Politically, the boundaries of most central and eastern European nations were redrawn.The Ottoman Empire: Europe’s sick man in the 19th centuryĪt the beginning of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire was “ the sick of Europe ”, as it was later defined by the Russian Tsar Nicholas I. The economic disaster that this war brought about was a catastrophe in itself. In a matter of 4 years, the socio-political landscape of most countries had undergone a complete change. This clearly led to the downfall of the Russian Empire and to the establishment of the Russian Republic.Ī study of the world map before World War I and of the world map after World War II will serve to educate us about the disastrous consequences of an international conflict of this scale. The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 (which formed a part of the greater Russian Revolution) exposed the deep divide between the Tsarist autocracy and the commoners and the resentment that Russians bore the Czar for having drafted commoners and peasants into the military. The massive economic burden placed on the Russian Empire by its participation in World War I also started to weigh in and the outbreak of the Russian Revolution was a natural consequence. This was a time of much flux and many of these states were soon replaced by others. Some of these joined Ukraine, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, and the Kingdom of Serbia. The more important among these include the First Austrian Republic, Hungarian Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia, Second Polish Republic, State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs, and West Ukrainian People’s Republic. A number of unstable states succeeded in the territory that had comprised Austria-Hungary. The collapse of Austria-Hungary was another outcome of the World War I. The abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II let to the establishment of the Weimar Republic in Germany. Germany lost the Saar region which was occupied and governed by the UK and France between 19. German colonies were taken away and the regions of Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium, Memel to Lithuania, a number of the eastern territories to Poland, and most of Schleswig to Denmark. The Treaty of Versailles that was negotiated in 1919 redrew the boundaries of Germany and much of the land captured during the war was returned. While most of the empire came under Britain, France, Greece, and Russia, the empire was formally abolished in 1922 and in 1923, the Republic of Turkey was established. The Empire joined hands with the Central Powers and was defeated in 1918. Eventually, it would also lead to the rise of nationalism and demand for independence in British and French colonies but that would take a few decades to precipitate.īy the time the first declaration of war came in 1914, the Ottoman Empire was already staggering and on the verge of decline. The collapse of three large and important empires – the Russian Empire, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire are among the important fallouts of this war. The map of the world that we see following the World War I is a testimony to the sweeping political changes that this Great War brought about. The colonial conquests of France, Britain, and Germany had let too much rivalry and discord between the nations. The German Empire had entered into a similar treaty with Austria-Hungary and Italy (though Italy joined the Allies). The Triple Entente signed by the Britain, France, and Russia and other military support alliances that these nations forged with Brazil, Japan, Portugal, Spain, and the United States led to the ready formation of the Allied Powers when war ultimately broke out. This is considered to be one of the factors that precipitated a bitter rivalry and antagonism in the continent. We must remember that this was a time when European colonization was at its peak and the countries that formed part of German, British, and French colonies also participated in the war.īefore the beginning of World War I, the major nations in Europe were engaged in an arms race. The belligerents of World War I include –Ī cursory glance at this list may not reveal the extent of the countries involved. It was a global conflict and over 65 million troops were deployed by the Allied and Central Powers. World War I, also referred to as the Great War, was one of the largest wars fought in the history of mankind.
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