Thirty-eight of the fifty sovereign states that existed at that time were involved in the First World War to one degree or another. It was simply not possible to control such a large-scale theater of operations, so the path to signing a peace agreement was quite long and difficult.
The Entente's Hundred Day Offensive
The final stage of the long and bloody First World War was a hundred-day offensive. This large-scale military operation of the Entente armed forces against the German army ended with the defeat of the enemy and the signing of the Compiègne truce, which ended the war. Belgian, Australian, British, French, American, Canadian troops participated in the decisive offensive, Canadian soldiers distinguished themselves.
The German offensive ended in the summer of 1918. The enemy troops reached the banks of the Marne River, but (as before, in 1914) suffered a serious defeat. The Allies began to actively develop a plan to defeat the German army. End day is approaching1 world war. Marshal Foch concluded that the most favorable moment had finally come for a major offensive. The number of the American contingent in France by the summer of 1918 was increased to 1.2 million people, which made it possible to neutralize the numerical superiority of the German army. British troops received reinforcements from Palestine.
The area on the Somme River became the site of the main blow. Here was the border between the British and French troops. The flat terrain allowed for tank battles, and the great advantage of the Allies was the presence of a significant mass of tanks. In addition, this area was covered by a weakened German army. The order of attack was clearly planned, and the plan for breaking through the defense was methodical. All preparations were carried out covertly, with the use of measures to mislead the enemy.
In the year of the end of World War 1, the German army was already sufficiently weakened, which made it possible to successfully conduct offensive operations. In August, the allies opened fire on communication centers, rear facilities, observation and command posts, and positions of the second German army. At the same time, a tank attack was organized. Such surprise was a complete success. The Amiens operation came as a surprise to the German command, and the conditions of the battle for the enemy were complicated by thick fog and massive shell explosions.
In just one day of the offensive, German troops lost up to 27 thousand people killed and captured, about four hundred guns, a significant number of variousproperty. Allied aircraft shot down 62 aircraft. The offensive continued on 9 and 10 August. By this time, the Germans had managed to reorganize for defense, so that the advance developed at a slower pace, French and British tanks suffered losses. By August 12, German troops were driven out to Albert, Bray, Shon, west of Rua. The next day, the offensive stopped, as the troops of Great Britain and France completed their task, bringing the end of World War 1 closer.
The front line was reduced by twenty-four kilometers as a result of the Saint-Miel operation. During the four days of the active offensive of the allies, the German troops lost approximately 16 thousand people, more than four hundred guns, as prisoners, the losses of the American army did not exceed 7 thousand people. The Saint Miel operation was the first independent offensive by the Americans. Despite the fact that success was achieved, the operation revealed shortcomings in the training of soldiers and the lack of necessary experience from the US command. In fact, the offensive began when the Germans had already managed to withdraw part of the troops from the territory.
Fourteen Points of Wilson
At the beginning of January 1918, the date of the end of World War 1, the draft of the future peace treaty was already ready. The document was developed by US President W. Wilson. The agreement provided for the withdrawal of German armies from Belgium and Russia, the reduction of armaments, the declaration of Poland's independence, and the creation of the League of Nations. This program was reluctantly approved by the US allies, but later became the basisVersailles Peace. The "Fourteen Points" became an alternative to the Decree on Peace, which was developed by Vladimir Lenin and was not acceptable to Western states.
The day of the end of World War 1 was approaching, so the need to develop a document that would regulate relations between countries after the end of hostilities was an important issue. Woodrow Wilson proposed open peace negotiations, after which there would be no secret agreements. It was supposed to make navigation free, remove all economic barriers, establish equality in trade for all states, reduce national armaments to a minimum that is reasonable and compatible with domestic security, and absolutely impartially resolve colonial disputes.
Fourteen items included Russia in the question. All Russian territories must be liberated by the end of World War I. Russia was guaranteed the right to make an independent decision about national policy and the path of political development. The country must be assured of admission to the League of Nations in the form of government which it itself chooses. As for Belgium, full liberation and restoration was supposed, with no attempts to limit sovereignty.
November Revolution in Germany
Just before the end of World War 1, a revolution thundered in Germany, the cause of which was the crisis of the Kaiser regime. The beginning of revolutionary actions is considered the uprising of sailors in Kiel on November 4, 1918, the culmination is the proclamationof the new political system on the ninth of November, the day of the end (formally) - the eleventh of November, when Friedrich Ebert signed the Weimar constitution. The monarchy was overthrown. The revolution led to the establishment of parliamentary democracy.
First Armistice of Compiègne
The end date of World War 1 was approaching. Since the end of October 1918, there has been an active exchange of peace notes with the United States, and the German high command sought to obtain the best terms for a truce. The agreement between Germany and the Entente on the cessation of hostilities was signed on November 11. The end of World War I was officially documented in the French region of Picardy, in the Compiègne forest. The Versailles Peace Treaty summed up the final results of the conflict.
Circumstances of signing
At the end of September 1918, the German command informed the Kaiser, who was at headquarters in Belgium, that Germany's situation was hopeless. There was no guarantee that the front would hold out for at least another day. The Kaiser was advised to accept the terms of the President of the United States and reform the government in order to hope for better terms. This will shift the responsibility for the defeat of Germany to the democratic parties and parliament, so as not to tarnish the imperial government.
Armistice negotiations began in October 1918. Later it turned out that the Germans were not ready to consider the abdication of the Kaiser, which was demanded by Woodrow Wilson. Negotiations were delayed, although it was absolutely clear that the end of the 1st World War was approaching. Signing in the endhappened at 5:10 am on November 11 in the carriage of Marshal F. Foch in the Compiègne forest. The German delegation was received by Marshal Fon and Admiral of Great Britain R. Wimiss. The truce went into effect at 11 o'clock in the morning. One hundred and one volleys were fired on this occasion.
Basic terms of the truce
According to the signed agreement, hostilities ceased within six hours from the time of signing, the immediate evacuation of German troops from Belgium, France, Alsace-Lorraine, Luxembourg began, which was to be fully completed within fifteen days. This was followed by the evacuation of German troops from the territory on the western bank of the Rhine River and within a radius of thirty kilometers from the bridges on the right bank (with further occupation of the liberated territories by the Allies and the United States).
All German troops were to be evacuated from the eastern front in positions as of August 1, 1914 (July 28, 1914 - the date of the start of World War 1), and the end of the withdrawal of troops was replaced by the occupation of US territories and the Allies. The naval blockade of Germany by Great Britain remained in force. All submarines and modern ships of Germany were interned (internment - forced detention or other restriction of freedom of movement). The enemy command had to hand over in good condition 1,700 aircraft, 5,000 locomotives, 150,000 wagons, 5,000 guns, 25,000 machine guns and 3,000 mortars.
Brest-Litovsky peacefulagreement
Under the terms of the peace, Germany had to abandon the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Bolshevik government. This treaty ensured the exit of the RSFSR from the First World War. At the first stage, the Bolsheviks persuaded the Western states to conclude a universal peace and even received formal consent. But the Soviet side dragged out negotiations in order to agitate for a general revolution, while the German government insisted on recognizing the right to occupy Poland, part of Belarus and the B altic states.
The fact of the conclusion of the treaty caused a sharp reaction both among the opposition in Russia and in the international arena, which led to an aggravation of the Civil War. The agreement did not lead to a cessation of hostilities in the Transcaucasus and Eastern Europe, but divided the "clash of empires", which was finally documented by the end of World War 1.
Political Consequences
The dates of the beginning and end of World War 1 mark an important period in modern history. As a result of hostilities, Europe ended its existence as the center of the colonial world. The four largest empires collapsed, namely the German, Ottoman, Russian and Austro-Hungarian. The spread of communism took place on the territory of the Russian Empire and Mongolia, and the United States moved to a leading position in international politics.
After the end of the First World War, several new sovereign states appeared: Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Finland, the State of Slovene-Serbs and Croats. Socio-economic processes of the bordercenturies have slowed down, but the contradictions on the ethnic and class basis, interstate contradictions have become aggravated. The international legal order has changed significantly.
Economic consequences
The consequences of the war were disastrous for the economies of most countries. Military losses amounted to 208 billion dollars and twelve times the gold reserves of European states. A third of the national we alth of Europe was simply destroyed. Only two countries increased we alth during the war years - Japan and the United States. The United States has finally established itself as a leader in economic development in the world, and Japan has established a monopoly in Southeast Asia.
The we alth of the United States has increased by 40% during the years of hostilities in Europe. Half of the world's gold reserves were concentrated in America, and the cost of production increased from $24 billion to $62 billion. The status of a neutral country allowed the States to supply military materials, raw materials and food to the warring parties. The volume of trade with other states has doubled, and the value of exports has tripled. The country has eliminated almost half of its own debt and has become a creditor for a total of $15 billion.
Total German spending amounted to 150 billion in local currency, while the public debt increased from five to one hundred and sixty billion marks. By the end of World War I (when compared with 1913), production volumes decreased by 43%, agricultural production - by 35 to 50%. In 1916, famine began, because due to the blockade by the Entente countriesonly a third of the necessary food products were supplied to Germany. According to the Treaty of Versailles, after the end of the armed confrontation, Germany had to pay an indemnity in the amount of 132 billion gold marks.
Destruction and casu alties
During the war, about 10 million soldiers died, including about a million missing, up to 21 million were injured. The German Empire suffered the biggest losses (1.8 million), 1.7 million citizens died in the Russian Empire, 1.4 million in France, 1.2 million in Austria-Hungary, and 0.95 million in Great Britain. In the war thirty-four states with a population of about 67% of the world's population took part. As a percentage of the total number of civilians, Serbia suffered the most significant losses (6% of citizens died), France (3.4%), Romania (3.3%) and Germany (3%).
Paris Peace Conference
The Paris conference solved the main problems of the reorganization of the world after the end of the First (1) World War. Treaties were signed with Austria, Germany, Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria. During the negotiations, the Big Four (the leaders of France, the United States, Great Britain and Italy) held one hundred and forty-five meetings (in an informal setting) and adopted all the decisions that were later ratified by other participating countries (27 states participated in total). None of the governments that at that time claimed the status of legitimate power in the Russian Empire was invited to the conference.
Celebration of Armistice Day
The day of the signing of the armistice in the forest of Compiègne, which put an end to armed clashes, is a national holiday in most states of the former Entente. The centenary of the end of World War I was celebrated in 2018. In the UK, the victims were remembered with a minute of silence, a commemoration ceremony was held in the French capital at the Arc de Triomphe. The ceremony was attended by the leaders of more than 70 states.
