Course of the First World War

Course of the First World War

During the war Germany and her allies were called Central Powers. England and her allies were called Allied Powers. Germany entered the war to defend Austria. Shortly all the powers in the hostile camps were automatically drawn into the war. Turkey and Bulgaria joined the war on the side of Germany. Italy left the Triple Alliance and joined the opposite camp with the idea of recovering Italian territories under Austrian control.

England joined the war against Germany. There was bitter fighting on the French soil. The Battle of Verdun decided the fortunes of the war in favour of the Allies. Germany started submarine warfare in a large scale. All the laws relating to naval warfare were thrown out.

Russia fought on the side of Allies up to 1917. The Bolshevik regime wanted peace with Germany. Thus the Brest-Litovsk Treaty was signed between Russia and Germany.

The Lusitania ship was drowned by a German submarine and consequently many Americans lost their lives. This resulted in the declaration of war against Germany by the U.S.A.  In spite of best efforts, Germany could not stand and ultimately she surrendered in November 1919.

The German Emperor Kaiser William lost all hopes of winning the war. He abdicated his throne and fled to Holland. The German army signed the armistice agreement on November 11, 1918 to mark their surrender to the Allies. The allies of Germany had earlier suffered defeat at the hands of the Allied powers.