Firstly let's learn about the Ottoman Empire's economic situation before the
war.
Capitulations: Economic concession. It first started in 1536 between the
Ottoman Empire and France. Later, most of the European countries had this
economic concession. It was not useful for the Ottoman Empire but the empire
could not cancel it because of its weakness.
Before the war, because of the capitulations foreign merchants cleared
through the customs without paying any tax. This weakened the Turkish
merchants. When the World War I started, the Ottoman Empire stopped
capitulations.
Also huge depts weakened the economy of the empire. Most of the depts paid
by Turkey later. There were very rare railways and automobiles in the
country so transportation was a great problem.
Most of the other powerful countries had colonies. Because of that their
economies grew rapidly. Also they used the advantage of the industrial
revolution. So the Ottoman Empire could not resist them.
European sailors discovered new trade routes. Because of that the Ottoman
Empire's economy damaged.
What caused World War I?
The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand triggered World War I. But
the war had its origins in developments of the 1800's. The main causes of
World War I were:
The Rise of Nationalism: Nationalism was one of the reasons of the World
War I which is the belief that loyalty to a person's nation and its
political and economic goals comes before any other public loyalty.
Nationalism created two new powers - Italy and Germany - through the uniting
of many small states. On the other hand, nationalism weakened the eastern
European empires of Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Ottoman. Those empires
ruled many national groups that clamored for independence. The Balkan
Peninsula or the "Powder Keg of Europe" because tensions there threatened to
ignite a major war. Rivalry for control of the Balkans added to the tensions
that erupted into World War I.
Military Forces: Nationalism encouraged public support for military
build-ups and for a country's use of force to achieve its goals. By the late
1800's, Germany had the best trained army in the world. In 1898 Germany
began developing a naval force that was big enough to challenge the British
navy. In 1906, the British navy launched the Dreadnought, the first modern
battleship. The Dreadnought had greater firepower that any other ship of its
time. Germany rushed to construct on just like it. Advances in technology
helped aid in making military forces stronger. Machine guns and other new
arms fired more accurately and more rapidly that earlier weapons. By the end
of the 1800's, technology enabled countries to fight longer and bear greater
losses that ever before.
Alliances: A system of military alliances gave European powers a sense of
security before World War 1. They formed these alliances with each other for
protection and guarente that other members of the alliance would come to the
country's aid if attacked. Although alliances provided protection, the
system also created certain dangers. If war came, the alliance system meant
that a number of nations would fight, not only the two involved in a
dispute. Alliances could force a country to go to war against a nation
without a reason.
The Triple Alliance was made up of three countries, Germany, Italy, and
Austria-Hungary. They all agreed to go to war if attacked by Russia.
Bismarck also brought Austria-Hungary and Germany into alliance with Russia.
The agreement was known as the Three Emperor's League and was formed in
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1881. They all agreed to remain neutral if any of them went to war with
another country. In 1890 when Bismarck left office it gave a chance for
Russia and France to form an alliance. In 1894, France and Russia agreed to
call up troops if any naiton in the Triple Alliance mobilized. Russia and
France also agreed to help each other if either were attacked by Germany.
On June 28, 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian
terrorist named Gavrilo Princip. The Archduke's assassination triggered the
outbreak of World War I.
On July 28 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Because of
Austria-Hungary's alliance with Germany, Serbia seeked help from Russia. In
1914 Russia vowed to stand behind Serbia, but first Russia gained support
from France. Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914, in response
to Russia's mobilization. Two days later Germany declared war on France. The
German Army swept into Belgium on its way to France. The invasion of Belgium
caused Britian to declare war on Germany on August 4. Germany's plan for a
quick defeat of France while Russia slowly mobilized was called the
Schlieffen Plan. This plan called for two wings of the German army to crush
the French army in a pincers movement. A small left wing would defend
Germany alongs its frontier with France. A much larger right wing would
invade France through Belgium; encircle and capture Paris; and them move
east. Belgiums army held up the Germans for only a short time. By August
16,1914, the right wing of Germany could begin its motion. It drove back
French and British forces in southern Belguim and swept info France. But
instead of swinging west around Paris, one part of the right wing pursued
retreating French toops toward the Marne River. This maneuver left the
Germans exposed to attacks form the rear.
Meanwhile, General Joseph Joffre, commander of all French armies, stationed
his forces near the Marne River east of Paris and prepared for battle. This
battle was later known as the First Battle of the Marne, beginning on
September 6 and ending September 9 when German forces started to withdraw.
The First Battle of the Marne was a key victory for the Allies because it
ended Germany's hopes to defeat France quickly. The German army halted its
retreat near the Aisne River. From there, the Germans and the Allies fought
a series of battles that became known as the "Race to the Sea". Germany
tried to reach the English Channel and sabotage supply lines between France
and Britian. But the Allies stopped the Germans in the First Battle of Ypres
in Belgium. The battle lasted from mid-October until mid-November. By late
November 1914, the war reached a deadlock along the Western Front as neither
side gained much ground. The deadlock lasted nearly 3 1/2 years.
Both the Allies and the Central Powers developed new weapons, which they
hoped would break the deadlock. In April 1915, the Germans first released
poison gas over Allied lines in the Second Battle of Ypres. The fumes caused
vomiting and suffocation. After the introduction of the poison, gas masks
were used. Another new weapon was the flame thrower, which shot out a stream
of burning fuel.
In 1917, first France and then Britain saw their hopes of victory
shattered. Austria-Hungary drove the Italians out of its territory in the
Battle of Caporetto in the fall and revolution in Russia made the Allied
situation seem even more hopeless.
The most important country in the World War I was USA. Because they changed
the winner of the war.
At the start of the war, President Wilson had declared the neutrality of
the United States. Most Americans opposed US involvement in the European
war. But the sinking of the Lusitania and other German actions against
civilians drew America sympathies to the Allies. German military leaders
believed that they could still win the war by cutting off British supplies.
They expected their U-boats to starve Britain into surrendering within a few
months, longer before the US had fully prepared for war. Tension between the
US and Germany increased after the British intercepted and decoded a message
from Germany's foreign minister, Arthur Zimmermann, the German ambassador to
Mexico. The message known as the "Zimmermann note", revealed a German plot
to persuade Mexico to go to war against the United States. The British gave
the message to Wilson, and it was published in the US early in March.
Mobilization The US entered the war unprepared for battle. Strong antiwar
feelings had harmpered efforts to prepare for war. Government propaganda
pictured the war as a battle for liberty and democracy. During World War I,
US Government agencies directed the nations economy toward the war effort.
President Wison put financier Bernard M. Baruch in charge of the War
Industries Board, which turned factories into producers of war materials.
Manpower was a chief contribution to the United States to World War I. The
country entered the war with about 126,000 men. It soon orginized a draft
requiring all from 21 through 30 years old to register for military service.
The age range was broadened to 18 through 45 in 1918. Many men enlisted
voluntarily, and women signed up as nurses and office workers. The US armed
forces had almost 5 million men and women by the end of the war. Few
soldiers received much training before going overseas because the Allies
urgently needed them. Before US help could reach the Western Front, the
Allies had to overcome the U-boat threat in the Atlantic. In May 1917,
Britian began to use a convoy system, by which cargo ships went to the sea
in large groups escorted be warships. The U-boats proved no match for the
warships and Allied shipping losses dropped sharply.
The end of the war on the Eastern Front increased German hopes for victory.
By early 1918 German forces outnumbered the Allies on the Western Front. In
Spring, Germany staged three offensives. Ludendorff counted on delivering a
crushing blow to the Allies before larger numbers of Americans reached the
front. Germany first struck near St.-Quentin, a city in the Somme River
Valley, on March 21,1918. By March 26, British troops had retreated about 30
miles. In late March, the Germans began to bombard Paris with "Big Berthas".
The enormous guns hurle shells up to 75 miles. In April, after the disaster
at St-Quentin, Allied leaders appointed General Ferdinand Foch for France to
the supreme commander of the Allied forces on the Western Front. A second
German offensive began on April 9 along the Lys River in Belgium. British
troops called off the attack on April 30. Germany attacked a third time on
May 27 near the Aisne River. By May 30, German troops had reached the Marne
River. American soldiers helped France stop the German advance at the town
of Chateau-Thierry, less than 50 miles northeast of Paris. During June, US
troops drove the Germans out of Belleau Wood, a forested area near the
Marne. On July 15 German troops crossed the Marne. On July 18 Foch ordered a
counter-attack near the town of Soissons.
The critical point in World War I was the Second Battle of Marne. This
battle was fought from July 15 through August 6, 1918. After winning the
battle, the Allies advanced steadily. On August 8, Britian and France
attacked the Germans near Amiens. By early September, Germany had lost all
the territory it had gained since spring. In mid-September, Pershing led US
forces to an easy victory at St.-Mihiel. The last offensive of World War I
began on September 26, 1918. Almost 900000 US troops participated in heavy
fighting between the Argonne Forrest and the Meuse River. Ludendorff
realized that Germany could no longer overcome the superior strength of the
Allies.
The Allies won victories on all fronts in the fall of 1918. Bulgaria forces
under the command of General Edmund Allenby triumphed over the Ottoman army
in Palestine and Syria. On October 30, the Ottoman Empire signed an
armistice. The last major battle between Italy and Austria-Hungary began in
late October in Italy. Italy defeated Austria-Hungary near the town of
Vittorio Veneto with the help of France and Great Britian. Austria-Hungary
signed an amistice on November 3. Germany teetered on the edge of collapse
as the war continued through October. Britian's naval blockade had nearly
starved German people and widespread discontent led to roits and rising
demands for peace. In the early morning on November 11,1918, the Germans
accepted the armistice terms demanded by the Allies. Germany agreed to
evacuate the terrorities it had taken during the war; to surrender larger
numbers of arms; and other war materials; and to allow Allied powers to
occupy German territory along the Rhine River. Foch ordered the fighting to
stop on the Western Front at 11 am. World War I was over!
War Costs
Triple Alliance $(1914-18)
USA 22,625,253,000
England 35,334,012,000
France 24,265,583,000
Russia 22,293,950,000
Italy 12,413,998,000
Belgium 1,154,468,000
Romania 1,600,000,000
Japan 40,000,000
Serbia 399,400,000
Greece 270,000,000
Canada 1,665,576,000
Australia 1,423,208,000
New Zelland 378,750,000
India 601,279,000
South Africa 300,000,000
Colonies of England 125,000,000
Others 500,000,000
Total 125,690,477,000
Central Powers $(1914-18)
Germany 37,775,000,000
Austria-Hungary 20,622,960,000
Ottoman Empire 1,430,000,000
Bulgaria 815,200,000
Total 60,643,160,000
the economy.