WORLD WAR 1! :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
World War 1
World War I, also known as WWI, the First World War, the Great War, and "The War to End All Wars," was a global military conflict which took place primarily in Europe between 1914 and 1918. More than nine million soldiers died and millions of civilians perished. The conflict had a decisive impact on the history of the 20th century.
Clockwise from top: Trenches on the Western Front; a British Mark IV tank crossing a trench; Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the Battle of the Dardanelles; a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks, and a Sopwith Camel biplane
The Trenches
What caused world war 1?
On June, 1914, the Atchuduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, visited the Bosnian town of Sarajevo to inspect Austrain troops there. Then, a grammer school student named Gavirlo Princip, assassunated the Archduke and his wife as they rode through the streets of Sarajevo in an open car. The 19-year-old Sebian student opposed Austrain rule of Bosnia whicich wanted to join up with Serbia hence when the heir to the Austrain throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand visited Sarajevo, Gavirlo Princip shot him and his wife dead. The Austrains blamed the Serbian government of the murder and declared war on Serbia on 28th July.
The last picture of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wike, taken shortly before this assassination in Sarajevi on 28th June 1914. The couple ahd survived a bomb thrown at their car on their way to the town hall but were shot by Gavrilo Philip as they returned to the railway station. Their car had taken a wrong turning and was reversing whenPricip stepped foward to fire five fatal shopts. The Archduke's last words were "It is nothing"
Setting off to war
The staff of each army had prepared detailed war plans in advance. Those of Germany and France involved the use of precise railway timetables for the mass movement of men and material. On the eve of war, the German army had a reserve of 4.3 million trained men.
The Russians Revolution
The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a series of political and social upheavals in Russia, involving first the overthrow of the tsarist autocracy, and then the overthrow of the liberal and moderate-socialist Provisional Government, resulting in the establishment of Soviet power under the control of the Bolshevik party. This eventually led to the establishment of the Soviet Union, which lasted until its dissolution in 1991.
The outbreak of war in August 1914 initially quieted political and social protests, focusing hostilities against an external enemy. But this patriotic unity did not last long. As the war dragged on inconclusively, war-weariness took its toll. But more important was a deeper fragility. Though many ordinary Russians joined anti-German demonstrations in the first weeks of the war, the most common popular reaction appears to have been skepticism and fatalism. Hostility toward the Kaiser and the desire to defend their land and their lives did not necessarily translate into enthusiasm for the tsar or the government. Russia's first major battle of the war was a disaster. In the 1914 Battle of Tannenberg, over 120,000 Russian troops were killed, wounded, or captured, while Germany suffered only 20,000 casualties
Casualty rates were the most vivid sign of this disaster. Already by the end of 1914, only five months into the war, nearly 400,000 Russian men had lost their lives and nearly a million were injured. Far sooner than expected, scarcely trained recruits had to be called to active duty, a process repeated throughout the war as staggering losses continued to mount. The officer class also saw dramatic turnover, especially in the lower ranks, which quickly filled with soldiers rising through the ranks. These men, usually of peasant or worker backgrounds, would play a large role in the politicization of the troops in 1917. The huge losses on the battlefields were not limited to men. The army quickly ran short of rifles and ammunition (as well as uniforms and food). By mid-1915, men were being sent to the front without arms; they could be equipped, it was hoped, with arms recovered from fallen soldiers on the battlefields. With good reason, soldiers felt they were treated not as human beings or even as valuable soldiers but as raw material to be squandered by the rich and powerful. By the spring of 1915, the army was in steady retreat. It was not always orderly. Desertion, chaotic flight, and plunder were not uncommon.
The war was devastating, of course, not only to soldiers. By the end of 1915, there were manifold signs that the economy was breaking down under the heightened strain of wartime demand. The main problems were food shortages and rising prices. Inflation rapidly forced down real incomes, and shortages made it difficult to buy even what one could afford. Shortages were especially a problem in the capital, Petrograd (formerly the City of St. Petersburg), where distance from supplies and poor transportation networks made matters particularly bad. Shops closed early or entirely for lack of bread, sugar, meat and other provisions. On February 23 (March 8) 1917, people at food queues demonstrated and were soon joined by thousands of women textile workers in Petrograd, the capital, who walked out of their factories - partly in commemoration of International Women’s Day but mainly to protest the severe shortages of bread. Already large numbers of men and women were on strike. These women stopped at any factories that were still working and called on workers to join them. They marched through the streets, shouting, "Bread!" and "Give us bread!" During the next two days, encouraged by the efforts of hundreds of rank-and-file socialist activists, the strike spread to factories and shops throughout the capital. By the 25th, virtually every industrial enterprise in Petrograd was shut down, as were many commercial and service enterprises. Students, white-collar workers and teachers joined the workers in the streets and at public meetings. Meanwhile, in the Duma, liberal and socialist deputies realised a potentially massive problem and now more vehemently denounced the current government and demanded a responsible cabinet of ministers.
Although the Russians did not win the war, they prevented the Allies from losing it.
Funeral on Mars Field in Petrograd for those who died fighting the government in the February Revolution, March 1917
War of the Guns
With the arrival of fixed trench systems the war in the Western front took on many of the aspects of a gigantic siege, requiring colossal quantities of all types of guns and projectiles. In August 1914, 486 guns, except one of them, lighted field pieces. During the war, the Biritsh artillery loosed over 170 million rounds, representing more than five million tons. Durign the two weeks preceding the Passchendaele offensive, British guns fired 4,283,550 rounds at a cost of some 22million pounds sterling. Arillery accounted for up to 70 per cent of the casualties between 1914 to 1918. Troops subjected to heavy bombardment endured physical and mental torture. A French infantry sergeant likened the ordeal to being "tied to a post and threatened by a fellow swining a sledgehammer. Now the hammer is swung back for blow, now it whirls foward, till just missing your skull, it sends the splinters flying from the post once more. This is exactly what it feels like to be under heavy shelling" Nevertheless, even after the heaviest bombardment, sufficent soldiers survived to break up an infantry attck. The 4.3 million shells fired int he 14days vefore the offence at Passchendale failed to surpress the defence. When the British went over the top, the German machine guns were waiting for them.
Some Effects of World War 1.
`Sepoy Munity
The Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as he Sepoy Mutiny, was a prolonged period of armed uprisings in different parts of India against British occupation of that part of the subcontinent. Small precursors of brewing discontent involving incidences of arson in cantonment areas began to manifest themselves in January. Later, a large-scale rebellion broke out in May and turned into what may be called a full-fledged war in the affected regions. This war brought about the end of the British East India Company's rule in India, and led to direct rule by the British government (British Raj) of much of the Indian subcontinent for the next 90 years, although some states retained nominal independence under their respective Rajas. Thesepoys of the Bengal Army had their own list of grievances against the Company Raj, mainly caused by the ethnic gulf between the British officers and their Indian troops. It was also rumoured that the British had started to issue new gunpowder cartridges that had cow and pig fat on them, which insulted both Hindus and Muslims.
Another rumour (in Singapore) was they might be sent to Europe or Turkey to fight the Muslims over there. Hence in Febuary 1915, when the sepoys received orders to sail to Hong Kong, some decided to rebel. Although the muitny caused anxiety in Singapore, the sepoys failed to gather any support from the local population and majority of the indians in Singapore. The mutiny was finally put down after ten days
`Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a major shift of technological, socioeconomic, and cultural conditions in the late 18th century and early 19th century. It began in Britain and spread throughout the world. During that time, an economy based on manual labour was replaced by one dominated by industry and the manufacture of machinery. It began with the mechanisation of the textile industries, the development of iron-making techniques and the increased use of refined coal. Trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved roads and railways. The introduction of steam power (fuelled primarily by coal) and powered machinery (mainly in textile manufacturing) underpinned the dramatic increases in production capacity.[1] The development of all-metal machine tools in the first two decades of the 19th century facilitated the manufacture of more production machines for manufacturing in other industries.
With the invention of tehs teamships, more Europeans could now sail to the East to obtain raw materials such as tin, and find makets tos eel their goods, which resulted to the growth of trade in Singaporer as more ships visited us. And in 1880s, Singapore was made port-of-call by the European and American steamships, where they stopped to refuel and also obtain more food supplies. Communications also improved as a result of the arruval of steamships. Letters which previously took about four to five months to arrive from Europe now only took four to five weeks. Now, Singapore had come into closer ontact with Britaina dn the rest of the world due to the shorter time taken to deliver letters and documents.
`Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ,is a large artificial canal in Egypt, west of the Sinai Peninsula. It is 163 km (101 miles) long and 300 m (984 ft) wide at its narrowest point, and runs between Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea, and Suez on the Red Sea. The canal allows two-way water transportation, most importantly between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation of Africa. Before its opening in 1869, goods were sometimes offloaded from ships and carried overland between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The canal comprises two parts, north and south of the Great Bitter Lake, linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea.
The need for raw materials and new markets to sell their goods caused many merchants to seek for a shorter route to the East. Ships travelling between Europe and Asia had to saila roudn the sounthern tip of Africa, called the Cape of Good Hope. This long and dangerous journey took about 120days. Afrench engineer, Ferdiand de Lesseps, drew up plans to avoid the sea route and finally, the Sez Canal was built. It became one of the busiest waterways in the word. Singapore benefited greatly and mail and cargo took a shortertime to travel from Europe to Singapore. A a result, the cost of shipping goods was reduced. It also brought about a great explansion in Singapore's trade. This was due to the increased speed and volume of ships passing through the Straits of Malake and calling at the port of Singapore to refuel and collect food supplies.
Peace.
By the summer of 1918, Germany occupied vast tracts of the western Russia, containing one -third of her agricultural land and over half of her industry. On 11th November 1918, the Germans siganed an Armistice in a French railway carriage not far from Paris. It was not a surrender nor a peace treaty, but a semi-permanent cease-fire while a permanent peace could be arranged.
`What factors contributed to the defeat of Gemany and her allies in 1918?
1. The germans were no worse and no better than the Allied soldier. When it came to resources and number of troops, the German capacity was running down in 1918. Even though the Russians were out of war, garrison troops were still needed there to occupy the conquered territory. The collapse of the Austrain front in September 1918 further divided the German manpower resources.
2. Germany's resources also buckled under the pressure. By 1918, the British blockade of German ports meant that vital foodstuffs were no longer reaching Germany \. Consequently, both solders and civillians were being starved slowly. These shortages caused low morale, hunger protests and physical exhaustion. The efficency of the soldiers and the German home front were shattered as they faced the winter of 1918-1919. In contrast, the USA was pouring food into Britian and Grace and shortages were a thing of the past for them.
3. A far less obvious reason for the German collapse in 1918 was the loss of morale due to Allied propaganda. President Wilson's Fourteen points seemes to many Germans a reasonable soluation to war but th Kaiser and the Genarals would not accept it as in meant surrendering their 1914 military gains. It was becoming obvious to all Germans that they were the aggresor nation in 1914. As President Wilson's speeches kept repaeting "right of small nations" and "w world safe for democracy", the belief in the righteouness of the German cause must have been sorely tested. For most of the German soldiers at the western front, Wilson's Fourteen Points were an academic question that did not concern them. Their repulse of thw 1917 Allied offensives must have given them confidence int heir ability to figt on. What did sap their morale were the reinforcements from the Russian front. Many of these reserves had been garrison troops in Russia where they had been in contact with Bolshevik prisoners and civilians. Some of them had illegial phamplets printed in German and in English addressed to soldiers int he west.
This is a segment of one of the pamphlet:
Say, Who Are You?
Say, who are you who fight for your imperial masters? Know you not that Soviet Workers and Soldiers have thrown off the oke of imperial masters?
Who are you fighting for? For no one but your masters while your people sweat and groan under oppression.
Go home, get out of your trenches and go home to help in the world Revolution that is upon us.
Workers and Soldiers of the World Unite!
Done by : Kalpana, Erdalyn, Joey, Joanne and Joleen! :DDDDDDDDD
Group name : HUH?! >.<
