Economic Mobilization & War Culture

Economic and Financial Mobilization

• There were difficulties in supplying weapons, ammunition, and provisions to soldiers and civilians.
• This led to the introduction of the Auxiliary Service Law in December 1916.
• The law mandated all non-eligible men between 17 and 60 to work in war-related industries, including colonial workers and prisoners of war.
• Women were called to work in sectors previously dominated by men, like agriculture, ammunition factories, and mines.
• Funding was achieved through war bonds, state loans from private individuals or firms, and resource allocation prioritizing the army and the war industry, at the expense of civilians and patriotic consensus.

Propaganda and War Culture

• There was censorship, involving control of the media (newspapers, books, letters, etc.).
• Suppression of war reporting, including tactical details, losses, and critical assessments, and censorship of letters between soldiers and civilians.
• Propaganda used posters, brochures, and films to promote patriotism and war bonds.
• It also depicted enemy propaganda to demoralize and undermine the government.

The Revolution of 1905

• Russia had a Tsarist monarchy until the 20th century under the Romanovs.
• It had lost influence in Europe due to events like the Crimean War and the Holy Alliance.
• Serfdom was abolished in 1861, leading to discontent among the nobility, while the absence of insurance caused unrest in large cities.
• There was an economic and social crisis starting in 1904.
• Peaceful demonstrations were violently suppressed by the Tsar's troops in January 1905.
• Concessions were made regarding freedoms and legislative meetings on October 30.
• Soldier morale was low due to military defeats, leading to strikes due to shortages and inflation.
• The autocracy (monarchy/Tsar) was blamed for the misery.

The February Revolution of 1917

• Political demonstrations and mutiny by Tsarist soldiers led to the abdication of the Tsar and the overthrow of the absolute monarchy on March 15, 1917.
• A dual power structure emerged, including a provisional bourgeois government aiming for a parliamentary democracy, and soviets, which were popular assemblies for peasants, workers, and soldiers.

The October Revolution of 1917

• The October Revolution of 1917 resulted in the rise of soviets and the influence of Lenin (Bolshevik Party).

US Entry into the War

• The US began its involvement in the war as early as 1914 by exporting weapons and iron to both Great Britain/France and Germany.
• Germany's declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare on February 1, 1917 was aimed at breaking the English blockade.
• They attacked merchant and passenger ships, and the sinking of the Lusitania, with American passengers on board, led to the US entering the war on April 2, 1917.

The Difficult Year of 1917

• Desertion: intentionally leaving the armed forces without permission or orders.
• Mutiny: collectively refusing to obey orders within an army.
• The Russian Revolution occurred in 1917.
• There was mutiny in France and Italy.

Return to Maneuver Warfare (1918)

• The armistice between the Central Powers and Russia was made through the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918.
• A failed German offensive in the spring of 1918 preceded the arrival of American troops.
• The Entente had material superiority due to American troops.
• Coordinated Allied offensives, including at the Marne in August 1918, made the German army pull back several times.

Road to Armistice

• Wilson's 14 Points were a plan for peace after World War I.
• It emphasized self-determination and international cooperation, laying the foundations for the League of Nations as a precursor to the United Nations.
• Ludendorff called for peace negotiations on September 29, 1918.
• The abdication of the Emperor by Max von Baden in November 1918 led to the proclamation of a republic.

The Armistice - an End to the War

• With the Armistice of Compiègne on November 11, 1918, German troops withdrew within two weeks, and the western Rhineland was evacuated.
• The German army had to hand over part of its equipment, including submarines and artillery.

The Stab-in-the-Back Legend

• The German army was not militarily defeated, but instead betrayed by the civilian population or stabbed in the back by revolutionaries.
• In Russia, there was a civil war, and Germans and Russians fought each other in Posen.
• In April, the Russian-Polish conflict broke out.
• In January 1919, the German government turned to the army to protect the eastern border.
• Freikorps refers to a group that was formed on a voluntary basis by nationalistic officers, who had made up front-line soldiers and younger men.

The Peace Conference

• The territorial provisions and colonies specified loss of 70,000 km²: Alsace-Lorraine to FR, West Prussia/Posen/Danzig to Poland, Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium, North Schleswig to Denmark, administration of Saarland by the League of Nations, coal mines in French possession, and the loss of all colonies.
• The economic provisions included the cession of the merchant fleet, occupation of the Saarland and factories, and payment of 226 billion gold marks in war reparations.
• Military provisions reduced the army to 100,000 men, prohibited possession of heavy artillery and tanks/air force, demilitarized the left bank of the Rhine and a 50 km zone on the right bank, and occupied the left bank of the Rhine for 5–15 years.
• Legal provisions consisted of indictment against persons accused of war crimes, such as Kaiser Wilhelm II.