Lesson 8 World War I

Triple Alliance and Triple Entente

Driven by the two industrial revolutions, the major European countries experienced rapid economic development. They carved up the world with their powerful military forces. In order to seize more markets, sources of raw materials and investment sites, the European powers fought fiercely for them.

In the second half of the 19th century, the conflicts between France and Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary, and Britain and Germany intensified. 1882, the Triple Alliance formed by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy was formally formed; in the early 20th century, Britain contracted with France and Russia respectively to establish the Triple Entente. These two military groups launched a frantic expansion of war preparations, and conflicts continued.

The outbreak of World War I

In 1908, Austria-Hungary attempted to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was strongly opposed by Serbia, and in June 1914, Archduke Ferdinand, the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, went to Bosnia to review his troops in order to show off his power to Serbia. This was the Sarajevo Incident. This incident became the spark of the First World War.

A month later, Austria-Hungary used the Sarajevo Incident as a pretext to declare war on Serbia. When World War I broke out, Germany supported Austria-Hungary, and Russia, Britain and France soon joined the war. Italy made a secret agreement with the Allies for its own interests and joined the Allied side in the war.

The course and results of the First World War

After the outbreak of World War I, the war was fought mainly on the European front. Three fronts were formed in the European battlefield: the Eastern Front, the Western Front and the Southern Front. Later, the war expanded to Africa, Asia and other places one by one.

In 1916, the German and French armies fought a battle of position in Verdun, France, which lasted for about 10 months. The battle was so fierce that nearly a million men were lost on both sides. The battle of Verdun was known as the "meat grinder," "hell," and "slaughterhouse" because of the high death toll.

By 1917, the war had been fought to the point of exhaustion. The United States joined the Allied side and greatly strengthened the Allied forces. Russia broke out the October Revolution and soon withdrew from the First World War.

In the second half of 1918, the Allies launched a continuous counter-offensive and the defeat of the German army was decided. Germany surrendered, and World War I ended with the defeat of the Allies.

The First World War was a war of unprecedented scale in human history, an imperialist war waged by the Western powers to re-divide the world and fight for world hegemony.

The war lasted for more than four years and involved a total of more than 30 countries and about 1.5 billion people, more than half of the world's total population at that time. The belligerents used many new weapons and equipment in the war. Such as tanks, submarines, etc., resulting in a large number of casualties. According to statistics, the number of dead and wounded in the countries involved in the war exceeded 30 million.

The First World War greatly reduced the power of Europe and fundamentally shook its dominant position. The war also weakened the colonial power of the imperialists and further promoted the national awakening of the colonial and semi-colonial countries.

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