The Bolshevik Revolution

In November 1917, a communist revolution in Russia ended Tsar Nicholas II's reign and the monarchy as a whole. Russia surrendered and left the war.

Background

Throughout the First World War, Russian autocracy under the Tsar was under strain.
The First World War worsened existing troubles and helped bring about the fall of Tsar Nicholas II.
After the Tsar was unseated, a ‘provisional government’ ran Russia.

Revolution in Russia

But the provisional government was unpopular and was overthrown by the Bolshevik Party.
- The Bolsheviks were communists, who believed that Russia should become a more equal society without a king.
The Bolshevik slogan, ‘Peace, Land, and Bread’, reflected the views of many Russian people who wanted to end the First World War, to seize land from the rich, and stop food shortages.

Russia surrenders

As the Russian population was exhausted by war, the Bolshevik government took Russia out of the war.
In March 1918, Russia signed the punitive treaty of Brest Litovsk with Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Russia gave the Central Powers almost half of its European territory and 50 million people. It also lost much of its fertile farmland.

Consequences

Germany moved large numbers of troops from the Eastern Front.
It aimed to start a big attack in France in Spring 1918.
This could have given Germany a decisive breakthrough but almost two million American troops arrived in Europe.

Consequences

Some of the soldiers moved to the Western Front were German prisoners of war. Some were almost useless in the army after their wartime experiences.
One million German soldiers remained on the Eastern Front.

1The Causes of the First World War

1.1The Alliance System

1.1.1The Threat of Germany & The Triple Alliance

1.1.2The Franco-Russian Alliance & the 'Entente'

1.1.3End of Topic Test - The Alliance System

1.2Crisis in Morocco and the Balkans

1.2.1The Crisis in Morocco

1.2.2The Crisis in the Balkans

1.2.3The Balkan Wars

1.2.4Impact on International Relations

1.2.5End of Topic Test - Morocco & the Balklans

1.3Anglo-German Rivalry

1.3.1Britain & Splendid Isolation

1.3.2Kaiser Wilhelm II's Foreign Policy

1.3.3European Rearmament

1.3.4End of Topic Test - Anglo-German Rivalry

1.4Outbreak of War

1.4.1Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

1.4.2The July Crisis

1.4.3The Schlieffen Plan and Belgium

1.4.4Reasons for the Outbreak of Hostilities

1.4.5End of Topic Test - Outbreak of War

2The First World War: Stalemate

2.1The Schlieffen Plan

2.1.1Reasons Behind the Schlieffen Plan & its Failure

2.1.2Stalemate

2.1.3End of Topic Test - The Schlieffen Plan

2.2The Western Front

2.2.1Technology

2.2.2Military Tactics

2.2.3The War of Attrition (1915-1916)

2.2.4The War of Attrition (1917)

2.2.5End of Topic Test - The Western Front

2.3The Wider War

2.3.1The War at Sea

2.3.2The War in the Air

2.3.3Other Theatres

2.3.4End of Topic Test - Wider War

3Ending the War

3.1Changes in the Allied Forces

3.1.1The Bolshevik Revolution

3.1.2Reasons for the Entry of the USA

3.1.3The Impact of US Entry on the War

3.1.4End of Topic Test - Changes in the Allied Forces

3.2Military Developments in 1918

3.2.1Tactics & Technology

3.2.2Ludendorff & the German Spring Offensive

3.2.3The Allied Advance During The Hundred Days

3.3Germany Surrenders

3.3.1The Impact of the Naval Blockade

3.3.2Abdication of the Kaiser

3.3.3Armistice

3.3.4The Contribution of Haig and Foch

3.3.5End of Topic Test - Developments & Surrender

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