CHAPTER SEVEN

FIRST WAR WITH GERMANY

July 1914 - February 1917

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1914― the beginning of the First World War, during which and, largely thanks to it, there was a change in the political system and the collapse of the Empire. The war did not stop with the fall of the monarchy; on the contrary, it spread from the outskirts into the interior of the country and lasted until 1920. Thus, the war, in total, went on six years.

As a result of this war, they ceased to exist on the political map of Europe. THREE EMPIRES at once: Austro-Hungarian, German and Russian (see map). At the same time, a new state was created on the ruins of the Russian Empire - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

By the time the World War began, Europe had not seen large-scale military conflicts for almost a hundred years, since the end of the Napoleonic Wars. All European wars of the period 1815 - 1914. were predominantly local in nature. At the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries. the illusory thought was in the air that war would be irrevocably banished from the life of civilized countries. One of the manifestations of this was the Hague Peace Conference of 1897. It is noteworthy that the opening took place in May 1914 in The Hague, in the presence of delegates from numerous countries. Palace of Peace.

On the other hand, at the same time, contradictions between European powers grew and deepened. Since the 1870s, military blocs have been forming in Europe, which in 1914 will oppose each other on the battlefields.

In 1879, Germany entered into a military alliance with Austria-Hungary directed against Russia and France. In 1882, Italy joined this union, and a military-political Central Bloc was formed, also called Triple Alliance.

In contrast to him in 1891 - 1893. a Russian-French alliance was concluded. Great Britain entered into an agreement with France in 1904, and in 1907 with Russia. The bloc of Great Britain, France and Russia was named Heartfelt agreement, or Entente.

The immediate cause of the outbreak of war was the murder by Serbian nationalists June 15 (28), 1914 in Sarajevo, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany, presented Serbia with an ultimatum. Serbia accepted most of the terms of the ultimatum.

Austria-Hungary was dissatisfied with this and began military action against Serbia.

Russia supported Serbia and announced first partial and then general mobilization. Germany presented Russia with an ultimatum demanding that the mobilization be cancelled. Russia refused.

On July 19 (August 1), 1914, Germany declared war on her.

This day is considered the date of the beginning of the First World War.

The main participants in the war from the Entente were: Russia, France, Great Britain, Serbia, Montenegro, Italy, Romania, USA, Greece.

They were opposed by the countries of the Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Türkiye, Bulgaria.

Military operations took place in Western and Eastern Europe, in the Balkans and Thessaloniki, in Italy, in the Caucasus, in the Middle and Far East, and in Africa.

The First World War was characterized by an unprecedented scale. At its final stage it involved 33 states (out of 59 existing then independent states) with population amounting to 87% population of the entire planet. The armies of both coalitions in January 1917 numbered 37 million people. In total, during the war, 27.5 million people were mobilized in the Entente countries, and 23 million people were mobilized in the countries of the German coalition.

Unlike previous wars, the First World War was total in nature. Most of the population of the states participating in it was involved in it in one form or another. It forced enterprises in the main industries to be transferred to military production and the entire economy of the warring countries to be serviced by it. The war, as always, gave a powerful impetus to the development of science and technology. Previously non-existent types of weapons appeared and began to be widely used: aircraft, tanks, chemical weapons, etc.

The war lasted 51 months and 2 weeks. Total losses amounted to 9.5 million people killed and died from wounds and 20 million people wounded.

The First World War was of particular importance in the history of the Russian state. It became a difficult test for the country, which lost several million people on the fronts. Its tragic consequences were revolution, devastation, civil war and the death of old Russia.”

PROGRESS OF COMBAT OPERATIONS

Emperor Nicholas appointed his uncle, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr., as commander-in-chief on the Western Front. (1856 − 1929). From the very beginning of the war, Russia suffered two major defeats in Poland.

East Prussian operation lasted from August 3 to September 2, 1914. It ended with the encirclement of the Russian army near Tannenberg and the death of the general A.V. from infantry. Samsonova. At the same time, a defeat occurred on the Masurian Lakes.

The first successful operation was the offensive in Galicia September 5-9, 1914, as a result of which Lvov and Przemysl were taken, and the Austro-Hungarian troops were pushed back across the San River. However, already on April 19, 1915, on this section of the front the retreat began Russian army, after which Lithuania, Galicia and Poland came under the control of the German-Austrian bloc. By mid-August 1915, Lvov, Warsaw, Brest-Litovsk and Vilna were abandoned, and thus the front moved into Russian territory.

August 23, 1915 year, Emperor Nicholas II removed the leader. book Nikolai Nikolaevich from the post of commander-in-chief and assumed authority. Many military leaders considered this event fatal for the course of the war.

October 20, 1914 Nicholas II declared war on Turkey, and hostilities began in the Caucasus. Infantry General N.N. was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Front. Yudenich (1862 − 1933, Cannes). Here in December 1915 the Sarakamysh operation began. On February 18, 1916, the Turkish fortress of Erzurum was taken, and on April 5, Trebizond was taken.

May 22, 1916 The offensive of Russian troops under the command of cavalry general A.A. began on the Southwestern Front. Brusilova. This was the famous "Brusilov breakthrough", but the neighboring commanders of neighboring fronts, Generals Evert and Kuropatkin, did not support Brusilov, and on July 31, 1916, he was forced to stop the offensive, fearing that his army would be encircled from the flanks.

This chapter uses documents and photographs from state archives and publications (Diary of Nicholas II, Memoirs of A. Brusilov, Verbatim reports of State Duma meetings, poems by V. Mayakovsky). Using materials from the home archive (letters, postcards, photographs) you can get an idea of ​​how this war affected the lives of ordinary people. Some fought at the front, those living in the rear participated in providing assistance to the wounded and refugees in the institutions of such public organizations as the Russian Red Cross Society, the All-Russian Zemstvo Union, and the All-Russian Union of Cities.

It’s a shame, but precisely during this most interesting period, our Family Archive did not preserve anyone’s diaries, although perhaps no one led them at that time. It’s good that grandma saved it letters those years that her parents wrote from Chisinau and sister Ksenia from Moscow, as well as several postcards from Yu.A. Korobyina from the Caucasian front, which he wrote to his daughter Tanya. Unfortunately, the letters written by her have not survived - from the front in Galicia, from Moscow during the Revolution, from Tambov provinces during the Civil War.

In order to somehow make up for the lack of daily records from my relatives, I decided to look for the published diaries of other participants in the events. It turned out that the Diaries were regularly kept by Emperor Nicholas II, and they were “posted” on the Internet. Reading his diaries is boring, because day after day the same small everyday details are repeated in the entries (like got up, "took a walk" received reports, had breakfast, walked again, swam, played with the children, had lunch and drank tea, and in the evening "was dealing with documents" In the evening played dominoes or dice). The Emperor describes in detail the reviews of troops, ceremonial marches and ceremonial dinners given in his honor, but speaks very sparingly about the situation at the fronts.

I would like to remind you that the authors of diaries and letters, unlike memoirists, don't know the future, and for those who read them now, their “future” has become our “past”, and we know what awaits them. This knowledge leaves a special imprint on our perception, especially because their “future” turned out to be so tragic. We see that participants and witnesses of social disasters do not think about the consequences and therefore have no idea what awaits them. Their children and grandchildren forget about the experience of their ancestors, which is easy to see by reading the diaries and letters of contemporaries of the following wars and “perestroikas.” In the world of politics, everything is also repeated with amazing monotony: after 100 years, the newspapers again write about Serbia and Albania, someone again bombs Belgrade and fights in Mesopotamia, again The Caucasian wars are going on, and in the new Duma, as in the old, members are engaged in verbiage... It’s like watching remakes of old movies.

PREPARATION FOR WAR

The diary of Nicholas II serves as the background for the publication of letters from the Family Archive. The letters are printed in places where they coincide chronologically with entries from his Diary. The text of the entries is given with abbreviations. Italic highlighted daily verbs and phrases used. Subheadings and notes are provided by the compiler.

Since April 1914, the Royal Family lived in Livadia. Ambassadors, ministers and Rasputin, whom Nicholas II names in his diary, came there to visit the Tsar. Gregory. It is noticeable that Nicholas II attached special importance to meetings with him. Unlike world events, he certainly noted them in his diary. Here are some typical entries from May 1914.

NICHOLAY'S DIARYII

May 15th.I took a walk in the morning. We had breakfast Georgy Mikhailovich and several lancers, on the occasion of the regimental holiday . During the day played tennis. Read[documents] before lunch. We spent the evening with Gregory, who arrived in Yalta yesterday.

May 16th. Went for a walk quite late; it was hot. Before breakfast accepted Bulgarian military agent Sirmanov. Had a good afternoon of tennis. We drank tea in the garden. Finished all the papers. After lunch there were the usual games.

May 18th. In the morning I walked with Voeikov and examined the area of ​​the future large road. After mass there was Sunday breakfast. We played during the day. B 6 1/2 took a walk with Alexey along a horizontal path. After lunch took a ride in the motor in Yalta. Seen Gregory.

THE TSAR'S VISIT TO ROMANIA

May 31, 1914 Nicholas II left Livadia, moved to his yacht “Standard” and, accompanied by a convoy of 6 warships, went on a visit to Ferdinand von Hohenzollern(b. 1866), who became in 1914 Romanian king. Nicholas and Koroleva were relatives along the line Saxe-Coburg-Gotha The house, the same one to which both the ruling dynasty in the British Empire and the Russian Empress (Nicholas’ wife) on her mother’s side belonged.

Therefore he writes: "In the Queen's Pavilion had breakfast as a family». In the morning 2 June Nikolai arrived in Odessa, and in the evening got on the train and went to Chisinau.

VISITING CHISINAU

June 3rd. We arrived in Chisinau at 9 1/2 on a hot morning. We rode around the city in carriages. The order was exemplary. From the cathedral, with a procession of the cross, they went to the square, where the solemn consecration of the monument to Emperor Alexander I took place in memory of the centenary of the annexation of Bessarabia to Russia. The sun was hot. Accepted immediately all the volost elders of the province. Then let's go to the reception to the nobility; From the balcony they watched the boys and girls gymnastics. On the way to the station we visited the Zemsky Museum. At an hour 20 minutes. left Chisinau. We had breakfast in great stuffiness. Stopped at 3 o'clock in Tiraspol, Where had a viewing [hereinafter the listing of parts is omitted]. Received two delegations And got on the train when a refreshing rain began. Until the evening read papers .

Note by N.M. Nina Evgenievna's father, E.A. Belyavsky, a nobleman and active state councilor, served in the Excise Department of the Bessarabian province. Together with other officials, he probably participated in the “celebrations of the consecration of the monument and in the reception of the nobility,” but my grandmother never told me about this. But at that time she lived with Tanya in Chisinau.

June 15 (28), 1914 in Serbia, and the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was killed by a terrorist in the city of Sarajevo Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Note N.M.. C 7 (20) to 10 (23) July The visit of the President of the French Republic Poincaré to the Russian Empire took place. The President had to persuade the Emperor to enter into a war with Germany and its allies, and for this he promised help from the allies (England and France), to whom the Emperor had been in unpaid debt since 1905, when US and European bankers gave him a loan of 6 billion rubles under 6% per annum. In his Diary, Nicholas II, naturally, does not write about such unpleasant things.

Strangely, Nicholas II did not note in his Diary the assassination of the Archduke in Serbia, so when reading his diary it is not clear why Austria presented an ultimatum to this country. But he describes Poincaré's visit in detail and with obvious pleasure. Writes , how “a French squadron entered the small raid of Kronstadt”, with what honor the president was greeted, how a ceremonial dinner took place with speeches, after which he names his guest "kind president." The next day they go with Poincaré "to review the troops."

July 10 (23), Thursday, Nikolai accompanies Poincaré to Kronstadt, and in the evening of the same day.

BEGINNING OF THE WAR

1914. NICHOLAS' DIARYII.

July 12th. On Thursday evening Austria presented an ultimatum to Serbia with demands, 8 of which are unacceptable for an independent state. Obviously, this is all we talk about everywhere. From 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. I had a meeting with 6 ministers on the same issue and on the precautions we should take. After conversations, I went with my three older daughters to [Mariinsky] theater.

July 15 (28), 1914. Austria declared war on Serbia

July 15th.Accepted representatives of the congress of military naval clergy with his father Shavelsky at the head. Played tennis. At 5 o'clock. let's go with our daughters to Strelnitsa to Aunt Olga and drank tea with her and Mitya. At 8 1/2 accepted Sazonov, who reported that Today at noon Austria declared war on Serbia.

July 16th. In the morning accepted Goremykina [Chairman of the Council of Ministers]. During the day played tennis. But the day was unusually restless. I was constantly called to the phone by either Sazonov, or Sukhomlinov, or Yanushkevich. In addition, he was in urgent telegraph correspondence with Wilhelm. In the evening read[documents] and more accepted Tatishchev, whom I am sending to Berlin tomorrow.

July 18th. The day was grey, and so was the inner mood. At 11 o'clock A meeting of the Council of Ministers took place at the Farm. After breakfast I took German Ambassador. I took a walk with daughters. Before lunch and in the evening was studying.

July 19 (Aug. 1), 1914. Germany declared war on Russia.

July 19th. After breakfast I called Nikolasha and announced to him his appointment as supreme commander in chief until my arrival in the army. Went with Alix to the Diveyevo monastery. I walked with the children. Upon returning from there learned, What Germany declared war on us. We had lunch... I arrived in the evening English Ambassador Buchanan with a telegram from Georgie. I composed for a long time with him answer.

Note by N.M. Nikolasha - uncle of the king, led. book Nikolai Nikolaevich. Georgie ― cousin of the Empress, King George of England. Start of war with cousin "Willy" caused Nicholas II to “elevate his spirit,” and, judging by the entries in his diary, he maintained this mood until the end, despite constant failures at the front. Did he remember what the war he started and lost with Japan led to? After all, after that war the first Revolution happened.

July 20th. Sunday. A good day, especially in the sense uplifting spirit. At 11 went to mass. We had breakfast alone. Signed the manifesto declaring war. From Malakhitovaya we walked out into the Nikolaevskaya Hall, in the middle of which the manifesto was read and then a prayer service was served. The whole hall sang “Save, Lord” and “Many Years.” Said a few words. Upon returning, the ladies rushed to kiss hands and a little beat up Alix and me. Then we went out onto the balcony on Alexander Square and bowed to the huge mass of people. We returned to Peterhof at 7 1/4. The evening was spent calmly.

July 22nd. Yesterday Mom A came to Copenhagen from England via Berlin. From 9 1/2 to one o'clock continuously took. The first to arrive was Alek [Grand Duke], who returned from Hamburg with great difficulties and barely reached the border. Germany declared war on France and directs the main attack on her.

July 23rd. I found out in the morning kind[??? – comp.] news: England declared to the German warrior because the latter attacked France and most unceremoniously violated the neutrality of Luxembourg and Belgium. The campaign could not have started in a better way from the outside for us. Took it all morning and after breakfast until 4 o'clock. The last one I had French Ambassador Paleologue, who came to officially announce the break between France and Germany. I walked with the children. The evening was free[Department - comp.].

July 24 (Aug. 6), 1914. Austria declared war on Russia.

July 24th. Today Austria, finally, declared war on us. Now the situation is completely clear. From 11 1/2 it happened to me meeting of the Council of Ministers. Alix went into town this morning and returned with Victoria and Ella. I took a walk.

Historical meeting of the State Duma July 26, 1914 With. 227 − 261

TRANSCRIPT REPORT

Greeting Emperor NicholasII

State Council and State Duma,

Word from the interim Chairman of the State Council Golubev:

“Your Imperial Majesty! The State Council brings before you, Great Sovereign, loyal feelings imbued with boundless love and all-submissive gratitude... The unity of the beloved Sovereign and the population of His Empire strengthens its power... (etc.)"

Word from the Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko: “Your Imperial Majesty! With a deep sense of delight and pride, all of Russia listens to the words of the Russian Tsar, calling His people to complete unity... Without difference of opinions, views and beliefs, the State Duma on behalf of the Russian land calmly and firmly says to its Tsar: dare, sir, The Russian people are with you... (etc.)"

At 3:37 a.m. The State Duma meeting began.

M.V. Rodzianko exclaims: “Long live the Emperor!” (Long incessant clicks: hurray) and invites the gentlemen Members of the State Duma to listen, standing, to the Highest Manifesto of 20 July 1914(Everyone gets up).

The Supreme Manifesto

By God's Grace,

WE ARE NICHOLAS THE SECOND,

Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia,

Tsar of Poland, Grand Duke of Finland and so on, and so on, and so on.

“We announce to all Our faithful subjects:

<…>Austria hastily launched an armed attack, opening the bombing of defenseless Belgrade... Forced, due to the circumstances, to take the necessary precautions, We ordered to bring army and navy under martial law. <…>Germany, an ally of Austria, contrary to Our hopes for an age-old good neighborliness and not heeding Our assurance that the measures taken did not have hostile goals at all, began to seek their immediate cancellation and, having met with refusal, suddenly declared war on Russia.<…>In the terrible hour of trial, let internal strife be forgotten. May it strengthen even more closely unity of the King with His people…

Chairman M.V. Rodzianko: Hurray for the Emperor! (Long incessant clicks: hooray).

Explanations from the ministers about the measures taken in connection with the war follow. Speakers: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Goremykin, Foreign Secretary Sazonov, Minister of Finance Barque. Their speeches were often interrupted stormy and prolonged applause, voices and clicks: “Bravo!”

After the break M.V. Rodzianko invites the State Duma to stand and listen second manifesto of July 26, 1914

The Supreme Manifesto

“We announce to all Our faithful subjects:<…>Now Austria-Hungary has declared war on Russia, which has saved it more than once. In the upcoming war of peoples, We [that is, Nicholas II] are not alone: ​​together with Us [with Nicholas II] stood our valiant allies [Nicholas the Second], who were also forced to resort to force of arms in order to finally eliminate the eternal threat of the German powers to common peace and peace.

<…>May the Lord Almighty bless Our [Nicholas the Second] and the weapons allied to Us, and may all of Russia rise to a feat of arms with iron in his hands, with a cross in his heart…»

Chairman M.V. Rodzianko:Long live the Emperor!

(Long incessant clicks: hooray; voice: Hymn! Members of the State Duma sing folk anthem).

[AFTER 100 YEARS, MEMBERS OF THE DUMA OF THE RF ALSO PRAISE “THE GOVERNOR” AND SING THE ANTHEM!!! ]

A discussion of government explanations begins. Social Democrats speak first: from the Labor Group A.F. Kerensky(1881, Simbirsk -1970, New York) and on behalf of the RSDLP Khaustov. After them, various “Russians” (Germans, Poles, Little Russians) spoke with assurances of their loyal feelings and intentions to “sacrifice their lives and property for the unity and greatness of Russia”: Baron Felkersam and Goldman from Courland province, Yaronsky from Kletskaya, Ichas and Feldman from Kovenskaya, Lutz from Kherson. Speeches were also given by: Miliukov from St. Petersburg, Count Musin-Pushkin from the Moscow province, Markov 2nd from the Kursk province, Protopopov from the Simbirsk province. and others.

Against the backdrop of the loyal verbiage that the gentlemen Members of the State Duma were engaged in that day, the speeches of the socialists look like the exploits of the Gracchi brothers.

A.F. Kerensky (Saratov province): The labor group instructed me to issue the following statement: “<…>The responsibility of the governments of all European states, in the name of the interests of the ruling classes, who pushed their people into a fratricidal war, is irredeemable.<…>Russian citizens! Remember that you have no enemies among the working classes of the warring countries.<…>While defending to the end everything dear to us from attempts to be seized by the hostile governments of Germany and Austria, remember that this terrible war would not have happened if the great ideals of democracy - freedom, equality and fraternity - guided the activities of governments all countries».

―――――――

Poems:“You are all so chilling, // Far from ours.

Sausage cannot compare // With Russian black porridge.

Notes from a Petrograd citizen during the Russian-German War. P.V. With. 364 − 384

August 1914.“The Germans are waging this war like Huns, vandals and desperate super-scoundrels. They take out their failures on the defenseless population of the regions they occupy. The Germans mercilessly plunder the population, impose monstrous indemnities, shoot men and women, rape women and children, destroy monuments of art and architecture, and burn precious book depositories. In support, we provide a number of excerpts from correspondence and telegrams for this month.

<…>News from the Western Front is confirmed that German troops set fire to the town of Badenvilliers, shooting women and children there. One of the sons of Emperor William, having arrived in Badenvilliers, made a speech to the soldiers in which he said that the French were savages. “Exterminate them as much as you can!” - said the prince.

Belgian envoy provides irrefutable evidence that the Germans maim and burn villagers alive, kidnap young girls, and rape children. Near villages of Lensino There was a battle between the Germans and the Belgian infantry. Not a single civilian took part in this battle. However, the German units that invaded the village destroyed two farms and six houses, rounded up the entire male population, put them in a ditch and shot them.

London newspapers are full of details about the terrible atrocities of German troops in Louvain. The pogrom of the civilian population continued continuously. Moving from house to house, German soldiers indulged in robbery, violence and murder, sparing neither women, nor children, nor the elderly. The surviving members of the city council were driven into the cathedral and bayoneted there. The famous local library, containing 70,000 volumes, was burned."

It's finished. Rock with a harsh hand

Lifted the veil of time.

Before us are the faces of a new life

They worry like a wild dream.

Covering capitals and villages,

The banners rose, raging.

Through the pastures of ancient Europe

The last war is underway.

And everything about which with fruitless fervor

Centuries argued timidly.

Ready to resolve with a blow

Her iron hand.

But listen! In the hearts of the oppressed

Summoning the Enslaved Tribes

Bursts into a war cry.

Under the tramp of armies, the thunder of guns,

Under the Newports the buzzing flight,

Everything we talk about is like a miracle,

We dreamed, maybe it’s getting up.

So! we've been stuck for too long

And Belshazzar's feast continued!

Let, let from the fiery font

The world will emerge transformed!

Let him fall into a bloody hole

The building is shaky for centuries, -

In the false glimmer of glory

There will be a world to come new!

Let the old vaults crumble,

Let the pillars fall with a roar;

The beginning of peace and freedom

Let there be a terrible year of struggle!

V. MAYAKOVSKY. 1917.TO THE ANSWER!

The drum of war thunders and thunders.

Calls to stick iron into the living.

From every country for a slave a slave

throwing a bayonet onto the steel.

For what? The earth is shaking, hungry, naked.

Vaporized humanity in a bloodbath

just to someone somewhere

got hold of Albania.

The anger of human packs has grappled,

falls upon the world blow by blow

only so that the Bosphorus is free

someone's ships were passing by.

Soon the world will have no unbroken rib left.

And they will take out your soul. And they will trample A m her

just to so that someone

took Mesopotamia into his hands.

In the name of what does the creaking and rough boot trample the earth?

Who is above the sky of battles - freedom? God? Ruble!

When you stand up to your full height,

you who give your life Yu them?

When do you throw the question in their face:

What are we fighting for?

The First World War began for the Russian Empire on August 1, 1914 and ended on December 15, 1917, when the Bolsheviks who came to power signed an armistice agreement. On March 3, 1918, the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty was concluded, according to which Russia renounced its rights to Poland, Estonia, Ukraine, part of Belarus, Latvia, Transcaucasia and Finland. Ardahan, Kars and Batum went to Turkey. In total, Russia lost about one million square kilometers of land. In addition, she was obliged to pay Germany an indemnity in the amount of six billion marks.

© RIA Novosti / At the beginning of the war, Russian troops sought to fulfill their obligations to the French and draw back German forces from the Western Front. During the East Prussian operation and the Battle of Galicia, the Russian army defeated the Austro-Hungarian troops, occupied Lvov and pushed the enemy back to the Carpathians.

3 out of 10

At the beginning of the war, Russian troops sought to fulfill their obligations to the French and draw back German forces from the Western Front. During the East Prussian operation and the Battle of Galicia, the Russian army defeated the Austro-Hungarian troops, occupied Lvov and pushed the enemy back to the Carpathians.

© RIA Novosti / In 1915, Germany shifted its main efforts to the Eastern Front, intending to defeat the Russian army and take Russia out of the war. As a result of the Gorlitsky breakthrough in May 1915, the Germans inflicted a heavy defeat on Russian troops, who were forced to leave Poland, Galicia and part of the Baltic states.

5 out of 10

In 1915, Germany shifted its main efforts to the Eastern Front, intending to defeat the Russian army and take Russia out of the war. As a result of the Gorlitsky breakthrough in May 1915, the Germans inflicted a heavy defeat on Russian troops, who were forced to leave Poland, Galicia and part of the Baltic states.

© RIA Novosti / By the end of 1915, German and Austro-Hungarian troops had driven the Russians out of almost all of Galicia and most of Russian Poland. In 1916, the Russian army in the southwest managed to break through the Austro-Hungarian front in Galicia and Volhynia. The failures of the German fleet led to the fact that at the end of 1916 Germany and its allies first started talking about the possibility of a peace agreement, but the Entente rejected this proposal.

6 out of 10

By the end of 1915, German and Austro-Hungarian troops had driven the Russians out of almost all of Galicia and most of Russian Poland. In 1916, the Russian army in the southwest managed to break through the Austro-Hungarian front in Galicia and Volhynia. The failures of the German fleet led to the fact that at the end of 1916 Germany and its allies first started talking about the possibility of a peace agreement, but the Entente rejected this proposal.

© RIA Novosti / The patriotic enthusiasm that gripped Russia at the beginning of the war had by this time given way to deep disappointment. This was due to both huge human losses and the food crisis that gripped the country. Bread, which formed the basis of the diet of the general population, on average became 16 times more expensive during the war.

7 out of 10

The patriotic enthusiasm that gripped Russia at the beginning of the war had by this time given way to deep disappointment. This was due to both huge human losses and the food crisis that gripped the country. Bread, which formed the basis of the diet of the general population, on average became 16 times more expensive during the war.

© RIA Novosti / Between February and November 1917, almost one and a half million people deserted from the army. At the same time, the costs of waging war in the 17th year turned out to be greater than for the years 1914-1916 combined. About half of the national income had to be spent to cover them. At this time, in Moscow and Petrograd, bread standards were reduced to 0.5 pounds per person.

8 out of 10

Between February and November 1917, almost one and a half million people deserted from the army. At the same time, the costs of waging war in the 17th year turned out to be greater than for the years 1914-1916 combined. About half of the national income had to be spent to cover them. At this time, in Moscow and Petrograd, bread standards were reduced to 0.5 pounds per person.

© RIA Novosti / By 1917, the total grain harvest in Russia had decreased by almost a third. The main reason is labor shortage. Every year, millions of peasants left their native villages and went to military service. Women, children and the elderly had to do the hard men's work.

WORLD WAR I
(July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918), the first military conflict on a global scale, in which 38 of the 59 independent states that existed at that time were involved. About 73.5 million people were mobilized; of these, 9.5 million were killed or died from wounds, more than 20 million were wounded, 3.5 million were left crippled.
Main reasons. The search for the causes of the war leads to 1871, when the process of German unification was completed and Prussian hegemony was consolidated in the German Empire. Under Chancellor O. von Bismarck, who sought to revive the system of unions, the foreign policy of the German government was determined by the desire to achieve a dominant position for Germany in Europe. To deprive France of the opportunity to avenge defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, Bismarck tried to bind Russia and Austria-Hungary to Germany with secret agreements (1873). However, Russia came out in support of France, and the Alliance of the Three Emperors disintegrated. In 1882, Bismarck strengthened Germany's position by creating the Triple Alliance, which united Austria-Hungary, Italy and Germany. By 1890, Germany took the leading role in European diplomacy. France emerged from diplomatic isolation in 1891-1893. Taking advantage of the cooling of relations between Russia and Germany, as well as Russia's need for new capital, it concluded a military convention and an alliance treaty with Russia. The Russian-French alliance was supposed to serve as a counterweight to the Triple Alliance. Great Britain has so far stood aloof from competition on the continent, but the pressure of political and economic circumstances eventually forced it to make its choice. The British could not help but be concerned about the nationalist sentiments that reigned in Germany, its aggressive colonial policy, rapid industrial expansion and, mainly, the increase in the power of the navy. A series of relatively quick diplomatic maneuvers led to the elimination of differences in the positions of France and Great Britain and the conclusion in 1904 of the so-called. "cordial agreement" (Entente Cordiale). Obstacles to Anglo-Russian cooperation were overcome, and in 1907 an Anglo-Russian agreement was concluded. Russia became a member of the Entente. Great Britain, France and Russia formed the Triple Entente as a counterbalance to the Triple Alliance. Thus, the division of Europe into two armed camps took shape. One of the reasons for the war was the widespread strengthening of nationalist sentiments. In formulating their interests, the ruling circles of each European country sought to present them as popular aspirations. France hatched plans to return the lost territories of Alsace and Lorraine. Italy, even being in an alliance with Austria-Hungary, dreamed of returning its lands to Trentino, Trieste and Fiume. The Poles saw in the war an opportunity to recreate the state destroyed by the partitions of the 18th century. Many peoples inhabiting Austria-Hungary sought national independence. Russia was convinced that it could not develop without limiting German competition, protecting the Slavs from Austria-Hungary and expanding influence in the Balkans. In Berlin, the future was associated with the defeat of France and Great Britain and the unification of the countries of Central Europe under the leadership of Germany. In London they believed that the people of Great Britain would live in peace only by crushing their main enemy - Germany. Tensions in international relations were heightened by a series of diplomatic crises - the Franco-German clash in Morocco in 1905-1906; annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Austrians in 1908-1909; finally, the Balkan wars of 1912-1913. Great Britain and France supported Italy's interests in North Africa and thereby weakened its commitment to the Triple Alliance so much that Germany could practically no longer count on Italy as an ally in a future war.
The July crisis and the beginning of the war. After the Balkan Wars, active nationalist propaganda was launched against the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. A group of Serbs, members of the Young Bosnia secret organization, decided to kill the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The opportunity for this presented itself when he and his wife went to Bosnia for training exercises with the Austro-Hungarian troops. Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in the city of Sarajevo by high school student Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. Intending to start a war against Serbia, Austria-Hungary enlisted the support of Germany. The latter believed that the war would become local if Russia did not defend Serbia. But if it provides assistance to 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 units be allowed into Serbia in order to, together with Serbian forces, suppress hostile actions. 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. S.D. Sazonov, Russian Foreign Minister, openly opposed Austria-Hungary, receiving assurances of support from French President R. Poincaré. On July 30, Russia announced general mobilization; Germany used this occasion to declare war on Russia on August 1, and on France on August 3. Britain's position remained uncertain due to its treaty obligations to protect Belgium's neutrality. In 1839, and then during the Franco-Prussian War, Great Britain, Prussia and France provided this country with collective guarantees of neutrality. Following the German invasion of Belgium on 4 August, 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 war can be divided into three periods. During the first period (1914-1916), the Central Powers achieved superiority on land, while the Allies dominated the sea. The situation seemed stalemate. This period ended with negotiations for a mutually acceptable peace, but each side still hoped for victory. In the next period (1917), two events occurred that led to an imbalance of power: the first was the entry of the United States into the war on the side of the Entente, the second was the revolution in Russia and its exit from the war. The third period (1918) began with the last major offensive of the Central Powers in the west. The failure of this offensive was followed by revolutions in Austria-Hungary and Germany and the capitulation of the Central Powers.
First period. The Allied forces initially included Russia, France, Great Britain, Serbia, Montenegro and Belgium and enjoyed overwhelming naval superiority. The Entente had 316 cruisers, while the Germans and Austrians had 62. But the latter found a powerful countermeasure - submarines. By the beginning of the war, the armies of the Central Powers numbered 6.1 million people; Entente army - 10.1 million people. The Central Powers had an advantage in internal communications, which allowed them to quickly transfer troops and equipment from one front to another. In the long term, the Entente countries had superior resources of raw materials and food, especially since the British fleet paralyzed Germany’s ties with overseas countries, from where copper, tin and nickel were supplied to German enterprises before the war. Thus, in the event of a protracted war, the Entente could count on victory. Germany, knowing this, relied on a lightning war - "blitzkrieg". The Germans put into effect the Schlieffen plan, which proposed to ensure rapid success in the West by attacking France with large forces through Belgium. After the defeat of France, Germany hoped, together with Austria-Hungary, by transferring the liberated troops, to deliver a decisive blow in the East. But this plan was not implemented. One of the main reasons for his failure was the sending of part of the German divisions to Lorraine in order to block the enemy invasion of southern Germany. On the night of August 4, the Germans invaded Belgium. It took them several days to break the resistance of the defenders of the fortified areas of Namur and Liege, which blocked the route to Brussels, but thanks to this delay, the British transported an almost 90,000-strong expeditionary force across the English Channel to France (August 9-17). The French gained time to form 5 armies that held back the German advance. Nevertheless, on August 20, the German army occupied Brussels, then forced the British to leave Mons (August 23), and on September 3, the army of General A. von Kluck found itself 40 km from Paris. Continuing the offensive, the Germans crossed the Marne River and stopped along the Paris-Verdun line on September 5. The commander of the French forces, General J. Joffre, having formed two new armies from the reserves, decided to launch a counteroffensive. The First Battle of the Marne began on September 5 and ended on September 12. 6 Anglo-French and 5 German armies took part in it. The Germans were defeated. One of the reasons for their defeat was the absence of several divisions on the right flank, which had to be transferred to the eastern front. The French offensive on the weakened right flank made the withdrawal of the German armies to the north, to the line of the Aisne River, inevitable. The battles in Flanders on the Yser and Ypres rivers from October 15 to November 20 were also unsuccessful for the Germans. As a result, the main ports on the English Channel remained in Allied hands, ensuring communication between France and England. Paris was saved, and the Entente countries had time to mobilize resources. The war in the West took on a positional character; Germany’s hope of defeating and withdrawing France from the war turned out to be untenable. The confrontation followed a line running south from Newport and Ypres in Belgium, to Compiegne and Soissons, then east around Verdun and south to the salient near Saint-Mihiel, and then southeast to the Swiss border. Along this line of trenches and wire fences, the length is approx. Trench warfare was fought for 970 km for four years. Until March 1918, any, even minor changes in the front line were achieved at the cost of huge losses on both sides. There remained hopes that on the Eastern Front the Russians would be able to crush the armies of the Central Powers bloc. On August 17, Russian troops entered East Prussia and began to push the Germans towards Konigsberg. The German generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff were entrusted with leading the counteroffensive. Taking advantage of the mistakes of the Russian command, the Germans managed to drive a “wedge” between the two Russian armies, defeat them on August 26-30 near Tannenberg and drive them out of East Prussia. Austria-Hungary did not act so successfully, abandoning the intention to quickly defeat Serbia and concentrating large forces between the Vistula and the Dniester. But the Russians launched an offensive in a southern direction, broke through the defenses of the Austro-Hungarian troops and, taking several thousand people prisoner, occupied the Austrian province of Galicia and part of Poland. The advance of Russian troops created a threat to Silesia and Poznan, important industrial areas for Germany. Germany was forced to transfer additional forces from France. But an acute shortage of ammunition and food stopped the advance of Russian troops. The offensive cost Russia enormous casualties, but undermined the power of Austria-Hungary and forced Germany to maintain significant forces on the Eastern Front. Back in August 1914, Japan declared war on Germany. In October 1914, Türkiye entered the war on the side of the Central Powers bloc. At the outbreak of war, Italy, a member of the Triple Alliance, declared its neutrality on the grounds that neither Germany nor Austria-Hungary had been attacked. But at secret London negotiations in March-May 1915, the Entente countries promised to satisfy Italy's territorial claims during the post-war peace settlement if Italy came on their side. On May 23, 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, and on August 28, 1916 on Germany. On the western front, the British were defeated at the Second Battle of Ypres. Here, during battles that lasted for a month (April 22 - May 25, 1915), chemical weapons were used for the first time. After this, poisonous gases (chlorine, phosgene, and later mustard gas) began to be used by both warring sides. The large-scale Dardanelles landing operation, a naval expedition that the Entente countries equipped at the beginning of 1915 with the goal of taking Constantinople, opening the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits for communication with Russia through the Black Sea, bringing Turkey out of the war and winning the Balkan states to the side of the allies, also ended in defeat. On the Eastern Front, by the end of 1915, German and Austro-Hungarian troops ousted the Russians from almost all of Galicia and from most of the territory of Russian Poland. But it was never possible to force Russia to a separate peace. In October 1915, Bulgaria declared war on Serbia, after which the Central Powers, together with their new Balkan ally, crossed the borders of Serbia, Montenegro and Albania. Having captured Romania and covered the Balkan flank, they turned against Italy.

War at sea. Control of the sea allowed the British to freely move troops and equipment from all parts of their empire to France. They kept sea lines of communication open for US merchant ships. German colonies were captured, and German trade through sea routes was suppressed. In general, the German fleet - except for the submarine one - was blocked in its ports. Only occasionally did small flotillas emerge to strike British seaside towns and attack Allied merchant ships. During the entire war, only one major naval battle took place - when the German fleet entered the North Sea and unexpectedly met with the British one off the Danish coast of Jutland. The Battle of Jutland May 31 - June 1, 1916 led to heavy losses on both sides: the British lost 14 ships, approx. 6800 people killed, captured and wounded; the Germans, who considered themselves victors, - 11 ships and approx. 3100 people killed and wounded. Nevertheless, the British forced the German fleet to retreat to Kiel, where it was effectively blocked. The German fleet no longer appeared on the high seas, and Great Britain remained the mistress of the seas. Having taken a dominant position at sea, the Allies gradually cut off the Central Powers from overseas sources of raw materials and food. Under international law, neutral countries, such as the United States, could sell goods that were not considered “war contraband” to other neutral countries, such as the Netherlands or Denmark, from where these goods could also be delivered to Germany. However, warring countries usually did not bind themselves to adherence to international law, and Great Britain had so expanded the list of goods considered smuggled that virtually nothing was allowed through its barriers in the North Sea. The naval blockade forced Germany to resort to drastic measures. Its only effective means at sea remained the submarine fleet, capable of easily bypassing surface barriers and sinking merchant ships of neutral countries that supplied the allies. It was the turn of the Entente countries to accuse the Germans of violating international law, which obliged them to rescue the crews and passengers of torpedoed ships. On February 18, 1915, the German government declared the waters around the British Isles a military zone and warned of the danger of ships from neutral countries entering them. On May 7, 1915, a German submarine torpedoed and sank the ocean-going steamer Lusitania with hundreds of passengers on board, including 115 US citizens. President William Wilson protested, and the United States and Germany exchanged harsh diplomatic notes.
Verdun and Somme. Germany was ready to make some concessions at sea and look for a way out of the impasse in actions on land. In April 1916, British troops had already suffered a serious defeat at Kut el-Amar in Mesopotamia, where 13,000 people surrendered to the Turks. On the continent, Germany was preparing to launch a large-scale offensive operation on the Western Front that would turn the tide of the war and force France to sue for peace. The ancient fortress of Verdun served as a key point of French defense. After an unprecedented artillery bombardment, 12 German divisions went on the offensive on February 21, 1916. The Germans advanced slowly until the beginning of July, but did not achieve their intended goals. The Verdun “meat grinder” clearly did not live up to the expectations of the German command. During the spring and summer of 1916, operations on the Eastern and Southwestern Fronts were of great importance. In March, Russian troops, at the request of the allies, carried out an operation near Lake Naroch, which significantly influenced the course of hostilities in France. The German command was forced to stop attacks on Verdun for some time and, keeping 0.5 million people on the Eastern Front, transfer an additional part of the reserves here. At the end of May 1916, the Russian High Command launched an offensive on the Southwestern Front. During the fighting, under the command of A.A. Brusilov, it was possible to achieve a breakthrough of the Austro-German troops to a depth of 80-120 km. Brusilov's troops occupied part of Galicia and Bukovina and entered the Carpathians. For the first time in the entire previous period of trench warfare, the front was broken through. If this offensive had been supported by other fronts, it would have ended in disaster for the Central Powers. To ease the pressure on Verdun, on July 1, 1916, the Allies launched a counterattack on the Somme River, near Bapaume. For four months - until November - there were continuous attacks. Anglo-French troops, having lost approx. 800 thousand people were never able to break through the German front. Finally, in December, the German command decided to stop the offensive, which cost the lives of 300,000 German soldiers. The 1916 campaign claimed more than 1 million lives, but did not bring tangible results to either side.
Foundations for peace negotiations. At the beginning of the 20th century. The methods of warfare have completely changed. The length of fronts increased significantly, armies fought on fortified lines and launched attacks from trenches, and machine guns and artillery began to play a huge role in offensive battles. New types of weapons were used: tanks, fighters and bombers, submarines, asphyxiating gases, hand grenades. Every tenth resident of the warring country was mobilized, and 10% of the population was engaged in supplying the army. In the warring countries there was almost no place left for ordinary civilian life: everything was subordinated to titanic efforts aimed at maintaining the military machine. The total cost of the war, including property losses, was variously estimated to range from $208 billion to $359 billion. By the end of 1916, both sides were tired of the war, and it seemed that the time had come to begin peace negotiations.
Second period.
On December 12, 1916, the Central Powers turned to the United States with a request to transmit a note to the allies with a proposal to begin peace negotiations. The Entente rejected this proposal, suspecting that it was made with the aim of breaking up the coalition. Moreover, she did not want to talk about a peace that did not include the payment of reparations and recognition of the right of nations to self-determination. President Wilson decided to initiate peace negotiations and on December 18, 1916, asked the warring countries to determine mutually acceptable peace terms. On December 12, 1916, Germany proposed convening a peace conference. The German civil authorities clearly sought peace, but they were opposed by the generals, especially General Ludendorff, who was confident of victory. The Allies specified their conditions: the restoration of Belgium, Serbia and Montenegro; withdrawal of troops from France, Russia and Romania; reparations; the return of Alsace and Lorraine to France; liberation of subject peoples, including Italians, Poles, Czechs, elimination of the Turkish presence in Europe. The Allies did not trust Germany and therefore did not take the idea of ​​peace negotiations seriously. Germany intended to take part in the peace conference in December 1916, relying on the benefits of its military position. It ended with the Allies signing secret agreements designed to defeat the Central Powers. Under these agreements, Great Britain claimed the German colonies and part of Persia; France was to gain Alsace and Lorraine, as well as establish control on the left bank of the Rhine; Russia acquired Constantinople; Italy - Trieste, Austrian Tyrol, most of Albania; Turkey's possessions were to be divided among all allies.
US entry into the war. At the beginning of the war, public opinion in the United States was divided: some openly sided with the Allies; others - such as Irish Americans who were hostile to England and German Americans - supported Germany. Over time, government officials and ordinary citizens became increasingly inclined to side with the Entente. This was facilitated by several factors, most notably the propaganda of the Entente countries and the submarine war of Germany. On January 22, 1917, President Wilson outlined peace terms acceptable to the United States in the Senate. The main one boiled down to the demand for “peace without victory,” i.e. without annexations and indemnities; others included the principles of equality of peoples, the right of nations to self-determination and representation, freedom of the seas and trade, the reduction of armaments, and the rejection of the system of rival alliances. If peace were made on the basis of these principles, Wilson argued, a world organization of states could be created that would guarantee security for all peoples. On January 31, 1917, the German government announced the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare with the aim of disrupting enemy communications. The submarines blocked the Entente's supply lines and put the Allies in an extremely difficult position. There was growing hostility toward Germany among Americans, since the blockade of Europe from the West foreshadowed troubles for the United States as well. In case of victory, Germany could establish control over the entire Atlantic Ocean. Along with the above-mentioned circumstances, other motives also pushed the United States to war on the side of its allies. US economic interests were directly linked to the Entente countries, as military orders led to the rapid growth of American industry. In 1916, the warlike spirit was spurred by plans to develop combat training programs. Anti-German sentiment among North Americans increased even more after the publication on March 1, 1917 of Zimmermann's secret dispatch of January 16, 1917, intercepted by British intelligence and transferred to Wilson. German Foreign Minister A. Zimmermann offered Mexico the states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona if it supported Germany's actions in response to the US entry into the war on the side of the Entente. By early April, anti-German sentiment in the United States had reached such intensity that Congress voted on April 6, 1917 to declare war on Germany.
Russia's exit from the war. In February 1917, a revolution occurred in Russia. Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne. The Provisional Government (March - November 1917) could no longer conduct active military operations on the fronts, since the population was extremely tired of the war. On December 15, 1917, the Bolsheviks, who took power in November 1917, signed an armistice agreement with the Central Powers at the cost of huge concessions. Three months later, on March 3, 1918, the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty was concluded. Russia renounced its rights to Poland, Estonia, Ukraine, part of Belarus, Latvia, Transcaucasia and Finland. Ardahan, Kars and Batum went to Turkey; huge concessions were made to Germany and Austria. In total, Russia lost approx. 1 million sq. km. She was also obliged to pay Germany an indemnity in the amount of 6 billion marks.
Third period.
The Germans had ample reason to be optimistic. The German leadership used the weakening of Russia, and then its withdrawal from the war, to replenish resources. Now it could transfer the eastern army to the west and concentrate troops on the main directions of attack. The Allies, not knowing where the attack would come from, were forced to strengthen positions along the entire front. American aid was late. In France and Great Britain, defeatist sentiments grew with alarming force. On October 24, 1917, Austro-Hungarian troops broke through the Italian front near Caporetto and defeated the Italian army.
German offensive 1918. On the foggy morning of March 21, 1918, the Germans launched a massive attack on British positions near Saint-Quentin. The British were forced to retreat almost to Amiens, and its loss threatened to break the Anglo-French united front. The fate of Calais and Boulogne hung in the balance. On May 27, the Germans launched a powerful offensive against the French in the south, pushing them back to Chateau-Thierry. The situation of 1914 repeated itself: the Germans reached the Marne River just 60 km from Paris. However, the offensive cost Germany major losses - both human and material. The German troops were exhausted, their supply system was shaken. The Allies managed to neutralize German submarines by creating convoy and anti-submarine defense systems. At the same time, the blockade of the Central Powers was carried out so effectively that food shortages began to be felt in Austria and Germany. Soon the long-awaited American aid began to arrive in France. The ports from Bordeaux to Brest were filled with American troops. By the beginning of the summer of 1918, about 1 million American soldiers had landed in France. On July 15, 1918, the Germans made their last attempt to break through at Chateau-Thierry. The second decisive battle of the Marne unfolded. In the event of a breakthrough, the French would have to abandon Reims, which, in turn, could lead to an Allied retreat along the entire front. In the first hours of the offensive, German troops advanced, but not as quickly as expected.
The last Allied offensive. On July 18, 1918, a counterattack by American and French troops began in order to relieve pressure on Chateau-Thierry. At first they advanced with difficulty, but on August 2 they took Soissons. At the Battle of Amiens on August 8, German troops suffered a heavy defeat, and this undermined their morale. Previously, German Chancellor Prince von Hertling believed that by September the Allies would sue for peace. “We hoped to take Paris by the end of July,” he recalled. “That’s what we thought on the fifteenth of July. And on the eighteenth, even the greatest optimists among us realized that everything was lost.” Some military personnel convinced Kaiser Wilhelm II that the war was lost, but Ludendorff refused to admit defeat. The Allied offensive began on other fronts as well. On June 20-26, the Austro-Hungarian troops were thrown back across the Piave River, their losses amounted to 150 thousand people. Ethnic unrest flared up in Austria-Hungary - not without the influence of the Allies, who encouraged the desertion of Poles, Czechs and South Slavs. The Central Powers mustered their remaining forces to hold off the expected invasion of Hungary. The path to Germany was open. Tanks and massive artillery shelling were important factors in the offensive. At the beginning of August 1918, attacks on key German positions intensified. In his Memoirs, Ludendorff called August 8 - the beginning of the Battle of Amiens - "a black day for the German army." The German front was torn apart: entire divisions surrendered into captivity almost without a fight. By the end of September even Ludendorff was ready to capitulate. After the September offensive of the Entente on the Soloniki front, Bulgaria signed an armistice on September 29. A month later, Türkiye capitulated, and on November 3, Austria-Hungary. To negotiate peace in Germany, a moderate government was formed headed by Prince Max of Baden, who already on October 5, 1918 invited President Wilson to begin the negotiation process. In the last week of October, the Italian army launched a general offensive against Austria-Hungary. By October 30, the resistance of the Austrian troops was broken. Italian cavalry and armored vehicles made a swift raid behind enemy lines and captured the Austrian headquarters in Vittorio Veneto, the city that gave the entire battle its name. On October 27, Emperor Charles I made an appeal for a truce, and on October 29, 1918 he agreed to conclude peace on any terms.
Revolution in Germany. On October 29, the Kaiser secretly left Berlin and went to the general headquarters, feeling safe only under the protection of the army. On the same day, in the port of Kiel, the crew of two warships disobeyed and refused to go to sea on a combat mission. By November 4, Kiel came under the control of the rebel sailors. 40,000 armed men intended to establish councils of soldiers' and sailors' deputies in northern Germany on the Russian model. By November 6, the rebels took power in Lübeck, Hamburg and Bremen. Meanwhile, the Supreme Allied Commander, General Foch, said that he was ready to receive representatives of the German government and discuss the terms of the armistice with them. The Kaiser was informed that the army was no longer under his command. On November 9, he abdicated the throne and a republic was proclaimed. The next day, the German Emperor fled to the Netherlands, where he lived in exile until his death (d. 1941). On November 11, at the Retonde station in the Compiegne Forest (France), the German delegation signed the Compiegne Armistice. The Germans were ordered to liberate the occupied territories within two weeks, including Alsace and Lorraine, the left bank of the Rhine and the bridgeheads in Mainz, Koblenz and Cologne; establish a neutral zone on the right bank of the Rhine; transfer to the Allies 5,000 heavy and field guns, 25,000 machine guns, 1,700 aircraft, 5,000 steam locomotives, 150,000 railway cars, 5,000 automobiles; release all prisoners immediately. The Navy was required to surrender all submarines and almost all surface fleet and return all Allied merchant ships captured by Germany. The political provisions of the treaty provided for the denunciation of the Brest-Litovsk and Bucharest peace treaties; financial - payment of reparations for destruction and return of valuables. The Germans tried to negotiate an armistice based on Wilson's Fourteen Points, which they believed could serve as a preliminary basis for a "peace without victory." The terms of the truce required almost unconditional surrender. The Allies dictated their terms to a bloodless Germany.
Conclusion of peace. The peace conference took place in 1919 in Paris; During the sessions, agreements regarding five peace treaties were determined. After its completion, the following were signed: 1) the Treaty of Versailles with Germany on June 28, 1919; 2) Saint-Germain Peace Treaty with Austria on September 10, 1919; 3) Neuilly Peace Treaty with Bulgaria November 27, 1919; 4) Trianon Peace Treaty with Hungary on June 4, 1920; 5) Peace Treaty of Sevres with Turkey on August 20, 1920. Subsequently, according to the Treaty of Lausanne on July 24, 1923, changes were made to the Treaty of Sevres. Thirty-two states were represented at the peace conference in Paris. Each delegation had its own staff of specialists who provided information regarding the geographical, historical and economic situation of the countries on which decisions were made. After Orlando left the internal council, not satisfied with the solution to the problem of territories in the Adriatic, the main architect of the post-war world became the “Big Three” - Wilson, Clemenceau and Lloyd George. Wilson compromised on several important points in order to achieve the main goal of creating the League of Nations. He agreed to the disarmament of only the Central Powers, although he initially insisted on general disarmament. The size of the German army was limited and was supposed to be no more than 115,000 people; universal conscription was abolished; The German armed forces were to be staffed by volunteers with a service life of 12 years for soldiers and up to 45 years for officers. Germany was prohibited from having combat aircraft and submarines. Similar conditions were contained in peace treaties signed with Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria. A fierce debate ensued between Clemenceau and Wilson over the status of the left bank of the Rhine. The French, for security reasons, intended to annex the area with its powerful coal mines and industry and create an autonomous Rhineland state. France's plan contradicted the proposals of Wilson, who opposed annexations and favored self-determination of nations. A compromise was reached after Wilson agreed to sign loose war treaties with France and Great Britain, under which the United States and Great Britain pledged to support France in the event of a German attack. The following decision was made: the left bank of the Rhine and a 50-kilometer strip on the right bank are demilitarized, but remain part of Germany and under its sovereignty. The Allies occupied a number of points in this zone for a period of 15 years. The coal deposits known as the Saar Basin also became the property of France for 15 years; the Saar region itself came under the control of the League of Nations commission. After the expiration of the 15-year period, a plebiscite was envisaged on the issue of statehood of this territory. Italy got Trentino, Trieste and most of Istria, but not the island of Fiume. Nevertheless, Italian extremists captured Fiume. Italy and the newly created state of Yugoslavia were given the right to resolve the issue of the disputed territories themselves. According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was deprived of its colonial possessions. Great Britain acquired German East Africa and the western part of German Cameroon and Togo; South-West Africa, the north-eastern regions of New Guinea with the adjacent archipelago and the Samoan islands were transferred to the British dominions - the Union of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. France received most of German Togo and eastern Cameroon. Japan received the German-owned Marshall, Mariana and Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean and the port of Qingdao in China. Secret treaties among the victorious powers also envisaged the division of the Ottoman Empire, but after the uprising of the Turks led by Mustafa Kemal, the allies agreed to revise their demands. The new Treaty of Lausanne repealed the Treaty of Sèvres and allowed Turkey to retain Eastern Thrace. Türkiye regained Armenia. Syria went to France; Great Britain received Mesopotamia, Transjordan and Palestine; the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea were given to Italy; the Arab territory of Hejaz on the Red Sea coast was to gain independence. Violations of the principle of self-determination of nations caused Wilson's disagreement; in particular, he sharply protested against the transfer of the Chinese port of Qingdao to Japan. Japan agreed to return this territory to China in the future and fulfilled its promise. Wilson's advisers proposed that instead of actually transferring the colonies to new owners, they should be allowed to govern as trustees of the League of Nations. Such territories were called “mandatory”. Although Lloyd George and Wilson opposed punitive measures for damages caused, the fight on this issue ended in victory for the French side. Reparations were imposed on Germany; The question of what should be included in the list of destruction presented for payment was also subject to lengthy discussion. At first, the exact amount was not mentioned, only in 1921 its size was determined - 152 billion marks (33 billion dollars); this amount was subsequently reduced. The principle of self-determination of nations became key for many peoples represented at the peace conference. Poland was restored. The task of determining its boundaries was not easy; Of particular importance was the transfer to her of the so-called. the "Polish corridor", which gave the country access to the Baltic Sea, separating East Prussia from the rest of Germany. New independent states emerged in the Baltic region: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. By the time the conference was convened, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy had already ceased to exist, and Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania arose in its place; the borders between these states were controversial. The problem turned out to be complex due to the mixed settlement of different peoples. When establishing the borders of the Czech state, the interests of the Slovaks were affected. Romania doubled its territory at the expense of Transylvania, Bulgarian and Hungarian lands. Yugoslavia was created from the old kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro, parts of Bulgaria and Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Banat as part of Timisoara. Austria remained a small state with a population of 6.5 million Austrian Germans, a third of whom lived in impoverished Vienna. The population of Hungary had decreased greatly and was now approx. 8 million people. At the Paris Conference, an exceptionally stubborn struggle was waged around the idea of ​​​​creating a League of Nations. According to the plans of Wilson, General J. Smuts, Lord R. Cecil and their other like-minded people, the League of Nations was supposed to become a guarantee of security for all peoples. Finally, the League's charter was adopted and, after much debate, four working groups were formed: the Assembly, the Council of the League of Nations, the Secretariat and the Permanent Court of International Justice. The League of Nations established mechanisms that could be used by its member states to prevent war. Within its framework, various commissions were also formed to solve other problems.
See also LEAGUE OF NATIONS. The League of Nations agreement represented that part of the Treaty of Versailles that Germany was also offered to sign. But the German delegation refused to sign it on the grounds that the agreement did not comply with Wilson's Fourteen Points. Ultimately, the German National Assembly recognized the treaty on June 23, 1919. The dramatic signing took place five days later at the Palace of Versailles, where in 1871 Bismarck, ecstatic with victory in the Franco-Prussian War, proclaimed the creation of the German Empire.
LITERATURE
History of the First World War, in 2 vols. M., 1975 Ignatiev A.V. Russia in the imperialist wars of the early 20th century. Russia, the USSR and international conflicts of the first half of the 20th century. M., 1989 To the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War. M., 1990 Pisarev Yu.A. Secrets of the First World War. Russia and Serbia in 1914-1915. M., 1990 Kudrina Yu.V. Turning to the origins of the First World War. Paths to safety. M., 1994 World War I: debatable problems of history. M., 1994 World War I: pages of history. Chernivtsi, 1994 Bobyshev S.V., Seregin S.V. The First World War and prospects for social development in Russia. Komsomolsk-on-Amur, 1995 World War I: Prologue of the 20th century. M., 1998
Wikipedia

The second half of 1917 was richer in political results, which did not remain without influence on the strategic position of the parties. The Russian-Romanian front ceased to exist; the defeat of the Italian army secured Austria-Hungary from invasion of its borders by Italy.

With regard to military operations on the part of the German command, the center of gravity was shifted to Russia and Italy. In Russia it ended in success. This was not achieved by the offensive into Italy due to the timely reinforcement of the Italian Front by Anglo-French troops.

Due to this attraction to secondary theaters, the Germans found themselves weak in the main French theater, where they barely held out against scattered attacks by the French and British. The operations of the latter were limited to tasks of a private nature, improving their tactical position and depleting enemy forces. It was like preparation for a period of future decisive action. The British Army was gaining greater independence in the conduct of operations and showed more initiative and energy than the French.

With regard to the Central Powers, 1917 is more accurately characterized as a year of military-political operations, when all their attention was turned to the Russian-Romanian and Italian fronts.

The extensive work of promoting peace and the collapse of the armed forces of hostile powers was accompanied here by large-scale offensive operations (Tarnopol, Riga, the attack on Italy), which aimed not only at the final collapse of hostile armies, but also at the seizure of those vast parts of the territory that would satisfy the appetites of the Hohenzollerns and Habsburgs .

Hindenburg, forgetting the precepts of all the great teachers of war, got carried away this year with a secondary task, with the outlook of a Prussian junker he pursued the conquests of the Duchy of Courland and throughout 1917 he left alone the main theater and the most powerful enemies - England and France.

Having fragmented the already weak forces compared to the Entente between East and West, Hindenburg exhausted his troops in the West, transferred the initiative there into the hands of the Entente and lost time, giving America the opportunity to prepare and transfer its forces to the European mainland.

The February Revolution and the Bolshevik struggle against the imperialist war found a response among the working class and soldier masses in Germany, where the issues of the proletarian revolution and the transformation of the imperialist war into a civil war were on the order of the day. With the 1917 campaign, Hindenburg prepared the defeat of Germany in 1918. The campaign against Italy was more reasonable, since it was the only way to keep Austria from making peace, but it achieved only half success.

In short, the position of the Central Powers during 1917 deteriorated significantly, their strength was exhausted, internal struggle intensified, and voices in favor of peace were heard louder and louder. But the military command had not yet lost faith in its easily achieved “victories” in the east, and hoped to deliver another successful blow to the Anglo-French with all its might. In this position of a risky player, who put his last card against any possible calculation, the German command made attempts to conclude peace impossible.

The Entente entered 1917 with the best omens and hopes, but the unsuccessful spring offensive of General Nivelle and the revolution in Russia violated its expectations, and, realizing the impossibility of its single combat with Germany, it abandoned its intention to end the war that year. She moved on to accumulating forces and means of struggle, to exhausting the enemy's forces with her powerful equipment and to waiting for the approach of new forces in the person of the American army.

The center of gravity of the struggle this year is shifting from France to England, which, due to its increased military power, is taking decisive action on a large scale and conducting it almost independently. Without setting broad operational objectives, it nevertheless drained strength from the German army in the four-month battle in Flanders, not giving it the opportunity to have even the slightest success anywhere, with the exception of the special case of the counteroffensive at Cambrai.

Having set themselves the goal of fighting almost exclusively by technology, the Anglo-French are working on these issues with full attention, and the French operation at Malmaison with respect to the use of artillery and aircraft, and the English operation at Cambrai with respect to a surprise attack by tanks, are very instructive.

In this year's battles, the advantage of attack over defense, even in terms of losses, was especially revealed. The losses of the attacker, with a wide supply of equipment and their proper use, were many times less than the losses of the defender.

A distinctive feature on the Anglo-French front is also the failure of all the German counterattacks, on which they had until then based their fight against breakthroughs. The entire technique of the new organization of the French attack was built not on the development of the operation on a large scale, but on countering German counterattacks, in which the Anglo-French achieved complete success. But this condition, in turn, led to the attackers setting themselves a very limited tactical goal.

In 1917, at the French Theater, tactical interests overshadowed questions of strategy. This, in general, was the position of the parties when they entered the last year of the war.

Growing dissatisfaction with the war. Anti-war movements. The war led to the destruction of industrial production, agriculture, transport, and the severance of ties between countries. The mobilization of economic resources for the needs of the war reduced the production of consumer goods and food products. About 75 million people were mobilized in the army. Every day the war claimed thousands of lives, absorbed colossal funds, and created devastation. The situation of the peoples of the warring countries worsened every year of the war. Spontaneous protests began to arise, resulting in “hunger riots” and fraternization of soldiers at the fronts. The strike movement grew, shaking civil peace.
As the war dragged on and unrest among the masses grew, powerful anti-war demonstrations began in the warring countries. On May 1, 1917, anti-war demonstrations took place in major cities of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Anti-war sentiments gripped the armies of both the Entente countries and the German bloc. The February Revolution in Russia contributed to the rise of anti-war movements in Western countries. In the spring and summer of 1917, mass anti-war protests swept across Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, and England.
US entry into the war. With the outbreak of the war, the United States took a position of neutrality, which gave it the opportunity to enrich itself by selling weapons, goods and food to both blocs of war, and to play the role of an arbiter. They were able to turn European countries into their debtors and concentrated in their hands more than half of the world's gold reserves. The growth of anti-war sentiment and the possible approach of the end of the war aroused fear in the American government that it might be late in redividing the world. Using attacks by German submarines on American merchant ships as a pretext, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany and declared war on it on April 6, 1917. American soldiers were sent to Europe to participate in Allied military operations.
The course of military operations in 1917 The German command in 1917 on the Western Front adhered to defensive tactics. The spring offensive of French troops under the command of General Nivelle in the Arras region ended in their defeat. The offensive of the Russian army in the Lvov direction, launched by the Provisional Government at the request of the Entente in July, ended in failure. The Italian army suffered a crushing defeat in the fall at Caporetto. More than 130 thousand Italian soldiers were killed or wounded, 300 thousand were captured, and the enemy captured many weapons. Military operations in the Balkans developed unsuccessfully for the Entente.
The October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, which had a huge impact on the subsequent development of events, aroused the support of the working people of the West, but at the same time the hatred of its bourgeois circles. The government of Soviet Russia called for an end to the war and for peace without annexations and indemnities. However, the Entente countries refused to negotiate peace and entered into contact with representatives of the overthrown Provisional Government, providing it with support.
In contrast to the Entente, Germany and Austria-Hungary announced their agreement to peace negotiations, which began on December 22 in Brest-Litovsk. Soviet Russia was offered extremely difficult peace conditions, which included the separation of Poland, part of Latvia, Belarus, and all of Lithuania. The Germans, if they were not accepted, began to threaten the outbreak of military action. In February, the German delegation signed a separate peace with the Central Rada of Ukraine. A few days later, the Germans sent their troops into Ukraine and launched an offensive along the entire front. Under these conditions, the Soviet government was forced to sign the predatory Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918, according to which Russia lost about 1 million square meters. km.
Defeat of the German bloc. In March - June 1918, the Germans launched four offensives on the Western Front, seeking to defeat the Anglo-French forces before the arrival of large US forces. Due to heavy losses they reached the river. The Marne was already 70 km from Paris. However, their partial successes could not lead to the achievement of the strategic goal - the defeat of the Entente.
On July 3, 1918, a counteroffensive by French troops began, followed by a general offensive by the combined allied forces, which received fresh reinforcements from the United States. German troops were gradually driven out of French territory. More than 150 thousand German soldiers and officers were captured. In September, Franco-American troops launched a general offensive along the entire front.
Allied victories accelerated the disintegration of the German army and its revolutionization. In September 1918, the coalition government of Max Badensky was formed in Germany, which included both the Social Democrats and the leaders of the center party. It was supposed to save Germany. On October 4, the Badensky government sent a note to American President William Wilson asking for peace. The exchange of notes dragged on for a month, and at this time Germany’s allies were leaving the war one by one.
On September 15, a powerful offensive began on the Balkan front. The Bulgarian army was defeated. On September 29, the Bulgarian government asked for a truce. Bulgaria was dictated by demands to withdraw troops from Serbia, Romania, and Greece. Then it was Turkey's turn. In October, British and French troops defeated the Turkish army in Palestine and Syria. On October 31, Türkiye signed a capitulation in Mudros.
The military collapse of Austria-Hungary coincided with the revolutionary crisis. Powerful protests for national and social liberation swept across the empire. The general political strike in the Czech Republic in October grew into a national liberation revolution. The Czech Republic and Slovakia seceded from Austria-Hungary and proclaimed the creation of an independent Czechoslovak state. Then the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was announced. Northern Bukovina announced its annexation to Ukraine, Galicia - to Poland. On October 31, a democratic revolution began in Austria-Hungary, as a result of which the monarchy was overthrown. On November 3, the Austrian government, on behalf of the no longer existing Austria-Hungary, signed an act of surrender. The Allies blocked the territories of Austria and Hungary, disarmed the army, and half of the military property went to the Entente.
Although the German government expressed a desire to agree to an armistice on the basis of Wilson's 14 Points, announced in January 1918 and representing a skillful counterfeit of Soviet peace terms, it nevertheless undertook a major naval operation, ordering a military squadron based in Kiel harbor go to sea to attack the English fleet. However, the sailors refused to obey the order. On November 3, an uprising broke out in Kiel; the next day it engulfed the entire German fleet. In Kiel, the workers entered the struggle and created the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. On November 9, a revolution began in Germany. Emperor Wilhelm II was forced to leave the country. On November 10, power in the country passed into the hands of the Councils of People's Representatives, headed by the right-wing Social Democrat Ebert. Germany was declared a republic and the Hohenzollern monarchy was overthrown.
Under these conditions, the German delegation, which arrived at the headquarters of the commander of the Entente forces, Marshal Foch, signed an armistice agreement on November 11, 1918 in the Compiegne Forest. Germany admitted itself defeated and pledged to withdraw all its troops from the occupied territories and the left bank of the Rhine, withdraw its fleet to the ports of the Allies, and transfer part of the German weapons to the Entente.

Results of the war. The Compiègne Armistice ended the First World War, one of the bloodiest wars. During the war, 10 million people were killed and 20 million people were wounded, as many as in all the previous wars over the past 200 years. Never before have the opposing sides fielded such powerful armies. The achievements of science and technology were aimed at exterminating people. In this war, tanks, airplanes, and chemical weapons were used for the first time.
The civilian population suffered significant losses as a result of hostilities, hunger, and disease. Huge material assets were destroyed - hundreds of cities, villages, railways, bridges, industrial enterprises, crops, forests. It took enormous efforts of peoples to restore and establish peaceful life.
The First World War had epochal socio-economic and general historical consequences. It gave impetus to social-class divisions, caused a split in society, a spiritual crisis, and a search for new value orientations. Radical ideas for the reconstruction of society were implemented on Russian territory. Part of humanity spoke out in favor of socialism.
The result of the war was a new balance of power in the international arena. The United States began to play an increasingly leading role, the influence of Japan and China grew noticeably, and relations in Africa and Latin America began to take shape in new ways.
DOCUMENTS AND MATERIALS
FROM THE APPEAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ZIMMERWALD SOCIALIST COMMISSION
(November 1917)
“Working men and women! In Petrograd on October 25, workers and soldiers defeated the government of capitalists and landowners. Power is in the hands of the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies... The government has been overthrown, which, installed by the people on the ruins of tsarism, trampled underfoot the people's interests, which raised the price of bread in the interests of the landowners, which left the war money lenders untouched, which gave the masses instead of freedom field courts... The workers and soldiers of Petrograd drove out this government, just as they drove out the Tsar, and the first word was peace. They demand the immediate opening of peace negotiations, which should lead to an honest peace without annexations and indemnities, on the basis of self-determination of peoples.
The government of both the Central Powers and the Concord are enemies of the Russian revolution, for the latter is paving the way for the liberation of the masses... Join the Russian revolution. We urge you not to express sympathy, but to fight. Rise up, take to the streets, stop the factories, apply pressure with all available means...
Long live the immediate truce! May no more shots be fired! Towards peace negotiations! Rise up to fight for a world without annexations and indemnities, concluded by the free will of the Peoples!..” (E. E. Yurovskaya. Workshop on new history. 1870 - 1917. M., 1979. P. 343 - 345).
RESOLUTION OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS DECLARING WAR ON GERMANY, APRIL 6, 1917.
“Due to the fact that imp. The German government committed repeated acts of armed action against the government and people of the United States, the American Senate and House of Representatives, assembled as part of the American Congress, decided to declare a state of war between the United States of America and the imp. by the German government, which was imposed on the United States" (Yurovskaya E. E. Workshop on new history. 1870 - 1917. M., p. 335).
Truce BETWEEN THE ALLIES AND GERMANY SIGNED IN THE FOREST OF COMPIENE NEAR RETONDES ON NOVEMBER 11, 1918
"St. 1. Cessation of hostilities on land and in the air within 6 hours after the signing of the truce.
Art. 2. Immediate evacuation of occupied countries: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, as well as Alsace-Lorraine - so that it is carried out within 15 days...
Art. 4. Concession by the German army of the following military material: 5 thousand cannons, 25 thousand machine guns, 3 thousand mortars and 1,700 airplanes, including all airplanes for night bombing.
Art. 5. Evacuation by German armies of areas on the left bank of the Rhine.
Art. 12. All German troops currently located in territories that formed part of Austria-Hungary, Romania and Turkey before the war must immediately return to Germany.
All German troops that are now located in the territories that constituted Russia before the war must equally return to Germany ... as soon as the Allies recognize that the moment has come for this, taking into account the internal situation of these territories.
Art. 13. Immediate execution of the evacuation of German troops and the recall of all instructors, prisoners of war and
civil and military agents of Germany located in the territories of Russia (within the borders of August 1, 1914).
Art. 22. Delivery to the Allies and the United States of all submarines (including submarine cruisers and mine transports) currently existing, with their weapons and equipment, in the ports indicated by the Allies and the United States...” (Yurovskaya E. E. Workshop on new history 1870 - 1917. M., 1970. pp. 348 - 350).
QUESTIONS
1. How did the political crisis manifest itself in the warring countries?
countries?
2. When and why did the United States enter the war?
3. How did military operations develop in 1917?
4. How did Western countries react to Soviet Russia’s proposal to make peace without annexations and indemnities?
5. How did the November Revolution in Germany affect the fate of the war?
6. What are the results and consequences of the First World War?