Introduction
World War I, which was referred to as the Great War at the time, is the armed conflict that escalated in Europe but soon assumed worldwide proportions and lasted between 1914 and 1918. By its beginning, the most powerful states of the epoch had formed two coalitions that actually were the initial belligerents. Notably, the Entente, whose members were Britain, France, and the Russian Empire, opposed the Triple Alliance of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy. Later, the United States joined the former, which determined the outcome of the war along with several internal factors.
Lack of Unity
It is worth noting that the war was unpopular in all of the countries that took part in it from the beginning, due to which, the motivation of ordinary soldiers apparently was insufficient. Thus, Keegan gives Italy as the example of how “people and parliamentarians” “had no enthusiasm for the dangerous adventure,” while the initiative came from several particular politicians as well as cultural activists (226). Neither did the population of Germany demonstrate sufficient dedication; the war brought economic and social instability, which caused discontent and finally resulted in the revolution of 1918. Regarding Austria-Hungary, its population, hence army, was outstandingly various in ethnical terms since the empire had occupied the territories of modern Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, Romania, and a range of other countries (Keegan 156). Such diversity was hardly beneficial in the context of the war, as the interests differed from one ethnic group to another. Considering all of the above, it is possible to assume that, due to the internal contradictions, the Triple Alliance was not as powerful as it could have been otherwise.
To the contrary, the members of the Entente lacked engagement as well, which was noticeable from the beginning and grew more apparent after substantial losses at the early stages of the conflict. Thus, by the end of the first year, almost a million of French soldiers had been killed or wounded. In 1918, the rate of the warriors who had died reached 17% (Keegan 317). Those predominantly were mobilized ordinary people, whose deaths caused the growing discontent of their compatriots. Among Russians, there also were many deserters, which Keegan explains with insufficient attachment to “comrades, unit and national cause” (343). In fact, the Russian Empire was not less ethnically and culturally various than the Austrian-Hungarian, with similar consequences. The main force of the alliance doubtlessly was Britain, in terms of both equipment and morale. Due to the lack of enthusiasm at both sides along with comparable powers, the war soon became positional and took a form of an armaments race.
However, internal misunderstandings took place not solely within the states, but also between them, which actually is one of the determinants of the outcomes. The turning point occurred in the spring of 1915, when Italy, which had remained uninvolved for the above reasons, confronted Austria-Hungary and declared war on it, having joined the Entente (Keegan 226). That is where the weakening began, as the leaders happened to be unable to fight successfully on several fronts, even notwithstanding the later incorporation of the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.
Lack of Resources
Considering the character of the World War I, it was exhausting and led to depletion of both financial and human resources. The latter along with the revolution of 1917 made Russia cease the conflict, having signed the peace treaty with Germany in Brest-Litovsk, now Brest, Belarus. In accordance with it, Germany acquired 750,000 square kilometers of territory, which was three times its initial size (Keegan 342). The area contained a third of Russia’s agricultural lands and a quarter of its industrial powers that required considerable investments as well as a great amount of workers. Meanwhile, the waring country was able to provide neither the former nor the latter.
Austria-Hungary was also experiencing a scarcity of resources for several reasons. First, it was bound to fight on two fronts from the beginning, specifically, against Serbia in the south and the Russian Empire in the east. Second, it would be reasonable to mention that Austro-Hungarian army had received strong support from its German equivalent throughout the war, for which reason both weakened in parallel at the end. Another possible contributor is the death of the Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1916, as, according to Keegan, he had been the “symbol of unity among the dozen nationalities of his creaking empire” (74). Consequently, after he passed away, the internal misunderstandings aggravated the vulnerability of both the army and the state, having decreased the amount of loyal soldiers.
Although Italy seceded, two other states joined Germany and Austria-Hungary; that could have strengthened the newly created Central Forces, but in fact, it did not. Notably, the participation of the Ottoman Empire was insufficient since it opened the only active front in the Caucasus, where it was fighting against Russia (Keegan 191). Lying too far from Britain, which, as said above, was the heart of the Entente, that branch of the conflict was practically senseless in terms of a common victory. Regarding Bulgaria, the role of its troops was supplementary rather than leading, and it was pursuing local interests, similar to Turkey (Keegan 250). All of the above allows assuming that the defeat of the Central Powers was inevitable, considering the exhaustion of Germany that doubtlessly had been the center of those.
Entrance of the United States
In 1914, the USA was among the states that issued declarations of neutrality, but the government changed its opinion with the time, which decision actually became seminal. Initially, the President Woodrow Wilson insisted that his nation was “too proud to fight”; in addition, nor the size neither the experience of American army was appropriate at the time (Keegan 372-373). Instead, the United Stated became one of the main suppliers of equipment, fuel, and food products to the Allies. The escalation of the war, however, was marked by several German provocations, such as sinking Lusitania, the British ship with over 100 Americans aboard, and the attempt to instigate a conflict in Mexico (Keegan 373). The response was raising the army and sending forces to the Western front.
It would be relevant to remark that a considerable amount of Americans was already participating in the war, which also may have contributed to the government’s motivation to enter it. Some of them had joined the British and Canadian armies as volunteer fighters, while some other were serving in France, specifically, forming the so-called Lafayette Escadrille within the local air force (Keegan 373). The latter actually became the source of critically important knowledge and experience for their fellow warriors, whose involvement determined the further complexion of the conflict.
American troops crossed the Atlantic in October 2017 and added considerably to the human as well as equipment resources of the Allies. Meanwhile, the Central Powers, as described above, found themselves hardly able to reinforce their armies further. Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary surrendered one by one after a year of battles; Germany, by contrast, continued to seek a victory to the utmost (Keegan 413-417). However, the support from the USA had made the prevalence of the Entente doubtless, and the remains of the Central Forces could not oppose. The Great War ended on November 11, 1918 with the surrender of Germany. The latter lost a substantial share of territories as well as armament and was to pay reparations to its former colonies.
Conclusion
The history of the World War I actually is that of an arms race among the most powerful empires of the early 20th century. One of the sides was the Triple Alliance that ceased to exist with the exit of Italy and turned into the so-called Central Forces after Turkey and Bulgaria had joined. Such perturbations along with the contradictions among the multicultural population of the members weakened the alliance and became one of the factors in its defeat. Another aspect was the rapid and dramatic depletion of resources that resulted from fighting on several fronts in parallel. That, in turn, was the consequence of the active opposition from the Entente that originally comprised Britain, France, and Russia. Later, the United Stated decided to support those, which allowed for a substantial numerical superiority and the consequent victory.
Work Cited
Keegan, John. The First World War. Vintage Canada Edition, 2000.