10 CONSEQUENCES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR - HISTORY - 2025

The main consequences of the First World War include the numerous human losses, the social gap that was generated, the high costs associated with the destruction of infrastructure and the implacable economic blockade that Germany suffered during the years after the conflict.

The Great War was a conflict fought by air, land and sea, and it was so terrible that it took the lives of six million civilians and eight million military personnel. At that time, this figure was equivalent to 60% of the people who participated in the confrontation, not counting those who were injured or disappeared.

Among the great consequences of the First World War, the destruction of infrastructure stands out. Source: pixabay.com

In just four years -that is, between 1914 and 1918-, the First World War completely changed the way of understanding and developing modern warfare, making it the most lethal war in human history until the present day.

However, this dire event did not diminish disagreements between nations or generate regret, but rather fueled the resentment that subsequently nurtured the fascist leaders of World War II.

The causes of World War I were very diverse; however, it had its origins especially in the network of alliances that existed between the European powers. The conflict was due to mistrust between the Triple Entente (made up of France, Russia and Great Britain) and the Triple Alliance (made up of Italy, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire).

Tensions between these alliances escalated exponentially after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) by a Bosnian Serb during his stay in Sarajevo. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the attack on its heir and Russia decided to back its ally, Serbia.

When the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia, the Allies decided to intervene by causing the entire continent to go to war; the conflict quickly spread throughout the world and affected the rest of the allied countries. In 1917 the United States chose to participate, which expedited the end of the war after Germany was defeated in 1918.

Main consequences of the First World War

- Social consequences

Human casualties

According to various records, the Great War left up to ten million dead and about twenty million soldiers wounded.

Additionally, some estimate that civilian casualties reached seven million people, which for many countries meant losing a large percentage of their inhabitants. This had very decisive consequences for the following generations.

On the German side, the Reich mobilized 11 million soldiers, of whom two million died. For its part, the Russian Empire recruited 12 million men, of whom almost two million died.

As for France, it recruited eight million French, of whom 1.3 million died; that is, 16% of the soldiers.

Britain lost about 850,000 soldiers, Italy lost 700,000, and Austria-Hungary lost 1.5 million men, representing 19% of all recruited soldiers.

The most affected were the smallest nations: Romania, Serbia and Montenegro. For example, of the 700,000 soldiers sent by Serbia, some 130,000 died in battle.

Additionally, Serbia lost 11% of the population, because 540,000 people died in total. However, the worst figures were obtained by Montenegro, since this country lost 16% of its inhabitants.

Social gap and psychological distress

The First World War led to the creation of a very strong social gap in the demographics of Germany, Serbia, France, Turkey and Montenegro, which caused constant social unrest, especially in the widows and orphans that it generated.

In addition, those who survived had to deal with amputations, disfigurements and permanent disabilities, which prevented them from leading a normal life in a society where there were still no modern rehabilitation doctors or prosthetics.

In turn, many of the soldiers who refused to participate in the contests ended up in psychiatric centers or in prison, because they did not comply with the patriotic obligations demanded of them. In those cases, the protocol contemplated this type of reprimand towards said citizens.

Health effects

In addition to direct human losses, the Great War also brought with it the flourishing of disease. For example, in 1914 the epidemic exanthematic typhus - transferred by lice - killed 200,000 people in Serbia, while in Russia 25 million people were affected by the same disease.

The well-known flu pandemic of 1918 was also widespread, killing 50 million civilians worldwide. In the same way, the Spanish flu spread, which was so named because neutral Spain was the only territory where it was reported, since the countries involved in the war censored the information.

The loss of an entire generation

Some historians point out that an entire generation was lost during World War I, as too many young men died. In addition, those who survived remained disabled, which prevented them from continuing with their lives, returning to work and starting a family.

Added to this is a strong feeling of distrust and disappointment in the face of political figures and parties. In this context, a bitter process of acceptance of the new reality began, in which optimistic dreams and notions of progress were put aside.

- Economic consequences

Destruction and high costs

Parts of Serbia, Belgium, and France were completely destroyed, resulting in reconstruction costs reaching 100 million francs. In addition, the hope of the victors about financing the costs of the war through reparations provided by the defeated team was an unrealizable fiction.

The UK became one of the most indebted countries after being the world's creditor, while Germany had to deal with gigantic inflation.

Similarly, Europe lost its hegemony and gave way to the United States, which became the world's new creditor.

Economic blockade of Germany and war reparations

At the 1919 Peace Conference, held in Paris, the economic blockade was imposed on the nation of Germany and subsequent reparations were assigned to it. The total expenditures were 956 billion gold marks, which were distributed among the British Empire, France, the United States, Russia, Austria-Hungary and Italy.

Most of these expenses were met as war bonds. In Germany alone, daily war expenditures reached 70 million marks; however, this number increased significantly after the Hidenburg program.

- Political consequences

The peace treaties

The peace accords were signed between 1919 and 1920. On January 18, 1919, the Paris Peace Conference began. A day that was not arbitrarily chosen, since on January 18 the German Empire was founded.

In most cases, the negotiations were conducted in secret and Russia and the rest of the defeated countries were excluded.

Starting in March of the same year, information was exchanged with the defeated countries through the Council of Four, where the leaders of the winning countries met: the United Kingdom, France, Italy and the United States. Later the Treaty of Versailles was signed, a peace agreement in which up to fifty countries participated.

Border changes

After the war, Poland became an independent nation after a century of being dominated. The Kingdom of Serbia became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, where the Slovenes and the Croats were linked.

After the revolution, the former Russian Empire became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or simply the Soviet Union. However, it lost the territories of Estonia, Lithuania, Finland and Latvia, which became independent territories.

Influence on the rise of Nazism

After all the complications that Germany had to go through, a strong nationalism and a notable rejection of postwar changes emerged in that territory.

In addition, in Germany a legend called "Backstab" became popular, which consisted of a testimony of the psychological state in which the population of Germany was after losing the war and abiding by the responsibilities attributed to it by the victorious countries..

This theory supported the belief that Germany did not lose the war by military difficulties, but by the internal enemy; that is, the left parties and the Jews.

The acceptance of this theory destabilized the system, a factor that was used by the extreme right and especially by the Nazi party, which knew how to take advantage of the discontent after the Treaty of Versailles.

End of monarchies and some empires

In general terms, the most visible consequence of the Great War was the disappearance of four empires: the Austro-Hungarian, the Russian, the German and the Ottoman. This phenomenon gave way to the creation of new nations, as well as allowed the recovery of the independence of others.

Similarly, four dynasties fell along with their aristocracies: the Osmanlí, the Romanovs, the Habsburgs, and the Hohenzollern.

References

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