The Great War: The First World War

Words: 1436
Pages: 6
Open Document
The Great War
It has been taught for some time that the First World War was a European conflict, and thought it began in Europe limiting the war’s scope to one continent alone neglects a large number of soldiers’ contributions to the fight. The popular images of the war’s origins are “European statesmen sliding into a war that nobody wanted” (Lieber 155). The First World War was fought between two groups formed from alliances of several major nations. The aggressor side was known as the Central Powers, it consisted of an alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. The Germans “provoked a war to achieve their goal of dominating the European continent”; the war would be preventative, to “forestall a situation where Germany …show more content…
Germany enacted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, which would attack any ship aiding the war effort of Britain (Cole and Symes 828). This included merchant ships, and resulted in the sinking of the Lusitania. The Lusitania was a cruise ship sunk by German U-boats in the year 1915. However, the United States continued to delay entry into the war for another two years until the Zimmermann Telegraph was intercepted by the British, decoded, and sent to the United States (Alexander 266). The telegraph was sent from the German foreign minister to the German Minister to Mexico and proposed that, “we… make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The settlement in detail is left to you…” (Zimmermann). In the month following the publication of the Zimmermann Telegraph, the United States mobilized for war (Alexander 266). Troops landed in the summer of 1918, and by that November the war was …show more content…
Both world wars would break out during Britain’s eighty-nine year rule of the nation. As a result, one and a half million Indian troops were put into service for the First World War and were sent to fight in battles around the world in places like Mesopotamia and Persia (Cole and Symes 813). Australia on the other hand would have a desire to fight in the war, as they were eager to support their mother land. On August 4, 1914, “Britain declared war upon Germany, the whole of the Australian people was behind its Government in offering unreserved help” (Bean 18). In this way, the colonial armies contributed to the war effort.
Both of these colonial armies fought alongside each other during the Gallipoli Campaign. The Gallipoli peninsula is situated between modern-day Bulgaria and Turkey, placing it under the control of the Ottoman Empire. During this battle, the Allied Powers sought to provide aid to their ally Russia as well as to remove the Ottomans from the war. The battle lasted for eight and a half months, and resulted in failure for the Allied powers, and a victory for the Ottoman Empire that enabled it to stay in the
Show More

Related Documents: The Great War: The First World War

Essay on Causes of the First World War

How important were Great Power rivalries as a cause of the First World War? The origins of the Great War have instigated debate amongst historians for almost a decade; unlike the subsequent Second World War, there is no clear-cut culprit for the unexpected descent into world war that shocked the world in July 1914. Whilst the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on the 28th June 1914 was undoubtedly the direct cause of war, it was simply the catalyst for the heightened rivalry…

Words 2294 - Pages 10

World War I and Bernhard Von Bulow Essay

Causes of World War I In 1914 Europe went to war. This was known as World War I and lasted for four years. It was fought between Germany, Austria/Hungary, and Italy which made up the triple alliance. Great Britain, France, Russia, and America made up the triple entente. Three of the greatest underlying causes of the war were imperialism, entangled alliances, and militarism. Imperialism was the first cause of World War I. According to Bernhard von Bulow (document D) states Great Britain, France…

Words 652 - Pages 3

The Essay

The World War One (The First World War), also known as the Great War from 1914 to 1918, was one of the largest wars in the world history. Many have suffered and injured from this war and more than 9 million people were killed on this bloodiest war. This war had become an inspiration to the writers at that time. The poetry became a tool for the writers to inform the public about; the consequences of war to end the war and not to spread violence and some wrote poems to recruit people. Each poet’s critics…

Words 436 - Pages 2

Great War Effects

The First World War was a gruesome event where the great empires of the world embarked on a mission to display military ascendancy and glory. We often perceive The Great War as an ironic statement–it was not “The War to End All Wars,” however, a precursor for the Second World War. The soldiers would “not be home by Christmas”, rather millions would never return. Despite the horror evoked by war, the outcomes of the First World War is present in our world today. The Great War prompted the emergence…

Words 1463 - Pages 6

British Literature Poems analysis Essay

I believe that the views of the pre-first world war poets differed to a great extent Compared to the poets of the First World War and after. The First World War brought with it great destruction and loss of life. This loss of life and destruction was something that could be felt throughout society during the war and after. Almost everyone at that time knew someone who was a participant in the fighting of the world war, thus the news of someone they knew for example their neighbor being killed was…

Words 574 - Pages 3

Great War Dbq

The Great War more commonly known as World War I started on July 28 1914 to November 1918. One of the major events that led to the civil war was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand the archduke of Austria -Hungary. His Assassin was Gavrilo Princip a Serbian nationalist that took the chance to perform the murder. This spark a fire into the alliances of which side being involved and starting World War I. These Alliances were known as the central powers and the allied powers. The central’s powers made…

Words 1831 - Pages 8

Axis Power's Contributions

One may say that his or her great-grandparents lived during or was in World War ll. The great-grandparents would have also said that the second World War was a very horrific war in many ways. It impacted America and many countries in Europe. The question that was focused in the research is, who played an important role in World War ll? The question is also focused on both Allied and Axis Power’s viewpoint. Some of the important people that came to mind were Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill…

Words 1505 - Pages 7

The Great War Essay

2 15 September 2014 Dr. Fred Freres The Great War On July 28, 1914 a seemingly small war broke out between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, but soon because of treaties written obligating Germany, Russia, Great Britain, and France to help defend said countries this conflict was blown to massive proportions. In fact, almost everything that subsequently happened occurred because of World War I: the Great Depression, World War II, the Holocaust, the Cold War, and the collapse of empires (Mintz). We…

Words 322 - Pages 2

Essay Expansion: World War I and Great Britain

the great industrial period of our country was no exception. During the 1890’s the United States became the most important industrial power in the world. This meant with increasing problems with labor unions, they wished to find markets and areas overseas and abroad to provide cheap labor force and plenty of natural resources to continue to fuel the U.S. economy. The notion that the U.S. was isolated from the rest of the world was untrue, because trade made them an active member in world affairs…

Words 1395 - Pages 6

How Did World War 1 Start

Almost everyone has heard of World War I, or the First World War, but many do not know what truly happened or what took place. Each country had a different reason for entering the war, from assassinations, to protecting their allies. On April 6 1917, the United States of America, entered World War I, but the war began years before (“U.S. Entered World War I.”, n.p). Here is the story of the First World War from the beginning. There are many reasons why the First World War started. One of the major…

Words 763 - Pages 4