WW1 5

1914 - 1918

Following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Austria sought to inflict a military blow on Serbia to demonstrate its own strength and to dampen Serbian support for Yugoslav nationalism. However, Vienna, wary of the reaction of the Russian Empire (a major supporter of Serbia), and sought a guarantee from its ally Germany that Berlin would support Austria in any conflict. Germany agreed, but urged Austria to attack quickly, while world sympathy for Ferdinand was high, in order to localize the war and to avoid drawing in Russia.

Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia on 23 July 1914. Serbia's reply failed to satisfy the Austrians, and the two moved to a war footing. By July 1914, the great powers of Europe were divided into two coalitions: the Triple Entente, consisting of France, Russia, and Britain; and the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Russia felt it necessary to back Serbia, and approved partial mobilisation after Austria-Hungary shelled the Serbian capital of Belgrade, which was a few miles from the border, on 28 July. Full Russian mobilisation was announced on the evening of 30 July; the following day, Austria-Hungary and Germany did the same, while Germany demanded Russia demobilise within twelve hours. When Russia failed to comply, Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August in support of Austria-Hungary, the latter following suit on 6 August; France ordered full mobilisation in support of Russia on 2 August.

Germany's strategy for a war on two fronts against France and Russia was to rapidly concentrate the bulk of its army in the West to defeat France within 6 weeks, then shift forces to the East before Russia could fully mobilise; this was later known as the 'Schlieffen Plan'. On 2 August, Germany demanded free passage through Belgium, an essential element in achieving a quick victory over France. When this was refused, German forces invaded Belgium on 3 August and declared war on France the same day; the Belgian government invoked the 1839 'Treaty of London' and, in compliance with its obligations under this treaty, Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August.

On 12 August, Britain and France also declared war on Austria-Hungary; on 23 August, Japan sided with Britain, seizing German possessions in China and the Pacific. In November 1914, the Ottoman Empire entered the war on the side of Austria-Hungary and Germany, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, and the Sinai Peninsula. The war was fought in (and drew upon) each power's colonial empire also, spreading the conflict to Africa and across the globe. The Entente and its allies eventually became known as the 'Allied Powers', while the grouping of Austria-Hungary, Germany and their allies became known as the 'Central Powers'.

The German advance into France was halted at the Battle of the Marne and by the end of 1914, the Western Front settled into a war of attrition, marked by a long series of trench lines that changed little until 1917 (the Eastern Front, by contrast, was marked by much greater exchanges of territory). In 1915, Italy joined the Allied Powers and opened a front in the Alps. Bulgaria joined the Central Powers in 1915 and Greece joined the Allies in 1917, expanding the war in the Balkans.

The United States initially remained neutral, though even while neutral it became an important supplier of war materiel to the Allies. Eventually, after the sinking of American merchant ships by German submarines, the declaration by Germany that its navy would resume unrestricted attacks on neutral shipping, and the revelation that Germany was trying to incite Mexico to initiate war against the United States, the U.S. declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917. Trained American forces did not begin arriving at the front in large numbers until mid-1918, but the American Expeditionary Force ultimately reached some two million troops.

Though Serbia was defeated in 1915, and Romania joined the Allied Powers in 1916 only to be defeated in 1917, none of the great powers were knocked out of the war until 1918. The 1917 February Revolution in Russia replaced the Monarchy with the Provisional Government, but continuing discontent with the cost of the war led to the October Revolution, the creation of the Soviet Socialist Republic, and the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk by the new government in March 1918, ending Russia's involvement in the war.

Germany now controlled much of eastern Europe and transferred large numbers of combat troops to the Western Front. Using new tactics, the German March 1918 Offensive was initially successful. The Allies fell back and held. The last of the German reserves were exhausted as 10,000 fresh American troops arrived every day. The Allies drove the Germans back in their Hundred Days Offensive, a continual series of attacks to which the Germans had no reply. One by one the Central Powers quit: first Bulgaria (September 29), then the Ottoman Empire (October 31) and the Austro-Hungarian empire (November 3). With its allies defeated, revolution at home, and the military no longer willing to fight, Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated on 9 November and Germany signed an armistice on 11 November 1918, ending the war.

World War I was a significant turning point in the political, cultural, economic, and social climate of the world. The war and its immediate aftermath sparked numerous revolutions and uprisings. The Big Four (Britain, France, the United States, and Italy) imposed their terms on the defeated powers in a series of treaties agreed at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, the most well known being the German peace treaty: the 'Treaty of Versailles'.

Ultimately, as a result of the war, the Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian Empires ceased to exist, and numerous new states were created from their remains. However, despite the conclusive Allied victory (and the creation of the League of Nations during the Peace Conference, intended to prevent future wars), a second world war followed just over twenty years later.

New Inovation in World War 1

War is a time of inovation. Tanks, Aircraft and Machine Guns all progressed at great speed during WW1 but there were many others, some good, some bad and some now well known!
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Stainless Steel

Developed by Metallurgist Harry Brearley. He found that by adding Chromium to molten iron in the production of steel it prevented rust. Ideal for medical equipment, knives and forks and engine production.

Blood Banks

A few blood transfusions took place in early 1914 but WW1 led to the rapid development of blood banks and transfusion techniques. Canadian Lieutenant Lawrence Bruce Robertson was instrumental in persuading the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) to adopt the use of blood transfusion at the Casualty Clearing Stations for the wounded. In October 1915, Robertson performed his first wartime transfusion with a syringe to a patient suffering from multiple shrapnel wounds.

Plastic Surgery

Inspired by the sight of soldiers' faces ravaged by shrapnel, many of which remained covered by masks, Harold Gillies established the field of plastic surgery, pioneering the first attempts of facial reconstruction.

The Thomas Splint

Invented in the late 19th Century by pioneering surgeon Hugh Owen Thomas, often described as the father of British orthopaedics, born in Anglesey to a family of "bone setters". One of the most important advances - The Thomas Splint - is still used in war zones today.

Zip Fastener

The 'Hookless Fastener', with its slider which locked the two sets of teeth together was developed by Gideon Sundback, of the Universal Fastener Company. The US military incorporated them into money belts, uniforms and boots, particularly the Navy. After the war it became the 'Zip Fastener' for civilian use.

Sanitary pads

Developed by Kimberley Clark in 1914 'Cellucotton' was five times more absorbent than cotton and, when mass-produced, half as expensive!

Red Cross nurses on the battlefield realised its benefits for their own personal, hygienic use, and it was this unofficial use that made Kimberley Clark's fortune.

Wristwatches

Although invented before WW1 their use by men took off dramatically. Pre war, women wore wristwatches whereas men used the pocket watch, which was impractical in the trenches. After the war, the wristwatch was the usual way to tell the time.

Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time had been suggested before the war but when faced with acute shortages of coal, the German authorities decreed that on 30 April 1916, the clocks should move forward from 23:00 to midnight, so giving an extra hour of daylight in the evenings. What started in Germany as a means to save coal for heating and light quickly spread to other countries.

Britain began three weeks later on 21 May 1916. Other European countries followed. On 19 March 1918, the US Congress established several time zones and made daylight saving time official from 31 March for the remainder of WW1.

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Vegetarian Sausages

During WW1 Konrad Adenauer was Mayor of Cologne and as the British blockade of Germany began to bite, starvation set in badly in the city, he researched ways of substituting available materials for scarce items such as meat.
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Adenauer came up with soy as the meatless ingredient. It was dubbed the 'Friedenswurst' or "Peace Sausage". He applied for a patent with the Imperial Patent Office in Germany but was denied one. Apparently, it was contrary to German regulations about the proper content of a sausage - if it didn't contain meat it couldn't be a sausage.

Ironically, he had better luck with Britain, Germany's enemy at the time. King George V granted the soy sausage a patent on 26 June 1918.

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Depth Charges

Depth charges were developed by the British during World War I, and were one of the first effective methods of attacking a submarine underwater. The first success was the sinking of U-68 off Kerry, Ireland, on 22 March 1916, by the HMS Farnborough.

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Trench Coat

Although first designed before WW1 it was adapted for use in the trenches, hence its name. They were water resistant and protected from the cold. Added pockets and flaps were useful for carrying maps and guns. Clothing manufacturer Burberry were soon selling 'Trench Coats' to the British public.

Source: Wikipedia/BBC