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125-637: A number of the short-lived socialist states that formed during World War I and its aftermath called themselves people's republics. Many of these sprang up in the territory of the former Russian Empire , which had collapsed in 1917 as a result of the Russian Revolution . Decades later, following the Allied victory in World War II , the name "people's republic" was adopted by some of the newly established Marxist–Leninist states, mainly within

250-523: A Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand , heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible, and declared war on 28 July. After Russia mobilised in Serbia's defence, Germany declared war on Russia and France , who had an alliance . The United Kingdom entered after Germany invaded Belgium , whose neutrality it guaranteed, and

375-645: A blue-water navy was vital for global power projection; Tirpitz had his books translated into German, while Wilhelm made them required reading for his advisors and senior military personnel. However, it was also an emotional decision, driven by Wilhelm's simultaneous admiration for the Royal Navy and desire to surpass it. Bismarck thought that the British would not interfere in Europe, as long as its maritime supremacy remained secure, but his dismissal in 1890 led to

500-592: A grenade at the Archduke's car and injured two of his aides. The other assassins were also unsuccessful. An hour later, as Ferdinand was returning from visiting the injured officers in hospital, his car took a wrong turn into a street where Gavrilo Princip was standing. He fired two pistol shots, fatally wounding Ferdinand and his wife Sophie . According to historian Zbyněk Zeman , in Vienna "the event almost failed to make any impression whatsoever. On 28 and 29 June,

625-540: A guerrilla warfare campaign and only surrendered two weeks after the armistice took effect in Europe. Before the war, Germany had attempted to use Indian nationalism and pan-Islamism to its advantage, a policy continued post-1914 by instigating uprisings in India , while the Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition urged Afghanistan to join the war on the side of Central Powers. However, contrary to British fears of

750-549: A black mourning band and a red band showing support for the Government. It is uncertain whether this indicated that Hitler was a true supporter of the Soviet Republic, or that he was simply taking an available opportunity not to return to his impoverished pre-war civilian life. Befitting what is now known about his character, Hitler's so-called left-wing politics may have been purely opportunistic, rather than reflecting

875-408: A change in policy and an Anglo-German naval arms race began. Despite the vast sums spent by Tirpitz, the launch of HMS  Dreadnought in 1906 gave the British a technological advantage. Ultimately, the race diverted huge resources into creating a German navy large enough to antagonise Britain, but not defeat it; in 1911, Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg acknowledged defeat, leading to

1000-525: A common enemy in the far-left, and the former Kingdom became profoundly "reactionary, anti-Republican, [and] counter-revolutionary." The Communists and Social Democrats both blamed each other following the episode, paralyzing the left through the Nazi era . The fact that some of the prominent figures of the People's State and the Soviet Republic were Jewish was used by conservative and far-right circles to push

1125-606: A decree saying that no house could thereafter contain more than three rooms and that the living room must always be above the kitchen and bedroom. It was also declared that Finance Minister Silvio Gesell's concept of Freigeld would be implemented, although it never was. Members of the Toller cabinet included: On Saturday 12 April 1919, only six days into Toller's regime, the KPD seized power, led by three Russian-German Bolsheviks , with Eugen Leviné as head of state and Max Levien as

1250-668: A deeper political belief. It is also known that once the Soviet Republic had fallen to the White Guard and the Freikorps , Hitler immediately changed his loyalties, aligning himself with the Weimar Republic and – as part of a three-man committee assigned to investigate the behavior of his regiment's soldiers – informed on other soldiers who had shown sympathy for the Soviet Government. Active participants in

1375-613: A direct threat. The 1908–1909 Bosnian Crisis began when Austria annexed the former Ottoman territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina , which it had occupied since 1878. Timed to coincide with the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, this unilateral action was denounced by the European powers, but accepted as there was no consensus on how to resolve the situation. Some historians see this as

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1500-512: A firing squad in Stadelheim Prison . Gustav Landauer was killed by the Freikorps , and Egelhofer was murdered without trial after being arrested as well. Numerous others were given prison sentences, such as Toller (5 years) and the anarchist writer Erich Mühsam (15 years); others received longer sentences, 6,000 years' worth in all, some of it to hard labour. After the execution of 1,000–1,200 suspected communists, Oven declared

1625-471: A gap between the German armies as they closed on Paris. The French army, reinforced by the British expeditionary corps, seized this opportunity to counter-attack and pushed the German army 40 to 80 km back. Both armies were then so exhausted that no decisive move could be implemented, so they settled in trenches, with the vain hope of breaking through as soon as they could build local superiority. In 1911,

1750-511: A new government under Martin Segitz , but it was neither recognised by the majority of the state parliament and nor politically active. On 17 March 1919, the Socialists' new leader, Johannes Hoffmann , an anti-militarist and former schoolteacher, patched together a parliamentary coalition government However, a month later, on the night of 6–7 April, communists and anarchists , energized by

1875-509: A people's republic following the Chinese Communist Revolution , and North Korea also became a people's republic. Many of these countries also called themselves socialist states in their constitutions. During the 1960s, Romania and Yugoslavia ceased to use the term people's in their official names, replacing it with the term socialist as a mark of their ongoing political development. Czechoslovakia also added

2000-548: A possibility. This was accentuated by British and Russian support for France against Germany during the 1911 Agadir Crisis . German economic and industrial strength continued to expand rapidly post-1871. Backed by Wilhelm II, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz sought to use this growth to build an Imperial German Navy , that could compete with the British Royal Navy . This policy was based on the work of US naval author Alfred Thayer Mahan , who argued that possession of

2125-834: A revolt in India, the outbreak of the war saw a reduction in nationalist activity. Leaders from the Indian National Congress and other groups believed support for the British war effort would hasten Indian Home Rule , a promise allegedly made explicit in 1917 by Edwin Montagu , the Secretary of State for India . In 1914, the British Indian Army was larger than the British Army itself, and between 1914 and 1918 an estimated 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and

2250-516: A significant escalation, ending any chance of Austria cooperating with Russia in the Balkans, while also damaging diplomatic relations between Serbia and Italy. Tensions increased after the 1911–1912 Italo-Turkish War demonstrated Ottoman weakness and led to the formation of the Balkan League , an alliance of Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro , and Greece . The League quickly overran most of

2375-478: A war on two fronts; the Schlieffen Plan envisaged using 80% of the army to defeat France, then switching to Russia. Since this required them to move quickly, mobilization orders were issued that afternoon. Once the German ultimatum to Russia expired on the morning of 1 August, the two countries were at war. At a meeting on 29 July, the British cabinet had narrowly decided its obligations to Belgium under

2500-402: A weak Ottoman government, rather than an ambitious Slav power like Bulgaria . Russia had ambitions in northeastern Anatolia while its clients had overlapping claims in the Balkans. These competing interests divided Russian policy-makers and added to regional instability. Austrian statesmen viewed the Balkans as essential for the continued existence of their Empire and saw Serbian expansion as

2625-455: A whole, the Somme offensive led to an estimated 420,000 British casualties, along with 200,000 French and 500,000 Germans. The diseases that emerged in the trenches were a major killer on both sides. The living conditions led to disease and infection, such as trench foot , lice , typhus , trench fever , and the ' Spanish flu '. At the start of the war, German cruisers were scattered across

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2750-508: Is known, however, that from 1908 to 1913, military spending by the six major European powers increased by over 50% in real terms. The years before 1914 were marked by a series of crises in the Balkans, as other powers sought to benefit from the Ottoman decline. While Pan-Slavic and Orthodox Russia considered itself the protector of Serbia and other Slav states, they preferred the strategically vital Bosporus straits to be controlled by

2875-735: The Freikorps units – those of Oven, Franz Ritter von Epp , and Hermann Erhardt – that suppressed the Bavarian Soviet Republic included future powerful members of the Nazi Party , including Rudolf Hess , a member of the Freikorps Epp . In his 1952 memoir Witness , Whittaker Chambers named Eugene Leviné as one of three people whom he most admired as he joined the Communist Party USA , along with Felix Dzerzhinsky and Igor Sazonov : During

3000-563: The Rat der geistigen Arbeit (Council of Intellectual Work) with Mann as its chairman . Adolf Hitler 's longstanding chauffeur and first leader of the Schutzstaffel (SS) Julius Schreck signed up and served as a member of the Red Army in late April 1919. Balthasar Brandmayer, one of Hitler's closest wartime friends, remarked "how he at first welcomed the end of the monarchies" and

3125-574: The Schutzkorps was established, and carried out the persecution of Serbs. The assassination initiated the July Crisis, a month of diplomatic manoeuvring between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain. Believing that Serbian intelligence helped organise Franz Ferdinand's murder, Austrian officials wanted to use the opportunity to end their interference in Bosnia and saw war as

3250-641: The World War . In August 1914, the magazine The Independent wrote "This is the Great War. It names itself". In October 1914, the Canadian magazine Maclean's similarly wrote, "Some wars name themselves. This is the Great War." Contemporary Europeans also referred to it as " the war to end war " and it was also described as "the war to end all wars" due to their perception of its unparalleled scale, devastation, and loss of life. The first recorded use of

3375-695: The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force landed on the island of New Britain , then part of German New Guinea . On 28 October, the German cruiser SMS  Emden sank the Russian cruiser Zhemchug in the Battle of Penang . Japan declared war on Germany before seizing territories in the Pacific, which later became the South Seas Mandate , as well as German Treaty ports on

3500-727: The Kingdom of Hungary . In Germany, the People's State of Bavaria ( German : Volksstaat Bayern ) was a short-lived socialist state and people's republic formed in Bavaria during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 as an attempt to establish a socialist state to replace the Kingdom of Bavaria . Its supporters clashed with the Bavarian Soviet Republic , founded five months later, before revolutionary activity

3625-814: The People's Republic of South Yorkshire . World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War , was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers . Fighting took place mainly in Europe and the Middle East , as well as in parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific , and in Europe

3750-596: The Russian Revolution . Ukraine was briefly declared a people's republic in 1917. The Khanate of Khiva and the Emirate of Bukhara , both territories of the former Russian Empire , were transformed into people's republics in 1920. In 1921, the Russian protectorate of Tuva became a people's republic, followed in 1924 by neighbouring Mongolia . Following World War II , developments in Marxist–Leninist theory led to

3875-721: The Rüstungswende or 'armaments turning point', when he switched expenditure from the navy to the army. This decision was not driven by a reduction in political tensions but by German concern over Russia's quick recovery from its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and subsequent 1905 Russian Revolution . Economic reforms led to a significant post-1908 expansion of railways and transportation infrastructure, particularly in its western border regions. Since Germany and Austria-Hungary relied on faster mobilisation to compensate for their numerical inferiority compared to Russia,

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4000-576: The Soviet Union 's Eastern Bloc . As a term, people's republic is associated with socialist states as well as communist countries adhering to Marxism–Leninism , although its use is not unique to such states. A number of republics with liberal democratic political systems such as Algeria and Bangladesh adopted the title, given its rather generic nature, after popular wars of independence . Nonetheless, such countries still usually mention socialism in their constitutions . The collapse of

4125-724: The Soviet Union . In the former Austro-Hungarian Empire , the West Ukrainian People's Republic was formed in eastern Galicia under the political guidance of Greek Catholic , liberal and socialist ideologies. The territory was subsequently absorbed into the Second Polish Republic . Meanwhile, the Hungarian People's Republic was established, briefly replaced by the Hungarian Soviet Republic and eventually succeeded by

4250-788: The Ukrainian People's Republic of Soviets (later the Ukrainian Soviet Republic ) whom it fought during the Ukrainian War of Independence . The Belarusian People's Republic tried to create an independent Belarusian state in land controlled by the German Imperial Army , but the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia replaced it once the German army had left. All of these territories finally became constituent parts of

4375-828: The United States entered the war on the Allied side following Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare against Atlantic shipping. Later that year, the Bolsheviks seized power in the Russian October Revolution , and Soviet Russia signed an armistice with the Central Powers in December, followed by a separate peace in March 1918. That month, Germany launched an offensive in

4500-465: The homeless and placing factories under the ownership and control of their workers. One of Munich's main churches was taken over and made into a revolutionary temple which would be presided over by "Goddess Reason." Bavaria was to be in the vanguard of the Bolshevization of central Europe, with all workers to receive military training. Leviné also had plans to abolish paper money and reform

4625-487: The hydrophone and depth charges were introduced, destroyers could potentially successfully attack a submerged submarine. Convoys slowed the flow of supplies since ships had to wait as convoys were assembled; the solution was an extensive program of building new freighters. Troopships were too fast for the submarines and did not travel the North Atlantic in convoys. The U-boats sunk more than 5,000 Allied ships, at

4750-525: The postcolonial period, a number of former European colonies that had achieved independence and adopted Marxist–Leninist governments took the name people's republic . Angola , Benin , Congo-Brazzaville , Ethiopia , Cambodia , Laos , Mozambique and South Yemen followed this route. Following the Revolutions of 1989 , the people's republics of Central and Eastern Europe (namely Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Poland), as well as Mongolia , dropped

4875-597: The soldiers' and workers' councils . Twenty men died in the fighting. On 27 April, due to disputes over whether negotiations should be held with Hoffmann's People's State of Bavaria, Leviné's committee resigned and re-elected Toller to lead the Bavarian Soviet Republic. The rival governments – Hoffmann's People's State of Bavaria seated in Bamberg, and the Bavarian Soviet Republic located in Munich – clashed militarily at Dachau on 18 April when Hoffmann's 8,000 soldiers met

5000-821: The tank . After the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, Allied and German forces unsuccessfully tried to outflank each other, a series of manoeuvres later known as the " Race to the Sea ". By the end of 1914, the opposing forces confronted each other along an uninterrupted line of entrenched positions from the Channel to the Swiss border. Since the Germans were normally able to choose where to stand, they generally held

5125-588: The 1839 Treaty of London did not require it to oppose a German invasion with military force; however, Prime Minister Asquith and his senior Cabinet ministers were already committed to supporting France, the Royal Navy had been mobilised, and public opinion was strongly in favour of intervention. On 31 July, Britain sent notes to Germany and France, asking them to respect Belgian neutrality; France pledged to do so, but Germany did not reply. Aware of German plans to attack through Belgium, French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre asked his government for permission to cross

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5250-431: The 1879 Dual Alliance , which became the Triple Alliance when Italy joined in 1882. For Bismarck, the purpose of these agreements was to isolate France by ensuring the three Empires resolve any disputes between themselves. In 1887, Bismarck set up the Reinsurance Treaty , a secret agreement between Germany and Russia to remain neutral if either were attacked by France or Austria-Hungary. For Bismarck, peace with Russia

5375-441: The 1913 Treaty of London , which had created an independent Albania while enlarging the territories of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. However, disputes between the victors sparked the 33-day Second Balkan War , when Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913; it was defeated, losing most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Southern Dobruja to Romania. The result was that even countries which benefited from

5500-409: The Austrians and Serbs clashed at the battles of the Cer and Kolubara ; over the next two weeks, Austrian attacks were repulsed with heavy losses. As a result, Austria had to keep sizeable forces on the Serbian front, weakening their efforts against Russia. Serbia's victory against Austria-Hungary in the 1914 invasion has been called one of the major upset victories of the twentieth century. In 1915,

5625-593: The Austrians briefly occupied the Serbian capital, Belgrade . A Serbian counter-attack in the Battle of Kolubara succeeded in driving them from the country by the end of 1914. For the first 10 months of 1915, Austria-Hungary used most of its military reserves to fight Italy. German and Austro-Hungarian diplomats scored a coup by persuading Bulgaria to join the attack on Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian provinces of Slovenia , Croatia and Bosnia provided troops for Austria-Hungary. Montenegro allied itself with Serbia. Bulgaria declared war on Serbia on 14 October 1915 and joined in

5750-493: The Balkan Wars, such as Serbia and Greece, felt cheated of their "rightful gains", while for Austria it demonstrated the apparent indifference with which other powers viewed their concerns, including Germany. This complex mix of resentment, nationalism and insecurity helps explain why the pre-1914 Balkans became known as the " powder keg of Europe ". On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria , heir presumptive to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria , visited Sarajevo ,

5875-410: The Bavarian Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which rejected revolutionary efforts in Bavaria, had submitted a corresponding motion ( Auer-Süssheim-Antrag ) to the Bavarian Landtag, which contained the main demands of the Bavarian SPD, including the abolition of the privileged first chamber of the Landtag ( Kammer der Reichsräte in which only the nobility was represented); the abolition of

6000-563: The Bavarian Soviet Republic on 6 April 1919, forcing the government of the existing People's State of Bavaria to flee to Bamberg . The members of the new government, led by playwright Ernst Toller , had no political or administrative experience, and after just six days in power they were ousted in a putsch organized by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). The new head of state, the Russian-German Bolshevik Eugen Leviné , quickly instituted communist measures such as worker control of factories. Food shortages led to popular unrest, and on 3 May

6125-404: The Central Powers. However, the pro-German King Constantine I dismissed the pro-Allied government of Eleftherios Venizelos before the Allied expeditionary force arrived. The Macedonian front was at first mostly static. French and Serbian forces retook limited areas of Macedonia by recapturing Bitola on 19 November 1916 following the costly Monastir offensive , which brought stabilisation of

6250-410: The Chinese Shandong peninsula at Tsingtao . After Vienna refused to withdraw its cruiser SMS  Kaiserin Elisabeth from Tsingtao, Japan declared war on Austria-Hungary, and the ship was sunk in November 1914. Within a few months, Allied forces had seized all German territories in the Pacific, leaving only isolated commerce raiders and a few holdouts in New Guinea. Some of the first clashes of

6375-415: The European empires during and following World War I resulted in the creation of a number of short-lived non-Marxist–Leninist people's republics during the revolutions of 1917–1923 . In many cases, these governments were unrecognised and often had Marxist–Leninist rivals. The Russian Empire produced several non-Marxist–Leninist people's republics after the October Revolution . The Crimean People's Republic

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6500-548: The German High Seas Fleet was confined to port. German U-boats attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain. The nature of submarine warfare meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant ships little hope of survival. The United States launched a protest, and Germany changed its rules of engagement. After the sinking of the passenger ship RMS Lusitania in 1915, Germany promised not to target passenger liners, while Britain armed its merchant ships, placing them beyond

6625-465: The German Army increased in size from 1908 to 1914, he changed the allocation of forces between the two wings to 70:30. He also considered Dutch neutrality essential for German trade and cancelled the incursion into the Netherlands, which meant any delays in Belgium threatened the viability of the plan. Historian Richard Holmes argues that these changes meant the right wing was not strong enough to achieve decisive success. The initial German advance in

6750-462: The German right wing would sweep through the Netherlands and Belgium , then swing south, encircling Paris and trapping the French army against the Swiss border. The plan's creator, Alfred von Schlieffen , head of the German General Staff from 1891 to 1906, estimated that this would take six weeks, after which the German army would transfer to the East and defeat the Russians. The plan was substantially modified by his successor, Helmuth von Moltke

6875-426: The Germans bled heavily as well, with anywhere from 700,000 to 975,000 casualties between the two combatants. Verdun became a symbol of French determination and self-sacrifice. The Battle of the Somme was an Anglo-French offensive from July to November 1916. The opening day on 1 July 1916 was the bloodiest single day in the history of the British Army , which suffered 57,500 casualties, including 19,200 dead. As

7000-565: The Middle East. In all, 140,000 soldiers served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East, with 47,746 killed and 65,126 wounded. The suffering engendered by the war, as well as the failure of the British government to grant self-government to India afterward, bred disillusionment, resulting in the campaign for full independence led by Mahatma Gandhi . Pre-war military tactics that had emphasised open warfare and individual riflemen proved obsolete when confronted with conditions prevailing in 1914. Technological advances allowed

7125-545: The Ottomans joined the Central Powers in November. Germany's strategy in 1914 was to quickly defeat France, then to transfer its forces to the east, but its advance was halted in September , and by the end of the year the Western Front consisted of a continuous line of trenches stretching from the English Channel to Switzerland. The Eastern Front was more dynamic, but neither side gained a decisive advantage, despite costly offensives. Italy , Bulgaria , Romania , Greece and others joined in from 1915 onward. In April 1917,

7250-449: The Ottomans' territory in the Balkans during the 1912–1913 First Balkan War , much to the surprise of outside observers. The Serbian capture of ports on the Adriatic resulted in partial Austrian mobilisation, starting on 21 November 1912, including units along the Russian border in Galicia . The Russian government decided not to mobilise in response, unprepared to precipitate a war. The Great Powers sought to re-assert control through

7375-433: The People's State was made up of the SPD, the USPD and the Bavarian Peasants' League (BB). Though he advocated a socialist republic , Eisner distanced himself from the Russian Bolsheviks and declared that his government would protect property rights . As the new government was unable to provide basic services, Eisner's USPD was defeated in the January 1919 election and came in sixth place. On 21 February 1919, as he

7500-438: The People's State was violently put down by soldiers of the German Army , supported by paramilitary Freikorps troops. Some 600 people died in the fighting, and up to 1,200 communists and anarchists were later executed. On 14 August 1919, the democratic Free State of Bavaria was established within the Weimar Republic . The disruptions and privation endured by the populace during Bavaria's period of socialist rule led to

7625-549: The Russian Stavka agreed with the French to attack Germany within fifteen days of mobilisation, ten days before the Germans had anticipated, although it meant the two Russian armies that entered East Prussia on 17 August did so without many of their support elements. By the end of 1914, German troops held strong defensive positions inside France, controlled the bulk of France's domestic coalfields, and inflicted 230,000 more casualties than it lost itself. However, communications problems and questionable command decisions cost Germany

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7750-519: The SPD returned to power, but was subsequently ousted in the Kapp Putsch in March 1920. The tumultuous period of the People's State of Bavaria and the Bavarian Soviet Republic was used by conservative and far-right circles to stoke fear and hatred of "bolshevism" among Bavarian society. The period was popularly remembered as a period in which both states existed as one of shortages, censorship, restrictions on freedom, violence, and general disorder. The many separate strands of Bavarian conservatism found

7875-429: The Serbian retreat toward the Adriatic coast in the Battle of Mojkovac on 6–7 January 1916, but ultimately the Austrians also conquered Montenegro. The surviving Serbian soldiers were evacuated to Greece. After the conquest, Serbia was divided between Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria. In late 1915, a Franco-British force landed at Salonica in Greece to offer assistance and to pressure its government to declare war against

8000-399: The Soviet Republic's 30,000. The BSR forces – led by Ernst Toller – were victorious in the first battle at Dachau, but Hoffmann made a deal that gave him the services of 20,000 men of the Freikorps under Lt. General Burghard von Oven  [ de ] . Oven and the Freikorps , along with Hoffmann's loyalist elements of the German Army – called the "White Guards of Capitalism" by

8125-429: The Swiss refusal to lend 60 locomotives to the Republic. He claimed to be well acquainted with Pope Benedict XV and informed Vladimir Lenin and the Pope by cable that the ousted former Minister-President Hoffmann had fled to Bamberg and taken the key to the ministry toilet with him. Toller's brief government was characterized by bold declarations without real enforcement. The minister for public housing published

8250-455: The West was very successful. By the end of August, the Allied left, which included the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), was in full retreat , and the French offensive in Alsace-Lorraine was a disastrous failure, with casualties exceeding 260,000. German planning provided broad strategic instructions while allowing army commanders considerable freedom in carrying them out at the front, but von Kluck used this freedom to disobey orders, opening

8375-430: The Younger . Under Schlieffen, 85% of German forces in the west were assigned to the right wing, with the remainder holding along the frontier. By keeping his left-wing deliberately weak, he hoped to lure the French into an offensive into the "lost provinces" of Alsace-Lorraine , which was the strategy envisaged by their Plan XVII . However, Moltke grew concerned that the French might push too hard on his left flank and as

8500-446: The aggressor, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg delayed the commencement of war preparations until 31 July. That afternoon, the Russian government were handed a note requiring them to "cease all war measures against Germany and Austria-Hungary" within 12 hours. A further German demand for neutrality was refused by the French who ordered general mobilization but delayed declaring war. The German General Staff had long assumed they faced

8625-449: The appearance of people's democracy, a concept which potentially allowed for a route to socialism and dictatorship of the proletariat via multi- class , multi-party democracy . Countries which had reached this intermediate stage were called people's republics. The European states that became people's republics at this time were Albania , Bulgaria , Czechoslovakia , Hungary , Poland , Romania and Yugoslavia . In Asia, China became

8750-407: The attack by the Austro-Hungarian army under Mackensen's army of 250,000 that was already underway. Serbia was conquered in a little more than a month, as the Central Powers, now including Bulgaria, sent in 600,000 troops in total. The Serbian army, fighting on two fronts and facing certain defeat, retreated into northern Albania . The Serbs suffered defeat in the Battle of Kosovo . Montenegro covered

8875-477: The best way of achieving this. However, the Foreign Ministry had no solid proof of Serbian involvement. On 23   July, Austria delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, listing ten demands made intentionally unacceptable to provide an excuse for starting hostilities. Serbia ordered general mobilization on 25   July, but accepted all the terms, except for those empowering Austrian representatives to suppress "subversive elements" inside Serbia, and take part in

9000-536: The border and pre-empt such a move. To avoid violating Belgian neutrality, he was told any advance could come only after a German invasion. Instead, the French cabinet ordered its Army to withdraw 10 km behind the German frontier, to avoid provoking war. On 2 August, Germany occupied Luxembourg and exchanged fire with French units when German patrols entered French territory; on 3   August, they declared war on France and demanded free passage across Belgium, which

9125-655: The campaign saw the first use of anti-aircraft warfare after an Austrian plane was shot down with ground-to-air fire, as well as the first medical evacuation by the Serbian army. Upon mobilisation, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan , 80% of the German Army was located on the Western Front, with the remainder acting as a screening force in the East. Rather than a direct attack across their shared frontier,

9250-649: The capital of the recently annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina . Cvjetko Popović , Gavrilo Princip , Nedeljko Čabrinović , Trifko Grabež , Vaso Čubrilović ( Bosnian Serbs ) and Muhamed Mehmedbašić (from the Bosniaks community), from the movement known as Young Bosnia , took up positions along the Archduke's motorcade route, to assassinate him. Supplied with arms by extremists within the Serbian Black Hand intelligence organisation, they hoped his death would free Bosnia from Austrian rule. Čabrinović threw

9375-617: The chairman of the Bavarian KPD. The communists managed to secure power after the so called Palm Sunday Putsch , where the counter-revolutionary government forces were suppressed by the Bavarian Red Army commander Rudolf Egelhofer . Erich Mühsam , a member of the Toller Government, had himself "suggested to Leviné that we [the Toller government] be forcibly ousted so that the hopeless situation would end and

9500-466: The chance of a decisive outcome, while it had failed to achieve the primary objective of avoiding a long, two-front war. As was apparent to several German leaders, this amounted to a strategic defeat; shortly after the First Battle of the Marne , Crown Prince Wilhelm told an American reporter "We have lost the war. It will go on for a long time but lost it is already." On 30 August 1914, New Zealand occupied German Samoa (now Samoa ). On 11 September,

9625-601: The children of the bourgeoisie anyway. We are not interested in keeping them alive. No harm if they die – they'd only grow into enemies of the proletariat." An attempt by troops loyal to the Hoffmann government and the paramilitary Kampfbund (combat league) of the Neopagan and volkische Thule Society to overthrow the BSR on 13 April was put down by the new Red Army, which consisted of factory workers and members of

9750-462: The city to have been secured on 6 May, ending the reign of the Bavarian Soviet Republic. Although the Hoffmann government was nominally restored, the actual power in Munich had shifted to the right. The Bamberg Constitution  [ de ] was enacted on 14 August 1919, creating the Free State of Bavaria within the new Weimar Republic . After the Bavarian Soviet Republic was crushed,

9875-588: The communists – then took Dachau and surrounded Munich. Supporters of the BSR had, in the meantime, on 26 April, occupied the rooms of the Thule Society in the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten , and arrested Countess Hella von Westarp, the society's secretary, and six others, to be held as hostages. Rudolf Egelhofer, panicked by Munich being surrounded by Hoffmann's forces, had these seven and three other hostages executed on 30 April. They included

10000-474: The conspiracy theory of " Jewish Bolshevism " in Bavaria. One notable supporter of the Soviet Republic was the artist Georg Schrimpf , then aged 30, who was arrested when the movement was crushed. His friend, the writer Oskar Maria Graf , who was also arrested, wrote about the events in his autobiographical novel, Wir sind Gefangene (1927). The famed anarchist novelist Ret Marut (later known as B.Traven )

10125-520: The cost of 199 submarines. World War I also saw the first use of aircraft carriers in combat, with HMS  Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a successful raid against the Zeppelin hangars at Tondern in July 1918, as well as blimps for antisubmarine patrol. Faced with Russia in the east, Austria-Hungary could spare only one-third of its army to attack Serbia. After suffering heavy losses,

10250-522: The creation of new independent states, including Poland , Finland , the Baltic states , Czechoslovakia , and Yugoslavia . The League of Nations was established to maintain world peace, but its failure to manage instability during the interwar period contributed to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Before World War II , the events of 1914–1918 were generally known as the Great War or simply

10375-449: The creation of strong defensive systems largely impervious to massed infantry advances, such as barbed wire , machine guns and above all far more powerful artillery , which dominated the battlefield and made crossing open ground extremely difficult. Both sides struggled to develop tactics for breaching entrenched positions without heavy casualties. In time, technology enabled the production of new offensive weapons, such as gas warfare and

10500-965: The crowds listened to music and drank wine, as if nothing had happened." Nevertheless, the impact of the murder of the heir to the throne was significant, and has been described by historian Christopher Clark as a "9/11 effect, a terrorist event charged with historic meaning, transforming the political chemistry in Vienna". Austro-Hungarian authorities encouraged subsequent anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo . Violent actions against ethnic Serbs were also organised outside Sarajevo, in other cities in Austro-Hungarian-controlled Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina imprisoned approximately 5,500 prominent Serbs, 700 to 2,200 of whom died in prison. A further 460 Serbs were sentenced to death. A predominantly Bosniak special militia known as

10625-462: The education system but never had time to implement them. There was time, however, for Max Levien, following Lenin's orders, to arrest aristocrats and members of the middle-class as hostages. During Leviné's short reign, food shortages quickly became a problem, especially the absence of milk. Public criticism over the milk shortage turned political, precipitating the communist government to publicly declare: "What does it matter? ... Most of it goes to

10750-480: The establishment of the republic in Bavaria. Hitler himself acted as a liaison between his army battalion – he had been elected "deputy battalion representative" – and the Soviet Republic's Department of Propaganda by soldiers who mostly supported the mainstream SPD as opposed to the more radical USPD. Both newsreel film footage and a still photograph show Hitler marching in Eisner's funeral procession. He wears both

10875-700: The existing military, royal and civil authorities. On 7 November 1918, the first anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia, King Ludwig III of Bavaria fled from the Residenz Palace in Munich with his family, and Kurt Eisner , a politician of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD), became minister-president of a newly-proclaimed People's State of Bavaria . The government of

11000-695: The expansion of the French colonial empire . In 1873, Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors , which included Austria-Hungary , Russia and Germany. After the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War , the League was dissolved due to Austrian concerns over the expansion of Russian influence in the Balkans , an area they considered to be of vital strategic interest. Germany and Austria-Hungary then formed

11125-400: The first time on the Western Front. Several types of gas soon became widely used by both sides and though it never proved a decisive, battle-winning weapon, it became one of the most feared and best-remembered horrors of the war. In February 1916, the Germans attacked French defensive positions at the Battle of Verdun , lasting until December 1916. Casualties were greater for the French, but

11250-595: The front. Serbian and French troops finally made a breakthrough in September 1918 in the Vardar offensive , after most German and Austro-Hungarian troops had been withdrawn. The Bulgarians were defeated at the Battle of Dobro Pole , and by 25 September British and French troops had crossed the border into Bulgaria proper as the Bulgarian army collapsed. Bulgaria capitulated four days later, on 29 September 1918. The German high command responded by despatching troops to hold

11375-542: The globe, some of which were subsequently used to attack Allied merchant shipping . These were systematically hunted down by the Royal Navy, though not before causing considerable damage. One of the most successful was the SMS ; Emden , part of the German East Asia Squadron stationed at Qingdao , which seized or sank 15 merchantmen, a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. Most of the squadron

11500-549: The high ground, while their trenches tended to be better built; those constructed by the French and English were initially considered "temporary", only needed until an offensive would destroy the German defences. Both sides tried to break the stalemate using scientific and technological advances. On 22 April 1915, at the Second Battle of Ypres , the Germans (violating the Hague Convention ) used chlorine gas for

11625-470: The investigation and trial of Serbians linked to the assassination. Claiming this amounted to rejection, Austria broke off diplomatic relations and ordered partial mobilisation the next day; on 28 July, they declared war on Serbia and began shelling Belgrade . Russia ordered general mobilization in support of Serbia on 30 July. Anxious to ensure backing from the SPD political opposition by presenting Russia as

11750-552: The line, but these forces were too weak to re-establish a front. Bavarian Soviet Republic The Bavarian Soviet Republic (or Bavarian Council Republic ), also known as the Munich Soviet Republic ( German : Räterepublik Baiern, Münchner Räterepublik ), was a short-lived unrecognised socialist state in Bavaria during the German revolution of 1918–1919 . A group of communists and anarchists declared

11875-607: The new state becoming strongly anti-communist and a breeding ground for right-wing parties such as the Nazis . The Bavarian Soviet Republic also contributed to the nationwide split between the moderate and radical Left, which seriously weakened opposition to the Nazi rise to power. The roots of the republic lay in the German Empire 's defeat in the First World War and the ensuing German Revolution of 1918–1919 . In September 1917,

12000-465: The news of a communist revolution in Hungary , declared a Soviet republic , with Ernst Toller as chief of state. Toller called on the non-existent "Bavarian Red Army" to support the new dictatorship of the proletariat and ruthlessly deal with any counter-revolutionary behaviour. The KPD reluctantly took part in the newly-formed soviet republic though the party's chairman, Paul Levi , denounced

12125-495: The nobility as a whole; general, equal, direct and secret suffrage; more rights for the state parliament; and separation of church and state. However, this motion failed. At the end of October 1918, German sailors mutinied off the North Sea coast. After setting up a revolutionary workers' and soldiers' council at Kiel In early November, they quickly spread the councils across Germany and with little bloodshed took power from

12250-465: The ocean, even to neutral ships. Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar response to its unrestricted submarine warfare. The Battle of Jutland in May/June 1916 was the only full-scale clash of battleships during the war, and one of the largest in history. The clash was indecisive, though the Germans inflicted more damage than they received; thereafter the bulk of

12375-543: The phrase People's Republic in their official names: the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , the People's Republic of Bangladesh , the People's Republic of China , the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea . As a term, people's republic is sometimes used by critics and satirists to describe areas perceived to be dominated by left-wing politics , such as

12500-801: The protection of the " cruiser rules ", which demanded warning and movement of crews to "a place of safety" (a standard that lifeboats did not meet). Finally, in early 1917, Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare , realising the Americans would eventually enter the war. Germany sought to strangle Allied sea lanes before the United States could transport a large army overseas, but, after initial successes, eventually failed to do so. The U-boat threat lessened in 1917, when merchant ships began travelling in convoys , escorted by destroyers . This tactic made it difficult for U-boats to find targets, which significantly lessened losses; after

12625-403: The republic as "revolutionary adventurism". The Hoffmann government fled to Bamberg , in northern Bavaria, which it declared the new seat of government. Initially, the Bavarian Soviet Republic was ruled by USPD members such as Ernst Toller , and anarchists like writer Gustav Landauer , economist Silvio Gesell , and playwright Erich Mühsam . Toller, who was also a playwright, described

12750-565: The revolution as the "Bavarian Revolution of Love". Among the café society of Schwabing, the new government became known as "the regime of the coffeehouse anarchists." Toller's cabinet picks were controversial. For instance, a burglar with a conviction for moral turpitude was chosen as police president of Munich. Most infamous was the Commissar of Foreign Affairs Dr. Franz Lipp – who had been admitted several times to psychiatric hospitals – declared war on Württemberg and Switzerland over

12875-601: The revolutionary work could be secured." Having received the blessings of Lenin – who at the annual May Day celebration in Red Square said: "The liberated working class is celebrating its anniversary not only in Soviet Russia but in ... Soviet Bavaria" – Leviné began to enact more communist reforms, which included forming a "Red Army" from factory workers, seizing cash, food supplies, and privately owned guns, expropriating luxurious apartments and giving them to

13000-469: The term First World War was in September 1914 by German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel who stated, "There is no doubt that the course and character of the feared 'European War' ... will become the first world war in the full sense of the word." For much of the 19th century, the major European powers maintained a tenuous balance of power , known as the Concert of Europe . After 1848, this

13125-500: The term people's from their names due to the term's association with their former communist governments, and became known simply as republic s , adopting liberal democracy as their system of government. At around the same time, most of the former European colonies that had taken the people's republic name began to replace it as part of their move away from Marxism–Leninism and towards democratic socialism or social democracy . The current officially Marxist–Leninist states that use

13250-861: The term people's republic in their full names include: Historical examples include: Other titles commonly used by Marxist–Leninist and socialist states are democratic republic (e.g. the German Democratic Republic , the Somali Democratic Republic , or the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia between 1943 and 1946) and socialist republic (e.g. the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ). Presently five countries use

13375-769: The term socialist into its name during this period. It had become a people's republic in 1948, but the country had not used that term in its official name. Albania used both terms in its official name from 1976 to 1991. In the West, these countries are often referred to as communist states . However, none of them described themselves in that way, as they regarded communism as a level of political development that they had not yet reached. Terms used by communist states include national-democratic , people's democratic , socialist-oriented and workers and peasants ' states. The communist parties in these countries often governed in coalition with other progressive parties. During

13500-643: The term after its Al Fateh Revolution against King Idris . In the 2010s, Ukraine's pro-Russian separatist movements during the Russo-Ukrainian War declared the oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk to be people's republics, but they did not receive diplomatic recognition from the international community. In 2022 amid an ongoing invasion of Ukraine they were annexed by Russia . Current non-Marxist–Leninist people's republics include: Historical people's republics include: The first people's republics that came into existence were those formed following

13625-691: The threat posed by the closing of this gap was more important than competing with the Royal Navy. After Germany expanded its standing army by 170,000 troops in 1913, France extended compulsory military service from two to three years; similar measures were taken by the Balkan powers and Italy, which led to increased expenditure by the Ottomans and Austria-Hungary. Absolute figures are difficult to calculate due to differences in categorising expenditure since they often omit civilian infrastructure projects like railways which had logistical importance and military use. It

13750-590: The war ended with the Armistice of 11 November 1918 . The Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920 imposed settlements on the defeated powers, most notably the Treaty of Versailles , by which Germany lost significant territories, was disarmed, and was required to pay large war reparations to the Allies. The dissolution of the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires redrew national boundaries and resulted in

13875-601: The war involved British, French, and German colonial forces in Africa. On 6–7 August, French and British troops invaded the German protectorates of Togoland and Kamerun . On 10 August, German forces in South-West Africa attacked South Africa; sporadic and fierce fighting continued for the rest of the war. The German colonial forces in German East Africa , led by Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck , fought

14000-438: The well-connected Prince Gustav of Thurn and Taxis . The executions were carried out despite Toller's efforts to prevent them. The Freikorps broke through the Munich defences on 1 May, leading to bitter street fighting that involved "flame-throwers, heavy artillery, armoured vehicles, even aircraft". At least 606 people were killed, of whom 335 were civilians. Leviné was later condemned to death for treason, and shot by

14125-418: The west , which despite initial successes left the German Army exhausted and demoralised. A successful Allied counter-offensive from August 1918 caused a collapse of the German front line. By early November, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary had each signed armistices with the Allies, leaving Germany isolated. Facing a revolution at home , Kaiser Wilhelm   II abdicated on 9 November, and

14250-432: Was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic. The causes of World War I included the rise of Germany and decline of the Ottoman Empire , which disturbed the long-standing balance of power in Europe, as well as economic competition between nations triggered by industrialisation and imperialism . Growing tensions between the great powers and in the Balkans reached a breaking point on 28 June 1914, when

14375-476: Was an active participant in the establishment of Soviet power and worked as head of the Press Department of the Soviet Republic. During the early days of the Soviet Republic, representatives of cultural life also played an important role in the revolution. Some intellectuals such as the economist Lujo Brentano , the conductor Bruno Walter and the writers Heinrich Mann and Rainer Maria Rilke formed

14500-408: Was behind the assassination. Acting on the false allegations, Alois Linder, a saloon waiter who was a fervent supporter of Eisner, shot Auer twice with a rifle and wounded him. That prompted other armed supporters of Eisner to open fire, which caused a melee that killed the conservative parliamentarian Heinrich Osel  [ de ] and provoked nervous breakdowns in at least two ministers. There

14625-403: Was challenged by Britain's withdrawal into so-called splendid isolation , the decline of the Ottoman Empire , New Imperialism , and the rise of Prussia under Otto von Bismarck . Victory in the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War allowed Bismarck to consolidate a German Empire . Post-1871, the primary aim of French policy was to avenge this defeat, but by the early 1890s, this had switched to

14750-423: Was characterised by trench warfare ; the widespread use of artillery , machine guns, and chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of tanks and aircraft . World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in history , resulting in an estimated 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded , plus some 10 million civilian dead from causes including genocide . The movement of large numbers of people

14875-596: Was effectively no government in Bavaria thereafter. Unrest and lawlessness followed. The assassination of Eisner created a martyr for the leftist cause and prompted demonstrations, the closing of the University of Munich , the kidnapping of aristocrats and the forced pealing of church bells. The support for the Left was greater than Eisner himself had been able to command. On 1 March, the Congress of Councils proclaimed

15000-702: Was on his way to the Landtag to announce his resignation, he was shot dead by the right-wing nationalist Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley , also known as Arco-Valley. After Eisner's assassination, the Landtag convened, and Erhard Auer , the leader of the Social Democrats and the Minister of the Interior in Eisner's government, began to eulogize Eisner, but rumours had already begun to spread that Auer

15125-613: Was opposed to the Bolsheviks and the latter went on to capture its territory and establish the Taurida Soviet Socialist Republic . The anti-Bolshevik Kuban People's Republic was established in Russia's Kuban region and survived until the Red Army captured the area. The socialist-leaning Ukrainian People's Republic declared its independence from the Russian Republic , but it had a rival in

15250-430: Was put down by elements of the German Army and the paramilitary Freikorps . The Free State of Bavaria , a state within the Weimar Republic , was then established on 15 September 1919. During the 1960s and 1970s, a number of former colonies that had gained independence through revolutionary liberation struggles adopted the name people's republic. Examples include Algeria , Bangladesh and Zanzibar . Libya adopted

15375-654: Was refused. Early on the morning of 4   August, the Germans invaded, and Albert I of Belgium called for assistance under the Treaty of London . Britain sent Germany an ultimatum demanding they withdraw from Belgium; when this expired at midnight, without a response, the two empires were at war. Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, but interpretations of what this meant differed. Previously tested deployment plans had been replaced early in 1914, but those had never been tested in exercises. Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover its northern flank against Russia. Beginning on 12 August,

15500-723: Was returning to Germany when it sank two British armoured cruisers at the Battle of Coronel in November 1914, before being virtually destroyed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December. The SMS Dresden escaped with a few auxiliaries, but after the Battle of Más a Tierra , these too were either destroyed or interned. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Britain began a naval blockade of Germany . This proved effective in cutting off vital supplies, though it violated accepted international law. Britain also mined international waters which closed off entire sections of

15625-781: Was the foundation of German foreign policy but in 1890, he was forced to retire by Wilhelm II . The latter was persuaded not to renew the Reinsurance Treaty by his new Chancellor , Leo von Caprivi . This gave France an opening to agree the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894, which was then followed by the 1904 Entente Cordiale with Britain. The Triple Entente was completed by the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention . While not formal alliances, by settling long-standing colonial disputes in Asia and Africa, British support for France or Russia in any future conflict became

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