First World War

The First World War began on July 28th, 1914 between the Entente (primarily made up of Russian, British, and French forces) and the Central Powers (Turkish, German, and Austro-Hungarian). The Germans made great gains into France during the first year of the war but over time it slowed into trench warfare as both sides attempted to out flank each other until they hit the sea. But while the western front was defined by trench warfare, the eastern front, consisting of the German and Austro-Hungarians vs The Russian Empire was better defined as a war of movement as large field maneuvers were the main tactic used by both sides. As the war dragged on the Germans made great gains against the Russians. During this time, the communist party began their revolution in 1917, causing the Russians and the Germans to sign a peace treaty which released the nations of Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland. Unfortunately as soon as these countries were released, they began to fight each other over land and other petty reasons. When the German high command saw these issues arising in these eastern countries they decided to leave them to their own devices and diverted the 2.3 million men from the eastern, to the western front. In the same year the Kriegsmarine seeing their opportunity, attacked the Royal Navy, crippling it for the rest of the war and this allowed the Germans to import much needed war materials and food to continue fighting. Now panicked by Russia’s sudden withdrawal, the Zimmerman telegram was fabricated by the British to trick the United States into joining the war on the Entente’s side. It was discovered to be a fabrication, and the United States withdrew their lend-lease support, this crippled British sealanes. In 1918 the German army began major offensives, utilizing their Stoßtruppen to great effect. These maneuvers allowed multiple breakthroughs in the Somme and Verdun in France, and Isonzo in Italy. Soon after, in 1919, Paris was surrounded and subsequently captured marking the end of the First World War. The treaty following this conflict was dubbed the Treaty of Berlin and in this treaty the states of Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands were annexed by the German Empire. It also placed restrictions on the British Royal Navy limiting it to 40 ships that have a weight limit of 30 tons. The destruction caused by this conflict was unheard of from previous conflicts with a military death toll of 2.7 million and a civilian death toll of 1.37 million, although it is speculated to be even greater than those numbers.