Important People In World War One

World War One involved nearly all the nations in Europe and several other nations across the
world, like Japan, the US, Canada and Brazil. Hence, with so many nations fighting one another, it is but
natural that many important people, who had an impact on the outcome of the war, would be involved.
Some of the important people in World War One are as follows:
Prince Max von Baden was the chancellor of Germany. He assumed temporary leadership of the
country during the last few months of the war after Kaiser Wilhelm II lost complete control over Germany.
Winston Churchill, although more popular as the British prime minister during the Second World
War, played an important role in the First World War. He was the admiral of the British navy until his
demotion in the year 1915 due to the navy's failure at the Dardanelles. Thereafter, Churchill resigned and
went to the western front where he served as a battalion commander.
Constantine I was the king of Greece. Although as a nation, Greece was neutral, the king was
known for his pro-German feelings, while his government was for the Allies. On 12th June 1917, the King
Constantine I abdicated after being threatened by the Allies of an invasion, and shortly thereafter, Greece
joined the war siding with the Allies.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and it was his
assassination on 28th June 1915 in Sarajevo, Serbia, that cascaded into World War One.
General Paul von Hindenburg was responsible for defeating the Russian in the Battle of
Tannenburg, which was fought in August 1914. A month after this decisive victory, he was made into the
commander-in-chief of the German army, a position he held till the end of World War One.
Tsar Nicholas II was responsible for sending the Russian troops to Serbia when the country was
attacked by the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the assassination of the archduke. He abdicated in March
1917 and was later murdered with the rest of his family in July 1918 by the Bolsheviks.
General John J Pershing had the command of the US forces sent to Europe when the US joined
the war. However, he was against his forces serving in the front, but then did send a few soldiers to fight
alongside British and French soldiers.
Kaiser Wilhelm II was the emperor of Germany when Germany entered the war in response to the
Russians coming to the aid of Serbia.
President Woodrow Wilson maintained a neutral position during the initial stages of the war. He
even tried to intermediate between the warring sides. However, he changed his position due to the
German submarine warfare tactics and the Zimmermann telegram sent by German foreign minister,
Arthur Zimmermann, to Mexico where the Germans put forth a proposal that Mexicans attack the US in
return for financial aid and military alliance.

Events
June 2 8 , 1 9 1 4 Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo
July 5 Austria requests and receives Germanys blank check, pledging unconditional support if
Russia enters the war
July 2 3 Austria issues ultimatum to Serbia
July 2 5 Serbia responds to ultimatum; Austrian ambassador to Serbia immediately leaves Belgrade
France promises support to Russia in the event of war
July 2 8 Austria declares war on Serbia
July 3 0 Russia orders general mobilization of troops
August 1 Germany declares war on Russia France and Germany order general mobilization
August 3 Germany declares war on France
August 4 Britain declares war on Germany

The Archdukes Assassination

On June 2 8 , 1 9 1 4 , the archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, and his wife were on an official visit
to the city of Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a Serb-dominated province of Austria-Hungary.
During the visit, Serbian militants, seeking independence for the territory, made two separate
attempts on the archdukes life. In the first attempt, they threw a bomb at his car shortly after he
arrived in town, but the bomb bounced off the car and failed to kill or injure the intended victim.
Later that day, while the archduke was en route to a hospital to visit an officer wounded by the
bomb, his driver turned down a side street where Gavrilo Princip, a nineteen-year-old militant
Bosnian Serb who had been part of the assassination attempt that morning, happened to be
standing. Seizing the opportunity, Princip stepped up to the cars window and shot both the archduke
and his wife at point-blank range.

Reaction to the Assassination

The archdukes assassination had an incendiary effect throughout Central Europe. Tensions
between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, which had already been rising for several years over territorial
disputes, escalated further. Despite limited evidence, Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbian

government for the assassination. Furthermore, it blamed Serbia for seeding unrest among ethnic
Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a province of Austria-Hungary that shared a border with Serbia.

Russia and Serbia

Austro-Hungarian leaders decided that the solution to the Serbian problem was an all-out invasion of
the country. However, there was a major obstacle to this plan: Russia, which had close ethnic,
religious, and political ties to Serbia, was likely to come to its defense during an invasion. Though
poorly armed and trained, Russias army was huge and capable of posing a formidable threat to
Austria-Hungary.

Germanys Blank Check

Aware of the threat from Russia, Austria-Hungary held off on its attack plans and turned to its wellarmed ally to the north, Germany. On July 5 , 1 9 1 4 , Austria-Hungary sent an envoy to meet
personally with the German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, to convey Austrias concerns about Russia.
The kaiser felt that Russia was unlikely to respond militarily, as its forces were utterly unprepared for
war. He also had a close personal relationship with TsarNicholas II (the two were cousins), so he
hoped to smooth things over diplomatically. Nevertheless, the kaiser pledged that if Russian troops
did in fact advance on Austria-Hungary, Germany would help fight off the attackers. This guarantee
is often referred to as Germanys blank check.

Austrias Ultimatum
On July 2 3 , 1 9 1 4 , the Austro-Hungarian government issued an ultimatum to Serbia containing ten
demands. The ultimatum insisted that Austria-Hungary be allowed to participate in Serbias
investigation of Archduke Franz Ferdinands assassination and, in particular, to take direct part in the
judicial process against the suspects. The demands also required Serbia to stamp out all forms of
anti-Austrian activism and propaganda emanating from the country. The ultimatum, written by
members of the Austrian Council of Ministers, was specifically intended to be humiliating and
unacceptable to Serbia.
On July 2 5 , however, Serbia accepted Austria-Hungarys demands almost entirelyaside from just
a few conditions regarding Austrias participation in the judicial process against the criminals.
Austria-Hungarys response was swift: its embassy in Serbia closed within a half hour of receiving
Serbias answer, and three days later, on July 2 8 , Austria declared war on Serbia. On July 2 9 , the
first Austrian artillery shells fell on Serbias capital, Belgrade.

The Other Sides Enter the War

After this first military action, a series of events followed in quick succession. With news of Austrias
attack on Belgrade, Russia ordered a general mobilization of its troops on July 3 0 , 1 9 1 4 . Germany,
interpreting this move as a final decision by Russia to go to war, promptly ordered its own
mobilization. Although the Russian tsar and German kaiser were communicating feverishly by
telegraph throughout this time, they failed to convince each other that they were only taking
precautionary measures. Britain made an attempt to intervene diplomatically, but to no avail. On
August 1 , the German ambassador to Russia handed the Russian foreign minister a declaration of
war.
On August 3 , Germany, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan (see Terms, p. 1 1 ), declared war
on France as well. Germany made clear its intention to cross the neutral nation Belgium in order to
reach Frances least fortified border, in violation of its own treaty in respect to neutral countries.
Therefore, Britain, which had a defense agreement with Belgium, declared war on Germany the next
day, August 4 , bringing the number of countries involved up to six. There would soon be more.

Explaining the Start of the War

Some early accounts of World War I treat its start as a chain of almost coincidental events: a mix of
unfortunate lapses in judgment on the part of political and military leaders, combined with a tangled
web of alliances and defense treaties that triggered declarations of war between countries that really
had little reason to be at war with each other. Although these factors were crucial, a number of other
important factors were involved.
After all, most of the countries that came to be involved in World War I had enjoyed relatively friendly
interrelations right up to the start of the war. For the most part, they shared strong economic
interdependencies, and trade between them was brisk, making the prospect of a large-scale war
highly unattractive.
Moreover, though several treaties in force at the time did compel certain countries to join the war, it
is a mistake to assume that any of them joined the war automatically. Leaders in each country
debated whether to enter the war and generally made their decisions only after evaluating their own
concrete interests and risks. Many of these countries had hidden motives and, at the same time,
mistakenly assumed that some of the others would stay out of the conflict.

German Motives

Though Germany had little interest in Austrias problems with Serbia, it had significant ambitions
regarding its other neighbors. In recent years, Russia had become increasingly involved in European
affairs, while simultaneously modernizing and expanding its military. German military leaders felt that
war with Russia was inevitable at some point. Therefore, they argued, it would be far better to fight
Russia now, while its army was still poorly armed and untrained, rather than to wait until it could
pose a greater threat. Some historians claim that Germany deliberately encouraged Austria to go to
war with Serbia in order to set off a war with Russia.
Furthermore, German military leaders believed there was a good chance that Britain would remain
neutral and that France also might stay at arms length, despite its treaty with Russia. This wishful
thinking helped the German military leaders convince themselves that the war would be winnable
and also helped them to sell their plan to the kaiser.

British Motives
For centuries, Britain had been the greatest naval power in the world and also had the largest
collection of colonies. In the first years of the twentieth century, however, Germany made a massive
and costly effort to build up a comparable naval fleet of its own, with the specific goal of matching
Britain on the high seas. Germany also had recently shown a stronger interest than before in
acquiring new colonies. Britain, seeing these developments as a dangerous threat to the balance of
power in Europe, argued to Germany (through diplomatic channels) that the country had no need for
a large navy or a large number of colonies. Germany ignored Britains rebuffs and continued as
before. Just as some German leaders favored an anticipatory war against Russia, some British
leaders felt similarly about Germany.

French Motives
In 1 8 7 1 , France had lost the territories of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany in a wara bitterly
humiliating blow that left France desperate to regain these lands. While fearful of an all-out German
invasion, some French leaders felt that if Germany were distracted by a war with Russia, France
might have a chance to seize Alsace and Lorraine.

Russian Motives
Russias motives for entering the war are less clear-cut. The period just prior to the war was a time
of great instability in Russia: never before in the nations history had the tsars grip on power been so
fragile. On the other hand, there was support in Russia for the Serbian cause, and a military victory
would likely help the tsar politically. Nevertheless, war was a risky proposition given the poor state of

the Russian military at the time. Tsar Nicholas II, who was personally hesitant about joining the war,
briefly flip-flopped over ordering mobilization. Ultimately, however, he caved under pressure from
overly optimistic Russian military leaders and advisers who had strong nationalistic leanings.

Opening moves
Events
August 3 , 1 9 1 4 German troops enter Belgium
August 4 German troops enter Poland (Russian territory) and take three towns
August 5 Germans encounter first serious fighting at Liege, Belgium
August 1 0 France declares war on Austria-Hungary
August 1 2 First British troops cross English Channel into France Britain declares war on AustriaHungary Austrian troops enter Serbia at Sabac
August 1 5 Liege falls
August 1 7 Russian troops enter East Prussia (Germany)
August 1 8 Russian troops enter Austria-Hungary
August 2 0 Germans enter Brussels, completing occupation of Belgium
August 2 3 Japan declares war on Germany
August 2 6 Battle of Tannenberg begins on eastern front
August 3 0 Russian forces under Samsonov defeated at Tannenberg
September 9 Battle of the Masurian Lakes begins
September 1 4 Russian forces retreat after defeat at Masurian Lakes

Key People
Radomir Putnik - Serbian general who ambushed Austro-Hungarian forces in the Jadar Valley
Alexander Samsonov - Russian general who committed suicide after disastrous loss at
Tannenberg
Paul von Hindenburg - More experienced German general who replaced Prittwitz and routed
Russians at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes
Maximilian von Prittwitz - German general who ordered a hasty retreat from Russian forces but
was replaced by Hindenburg before his plan could be implemented

Paul von Rennenkampf - Russian general who sustained massive casualties retreating from the
Masurian Lakes

Germanys Attack on Belgium

After the initial round of war declarations, events unfolded quickly as each side tried to position itself
advantageously. Germanys troops were the first to move, and their initial target was Belgium. The
first German troops crossed the border on the night of August 3 , 1 9 1 4 , expecting to overtake the
little nation quickly and to move on to their main objective of France.
The Germans found more resistance than anticipated, however, especially amongcivilian
snipers who fired on them from hidden positions. In retaliation, the Germans burned a number of
towns and villages to the ground and executed large numbers of civilians, including women and
children. The heaviest fighting was around the fortress at Liege; the capital, Brussels, did not fall
until August 2 0 . All the time, however, additional German armies were gathering along the
remainder of Frances eastern borders.

Russias Attack on Germany

Undermining Germanys Schlieffen Plan, Russian troops attacked Germany much sooner than
expected. Two Russian armies, under generals Alexander Samsonov and Paul von
Rennenkampf, crossed Germanys border in East Prussia on August 1 7 . With the brunt of German
forces focused on France, the Russians advanced quickly at first and soon threatened the regional
capital ofKnigsberg (present-day Kaliningrad).
Vastly outnumbered and initially overwhelmed, the German commander in the region,
General Maximilian von Prittwitz, panicked and tried to call a retreat, against the advice of his staff.
To deal with the emergency, German military leaders quickly replaced Prittwitz with a more
experienced leader, GeneralPaul von Hindenburg, and recalled some of the troops from the
western front to help in the east.

The Battle of Tannenberg

Reinforced and under new leadership, the German forces in the east struck back decisively at the
invading Russian forces. Because the armies of Samsonov and Rennenkampf were operating
separately, without mutual coordination, the Germans were able to deal with them one at a time.
Two German armies engaged Samsonovs forces at Tannenberg on August 2 6 . Eventually,
weakened by constant pounding from German artillery, Samsonovs troops were forced to retreat.

As they did so, a second German army cut off their path, completely entrapping them. A slaughter
ensued in which over3 0 ,0 0 0 Russian soldiers were killed and an additional 9 2 ,0 0 0 taken prisoner.
General Samsonov committed suicide that same day.

The Battle of the Masurian Lakes

On September 9 , Hindenburgs troops took on Rennenkampfs army at the nearby Masurian Lakes,
for a near repeat performance of Tannenberg. Though Rennenkampfs army did manage to retreat
successfully, they did so only with another 1 2 5 ,0 0 0 casualties. Between Tannenberg and the
Masurian Lakes, Russia lost approximately 3 0 0 ,0 0 0 soldiers in less than a month of fighting.

Austria-Hungarys Losses
While Russia was suffering huge loses against Germany, it did win a victory againstAustriaHungary. On August1 8 , a third Russian army entered Galicia, a region along Austria-Hungarys
eastern border. The general of the Austrian forces misjudged where the main Russian attack would
fall, so the armies passed each other and ended up literally chasing each other around in a circle. As
a result, the Russian army was able to push deep into enemy territory and force the AustroHungarian forces to retreat one hundred miles with massive casualties.
In the meantime, Austria-Hungary was also losing its first major battle againstSerbia. On August 1 2 ,
Austria launched a ground invasion into Serbia at the town of Sabac. Though the town was quickly
captured, the Austrian army soon ran into a brick wall as Serbian forces under General Radomir
Putnikadvanced up the Jadar Valley, ambushing the Austro-Hungarian forces. After a battle of
several days, the Serbian armies forced the Austrians to retreat all the way back to the border.

Japans Entry into the War

On August 2 3 , 1 9 1 4 , Japan declared war on Germany in solidarity with Britain. One reason for this
action was Japans intent to retake some islands in the Pacific Ocean that Germany had seized as
colonies in recent decades.

Assessing the First Month of the War

The bold, risky steps that Germany and Russia took in the wars opening month had a profound
effect on the dynamics of the rest of the war and provided early hints that the war might last much
longer than expected. Even in the first days of the war, Germanys much-touted Schlieffen Plan
began to unravel, as Russian troops arrived at the German borders faster than anticipated. Although

Germany successfully thwarted the Russians, it was forced to divert armies from its advance to the
west. Meanwhile, the stiff resistance from Belgium during that western advance indicated that the
conquest of France might likewise be more difficult than expected. On the other side, the massive
losses that Russia suffered in the first month offered a similar warning sign of how costly and difficult
the war might turn out to be.

World War 1 lasted just over four years, and included many belligerent nations. Consequently, there
are a lot of famous names involved. This listing is a guide to the key figures you need to know about.
1. Prime Minister Herbert Asquith
Prime Minister of Britain since 1908, he oversaw Britains entry into World War One when he
underestimated the scale of the July crisis and relied on the judgement of colleagues who had
supported the Boer war. He struggled to unite his government, and after the disasters of the Somme
and a rising in Ireland was forced out by a mixture of press and political pressure.
2. Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg
As Chancellor of Imperial Germany from 1909 until the start of war, it was Hollwegs job to try and
prise apart the triple alliance of Britain, France and Russia; he was unsuccessful, thanks partly to the
actions of other Germans. He managed to calm international events in the years before the war, but
seems to have developed a fatalism by 1914 and he gave Austria-Hungary backing. He appears to
have tried to direct the army east, to meet Russia and avoid antagonising France, but lacked the
power. He was in charge of the September Programme which spelt out enormous war aims, and spent
the next three years trying to balance the divisions in Germany and maintain some diplomatic weight
despite the actions of the military, but was worn down into accepting Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
and ousted by the military and the rising Reichstag parliament.
3. General Aleksey Brusilov
The most talented and successful Russian commander of the First World War, Brusilov started the
conflict in charge of the Russian Eighth Army, where he contributed greatly to success in Galicia in
1914. By 1916 he had stood out enough to be put in charge of the south-west Eastern Front, and the
Brusilov offensive of 1916 was hugely successful by the standards of the conflict, capturing hundreds
of thousands of prisoner, taking territory and distracting the Germans from Verdun at a key moment.
However, the victory was not decisive, and the army began to lose further morale. Russia soon fell to
revolution, and Brusilov found himself with no army to command. After a period of difficultly, he later
commanded Red forces in the Russian Civil War.
4. Winston Churchill
As First Lord of the Admiralty when war broke out, Churchill was instrumental in keeping the fleet safe
and ready to act as events unfolded. He oversaw the movement of the BEF perfectly, but his
interventions, appointments and actions made him enemies and undermined his previous reputation
for successful dynamism. Associated heavily with the Gallipoli expedition, in which he made key
mistakes, he lost in job in 1915, but decided to command a unit on the Western Front, doing so in
1915-16. In 1917, Lloyd George bought him back to government as Minister of Munitions, where he
made a great contribution to supplying the army, and again promoted tanks.
5. Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau
Clemenceau had established a formidable reputation before the First World War, thanks to his
radicalism, his politics and his journalism. When war broke out he resisted offers to join the
government and used his position to attack any faults he saw in the army, and he saw many. By
1917, with the French war effort apparently failing, the country turned to Clemenceau to halt the

slide. With boundless energy, iron will and fierce belief, Clemenceau drove France through total war
and the successful conclusion of the conflict. He wished to inflict a brutally harsh peace on Germany,
and has been accused of losing the peace.
6. General Erich von Falkenhayn
Although Moltke tried to use him as a scapegoat in 1914, Falkenhayn was chosen to replace Moltke
late in 1914. He believed victory would be won in the west and only sent troops east with reservation,
earning him the enmity of Hindenburg and Ludendorff, but did enough to ensure the conquest of
Serbia. In 1916 he unveiled his coldly pragmatic plan for the west, the war of attrition at Verdun, but
lost sight of his objectives and saw the Germans suffer equal casualties. When an under-supported
east suffered setbacks, he was further weakened and replaced by Hindenburg and Ludendorff. He then
took command of an army and defeated Romania, but failed to repeat the success in Palestine and
Lithuania.
7. Archduke Franz Ferdinand
It was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Habsburg throne, which sparked
off the First World War. Ferdinand wasnt well liked in Austria-Hungary, partly because he was a
difficult man to deal with, and partly because he wished to reform Hungary to give the Slavs more
say, but he acted as a check on Austrian actions immediately before the war, moderating a response
and helping avoid conflict.
8. Field Marshall Sir John French
A cavalry commander who made his name in Britains colonial wars, French was the first commander
of the British Expeditionary Force during the war. His early experiences of modern warfare at Mons
gave him the belief that the BEF was at risk of being wiped out, and he may have grown clinically
depressed as the war continued in 1914, missing chances to act. He was also suspicious of the French,
and had to be persuaded by a personal visit from Kitchener to keep the BEF fighting. As those above
and below him grew frustrated, French was seen to fail greatly in the battles of 1915 and replaced by
Haig at the end of the year.
9. Marshal Ferdinand Foch
Before the war broke out, Fochs military theories which argued the French soldier was disposed to
attacking heavily influenced the development of the French army. At the start of the war he was
given troops to command, but made his name in collaborating and co-ordinating with other allied
commanders. When Joffre fell he was sidelined, but made a similar impression working in Italy, and
won over allied leaders enough to become the Allied Supreme Commander on the Western Front,
where his sheer personality and guile helped him maintain success for just about long enough.
10. Emperor Franz Josef Habsburg I
Habsburg Emperor Franz Josef I spent much of his sixty-eight year reign keeping an increasingly
fractious empire together. He was largely against war, which he felt would destabilise the nation, and
the capture of Bosnia in 1908 was an aberration. However, in 1914 he appears to have changed his
mind after the assassination of his heir Franz Ferdinand, and its possible the weight of family
tragedies, as well as the pressures of holding the empire intact, made him allow a war to punish

Serbia. He died in 1916, and with him went a great deal of the personal support that had held the
empire together.

11. Sir Douglas Haig

A former cavalry commander, Haig worked as Commander of the British 1st Army in 1915, and used
his political connections to criticise the BEFs commander, French, and have himself named
replacement at the end of the year. For the remainder of the war Haig led the British army, mixing
faith that a breakthrough could be achieved on the Western Front with a total imperturbability at the
human cost, which he believed was inevitable in modern war. He was certain victory should be
actively pursued or else the war would last decades, and in 1918 his policy of wearing the Germans
down and developments in supply and tactics meant he oversaw victories. Despite a recent turn to his
defence, he remains the most controversial figure in the English historiography, for some a bungler
who wasted millions of lives, for others a determined winner.

12. Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg

Hindenburg was called out of retirement in 1914 to command the Eastern Front in tandem with the
formidable talents of Ludendorff. He was soon just the gloss on Ludendorffs decisions, but was still
officially in charge and given total command of the war with Ludendorff. Despite the failure of
Germany in the war he remained hugely popular, and would go on to become the President of
Germany who appointed Hitler.
13. Conrad von Htzendorf
The head of the Austro-Hungarian army, Conrad is perhaps the individual most responsible for the
outbreak of World War One. Before 1914 he had called for war perhaps over fifty times, and he
believed strong action against rival powers was needed to maintain the empires integrity. He wildly
overestimated what the Austrian army could achieve, and put in place imaginative plans with little
regard to reality. He started the war by having to divide his forces, thus making little impact on either
zone, and continued to fail. He was replaced in February 1917.
14. Marshal Joseph Joffre
As Chief of the French General Staff from 1911, Joffre did much to shape the way France would
respond to a war, and as Joffre believed in a strong offence, this involved promoting aggressive
officers and pursuing Plan XVIII: an invasion of Alsace-Lorraine. He advocated full and fast
mobilization during the July Crises of 1914, but found his preconceptions shattered by the reality of
war. Almost at the last minute he changed plans to stop Germany just short of Paris, and his calmness
and unflustered nature contributed to this victory. However, over the next year a succession of critics
eroded his reputation, and he fell open to heavy attack when his plans for Verdun were seen to have

created that crisis. In December 1916 he was removed from command, made a Marshal, and reduced
to performing ceremonies.
15. Mustafa Kemal
A professional Turkish soldier who predicted that Germany would lose a major conflict, Kemal was
nonetheless given a command when the Ottoman Empire joined Germany in the war, albeit after a
period of waiting. Kemal was sent to the Gallipoli Peninsula, where he played a key role in defeating
the Entente invasion, propelling him to the international stage. He was then sent to fight Russia,
winning victories, and to Syria and Iraq. Resigning in disgust at the state of the army, he suffered
from health problems before recovering and being sent to Syria again. As Ataturk, he would later lead
a rebellion and found the modern state of Turkey.
16. Field Marshall Horatio Kitchener
A famed imperial commander, Kitchener was appointed British War Minister in 1914 more for his
reputation than his ability to organise. He almost immediately bought a realism to the cabinet,
claiming the war would last years and require as large an army Britain could manage. He used his
fame to recruit two millions volunteers through a campaign which featured his face, and kept French
and the BEF in the war. However, he was a failure in other aspects, such as securing Britains turn to
total war, or providing a coherent organisational structure. Slowly sidelined during 1915, Kitcheners
public reputation was so great he couldnt be fired, but he drowned in 1916 when his ship, travelling
to Russia, was sunk.
17. Lenin
Although by 1915 his opposition to the war meant that he was only the leader of a terribly small
socialist faction, by the end of 1917 his continued call for peace, bread and land had helped him take
charge of a coup detat to lead Russia. He overruled fellow Bolsheviks who wanted to continue the
war, and entered into talks with Germany which turned into the Brest-Litovsk treaty.
18. British Prime Minister Lloyd-George
Lloyd-Georges political reputation in the years before the First World War was one of a vocal anti-war
liberal reformer. Once conflict broke out in 1914 he read the public mood and was instrumental in
getting the Liberals to support intervention. He was an early Easterner wanting to attack the
Central Powers away from the Western Front and as Minister for Munitions in 1915 intervened to
improve production, throwing open the industrial workplace to women and competition. After
politicking in 1916 he became Prime Minister, determined to win the war but save British lives from his
commanders, of whom he was deeply suspicious and with whom he warred. After victory in 1918 he
personally wanted a careful peace settlement, but was pushed into harsher treatment of Germany by
his allies.
19. General Erich Ludendorff
A professional soldier who had gained a political reputation, Ludendorff rose in esteem in seizing Liege
in 1914, and was appointed Hindenburgs Chief of Staff in the east in 1914 so he could make an

impact. The pair but chiefly Ludendorff with his great talents soon inflicted defeats on Russia and
pushed them right back. Ludendorffs reputation and politicking saw he and Hindenburg appointed in
charge of the entire war, and it was Ludendorff who drew up the Hindenburg Programme to allow
Total War. Ludendorffs power grew, and he both authorised Unrestricted Submarine Warfare and tried
to win a decisive victory in the west in 1918. The failure of both he innovated tactically, but drew
the wrong strategic conclusions caused him a mental collapse. He recovered to call for an armistice
and to create a German scapegoat, and effectively started the Stabbed in the Back Myth.
20. Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke
Moltke was the nephew of his great namesake, but suffered an inferiority complex to him. As Chief of
Staff in 1914, Moltke thought war with Russia was inevitable, and it was he who had the responsibility
of implementing the Schlieffen Plan, which he modified but failed to plan through properly pre-war.
His changes to the plan and the failure of the German offensive on the Western Front, which owed a
deal to his inability to cope with events as they developed, opened him up to criticism and he was
replaced as Commander in Chief in September 1914 by Falkenhayn.
21. Robert-Georges Nivelle
A brigade commander in the early part of the war, Nivelle rose to command first a French division and
then 3rd Corps at Verdun. As Joffre grew wary of Petains success Nivelle was promoted to command
the 2nd Army at Verdun, and had great success in using creeping barrages and infantry attacks to
retake land. In December 1916 he was chosen to succeed Joffre as head of the French forces, and his
belief in artillery supported frontal assaults was so persuasive the British put their troops under him.
However, his grand attack in 1917 failed to match his rhetoric, and the French army mutinied as a
result. He was replaced after just five months and sent to Africa.
22. General John Pershing
Pershing was selected by US President Wilson to command the American Expeditionary Force in 1917.
Pershing immediately confounded his colleagues by calling for a million strong army by 1918, and
three million by 1919; his recommendations were accepted. He kept the AEF together as an
independent force, only putting US troops under allied command during the crisis of early 1918. He
led the AEF through successful operations in the later part of 1918, and survived the war reputation
largely intact.

23. Marshal Philippe Petain

A professional soldier, Ptain moved slowly up the military hierarchy because he favoured a more
offensive and integrated approach than the all-out attack popular at the time. He was promoted
during the war, but came to national prominence when he was chosen to defend Verdun once the
fortress complex seemed in danger of failing. His skill and organisation allowed him to do so
successfully, until a jealous Joffre promoted him away. When the Nivelle offensive in 1917 led to
munity, Ptain took over and calmed the soldiers into remaining a working army often through

personal intervention - and commanded successful attacks in 1918, although he showed signs of a
worrying fatalism that saw Foch promoted above him to keep a grip. Sadly, a later war would ruin all
he achieved in this one.
24. Raymond Poincar
As President of France from 1913, he believed war with Germany was inevitable, and prepared France
appropriately: improve the alliance with Russia and Britain, and expand conscription to create an army
equal to Germany. He was in Russia during much of the July crisis, and was criticised for not doing
enough to stop the war. During the conflict he tried to keep the union of government factions
together, but lost power to the military, and after the chaos of 1917 was forced to invite an old rival,
Clemenceau, into power as Prime Minister; Clemenceau then took the lead over Poincar.
25. Gavrilo Princip
A young and nave Bosnian Serb from a peasant family, Princip was the man who succeeded at the
second attempt to kill Franz Ferdinand, the trigger event for World War One. The extent of the
support he received from Serbia is debated, but its likely he was heavily supported by them, and a
change of mind higher up came too late to stop him. Princip doesnt appear to have held much of an
opinion about the consequences of his actions, and died in 1918 during a twenty year prison sentence.
26. Tsar Nicholas Romanov II
A man who wished for Russia to gain territory in the Balkans and Asia, Nicholas II also disliked war
and tried to avoid conflict during the July crisis. Once war began, the autocratic Tsar refused to allow
the liberals or elected Duma officials a say in the running, alienating them; he was also paranoid of
any criticism. As Russia faced multiple military defeats, Nicolas took personal command in September
1915; consequently, the failures of a Russia unprepared for modern war were associated firmly with
him. These failures, and his attempt to crush dissent by force, led to a revolution and his abdication.
He was killed by Bolsheviks in 1918.
27. Kaiser Wilhelm II
The Kaiser was the official head (Emperor) of Germany during World War 1, but lost much practical
power to military experts early on, and almost all to Hindenburg and Ludendorff in the final years. He
was forced to abdicate as Germany rebelled late in 1918, and he didnt know the announcement was
being made for him. The Kaiser was a leading verbal sabre rattler before the war his personal touch
caused a number of crises and he was passionate about gaining colonies - but calmed down notably as
the war progressed and he was sidelined. Despite some Allied demands for a trial, he lived in peace in
the Netherlands until his death in 1940.
28. US President Woodrow Wilson
US President from 1912, Wilsons experiences of the US Civil War gave him a lifetime enmity towards
war, and when World War One started he was determined to keep the US neutral. However, as the
Entente powers grew in debt to the US, the messianic Wilson became convinced he could offer
mediation and establish a new international order. He was re-elected on the promise of keeping the

US neutral, but when the Germans started Unrestricted Submarine Warfare he entered the war
determined to impose his vision of peace on all the belligerents, as governed by his Fourteen Points
plan. He had some effect at Versailles, but couldnt totally negate the French, and the US refused to
support the League of Nations, ruining his planned new world.