Effects of world war 1
Effects at the end of the war
- There was a Peace Conference at the Palace of Versailles in France on Jan. 1919 > As a result The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919
- New independent nations were formed in Europe
- Ethnic groups united and empires were destroyed
- The League of Nations was formed to prevent another World War (but we see how that worked out!)
- Germany was blamed for starting World War I and forced to pay huge reparations ($33 billion) as well as give up huge portions of land. They were only left with a defensive army due to massive disarmament.
- Many people of the U.S. believed the League was another Alliance and rejected the treaty. Most Americans preferred isolationism and made a separate peace treaty with Germany in 1921
Modern Impacts
Even though World War 1 occurred over one hundred years ago, many results of the war impact our world today. The damages done, treaties made, and the victories won all played a role for our modern society. Here is a list of the things that the war has done for our world today:
With out the war, we may have never created the new countries that were created (Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Turkey). Austria Hungary may have still been around too, and Austria Hungary and Germany may have still had the rivalries that they have today. There were also advances in weaponry such as
- New Countries were created (Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Turkey)
- Countries were destroyed (Austria Hungary)
- It provided us with advances in war-craft
- Benefited or harmed the economies of other countries
- Increasing the rights of women
With out the war, we may have never created the new countries that were created (Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Turkey). Austria Hungary may have still been around too, and Austria Hungary and Germany may have still had the rivalries that they have today. There were also advances in weaponry such as
Advances in weaponry
- Bolt-action rifle: 15 rounds could be fired per minute and a person from 1400 meters away could be shot and killed
- machine guns: had the fire power of 100 guns but needed 4-6 men to work and also must be on a flat surface
- artillery: large field guns that had a long range but needed up to 12 men to work them and fired shells that exploded on impact
- Chlorine gas: was first used by the German army and used at the battle of Ypres in 1915; caused a burning sensation in the throat and chest pains
- Mustard gas: most deadly weapon; fired into the trenches in shells and caused vomiting, blistering skin, sore eyes, internal/external bleeding; death can occur up to 5 weeks after exposure
- Zeppelin (aka blimp): airship that was used during by the Germans in the early part of the war; carried machine guns/bombs; they were easy to shoot
- Tanks: used for the first time in WWI; the more modern tank developed right before the end of the war and could carry 10 men and had a revolving turret and could reach 4 miles per hour
- planes: at first used to deliver bombs and spying work but later became fighter aircraft
- Torpedoes: used by submarines; Germans used them for blowing up supply ships from America that were going to Britain
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