Hostilities also occurred on and under the sea and — for the first time — from the air. More than nine million soldiers died on the various battlefields, and millions more civilians perished. The war caused the disintegration of four empires: the Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian. Germany lost its overseas empire, and new states such as Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia , Latvia , Lithuania and Estonia were created, or recreated, as was Poland. Princip was a member of Young Bosnia, a group whose aims included the unification of the South Slavs and independence from Austria-Hungary see also: the Black Hand.
The assassination in Sarajevo set into motion a series of fast-moving events that escalated into a full-scale war. However, the causes of the conflict were multiple and complex.
Arms races The naval arms race that developed between Britain and Germany was intensified by the launch of HMS Dreadnought , a revolutionary warship that rendered all previous battleships obsolete. Britain maintained a large lead over Germany in all categories of warship.
Paul Kennedy has pointed out that both nations believed in Alfred Thayer Mahan's thesis that command of the sea was vital to a great nation. David Stevenson described the armaments race as "a self-reinforcing cycle of heightened military preparedness", while David Herrman viewed the shipbuilding rivalry as part of a general movement towards war.
Fritz Fischer and his followers have emphasized the inherently aggressive nature of the Schlieffen Plan, which outlined German strategy if at war with both France and Russia.
Conflict on two fronts meant Germany had to eliminate one opponent quickly before taking on the other, relying on a strict timetable.
It called for a strong right flank attack, to seize Belgium and cripple the French army by preempting its mobilization. After the attack, the German army would then rush to the eastern front by railroad and quickly destroy the more slowly mobilizing military of Russia. All three created an atmosphere where generals and planning staffs were anxious to take the initiative and seize decisive victories.
Elaborate mobilization plans with precise timetables had been prepared. Once the mobilization orders were issued, it was understood by both generals and statesmen alike that there was little or no possibility of turning back or a key advantage would be sacrificed.
Furthermore, the problem of communications in should not be underestimated; all nations still used telegraphy and ambassadors as the main form of communication, which resulted in delays from hours to even days.
Militarism and autocracy President of the United States Woodrow Wilson and other observers blamed the war on militarism. The idea was that aristocrats and military elites had too much control over Germany, Russia and Austria, and the war was a consequence of their desire for military power and disdain for democracy.
This was a theme that figured prominently in anti-German propaganda, which cast Kaiser Wilhelm II and Prussian military tradition in a negative light. Consequently, supporters of this theory called for the abdication of such rulers, the end of the aristocratic system and the end of militarism—all of which justified American entry into the war once Czarist Russia dropped out of the Allied camp.
Wilson hoped the League of Nations and universal disarmament would secure a lasting peace. He also acknowledged variations of militarism that, in his opinion, existed within the British and French political systems.
That meant the empire had a shortage of well-trained military officers, engineers, clerks, doctors and other professions. Russia and Austria both supported rebellious nationalists in the Balkans to further their own influence.
Neighboring Czarist Russia, whose sprawling realm included Muslims as well, developed into an increasingly bitter rival. When the two empires took opposite sides in World War I, though, the Russians ended up collapsing first, in part because of the Ottoman forces prevented Russia from getting supplies from Europe via the Black Sea. Tzar Nicholas II and his foreign minister, Sergei Sazanov, resisted the idea of negotiating a separate peace with the empire, which might have saved Russia.
Before the war, the Ottoman Empire had signed a secret treaty with Germany, which turned out to be a very bad choice. Ultimately, the empire lost nearly a half a million soldiers , most of them to disease, plus about 3.
In October , the empire signed an armistice with Great Britain, and quit the war. Mostafa Minawi , a historian at Cornell University, believes the Ottoman Empire had the potential to evolve into a modern multi-ethnic, multi-lingual federal state. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you.
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