HOME HISTORY JULY 8TH, 2013

[Old NCERT World History ch10] First World War: Causes,Consequences, Treaty of Versailles, Triple Alliance

The First World WarImperialist RivalriesConflicts within EuropeFormation of AlliancesIncidents Preceding the WarThe Outbreak of WarThe Course of the WarEnd of the WarPeace TreatiesConsequences of the War and the Peace TreatiesEXERCISES

UPSC has included World History in General studies (Mains) syllabus from 2013. Hence OldNCERT, particularly Chapter 9 to 13 from Class 10= becomes necessary as the‘foundation/base material’ for the topics of World History. But for non-Delhi candidates, itis almost impossible to get that book, because NCERT changed syllabus, hence book is nolonger printed. Therefore I’m uploading the chapters one by one. And, just because thesechapters are uploaded, doesn’t mean I’m stopping my Jack Sparrow series on [WorldHistory], it will continue at its own pace.

The First World War

IN 1914, a war began in Europe which soon engulfed almost the entire world. The damagecaused by this war had no precedent in history. In the earlier wars, the civilian populationswere not generally involved and the casualties were generally confined to the warringarmies. The war which began in 1914 was a total war in which all the resources of thewarring states were mobilized. It affected the economy of the entire world the casualtiessuffered by the civilian population from bombing of the civilian areas and the famines andepidemics, caused by the war far exceeded those suffered by the armies. In its impactalso, the war had no precedent. It marked a turning point in world history. The battles ofthe war were fought in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Because of the unprecedentedextent of its spread and its total nature, it is known as the First World War.

Imperialist Rivalries

The underlying causes of the war were the rivalries and conflicts among the imperialistcountries. You have seen before, in Chapter 9, that the imperialist conquest of Asia andAfrica was accompanied with conflicts between the imperialist countries. Sometimes theimperialists were able to come to ‘peaceful settlements’ and agree to divide a part of Asiaor Africa among themselves without resorting to the use of force against each other. Atother times their rivalries created situations of war. Wars were generally avoided at thattime because the possibilities of further conquest were still there. If an imperialist country

was excluded from a certain area, it could find some other area to conquer. Sometimeswars did break out between imperialist countries as happened, for instance, betweenJapan and Russia. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, the situation hadchanged. Most of Asia and Africa had already been divided up and further conquests couldtake place only by dispossessing some imperialist country of its colonies. So in the periodbeginning from the last decade of the nineteenth century, imperialist rivalries resulted inattempts to redivide the world, creating conditions of war.

You have read before that Germany entered the scramble for colonies late. After theunification of Germany had been achieved, it made tremendous economic progress. By1914, it had left Britain and France far behind in the production of iron and steel and inmany manufactures. It had entered the shipping trade in a big way. One of its ships, theImperator, built in 1912, was the largest in the world. Both Britain and France werealarmed at the expansion of German manufactures as they considered it a serious threatto their position. You have seen that Germany could not grab many colonies, havingarrived late on the scene. Most of Asia and Africa had already been occupied by the olderimperialist powers. The German imperialists, therefore, dreamed of expanding in the east.Their ambition was to control the economy of the declining Ottoman empire. For thispurpose, they had planned the construction of a railway from Berlin to Baghdad. This plancreated a fear in Britain, France and Russia as the completion of the Berlin-Baghdadrailway would endanger their imperialist ambitions in the Ottoman empire. The Germanshad imperialist ambitions elsewhere also, including in Africa.

Like Germany, all the major powers in Europe, and Japan also had their imperialistambitions. Italy, which after her unification had become almost an equal of France inpower, coveted Tripoli in North Africa which was under the Ottoman empire. She hadalready occupied Eritrea and Somaliland. France wanted to add Morocco to her conquestsin Africa. Russia had her ambitions in Iran, the territories of the Ottoman empire includingConstantinople, the Far East and elsewhere. The Russian plans clashed with the interestsand ambitions of Britain, Germany and Austria. Japan which had also become animperialist power had ambitions in the Far East and was on way to fulfilling them. Shedefeated Russia in 190405 after having signed an agreement with Britain and was able toextend her influence in the Far East.

Britain was involved in a conflict with all other imperialist countries because she hadalready acquired a vast empire which was to be defended. The rise of any other countrywas considered a danger to the British empire. She also had her vast international tradeto defend against the competition from other countries, and to maintain her control overwhat she considered the lifeline of her empire. Austria had her ambitions in the Ottomanempire The United States of America had emerged as a powerful nation by the end of thenineteenth century She had annexed the Philippines Her main interest was to preservethe independence of trade as her trade was expanding at a tremendous rate Theexpansion of other major powers’ influence was considered a threat to American interests.

Conflicts within Europe

Besides the conflicts resulting from rivalries over colonies and trade, there were conflictsamong the major European powers over certain developments within Europe. There weresix major powers in Europe at this time—Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia,France and Italy. One of the questions with which almost all these countries got involved

concerned the countries comprising the Balkan peninsula in Europe. The Balkan countrieshad been under the rule of Ottoman Turks. However, in the nineteenth century, theOttoman rule had begun to collapse. There were revolts by various nationalities forindependence. The Russian Czars hoped that these areas would come under their controlonce the Ottomans were ousted from there. They encouraged a movement called the Pan-Slav movement which was based on the theory that all the Slays of eastern Europe wereone people. Many

areas in Austria-Hungary were inhabited by the Slays Russia, therefore, encouragedmovements both against the Ottoman empire and Austria-Hungary The major Balkancountry, Serbia, led the movement for uniting the areas inhabited by the Slavs in theOttoman empire as well as in Austria-Hungary . The Serbian nationalism was encouragedby Russia. Other major European powers were alarmed at the growth of Russian influencein the Balkans, They wanted to check the Russian influence, while Austria Hungary hadplans of expansion in this area.

Corresponding to the Pan-Slav movement, there was a PanGerman movement whichaimed at the expansion of Germany all over central Europe and in the Balkans. Italyclaimed certain areas which were under Austrian rule. France hoped to recover not onlyAlsace Lorraine which she had lost to Germany in 1871 but also to wreak vengeance onGermany for the humiliating defeat that she had suffered in the war with Germany in187071.

Formation of Alliances

The conflicts within Europe and the conflicts over colonies mentioned earlier had begun tocreate a very tense situation in Europe from the last decade of the nineteenth century.European countries began to form themselves into opposing groups. They also startedspending vast sums of money to increase the size of their armies and navies, to developnew and more deadly weapons, and to generally prepare themselves for war, Europe Wasgradually becoming a vast armed camp Simultaneously, propaganda for war, to breedhatred against other countries, to paint one’s own country as superior to others, and toglorify war, was started in each country.

There were, of course, people who raised their voice against the danger of war andagainst militarization. You have read of the attitude of the Second International and thevarious socialist parties. But soon all these voices were to be drowned in the drumbeats ofwar

The opposing groups of countries of alliances that were formed in Europe not only addedto the danger of war, but also made it inevitable that when the war broke out it wouldassume a worldwide magnitude. European countries had been forming and reformingalliances since the nineteenth century. Finally, in the first decade of the twentieth century,two groups of countries or alliances, emerged and faced each other with their armedmight In 1882 was formed the Triple Alliance comprising Germany, Austria-Hungary andItaly. However, Italy’s loyalty to this Alliance was uncertain as her main aim was to gainterritories in Europe from Austria-Hungary and in conquering Tripoli with French supportAs opposed to this, emerged the Triple Entente comprising France, Russia and Britain in1907. In theory it was only a loose group based on mutual understanding as the word‘Entente’ (meaning ‘an understanding’ indicates. The emergence of these two hostile

camps made it inevitable that a conflict involving any one of these countries wouldbecome an all-European war. As the aims of the countries in these camps included theextension of their colonial possessions, an all-European war almost certainly wouldbecome a world war. The formation of these hostile camps was accompanied with a raceto build more and more deadly weapons and have larger and larger armies and navies.

A series of crises took place during the years preceding the war. These crises added to thebitterness and tension in Europe and engendered national chauvinism European countriesalso entered into secret treaties to gain territories at the expense of others. Often, thesesecret treaties leaked out and fear and suspicion grew in each country about suchtreaties. These fears and suspicions brought the danger of war near.

Incidents Preceding the War

The outbreak of the war was preceded by a series of incidents which added to theprevailing tension and ultimately led to the war. One of these was the clash over Morocco.In 1904 Britain and France had entered into a secret agreement according to which Britainwas to have a free hand in Egypt, and France was to take over Morocco. The agreementbecame known to Germany and aroused her indignation. The German emperor went toMorocco and promised the Sultan of Morocco his full support for the independence ofMorocco. The antagonism over Morocco, it appeared, would lead to a war. However, thewar was averted when in 1911 France occupied most of Morocco and, in exchange, gave

Germany a part of French Congo. Even though the war had been averted, the situation inEurope, with each country preparing for war, had become dangerous.

The other incidents which worsened the already dangerous situation in Europe occurred inthe Balkans. In 1908 Austria annexed the Ottoman provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.These provinces were also coveted by Serbia which had the backing of Russia inestablishing a united Slav state in the Balkans. Russia threatened to start a war againstAustrian annexation but Germany’s open support to Austria compelled Russia to retreat.The incident, however, not only embittered feelings in Serbia but also created furtherenmity between Russia and Germany. The situation in Europe had become even moretense.

The crisis resulting from the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria wasfollowed by Balkan wars in 1912, four Balkan countries — Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegroand Greece —started a war against the Turks. As a result of this war, Turkey lost almost allher possessions in Europe However, the Balkan countries fought another war over thequestion of distributing the former Turkish territory among themselves. Finally, Austriasucceeded in making Albania, which had been claimed by Serbia, as an independentstate. The frustration of Serbia’s ambitions further embittered her feelings against Austria.These incidents brought Europe on the verge of war.

The Outbreak of War

The war was precipitated by an incident which would not have created much stir if Europehad not stood divided into two hostile armed camps, preparing for war for many years On28 june 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary , wasassassinated at Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia. (Bosnia, it may be recalled, had been annexedby Austria only a few years earlier.) Austria saw the hand of Serbia behind theassassination and served her with an ultimatum. Serbia refused to accept one of thedemands of the ultimatum which went against the independence of Serbia On 28 July1914 Austria declared war on Serbia. Russia had promised full support to Serbia andstarted full scale preparations for war. On 1 August, Germany declared war on Russia andon 3 August on France. German troops marched into Belgium to press on to France on 4August and on the same day Britain declared war on Germany.

Many other countries soon entered the war. Japan declared war on Germany with a viewto capturing German colonies in the Far East, Turkey and Bulgaria joined on the side ofGermany Italy, in spite of her membership of the Triple Alliance, remained neutral forsome time, and joined the war against Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1915.

The Course of the War

Germany had hoped that through a lightning strike through Belgium, she would be able todefeat France within a few weeks and then turn against Russia. The plan seemed tosucceed for a while and the German troops were within 20 km of Paris. Russia had openedattacks on Germany and Austria and some German troops had to be diverted to theeastern front. Soon the German advance on France was halted and the war in Europeentered a long period of stalemate. In the meantime the war had spread to many otherparts of the world and battles were fought in West Asia, Africa and the Far East.

After the German advance had been halted, a new type of warfare developed. The warringarmies dug trenches from which they conducted raids on each other. The kind of warfarethat the armies were used to earlier — fighting in the open almost disappeared. On theWestern Front, which included eastern France and Belgium, the troops of the warring sidesdug trenches and continued their raids on each other’s positions. For about four years,neither side could dislodge the other. The European countries made use of the troopsrecruited from their colonies in the war. Labour from colonies was also used to digtrenches in Europe. On the Eastern Front, Germany and Austria succeeded in repulsing theRussian attack and capturing parts of the Russian empire. They were also successfulagainst Rumania, Serbia and Italy. Outside Europe, there were campaigns against theOttoman empire in Palestine, Mesopotamia and Arabia and against Germany and Turkey inIran where they were trying to establish their influence. Japan occupied Germanpossessions in East Asia, and Britain and France seized most of the German colonies inAfrica.

A large number of new weapons were introduced. The machine gun and liquid fire weretwo such weapons. For the first time, aircrafts were used in warfare and for bombing thecivilian population. The British introduced the use of the tank which was to become amajor weapon later. Both the warring groups tried to block each other’s supplies of food,manufactures and arms and the sea warfare played an important part in this Submarinescalled Uboats were used by Germany on a large scale not only to destroy enemy ships butalso ships of neutral countries heading for British ports. Another horrible weapon used inthe war was poison gas. The war dragged on, taking a toll of hundreds of thousands ofhuman lives.

On 6 April 1917, the United States of America declared war on Germany. USA had becomethe main source of arms and other essential supplies for the Entente countries. In 1915,the German UBoats had sunk a British ship Lusitania. Among the 1153 passengers killedwere 128 Americans. The Americans were generally sympathetic to Britain, and thisincident further roused antiGerman feelings in USA. Economic considerations had turnedthem even more in favour of the Entente countries. These countries had raised vastamounts of loans in USA to pay for the arms and other goods bought by them. ManyAmericans had subscribed to these loans which could be paid back only, if these countrieswon the war. There was also a fear that if Germany won the war, she would become aserious rival to USA. The sinking of ships, including American ships carrying Americancitizens, by the German Uboats finally led USA to join the war.

Another major development that took place in 1917 was the withdrawal of Russia from thewar after October Revolution. The Russian revolutionaries had opposed the war from thebeginning and, under the leadership of Lenin, had decided to transform it into arevolutionary war to overthrow the Russian autocracy and to seize power. The Russianempire had suffered serious reverses in the war. Over 600,000 Russian soldiers had beenkilled. The day after theBolshevik government came to power, it issued the Decree onPeace with proposals to end the war without any annexations and indemnities. Russiadecided to withdraw from the war and signed a peace treaty with Germany in March 1918.Realizing that the Russian government was not prepared to continue the war, Germanyimposed terms which were very harsh on Germany used submarines, called U-Boats,during the First World War Russia. But the Russian government accepted these terms. TheEntente powers which were opposed to the revolution in Russia and to the Russianwithdrawal from the war started their armed intervention in Russia in support of the

elements which were opposed to the revolution. This led to a civil war which lasted forthree years and ended with the defeat of foreign intervention and of those Russians whohad taken up arms against the revolutionary government.

End of the War

Many efforts were made to bring the war to an end. In early 1917, a few socialist partiesproposed the convening of an international socialist conference to draft proposals forending the war without annexations and recognition of the right of peoples to self-determination. However, the conference could not be held. The proposal of the Bolshevikgovernment in Russia to conclude a peace “without annexations and indemnities, on thebasis of the self-determination of peoples” was welcomed by many people in the countrieswhich were at war. However, these proposals were rejected. The Pope also madeproposals for peace but these too were not taken seriously. Though these efforts to endthe war did not get any positive response from the governments of the warring countries,antiwar feelings grew among the people. There was widespread unrest and disturbancesand even mutinies began to break out. In some countries, following the success of theRussian Revolution, the unrest was soon to take the form of uprisings to overthrow thegovernments.

In January 1918, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, proposed a peaceprogramme. This has become famous as President Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Theseincluded the conduct of neotiations between states openly, freedom of navigation,reduction of armaments, independence of Belgium, restoration of Alsace Lorraine toFrance, creation of independent states in Europe, formation of an internationalorganization to guarantee the independence of all states, etc. Some of these points wereaccepted when the peace treaties were signed at the end of the war

Britain, France and USA launched a military offensive in July 1918 and Germany and herallies began to collapse. Bulgaria withdrew from the war in September, and Turkeysurrendered in October.

Political discontent had been rising in Austria-Hungary and Germany. The emperor ofAustria-Hungary surrendered on 3 November. In Germany revolution broke out. Germanybecame a republic and the German emperor Kaiser William II fled to Holland. The newGerman government signed an armistice on 11 November 1918 and the war was over.The news was received with tremendous Jubilation all over the world.

Peace Treaties

The victorious powers or the Allies, as they were called, met in a conference first inVersailles, a suburb of Paris, and later in Paris, between January and June 1919. Thoughthe number of countries represented at the conference was 27, the terms of the peacetreaties were really decided by three countries — Britain, France and USA. The threepersons who played the determining role in framing the terms of the treaties wereWoodrow Wilson, President of the United States, Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Britain,and George Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France. The defeated countries were notrepresented at the conference. The victorious powers also excluded Russia from theconference. The terms of the treaty were thus not the result of negotiations between thedefeated and the victorious powers but were imposed on the defeated by the victors.

The main treaty was signed with Germany on 28 June 1919. It is called the Treaty ofVersailles. The republican government of Germany was compelled to sign this treatyunder the threat of invasion. The treaty declared Germany and her allies guilty ofaggression. AlsaceLorraine was returned to France. The coal mines in the German areacalled Saar were ceded to France for 15 years while that area was to be governed by theLeague of Nations. Germany also ceded parts of her prewar territory to Denmark,Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The area of the Rhine valley was to be demilitarized.The treaty also contained provisions for disarming Germany. The strength of her army wasto be limited to 100,000 and she was required not to have any air force and submarinesShe was dispossessed of all her colonies which were taken over by the victors. Togo andthe Cameroon were divided and shared by Britain and France. German colonies inSouthWest Africa and East Africa were given to Britain, Belgium, South Africa andPortugal. German colonies in the Pacific and the spheres under her control in China weregiven to Japan China was aligned with the Allies during the war and was even representedat the Paris Conference. But her areas under German possession of control were notrestored to China; instead they were given away to Japan. Germany was also required topay for the loss and damages suffered by the Allies during the war. The amount ofreparations was fixed at an enormous figure of $6,500,000,000.

Separate treaties were signed with the allies of Germany. Austria-Hungary was broken upand Austria was required to recognize the independence of Hungary, Czechoslovakia,Yugoslavia and Poland. She had to cede territories to them and to Italy. Many changeswere made in the Balkans where new states were created and transfers of territories fromone state to another took place Baltic states which earlier formed parts of the Russianempire were made independent. The treaty with Turkey stipulated the completedismemberment of the Ottoman empire Britain was given Palestine and Mesopotamia(Iraq) and Syria went to France as what were called ‘mandates’. In theory, the‘mandatory’ powers, that is Britain and France, were to look after the interests of thepeople of the ‘mandates’ but actually they were governed as colonies. Most of theremaining Turkish territories were to be given to Greece and Italy and Turkey was to bereduced to a very small state. However, there was a revolution in Turkey under theleadership of Mustapha Kemal. The Sultan was deposed and Turkey was proclaimed arepublic in 1922. Turkey regained control of Asia Minor and the city of Constantinople(Istanbul) and the Allies were forced to abandon the earlier treaty.

An important part of the peace treaties was the Covenant of the League of Nations.Wilson’s Fourteen Points included the creation of an international organization for thepreservation of peace and to guarantee the independence of all states. The League ofNations was created. It was intended as a world organization of all independent states. Itaimed at the preservation of peace and security and peaceful settlement of internationalconflicts, and bound its members ‘ not to resort to war’ One of its important provisionswas with regard to sanctions. According to this provision, economic and military actionwould be taken against any country which committed aggression. It also bound itsmembers to improve labour and social conditions in their countries. For this theInternational Labour Organization was set up which is now one of the specialized agenciesof the United Nations.

The hopes of having a truly world organization devoted to the preservation of peace andindependence of nations were, however, not realized with the formation of the League.Two major countries – Germany and the Soviet Union — were not allowed to become its

members for many years while India, which was not independent, was made a member.The United States which had played an important part in the setting up of the Leagueultimately decided not to join it. The League was never an effective organization. In the1930s when many countries resorted to aggression, the League was either ignored ordefied

An important feature of the peace treaties which indicates its nature was the decision withregard to the colonies of the defeated powers. The Allies had entered into many secretagreements for dividing the spoils of war The Soviet government, to bring out theimperialist nature of the war, made these treaties public. During the war, the Allies hadbeen claiming that the war was being fought for freedom and democracy. President Wilsonhad said that the war was being fought “to make the world safe for democracy”. Thepublication of secret treaties by the Soviet government exposed these claims. However, inspite of this, the distribution of the colonies of the defeated countries among the victorstook place as has been mentioned before. Of course, the Soviet Union which hadrepudiated all the secret agreements did not receive any spoils which had been promisedto the Russian emperor. The League of Nations also recognised this division of the spoils.Legally most of the colonies which were transferred to the victorious powers were‘mandates’ and could not be annexed.

Consequences of the War and the Peace Treaties

The First World War was the most frightful war that the world had so far seen. Thedevastation caused by it, as stated earlier, had no precedent. The number of persons whofought in the war is staggering. Estimates vary between 53 and 70 million people. Thetotal number of those killed and dead in the war are estimated at about nine million, thatis, about one seventh of those who participated in it. Several million became invalids. Theair raids, epidemics and famines killed many more among the civilian populations.Besides these terrible human losses, the economy of many countries was shattered. Itgave rise to many serious social problems. The political institutions as they had beenevolving in various countries also suffered a serious setback

The war and the peace treaties transformed the political map of the world, particularly ofEurope. Three ruling dynasties were destroyed — the Romanov in Russia during the waritself, the Hohenzollern in Germany and the Habsburg in Austria-Hungary. Soon after thewar, the rule of Ottomans came to an end in Turkey. Austria and Hungary becameseparate independent states. Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia emerged as independentstates. Poland which had been divided among Russia, Austria and Prussia in theeighteenth century was reformed as an independent state.

The period after the war saw the war saw the beginning of the end of the Europeansupremacy in the world. Economically and militarily, Europe was surpassed by the UnitedStates which emerged from the war as a world power The Soviet Union was also to sooncome up as a major world power. The period after the war also saw the strengthening ofthe freedom movements in Asia and Africa. The weakening of Europe and the emergenceof the Soviet Union which declared her support to the struggles for national independencecontributed to the growing strength of these struggles. The Allied propaganda during thewar to defend democracy, and the participation of Asian and African soldier in the battlesin Europe also helped in arousing the peoples of Asia and Africa. The European countrieshad utilized the resources of their colonies in the war. The forced recruitment of soldiers

and labourers for war, and the exploitation of resources of the colonies for war by theimperialist countries had created resentment among the people of the colonies. Thepopulation of the colonial countries had been nurtured on the myth that the peoples ofAsia and Africa were inferior to the Europeans. The role played by the soldiers from Asiaand Africa in winning the war for one group of nations of Europe against another shatteredthis myth. Many Asian leaders had supported the war effort in the hope that, once the warwas over, their countries would be given freedom. These hopes were, however, belied.While the European nations won the right to self-determination, colonial rule andexploitation continued in the countries of Asia and Africa.

The contrast between the two situations was too glaring to be missed. Its increasingawareness led to the growth of nationalist feelings in the colonies. The soldiers whoreturned to their respective countries from the theatres of war in Europe and elsewherealso brought with them the new stirrings. All these factors strengthened nationalistmovements in the colonies. In some countries, the first stirrings of nationalism were feltafter the war.

The First World War had been believed to be ‘a War to end all war’. However, the PeaceTreaties had failed to ensure this. On the contrary, the treaties contained certainprovisions which were extremely harsh on the defeated countries and thus they sowedthe seeds of further conflicts. Similarly, some victorious countries also felt cheatedbecause all their hopes had not been fulfilled. Imperialism was not destroyed as a result ofthe war. The victorious powers had in fact enlarged their possessions. The factors whichhad caused rivalries and conflicts between imperialist countries leading to the war stillexisted. Therefore, the danger that more wars would be fought for another ‘redvision’ ofthe world. remained lurking. The emergence of the Soviet Union was considered a dangerto the existing social and economic system in many countries. The desire to destroy itinfluenced the policies of those countries.

These factors, combined with certain developments that took place in the next twentyyears, created conditions for another world war.

EXERCISES1. Explain the basic reasons for the conflicts between European nations from the late

nineteenth century to the early years of the twentieth century.2. What were the countries comprising the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente?

What were the main aims of these groupings?3. What is meant by the Pan-Slav movement? Why did it add to the conflict between

Russia and Austria?4. Explain the reasons for the entry of the United States in the First World War.5. Why the war that broke out in 1914 is called the First World War?6. Explain the consequences of the First World War on Germany, Austria, Hungary and

Turkey7. What were the purposes for which the League of Nations was established?8. Why did Russia withdraw from the war after the 1917 Revolution?9. On a map of the world, show the areas in Asia and Africa which caused conflicts

among various European countries Also show the European countries whichemerged as independent states after the First World War.

10. How was the world ‘redivided’ among the victorious powers? Prepare a map toshow the territories which were taken over from the defeated countries by thevictorious countries.

11. Study the Fourteen Points of President Wilson and the peace treaties that weresigned after the war. Make a checklist to show which of the Fourteen Points werecovered by the peace tea ties and which were not.

12. How far were imperialist rivalries the basic cause of the First World War?13. Do you think the peace treaties laid the foundations of a just and stable peace?

Discuss.14. How is it that an otherwise minor incident led to the outbreak of a world war?

Discuss.