First World War? (Great War) (July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918) - one of the largest armed conflicts in the history of mankind and was of an imperialist nature.

The reason for the war was the Sarajevo assassination on June 28, 1914 of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a 19-year-old Serbian terrorist, a student from Bosnia, Gavrilo Princip, who was one of the members of the Mlada Bosna terrorist organization, which fought for the unification of all South Slavic peoples into one state.

Reasons for the war:

The struggle for the redistribution of the world, markets and colonies, for spheres of influence and military predominance at sea and on land of the great powers of Europe. Economic imperialism, territorial and economic claims. Militarism and autocracy

Strengthening the confrontation between the great powers, primarily England and Germany, the balance of power. International contradictions between the "old" and "new" powers

Growing contradictions between the 2nd military-political blocs: the Entente and the Triple Alliance

Allied obligations of the European powers

The desire of governments to divert the attention of their peoples from social problems and internal conflicts.

In foreign policy power politics was combined with secret diplomacy.

The balance of forces of the parties

Covered 38 states of Europe, Asia and Africa. It was conducted on a vast territory of 4 million square meters. km and involved more than 1.5 billion people, i.e. more than ¾ of the world's population.

1st side - Entente and its allies: Russia, France, England, Serbia, Belgium, Montenegro, Italy, Romania, USA, Greece, Portugal, South African Union, Brazil, Canada, Japan, etc.

2nd side - Quadruple alliance: Austria-Hungary, Germany, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria.

Side Plans

1). Germany believed that the summer of 1914 was suitable for starting a war, because. the Entente countries and especially Russia were not fully prepared for war. Germany planned to quickly defeat France, because. believed that Russia was weak after Russo-Japanese War, will not be able and will not have time to help Fr. After the defeat of France, when there was no longer one enemy, Germany wanted to immediately throw all her strength into the fight against Russia. Germany developed the Schlieffen plan, which was designed for a lightning-fast defeat of Fr. 2). Russia expected to launch an offensive in the northwest against Berlin and in the southwest against Vienna after the completion of mobilization.

Both sides expected to win within 3-4 months. No one thought that the war would become protracted.

The war unfolded in 2 main theaters of operations: 1.western - French and 2.eastern - Russian.

Also, the war was fought in the Balkans (in Serbia), in the Caucasus and the Middle East (since November 1914). It was conducted in the colonies of European states - in Africa, in China, in Oceania.

The beginning of the war

28.7. - Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, although Serbia did not want war and made all the concessions to the ultimatum claims of Austria-Hungary. Germany pushed Austria-Hungary to war

1.8. - Germany declared war on Russia and invaded the state - the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg without declaring war

2.8. Luxembourg is completely occupied. Belgium put forward an ultimatum on the passage of the German armies to the border with France. Only 12 hours were given for reflection.

3.8. – Germany declares war on France, accusing her of “organized attacks and aerial bombardments of Germany” and “violation of Belgian neutrality”

3.8. - Belgium refused the German ultimatum. Germany declares war on Belgium

4.8. — German troops invaded Belgium. King Albert of Belgium appealed for help to the guarantor countries of Belgian neutrality. London sent an ultimatum to Berlin: stop the invasion of Belgium or England will declare war on Germany. At the end of the ultimatum, England declared war on Germany and sent troops to help France.

6.8. Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia.

The First World War has begun.

World War I (1914 - 1918)

The Russian Empire collapsed. One of the goals of the war is solved.
Chamberlain

The First World War lasted from August 1, 1914 to November 11, 1918. 38 states with a population of 62% of the world took part in it. This war was rather ambiguous and extremely contradictory described in modern history. I specifically cited Chamberlain's words in the epigraph to once again emphasize this inconsistency. A prominent politician in England (Russia's ally in the war) says that one of the goals of the war has been achieved by overthrowing the autocracy in Russia!

The Balkan countries played an important role in the beginning of the war. They were not independent. Their policy (both foreign and domestic) was greatly influenced by England. Germany by that time had lost its influence in this region, although it controlled Bulgaria for a long time.

Entente. Russian Empire, France, Great Britain. The allies were the USA, Italy, Romania, Canada, Australia, New Zealand.
Triple Alliance. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire. Later, the Bulgarian kingdom joined them, and the coalition became known as the Quadruple Union.

The following major countries took part in the war: Austria-Hungary (July 27, 1914 - November 3, 1918), Germany (August 1, 1914 - November 11, 1918), Turkey (October 29, 1914 - October 30, 1918), Bulgaria (October 14, 1915 - 29 September 1918). Entente countries and allies: Russia (August 1, 1914 - March 3, 1918), France (August 3, 1914), Belgium (August 3, 1914), Great Britain (August 4, 1914), Italy (May 23, 1915), Romania (August 27, 1916) .

Another important point. Initially, a member of the "Triple Alliance" was Italy. But after the outbreak of the First World War, the Italians declared neutrality.

Causes of World War I

The main reason for the outbreak of the First World War is the desire of the leading powers, primarily England, France and Austria-Hungary, to redistribute the world. The fact is that the colonial system collapsed by the beginning of the 20th century. The leading European countries, which had prospered for years by exploiting the colonies, were no longer allowed to obtain resources simply by taking them away from the Indians, Africans and South Americans. Now resources could only be won back from each other. Therefore, contradictions arose:

Between England and Germany. England sought to prevent the strengthening of German influence in the Balkans. Germany sought to gain a foothold in the Balkans and the Middle East, and also sought to deprive England of naval dominance.
Between Germany and France. France dreamed of regaining the lands of Alsace and Lorraine, which she had lost in the war of 1870-71. France also sought to seize the German Saar coal basin.
Between Germany and Russia. Germany sought to take Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states from Russia.
Between Russia and Austria-Hungary. Contradictions arose because of the desire of both countries to influence the Balkans, as well as the desire of Russia to subjugate the Bosporus and the Dardanelles.

Cause to start a war

The events in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) served as the reason for the start of the First World War. On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand organization of the Young Bosnia movement, assassinated Archduke Frans Ferdinand. Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, so the resonance of the murder was enormous. This was the reason for Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia.

The behavior of England is very important here, since Austria-Hungary could not start a war on its own, because this practically guaranteed a war throughout Europe. The British, at the level of the embassy, convinced Nicholas 2 that Russia, in the event of aggression, should not leave Serbia without help. But then all (I emphasize this) the English press wrote that the Serbs were barbarians and Austria-Hungary should not leave the murder of the Archduke unpunished. That is, England did everything so that Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia did not shy away from war.

Important nuances of the reason for war

In all textbooks we are told that the main and only reason for the outbreak of the First World War was the assassination of the Austrian Archduke. At the same time, they forget to say that the next day, June 29, another significant murder took place. The French politician Jean Jaures, who actively opposed the war and had great influence in France, was killed. A few weeks before the assassination of the Archduke, there was an attempt on Rasputin, who, like Zhores, was an opponent of the war and had a great influence on Nicholas 2. I also want to note some facts from the fate of the main characters of those days:

Gavrilo Principin. He died in prison in 1918 from tuberculosis.
Russian Ambassador to Serbia - Hartley. In 1914 he died at the Austrian embassy in Serbia, where he came for a reception.
Colonel Apis, leader of the Black Hand. Shot in 1917.
In 1917 Hartley's correspondence with Sozonov (the next Russian ambassador to Serbia) disappeared.

All this indicates that there were a lot of black spots in the events of the days, which have not yet been revealed. And this is very important to understand.

The role of England in starting the war

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 2 great powers in continental Europe: Germany and Russia. They did not want to openly fight against each other, since the forces were approximately equal. Therefore, in the "July crisis" of 1914, both sides took a wait-and-see attitude. English diplomacy came to the fore. By means of the press and secret diplomacy, she conveyed to Germany the position - in the event of war, England would remain neutral or take the side of Germany. By open diplomacy, Nicholas 2 heard the opposite idea that in the event of a war, England would take the side of Russia.

It must be clearly understood that one open statement by England that she will not allow war in Europe would be enough for neither Germany nor Russia to even think about anything of the kind. Naturally, under such conditions, Austria-Hungary would not have dared to attack Serbia. But England, with all her diplomacy, pushed the European countries to war.

Russia before the war

Before the First World War, Russia reformed the army. In 1907, the fleet was reformed, and in 1910 the land forces were reformed. The country increased military spending many times over, and the total number of the army in peacetime was now 2 million people. In 1912, Russia adopts a new Field Service Charter. Today it is rightfully called the most perfect Charter of its time, since it motivated soldiers and commanders to take personal initiative. Important point! The doctrine of the army of the Russian Empire was offensive.

Despite the fact that there were many positive changes, there were also very serious miscalculations. The main one is the underestimation of the role of artillery in the war. As the course of events of the First World War showed, this was a terrible mistake, which clearly showed that at the beginning of the 20th century, Russian generals were seriously behind the times. They lived in the past when the role of the cavalry was important. As a result, 75% of all the losses of the First World War were caused by artillery! This is a sentence to the imperial generals.

It is important to note that Russia never finished preparing for the war (at the proper level), while Germany completed it in 1914.

The balance of forces and means before the war and after it

Artillery

	Number of guns	Of these, heavy weapons


Austria-Hungary
Germany

According to the data from the table, it can be seen that Germany and Austria-Hungary were many times superior to Russia and France in terms of heavy guns. Therefore, the balance of power was in favor of the first two countries. Moreover, the Germans, as usual, before the war created an excellent military industry, which produced 250,000 shells daily. For comparison, Britain produced 10,000 shells a month! As they say, feel the difference...

Another example showing the importance of artillery is the battles on the Dunajec Gorlice line (May 1915). In 4 hours, the German army fired 700,000 shells. For comparison, during the entire Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), Germany fired just over 800,000 shells. That is, in 4 hours a little less than in the entire war. The Germans clearly understood that heavy artillery would play a decisive role in the war.

Armament and military equipment

Production of weapons and equipment during the First World War (thousand units).

	Shooting	Artillery



Great Britain
TRIPLE ALLIANCE
Germany
Austria-Hungary

This table clearly shows the weakness Russian Empire in terms of equipping the army. In all major indicators, Russia is far behind Germany, but also behind France and Great Britain. Largely because of this, the war turned out to be so difficult for our country.

Number of people (infantry)

The number of fighting infantry (millions of people).

	At the beginning of the war	By the end of the war	Losses killed



Great Britain
TRIPLE ALLIANCE
Germany
Austria-Hungary

The table shows that the smallest contribution, both in terms of combatants and in terms of deaths, was made by Great Britain to the war. This is logical, since the British did not really participate in major battles. Another example from this table is illustrative. We are told in all textbooks that Austria-Hungary, due to heavy losses, could not fight on its own, and it always needed Germany's help. But pay attention to Austria-Hungary and France in the table. The numbers are identical! Just as Germany had to fight for Austria-Hungary, so Russia had to fight for France (it is no coincidence that the Russian army saved Paris from capitulation three times during the First World War).

The table also shows that in fact the war was between Russia and Germany. Both countries lost 4.3 million killed, while Britain, France and Austria-Hungary together lost 3.5 million. The numbers are telling. But it turned out that the countries that fought the most and made the most efforts in the war ended up with nothing. First, Russia signed a disgraceful Brest Peace losing a lot of land. Then Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, in fact, having lost its independence.

The course of the war

Military events of 1914

July 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. This entailed the involvement in the war of the countries of the Triple Alliance, on the one hand, and the Entente, on the other.

Russia entered World War I on August 1, 1914. Supreme Commander was appointed Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov (uncle of Nicholas 2).

In the first days of the beginning of the war, Petersburg was renamed Petrograd. Since the war with Germany began, and the capital could not have a name of German origin - "burg".
History reference

German "Schlieffen Plan"

Germany was under the threat of a war on two fronts: East - with Russia, West - with France. Then the German command developed the "Schlieffen plan", according to which Germany should defeat France in 40 days and then fight with Russia. Why 40 days? The Germans believed that this is how much Russia would need to mobilize. Therefore, when Russia mobilizes, France will already be out of the game.

On August 2, 1914, Germany captured Luxembourg, on August 4 they invaded Belgium (a neutral country at that time), and by August 20 Germany had reached the borders of France. The implementation of the Schlieffen plan began. Germany advanced deep into France, but on September 5 was stopped at the Marne River, where a battle took place, in which about 2 million people participated on both sides.

Northwestern front of Russia in 1914

Russia at the beginning of the war made a stupid thing that Germany could not calculate in any way. Nicholas 2 decided to enter the war without fully mobilizing the army. On August 4, Russian troops, under the command of Rennenkampf, launched an offensive in East Prussia (modern Kaliningrad). Samsonov's army was equipped to help her. Initially, the troops were successful, and Germany was forced to retreat. As a result, part of the forces of the Western Front was transferred to the Eastern. The result - Germany repulsed the Russian offensive in East Prussia (the troops acted disorganized and lacked resources), but as a result, the Schlieffen plan failed, and France could not be captured. So, Russia saved Paris, though by defeating its 1st and 2nd armies. After that, a positional war began.

Southwestern Front of Russia

On the southwestern front in August-September, Russia launched an offensive operation against Galicia, which was occupied by the troops of Austria-Hungary. The Galician operation was more successful than the offensive in East Prussia. In this battle, Austria-Hungary suffered a catastrophic defeat. 400 thousand people were killed, 100 thousand captured. For comparison, the Russian army lost 150 thousand people killed. After that, Austria-Hungary actually withdrew from the war, as it lost the ability to conduct independent operations. Austria was saved from complete defeat only by the help of Germany, which was forced to transfer additional divisions to Galicia.

The main results of the military campaign of 1914

Germany failed to implement the Schlieffen plan for blitzkrieg.
No one managed to win a decisive advantage. The war turned into a positional one.

Map of military events in 1914-15

Military events of 1915

In 1915, Germany decided to shift the main blow to the eastern front, directing all its forces to the war with Russia, which was the weakest country of the Entente, according to the Germans. It was a strategic plan developed by the commander of the Eastern Front, General von Hindenburg. Russia managed to thwart this plan only at the cost of colossal losses, but at the same time, 1915 turned out to be simply terrible for the empire of Nicholas 2.

The situation on the northwestern front

From January to October, Germany waged an active offensive, as a result of which Russia lost Poland, western Ukraine, part of the Baltic states, and western Belarus. Russia went into deep defense. Russian losses were gigantic:

Killed and wounded - 850 thousand people
Captured - 900 thousand people

Russia did not capitulate, but the countries of the "Triple Alliance" were convinced that Russia would not be able to recover from the losses it had received.

Germany's successes in this sector of the front led to the fact that on October 14, 1915, Bulgaria entered the First World War (on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary).

The situation on the southwestern front

The Germans, together with Austria-Hungary, organized the Gorlitsky breakthrough in the spring of 1915, forcing the entire southwestern front of Russia to retreat. Galicia, which was captured in 1914, was completely lost. Germany was able to achieve this advantage thanks to the terrible mistakes of the Russian command, as well as a significant technical advantage. German superiority in technology reached:

2.5 times in machine guns.
4.5 times in light artillery.
40 times in heavy artillery.

It was not possible to withdraw Russia from the war, but the losses on this sector of the front were gigantic: 150,000 killed, 700,000 wounded, 900,000 prisoners and 4 million refugees.

The situation on the western front

All is calm on the Western Front. This phrase can describe how the war between Germany and France in 1915 proceeded. There were sluggish hostilities in which no one sought the initiative. Germany was implementing plans in Eastern Europe, while England and France were calmly mobilizing the economy and the army, preparing for further war. No one provided any assistance to Russia, although Nicholas 2 repeatedly appealed to France, first of all, so that she would switch to active operations on the Western Front. As usual, no one heard him ... By the way, this sluggish war on the western front for Germany is perfectly described by Hemingway in the novel “Farewell to Arms”.

The main result of 1915 was that Germany was unable to withdraw Russia from the war, although all forces were thrown at it. It became obvious that the First World War would drag on for a long time, since in 1.5 years of the war no one was able to gain an advantage or a strategic initiative.

Military events of 1916

"Verdun meat grinder"

In February 1916, Germany launched a general offensive against France, with the aim of capturing Paris. For this, a campaign was carried out on Verdun, which covered the approaches to the French capital. The battle lasted until the end of 1916. During this time, 2 million people died, for which the battle was called the Verdun Meat Grinder. France survived, but again thanks to the fact that Russia came to its rescue, which became more active on the southwestern front.

Events on the southwestern front in 1916

In May 1916, Russian troops went on the offensive, which lasted 2 months. This offensive went down in history under the name "Brusilovsky breakthrough". This name is due to the fact that the Russian army was commanded by General Brusilov. The breakthrough of defense in Bukovina (from Lutsk to Chernivtsi) happened on June 5th. The Russian army managed not only to break through the defense, but also to advance into its depths in places up to 120 kilometers. German and Austro-Hungarian losses were catastrophic. 1.5 million dead, wounded and captured. The offensive was stopped only by additional German divisions, which were hastily transferred here from Verdun (France) and from Italy.

This offensive of the Russian army was not without a fly in the ointment. They threw it, as usual, the allies. On August 27, 1916, Romania enters the First World War on the side of the Entente. Germany very quickly inflicted a defeat on her. As a result, Romania lost its army, and Russia received an additional 2,000 kilometers of front.

Events on the Caucasian and Northwestern Fronts

Positional battles continued on the North-Western Front in the spring-autumn period. As for the Caucasian front, here the main events continued from the beginning of 1916 to April. During this time, 2 operations were carried out: Erzumur and Trebizond. According to their results, Erzurum and Trebizond were conquered, respectively.

Outcome of 1916 in World War I

The strategic initiative went over to the side of the Entente.
The French fortress of Verdun survived thanks to the advance of the Russian army.
Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente.
Russia launched a powerful offensive - the Brusilovsky breakthrough.

Military and political events of 1917

The year 1917 in the First World War was marked by the fact that the war continued against the background of the revolutionary situation in Russia and Germany, as well as the deterioration of the economic situation of the countries. I will give an example of Russia. During the 3 years of the war, prices for basic products increased by an average of 4-4.5 times. Naturally, this caused discontent among the people. Add to this heavy losses and a grueling war - it turns out excellent ground for revolutionaries. The situation is similar in Germany.

In 1917, the United States enters World War I. The positions of the "Triple Alliance" are deteriorating. Germany with allies cannot effectively fight on 2 fronts, as a result of which it goes on the defensive.

End of the war for Russia

In the spring of 1917, Germany launched another offensive on the Western Front. Despite the events in Russia, Western countries demanded that the Provisional Government implement the agreements signed by the Empire and send troops on the offensive. As a result, on June 16, the Russian army went on the offensive in the Lvov region. Again, we saved the allies from major battles, but we set ourselves up completely.

The Russian army, exhausted by the war and losses, did not want to fight. Issues of provisions, uniforms and supplies during the war years have not been resolved. The army fought reluctantly, but moved forward. The Germans were forced to re-deploy troops here, and Russia's Entente allies again isolated themselves, watching what would happen next. On July 6, Germany launched a counteroffensive. As a result, 150,000 Russian soldiers died. The army actually ceased to exist. The front has collapsed. Russia could no longer fight, and this catastrophe was inevitable.

People demanded that Russia withdraw from the war. And this was one of their main demands on the Bolsheviks, who seized power in October 1917. Initially, at the 2nd Congress of the Party, the Bolsheviks signed a decree "On Peace", in fact declaring Russia's withdrawal from the war, and on March 3, 1918, they signed the Brest Peace. The conditions of this world were as follows:

Russia makes peace with Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey.
Russia is losing Poland, Ukraine, Finland, part of Belarus and the Baltic states.
Russia cedes Batum, Kars and Ardagan to Turkey.

As a result of its participation in the First World War, Russia lost: about 1 million square meters of territory, about 1/4 of the population, 1/4 of arable land and 3/4 of the coal and metallurgical industry were lost.
History reference

Events in the war in 1918

Germany got rid of the Eastern Front and the need to wage war in 2 directions. As a result, in the spring and summer of 1918, she attempted an offensive on the Western Front, but this offensive had no success. Moreover, in its course it became obvious that Germany was squeezing the maximum out of herself, and that she needed a break in the war.

Autumn 1918

The decisive events in the First World War took place in the autumn. The Entente countries, together with the United States, went on the offensive. The German army was completely ousted from France and Belgium. In October, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria signed a truce with the Entente, and Germany was left to fight alone. Her position was hopeless, after the German allies in the "Triple Alliance" essentially capitulated. This resulted in the same thing that happened in Russia - a revolution. On November 9, 1918, Emperor Wilhelm II was deposed.

End of World War I

On November 11, 1918, the First World War of 1914-1918 ended. Germany signed a complete surrender. It happened near Paris, in the forest of Compiègne, at the Retonde station. The surrender was accepted by the French Marshal Foch. The terms of the signed peace were as follows:

Germany recognizes complete defeat in the war.
The return of France to the province of Alsace and Lorraine to the borders of 1870, as well as the transfer of the Saar coal basin.
Germany lost all its colonial possessions, and also pledged to transfer 1/8 of its territory to its geographical neighbors.
For 15 years, the Entente troops are located on the left bank of the Rhine.
By May 1, 1921, Germany had to pay the members of the Entente (Russia was not supposed to do anything) 20 billion marks in gold, goods, securities, etc.
For 30 years, Germany must pay reparations, and the amount of these reparations is set by the victors themselves and can increase them at any time during these 30 years.
Germany was forbidden to have an army of more than 100 thousand people, and the army was obliged to be exclusively voluntary.

The terms of "peace" were so humiliating for Germany that the country actually became a puppet. Therefore, many people of that time said that the First World War, although it ended, did not end with peace, but with a truce for 30 years. And so it eventually happened ...

Results of the First World War

The First World War was fought on the territory of 14 states. The countries involved were total strength the population is above 1 billion people (this is approximately 62% of the total world population at that time). In total, 74 million people were mobilized by the participating countries, of which 10 million died and another 20 million were injured.

As a result of the war, the political map of Europe changed significantly. There were such independent states as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Albania. Austria-Hungary split into Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Increased their borders Romania, Greece, France, Italy. There were 5 countries that lost and lost in the territory: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey and Russia.

Map of the First World War 1914-1918

The Entente included 29 states: Russia, France, Great Britain, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro, Belgium, Japan, Portugal, Romania, USA, Greece, China, Siam, Liberia and 14 states Latin America. Human potential (without colonies) - 260 million people. At the beginning of the war, the army had 5,800,000 men, 12,294 guns, 597 aircraft, and a stronger fleet. But there was no unified command.

The Quadruple Alliance (initially Triple) included only 4 states: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey. Potential - 120 million people, in the army - 3 million 800 thousand people, 9383 guns (more modern), 311 aircraft. The advantage was that Germany was preparing for war longer, the discipline and training of the troops was higher, more modern weapons, the rapid pace of mobilization, a single command, a developed network railways, superiority in heavy artillery, the completion of the rearmament program.

The participants in the war had extensive claims to the redistribution of European and colonial borders, which were embodied in governmental and unofficial expansion programs.

On September 9, 1914, Germany published a government program where it outlined its plans: Germany's economic dominance over Central Europe (Scandinavia, the Danubian countries, Italy, France); creation of Middle Africa, control over Egypt; introduction to China; consolidation of influence in the Middle East; an indemnity from the French of 40 billion francs, from the UK and the USA - $ 30 billion.

It was supposed to defeat Great Britain, deprive it of naval power and colonies, defeat France, capture the iron ore regions of Longwy and Brie, redistribute its colonies, redistribute the Belgian and Portuguese colonies, establish itself in the Arabian provinces of Turkey, weaken Russia by capturing the Polish provinces, Ukraine, the Don region with Odessa , the Baltics.

Austria-Hungary hoped to capture Serbia and Montenegro, defeat Romania, establish its hegemony in the Balkans, and take part of the Polish provinces, Podolia and Volhynia from Russia.

Turkey laid claim to Russian Transcaucasia.

Italy left the Triple Alliance and fought on the side of the Entente, hoping to penetrate the Balkans.

Britain hoped to crush Germany as a competitor, but keep it as a state for balance in Europe. Turkey was supposed to seize the oil-bearing regions of Mesopotamia and Palestine.

France intended to return Alsace and Lorraine, seize the Saarland and the Rhine industrial zone, split Germany, and seize the Turkish and German colonies.

Russia was interested in free access to the Mediterranean Sea, the capture of Galicia and the lower reaches of the Neman River. The Cadets saw the future of Russia in the Black Sea basin, in possession of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles; nationalists and neo-Slavists - in joining all Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian lands to Russia and turning it into the leader and supreme arbiter of all Slavic countries and peoples; the Octobrists and Progressives - in the predominance in the vast expanse of the Eastern European and Asian regions, into the orbit of which the neighboring countries and peoples were supposed to enter. The press also discussed progressive demands for the annexation of East Prussia, the Black Sea straits, Turkish Armenia, and a significant territory of Poland to Russia. Many of these wishes were taken into account by the tsarist government at the beginning of the war and formed the content of the Note of the Minister of Foreign Affairs S.D. Sazonov, sent to the allies to work out the conditions for a future peace.

The reason for the start of the world war, in which 38 states with a population of 1.5 billion people (87% of the world's population) were involved, was a terrorist act in the capital of Bosnia - Sarajevo. On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Franz Ferdinand, was killed by a member of the Slavic nationalist organization Mlada Bosna. The murder of the only authoritative politician of Austria-Hungary, who advocated the expansion of the rights of the national minorities of the empire and the introduction of a federal state system, pursued an obvious goal - to destabilize the political situation in the country, to prevent the possibility of autonomization of the national outskirts, which could make it difficult to complete them. ny exit from the empire and integration into the South Slavic state. Despite the fact that the official Serbian authorities were not involved in what happened, in Vienna and Berlin this was regarded as a step towards changing the general status quo in the Balkans. The answer was the Austrian ultimatum, announced on July 10 (23) to Serbia with demands that violated its sovereignty. Such a clear intervention in the internal affairs of an independent state, in fact, meant a declaration of war. As a result, although Serbia agreed to fulfill a number of conditions of the ultimatum, on July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on it.

In the context of a global confrontation between military-political blocs, the "localized war" of Austria-Hungary and Serbia affected the geopolitical interests of all the leading European powers. The very next day, Russia announced a partial mobilization. Using this as a pretext, on August 1, Germany declared war on Russia, and on August 3, its ally, France, on August 4, Germany violated the neutrality of Belgium in order to invade France through its territory, after which, on August 5, Great Britain declared war on Germany. A little later, on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria entered the war - this is how the Quadruple Alliance was formed. Already at the end of August 1914, Japan independently entered the war against Germany. In 1915--1917. Italy, Portugal, Romania, Greece and the United States also joined the opponents of the Quadruple Bloc. War on Germany was declared (without taking part in hostilities) by China, Liberia, Siam, and fourteen states of Latin America.

Thus, the local conflict that broke out in the Balkans escalated into the first general, world war in history. By its nature, this war was imperialist - it was an open conflict between two groups of imperialist powers fighting for military and political dominance on the European continent, redistribution of spheres of colonial influence, for sources of cheap raw materials and markets for their goods. . The World War became a logical outcome of the development of the capitalist world at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. It was generated by the internal transformation of the capitalist system in the era of imperialism, attempts to find a way out of the growing socio-economic, political and spiritual crisis along the paths of external expansion.

The geopolitical goals of the countries participating in the First World War were determined mainly by their position in the world colonial system, rivalry for influence in regions that were profitable as markets for industrial products and sources of raw materials. For Germany, the primary goals were to revise the existing balance of naval forces, seize new colonial possessions (mainly in Africa), and expand the zone of influence in the Middle East and China. Austria-Hungary sought to consolidate its influence in the Balkans, to eliminate the potential political threat from Serbia. At the same time, both empires had far-reaching territorial and political claims in relation to the Eastern European region, where they directly collided with the interests of Russia. In addition to opposing these plans, Russian political circles proceeded from the need to continue an active policy in Southeast Europe, to acquire dominant positions in the Mediterranean straits, ousting Turkey from this region. "The British and French political strategy was more protective in nature and was aimed at maintaining the existing balance of forces on the world stage, including preventing a revision of the colonial division of the world."

Despite the global nature of international contradictions that led the world to a general war, it was Europe that became the main theater of military operations. The reason for this was not only the dominant position in both of the opposing coalitions of the largest European powers, but also the strategic concept of warfare that prevailed at that time. Its main meaning was to deal a crushing blow during one or more decisive frontal battles with the destruction of the maximum number of manpower of the enemy army. The military defeat of the hostile coalition was seen as a sufficient basis for a profitable revision of the very foundations of the world political and economic order with the solution of the strategic tasks of the victorious countries. Thus, the rivalry of several imperialist powers acquired a fateful character for all mankind.

Preparing for the decisive battle, the countries of the Entente and the Quadruple Alliance concentrated unprecedented human and material resources. The mobilization reserves contained more than 16 million rifles, 24.6 thousand machine guns, almost 25 thousand artillery pieces, about 10 billion cartridges and 26.6 million shells. Moreover, these stocks were only enough for the first months of the war, and subsequently the entire power of the industry of the warring countries was used for military needs. The war led to a new breakthrough in the development, production and practical use of the latest types of weapons. Machine guns, mortars, and hand grenades were put into service in large numbers. Artillery improved qualitatively. Widespread use for military purposes received telephone, telegraph communications, radio equipment. Despite the technical imperfection, military aviation played an increasingly important role. During the war years, the number of aircraft increased from 1 to 10 thousand. Already during the war years, new types of troops were born - armored and chemical. As part of the navies, there was an accelerated preparation of new, more powerful types of warships, which were called dreadnoughts, the construction of submarines, naval aviation, and the production of the latest mine and torpedo weapons were underway.

Germany was militarily superior to any of the countries of both coalitions. Its main advantages were longer and more targeted preparations for war, a developed railway network that ensured the rapid transfer of reserves, readiness for the mass introduction of the latest technical inventions and types of weapons (for example, heavy howitzers, machine guns, submarines, chemical weapons), excellent professional qualities of the officer corps, an advanced recruiting system based on universal conscription and effective work with reservists, a powerful propaganda machine. However, her allies were much worse prepared.

The Austro-Hungarian and Turkish armies were inferior to the German ones both in terms of technical equipment, and in the training of the officer corps, and in moral qualities. Therefore, on the whole, the balance of power by the beginning of the war was clearly in favor of the Entente. “If the countries of the German bloc had more than 3,800 thousand people in their armies, then their opponents had more than 5,800 thousand. The ratio of guns was 9383 to 12294, aircraft - 311 to 597, battleships- 53 to 101, cruisers - 62 to 156, submarines - 35 to 174. The total economic potential of the Entente, raw materials and food base, human resources also exceeded the corresponding indicators of the countries of the German bloc.

Taking into account the emerging balance of power, the German strategic plan, prepared by the Chief of the General Staff Schlieffen, was focused on conducting a short and energetic military campaign with the consistent defeat of France and Russia with two lightning strikes. It was planned to withdraw France first from the war - the main forces of the German army were concentrated on the western front, which had to rapidly rush through the territory of neutral Belgium to reach the rear of the French strike group and arrange new Cannes. After a strategic victory on the western front, the German command was about to move on to decisive action in the east. Before the Austro-Hungarian troops, the task was to tie down the Russian army until that time, while simultaneously conducting offensive operations against Serbia and Montenegro.

The French strategic plan, developed by the chief of the general staff, General Joffre, was of a "defensive-offensive" nature. It provided for both the containment of the German offensive in southern Belgium and Luxembourg (the likelihood of a broad offensive by the German army through the whole of Belgium was not envisaged), and the conduct of active offensive operations in Alsace and Lorraine. The British Expeditionary Corps was also to take part in the hostilities on the western front. In turn, the British fleet had to ensure the Entente's advantage in sea lanes. Great hopes were placed on the active actions of the Russian army, which were envisaged in two strategic directions at once - against the German troops in East Prussia and against the Austro-Hungarian army in Galicia. Other possible theaters of war, including the Asian-Turkish, Italian, Balkan, African, East Asian, were considered as auxiliary. The outcome of the war was to be decided in Europe.

The armed forces in all countries consisted of ground forces and navy. The structure of the ground forces was as follows: infantry was 70-75%, cavalry - 5-8%, artillery - 15-17%, engineering and auxiliary troops - 2-7%. This shows that military leaders and theoreticians assumed almost all combat missions to be solved by infantry forces with little support from other branches of the military.

The imperialist powers paid much attention to the development of their naval forces. It was believed that the combat power of the fleet depends primarily on the number of heavy battleships. Along with surface ships of various classes, submarines also entered service.

By the beginning of the war, England had the strongest fleet. The fleets of the Entente countries were much stronger than the naval forces of the Triple Alliance, which ensured the Entente gaining dominance at sea.

Other types of armed forces, except for land and sea, did not yet exist. Aviation was just in its infancy; it was not even a branch of the armed forces and was used only as one of the technical means of reconnaissance and communications.

The organizational structure of most European armies was built according to a binary scheme: two regiments made up a brigade, two brigades made up a division, two divisions made up a corps. Infantry divisions in 1914 had the following forces and means:

The infantry corps, in addition to two divisions, had a cavalry regiment, an artillery division (regiment), an aviation detachment (six aircraft), communications, engineering and rear divisions. The corps artillery divisions were armed with howitzers: the Russian division - 122 mm caliber, the German one - 150 mm, the French corps had an artillery regiment (48 75-mm guns).

The infantry regiments did not have their own artillery. The infantry of all capitalist countries was armed with repeating rifles with a caliber of 7.62 to 8 mm with a firing range of up to 4 - 5 km and a small number of heavy machine guns.

Soldiers were trained to conduct an offensive battle in shallow but dense battle formations (thick skirmish lines) without applying to the terrain and digging in.

Thus, the armament of the armies on the eve of the First World War did not differ in variety. Nevertheless, magazine rifles, machine guns and rapid-fire artillery significantly increased the firepower of the troops. But the general staffs, as before, did not take into account the increased force of fire and intended to achieve victory by blows of large masses of infantry.

Strategic plans of the parties.

The general staffs of all countries developed strategic plans for the war long before it began. The authors of the strategic plans did not use the experience of the first wars of the era of imperialism. They did not notice that the conditions for waging war had changed radically. In particular, the increased role of economic and moral factors was underestimated.

The idea prevailed in all the general staffs that the war would be short, that victory could be won in one or several pitched battles. The survivability of modern armies, due to the presence of numerous reserves and the mass production of weapons, was not taken into account. The plans of each of the belligerent countries expressed its imperialist aspirations, its predatory goals.

German strategic plan was developed by Chief of the General Staff Schlieffen. The main idea of the plan is to defeat the armies of France and Russia consistently and quickly and thereby avoid a protracted war on two fronts. It was planned initially to concentrate the main forces in the strip from the Dutch border to the fortress of Metz, to deliver a surprise blow through the territory of Belgium and Luxembourg, to go around from the north and defeat the French armies, to occupy Paris and force France to capitulate. During this period of the war, it was supposed to defend with limited forces on the section of the Franco-German border south of Metz. Given that Russia, with a weak development of transport, cannot quickly carry out mobilization deployment, Schlieffen proposed covering East Prussia with the forces of one army in the first period of the war, and after defeating France, transfer all forces from the western front to the east and defeat the Russian armies. It was planned to defeat France and Russia in three to four months.

The German strategic plan was fundamentally flawed. Opportunities and forces of the enemy were underestimated, which gave the plan an adventurous character. Calculations for the defeat of the armed forces of a major power (France) in one pitched battle were also unrealistic.

Along with the fundamental flaws, the German plan also had strengths. He was imbued with the spirit of active, decisive action. The direction of the main attack, chosen correctly, made it possible to carry out a maneuver with access to the flank of the enemy. Forces significantly superior to the enemy were concentrated in the direction of the main attack. The role of surprise was taken into account.

However, the presence of a number of correct operational-strategic provisions in the German plan could not compensate for its main shortcomings and miscalculations.

French strategic plan ("Plan No. 17") was indecisive and ambivalent. The French planned to deploy: the 1st and 2nd armies in the area of the fortresses of Belfort, Epinal, Nancy with the task of attacking Alsace and Lorraine; 3rd Army - to the north, in the Verdun region, and 5th Army - on the border with Belgian Luxembourg. In the second line, behind the adjacent flanks of the 2nd and 3rd armies, the 4th army was deployed. The actions of the 3rd, 4th and 5th armies, according to the plan, depended entirely on how the enemy would behave, where he would strike the main blow. Thus, the strategic initiative was ceded to the enemy, and friendly troops were doomed to passive defensive actions.

In particular, the 4th Army was intended not to build up forces during an offensive, but to counter the enemy in the direction of his main attack.

Strategic plan of Russia formed under the strong influence of its political and economic dependence on Western allies.

Russia has committed itself to launch an offensive against East Prussia 15 days after the announcement of mobilization and thereby create a threat to the central regions of Germany. To solve this problem, Russia deployed two strong armies(1st and 2nd).

The main aspirations of the Russian landowners and the bourgeoisie were directed to Galicia and the Balkans. Therefore, according to the strategic plan, it was planned to deploy four armies against Austria-Hungary (3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th), on the 19th day of mobilization, launch an offensive, encircle and destroy the Austro-Hungarian armies.

The Russian army was supposed to attack simultaneously in two strategic directions, which did not at all correspond to the economic and military capabilities of the country.

Austria-Hungary planned decisive action simultaneously against Russia and Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian plan, drawn up under German pressure, did not take into account the real balance of forces, the weakness of economic resources and the low morale of a significant part of their troops.

England planned to maintain and strengthen its dominance at sea. For actions on land, it was supposed to send to France only one small expeditionary army, consisting of six infantry and one cavalry divisions. Thus, England intended to shift the main burdens of the war onto the Allies and use the latter to defeat her main rival and competitor - Germany.

The stake "on a lightning war" was also expressed in the grouping of forces outlined by all plans. All countries deployed their forces in one strategic echelon. The wide deployment of strategic reserves was not envisaged, since each country planned to win victory in a short time, by defeating the enemy in one or more pitched battles.

Despite the presence of military alliances and the coalition nature of the war, none of the military coalitions has created a single strategic plan and a single command.

The plans of the allied countries were very poorly coordinated. Moreover, the imperialist powers shied away from fulfilling their allied duty in every possible way, fearing great successes for their allies.

The beginning of the war. Military Art in the 1914 Campaign

The reason for the outbreak of the First World War was the murder on June 28, 1914 of the heir to the Austrian throne by Serbian nationalists in the city of Sarajevo.

The declaration of war and the start of open hostilities were preceded by a one-month threatening period, during which the countries of the German bloc and the Entente secretly carried out a number of pre-mobilization measures. These included checking the status of mobilization bodies, replenishing fuel and food supplies at naval bases and in the designated areas of concentration of troops, strengthening the protection of borders, bridges and other important objects, canceling holidays in the army, returning troops from camps to places of permanent deployment, advancing cover troops and invading deployment areas, etc. For example, during June 1914, Germany deployed three cavalry corps and six infantry brigades along the western border and concentrated a grouping of troops intended to invade Belgium in order to capture crossings on the river. Maas.

Only after the preliminary preparations had been completed did the imperialists of the German-Austrian bloc present ultimatum demands to their opponents and unleash a war.

July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. On the same day, Russia began a general mobilization. Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, and two days later on France. On August 4, England declared war on Germany. In 1914, Japan joined the Entente, and Turkey joined the German bloc.

Initial period World War I lasted 16 - 20 days and had a number of important features. During this period, the covering troops deployed along the frontiers and the invading armies fought with only limited forces. The belligerent states sought to mobilize and strategically deploy in border areas as quickly as possible, under the protection of covering troops. The main forces of the belligerent states began active operations only 16-20 days after the start of mobilization and the declaration of war. At the same time, the main forces of the Russian army went on the offensive in East Prussia and Galicia, without even completing their deployment, with an incomplete set and an unorganized rear.

In the initial period of the First World War, cavalry formations were used primarily as covering troops. They were also intended for long-range reconnaissance. Conducted reconnaissance and aviation, but the radius of action of the aircraft then lay within the limits of up to 100 km.

The active actions of the limited invasion forces were also carried out in order to create the most favorable conditions for the subsequent offensive operations of the main forces.

Thus, the content of the initial period of the First World War was the combat operations of the covering and invasion troops, the conduct of deep reconnaissance, the mobilization, concentration and strategic deployment of the main forces of the warring countries.

The mobilization and strategic deployment of the armed forces in all the belligerent countries, carried out according to predetermined plans, did not encounter any serious obstacles from the enemy.

The correlation and grouping of forces in the main theaters of military operations did not correspond to the decisive strategic goals outlined by the war plans.

At the Western European theater Germany deployed 7 armies, which included 86 infantry and 10 cavalry divisions. They were opposed by five French, one English and one Belgian armies, which had 85 infantry and 12 cavalry divisions.

With a general equality of forces, the five German armies, which delivered the main blow through Belgium and Luxembourg, had one and a half superiority over the forces of the French, British and Belgians operating in these areas.

At the Eastern European theater against Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary deployed five armies (one German and four Austro-Hungarian), which included 51 infantry and 12.5 cavalry divisions. Russia initially deployed six armies with 54 infantry and 17.5 cavalry divisions.

The Russian armies were reduced to two fronts: the Northwestern (1st and 2nd armies) and the Southwestern (3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th armies). Russia was the first country to create front-line associations. In all other countries, the control of the armies was carried out by the headquarters of the main command.

Active hostilities began in the West on August 4, 1914, when the German troops, having not yet completed their concentration, invaded the territory of Belgium.

From the very first days of the war, serious miscalculations in the German strategic plan were revealed. The Belgians, using the r. The Meuse and the fortresses of Liège and Namur delayed the German armies for two weeks. During this time, the French 4th and 5th armies managed to reach the Franco-Belgian border. The Germans failed to fully use the surprise factor.

August 21-25 in the so-called "border battle" five German armies defeated three French and one English armies, forcing the latter to withdraw.

At this point, Russia provided important assistance to France. The armies of the Northwestern Front, without even finishing their concentration, launched an offensive in East Prussia in mid-August and forced the 8th German Army to retreat.

The German command was forced to take two corps and one cavalry division from its strike force in France and send them to East Prussia. Another corps, destined for action in the West, was detained in the Metz region in order to send it to the Russian front. In a short time, the German armies lost the numerical superiority created at the beginning of the war in a decisive direction. The German command did not have strategic and operational reserves for building up forces.

The counterattacks of the French armies inflicted at the end of August forced the German command to abandon the original plan to bypass Paris from the west. The right-flank German armies were turned south, to the river. Marne, east of Paris. They lost their enveloping position and were under threat from the Paris area, where the new (6th) French army was deployed, on a completely unsecured right flank.

September 5-9, 1914 on the river. Marne German armies suffered a serious defeat and were forced to retreat across the river. Aisne, where they switched to positional defense. Thus, the complete failure of the plans to defeat France with one blow and quickly end the war was determined.

Large scale in the campaign of 1914 acquired military operations on Eastern European theater. The successfully launched offensive of the Russian armies in East Prussia was not completed. Incompetent management by the command of the North-Western Front, the lack of interaction between the two armies of this front and the criminal behavior of the commander of the 1st Army allowed the German troops not only to avoid defeat, but also to inflict successive defeat. to both armies. By mid-September, these armies were driven out of the territory of East Prussia.

More successful were the fighting of the Southwestern Front, whose armies in Galician battle, which took place from August 19 to September 21, 1914, inflicted a heavy defeat on the enemy and captured the territory of Galicia. But economically backward royal Russia quickly used up mobilization reserves and had absolutely no funds to develop achieved success and achieve victory over Austria-Hungary and Germany.

The attempts of the German command to defeat the Russian troops in the area of Warsaw and Lodz were also unsuccessful.

Not a single belligerent country has been able to fulfill its strategic plan and achieve quick and decisive success. In the autumn of 1914 in the West, both sides tried to outflank the open flank of the enemy from the north, which led to a rapid extension of the positional front. These attempts, which received historical literature the figurative name "run to the sea", did not give success to either side and ended in mid-November, when a continuous positional front was established throughout the Western European theater of operations - from the border of neutral Switzerland to the coast of the North Sea.

Military operations unfolded in 1914 also in the Far East and Africa (the struggle for German colonies), in the Transcaucasus, the Balkans and the Middle East (the struggle against Austria-Hungary and Turkey). The Western and Eastern European theaters of operations were the main ones throughout the war.

Naval Forces in 1914 they limited themselves to laying minefields, shelling ports and cities on the coast of the enemy, attacks on merchant ships on ocean and sea lanes, separate naval battles involving a limited number of warships. Big naval battles didn't happen. Submarines proved to be an effective means of fighting at sea, which required the organization of anti-submarine defense. A significant shortcoming of the combat activity of the naval forces was that it was poorly coordinated with the actions of the ground forces.

The 1914 campaign revealed a complete discrepancy between the theoretical ideas and views of bourgeois military theorists and military leaders and the actual conditions of warfare, operations and battles.

Strategic plans of all countries that planned to win victory with the forces of cadre armies in a short time, suffered a complete failure. It turned out that in the epoch of imperialism, armies have great survivability, that the losses incurred in manpower and equipment can be made up for by the reserves accumulated in peacetime and by expanding the production of military products. The war turned into a comprehensive test for the countries participating in it and required the mobilization of all economic resources and human reserves.

The armies of all states were preparing for maneuvering operations, planned encirclement, detours and encirclement of the main enemy forces. But not one of the armies was able to carry out its plan, and soon after the outbreak of the war, continuous positional fronts with their inherent immobility began to take shape in the most important sectors.

Campaign results. In the campaign of 1914, major operations of a strategic scale were objectively taking shape (the operation on the Marne River, the Battle of Galicia, the East Prussian operation). But the command and staffs did not yet have experience in organizing and conducting operations of this magnitude. Therefore, in the course of operations, the armies had considerable independence, the interaction between the armies was not close enough, the headquarters and the front command poorly coordinated the efforts of the armies.

The experience of the war has shown that for a successful offensive to a great depth it is necessary to mass forces and means in decisive directions, to create several operational echelons in order to be able to build up efforts and maintain the superiority over the enemy achieved at the beginning of the operation. The absence of second strategic and operational echelons in the belligerent countries led to the incompleteness and rapid fading of their offensive operations.

The extremely heavy losses suffered by all the armies in the first months of the war are proof that the tactics of these armies did not correspond to the new conditions, in particular to the new means of struggle.

The infantry was the main branch of the army, and it was entrusted with the solution of the main combat missions. However, the increased strength and effectiveness of small arms and artillery fire was underestimated. The combat formations of formations and units consisted of combat sectors and reserves. The combat unit consisted of units deployed in a very dense rifle chain, with an interval between fighters of 1-2 steps. The offensive was carried out linearly, without the use of maneuver. The battlefield was oversaturated with infantry, and artillery densities were low (20-25 guns per 1 km of front). The interaction between infantry and artillery was weak.

They did not know how to use machine guns in an offensive battle, they were used only to secure the occupied terrain. Infantry during the offensive was forbidden to dig in.

Artillery, machine gun and rifle fire on the advancing uncovered infantry was very effective, and the infantry suffered heavy losses.

Significant development in the campaign of 1914 received field positional defense. Initially, such defense had a focal linear character. The defense consisted of one line of individual and group rifle trenches. Then these trenches began to be connected with each other by a continuous trench, and wire barriers were built in front. Communication passages were torn off from the trenches to the rear, shelters and shelters were created for the reserves.

The infantry division in defense occupied a strip 10-12 km wide. Small arms fire formed the basis of the defense, therefore, when repelling an enemy attack, they tried to place the maximum number of shooters in the first trench.

In order to better cover the infantry from artillery fire and increase the stability of the defense, by the end of 1914, one or two more trenches were built behind the first trench at a distance of 100-150 m from one another. Defensive positions equipped according to such a system, covered from the front by a system of barbed wire, reliably sheltered the infantry from enemy cannon artillery fire and made it possible to repel the enemy infantry offensive. None of the sides had any other means of attack at that time. There was a situation when the defense turned out to be stronger than the offensive. The armies of both sides dug into the ground and for a long period went over to the defensive on an immovable continuous front.

Military Art in the 1915 Campaign

The complete failure of the strategic plans developed before the start of the war forced the military leaders of all the belligerent states to look for new ways to win.

Britain and France decided to switch to strategic defense, using the year 1915 to rebuild the economy, expand military production and accumulate reserves. They planned active actions for 1916. The British and French imperialists shifted the main burden of the struggle against the Austro-German bloc to Russia.

Germany decided in 1915 to carry out the second part of the Schlieffen plan, that is, to defeat the Russian army, to force Russia to capitulate. This would relieve Germany of the need to fight on two fronts - and would give her the opportunity to use Russian food and raw materials to continue the war in the West.

Russia, under pressure from its allies, also planned active offensive operations, although it did not have the necessary material and technical means.

In this way, in the campaign of 1915, the Russian front was the main one. Active hostilities were fought on this front from February to October. The German command, having concentrated powerful groupings of troops in East Prussia and in the Carpathian region, tried to encircle and destroy the main forces of the Russian army in Poland by means of an offensive in converging directions.

The offensive operations of the German and Russian troops in January - March 1915 on the North-Western Front did not bring decisive success to either side. The German command was unable to carry out the planned deep detour of the right wing of the Russian armies, and the command of the North-Western Front did not have enough strength to carry out plans to defeat the enemy and capture East Prussia.

Intense battles also unfolded on the southern wing of the Russian-German front, where the troops of the Southwestern Front unsuccessfully tried in January-April to capture the Carpathians and invade Hungary.

In May, German troops, secretly concentrating a strong grouping in a narrow area, broke the stubborn resistance of the 3rd Russian army in Gorlitsa area and, building on their success, they pushed the Russians back across the San and Dniester rivers. The decisive role in ensuring the success of the German troops was played by their overwhelming superiority in artillery. On the breakthrough site near Gorlitsa, where the Russian troops had 141 light and 4 heavy guns, extremely poorly supplied with ammunition, the enemy concentrated 457 light and 159 heavy guns and a huge amount of ammunition (1200 shells for a light gun and up to 600 shells for a heavy gun).

In the summer of 1915, the German command tried to implement its plan to encircle and defeat the Russian troops in Poland and launched an offensive from the regions of Galicia and East Prussia. The Russian units were forced to fight heavy defensive battles and, avoiding the threat of encirclement, retreat to the east. In early October, they completely liquidated the offensive of the German armies and switched to positional defense at the turn of Riga, r. Western Dvina, Smorgon, Baranovichi, Dubno, r. Strypa.

Thus, in the autumn of 1915, maneuver operations ceased on the Russian-German front as well. Since that time, the armed struggle on all the decisive fronts of the First World War acquired a positional character. The belligerents faced the problem of organizing a breakthrough in the prepared defenses of the enemy, without which it was impossible to carry out an offensive operation, even on a small scale.

Operations with limited targets were conducted in the Western European theater of operations. Both sides focused on the development and improvement of their defensive positions.

In the autumn of 1915, the French and British armies tried to break through the defenses of the German troops in Champagne and Artois. Strong groupings of troops and artillery were concentrated in selected areas of the breakthrough. However, these operations, despite the huge amount of money spent and heavy losses, were not successful. Both in Champagne and in Artois, the advancing infantry managed to capture only the first position of the enemy, which was completely destroyed by artillery during many days of artillery preparation. Attempts to overcome the subsequent positions, densely occupied by the approaching reserves, were carried out without sufficient artillery support and were repulsed by the German troops.

In 1915, Italy joined the Entente, and Bulgaria joined the Austro-German bloc. An Italian front was formed, and the struggle in the Balkans escalated, where an Anglo-French expeditionary force arrived through the Greek port of Thessaloniki.

fighting at sea were also not decisive enough. The English fleet blockaded the coast of Germany. In turn, the German submarines inflicted rather heavy damage on the merchant fleet of England. Nevertheless, the British Admiralty, by organizing patrols and strengthening anti-submarine defenses, eliminated the threat of a complete disruption of sea communications.

In general, the 1915 campaign was marked by the failure of the plans of the German bloc, designed to defeat Russia and withdraw it from the war. The German imperialists and their allies were forced to wage a protracted war on two fronts, which doomed them to inevitable defeat.

Russia lost vast territories (parts of the Baltic states, Poland and Galicia), but the Russian army retained the ability to continue the war. She fettered the huge forces of the enemy. Russia's Western allies, having shifted the brunt of the armed struggle onto Russia, were able to rebuild their economy on a military footing, expand the production of weapons, ammunition and equipment, and prepare numerous reserves.

The peculiarity of this campaign is: on the Russian-German front - in conducting extensive maneuver operations, which, however, did not give decisive results; on the Western European front - in the failure of the first serious attempts to break through a continuous positional defense.

The means and methods of armed struggle have undergone significant changes. Artillery developed rapidly; it was at that time the main fire weapon of the ground forces, capable of seriously disrupting the stability of the positional defense and ensuring the success of the infantry offensive. Along with the rapid increase in the number of artillery, qualitative changes took place in its composition: the production of howitzers and heavy systems increased, and mortars were widely used. Anti-aircraft artillery was born.

Aviation turned into a combat weapon, as the aircraft received small arms and bomber weapons. The world's first heavy bombers - the Ilya Muromets aircraft - were built and successfully used at the front in the Russian army at the beginning of 1915. The Muromets raised up to 500 kg of bombs and had three firing points to protect against fighters, which then only appeared on fronts of the First World War. Thus, along with the ever wider use of reconnaissance aircraft, new types of aviation arose - bomber and fighter.

In the same year, the use of chemical warfare agents began. The German troops were the first to use them: before the attack, with the wind blowing towards the enemy, they launched from cylinders suffocating gas chlorine. The use of poisonous substances required the provision of troops with gas masks and the organization of anti-chemical protection.

In a situation where the war had reached a positional stalemate, when the technical equipment of the armies was rapidly improving, intense searches were made for new methods of preparing and carrying out offensive operations and battles. In order to break through the prepared positional defense, they began to concentrate a large number of infantry, artillery and aviation on the intended breakthrough site. For example, during an offensive in Champagne, infantry divisions operated in bands of 1.5-2 km; the density of artillery reached 50-60 guns per 1 km of the front. Artillery preparation lasted for several days, and the fire was carried out on areas to the depth of the first position of the enemy. Such a long and limited in depth artillery preparation helped to seize the first position, but the defending side at that time managed to pull up reserves and prepare to repel the offensive in the second and third positions. The advancing troops did not yet have the means to reliably suppress the entire depth of the defense.

When attacking a prepared defense, the infantry began to use deeper battle formations: the division had two regiments in the first line (combat areas) and one or two regiments in the second (reserves). The regiments of the first line created several dense rifle chains that moved at distances of about 50 m.

The reserves were intended to make up for losses and save striking force attack chains. This form of formation of battle formations was called "waves of chains" (in contrast to the single rifle chain used in 1914).

Field positional defense also received significant development. By creating a second, and sometimes a third position and echeloning battle formations, the depth of defense was increased. The number of machine guns increased by two or three times, which accordingly increased the density of fire. Machine guns were rarely used during the offensive. The engineering equipment of the area was improved. The defending troops were covered with barbed wire, various artificial and natural obstacles, and equipped their positions with a system of trenches, communication passages, firing positions, dugouts and shelters.

Defense in 1915 became not only anti-personnel, but also anti-artillery, anti-air and anti-chemical.

Military Art in the 1916 Campaign

On the experience of the campaigns of 1914-1915. the military leaders of the Entente countries became convinced of the expediency of coordinating the efforts of their armies. According to the strategic plan of the Entente, adopted at the allied conferences, it was planned to conduct a large offensive operation in the region of the river with the joint forces of England and France. Somme. Since attempts to break through the enemy's defenses at one point, in a narrow sector, were unsuccessful, a plan was developed to break through the defenses of the German troops on a continuous wide front in the offensive zone of several armies. The start of the offensive was planned for July 1, 1916.

On June 15, Russian troops were to launch an offensive in the Berlin strategic direction, divert the maximum of German troops to themselves and thereby ensure the success of the British and French offensive on the river. Somme.

The German command attached great importance to maintaining the strategic initiative. Therefore, it was decided to start active operations in February in order to preempt the impending attack of the Entente armies. All German calculations again boiled down to the fact that France would not be able to endure a long intense struggle.

Since Germany did not have the forces for an offensive on a broad front, she outlined a plan for a powerful strike on a narrow sector - at such an important point as the Verdun fortified area. To protect it, the French command would be forced to abandon all available forces. This area covered the path to Paris.

In strategic planning and military-political leadership of the events of the 1917 campaign, governments and general staffs had to reckon with the growing protest of the masses against the imperialist war.

The Entente countries intended to use their economic and military superiority in the upcoming campaign and deliver decisive blows to the German-Austrian bloc. February Revolution in Russia partially undermined these plans, and the final withdrawal of Russia from the war significantly weakened the Entente. To some extent, this loss was compensated by the entry into the war of the United States of America (April 1917). The first American divisions arrived in the Western European theater of operations in the autumn of 1917.

Germany, after huge losses, did not have the forces and means to conduct offensive operations. Therefore, the German command decided to go on the defensive on all fronts and use the year 1917 to accumulate reserves and boost military production.

In order to undermine the military and economic potential of the Entente, to disrupt the delivery of raw materials, food and troops from the colonies and from America, it was decided to deploy ruthless submarine warfare , that is, to block the coast of Europe with submarines and destroy merchant ships, even of neutral countries, carrying cargo to England or France.

The French and English armies, carrying out the adopted strategic plan, went over in April on the offensive, trying to break through the enemy's front in the Reims, Soissons sector. Enormous forces took part in the offensive: four armies, 5,580 guns, 500 aircraft, up to 200 tanks, over 30 million shells were concentrated in the main direction alone.

The German troops knew about the upcoming offensive and in advance created a solid, echeloned defense. Even a ten-day artillery preparation, carried out in the direction of the main attack of the French and British troops, did not crush the German defense. The advancing infantry carried huge losses from the fire of German machine guns, and the tanks were almost completely destroyed by artillery fire. In no area did the French troops succeed in advancing beyond the second position.

In this unsuccessful operation, the French lost over 125 thousand people, and the British - 80 thousand. Mass anti-war demonstrations began in the French army, brutally suppressed by the government.

In the summer and autumn, the armies of the Entente countries carried out several private operations, which are characterized by the massive use of artillery, aircraft, tanks and other military equipment and the extremely limited territorial successes of the attacking side. Among these operations, of great interest from the point of view of the history of military art is the operation at Cambrai.

The Entente countries failed to fulfill their planned strategic plans and achieve a final victory over the German bloc in 1917.

Given the rapid growth of anti-war and revolutionary sentiments, the belligerent countries tried to compensate for the decline in the morale of the troops and achieve victory by the massive use of new military equipment.

The German command announced on February 1, 1917 unlimited submarine warfare. Destroyed merchant ships going to English ports. Shipping and the economy of England were seriously damaged. Only by organizing a wide patrol service, anti-submarine defense and a system of escorting merchant ship caravans was it possible to significantly reduce losses and ensure the uninterrupted supply of raw materials, food and other materials.

The 1917 campaign was marked by a further increase in artillery and aviation densities and the first experiments in the massive use of tanks. In combination with other branches of the military, tanks were able to make a tactical breakthrough. However, it has not yet been possible to find means and methods for developing a tactical breakthrough into an operational one.

Continued further improvement of the defense. In order to increase its depth and stability, they began to build forward, cut-off and rear positions. The battle formations of formations and units were echeloned in depth. From a rigid, linear defense, the purpose of which was to hold the first position, the German troops are moving on to the so-called "elastic" defense, in which the temporary loss of one or several positions is allowed, and the enemy offensive is liquidated by counterattacks and strikes by second echelons and brought up reserves.

Campaign of 1918 End of the First World War.

The strategic plans for 1918 were drawn up under the circumstances and taking into account the growing revolutionary crisis in most of the belligerent countries. The imperialists of the Entente and the German bloc, alarmed by the victory of the October Revolution, along with the continuation of the armed struggle among themselves, organized military intervention against Soviet Russia.

The Entente countries tried to liquidate Soviet power and force Russia to continue the war. In the Western European theater, the British and French intended to conduct active operations only after the arrival of large contingents of American troops in Europe.

The German command, taking into account the possibility of a revolutionary explosion in the country, decided to achieve victory at any cost in 1918. The German imperialists developed adventurist plans for an offensive in the East and West. They wanted to take possession of the rich regions of the Soviet Republic and at the same time achieve decisive success in the Western European theater, where by the beginning of 1918 Germany concentrated 193 divisions against 181 divisions of the Entente countries. Germany's opponents had significant reserves and had a large superiority in tanks and aircraft.

In pursuit of their predatory aims, the German imperialists treacherously violated the truce with the Soviet Republic.

On February 18, 1918, they launched an offensive on the Russian-German front. At the call of the Communist Party and the Soviet government, the working people of our country rose to the defense of the socialist Fatherland. At the same time, the Soviet state continued to fight for peace. On March 3, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed. Despite the difficult conditions of the treaty for our country, the conclusion of peace was a huge success for the young Soviet Republic, which received a vitally necessary peaceful respite.

Meanwhile, in the territories occupied by the German invaders (the Baltic States, Belarus, Ukraine), a nationwide guerrilla war. She fettered the forces of Germany, which she needed so much at the time when active operations were unfolding in the Western European theater.

In March, German troops, having concentrated 62 divisions, more than 6,000 guns, 1,000 mortars and 1,000 aircraft, on a 70-kilometer front, attacked the junction of the British and French armies in Picardy. The idea of the operation was to push back the English armies to the coast of the English Channel and completely defeat them, after which to concentrate all forces against the French armies.

The offensive of the German troops in Picardy began on March 21 with a short (five hours), but powerful artillery preparation, during which not only the first position was suppressed and destroyed, but also firing positions, defensive structures, command posts, bridges and other important objects in the depths of the defense. The infantry attack was supported by a double barrage and assault air strikes. The battle formations of the German infantry consisted of battle groups (squads and platoons), echeloned in depth.

During the first day of the operation, the German infantry advanced 3-7 km and continued the offensive in the following days. However, it was delayed by the approaching reserves of the French. At the disposal of the German command there were no reserves for building up forces and developing success. The German troops, having advanced 65 km in two weeks of intense fighting, suffered heavy losses and were forced to stop the offensive. The strategic goals outlined by the command were not achieved, and the operation brought only partial successes that did not provide sufficient compensation for the losses incurred and the lengthening of the front line.

In order to retain the strategic initiative, the German command in the spring and summer of 1918 made several more offensive attempts with decisive goals, but these operations only led to the formation of "dents" and "protrusions", to stretching the front and to new heavy losses that Germany there was nothing to fill.

As early as August 1918, the Entente troops seized the initiative. During the summer, French, British and American troops conducted a series of successive operations to eliminate the ledges formed as a result of previous German offensives.

The successful outcome of these operations showed that Germany had completely exhausted its capabilities and could not withstand the onslaught of the Entente armies. In the fall, the Entente armies launched a general offensive against Germany. It was carried out by means of simultaneous powerful strikes by the allied armies in various sectors of the front. Unable to withstand the hardships of the war, the German coalition fell apart: on September 29 Bulgaria capitulated, on October 30 Turkey withdrew from the war. Defeats at the front and the outbreak of the revolution forced Austria-Hungary to capitulate on November 3. In order to avoid complete defeat, the German government, as early as the beginning of October, turned to the Entente countries with a proposal to begin negotiations on an armistice.

Germany, having lost all allies, in an atmosphere of continuous retreat and collapse at the front, a stormy upsurge in the revolutionary struggle within the country, could no longer continue the war and on November 11, 1918 was forced to sign the terms of surrender dictated by the Entente. The First World War, which lasted four years and three and a half months, is over.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The First World War arose in the context of the beginning of the general crisis of capitalism. Its most important political result was the further aggravation of this crisis, which manifested itself most clearly in the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution and the establishment of a socialist social system on one sixth of the globe.

Big changes have taken place on the political map of the world. Collapsed and ceased to exist "dual monarchy" - Austria-Hungary. New states formed in Europe: Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia. Under the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty, the victorious countries took away from Germany all the colonies, Alsace, Lorraine, Saar and other territories. Germany was deprived of the right to maintain an army of more than 100 thousand people, military aircraft, tanks, submarines and some other types of weapons.

The first world war is characterized by the main features of the wars of the era of imperialism. For the first time in the history of mankind, war has acquired such a grandiose scope and destructive character.

Lenin's proposition that wars are now being waged by the peoples has been fully confirmed.

The war demanded gigantic material costs, devastated many areas, destroyed and maimed tens of millions of people. About 10 million people died on the fronts, 20 million people were injured.

Consequently, modern wars are distinguished by their destructive power, which is constantly increasing as new means of armed struggle appear.

The First World War showed that the economic factor acquired extremely great importance in the epoch of imperialism. To organize the material support of the multimillion-strong armies, it was necessary to restructure the economy on a war footing, to mobilize all economic opportunities. Military production has reached unprecedented proportions; the entire territory of the belligerent country turned into a strategic rear. The superior economic resources of the Entente served as the material basis for its victory over the German bloc.

The moral factor also had a profound influence on the course and outcome of the war.

During the First World War, strategy, operational art and tactics were greatly developed. The war overturned the previous strategic theories that dominated the 19th century about the possibility of winning victory by defeating the enemy in one or more pitched battles. Therefore, the outcome of the war was determined only in a long, intense struggle.

The First World War was a war between two large imperialist factions. An important task of the strategy was to coordinate the efforts of the allied armies. Bourgeois military leaders have not been able to solve the problems of coalition strategy, since sharp internal contradictions are organically inherent in imperialist coalitions, and the selfish interests of each country prevail over all-union interests.

Military operations in the First World War, unexpectedly for all its participants, acquired a positional character. For a certain period, a situation developed when the defense turned out to be stronger than the offensive. Military art found itself in a "positional impasse." A way out of the impasse was found when large masses of heavy artillery, tanks and combat aircraft appeared on the battlefields.

The protracted war has shown that winning a victory is unthinkable without the most extensive, systematic efforts to prepare, build up, and correctly use strategic reserves.

The huge scale of the armed struggle during the First World War required a change in the methods of strategic management. There was a new structure of the supreme governing bodies: headquarters - front (army group) - army.

The use of technical means of communication (telephone, telegraph, radio, aircraft, etc.) made it possible to increase the degree of centralization of control; during the war years, the armies lost their former independence and acted according to the directives of the main and front command.

The First World War was an important stage in the development operational art. In the course of the war, an operation finally took shape as a set of battles and battles conducted by an operational formation according to a single plan and under a single leadership in order to solve a specific operational or strategic task.

The maneuvering operations of 1914 were distinguished by their large scope. Five German armies, trying to outflank the French troops, advanced on a front of 250 km and in one month advanced to a depth of 400 km.

In the Battle of Galicia, four Russian armies advanced in a 400 km zone, advancing in 33 days to a depth of 200 km.

Six armies of the Entente in the operation on the river. The Marne advanced in a strip of up to 300 km and in 8 days the German troops were driven back by 50 km.

The average advance rate in maneuver operations reached 8-10 km per day.

The most characteristic of the First World War were operations to break through the positional front. Such operations were various forms: frontal strike in a narrow area (12-15 km); strike on a relatively wide continuous section of the front (40-80 km); simultaneous strike on a number of sectors on a wide front. The last form of the operation is the most advantageous, since the enemy's counter-manoeuvre in order to eliminate the resulting breakthrough was extremely difficult.

Only towards the end of the war was it possible to solve the problem of organizing a breakthrough in positional defense through massive strikes by infantry, artillery, tanks and aircraft. A new problem arose before the art of war - the development of a tactical breakthrough into an operational one. It remained unresolved until the end of the war, because the range of military equipment of those years did not go beyond the tactical zone.

Tactics were greatly developed during the First World War. The very nature of the battle has changed radically, which was due to the improvement of the old and the emergence of new means of struggle.

At the beginning of the war, almost all the tasks of offensive combat were carried out by infantry forces. The small number of artillery carried out a short artillery preparation, but did not support the infantry at the time of the attack and did not accompany it during the battle in depth. The battle formation of infantry units and formations had no depth; it consisted of a dense skirmish line and the reserves feeding it. A single chain during the offensive had a weak impact force and suffered heavy losses from enemy fire. The firepower of the chain was low, since machine guns and escort guns were not used then in the offensive.

The experience of the battles of 1914 revealed the need to increase the depth of battle formations and increase the firepower of infantry in an offensive battle. This was achieved by separating battle formations and saturating them with machine guns, mortars, flamethrowers and escort guns. Hand grenades were widely used various types grenade launchers. A new form of infantry battle order developed - "waves of chains", and the intervals between the fighters in the chain increased, and the chains advanced one after another at a distance of 75-100 m.

With the advent of infantry light machine guns, battalion and regimental mortars and cannons, as well as tanks, the form of combat order of infantry units and formations changed again. Instead of "waves of chains" there were small groups of infantry (from squad to platoon), which advanced with the support of tanks, escort guns and machine guns. Such groups could maneuver on the battlefield, suppress, destroy or bypass enemy firing points and strongholds, boldly penetrate into the depths of defense, and conduct an offensive at a higher pace.

Defensive combat tactics were greatly developed during the First World War. At the beginning of the war, during the transition to the defensive, the troops created one line of group rifle trenches and repulsed the enemy offensive with rifle, machine-gun and artillery fire. It was a focal defense, devoid of depth. It was based on small arms fire.

Already by the winter of 1914, the trenches were connected by a continuous narrow trench, the retention of which was the main task of the troops in the defense.

To accommodate the reserves, the second and third trenches were built. The distance between the trenches was 100-150 m. Consequently, the defense was linear, its depth did not exceed 250-300 m. The battle formations of formations and units in the defense were not echeloned. The infantry division defended itself in the 10-12 km zone.

In order to strengthen the stability of the defense and reduce losses from artillery fire, in the campaign of 1915, they began to create a second position 2-4 km from the first position, which housed divisional and corps reserves. Wire fences were built in front of the first position.

In the 1916 campaign, formations and units in the defense continued to build battle formations in one echelon, but the depth of defense increased due to the reduction of lanes and sectors and the construction of a third and intermediate positions. The division defended in the 8-10 km zone, occupying the first and intermediate positions with the main forces and regimental reserves and the second position with divisional reserves. Corps reserves were placed in the third position.

The total depth of defense reached 7-8 km.

Within the positions, forces were not distributed evenly, but were concentrated in well-equipped and adapted to all-round defense "centers of resistance" (strongholds).

In the campaign of 1917, they began to create a forward position ("foreground") in order to hide the true front line from the enemy and reduce losses from artillery fire.

Cannon artillery was used to repel tank attacks and anti-tank ditches were torn off. Consequently, the defense also became anti-tank.

Due to the great force of the initial blows, which fell primarily on the first position, there were some changes in the methods of defense. Temporary loss of one or several positions was allowed, the struggle was transferred to the depth, so that by counterattacks and counterattacks on the flank of the advancing groupings, they could defeat the enemy and push him back to their original positions.

An important moment in the development of defense during the First World War was the development of a fortified area system that combined elements of long-term and field fortification.

Armies of the world before the First World War. The ratio of forces of the belligerents. Fighting at sea

More on the topic B 38. The beginning of the First World War in Europe. The balance of forces and plans of the parties: