austro-Hungarian army at Vittorio Veneto and liberated Italian territory captured by the enemy the previous year.

On the Balkan theater The Entente offensive began on 15 September. By November 1, the Entente troops liberated the territory of Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, entered the territory of Bulgaria and invaded the territory of Austria-Hungary.

Germany's surrender in World War I

Hundred-day offensive of the Entente

It took place on August 8-November 11, 1918 and was a large-scale offensive of the Entente troops against the German army. The hundred-day offensive consisted of several offensive operations. The decisive Entente offensive involved British, Australian, Belgian, Canadian, American and French troops.

After the victory on the Marne, the Allies began to develop a plan for the final defeat of the German army. Marshal Foch believed that the moment had come for a large-scale offensive.

Together with Field Marshal Haig, the site of the main attack was chosen - the site on the Somme River: here was the border between the French and British troops; in Picardy there was a flat terrain, which allowed the active use of tanks; the section on the Somme was covered by the weakened German 2nd Army, which was exhausted by the constant raids of the Australians.

The offensive grouping included 17 infantry and 3 cavalry divisions, 2,684 artillery pieces, 511 tanks (heavy Mark V and Mark V * tanks and Whippet medium tanks, 16 armored vehicles and about 1,000 aircraft. The German 2- I army had 7 infantry divisions, 840 guns and 106 aircraft.The huge advantage of the allies over the Germans was the presence of a large mass of tanks.

Mk V * - British heavy tank of the First World War

The start of the offensive was scheduled for 4 hours 20 minutes. It was planned that after the tanks had passed the line of advanced infantry units, all artillery would open a sudden fire. A third of the guns was supposed to create a fire shaft, and the remaining 2/3 to fire on infantry and artillery positions, command posts, and approach routes for reserves. All preparations for the attack were carried out covertly, using carefully thought-out measures to disguise and mislead the enemy.

Amiens operation

Amiens operation

On August 8, 1918, at 4:20 a.m., Allied artillery opened heavy fire on the positions, command and observation posts, communication centers and rear facilities of the 2nd German Army. At the same time, a third of the artillery organized a barrage, under the cover of which the divisions of the 4th British Army, accompanied by 415 tanks, went on the attack.

The surprise was a complete success. The Anglo-French offensive came as a complete surprise to the German command. Fog and massive explosions of chemical and smoke shells covered everything that was further than 10-15 m from the positions of the German infantry. Before the German command could understand the situation, a mass of tanks fell on the positions of the German troops. The headquarters of several German divisions were taken by surprise by the rapidly advancing British infantry and tanks.

The German command abandoned any offensive actions and decided to move on to the defense of the occupied territories. “Not an inch of land should not be left without a fierce struggle,” was the order to the German troops. In order to avoid serious internal political complications, the High Command hoped to hide from German people the true state of the army and achieve acceptable peace conditions. As a result of this operation, the German troops began to withdraw.

The Allied Saint-Miel operation was supposed to eliminate the Saint-Miel ledge, go to the Norois, Odimon front, liberate railway Paris-Verdun-Nancy and create an advantageous starting position for further operations.

Saint Miel operation

The plan of operation was developed jointly by the French and American headquarters. It provided for the application of two blows to the converging directions of the German troops. The main blow was delivered on the southern face of the ledge, the auxiliary one on the western. The operation began on 12 September. The German defenses, overwhelmed by the American offensive in the midst of the evacuation, and stripped of most of their artillery, already withdrawn to the rear, were powerless. The resistance of the German troops was insignificant. The next day, the St. Miel ledge was practically eliminated. On September 14 and 15, American divisions came into contact with the new German position and at the line of Norois, Odimon stopped the offensive.

As a result of the operation, the front line was reduced by 24 km. In four days of fighting, the German troops lost only 16,000 prisoners and more than 400 guns. American losses did not exceed 7 thousand people.

The Entente's main offensive began, which dealt the final, mortal blow to the German army. The front was falling apart.

But Washington was in no hurry with a truce, trying to weaken Germany as much as possible. The US President, without rejecting the possibility of starting peace talks, demanded that Germany guarantees the fulfillment of all 14 points.

Fourteen Points of Wilson

US President W. Wilson

Fourteen Points of Wilson- A draft peace treaty ending the First World War. It was developed by US President Wilson and presented to Congress on January 8, 1918. This plan included the reduction of armaments, the withdrawal of German units from Russia and Belgium, the declaration of Poland's independence and the creation of a "general association of nations" (called the League of Nations). This program formed the basis of the Treaty of Versailles. 14 Wilson points were an alternative to the one developed by V.I. Lenin's Decree on Peace, which was less acceptable to the Western powers.

Revolution in Germany

The fighting on the Western Front by this time entered the final stage. On November 5, the 1st American Army broke through the German front, and on November 6, the general retreat of the German troops began. At this time, an uprising of sailors of the German fleet began in Kiel, which developed into the November Revolution. All attempts to suppress revolutionary uprisings were unsuccessful.

Compiègne truce

In order to prevent the final defeat of the army, on November 8, a German delegation arrived in the Compiègne forest, received by Marshal Foch. The terms of the Entente Armistice were as follows:

• Cessation of hostilities, evacuation within 14 days of the areas of France occupied by German troops, the territories of Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as Alsace-Lorraine.
• Entente troops occupied the left bank of the Rhine, and on the right bank it was planned to create a demilitarized zone.
• Germany undertook to immediately return to their homeland all prisoners of war, to evacuate their troops from the territory of the countries that were previously part of Austria-Hungary, from Romania, Turkey and East Africa.

Germany was to give the Entente 5,000 artillery pieces, 30,000 machine guns, 3,000 mortars, 5,000 locomotives, 150,000 wagons, 2,000 aircraft, 10,000 trucks, 6 heavy cruisers, 10 battleships, 8 light cruisers, 50 destroyers and 160 submarines. Other ships of the German navy disarmed and interned by the Allies. The blockade of Germany was maintained. Foch sharply rejected all attempts by the German delegation to soften the terms of the armistice. In fact, the conditions put forward demanded unconditional surrender. However, the German delegation still managed to soften the terms of the truce (reduce the number of weapons for extradition). The requirements for the extradition of submarines were lifted. In other points, the terms of the truce remained unchanged.

November 11, 1918 at 5 am French time, the terms of the armistice were signed. The Compiègne truce was signed. At 11 o'clock the first shots of the artillery salute of the nations in 101 volleys were heard, announcing the end of the First World War. Germany's allies Quadruple alliance capitulated even earlier: on September 29, Bulgaria capitulated, on October 30 - Turkey, on November 3 - Austria-Hungary.

Allied representatives at the signing of the armistice. Ferdinand Foch (second from right) near his carriage in the forest of Compiègne

Other theaters of war

On the Mesopotamian front the whole of 1918 was calm. On November 14, the British army, without meeting the resistance of the Turkish troops, occupied Mosul. On this fighting ended here.

In Palestine it was also quiet. In the autumn of 1918, the British army launched an offensive and occupied Nazareth, the Turkish army was surrounded and defeated. The British then invaded Syria and ended the fighting there on 30 October.

In Africa German troops continued to resist. Leaving Mozambique, the Germans invaded the territory of the English colony of Northern Rhodesia. But when the Germans learned of Germany's defeat in the war, their colonial troops laid down their arms.

Both sides pursued predatory goals. Germany sought to weaken Great Britain and France, seize new colonies on the African continent, seize Poland and the Baltic States from Russia, Austria-Hungary - to establish itself on the Balkan Peninsula, Great Britain and France - to keep their colonies and weaken Germany as a competitor in the world market, Russia - to seize Galicia and master the Black Sea straits.

The reasons

Intending to start a war against Serbia, Austria-Hungary enlisted German support. The latter believed that the war would take on a local character if Russia did not defend Serbia. But if she helps Serbia, then Germany will be ready to fulfill its treaty obligations and support Austria-Hungary. In an ultimatum presented to Serbia on July 23, Austria-Hungary demanded that its military formations be allowed into Serbian territory in order to prevent hostile actions together with Serbian forces. The answer to the ultimatum was given within the agreed 48-hour period, but it did not satisfy Austria-Hungary, and on July 28 it declared war on Serbia. On July 30, Russia announced a general mobilization; Germany used this occasion to declare war on Russia on August 1, and on France on August 3. After the Germans invaded Belgium on August 4, Great Britain declared war on Germany. Now all the great powers of Europe were drawn into the war. Together with them, their dominions and colonies were involved in the war.

The course of the war

1914

The war consisted of five campaigns. During the first campaign in the city, Germany invaded Belgium and the northern regions of France, but was defeated in the battle of the Marne. Russia captured part of East Prussia and Galicia (the East Prussian operation and the Battle of Galicia), but then was defeated as a result of the German and Austro-Hungarian counter-offensive. As a result, there was a transition from maneuverable to positional forms of struggle.

1915

Italy, the disruption of the German plan to withdraw Russia from the war and bloody inconclusive battles on the Western Front.

During this campaign, Germany and Austria-Hungary, concentrating their main efforts on the Russian front, carried out the so-called Gorlitsky breakthrough and ousted Russian troops from Poland and part of the Baltic states, but they were defeated in the Vilna operation and were forced to switch to positional defense.

On the Western Front, both sides conducted a strategic defense. Private operations (at Ypres, in Champagne and Artois) were not successful, despite the use of poison gases.

On the Southern Front, Italian troops launched an unsuccessful operation against Austria-Hungary on the Isonzo River. The German-Austrian troops managed to defeat Serbia. Anglo-French troops successfully carried out the Thessaloniki operation in Greece, but failed to capture the Dardanelles. On the Transcaucasian front, as a result of the Alashkert, Hamadan and Sarykamysh operations, Russia reached the approaches to Erzurum.

1916

The campaign was connected with the entry of Rumania into the war and the waging of an exhausting positional war on all fronts. Germany again shifted efforts against France, but did not succeed in the battle of Verdun. The operations of the Anglo-French troops on the Somna were also unsuccessful, despite the use of tanks.

On the Italian front, the Austro-Hungarian troops undertook the Trentino offensive operation, but were driven back by the counteroffensive of the Italian troops. On the Eastern Front, the troops of the Southwestern Russian Front conducted a successful operation in Galicia on a wide front with a length of up to 550 km (Brusilovsky breakthrough) and advanced 60-120 km, occupied the eastern regions of Austria-Hungary, which forced the enemy to transfer up to 34 divisions to this front from the Western and Italian fronts.

On the Transcaucasian front, the Russian army carried out the Erzurum and then the Trebizond offensive operations, which remained unfinished.

The decisive Battle of Jutland took place on the Baltic Sea. As a result of the campaign, conditions were created for the Entente to seize the strategic initiative.

1917

The campaign was connected with the US entry into the war, Russia's revolutionary withdrawal from the war, and the conduct of a number of successive offensive operations on the Western Front (Operation Nivelle, operations in the Messines region, on Ypres, near Verdun, near Cambrai). These operations, despite the use in them of large forces of artillery, tanks and aviation, practically did not change the general situation in the Western European theater of operations. In the Atlantic, at this time, Germany launched an unrestricted submarine war, during which both sides suffered heavy losses.

1918

The city's campaign was characterized by a transition from positional defense to a general offensive by the armed forces of the Entente. Initially, Germany undertook the Allied March offensive in Picardy, private operations in Flanders, on the rivers Aisne and Marne. But due to lack of strength, they did not develop.

From the second half of the year, with the entry into the war of the United States, the allies prepared and launched retaliatory offensive operations (Amiens, Saint-Miyel, Marne), during which they liquidated the results of the German offensive, and in September, they launched a general offensive, forcing Germany to surrender ( Compiègne truce).

Results

The final terms of the peace treaty were worked out at the Paris Conference of 1919-1920. ; during the sessions, agreements on five peace treaties were determined. After its completion, the following were signed: 1) the Treaty of Versailles with Germany on June 28; 2) Saint-Germain peace treaty with Austria on September 10, 1919; 3) Neuilly peace treaty with Bulgaria on November 27; 4) Trianon peace treaty with Hungary on June 4; 5) Sevres peace treaty with Turkey on August 20. Subsequently, according to the Treaty of Lausanne on July 24, 1923, amendments were made to the Treaty of Sevres.

As a result of the First World War, the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires were liquidated. Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire were divided, while Russia and Germany, having ceased to be monarchies, were cut down territorially and economically weakened. Revanchist sentiment in Germany led to World War II. First World War accelerated the development of social processes, was one of the prerequisites that led to revolutions in Russia, Germany, Hungary, Finland. As a result, a new military-political situation was created in the world.

In total, the First World War lasted 51 months and 2 weeks. It covered the territories of Europe, Asia and Africa, the waters of the Atlantic, the North, Baltic, Black and Mediterranean seas. This is the first military conflict on a global scale, in which 38 of the 59 independent states that existed at that time were involved. Two-thirds of the world's population participated in the war. The number of warring armies exceeded 37 million people. The total number of those mobilized into the armed forces amounted to about 70 million people. The length of the fronts was up to 2.5-4 thousand km. The casualties of the parties amounted to about 9.5 million killed and 20 million wounded.

In the war, new types of troops were developed and widely used: aviation, armored troops, anti-aircraft troops, anti-tank weapons, submarine forces. New forms and methods of armed struggle began to be used: army and front-line operations, breaking through the fortifications of the fronts. New strategic categories arose: operational deployment of the Armed Forces, operational cover, frontier battles, initial and subsequent periods of the war.

Used materials

• Dictionary "War and Peace in Terms and Definitions", World War I
• Encyclopedia "Circumnavigation"

The First World War began in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and lasted until 1918. In the conflict, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire (Central Powers) fought Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the United States (Allied Powers).

Thanks to new military technology and the horrors of trench warfare, World War I was unprecedented in terms of bloodshed and destruction. By the time the war ended and the victory of the Allied Powers, more than 16 million people, both soldiers and civilians, were dead.

The beginning of the first world war

Tension hung over Europe, especially in the problematic Balkan region and southeastern Europe, long before the actual start of the First World War. Some alliances, including European powers, the Ottoman Empire, Russia and other powers, had existed for years, but political instability in the Balkans (notably Bosnia, Serbia and Herzegovina) threatened to destroy these agreements.

The spark that ignited the First World War originated in Sarajevo (Bosnia), where Archduke Franz Ferdinand - heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire - was shot dead along with his wife Sofia 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 fast-paced 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 settle the issue of Serbian nationalism once and for all under the pretense of restoring justice.

But because of Russia's support for Serbia, Austria-Hungary delayed declaring war until their leaders received confirmation from the German ruler, Kaiser Wilhelm II, that Germany would support their cause. Austria-Hungary was afraid that the Russian intervention would also attract Russia's allies - France, and possibly Great Britain.

On July 5, Kaiser Wilhelm secretly pledged his support, giving Austria-Hungary the so-called carte blanche to take action and the assurance that Germany would be on their side in case of war. The dualistic 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 asks for help from Russia. July 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia and the fragile peace between the greatest European powers collapses. For 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 for 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 Belgian border. In the first battle of the First World War, the Germans laid siege to the well-fortified city of Liege. They used the most powerful weapon in their arsenal, heavy artillery pieces, and captured the city by 15 August. Leaving death and destruction in their wake, 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 on September 6-9, French and British troops entered the battle with the German army, which had penetrated deep into French territory from the northeast and was already 50 kilometers from Paris. Allied forces halted the German advance and launched a successful counterattack, driving the Germans back north of the Ein River.

The defeat meant the end of the German plans for a quick victory over France. Both sides dug in trenches, and the western front turned into a hellish war of extermination that lasted more than three years.

Particularly long and major 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 the soldiers over the years inspired such works as All Quiet on the Western Front and In Flanders Fields by Canadian doctor Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae.

Eastern front

On the eastern front of the First World War, Russian troops invaded the German-controlled regions of Eastern 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 had an impact on the German defeat at the Battle of the Marne.
The fierce allied resistance in France, coupled with the ability to quickly mobilize Russia's huge war machine, led to a longer and more exhausting military confrontation than the quick victory plan that 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 the Russian Army was unable to break through the German defensive lines.

The defeats on the battlefields, coupled with economic instability and a shortage of food and basic necessities, led to growing discontent among the bulk of the Russian population, especially among the poor workers and peasants. The 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 cease hostilities with the Central Powers in early December 1917, freeing German troops 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.

Widespread public outcry 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 appropriation bill to enable the US to prepare for war.

Germany sank 4 more US merchant ships in the same month, and on April 2, President Woodrow Wilson appeared before Congress calling for a declaration of war on Germany.

Dardanelles operation and the battle of the Isonzo

When World War I put Europe in 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 Seas of Marmara and the Aegean), Allied troops, led by Britain, landed a large force on the Gallipoli peninsula in April 1915.

The invasion turned out to be a crushing defeat and in January 1916 the Allied forces were forced to make a full retreat from the coast of the peninsula, having suffered losses of 250,000 people.
Young, First Lord of the Admiralty of Great Britain resigned as commander after the lost Gallipoli campaign in 1916, accepting appointment as commander of 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 side of the Allies. At the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, also known as the Battle of Caporetto (October 1917), German reinforcements helped Austria-Hungary win a landslide victory.

After Caporetto, the allies of Italy got involved in the confrontation to provide support to Italy. British and French, and then American troops landed in the region, and Allied troops began to retake their lost positions on the Italian front.

World War I 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 closing the gap between the forces of the two fleets. The strength of the German fleet 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 for a year, preferring to pursue a strategy of stealth strikes by submarines. .

The largest naval battle of World War I was the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea (May 1916). The battle confirmed British 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 forced the Allied forces to do their best to contain the German advance until the arrival of the reinforcements promised by the United States.

On July 15, 1918, German troops launched what would become the last attack of the war on French troops, joined by 85,000 American soldiers and the British Expeditionary Force, in the Second Battle of the Marne. The Allies successfully repulsed the German offensive and launched their own counterattack after only 3 days.

Having suffered significant losses, the German forces were forced to abandon the plan to attack in the north in Flanders - the region stretching between France and Belgium. The region seemed particularly important to Germany's prospects for victory.

The Second Battle of the Marne turned 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 autumn of 1918, the Central Powers were losing on all fronts. Despite the Turkish victory at Gallipoli, subsequent defeats and the Arab revolt devastated the Ottoman economy and devastated their lands. The Turks were forced to sign a settlement agreement with the Allies at the end of October 1918.

Austria-Hungary, eroded from within by the growing nationalist movement, concluded an armistice on 4 November. The German army was cut off from supplies from the rear and faced with a decrease in resources for combat operations due to the encirclement of Allied troops. This forced Germany to seek an armistice, which she concluded on November 11, 1918, ending the First World War.

Treaty of Versailles

At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Allied leaders expressed their desire to build a post-war world capable of protecting itself from future destructive conflicts.

Some hopeful conference attendees even called World War I "The War to End All Other Wars." But the Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28, 1919, did not achieve its goals.

Years later, the hatred of the Germans for the Treaty of Versailles and its authors will be considered one of the main reasons that provoked the Second World War.

Results of the First World War

The First World War claimed the lives of more than 9 million soldiers and more than 21 million were wounded. Losses among the civilian population amounted to about 10 million. Germany and France suffered the most significant losses, sending about 80 percent of their male population between the ages of 15 and 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 to go into working professions to support the men fighting at the front and 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 of 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", as it was the first time that the latest military developments were used in it, such as machine guns, tanks, aircraft and radio transmissions.

The grave consequences caused by the use of chemical weapons such as mustard gas and phosgene against soldiers and civilians have intensified public opinion in the direction of prohibiting their further use as weapons.

Signed in 1925, it banned the use of chemical and biological weapons in armed conflicts to this day.

World War I is one of the greatest tragedy in the history of the world. Millions of victims who died as a result of the geopolitical games of the powerful. This war has no clear winners. The political map has completely changed, four empires have collapsed, in addition, the center of influence has shifted to the American continent.

In contact with

Political situation before the conflict

There were five empires on the world map: the Russian Empire, the British Empire, the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires, as well as such superpowers as France, Italy, Japan, tried to take their place in world geopolitics.

To strengthen their positions, the states tried to form unions.

The most powerful were the Triple Alliance, which included the central powers - the German, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, and the Entente: Russia, Great Britain, France.

Background and objectives of the First World War

Main background and goals:

1. Alliances. According to the treaties, if one of the countries of the union declared war, then others should take their side. Behind this stretches a chain of involvement of states in the war. This is exactly what happened when the First World War began.
2. Colonies. Powers that did not have colonies or did not have enough of them sought to fill this gap, and the colonies sought to free themselves.
3. Nationalism. Each power considered itself unique and the most powerful. many empires claimed world domination.
4. Arms race. Their power had to be backed up by military power, so the economies of the major powers worked for the defense industry.
5. Imperialism. Every empire, if not expanding, is collapsing. There were five then. Each sought to expand its borders at the expense of weaker states, satellites and colonies. Especially the young German Empire, which was formed after the Franco-Prussian war, aspired to this.
6. Terrorist attack. This event was the reason for the global conflict. The Austro-Hungarian Empire annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. The heir to the throne, Prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofia arrived in the acquired territory - Sarajevo. There was a fatal assassination attempt by a Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip. Because of the assassination of the prince, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, which led to a chain of conflicts.

Speaking briefly about the First World War, US President Thomas Woodrow Wilson believed that it did not start for any reason, but cumulatively for all at once.

Important! Gavrilo Princip was arrested, but the death penalty could not be applied to him, because he was not 20 years old. The terrorist was sentenced to twenty years in prison, but he died of tuberculosis four years later.

When did World War I start

Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to Serbia to purge all authorities and the army, eliminate persons with anti-Austrian convictions, arrest members of terrorist organizations, and, in addition, allow the Austrian police to enter the territory of Serbia to conduct an investigation.

Two days were given to fulfill the ultimatum. Serbia agreed with everything except the admission of the Austrian police.

July 28th, under the pretext of not complying with the ultimatum, Austro-Hungarian Empire declares war on Serbia. From this date officially count down the time when the First World War began.

The Russian Empire has always supported Serbia, therefore it began to mobilize. On July 31, Germany delivered an ultimatum to stop mobilization, and gave 12 hours to complete. The response announced that the mobilization was taking place exclusively against Austria-Hungary. Despite the fact that Wilhelm ruled the German Empire, a relative of Nicholas the Emperor of the Russian Empire, August 1, 1914 Germany declares war on the Russian Empire. Then Germany concludes an alliance with the Ottoman Empire.

After the German invasion of neutral Belgium, Britain did not remain neutral, declaring war on the Germans. August 6 Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary. Italy is neutral. August 12 Austria-Hungary begins to fight with Britain and France. Japan opposes Germany on August 23. Further along the chain, more and more new states are involved in the war, one after another, all over the world. The United States of America enters only on December 7, 1917.

Important! England first used tracked fighting vehicles, now known as tanks, during the First World War. The word "tank" means tank. So British intelligence tried to disguise the transfer of equipment under the guise of tanks with fuel and lubricants. Subsequently, this name was assigned to combat vehicles.

The main events of the First World War and the role of Russia in the conflict

The main battles are unfolding on the western front, in the direction of Belgium and France, as well as the East - from Russia. With the accession of the Ottoman Empire has begun new round action to the east.

Chronology of Russia's participation in the First World War:

• East Prussian operation. The Russian army crossed the border of East Prussia towards Königsberg. 1st Army from the east, 2nd - from the west of the Masurian Lakes. The Russians won the first battles, but misjudged the situation, which led to a further defeat. Big number soldiers became prisoners, many died, so had to fight back.
• Galician operation. Huge scale battle. Five armies were involved here. The front line was oriented towards Lvov, it was 500 km. Later, the front broke up into separate positional battles. Then the onslaught began Russian army to Austria-Hungary, its troops were pushed back.
• Warsaw show. After a series of successful operations from different sides, the front line became crooked. There were many forces thrown to her alignment. The city of Lodz was alternately occupied by one or the other side. Germany launched an attack on Warsaw, but it was unsuccessful. Although the Germans failed to capture Warsaw and Lodz, the Russian offensive was thwarted. Russia's actions forced Germany to fight on two fronts, thanks to which a large-scale offensive against France was thwarted.
• The entry of Japan to the side of the Entente. Japan demanded that Germany withdraw its troops from China, after the refusal it announced the start of hostilities, taking the side of the Entente countries. it significant event for Russia, since now there was no need to worry about the threat from Asia, besides, the Japanese helped with provisions.
• The accession of the Ottoman Empire to the side of the Triple Alliance. The Ottoman Empire hesitated for a long time, but nevertheless took the side of the Triple Alliance. The first act of her aggression was the attacks on Odessa, Sevastopol, Feodosia. After that, on November 15, Russia declared war on Turkey.
• August operation. It took place in the winter of 1915, and received its name from the city of Augustow. Here the Russians could not resist, they had to retreat to new positions.
• Carpathian operation. There were attempts on both sides to cross the Carpathian mountains, but the Russians failed to do so.
• Gorlitsky breakthrough. The army of Germans and Austrians concentrated their forces near Gorlitsa, in the direction of Lvov. On May 2, an offensive was carried out, as a result of which Germany was able to occupy Gorlitsa, Kielce and Radom provinces, Brody, Ternopil, Bukovina. The second wave of the Germans managed to recapture Warsaw, Grodno, Brest-Litovsk. In addition, it was possible to occupy Mitava and Courland. But off the coast of Riga, the Germans were defeated. To the south, the offensive of the Austro-German troops continued, Lutsk, Vladimir-Volynsky, Kovel, Pinsk were occupied there. By the end of 1915 the front line has stabilized. Germany threw the main forces in the direction of Serbia and Italy. As a result of great failures at the front, the heads of the army commanders "flew". Emperor Nicholas II, took over not only the management of Russia, but also the direct command of the army.
• Brusilovsky breakthrough. The operation is named after the commander A.A. Brusilov, who won this fight. As a result of a breakthrough (May 22, 1916) the Germans were defeated they had to retreat with huge losses, leaving Bukovina and Galicia.
• Internal conflict. The Central Powers began to become significantly exhausted from waging war. The Entente with the allies looked more profitable. Russia at that time was on the winning side. She invested a lot of effort and human lives for this, but she could not become a winner because of an internal conflict. It happened in the country, because of which Emperor Nicholas II abdicated the throne. The Provisional Government came to power, then the Bolsheviks. To stay in power, they took Russia out of the theater of operations by making peace with the central states. This act is known as Brest Treaty.
• Internal conflict of the German Empire. On November 9, 1918, a revolution took place, which resulted in the abdication of the throne by Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Weimar Republic was also formed.
• Treaty of Versailles. Between the winning countries and Germany On January 10, 1920, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Officially the first world war ended.
• The League of nations. The first assembly of the League of Nations was held on November 15, 1919.

Attention! The field postman wore a lush mustache, but during the gas attack, the mustache prevented him from wearing a gas mask tightly, because of this the postman was severely poisoned. I had to make a small antennae so as not to interfere with wearing a gas mask. The postman was called.

Consequences and results of the First World War for Russia

The results of the war for Russia:

• For a step away from victory, the country made peace, stripped of all privileges like a winner.
• The Russian Empire ceased to exist.
• The country voluntarily gave up large territories.
• Undertook to pay an indemnity in gold and products.
• It was not possible to establish a state machine for a long time due to an internal conflict.

Global consequences of the conflict

Irreversible consequences occurred on the world stage, the cause of which was the First World War:

1. Territory. 34 out of 59 states were involved in the theater of operations. This is more than 90% of the Earth's territory.
2. human sacrifice. Every minute 4 soldiers were killed and 9 were injured. In total, about 10 million soldiers; 5 million civilians, 6 million died from epidemics that flared up after the conflict. Russia in World War I lost 1.7 million soldiers.
3. Destruction. A significant part of the territories where hostilities were fought were destroyed.
4. Cardinal changes in the political situation.
5. Economy. Europe lost a third of its gold and foreign exchange reserves, which led to a difficult economic situation in almost all countries, except for Japan and the United States.

The results of the armed conflict:

• The Russian, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and German empires ceased to exist.
• The European powers lost their colonies.
• Such states as Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Austria, Hungary appeared on the world map.
• The United States of America became the leader of the world economy.
• Communism has spread in many countries.

The role of Russia in the 1st world war

Results of the First World War for Russia

Conclusion

Russia in the First World War 1914-1918 had victories and defeats. When the First World War ended, she received the main defeat not from an external enemy, from herself, an internal conflict that put an end to the empire. Who won the conflict is unclear. Although the Entente with its allies is considered the winner, but their economic condition was deplorable. They did not have time to recover, even before the start of the next conflict.

To maintain peace and consensus among all states, the League of Nations was organized. She played the role of an international parliament. Interestingly, the United States initiated its creation, but they themselves refused membership in the organization. As history has shown, it became a continuation of the first, as well as a revenge of the powers offended by the results of the Versailles Treaty. The League of Nations here proved to be an absolutely ineffective and useless body.

There was a sharp aggravation of contradictions between the leading countries of the world as a result of their uneven development. An equally important reason was the arms race, on the supply of which the monopolies received super profits. The militarization of the economy and the consciousness of huge masses of people took place, the mood of revanchism and chauvinism grew. The most profound were the contradictions between Germany and Great Britain. Germany sought to put an end to British dominance at sea, to seize her colonies. Germany's claims to France and Russia were great.

The plans of the top military German leadership included the seizure of the economically developed regions of northeastern France, the desire to wrest the Baltic states, the "Don region", the Crimea and the Caucasus from Russia. In turn, Great Britain wanted to maintain its colonies and dominance at sea, to take oil-rich Mesopotamia and part of the Arabian Peninsula from Turkey. France, which suffered a crushing defeat in the Franco-Prussian war, hoped to regain Alsace and Lorraine, annex the left bank of the Rhine and the Saar coal basin. Austria-Hungary hatched expansionist plans for Russia (Volhynia, Podolia), Serbia.

Russia sought to annex Galicia and take possession of the Black Sea straits of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. By 1914 the contradictions between the two military-political groupings of the European powers the Triple Alliance and the Entente escalated to the limit. The Balkan Peninsula became a zone of special tension. The ruling circles of Austria-Hungary, following the advice of the German emperor, decided to finally establish their influence in the Balkans with one blow against Serbia. Soon there was a reason to declare war. The Austrian command launched military maneuvers near the Serbian border. The head of the Austrian "military party" heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand defiantly inflicted
visit to the Bosnian capital Sarajevo. On June 28, a bomb was thrown into his carriage, which the Archduke threw away, demonstrating the presence of mind. On the way back, another route was chosen.

But for some unknown reason, the carriage returned through the labyrinth of poorly guarded streets to the same place. A young man ran out of the crowd and fired two shots. One bullet hit the Archduke in the neck, the other in the stomach of his wife. Both died within minutes. The terrorist act was carried out by Serbian patriots Gavrilo Princip and his associate Gavrilovich from the Black Hand paramilitary organization. July 5, 1914 Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Austrian government received assurances from Germany to support its claims against Serbia. Kaiser Wilhelm II promised the Austrian representative, Count Hoyos, that Germany would support Austria even if the conflict with Serbia led to war with Russia. On July 23, the Austrian government delivered an ultimatum to Serbia.

It was presented at six in the evening, the answer was expected in 48 hours. The terms of the ultimatum were harsh, some seriously hurting Serbia's pan-Slavic ambitions. The Austrians neither expected nor desired that the terms would be accepted. On July 7, having received confirmation of German support, the Austrian government decided to provoke a war with an ultimatum and was drawn up with this in mind. Austria was also encouraged by the conclusion that Russia was not ready for war: the sooner it happens, the better, they decided in Vienna. The response of the Serbs to the ultimatum of July 23 was rejected, although it did not contain an unconditional recognition of the demands, and on July 28, 1914. Austria declared war on Serbia. Both sides began to mobilize even before the answer was received.

August 1, 1914 Germany declared war on Russia, and two days later on France. After a month of mounting tension, it became clear that a major European war could not be avoided, although Britain still hesitated. A day after the declaration of war on Serbia, when Belgrade was already bombed, Russia began to mobilize. The initial order for general mobilization, an act tantamount to a declaration of war, was almost immediately canceled by the tsar in favor of partial mobilization. Perhaps Russia did not expect large-scale action from Germany. On August 4, German troops invaded Belgium. Luxembourg suffered the same fate two days earlier. Both states had international guarantees against attack, however, only Belgian guarantees provided for the intervention of the guaranteeing power. Germany made public the "reasons" for the invasion, accusing Belgium of "non-neutral behaviour", but no one took it seriously. The invasion of Belgium brought England into the war. The British government issued an ultimatum demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of German soldiers.

The demand was ignored, thus, all the great powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Russia and England were drawn into the war. Although the great powers had been preparing for war for many years, it still took them by surprise. For example, England and Germany spent huge amounts of money on the construction of a navy, but bulky floating fortresses played an insignificant role in the battles, although they undoubtedly had strategic importance. Similarly, no one expected that the infantry (especially on the Western Front) would lose their ability to move, being paralyzed by the power of artillery and machine guns (although this was predicted by the Polish banker Ivan Bloch in his work "The Future of War" in 1899). In terms of training and organization, the German army was the best in Europe. In addition, the Germans burned with patriotism and faith in their great mission, not yet realized.

In Germany, the importance of heavy artillery and machine guns in modern combat, as well as the importance of railway communications, was best understood. The Austro-Hungarian army was a cast of the German one, but was inferior to it because of the explosive mixture of different nationalities in its composition and mediocre performance in previous wars.

The French army was only 20% smaller than the German one, but its manpower was barely more than half. The main difference, then, was in the reserves. Germany had a lot of them, France had nothing at all. France, like most other countries, hoped for a short war. She was unprepared for a prolonged conflict. Like the rest, France believed that movement would decide everything, and did not expect static trench warfare.

Russia's main advantage was its inexhaustible manpower and the proven courage of the Russian soldier, but its leadership was corrupt and incompetent, and its industrial backwardness made Russia unsuitable for modern warfare. Communications were very poor, the borders were endless, and the allies were geographically cut off. The Russian involvement, billed as a "pan-Slavic crusade", was supposed to be a desperate attempt to restore ethnic unity, led by the tsarist government. The position of Britain was quite different. Britain never had a large army and as early as the 18th century depended on naval forces, and traditions have rejected a "standing army" since even more ancient times.

The British army was thus extremely small, but highly professional and had main goal maintain order in overseas possessions. There were doubts whether the British command would be able to run a real company. Some of the generals were too old, although this defect was also inherent in Germany. The most striking example of a misjudgment of character modern war There was a widespread belief among the commanders of both sides that the cavalry had the most important role to play. At sea, traditional British superiority was challenged by Germany.

In 1914 Britain possessed 29 capital ships, Germany 18. Britain also underestimated enemy submarines, although it was particularly vulnerable to them due to its dependence on overseas supplies of food and raw materials for its industry. Britain became the main factory for the allies, what Germany was for its own. The First World War was fought on almost a dozen fronts in different parts of the globe. The main fronts were the Western, where the German troops fought against the British, French and Belgian troops; and Vostochny, where Russian troops opposed the combined forces of the Austro-Hungarian and German armies. The human, raw material and food resources of the Entente countries significantly exceeded the resources of the Central Powers, so the chances of Germany and Austria-Hungary to win the war on two fronts were small.

The German command understood this and therefore relied on a lightning war. The plan of military operations, developed by the Chief of the General Staff of Germany, von Schlieffen, proceeded from the fact that Russia would need at least a month and a half to concentrate its troops. During this time, it was supposed to defeat France and force her to surrender. Then it was planned to transfer all German troops against Russia.

According to the Schlieffen Plan, the war was to end in two months. But these calculations did not come true. In early August, the main forces of the German army approached the Belgian fortress of Liege, which covered the crossings across the Meuse River, and after bloody battles captured all its forts. On August 20, German troops entered the capital of Belgium, Brussels. German troops reached the Franco-Belgian border and in the "border battle" defeated the French, forcing them to retreat deep into the territory, which posed a threat to Paris. The German command overestimated its successes and, considering the strategic plan in the West fulfilled, transferred two army corps and a cavalry division to the East. In early September, German troops reached the Marne River in an effort to encircle the French. In the Battle of the Marne, September 3-10, 1914. Anglo-French troops stopped the German advance on Paris and even for a short time managed to go on the counteroffensive. One and a half million people participated in this battle.

Losses on both sides amounted to almost 600 thousand people killed and wounded. The result of the Battle of the Marne was the final failure of the "blitzkrieg" plans. The weakened German army began to "burrow" into the trenches. The Western Front, stretching from the English Channel to the Swiss border, by the end of 1914. stabilized. Both sides began to build earth and concrete fortifications. The wide strip in front of the trenches was mined and covered with thick rows of barbed wire. The war on the Western Front turned from "maneuverable" into positional. The offensive of the Russian troops in East Prussia ended unsuccessfully, they were defeated and partially destroyed in the Masurian swamps. The offensive of the Russian army under the command of General Brusilov in Galicia and Bukovina, on the contrary, threw back the Austro-Hungarian units to the Carpathians. By the end of 1914 on the Eastern Front, too, there was a respite. The belligerents switched to a long positional war.

August Icon of the Mother of God

The August icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is an icon revered in the Russian church, painted in memory of her appearance in 1914 to Russian soldiers on the North-Western Front, shortly before the victory in the August battle, near the city of Augustow, Suwalki province of the Russian Empire (now in Eastern Poland). The very event of the appearance of the Mother of God took place on September 14, 1914. The Gatchina and Tsarskoye Selo Cuirassier Life Guards Regiments were moving towards the Russian-German border. At about 11 am, the Mother of God appeared to the soldiers of the cuirassier regiment, the vision lasted 30-40 minutes. All the soldiers and officers knelt down and prayed, observing the Mother of God in the dark night starry sky: in an extraordinary radiance, with the Divine Infant Jesus Christ sitting on Her left hand. With her right hand, She pointed to the west - the troops were just moving in this direction.

A few days later, at Headquarters, a message was received from General Sh., commander of a separate unit in the Prussian theater of operations, which said that after our retreat, a Russian officer with a whole half-squadron saw a vision. It was 11 o'clock in the evening, a private comes running with a surprised face and says; "Your Honor, go." Lieutenant R. went and suddenly sees the Mother of God in heaven with Jesus Christ on one hand, and with the other hand pointing to the West. All the Lower ranks are on their knees and pray to the Heavenly Patroness. He looked at the vision for a long time, then this vision changed into a Grand Cross and disappeared. After that, a great battle broke out in the west near Augustow, which was marked by a great victory.

Therefore, this appearance of the Mother of God was called the "Sign of the August Victory", or the "August Appearance". The appearance of the Mother of God in the Augustow forests was reported to Emperor Nicholas II, and he gave the order to paint an icon-painting image of this phenomenon. The Holy Synod considered the issue of the appearance of the Mother of God for about a year and a half and on March 31, 1916, decided: “to bless the celebration in the temples of God and the houses of believers of icons depicting the aforementioned appearance of the Mother of God to Russian soldiers ...”. On April 17, 2008, at the suggestion of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia blessed the celebration of the August Icon of the Mother of God into the official calendar.

The celebration is set to take place on September 1 (14). November 5, 1914 Russia, Britain and France declared war on Turkey. In October, the Turkish government closed the Dardanelles and the Bosporus to Allied ships, effectively isolating Russia's Black Sea ports from the outside world and causing irreparable damage to its economy. Such a move by Turkey was an effective contribution to the military efforts of the Central Powers. The next provocative step was the shelling of Odessa and other southern Russian ports at the end of October by a squadron of Turkish warships. The declining Ottoman Empire gradually fell apart and during the last half century lost most of its European possessions. The army was exhausted in the unsuccessful military operations against the Italians in Tripoli, and the Balkan Wars caused further depletion of its resources. The Young Turk leader Enver Pasha, who, as Minister of War, was a leading figure on the Turkish political scene, believed that an alliance with Germany would serve his country's best interests, and on August 2, 1914, a secret treaty was signed between the two countries.

The German military mission has been active in Turkey since the end of 1913. She was instructed to carry out the reorganization of the Turkish army. Despite strong objections from his German advisers, Enver Pasha decided to invade the Caucasus, which belonged to Russia, and in mid-December 1914 launched an offensive in difficult weather conditions. Turkish soldiers fought well, but suffered a severe defeat. Nevertheless, the Russian high command was concerned about the threat posed by Turkey to the southern borders of Russia, and the German strategic plans were well served by the fact that this threat in this area pinned down Russian troops, which were in great need on other fronts.