Regions Eastern Europe

Regional Thematic Articles

Encyclopedic Entries

See also

Survey Articles (Regional)

  • This article presents a survey of the First World War in the region of today’s states of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. Chronologically the article begins with the outbreak of the war in … READ MORE

    Regional
  • This paper presents the process of building an independent Polish state during the First World War, which, from the Polish perspective, was the most important result of this conflict. The article … READ MORE

    Regional
  • The Russian Empire entered the war in order to preserve its Great Power status, but it ended the war in a bout of revolution and decolonization. The army had a mixed record in the war, losing several … READ MORE

    Regional

Regional Thematic Articles

Encyclopedic Entries

  • Mikhail Alekseyev was a Russian general who was the chief of staff of the general headquarters (''Stavka'') of the Russian army from August 1915 until May 1917. Yet, the military contribution of this … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Born Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, Aleksandra Fedorovna married the future Russian Emperor Nicholas II in 1894 and became empress. She was engaged in charity work and served as a nurse during the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During World War I, the Russian military command was overtly anti-Semitic. Russian commanders pointed to the alleged disloyalty of Russia’s Jewish population. The Russian army expelled Jews from … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Army of Islam, which was created by the order of Enver Pasha dated 5 April 1918, was a military force that performed operations in the summer of 1918 which resulted in the expansion of Ottoman … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Republic of Azerbaijan is a majority Turkic and secular Muslim nation in the South Caucasus. This republic was proclaimed on 28 May 1918, during World War I. The Bolshevik invasion on 27 April … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Battle of Baku was the conclusive battle that ended the war between the anti-Ottoman/anti-Musavatist forces in Baku and the Ottoman-Azerbaijani forces. The Army of Islam under the command of Nuri … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the Estonian War of Independence, the Baltic Germans - despite their relatively small numbers - established their own military forces, the ''Baltenregiment'', in order to support the struggle. … READ MORE

    Entry
  • When Latvia felt endangered by the Bolsheviks they called for German help, since Germany had assisted in clearing the country from the Bolsheviks before. However, very soon tensions between the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Invented in France in 1860, barbed wire was further developed in the United States, where it was used to restrict cattle and secure territory. Acquiring far more menacing qualities in the First World … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Great War was a severe trial for Belarus and its population. It ruined the local economy and caused a massive exodus of refugees. An attempt to establish Belarusian statehood was made during the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Jan Bloch was an entrepreneur, social activist and pacifist. At the end of his life, he published a comprehensive work in which he predicted the course and consequences of World War I. He warned of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Jan Bloch was an entrepreneur, social activist and pacifist. At the end of his life, he published a comprehensive work in which he predicted the course and consequences of World War I. He warned of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Elsa Brändström was the only neutral representative to work amongst prisoners of war (POWs) in Russia, Siberia, and Turkestan for five and a half years between winter between winter 1914 and summer … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Aleksei Alekseevich Brusilov was a Russian general in the First World War, successively holding the posts of commander of the 8th Army, commander the south-western front and supreme … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Battle of Cēsis took place on 6-23 June 1919, near Cēsis, Latvia, during Latvian War of Independence. German units fought Estonian-Latvian units. The Estonian-Latvian victory led to the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the war, the Tsarist government imported large groups of Chinese to the Russian Empire to work behind the front lines. Despite their important contribution to the Russian war effort, Chinese … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Circassian nationalism refers to national movements among Adyghe people, a North Caucasian ethnic group. The term is also used to include other North Caucasian peoples who share historical … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Cossacks were warrior subjects who provided the tsars with mounted troops in return for land. The First World War and the revolutions of 1905 and 1917 brutalised and weakened the Cossack communities … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Czechoslovak Legion was a military formation of Czechs, Slovaks, exiles, and former prisoners of war organized in Russia in 1914 to fight in the First World War. The article describes the history … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Ignacy Daszyński was one of the foremost figures on the Polish political scene in the first half of the 20th century. He personified a subset of elites who merged the struggle for social … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Following the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917, Lenin issued his Decree on Peace, calling for a truce and demanding that peace be agreed upon by people’s assemblies to be convened across … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Anton Ivanovich Denikin was a Russian general, politician and writer. He fought in the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War and the Russian Civil War. He is most famous as a leader of the White … READ MORE

    Entry
  • This is the first in what it is hoped will become a series of discussion forums hosted by ''1914-1918-online''. In this discussion forum, General Editor Peter Gatrell invited contributions that … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Roman Stanisław Dmowski was a Polish politician and most importantly the co-founder of National Democracy in Poland before the First World War and during the interwar period. He was also the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • In February 1917 two centres of power emerged to replace the tsarist government: the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet. The Provisional Government had formal authority but the Soviet … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Tsar reluctantly granted an elected legislative assembly, the State Duma, during the 1905 Russian Revolution. The first two Dumas were dissolved amidst bitter conflict and the third did little to … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The First World War, the Russian revolutions of February and October 1917, and the ensuing Civil War created a wave of emigration from the territories of the Russian Empire into Western and Central … READ MORE

    Entry
  • World War I was not simply a conflict among European states but a global war of empires. The fighting took place not only in Europe, but also in Africa, Asia, and across the Middle East, and it … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the First World War both sides accused each other of employing illegal small arms ammunition – either expanding or explosive bullets. The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 outlawed … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Of the two world wars, the First World War was special in that fear figured prominently in a number of domains, including military tactics, psychiatry, and first-person sources. Fear was to be … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Finnish Civil War was fought between the socialist Reds and the non-socialist Whites in the newly sovereign state. The conflict lasted from late January until mid-May 1918 and resulted in a White … READ MORE

    Entry
  • European militaries considered fortifications before the First World War as vital to their strategic planning. Advancements in weapons technology after the mid-19th century caused … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Juozas Gabrys was one of the major advocates of Lithuanian political aspirations in the international arena from 1911 to 1918. He contributed to the establishment of the Council of Lithuania in 1917. … READ MORE

    Entry
  • ''Stavka Verkhovnogo Glavnokomanduyushchego'' was the centre of the field command of the Russian army, the headquarters of the supreme commander and his staff in … READ MORE

    Entry
  • World War One was a catalyst for Georgian independence, which was declared on 26 May 1918. The war demonstrated the significance of Georgian territories as a transit route and source of raw materials … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Grigorovich was Navy Minister between 1911 and 1917. He sought cooperation with parliament and secured funds to rebuild fleets ravaged by war with Japan. His support for mobilisation in 1914 helped … READ MORE

    Entry
  • General Vassillii Iosifovich Gurko was a Russian military commander during the First World War. Between November 1916 and February 1917 he was the chief of staff in the General Headquarters of the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • General Józef Haller was one of the best known Polish military commanders of the First World War period, a lieutenant of the Polish Legions, commander of the II Brigade of the Polish Legions, … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The so-called “Wars of Independence” in the Baltics were part of a larger conflict and continuing warfare in Eastern Europe. After the proclamations of independence and the November Armistice, … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Russian-Jewish author, playwright, journalist, orator, and political activist; co-founder of the Zion Mule Corps (1915-16) and the Jewish Legion (1917-21, the unofficial name of the 38th Battalion of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Finnish Jäger movement recruited approximately 2,000 men to the German Armed Forces during the First World War. After their service on the Eastern Front, the Jägers formed the cadres of the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • In July 1917, economic chaos and unpopular preparations for military action provoked armed demonstrations by workers and troops demanding the Petrograd Soviet take power from Russia’s Provisional … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Aleksandr Kerenskii was Minister of War in Russia’s Provisional Government from April to October 1917 and Prime Minister from July to October. He embodied the hopes of the February Revolution of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Aleksandr Vasil'evich Kolchak was a Russian admiral and political figure. He participated in the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War, and the Russian Civil War. He was one of the leaders of the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Kornilov rose rapidly in the Russian army during the First World War, becoming Commander-in-Chief in July 1917. In August, he sent troops into Petrograd, demanding all military and civil authority be … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Battle of Kostiuchnówka occurred during the Brusilov Offensive in the Volhynia region on 4–6 July 1916. It was fought between the Austro-Hungarian Corps under General Leopold Hauer’s command … READ MORE

    Entry
  • This article details the mutiny of two Russian brigades sent to France in World War I. The less rebellious of the two was finally disciplined and used to suppress the unruly brigade in 1917 in what … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Johan Laidoner, Estonian general and statesman, started his career in the Russian army during World War I. He was crucial in establishing an Estonian army, which he commanded in the War of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Latvian Riflemen were Latvian territorial units comprised of nine battalions, referred to as regiments from 1916 on, in the Russian army. They were active on the Northern Front (Riga) between … READ MORE

    Entry
  • In World War I Lemberg (German: Lemberg, Ukrainian: Lviv, Polish: Lwów) played an important role as a political and administrative center of Galicia and was of great strategic significance as one of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Vladimir Il’ich Lenin was the founder and leader of the Bolshevik Party and of the Soviet state up until his death. Theoretically and practically he combined the strategy of a socialist revolution … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Between 1914 and 1918, the machine gun played an ever-increasing role on the battlefield. Today, even though artillery was responsible for the majority of deaths, the machine gun is the weapon most … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Nestor Makhno was a commander of peasant insurgents who fought the Bolsheviks, Whites and Ukrainian nationalists in the South East of present-day Ukraine. His espousal of anarchism has won him … READ MORE

    Entry
  • A Finnish aristocrat, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim served as cavalry commander in the Imperial Russian army during the First World War. After the Russian Revolution, he commanded Finnish White forces … READ MORE

    Entry
  • One of the founders and leaders of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Pavel Nikolaevich Miliukov took an active part in the organisation of the Progressive Bloc. He made a famous speech in the Duma … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the First World War, at least half a million Muslim soldiers fought in the Russian Army. In spite of efforts of the Ottoman Empire to mobilize Russia’s Muslims against their rulers, Muslim … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Nicholas II ruled Russia from 1894 and was commander of the army from September 1915 until his abdication in March 1917 amidst popular demonstrations against bread shortages, the war and autocracy. … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Nikolai Nikolaevich, a senior Russian officer and close relative of Tsar Nicholas II, was involved in attempts to reform the Russian army from 1905. He was named Commander-in-Chief at the onset of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive of May/June 1915 was a major military success for Austria-Hungary and Germany on the Eastern Front. Following the joint campaign of the Central Powers, the Russian army … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Ignacy Jan Paderewski was a virtuoso pianist. He made use of his popularity in the United States and western Europe to propagate the idea of Polish independence and state sovereignty. In … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Konstantin Päts, a leading Estonian politician, was a key figure in the establishment of Estonian independence during and after World War I. In 1934, he and Johan Laidoner organized a putsch and … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the Russian Civil War, peasant uprisings swept the former Russian Empire. In 1918 and 1919, these uprisings were mainly local responses to requisitioning and conscription. In 1920 and 1921, … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Józef Klemens Piłsudski was a Polish statesman, socialist politician, freedom fighter, and soldier. He commanded the Polish Legions during the First World War, and served as the first chief of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Bayonne Company was the first Polish unit in France, formed in 1914 as a unit of the French Foreign Legion. The Polish Army in France was created in June 1917 and consisted of volunteers. After … READ MORE

    Entry
  • In the 19th century, the German-Polish borderlands became the object of nationalist designs on both sides. After 1871, the German nation-state sought to limit Polish citizens’ room for … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The ''Związek Legionistów Polskich'' (Polish Legionaries Union), or ZLP, was an association of veterans of Polish Legions who had fought under Józef Piłsudski for Poland’s independence during … READ MORE

    Entry
  • At the outbreak of the Great War, two Polish Legions were formed within the Austro-Hungarian army. They eventually increased to three brigades that participated in a series of important campaigns in … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Polish-Lithuanian border conflict (1914-1924) was a consequence of the processes of modernisation and the course of the First World War. Following the creation of the states of Lithuania and … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Polish Army was born out of the chaos of revolutionary Russia. The Russian authorities accepted its establishment, and later the army sought an agreement with the occupying Germans. Polish units … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Polish paramilitary organizations were active in Galicia from 1910 to 1914 with the permission of the Austro-Hungarian army’s intelligence service. Their ostensible aim was to militarily train … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The hostilities between Bolshevik Russia and Poland started as early as 1919. In April 1920, Poland and Ukraine liberated Kiev from Bolshevik control. However, in the summer of 1919, the Bolsheviks … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Polish-Ukrainian conflict over Eastern Galicia in 1918-19 refers to an armed conflict between Poland and the West Ukrainian National Republic (''Zakhidnoukrayins’ka Narodna Respublika,'' ZUNR). … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Prostitution was considered among the most important societal problems facing civilian-military authorities in belligerent countries during World War I. Despite growing military control of the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • When the tsarist government collapsed in February 1917, liberal politicians from the State Duma (parliament), later joined by moderate socialists, formed a Provisional Government. Unable to satisfy … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Vast land area, sparse population density, inconsistent tsarist policy, and underdeveloped industry prevented Russian railroads from growth before and during the First World War. In 1913 the general … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Although rape was not usually systematic, it occurred frequently on all fronts during the First World War, during both invasion and occupation periods. It was often used in propaganda to discredit … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Rasputin was a peasant turned pilgrim who became a close associate of the Russian royal family. Accounts of his wartime influence on government may be exaggerated but public perceptions of his power … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Reconnaissance was aviation’s most important mission in the Great War. When war began, aircraft only performed observation and reconnaissance. The speed of intelligence gathered by aircraft changed … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Red Army was a paradoxical force created by a party deeply suspicious of regular armies. It had many problems and flaws, but its creation was a prerequisite to the Bolshevik victory in the Civil … READ MORE

    Entry
  • German and Austrian advances in 1914 and 1915, together with policies of the Russian military authorities, created millions of refugees in the Russian empire. These refugees suffered immense hardship … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Social and political unrest swept the Russian Empire in 1905, forcing the autocratic tsarist regime to grant the creation of a popularly-elected legislative body; the State Duma. However, the army … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Treaty of Riga was signed by Poland and the Soviet state on 18 March 1921 and was preceded by a preliminary treaty of 12 October 1920. It ended the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1920 and was a … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Russian Expeditionary Force in France and in Macedonia (“Brigades russes en France et en Macédoine” in French and “Russkij èkspedicionnyj korpus” in Russian) was an ensemble of four … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Russian Expeditionary Force in France and in Macedonia (“Brigades russes en France et en Macédoine” in French and “Russkij èkspedicionnyj korpus” in Russian) was an ensemble of four … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, caused by Russian and Japanese expansionism in the Far East, inflicted humiliating defeats on Russia at land and sea. The war contributed to domestic unrest in … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Sergei Sazonov became Russian Foreign Minister in autumn 1910. In July 1914 he argued for a firm stance against Austrian aggression and general mobilisation of the army, but historians dispute his … READ MORE

    Entry
  • In 1914, quick-firing field artillery could fire more shells than domestic industries, geared to peacetime consumption levels, could supply. Armies, although recognizing the dangers, had … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Boris Shtiurmer was Prime Minister from January to November 1916, also serving as Interior Minister between March and July 1916 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from July to November. Denunciations of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Woodrow Wilson proposed a joint intervention with Japan to “rescue” the Czech legion in 1918. Japan dispatched 72,000 troops to Siberia. Allied intervention ended after the collapse of the White … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (''Ukrains’ki Sičovi stril’tsi,'' USS) was a Ukrainian battalion within the Austro-Hungarian army. The USS was active in the defense of the Eastern Front in World War … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the First World War, political writer and editor of Lithuanian magazines, Antanas Smetona in 1917 became chairman of the Council of Lithuania, which declared Lithuania as an independent state … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the First World War, governments, civilians and soldiers alike prized smoking for its morale-boosting qualities, in addition to a medicinal effect following combat and periods of intense … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Spy Fever describes an anxiety or paranoia that enemy spies might be active within one’s own nation. The phenomenon was widespread in all theatres of World War I from at least August of 1914. Most … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Joseph Stalin lived in Siberian exile from 1913 until the revolution of March 1917. During the early period after the “February Revolution”, as well as during the year November 1917 to November … READ MORE

    Entry
  • This article summarises the main wartime stereotypes that defined war propaganda in Germany, France, Great Britain, the USA and Russia. It focuses less on particular details of each national enemy … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Having gained success throughout Europe with his compositions for the ''Ballets Russes'' (centered in Paris), Russian-born Igor Stravinsky took refuge from World War I in Switzerland from 1914 to … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Fought between the Finnish Red and White forces from 15 March to 6 April 1918, the Battle of Tampere was the decisive confrontation of the Finnish Civil War. After a siege and bombardment, the White … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw was originally built to honor the fallen Polish soldiers of the wars from 1914 to 1921. After the First World War the Cult of the Unknown Soldier … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Before and at the beginning of World War I, various proposals concerning the creation of a third part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy were brought up for discussion. Each of the aspiring groups … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Leon Trotsky's communist leadership was partially responsible for bringing about the October Revolution of 1917, after which Russia exited the First World War. Starting as an activist, he became … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The province of Turkestan - modern-day Central Asia -, a Russian military colony since 1865-1875, truly entered WWI in 1916, when Tsar Nicholas II and his military staff decided, on 7 July (Gregorian … READ MORE

    Entry
  • At the beginning of the 20th century Ukrainian lands were part of the Austro-Hungarian (Galicia, Transcarpathia, Bukovina) and Russian (the nine right-bank and left-bank provinces) … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Kārlis Ulmanis was the first prime minister of the Republic of Latvia. His four terms of office saw the successful conclusion of the Latvian War of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The ''Union des Nationalités'', alternatively called the ''Office Central des Nationalités'' or ''Bureau des Nationalités'', was created in 1912 in Paris and remained in existence until 1919. Its … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Unions of Zemstvos and of Towns mobilised local self-government bodies and professional specialists to provide medical aid to soldiers, relief for refugees and orphans and assistance in army … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Jukums Vācietis commanded the 5th ''Zemgale'' Latvian Rifle Battalion. After the October Revolution he sided with the Bolsheviks and became the first commander-in-chief of the Soviet … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the First World War, as professor at the University of Perm (Russia), Augustinas Voldemaras actively participated in the activities of Lithuanian exiles in Russia. In 1917 he argued for … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Volunteer Army was the operational formation of anti-Bolshevik forces in South Russia during the period of the Civil War. This army became the basis of the organization of the White Movement. … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The governments of all belligerent countries issued special loans to finance their expenditure after the war began. To mobilize the financial resources of their peoples required concerted war bonds … READ MORE

    Entry
  • War Communism refers to policies, particularly economic, pursued by the Bolsheviks during the Civil War in response to the ideological and pragmatic demands of consolidating power. It was abandoned … READ MORE

    Entry
  • War Industry Committees were an attempt by Russian industrialists to mobilise the Russian economy for the war effort. They made some contribution to easing supply problems but mutual mistrust between … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Wireless telegraphy became an integral part of warfare on the ground, in the air, and at sea by 1918. Wireless helped to make the war global, though historians still debate its impact on the course … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Petr Nikolaevich Wrangel was a Russian general and political leader. He participated in the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War, and the Russian Civil War. He was one of the leaders of the White … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Nikolaĭ Yudenich was one of the most successful Russian commanders in World War One. He demonstrated admirable consistency in achieving victories on the Caucasus Front. During the Russian Civil War, … READ MORE

    Entry

See also

  • This article considers the use and evolution of air power during the First World War. By focusing on the principal air power roles – control of the air, tactical, strategic, and naval and maritime … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Alliances were an important feature of the international system on the eve of World War I. The formation of rival blocs of Great Powers has previously considered a major cause of the outbreak of war … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The First World War and its direct repercussions in the postwar period (revolution, counterrevolution, the founding of republics, and the Paris peace treaties) mark a profound caesura not only in the … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • New weapons produced during the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s heightened existing tensions among European nations as countries strove to outpace their enemies technologically. This … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The term "atrocity" describes an act of violence condemned by contemporaries as a breach of morality or the laws of war. "Atrocities" are culturally constructed; by 1914, an international discourse … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • In the modern era, new forms of mourning and meaning-making for fallen soldiers emerged. The human losses of the First World War were largely mourned, honoured and remembered within … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Soldiers’ attitudes towards the Great War are a controversial issue, as they prove difficult to assess and raise complex methodological questions. They evolved during the course of the conflict, … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article presents cartoonists as patriotic propagandists mobilizing their pens and brushes for the national cause during the war. It analyses their techniques for arousing emotions such as … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Censorship was an indispensable war weapon: its task was to keep the people in an atmosphere of utter ignorance and unshaken confidence in the authorities, and to allow their boundless indoctrination … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Innovative historical scholarship played an important role in the shaping of memory during the centenary of the First World War. It guided international public memory, was part of it and as such … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The centenary events surrounding the First World War have produced a significant amount of digital content in various forms, and thus has set a precedent for how large scale post-war memorisation can … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article discusses how European museums – in particular, national war museums – dealt with the centenary of World War I. These museums still tend to tell the story of World War I from a … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The commemorative period between 2014 and 2018 was marked globally by numerous exhibitions of original artworks that had been commissioned and created during and immediately after World War 1. Most … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • By 1914 the leading states had succumbed to varying degrees of militarism, subordinating other interests to those of the armed forces, yet all were governed by regimes in which the ultimate authority … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article deals with civilian morale during the First World War. Between 1915 and 1918, governments “discovered” the importance of civilian morale and developed vast systems of surveillance to … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The First World War saw the colonial empires of France and Britain mobilised to aid European and imperial war efforts. This mobilisation and the difficulties of demobilisation placed considerable … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The First World War ushered in an unprecedented wave of commemorations. Mass death elicited a construction spree in memorial objects and sites across all countries and territories involved in the … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The article discusses the role of the media in the complex international process leading to the First World War with a focus on the press of the great powers. Recent research has shown that the … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The end of fighting in 1918 raised hopes for swift and equitable military demobilization amongst soldiers and civilians. The timing and nature of demobilization varied greatly, though, due to … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Throughout history, intoxicants were an important part of the war experience. The First World War was by no means an exception in that respect: its main “war drugs” were alcohol (mostly beer, … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Until recently, the eastern theater of the First World War was what Winston Churchill called “the Unknown War.” It was not overlooked, as other fronts were, but unknown; while people knew of some … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article surveys the financial and economic planning for war before 1914 in the European Great Powers that initially entered the conflict – Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Germany and Russia. … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • During the entire war, warring powers used the “secret war” to try to break the balance of the battlefield. Generally created in the previous few decades, intelligence and security services saw … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The First World War played a significant role in the evolution of film both as a medium for reporting war and as a tool for the propagandist manipulation of public opinion to support the war effort. … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article examines the conditions, forms and consequences of forced labor and recruitment during the First World War, especially in German-occupied northern France, Belgium, Russian-Poland and … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • One sees a wide range of political regimes from a democratic republic with universal male suffrage (France) to parliamentary, constitutional, or even oligarchical monarchies in the countries that … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article discusses the close relationships between national governments, advertising trades and print media industries and assesses their significance for liberal democracy and national identity … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The rapid spread of epidemics ravaged military personnel and civilians in and outside Europe’s warzones during the Great War. Further, the great influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 became a global … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • There have been four generations of historical writing about the 1914-1918 war. The first was composed of contemporaries who either fought in the war or helped run it, and spanned the period … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • By examining the origins, pathways, demographic impact and consequences for the public, the medical profession and governments, of the so-called “Spanish” influenza pandemic of 1918-1919, this … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919, establishing both the League of Nations and another international organization: the International Labour Organization (ILO). The ILO was founded … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The article examines international efforts to curb states’ war-making prerogatives in the second half of the “long” 19th century. It captures new humanitarian sentiments circulating … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The international crisis that began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 and culminated in the British declaration of war on Germany on 4 August is referred … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Across the major belligerent powers, industrial production and the mobilization and organization of industrial labor became central to the conduct of the First World War. States and private … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article compares the history of labour movements during the war across a range of European countries. It charts the impact of the economic realities of the war upon labour and analyses the … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article seeks to present an overview of First World War literature across many of the combatant nations from the outbreak of the conflict up to the beginning of the Second World War. Taking a … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • What role do representations of the First World War play in media that reach a wide audience beyond the circle of experts? The following contribution focuses on this important question. Given the … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • There is an ongoing debate among historians whether the First World War did in fact lead to drastic changes in migration and migration policies. The war certainly resulted in numerous severe … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Militarism is a vague term that has meant different things to different people at different times. It can be analysed as a popular phenomenon, or as a feature more at home in the halls of power, or … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This essay offers a comparative survey of the practice of military justice among several of the key belligerent powers. Accused soldiers enjoyed little in the way of legal protection, and punishment … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article examines the lessons derived by the military organizations that participated in the First World War on land, at sea, and in the air. It demonstrates that while military and naval … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Change and continuity marked belligerent societies’ norms and values during the First World War. Normative institutions such as marriage and the family proved basically resilient but … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article describes the lives and afterlives of the First World War museums in France, Russia, Germany, and in Britain and its Dominions Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In all these polities, … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Many issues surrounding the conduct of war in the years 1914-1918 were impervious to international negotiation or mediation, due either to a complete lack of consensus or to an absence of trust and … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • After an initial wave of interest in 1914 and the immediate post-war period, international historiography long neglected the wartime occupation of territories inhabited by large civilian populations. … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The Great War was never considered the “war to end all wars” by the states and armed forces in conflict. The war’s legacies were processed in a wide variety of ways depending on forms of … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The First World War was a global conflict that caught most of the participants ill-prepared for the demands of total war. Economic mobilization beyond the initial needs of the troops involved … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • In August 1914, a targeted and systematic manipulation of opinion by the media, intellectuals and authorities started. Atrocities were attributed to the enemies that arose from preformed images or … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The idea of peace in total war may seem irrelevant, but pacifism, or peace activism, did exist during the First World War. A seemingly robust European peace movement existed before 1914, but it … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • While World War I featured the largest armies ever assembled, it was also fought by unprecedented numbers of paramilitary fighters. In a situation where the line between combatant and non-combatant … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This paper examines major peace initiatives during World War I. It describes efforts by the chief European belligerents to split apart enemy coalitions with separate peace settlements as well … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The First World War represents a watershed in the history of war photography. It was the first conflict to be photographed in detail by all the participants and the first in which photography was … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The First World War caused unprecedented disruption to societies across the globe, from Western and (especially) Central and Eastern Europe to East Africa. While many survivors could celebrate an end … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The First World War marked the shift from a 19th century, relatively ''ad hoc'' management of prisoners of war, to the 20th century’s sophisticated prisoner of war camp … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article summarizes and compares the principal arguments and strategies of propaganda at the home front, the military front, as well as in neutral and enemy countries. These included the … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article explores the policies adopted and implemented against enemy property from the beginning of the Great War to the signing of the peace treaties in Europe. Breaking a long-standing … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Raw materials were vital during the First World War. Due to the armaments production, the belligerents’ needs increased significantly, while the available resources fell. Each country intended both … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • National Red Cross societies played a very important role in the First World War. They supported armies’ medical services, brought relief to prisoners of war and sometimes organized their … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article addresses the scale of wartime population displacement in continental Europe, the relief efforts made on behalf of refugees, their impact on host communities, and the cultural … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • From the cradle to the grave, popular religion formed a necessary and vital, if analytically messy, part of the human experience of the Great War. The war had the potential to atomize and alienate … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The conduct of warfare in 1914-1918 included extensive population resettlement in all theatres of war in Europe, both as a result of pre-emptive decisions by civilians to flee in order to evade the … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article surveys the various movements toward social, national, and political revolution that emerged during and in the wake of World War I. The Russian revolutions of 1917 serve as the first … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The paper describes the impact of war on peasantry and its mobilisation in the war effort. While observers portrayed the countryside as rich and callous towards urban shortages or waging war, the … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The Russian civil war was not simply a conflict between Red communists and White monarchists; rather, it involved a complex intertwining of military, social and political issues that were created or … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article examines the changing dynamics of national tensions in the Habsburg, Romanov, and Ottoman empires during three distinct phases of the Great War. The outbreak and early months of the war … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article deals with the nature of social conflict during the war. The length of the conflict and growing food shortages on the home front strained relations between individuals and between social … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article explores how the anticipation, reality, and memory of sacrifice informed experiences and legacies of World War I. Drawing on representative examples from multiple nations, I suggest that … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • A vast array of initiatives designed to counteract the destructiveness of the First World War was developed by states and societies across the world. Protecting the bodies and minds of soldiers from … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Reflecting current historiography, this article focuses primarily on Christian churches centered in the main European theater of the Great War, including more global interactions with the other … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This essay examines how the "everyday" functions in war, not only for those on the home fronts, but for those in combat roles and for those living between the lines. Five important qualities, among … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The debate about the origins of the war remains a vibrant area of historical research. It has been characterised by a number of features. First, from the outset, political concerns shaped the debate, … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Regardless of whether it was based on volunteer enlistment or conscription, mass mobilization in all of the countries at war between 1914 and 1918 completely upended the pre-war relationships that … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article offers an overview of peacemaking after the First World War from the armistices of 1918 until 1923. It considers the outcomes of the five Parisian treaties (Versailles, Saint-Germain and … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Imperialism shaped almost every facet of international politics from 1898 to 1914. Imperial concerns brought Britain into entente relationships with France and Russia. This Triple Entente often … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Cities — with their comparatively large and dense but also vulnerable populations — went from being theaters of mass mobilization in favor of the political status quo to being sites of domestic … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This essay traces belligerent policies toward venereal disease (VD) on the fighting and home fronts in Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain, Russia, and later, the United States. VD rates … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Veterans’ associations formed an influential social movement during the interwar period. They provided the platform for former soldiers to commemorate the war and their fallen comrades and to … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Despite what some believe, there is still a lot to say and learn about the First World War, particularly with regard to war aims. A lot of focus is currently placed on the cultural, social and … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Static “trench warfare” belied a dynamic transformation in warfare between 1914 and 1918. Every army grappled with the same issues: how to end a strategic stalemate occasioned by their ability to … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • The Great War required war-making states to mobilize and sustain the financial resources for a global war on an unprecedented scale. What made war finance during the conflict so special is that this … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • In nations where literacy was well-established by 1914, letter-writing was critical to the emotional well-being of soldiers and their families. Men in uniform often circumvented the censors and sent … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Military sources provide the primary statistics of war losses and casualties during World War I. In order to review and eventually revise their figures, one must understand how military statistics … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Through investigating the pivotal role of honour in private and public matters, in foreign and domestic relations, and in propaganda and everyday life during the First World War, this article … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • It may surprise us to learn that some sectors of the European public were in favour of the war in 1914. The impact of modern weapons was not well understood and many people in the government, … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article explores women’s economic, social, and political responses to the First World War. It addresses their mobilization including their engagement with the war effort as well as their … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • Female war reporters from belligerent and neutral countries were present in the major war theatres in Europe and the Middle East throughout 1914 to 1918. While admission of journalists to the war … READ MORE

    Thematic
  • This article provides an overview of xenophobia during the First World War - namely, the ways in which the conflict was justified and sustained by the growth of hatred for external enemies, and … READ MORE

    Thematic

Survey Articles (Regional)

  • This article presents a survey of the First World War in the region of today’s states of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. Chronologically the article begins with the outbreak of the war in … READ MORE

    Regional
  • This paper presents the process of building an independent Polish state during the First World War, which, from the Polish perspective, was the most important result of this conflict. The article … READ MORE

    Regional
  • The Russian Empire entered the war in order to preserve its Great Power status, but it ended the war in a bout of revolution and decolonization. The army had a mixed record in the war, losing several … READ MORE

    Regional

Regional Thematic Articles

Encyclopedic Entries

  • Mikhail Alekseyev was a Russian general who was the chief of staff of the general headquarters (''Stavka'') of the Russian army from August 1915 until May 1917. Yet, the military contribution of this … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Born Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, Aleksandra Fedorovna married the future Russian Emperor Nicholas II in 1894 and became empress. She was engaged in charity work and served as a nurse during the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During World War I, the Russian military command was overtly anti-Semitic. Russian commanders pointed to the alleged disloyalty of Russia’s Jewish population. The Russian army expelled Jews from … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Army of Islam, which was created by the order of Enver Pasha dated 5 April 1918, was a military force that performed operations in the summer of 1918 which resulted in the expansion of Ottoman … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Republic of Azerbaijan is a majority Turkic and secular Muslim nation in the South Caucasus. This republic was proclaimed on 28 May 1918, during World War I. The Bolshevik invasion on 27 April … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Battle of Baku was the conclusive battle that ended the war between the anti-Ottoman/anti-Musavatist forces in Baku and the Ottoman-Azerbaijani forces. The Army of Islam under the command of Nuri … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the Estonian War of Independence, the Baltic Germans - despite their relatively small numbers - established their own military forces, the ''Baltenregiment'', in order to support the struggle. … READ MORE

    Entry
  • When Latvia felt endangered by the Bolsheviks they called for German help, since Germany had assisted in clearing the country from the Bolsheviks before. However, very soon tensions between the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Invented in France in 1860, barbed wire was further developed in the United States, where it was used to restrict cattle and secure territory. Acquiring far more menacing qualities in the First World … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Great War was a severe trial for Belarus and its population. It ruined the local economy and caused a massive exodus of refugees. An attempt to establish Belarusian statehood was made during the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Jan Bloch was an entrepreneur, social activist and pacifist. At the end of his life, he published a comprehensive work in which he predicted the course and consequences of World War I. He warned of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Jan Bloch was an entrepreneur, social activist and pacifist. At the end of his life, he published a comprehensive work in which he predicted the course and consequences of World War I. He warned of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Elsa Brändström was the only neutral representative to work amongst prisoners of war (POWs) in Russia, Siberia, and Turkestan for five and a half years between winter between winter 1914 and summer … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Aleksei Alekseevich Brusilov was a Russian general in the First World War, successively holding the posts of commander of the 8th Army, commander the south-western front and supreme … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Battle of Cēsis took place on 6-23 June 1919, near Cēsis, Latvia, during Latvian War of Independence. German units fought Estonian-Latvian units. The Estonian-Latvian victory led to the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the war, the Tsarist government imported large groups of Chinese to the Russian Empire to work behind the front lines. Despite their important contribution to the Russian war effort, Chinese … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Circassian nationalism refers to national movements among Adyghe people, a North Caucasian ethnic group. The term is also used to include other North Caucasian peoples who share historical … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Cossacks were warrior subjects who provided the tsars with mounted troops in return for land. The First World War and the revolutions of 1905 and 1917 brutalised and weakened the Cossack communities … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Czechoslovak Legion was a military formation of Czechs, Slovaks, exiles, and former prisoners of war organized in Russia in 1914 to fight in the First World War. The article describes the history … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Ignacy Daszyński was one of the foremost figures on the Polish political scene in the first half of the 20th century. He personified a subset of elites who merged the struggle for social … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Following the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917, Lenin issued his Decree on Peace, calling for a truce and demanding that peace be agreed upon by people’s assemblies to be convened across … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Anton Ivanovich Denikin was a Russian general, politician and writer. He fought in the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War and the Russian Civil War. He is most famous as a leader of the White … READ MORE

    Entry
  • This is the first in what it is hoped will become a series of discussion forums hosted by ''1914-1918-online''. In this discussion forum, General Editor Peter Gatrell invited contributions that … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Roman Stanisław Dmowski was a Polish politician and most importantly the co-founder of National Democracy in Poland before the First World War and during the interwar period. He was also the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • In February 1917 two centres of power emerged to replace the tsarist government: the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet. The Provisional Government had formal authority but the Soviet … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Tsar reluctantly granted an elected legislative assembly, the State Duma, during the 1905 Russian Revolution. The first two Dumas were dissolved amidst bitter conflict and the third did little to … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The First World War, the Russian revolutions of February and October 1917, and the ensuing Civil War created a wave of emigration from the territories of the Russian Empire into Western and Central … READ MORE

    Entry
  • World War I was not simply a conflict among European states but a global war of empires. The fighting took place not only in Europe, but also in Africa, Asia, and across the Middle East, and it … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the First World War both sides accused each other of employing illegal small arms ammunition – either expanding or explosive bullets. The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 outlawed … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Of the two world wars, the First World War was special in that fear figured prominently in a number of domains, including military tactics, psychiatry, and first-person sources. Fear was to be … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Finnish Civil War was fought between the socialist Reds and the non-socialist Whites in the newly sovereign state. The conflict lasted from late January until mid-May 1918 and resulted in a White … READ MORE

    Entry
  • European militaries considered fortifications before the First World War as vital to their strategic planning. Advancements in weapons technology after the mid-19th century caused … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Juozas Gabrys was one of the major advocates of Lithuanian political aspirations in the international arena from 1911 to 1918. He contributed to the establishment of the Council of Lithuania in 1917. … READ MORE

    Entry
  • ''Stavka Verkhovnogo Glavnokomanduyushchego'' was the centre of the field command of the Russian army, the headquarters of the supreme commander and his staff in … READ MORE

    Entry
  • World War One was a catalyst for Georgian independence, which was declared on 26 May 1918. The war demonstrated the significance of Georgian territories as a transit route and source of raw materials … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Grigorovich was Navy Minister between 1911 and 1917. He sought cooperation with parliament and secured funds to rebuild fleets ravaged by war with Japan. His support for mobilisation in 1914 helped … READ MORE

    Entry
  • General Vassillii Iosifovich Gurko was a Russian military commander during the First World War. Between November 1916 and February 1917 he was the chief of staff in the General Headquarters of the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • General Józef Haller was one of the best known Polish military commanders of the First World War period, a lieutenant of the Polish Legions, commander of the II Brigade of the Polish Legions, … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The so-called “Wars of Independence” in the Baltics were part of a larger conflict and continuing warfare in Eastern Europe. After the proclamations of independence and the November Armistice, … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Russian-Jewish author, playwright, journalist, orator, and political activist; co-founder of the Zion Mule Corps (1915-16) and the Jewish Legion (1917-21, the unofficial name of the 38th Battalion of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Finnish Jäger movement recruited approximately 2,000 men to the German Armed Forces during the First World War. After their service on the Eastern Front, the Jägers formed the cadres of the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • In July 1917, economic chaos and unpopular preparations for military action provoked armed demonstrations by workers and troops demanding the Petrograd Soviet take power from Russia’s Provisional … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Aleksandr Kerenskii was Minister of War in Russia’s Provisional Government from April to October 1917 and Prime Minister from July to October. He embodied the hopes of the February Revolution of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Aleksandr Vasil'evich Kolchak was a Russian admiral and political figure. He participated in the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War, and the Russian Civil War. He was one of the leaders of the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Kornilov rose rapidly in the Russian army during the First World War, becoming Commander-in-Chief in July 1917. In August, he sent troops into Petrograd, demanding all military and civil authority be … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Battle of Kostiuchnówka occurred during the Brusilov Offensive in the Volhynia region on 4–6 July 1916. It was fought between the Austro-Hungarian Corps under General Leopold Hauer’s command … READ MORE

    Entry
  • This article details the mutiny of two Russian brigades sent to France in World War I. The less rebellious of the two was finally disciplined and used to suppress the unruly brigade in 1917 in what … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Johan Laidoner, Estonian general and statesman, started his career in the Russian army during World War I. He was crucial in establishing an Estonian army, which he commanded in the War of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Latvian Riflemen were Latvian territorial units comprised of nine battalions, referred to as regiments from 1916 on, in the Russian army. They were active on the Northern Front (Riga) between … READ MORE

    Entry
  • In World War I Lemberg (German: Lemberg, Ukrainian: Lviv, Polish: Lwów) played an important role as a political and administrative center of Galicia and was of great strategic significance as one of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Vladimir Il’ich Lenin was the founder and leader of the Bolshevik Party and of the Soviet state up until his death. Theoretically and practically he combined the strategy of a socialist revolution … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Between 1914 and 1918, the machine gun played an ever-increasing role on the battlefield. Today, even though artillery was responsible for the majority of deaths, the machine gun is the weapon most … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Nestor Makhno was a commander of peasant insurgents who fought the Bolsheviks, Whites and Ukrainian nationalists in the South East of present-day Ukraine. His espousal of anarchism has won him … READ MORE

    Entry
  • A Finnish aristocrat, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim served as cavalry commander in the Imperial Russian army during the First World War. After the Russian Revolution, he commanded Finnish White forces … READ MORE

    Entry
  • One of the founders and leaders of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Pavel Nikolaevich Miliukov took an active part in the organisation of the Progressive Bloc. He made a famous speech in the Duma … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the First World War, at least half a million Muslim soldiers fought in the Russian Army. In spite of efforts of the Ottoman Empire to mobilize Russia’s Muslims against their rulers, Muslim … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Nicholas II ruled Russia from 1894 and was commander of the army from September 1915 until his abdication in March 1917 amidst popular demonstrations against bread shortages, the war and autocracy. … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Nikolai Nikolaevich, a senior Russian officer and close relative of Tsar Nicholas II, was involved in attempts to reform the Russian army from 1905. He was named Commander-in-Chief at the onset of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive of May/June 1915 was a major military success for Austria-Hungary and Germany on the Eastern Front. Following the joint campaign of the Central Powers, the Russian army … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Ignacy Jan Paderewski was a virtuoso pianist. He made use of his popularity in the United States and western Europe to propagate the idea of Polish independence and state sovereignty. In … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Konstantin Päts, a leading Estonian politician, was a key figure in the establishment of Estonian independence during and after World War I. In 1934, he and Johan Laidoner organized a putsch and … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the Russian Civil War, peasant uprisings swept the former Russian Empire. In 1918 and 1919, these uprisings were mainly local responses to requisitioning and conscription. In 1920 and 1921, … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Józef Klemens Piłsudski was a Polish statesman, socialist politician, freedom fighter, and soldier. He commanded the Polish Legions during the First World War, and served as the first chief of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Bayonne Company was the first Polish unit in France, formed in 1914 as a unit of the French Foreign Legion. The Polish Army in France was created in June 1917 and consisted of volunteers. After … READ MORE

    Entry
  • In the 19th century, the German-Polish borderlands became the object of nationalist designs on both sides. After 1871, the German nation-state sought to limit Polish citizens’ room for … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The ''Związek Legionistów Polskich'' (Polish Legionaries Union), or ZLP, was an association of veterans of Polish Legions who had fought under Józef Piłsudski for Poland’s independence during … READ MORE

    Entry
  • At the outbreak of the Great War, two Polish Legions were formed within the Austro-Hungarian army. They eventually increased to three brigades that participated in a series of important campaigns in … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Polish-Lithuanian border conflict (1914-1924) was a consequence of the processes of modernisation and the course of the First World War. Following the creation of the states of Lithuania and … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Polish Army was born out of the chaos of revolutionary Russia. The Russian authorities accepted its establishment, and later the army sought an agreement with the occupying Germans. Polish units … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Polish paramilitary organizations were active in Galicia from 1910 to 1914 with the permission of the Austro-Hungarian army’s intelligence service. Their ostensible aim was to militarily train … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The hostilities between Bolshevik Russia and Poland started as early as 1919. In April 1920, Poland and Ukraine liberated Kiev from Bolshevik control. However, in the summer of 1919, the Bolsheviks … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Polish-Ukrainian conflict over Eastern Galicia in 1918-19 refers to an armed conflict between Poland and the West Ukrainian National Republic (''Zakhidnoukrayins’ka Narodna Respublika,'' ZUNR). … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Prostitution was considered among the most important societal problems facing civilian-military authorities in belligerent countries during World War I. Despite growing military control of the … READ MORE

    Entry
  • When the tsarist government collapsed in February 1917, liberal politicians from the State Duma (parliament), later joined by moderate socialists, formed a Provisional Government. Unable to satisfy … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Vast land area, sparse population density, inconsistent tsarist policy, and underdeveloped industry prevented Russian railroads from growth before and during the First World War. In 1913 the general … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Although rape was not usually systematic, it occurred frequently on all fronts during the First World War, during both invasion and occupation periods. It was often used in propaganda to discredit … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Rasputin was a peasant turned pilgrim who became a close associate of the Russian royal family. Accounts of his wartime influence on government may be exaggerated but public perceptions of his power … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Reconnaissance was aviation’s most important mission in the Great War. When war began, aircraft only performed observation and reconnaissance. The speed of intelligence gathered by aircraft changed … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Red Army was a paradoxical force created by a party deeply suspicious of regular armies. It had many problems and flaws, but its creation was a prerequisite to the Bolshevik victory in the Civil … READ MORE

    Entry
  • German and Austrian advances in 1914 and 1915, together with policies of the Russian military authorities, created millions of refugees in the Russian empire. These refugees suffered immense hardship … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Social and political unrest swept the Russian Empire in 1905, forcing the autocratic tsarist regime to grant the creation of a popularly-elected legislative body; the State Duma. However, the army … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Treaty of Riga was signed by Poland and the Soviet state on 18 March 1921 and was preceded by a preliminary treaty of 12 October 1920. It ended the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1920 and was a … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Russian Expeditionary Force in France and in Macedonia (“Brigades russes en France et en Macédoine” in French and “Russkij èkspedicionnyj korpus” in Russian) was an ensemble of four … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Russian Expeditionary Force in France and in Macedonia (“Brigades russes en France et en Macédoine” in French and “Russkij èkspedicionnyj korpus” in Russian) was an ensemble of four … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, caused by Russian and Japanese expansionism in the Far East, inflicted humiliating defeats on Russia at land and sea. The war contributed to domestic unrest in … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Sergei Sazonov became Russian Foreign Minister in autumn 1910. In July 1914 he argued for a firm stance against Austrian aggression and general mobilisation of the army, but historians dispute his … READ MORE

    Entry
  • In 1914, quick-firing field artillery could fire more shells than domestic industries, geared to peacetime consumption levels, could supply. Armies, although recognizing the dangers, had … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Boris Shtiurmer was Prime Minister from January to November 1916, also serving as Interior Minister between March and July 1916 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from July to November. Denunciations of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Woodrow Wilson proposed a joint intervention with Japan to “rescue” the Czech legion in 1918. Japan dispatched 72,000 troops to Siberia. Allied intervention ended after the collapse of the White … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (''Ukrains’ki Sičovi stril’tsi,'' USS) was a Ukrainian battalion within the Austro-Hungarian army. The USS was active in the defense of the Eastern Front in World War … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the First World War, political writer and editor of Lithuanian magazines, Antanas Smetona in 1917 became chairman of the Council of Lithuania, which declared Lithuania as an independent state … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the First World War, governments, civilians and soldiers alike prized smoking for its morale-boosting qualities, in addition to a medicinal effect following combat and periods of intense … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Spy Fever describes an anxiety or paranoia that enemy spies might be active within one’s own nation. The phenomenon was widespread in all theatres of World War I from at least August of 1914. Most … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Joseph Stalin lived in Siberian exile from 1913 until the revolution of March 1917. During the early period after the “February Revolution”, as well as during the year November 1917 to November … READ MORE

    Entry
  • This article summarises the main wartime stereotypes that defined war propaganda in Germany, France, Great Britain, the USA and Russia. It focuses less on particular details of each national enemy … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Having gained success throughout Europe with his compositions for the ''Ballets Russes'' (centered in Paris), Russian-born Igor Stravinsky took refuge from World War I in Switzerland from 1914 to … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Fought between the Finnish Red and White forces from 15 March to 6 April 1918, the Battle of Tampere was the decisive confrontation of the Finnish Civil War. After a siege and bombardment, the White … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw was originally built to honor the fallen Polish soldiers of the wars from 1914 to 1921. After the First World War the Cult of the Unknown Soldier … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Before and at the beginning of World War I, various proposals concerning the creation of a third part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy were brought up for discussion. Each of the aspiring groups … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Leon Trotsky's communist leadership was partially responsible for bringing about the October Revolution of 1917, after which Russia exited the First World War. Starting as an activist, he became … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The province of Turkestan - modern-day Central Asia -, a Russian military colony since 1865-1875, truly entered WWI in 1916, when Tsar Nicholas II and his military staff decided, on 7 July (Gregorian … READ MORE

    Entry
  • At the beginning of the 20th century Ukrainian lands were part of the Austro-Hungarian (Galicia, Transcarpathia, Bukovina) and Russian (the nine right-bank and left-bank provinces) … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Kārlis Ulmanis was the first prime minister of the Republic of Latvia. His four terms of office saw the successful conclusion of the Latvian War of … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The ''Union des Nationalités'', alternatively called the ''Office Central des Nationalités'' or ''Bureau des Nationalités'', was created in 1912 in Paris and remained in existence until 1919. Its … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Unions of Zemstvos and of Towns mobilised local self-government bodies and professional specialists to provide medical aid to soldiers, relief for refugees and orphans and assistance in army … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Jukums Vācietis commanded the 5th ''Zemgale'' Latvian Rifle Battalion. After the October Revolution he sided with the Bolsheviks and became the first commander-in-chief of the Soviet … READ MORE

    Entry
  • During the First World War, as professor at the University of Perm (Russia), Augustinas Voldemaras actively participated in the activities of Lithuanian exiles in Russia. In 1917 he argued for … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The Volunteer Army was the operational formation of anti-Bolshevik forces in South Russia during the period of the Civil War. This army became the basis of the organization of the White Movement. … READ MORE

    Entry
  • The governments of all belligerent countries issued special loans to finance their expenditure after the war began. To mobilize the financial resources of their peoples required concerted war bonds … READ MORE

    Entry
  • War Communism refers to policies, particularly economic, pursued by the Bolsheviks during the Civil War in response to the ideological and pragmatic demands of consolidating power. It was abandoned … READ MORE

    Entry
  • War Industry Committees were an attempt by Russian industrialists to mobilise the Russian economy for the war effort. They made some contribution to easing supply problems but mutual mistrust between … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Wireless telegraphy became an integral part of warfare on the ground, in the air, and at sea by 1918. Wireless helped to make the war global, though historians still debate its impact on the course … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Petr Nikolaevich Wrangel was a Russian general and political leader. He participated in the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War, and the Russian Civil War. He was one of the leaders of the White … READ MORE

    Entry
  • Nikolaĭ Yudenich was one of the most successful Russian commanders in World War One. He demonstrated admirable consistency in achieving victories on the Caucasus Front. During the Russian Civil War, … READ MORE

    Entry