Germany sunk four more U. With World War I having effectively settled into a stalemate in Europe, the Allies attempted to score a victory against the Ottoman Empire, which entered the conflict on the side of the Central Powers in late After a failed attack on the Dardanelles the strait linking the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean Sea , Allied forces led by Britain launched a large-scale land invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula in April The invasion also proved a dismal failure, and in January Allied forces staged a full retreat from the shores of the peninsula after suffering , casualties.
British-led forces also combated the Ottoman Turks in Egypt and Mesopotamia , while in northern Italy, Austrian and Italian troops faced off in a series of 12 battles along the Isonzo River, located at the border between the two nations. British and French—and later, American—troops arrived in the region, and the Allies began to take back the Italian Front. The biggest naval engagement of World War I, the Battle of Jutland May left British naval superiority on the North Sea intact, and Germany would make no further attempts to break an Allied naval blockade for the remainder of the war.
World War I was the first major conflict to harness the power of planes. At the dawn of World War I, aviation was a relatively new field; the Wright brothers took their first sustained flight just eleven years before, in Aircraft were initially used primarily for reconnaissance missions. During the First Battle of the Marne, information passed from pilots allowed the allies to exploit weak spots in the German lines, helping the Allies to push Germany out of France. The first machine guns were successfully mounted on planes in June of in the United States, but were imperfect; if timed incorrectly, a bullet could easily destroy the propeller of the plane it came from.
The Morane-Saulnier L, a French plane, provided a solution: The propeller was armored with deflector wedges that prevented bullets from hitting it.
The British Bristol Type 22 was another popular model used for both reconnaissance work and as a fighter plane. Dutch inventor Anthony Fokker improved upon the French deflector system in Though his most popular plane during WWI was the single-seat Fokker Eindecker, Fokker created over 40 kinds of airplanes for the Germans. On April 1, , the British created the Royal Air Force, or RAF, the first air force to be a separate military branch independent from the navy or army.
With Germany able to build up its strength on the Western Front after the armistice with Russia, Allied troops struggled to hold off another German offensive until promised reinforcements from the United States were able to arrive.
On July 15, , German troops launched what would become the last German offensive of the war, attacking French forces joined by 85, American troops as well as some of the British Expeditionary Force in the Second Battle of the Marne. The Allies successfully pushed back the German offensive and launched their own counteroffensive just three days later.
The Second Battle of the Marne turned the tide of war decisively towards the Allies, who were able to regain much of France and Belgium in the months that followed. All four regiments comprised of celebrated soldiers who fought in the Spanish-American War and American-Indian Wars , and served in the American territories. But they were not deployed for overseas combat in World War I. Blacks serving alongside white soldiers on the front lines in Europe was inconceivable to the U.
Instead, the first African American troops sent overseas served in segregated labor battalions, restricted to menial roles in the Army and Navy, and shutout of the Marines, entirely.
Their duties mostly included unloading ships, transporting materials from train depots, bases and ports, digging trenches, cooking and maintenance, removing barbed wire and inoperable equipment, and burying soldiers. Facing criticism from the Black community and civil rights organizations for its quotas and treatment of African American soldiers in the war effort, the military formed two Black combat units in , the 92nd and 93rd Divisions.
Victory still seemed possible whereas in a few years' time Russia and France would have become invincible. Out of a mixture of desperation and over-confidence the decision-makers of Austria-Hungary and Germany unleashed a war to preserve and expand their empires.
The war that ensued would be their downfall. It is human nature to seek simple, satisfying answers, which is why the German war guilt thesis endures today. Without Berlin's encouragement of a strong Austro-Hungarian line against Serbia after Sarajevo - the "blank cheque" - WW1 would clearly not have broken out.
So Germany does bear responsibility. But it is equally true that absent a terrorist plot launched in Belgrade the Germans and Austrians would not have faced this terrible choice. Civilian leaders in both Berlin and Vienna tried to "localise" conflict in the Balkans. It was Russia's decision - after Petersburg received its own "blank cheque" from Paris - to Europeanise the Austro-Serbian showdown which produced first a European and then - following Britain's entry - world conflagration.
Russia, not Germany, mobilised first. Still, none of the powers can escape blame. All five Great Power belligerents, along with Serbia, unleashed Armageddon.
The war was started by the leaders of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Vienna seized the opportunity presented by the assassination of the archduke to attempt to destroy its Balkan rival Serbia. This was done in the full knowledge that Serbia's protector Russia was unlikely to stand by and this might lead to a general European war.
Germany gave Austria unconditional support in its actions, again fully aware of the likely consequences. Germany sought to break up the French-Russian alliance and was fully prepared to take the risk that this would bring about a major war. Some in the German elite welcomed the prospect of beginning an expansionist war of conquest.
The response of Russia, France and later Britain were reactive and defensive. The best that can be said of German and Austrian leaders in the July crisis is that they took criminal risks with world peace. In my opinion, it is the political and diplomatic decision-makers in Germany and Austria-Hungary who must carry the burden of responsibility for expanding a localised Balkan conflict into a European and, eventually, global war.
Germany, suffering from something of a "younger child" complex in the family of European empires, saw an opportunity to reconfigure the balance of power in their favour via an aggressive war of conquest.
On 5 July it issued the "blank cheque" of unconditional support to the crumbling Austro-Hungarian Empire trying to reassert its dominance over the rebellious Serbia , despite the likelihood of this sparking war with Russia, an ally of France and Great Britain.
However, Austria-Hungary's actions should not be ignored. Skip to content Home Who is the mainly responsible for World War 1? Ben Davis May 28, Who is the mainly responsible for World War 1? Why was Serbia blamed ww1? Why Germany is not responsible for ww1? Why did Germany lose ww1 essay?
German war plans bear the most culpability in terms of motive and alignment to subsequent actions. The most damning evidence to qualify such a statement is the fundamental nature of the Schlieffen Plan. The Plan is an outright pursuit of domination. An elementary knowledge of the Plan shows that, in full knowledge of French defences, Schlieffen proposed attacking France through Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg, defeating the French in the 6 weeks it would take the Russians to mobilize [27].
Whilst critics, such as Zuber, suggest the memorandum was a messy draft and did not resemble the usual format for war plans [28] , it was quite clearly, despite its informal nature, a concrete project for the defeat of France in [29]. This is not to say the Schlieffen Plan was the only reason subsequent War Guilt should be heaped upon Germany, but as a keystone of the Weltpolitik movement, it is a majorly condemning factor.
So as to not make this thesis a diatribe solely against German policy in the period building up to war, it is essential to note that there were a variety of agendas played out by the other Great Powers which would have contributed to exacerbating tensions, if not necessarily finalising the motions of war. An obsession with regaining Constantinople, centred on the trade opportunities of the Turkish Straits, equated to sour relations with Austria Hungary, with both requiring a strong sphere of influence surrounding the borders of their equivalently unstable empires.
Furthermore, a Russian determination to uphold the Slavic autonomy and influence in the region, set a racial precedent to the tensions. Russia was also the first to mobilize its troops fully, and this ultimately halted almost all forms of diplomacy, with the French following suit by increasing their own mandatory conscription period.
As for Britain; although they had a significantly less public approach to preparing for war, there were still some considerably formal meetings, such as that of the Committee of Imperial Defence CID which had more or less decided what form support for France would take in the event of German provocation [32].
It must be noted Britain never attributed herself to such a view, regardless of the inherent antipathy felt towards its noisy neighbour.
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