1.
Central Powers
–
The Central Powers, consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria – hence also known as the Quadruple Alliance – was one of the two main factions during World War I. It faced and was defeated by the Allied Powers that had formed around the Triple Entente, the Powers origin was the alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1879. The Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria did not join until after World War I had begun, the Central Powers consisted of the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the beginning of the war. The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers later in 1914, in 1915, the Kingdom of Bulgaria joined the alliance. The name Central Powers is derived from the location of these countries, finland, Azerbaijan, and Lithuania joined them in 1918 before the war ended and after the Russian Empire collapsed. When Russia enacted a general mobilization, Germany viewed the act as provocative, the Russian government promised Germany that its general mobilization did not mean preparation for war with Germany but was a reaction to the events between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. The German government regarded the Russian promise of no war with Germany to be nonsense in light of its general mobilization, and Germany, in turn, mobilized for war. On August 1, Germany sent an ultimatum to Russia stating that since both Germany and Russia were in a state of military mobilization, a state of war existed between the two countries. After Germany declared war on Russia, France with its alliance with Russia prepared a general mobilization in expectation of war, on 3 August 1914, Germany responded to this action by declaring war on France. This plan was hoped to gain victory against the French. Belgium was a country and would not accept German forces crossing its territory. Germany disregarded Belgian neutrality and invaded the country to launch an offensive towards Paris, europe Upon its founding in 1871, the German Empire controlled Alsace-Lorraine as an imperial territory incorporated from France after the Franco-Prussian War. It was held as part of Germanys sovereign territory, Africa Germany held multiple African colonies at the time of World War I. All of Germanys African colonies were invaded and occupied by Allied forces during the war, cameroon, German East Africa, and German Southwest Africa were German colonies in Africa. Togoland was a German protectorate in Africa, Asia The Kiautschou Bay concession was a German dependency in East Asia leased from China in 1898. It was occupied by Japanese forces following the Siege of Tsingtao, Pacific German New Guinea was a German protectorate in the Pacific. It was occupied by Australian forces in 1914, German Samoa was a German protectorate following the Tripartite Convention. It was occuiped by the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1914, Austria-Hungary regarded the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as being orchestrated with the assistance of Serbia
Central Powers
–
Leaders of the Central Powers (left to right):
Central Powers
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German soldiers in the battlefield in August 1914 on the Western Front shortly after the outbreak of war.
Central Powers
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German cavalry entering
Warsaw in 1915.
Central Powers
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German cruiser
SMS Seydlitz heavily damaged after the
Battle of Jutland.
2.
Triple Entente
–
Historians continue to debate the importance of the alliance system in igniting the Great War. At the start of World War I in 1914, all three Triple Entente members entered it as Allies of World War I against the Central Powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary. The situation in the Balkans and the 1878 Treaty of Berlin, in an attempt to stop Russia from allying with France, Bismarck signed the secret Reinsurance Treaty with Russia in 1887. It assured that both parties would remain neutral toward each other if war broke out, after the Reinsurance Treaty was not renewed in 1890, Russias leaders grew alarmed at the countrys diplomatic isolation and entered into the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894. In 1904 Britain and France signed a series of agreements, the Entente cordiale, the Entente heralded the end of British neutrality in Europe. It was partly a response to growing German antagonism, as expressed in the expansion of the Kaiserliche Marine into a fleet that could threaten the supremacy of the Royal Navy. The Entente, in contrast to the Triple Alliance or the Franco-Russian Alliance, was not an alliance of mutual defence, as British Foreign Office Official Eyre Crowe minuted, The fundamental fact of course is that the Entente is not an alliance. For purposes of ultimate emergencies it may be found to have no substance at all. For the Entente is nothing more than a frame of mind, in 1907 Britain and Russia signed an agreement called the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 to stop both countries rivalry in Central Asia, The Great Game. In the last decade of the century, Britain continued its policy of splendid isolation. However, by the early 1900s the German threat increased dramatically, some in Britain thought it was in need of allies. The Tangier Crisis later encouraged co-operation between the two countries from their fear of apparent German expansionism. Russia was defeated in the Russo-Japanese War, which resulted in concern over Russian imperialism. France was already allied to Russia in the Dual Alliance, Britain was frightened about the rising threat of German imperialism. Kaiser Wilhelm II had announced to the world his intentions to create a global German empire, Britain, traditionally having control of the seas, saw this as a serious threat to its own empire and navy. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, Prussia defeated the Second French Empire, in the Treaty of Frankfurt, Prussia forced France to cede Alsace-Lorraine to the new German Empire. Ever since, relations had been at an all time low, France, worried about the escalating military development of Germany, began building up its own war industries and army to deter to German aggression. As another measure, France developed a bond with Russia by ratifying the Franco-Russian Alliance
Triple Entente
–
A 1914 Russian poster in which the upper inscription reads "agreement". The uncertain
Britannia (right) and
Marianne (left) look to the determined
Mother Russia (centre) to lead them in the coming war.
Triple Entente
–
European military alliances prior to
World War I
3.
French Third Republic
–
It came to an end on 10 July 1940. Harsh reparations exacted by the Prussians after the war resulted in the loss of the French regions of Alsace and Lorraine, social upheaval, and the establishment of the Paris Commune. The early governments of the Third Republic considered re-establishing the monarchy, but confusion as to the nature of that monarchy, thus, the Third Republic, which was originally intended as a provisional government, instead became the permanent government of France. The French Constitutional Laws of 1875 defined the composition of the Third Republic and it consisted of a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate to form the legislative branch of government and a president to serve as head of state. The period from the start of World War I to the late 1930s featured sharply polarized politics, Adolphe Thiers called republicanism in the 1870s the form of government that divides France least, however, politics under the Third Republic were sharply polarized. On the left stood Reformist France, heir to the French Revolution, on the right stood conservative France, rooted in the peasantry, the Roman Catholic Church and the army. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 resulted in the defeat of France, after Napoleons capture by the Prussians at the Battle of Sedan, Parisian deputies led by Léon Gambetta established the Government of National Defence as a provisional government on 4 September 1870. The deputies then selected General Louis-Jules Trochu to serve as its president and this first government of the Third Republic ruled during the Siege of Paris. After the French surrender in January 1871, the provisional Government of National Defence disbanded, French territories occupied by Prussia at this time did not participate. The resulting conservative National Assembly elected Adolphe Thiers as head of a provisional government, due to the revolutionary and left-wing political climate that prevailed in the Parisian population, the right-wing government chose the royal palace of Versailles as its headquarters. The new government negotiated a settlement with the newly proclaimed German Empire. To prompt the Prussians to leave France, the government passed a variety of laws, such as the controversial Law of Maturities. The following repression of the communards would have consequences for the labor movement. The Orléanists supported a descendant of King Louis Philippe I, the cousin of Charles X who replaced him as the French monarch in 1830, his grandson Louis-Philippe, Comte de Paris. The Bonapartists were marginalized due to the defeat of Napoléon III and were unable to advance the candidacy of any member of his family, the Bonaparte family. Legitimists and Orléanists came to a compromise, eventually, whereby the childless Comte de Chambord would be recognised as king, consequently, in 1871 the throne was offered to the Comte de Chambord. Chambord believed the monarchy had to eliminate all traces of the Revolution in order to restore the unity between the monarchy and the nation, which the revolution had sundered apart. Compromise on this was if the nation were to be made whole again
French Third Republic
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A French propaganda poster from 1917 is captioned with an 18th century quote: "Even in 1788, Mirabeau was saying that War is the National Industry of Prussia."
French Third Republic
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Flag
French Third Republic
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The
Sacré-Cœur Basilica was built as a symbol of the Ordre Moral.
French Third Republic
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In France, children were taught in school not to forget the lost provinces of
Alsace-Lorraine, which were coloured in black on maps.
4.
United Kingdom
–
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
United Kingdom
–
Stonehenge, in
Wiltshire, was erected around 2500 BC.
United Kingdom
–
Flag
United Kingdom
–
The
Bayeux Tapestry depicts the
Battle of Hastings, 1066, and the events leading to it.
United Kingdom
–
The
Treaty of Union led to a single united kingdom encompassing all Great Britain.
5.
British Empire
–
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It originated with the possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the population at the time. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread, during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France, the independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after the American War of Independence caused Britain to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, after the defeat of France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century. In the early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution began to transform Britain, the British Empire expanded to include India, large parts of Africa and many other territories throughout the world. In Britain, political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies, during the 19th Century, Britains population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation, which caused significant social and economic stresses. To seek new markets and sources of raw materials, the Conservative Party under Benjamin Disraeli launched a period of imperialist expansion in Egypt, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand became self-governing dominions. By the start of the 20th century, Germany and the United States had begun to challenge Britains economic lead, subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on the military, financial and manpower resources of Britain, although the British Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after World War I, Britain was no longer the worlds pre-eminent industrial or military power. In the Second World War, Britains colonies in Southeast Asia were occupied by Imperial Japan, despite the final victory of Britain and its allies, the damage to British prestige helped to accelerate the decline of the empire. India, Britains most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence as part of a larger movement in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire, fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Kingdom is now one of 16 Commonwealth nations, a grouping known informally as the Commonwealth realms, that share a monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. In 1496, King Henry VII of England, following the successes of Spain and Portugal in overseas exploration, Cabot led another voyage to the Americas the following year but nothing was ever heard of his ships again
British Empire
–
A replica of The Matthew,
John Cabot 's ship used for his second voyage to the
New World.
British Empire
–
Flag
British Empire
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African slaves working in 17th-century
Virginia, by an unknown artist, 1670.
British Empire
–
Fort St. George was founded at
Madras in 1639.
6.
Russian Empire
–
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived February Revolution in 1917. One of the largest empires in history, stretching over three continents, the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires. The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring powers, the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Persia. It played a role in 1812–14 in defeating Napoleons ambitions to control Europe. The House of Romanov ruled the Russian Empire from 1721 until 1762, and its German-descended cadet branch, with 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third-largest population in the world at the time, after Qing China and India. Like all empires, it included a large disparity in terms of economics, ethnicity, there were numerous dissident elements, who launched numerous rebellions and assassination attempts, they were closely watched by the secret police, with thousands exiled to Siberia. Economically, the empire had an agricultural base, with low productivity on large estates worked by serfs. The economy slowly industrialized with the help of foreign investments in railways, the land was ruled by a nobility from the 10th through the 17th centuries, and subsequently by an emperor. Tsar Ivan III laid the groundwork for the empire that later emerged and he tripled the territory of his state, ended the dominance of the Golden Horde, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, and laid the foundations of the Russian state. Tsar Peter the Great fought numerous wars and expanded an already huge empire into a major European power, Catherine the Great presided over a golden age. She expanded the state by conquest, colonization and diplomacy, continuing Peter the Greats policy of modernisation along West European lines, Tsar Alexander II promoted numerous reforms, most dramatically the emancipation of all 23 million serfs in 1861. His policy in Eastern Europe involved protecting the Orthodox Christians under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and that connection by 1914 led to Russias entry into the First World War on the side of France, Britain, and Serbia, against the German, Austrian and Ottoman empires. The Russian Empire functioned as a monarchy until the Revolution of 1905. The empire collapsed during the February Revolution of 1917, largely as a result of failures in its participation in the First World War. Perhaps the latter was done to make Europe recognize Russia as more of a European country, Poland was divided in the 1790-1815 era, with much of the land and population going to Russia. Most of the 19th century growth came from adding territory in Asia, Peter I the Great introduced autocracy in Russia and played a major role in introducing his country to the European state system. However, this vast land had a population of 14 million, grain yields trailed behind those of agriculture in the West, compelling nearly the entire population to farm. Only a small percentage lived in towns, the class of kholops, close to the one of slavery, remained a major institution in Russia until 1723, when Peter I converted household kholops into house serfs, thus including them in poll taxation
Russian Empire
–
Peter the Great officially renamed the Tsardom of Russia the Russian Empire in 1721, and himself its first emperor. He instituted the
sweeping reforms and oversaw the transformation of Russia into a major European power.
Russian Empire
–
Flag
Russian Empire
–
Empress
Catherine the Great, who reigned from 1762 to 1796, continued the empire's expansion and modernization. Considering herself an
enlightened absolutist, she played a key role in the
Russian Enlightenment.
Russian Empire
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Catherine II Sestroretsk Rouble (1771) is made of solid copper measuring 77 millimetres (3 3 ⁄ 100 in) (diameter), 26 millimetres (1 1 ⁄ 50 in) (thickness), and weighs 1.022 kg (2.25 lb). It is the largest copper coin ever issued.
7.
Kingdom of Serbia
–
Since 1817 the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynasty. The Principality, suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, de facto achieved independence when the last Ottoman troops left Belgrade in 1867. In 1882 King Milan I proclaimed the Kingdom of Serbia and maintained a foreign policy friendly to Austria-Hungary, between 1912 and 1913 Serbia greatly enlarged its territory through engagement in the First and Second Balkan Wars - Sandžak-Raška, Kosovo Vilayet and Vardar Macedonia were annexed. As outcome of the World War I in 1918 it united with Vojvodina, the Principality of Serbia was a state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian revolution which lasted between 1804 and 1817. At first, the principality included only the territory of the former Pashaluk of Belgrade, but in 1831-1833 it expanded to the east, south, in 1867 the Ottoman army left the Principality, securing its de facto independence. Serbia expanded further to the south-east in 1878, when it won international recognition at the Congress of Berlin. In 1882 it was raised to the level of the Kingdom of Serbia, the Serbo-Bulgarian War erupted on November 14,1885 and lasted until November 28 of the same year. The war ended in defeat for Serbia, as it had failed to capture the Slivnitsa region which it had set out to achieve. Bulgarians successfully repelled the Serbs after the victory at the Battle of Slivnitsa and advanced into Serbian territory taking Pirot. When Austria-Hungary declared that it would join the war on the side of Serbia, Bulgaria withdrew from Serbia leaving the Serbo-Bulgarian border precisely where it had prior to the war. The peace treaty was signed on February 19,1886 in Bucharest, as a result of the war, European powers acknowledged the act of Unification of Bulgaria which happened on September 6,1885. In 1888 Peoples Radical Party led by Sava Grujić and Nikola Pašić came to power, the lost war and the Radical Partys total electoral victory were some of the reasons why King Milan I abdicated in 1889. His son Alexander I assumed the throne in 1893 and in 1894 dismissed the constitution, King Alexander I of Serbia and his unpopular wife Queen Draga, were assassinated inside the Royal Palace in Belgrade on the night of 28–29 May 1903. Other representatives of the Obrenović family were shot as well and this act resulted in the extinction of the House of Obrenović which had been ruling Serbia since 1817. After the May Coup Serbian Skupština invited Peter Karadjorjević to assume the Serbian crown as Peter I of Serbia, a constitutional monarchy was created with the military Black Hand society operating behind the scenes. The traditionally good relations with the Austria-Hungary ended, as the new dynasty relied on the support of the Russian Empire, in April 1904 the Friendship treaty and in June 1905 the customs union with Bulgaria were signed. In response Austria-Hungary imposed a Tariff War of 1906-1909, after the 1906 elections Peoples Radical Party came to power. In 1908 Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia, where Serbia had hoped to expand its territory, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, Britain, Kingdom of Italy, Serbia, Principality of Montenegro, German Empire and France took an interest in these events
Kingdom of Serbia
–
Milan Obrenović, King of Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
–
The Kingdom of Serbia in Europe, 1914.
8.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
Belgium
–
Charlemagne and
Charles V
Belgium
–
Flaga
Belgium
Belgium
–
Episode of the
Belgian Revolution of 1830 (1834), by
Egide Charles Gustave Wappers
9.
Kingdom of Montenegro
–
The Kingdom of Montenegro, was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present day Montenegro, during the tumultuous years on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Legally it was a monarchy, but absolutist in practice. Prince Nicholas of Montenegro proclaimed the Kingdom of Montenegro in Cetinje on 28 August 1910, Montenegro joined the First Balkan War in 1912, hoping to win a share in the last Ottoman-controlled areas of Rumelia. Montenegro did make further territorial gains by splitting Sandžak with Serbia on 30 May 1913, when the Second Balkan War broke out in June 1913, Serbia fought against Bulgaria, and King Nicholas sided with Serbia. Once again Montenegro found itself tossed into war, in which it won substantial additional territory, during World War I Montenegro allied itself with the Triple Entente, in line with King Nicholas pro-Serbian policy. Accordingly, Austria-Hungary occupied Montenegro from 15 January 1916 to October 1918, on 20 July 1917, the signing of the Corfu Declaration foreshadowed the unification of Montenegro with Serbia. On 26 November 1918, Podgorica Assembly, an elected body claiming to represent Montenegrin people, unanimously adopted a resolution deposing king Nicholas I and unifying Montenegro with Serbia. During World War II, the forces in Yugoslavia considered turning the Italian governorate of Montenegro into a puppet kingdom. King Nikola and the expansion of Montenegro, 1914-1920. Media related to Kingdom of Montenegro at Wikimedia Commons Kingdom of Montenegro in 1918 Map Map Montenegro - World Statesmen
Kingdom of Montenegro
–
Proclamation of the Kingdom of Montenegro, 28 August 1910.
Kingdom of Montenegro
–
Flag
10.
Empire of Japan
–
The Empire of Japan was the historical Japanese nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the enactment of the 1947 constitution of modern Japan. Imperial Japans rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei led to its emergence as a world power, after several large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, the Empire also gained notoriety for its war crimes against the peoples it conquered. A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender, Occupation and reconstruction continued well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose full title is the State of Japan or simply rendered Japan in English. The historical state is referred to as the Empire of Japan or the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan in English. In Japanese it is referred to as Dai Nippon Teikoku, which translates to Greater Japanese Empire and this is analogous to Großdeutsches Reich, a term that translates to Greater German Empire in English and Dai Doitsu Teikoku in Japanese. This meaning is significant in terms of geography, encompassing Japan, due to its name in kanji characters and its flag, it was also given the exonym Empire of the Sun. After two centuries, the policy, or Sakoku, under the shoguns of the Edo period came to an end when the country was forced open to trade by the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. The following years saw increased trade and interaction, commercial treaties between the Tokugawa shogunate and Western countries were signed. In large part due to the terms of these Unequal Treaties, the Shogunate soon faced internal hostility, which materialized into a radical, xenophobic movement. In March 1863, the Emperor issued the order to expel barbarians, although the Shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the Shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan. The Namamugi Incident during 1862 led to the murder of an Englishman, Charles Lennox Richardson, the British demanded reparations but were denied. While attempting to exact payment, the Royal Navy was fired on from coastal batteries near the town of Kagoshima and they responded by bombarding the port of Kagoshima in 1863. For Richardsons death, the Tokugawa government agreed to pay an indemnity, shelling of foreign shipping in Shimonoseki and attacks against foreign property led to the Bombardment of Shimonoseki by a multinational force in 1864. The Chōshū clan also launched the coup known as the Kinmon incident. The Satsuma-Chōshū alliance was established in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu, in early 1867, Emperor Kōmei died of smallpox and was replaced by his son, Crown Prince Mutsuhito. On November 9,1867, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned from his post and authorities to the Emperor, however, while Yoshinobus resignation had created a nominal void at the highest level of government, his apparatus of state continued to exist. On January 3,1868, Satsuma-Chōshū forces seized the palace in Kyoto. On January 17,1868, Yoshinobu declared that he would not be bound by the proclamation of the Restoration, on January 24, Yoshinobu decided to prepare an attack on Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Chōshū forces
Empire of Japan
–
The battleship
Asahi
Empire of Japan
–
Flag
Empire of Japan
–
Samurai members of the
First Japanese Embassy to Europe (1862), around Shibata Sadataro, head of the mission staff (seated) and
Fukuzawa Yukichi (to his right) sign of the opening of Japan and Meiji Restoration.
Empire of Japan
–
Emperor Meiji, the 122nd emperor of Japan
11.
Kingdom of Italy
–
The state was founded as a result of the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which can be considered its legal predecessor state. Italy declared war on Austria in alliance with Prussia in 1866, Italian troops entered Rome in 1870, ending more than one thousand years of Papal temporal power. Italy entered into a Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1882, victory in the war gave Italy a permanent seat in the Council of the League of Nations. Fascist Italy is the era of National Fascist Party rule from 1922 to 1943 with Benito Mussolini as head of government, according to Payne, Fascist regime passed through several relatively distinct phases. The first phase was nominally a continuation of the parliamentary system, then came the second phase, the construction of the Fascist dictatorship proper from 1925 to 1929. The third phase, with activism, was 1929–34. The war itself was the phase with its disasters and defeats. Italy was allied with Nazi Germany in World War II until 1943 and it switched sides to the Allies after ousting Mussolini and shutting down the Fascist party in areas controlled by the Allied invaders. Shortly after the war, civil discontent led to the referendum of 1946 on whether Italy would remain a monarchy or become a republic. Italians decided to abandon the monarchy and form the Italian Republic, the Kingdom of Italy claimed all of the territory which is modern-day Italy. The development of the Kingdoms territory progressed under Italian re-unification until 1870, the state for a long period of time did not include Trieste or Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, which are in Italy today, and only annexed them in 1919. After the Second World War, the borders of present-day Italy were founded, the Kingdom of Italy was theoretically a constitutional monarchy. Executive power belonged to the monarch, as executed through appointed ministers, two chambers of parliament restricted the monarchs power—an appointive Senate and an elective Chamber of Deputies. The kingdoms constitution was the Statuto Albertino, the governing document of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In theory, ministers were responsible to the king. However, in practice, it was impossible for an Italian government to stay in office without the support of Parliament, members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected by plurality voting system elections in uninominal districts. A candidate needed the support of 50% of those voting, and of 25% of all enrolled voters, if not all seats were filled on the first ballot, a runoff was held shortly afterwards for the remaining vacancies. After a brief multinominal experimentation in 1882, proportional representation into large, regional, Socialists became the major party, but they were unable to form a government in a parliament split into three different factions, with Christian Populists and classical liberals
Kingdom of Italy
–
Italian unification process.
Kingdom of Italy
–
Flag
Kingdom of Italy
–
Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, the first Prime Minister of the unified Italy.
Kingdom of Italy
–
Victor Emmanuel II, the first King of the united Italy.
12.
First Portuguese Republic
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The last movement instituted a military dictatorship known as Ditadura Nacional that would be followed by the corporatist Estado Novo regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. As far as the October 1910 Revolution is concerned, a number of studies have been made. This vision clashes with an interpretation of the First Republic as a progressive. A republican Constitution was approved in 1911, inaugurating a parliamentary regime with reduced presidential powers, the constitution generally accorded full civil liberties, the religious liberties of Catholics being an exception. The First Republic was intensely anti-clerical and they were secularists and indeed were following liberal tradition of disestablishing the powerful role the Catholic Church once held. Under the leadership of Afonso Costa, the minister, the revolution immediately targeted the Catholic Church, churches were plundered, convents were attacked. Scarcely had the government been installed when it began devoting its entire attention to an anti-religious policy. On 10 October – five days after the inauguration of the Republic – the new government decreed that all convents, monasteries, all residents of religious institutions were expelled and their goods confiscated. The Jesuits were forced to forfeit their Portuguese citizenship, a series of anti-Catholic laws and decrees followed each other in rapid succession. In addition, the ringing of bells to signal times of worship was subjected to certain restraints. The government also interfered in the running of seminaries, reserving the right to appoint professors and this whole series of laws authored by Afonso Costa culminated in the law of Separation of Church and State, which was passed on 20 April 1911. Even the PRP had to endure the secession of its more moderate elements, who formed conservative republican parties like the Evolutionist Party and the Republican Union. In spite of these splits the PRP, led by Afonso Costa, preserved its dominance, in view of these tactics, a number of opposition forces resorted to violence in order to enjoy the fruits of power. There are few recent studies of this period of the Republic’s existence, nevertheless, an essay by Vasco Pulido Valente should be consulted, as should the attempt to establish the political, social, and economic context made by M. Villaverde Cabral. The Republic repelled a royalist attack on Chaves in 1912 and these domestic objectives were not met, since participation in the conflict was not the subject of a national consensus and since it did not therefore serve to mobilise the population. Quite the opposite occurred, existing lines of political and ideological fracture were deepened by Portugals intervention in the First World War, the lack of consensus around Portugal’s intervention in turn made possible the appearance of two dictatorships, led by General Pimenta de Castro and Sidónio Pais. Sidonismo, also known as Dezembrismo, aroused a strong interest among historians, António José Telo has made clear the way in which this regime predated some of the political solutions invented by the totalitarian and fascist dictatorships of the 1920s and 1930s. Sidónio Pais undertook the rescue of traditional values, notably the Pátria, the State carved out an economically interventionist role for itself while, at the same time, repressing working-class movements and leftist republicans
First Portuguese Republic
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13.
Kingdom of Romania
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The Kingdom of Romania was a constitutional monarchy which existed between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania. As such, it is distinct from the Romanian Old Kingdom. From 1859 to 1877, Romania evolved from a union of two vassal principalities under a single prince to a full-fledged independent kingdom with a Hohenzollern monarchy. During 1918-20, at the end of World War I, Transylvania, Eastern Moldavia, in 1947 King Michael was compelled to abdicate and a socialist republic ruled by the Romanian Communist Party replaced the monarchy. The 1859 ascendancy of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as prince of both Moldavia and Wallachia under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire united an identifiably Romanian nation under a single ruler. On 5 February 1862 the two principalities were united to form the Principality of Romania, with Bucharest as its capital. On 23 February 1866 a so-called Monstrous coalition, composed of Conservatives and radical Liberals, the German prince Charles of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was appointed as Prince of Romania, in a move to assure German backing to unity and future independence. He immediately adopted the Romanian spelling of his name, Carol, on 15 March 1881, as an assertion of full sovereignty, the Romanian parliament raised the country to the status of a kingdom, and Carol was crowned as king on 10 May. Abstaining from the Initial Balkan War against the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Romania entered the Second Balkan War in June 1913 against the Tsardom of Bulgaria,330,000 Romanian troops moved across the Danube and into Bulgaria. One army occupied Southern Dobrudja and another moved into northern Bulgaria to threaten Sofia, Romania thus acquired the ethnically-mixed territory of Southern Dobrudja, which it had desired for years. In 1916 Romania entered World War I on the Entente side, the term came into use after World War I, when the Old Kingdom was opposed to Greater Romania, which included Transylvania, Banat, Bessarabia, and Bukovina. Nowadays, the term mainly has a historical relevance, and is used as a common term for all regions in Romania included in both the Old Kingdom and present-day borders. Romania delayed in entering World War I, but ultimately declared war on the Central Powers in 1916, War with the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919 resulted in the occupation of Budapest by Romanian troops and the end of Béla Kuns Bolshevik regime. At the Paris Peace Conference, Romania received territories of Transylvania, part of Banat, Bessarabia, thus, Romania in 1920 was more than twice the size it had been in 1914. Although the country was satisfied and had no territorial claims, it aroused the enmity of Bulgaria, and especially Hungary. Greater Romania now encompassed a significant minority population, especially of Hungarians, by contrast, the prewar Romanian state had only one real minority, Jews, but nonetheless anti-Semitism was widespread. Transylvania had significant Hungarian and German population, and with a contemptuous attitude towards Romanians. Both groups were excluded from politics as the postwar Romanian regime passed an edict stating that all personnel employed by the state had to speak Romanian
Kingdom of Romania
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Proclamation Act of the Kingdom
Kingdom of Romania
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Kingdom of Romania
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1901 German map of the Old Kingdom
Kingdom of Romania
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Carol I of Romania
14.
Kingdom of Greece
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The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 at the Convention of London by the Great Powers. It was internationally recognized by the Treaty of Constantinople, where it also secured full independence from the Ottoman Empire and this event also marked the birth of the first, fully independent, Greek state since the fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans in the mid-15th century. The Kingdom succeeded from the Greek provisional governments after the Greek War of Independence, in 1924 the monarchy was abolished, and the Second Hellenic Republic was established. The restored Kingdom of Greece lasted from 1935 to 1973, the Kingdom was again dissolved in the aftermath of the seven-year military dictatorship, and the Third Republic, the current Greek government, came to be. Most of Greece gradually became part of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, the Ottoman advance into Greece was preceded by victory over the Serbs to its north. This was followed by a draw in the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, with no further threat by the Serbs and the subsequent Byzantine civil wars, the Ottomans captured Constantinople in 1453 and advanced southwards into Greece, capturing Athens in 1458. The Greeks held out in the Peloponnese until 1460, and the Venetians and Genoese clung to some of the islands, the mountains of Greece were largely untouched, and were a refuge for Greeks to flee foreign rule and engage in guerrilla warfare. Cyprus fell in 1571, and the Venetians retained Crete until 1670, the Ionian Islands were only briefly ruled by the Ottomans, and remained primarily under the rule of Venice. In 1821, the Greeks rose up against the Ottoman Empire, following a protracted struggle, the autonomy of Greece was first recognized by the Great Powers in 1828, full independence was recognized in 1830. Count Ioannis Kapodistrias became Governor of Greece in 1827, but was assassinated in 1831, at the insistence of the Powers, the 1832 Treaty of London made Greece a monarchy. Pedro of Braganza, Prince Royal of Portugal, Brazil, Otto of Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria was chosen as its first King. Otto arrived at the capital, Nafplion, in 1833 aboard a British warship. Ottos reign would prove troubled, but managed to last for 30 years before he and his wife, Queen Amalia, left the way they came, nevertheless, they laid the foundations of a Greek administration, army, justice system and education system. Otto was sincere in his desire to give Greece good government, in addition, the new Kingdom tried to eliminate the traditional banditry, something that in many cases meant conflict with some old revolutionary fighters who continued to exercise this practice. But Greece still had no legislature and no constitution, Greek discontent grew until a revolt broke out in Athens in September 1843. Otto agreed to grant a constitution, and convened a National Assembly which met in November, the new constitution created a bicameral parliament, consisting of an Assembly and a Senate. Power then passed into the hands of a group of politicians, Greek politics in the 19th century was dominated by the national question. Greeks dreamed of liberating them all and reconstituting a state embracing all the Greek lands and this was called the Great Idea, and it was sustained by almost continuous rebellions against Ottoman rule in Greek-speaking territories, particularly Crete, Thessaly and Macedonia
Kingdom of Greece
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Otto, the first King of modern Greece, in traditional Greek dress.
Kingdom of Greece
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Flag (after 1863)
Kingdom of Greece
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King George I of the Hellenes.
Kingdom of Greece
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The
Hellenic Parliament in the 1880s, with PM
Charilaos Trikoupis standing at the podium.
15.
Thailand
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Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the worlds 51st-largest country and it is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok and its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The Thai economy is the worlds 20th largest by GDP at PPP and it became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy and it is considered a middle power in the region and around the world. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, by outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam. The word Siam has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma, the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned, another theory is the name derives from Chinese, Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late fourteenth century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam, the signature of King Mongkut reads SPPM Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it reverted to Thailand. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means free man in the Thai language, ratcha Anachak Thai means kingdom of Thailand or kingdom of Thai. Etymologically, its components are, ratcha, -ana- -chak, the Thai National Anthem, written by Luang Saranupraphan during the extremely patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as, prathet Thai. The first line of the anthem is, prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai, Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh. There is evidence of habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire. The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons, and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, the History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282
Thailand
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The ruins of
Wat Chaiwatthanaram at
Ayutthaya.
Thailand
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Flag
Thailand
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Stupas,
Ayutthaya Historical Park.
Thailand
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Pottery discovered near
Ban Chiang in Udon Thani Province, the earliest dating to 2100 BCE.
16.
Idrisid Emirate of Asir
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The Idrisid Emirate of Asir was a short-lived state located on the Arabian Peninsula. The Emirate was located in the region of Jizan in what is now southwestern Saudi Arabia. The authority of the Emir was restricted to a strip of the Tihamah some 80 mi long and extending about 40 mi inland to the scarp of highland Asir, with Sabya as capital and Jizan and Midi as ports. The Emirate was established by Muhammad ibn Ali al-Idrisi in rebellion against the Ottoman Empire and it gained the support of Great Britain during the First World War, and flourished until the death of Sayyid Muhammad in 1920. It was gradually absorbed into the new state of Saudi Arabia, R. L. Headley, ʿAsīr, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Ein historischer Überblick, Die Welt des Islams, New Series, ghanem, The Legal History of A Sir, Arab Law Quarterly, Vol.5, No
Idrisid Emirate of Asir
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17.
Kingdom of Hejaz
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The Kingdom of Hejaz was a state in the Hejaz region in the Middle East ruled by the Hashemite dynasty. The new kingdom had a life and then was conquered in 1925 by the neighbouring Sultanate of Nejd under a resurgent House of Saud, creating the Kingdom of Hejaz. On 23 September 1932, the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd joined the Saudi dominions of Al-Hasa and Qatif, the Sharif of Mecca was an office appointed by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in their capacity as Caliph. The role went to a member of the Hashemite family, but the Sultans typically used inter-familial rivalry to pick and choose from among contenders and so ensure that the Sharif remained weak. The British already had a series of treaties with other Arab leaders in the region and were fearful that the Hejaz could be used as a base to attack their shipping to. The British though, were compromised by their agreement to give the French control of Syria and did not, in Husseins eyes, nevertheless, they did eventually create Hashemite-ruled kingdoms in Jordan and Iraq alongside Hejaz. Hussein thus refused to conclude a treaty of friendship with the British who then later felt powerless to intervene when another British client, Hussein bin Ali Ali bin Hussein Sharif of Mecca Hashemite History of Saudi Arabia Hejazi dialect T. E. Lawrence Palestinian flag
Kingdom of Hejaz
Kingdom of Hejaz
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18.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
United States
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Native Americans meeting with Europeans, 1764
United States
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Flag
United States
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The signing of the
Mayflower Compact, 1620.
United States
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The
Declaration of Independence: the
Committee of Five presenting their draft to the
Second Continental Congress in 1776
19.
Brazil
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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. As the worlds fifth-largest country by area and population, it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to wildlife, a variety of ecological systems. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, in 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a state governed under a constitutional monarchy. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, the country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup détat. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, Brazils current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. The federation is composed of the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, Brazils economy is the worlds ninth-largest by nominal GDP and seventh-largest by GDP as of 2015. A member of the BRICS group, Brazil until 2010 had one of the worlds fastest growing economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition. Brazils national development bank plays an important role for the economic growth. Brazil is a member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Unasul, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, CPLP. Brazil is a power in Latin America and a middle power in international affairs. One of the worlds major breadbaskets, Brazil has been the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years and it is likely that the word Brazil comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a red dye, it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name, early sailors sometimes also called it the Land of Parrots. In the Guarani language, a language of Paraguay, Brazil is called Pindorama
Brazil
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Megaliths in the
Solstice Archaeological Park, in
Amapá, erected between 500 and 2000 years ago, probably to carry out
astronomical observations.
Brazil
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Flag
Brazil
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Representation of the landing of
Pedro Álvares Cabral in
Porto Seguro, 1500.
Brazil
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Painting showing the arrest of
Tiradentes; he was sentenced to death for his involvement in the best known
movement for independence in Colonial Brazil.
20.
Democratic Republic of Armenia
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The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was the first modern Armenian state since the loss of Armenian statehood in the Middle Ages. The republic was established in the Armenian-populated territories of the disintegrated Russian Empire, the leaders of the government came mostly from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. The First Republic of Armenia bordered the Democratic Republic of Georgia to the north, the Ottoman Empire to the west, Persia to the south, and it had a total land area of roughly 70,000 km², and a population of 1.3 million. The Armenian National Council declared the independence of Armenia on 28 May 1918, from the very onset, Armenia was plagued with a variety of domestic and foreign problems. A humanitarian crisis emerged from the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide as tens of thousands of Armenian refugees from the Ottoman Empire settled there, the republic lasted for over two years, during which time it was involved in several armed conflicts caused by territorial disputes. By late 1920, the nation was conquered by the Soviet Red Army, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the republic regained its independence as the current Republic of Armenia in 1991. With the help of several battalions of Armenians recruited from the Russian Empire, the Russians continued to make considerable advances even after the toppling of Tsar Nicholas II in February 1917. In March 1917, the revolution that toppled Tsar Nicholas. Shortly after, the Provisional Government replaced Grand Duke Nicholas administration in the Caucasus with the five-member Special Transcaucasian Committee, the Ozakom included Armenian Democrat Mikayel Papadjanian, and was set to heal wounds inflicted by the old regime. In doing so, Western Armenia was to have a general commissar and was to be subdivided into the districts of Trebizond, Erzerum, Bitlis, and Van. The decree was a concession to the Armenians, Western Armenia was placed under the central government. Dr. Hakob Zavriev would serve as the assistant for civil affairs, in October 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power from the Provisional Government and announced that they would be withdrawing troops from both the Western and Caucasus fronts. The Armenians, Georgians, and Muslims of the Caucasus all rejected the Bolsheviks legitimacy, on December 5,1917, the armistice of Erzincan was signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Transcaucasian Commissariat, ending armed conflict. After the Bolshevik seizure of power, a congress of Transcaucasian representatives met to create a provisional regional executive body known as the Transcaucasian Seim. The Commissariat and the Seim were heavily encumbered by the pretense that the South Caucasus formed a unit of a non-existent Russian democracy. The Armenian deputies in the Seim were hopeful that the forces in Russia would prevail in the Russian Civil War. In February 1918, the Armenians, Georgians and Muslims had reluctantly joined to form the Transcaucasian Federation, on March 3,1918, Russian followed the armistice of Erzincan with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, and left the war. It ceded territory From March 14 to April 1918, when a conference was held between the Ottoman Empire and the delegation of the Seim
Democratic Republic of Armenia
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The Government building in Yerevan
Democratic Republic of Armenia
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Flag
Democratic Republic of Armenia
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Armenian population values (1921).
Democratic Republic of Armenia
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A delegation of five hundred Armenian World War I veterans in
Washington, D.C., April 1920
21.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
World War I
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Clockwise from the top: The aftermath of shelling during the
Battle of the Somme,
Mark V tanks cross the
Hindenburg Line,
HMS Irresistible sinks after hitting a
mine in the
Dardanelles, a British
Vickers machine gun crew wears
gas masks during the Battle of the Somme,
Albatros D.III fighters of
Jagdstaffel 11
World War I
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Sarajevo citizens reading a poster with the proclamation of the
Austrian annexation in 1908.
World War I
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This picture is usually associated with the arrest of
Gavrilo Princip, although some believe it depicts Ferdinand Behr, a bystander.
World War I
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Serbian Army
Blériot XI "Oluj", 1915.
22.
Allies of World War II
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The Allies of World War II, called the United Nations from the 1 January 1942 declaration, were the countries that together opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War. The Allies promoted the alliance as seeking to stop German, Japanese, at the start of the war on 1 September 1939, the Allies consisted of France, Poland and the United Kingdom, and dependent states, such as the British India. Within days they were joined by the independent Dominions of the British Commonwealth, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Poland was a minor factor after its defeat in 1939, France was a minor factor after its defeat in 1940. China had already been into a war with Japan since the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937. The alliance was formalised by the Declaration by United Nations, from 1 January 1942, however, the name United Nations was rarely used to describe the Allies during the war. The leaders of the Big Three – the UK, the Soviet Union, in 1945, the Allied nations became the basis of the United Nations. The origins of the Allied powers stem from the Allies of World War I, Germany resented signing Treaty of Versailles. The new Weimar republics legitimacy became shaken, by the early 1930s, the Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler became the dominant revanchist movement in Germany and Hitler and the Nazis gained power in 1933. The Nazi regime demanded the cancellation of the Treaty of Versailles and made claims to German-populated Austria. The likelihood of war was high, and the question was whether it could be avoided through strategies such as appeasement, in Asia, when Japan seized Manchuria in 1931, the League of Nations condemned it for aggression against China. Japan responded by leaving the League of Nations in March 1933, after four quiet years, the Sino-Japanese War erupted in 1937 with Japanese forces invading China. The League of Nations condemned Japans actions and initiated sanctions on Japan, the United States, in particular, was angered at Japan and sought to support China. In March 1939, Germany took over Czechoslovakia, violating the Munich Agreement signed six months before, Britain and France decided that Hitler had no intention to uphold diplomatic agreements and responded by preparing for war. On 31 March 1939, Britain formed the Anglo-Polish military alliance in an effort to avert a German attack on the country, also, the French had a long-standing alliance with Poland since 1921. The Soviet Union sought an alliance with the powers. The agreement secretly divided the independent nations of eastern Europe between the two powers and assured adequate oil supplies for the German war machine, on 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, two days later Britain and France declared war on Germany. Then, on 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, a Polish government-in-exile was set up and it continued to be one of the Allies, a model followed by other occupied countries. After a quiet winter, Germany in April 1940 invaded and quickly defeated Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Britain and its Empire stood alone against Hitler and Mussolini
Allies of World War II
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Poland first to fight — British wartime poster supporting
Poland after the German invasion, 1939
Allies of World War II
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Allied Powers (and their colonies)
Allies of World War II
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British
Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft (left) flying past a German
Heinkel He-111 bomber aircraft (right) during the
Battle of Britain
Allies of World War II
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British tanks during the
North African Campaign
23.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
–
The British
HMS Sandwich fires into the French
flagship Bucentaure (completely dismasted) during
Trafalgar. The Bucentaure also fights
HMS Victory (behind her) and
HMS Temeraire (left side of the picture). In fact, HMS Sandwich never fought at Trafalgar, it's a mistake by
Auguste Mayer, the painter.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
–
Flag
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
–
Signing of the
Treaty of Ghent (1814), by A. Forestier c. 1915
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
–
The Duke of Wellington
24.
Triple Alliance (1882)
–
The Triple Alliance, also known as the Triplice, was a secret agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed on 20 May 1882 and renewed periodically until World War I. Germany and Austria-Hungary had been allied since 1879. Italy sought support against France shortly after it lost North African ambitions to the French, each member promised mutual support in the event of an attack by any other great power. The treaty provided that Germany and Austria-Hungary were to assist Italy if it was attacked by France without provocation, in turn, Italy would assist Germany if attacked by France. In the event of a war between Austria-Hungary and Russia, Italy promised to remain neutral, when the treaty was renewed in February 1887, Italy gained an empty promise of German support of Italian colonial ambitions in North Africa in return for Italys continued friendship. Italy and Austria-Hungary did not overcome their basic conflict of interest in that region despite the treaty, in 1891 attempts were made to join Britain to the Triplice, which, though unsuccessful, were widely believed to have succeeded in Russian diplomatic circles. Shortly after renewing the Alliance in June 1902, Italy secretly extended a similar guarantee to France, by a particular agreement, neither Austria-Hungary nor Italy would change the status quo in the Balkans without previous consultation. On 1 November 1902, five months after the Triple Alliance was renewed, following parallel negotiation with both Triple Alliance, aimed to keep Italy neutral, and the Triple Entente, aimed to make Italy enter the conflict, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary. Carol I of Romania, through his Prime Minister Ion I. C, brătianu, had also secretly pledged to support the Triple Alliance, but he remained neutral since Austria-Hungary started the war. The man chiefly responsible for the Triple Alliance was Otto von Bismarck, Bismarck wanted to prevent a war on two fronts, which is why he targeted these two countries specifically. By the late 1870s, Austrian territorial ambitions in both the Italian peninsula and Central Europe had been thwarted by the rise of Italy and Germany as new national powers. With the decline and failed reforms of the Ottoman Empire, Slavic discontent in the occupied Balkans grew, the occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina was a step taken in response to Russian advances into Bessarabia. Unable to mediate between Turkey and Russia over the control of Serbia, Austria–Hungary declared neutrality when the conflict between the two powers escalated into the Russo-Turkish War. To counter Russian and French interests in Europe, an alliance was concluded with Germany in October 1879, World War I started in 1914. The Kingdom of Italy, like some of the other European powers, wanted to set up colonies, in the years before World War I, many distinguished military analysts predicted that Italy would attack its supposed ally in the event of a large scale conflict. Italys adherence to the Triple Alliance was doubted and from 1903 plans for a war against Rome were again maintained by the Austrian general staff. Mutual suspicions led to reinforcement of the frontier and speculation in the press about a war between the two countries into the first decade of the twentieth century. As late as 1911 Count Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, chief of the Austrian general staff, was advocating a preemptive strike against Austrias supposed Italian ally
Triple Alliance (1882)
–
The Triple Alliance in 1913, shown in red.
25.
Armenia
–
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a sovereign state in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. The Republic of Armenia constitutes only one-tenth of historical Armenia, Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. Urartu was established in 860 BC and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia, in the 1st century BC the Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great. Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion, in between the late 3rd century to early years of the 4th century, the state became the first Christian nation. The official date of adoption of Christianity is 301 AD. The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century, under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was restored in the 9th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the fell in 1045. An Armenian principality and later a kingdom Cilician Armenia was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, during World War I, Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian Genocide. By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, in 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into full Union republics. The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Armenia recognises the Armenian Apostolic Church, the worlds oldest national church, as the countrys primary religious establishment. The unique Armenian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD, Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Council of Europe and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia supports the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which was proclaimed in 1991, the native Armenian name for the country is Հայք. The name in the Middle Ages was extended to Հայաստան, by addition of the Persian suffix -stan, the further origin of the name is uncertain. It is also postulated that the name Hay comes from one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states—the Ḫayaša-Azzi. The exonym Armenia is attested in the Old Persian Behistun Inscription as Armina, the ancient Greek terms Ἀρμενία and Ἀρμένιοι are first mentioned by Hecataeus of Miletus. Xenophon, a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and he relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians. According to the histories of both Moses of Chorene and Michael Chamchian, Armenia derives from the name of Aram, a descendant of Hayk
Armenia
–
Reconstruction of
Herodotus ' world map c. 450 BC, with Armenia shown in the center
Armenia
–
Flag
Armenia
–
The Armenian pagan
Temple of Garni, probably built 1st century AD, is the only "Greco-Roman
colonnaded building" in Armenia and the entire
former Soviet Union.
Armenia
–
The
Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Armenia's Mother Church traditionally dated 303 AD, is considered the oldest cathedral in the world.
26.
Second Polish Republic
–
The Second Polish Republic, also known as the Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland, refers to the country of Poland between the First and Second World Wars. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland and it had access to the Baltic Sea via a short strip of coastline either side of the city of Gdynia. Between March and August 1939, Poland also shared a border with the then-Hungarian governorate of Subcarpathia, the Second Republic was significantly different in territory to the current Polish state. It included substantially more territory in the east and less in the west, the Second Republics land area was 388,634 km2, making it, in October 1938, the sixth largest country in Europe. After the annexation of Zaolzie, this grew to 389,720 km2, according to the 1921 census, the number of inhabitants was 27.2 million. By 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, almost a third of population came from minority groups,13. 9% Ukrainians, 10% Jews,3. 1% Belarusians,2. 3% Germans and 3. 4% Czechs, Lithuanians and Russians. At the same time, a significant number of ethnic Poles lived outside the country borders, Poland maintained a slow but steady level of economic development. By 1939, the Republic had become one of Europes major powers, the victorious Allies of World War I confirmed the rebirth of Poland in the Treaty of Versailles of June 1919. It was one of the stories of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. Poland solidified its independence in a series of wars fought by the newly formed Polish Army from 1918 to 1921. The extent of the half of the interwar territory of Poland was settled diplomatically in 1922. In the course of World War I, Germany gradually gained overall dominance on the Eastern Front as the Imperial Russian Army fell back, German and Austro-Hungarian armies seized the Russian-ruled part of what became Poland. In a failed attempt to resolve the Polish question as quickly as possible, Berlin set up a German puppet state on 5 November 1916, with a governing Provisional Council of State, the Council administered the country under German auspices, pending the election of a king. A month before Germany surrendered on 11 November 1918 and the war ended, the Regency Council had dissolved the Council of State, with the notable exception of the Marxist-oriented Social Democratic Party of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania, most Polish political parties supported this move. On 23 October the Regency Council appointed a new government under Józef Świeżyński, in 1918–1919, over 100 workers councils sprang up on Polish territories, on 5 November 1918, in Lublin, the first Soviet of Delegates was established. On 6 November socialists proclaimed the Republic of Tarnobrzeg at Tarnobrzeg in Austrian Galicia, the same day the Socialist, Ignacy Daszyński, set up a Provisional Peoples Government of the Republic of Poland in Lublin. On Sunday,10 November at 7 a. m, Józef Piłsudski, newly freed from 16 months in a German prison in Magdeburg, returned by train to Warsaw. Piłsudski, together with Colonel Kazimierz Sosnkowski, was greeted at Warsaws railway station by Regent Zdzisław Lubomirski, next day, due to his popularity and support from most political parties, the Regency Council appointed Piłsudski as Commander in Chief of the Polish Armed Forces
Second Polish Republic
–
Physical map of the Second Polish Republic (1939)
Second Polish Republic
–
Flag
Second Polish Republic
–
Józef Piłsudski,
Chief of State (Naczelnik Państwa) between November 1918 and December 1922
Second Polish Republic
–
Edward Rydz-Śmigły receiving a
Marshal 's
buława from then-
President of Poland Ignacy Mościcki, Warsaw, 10 November 1936
27.
Portugal
–
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
Portugal
–
Citânia de Briteiros, in the
Minho Province, is the best preserved
Iron Age and
Castro culture site in Portugal.
Portugal
–
Flag
Portugal
–
The
Roman Temple of Évora, in the
Alentejo, is a symbol of
Lusitania, Roman rule in Portugal.
Portugal
–
Monument in Porto to
Vimara Peres, first ruler of the County of Portugal
28.
First Czechoslovak Republic
–
The first Czechoslovak Republic was the Czechoslovak state that existed from 1918 to 1938. The state was commonly called Czechoslovakia and it was composed of Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia, Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia. After 1933, Czechoslovakia remained the only functioning democracy in central and it also ceded southern parts of Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia to Hungary and the Zaolzie region in Silesia to Poland. This, in effect, ended the First Czechoslovak Republic and it was replaced by Second Czechoslovak Republic, which lasted less than half a year before Germany occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia. The independence of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed on 28 October 1918 by the Czechoslovak National Council in Prague, several ethnic groups and territories with different historical, political, and economic traditions had to be blended into a new state structure. The full boundaries of the country and the organization of its government was established in the Czechoslovak Constitution of 1920. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk had been recognized by World War I Allies as the leader of the Provisional Czechoslovak Government and he was re-elected in 1925 and 1929, serving as President until 14 December 1935 when he resigned due to poor health. He was succeeded by Edvard Beneš, following the Anschluss of Nazi Germany and Austria in March 1938, the Nazi leader Adolf Hitlers next target for annexation was Czechoslovakia. His pretext was the privations suffered by ethnic German populations living in Czechoslovakias northern and western border regions and their incorporation into Nazi Germany would leave the rest of Czechoslovakia powerless to resist subsequent occupation. To a large extent, Czechoslovak democracy was held together by the countrys first president, as the principal founding father of the republic, Masaryk was regarded similar to the way George Washington is regarded in the United States. Such universal respect enabled Masaryk to overcome seemingly irresolvable political problems, Masaryk is still regarded as the symbol of Czechoslovak democracy. The Constitution of 1920 approved the constitution of 1918 in its basic features. The National Assembly was responsible for legislative initiative and was given control over the executive. Every seven years it elected the president and confirmed the cabinet appointed by him, executive power was to be shared by the president and the cabinet, the latter, responsible to the National Assembly, was to prevail. The reality differed somewhat from this ideal, however, during the presidencies of Masaryk and his successor. The constitution of 1920 provided for the government to have a high degree of control over local government. From 1928 and 1940, Czechoslovakia was divided into the four lands, Bohemia, Moravia-Silesia, Slovakia, although in 1927 assemblies were provided for Bohemia, Slovakia, and Ruthenia, their jurisdiction was limited to adjusting laws and regulations of the central government to local needs. The central government appointed one third of the members of these assemblies, the constitution identified the Czechoslovak nation as the creator and principal constituent of the Czechoslovak state and established Czech and Slovak as official languages
First Czechoslovak Republic
–
Czechoslovakia 1920–1938.
First Czechoslovak Republic
–
Flag (since 1920)
29.
German Empire
–
The German Empire was the historical German nation state that existed from the unification of Germany in 1871 to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918, when Germany became a federal republic. The German Empire consisted of 26 constituent territories, with most being ruled by royal families and this included four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory. Although Prussia became one of kingdoms in the new realm, it contained most of its population and territory. Its influence also helped define modern German culture, after 1850, the states of Germany had rapidly become industrialized, with particular strengths in coal, iron, chemicals, and railways. In 1871, it had a population of 41 million people, and by 1913, a heavily rural collection of states in 1815, now united Germany became predominantly urban. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire operated as an industrial, technological, Germany became a great power, boasting a rapidly growing rail network, the worlds strongest army, and a fast-growing industrial base. In less than a decade, its navy became second only to Britains Royal Navy, after the removal of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck by Wilhelm II, the Empire embarked on a bellicose new course that ultimately led to World War I. When the great crisis of 1914 arrived, the German Empire had two allies, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, however, left the once the First World War started in August 1914. In the First World War, German plans to capture Paris quickly in autumn 1914 failed, the Allied naval blockade caused severe shortages of food. Germany was repeatedly forced to send troops to bolster Austria and Turkey on other fronts, however, Germany had great success on the Eastern Front, it occupied large Eastern territories following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. German declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917 was designed to strangle the British, it failed, but the declaration—along with the Zimmermann Telegram—did bring the United States into the war. Meanwhile, German civilians and soldiers had become war-weary and radicalised by the Russian Revolution and this failed, and by October the armies were in retreat, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire had collapsed, Bulgaria had surrendered and the German people had lost faith in their political system. After at first attempting to control, causing massive uprisings. This left a republic to manage a devastated and unsatisfied populace, the German Confederation had been created by an act of the Congress of Vienna on 8 June 1815 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, after being alluded to in Article 6 of the 1814 Treaty of Paris. German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848, called Pan-Germanism and he envisioned a conservative, Prussian-dominated Germany. The war resulted in the Confederation being partially replaced by a North German Confederation in 1867, the new constitution and the title Emperor came into effect on 1 January 1871. During the Siege of Paris on 18 January 1871, William accepted to be proclaimed Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. The second German Constitution was adopted by the Reichstag on 14 April 1871 and proclaimed by the Emperor on 16 April, the political system remained the same
German Empire
German Empire
–
Flag
German Empire
–
Otto von Bismarck
German Empire
–
A postage stamp from the
Carolines
30.
Unrestricted submarine warfare
–
Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink vessels such as freighters and tankers without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules. Prize rules call for submarines to surface and search merchantmen and place crews in a place of safety before sinking them, or active resistance to visit or search. Following Germanys resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare on February 1,1917, during the First World War, instead, the London Naval Treaty required submarines to abide by prize rules. These regulations did not prohibit arming merchantmen or having them report contact with submarines and this rendered the restrictions on submarines effectively useless. There have been four major campaigns of unrestricted warfare, The U-boat campaign of World War I. One of The most brutal acts was on May 7,1915 when U-boat U-20 deliberately torpedoed the British Cunard Luxury Liner RMS Lusitania, Germanys acts eventually brought United States into the war in 1917 on the British side, together with the Zimmermann Telegram. It was also a casus belli for the entry of Brazil into the war in 1917, the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, it was waged between Germany and the Allies and from 1940 to 1943 between Italy and the Allies, the Baltic Sea Campaigns on the Eastern Front, during World War II between 1941 and 1945, especially from 1942. Waged by Germany and the USSR against each other, primarily in the Baltic Sea, the Pacific War during World War II, between 1941 and 1945, waged by the United States and the British Empire against Japan. The Law of Naval Warfare, A Collection of Agreements and Documents With Commentaries
Unrestricted submarine warfare
–
German U-boat
31.
Zimmermann Telegram
–
Mexico would be given Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. The proposal was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence, the message came in the form of a coded telegram dispatched by the Foreign Secretary of the German Empire, Arthur Zimmermann, on 19 January 1917. The message was sent to the German ambassador to Mexico, Heinrich von Eckardt, the decoded telegram is as follows, We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral, the settlement in detail is left to you. Please call the Presidents attention to the fact that the employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace. The main purpose of the telegram was to make the Mexican government declare war on the United States in hopes of tying down American forces and slowing the export of American arms. The Germans were encouraged by their successes on the Eastern Front into believing that they would be able to large numbers of troops to the Western Front in support of their goals. Mexican President Venustiano Carranza assigned a commission to assess the feasibility of the Mexican takeover of their former territories contemplated by Germany. The general concluded that it would be neither possible nor desirable to attempt such an enterprise for the following reasons. No serious scenarios existed under which Mexico could win a war against the United States, germanys promises of generous financial support were very unreliable. The German government had already informed Carranza in June 1916 that they were unable to provide the gold needed to stock a completely independent Mexican national bank. Other foreign relations were at stake, the ABC nations organized the Niagara Falls peace conference in 1914 to avoid a full-scale war between the United States and Mexico over the United States occupation of Veracruz. If Mexico were to enter war against the United States, it would strain relations with those nations, the telegram was sent to the German embassy in the United States for re-transmission to Eckardt in Mexico. But it has established that only one method was used. Direct telegraph transmission of the telegram was not possible because the British had cut the German international cables at the outbreak of war, however, the United States allowed limited use of its diplomatic cables for Germany to communicate with its ambassador in Washington. The facility was supposed to be used for cables connected with President Woodrow Wilsons peace proposals, the Swedish cable ran from Sweden, and the United States cable from the United States embassy in Denmark. However, neither cable ran directly to the United States, both cables passed through a relay station at Porthcurno, near Lands End, the westernmost tip of England. Here the signals were boosted for the long trans-oceanic jump, all traffic through the Porthcurno relay was copied to British intelligence, in particular to the codebreakers and analysts in Room 40 at the Admiralty
Zimmermann Telegram
–
The Zimmermann Telegram as it was sent from
Washington to Ambassador
Heinrich von Eckardt (who was the German ambassador to
Mexico)
Zimmermann Telegram
–
A portion of the Telegram as decrypted by
British Naval Intelligence codebreakers. The word Arizona was not in the German codebook and had therefore to be split into phonetic syllables.
Zimmermann Telegram
–
The Telegram, completely decrypted and translated
32.
Declared war
–
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state goes to war against another. The declaration is a speech act by an authorized party of a national government. The legality of who is competent to declare war varies between nations and forms of government, in many nations, that power is given to the head of state or sovereign. In other cases, something short of a declaration of war, such as a letter of marque or a covert operation. The official international protocol for declaring war was defined in the Hague Convention of 1907 on the Opening of Hostilities, in addition to this, non-state or terrorist organizations may claim to or be described as declaring war when engaging in violent acts. These declarations may have no standing in themselves, but they may still act as a call to arms for supporters of these organizations. A definition of the three ways of thinking about a declaration of war was developed by Saikrishna Prakash. He argues that a declaration of war can be seen from three perspectives, Categorical theory, under which the power to declare war includes the power to all decisions to enter war. This means that the power to declare war in effect rests with the ability to engage in combat, pragmatic theory, which states that the power to declare war can be made unnecessary by an act of war in itself. Formalist theory, under which the power to declare war constitutes only a formal documentation of executive war-making decisions and this sits closest to traditional legal conceptions of what it is to declare a war. An absolute declaration of war declares war absolutely due to the failure of negotiations over the grievances and remedies found in the conditional declaration and it ends absolutely the state and condition of peace, replacing it with the state and condition of war until such time as peace is restored. Degree of justification of the war A reasoned declaration of war justifies the resort to war by stating the grievances that have made peace intolerable, an unreasoned declaration of war does not justify the resort to war, or does so only minimally. Degree of perfection with which the act was made A perfect declaration of war is a formal, solemn speech act made in accordance with the proper laws, rites. An imperfect declaration of war is an informal, unsolemn speech act not made in accordance with the laws, rites. The practice of declaring war has a long history, the ancient Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh gives an account of it, as does the Old Testament. However, the practice of declaring war was not always strictly followed, the primary multilateral treaties governing such declarations are the Hague Conventions. The utility of formal declarations of war has always been questioned, the Hague Convention of 1907 called Convention Relative to the Opening of Hostilities gives the international actions a country should perform when opening hostilities. Neutral Powers, nevertheless, cannot rely on the absence of notification if it is established that they were in fact aware of the existence of a state of war
Declared war
–
United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a declaration of war against
Nazi Germany on December 11, 1941.
Declared war
–
Brazilian President
Venceslau Brás declares war on the
Central Powers on October 26, 1917.
Declared war
–
Adolf Hitler announcing a
German declaration of war on the United States on 11 December 1941.
33.
American entry into World War I
–
The American entry into World War I came in April 1917, after two and a half years of efforts by President Woodrow Wilson to keep the United States neutral. Apart from an Anglophile element supporting the British, American public opinion went along with neutrality at first, the sentiment for neutrality was strong among Irish Americans, German Americans and Scandinavian Americans, as well as among church leaders and women. On the other hand, even before World War I broke out, the citizenry increasingly came to see the German Empire as the villain after news of atrocities in Belgium in 1914, and the sinking of the passenger liner RMS Lusitania in May 1915. Wilson made all the key decisions and kept the economy on a basis, while allowing banks to make large-scale loans to Britain. However, he did enlarge the United States Navy, in early 1917, Germany decided to resume all-out submarine warfare on every commercial ship headed toward Britain, realizing that this decision would almost certainly mean war with the U. S. Germany also offered to help Mexico regain territories lost in the Mexican–American War in the Zimmermann Telegram, publication of that offer outraged Americans just as German U-boats started sinking American ships in the North Atlantic. Wilson asked Congress for a war to end all wars that would make the safe for democracy. On December 7,1917, the U. S. declared war on Austria-Hungary, United States insisted on maintaining the traditional rights of neutrals, protested strongly against violations by Britain and especially by Germany. The British seized American ships for supposed violations, the Germans sank them without warning, in violation of international law that said sailors must be allowed an opportunity to reach their lifeboats. A critical indirect strategy used by both sides was the blockade, the British Royal Navy successfully stopped the shipment of most war supplies and food to Germany. Neutral American ships that tried to trade with Germany were seized or turned back by the Royal Navy who viewed such trade as in conflict with the Allies war efforts. The strangulation came about slowly, because Germany and the Central Powers controlled extensive farmlands. It was eventually successful because Germany and Austria-Hungary had decimated their agricultural production by taking so many farmers into their armies, by 1918, German cities were on the verge of starvation, the front-line soldiers were on short rations and were running out of essential supplies. England wants to starve us, said Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the man who built the German fleet and we can play the same game. We can bottle her up and destroy every ship that endeavors to break the blockade, unable to challenge the more powerful Royal Navy on the surface, Tirpitz wanted to scare off merchant and passenger ships en route to Britain. While Germany had only nine long-range U-boats at the start of the war, furthermore, Americans insisted that the drowning of innocent civilians was barbaric and grounds for a declaration of war. The British frequently violated Americas neutral rights by seizing ships, Wilsons top advisor, Colonel Edward M. House commented that, The British have gone as far as they possibly could in violating neutral rights, though they have done it in the most courteous way. When Wilson protested British violations of American neutrality, the British backed down, German submarines torpedoed ships without warning, causing sailors and passengers to drown
American entry into World War I
–
Come on in, America, the Blood's Fine! (1917) by M.A. Kempf.
American entry into World War I
–
The song "
I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier " was a hit in 1915, selling 650,000 copies. Its expression of popular pacifist sentiment "helped make the pacifist movement a hard, quantifiable political reality to be reckoned with."
American entry into World War I
–
The advertisement of
The Battle Cry of Peace film
American entry into World War I
–
"Hurting Their Feelings": Political cartoon from November 9, 1915, shows the British lion and
John Bull reading a newspaper about American war protests and crying, while American ships and cargo appear in the harbor behind them
34.
Ottoman Empire
–
After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
Ottoman Empire
–
Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. Painting from 1523.
Ottoman Empire
–
Flag (1844–1923)
Ottoman Empire
–
Battle of Mohács in 1526
Ottoman Empire
–
Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha defeats the
Holy League of
Charles V under the command of
Andrea Doria at the
Battle of Preveza in 1538.
35.
Kingdom of Bulgaria
–
Ferdinand I was crowned a Tsar at the Declaration of Independence, mainly because of his military plans and for seeking options for unification of all Balkan lands with an ethnic Bulgarian majority. The state was almost constantly at war throughout its existence, lending to its nickname as the Balkan Prussia, following the First World War the Bulgarian army was disbanded and forbidden to exist by the Allied powers, and all plans for national unification of the Bulgarian lands failed. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished, its final Tsar was sent into exile, to complicate matters, Serbia and Greece too made claims over parts of Macedonia, while Serbia, as a Slavic nation, also considered Macedonian Slavs as belonging to the Serbian nation. Thus began a struggle for control of these areas which lasted until World War I. In 1903, there was a Bulgarian insurrection in Ottoman Macedonia, in 1908, Ferdinand used the struggles among the Great Powers to declare Bulgaria an independent kingdom with himself as Tsar. He did this on 5 October in the St Forty Martyrs Church in Veliko Tarnovo, in February 1912 a secret treaty was signed between Bulgaria and Serbia, and in May 1912 a similar treaty was signed with Greece. Montenegro was also brought into the pact, the treaties provided for the partition of Macedonia and Thrace between the allies, although the lines of partition were left dangerously vague. After the Ottomans refused to implement reforms in the disputed areas, the allies had an astonishing success. The Bulgarian army inflicted several crushing defeats on the Ottoman forces and advanced threateningly against Constantinople, while the Serbs, the Ottomans sued for peace in December. Negotiations broke down, and fighting resumed in February 1913, the Ottomans lost Adrianople to a Bulgarian task force. A second armistice followed in March, with the Ottomans losing all their European possessions west of the Midia-Enos line, Bulgaria gained possession of most of Thrace, including Adrianople and the Aegean port of Dedeagach. Bulgaria also gained a slice of Macedonia, north and east of Thessaloniki, Bulgaria sustained the heaviest casualties of any of the allies, and on this basis felt entitled to the largest share of the spoils. Some circles in Bulgaria inclined toward going to war with Serbia, in June 1913 Serbia and Greece formed a new alliance, against Bulgaria. The Serbian and the Greek forces were initially on the retreat on the western border, the fighting was very harsh, with many casualties, especially during the key Battle of Bregalnica. Soon Romania entered the war and attacked Bulgaria from the north, the Ottoman Empire also attacked from the south-east. The war was now definitely lost for Bulgaria, which had to abandon most of her claims of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, Romania took possession of southern Dobruja. In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, Bulgarian opinion turned against Russia and the western powers, the government of Vasil Radoslavov aligned Bulgaria with Germany and Austria-Hungary, even though this meant also becoming an ally of the Ottomans, Bulgarias traditional enemy. But Bulgaria now had no claims against the Ottomans, whereas Serbia, Greece, the UK, France, Italy and Russia then declared war on Bulgaria
Kingdom of Bulgaria
–
Boundaries on the Balkans after the First and the Second Balkan War (1912-1913)
Kingdom of Bulgaria
–
Flag
Kingdom of Bulgaria
–
Bulgarian dead in the Balkan Wars
Kingdom of Bulgaria
–
The areas where the
Ethnic Bulgarians were the majority of the population (in light green) in 1912
36.
Dominion
–
Dominions were semi-independent polities under the British Crown, constituting the British Empire, beginning with Canadian Confederation in 1867. They included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State, and then from the late 1940s also India, Pakistan, and Ceylon. The Balfour Declaration of 1926 recognised the Dominions as autonomous Communities within the British Empire, earlier usage of dominion to refer to a particular territory dates to the 16th century and was used to describe Wales from 1535 to 1801 and New England between 1686 and 1689. At the outset, a distinction must be made between a British dominion and British Dominions, all territories forming part of the British Empire were British dominions but only some were British Dominions. At the time of the adoption of the Statute of Westminster, there were six British Dominions, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, at the same time there were many other jurisdictions that were British dominions, for example Cyprus. The Order in Council annexing the island of Cyprus in 1914 declared that, from 5 November, Dominion, as an official title, was conferred on the Colony of Virginia about 1660 and on the Dominion of New England in 1686. These dominions never had full self-governing status, the creation of the short-lived Dominion of New England was designed—contrary to the purpose of later dominions—to increase royal control and to reduce the colonys self-government. Under the British North America Act 1867, what is now eastern Canada received the status of Dominion upon the Confederation of several British possessions in North America. However, it was at the Colonial Conference of 1907 when the colonies of Canada. Two other self-governing colonies—New Zealand and Newfoundland—were granted the status of Dominion in the same year and these were followed by the Union of South Africa in 1910 and the Irish Free State in 1922. The Statute of Westminster 1931 converted this status into legal reality, following the Second World War, the decline of British colonialism led to Dominions generally being referred to as Commonwealth realms and the use of the word dominion gradually diminished. Nonetheless, though disused, it remains Canadas legal title and the phrase Her Majestys Dominions is still used occasionally in legal documents in the United Kingdom. The phrase His/Her Majestys dominions is a legal and constitutional phrase that refers to all the realms and territories of the Sovereign, thus, for example, the British Ireland Act,1949, recognised that the Republic of Ireland had ceased to be part of His Majestys dominions. The later sense of Dominion was capitalised to distinguish it from the general sense of dominion. The word dominions originally referred to the possessions of the Kingdom of England, oliver Cromwells full title in the 1650s was Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, and the dominions thereto belonging. In 1660, King Charles II gave the Colony of Virginia the title of dominion in gratitude for Virginias loyalty to the Crown during the English Civil War, the Commonwealth of Virginia, a State of the United States, still has the Old Dominion as one of its nicknames. Dominion also occurred in the name of the short-lived Dominion of New England, in all of these cases, the word dominion implied no more than being subject to the English Crown. The foundation of Dominion status followed the achievement of internal self-rule in British Colonies, Colonial responsible government began to emerge during the mid-19th century
Dominion
–
Map of the British Empire under
Queen Victoria at the end of the nineteenth century. "Dominions" refers to all territories belonging to
the Crown.
Dominion
–
The Parliamentary Recruiting Committee produced this
First World War poster. Designed by
Arthur Wardle, the poster urges men from the Dominions of the British Empire to enlist in the war effort.
Dominion
–
Dominion of Canada Postage Stamp, 1898
Dominion
–
The prime ministers of Britain and the four major dominions at the 1944
Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. Left to right:
William Lyon Mackenzie King (Canada);
Jan Smuts (South Africa);
Winston Churchill (UK);
Peter Fraser (New Zealand);
John Curtin (Australia).
37.
Statute of Westminster 1931
–
It thus became a statutory embodiment of the principles of equality and common allegiance to the Crown set out in the Balfour Declaration of 1926. It was a step in the development of the Dominions as separate states. The Statute of Westminsters relevance today is that it sets the basis for the relationship between the Commonwealth realms and the Crown. The Statute of Westminster gave effect to certain political resolutions passed by the Imperial Conferences of 1926 and 1930, in particular, the Balfour Declaration of 1926. Both Canada and the Irish Free State pushed for the ability to amend the laws themselves. After the Statute was passed, the British parliament could no longer make laws for the Dominions, other than with the request, before then, the Dominions had legally been self-governing colonies of the United Kingdom. However, the Statute had the effect of making them sovereign nations once they adopted it, Ireland and South Africa are now republics and Newfoundland is part of Canada. Adopting section 4 clarified that Britain could legislate with effect on Australia as a whole only with Australias request, however, this capacity was never used. That authority remained in effect until the Constitution Act,1982, which transferred it to Canada and these disagreements were resolved only in time for the passage of the Canada Act 1982, thus completing the patriation of the Canadian constitution to Canada. At that time, the Canadian parliament also repealed sections 4 and 7 of the Statute of Westminster, the Statute of Westminster remains a part of the constitution of Canada by virtue of section 52 of the Constitution Act,1982. As a consequence of the adoption, the Parliament of Canada gained the ability to abolish appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Criminal appeals were abolished in 1933, while civil appeals continued until 1949, the passage of the Statute of Westminster meant that changes in British legislation governing the succession to the throne no longer automatically applied to Canada. The Free States constitution gave the Oireachtas sole and exclusive power of making laws, originally, the UK government had wanted to exclude from the Statute of Westminster the legislation underpinning the 1921 treaty, from which the Free States constitution had emerged. President W. T. Cosgrave objected, although he promised the Executive Council would not amend the legislation unilaterally, the other Dominions backed Cosgrave and, when an amendment to similar effect was proposed at Westminster by John Gretton, parliament duly voted it down. He went on to present the Statute as largely the fruit of the Free States efforts to secure for the other Dominions the same benefits it already enjoyed under the treaty. After Éamon de Valera led Fianna Fáil to victory in the Free State election of 1932, he began removing the elements of the constitution. De Valera initially considered invoking the Statute of Westminster in making these changes, abolishing the Oath of Allegiance in effect abrogated the 1921 treaty. Generally, the British thought that this was morally objectionable but legally permitted by the Statute of Westminster, however, the Free State had also abolished the right of appeal to the JCPC
Statute of Westminster 1931
38.
War Cabinet
–
A war cabinet is a committee formed by a government in a time of war. It is usually a subset of the executive cabinet of ministers. It is also common for a war cabinet to have senior military officers. During the First World War, lengthy cabinet discussions came to be seen as a source of vacillation in Britains war effort. In December 1916 it was proposed that the Prime Minister H. H. Asquith should delegate decision-making to a small, Asquith initially agreed before changing his mind after being infuriated by an article in The Times which portrayed the proposed change as a defeat for him. The political crisis grew from this point until Asquith was forced to resign as Prime Minister, among others, the Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, was never a member of the war cabinet, nor were the service ministers Lord Derby and Sir Edward Carson. From the spring of 1917, the Imperial War Cabinet was formed and it had representation from the Dominions. On 3 September 1939, Neville Chamberlain announced his War Cabinet, unlike Lloyd Georges War Cabinet, the members of this one were also heads of Government Departments. In January 1940, after disagreements with the Chiefs of Staff, Hore-Belisha resigned from the National Government and he was succeeded by Oliver Stanley. It was originally the practice for the Chiefs of Staff to attend all discussions of the Chamberlain War Cabinet. Churchill became uneasy with this, as he felt that when they attended they did not confine their comments to purely military issues, to overcome this, a Military Coordination Committee was set up, consisting of the three Service ministers normally chaired by Lord Chatfield. This together with the Service chiefs would co-ordinate the strategic ideas of top hats and brass, unfortunately, except when chaired by the Prime Minister, the Military Co-ordinating Committee lacked sufficient authority to override a Minister fighting his corner. When Churchill took over from Chatfield, whilst continuing to represent the Admiralty, this introduced additional problems, Chamberlain announced a further change in arrangements in the Norway debate, but this was overtaken by events, the Churchill War Cabinet being run on rather different principles. Even so, there were a number of ministers who, though they were not members of the war cabinet, were Constant Attenders, as the War Cabinet considered issues that pertained to a given branch of the service or government due input was obtained from the respective body. The War Cabinet would undergo a number of changes in composition over the five years. The Full Cabinet approved the formation of the War Cabinet on 26 September 1939 and it held its last meeting in Canberra on 19 January 1946. In response to the 11 September 2001 attacks, United States President George W. Bush created a War Cabinet and they met at Camp David on the weekend of 15 September to shape what became the War on Terrorism. The membership was mostly, but not entirely, identical to that of the United States National Security Council, the Cabinet comprised President – George W. Kennedys EXCOMM had some characteristics of a War Cabinet
War Cabinet
–
War Cabinet meeting in Melbourne in 1943. Left to right: John Curtin, Sir Frederick Sheddon, Ben Chifley, 'Doc' Evatt, Norm Makin, Arthur Drakeford
39.
Imperial War Cabinet
–
The Imperial War Cabinet was the British Empires wartime coordinating body. The Imperial War Cabinet was created by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in the spring of 1917 as a means of co-ordinating the British Empires military policy during the First World War and this was the first instance in which the term Commonwealth was used officially. The Imperial War Conference acknowledged the importance of the empire in defence policy by admitting India, not yet self-governing. In 1917 the Imperial War Conference also passed a resolution regarding a future special Imperial Conference to readjust the relations of the component parts of the Empire. That readjustment should be based upon the recognition of the dominions as autonomous nations of an Imperial Commonwealth, with an adequate voice in foreign policy. Australian prime ministers Robert Menzies and John Curtin campaigned for the creation of an Imperial War Cabinet during the Second World War that would include representatives of all four dominions. British prime minister Winston Churchill was unenthusiastic as he felt the concept was unwieldy, australia was unable to secure the support of the other three dominions, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. Instead of creating a separate Imperial War Cabinet, Churchill invited Smuts, stanley Bruce, Australias High Commissioner to London, was delegated by his government to sit in on meetings of Churchills War Cabinet. However, Churchill found Bruces advice to be contrary to his own priorities and, as a result, committee of Imperial Defence Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting National Archives Glossary
Imperial War Cabinet
–
Imperial War Cabinet in 1917
Imperial War Cabinet
–
The Imperial War Cabinet at
No. 10 Downing Street in 1917
40.
Canadian Corps
–
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916. The organization of a 5th Canadian Division began in February 1917 but it was not fully formed when it was broken up in February 1918. The majority of soldiers of the Canadian Corps were British-born until near the end of the war and they were mostly volunteers, as conscription was not implemented until the end of the war. Ultimately, only 24,132 conscripts made it to France before 11 November 1918, the corps was commanded by Lieutenant General Sir E. A. H. Political considerations caused command to be passed to Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng, when Byng was promoted to a higher command during the summer of 1917, he was succeeded by General Sir Arthur Currie, the commander of the 1st Division, giving the corps its first Canadian commander. Currie was able to reconcile the desire for independence with the need for Allied integration. He resisted pressure to replace all British officers in high-ranking positions, among the British officers were Alan Brooke and William Ironside. Both became Field Marshals and held the position of Chief of the Imperial General Staff. The Canadian Corps captured Vimy Ridge in April,1917, in an attack that was a turning point in the war, and as Currie called it. During the German Spring Offensive of the spring and summer of 1918, between August 8 and 11,1918, the corps spearheaded the offensive during the Battle of Amiens. Here a significant defeat was inflicted on the Germans, causing the German commander-in-chief, General Erich Ludendorff and this battle marked the start of the period of the war referred to as Canadas Hundred Days. At the end of war the Canadian 1st and 2nd Divisions took part in the occupation of Germany, upon their return home the veterans were greeted by large and welcoming crowds all across the country. Total fatal battle casualties during the war was 56,638,13. 5% of the 418,052 sent overseas and 9. 26% of the 611,711 who enlisted. Following its formation in late 1915, the Canadian Corps readied to fight major battles as a unified entity, additional actions were fought by one or more units of the corps. The corps evolved steadily following the 1915 summer campaign, as Godefroy notes, the Canadian Expeditionary Force worked ceaselessly to convert all of its available political and physical resources into fighting power. One striking feature of the evolution was its ability to exploit all opportunities for learning. This was an activity, involving all levels from the commander to the private soldier
Canadian Corps
–
Canadian Corps Headquarters,
Neuville-Vitasse,
France, 1918
Canadian Corps
–
A Canadian
recruiting poster
Canadian Corps
–
Painting:"Ghosts of Vimy Ridge"
41.
John Monash
–
General Sir John Monash, GCMG, KCB, VD was a civil engineer and an Australian military commander of the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the war and then, shortly after its outbreak, became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt, with whom he took part in the Gallipoli campaign. In July 1916 he took charge of the newly raised 3rd Division in northwestern France and in May 1918 became commander of the Australian Corps, Monash is considered one of the best Allied generals of the First World War and the most famous commander in Australian history. Monash was born in Dudley Street, West Melbourne, Victoria, on 27 June 1865 and he was born to Jewish parents, both from Krotoschin, in the Posen province, Kingdom of Prussia, the family name was originally spelt Monasch. The family spoke German as their native language, as might have been expected from a man brought up by cultivated German parents who had arrived in Australia barely two years before Johns birth, Monash spoke, read, and wrote German fluently. However, from 1914 until his death, Sir John Monash had no reason to attract attention to his German background. In 1874, the moved to the small town of Jerilderie in the Riverina region of New South Wales. Monash later claimed to have met the bushranger Ned Kelly during his raid there in 1879, Monash attended the public school and his intelligence was recognised. The family was advised to move back to Melbourne to let John reach his full potential and he was educated under Alexander Morrison at Scotch College, Melbourne, where he passed the matriculation examination when only 14 years of age. At age 16, he was dux of the school and he graduated from the University of Melbourne, a Master of Engineering in 1893, a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws in 1895, and a Doctor of Engineering in 1921. On 8 April 1891, Monash married Hannah Victoria Moss, and their only child, Monash had previously engaged in an affair with Annie Gabriel, the wife of one of his colleagues, which ended as an active matter after his conscious choice of Vic for marriage. He worked as a engineer, and played a major role in introducing reinforced concrete to Australian engineering practice. He initially worked for private contractors on bridge and railway construction, following a period with the Melbourne Harbour Trust, in 1894 he entered into partnership with J. T. N. Anderson as consultants and contractors. He took a part in his profession and became president of the Victorian Institute of Engineers. Monash joined the university company of the militia in 1884, and he was promoted to captain in 1895, major in 1897, and in 1906 he became a lieutenant-colonel in the intelligence corps. He was colonel commanding the 13th Infantry Brigade in 1912, when the First World War broke out in August 1914, Monash became a full-time army officer, accepting an appointment as the chief censor in Australia. Monash did not enjoy the job, and was keen for a field command. In September, after the Australian Imperial Force was formed, he was appointed as the commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade, which consisted of four battalions, when the first contingent of Australian troops, the 1st Division, sailed in October, the 4th Brigade remained behind
John Monash
–
Sir John Monash c.1920s
John Monash
–
Monash in 1918
John Monash
–
Statue of Sir John Monash in
King's Domain, Melbourne.
42.
Arthur Currie
–
General Sir Arthur William Currie, GCMG, KCB was a senior officer of the Canadian Army who fought during World War I. Curries success was based on his ability to rapidly adapt brigade tactics to the exigencies of trench warfare, using set piece operations and he is generally considered to be among the most capable commanders of the Western Front, and one of the finest commanders in Canadian military history. Currie began his career in 1897 as a part-time soldier in the Canadian militia while making his living as a teacher and later as an insurance salesmen. Currie rose quickly through the ranks, commissioned as an officer in 1900, promoted to captain in 1901, then major in 1906, in 1913, Currie accepted the command of the newly created 50th Regiment Gordon Highlanders of Canada. Finding himself in following a real estate crash in Victoria. When the First World War broke out Canadian Minister of Militia Sam Hughes appointed Currie as commander of the 2nd Canadian Brigade, following the Second Battle of Ypres Currie was promoted to Major General and commander of the 1st Canadian Division. Upon returning to Canada, Currie was promoted to General and was made inspector-general of the Canadian Army, although he only held a high school diploma, Currie became the principal and vice-chancellor of McGill University in 1920, holding this post until his death in 1933. Arthur Currie was born to William Garner Curry and Jane Patterson on 5 December 1875 at farm near the hamlet of Napperton, Ontario and he was the third in a family of eight children and grew up on the homestead of his grandparents, John Corrigan and Jane Garner. Arthur Currie modified the spelling of his surname from Curry to Currie in 1897, Currie was educated in local common schools and at the Strathroy District Collegiate Institute, where he proved to be a good student especially interested in literature. He had plans to pursue a career in law or medicine. Currie instead pursued teacher training, but he was unable to secure a job, however, Currie found no prospects outside of teaching, so he qualified as a teacher in British Columbia and took a teaching position on the Saanich Peninsula north of Victoria, British Columbia. In 1896, Currie moved to Victoria, taking a position at Boys Central School, on 6 May 1897, Currie joined the Canadian Militia as a part-time gunner for the 5th Field Artillery Regiment. Currie achieved the rank of corporal in 1900 and was soon offered an officers commission. A military commission was however an expensive proposition, since officers were expected to provide their own set of tailored uniforms, Currie took on his role as militia officer seriously. He was a keen marksmen and was elected president of the British Columbia Rifle Association in 1905, Currie was promoted to captain in November 1901, and then to major in 1906. By September 1909, he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, apart from his interest in the militia, Currie was also an active Freemason, rising to the position of deputy grandmaster of the Victoria District of Freemasonry in 1907. He also served two years as president of the Young Mens Liberal Association of Victoria, and several times was suggested as a candidate for the provincial legislature, in addition to his military career, Currie continued to be active in business. With a land boom in Victoria in full swing, Currie and a Victoria businessman, R. A. Power, formed Currie & Power in 1908
Arthur Currie
–
Sir Arthur William Currie
Arthur Currie
–
General Sir Arthur Currie's personal
Coat of Arms carved into the Currie Building,
Royal Military College of Canada
Arthur Currie
–
Bust of General Sir Arthur Currie (1969) by Alison MacNeil in
Currie Hall at the
Royal Military College of Canada
Arthur Currie
–
Portrait of Currie by British war artist
William Orpen, 1919
43.
Western Front (World War I)
–
The Western Front or Western Theater was the main theatre of war during World War I. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, the tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. This line remained unchanged for most of the war. Between 1915 and 1917 there were several major offensives along this front, the attacks employed massive artillery bombardments and massed infantry advances. However, a combination of entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire, as a result, no significant advances were made. In an effort to break the deadlock, this front saw the introduction of new technology, including poison gas, aircraft. But it was only after the adoption of improved tactics that some degree of mobility was restored, the German Armys Spring Offensive of 1918 was made possible by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that marked the end of the conflict on the Eastern Front. In spite of the stagnant nature of this front, this theatre would prove decisive. The terms of peace were agreed upon with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, belgiums neutrality was guaranteed by Britain under the 1839 Treaty of London, this caused Britain to join the war at the expiration of its ultimatum at 11 pm GMT on 4 August. Armies under German generals Alexander von Kluck and Karl von Bülow attacked Belgium on 4 August 1914, Luxembourg had been occupied without opposition on 2 August. The first battle in Belgium was the Siege of Liège, which lasted from 5–16 August, Liège was well fortified and surprised the German Army under von Bülow with its level of resistance. German heavy artillery was able to demolish the main forts within a few days. Following the fall of Liège, most of the Belgian field army retreated to Antwerp, leaving the garrison of Namur isolated, with the Belgian capital, Brussels, although the German army bypassed Antwerp, it remained a threat to their flank. Another siege followed at Namur, lasting from about 20–23 August, for their part, the French had five armies deployed on their borders. The pre-war French offensive plan, Plan XVII, was intended to capture Alsace-Lorraine following the outbreak of hostilities, on 7 August the VII Corps attacked Alsace with its objectives being to capture Mulhouse and Colmar. The main offensive was launched on 14 August with 1st and 2nd Armies attacking toward Sarrebourg-Morhange in Lorraine, in keeping with the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans withdrew slowly while inflicting severe losses upon the French. The French advanced the 3rd and 4th Armies toward the Saar River and attempted to capture Saarburg, attacking Briey and Neufchateau, before being driven back
Western Front (World War I)
–
A German trench occupied by
British troops near the Albert-Bapaume road at
Ovillers-La Boisselle, July 1916 during the
Battle of the Somme. The men are from A Company, 11th (Service) Battalion,
Cheshire Regiment. Photo by
Ernest Brooks.
Western Front (World War I)
–
French
bayonet charge
Western Front (World War I)
–
German infantry on the battlefield, 7 August 1914
Western Front (World War I)
–
Map of the Western Front, 1915–16
44.
Ferdinand Foch
–
Marshal Ferdinand Jean Marie Foch was a French general and Marshal of France, Great Britain and Poland, a military theorist and the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. Ordered west to defend Paris, Fochs prestige soared as a result of the victory at the Marne, at the end of 1916, partly owing to the disappointing results of the latter offensive and partly owing to wartime political rivalries, Foch was transferred to Italy. Foch was ultimately appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies on 26 March 1918 following being the Commander-in-Chief of Western Front with title Généralissime in 1918. He played a role in halting a renewed German advance on Paris in the Second Battle of the Marne. Addington says, to an extent the final Allied strategy which won the war on land in Western Europe in 1918 was Fochs alone. On 11 November 1918 Foch accepted the German request for an armistice, Foch advocated peace terms that would make Germany unable to pose a threat to France ever again. Foch considered the Treaty of Versailles too lenient on Germany and as the Treaty was being signed on 28 June 1919, he declared and it is an armistice for twenty years. His words proved prophetic, the Second World War started twenty years and 64 days later, Foch was born at Tarbes, Hautes-Pyrénées, the son of a civil servant from Comminges. His German surname was of his paternal side ancestry which originally came from Alsace in the 18th century and he attended school at Tarbes, Rodez and the Jesuit College at Saint-Étienne. His brother later became a Jesuit priest, which may initially have hindered Fochs rise through the ranks of the French Army since the Republican government of France was anti-clerical. At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Foch enlisted in the French 4th Infantry Regiment which did not take part in combat, in 1871, he entered the École Polytechnique, choosing the school of artillery. In 1876, he attended the school of Saumur to train as a mounted artillery officer. On 30 September 1878 he became a Captain and arrived in Paris on 24 September 1879 as an assistant in the Central Personnel Service Depot of the artillery, in 1885 Foch undertook a course at the Ecole Supérieur de Guerre where he was later an instructor from 1895 to 1901. He was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel in 1898, and colonel in 1903, as a colonel he became regimental commander of the 35th Artillery Regiment at Vannes. An extremely short man, Foch was known for his physical strength, Foch was a quiet man, known for saying little and when he did speak, it was a volley of words accompanied by much gesturing of his hands that required some knowledge of him to understand properly. One of Fochs favorite phrases was Pas de protocole, in 1907 Foch was promoted to Général de Brigade, and in the same year he assumed command of the French War College. He held this position until 1911, the year in which he was appointed Général de Division, Foch influenced General Joseph Joffre when he drafted the French plan of campaign in 1913. In 1913 he took command of XX Corps at Nancy, Foch was later acclaimed as the most original military thinker of his generation
Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch
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General Foch in 1921
Ferdinand Foch
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Foch's birthplace in Tarbes
Ferdinand Foch
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General Foch in 1916
45.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
France
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One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
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Flag
France
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The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
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With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
46.
Luxembourg
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Luxembourg /ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡ/, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east and its culture, people and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of French and Germanic cultures. It comprises two regions, the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif. With an area of 2,586 square kilometres, it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe, Luxembourg had a population of 524,853 in October 2012, ranking it the 8th least-populous country in Europe. As a representative democracy with a monarch, it is headed by a Grand Duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a country, with an advanced economy and the worlds highest GDP per capita. Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, OECD, United Nations, NATO, and Benelux, reflecting its political consensus in favour of economic, political. The city of Luxembourg, which is the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions. Luxembourg served on the United Nations Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014, around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a state of great strategic value. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors, in the following centuries, Luxembourgs fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and the French. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands and this arrangement was revised by the 1839 First Treaty of London, from which date Luxembourgs full independence is reckoned. In 1842 Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union, the King of the Netherlands remained Head of State as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, maintaining a personal union between the two countries until 1890. At the death of William III, the throne of the Netherlands passed to his daughter Wilhelmina and this allowed Germany the military advantage of controlling and expanding the railways there. In August 1914, Imperial Germany violated Luxembourgs neutrality in the war by invading it in the war against France and this allowed Germany to use the railway lines, while at the same time denying them to France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation, Luxembourg was allowed to maintain much of its independence, in 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, Luxembourgs neutrality was again violated when the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany entered the country, entirely without justification. A government in exile based in London supported the Allies, sending a group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion. Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944, and became a member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourgs neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, in 2005, a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was held
Luxembourg
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Historic map (undated) of Luxembourg city's fortifications
Luxembourg
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Flag
Luxembourg
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Photograph of the fortress of Luxembourg prior to demolition in 1867
Luxembourg
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Luxembourg City: The Passerelle, also known as the viaduct or old bridge, over the
Pétrusse river valley, opened 1861
47.
Schlieffen Plan
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The Schlieffen Plan was the name given after World War I to the thinking behind the German invasion of France and Belgium on 4 August 1914. After the war, the German official historians of the Reichsarchiv and other writers, in writings from the 1970s, Martin van Creveld, John Keegan, Hew Strachan and others studied the practical aspects of an invasion of France through Belgium and Luxembourg. Most of the planning of the German General Staff was secret. The bombing of Potsdam in April 1945 destroyed the Prussian army archive and only incomplete records, some records became available after the fall of the German Democratic Republic, making an outline of German war-planning possible for the first time, proving much of the post-1918 writing wrong. In the 2000s, RH61/v.96 was discovered in the trove inherited from the GDR, inferences that Schlieffens war-planning was solely offensive, were found to have been made by extrapolating his writings and speeches on tactics into grand strategy. Military strategists had adapted by creating plans to suit the characteristics of the post-Napoleonic scene, in the late nineteenth century, military thinking remained dominated by the German Wars of Unification, which had been short and decided by great battles of annihilation. In Vom Kriege Carl von Clausewitz had defined decisive battle as a victory which had political results, the object is to overthrow the enemy, to render him politically helpless or militarily impotent, thus forcing him to sign whatever peace we please. And Niederwerfungsstrategie replaced the slow, cautious approach to war, that had been overturned by Napoleon, German strategists judged the defeat of the Austrians in the Austro-Prussian War and the French imperial armies in 1870, as evidence that a strategy of decisive victory was still possible. On 4 September, after the Battle of Sedan, there had been a republican coup détat and the installation of a Government of National Defence, a levée en masse was promulgated on 2 November and by February 1871, the republican army had increased to 950,200 men. Attacks by francs-tireurs, forced the diversion of 110,000 men to guard railways and bridges, which put great strain on Prussian manpower. Moltke wrote later The days are gone by when, for dynastical ends, small armies of soldiers went to war to conquer a city, or a province. The wars of the present day call whole nations to arms, the entire financial resources of the State are appropriated to military purposes. Having already written in 1867, that French patriotism would lead them to make a supreme effort, goltz advocated the conscription of every able-bodied man and a reduction of the period of service to two years, in a nation-in-arms. Delbrück had introduced Leopold von Ranke’s system of Quellenkritik/Sachkritik into the study of military history, Delbrück wrote that Clausewitz had intended to divide strategy into Vernichtungsstrategie or Ermattungsstrategie but had died in 1830, before he could revise his book. Delbrück wrote that Frederick the Great had used Ermattungsstrategie during the Seven Years War because eighteenth century armies were small and made up of professionals, dynastic armies were tied to magazines for supply, which made them incapable of fulfilling a strategy of annihilation. Delbrücks conclusions were influenced by the examples of the Boer War, Germany would be forced into a war of attrition, similar to his view of the Seven Years War. By the 1890s, the Strategiestreit had entered public discourse, at the time when strategists like the two Moltkes, also doubted the possibility of quick victory in a European war. The German army was forced to examine its assumptions about war in the face of an opposing view, the debate provided the German army with a fairly familiar alternative to Vernichtungsstrategie, after the opening campaigns of 1914
Schlieffen Plan
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Count
Alfred von Schlieffen in 1906
Schlieffen Plan
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Map showing areas of France occupied during the Franco-Prussian War
Schlieffen Plan
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Francs-tireurs in the
Vosges during the Franco-Prussian War.
Schlieffen Plan
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Colmar von der Goltz
Armenian irregulars and volunteers: seceded from Soviet Russia in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and fought against the Ottoman Empire.
Polish Legions
Czechoslovak Legions: armed by France, Italy and Russia
Serbia[edit]
Montenegro[edit]
General Božidar Janković – Chief of the General Staff of the Montenegrin Army (1914–1915)
Russia (1914–1917)[edit]
Belgium[edit]
France[edit]
British Empire[edit]
Dominion of Canada[edit]
Lieutenant-General Edwin Alderson – Commander of the unified Canadian Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (26 January 1915 – September 1915)
Commonwealth of Australia[edit]
Empire of India[edit]
Union of South Africa[edit]
New Zealand[edit]
Dominion of Newfoundland[edit]
Japan[edit]
Italy (1915–1918)[edit]
Romania (1916–1918)[edit]
Portugal (1916–1918)[edit]
Greece (1917–1918)[edit]
United States (1917–1918)[edit]
Siam (Thailand) (1917–1918)[edit]
Brazil (1917–1918)[edit]
Armenia (1918)[edit]
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