Ypres, 1917. Battle aftermath. Remains of the Chateau Wood |
World War I (also known as First World War, the Great War, the War of the Nations, and the War to
End All Wars) was a world conflict occurring from 1914 to 1918. No previous conflict had
mobilized so many soldiers
or involved so many in the field of battle. Never before had casualties been so
high.
Chemical weapons were used for the first time,
the first mass bombardment of civilians from the sky
was executed, and some of the century's first large-scale civilian massacres took place. Four
dynasties, the Habsburgs, the Romanovs, the Ottomans and the Hohenzollerns, who had roots of
power back to the days of the Crusades, all fell after the war.
World War I proved to be the decisive break with the old world order, marking the final demise of
absolutist monarchy in Europe. It would prove the
catalyst for the Russian Revolution, which would
inspire later revolutions in countries as diverse as China and Cuba, and would lay the basis for
the Cold War standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States.
The defeat of Germany in the
war and failure to resolve the unsettled issues that had
caused the Great War would lay the basis
for the rise of Nazism, and thus the outbreak of World War II in 1939. It also laid the basis for
a new form of warfare that relied heavily on
technology, and would involve non-combatants in war as never before.
World War I became infamous for trench warfare,
where huge numbers of troops were confined to
trenches and could move little because of tight defenses. This was especially true of the Western
Front. Over 9 million men would die on the battlefield, and nearly that many more people would die
on the home front from food shortages, starvation, genocide, and
being caught up in the fighting.
Social Effects of WW1
One of the distinguishing features of the war was its totality. All aspects of the societies
fighting were affected by the conflict, often causing profound societal change, even if the
countries were not in the warzone.
One of the most dramatic such effects was the expansion of government, its powers and responsibilities
in Britain, France, the United States, and the British dominions. In order to harness all the power
of their societies, new government ministries and powers were created. New taxes were levied, and
laws enacted, all designed to bolster the war effort, many of which have lasted to this day.
At the same time, the war strained the abilities of the formerly large and bureaucratized governments
such as in Austria-Hungary and Germany. Here, however, the long term effects were clouded by the
defeat of these governments.
Families were altered by the departure of many men. With the death or absence of the primary wage
earner women were forced into the workforce in unprecedented numbers, at least in many of the Entente
powers. At the same time, industry needed to replace the lost labourers sent to war. This aided the
struggle for voting rights for women.
Legacy
The First World War ended with a Europe scarred by trenches, spent of resources, and littered with
the bodies of the millions who died in battle. The direct consequences of WWI brought many old regimes
crashing to the ground, and ultimately, would lead to the end of 300 years of European hegemony.
More articles about the history of World War 1 detail the following topics:
Please also check the Banknotes from WW1
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