Thirty-eight out of fifty sovereign states that existed at that time were involved in World War I to one degree or another. It simply was not possible to control such a large-scale theater of operations, so the path to signing a peace agreement was quite long and difficult.
Entente Day Offensive
The final stage of the long and bloody First World War was the one hundred day offensive. This large-scale military operation of the Entente armed forces against the German army ended with the defeat of the enemy and the signing of the Compiegne armistice, which ended the war. Belgian, Australian, English, French, American, Canadian troops took part in the decisive offensive, Canadian soldiers distinguished themselves.
The German offensive ended in the summer of 1918. Enemy forces reached the banks of the Marne River, but (as before, in 1914) suffered a serious defeat. The Allies began to actively develop a plan for the defeat of the German army. The day of the end of World War 1 was drawing near. Marshal Foch concluded that finally came the most favorable moment for a major offensive. The number of the American contingent in France by the summer of 1918 was increased to 1.2 million people, which allowed to neutralize the numerical superiority of the German army. British troops received reinforcements from Palestine.
The area on the Somme River became the site of the main blow. Here was the border between the British and French troops. Plain terrain allowed for tank battles, and the great advantage of the Allies was the presence of a significant mass of tanks. In addition, this area was covered by a weakened German army. The order of the offensive was clearly planned, and the plan for breaking through the defense was methodical. All preparations were conducted secretly, with the use of measures to mislead the enemy.
In the year of the end of World War I, the German army was already sufficiently weakened, which made it possible to successfully conduct offensive operations. In August, the Allies began firing on communications centers, rear facilities, observation and command posts, and positions of the second German army. At the same time, a tank attack was organized. Such a surprise was fully successful. The Amiens operation was a surprise to the German command, and the battle conditions for the enemy were complicated by dense fog and massive shell explosions.
In just one day of the offensive, German troops lost up to 27 thousand people, about four hundred guns, a significant amount of various property killed and captured. Allied aviation shot down 62 aircraft. The offensive continued on August 9 and 10. By this time, the Germans had time to rebuild for the defense, so that the advance was developing at a slower pace, the French and English tanks suffered losses. By August 12, German troops were driven out to Albert, Bray, Sean, west of Rua. The next day, the offensive ceased, as the troops of Great Britain and France completed the task, bringing the end of World War I closer.
The front line was reduced by twenty-four kilometers as a result of the Saint-Miel operation. In the four days of the allies' active offensive, German troops lost about 16 thousand people, more than four hundred guns, and the losses of the American army did not exceed 7 thousand people. The Saint-Miel operation was the first independent offensive by the Americans. Despite the fact that success was achieved, during the operation, the shortcomings of the training of soldiers and the lack of the necessary experience with the US command were revealed. In fact, the offensive began when the Germans had already managed to withdraw part of the troops from the territory.
Fourteen Wilson Points
In early January 1918, the end date of World War 1, the draft future peace treaty was already ready. The document was developed by President of the States W. Wilson. The agreement included the withdrawal of German armies from Belgium and Russia, the reduction of armaments, the declaration of independence of Poland, and the creation of the League of Nations. This program was reluctantly approved by the US allies, but later became the basis of the Versailles Peace. The “Fourteen Points” became an alternative to the Decree on Peace, which was developed by Vladimir Lenin and was not acceptable to Western states.
The day of the end of World War 1 was approaching, so the need to develop a document that would regulate relations between countries after the end of hostilities was an important issue. Woodrow Wilson proposed open peace negotiations, after which there would be no secret agreements. It was supposed to make shipping free, to remove all economic barriers, to establish equality in trade for all states, to reduce national armaments to a minimum that was reasonable and compatible with domestic security, and to resolve colonial disputes absolutely impartially.
Fourteen points included Russia in the question. All Russian territories by the end of the 1st World War should be liberated. Russia was guaranteed the right to make an independent decision on national politics and the path of political development. The country should be ensured admission to the League of Nations in that form of government, which it will independently choose. As for Belgium, it was supposed to be completely liberated and restored, without trying to limit sovereignty.
November revolution in Germany
Just before the end of World War I, a revolution thundered in Germany, the cause of which was the crisis of the Kaiser regime. The beginning of revolutionary action is considered the uprising of sailors in Kiel on November 4, 1918, the culmination is the proclamation of a new political system on November 9, the day of graduation (formally) is November 11, when Frederick Ebert signed the Weimar Constitution. The monarchy was overthrown. The revolution led to the establishment of parliamentary democracy.
First Compiegne Truce
The end date of World War 1 was approaching. Since the end of October 1918, there was an active exchange of peaceful notes with the United States, and the high command of Germany sought to obtain the best conditions for a truce. The agreement between Germany and the Entente on the cessation of hostilities was signed on November 11. The end of World War I was officially documented in the French region of Picardy, in the Compiegne Forest. The final results of the conflict were summed up by the Treaty of Versailles.
Circumstances of the signing
At the end of September 1918, the German command informed the Kaiser, who was headquartered in Belgium, that the situation in Germany was hopeless. There was no guarantee that the front would last at least another day. Kaiser was advised to accept the terms of the US president and reform the government to hope for better conditions. This will shift the responsibility for the defeat of Germany to democratic parties and parliament so as not to tarnish the imperial government.
Armistice negotiations began in October 1918. Later it turned out that the Germans were not ready to consider the Kaiser renunciation, which Woodrow Wilson demanded. Negotiations were delayed, although it was absolutely clear that the end of World War I was nearing. The signing eventually happened at 5:10 a.m. on November 11 in the carriage of Marshal F. Foch in the Compiegne Forest. The German delegation was received by Marshal Von and British Admiral R. Wimiss. The ceasefire entered into force at eleven in the morning. On this occasion one hundred and one volleys were fired.
The main conditions of the truce
According to the signed agreement, hostilities ceased within six hours from the time of signing, the immediate evacuation of German troops from Belgium, France, Alsace-Lorraine, Luxembourg, which was supposed to be completed within fifteen days, began. Following this, the evacuation of German troops from the territory on the west bank of the Rhine and within a radius of thirty kilometers from bridges on the right bank (with the further occupation of the liberated territories by the allies and the United States) was to be carried out.
All German troops had to be evacuated from the eastern front in a position as of August 1, 1914 (July 28, 1914 was the start date of World War I), and the end of the withdrawal was replaced by the occupation of US territories and the allies. The naval blockade of Germany by Great Britain remained in force. All German submarines and modern ships were interned (internment - forced detention or other restrictions on freedom of movement). The enemy command was to surrender 1700 aircraft, 5 thousand locomotives, 150 thousand wagons, 5 thousand guns, 25 thousand machine guns and 3 thousand mortar mortars in good condition.
Brest-Litovsk peace treaty
Under the terms of the world, Germany had to renounce the Brest-Litovsk treaty with the Bolshevik government. This agreement ensured the exit of the RSFSR from the First World War. At the first stage, the Bolsheviks persuaded Western states to conclude universal peace and even received formal consent. But the Soviet side delayed negotiations to campaign for a general revolution, while the German government insisted on recognizing the right to occupation of Poland, parts of Belarus and the Baltic states.
The fact of the conclusion of the contract caused a sharp reaction both among the opposition in Russia and in the international arena, which led to an exacerbation of the Civil War. The agreement did not lead to the cessation of hostilities in Transcaucasia and Eastern Europe, but divided the “clash of empires”, which was finally documented by the end of World War I.
Political implications
The dates of the beginning and end of World War I outline an important gap in recent history. As a result of hostilities, Europe ended its existence as the center of the colonial world. Four major empires broke up, namely the German, Ottoman, Russian and Austro-Hungarian. On the territory of the Russian Empire and Mongolia, the spread of communism, and the United States advanced to a leading position in international politics.
After the end of World War I, several new sovereign states appeared: Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Finland, the State of Slovenian Serbs and Croats. Socio-economic processes of the turn of the century slowed down, but contradictions on an ethnic and class basis, interstate contradictions intensified. The international legal order has changed significantly.
Economic impact
The consequences of the war were disastrous for the economies of most countries. Military losses amounted to $ 208 billion and twelve times the gold reserves of European states. A third of Europe’s national wealth was simply destroyed. Only two countries during the war increased wealth - Japan and the United States. The states finally established themselves as the leader of economic development in the world, and Japan established a monopoly in Southeast Asia.
US wealth has increased over the years of hostilities in Europe by 40%. Half of the world's gold reserves were concentrated in America, and the cost of production increased from $ 24 to $ 62 billion. The status of a neutral country allowed the States to supply war materials, raw materials and food to warring parties. The volume of trade with other states doubled, and the value of exports tripled. The country eliminated almost half of its own debt and became a lender for a total of $ 15 billion.
Germany's total expenditures amounted to 150 billion in local currency, and public debt increased from five to one hundred and sixty billion marks. The volume of production by the end of World War 1 (if compared with 1913) decreased by 43%, agricultural - by an indicator from 35 to 50%. In 1916, famine began, because, due to the blockade by the Entente countries, only a third of the necessary food was supplied to Germany. According to the Treaty of Versailles, after the end of the armed confrontation, Germany was to pay indemnity in the amount of 132 billion gold marks.
Destruction and loss of life
During the war years, about 10 million military personnel were killed, including about a million missing, up to 21 million were injured. The largest losses were suffered by the German Empire (1.8 million), 1.7 million citizens died in the Russian Empire, 1.4 million in France, 1.2 million in Austria-Hungary, 0.95 million in the UK. In the war Thirty-four states with a population of about 67% of the world's population took part. As a percentage of the total number of civilians, the most significant losses were suffered by Serbia (6% of citizens died), France (3.4%), Romania (3.3%) and Germany (3%).
Paris Peace Conference
The Paris Conference addressed the fundamental problems of rebuilding the world after the end of the First (1) World War. Agreements were signed with Austria, Germany, Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria. During the negotiations, the Big Four (leaders of France, the USA, Great Britain and Italy) held one hundred forty-five meetings (in an informal setting) and made all decisions that were later ratified by other participating countries (27 states participated in total). None of the governments that at that time claimed the status of legitimate authority in the Russian Empire were invited to the conference.
Celebrating Armistice Day
Armistice Day in Compiegne Forest, which put an end to armed clashes, is a national holiday in most states of the former Entente. The centenary of the end of World War 1 was celebrated in 2018. In Britain, the victims were remembered for a moment of silence, a memorial ceremony was held in the French capital at the Arc de Triomphe. The ceremony was attended by leaders of more than 70 states.