The war of movement until November 1914 changed to a war of attrition at the Battle of Ypres. This meant the war was a stalemate and would not be ended quickly or even by Christmas. The scale of the war was a major factor in determining how long it lasted. It was the first global war, something never seen before and became known as the Great War or, to later generations World War 1. The number of troops mobilised was larger than had ever been seen in conflicts before.
Both soldiers and civilians blame the defeats in the war and the growing crises on the home front on Tsar. Even the Tsars only army stated it wouldn’t support him if a revolution occurred. Explain the importance/significance of World War 1 to the downfall of the Tsar WWI was a very significant event on the rule of Tsar Nicholas 11. Although it initially bolstered his position, it then became a large factor that contributed to Nicholas’ downfall. The Country was ecstatic when the Tsar made the announcement that Russia was going to fight against Germany in WWI.
Germany established a submarine war zone around the British Isles and said they would sink any enemy war ships that entered that proximity. Innocent American trading and merchant ships were being shot down and sunk by ruthless German warfare at sea. Germany refused to let the neutral America trade goods with their enemy countries. This dramatically impacted America because much of the American economy was controlled by trade with Britain and France, and moving forward America knew it would be impossible to keep an expanding economy without GB and France. America, despite its efforts, could not remain neutral and was forced to enter World War 1.
The Germans, who continued making territorial gains (marked 2), eventually began aiding the pro-Tsarist White Russian forces, attempting to stem the very revolt they had helped to foster. However the damage to the Russian infrastructure was too great, and the "White" Russians were eventually forced from power by the "Red" Communists. The treaty of Brest-Litovsk was finally concluded with the new Bolshevik government on March 3, 1918, stripping their country of all provinces west of the Ukraine. That treaty was annulled by the Armistice of November 11, and the new government in Moscow eventually re-established its presence in all of the previously held lands. Ironically, one of the lasting actions by the Bolsheviks was the attempted indoctrination of German prisoners-of-war.
As people begin a conversation about war, someone always inquires about how the war started. There are several reasons that can cause a war to breakout between nations. World War I was fought in the years of 1914-1918. Several people described this war as the Great War because it was the first war that they had ever witnessed. World War I began because of many obstacles that America would have to sustain in order for the war to diminish.
There were soldiers being enlisted and sent off to their deaths while Europe literally exploded all over the place. And so the people began to wonder, since the first “war to end all wars” failed in preventing this one, what would this one bring other than more casualties and a damaged, wrecked economy? As Zinn’s questions sum up nicely, “Would the behavior of the United States…be in keeping of a ‘people’s war’? Would the country’s wartime policies respect the rights of ordinary people…? And would postwar America, in its policies at home and overseas, exemplify the values for which the war was supposed to have been fought?” (Zinn 408).
Underlying Causes Of WWI World War I, also known as “The Great War” was an extremely bloody war that immersed Europe with huge losses of life and little ground lost or won. There may have seemed like there was a chain of events that led to the fighting, but the underlying causes of WW1 were Nationalism, Alliances, Militarism, imperialism and the assignation of Arch Duke Ferdinand. America tried there hardest to remain neutral and stay out of the war, but they were dragged in by force. Several incidents built up tension between nations before the outbreak of the First World War. Nationalism was one of the underlying causes of WW1.
Outline the strategies and tactics to break the stalemate on the Western Front The strategy used most consistently in World War One to break through the stalemate was attrition warfare. Both sides aimed to wear down the other to the point of surrender by constant barrage and depletion of resources and supplies. The tactic of launching full frontal offensives was used by both sides in World War One in their attempt to break the stalemate. Commanders such as General Haig on the Allied side and the German General Hindenburg repeatedly commanded soldiers to go ‘over the top’ and charge at enemy defences. This tactic was used, for example, at battles such as the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917.
During these first four years, America managed to mind its own business and really avoid much if any conflict at all, however, in the latter part of it America played a key role in really demolishing all hope that Germany had left by defeating them. Thus today making the United States participation in the war crucial to its victory. In 1916 Wilson won the reelection by using the slogan “ he kept us out of war” but that would not be valid for too long. As the war went on the United States started to side more with Britain, France, and other countries that were fighting Germany. The last straw for the United States in there step to go to war was the sinking of the British passenger ship,Lusitania, by a German submarine in 1915, which resulted in the deaths of 128 Americans.
Russia’s early hopes were soon dashed however. Russia’s best chance of victory came at the very beginning of the war when a large number of German troops were invading Belgium and France, but instead of ceasing this opportunity the Russian generals blundered into defeat after defeat. Russia’s dreams of a swift victory were all but crushed in the Tannenberg and Masurian disasters that set the stage for further defeats in 1915. The First World War was a new type of war, a war dominated by modern technology, technology that the Russians were struggling with. Meanwhile the Germans were making massive advancements in both new technology and it’s utilisation but also the strategic aspects of