Consequences of the First World War Essay Example

Consequences of the First World War Essay Example Consequences of the First World War Essay Consequences of the First World War Essay Consequences of the First World War A war unlike any to those that had preceded it, the First World War was fought on such a global scale that the sphere of influence of its consequences encompassed virtually the entire world. As a result of the war there were many political, cultural, and social changes across the world. New countries were born while old ones were abolished, new international organizations were established, and many new ideologies came to the fore. The signing of the Treaty of Versailles was perhaps the most important outcome of the First World War. Based on American President Woodrow Wilson’s ‘fourteen points’ the treaty was signed on June 28, 1919 after six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference. By the terms of the treaty, Germany was forced to pay war reparations of 6. 6 billion dollars to the Allies to compensate for the losses that they had suffered during the war. The treaty also imposed a number of military restrictions on Germany by which their army was limited to a force of 1,00,00 soldiers, their navy restricted to 15,000 men and 24 ships while their air force and submarines were banned. However the terms of the treaty that hurt Germany the most were those by which Germany was forced to cede some of its territories. Germany lost Alsace Lorrain to France, Eupen – et – Malmedy to Belgium and Schleswig to Denmark, while Danzig became a free port in Polish territory. Germany also lost all of her colonies in China and the Pacific, the control of which was given to Japan. To further compound Germany’s misery they were forced to cede the coalmines of Saar to France as well as demilitarize the area of the Rhineland which was to be occupied by the Allied troops, both for fifteen year periods. Another major peace treaty that was signed after the First World War was the Treaty of Sevres. The treaty was signed between Turkey and the Allies. The treaty solidified the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire by which the empire’s territories were divided into new states. The treaty also gave the Allies more or less complete control over the empire’s finances as they approved the national budget and supervised financial laws and regulations. Future developments of the tax system, the customs system, internal or external loans, or on concessions could not be arranged without the consent of the financial commission of the Allied powers. In terms of military restrictions, the Ottoman army was to be restricted to 50,700 men; the Ottoman navy could only preserve seven sloops and six torpedo boats; and the Ottoman state was prohibited from obtaining an air force. A war of such magnitude was always going to have an impact on the map of the world and as expected a number of dynasties were brought crumbling down with new independent states rising from their rubble. The war saw the end of the three ruling dynasties of the world – the Romanov in Russia, the Hohenzollern in Germany and the Hapsburg in Austria – Hungary. The partitioning of Austria – Hungary, a major belligerent, into Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia was done largely but not completely along ethnic lines. Also new independent nations such as Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland were carved from the Russian western frontier. Following the war, the Ottoman Empire was also partitioned according to the Treaty of Sevres. The war also led to a number of technological advancements as new weapons were discovered and soldiers developed new warring tactics. A major outcome of the war in terms of military tactics was that of trench warfare by which soldiers dug trenches from where they could easily defend themselves and launch attacks. Also new weapons such as machine guns and liquid fire were introduced and aircrafts were used for bombing civilian population for the first time. The British introduced the tank, which became extremely popular and is used even today, while Germany used submarines called U – boats on a large scale. The war also fueled Communism as an ideology and allowed it to flourish. Russia had suffered major setbacks during the war and the Russian monarchy had become extremely unpopular. Discontent led to a rise in popularity of the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin who promised to pull Russia out of the war and was able to gain power. The Bolsheviks triumph in November was followed by an armistice and negotiations with Germany by which Russia could exit the war. It was also decided that an international peace keeping body was required to prevent the recurrence of a war of such magnitude and thus the League of Nations was created to preserve world peace and to guarantee the independence of all states. The League of Nations called for member nations not to maintain huge armies, warships and destructive armaments, and also laid down certain rules by which it prohibited any two countries from entering into secret treaties or alliances. However when the United States of America, who had played such a key role in setting up the League of Nations decided not to join it, the League suffered a major set back as all the other member nations were not whole heartedly committed to maintaining world peace. This was made evident when Japan left the League in order to occupy Manchuria. Last but not least, it must be noticed that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles indirectly sowed the seeds for the Second World War. The terms of the treaty were greatly resented by the Germans who felt that they had been done a great injustice and therefore looked for an opportunity to avenge the same. Hitler exploited these sentiments and openly encouraged the Germans to consign the Treaty of Versailles to the waste paper basket. This in turn increased his popularity amongst the general population and led to his rise in power. With Hitler at the helm, his aggressive foreign policies and ambitions of territorial expansions, made World War II an absolute certainty. Word Count 1005