Please talk about the cause, brief process and ending of World War I..

1914 ~1918 the first world-scale war in which the allies and allies re-divided their colonies and spheres of influence and competed for world hegemony. This imperialist war lasted for four years and three months, and it spread all over the European continent and extended to Africa and Asia. Fierce naval battles have taken place in the Atlantic North Sea, the southern Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The war involved 33 countries with a population of over 65.438+0.5 billion.

The roots and causes of the war The First World War was a strength contest between the financial oligarchs of various countries in order to gain greater profits and plunder the wealth of other countries. Due to the increasingly unbalanced development of capitalism in the imperialist stage, it was a decisive battle for later imperialist countries to seek to carve up the world again and compete for world hegemony.

Economic and Political Roots1At the end of the 9th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the economies of major capitalist countries in the world developed rapidly, and the concentration of production and capital in major capitalist countries reached a high level. The financial oligarchs of various countries, with their strong capital strength, actually become the rulers of these countries. Governments of various countries actively pursue the policy of foreign expansion and aggression, which leads to sharp contradictions among imperialist countries. Capitalist powers fought for colonies by force all over the world. The territory of the world has been carved up. However, the colonies occupied by imperialist powers are very unbalanced. Britain, Russia and France, three old colonial empires, occupied most of the colonies in the world, while Germany, the United States and Japan, three later imperialist countries, had no colonies before the 1980s of 19. Germany, the United States and Japan are dissatisfied with this situation and demand that the colonies be re-divided by force. During the period of 1898 ~ 1905, the Spanish-American War, the Ying Bu War and the Russo-Japanese War occurred successively. The cyclical economic crisis of capitalism and the sharp class contradictions at home make the imperialist countries unstable. In order to pass on the crisis, imperialist countries stepped up their military expansion and preparations in an attempt to solve the domestic crisis by launching a war of foreign aggression.

After the formation of the two military blocs in the 1970s, the contradiction between Germany and France, Britain, Russia and Austria-Hungary intensified. 1873, Germany, Austria and Russia established triple alliance. After the Russian-Turkish War, 1878 German Prime Minister Ol von Bismarck presided over the Berlin Conference, which damaged Russia's vested interests in the Balkans, aroused Russia's antipathy to Germany, and the san huang League broke down. 1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary formally concluded a military treaty. 1882 On May 20th, Germany, Austria and Italy signed an alliance treaty in Vienna. After the establishment of triple alliance, the trade competition between Russia and Germany intensified, and the contradiction between Russia and Austria in the Balkans became increasingly acute. 189 1 ~ 1894 France and Russia signed a military agreement and the French-Russian alliance was established. 1902, Britain signed an agreement with Japan in an attempt to use Japan against France and Russia to protect its Far East interests. 1904 Britain and France signed an agreement to recognize their respective spheres of influence, and the treaty relationship between Britain and France was established. The agreement between Britain and Russia was signed in 1907 (see the agreement of the three countries). Since then, two major military blocs, namely, Germany, Austria and Hungary and Britain, France and Russia, have been formally formed.

After the formation of the two major military blocs in the arms race, countries stepped up their arms expansion and preparations. From 1 893 to1913, the number of German army and naval vessels increased by more than1times. After Germany, Austria-Hungary also stepped up its armament expansion and formulated a military plan against Russia and Serbia. In order to maintain its maritime superiority, Britain has accelerated the construction of its navy. 1906, Britain's first18,000-ton giant armored ship "Fearless" was launched. Britain also expanded its army and established an expeditionary force of 65,438+10,000 people, ready to go to Europe to fight. British military spending totals 86 million pounds. 19 13, the French standing army expanded to 800,000, 19 14, and the military expenditure increased to 654,380.5 billion francs, accounting for 38% of the total national budget of France. 19 13 years, Russian servicemen 130,000, and at the same time accelerate the construction of strategic railways and navies to Germany. The expansion of the two major military groups to prepare for war has increased the danger of war.

Local War 1905 ~ 19 13. The two major military groups created a series of international crises for strategic positions, which triggered local wars. 1905 and 19 1 1 year, German and French fought for the throat between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, which triggered two moroccan crises. 1908 to 1909, Russia, Austria and Germany fought for the strategic position in the Balkans, which triggered the Bosnian crisis. The annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary was opposed by Serbia. 1911~1912 years saw the Italian-Turkish war. 19 12, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro in the Balkans formed an alliance and launched the first Balkan war against Turkey. Then the Balkan countries clashed and the second Balkan War broke out. Russia, Austria, Germany, Britain and other powers took advantage of the ethnic contradictions in the Balkan countries and launched an exciting struggle with each other. Britain, France and Germany each competed for Turkey's political and economic advantages, and made profits in the middle.

Sarajevo incident and the outbreak of war1965438+On June 28th, 2004, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, went to Bosnia to inspect the army in order to show off his force to Serbia, and was assassinated in Sarajevo by G Princip, a young Bosnian parliamentarian from Serbia. The Sarajevo incident became the fuse of the great war. On July 28th, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia supported Serbia according to a secret agreement and announced the general mobilization of the army on July 30. 1 In August, Germany declared war on Russia. At the same time, Germany issued an ultimatum to France, and France refused to accept it. On August 3rd, Germany declared war on France. The day before, on August 2nd, German troops had entered Luxembourg. On the night of the 3rd, the Germans invaded Belgium. Britain had undertaken the obligation to guarantee Belgium's neutrality and declared war on Germany on the 4th. On the 5th, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia. Subsequently, Britain and France declared war on Austria-Hungary. Serbia and Montenegro declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary.

After the war broke out, the Austro-Hungarian troops attacked Serbia, and the Germans quickly bypassed Belgium and attacked France. The main battlefield is in Europe, including the western front, the eastern front, the Balkans and Italy. The French battlefield on the western front of Europe is the main battlefield that determines the overall situation. Britain, Germany, Russia, France and Japan have also fought many naval battles, with the North Sea as the main battlefield. The air force was first used in actual combat in World War I. The whole war is roughly divided into three stages.

The first stage (19 14) ① the western battlefield. After the war broke out, Mao Qi, the German chief of staff, ordered the Germans to attack the Belgian fortress in Liege on August 4th, in an attempt to attack the main force of the French army from behind, so as to achieve the strategic goal of defeating France quickly. In the fierce border war, Germany and Britain and France put in 3.5 million troops to fight. The British and French troops were once forced to withdraw south, and the Germans invaded France. On September 5 ~ 9, during the Battle of the Marne River, the French army counterattacked and forced the Germans to retreat to Verdun, north of the Marne River. The German plan to outflank the French army failed, and the German quick-decision strategy went bankrupt. Mao Qi, chief of general staff, was relieved by Kaiser Wilhelm II and replaced by E. Von Fajinhan. After the Battle of the Marne River, in the middle of October, 5438+065438+/kloc-0, the two sides entered a stalemate and began positional warfare.

(2) the Balkans and the eastern front. On July 28th, the Austro-Hungarian army shelled Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, killing more than 5,000 peaceful residents. Serbia rose up to resist, forcing the Austro-Hungarian army to retreat across the board and capturing more than 50 thousand enemies. In September, the Austro-Hungarian army once again launched an attack on the Serbian army. Serbian troops once retreated to the central plateau. In mid-February, 65438+, the Serbian army received weapons, ammunition and food provided by the allied forces, quickly recovered Belgrade and expelled the Austro-Hungarian army from the country. On the eastern front, another main battlefield was formed from the Baltic coast to the Romanian border. Germany has only one eighth army on the eastern front of East Prussia, plus the Koenigsberg garrison, with 300,000 troops. The Russian high command (with the Grand Duke nicola nikolaevich as the supreme commander) decided to attack the Germans in East Prussia with its Northwest Army. 1965438+August 2004 17, Russian troops attacked the Germans with superior forces. The Germans appointed P. von Hindenburg as the commander of the Eighth Army, strengthened the eastern forces, and launched an attack on the Russian flanks on August 26th. After more than 20 days of fierce fighting, the Russian army was defeated and lost 250,000 troops. Retreat to the Niemann River and the Bo River. In Galicia, Poland, which borders Austria-Hungary, there was a fierce battle between the southwest Russian army and the Austro-Hungarian army, with more than 100 divisions. Through lublin? Battle of Helm, Galich? In the battles of Lymburg and Gorodok, the Austro-Hungarian army lost 400,000 men and retreated to the Carpathian Mountains. In order to support the Austro-Hungarian army, the Germans attacked the Russian army in late September and June 165438+ 10, but neither side broke through the other's defense.

Japan, Turkey, Britain, France and Germany fought in Africa. 1965438+On August 6th, 2004, China Beiyang Warlord Government declared neutrality and prepared to take back German concessions in Jiaozhou Bay and Qingdao. On August 23rd, Japanese imperialism declared war on Germany by participating in the Allies, attacked Qingdao, China, and seized Germany's rights and interests in China. Qingdao was captured by Japan. At the same time, the Japanese navy successively occupied the German Marshall Islands, Caroline Islands and Mariana Islands in the South Pacific. 1914165438+10 On 2 October, Turkey, which was wooed by Germany, announced that it had broken diplomatic relations with Britain, France and Russia, and on 6 June 12, it declared "jihad". The Russian and Turkish troops immediately launched an operation, and the ninth army of the Turkish army was encircled, losing more than 70,000 people. Before the war, Germany occupied southwest Africa (Namibia), Togo, Cameroon and German East Africa in Africa. After the outbreak of World War I, all German colonies in Africa were occupied by the Allies. Togo and Cameroon were divided between Britain and France. Germany's southwest Africa is divided into British spheres of influence. Most of German East Africa belongs to Britain and a small part to Belgium.

The second stage (1915 ~1916) ① Eastern battlefield. 1965438+In February 2005, German and Austrian troops launched an all-out attack on Russian troops from the Baltic Sea to Carpathian Mountain. After more than eight months of fighting, the Russian army lost a large area of land and retreated to the straight line from gulf of riga to the left bank of Transnistria. More than 654.38+700,000 Russian troops were killed or injured and captured. This was Russia's worst defeat in the First World War.

(2) the western battlefield. 19 15 years, the Germans were in a state of strategic defense on the western front and deployed 2 million troops. There are 3 million French-British allied forces, mainly French troops. 19 15 In the spring, French-British allied forces launched attacks on the German army in Champagne, Aldao, Israel and other areas successively, with huge casualties and little effect. In late April, the Germans counterattacked the French-British allied forces and launched the second ypres campaign. By hook or by crook, the Germans placed 6,000 poison gas canisters at the junction of the British and French allied forces north of ypres, and used the northwest wind to cast a large amount of chlorine gas at the British positions. British troops were poisoned10.5 million, and about 5,000 people died. After the Battle of ypres, both sides used chemical weapons. Because the army is equipped with gas masks, the lethality is not very great. 165438+1From September to June, the French-British allied forces launched a series of attacks under the unified command of French general F. Fauci, but they only advanced 2-4 kilometers, resulting in huge losses and were forced to stop their attacks. The two sides are once again deadlocked because of their stand confrontation.

Italy and Bulgaria went to war. 1965438+On May 23rd, 2005, Italy officially declared war on Austria-Hungary, which opened the Italian-Austrian front. In order to cooperate with the Russian troops on the Eastern Front, 19 15 June, the Italian army assembled 39 divisions and launched an attack on the Austro-Hungarian imperial army along the Isunzuo River and Trentino. The Italian army's repeated attacks have not achieved obvious results. By the end of 19 15, the Italian-Austrian front turned to confrontation. 1965438+In September 2005, Bulgaria signed a military treaty with Germany, Austria and Turkey, forming a military alliance between Germany, Austria, Turkey and Bulgaria. 10 June 14, Bulgaria officially declared war and immediately launched a large-scale attack on Serbia. Serbia only used 200,000 poorly equipped troops to resist the attack of more than 600,000 troops from Germany, Austria and Bulgaria. 10 in late June, the Serbian army was defeated, and the whole of Serbia was occupied by the Bulgarian army and the German-Austrian army.

(4) Verdun campaign. 19 16, Germany decided to turn its attack focus to the western front again in an attempt to defeat France. The German high command chose the French fortress of Verdun as the target of attack. Verdun is a prominent part of the Allied defense line, which poses a great threat to the penetration of German troops into France and Belgium. It is also a strong stronghold to Paris and the hub of the French front. 1965438+2 1 February 2, 20081day, the Germans concentrated all the guns on the front line and bombarded the narrow triangle near Verdun for more than 10 hours, which razed the forests, hills and trenches in this small area, and then advanced it with six divisions. Fei Xia, commander-in-chief of the French army, sent more reinforcements, appointed H.P. Petain as commander of Verdun region, and organized the French army to fight to the death. The two sides dispatched planes for air combat and bombed each other's airports and supply lines. For the first time, the Germans used phosgene asphyxiation bombs, killing a large number of French troops, causing panic, but failed to win. From the end of June to the middle of June, the French and British allied forces launched a powerful offensive against the German positions along the Somme River. The British army used 36 newly invented tanks for the first time, and the Germans stubbornly resisted and held the defense line. 10 ~ 12, the French army mobilized troops in Verdun and began to counterattack, regaining most of the lost territory. The German strategic attack finally failed. Kaiser Wilhelm II dismissed Fajinhan's post as Chief of Staff, and changed Hindenburg as Chief of Staff, and ludendorff as his deputy.

Romania went to war with Greece. On August 27th, 2006, after a long wait and see, Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary. Luo Jun's high command launched an attack with the main goal of recovering Transylvania occupied by Hungary. Under the attack of Germany, Austria, Turkey and Bulgaria, Luo Jun was defeated with 250,000 casualties. Most of Romania's territory, including the capital Bucharest, was occupied by allied forces. 1965438+At the end of June 2007, Greece declared war on its allies.

⑥ Naval battles and air force battles. 1965438+On August 28th, 2004, the British fleet entered the North Sea to conduct naval battle with the German fleet. Three German cruisers were sunk and several destroyers were seriously damaged. Subsequently, the British navy imposed a sea blockade on Germany. British and German fleets have also conducted many naval battles in the Antilles, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean. 1965438+May 3, 20061day, 150 More than 50 British ships fought fiercely with the main force of the German high seas fleet off the coast of jutland. Britain lost 14 ships, Germany was sunk 1 1. In response to the blockade of the British navy, Germany launched "unrestricted submarine warfare" twice in 19 15 and 19 17. Its submarines attacked allied and neutral ships in the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and sank many merchant ships in Britain and the United States, which posed a certain threat to the allies, but failed to reverse the passive situation at sea. During the war, the air force developed rapidly and was used in actual combat. 19 1 16 During the Battle of the Somme from July to 10, Britain and Germany constantly dispatched planes to compete for air superiority. At the end of World War II, Germany and Austria owned 3,300 planes, and the Allied Forces owned more than 8,000 planes.

The third stage (19 17) ① the battlefield situation. After two and a half years of war, Germany consumed a lot of manpower and material resources. The military strength has been greatly weakened, but the strength of the allies has increased. At the beginning of 19 17, the total strength of the western front of the allies was nearly 4 million. Germany has only 2.5 million troops on the western front. In order to avoid a decisive battle, the Germans retreated to hindenburg line for fortification. 19 17 French and British troops launched separate attacks, but failed to expand the results. The war on the western front is still in a stalemate.

1965438+In August 2007, the Italian army launched several attacks on the Austro-Hungarian army on the Isuzo River, but no progress was made. On June+10, 5438, German and Austrian troops broke through the Italian defense line in Caporetto. The Italian army retreated across the board, with 335,000 prisoners and130,000 casualties.

Russia withdrew from the war. On the eastern front, 19 17, 12 March (February 27th, Russian calendar), February revolution occurred in Russia and the czar regime was overthrown. The bourgeois provisional government decided to continue the war and launched an attack on Germany and Austria on the southwest front in early July. The German-Austrian Coalition forces counterattacked and the Russian army retreated across the board. In September, the Germans launched a powerful offensive against the Russian northwest defense line in gulf of riga and occupied Riga. 1917165438+1October 7 (65438+1October 25), the Russian proletariat held an armed uprising and won the October Revolution. The Soviet Russian government decided to quit the imperialist war and signed the Brest-Litovsk Treaty with Germany and its allies-Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria in March 19 18. Russia completely withdrew from the war.

(3) The United States entered the war. After the world war broke out 19 14, the United States declared neutrality and sold arms and materials to the warring parties, making a fortune. 1965438+In March, 2007, the US government launched an anti-German wave in China on the pretext that Germany announced the resumption of "unrestricted submarine warfare" and that Germany's secret telegram Mexico attempted to form a German-Mexican alliance against the United States. On April 6 of the same year, the United States declared war on Germany. 19 17, Brazil, Cuba, Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, Honduras, Costa Rica, Liberia, Siam (Thailand), Han Zhi (now western Saudi Arabia) and other countries declared war on Germany. By the end of the war, the number of American troops sent to the front line reached 2 million. In terms of finance and military supplies, the United States has become the pillar and main base of the Allies. During World War II, the total amount of arms, various materials and direct loans provided by the United States to its allies was nearly $654.38+00 billion.

(4) China War. 1965438+In February 2007, after the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, it was suggested that China take concerted action. Britain and France also encouraged China to join the war. After several European powers promised to inherit the original German rights and interests in China, Japan also supported China's participation in the war. 19 17 August 14, China's Beiyang warlord government officially declared war on Germany against China, transporting hundreds of thousands of German young adults as laborers to the European battlefield.

19 18 After the war, the Soviet Union withdrew from the war and Germany concentrated its forces on the western front. 1965438+From March to July, 2008, the German army launched five large-scale attacks, and no obvious progress was made. At this time, hundreds of thousands of American troops arrived in Europe to participate in the war, and the Germans were unable to organize the attack. From the end of July to the end of August, the Allies launched a series of attacks on the Germans, who retreated to hindenburg line and fell into a passive situation.

1965438+On September 26th, 2008, the allied forces launched a general attack on the German army. The Germans could not resist, and hindenburg line collapsed completely. On September 29th, Kaiser Wilhelm II held a command meeting. German Commander Hindenburg and Chief of Staff ludendorff admitted that they were unable to continue the war. The Kaiser reshuffled the cabinet, appointed Prince Maximilian of Baden as Prime Minister, and asked the Allies to negotiate a truce. At the same time, from the end of September to the beginning of June 1 1, Bulgaria, Turkey and Austria-Hungary surrendered one after another under the attack of allied forces. The oppressed nations of Austria-Hungary demanded to get rid of the Habsburg rule and realize national independence. 19181kloc-0/October 1 1 day, the Polish Parliament announced Poland's secession from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 10 year 10 On October 28th, the Czech Republic and Slovakia merged to form an independent republic. 165438+1On October 2nd, Hungary declared the establishment of a democratic republic. 101On October 28th, workers' strike and soldiers' demonstration broke out in Vienna, forcing the Austrian emperor to abdicate. 1 12 10/0/2, the Republic of Austria was founded. Germany has been completely isolated. 165438+ In early October, the November Revolution broke out in Germany. In September, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated, the Social Democratic Party formed an interim government and announced the establishment of the Republic of China.

On the morning of June165438+1October1/Kloc-0, the representative of the German government, M. Ehlts Berger, signed an armistice agreement with Fu Xu, commander-in-chief of the allied forces, at Leidao Station in the Compiegne forest in northeast France, and Germany surrendered. According to the agreement, Germany must leave France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Alsace within 15 days. Lorraine and the left bank of the Rhine all withdrew. At the same time, troops must be withdrawn from Turkey, Romania, Austria-Hungary and Africa. We must also hand over 5,000 cannons, 25,000 machine guns, 3,000 mortars, 1700 aircraft, 5,000 locomotives, 65,438+500,000 trucks and 5,000 trucks. The signing of the Compiegne Forest Armistice Agreement declared the complete failure of Germany, Austria, Turkey and Bulgaria, and ended the First World War.