World War I is certainly the event that changed the world. One of the most bloody, scary and large-scale hostilities that have ever occurred on Earth. 38 countries were involved in this war, fiercely fighting among themselves in vast territories.
Never before has mankind known the horrors that came with it. Hunger, epidemics, millions of dead and new ways of mass destruction of the enemy - this is what this meat grinder has given people.
Today's top 10 will tell you about interesting facts about the First World War.
10. Sarajevo murder - a formal occasion
The event that triggered the outbreak of World War I was the assassination of Archduke Austria-Hungary by a Serbian student in Bosnia. Gavrilo Princip, a student in a Serbian terrorist organization, committed an attempt that resulted in the death of first one, and then millions of people. But it would be very naive to believe that this is precisely what led to the war. This was only a formal occasion.
The war had been brewing for a long time and if it had not been for that, another incident would have occurred, which served as a detonator.
9. Two warring camps
The war divided the world into two camps. In the first that was called Entente, included Great Britain, France and the Russian Empire. This block was formed back in 1907 after the signing of agreements between the countries.
The second was Triple Alliance, which included Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. But it existed only until 1915 and fell apart due to the fact that Italy switched to the Entente.
However, after the Turks and Bulgaria entered the war, a new one was formed in its place, Quadruple Union.
8. On the eve of the war, France had the largest army in Europe
Before the start of World War I, one of Russia's future allies had the largest army in Europe. France before the start of the war was able to collect more than 730 thousand soldiers. One of the decisions that helped the French realize this was the order for a new term of military service of three years, instead of two.
The size of the army compensated for the lack of artillery weapons, and the excellent training of the officers made the French a formidable force.
7. Germany was guided by the Schlieffen plan
Germany was a very serious adversary thanks to military, economic and industrial power. The army of this country was armed with the latest technology, and the military command had a very clear plan of operations.
Guided by Schlieffen’s plan, Germany planned to first defeat the French, and then the Russian army. The Germans considered it a great stupidity to wage a war on two fronts and realized that it was akin to suicide.
6. Rifles were considered the main means of defeating the enemy in the early 20th century
Before the First World War, the main personal weapon of a soldier and an officer were all sorts of sabers, swords and knives. But new dimensions and goals required the creation of weapons to meet the growing needs of the army.
The main means of defeating the enemy in the early 20th century was a rifle. This new weapon completely changed the essence of warfare. The rifle allowed firing at a distance, which made life easier for soldiers on the one hand, but on the other made it even more scary.
The widespread use of firearms by all participants in the war has radically changed the tactics of both attack and defense.
5. "Ilya Muromets" - the first strategic bomber
World War I became a battle not only of people, but also of an arms and technology race. For the first time in the world, airplanes were used, which made the enemy’s losses even more significant. Each of the warring countries sought to take advantage not only on land but also in the air.
The Russian Empire managed to create the world's first strategic bomber, named after the epic hero Ilya Muromets. The main advantage of this type of aircraft was the height to which the apparatus for dropping bombs rose. A flight at an altitude of three kilometers made the Russian bomber inaccessible to enemy artillery.
4. Legends about the pocket Bible
Of course, the level of atheism in a person drops sharply, when every second can easily become the last. But the huge circulation of the Bible, quickly sold during the First World War, was associated not only with uplifting.
In those days, there was a legend that was based on an incredible event during the military operations of a soldier. A young guy put a pocket Bible near his heart. And she became his salvation not only in reading, but also literally. The book held up a bullet that went straight to a vital organ.
When the soldier took the Bible in his hands, he could not believe his eyes, the bullet stopped on the page where it was written "I will protect you." He was so amazed that he sent a book to his mother and this story spread throughout the country. Then the soldiers began to buy pocket Bibles in the hope that such a miracle would be repeated with them.
3. The forced development of plastic surgery
World War I was the impetus for the development of plastic surgery. Before that, few people knew how to treat gunshot wounds. But during the terrible war, there were many who wanted to get rid of the mutilated parts of the body after the fighting. Surgeons had to actively study technology and invent new methods.
Between the First World War and the Second World War, a huge number of technologies and techniques for aesthetic operations were developed. This is due not only to aesthetic beauty, but also to the fact that people wanted to rid themselves of reminders of this terrible time.
2. After the war, four empires ceased to exist
More than 30 countries participated in the First World War. At this time, began to use modern weapons, which included tanks and aircraft. Tens of millions of soldiers fought for their homeland.
In those years, 10 million soldiers died, 12 million civilians and more than 50 million people were injured. The result of this serious battle was a series of revolutions, the collapse and liquidation of four empires: the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman. The most affected were the German and Russian empires. They not only greatly weakened economically, but also lost part of the territory.
1. The war became the "detonator" of subsequent revolutions
World War I became the most important factor for the 1917 revolution. These events prepared both subjective and objective reasons for the revolution. This war was very different from the previous ones, and not only with the abundance of the territory covered.
Our country was not ready for events of this magnitude. The fighting spirit weakened among the soldiers every day, when they saw a picture of the mismatch of resources and military operations. The whole army consisted mainly of recruits (10.5 million people) who did not undergo any military training.
Already in the autumn of 1914, mass surrenders began. People knew that they had nowhere to return, because from the rear came news about the hardships of the peasant economy.
Before the revolution began, in 1916, more than 450,000 deserters were caught. Authorities from the first months of the war tried to confront the negative situation, but the severity of the events grew rapidly.