Territory Sought, Lost and Gained
Effects on each country during WWI. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.worldology.com/Europe/world_war_1_effect.htm World War I dealt with a lot of death, despair and military attacks. With this culmination there was a lot of territory that was sought, lost and gained. During WWI Albania was invaded by several nations, such as, Austria and Italy. But with the U.S. intervention and not wanting to be part of a Christian Nation, they maintained their independence. Austria was invaded by Serbia and Russia which actually triggered the beginning of WWI. After the war Austria was forced to let go of parts of their empire such as Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia. This dramatically cut down the size of Austria going back centuries. Bulgaria took back territory from Romania, Serbia and Greece using the help of the Ottomans and Austrians. However, when the allies made it, they were forced to give up all the land they got during the war. When Austria loses WWI, they are forced to give independence to all their states. The Slovaks consolidated with the Czechs and they formed the Bohemian province of Austria because they could not stand alone. They became Czechoslovakia. Estonia was occupied by Germany at the time of WWI and following the end, Germany withdrew and Estonia became independent. France during the war lost a lot of ground to Germany but was able to slow their progress inside their borders. They were able to regain lost territory along the German and France border that they lost during the Franco-Prussian War. Germany initially invaded France and held the upper hand throughout most of the war until the United States entered and defeated all their allies. They eventually lost all their overseas territories and loses territory to France. The economy and morale dipped so low that this gave rise to the Nazi party and would help them become dominant in the Second World War Greece ended up joining Allied Powers against Ottomans and Bulgaria and lost territory to the Bulgarians. However, when the Allies defeated Central Powers they regained lost territory. Hungary was divided into natural states according to ethnic groups, making them independent, but lost most the Hungarian population inside Transylvania, which Romania was awarded. Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland both remained neutral. Italy invaded Austria-Hungary resulting in their defeat and the breakup of the empire. Latvia and Lithuania was occupied by Russia, then taken over by Germany, once they withdrew they became independent, as does Luxembourg after the Allies liberated them. Poland was forced to fight against one another but towards the end of the war they regained their independence. War was declared by Germany and Austria once Portugal cooperated with the UK, gaining territory for them. Once forces withdrew, Romania had a significant gain to their territories, which nearly doubled the size of Romania. While there is Russia who suffered from loss of life and severe economic problems, they could not prevent the independence of several dependent states. However, it still controls Belarus and Ukraine. After the assassination of the heir of the Austrian throne which invited Austria to invade Serbia, making them lose their control. Yet, at the end of the war, they regained independence. Spain was not very affected. They maintained their territories. Turkey also known as the Ottoman Empire was invaded by the UK and France, who later annexed the Palestinian and Mesopotamian territories. Lastly, the United Kingdom helps defeat the Ottoman Empire and supports France. After being victorious, they gain even more territory. With all the losses and wins during the war, it can be hard to keep it straight. Inevitably, everyone was not at peace because years later, World War II will break out with Germany behind the wheel. |
Effects on each country during WWI. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.worldology.com/Europe/world_war_1_effect.htm