Karen_A._Mingst,_Ivan_M._Arregu_n-Toft]_Essentia

ghastly stalemate. Between 1914 and 1918, soldiers from more than a dozen countries

endured the per sis tent degradation of trench warfare and the horrors of poison gas. The

“ Great War,” as it came to be known, saw the introduction of aerial bombing and unre-

stricted submarine warfare as well. Britain’s naval blockade of Germany caused wide-

spread suffering and privation for German civilians. More than 8.5 million soldiers

and  1.5 million civilians lost their lives. Germany, Austria- Hungary, the Ottoman

Empire, and Rus sia were defeated, while Britain and France— two of the three “victors”—

were seriously weakened. Only the United States, a late entrant into the war, emerged

relatively unscathed. The defeat and subsequent dismemberment of the Ottoman

Empire by France and Britain— which created new states subject to control and manip-

ulation by both— continues to affect interstate peace in the Middle East to this day.

the Interwar years and World War II

The end of World War I saw critical changes in international relations. First, three Eu ro-

pean empires were strained and fi nally broke up during or near the end of World

FRANCE

BULGARIA

Ca

sp

ian

Se

a

FINLAND

NORWAY

SWEDEN

RUSSIA

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

NETHER-LANDS

DENMARK

KINGDOMUNITED

IRELAND

ICELAND

Atlantic

Ocean

SWITZ.

Black Sea

MOROCCOFRENCH ALGERIA TUNISIA

PORTUGAL

SPAIN

ITALY

BELGIUM

LUXEMBOURG

GERMANY

MONTENEGRO

GREECE

CRETE

(GR.)

SE ROMANIA

RB

IA

ALBANIA

OTTOMAN EMPIRE

Medi

ter

ran

ean

Sea

PERSIA

ARABIA

MOROCCOSPANISH SICILY

CORSICA

BALEARIC

ISLANDS

SARDINIA

CYPRUS

Eu rope, 1914

38 CHAPTER Two ■ H IsTorIcal conTexT of InTernaTIonal relaTIons

ESSIR7_CH02_020_069_11P.indd 38 6/14/16 10:02 AM