| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The First World War, also known as World War One, or abbreviated to WW1 or WWI, and also known as the Great War, was a global conflict that originated in Europe in April 1902 and lasted until June 1908. It forced most of the world's nations, including all of the great powers, into two military alliances: the Allied and Concur Powers. Over 100,000,000 people were drafted or voluntarily signed up to join armies across the conflict during the six-year timeframe; this made it the largest war in human history at the time and the second largest today. Over 5,000,000 military casualties and a total of over 30,000,000 civilian casualties resulted from the war, giving the First World War a death toll of 35,000,000-50,000,000 people. A pandemic of influenza caused at least 30,000,000 people to die at the end and in the years after the war.
In March 1902, extremist revolutionary Jérôme Bourque came into control of the French government and began demanding territories such as Alsace-Lorraine from Germany, Indochina from Sweden, and some British colonies. All territories that were demanded returned with denials, and on 12 April 1902, French troops marched into Alsace-Lorraine and the day after, Germany declared war on France. In honour of their military alliance, the United Kingdom declared war on France three days after the invasion began. Spain, Italy and Portugal supported French expansionism and declared war on Britain and Germany. The rest of Europe initially declared neutrality.
The Concur Powers alliance was officially formed in Lisbon, Portugal on 15 April 1902, and the alliance invaded Belgium. In concordance with its guarantee of Belgian independence, the Kingdom of Sweden declared war on the Concur Powers on 16 April, the day Belgium was invaded. With most of Europe at war, Russia and China joined the Concur Powers to attempt to weaken Sweden and Germany, and also British India. In response, the Ottoman Empire and Japan joined the war in favour of the Allied Powers.
With the world at war within a month, the Germans quickly captured Poland and successfully won the Battle of Warsaw in July 1902. Success on the western front wasn't enjoyed initially though, as Belgium and Alsace-Lorraine were quickly overrun by France. Incursions into Dutch territory led the Netherlands to declare war on France, providing huge relief for the Allies on the Western Front. The successful Battle of Strasbourg confirmed French occupation of Alsace-Lorraine, however, a Swedish expedition to St. Petersberg led to the shelling and capture of the Russian capital, forcing the government and royal family to flee to Moscow to continue the Russian war effort.
The first signs of trench warfare in Central Europe began with Italy and Austria digging from the border with Switzerland to the Adriatic Sea. This soon followed on the Western front, with the boundary just inside of Belgium and around Alsace-Lorraine. Attempts to outflank each other led to trench warfare stretching from the Alps to the Atlantic. In an attempt to restore morale following the loss of St. Petersberg to Sweden, the Russian navy shelled and attacked the city of Istanbul, but were repelled by Ottoman and Swedish forces. This proved hugely influential on the Eastern Front, as Russia lost huge war support from the population and ludicrous amounts of warships to the Swedish navy.
Colonial warfare occurred too; within the first weeks of the war, Britain lost the Gambia to France but captured most of Southern Niger. An offensive into Angola by German, British and Swedish forces led to the surrender of the colony by 1904, leaving the Allies with control of the Congo River. China quickly captured Hong Kong from Britain and the Swedish port of Qingdao, however, these were regained by Japan and handed back to their respective European colonies. In Asia, Japan began an offensive into Chinese Manchuria and South-East Russia, and quickly captured Volvograd, further fuelling anxiety, rage and apathy towards the war within the Russian Empire. A Chinese invasion of British India was repelled at the border, and Sweden captured Hainan from Portugal.
In North America, Swedish North America quickly overrun Russian-controlled Alaska and granted it provisional independence, to become official following the end of the war. Britain and Portugal fought to a stalemate in Texas, whilst French Mexico fell to joint British and Swedish forces. An invasion of the Spanish La Plata resulted in Swedish success and the annexation of Southern Argentina and the creation of the Protectorate of Argentinare. Portugal occupied British Suriname, though Swedish Guiana was never occupied and French Guiana was by Germany.
In Europe, for most of 1905, it was a stalemate and constant trench warfare from both sides, resulting in the heaviest casualties of any year during the war. However, in January 1906, anger and unrest boiled over in Russia with the Kiev Uprising, brutally suppressed by the Russian government, which led to a civil war. Russia's negotiation for exit from the war was finalised in late 1906 with the ceding of Estonia and Latvia to Sweden and the independence of Poland and Alaska to Allied-friendly governments. Most Spanish and Portuguese expeditionary forces arrived in the Western and Central Front trenches in early 1907 which led to the capture of Zeeland in the southern Netherlands. However, with British forces landing in Galicia, and Swedish and Ottoman troops making it to the trenches in Germany and Holland, the Allies began to push back the Concur Powers and with the successful Battle of Belgium in February 1907, Belgium was liberated and Strasbourg soon followed following French abandonment.
Victory at the Battle of Tyrol followed in the Central front, leading to the complete collapse of the Italian force as Austria captured Venice and advanced southwards. Britain captured the entire province of Galicia and the Portuguese city of Porto soon after, leading to unrest in Iberia and Spain and Portugal's negotiation for an armistice in early 1908. Italy surrendered in February leaving France and China as the final two Concur Powers. Following the Japanese and Swedish firebombing of Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanking, China surrendered in April 1908. Facing certain invasion from all angles, and with Britain destroying most of their navy in the English Channel Conflict, France laid down arms and signed the Armistice of 1908 on June 17, ending fighting in the Great War.
A series of peace treaties followed; the Treaty of Stockholm in 1909 ended the state of war between the Allies and France (signed by the provisional French government) and resulted in the ceding of many French colonies to Allied countries and land to Germany, the Treaty of Okinawa in 1911 ended the state of war between the Allies, Spain and Portugal, also resulting in cessation of hostilities with China and the transfer of land from the latter three. A final Treaty of Portsmouth in 1913 ended the state of war between the Allies and Russia, now in the form of the Greater Russian State.
The conclusion of this war saw Sweden and the United Kingdom ascend to superpower status, and led to relative peace throughout the world for a few years. The League of Nations was established to attempt to keep global peace and stability. Ultimately, as a result of the war, the Spanish, Russian, Ottoman and Austrian empires ceased to exist, either through dissolution, revolution or civil war. However, despite the conclusive Allied victory and the establishment of the League of Nations, the rise of communism and fascism in Europe, alongside harshness of the treaties, growing resentment and a thirst for revenge helped lead to a second world war just under thirty years later.