Let’s set the scene: it’s 1914 and all the great nations in Europe are at war; in a conflict of such never-before-seen proportions that people referred to it as ‘The Great War’, but most of us know it as World War I.
Part of why this war was described as great (of large proportions), was that its implications and impacts led to the absolute rearrangement of Europe, both geographically and more importantly politically.
Before the war, Europe played host to not one, not two, but five major dynastic empires all vying for more power and influence on the continent (partly the cause of World War I): The German Empire, The Austro-Hungarian Empire (Hapsburg line), The Ottoman Empire, The Russian Empire (Romanov line) and lastly The British Empire (Windsor line).
To give you an idea of how much changed during the war, by 1918 only one of these great imperial forces remained intact and able to exercise power: Great Britain.
Europe Pre-World War (left)
What went wrong? How could so many century-long sovereignties collapse in only 4 years? What were the reparations of this restructuring? Who took advantage of the instability that followed their fall? And finally, did the decline in imperialism lead to democracy? Or just different forms of abuse of power?
Europe Post-World War I (right - down)
This is what I will be covering in a series of articles, one dedicated to each of the
formerly great Empires, detailing exactly what happened that led to their downfall and who followed in their footsteps.
This is obviously a theme that falls under the history umbrella but I will try to include as much information about the political systems, tactics, figures etc. involved as I can.
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