World War 1

Centered in Europe, World War 1 began from 28 July 1914 and lasted till 11 November 1918. The predominant players involved in this clash entailed countries that were considered formidable due to their prevailing economies – Great Britain, Russia, France and Italy. In this ordeal, two major sides opposed each other. The Central Powers consisting of Germany, the Austrian-hungarian Empire, The Ottoman Empire (now known as Turkey) and Bulgaria, stood against the Allied Powers formed by France, Britain and Russia. Unable to stay neutral to the bloodshed for much longer, the United States joined the Allies in 1917.

Aftermath

To prevent such crippling catastrophes from breaking out once more, the Allies imposed treaties and pacts that promoted halcyon in the future. In this regard, one should note that the “Treaty of Versailles,” considerably ruined Germany as it stripped the country of its means to rebuild its war-torn nation.

According to the treaty, Germany was under war guilt clause and would henceforth carry the blame for starting World War 1. Moreover, for all the damage done during the fight, the country was obligated to compensate the Allies with £6,600 million, territories and surrender overseas colonies to them. Only 100,000 men were acquiesced to be Germany’s maximal soldier count, and Rhineland – their border with France – was demilitarised. Owning submarines or building up an air force was absolutely out of the question.

In juxtaposition to the aforementioned pact, the then-us President Woodrow Wilson formulated his Fourteen Points – all of which promoted world peace – as well as vouched for the formation of the League of Nations, a global organisation similar to the United Nations in today’s times.

With over 37 million casualties and 20 million injured, World War 1 is one of the most fatal conflicts in human history. It was supposed to be as said by President Wilson, “the war to end all wars.” However, this statement was lost on the international community as only thirty years later, the world would experience the most earth-shattering strife of all time in the form of World War 2.

How It Began

What catapulted the large-scaled violence was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria – an ally of Germany – by a Serbian man. Consequently, Austriahungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia, which then appealed to France for support. What then ensued between Serbia and Austria-hungary and their allies strained diplomatic relations. These then rapidly exacerbated into a worldwide armed conflict within weeks.

After joining forces with the US, the Allies declared victory over the Central Powers. Being a wealthy nation, the United States had given the Allies the upper hand by being a fortress of armaments and human sources. On the other hand, Germany and her allies were slowly becoming exhausted.

Did You Know?

World War 1 was responsible for the invention of plastic surgery. Surgeon Harold Gillies took on the task of helping victims and pioneered early techniques of facial reconstruction in the process.

Blood banks were first developed during World War 1 to provide blood transfusion for wounded soldiers.

The U.S. Navy and British Admiralty painted geometric shapes on their ships to confuse enemies and avoid sea attacks. These patterns were painted in contrasting colours and were known as ‘dazzle camouflage.’