War is a period of hostile relations between countries, factions, states or territories. And for me, it is against morality. It leads to battles between armed forces, especially in land, sea, or air. War has been inevitable and cannot be avoided. I would like to tell that wars are products of mixed human emotions, most probably anger, envy, and others that may lead to turmoil. World War 1 is the first war that involved the majority of developed countries during 1914 – 1918. It was divided into two, the allied forces and the central powers.The allied force mainly consists of France, Britain, Russia, and later the US.
The central power includes Germany, Austria- Hungary, and later the Ottoman Empire. The war started out as the Germans aimed to gain military power by dominating much of Europe and establish global power by establishing overseas colonies. World War 1 was the first war in history to be considered total. As the war began, the involved countries mobilized their available and reserved troops, and spent economic resources in order to win the battle.During the war, civilians were also used to tip off military balance. The might of an army comes in numbers, so forced enlistment were done just to come up with high numbers of fighting soldiers. The term home front were first used during he First World War because it symbolized the new concept of a war in which civilians were directly involved in the battle as soldiers. World War 1 began as a clash between two forces, the allied and central power.
The conflict involved 32 countries, 28 of which joined the allied forces.Some of these nations however did not participate in the actual war, but through financial and medical support. The true and immediate cause of World War 1 was the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to Austro-Hungarian throne, during this visit to Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.
The condemned assassin was a Serbian nationalist. The root of conflict can be traced a century ago, by the economic and political policies that prevailed in Europe after 1871, the year Germany emerged as a superior power in Europe.There was equilibrium between the conflicts of the two powers by the end of 1914. The war was fought on two fronts.
First was the west front, located in northeastern France, and the second was the eastern front, located on western part of Russia. A5t the fronts, soldiers from both sides fought each other valiantly through interconnected trenches. One side laid siege to the other side by breaking through their lines.
Declaration of War during this period sparked like a chemical chain reaction.The turmoil between Serbia and Austria-Hungary escalated because of Archduke Francis Ferdinand’s Assassination. Austria-Hungary declared an ultimatum to Serbia that a joint Serbian-Austrian body be made to investigate the assassination. Serbia ignored the ultimatum.
Germany, an ally of Austria-Hungary, proposed that Serbia must pay for the crimes they committed against the royal family. They both declared war on Serbia on July 1914. France, an ally of Serbia by treaty, pronounced that they will protect Serbia, declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary on August 1914.
Russia joined the war, also august 1914, because a treaty exists between them and France. Several other countries joined the war too. The Ottoman Empire joined Germany and Austria-Hungary on November 1914, and later they were called the Central power. When Germany invaded Belgium even though it was neutral, Britain was forced to join the war on August 1914, along with Belgium. Belgium pleaded to Britain for help, in effect of their 75 year old treaty.
Another reason for Britain to join the war is that it has an existing treaty with France, proclaiming their alliance.Russia was unable to finish the war because of its economic and political decline. It cannot produce more arms and military support to the alliance. Also, its army was weakened because of the ever known Russian Revolution of 1917. Another reason for Russia to subdue was that it was blockaded by the Ottoman Empire on the southwest. It cannot send reinforcement and supplies to mainland Europe through the Mediterranean Sea; likewise, the allied forces were unable to bring troops to Russia.
The United States joined the war much later, on April 1917.The reason for the change of the United States’ stance from neutral to become an Allied force was because Germany insists on using unrestricted submarine warfare. The United States’ act of joining the war tipped of the equilibrium between the tensions of the two colliding coalitions. The United States where able to support the Allied forces by sending about 10 million troops and vast amounts of aid and support. The United States turned all of its industries, from car and airplane manufacturing into full scale war machinery, where all war materials were transported into the battle front on Europe.
