This imposed conscription on all single men aged between 18 and 41, but exempted the medically unfit, clergymen, teachers and certain classes of industrial worker.Ĭonscientious objectors – men who objected to fighting on moral grounds– were also exempted, and were in most cases given civilian jobs or non-fighting roles at the front.Ī second Act passed in May 1916 extended conscription to married men.Ĭonscription was not applied to Ireland because of the 1916 Easter Rising, although in fact many Irishmen volunteered to fight. In January 1916 the Military Service Act was passed. The government saw no alternative but to increase numbers by conscription – compulsory active service. Parliament was deeply divided but recognised that because of the imminent collapse of the morale of the French army, immediate action was essential. But this was not enough to keep pace with mounting casualties. Lord Kitchener's campaign – promoted by his famous "Your Country Needs You" poster – had encouraged over one million men to enlist by January 1915. The harsh clauses of the Treaty of Versailles finally resulted in the second world war.Within a year of Great Britain declaring war on Germany in August 1914, it had become obvious that it was not possible to continue fighting by relying on voluntary recruits.Monarchy was abolished in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Turkey and Russia.Germany gave up Polish corridor, and made city of Danzig independent.Germany had to return Alsace-Loraine to France.Strengthened independence movements in Asia and Africa.New boundary lines were drawn for Austria, Germany and Turkey.Rule of Ottamans came to an end in Turkey. Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia and Lithvania – became independent.Poland, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia became new independent states.Japan became a powerful country in Asia.Beginning of the end of European supremacy.The fall of Russian empire after October revolution (1917) which resulted in the formation of USSR (1922).The German Emperor Kaiser William II fled to Holland. Rule of King ended in Germany: Germany became a republic on November 1918.Leaders: Clemenceau – France, Lloyd George – Britain, Woodrow Wilson – USA, Orlando – Italy.Germany signed a treaty with Allies (Triple Entente) on 28th June 1919.Russia withdrew in 1917 after October Revolution.War on the Sea: Batter of Dogger Bank (Germany was defeated), Battle of Jutland (Germany retreated).War on Eastern Side: Battle of Tennenberg (Russia was defeated).Group 2 (Central Powers): Austria-Hungary, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria etc.Group 1 (Allies): Serbia, Russia, Britian, France, USA, Belgium, Portugal, Romania etc.Austria declared war on Serbia on 28th July, 1914. Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian native (in Bosnia).(7) Immediate Cause: assassination of Francis Ferdinand France wanted to capture Alsace-Loraine back from Germany. During German unification, Germany got Alsace-Loraine from France.Defeated countries like Turkey and Bulgaria sought German help.The subsequent war was between the Balkan countries themselves – Eg: Serbia vs Bulgaria. They defeated Turkey in the First Balkan War. Many Balkan nations (Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece and Montenegro) were under the control of Turkey.Hague conference of 18 failed to emerge as an international organisation.Germany opposed, but settled with a part of French Congo. Secret agreement between Britain and France allowing Britain to control Egypt and France to take over Morocco.These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war: Italy, Japan and the United States joined the Allies, while the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers. Note: Although Italy was a member of the Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary, it did not join the Central Powers, as Austria-Hungary had taken the offensive, against the terms of the alliance. Triple Entente or Allies (1907) – Britain, France, Russia.Triple Alliance or Central Powers (1882) – Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary.Pan Slav movement – Russian, Polish, Czhech, Serb, Bulgaria and Greek.German railway line – from Berlin to Baghdad.Conflict between old imperialist countries (Eg: Britain and France) vs new imperialist countries (Eg: Germany).The causes of the First World War were: (1) Conflict between Imperialist countries: Ambition of Germany Nations grouped among themselves to form military alliances as there were tension and suspicion among them. In the background there were many conflicts between European nations.
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