Dark Earth: The First World War

The World of 1914

British Empire
At the outbreak of war, the British Empire covered over 20 million square miles, with King-Emperor George V reigning over 750 million subjects across Earth and millions more on Mars and Venus. It stood at its highest point yet of global power and unmatched influence. At the heart lay the home countries of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Lyonesse, a collective economic, financial, industrial and scientific powerhouse that had driven the Industrial Revolution for over a century and a half. The power and wealth of the mother country was increased manifold by the vast, resource plentiful and loyal empire that spanned the breadth of continents and the seven seas. The jewel in the crown of the Empire was the Indian Raj, closely followed by vast territories in Africa, the West Indies, Egypt and the Far East. The self governing Dominions of Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Rhodesia, Newfoundland and New Avalon were bound by close trade links and Imperial Preference.

The British Empire's main protection came from the Royal Navy, consisting of 29 dreadnoughts, 16 battlecruisers, 52 predreadnought battleships, 3 aeroplane and 8 seaplane carriers, 59 armoured cruisers, 97 light and protected cruisers, 113 frigates, 254 destroyers, 98 submarines, 356,000 sailors and over 75,000 Royal Marines. In raw numbers alone, the RN was just more than double the size of the Imperial German Navy and stood significantly ahead of the Marine Royale, the United States Navy and the Imperial Russian Navy.

The regular professional British Army consisted of 562,000 officers and men organized in 25 divisions, with 129,000 in India, 42,000 in Egypt, 66,000 in the rest of the Empire and 325,000 in the British Isles, with 379,000 in the Army Reserve, 587,000 in the Territorial Army and 154,000 in the Militia. The East India Company's private army of 54,000 professional troops was attached for service in wartime. The Royal Flying Corps mustered 629 aeroplanes and 25 airships, with the Royal Naval Air Service operating 249 seaplanes, 123 aeroplanes, 78 flying boats, 27 airships and 4 skyships.

The strongest military force of the Empire was the British Indian Army, with a peacetime strength of over 750,000 men. It was used for imperial campaigns in the Far East, Middle East and Africa as well as operational deployments to Burma, the Northwest Frontier, Tibet and Afghanistan.

Britain remained the second wealthiest nation in the world, the largest industrial economy in Europe and had the world's largest shipbuilding industry, but faced significant challenges from Germany in iron, steel, chemicals, electricity, light engineering and armaments. The United States outproduced Britain in steel, coal, automobiles, oil, gas, textiles and consumer goods, with France, Russia, Austria-Hungary and Japan presenting various further challenges. The British merchant navy was the largest in the world by a substantial margin, with over 36 million tons of shipping flying the Red Duster.

German Empire
The German Empire was the single most powerful and wealthiest nation in Europe in 1914, comprising a federal empire of 25 German states, ranging from the giants of Prussia and Bavaria to minnows such as Oldenburg and Nassau. The population of Germany had increased from 67 million to 108 million in the period between 1870 and 1910, driven by impressive industrial and agricultural growth.

German power was based on rapid industrial development, with coal production increasing 500% between 1880 and 1914 and steel, chemicals, armaments, electrical engineering and manufacturing also driving impressive growth. The industrial heartlands of the Ruhr and Silesia are some of the most productive and heavily populated areas on the planet. The metropolises of Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Dresden and Hanover are thriving engines of commerce, finance and manufacturing, surpassed only in their importance to the economy of the German Empire by the great port of Hamburg and the Imperial capital, Berlin

The Imperial German Army was regarded as the finest in the world, with a regular force of over 1 million men organized into 36 corps and almost four and a half million first line reserves. All able bodied German young men are liable for conscription, with the intense training turning out a fighting force second to none. The pride of the Empire was the superbly drilled Garde du Korps based in Berlin. The arsenals of the Imperial German Army bristled with modern machine guns, mighty Krupp cannons and howitzers and world renowned Mauser rifles. The air arm of the Imperial German Army fielded 763 aircraft and 40 airships, with the Imperial Navy operating 127 seaplanes, 111 aeroplanes, 39 flying boats, 26 airships and 1 skyship.

The Imperial German Navy was the second largest in the world, comprising 19 dreadnoughts, 7 battlecruisers, 1 aeroplane and 4 seaplane carriers, 25 predreadnoughts, 21 armoured cruisers, 48 light cruisers, 26 frigates, 132 destroyers, 56 submarines, 18000 Imperial German Marines and over 120,000 sailors. A further 7 dreadnoughts, 3 battlecruisers, 4 light cruisers, 12 destroyers and 15 submarines were under construction. The High Seas Fleet was tremendously popular across Germany by kings and commoners alike, but was regarded as one of the main problematic points of contention by the British government and public across the other side of the North Sea.

German colonial holdings extended from the West Indies to the Pacific, with substantial African territories providing the major interest of a powerful colonial lobby that strongly believed in the right of the German Empire to enjoy her rightful place in the sun. German shipping lines were engaged in intense competition with their British rivals in the Atlantic and Pacific and the strength of the German economy had broken open new markets in the Middle East, South America and China over the last 25 years. This commercial and colonial rivalry proved to be a further factor in the deterioration of the Anglo-German relationship.

United States of America
The United States was the wealthiest country in the world in 1914, leading global steel, coal, wheat, oil and cotton production. With the resources of a continent and a population of over 169 million, the United States possessed the incipient potential to decide the course of any future global conflict. This was tempered, however, by a longstanding policy of avoiding any foreign alliances and non-intervention in Europe, as well as the political influence of sizeable migrant population.

The USA was the world’s foremost industrial and agricultural power, with the internal dichotomy between the two forces driving significant friction within American politics and economic policy, along with competing interests between Atlantic and Pacific trade, the division between the North and the South and the bitter disputes between science and tradition. US agriculture had boomed in the period following the Civil War, with some 72 million people living on 14 million farms, whilst the great industrial cities of New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland and Pittsburgh provided the main engine of American growth. The vast frontier of the West was still only partly tamed, with half a dozen territories yet to become states and the last of the Indian Wars still smouldering.

The inward focus of American expansionism had begun to turn outwards over the course of the last quarter of the 19th century, with a series of confrontations with the British, French, German and Spanish Empires culminating in the Spanish American War of 1898-1899 and the capture of the Philippines, Guam, Porto Rico and Hispaniola. In the 20th century, German expansionism in the West Indies and South America brought the United States and Germany to the brink of war, with an uneasy standoff in 1905 over Venezuela leading to a definite chilling of relations. The German colonies of Neue Sachsen and Neue Wurttemburg were seen as direct threats to the security of the Panama Canal.

The United States Navy was beginning to expand to fit the new power of the American empire, with a fleet of 16 dreadnoughts, 8 battlecruisers, 1 aeroplane and 2 seaplane carriers, 24 predreadnoughts, 20 armoured cruisers, 25 light cruisers, 18 frigates, 87 destroyers, 32 submarines, 25000 US Marines and 104,000 sailors. The majority of the fleet was based in the Atlantic, with small squadrons in the Pacific and Far East. The highly trained and well equipped US Army consisted of 125,000 regulars, with 59,000 stationed overseas, and 156,000 reserves in the National Guard.

France
In 1914, France had the second largest empire in the world and was the fourth largest economy in Europe behind Britain, Germany and Russia. Since her defeat at the hands of Prussia in 1871, France had longed for revenge against Germany and the return of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, with these driving many of her internal and foreign policies. It had enjoyed considerable political stability and economic development in the intervening 43 years, with King Louis XXI a much loved and strong head of a modern constitutional monarchy.

France remained a strongly agricultural nation and was completely self sufficient in food production. At the same time, she was one of the commercial, industrial and scientific leaders of the world. Her advances in technology were driven by the able direction of Science Minister Jules Verne, with particular emphasis placed on aviation, submarines, the exploration of space and medicine. French engineers held a proud position as some of the most esteemed in the world, with the construction of the Suez Canal and the Trans-Saharan Railway being renowned around the world.

The French colonial empire stretched across the vast expanses of North Africa, dozens of islands in the South Pacific and the steamy jungles of Indochina and West Africa. It served as a major source of raw materials, wealth, manpower and international prestige, as well as providing a network of bases around the world. France enjoys a strong cooperative relationship with Mexico and has extensive economic interests in South America. French foreign policy was based around her strong alliances with Russia and Britain, directly aimed at her German foes to the east.

The French Grande Armée was regarded as one of the most powerful and splendid in the world, with a peacetime strength of 62 divisions and 824,000 men and over 4 million reserves. The Royal Guards, Musketeers and the famous French Foreign Legion were regarded as among the finest troops in Europe. The Royale Service Aeronautique operated 736 aircraft and 28 airships, all of modern and powerful design. The French Royal Navy fielded 15 dreadnoughts, 3 battlecruisers, 1 aeroplane and 4 seaplane carriers, 26 predreadnoughts, 25 armoured and 40 light cruisers, 27 frigates, 123 destroyers, 69 submarines, over 200 torpedo boats, 21,000 French Marines and 152,000 sailors.

Russia
The Russian Empire in 1914 was the largest single state in the world, a continent spanning empire of 240 million people stretching from Finland to the Bering Strait. A large part of the population were of Slavic ethnicity, but large minorities existed in Central Asia and the Caucasus. The vast majority of the populace – over 187 million souls - were peasant farmers, with 45 million industrial workers and the remainder divided between the aristocracy, clergy and the professional bourgeoisie of the cities. Russia was markedly backward compared to the other Great Powers of Europe, but was beginning to experience rapid industrialization and tremendous growth. The major cities of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev, Odessa, Minsk and Smolensk were the centres of considerable heavy industry and commerce.

The Russian Empire was an absolute monarchy ruled with by Tsar Nicholas II. After the loss of the Russo-Japanese War of 1905 and the subsequent revolution, significant reforms had been enacted, including the establishment of a State Duma as a consultative assembly; these did not go far enough for the radicals and too far for the reactionaries. The subject states of Poland, Finland, Georgia, Armenia and Circassia chafed under Russian rule, with the policy of Russification particularly unpopular. Russia had been heavily hit with unrest and strikes in the years leading up to the war.

The major focus of Russian foreign policy was on addressing the threat of war with Germany and Austria-Hungary, with the latter seen as blocking natural Russian expansion into the Balkans. The Franco-Russian Alliance was the bedrock of Russian defence, with the Anglo-Russian Entente of 1910 providing a seeming end to the Great Game that had occupied much of the 19th century. Significant differences remained between Britain and Russia regarding the Empire of China and Mongolia.

The Imperial Russian Army was the largest in the world, with a peacetime strength of almost 2 million men organized in 105 divisions and over 6 million reserves. The Imperial Air Service, established in 1911, operated 691 aircraft and 23 airships, with the Imperial Navy Aviation Service fielding 95 aeroplanes, 73 seaplanes and 10 airships. The Imperial Russian Navy consisted of 9 dreadnoughts, 2 battlecruisers, 16 predreadnoughts, 1 aeroplane and 1 seaplane carrier, 15 armoured cruisers, 27 light cruisers, 21 frigates, 105 destroyers, 57 submarines, 61 torpedo boats, 17,000 Naval Infantry and 92,000 sailors.

Japan
The Empire of Japan stood as the most powerful state in the Far East in 1914, having joined the ranks of first rank powers after her defeat of Russia in 1905 and her victory over China in1895. The fifty years of the Meiji period had been a period of unprecedented modernization in Japan, leading to an industrial revolution, the acquisition of a great empire and a profound transformation of Japanese society. The population of Japan had reached118 million in 1914, with millions of others under the rule of the Rising Sun. The formal empire encompassed Korea, Sakhalin and Formosa, with considerable influence exercised over Manchuria and Northern China.

Japan had begun to emerge as a major industrial nation, with government sponsorship of model factories and hiring of foreign experts combining with the great zaibatsu to stimulate enormous growth from 1870 onwards. The textile and silk trades were particularly strong markets, with heavy industries such as steel, coal mining and shipbuilding concentrated around the major cities. Japan lacked significant domestic supplies of coal, iron and oil.

Japanese foreign policy was centred on the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, with cooperation particularly strong between the Royal Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy. There were growing areas of difference and tension over China, but these were subsumed by the more pressing concerns of Germany and Russia. Strong rivalry with China had continued since the Sino-Japanese War.

The Imperial Japanese Army consisted of 36 divisions and 587,000 men, with a further 1.3 million reserves. The infantry was regarded as some of the finest and fiercest troops in the world, with the Japanese cavalry attracting particular renown for its dash and élan. The transformation of the samurai class into the elite backbone of the Imperial Army was not always a smooth one, but ultimately a successful one. The Imperial Flying Corps of the IJA consisted of 126 aeroplanes and 10 airships, with the IJN operating 65 aeroplanes, 52 seaplanes and 6 airships. The Imperial Japanese Navy consisted of 12 dreadnoughts, 6 battlecruisers, 18 predreadnoughts, 1 aeroplane and 2 seaplane carriers, 19 armoured cruisers, 23 light cruisers, 16 frigates, 63 destroyers, 17 submarines, 24,000 Imperial Japanese Marines and 105,000 sailors.

Italy
The Kingdom of Italy became a unified state between 1848 and1856 for the first time in over a thousand years. By 1914, only the Vatican and San Marino remained as independent enclaves on the Italian peninsula. A large number of Italians remained under Austro-Hungarian rule in Trentino and Trieste. The Italian colonial empire consisted of Libya, Eritrea, Italian Somaliland and the port of Wenzhou in China.

Italy had a population of 60.3 million in 1914 and was mainly an agricultural nation, although there was substantial industry in the north and around Rome. Development of Southern Italy had been a priority over the previous two decades, but it continued to lag behind the powerhouse of the north. It was a net importer of grain, iron, steel, oil and coal, with the majority of the last commodity coming from Great Britain.

King Victor Emmanuel III had ruled as a constitutional monarch since 1900. The Italian Parliament consisted of a Senate dominated by the powerful aristocracy and the Chamber of Deputies popularly elected by universal male suffrage. Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti lead a strong Liberal government and had dominated Italian politics over the last 25 years.

Italy was a nominal member of the Triple Alliance, but it had become increasingly unpopular due to irrendentist territorial disputes with Austria-Hungary and an unwillingness to become involved in a war with France and the British Empire. Tensions with France over Tunisia remained, but Italian foreign policy had become increasingly aligned with that of the Quadruple Entente.

The Regia Marina was one of the most powerful fleets in the Mediterranean Sea and consisted of 10 dreadnoughts, 3 battlecruisers, 16 predreadnoughts, 1 seaplane carrier, 16 armoured cruisers, 20 light cruisers, 14 frigates, 69 destroyers, 28 submarines, 85 torpedo boats, 12,000 Marines and 91,000 sailors. The Italian Army had a peacetime strength of 623,000 men organized in 46 divisions, with a further 2 million men in reserve. Universal conscription had been in place since the 1870s and a long tradition of service was maintained. Italian infantry and cavalry were well regarded, but the artillery was somewhat short of heavy guns. The Corpo Aeronautico Militare operated 547 aeroplanes and 12 airships and the Regia Marina had a total of 78 aeroplanes, 50 seaplanes and 7 airships.

Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary had been created out of the Austrian Empire in 1867 in a process termed the Ausgleich, or Compromise of 1867. Emperor Franz Josef I ruled over 72 million subjects from over a dozen different nationalities, with the largest groups being the 24 million Austrians, the 19 million Hungarians and the 8 million Czechs. Vienna, the capital city, was one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in Europe and Budapest, Prague, Lemberg, Trieste, Zagreb and Salzburg were all sizeable urban centres.

The Austro-Hungarian economy was mainly based around agriculture in the east and heavy industry in the west. The Galician oil industry was the second largest in Europe after that of Baku and the plains of Hungary were one of the great breadbaskets of the continent. Heavy industry concentrated on the construction of machines, particularly automobiles and trains.

The states of the Empire shared a common currency, customs union, foreign policy and defence ministry, but had separate national government and parliaments. Hungary was generally treated as a junior partner by the Austrian parliament, which was the cause of some internal tension. The Kingdoms of Slavonia and Croatia had been given increasing autonomy and local self government since the 1890s as their economic and political importance to Vienna grew.

Austria-Hungary’s primary security concern was Russia and this lead to the formation of the Dual Alliance with Germany in 1878, which later expanded to Italy in 1882. Germany was also Austria-Hungary’s largest trading partner with over 40% of exports and 32% of imports. On its southern flank, the expansion of the Empire was blocked by the Kingdom of Serbia, which served as the support of significant unrest among the South Slavs.

The Imperial Army had a strength of 68 divisions and 762,000 men, with 3 million reserves in the Imperial-Royal Landwehr and Royal Hungarian Honved. Franz Josef’s troops were known for their splendid uniforms and resolute strength in defence and were well equipped with fine weapons produced by the Skoda Arsenal. The Austro-Hungarian Navy consisted of 7 dreadnoughts, 15 predreadnoughts, 10 armoured cruisers, 14 light cruisers, 8 frigates, 42 destroyers, 25 submarines, 61 torpedo boats and 59,000 sailors. The Imperial and Royal Air Service operated 482 aeroplanes and 13 airships, including the potent Kress Drachenfliegers.

Spain
Spain was the smallest of the Great Powers, having a population of 54 million. She had lost much of her remaining colonial empire to the Americans in the War of 1898 and her once expansive holdings had contracted to parts of Morocco, Spanish Sahara, Spanish Congo, isolated Spanish Polynesia, Aynam and several small islands in the Carribean. It was regarded as economically and militarily weakened, but had a number of fundamental strengths: social cohesion, cultural ties to the New World, political stability and productive agriculture.

Spain’s economy had been gradually modernizing since the 1860s and heavy industry was concentrated around the cities of Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valladolid. Asturias was the centre of many coal mines and the Spanish iron and steel industry, with much of its iron ore being exported to France and Britain. Castile and Aragon serve as the granaries of Spain and export much of their rich produce. The port of Ferrol was the centre of Spanish naval shipbuilding with the assistance of British funding and technical experts.

Since the Spanish-American War, the trajectory of Spanish foreign policy had been focussed on gaining allies to prevent any future defeats. She gravitated towards France and Britain due to general economic ties and geographic proximity and joined the Quadruple Entente in 1908 after the Moroccan Compromise. Alignment with the Entente provided for Spanish security whilst not involving a direct threat.

The Spanish Army consisted of 529,000 men organized in 42 divisions and was equipped with French artillery and British small arms. The Armada Española had a strength of 5 dreadnoughts, 2 battlecruisers, 12 predreadnoughts, 11 armoured cruisers, 15 light cruisers, 10 frigates, 54 destroyers, 18 submarines and 67 torpedo boats. The Aeronáutica Española operated 267 aeroplanes, 8 airships and 1 skyship, mainly of French and Italian design.