World War I: Key Battles and Events

Home , Battle of Chra, Fort Douaumont, The Guns of August

Britannica LaunchPacks | World War I: Key Battles and Events

World War I: Key Battles and Events For Grades 6-8

This Pack contains:

6 ARTICLES 8 IMAGES 2 VIDEOS

World War I

A major international conflict fought from 1914 to 1918, World War I was the most deadly and destructive war the world had ever seen to that time. More than 25 countries eventually participated, aligned with either the Allied or the Central powers. The Allies—who won the war—included primarily France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and, from 1917, the United States. The Central Powers consisted mainly of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). World War I felled four great imperial dynasties, in Germany, Russia, Austria- Hungary, and Turkey. It led to revolution in Russia, destabilized Europe, and laid the foundations for World War II. (For a chronology of events for World War I, seeWorld War I Chronology.)

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

An animated timeline covers the major events of World War I.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A Maxim machine gun, belt-fed and water-cooled, is operated by German infantrymen during World War…

Imperial War Museum

Wounded German soldiers are treated at a field hospital during World War I.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Learn about three notable women and their contributions in World War I: Marie Curie, Mabel St. Clair …

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

On a human scale, the scope of the war was just as monumental. More than 65 million soldiers were mobilized for the armies, navies, and emerging air forces. Some 8.5 million lost their lives, and more than 21 million were wounded. In addition, civilian populations worked as never before to produce enormous quantities of guns, munitions, and other supplies. Because civilians played such an important role, World War I was the first conflict to be called “total war.” The Onset of War

Austria's Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, sit in an open carriage in Sarajevo…

World History Archive/ARPL/age fotostock

Archduke Francis Ferdinand (Franz Ferdinand), the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was killed in …

Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated. He was murdered at Sarajevo, the capital of the Austrian province of Bosnia. The assassin was Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian-trained Bosnian terrorist. Austria claimed that Serbian government officials had trained and equipped Princip’s group, which was known as the Black Hand. For many years Serbia and Austria-Hungary had been unfriendly because Serbian nationalists wanted to unite all Slavic peoples living in the Balkan region into a single state. Slavs living in Austria-Hungary would be included, and Austria-Hungary strongly opposed this.

Austria-Hungary decided to use the assassination as an excuse to settle its quarrel with Serbia. Germany promised to back Austria-Hungary. On July 23 Austria-Hungary presented a warlike ultimatum to Serbia, allowing only 48 hours for an answer. Serbia responded by July 25 but suggested that some of Austria-Hungary’s demands be referred to the other European powers. Austria-Hungary refused Serbia’s suggestion, and on July 28 it declared war on Serbia.

All the nations in Europe had been expecting war. For many years rival groups of nations had been making treaties and alliances. By 1914 Europe had been divided into two camps. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were members of the Triple Alliance. Later, after the withdrawal of Italy and the addition of the Ottoman Empire, the Triple Alliance took a new name, the Central Powers. Russia, France, and Britain formed the rival Triple Entente. Later they were called the Allies. Except for Bulgaria, the Balkan states sided with Serbia and the Allies. These alliances were brought into action July 28 by Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war. Within a week all Europe was at war.

Other Nations Involved

On July 29 Russia mobilized its troops near the Austrian and German borders, purportedly to keep Serbia from being crushed. However, Russia had plans in the Ottoman Empire that had been blocked by Austria-Hungary and Germany. Russia wanted to control Constantinople and the straits from the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea. On July 31 Germany demanded that Russia stop its war mobilization measures and delivered an ultimatum to France to declare itself neutral in the event of war between Russia and Germany. France and Germany had been enemies in many previous wars. They had also been divided by the question of Alsace-Lorraine.

Both Russia and France ignored the German demands. Fighting began on the German-Russian frontier on August 1. Germany declared war on France on August 3.

Britain Declares War

A World War I British or American Army soldier stands in uniform wearing a brodie helmet and an…

Britain and Germany had been growing more and more unfriendly before 1914. Germany claimed that Britain was trying to keep it from becoming a world power. With the start of the war Germany made clear that it planned to invade France through Belgium. Britain, along with Germany and France, had signed a treaty in 1838 guaranteeing the independence and neutrality of Belgium. On August 4 Britain declared war on Germany to protect Belgian neutrality. The rest of the British Empire immediately prepared to send troops.

Japan entered the war on the side of the Allies on August 23. Italy decided to remain neutral for the time being, despite its membership in the Triple Alliance. Many Italians favored joining the Allies, to help Italy obtain territories in Austria-Hungary in which people of Italian descent lived.

The War During 1914

German infantry advance on the battlefield in France in August 1914.

U.S. Department of Defense

Wounded soldiers received treatment at a field hospital in France during World War I.

Paul Thompson—FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Image

All the major powers had war plans designed for quick victories but no plans for a long, drawn-out stalemate. The German Schlieffen Plan—named after Count Alfred von Schlieffen, a noted military strategist—was designed to avoid a long, costly war on two fronts. It called for the German left flank to hold the French army on the Rhine River. The right flank was to sweep through Belgium and northern France toward Paris, the French capital. After defeating France, the Germans then planned to quickly move these troops by rail to the east to defeat Russia.

The French had agreed to respect Belgian neutrality. Therefore they could not go through Belgium to attack Germany. Instead they intended to concentrate their troops on the center and right flanks. They then planned to strike a blow against the Rhine front.

The Russians planned to drive a wedge between Austria-Hungary and Germany. They then intended to make a direct attack on Berlin. Although all these war plans failed, the German Schlieffen Plan came close to succeeding. The right flank of the German army almost reached Paris but was thrown back by the French in the First Battle of the Marne, one of the few decisive battles of the war.

French Defense on the Marne

The Germans developed Big Bertha howitzer guns that smashed the Belgian and French forts in 1914.

Marc Romanych

The French army of about 4 million was practically equal in size to the German army. Only a third of the soldiers, however, were fully trained first-line troops. The French were not surprised that the Germans came through Belgium. What they did not expect was that the Germans would immediately use so many of their reserves as first-line troops. This gave the Germans more effective manpower. French and British troops met the attacking Germans at the Belgian frontier in August. The French were driven back at Charleroi. The British were driven back at Mons. The Germans forced both armies to retreat south.

The Western Front lay generally east of the Marne River in France. It hardly wavered in four years.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

By the beginning of September a part of the German army was approaching Paris. Before the Germans were able to move past the city, however, the French attacked the exposed German right flank. They then advanced into a gap that this attack opened between two German armies. The French also counterattacked along the entire front. The First Battle of the Marne was fought September 6–10. The Germans, unable to gain a decisive victory, retreated some 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of the Marne River.

Trench Warfare and Blockades

A British soldier prepares for action in a trench on the Western Front during World War I.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

With the hope of a short war now lost, the fighting on the Western Front settled down to trench warfare. Victories on the battlefield were soon being measured in yards, with enormous casualty rates.

German machine gunners occupy a trench during World War I.

Prints and Photographs Division/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. LC-USZ62-136100)

Soon after the outbreak of war, the British Navy instituted an economic blockade of Germany. This move was very successful, bringing outward-bound trade from Germany to a standstill. The blockade also became important to the overall strategy of the war because it led to the beginning of Germany’s submarine campaign in October 1914. Germany’s submarines came very close to cutting off Britain from its supplies.

The Ottoman Empire Declares War

The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers on October 29. Although the empire was in a state of decline, it made a substantial contribution to the Central Powers’ war effort. The empire’s entry into the war cut off Russia’ s easy sea communications with its allies. The Ottoman armies also threatened Britain’s communications with the Far East through the Suez Canal by moving south and threatening to capture the canal. To prevent the fall of the canal, the Allies were forced to keep large forces near the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea throughout the war.

The Eastern Front, where troops from Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Russia, and the Balkans…

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The stalemate on the Western Front was offset for Germany by its success against Russia on the Eastern Front. The Germans under the two brilliant generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich von Ludendorff overwhelmingly defeated the Russians at Tannenberg in August 1914. The War During 1915

A Russian Orthodox priest prays over wounded Russian soldiers in a makeshift hospital in 1915,…

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Germany and Austria-Hungary made great efforts to defeat Russia in 1915. Early in the year the Russians invaded Hungary. The Germans counterattacked on May 2. In fighting centered around Brest-Litovsk the Germans broke through the center of the Russian front. Russian forces were driven back as far east as Pinsk. The Germans took 750,000 prisoners, but the Russians fought on.

German soldiers operate a machine gun while they wear gas masks. Soldiers in World War I had to wear …

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

There was a deadlock on the Western Front during 1915. This resulted partly because of a shortage of artillery shells. In April the Germans used the poisonous gas chlorine against the French at Ypres. Soon both sides were using various types of gas and gas-filled shells with devastating effects.

Italy and Bulgaria Declare War

An Italian soldier stands watch in the Alps, along the front between Italy and Austria in World War…

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

In April 1915 Italy signed the secret Treaty of London with Britain, France, and Russia. The treaty offered Italy a large piece of Austrian territory in return for entering the war on the side of the Allies. On May 23 Italy declared war against Austria-Hungary. It did not declare war against Germany until August 1916, more than a year later.

On October 11 Bulgaria joined the Central Powers against the Allies. Bulgaria then joined with Germany and Austria-Hungary to overrun Serbia and Montenegro. This cleared a path to Turkey, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, which had been holding out against Allied attacks but was now in need of support from the other Central Powers.

The Gallipoli Campaign

In February and again in March British warships tried to force their way through the Dardanelles. Their plan was to get aid to Russia by way of the Black Sea. Both attempts were unsuccessful.

Sir Ian Hamilton, oil painting by John Singer Sargent; in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery,…

Courtesy of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh

On April 25 Sir Ian Hamilton landed a force of Anzacs (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) on the narrow Gallipoli Peninsula. A combined land-and-sea drive was then planned against Constantinople.

Allied troops line the shore at Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The cove was named after the…

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The Gallipoli expedition was a costly failure. In December 1915 and January 1916 the troops were withdrawn. Many were sent to Egypt to protect the Suez Canal, which was threatened by the Ottoman Empire. Some of these troops later formed a British and Arab force under Gen. Edmund Allenby that captured Jerusalem in 1917.

One of the many successful leaders in this region was Britain’s T.E. Lawrence. Lawrence was instrumental in organizing and leading the Arab revolt against the Turks. His forces also captured Damascus for the Allies.

Germany’s Submarine Campaign

German torpedo boats are assembled at a port during World War I.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Germany’s submarine fleet intensified its blockade of Britain during 1915. In February Germany announced that the waters around Great Britain, including the English Channel, were in the war zone. In addition, Germany clearly stated that merchant ships found in this zone would be destroyed. This included the ships of neutral nations.

The New York Herald reporting the sinking of the Lusitania, a British ocean liner, by a German…

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

On May 7 a luxury passenger liner, the Lusitania, was torpedoed and sunk off Kinsale Head, Ireland. Among the 1,198 persons drowned were more than 120 U.S. citizens.

Germany continued to build more and better submarines. By April 1917, when the United States entered the war, more than 3 million tons of British shipping had been sunk. This was 16 percent of the 1914 British merchant fleet. By 1915 the British were already beginning to fear that continued shipping losses might force Britain out of the war. The War During 1916

Personnel carry a charge of powder to one of the big guns on the Moltke, a German battle cruiser,…

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The German surface fleet did not challenge Allied control of the oceans until the Battle of Jutland on May 31, 1916. The British Grand Fleet met the German High Seas Fleet off the Danish coast. The British fleet, commanded by Adm. John R. Jellicoe, suffered heavy losses in ships and soldiers. Nevertheless, Adm. Reinhard Scheer was forced to withdraw the German fleet. The British then won a costly but strategic victory. The Battle of Jutland was the most important surface naval battle of the war. It made possible the continued blockade of Germany.

Battles of Verdun and the Somme

French troops pass through the ruins of Verdun, the site of a major German offensive against the…

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

France and Germany fought the Battle of Verdun in 1916, during World War I.

Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz

On the Western Front the Germans launched a great offensive against the French at Verdun in February. Before the attack the Germans shelled the French with the most powerful artillery bombardment ever used in war. For a short time the Germans swept everything before them. Then the French checked the advance. The Battle of Verdun continued for many months, with little change.

Soldiers walk among the ruins of the village of Herbécourt, France, during the First Battle of the…

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

German orderlies dress the wounds of a British soldier, about 1916.

General Photographic Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

In July the British came to the aid of the French with an offensive in the Somme River area. The artillery bombardment before the attack lasted for a week. The British gradually moved forward. When winter ended the fighting, they had driven a wedge 9 miles (14 kilometers) deep into the German line.

The British Mark I tank with anti-bomb roof and “tail” was used during World War I.

Courtesy of the Imperial War Museum, London; photograph, Camera Press/Globe Photos

During the Somme offensive the British introduced an armored vehicle that ran on endless metal chains. The machine had been developed secretly, with different parts made in different factories. Some parts, which looked like they could be used to make containers for liquids, were called tanks by the workers. “Tank” came to be used as a code name during the weapon’s development and later became its permanent name.

War in the Air

A German plane is decorated with an Iron Cross to celebrate a successful raid against Allied forces…

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The Sopwith Camel was one of the best-known British fighter airplanes of World War I.

Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Anthony Fokker.

Ullstein Bilderdienst

Balloons and airplanes were first used mainly to carry observers. By 1915 photographs of enemy positions were being taken from airplanes. Anthony Fokker, improving on a French device, developed a machine gun for the Germans that was synchronized to fire through the whirling propeller of a flying plane.

The French and British soon had their versions of this synchronized machine gun. Both the Allies and the Germans sent up fighter planes to shoot down enemy observation planes. Fighter pilots and planes fought for control of the air throughout the war. Allied and German fighter pilots became international heroes.

Zeppelin Raids

Graf Zeppelin in flight.

The Bettmann Archive

A cigar-shaped German Zeppelin flies over warships anchored in the harbor at Kiel, Germany, during a …

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Germany’s Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin had seen the value of the balloon as an aerial observation post in the American Civil War. When Zeppelin returned home to Germany after the Civil War he developed a navigable airship. It was a balloon of rigid construction.

A Zeppelin was first used to bomb London in May 1915. During the war Zeppelins made a total of 51 raids. However, 77 of the ships were destroyed in storms or by Allied attacks from fighter planes and antiaircraft fire. Their use as a war weapon was finally abandoned.

Both sides developed antiaircraft guns for use against bombing raids and strafing fighter planes. British pilots referred to inaccurate German antiaircraft fire as “Archie,” a name adapted from the song “Archibald, Certainly Not!” When the pilots returned to their airfields they would be asked, “Archibald give you any trouble today?” They would answer, “Archibald? Certainly not!”

American Fliers in Combat

The Lafayette Escadrille first saw action on April 20, 1916. This was a French squadron made up of American volunteers. It remained attached to the French Flying Corps until February 1918, when it transferred to the American Air Service.

In April 1918 the United States Air Service had three squadrons at the front. The number grew until there were 45 American squadrons. Most of them were equipped with French aircraft.

The War During 1917

Aleksandr Kerensky.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

On March 11, 1917, a revolution broke out in Russia. Four days later the tsar, Nicholas II, abdicated. The new republican government under Aleksandr Kerensky said it would continue the war. The Russian people, however, were sick of the war. The revolutionists had formed the Bolshevik party (renamed the Communist party in 1918). On November 9 the Bolsheviks overthrew the Kerensky government and asked Germany for an armistice.

Delegates meet in 1918 for negotiations for the treaties of Brest-Litovsk.

George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. 26094)

On March 3, 1918, the Bolshevik government signed a separate treaty of peace with the Germans at Brest- Litovsk. By the terms of this treaty the Russians lost Poland and nearly all the territory bordering the Baltic Sea. They also had to surrender a large area of land in the Caucasus Mountains to Turkey.

The United States Declares War

A woman sorts shells in a U.S. munitions factory about 1917.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Soldiers of the U.S. Army Signal Corps use captured German telephone equipment during World War I.

Photos.com/Thinkstock

U.S. Army soldier, sailor, and marine during World War I.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

U.S. public opinion had been slowly but steadily setting against Germany since 1914. In January 1917 Germany launched an unrestricted submarine campaign. All vessels, neutrals included, were to be sunk without warning if found in a zone off the Allied coasts. This was a violation of international law. Further, it was discovered that the German foreign minister, Arthur Zimmermann, had secretly sent a telegram to the Mexican government. The Zimmermann Telegram promised to reward Mexico with vast areas of the southwestern United States in return for Mexican support against the Americans. Although President Woodrow Wilson’s great desire was for peace, he felt the United States was forced to go to war. War was declared on April 6, 1917 (seeUnited States history).

Allied Struggles on the Western Front

Philippe Pétain.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

In France, a disastrous offensive led by Gen. Robert Nivelle in April 1917 was followed by a series of mutinies in the French armies. In response, Nivelle was replaced by Gen. Philippe Pétain as commander in chief of the French armies. Pétain kept his troops out of major combat for a time to build up their morale. Late in the year they regained some territory they had lost earlier at Verdun.

British troops did most of the heavy fighting on the Western Front in 1917. Their losses were heavy. In one battle alone, for the high terrain near Ypres, their casualties were almost a quarter of a million men. Losses like these, plus the fact that Germany would now have more manpower with troops released from the Russian front, made the Allied chances for victory doubtful.

War weariness also brought disaster on the Italian front. In October 1917 the Austrians and the Germans suddenly attacked the Italian forces at Caporetto. A rout resulted, costing the Italians 265,000 prisoners. It was now clear that unless the United States could turn the tide, 1918 might bring victory to the Central Powers.

The War During 1918

German leaders, from left, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Kaiser William II, and General Erich…

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (cph 3a42618)

British soldiers walk carefully in a line after having been temporarily blinded by a tear gas attack …

Universal History Archive/UIG/Shutterstock.com

On March 21, 1918, the Germans launched a great offensive in the Somme River region. This drive to win the war had been planned by the German generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff. The battle began with a great artillery duel, followed by a rush of German troops. In a few days the advancing Germans overran the entire territory, which the British and French had taken two years to capture. The offensive ended on April 6, after the Germans had gained about 35 miles (56 kilometers). About 2,000 Americans in small units served well with the British in preventing the drive from becoming a rout.

Ferdinand Foch.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The situation, however, was grave. Marshal Ferdinand Foch was made commander in chief of the Allied armies. American troops, though not yet battle seasoned, were to be used in combat units.

On May 27 the Germans again attacked in great force, this time along the Aisne River. For a week the French retreated. The battlefront soon was back on the Marne River at Château-Thierry, only 44 miles (71 kilometers) from Paris.

Three U.S. divisions were thrown into action at Château-Thierry, Cantigny, and Belleau Wood. In both defense and counterattack the Americans showed they were willing to make heavy sacrifices for victory. In proving their fighting ability they also inspired the veteran French and British troops to heroic efforts in stopping the Germans. The German drive was halted on June 6.

The Allies Advance

American soldiers shoot at Germans on the edge of a French town in 1918.

U.S. Signal Corps/National Archives, Washington, D.C. (photo no. 111-SC-18672)

A German plane was brought down by American machine gunners in the Argonne area of northeastern…

U.S. Signal Corps/National Archives, Washington, D.C.

American soldiers throw grenades into Austrian trenches in Italy in September 1918, during World War …

U.S. Signal Corps/National Archives, Washington, D.C. (photo no. 111-SC-24936)

On July 15 the Germans started another drive. This developed into the Second Battle of the Marne. Now, however, the tide turned. French and American troops crushed the western flank of the German line from Château-Thierry north. The Germans ran for the Aisne to avoid capture. Twelve hard-fighting American divisions took part in this Allied offensive.

On August 8 the British opened a drive along the Somme. The Canadian corps drove forward 8 miles (13 kilometers) on the first day. This was the greatest single day’s advance against resistance in the war. In a little more than a month the Allies took 100,000 prisoners, and the Germans were in full retreat.

To prepare the way for the final drive to victory, in September the American troops captured the St-Mihiel salient, a triangular piece of land between Verdun and Nancy that the Germans had been occupying since 1914. A major drive through the Argonne Forest, then northward along the Meuse from Verdun to Sedan, began on September 26. Continuing into November, the French and American forces moved northward.

To the north even the small Belgian army began a drive. In a few days it had won more territory than the British had been able to gain in four months during the previous year.

While Germany was receiving these staggering blows, its allies were collapsing. Bulgaria signed an armistice on September 30. The Ottoman Empire surrendered on October 31. Italy recovered from the Caporetto disaster and inflicted a sharp defeat on Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary was granted an armistice on November 3 to take effect November 4.

The armistice granted to Austria-Hungary required it to demobilize its army, to surrender large strips of territory, and to give up most of its navy. It also had to expel German troops from inside its borders, and it had to let the Allies use its railroads. These terms amounted to unconditional surrender.

Collapse of Germany

Germany’s home front collapsed as its armies retreated on all battle fronts. On October 3 the German rulers requested an armistice. While the Allies were discussing terms, mutiny broke out in the German fleet at Kiel. It spread to Hamburg and Bremen.

The Independent Socialists in Berlin then refused to support the government any longer. Rulers of the kingdoms of Bavaria and Württemberg abdicated. The German kaiser himself abdicated at Spa on November 9 and fled to The Netherlands the next day. A temporary government was formed in Berlin. This government arranged for a national convention to be held in Weimar to form a republic.

Allied forces and German officials sign the armistice that ended World War I on November 11, 1918.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Crowds on Wall Street in New York, New York, celebrate the end of World War I in 1918.

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. 09634)

The armistice terms were now ready, and the Germans were called to receive them. A delegation crossed the lines and was taken to Marshal Foch’s railroad traveling car headquarters near Compiègne. At daybreak on

November 11 the Germans signed a general armistice. Six hours later, at 11:00 AM, the guns stopped firing.

Terms of the Armistice

The terms of the armistice were hard. President Wilson had warned the Germans that they would be. The German army was required to move all its forces to a line about 6 miles (10 kilometers) east of the Rhine River. Allied troops occupied the evacuated territory as well as the cities of Mainz, Cologne, and Coblenz.

Most of the German fleet, including all submarines, was surrendered to the Allies. The Germans also had to give up great quantities of military supplies. These included 5,000 cannons, 25,000 machine guns, 5,000 locomotives, and 150,000 railroad cars. The treaties that the Germans imposed on the Russians and the Romanians earlier in the war were revoked. The Germans, finally, had to surrender all their prisoners and promise to pay reparations for war damages.

The Germans began the withdrawal of their troops at once. The Allied troops followed closely without trouble. The war was now at an end. There still remained the task of planning for peace. How the War Came to the United States

The United States was a neutral nation when World War I started in 1914. It was an American tradition that the wars of Europe were not the business of the United States. Under international law the United States as a neutral had the right to continue its trade with any of the nations at war (seeblockade; international law).

Events soon brought a change in the attitude of the United States toward the war. Germany’s actions caused this change. Most Americans objected to Germany’s violation of Belgian neutrality, and Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare was a violation of international law. Acts of German sabotage in the United States and the use of poison gas in warfare also helped to change American public opinion. But the trigger of the nationwide demand for war against Germany was the publication of the Zimmermann Telegram in the American press on March 1, 1917, revealing Germany’s secret overture to Mexico for support in war against the United States. Americans came to believe that democratic government would be unsafe if Germany won the war.

The United States Enters the War

President Wilson tried hard during his first term in office to keep the United States out of the war. He also tried to get the warring nations to negotiate a peace. These efforts failed. Germany continued its unrestricted submarine warfare. On March 4, 1917, Wilson was inaugurated for a second term. On April 2 he read to Congress a message stating that war had already begun with the acts of Germany. He stated that the aim of the United States in entering the war was to make a “world safe for democracy.” Congress declared war on April 6, 1917.

Some preparations for war had already been made in the United States. For example, Congress in 1916 had passed the National Defense Act, which enlarged the army. Appropriations for a larger navy had also been approved. In addition, Congress had created a Council of National Defense. The Council was to prepare for mobilization of the civilian population and to coordinate industries and resources for national security and defense.

All these efforts, however, had made the United States only partially ready for war. The greatest war effort the country had ever made still lay ahead.

Organizing the Army

The U.S. Regular Army numbered less than 135,000 soldiers. The Allies urged that a U.S. unit be sent overseas at once to help morale. The 1st Division landed in France on June 26, 1917. It fired its first shot on October 23, 1917.

John J. Pershing, 1917.

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Major General John J. Pershing was appointed commander in chief of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on May 26, 1917. He also landed in France in June. Pershing told the U.S. War Department soon after his arrival that the United States should try to have an army of 1 million soldiers in France by the following May. He also urged that the AEF should in time grow to from 3 to 4 million soldiers.

Men register for the draft in New York, New York, on June 5, 1917.

George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ggbain-24572)

African American soldiers march up Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Nearly 3 million men were taken into military service under the Selective Service Act. This Act had been passed on May 18, 1917 (seeconscription). Of the 93 combat divisions that were organized, 42 reached France and 30 saw combat service.

Women drive a U.S. Army staff car in France during World War I. The YMCA recruited American women to …

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Some 20,000 freight cars and 1,500 locomotives were shipped in sections to France and assembled there by railway engineers. Every combat division needed 25 carloads of supplies for its daily use. The job of providing food and equipment was handled by the Services of Supply. The chief purchasing agent was Gen. Charles G. Dawes.

The Work of the AEF

Soliders of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) cross a pontoon bridge built by American…

Prints and Photographs Division/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. LC-DIG-ds-04292)

A soldier serves in the New York division of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World…

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

In theory United States troops were to be sent to France in divisions of 30,000 soldiers. Actually they were sent as ships were found to carry them. Some troops that arrived in France were fully trained and equipped. Others had not even been taught how to load their rifles. Many of the soldiers had been called into service from reserve and guard units.

For a year after the United States entered the war Britain was slow in lending ships to transport U.S. troops. The danger of German success changed this. Britain provided troopships, and through the five months after April 1918 nearly 10,000 U.S. troops a day were sent to France.

It was not until August, however, that plans were made to use the U.S. First Army as a unit. Before that U.S. soldiers were used piecemeal to fill the gaps when troops of the other Allied armies broke before the German advance.

Organizing the Home Front

Ration cards were used in the United States during World War I for sugar and other food items that…

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Women work at a U.S. airplane factory during World War I. Before the war, very few women had worked…

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The troops needed clothing, food, and weapons. They also needed proper medical attention in camp and overseas. To meet all these needs the Council of National Defense set up the War Industries Board in the summer of 1917. The Food Administration urged greater production of food. It also taught the civilian population to go without sugar, wheat flour, meats, and fats. These foods were shipped overseas. The Fuel Administration stimulated coal production and restricted its use in the civilian sector of the economy.

Ships were needed to send soldiers, ammunition, and food overseas. The United States Shipping Board ordered ships in great numbers. The world’s greatest shipyard was built near Philadelphia. More than 60 million dollars was spent on this shipyard, which had 50 shipways. Many ships were also constructed in California shipyards.

The economic role of the United States in the war effort was critical. The country spent as much money in the war as it did on all the expenses of the government from 1791 to 1914. By June 30, 1919, the government had spent about 28 billion dollars directly for the war and had lent its allies nearly 10 billion dollars. Loans and costs growing out of the war were to continue for years.

A poster urges U.S. citizens to buy Liberty Bonds during World War I. The poster by artist L.A.…

Prints and Photographs Division/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. LC-USZC4-2004)

The financial contribution of the United States was made possible largely because its citizens advanced more than 21 billion dollars to the government by purchasing Liberty and Victory bonds. The government increased its revenues also through a new income-tax law. Congress was given the legal authority to collect income taxes by the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified in 1913.

How the Navy Helped

The U.S. warship North Dakota sets out to sea during World War I.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Admiral William S. Sims was sent to London in the spring of 1917. A fleet of destroyers followed him shortly thereafter. The destroyers helped to blockade Germany, pursued submarines, and convoyed merchant ships.

Several United States battleships joined the British fleet. The Navy helped to lay contact mines across the English Channel and also closed the northern outlet of the North Sea.

The AEF in Action

The AEF was tested in battle in the early summer of 1918. At Cantigny on May 26 the 1st Division took its objective and held it against counterattack. The next day the 2nd and 3rd Divisions hurried toward Château- Thierry to help fill the gap caused when the French armies broke before the Germans.

In the next two weeks Belleau Wood became a household name in the United States. There the Marine Brigade and the Army regiments of the 2nd Division fought heroically during June 1–26.

In August General Pershing and the Allied commanders agreed on a plan to use the U.S. First Army as a single unit in a major offensive. On September 12–13 the Americans, supported by French artillery, took St-Mihiel, which the Germans had held since their first drive in 1914.

U.S. soldiers use gas equipment as they receive telephone instructions during the Meuse-Argonne…

National Archives, Washington, D.C.

The battle of the Meuse-Argonne continued from September 26 until November 11. In the 47 days of action, 29 American combat divisions were used. The battle was part of a general engagement that pressed against the entire length of the German line from Verdun to the English Channel. About 1.2 million Americans took part. When the drive ended, the war was over. The Peace and Its Results

Dignitaries gather in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, France, on June 28, 1919, to…

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital. id. ppmsca 07634)

The Paris Peace Conference to draft the treaties to end World War I opened in January 1919. All the countries that had been at war with the Central Powers were represented.

One of the first acts of the Peace Conference was to draw up a constitution for a League of Nations. The League was planned to reduce the chances of another war. This Covenant of the League of Nations was made the first part of the Treaty of Versailles.

Signing the Treaties

From left, David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, Vittorio Orlando of Italy, Georges Clemenceau…

National Archives, Washington, D.C.

The Treaty of Versailles (1919) punished Germany for World War I. The country lost territory, was…

Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz

The treaty was given to the German delegation to sign at Versailles (a town near Paris) on May 7, 1919. The German delegates strongly objected to its severe terms. They said the terms were not consistent with President Wilson’s Fourteen Points. The Allies made only small concessions. Finally, on June 28, 1919, the German delegates signed.

A treaty with Austria was signed on September 10, 1919, at St-Germain. Treaties were signed with Bulgaria at Neuilly on November 27, 1919, and with the Ottoman Empire at Sèvres on August 10, 1920.

The United States Rejects the League

The United States was not at first included among those nations making peace with Germany. The United States Senate rejected the act ratifying the Versailles Treaty on November 19, 1919, and again on March 19, 1920. Conservative Republican senators strongly objected to the United States entering the League of Nations, arguing that it would compromise national sovereignty. The lack of support from the United States seriously weakened the League.

The League was an issue in the United States presidential campaign of 1920. Republican candidate Warren G. Harding, who as a senator had opposed the League, was elected president with an overwhelming Republican majority in Congress.

A resolution was passed by Congress and signed by the president on July 2, 1921, ending the state of war between the United States and Germany and Austria. The United States then made treaties with Austria and Germany. These were signed on August 24 at Vienna and August 25 at Berlin.

Wars Continue

The Allied nations’ dreams of peace did not last long after the end of World War I. Most of the new disputes were over the control of certain European territories. These disputes and the efforts to settle them are discussed in the article on Europe.

One of the most serious tests of Allied peace plans occurred in the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Sèvres had greatly reduced the size of the Ottoman state, with Greece one of the major beneficiaries. Mustafa Kemal, a former Ottoman general, opposed the treaty and led a Turkish force that drove Greek troops from Asia Minor. The Allies then agreed to replace the Treaty of Sèvres with the Treaty of Lausanne. Signed on July 24, 1923, the new treaty set the boundaries of the modern state of Turkey.

Meanwhile, Syrians were rebelling against the French, who had taken control of Syria after the war. In October 1925 the French bombarded Damascus.

War Between “Whites” and “Reds” in Russia

The hardest and longest fighting was centered in Russia. In 1917 the Allies had stationed some 15,000 British and Americans in the city of Archangel. There were also some 8,000 Americans in Siberia. These forces remained in Russia at the close of the war.

From 1918 to 1920 fierce fighting took place in Russia between the Communist Bolsheviks (Reds) and their anti- Communist opponents (Whites). The Reds won this civil war. Allied troops were then removed, and the Allies gave up their policy of intervention in Russia. (See alsoRussian Revolution.)

Russia was also at war with Poland during the early postwar period. On March 18, 1921, Russia and Poland signed a peace treaty that gave Poland a large slice of Russian territory. Russia also had to pay Poland a massive indemnity.

The Reparations Issue

A major postwar problem concerned the amount of money Germany should pay for its share in starting the war. On April 27, 1921, this sum was fixed by the Reparation Commission at 132 billion gold marks, or about 31.5 billion dollars. Part of this debt could be paid in goods.

In 1922 Germany fell behind in its reparations deliveries of coal. To enforce payment, in January 1923 France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr coal and iron district on the right bank of the Rhine. Germany responded by immediately stopping all reparations payments. In the economic panic that followed, German money became worthless and many Germans were financially ruined.

In 1923 two committees were formed by the Reparation Commission to solve these problems. The first and principal committee was headed by an American, Gen. Charles G. Dawes. The report that Dawes wrote came to be known as the Dawes Plan. It called for more reasonable reparations payments by Germany and also established a new German currency and a new Reichsbank.

At first the German debts were paid promptly under the Dawes Plan. By 1928, however, Germany again fell behind in its payments. A committee headed by Owen D. Young worked out a second agreement. The Young Plan went into effect on September 1, 1929.

Despite the Young Plan, by 1931 Germany was no longer able to make reparations payments. President Herbert Hoover suggested that Germany’s creditors grant Germany a delay of one year on all payments due them. This was called a moratorium. To make this possible he offered a moratorium on all debts due the United States by these same nations.

After Germany stopped making reparations payments in 1932, most of the other European nations stopped paying their war debts to the United States. One exception was Finland, which paid regularly.

Locarno and Kellogg-Briand Pacts

(From left to right) Gustav Stresemann, Sir Austen Chamberlain, and Aristide Briand at the Locarno…

German Federal Archives, Bild 183-R03618; photographer, o.Ang

For a few years diplomatic relations among the nations of Europe seemed to run more smoothly. There were some territorial disputes during this period, but peace and friendship seemed to prevail between 1925 and 1930.

World leaders sign the Kellogg-Briand Pact in Paris on Aug. 27, 1928. Although the peace pact later…

Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The major powers of Europe signed a nonaggression pact at Locarno, Switzerland, in October 1925. The Kellogg- Briand Pact, sponsored by U.S. Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg and French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand, was a further effort to ensure peace. It was signed in Paris by all the major nations of the world on August 27, 1928.

Period of Totalitarian Aggression

The territorial problems of Europe, however, had never really been settled. In 1929 a worldwide economic depression set in. As it spread more and more of the treaty agreements broke down.

Adolf Hitler addresses a rally in Germany in about 1933.

dpa dena/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

Adolf Hitler became head of the German government in 1933. He soon announced that he intended to reject all the military limitations of the Versailles Treaty. The Allied nations protested and tried to meet the German challenge by increasing their own armaments.

It soon became clear that another war was in the making. Italy under Benito Mussolini allied itself with Germany. It seized Ethiopia and Albania. Further, the peace settlements at the end of World War I had forbidden the union of Austria with Germany. In 1934, however, Hitler’s Nazis assassinated Austria’s Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss. A few years later Germany occupied Austria. Next it moved into Czechoslovakia. Meanwhile, in the Far East, Japan invaded Manchuria and then China.

The major Allied nations offered no military resistance to these acts of totalitarian aggression. However, when Hitler’s troops invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. Direct cost of the two World Wars (For a detailed account of the next world war, seeWorld War II.)

Lawrence D. SteefelGeorge Frederick Zook Additional Reading

COFFMAN, EDWARD M. The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I (Univ. Press of

Kentucky, 1998; orig. pub. 1968).GLEICHEN, EDWARD. Chronology of the Great War, 1914–1918 (Greenhill, 2000;

orig. pub. 1920).HOOVER, HERBERT. The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson (Johns Hopkins, 1992; orig. pub. 1958).MURPHY,

DONALD J., ED. World War I (Greenhaven, 2002).PRESTON, DIANA. Remember the Lusitania (Walker, 2003).TUCHMAN,

BARBARA W. The Guns of August (Ballantine, 1994; orig. pub. 1962).

Citation (MLA style):

"World War I." Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 24 Mar. 2020. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland was the only major encounter between the British and German fleets in World War I. The battle was fought in 1916 in the Skagerrak, an arm of the North Sea, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) off the coast of Jutland (Denmark). Because of its location, it is also called the Battle of the Skagerrak. The battle included some 250 ships and reached an inconclusive end, although both sides claimed victory.

Ships of the German High Seas Fleet, June 1916.

De Agostini Editore/age fotostock

Personnel carry a charge of powder to one of the big guns on the Moltke, a German battle cruiser,…

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

In the early 20th century, Great Britain claimed naval supremacy on the seas. Although Germany attempted to add to their naval fleet, the country’s ships were still outnumbered by Britain. In the early years of World War I, Britain stationed the British Grand Fleet in the North Sea in order to keep supplies from reaching Germany by sea. In holding position there, the British fleet also prevented German ships from leaving their ports. In 1916 the German High Seas Fleet was put under the leadership of Admiral Reinhard Scheer. He continued to follow the

German naval warfare plan, which consisted of conducting a series of sorties to provoke the British without engaging in all-out warfare (since the British navy was more powerful). Scheer’s aim was to draw out small numbers of British ships and sink them with submarines.

On May 30, 1916, Scheer sent part of the German fleet under Admiral Franz von Hipper to Skagerrak to interfere with merchant ship deliveries and to harass the British warships. The Germans planned to provoke the British ships into following them back toward the larger German fleet, which would then attack in force. In the meantime, British naval intelligence intercepted a coded message exposing Scheer’s plan and on May 31 alerted British admirals John Jellicoe and David Beatty that Scheer had left port with his German High Seas Fleet. Beatty, in command of a scouting force of battle cruisers, spotted the German force under Hipper and pursued it toward the main German fleet. That afternoon both sides opened fire. The British suffered heavy losses and turned back toward Jellicoe’s main British fleet, with the Germans in pursuit.

A few hours later the main fleets encountered each other, and the battle raged anew. In the dusk the British had the advantage, and Scheer soon turned away. But when the German fleet attempted to head for home, it ran directly into the British fleet, which had maneuvered its ships between the German fleet and the German ports. Scheer subsequently ordered his battle cruisers and torpedo boats to charge the British fleet so that his battleships could retreat. Jellicoe, perhaps overestimating the danger of torpedo attacks, also turned away, and the battle thus came to an indecisive end. Both sides claimed a victory—Germany because it had destroyed or damaged many more ships, Britain because it retained control of the North Sea.

Citation (MLA style):

"Battle of Jutland." Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2021. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

Battle of Verdun

The Battle of Verdun, which took place in France over many months in 1916, was one of the most devastating engagements of World War I. During the battle the French repulsed a major German offensive.

France and Germany fought the Battle of Verdun in 1916, during World War I.

Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz

German General Erich von Falkenhayn was convinced that the war had to be won in France, chiefly by exhausting the enemy. He began concentrating resources for an attack on the fortress city of Verdun and its surrounding fortifications along the Meuse River. The Germans massed huge amounts of artillery and troops for the attack, which the French knew was coming but believed would occur elsewhere. Verdun, therefore, was unprepared when one of the heaviest bombardments of the war rained down on the area. From the offensive’s start on February 21, 1916, the Germans advanced with little opposition for four days until they reached Fort Douaumont, which they took. French reinforcements arrived just in time and with them General Philippe Pétain, who took command and managed to slow the German advance on Verdun by several French counterattacks.

French troops pass through the ruins of Verdun, the site of a major German offensive against the…

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

In March and April the hills and ridges of the surrounding area were bombarded, attacked, counterattacked, taken, and retaken. In June the Germans again assaulted the higher ground along the Meuse but were unable to maintain an advantage. By July they realized that their plan to seize Verdun had failed with a terrible loss of men—about 400,000 French casualties and nearly as many German—and equipment for both sides. From October until the end of the year, the French took the offensive and regained the forts and territory they had lost earlier.

Citation (MLA style):

"Battle of Verdun." Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 7 May. 2015. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

First Battle of the Marne

The First Battle of the Marne occurred during the early days of World War I. The French army and the British Expeditionary Force waged an offensive against the Germans, who had invaded Belgium and northeastern France and were within 30 miles (48 kilometers) of Paris. The battle took place on September 6–12, 1914.

The dotted line on the map shows how far the Germans had advanced into France before the First…

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

World War I began in August 1914, and by early September the German army had advanced deep into northeastern France. Paris was preparing for a siege, and the French troops were exhausted from their 10–12 day retreat to the south of the Marne River. At that time the French commander in chief, General Joseph-Jacques- Césaire Joffre, decided to risk a counterattack.

The battle began on September 6, when French troops under General Michel-Joseph Maunoury attacked the flank of the German general Alexander von Kluck’s army. When Kluck turned to oppose them, a 30-mile- (48-kilometer- ) wide gap was opened between his troops and the rest of the German army. On September 7 and 8, Maunoury’s forces were reinforced by 6,000 infantrymen. (They were transported to the battle from Paris by 600 taxis, which became the first automotive transport of troops in the history of war.) On September 8 French troops made a surprise night attack on the German army and widened the gap. On September 10 the Germans began to retreat to north of France’s Aisne River, where they dug in. The trench warfare that would become typical on the Western Front for the next three years had begun.

The First Battle of the Marne was a great victory for France. French troops halted the massive German advance that had threatened to overrun their country and thwarted German plans for a quick and total victory on the Western Front.

Citation (MLA style):

"First Battle of the Marne." Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 30 Jun. 2015. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

First Battle of the Somme

The First Battle of the Somme was a costly and largely unsuccessful Allied offensive on the Western Front during World War I. The battle occurred between July 1 and November 13, 1916.

A French soldier in a trench at the Somme, on the Western Front during World War I.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The Germans were securely entrenched and strategically located when the British and French launched their frontal attack on a 21-mile (34-kilometer) front north of the Somme River. A weeklong artillery bombardment preceded the British infantry’s push forward, but the troops were nevertheless decimated as they assaulted the impenetrable German positions. The British sustained nearly 60,000 casualties (20,000 dead) on the first day of the attack. In September the British introduced their new weapon, the tank, into the war for the first time, but it had little effect. In October torrential rains turned the battlefield into an impassable sea of mud, and by mid- November the Allies had advanced only 5 miles (8 kilometers).

Although the figures have been much disputed, the casualties from the First Battle of the Somme perhaps amounted to roughly 650,000 German, 195,000 French, and 420,000 British. By taking the offensive in the Somme, however, the Allies relieved the German pressure on the French at the Battle of Verdun by deflecting their attention from that area.

Citation (MLA style):

"First Battle of the Somme." Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2015. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

Russian Revolution

The roots of the Russian Revolution of 1917 were deep. Russia had suffered under an extremely oppressive form of government for centuries under the rule of the tsars. During the 19th century the country was filled with movements for political liberalization.

Russian army officers gather in the square of the Winter Palace, where they take the oath of…

Lenin addresses a crowd during the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Photos.com/Getty Images

Russian revolutionaries clash with cavalry forces during the Decembrist uprising of December 26,…

Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library

In the long run there were several revolutions, not one. The first rebellion, known as the Decembrist uprising, took place in December 1825. Members of the upper classes, including many former soldiers, staged a revolt after the death of the tsar, Alexander I. The revolt failed, but it provided an inspiration to succeeding generations of dissidents.

The next revolution took place in 1905, after the Russo-Japanese War, which Russia lost. It appeared briefly that public discontent would force Tsar Nicholas II to establish a constitutional monarchy. Such a change, however, would not have satisfied either the tsar or his opponents. Radical revolutionaries continued to fight for a democratic republic, and the tsar wanted to retain his control of the peasants.

Aleksandr Kerensky became the head of Russia's provisional government after the abdication of Tsar…

George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ggbain-24416)

The next two revolutions were successful. They occurred during World War I, when Russian military forces were hard-pressed by the Germans. The March Revolution of 1917 led to the abdication of Nicholas and the installation of a provisional government. The leader of this government was Aleksandr Kerensky, who was eventually forced from power.

The last revolution took place in November 1917. (Because the date was in October on the old Russian calendar, it is usually called the October, or Octobrist, Revolution.) It brought to power the Bolshevik wing of the Communist Party, led by Vladimir Lenin. The Bolsheviks established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics under the dictatorship of the Communist Party. In the end Lenin and his followers established a regime that was more rigidly tyrannical than that of any tsar. First Revolution of 1917

In the fall of 1915, as World War I raged, Tsar Nicholas had taken command of Russian armies in the field. This left a power vacuum in St. Petersburg (called Petrograd from 1914 to 1924), the capital. The collapse of the government suddenly came in March (February, old calendar) 1917. Food riots, strikes, and war protests turned

into mass demonstrations. The army refused to fire on the demonstrators. A Soviet (or council) of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies was elected, and it formed a provisional government on March 14. The next day Nicholas abdicated.

Lenin in about 1920.

Collection name/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZ62-101877)

The provisional government was a coalition of factions representing divergent points of view. Some leaders wanted withdrawal from the war and immediate economic reforms, with guarantees of political liberty. Others, including Kerensky, wanted to continue the war and postpone all reforms until the conflict was finished. No compromise seemed workable. Meanwhile, Lenin—the revolutionary genius—arrived by train from Switzerland. He had been put on a sealed train by the Germans, who hoped that he would influence Russia to leave the war.

Lenin’s slogan was “All power to the Soviets!” He used this slogan to undermine the provisional government. He demanded peace at once, immediate land reform, workers’ control of factories, and self-determination for the non-Russian peoples. Once in power, he turned his back on all programs of reform, but he kept his promise to take Russia out of World War I.

Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov inspecting Russian troops in 1917.

The Print Collector/Heritage-Images

It was Kerensky’s persistence in fighting the war that undid the provisional government, though other factors contributed. The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, undermined the war effort with propaganda among the soldiers. The government attempted to take action against Lenin, but he went into hiding in Finland. Kerensky tried to reinforce his authority by calling a state conference in Moscow. The Bolsheviks were not represented, but the conference was so divided that it could achieve nothing. A conservative revolt led by General Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov was put down.

Kornilov’s failed revolt was a turning point in the revolution. It became clear that there were not two, but three, opposing forces in the government: the conservatives, the social democrats, and Lenin’s followers. To Kornilov, the enemy was socialism, personified by Kerensky. To Kerensky, the conservatives represented counterrevolution. Both factions despised and underrated Lenin. To Lenin, Kerensky was as much of an enemy as Nicholas II. The defeat of Kornilov and the exhaustion of the provisional government gave Lenin the chance he had been waiting for.

October Revolution

Leon Trotsky was a leader of the Russian Revolution.

Bain News Service/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-ggbain-35130)

Georgy Konstantinovich Savitsky (1887–1949) painted First Days of the October Revolution.

PHOTOS.com/ Getty Images

Vladimir Lenin addresses the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets in St. Petersburg, November 8…

Photos.com/Getty Images

The leading characters of the next phase of revolution were Lenin and communist agitator Leon Trotsky. (Trotsky would be murdered years later on the orders of Joseph Stalin, Trotsky’s rival after Lenin’s death.) Kerensky seemed unable to take action against the military preparations of the Bolsheviks, who were distributing arms, subverting the army, and appointing supporters as commissars of military units. On the night of November 6–7

(October 24–25, old calendar), 1917, the Bolsheviks acted. By the next evening the capital was in their hands, though fighting in Moscow went on for several days. Soon the Bolsheviks had installed their own general as commander in chief of the armed forces.

When the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets met in the capital immediately following the Bolshevik coup, most members of other socialist parties walked out, leaving the impression that Lenin’s party best represented the interests of workers, farmers, and soldiers. The congress called upon all parties participating in World War I to negotiate immediate peace. It also abolished all private ownership of land in Russia and took all property of the imperial family and the church. The eight-hour workday was made compulsory, and factory workers were given the right to supervise their enterprises.

Kerensky had earlier planned an election for the end of the month, and Lenin let it go ahead. The results gave the Bolsheviks a distinct minority in the Constituent Assembly. Lenin then appealed over the head of the assembly to the people, claiming the workers’ councils (the soviets) represented “a higher form of democratic principle.” By January 1918 the assembly was completely demoralized, and it ceased to function.

Meanwhile, Lenin had to deal with the war. Calls for a negotiated peace failed. Lenin then bargained directly with the Germans. Faced with a crippling loss of territory or the collapse of his government, he chose the former. Trotsky headed the Soviet delegation that signed a peace treaty at Brest-Litovsk, in what is now Belarus, on March 3, 1918. Under its terms Russia lost Ukraine, its Polish and Baltic provinces, and Finland. The treaty was effectively annulled by Germany’s defeat in November 1918, and the Soviet Union eventually regained all the territory except Finland and Poland.

At the time that the Congress of Soviets met to approve the treaty, the Bolsheviks changed their name to the Russian Communist Party. The treaty had negative effects for Lenin. Opponents from different Russian factions were united by their opposition to it. Patriotic indignation at the betrayal of Russia to Germany quickly surfaced, even in the army. This division between the communists and their opponents led to a civil war that lasted until late 1920. Trotsky was appointed commissar for war. Civil War

Red Army (communist) soldiers gather during the Russian Revolution.

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Lenin’s government, which had relocated to the Kremlin in Moscow, was determined to get rid of all opposition. All non-Bolshevik socialist factions were driven out of the workers’ councils, and they were forbidden to engage in political activity. In retaliation, Lenin was shot and seriously wounded.

Nicholas II after being taken captive, about 1917.

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. LC-B2- 4315-10)

The government responded by proclaiming a campaign of “Red Terror,” which included shooting hostages and giving the secret police (the Cheka) the power to arrest, try, and execute suspects. Because the communists feared that Tsar Nicholas might be liberated, he and his family were murdered at Yekaterinburg on the night of July 16–17, 1918.

Although surrounded on all sides by enemies, the communists had the advantage of controlling the heartland of Russia. Trotsky’s Red Army was able to plan operations and move men more easily than its enemies, whose bases were on the fringes and who were cut off from each other. Although all the enemies wanted to destroy the Moscow government, they were not united in other objectives. For example, if the Ukrainians, who simply wanted independence, had won it, they probably would not have continued to fight on behalf of those opposed to the government.

Trotsky managed to take an army that had once been demoralized by Bolshevik propaganda and turn it into an effective fighting force. He used former tsarist officers whose training and experience were too valuable to be ignored. The rigid discipline of the Communist Party helped to raise morale. By 1919 the Red Army had become a much better fighting force than its anticommunist opponents, who were collectively referred to as the Whites. A large part of the peasantry disliked the communists, but they saw no point in supporting the Whites, who they feared would restore the monarchy. The industrial workers entertained no hope from the Whites, who had shown no understanding of city workers. The civil war ended in victory for the Red Army in 1920.

After the civil war, the only threat to the communist government came from the Kronshtadt Rebellion of 1921. Strikes in St. Petersburg led to demonstrations demanding the release of socialists from prison. In March a mutiny broke out at the nearby naval base of Kronshtadt. The sailors demanded political freedom and the end of the dictatorship of the Communist Party. Lenin, whose chief goal had always been political power, refused any concessions. Trotsky led a force that crushed the mutineers.

Lenin went far to allay economic discontent by advocating such policies as affirming the rights of the peasants to own land, by reducing taxes, and by permitting a certain amount of private enterprise in his New Economic Policy. But in politics he was rigid. No opinions other than those sanctioned by the Communist Party were allowed. The party itself was controlled by its Central Committee and increasingly by smaller units. Effective control passed finally to the Secretariat of the party.

Joseph Stalin became leader of the Soviet Union in 1924.

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USW33- 019081-C)

In 1922 the government proclaimed the creation of the Soviet Union. When Lenin died in 1924, power passed to the first secretary of the party, Joseph Stalin. Under him still one more revolution took place: the centralization of all political and economic power in his hands and the transformation of the Soviet Union into a completely totalitarian state.

Citation (MLA style):

"Russian Revolution." Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Nov. 2019. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

“New York Herald”: sinking of the “Lusitania”

Britannica Note:

The British ocean liner Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915 while England and Germany were fighting against each other in World War I. This act contributed indirectly to the United States entering into the war.

The New York Herald reports on the sinking of the Lusitania on May 7, 1915.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Citation (MLA style):

“New York Herald”: sinking of the “Lusitania”. Image. Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2021. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

World War I: Ypres

British troops pass through the ruins of Ypres, Belgium, on September 29, 1918.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Citation (MLA style):

World War I: Ypres. Image. Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2021. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

Tannenberg, Battle of

The Battle of Tannenberg, in World War I, was a crushing defeat for the Russian army. Thousands of Russian soldiers were taken prisoner by the German army.

Citation (MLA style):

Tannenberg, Battle of. Image. Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2021. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

World War I: Allied troops at ANZAC Cove

Britannica Note:

The Dardanelles Campaign, also called the Gallipoli Campaign (February 1915–January 1916), was an unsuccessful attempt by the Allied Powers to control the sea route from Europe to Russia during World War I.

Allied troops line the shore at ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The cove was named after the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) troops that were part of the Allied forces. The Gallipoli Campaign against the Turks was a bloody defeat for the Allies.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Citation (MLA style):

World War I: Allied troops at ANZAC Cove. Image. Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2021. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

World War I: Western Front

Britannica Note:

Battlefields west of Germany were called the Western Front. The Germans had hoped for an easy victory on the Western Front. But in September 1914 the Allies forced back the Germans at the First Battle of the Marne. The armies on the Western Front then began four years of trench warfare.

The Western Front lay generally east of the Marne River in France. It hardly wavered in four years.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Citation (MLA style):

World War I: Western Front. Image. Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2021. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

Zimmermann, Arthur: Zimmermann Note

Encoded text of the “Zimmermann Note,” sent January 16, 1917, in which Germany proposed a military alliance with Mexico against the United States.

National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Citation (MLA style):

Zimmermann, Arthur: Zimmermann Note. Image. Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2021. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

World War I: Eastern Front

Britannica Note:

Unlike the Western Front, the Eastern Front was mostly dynamic, as Germany and its ally, Austria-Hungary, fought the Russian Empire across battle lines that moved back and forth hundreds of miles at a time.

The Eastern Front, where troops from Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Russia, and the Balkans fought, was larger than the Western Front.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Citation (MLA style):

World War I: Eastern Front. Image. Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2021. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

Christmas Truce

Britannica Note:

The Christmas Truce (December 24-25, 1914), was an unofficial cease-fire that occurred along the Western Front during World War I.

An illustration showing British and German troops fraternizing on the battlefield in December 1914.

Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy

Citation (MLA style):

Christmas Truce. Image. Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2021. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

World War I: Battle of Verdun

Video Transcript

NARRATOR: 1916 – it’s been over a year since the beginning of war. The German attack is bogged down in France, a static warfare of heavy losses. Carnage is routine, death is everywhere. The new chief of staff Erich von Falkenhayn advises the Emperor to put the front in motion again. His pursuit is the decisive battle in the West. The Emperor grants the general’s wishes. The German troops have advanced up to 120 kilometers into French territory. But the strong defenses on the Meuse block the path to Paris. To the west of Metz, in the vicinity of Verdun, German troops are poised to penetrate French fortifications. On the first of February, 1916 the battle begins with a barrage. In preparation for attack, thousands of artillery guns of all calibers bombard the French bulwarks. The key bastion of Fort Douaumont, with its cannons, machine guns and concealed armored turrets, is considered impregnable. But it is inadequately manned. After five days and immense losses, the Germans conquer the Fort. MAURICE BOURGEOIS: "Our defenses were completely destroyed as a result. Thousands of shells fell on the battlefield." NARRATOR: It is up to General Henri-Philippe Pétain to save France. He is an experienced strategist and a cunning propagandist. BOURGEOIS: "'Courage, courage! We’ll get them!' We knew what this meant: To save Verdun at any price. 'Courage! We’ll stop them. They won’t get through!'" NARRATOR: It is a bitter fight for every meter. Attacks. Counterattacks. There are no victors, only losers. GUSTAV-ADOLPH GRAF VON HALEM: "Looking at all these victims, you couldn't feel enthusiastic, only obedient, and that’s what we were." NARRATOR: Verdun is now known as the bone mill. Soldiers become mere materials for a war of attrition. The use of flame throwers and poison gas grenades brings only more suffering and no new breakthroughs. But the mass slaughter continues until December 1916. The fronts are unchanged. And hundreds of thousands of dead remain in the soil of Verdun.

France and Germany fought the Battle of Verdun in 1916, during World War I.

Citation (MLA style):

World War I: Battle of Verdun. Video. Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2021. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.

World War I: timeline

Video Transcript

In 1914 the map of Europe looked very different than it does today. Several empires controlled large parts of the continent. When World War I began, most countries in Europe took sides in the war. The two main groups of countries became known as the Allies and the Central Powers. The war was fought on two fronts: the battlefields to the east of Germany were known as the Eastern Front, and those to the west of Germany were known as the Western Front. In early August, Germany invaded Belgium to get to France. The German armies advanced almost as far as Paris, but French and British armies stopped them at the first battle of the Marne. After that both sides settled into four years of trench warfare. In November 1914 the Ottoman Empire, including what is now Turkey, was drawn into the war on the side of the Central Powers. British, Australian, and New Zealand troops fought against the Turks for almost a year on the Gallipoli peninsula and the strait known as the Dardanelles. In the end, the troops withdrew and nothing was gained. In the meantime, the war on the Western Front continued. In April 1915 the Germans had used a new weapon on the Allies--poison gas. It was the first use of chemical weapons in wartime. The Germans also used torpedoes. These were missiles launched from submarines. German submarines sank many Allied ships. In some cases the ships that were attacked were not warships. The most famous example was the Lusitania, a British passenger ship. In May 1915, Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies. In the summer of that year Bulgaria joined the Central Powers. In March 1916 Portugal was brought into the war when Germany declared war on the country. In the summer of 1916 Romania entered the war on the side of the Allies by attacking Austria-Hungary. Greece also entered the war in late 1916. Meanwhile, the largest sea battle of the war took place in the North Sea, off of the part of Denmark known as Jutland. The British and German ships fought each other for two days. The Western Front was the scene of several important battles in 1916. In the first battle of the Somme, the British used tanks for the first time. Several important events in 1917 helped change the course of the war. In April 1917 the United States entered the war on the side of the Allies. It took many months for troops to be organized and sent to Europe, but U.S warships and supplies helped the Allies immediately. The Russian Revolution changed the Eastern Front. The tsar, or ruler of Russia, was forced to give up power in March. Later in the year a new group took power. They made peace with Germany. The Germans were then able to move their troops elsewhere. The Germans made

their last large push against the Allies in the Marne River valley in July 1918. British, American, and Italian units assisted the French in their defense of the territory. By November, the Allies had driven back the Germans to the battle lines of 1914. The Central Powers began to surrender. On November 11, 1918, German leaders signed an armistice--an agreement that ended the fighting. In January 1919 the leaders of the Allies met in Paris, France, to create a peace treaty. German and Allied representatives signed the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. The Allies later signed separate treaties with Austria, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. As a result of the treaty, the map of Europe changed greatly. It would change again within a few years.

An animated timeline covers the major events of World War I.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Citation (MLA style):

World War I: timeline. Video. Britannica LaunchPacks: World War I: Key Battles and Events, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2021. packs-preview.eb.com. Accessed 10 Aug. 2021.

While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.