An End to the War
World War I (1914–18; first called the Great War) came to an end when the balance of power shifted in favor of the Allies (Serbia, France, Great Britain, Italy, Russia, the United States, and nineteen other nations) against the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire). Although the United States had not been fully prepared to enter the war, the American government mobilized quickly to rally troops and citizens behind the war effort. In April 1917 the U.S. Army numbered slightly more than 100,000 men. By the end of the war, however, the number had soared to about 5,000,000. The arrival of U.S. troops in Europe gave the Allies the manpower they needed to win the war. In November 1918 Germany agreed to an armistice (truce), and the Central Powers finally surrendered. In January 1919, Allied representatives gathered in Paris, France, to draft the peace settlement. By the time the combat ended, almost 10,000,000 people were dead.
The Paris peace conference resulted in several additional treaties. Bulgaria accepted the Treaty of Neuilly (1919), ceding only small portions of territory, because the Allies feared that major territorial changes in the Balkans would destabilize the region. That view did not apply to the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, whose imperial unity disintegrated under the impact of the war. The peacemakers recognized the territorial breakup of the former empire in two separate treaties: the Treaty of St. Germain (1919), between the Allies and the Republic of Austria, and the Treaty of Trianon (1920), between the Allies and the kingdom of Hungary. Both Austria and Hungary suffered severe territorial losses, which the Allies claimed were necessary in order to find territorial boundaries that accorded closely with the principle of self-determination. For example, the peace settlement reduced Hungarian territory to one-third of its prewar size and decreased the nation's population from 28 to 8 million people.
Arrangements between the defeated Ottoman empire and the Allies proved to be a more complicated and protracted affair. The Treaty of Sèvres (1920) effectively dissolved the empire, calling for the surrender of Ottoman Balkan and Arab provinces and the occupation of eastern and southern Anatolia by foreign powers. The treaty was acceptable to the government of sultan Mohammed VI, but not to Turkish nationalists who rallied around their wartime hero Mustafa Kemal. As head of the Turkish nationalist movement, Mustafa Kemal set out to defy the Allied terms. He organized a national army that drove out Greek, British, French, and Italian occupation forces and abolished the sultanate and re-placed it with the Republic of Turkey, with Ankara as its capital. In a great diplomatic victory for Turkish nationalists, the Allied powers officially recognized the Republic of Turkey in a final peace agreement, the Treaty of Lausanne (1923).
The Paris peace conference resulted in several additional treaties. Bulgaria accepted the Treaty of Neuilly (1919), ceding only small portions of territory, because the Allies feared that major territorial changes in the Balkans would destabilize the region. That view did not apply to the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, whose imperial unity disintegrated under the impact of the war. The peacemakers recognized the territorial breakup of the former empire in two separate treaties: the Treaty of St. Germain (1919), between the Allies and the Republic of Austria, and the Treaty of Trianon (1920), between the Allies and the kingdom of Hungary. Both Austria and Hungary suffered severe territorial losses, which the Allies claimed were necessary in order to find territorial boundaries that accorded closely with the principle of self-determination. For example, the peace settlement reduced Hungarian territory to one-third of its prewar size and decreased the nation's population from 28 to 8 million people.
Arrangements between the defeated Ottoman empire and the Allies proved to be a more complicated and protracted affair. The Treaty of Sèvres (1920) effectively dissolved the empire, calling for the surrender of Ottoman Balkan and Arab provinces and the occupation of eastern and southern Anatolia by foreign powers. The treaty was acceptable to the government of sultan Mohammed VI, but not to Turkish nationalists who rallied around their wartime hero Mustafa Kemal. As head of the Turkish nationalist movement, Mustafa Kemal set out to defy the Allied terms. He organized a national army that drove out Greek, British, French, and Italian occupation forces and abolished the sultanate and re-placed it with the Republic of Turkey, with Ankara as its capital. In a great diplomatic victory for Turkish nationalists, the Allied powers officially recognized the Republic of Turkey in a final peace agreement, the Treaty of Lausanne (1923).
The Aftermath to the Middle East
The Arab leaders that fought on the entente side were hoping to create a unified Arabia free of the ottoman turks. Lawrence of Arabia supported that idea, but the French and British broke those promises and hopes, dividing Arabia between them. Thus borders were created that are full of conflicts today.
-The break-up of the Ottoman Empire -The awakening of (and frustration of) Arab nationalism -The Sykes-Picot Agreement (on how the British and French would divide the spoils in the Middle East after the war). -The Balfour Declaration (regarding the right of Jews to live in Palestine) -The creation of Iraq (cobbled together out of three Ottoman provinces) -The British mandate in Palestine (plus the French in Syria and Lebanon) -British "divide and conquer" strategies (e.g., lets give all the power in Iraq to the Sunni minority, so they'll be dependent on British support). -Interest in the oil |