The years 1914 - 1918 can be called the period of the First World War, during which Russia suffered a lot of military failures. Among the events that occurred at this time, we can highlight: the fall of the monarchy, the February revolution, the arrival of the provisional government, and, of course, the Bolsheviks.
I would immediately like to mention Nicholas II, who played a huge, if not vital role during the fall of the monarchy in Russia - he signed a manifesto abdicating the throne. The second significant personality of this era is Lenin. He was a key figure in the Bolsheviks' rise to power: after the February Revolution, he insisted that the Bolsheviks take power into their own hands, headed the headquarters of the uprising and wrote an appeal to the citizens of Russia, in which he said that there was no longer a provisional government.
I would also like to say a few words about the beginning of the war.
It began as a result of the fact that the Serbian student Gavrila Princip shot and killed Franz Ferdinand - this was the official reason for the outbreak of hostilities. The cause-and-effect relationship between failures in war, famine and inaction is also clearly visible. royal power, And February revolution- dissatisfied people began an armed uprising.
In general, 1914 - 1918 led Russia to new upheavals - a civil war that lasted until the 20s and the formation of a new type of government that would last until the end of the 20th century.
Updated: 2017-06-18
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1914-1918
Period 1914-1918 one of the most difficult periods in Russian history. One of the main events of that time was the First World War, which exacerbated contradictions within Russian society. A national crisis has broken out in the country; it has affected all aspects of society: in politics this is “ministerial leapfrog” - frequent changes of ministers, criticism of the government by the IV State Duma, the creation« Progressive Bloc" (1915)a coalition of the majority of Duma factions demanding the creation of a government of “people's trust; in the economy: a drop in production, in the social sphere: an increase in worker strikes and unrest among peasants. All this led the country to the Great Revolution of 1917, the overthrow of the monarchy and the Bolsheviks coming to power.
The First World War began in the summer of 1914. The reason for it was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in the city of Sarajevo. By the beginning of the war, two opposing blocs had emerged in the world: the Triple Alliance and the Entente, which included Russia. The military campaign of 1914 showed that the war would be protracted.The 1915 campaign was unsuccessful for Russia and as a result, Nicholas II decided to head the Supreme High Command. The 1916 campaign was more successful for Russia.A.A. played a huge role in this. Brusilov. The offensive he led went down in history under the name “Brusilovsky breakthrough.” In May 1916, his troops broke through the enemy’s defenses in several places at once and advanced 150 km to the West.The consequence of Brusilov's breakthrough was the cessation of Germany's attacks on Verdun and the transfer of reinforcements to the eastern front.
The most important events of the period from February to October were the April, June and July political crises of the Provisional Government, which came to power after the abdication of Nicholas 2, and the defeat of the Kornilov revolt. These political crises were stages of the growing national crisis in the country. The revolution developed rapidly. The Bolshevik party led by V.I. Lenin gained great popularity in the country. During the struggle, Lenin formulated the main strategy of the party; slogans understandable to the people were put forward: “Land to the peasants!”, “Factory to the workers!”, “Peace to the peoples”!October 25, 1917 IN AND. Lenin, together with his comrades, organizes an uprising and seizes power. On January 5, the Constituent Assembly is convened, but it refuses to recognize the decrees of the Bolsheviks, so Lenin and the Bolsheviks disperse it. These actions of the Bolsheviks lead to the beginning of the civil war in Russia.
For Russia, due to internal problems caused by the revolution, the First World War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918. After the Bolsheviks came to power, Trotsky became People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs.Participating in separate negotiations with the powers of the “quadruple bloc”, he put forward the formula “we stop the war, we don’t sign peace, we demobilize the army,” which was supported by the Bolshevik Central Committee(V.I. Lenin was against it). Somewhat later, after the offensive was resumed German troops , Lenin managed to achieve the acceptance and signing of the terms of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, which was difficult for Russia.
The First World War was a great test for Russian society, changing its economy, politics, social psychology and the individual consciousness of people. Most historians are of the opinion that there is a direct connection between the events of August 1, 1914 and the death of the monarchy in February 1917 in Russia.As historian A.P. Zhilin wrote: “The war led to the collapse of the most powerful European states and the emergence of a new geopolitical situation in the world.” Russia's separate withdrawal from the war led to the intervention of the Antana countries during the civil war on the side of the white movement and to the isolation of Soviet Russia from summing up the results of the war.
On the topic: methodological developments, presentations and notes
1914-1918 1st World War 9th grade test
The material is good to use when testing knowledge on the topic “World War 1” in both the 9th and 11th grades. Contains all the main dates, events and information about the main actors and war heroes...
Crossword “First World War 1914-1918”
The First World War (July 28, 1914 - November 11, 1918) is one of the most large-scale armed conflicts in human history. This name was established in historiography only after...
SECONDARY SCHOOL No. 33 - CENTER FOR AESTHETIC AND DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION NAMED AFTER L.A. KOLOSOVA
FOREIGN HISTORY
First World War 1914-1918
Belozerov Anton
Supervisor:
GOlovanov V.A.
PLAN
Introduction
Causes and nature of the war
2. Armed forces and plans of the parties
Beginning of the war
3.1 Company 1914
2 Company 1915
3 Company 1916
4 Company 1917
5 Company 1918
Military-political results of the war
Conclusion
Introduction
There are many reasons why the First World War began, but various scientists and various records of those years tell us that the main reason is that Europe was developing very rapidly at that time. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were no longer any territories around the world that were not captured by capitalist powers. During this period, Germany surpassed all of Europe in terms of industrial production, and since Germany had very few colonies, it sought to capture them. By capturing them, Germany would have new markets. At that time, England and France had very large colonies, so the interests of these countries often clashed.
I chose this topic because I decided to figure out why the war started? What was the reason for this? How did the war affect the course of history? What technological advances occurred during the war? What lessons did the participating countries learn from this war, and why did the First World War serve as an impetus for the Second?
It seems to me that this topic in itself is very interesting. Even when analyzing only companies, we come to different conclusions each time, and each time we extract something useful from these situations. During the First World War, it is possible to trace how the technical and economic development of each country developed. During the four years of war, we find how new technical means influence the course of the war, how the war helps scientific progress. The war even changes the idea of the army. The greater the economic and technological progress, the more murder weapons appear, the bloodier the war itself becomes, and the more more countries becomes participants in this war.
Analyzing the collected material, I came to the conclusion that the First World War, and especially the Treaty of Versailles, was one of the main reasons why the Second World War broke out.
1. Causes and nature of the war
I will start my essay with the main causes of the First World War. The First World War arose as a result of the intensification of the political and economic struggle between the largest imperialist countries for markets and sources of raw materials, for the redivision of an already divided world. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the division of the world was already completed, globe there are no territories left that have not yet been captured by the capitalist powers, there are no more so-called “free spaces” left. “It has arrived,” V.I. pointed out. Lenin, “inevitably the era of monopoly ownership of colonies, and, consequently, a particularly intensified struggle for the division of the world.”
As a result of the uneven, spasmodic development of capitalism in the era of imperialism, some countries that took the capitalist path of development later than others quickly caught up and surpassed such old colonial countries as England and France in technical and economic terms. Particularly indicative was the development of Germany, which by 1900 had surpassed these countries in terms of industrial production, but was significantly inferior in the size of its colonial possessions. Because of this, the interests of Germany and England collided most often. Germany openly sought to capture British markets in the Middle East and Africa.
Germany's colonial expansion was met with resistance from France, which also had huge colonies. Very sharp contradictions between the countries existed over Alsace and Lorraine, captured by Germany back in 1871.
With its penetration into the Middle East, Germany created a threat to Russian interests in the Black Sea basin. Austria-Hungary, allied with Germany, became a serious competitor Tsarist Russia in the struggle for influence in the Balkans.
Exacerbation of foreign policy contradictions between largest countries led to the division of the world into two hostile camps and to the formation of two imperialist groupings: Triple Alliance(Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and the Tripartite Agreement, or Entente (England, France, Russia).
The war between the major European powers was beneficial to the US imperialists, since as a result of this struggle favorable conditions developed for the further development of American expansion, especially in Latin America and on Far East. American monopolies relied on maximizing benefits from Europe.
In preparing for war, the imperialists saw in it not only a means of resolving external contradictions, but also a means that could help them cope with the growing discontent of the population of their own countries and suppress the growing revolutionary movement. The bourgeoisie hoped during the war to destroy the international solidarity of the workers, to physically exterminate the best part working class, for the socialist revolution.
Due to the fact that the war for the redivision of the world affected the interests of all imperialist countries, most of the world's states gradually became drawn into it. The war became global, both in its political goals and in scale.
By its nature, the war of 1914-1918 was imperialistic, aggressive, unfair on both sides. It was a war over who could plunder and oppress more. The majority of the parties of the Second International, betraying the interests of the working people, advocated war in support of the bourgeoisie and the governments of their countries.
The Bolshevik Party led by V.I. Lenin, having determined the nature of the war, called for a fight against it, for turning the imperialist war into a civil war.
2. Armed forces and plans of the parties
In my opinion, the strengths of each side were very important. By the beginning of the war, all major European states, except England, had standing armies, recruited on the basis of universal conscription. In England the army was mercenary. Only after the outbreak of war did the British government introduce universal conscription.
The main branch of troops in the armies of all states was infantry. The ground forces included cavalry and artillery. Special troops had a very insignificant share (about 2%).
The highest tactical infantry formation is the corps, which usually consisted of two or three infantry divisions, cavalry, artillery and other units of reinforcement and support units.
The infantry division had from 16 to 21 thousand people, 36-48 guns and about 30 machine guns.
In infantry regiments, the main means of combat was a repeating rifle with an effective firing range of about 200 m and a rate of fire of 10-12 rounds per minute. In addition, the regiment had 6-8 heavy machine guns. The regiment, as a rule, did not have standard artillery. The artillery was at the disposal of the division commander.
The main type of divisional artillery were 75-76 mm caliber guns with a firing range of 7-8 km. There was little heavy artillery.
By the beginning of the war, the Russian armed forces had 263 aircraft, Germany - 232, England - 258, France - 156. The army corps included detachments of 3-6 aircraft intended for reconnaissance. All armies had armored cars and armored trains in small quantities. By 1914, the armed forces of Germany had about 4,000 vehicles, Russia - 4,500, England - 900, France - 6,000.
The main burden of the fight continued to fall on the infantry, armed with a rifle. The political and military leaders of the countries participating in the war were unable to correctly foresee the nature of future war and determine the amount of forces and means required to carry it out. Bourgeois military theorists on the eve of the First World War saw the highest achievement of military thought in reproducing the examples of military leadership of Napoleon, Moltke and other commanders of the 19th century. The experience of later wars was not taken into account sufficiently. Changes in the methods of combat that occurred in these wars were considered a random phenomenon, caused either by the peculiarities of the theater of military operations, or by poor training of troops, or by erroneous actions of commanders. The emergence of a positional front during the Russo-Japanese War was considered an accident. Therefore, the problem of breaking through positional defenses was not even theoretically studied. All attention was paid to attacking shallow focal defenses. The main form of combat formation of troops was considered to be a rifle chain.
In addition to battleships, which for a long time were considered the basis of the fleet, the navies included destroyers and submarines. However, the theory of the combat use of these weapons was in its infancy. A naval battle was still viewed as a one-act clash between battleships. Destroyers and submarines were considered means of coastal defense. The issues of interaction between the diverse forces of the fleet were not developed.
The military action plans of the main participants in the war did not sufficiently take into account the increased role of economic and moral factors and were designed to conduct battles only at the expense of mobilization reserves accumulated in peacetime. It was believed that the war would be short-lived.
The essence of the German plan was the desire to beat the opponents consistently and thus avoid a war on two fronts. It was planned to first strike France and defeat its army, then transfer the main forces to the east and defeat the Russian army. This circumstance determined the choice of the strategic form of the offensive - a flank bypass and encirclement of the main enemy forces. In order to bypass and encircle the French army, a flank maneuver was planned to be carried out through Belgium, bypassing the main forces of the French army from the north. In the east, it was planned to deploy 15-16 divisions, which were supposed to cover East Prussia from a possible invasion by Russian troops. Active operations at this time were to be carried out by Austro-Hungarian troops.
The main flaw of the German plan was to overestimate the enemy's strength.
The Austro-Hungarian war plan was strongly influenced by the demand of the German General Staff to pin down the Russian armies during the period when Germany delivered the main blow to France. In this regard, the Austro-Hungarian general staff planned active actions against Russia, Serbia and Czechoslovakia. The main blow was planned to be delivered from Galicia to the east and northeast. The Austro-Hungarian plan was built without real consideration of the country's economic and moral capabilities. This clearly demonstrated the influence of the German military school- underestimating the enemy's strength and overestimating one's own strength. The available forces did not correspond to the assigned tasks.
The French plan, although it provided for active offensive actions, was of a passive wait-and-see nature, since the initial actions of the French troops were made dependent on the actions of the enemy. The plan provided for the creation of three strike groups, but only one of them (Lorraine) received an active task - to attack Lorraine and Alsace. The central group was supposed to become a connecting link, covering the border in its own zone, and the Belgian group was supposed to act depending on the enemy’s position. If the Germans violate the neutrality of Belgium and begin to advance through its territory, then this army must be ready to attack in a north-easterly direction.
The British plan was based on the fact that the allies - Russia and France - should bear the brunt of waging war on land. The main task of the British armed forces was to ensure supremacy at sea. For operations on land, it was planned to transfer seven divisions to France.
The Russian war plan, due to the economic and political dependence of Tsarist Russia on Anglo-French capital, provided for simultaneously offensive actions against Austria-Hungary and against Germany. The plan had two options. According to option “A”: if Germany concentrates its main forces against France, then the main efforts of the Russian army were directed against Austria-Hungary. According to option “D”: in the event of Germany delivering the main blow to Russia, the Russian army would turn its main efforts against Germany. The Northwestern Front was supposed to defeat the 8th German Army and capture East Prussia. The Southwestern Front was tasked with encircling and defeating the Austro-Hungarian troops stationed in Galicia.
By the beginning of hostilities, the strategic deployment of troops in accordance with the adopted war plan was completed only by Germany. The Germans deployed 86 infantry and 10 cavalry divisions (about 1.6 million people and 5 thousand guns) against France and Belgium. The German troops were opposed by 85 infantry and 12 cavalry divisions of French-Anglo-Belgian troops (over 1.3 million people and 4640 guns). 75 Russian divisions (over 1 million people and 3,200 guns) were concentrated in the Eastern European theater of war against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Russia's opponents had 64 divisions (about 1 million people and 2,900 guns). Consequently, at the beginning of the war, neither side had an overall superiority in forces.
3. The beginning of the war
The immediate reason for the outbreak of hostilities was the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne in Sarajevo. The Austrian-Hungarian government, with German approval, presented an ultimatum to Serbia, demanding freedom to interfere in Serbia's internal affairs. Despite Serbia's acceptance of almost all conditions. Austria-Hungary declared war on her on July 28. Two days later, the Russian government, in response to the opening of hostilities by Austria-Hungary, announced general mobilization. Germany used this as a pretext and launched a war against Russia on August 1, and against France on August 3. England declared war on Germany on August 4. At the end of August, Japan took the side of the Entente, which decided to take advantage of the fact that Germany would be pinned down in the west and seize its colonies in the Far East. On October 30, 1914, Türkiye entered the war on the side of the Entente.
In 1914, Italy did not enter the war, declaring its neutrality. She began military operations in May 1915 on the side of the Entente. In April 1917, the United States entered the war on the side of the Entente.
The military operations that began in August 1914 unfolded in several theaters and continued until November 1918. Based on the nature of the tasks being solved and the military-political results achieved, the first world war It is customary to divide it into five campaigns, each of which includes several operations.
3.1 Company 1914
In the literature, the tsarist government is traditionally accused of poorly preparing the Russian army and military industry for the First World War. And indeed, with regard to artillery, especially heavy artillery, the Russian army turned out to be worse prepared than Germany, in terms of the saturation of vehicles it was worse than France, the Russian fleet was inferior to the German one. There were shortages of shells, cartridges, small arms, uniforms and equipment. But in fairness, it must be said that none of the war planners in any general headquarters of any country imagined that it would last 4 years and 3 and a half months. Not a single country had weapons, equipment, or food for such a long period. The General Staffs expected a maximum of 3-4 months, in the worst case, six months.
Accordingly, all sides sought to quickly launch offensive actions. The Germans were counting on a lightning campaign on the Western Front with the goal of defeating France, and then on actions against Russia, whose armed forces were supposed to be shackled by Austria. Russia, as can be seen from the memorandum of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army led. book Nikolai Nikolaevich (uncle of Nicholas II), intended to launch an attack on Berlin by forces of the North western front(commander Ya.G. Zhilinsky) and the attack on Vienna by the forces of the Southwestern Front (commander N.I. Ivanov). There were relatively few enemy troops on the Eastern Front at that time - 26 German divisions and 46 Austrian. The French armies did not plan an immediate offensive and were counting on the effect of the Russian offensive.
The direction of a possible German attack was determined incorrectly by the French military command. Germany adhered to the "Schlieffen Plan", named after the long-time chief of the German General Staff, who died shortly before the war. She hoped to break through the weakly defended borders of Luxembourg and Belgium into France and force it to capitulate even before Russia concentrated its troops for a strike.
A powerful group of German troops drove back the Belgian army and invaded France. The French and the English corps that landed on the northern coast of France were forced to retreat under pressure from superior forces. The enemy moved towards Paris.
Emperor Wilhelm, calling for ruthlessness, promised to put an end to France in the fall. Mortal danger looms over France. The government temporarily left the capital.
To save the allies, the Russian armies accelerated the preparation of the offensive and launched it with an incomplete deployment of all their forces. A week and a half after the declaration of war, the 1st and 2nd armies under the command of generals P.K. Rennkampf and A.V. Samsonov invaded East Prussia and defeated enemy troops during the Battle of Gumbinnen-Goldan. At the same time, forces were concentrated in the area of Warsaw and the new fortress of Novogeorgievsk for the main strategic attack on Berlin. At the same time, the offensive of the 3rd and 8th armies of the Southwestern Front against the Austrians began. It developed successfully and led to the occupation of the territory of Galicia (Lviv was captured on August 21). At the same time, the armies in East Prussia, without achieving coordination in their actions, were defeated piecemeal by the enemy. The defeat in East Prussia in August 1914 deprived Russian troops of activity in this area for the entire duration of the war. They now received only defensive tasks - to defend Moscow and Petrograd.
The successful offensive in Galicia led to the fact that reserves for the Southwestern Front began to be withdrawn even from near Warsaw, parting with plans for an attack on Berlin. The center of gravity of the Russian army's operations as a whole is moving south, against Austria-Hungary. On September 12 (25), 1914, by order of Headquarters, the offensive on the Southwestern Front was suspended. In 33 days, Russian troops advanced 280-300 km, and reached the line of the Vistula River 80 km from Krakow. The powerful fortress of Przemysl was besieged. A significant part of Bukovina with the main city of Chernivtsi was occupied. Austrian combat losses reached 400 thousand people. Of these, 100 thousand were prisoners, 400 guns were captured.
The Galician offensive operation was one of the most brilliant victories of the Russian army during the entire First World War.
During October - November, two major battles took place on Polish territory: Warsaw-Ivanogodsky and Lodz.
At times, over 800 thousand people took part in the battles on both sides. Neither side managed to completely solve their problems. However, in general, the actions of Russian troops were more effective. Although the attack on Berlin never materialized, the Western Allies, especially France, who were in dire straits, were given a respite.
More than 1.5 million people took part on both sides in the Battle of the Marne in September 1914. French and English troops went on the offensive. On September 9, the Germans began retreating along the entire front. They were able to stop the advancing enemy only at the Aisne River. The government and diplomatic corps, who hastily fled to Bordeaux, were able to return to Paris.
By the end of 1914, the Western Front had stabilized from the North Sea to the Swiss border. The soldiers dug into the trenches. War of maneuver turned into positional warfare.
At the end of November 1914, at a meeting of the commanders of the fronts of the Russian army in Brest, it was decided to suspend offensive operations, and until January 1915, a lull reigned on the Eastern Front.
Serbian troops waged a heroic struggle against the onslaught of the Austro-Hungarian army, which captured Belgrade twice in the fall of 1914, but in December 1914 the Serbs expelled the occupiers from the entire territory of Serbia and until the fall of 1915 waged a positional war with the Austro-Hungarian army.
Turkish troops, instructed by German military specialists, launched an offensive on the Transcaucasian Front in the fall of 1914. However, Russian troops repulsed this offensive and successfully advanced in the Erzurum, Alakshert and Vienna directions. In December 1914, two corps of the Turkish army under the command of Enver Pasha launched an offensive near Sarakamysh. but here, too, the Russian army forced one corps to capitulate, and the second corps was completely destroyed. Subsequently, Turkish troops did not attempt to continue any active military operations.
Russian troops also expelled the Turks from Iranian Azerbaijan: only some areas of Western Iran were retained by the Turks.
By the end of 1914, on all fronts, the armies of both warring coalitions switched to protracted trench warfare.
The war on the seas and oceans in the second half of 1914 essentially came down to a mutual blockade of the coasts. The first naval battle was the raid on August 28, 1914, by the English squadron of Admiral Beatty on German ships stationed in the bay of the island of Heligoland. As a result of this raid, three German cruisers and one destroyer were sunk, while the British only damaged one cruiser. Then two more minor battles took place: on November 1, 1914, in the Battle of Coronel off the coast of Chile, the English squadron was defeated by German ships, losing two cruisers, and on December 8, the English squadron defeated German ships off the Falkland Islands, completely destroying Admiral Spee's squadron. These naval battles did not change the balance of naval forces: the English fleet was still superior to the Austro-German one, which took refuge in the bays of the island of Heligoland, in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven. On the oceans, in the North and Mediterranean seas The Entente fleet dominated, it cut off power to its communications. But already in the first months of the war, a great threat to the Entente fleet was revealed from German submarines, which on September 22 sank, one after another, three British battleships carrying out patrol duty on the sea routes.
The pirate raid of "Goeben" and "Breslay" on the Black Sea coast of Russia did not produce significant results. Already on November 18, the Russian Black Sea Fleet inflicted severe damage to the Goeben and forced the Turkish fleet to take refuge in the Bosphorus. The Russian Baltic Fleet was in the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Finland under a reliable minefield in the Baltic Sea.
Thus, by the end of 1914, the failure of the military-strategic plan of the German command became obvious. Germany was forced to fight a war on two fronts.
3.2 Company 1915
The Russian command entered 1915 with the firm intention of completing the victorious offensive of its troops in Galicia.
There were stubborn battles for the capture of the Carpathian passes and the Carpathian ridge. On March 22, after a six-month siege, Przemysl capitulated with its 127,000-strong garrison of Austro-Hungarian troops. But Russian troops failed to reach the Hungarian plain.
In 1915, Germany and its allies directed the main blow against Russia, hoping to defeat it and take it out of the war. By mid-April, the German command managed to transfer the best combat-ready corps from the Western Front, which, together with the Austro-Hungarian troops, formed a new shock 11th Army under the command of the German General Mackensen.
Having concentrated on the main direction of the counteroffensive troops that were twice as large as the Russian troops, bringing up artillery that outnumbered the Russians by 6 times, and by 40 times in heavy guns, the Austro-German army broke through the front in the Gorlitsa area on May 2, 1915.
Under the pressure of Austro-German troops, the Russian army retreated from the Carpathians and Galicia with heavy fighting, abandoned Przemysl at the end of May, and surrendered Lviv on June 22. Then, in June, the German command, intending to pincer the Russian troops fighting in Poland, launched attacks with its right wing between the Western Bug and the Vistula, and with its left wing in the lower reaches of the Narew River. But here, as in Galicia, the Russian troops, who did not have enough weapons, ammunition and equipment, retreated after heavy fighting.
By mid-September 1915, the offensive initiative of the German army was exhausted. The Russian army was entrenched on the front line: Riga - Dvinsk - Lake Naroch - Pinsk - Ternopil - Chernivtsi, and by the end of 1915 the Eastern Front extended from Baltic Sea to the Romanian border. Russia lost vast territory, but retained its strength, although since the beginning of the war the Russian army had by this time lost about 3 million people in manpower, of which about 300 thousand were killed.
While the Russian armies were waging a tense, unequal war with the main forces of the Austro-German coalition, Russia's allies - England and France - on the Western Front throughout 1915 organized only a few private military operations that were of no significant importance. In the midst of bloody battles on the Eastern Front, when the Russian army was fighting heavy defensive battles, there was no offensive on the Western Front by the Anglo-French allies. It was adopted only at the end of September 1915, when the offensive operations of the German army on the Eastern Front had already ceased.
Lloyd George felt the remorse of ingratitude towards Russia with great delay. In his memoirs, he later wrote: “History will present its account to the military command of France and England, which, in its selfish stubbornness, doomed its Russian comrades in arms to death, while England and France could so easily have saved the Russians and thus would have helped themselves best.” ".
Having received a territorial gain on the Eastern Front, the German command, however, did not achieve the main thing - it did not force the tsarist government to conclude a separate peace with Germany, although half of all the armed forces of Germany and Austria-Hungary were concentrated against Russia.
Also in 1915, Germany attempted to deal a crushing blow to England. For the first time, she widely used a relatively new weapon - submarines - to stop the supply of necessary raw materials and food to England. Hundreds of ships were destroyed, their crews and passengers were killed. The indignation of neutral countries forced Germany not to sink passenger ships without warning. England, by increasing and accelerating the construction of ships, as well as developing effective measures to combat submarines, overcame the danger hanging over it.
In the spring of 1915, Germany, for the first time in the history of wars, used one of the most inhumane weapons - toxic substances, but this ensured only tactical success.
Germany also experienced failure in the diplomatic struggle. The Entente promised Italy more than Germany and Austria-Hungary, which faced Italy in the Balkans, could promise. In May 1915, Italy declared war on them and diverted some of the troops of Austria-Hungary and Germany.
This failure was only partially compensated by the fact that in the fall of 1915 the Bulgarian government entered the war against the Entente. As a result, the Quadruple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria was formed. The immediate consequence of this was the offensive of German, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian troops against Serbia. The small Serbian army heroically resisted, but was crushed by superior enemy forces. The troops of England, France, Russia and the remnants of the Serbian army, sent to help the Serbs, formed the Balkan Front.
As the war dragged on, suspicion and distrust of each other grew among the Entente countries. According to a secret agreement between Russia and its allies in 1915, in the event of a victorious end to the war, Constantinople and the straits were to go to Russia. Fearing the implementation of this agreement, on the initiative of Winston Churchill, under the pretext of an attack on the straits and Constantinople, allegedly to undermine the communications of the German coalition with Turkey, the Dardanelles expedition was undertaken with the aim of occupying Constantinople.
On February 1915, the Anglo-French fleet began shelling the Dardanelles. However, having suffered heavy losses, the Anglo-French squadron stopped bombing the Dardanelles fortifications a month later. On the Transcaucasian front, Russian forces in the summer of 1915, having repelled the offensive of the Turkish army in the Alashkert direction, launched a counteroffensive in the Vienna direction. At the same time, German-Turkish troops intensified military operations in Iran. Relying on the uprising of the Bakhtiari tribes provoked by German agents in Iran, Turkish troops began to advance to the oil fields and by the fall of 1915 occupied Kermanshah and Hamadan. But soon the arriving British troops drove the Turks and Bakhtiars away from the oil field area, and restored the oil pipeline destroyed by the Bakhtiaris. The task of clearing Iran of Turkish-German troops fell to the Russian expeditionary corps of General Baratov, who landed in Anzali in October 1915. Pursuing German-Turkish troops, Baratov’s detachments occupied Qazvin, Hamadan, Qom, Kashan and approached Isfahan.
In the summer of 1915, British troops captured the German South West Africa. In January 1916, the British forced German troops surrounded in Cameroon to surrender.
3.3 1916 campaign
The 1915 military campaign on the Western Front did not produce any major operational results. Positional battles only delayed the war. The Entente moved to an economic blockade of Germany, to which the latter responded with a merciless submarine war. In May 1915, a German submarine torpedoed the British ocean-going steamer Lusitania, on which over a thousand passengers died.
Without undertaking active offensive military operations, England and France, thanks to the shift in the center of gravity of military operations to the Russian front, received a respite, and focused all their attention on the development of the military industry. They accumulated strength for further war. By the beginning of 1916, England and France had an advantage over Germany by 70-80 divisions and were superior to it in the latest weapons (tanks appeared).
The severe consequences of active offensive military operations in 1914-1915 prompted the leaders of the Entente to convene a meeting of representatives general staffs Allied armies in December 1915 at Chantilly, near Paris, where they came to the conclusion that the war could only be ended victoriously with concerted active offensive operations on the main fronts.
However, even after this decision, the offensive in 1916 was scheduled primarily on the Eastern Front - June 15, and on the Western Front - July 1.
Having learned about the planned timing of the Entente offensive, the German command decided to take the initiative into their own hands and launch an offensive on the Western Front much earlier. At the same time, the main attack was planned on the area of the Verdun fortifications: for the protection of which, in the firm conviction of the German command, “the French command will be forced to sacrifice the last man,” since in the event of a breakthrough of the front at Verdun, a direct path to Paris will open. However, the attack on Verdun, launched on February 21, 1916, was not crowned with success, especially since in March, due to the advance of Russian troops in the area of the city of Dvinsky Lake Naroch, the German command was forced to weaken its onslaught near Verdun. However, bloody mutual attacks and counterattacks near Verdun continued for almost 10 months, until December 18, but did not produce significant results. The Verdun operation literally turned into a “meat grinder”, into the destruction of manpower. Both sides suffered colossal losses: the French - 350 thousand people, the Germans - 600 thousand people.
The German offensive on the Verdun fortifications did not change the Entente command's plan to launch the main offensive on July 1, 1916 on the Somme River.
The Somme battles intensified every day. In September, after a continuous barrage of Anglo-French artillery fire, British tanks soon appeared on the battlefield. However, technically still imperfect and used in small numbers, although they brought local success to the attacking Anglo-French troops, they could not provide a general strategic operational breakthrough of the front. By the end of November 1916, the Somme fighting began to subside. As a result of the entire Somme operation, the Entente captured an area of 200 square meters. km, 105 thousand German prisoners, 1,500 machine guns and 350 guns. In the battles on the Somme, both sides lost over 1 million 300 thousand killed, wounded and prisoners.
Carrying out the decisions agreed upon at a meeting of representatives of the general staffs in December 1915 in Chantilly, the high command of the Russian army scheduled for June 15 the main offensive on the Western Front in the direction of Baranovichi with a simultaneous auxiliary attack by the armies of the Southwestern Front under the command of General Brusilov in the Galician-Bukovinian direction.
However, the German offensive on Verdun, which began in February, again forced the French government to ask the Russian tsarist government for help through an offensive on the Eastern Front. At the beginning of March, Russian troops launched an offensive in the area of Dvinsk and Lake Navoch. The attacks of Russian troops continued until March 15, but led only to tactical successes. As a result of this operation, Russian troops suffered heavy losses, but they pulled over a significant number of German reserves and thereby eased the position of the French at Verdun.
French troops were given the opportunity to regroup and strengthen their defenses.
The Dvina-Naroch operation made it difficult to prepare for the general offensive on the Russian-German front, scheduled for June 15. However, after the help to the French, there was a new persistent request from the command of the Entente troops to help the Italians. In May 1916, the 400,000-strong Austro-Hungarian army went on the offensive in Trentino and inflicted a heavy defeat on the Italian army. Saving the Italian army, as well as the Anglo-French in the west, from complete defeat, the Russian command began an offensive of troops in the southwestern direction on June 4, earlier than planned. Russian troops under the command of General Brusilov, having broken through the enemy’s defenses on an almost 300-kilometer front, began to advance into Eastern Galicia and Bukovina (Brusilovsky breakthrough). But in the midst of the offensive, despite General Brusilov’s requests to reinforce the advancing troops with reserves and ammunition, the high command of the Russian army refused to send reserves to the southwestern direction and began, as previously planned, an offensive in the western direction. However, after a weak blow in the direction of Baranovichi, the commander of the northwestern direction, General Evert, postponed the general offensive to the beginning of July.
Meanwhile, the troops of General Brusilov continued to develop the offensive they had begun and by the end of June had advanced far into Galicia and Bukovina. On July 3, General Evert resumed the attack on Baranovichi, but attacks by Russian troops on this section of the front were not successful. Only after the complete failure of the offensive of General Evert’s troops did the high command of the Russian troops recognize the offensive of General Brusilov’s troops on the Southwestern Front as the main one - but it was already too late, time was lost, the Austrian command managed to regroup its troops and pull up reserves. Six divisions were transferred from the Austro-Italian front, and the German command, at the height of the Verdun and Somme battles, transferred eleven divisions to the Eastern Front. Further advance of Russian troops was suspended. As a result of the offensive on the Southwestern Front, Russian troops advanced deep into Bukovina and Eastern Galicia, occupying about 25 thousand square meters. km of territory. 9 thousand officers and over 400 thousand soldiers were captured. However, this success of the Russian army in the summer of 1916 did not bring a decisive strategic result due to the inertia and mediocrity of the high command, backwardness of transport, and lack of weapons and ammunition. Still, the offensive of Russian troops in 1916 played a major role. It eased the position of the Allies and, together with the offensive of the Anglo-French troops on the Somme, negated the initiative of the German troops and forced them in the future to strategic defense, and the Austro-Hungarian army after the Brusilov attack in 1916 was no longer capable of serious offensive operations.
When Russian troops under the command of Brusilov inflicted a major defeat on the Austro-Werger troops on the Southwestern Front, the Romanian ruling circles considered that the opportune moment had come to enter the war on the side of the winners, especially since, contrary to the opinion of Russia, England and France insisted on the entry of Romania into the war. On August 17, Romania independently began the war in Transylvania and initially achieved some success there, but when the Somme fighting died down, Austro-German troops easily defeated the Romanian army and occupied almost all of Romania, obtaining a fairly important source of food and oil. As the Russian command foresaw, 35 infantry and 11 cavalry divisions had to be transferred to Romania in order to strengthen the front along the Lower Danube - Braila - Focsani - Dorna - Vatra line.
On the Caucasian front, developing an offensive, Russian troops captured Erzurum on February 16, 1916, and occupied Trabzond (Trebizond) on April 18. Battles developed successfully for the Russian troops in the Urmia direction, where Ruvandiz was occupied, and near Lake Van, where Russian troops entered Mush and Bitlis in the summer.
3.4 1917 campaign
By the end of 1916, the superiority of the Entente was clearly revealed, both in the number of armed forces and in military equipment, especially in artillery, aviation and tanks. IN military campaign In 1917, the Entente entered on all fronts with 425 divisions against 331 enemy divisions. However, differences in the military leadership and the self-interested goals of the Entente participants often paralyzed these advantages, which was clearly manifested in the inconsistency of the Entente command during major operations in 1916. Having switched to strategic defense, the Austro-German coalition, still far from defeated, confronted the world with the fact of a protracted, exhausting war.
And every month, every week of the war entailed new colossal casualties. By the end of 1916, both sides had lost about 6 million people killed and about 10 million people wounded and maimed. Under the influence of enormous human losses and hardships at the front and in the rear, all the warring countries experienced a chauvinistic frenzy in the first months of the war. Every year the anti-war movement grew in the rear and at the fronts.
The prolongation of the war inevitably affected, among other things, the morale of the Russian army. The patriotic upsurge of 1914 was lost long ago, and the exploitation of the idea of “Slavic solidarity” also exhausted itself. Stories about German cruelties also did not have the desired effect. War fatigue was becoming more and more evident. Sitting in the trenches, the immobility of positional warfare, the absence of the simplest human conditions in the positions - all this was the background of the increasing frequency of soldier unrest.
To this we must add a protest against cane discipline, abuses by superiors, and embezzlement of the rear services. Both at the front and in the rear garrisons, cases of non-compliance with orders and expressions of sympathy for striking workers were increasingly observed. In August - September 1915, during a wave of strikes in Petrograd, many soldiers of the capital's garrison expressed solidarity with the workers, and demonstrations took place on a number of ships of the Baltic Fleet. In 1916, there was an uprising of soldiers at the Kremenchug distribution point, and at the same point in Gomel. In the summer of 1916, two Siberian regiments refused to go into battle. Cases of fraternization with enemy soldiers appeared. By the autumn of 1916, a significant part of the 10 million army was in a state of ferment.
The main obstacle to victory was now not material shortcomings (weapons and supplies, military equipment), but the internal state of society itself. Deep contradictions spanned layers. The main contradiction was between the tsarist-monarchist camp and the other two - liberal-bourgeois and revolutionary-democratic. The Tsar and the court camarilla grouped around him wanted to retain all their privileges, the liberal bourgeoisie wanted to gain access to government power, and the revolutionary-democratic camp, led by the Bolshevik Party, fought to overthrow the monarchy.
The broad masses of the population of all the warring countries were gripped by ferment. More and more workers demanded immediate peace and condemned chauvinism, protested against merciless exploitation, lack of food, clothing, fuel, and against the enrichment of the elite of society. The refusal of the ruling circles to satisfy these demands and the suppression of protests by force gradually led the masses to the conclusion that it was necessary to fight against the military dictatorship and the entire existing system. Anti-war protests grew into a revolutionary movement.
In such a situation, anxiety grew in the ruling circles of both coalitions. Even the most extreme imperialists could not help but take into account the mood of the masses who yearned for peace. Therefore, maneuvers were undertaken with “peace” proposals in the hope that these proposals would be rejected by the enemy, and in this case all the blame for the continuation of the war could be blamed on him.
So on December 12, 1916, the Kaiser’s government of Germany invited the Entente countries to begin “peace” negotiations. At the same time, the German “peace” proposal was designed to create a split in the Entente camp and to support those layers within the Entente countries that were inclined to achieve peace with Germany without a “crushing blow” to Germany by force of arms. Since Germany’s “peace” proposal did not contain any specific conditions and completely hushed up the question of the fate of the territories of Russia, Belgium, France, Serbia, and Romania occupied by Austro-German troops, this gave the Entente a reason to respond to this and subsequent proposals with specific demands for the liberation of Germany of all occupied territories, as well as the division of Turkey, the "reorganization" of Europe based on " national principle", which actually meant the Entente's refusal to enter into peace negotiations with Germany and its allies.
German propaganda noisily announced to the whole world that the Entente countries were to blame for the continuation of the war and that they were forcing Germany to take “defensive measures” through merciless “unrestricted submarine warfare.”
In February 1917, the bourgeois-democratic revolution won in Russia, and a movement for a revolutionary way out of the imperialist war developed widely in the country.
In response to the unrestricted submarine warfare on the part of Germany, which began in February 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with the latter, and on April 6, declaring war on Germany, entered the war in order to influence its results in its favor.
Even before the arrival of American soldiers, Entente troops launched an offensive on the Western Front on April 16, 1917. But the attacks of the Anglo-French troops, following one after another on April 16-19, were unsuccessful. The French and British lost more than 200 thousand killed in four days of fighting. In this battle, 5 thousand Russian soldiers from the 3rd Russian brigade, sent from Russia to help the allies, died. Almost all 132 British tanks participating in the battle were knocked out or destroyed.
In preparing for this military operation, the Entente command persistently demanded that the Russian Provisional Government launch an offensive on the Eastern Front. However, preparing such an offensive in revolutionary Russia was not easy. Nevertheless, the head of the Provisional Government, Kerensky, began intensively preparing an offensive, hoping, in case of success, to raise the prestige of the bourgeois Provisional Government, and in case of failure, to blame the Bolsheviks.
The Russian offensive in the Lvov direction, launched on July 1, 1917, initially developed successfully, but soon the German army, reinforced by 11 divisions transferred from the Western Front, launched a counteroffensive and threw the Russian troops far beyond their original positions.
Thus, in 1917, on all European fronts, despite the Entente’s superiority in manpower and military equipment, its troops failed to achieve decisive success in any of the offensives undertaken. The revolutionary situation in Russia and the lack of necessary coordination in military operations within the coalition thwarted the implementation of the Entente's strategic plans, designed for the complete defeat of the Austro-German bloc in 1917. And at the beginning of September 1917, the German army launched an offensive on the northern sector of the Eastern Front with the aim of capturing Riga and the Riga coast.
The Germans’ choice of the moment to attack near Riga was not accidental. This was the time when the Russian reactionary military elite, preparing a counter-revolutionary coup in the country, decided to rely on the German military. At a state meeting convened in Moscow in August, General Kornilov expressed his “assumption” about the imminent fall of Riga and the opening of roads to Petrograd, the cradle of the Russian revolution. This served as a signal for the German army to attack Riga. Despite the fact that there were every opportunity to hold Riga, it was surrendered to the Germans by order of the military command. Clearing the way for the Germans to revolutionary Petrograd, Kornilov began his open counter-revolutionary rebellion. Kornilov was defeated by revolutionary workers and soldiers under the leadership of the Bolsheviks.
The 1917 campaign was characterized by further attempts by the warring parties to overcome the positional deadlock, this time through the massive use of artillery, tanks and aircraft.
The saturation of troops with technical means of combat significantly complicated the offensive battle; it became in every sense combined arms battle, the success of which was achieved by coordinated actions of all branches of the military.
During the campaign operation, there was a gradual transition from dense rifle chains to group formations of troops. The core of these formations were tanks, escort guns and machine guns. Unlike rifle chains, groups could maneuver on the battlefield, destroy or bypass the firing points and strongholds of the defender, and advance at a faster pace.
The growth of the technical equipment of the troops created the preconditions for breaking through the positional front. In some cases, troops managed to break through enemy defenses to the entire tactical depth. However, in general, the problem of breaking through the positional front was not solved, since the attacker could not develop tactical success to an operational scale.
The development of means and methods of conducting an offensive led to further improvement of defense. The depth of defense of the divisions increased to 10-12 km. In addition to the main positions, they began to build forward, cutoff and rear positions. There has been a transition from rigid defense to maneuver of forces and means when repelling an enemy offensive.
3.5 1918 campaign
The preparation of the parties for hostilities in the 1918 campaign took place amid the growing revolutionary movement in the countries Western Europe under the influence of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Already in January 1918, mass strikes of workers broke out in a number of countries, and uprisings occurred in the armies and navies. The revolutionary movement grew especially quickly in Germany and Austria-Hungary.
The growth of the revolutionary movement in European countries was the main reason why the American imperialists began to transfer their troops to France.
By the beginning of 1918, the Entente (without Russia) had 274 divisions, 51,750 guns, 3,784 aircraft and 890 tanks. The countries of the German coalition had 275 divisions, 15,700 guns and 2,890 aircraft; there were no tanks in their army.
Having lost numerical superiority in forces due to Russia's withdrawal from the war, the Entente command decided to switch to strategic defense in order to accumulate forces and begin active operations in the second half of 1918.
The German command, planning military operations for 1918, planned to carry out two strikes: in the west - with the aim of defeating the allies, ahead of the arrival of the main contingent of US troops in France, and in the east - with the aim of unleashing a military intervention against the Soviet Republic.
The Germans struck the first blow in the West on March 21 on the right flank of the British in Picardy. Superiority in forces and surprise of actions ensured their success in the first days of the offensive. The British troops had to retreat and suffered significant losses. In this regard, the German command clarified the initial plan of the operation, deciding to defeat the French troops south of the Somme. However, during the operation, superiority in forces was lost. Fighting south of the Somme continued until April 4, when the German advance was completely stopped. It was not possible to defeat the main forces of the Anglo-French troops.
Five days later, the Germans launched an offensive against the British on the northern sector of the front in Flanders. As in March, here, due to the surprise of the offensive and significant superiority in forces, they initially managed to put the British in a critical position. But French reserves were brought forward to help, and this saved the British troops from defeat. Fighting in this direction continued until May 1. The Germans advanced 16-20 km, captured a number of settlements, but did not achieve their main goal - they failed to defeat the British.
Despite the failure of two operations, the Germans did not give up hope of defeating the Entente and forcing it to at least a compromise peace. To this end, May 27 began new operation, now against French troops in the Paris direction. The French front was broken through on the first day of the offensive. To cause panic in Paris, the Germans began shelling it with super-heavy guns, the firing range of which reached 120 km.
By May 30, German troops advancing in the center reached the Marne River, finding themselves 70 km away. From Paris. However, on the left wing their advance was stopped. Attempts to expand the breakthrough towards the flanks were unsuccessful. The forces of the Entente were constantly growing. The balance of enemy forces was almost equalized, and by June 7 active fighting stopped. The Germans failed to form the Marne. On June 11, the French launched a strong counterattack on the right flank of the German troops. The German offensive was stopped completely.
July the German command began a new offensive operation on the Marne with the aim of delivering the final crushing blow. The operation was prepared carefully with the expectation of a surprise attack. However, the French learned about the place and time of the upcoming attack and took a number of preventive measures, in particular, they withdrew their main forces to the rear. As a result of this, the German fire strike hit an empty place.
On the first day of the offensive, German troops crossed the Marne in several places and moved 5-8 km into the French positions. Having met the main forces of the French, the Germans were unable to advance further.
In July, French troops launched a counterattack on the right flank of German troops located on the Marne ledge, and threw them back 20-30 km beyond the Aisne River, that is, to the line from which they began their offensive in May.
The Entente command planned a number of private operations for the second half of 1918 with the aim of eliminating the ledges formed during the German offensive operations. It believed that if these operations were successful, then larger operations could be carried out in the future.
The offensive of the Anglo-French troops with the aim of eliminating the Amenien ledge began on August 8. An unexpected and strong blow from the Allies led to a breakthrough in the German defenses and rapid development operations. He contributed to the decline in morale of the German army. In just one day, over 10 thousand surrendered. German soldiers and officers.
In the second half of August, the Entente command organized a number of new operations, expanding the offensive front, and on September 26, the Anglo-French launched a general offensive. Germany's military disaster was fast approaching. This accelerated the defeat of the German troops. During October, Anglo-French troops successively overcame several German defensive zones in Northern France. On November 5, German troops began to retreat along the entire front, and on November 11, Germany capitulated.
The First World War, which lasted more than four years, ended.
4. Military-political results of the war
The most important political result of the war was that it accelerated the maturation of the objective preconditions for the proletarian revolution. Following the Great October Socialist Revolution in Russia, revolutions took place in Germany, Austria-Hungary and other countries. The First World War and the Great October Socialist Revolution marked the beginning of a general crisis of capitalism.
The main military result of the First World War was the defeat of Germany and its allies.
According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost all its colonies; Alsace, Lorraine, Saarland and other territories were taken from it. It was forbidden to have an army exceeding 100 thousand people, aviation, tanks and submarines.
However, the Treaty of Versailles did not, and could not, eliminate the contradictions between the imperialist powers. “...The Treaty of Versailles,” noted V.I. Lenin, “was a predator and showed that France and England were actually fighting Germany in order to consolidate their power over the colonies and increase their imperialist power.”
Participation in the war of massive armies equipped with a variety of military equipment led to the development and improvement of methods of preparing and conducting combat and operations. Military operations began to unfold over a large area and during the course of the war they broke up into a number of separate battles, battles and maneuvers, united by a unity of plan and purpose. In this regard, in the First World War, the operation took on a completed form as a set of coordinated actions of troops, carried out according to the purpose, place and time of military operations of troops, carried out according to a single plan by operational formations to achieve the goal.
The emergence of new technology caused changes in tactics, primarily in the forms of combat formations. Dense shooting targets were replaced by group formations of troops. The density of artillery increased sharply. She began to support the infantry attack with a fiery shaft. Aircraft and chemical warfare agents were widely used to suppress defenses. The main problem of offensive combat tactics was the need to ensure close interaction of all forces and means participating in the battle.
The improvement of defense was expressed in increasing its depth by creating a system of positions and defensive lines. Resistance units and cut-off positions began to appear inside the strips, and reinforced concrete and metal defensive structures appeared.
The main branch of the military throughout the war remained the infantry. Although the proportion of infantry decreased by an average of 20%, the saturation of troops with automatic weapons led to an increase in their firepower.
During the war, new types of artillery equipment, mainly heavy guns, were developed and put into service. The range of artillery as a whole increased by 30% and for a number of guns already exceeded 10 km. The use of aviation and tanks led to the creation of anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery and supported the infantry advance to a depth of 3-4 km. The artillery not only prepared an attack with its fire, but the problem of continuous interaction between the infantry and artillery was not completely solved.
The advancing infantry, having advanced 3-4 km, was forced to stop, as it was deprived of the support of artillery, which during this period changed its firing positions.
By the beginning of the First World War, all armies had numerous cavalry, but they did not play their role as a mobile branch of troops when performing operational tasks. In none of the operations was cavalry used to develop success. Like infantry, it was used to break through positional defenses, which, given the significant saturation of troops with machine guns, inevitably led to large losses. By the end of the war, both the absolute number of cavalry and its specific weight in general composition all armed forces.
One of the main means of combat that appeared during the World War was tanks. They combined armor protection, firepower and relatively high mobility. During the war, the number of tanks increased sharply, and their combat capabilities increased.
The use of tanks to break through defenses led to changes in infantry combat formations, complicated the organization of interaction between tanks and other branches of the military, and necessitated the organization of anti-tank defense as the most important combat support measure.
The use of chemical agents, as well as tanks, was one of the attempts to find a means to facilitate the breakthrough of the positional front. During the war, the chemical agents themselves and the methods of their combat use were improved - from primitive gas release from cylinders to shelling from special gas launchers, mortars and artillery. The use of chemical means of combat caused the emergence of another new element of combat support - anti-chemical protection (ACD).
The share of engineering troops during the war increased by one and a half times. The most typical tasks of the engineering troops were the construction of defensive structures and barriers, the production of road and bridge works, and the destruction of enemy defensive structures and obstacles. first world war armed Positional forms of struggle left a deep imprint on the development of communications. The slow pace of development of operations and the relatively rare movement of headquarters did not create a need for mobile control, and therefore the development of communications was organic. Only the emergence of new types of troops placed greater demands on communications technology and its organization. During the war, relatively new types of communications became most developed: radio, long-distance telephone communications, direct-printing telephone equipment, airplanes and communication vehicles. The increased scope of operations placed high demands on the implementation of rapid maneuver of human and material reserves. In solving these problems, the use of railway and road transport. During the war years, the number of automobile fleets of the main participants in the war grew from 15 to 340 thousand different vehicles. The war showed that motor transport not only increases the mobility of troops, but can also ensure uninterrupted delivery of all necessary types of supplies, complementing the work railways, can independently ensure the transportation of goods and troops on a large scale and over long distances. Aviation developed rapidly during the war years. The power of aircraft engines increased from 60-80 to 300-400 hp, horizontal flight speed - from 80 to 200 km/h, range - up to 300-500 km, and ceiling - up to 7 km. The ascent time to a height of 2 km decreased to 8-15 minutes. Airplanes armed with machine guns appeared. The bomb load increased to 1000 kg. Qualitative and quantitative changes in aircraft have increased the combat capabilities of aviation, and the range of tasks it can solve has expanded. During the war, aviation ceased to be just a means of reconnaissance, it turned into an independent branch of the military, solving a variety of tasks to support combat operations of ground troops. From the use of individual aircraft and small groups of them, both warring sides switched to massive aviation operations, which led to the emergence of a new type of combat support - air defense (air defense). The changed conditions and nature of warfare led to the further development of means and methods of conducting military operations at sea. Along with the improvement of previous means of warfare at sea, such as naval artillery, mine and torpedo weapons, depth charges, antenna and proximity mines, hydroacoustic devices, etc. have become widespread. The main means of destroying enemy ships were mines and torpedoes. The development of combat weapons led to a decrease in the relative weight of battleships and cruisers and led to an increase in the importance of light forces and submarines. Aircraft carriers, torpedo boats, landing and patrol ships, submarine hunters, and underwater minelayers appeared. During the war, a branch of the naval forces emerged - naval aviation. The development of forces and means of combat at sea and their massive use changed the conditions and nature of this struggle and created the need to develop new techniques and methods of conducting combat operations at sea. There became a need for daily combat activities of the fleet, which arose during the Russian-Japanese War and included reconnaissance in the theater of war and the implementation of all types of defense. Achieving major goals through one sea battle became impossible. Arose new form fleet activity - naval operation. The importance of close interaction between all naval forces and their reliable and comprehensive support has sharply increased. New types of combat support have appeared, such as mine, anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and anti-boat defense. Trawling became a mandatory type of combat support for fleet operations. Conclusion
Analyzing all the material, I came to the conclusion that the war that began in the era of imperialism, and in particular the First World War, showed that armed struggle requires massive, multi-million-strong armies, equipped with a wide variety of military equipment. If at the beginning of the First World War the number of armies on both sides did not exceed about 70 million people, which amounted to almost 12% of the total population of the largest states participating in the war. In Germany and France, 20% of the population was under arms. More than a million people simultaneously took part in individual operations. By the end of the war, in the armies of its most important participants (at the front and in the rear), there were a total of: 18.5 million rifles, 480 thousand machine guns, 183 thousand guns and mortars, over 8 thousand tanks, 84 thousand aircraft, 340 thousand cars. Military equipment It has also found its application in the mechanization of engineering work and in the use of various new means of communication. The result of the wars of the era of imperialism indicates that as their scope grew, so did their destructive nature. In terms of damage caused to humanity, the First World War surpassed all previous wars. Only human casualties during the war amounted to 39.5 million, of which 9.5 million were killed and wounded. About 29 million were wounded and maimed. In terms of the absolute number of irretrievable losses, the First World War was twice as large as all wars taken together for 125 years, starting with the wars of bourgeois France. The war of the era of imperialism revealed the increasing role of economic and moral factors. This was a direct consequence of the creation and growth of massive armies, the masses of various equipment and the protracted nature of wars increased, in which all the economic and political foundations of the state were tested. The experience of these wars, especially the First World War, was confirmed by V.I. Lenin, made back in 1904, that modern wars are waged by peoples. The people are the decisive force in war. The participation of the people in the war is manifested not only and not only at their expense, modern mass armies, but also that the base of modern war is the rear. During the war, the rear feeds the front not only with reserves, weapons and food, but also with moods and ideas, thereby exerting a decisive influence on the morale of the army and its combat effectiveness. The war showed that the strength of the rear, which includes the moral spirit of the people, is one of the decisive, constantly operating factors determining the course and outcome of a modern war. In my opinion, the Treaty of Versailles was one of the main reasons why the Second World War began. List of used literature
Historical essay
1914 – 1918
In the period from 1914 to 1918. our state took part in the First World War. Let us highlight the following two events within this period. Firstly, this is the assumption of command by Emperor Nicholas II armed forces- the post of Supreme Commander-in-Chief - in 1915. Secondly, this is the implementation of the offensive of Russian troops in May - July 1916.
An important role in the first event was played by Emperor Nicholas II, who took full responsibility for Russia's actions on the fronts. Having removed Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich from this post, he concentrated all powers in his hands. The Emperor was almost constantly at Headquarters, where he decided on issues of managing the fronts, relying on the opinion of his military leaders.
An important role in the second event was played by General A. A. Brusilov, who organized and ensured the success of a powerful breakthrough of the Austro-Hungarian positions on the Southwestern Front.
Let us highlight the following cause-and-effect relationships within this period.
The creation of a network of military-industrial committees in the country under the leadership of the industrialist and banker P. P. Ryabushinsky made it possible to ensure the mobilization of industry for military needs and the continuation of military operations.
The aggravation of socio-economic contradictions caused by a long and exhausting war, dissatisfaction with the policies of tsarism, and population fatigue from the war led to the revolution of 1917, during which Nicholas II had to abdicate the throne.
Characterizing the significance of this period in the history of our country, we note the following. The First World War became protracted for all its participants, including Russia. During this period, the political and socio-economic system of the state was tested, unable to cope with the challenges of wartime. For Russia, this turned into a civilizational catastrophe, as a result of which the monarchy collapsed and the state disintegrated. Followed Civil War split society into several warring factions, led to significant human losses, and aggravated socio-economic problems. According to historians, if not for the First World War, which so undermined the position of tsarism, there might not have been a revolution in Russia.
Ultimately, under these conditions, factors arose that contributed to the coming to power and the establishment of a political regime of a decisive political force, ready for radical changes, which became the Bolshevik Party. This opened the way to the establishment of a one-party political regime and the elimination of free thought, which would become a distinctive feature of the Soviet state for almost the entire duration of its existence.
1914-1918 - the period of Russia's participation in the First World War.
On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo. This led to an attack by Austria-Hungary on Serbia. Russia supported Serbia in this war, Austria-Hungary was supported by Germany. On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. Russia began military operations without completing mobilization. The 1st and 2nd Russian armies under the command of generals P.K. Rennenkampf and A.V. Samsonova entered the territory of East Prussia. The Southwestern Front, under the command of General N.I. Ivanov, carried out a successful offensive in Galicia, defeating the Austrians, which saved Serbia from defeat. In Prussia, the Russian armies were defeated, but this offensive forced the Germans to transfer part of their forces there from the western front, which saved France from defeat and thwarted the German plan for a “lightning war.”
In 1915, Germany launched an offensive on the eastern front, aiming to defeat Russia. In April-June 1915, Russian troops were driven out of Galicia, and in June-August 1915 - from Poland, but Russia was not defeated. On August 10, 1915, Nicholas II assumed the duties of Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army. At the same time, in August 1915, special conferences on state defense were created in Russia.
In May-July 1916, the Southwestern Front launched an offensive against Austrian troops (“Brusilovsky breakthrough”). The Austrian army was defeated. In November 1916, the Russian command planned an operation to capture the Black Sea straits, which, by agreement with England and France, were supposed to go to Russia after the war. However, due to Romania's unsuccessful entry into the war, the operation was postponed.
In February 1917, a revolution occurred in Russia. Nicholas II abdicated the throne. The Provisional Government that came to power announced the continuation of the war until victory. On June 18-30, 1917, an attempt was made to attack on the Southwestern Front, which failed due to a breakdown in discipline in the Russian troops. After the failure of the June offensive, no major operations were carried out on the Russian-German front in 1917.
In October 1917, the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government. On October 26, 1917, the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets adopted the Decree on Peace, in which it invited all warring states to begin peace negotiations. On March 3, 1918, a peace treaty was signed in Brest between Russia and Germany with its allies. Russia lost the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, Finland, Kara and Batumi regions, and was obliged to pay Germany 6 billion marks in indemnity.
Historians, in particular A. A. Danilov, evaluate the period 1914-1918. generally negative. Russia found itself drawn into a world war for which it was not prepared. The defeats of the Russian army and the loss of authority in the ruling circles led to a new round of confrontation between government and society, which resulted in the revolution of 1917. As a result, Russia was not among the victorious countries in the war of 1914-1918.
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