maps
These maps show the approximate positions of different armies throughout the war. For more information on each map, please see the captions. For larger, more detailed versions of the maps, as well as for a timeline of battles and military action, please see this website.
Nationalism and imperialism
The years before the outbreak of World War I were marked by the rise of two related ideologies: nationalism and imperialism. Nationalism, which was initially spurred on by intellectuals and political leaders, emerged as a dominant ideology during the nineteenth century and quickly gained popularity among the general population. At its core, nationalism argued that the roots of modern nations could be traced to time immemorial, that the boundaries of modern states should align with those of these ancient states, and that the actions of the modern state should uphold the greatness of the ancient nation. Because the connections between modern states and these ancient nations were historically contingent and often tenuous or exaggerated, the modern nation state has been variously identified as the result of an "act of will" (Ernest Renan), a product of modernization (Eugen Weber), an "invented tradition" (Eric Hobsbawm) and an "imagined community" (Benedict Anderson).
In order to bolster national pride and increase political power and economic wealth, European nations increasingly engaged in an imperialistic process called colonialism. Colonialism was an exploitative push to control the political and economic structures of other parts of the globe. Although often substantiated on moral grounds, colonialism consists of policies in which a stronger nation or territory takes control of a weaker nation, territory or dominion, usually for reasons of economic gain. Although European countries were not the only places to engage in this practice, by the end of the nineteenth century, European nations had laid claims to lands all around the world. Perhaps the most famous example of this practice took place in Africa, where Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Belgium effectively divided up the continent into colonies in what became known as "the scramble for Africa" (1881-1914).
In order to bolster national pride and increase political power and economic wealth, European nations increasingly engaged in an imperialistic process called colonialism. Colonialism was an exploitative push to control the political and economic structures of other parts of the globe. Although often substantiated on moral grounds, colonialism consists of policies in which a stronger nation or territory takes control of a weaker nation, territory or dominion, usually for reasons of economic gain. Although European countries were not the only places to engage in this practice, by the end of the nineteenth century, European nations had laid claims to lands all around the world. Perhaps the most famous example of this practice took place in Africa, where Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Belgium effectively divided up the continent into colonies in what became known as "the scramble for Africa" (1881-1914).
- Leaders and Politicians
- The Alliance System
In the years leading up to World War I, the countries of Europe saw themselves as surrounded by enemies and rivals. In order to protect themselves from one another, it was not uncommon for countries to make alliances. For example, to protect the newly formed German Empire (created in 1871), in 1882 Germany's Chancellor Otto von Bismarck created the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. In response, France, Great Britain, and the Russian Empire formed the Triple Entente in 1907. Such alliances promised that if one country went to war, all countries with which that country was allied would have to defend their ally and go to war as well. It was this system of entangled alliances that forced almost all of Europe into World War I, even those whose countries were not initially involved. During the course of the war, some countries changed alliances.
At the beginning of the war in 1914, the alliances were:
The Allies: The Triple Entente of Britain, France, and Russia; Serbia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro and Japan
versus
The Central Powers: Germany, Austro-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Italy.
By the end of the war in 1918, the alliances were:
The Allies: Britain, France, Serbia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, Japan, Italy (switched in 1915), San Marino (joined 1915), Portugal (joined 1916), Romania (joined 1916), the United States (joined 1917), Cuba (joined 1917), Bolivia (joined 1917), Greece (joined 1917), Siam (joined 1917), Liberia (joined 1917), China (joined 1917), Peru (joined 1917), Uruguay (joined 1917), Brazil (joined 1917), Ecuador (joined 1917), Panama (joined 1917), Guatemala (joined 1918), Nicaragua (joined 1918), Costa Rica (joined 1918), Haiti (joined 1918), and Honduras (joined 1918). [Note that Russia is no longer on this list; Russia because the Soviet Union after the October Revolution in 1917 and left the war shortly after.]
The Central Powers: Germany, Austro-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria (joined 1915), and German and Ottoman client states.
At the beginning of the war in 1914, the alliances were:
The Allies: The Triple Entente of Britain, France, and Russia; Serbia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro and Japan
versus
The Central Powers: Germany, Austro-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Italy.
By the end of the war in 1918, the alliances were:
The Allies: Britain, France, Serbia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, Japan, Italy (switched in 1915), San Marino (joined 1915), Portugal (joined 1916), Romania (joined 1916), the United States (joined 1917), Cuba (joined 1917), Bolivia (joined 1917), Greece (joined 1917), Siam (joined 1917), Liberia (joined 1917), China (joined 1917), Peru (joined 1917), Uruguay (joined 1917), Brazil (joined 1917), Ecuador (joined 1917), Panama (joined 1917), Guatemala (joined 1918), Nicaragua (joined 1918), Costa Rica (joined 1918), Haiti (joined 1918), and Honduras (joined 1918). [Note that Russia is no longer on this list; Russia because the Soviet Union after the October Revolution in 1917 and left the war shortly after.]
The Central Powers: Germany, Austro-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria (joined 1915), and German and Ottoman client states.
- Terrorism
While World War I was largely a result of simmering tensions caused by nationalism, imperialism, economic competition, alliances and an arms race among nations, the act that sparked it was one of terrorism. In Sarajevo, a city located in Austria-Hungary, various ethnic groups had formed organizations which each advocated for national autonomy; some of these groups used terrorist techniques to try to achieve their goals. Austria-Hungary (which was ruled by the Hapsburg Monarchy) was especially vulnerable to such activity because the Hapsburgs ruled over many ethnic minorities, including Slavs (Czechs, Poles, Slovenes, Serbs) and Italians. On 28 June 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was visiting the city of Sarajevo when he was shot by a teenaged terrorist, Gavirilo Princip. Princip, pictured on the left side of the middle picture, was a member of the Serbian sponsored Black Hand, a group that used violence and assassinations in order to protest against Austro-Hungarian rule and advocate for the creation of an independent state for southern Slavs (effectively for the area that would become Yugoslavia in 1918). Below are drawings and photographs of the assassination and Princip's arrest.
Weapons and technology
World War I was marked by rapid military innovation. New technology was used to wage war, but it came at the cost of unprecedented numbers of military deaths and injuries, as well as terrible civilian suffering. Take, for example, the zeppelin: the airship was used near the beginning of the war to launch bombing raids from the air, but the imprecise nature of its use meant homes and other non-military targets were regularly hit by its bombs. Gas attacks, dreadnoughts (military battleships armed with big guns, propelled by steam turbines), military planes, tanks, the machine gun, large artillery guns like the Big Bertha and submarines were also used en masse for the first time, with varying levels of military effectiveness. At the same time, militaries often still relied on older techniques: messenger pigeons and the telegraph were commonly used for communication. The use of traditional military strategies in the face of new military technology often had tragic consequences; it is not hard to imagine that cavalries with officers on horseback were rapidly decimated when fired on by machine guns.
- Trench Warfare
Perhaps more than any other object, the trench is the symbol of World War I. "Going over the top", or climbing out of the trench into the line of fire, was a harrowing experience, memorialized in letters, diaries, novels, photographs, and film. Each army's trenches were generally about 12 feet deep and consisted of at least three parallel, zigzagging lines, interconnected by communications trenches. The area between enemy trenches was called no-man's -land and was often planted with land mines and riddled with barbed wire to make it more difficult to cross. Supplemental trench systems were also built several miles to the rear, to be used in the event of retreat. As the war wore on, the trench system became more elaborate and complicated, often including bunkers placed deep underground that could provide protection from shelling attacks. The common infantry soldier had few weapons: the rifle, bayonet (or sharpened spade), and hand grenade. While troops in the front line trenches were often under direct fire, the experiences of men in the trenches further back (who were often waiting to be transferred forward to the front lines, or were being employed in support capacities) were often characterized by repetition and boredom.
The trenches themselves could be terrible places; soldiers complained frequently of rats, lice and the dreaded "trench foot" a condition characterized by swelling, numbness, odor and gangrene that sometimes led to amputation and resulted from prolonged exposure of the feet to cold, wet, unsanitary conditions. Still, life in the trenches was not universally abysmal: soldiers were sometimes able to bring furniture into their living quarters (and when one army attacked another army's trench, soldiers often plundered the enemy's furnishings or provisions). German trenches in particular were renowned for being clean, well-kept and organized and better built than French trenches, which had not been built with long-term occupation in mind.
It is important to note that although the trench was heavily used in the Western Front, it was used less consistently in other areas (it was, for example, too hard to dig trenches during the winter on the Eastern Front, so they were rarely constructed there).
The trenches themselves could be terrible places; soldiers complained frequently of rats, lice and the dreaded "trench foot" a condition characterized by swelling, numbness, odor and gangrene that sometimes led to amputation and resulted from prolonged exposure of the feet to cold, wet, unsanitary conditions. Still, life in the trenches was not universally abysmal: soldiers were sometimes able to bring furniture into their living quarters (and when one army attacked another army's trench, soldiers often plundered the enemy's furnishings or provisions). German trenches in particular were renowned for being clean, well-kept and organized and better built than French trenches, which had not been built with long-term occupation in mind.
It is important to note that although the trench was heavily used in the Western Front, it was used less consistently in other areas (it was, for example, too hard to dig trenches during the winter on the Eastern Front, so they were rarely constructed there).
The Global World
The "Great War" may have broken out in Europe, but it involved people and places from around the world. Military campaigns took place in locations as far-flung as Mesopotamia, China and Egypt. This global unrest contributed to tragedies and atrocities such as the Armenian genocide, in which the Ottoman Empire systematically murdered about 1.5 million Armenians through execution, overwork and starvation because the Ottomans claimed that they were concerned that the Armenian community would provide support to the Russian Army.
In addition, European armies recruited soldiers from their colonies in Africa and Asia. Thousands of troops from all around the world served on the Western Front; others came from the colonies to work in the factories. The achievements of these people stood in stark contrast to racist colonial rhetoric, which had argued that more "civilized" and "advanced" Europeans needed to shoulder the "White Man's Burden" and manage the affairs of colonial subjects. Rather, in the case of WWI, the colonial regimes needed the help and labor of colonized peoples. This realization helped to spur on liberationist movements in colonized areas, in which colonial subjects fought against racist and discriminatory laws and practices. For example, protests in India forced the British government to create a system of dual rule, in which Indians were given some autonomy at the local level (although British officials were still in charge of national processes such as taxation).
* Click here to see to see pastel portraits of World War I soldiers from different ethnicities and countries, also known as "Military Types," created by Swiss artist Eugène Burnand.
In addition, European armies recruited soldiers from their colonies in Africa and Asia. Thousands of troops from all around the world served on the Western Front; others came from the colonies to work in the factories. The achievements of these people stood in stark contrast to racist colonial rhetoric, which had argued that more "civilized" and "advanced" Europeans needed to shoulder the "White Man's Burden" and manage the affairs of colonial subjects. Rather, in the case of WWI, the colonial regimes needed the help and labor of colonized peoples. This realization helped to spur on liberationist movements in colonized areas, in which colonial subjects fought against racist and discriminatory laws and practices. For example, protests in India forced the British government to create a system of dual rule, in which Indians were given some autonomy at the local level (although British officials were still in charge of national processes such as taxation).
* Click here to see to see pastel portraits of World War I soldiers from different ethnicities and countries, also known as "Military Types," created by Swiss artist Eugène Burnand.
Further Research
- The Christmas Truce
On December 7, 1914, Pope Benedict XV suggested a temporary hiatus of the war for the celebration of Christmas. The warring countries refused to create any official cease-fire, but on Christmas Eve the soldiers in the trenches declared their own unofficial truce. Starting on Christmas Eve, many German and British troops sang Christmas carols to each other across the lines, and at certain points the Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing. At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day, some German soldiers tentatively emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they also climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes, alcohol, plum pudding and holiday foods and sang carols and songs. There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer. Some soldiers used this short-lived ceasefire for a more somber task: the retrieval and burial of the bodies of fellow combatants who had fallen within the no-man’s land between the lines.
Over the years the Christmas Truce has gained significant popularity, becoming the subject of a film (see Joyeux Noel directed by Christian Carion in 2005 in the film section under "Culture") and even a children's book. NOTE: Joyeux Noel will be screened in the auditorium of the Krannert Art Museum on the University of Illinois Campus on December 4, 2014 at 7pm.
* Click here to watch a short documentary video on the Christmas Truce made by the History channel.
Over the years the Christmas Truce has gained significant popularity, becoming the subject of a film (see Joyeux Noel directed by Christian Carion in 2005 in the film section under "Culture") and even a children's book. NOTE: Joyeux Noel will be screened in the auditorium of the Krannert Art Museum on the University of Illinois Campus on December 4, 2014 at 7pm.
* Click here to watch a short documentary video on the Christmas Truce made by the History channel.
* Site devoted to World War I on the History channel's website that includes:
** A short documentary on life in a trench
** A photo gallery on war technology
** A photo gallery on World War I leaders
** Short documentaries on nationalism and the global connections of World War I
* Professor Gary McCulloch discusses the impact that WWI had on education in an article published by The Telegraph.