World War I was fought between two major alliances of countries: the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. The Central Powers began as an alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary. Later the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria became part of the Central Powers.

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Countries

• Germany – Germany had the largest army and was the primary leader of the Central Powers. Germany’s military strategy at the start of the war was called the Schlieffen Plan. This plan called for the quick takeover of France and Western Europe. Then Germany could concentrate its efforts on Eastern Europe and Russia.
• Austria-Hungary – World War I essentially began when Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated. Austria-Hungary blamed the assassination on Serbia and subsequently invaded Serbia setting off a chain of events that resulted in the war.
• Ottoman Empire – The Ottoman Empire had strong economic ties to Germany and signed a military alliance with Germany in 1914. The entrance into the war led to the eventual downfall of the Ottoman Empire and the formation of the country of Turkey in 1923.
• Bulgaria – Bulgaria was the last major country to join the war on the side of the Central Powers in 1915. Bulgaria claimed land held by Serbia and was eager to invade Serbia as part of the war.

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Leaders

• Germany: Kaiser Wilhelm II – Wilhelm II was the last Kaiser (emperor) of the German Empire. He was related to both the King of England (George V was his first cousin) and the Tsar of Russia (Nicholas II was his second cousin). His policies were largely the cause of World War I. He eventually lost the support of the army and held little power by the end of the war. He abdicated the throne in 1918 and fled the country.
• Austria-Hungary: Emperor Franz Josef – Franz Joseph ruled the Austrian Empire for 68 years. When the heir to his throne, Archduke Ferdinand, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist, he declared war on Serbia beginning World War I. Franz Joseph died during the war in 1916 and was succeeded by Charles I.
• Ottoman Empire: Mehmed V – Mehmed V was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. He declared war on the Allies in 1914. He died just before the end of the war in 1918.
• Bulgaria: Ferdinand I – Ferdinand I was Tsar of Bulgaria during World War I. He gave up his throne at the end of the war to his son Boris III.

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Military Commanders

• Germany – General Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf, General Erich von Falkenhayn, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Helmuth von Moltke, Erich Ludendorff
• Austria-Hungary – Archduke Friedrich
• Ottoman Empire – Mustafa Kemal, Enver Pasha

Interesting Facts about the Central Powers

• The Central Powers were also known as the Quadruple Alliance.
• The name “Central Powers” comes from the location of the main countries in the alliance. They were centrally located in Europe between Russia to the east and France and Britain to the west.
• The Central Powers mobilized around 25 million soldiers. Around 3.1 million were killed in action and another 8.4 million were wounded.
• Each member of the Central Powers signed a different treaty with the Allies at the end of the war. The last, and most famous, treaty was the Treaty of Versailles signed by Germany.

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Tibet, though nominally under the suzerainty of china, was practically an independent theocracy under two great Lamas – the Dalai Lama of Lhasa and Tashi Lama of the famous monastery of Tashilhunpo near Shigatse. The political power was in the hands of the Dalai Lama or the Council that ruled during Lama’s minority.

Earlier attempts to establish relations

It was in the year 1774 when the earliest attempts to set up form British relations with Tibet were made Bogla was dispatched by Warren Hastings on a mission to seek facilities for trade with Tibet.

However, in subsequent times the Tibetans started to disapprove British dealings with their country; in 1887 the Tibetans made an “inexplicable invasion” into Sikkim, the protected state, but were made to retreat the very next year by General Graham.

The provisions related to Sikkim-Tibet boundary and some commercial facilities, of the Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1890 was made more clear in 1893, but were coldly received by the Tibetans.

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Lord Curzon and People of Tibet

Lord Curzon, when he arrived in India, found British relations with Tibet “at an absolute deadlock”. At this time the problem became more complicated because of two factors: on the one hand, the Dalai Lama with the help of his tutor, Dorjef, had overthrown the regency government and had been trying to establish himself as a story ruler; on the other hand, the Tibetans, in their eagerness to get rid of Chinese sovereignty were willing to welcome Russian friendship as a balance.

Dorjef, a Russian Buddhist, led Tibetan missions to Russia in 1898, 1900, and 1901, and rumours spread that he had virtually placed Tibet under the protection of Russia.

The rumours got so widespread that the Russian Government had to officially contradict this rumour and assure the British ambassador at St. Petersberg that the intention behind Dorjef missions was purely religious. However, this assurance of Russia could not slate off England’s suspicious about Russian intentions.

In 1903, Lord Curzon, in order to confront the situation, proposed to send a mission with an armed escort to Tibet; the Home Government, with some hesitation, sanctioned this mission proposed by Lord Curzon.

Under Colonel Younghusband, according to the plan, a mission started for Tibet; and after several intense encounters in the way with Tibetans, arrived at Lhasa on 3 August, 1904. After this, finally a convention was signed between Tibet and England. According to this treaty Tibetans accepted to open trade marts in Gyantse, Gartok and Yatung to play a guarantee of twenty-five lakhs and to permit English to possess the Chumbi valley for three years as a temporary pledge.

In June 1906 England and China concluded a convention in which England agreed neither to capture Tibet nor to intervene in the internal administration, in return Tibet promised English that they would not permit any other foreign power to have a say in the international administration or territorial integration of Tibet. Not only this, through this convention England was granted the power to establish telegraph lines linking the trading stations with India. The Chinese Government paid the compensation in three years and the English evacuated the Chumbic valley.

The only direct result of the Younghusband mission, the mission’s political results were not very important, was the introduction of three/trade marts and the formation of a British Trade Agent at Gyantse.

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Anglo-Russia Convention

 Both England and Russia, by the Anglo-Russia Convention of 1907, agreed to continue political relations with Tibet through China. This move on the part of England and Russia confirmed the suzerainty of China over Tibet which till then was a mere “Constitutional fiction” and was not explicitly reaffirmed. However, violating this convention, China in 1910 invaded Tibet and captured its whole territory. Dalai Lama took refuge in India

In order to lessen the tension caused by Tibet refusal to accept Chinese over lordship and to maintain peace along India’s northern boundary when a European war was looming on the horizon.

On 27 April ,1914 on the initiation of the British, a convention was called in Shimla in which three Governments, China, Tibet and English, took part under the terms of this tripartite convention, Tibet was separated into two zones and the suzerainty of China over these two zones was recognized.

However, China accepted to recognize the full autonomy of “Outer Tibet”; it surrounded the Indian boundary and included Lhasa, Shigatse and Chamdo, and to withdraw from all interference in its administration.

The Shimla Conference fixed the boundary between Tibet and North-eastern India from the east of Bhutan for a distance of 850 miles. This very frontier is known a Mc Mohan Line: It was Sir Henry Mc Mohan, the then secretary to the Government of India in Foreign Department, who signed the agreement on behalf of the British Government.

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The onus of paving the way for the establishment of, if broadly assessed, the Muslim rule in India goes to Mahmud of Ghazni who was the first Turk military leader who invaded India, reaching deep pockets of northern India during the first half of the eleventh century. There were many factors which helped Mahmud of Ghur in successfully establishing Turkish rule in India.

Although Mahmud of Ghazni did not try to set up and consolidate his Empire in India, he decimated the military strength along with plundering the wealth of the regions wherever he could have reached.

So, it can be safely described that Mahmud of Ghazni prepared the stage by paving the way, for his next generation to establish a Turkish rule in northern India. This assumption can be considered apt in the light of this fact that after almost a gap of nearly one hundred and fifty years, Muhammad of Ghur began his military campaigns in India in AD 1175. There were many factors which helped Mahmud of Ghur in successfully establishing Turkish rule in India.

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Political Factors leading to the establishment of Turkish Rule

Political situation prevailing at the time of Muhammad Ghur’s invasion was very fragile as India was divided into several states. It cannot be denied that many of them were powerful and extensive; however, their main weakness was that they were engaged in constant fighting against one another for power and prestige.

Due to this infighting the Indian States could not unite even to put up a fight against the common enemy which was posing a grave threat to the pride of their nation, culturally and religiously too.

In this context it is interesting, rather surprising, to note that even a series of foreign invasions could not produce a single leader with an ability to command Indians to unite and fight against the invaders.

Another important reason that contributed immensely to the political weakness of India was the deep rooted presence of feudalism. It was the feudal system of the Rajputs that promoted mutual conflicts and inflicted weakness in the military system of the States.

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Social factors responsible for establishment of Turkish Rule

The social conditions of the time, that was ridden with caste system, practice of untouchability, gross social inequality and disparities, and unfair position of Indian women, also contributed heavily to the principal weakness of the Indian society.

At that time, as the caste system had become very rigid, the position of lower castes and women had nose-dived to the lowest strata, due to which many social evils had gripped the society as a whole.

Social evils such as female infanticide, child marriage devdasi system and the practice of Sati among higher castes had become common, while widow remarriages became an impossibility. Such a society, where the majority of people had become indifferent to the fate and politics of the country, was not capable of resisting any foreign invaders.

According to a prominent historian, the caste system weakened the Rajputs military because the responsibility of fighting was left to a particular section of the society, the Kshatriyas.

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Deterioration of Religion as a factor for establishment of Turkish Rule

One of the major causes of defeat of Indians at the hands of Turk invaders was the deterioration in religions. According to Hinduism, the religion truly means duty that makes an individual useful for society and humanity; however, this spirit behind true religion was completely lost by the Indians that further resulted in the emergence of Tantric sects in which ritualism and image worship became popular. The prevailing condition demoralized the society in such a way that Hindus failed to confront the challenge posed  by foreign invaders by invoking the name of one religion, one culture and thus one country.

According to a famous historian K M Panikar, cultural degeneration was the foremost cause of the defeat of the Rajputs. Dr. A L Srivastava, another historian of repute, also described it as one important cause of the defeat of the Rajputs.

Although India was economically a rich country, the wealth was unevenly distributed as it was mostly concentrated either in temples or in royal families and trading class. This economic inequality played a very important part in inflating the weakness of Indian society as it had become inherent.

In the context of the matter that Indian fighting class lacked any higher purpose for fighting because they did not have a sense of having one country based on one religion and one culture, it is sufficient to quote Dr. A L Srivastava who summed up, “Mere physical strength and military weapons do not constitute the total equipment of an army. An inspiring ideology is as essential as military training and equipment”.

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Battle of Salamis (480 BC): The Greek fleet defeated the Persians.

Battle of Pharsalus (48 AD): Caesar defeated Pompey

The Crusades (11^th – 13^th Centuries): Military expeditions of the Christians in Western Europe to get back the Holy lands from Muslims; result; the Holy city remained with Turks.

Hundred Years War (1338-1453): Fought between France and England; came to an end by the heroism of Joan of Arc who was burnt Alive.

Anglo – Spanish War of the Defeat of Spanish Armada (1588): The British fleet under Howard and Drake defeated the Spanish fleet Armada.

Battle of Gibralter Bay (1606-37): The Dutch defeated the Spaniards and the Portuguese.

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Thirty Years War (1618-48): A politico-religious struggle; included Bohemian War; Danish War and Swedish War; result; Calvinism was finally granted recognition.

Seven Years of Anglo-French War III (1756-63): Fought by Britain and Prussia against Austria, France, and later Russia; the Treaty of Paris brought an end to it.

Battle of Bunker Hill: The first battle of the War of American Independence; fought at Charlestown, Boston.

American War of Independence (1776-83): George Washington defeated the British forces; America became independent; independence of British colonies recognised at the Peace of Paris (1783).

Battle of Pyramids (July 1798): Napoleon emerged victorious over the Mameluke rulers of Egypt.

Battle of Nile (August 1798): The British fleet under Lord Nelson defeated the French fleet and established their supremacy over the Mediterranean Sea.

Battle of Austerlitz (1805): Napoleon defeated Austria and Russia.

Battle of Trafalgar (October 1805): The British fleet under Lord Nelson defeated the combined French and Spanish fleet under Villeneuve; Britain won but Nelson was killed; Napoleon’s scheme of invading England failed.

Battle of Leipzig or Battle of Nations (1813): Napoleon was defeated by the English and the Allies; he abdicated in the following year.

Battle of Waterloo (1815): The British under Duke of Wellington (Sir Arthur Wellesley) defeated the French under Napoleon; Napoleon was captured and exiled to St. Helena where he died.

Opium War (1839Opium War (183-42): Fought between Britain and China; immediate cause: Chinese protest over opium import into China by the British.

Crimean War (1853-56): War declared against Russia by Turkey in 1853, Britain and France in 1854 and Sardina in 1855; Russia defeated.

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American Civil War (1861-65): Northern states of America under Abraham Lincoln defeated the Southern states and established a Federal-State; cause: Antagonism between the agricultural, slave-owing South and the industrial North.

Spanish-American War (1898): The war fought by the USA and Cuban revolutionaries against Spain to free Cuba from Spanish rule; result: Cuba came under the US forces.

Battle of Omdurman (1898): The British and Egyptian forces defeated the forces of Khalifa (Mehdists.)

Russo-Japanese War (1904-05): Russia defeated; Treaty of Portsmouth (1905) brought an end to the war; also known as the Battle of the Sea of Japan.

Balkan Wars I and II (1912-13): In the Balkan War I, the Balkan countries defeated Turkey; while in Balkan War II, Romania defeated Bulgaria.

World War I (1914-18): Root Causes: Austria-Serbia rivalry and Franco-German rivalry; immediate cause: assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne by a Serb; the warring sides were: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary and Turkey (Central Powers) against Belgium, England, and France, and later Italy, Russia and USA (Allied Powers); Result: Central or Axis Powers were defeated; the Treaty of Versailles (1919) brought an end to the War.

Spanish Civil War (1936-39): Fought between Fascist and republican forces; rebels were helped by Germany and Italy, while the government was aided by Russia and Mexico.

World War II (1939-45): Resulted due to the unjust Treaty of Versailles as both Germany and Italy were dissatisfied with it; rise of fascist forces, such as Nazis in Germany; imperialism of England and France; and Japan’s expansionist ambitions; warring factions; Germany, Italy and Japan (Axis Powers) against Britain, France, Russia, USA, Poland etc. (Allied Powers); Result: Allied Powers emerged victorious; Germany divided, emergence of Russia as a big Power.

Algerian War of Independence (1947-62): The war was fought against French with which Algeria had been politically unified.

Six-Day War (1967): Israel defeated the combined powers of Egypt, Syria and Jordan and occupied Gaza Strip, Syria’s Golan Heights and the West Bank.

Iran-Iraq War (1980-88): Occurred due to boundary disputes between two countries; heavy losses on both sides; a ceasefire in August 1988.

Falklands War (1982): The war was fought between the British and Argentine forces over the claim on the Falklands Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean; British regained control of the Islands.

Gulf War (1991): Followed the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait; a coalition of about 40 countries, including the UK and the USA, defeated Iraq

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