World War I

THE FIRST WORLD WAR (1914-1918)

COUNTRIES INVOLVED:

CENTRAL POWERS ALLIED POWERS

Germany France

Austria-Hungary The United Kingdom

The Ottoman Empire The Russian Empire

Bulgaria Italy

FACTS:

On 28 June 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb Yugoslav nationalist, assassinated the Austro-Hungarian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. This event triggered the outbreak of the war. The main causes of the conflict were:

● the rise of nationalism

● changes to the power structure of Europe

● arms race

● alliance system

● regional tensions

● imperial ambitions

Italy joined the war in 1915. Following the secret promises made by the Allied in the Treaty of London, Italy hoped to annex the Austrian Littoral with northern Dalmatia, as well as the territories of present-day Trentino and South Tyrol.

The region where we come from, Trentino Alto Adige, played an important role in the war. The Italian Front or Alpine Front stretched along the border between Austria-Hungary and Italy, and was the scene of many battles fought between 1915 and 1918. Although Italy had hoped to gain the territories with a surprise offensive, the front soon settled into stalemate, just like the trench warfare in the Western Front fought in France. But the war in the Alpine Front was fought at high altitudes and with very cold winters. The Italian army repeatedly attacked Austria, making little or no progress and suffered heavy losses. Warfare along the front displaced much of the civilian population, of which several thousand died from malnutrition and illness in Italian and Austrian refugee camps.

The Allied victory at Vittorio Veneto , the disintegration of Austria-Hungary and the Italian capture of Trento, Bolzano and Trieste ended the military operations.

The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was signed on 10 September 1919.

The treaty declared the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

According to article 177 Austria, along with the other Central Powers, accepted responsibility for starting the war.

The new Republic of Austria, recognized the independence of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. The treaty included 'war reparations' of large sums of money, directed towards the Allies.

The southern half of the former Tyrolean crownland up to the Brenner Pass, including predominantly German-speaking South Tyrol and the present-day Trentino province were annexed to Italy, as well as the Austrian Littoral (Gorizia and Gradisca, the Imperial Free City of Trieste and the March of Istria) and several Dalmatian islands, as stipulated by the 1915 London Pact.