Thuringian is an East Central German dialect group spoken in much of the modern German Free State of Thuringia north of the Rennsteig ridge, southwestern Saxony-Anhalt and adjacent territories of Hesse and Bavaria . It is close to Upper Saxon spoken mainly in the state of Saxony , therefore both are also regarded as one Thuringian-Upper Saxon dialect group. Thuringian dialects are among the Central German dialects with the highest number of speakers.
139-514: Thuringian emerged during the medieval German Ostsiedlung migration from about 1100, when settlers from Franconia ( Main Franconia), Bavaria , Saxony , and Flanders settled in the areas east of the Saale River previously inhabited by Polabian Slavs . The Thuringian dialect is characterized by a rounding of the vowels, the weakening of consonants of Standard German (the lenition of
278-523: 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
417-645: 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
556-592: 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,
695-540: 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
834-639: A parish church system only took place after the settlement of German colonists, beginning in the 2nd half of the 12th century. Control over areas that had already been conquered was repeatedly lost. The Slavic revolt of 983 and an uprising of the Obotrites in 1066 had particularly serious consequences. In 983, the Polabian Slavs in the Billung and Northern Marches , stretching from the Elbe river to
973-408: 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
1112-613: 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
1251-455: A few decades, especially in agriculture and crafts. These included: The amount of cultivated land increased as large forested areas were cleared. The extent of land increase differed by region. In Silesia it had doubled (16% of the total area) by the beginning of the 11th century, 30% in the 16th century and the highest increase rates in the 14th century, the total area of arable land increased seven – to twentyfold in many Silesian regions during
1390-471: 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,
1529-721: A large number of Flemish people. With the formation of the Hanseatic League , which allowed further German settlement in coastal towns due to it being the dominant trade republic in the Baltic and North seas. After the Wendish crusade, Albert the Bear was able to establish and expand the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1157 on approximately the territory of the former Northern March , which since 983 had been controlled by
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#17327654357831668-858: A line from the Eastern Alps and Bohemia to the Saale and Elbe rivers. As the East Frankish kingdom expanded, various Wendish tribes, that were conquered or allied with the Eastern Franks, such as the Obotrites , aided the Franks in defeating the West Germanic Saxons . The Carolingian tradition of setting up marches at the periphery of the empire would be continued by the East Frankish and Holy Roman Empire's kings during
1807-475: A lot of people and let them live in the castles and villages of the Slavs." The Slavs used ploughs and agricultural implements before the arrival of German settlers. The oldest meaningful reference to this can be found in a Slavic chronicle, in which the use of a plough as an areal measurement is mentioned. Although heavier and useful ploughs were brought by the settlers. In the 12th and 13th century documents,
1946-664: A military conflict with the German King Henry III , and in the end, Bretislav had to renounce his conquests in Poland and recognize Henry as his sovereign. After this, Bohemia remained loyal to Germany because of fears of another invasion, and Polish and Hungarian expansionism to the North and South . On the epoch of the war of investiture in Germany , Henry IV decisively fixed German-Bohemian relationship by playing off
2085-548: 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
2224-834: 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
2363-516: 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
2502-414: A single operation. The different modes of operation of the two devices also had an impact on the shape and size of the cultivation areas. The fields worked with the ard had about the same field length and width and a square base. Long fields with a rectangular base were much more suitable for the mouldboard plough, as the heavy implements had to be turned less often. Planting and cultivation of oats and rye
2641-478: 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
2780-402: 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
2919-455: 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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#17327654357833058-508: 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
3197-574: 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
3336-641: 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
3475-893: 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 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
3614-508: The Ard without a mouldboard is mentioned. It tear opens the soil and spreads the soil to both sides without turning it. It is therefore particularly suitable for light and sandy subsoil. In the mid 13th century, the Three-field system was introduced east of the Elbe. This new cultivation method required the use of the heavy mouldboard plough that digs up the earth deeply and turns it around in
3753-695: 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
3892-783: The East Frankish King Arnulf of Carinthia at the Imperial Diet ( Reichstag ) in Regensburg in 895. In 973, when the Bishopric of Prague was created, it was made subject to the Archbishopric of Mainz , which increased German influence. In the 11th century, Bretislav I led a campaign against Poland, reconquering Silesia and transferring the relics of Saint Adalbert to Prague, hoping to have Prague elevated to archbishopric status. This resulted in
4031-614: The Eider river, followed by the conquest of the land of the Wagri in 1139, the founding of Lübeck in 1143 and the call by Count Adolf II of Schauenburg to settle in Eastern Holstein , and Pomerania in the same year. Weakened by ongoing internal conflicts and constant warfare, the independent Wendish territories finally lost the capacity to provide effective military resistance. From 1119 to 1123, Pomerania invaded and subdued
4170-648: The Hevelli and Lutici tribes. The Bishopric of Havelberg , that had been occupied by revolting Lutici tribes was reestablished to Christianize the Wends. In 1164, after Saxon duke Henry the Lion finally defeated rebellious Obotrites and Pomeranian dukes in the Battle of Verchen . The Pomeranian duchies of Demmin and Stettin became Saxon fiefs, as well as the Obodrite territories, which became Mecklenburg , named after
4309-573: The Oder , Bober , Kwisa and Vltava rivers in the east were conquered (see also: Battle on the Raxa ), and border marches were established in these areas. Fortifications were occupied and new castles built, reinforced by military units to exert military control and collect tributes. No civilian settlers occupied these lands. Christianization was limited to the establishment of mission dioceses such as Lübeck , Brandenburg or Havelberg . The development of
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4448-525: The Ostsiedlung . Parallel to agricultural innovations new forms of farm layout and settlement structuring (division and classification of land) were introduced. Farmland was divided into Hufen , (English hides ) and larger villages replaced the previously dominant type of small villages consisting of four to eight farms as a complete transformation of the previous settlement structure occurred. The cultural landscape of East Central Europe formed by
4587-721: 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,
4726-552: The Saale and Elbe rivers, the states of Lower Austria and Styria in Austria , Poland and the Czech Republic , but also in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe . The majority of Ostsiedlung settlers moved individually, in independent efforts, in multiple stages and on different routes. Many settlers were encouraged and invited by the local princes and regional lords, who sometimes even expelled part of
4865-828: 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
5004-487: 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
5143-821: 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
5282-472: The 11th and 12th centuries do not form part of the Ostsiedlung , as these actions didn't result in any noteworthy settlement establishment east of the Elbe and Saale rivers. The Ostsiedlung is considered to have been a purely Medieval event as it ended in the beginning of the 14th century. The legal, cultural, linguistic, religious and economic changes caused by the movement had a profound influence on
5421-405: The 11th and 12th centuries. Under the rule of King Louis the German and Arnulf of Carinthia , the first groups of civilian Catholic settlers were led by Franks and Bavarii to the lands of Pannonia (present-day Burgenland , Hungary , Slovakia and Slovenia ). In a series of punitive actions, large territories in the northeast between the Elbe , Saale , Naab rivers in the west and
5560-497: The 12th and 13th centuries, more Germans arrived in Hungary, living in dispersed villages known as Königsboden [ de ] . By the mid-13th century, their importance in trade (especially in Pozsony , Pest and Nagyszombat ) and gold and silver mining (especially in Beszterce and Radna ) grew significant. When Stephen I married Gisela of Bavaria , many German knights came to Hungary, joining its military. They were often rewarded with large estates and entry into
5699-431: The 12th and 13th centuries, the population density increased considerably. The increase was due to the influx of settlers on the one hand and an increase in slavic populations after the settlement on the other hand. Settlement was the primary reason for the increase e.g. in the areas east of the Oder , the Duchy of Pomerania , western Greater Poland , Silesia , Austria , Moravia , Prussia and Transylvania , while in
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5838-459: The 13th century, glazed ceramics were introduced and the import of stoneware increased. The transfer of technology and knowledge affected the way of life of old and new settlers in a variety of ways and, in addition to innovations in agriculture and handicrafts, also included other areas, such as weapons technology, documents and coins. The Slavic population (Sorbs), who lived east of the Elbe, primarily built log houses, which had proven suitable for
5977-588: 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
6116-431: 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
6255-441: 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
6394-507: The 4th and 5th centuries, in what is known as the Migration Period , Germanic peoples seized control of the decaying Western Roman Empire in the South and established new kingdoms within it. Meanwhile, formerly Germanic areas in Eastern Europe and present-day Eastern Germany, were settled by Slavs . Charlemagne , ruler of the Carolingian Empire of Francia , which was founded by Franks (a Germanic people), under whom most of Western and Central continental Europe had been united during
6533-414: The 8th and 9th centuries, created numerous border territories, so called marches ( German : Marken ), where a substantial portion of the Ostsiedlung would later take place. The territories (from north to south): This was the earliest recorded and planned "eastern policy" under Charlemagne, who wanted to protect the eastern border of the Frankish Empire, and also wanted to solidify his position in
6672-409: 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,
6811-593: 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
6950-493: 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 ,
7089-418: The Baltic Sea succeeded in a rebellion against the political rule and Christian mission of the recently established Holy Roman Empire . In spite of their new-won independence, the Obotrites , Rani , Liutizian and Hevelli tribes were soon faced with internal struggles and warfare as well as raids from the newly constituted and expanding Piast dynasty (the early Polish ) state from the east, Denmark from
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#17327654357837228-495: The Baltic coast. Large cities included Szczecin which reached 9,000 inhabitants, Kraków and Wrocław , major cities and centers of power of medieval Poland. However, they experienced substantial growth since the end of the 12th century through new settlers and expansion ( locatio civitatis ). The foundation of a bishopric, for example in Havelberg , would lead to the development of a town, although cities were also founded out of nowhere, such as Neubrandenburg . Characteristic of
7367-410: The Bear granted Dutch settlers the right to take possession of former Slavic settlements. The preacher Helmold of Bosau reported on this in his Slavic chronicle: "Finally, when the Slavs were gradually dispersing, he (Albrecht) sent to Utrecht and the Rhine region, and also to those who live by the ocean, who under the power of the sea had suffered, the Dutch, Zealanders and Flemings, where he attracted
7506-404: 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
7645-410: 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
7784-458: The Czechs from Germany, asking Henry II, Duke of Austria to renounce his claims to certain Bohemian lands, this was refused, and in the war that followed he was defeated. This made Soběslavs successors Frederick and Conrad II ruling during a period of unrest. This allowed for greater settlement during the 13th century, where even many Czech towns received so many German settlers they were practically Germanized and became majority Germany. Due to
7923-415: The Elbe by the end of the 12th century. It was manufactured extensively in Pomerania by the 13th century, when more advanced manufacturing methods, such as the tunnel kiln, enabled the mass production of ceramic household goods. The demand for household goods such as pots, jugs, jugs and bowls, which had previously been made of wood, increased steadily and promoted the development of new sales markets. During
8062-469: The Empire, and successor kings led numerous, yet not always successful, military campaigns to maintain their authority. In 843, the Carolingian Empire was partitioned into three independent kingdoms as a result of dissent among Charlemagne's three grandsons over the continuation of the custom of partible inheritance or the introduction of primogeniture . Louis the German inherited the eastern territories, East Francia , that included all lands east of
8201-548: 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
8340-465: 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
8479-444: The German influence on the nobility, many castles and villages names were Germanized, such as Zvíkov Castle to Burg Klingenberg . Under the reign of Vladislaus II , various military orders, the most prominent of which, the Knights Hospitaller , were even allowed to bring German settlers into Bohemian land and settle them . During this time, German settlers were exempt from the local Župan Laws, which included various duties such as
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#17327654357838618-434: The German loss here was not as severe as after World War II . In and after World War II (1944–1950), Germans were driven out and deported to rump Germany from the East and their language and culture were lost in most areas (including the German-dominated lands which Germany lost after this war ) in which German people had settled during the Ostsiedlung; except part of Eastern Austria and especially Eastern Germany. During
8757-462: 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
8896-426: 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
9035-403: The Germans settling in Prague, and even making up almost a quarter of all people in Prague . Bretislav II granted them important privileges, notably the right of self-government under magistrates of their own election, and the right of living under German law. During the late 12th and early 13th century , German settlement of the mountainous borderland (Known as the Sudetenland ) began . It
9174-497: The Hanseatic League who settled coastal towns. While Hungary was never conquered by the Holy Roman Empire and was never in focus of German settlement, it still had a sizeable German population. During the 11th century, Stephen I of Hungary invited German priests , abbots , and churchmen to found monasteries and promote the conversion of Hungary. Eventually these Germans' descendants started to fill other occupations, becoming merchants , clerks , and farmers , etc. and were granted
9313-413: The High Medieval Landesausbau (inland settlement) took place, when arable land was largely expanded at the expense of forested areas. Although new land was won and numerous settlements created, demands could not be absorbed. Another factor was a surplus of offspring of the nobility who were not entitled to inheritance, but after the success of the first crusade, took their chances of acquiring new lands in
9452-608: The Holy Roman Empire and proclaimed by Pope Innocent III in 1215 as a subject to the Holy See . The Teutonic State established a comprehensive administrative structure, and modernized the old traditional tribal structure of the region. An integral part of the Order other than converting Pagans to Christianity was also to encourage Germans to settle the sparsely populated area. Most German settlers primarily went to urban cities, such as Graudenz (Grudziądz), Elbing (Elbląg), and Riga . The settlers also established numerous rural settlements, known as Vorwerke in German . Most of
9591-565: 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
9730-463: The Obotrites residential capital, Mecklenburg Castle . After Henry the Lion lost his internal struggle with Emperor Frederick I , Mecklenburg and Pomerania became fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire in 1181, although the latter briefly as it passed under Danish suzerainty in 1185, and then under Imperial again only in the 13th century. German influence in Bohemia began when Duke Spytihněv I freed himself from Moravian vassalage and instead paid homage to
9869-545: 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,
10008-669: 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
10147-731: The Polish-Bohemian enmity. In 1080 Vratislav I, fighting under the banner of the Emperor, captured the golden lance of the papal counter-king, Rudolf of Swabia , at the battle of Flarchheim . Bohemia's reward for this loyalty came six years later, in 1086, when Henry IV elevated the Duke to the rank of king. All of this laid the perfect conditions for German settlement and dominance of Bohemia . German settlers, mainly traders, miners, farmers and monks. The trade fairs of Prague attracted many merchants from all over Europe, with many including
10286-624: The Rhine river and to the north of Italy, which roughly corresponded with the territories of the German stem duchies , that formed a federation under the first king Henry the Fowler (919 to 936). The Slavs living within the reach of East Francia (since 962 C.E. the Holy Roman Empire), collectively called Wends or "Elbe Slavs", seldom formed larger political entities. They rather constituted various small tribes, settling as far west as to
10425-666: 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
10564-650: 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
10703-417: The Wends in 1108, probably coming from a Flemish clerk in the circles of the archbishop of Magdeburg , which included the prospect of profitable land gains for new settlers, had no noticeable effect and resulted in neither a military campaign nor a movement of settlers into the area. Although the first settlers had already arrived in 1124, being mostly of Flemish and Dutch origin, they settled south of
10842-651: 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
10981-485: 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
11120-446: 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
11259-557: The areas populated by Slavic , Baltic and Uralic peoples; the most settled area was known as Germania Slavica . Germanization efforts included eastern parts of Francia , East Francia , and the Holy Roman Empire and beyond; and the consequences for settlement development and social structures in the areas of settlement. Other regions were also settled, though not as heavily. The Ostsiedlung encompassed multiple modern and historical regions, primarily Germany east of
11398-474: 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
11537-543: 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
11676-483: 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
11815-600: 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,
11954-649: 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
12093-466: 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,
12232-519: The consonants "p," "t," and "k"), a marked difference in the pronunciation of the "g" sound (which is most common in the areas of North Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt areas), and a highly-idiosyncratic, melodic intonation of sentences. The second German consonant shift manifested itself in a manner different from that elsewhere in the areas that spoke High German. In many words, "b" is pronounced as "w" or "f" would be in Standard German . For example,
12371-520: 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,
12510-470: 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
12649-449: 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
12788-965: 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
12927-684: The east by declaring war on the Obotrites and Wilzes in the North, as well as on the Sorbs (east of Thuringia) and Czech tribal princes. However, since the goal wasn't to establish an ethnic and linguistic boundary between the Slavs and Germanic tribes, Slavic settlement continued in Thuringia and Northern Bavaria, with individual Slavs even making it to the Rhine Basin . The tribes that populated these marches were generally unreliable allies of
13066-695: 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
13205-434: The fact that Germany and Austria lost part of their territories in the East appeared as a counterpoint to Ostsiedlung because some of the Germans in the East became foreign citizens when their homes were no longer part of Germany and Austria. The Germans in the East outside Germany and Austria were partially forced to leave and the regions that Germany and Austria lost in the East were dominated by non-German peoples, so
13344-400: 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
13483-525: The founding cities are geometrical or rasterized floor plans with main streets, intersecting axes and a central market place. Different settlement phases are reflected in twin cities names such as New town or Old town . 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:
13622-595: 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
13761-542: 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
13900-549: 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
14039-682: The history of Eastern Central Europe between the Baltic Sea and the Carpathians until the 20th century. In the 20th century, accounts of the Ostsiedlung were heavily exploited by German nationalists (including the Nazi movement ) to press the territorial claims of Germany and to demonstrate supposed German superiority over non-Germanic peoples, whose cultural, urban and scientific achievements in that era were undermined, rejected, or presented as German. After World War I (1914–1918),
14178-493: The indigenous populations to make room for German settlers. Smaller groups of migrants first moved to the east during the early Middle Ages. Larger treks of settlers, which included scholars, monks, missionaries, craftsmen and artisans, often invited, in numbers unverifiable, first moved eastwards during the mid-12th century. The military territorial conquests and punitive expeditions of the Ottonian and Salian emperors during
14317-470: 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
14456-436: The larger part of Central and Eastern Europe indigenous populations were responsible for the growth. Author Piskorski wrote that "insofar as it is possible to draw conclusions from the less than rich medieval source material, it appears that at least in some East Central European territories the population increased significantly. It is however possible to contest to what extent this was a direct result of migration and how far it
14595-659: The late 14th and early 15th centuries' settlement slowed down, due to numerous factors such as the Black Plague in Germany , and the Hussite Wars . The Teutonic State was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade , Prussian Crusade and in general the Northern Crusades in the territories of Prussia , Pomerelia and Livonia . It was established on February 2, 1207 as a principality of
14734-490: The medieval settlement processes essentially prevails until today. Flemish and Dutch settlers were among the first to immigrate to Mecklenburg at the beginning of the 12th century. In the following years, they moved further east to Pomerania and Silesia and in the south to Hungary, motivated by the lack of settlement areas in their already largely developed home areas and several flood disasters and famines. Experienced and skilled hydraulic engineers, they were in high demand at
14873-479: The most prominent supporters of settlement included William IV who had purchased small amounts of land on the frontier of Pomerania, and Wichmann von Seeburg . In 1152 the large numbers of Flemish and Dutch people were introduced to the unoccupied and uncultivated marshlands just east of Magdeburg near the Havel . They founded the cities of Fläming and Jüterbog . Henry the Lion also settled Mecklenburg with
15012-414: The nobility. In 1224, Andrew II signed a charter laying out the duties and rights of the Germans in the kingdom. The king defined their duties such as the payment of tax, military service, and housing of the king and his officials. In exchange, they were able to elect their priests and officials independently and their merchants were exempt from customs duties. Their markets were also not taxed. No outsider
15151-583: The north and the Empire from the west, eager to reestablish her marches. The area remained under rule of the Polabian tribes and uncolonized and unchristianized into the 12th century. The territories (from north to south): The Sorbian March east of the Saale river was established in the 9th century. King Otto I designated a larger area – the Saxon Eastern March – in 937, that encompassed
15290-852: The northeastern parts of the Lutici lands. In 1124 and 1128, Wartislaw I, Duke of Pomerania , at that time a vassal of Poland, invited bishop Otto of Bamberg to Christianize the Pomeranians and Liutizians of his duchy. In 1147, as a campaign of the Northern Crusades , the Wendish Crusade was mounted in the Duchy of Saxony to retake the marches lost in 983. The crusaders also headed for Pomeranian Demmin and Szczecin , despite these areas having already been successfully Christianized. The Crusade caused widespread devastation and slaughter. This created ideal conditions for German settlement, some of
15429-465: 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
15568-715: The peripheral regions of the Empire. There is no doubt that there were "rather numerous German settlers" in Eastern Central who were responsible for bringing German law in the earliest stages of the colonization. Other settlers included Walloons, Jews, Dutch, Flemish, and later Poles, especially in the territory of modern Ukraine. The migration of the Walser in the territory of present-day Switzerland to areas that had formerly been inhabited by Romans . The Walser settlers left their homes in Valais and founded villages in
15707-801: 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
15846-466: The regional climates and wood was plentiful in the continental regions. The German settlers, mainly from Franconia and Thuringia, who advanced into the area in the 13th century, brought with them the half-timbering style, which was already known to the Germanic peoples, as a wood-saving, solid and stable construction method, that allowed multi-storey buildings. A combination of the two construction methods
15985-427: The settlements of the as yet undeveloped areas east of the Elbe. The land was drained by creating a network-like structure of smaller drainage ditches that drained the water in main ditches. Roads connecting the settlers' individual farms ran along these main trenches. Dutch settlers were recruited by the local rulers in large numbers, especially during the second half of the 12th century. In 1159/60, for example, Albert
16124-641: The settlers came from the Rhineland region. The Teutonic Order established numerous Castles, and other holdings near populated places such as Kaliningrad to consolidate the conquered lands. While East Prussia was heavily settled and Germanized, Livonia still had a very small German population, because there were no attempts to settle inland. The Germans in Livonia were mainly employees of the Teutonic Order there for administrative purposes, or merchants of
16263-454: The settlers than from the Wends, although settlers were partly exempted from tax payments during the first years after settlement establishment. The development of Germania Slavica was also associated with the establishment of towns. There already existed Slavic castle towns, in which merchant quarters formed suburbs at fortified strongholds (grads). Wendish-Scandinavian merchants founded manufacturing and trading settlements (emporia) at
16402-591: The south. The Margravate of Meissen and Transylvania were populated by German settlers, beginning in the 12th century. From the end of the 12th century onwards, monasteries and cities were established in Pomerania, Brandenburg, Silesia, Bohemia, Moravia and eastern Austria. In the Baltics, the Teutonic Order founded a crusader state in the beginning of the 13th century. A call for a crusade against
16541-587: The southern edge, East Franks the middle edge, and Saxon miners the northern edge, notably the Erzgebirge . Unlike in Mecklenburg , Pomerania , Brandenburg , and Silesia , the German settlement was not as heavy, nor were many Czechs assimilated like in Eastern Germany. As German influence grew, with greater numbers of Settlers arriving each year, Soběslav II felt it was necessary to protect
16680-413: The status of free peasants. In 1149, Géza II invited German settlers to Southern Transylvania. Written records call them "Flamands", "Teutons", and "Latins". The term "Saxons" appeared in 1206, and became the official term for local Germans in 1231. The term represented legal status rather than nationality. The Transylvanian Saxons have diverse origins, their pottery, art, and liturgy were not uniform. In
16819-469: 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
16958-530: The territory between the Elbe , the Oder and the Peene rivers. Governed by Margrave Gero , it is also referred to as Marca Geronis . After Gero's death in 965, the march was divided in smaller sectors: Northern March , Lusatian March , Margraviate of Meissen , and March of Zeitz . The march was populated by various West Slavic tribes, the largest being Polabian Slavs tribes in the north and Sorbian tribes in
17097-691: 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
17236-582: The upkeep of local infrastructure. In 1219, Litoměřice ( German : Leitmeritz ), was the first German town to be given the privileges of the Magdeburg Laws in Bohemia. During the 13th-14th century, as much as 1 out of every 6th German settlers was going to Bohemia, while this is lower than in Upper Saxony , Lusatia , and Lower Silesia , It's still a substantial number. Eventually, during
17375-703: The uplands of the Alp valleys (in the north of Italy and in the Grisons ). The Medieval Warm Period , which began in the 11th century resulted in higher average temperatures in Central Europe. Additional technical progress in agriculture, for example through the construction of mills, Three-field farming and increased cultivation of grain (graining) led to general population increase. The new settlers not only brought their customs and language with them, but also new technical skills and equipment that were adapted within
17514-590: 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
17653-601: 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
17792-418: 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
17931-445: The word "aber" (but) is pronounced as "awer". The Thuringian dialect has advanced beyond the stage of basilect . Grouping according to German dialectology : Another way to subdivide it is: Ostsiedlung Ostsiedlung ( German pronunciation: [ˈɔstˌziːdlʊŋ] , lit. ' East settlement ' ) is the term for the Early Medieval and High Medieval migration of ethnic Germans and Germanization of
18070-432: 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
18209-418: Was allowed to receive villages or estates in German land where only the monarch and the Count of Hermannstadt had jurisdiction. Political and military events were greatly influenced by a massive population increase throughout Europe in the High Middle Ages. From the 11th to the 13th centuries, the population in the kingdom of Germany increased from about four to twelve million inhabitants. During this time,
18348-469: Was caused by the successful settlement of modern day Northeastern Germany . The mountainous area settled first was the Eger Valley , partially due to its southern edges coming under the control of Diepold III who was an ally of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa . Furthermore, the Monastery of Waldsassen owned extensive land in the Eger Valley. The first German villages were Penerit and Neudorf, both founded in 1196. Bavarians and Austrians settled
18487-403: 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
18626-423: Was difficult because the horizontally stacked wood of the log room expands differently in height than the vertical posts of the framework. The result was the new type of half-timbered house with a timber frame around the ground floor block, capable to support a second floor, which was made of half-timber. The Ostsiedlung followed an immediate rapid population growth throughout Central and Eastern Europe . During
18765-444: Was due to increased agricultural productivity and the gathering pace of urbanization." In contrast to Western Europe , this increased population was largely spared by the 14th-century Black Death pandemic . With the German settlers new systems of taxation arrived. While the existing Wendish tithe was a fixed tax depending on village size, the German tithe depended on the actual crop yield. Thus higher taxes were collected from
18904-527: Was promoted, and soon these cereals became the most important type of grain. Farmers who used mouldboard ploughs were required to pay double tax fees. Potters were among the first group of artisans who also settled in the rural areas. Typical Slavic ceramics were the Flat-bottom vessels. With the influx of western settlers, new vessel shapes such as the rounded jar were introduced, inclusive hard-fired processes, that improved ceramics quality. This type of ceramics, known as Hard Grayware , became widespread east of
19043-654: 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,
19182-600: 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
19321-586: 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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