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Territorial Changes After WW1
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Territorial Changes After WW1

Territorial Changes After World War I

This video discusses the territorial, political, economic, and social changes that occurred across Europe, Asia, and Africa after World War I. The dissolution of empires, formation of new countries, redrawn boundaries, and establishment of international organizations are explored.

Dissolution of Austro-Hungarian Empire

  • Several new countries gained full independence: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia (originally called the Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovenes).
  • Romania's boundaries were expanded at the cost of Habsburg's Hungarian lands.
  • Southern half of Tyrol and Trieste were granted to Italy.
  • Austria and Hungary themselves were separated into two distinct fully independent countries.
  • Austria actually gained a small territory from Hungary (Or V-deck).

Changes in Germany

  • German empire came to an end and the new German republic saw its territory significantly diminished.
  • All Cess Lorraine was given to France.
  • Sarland was temporarily occupied as well as Rhineland and Roar border region.
  • Northern Schleswig went to Denmark.

Creation of Poland

  • Poland was created from parts of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia.
  • German lands were given to Poland so that they would have access to the Baltic Sea.
  • East Prussia was divided from the rest of Germany.
  • Danzig was created as a semi-autonomous free city under League of Nations protection.

Creation of Baltic Nations

  • Three Baltic nations were created: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania - previous territories of Russian Empire.

Other Territorial Changes

Armenia Georgia Azerbaijan

  • Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan were established as independent states in the Caucasus region.
  • After the withdrawal of the Russian army in 1917, Turkey captured a part of Armenian territory.

France

  • Alsace-Lorraine was ceded to Prussia in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War.
  • French colonial troops participated in the war and felt they had not been properly rewarded upon their return.

Territorial Changes After WWI

This section discusses the territorial changes that occurred after World War I.

Bulgaria's Losses

  • Bulgaria lost Western Thrace to Greece, which cut off its direct access to the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.
  • Bulgaria also lost 2,500 square kilometers of its border with Yugoslavia and returned Dobruja to Romania.

Italy's Gains

  • Italy gained several territories in the Balkans and Adriatic Sea from Austria-Hungary, including Tyrol, Istria, Trieste, Cresce Las Zegnier Archipelago, Rijeka, Northern Dalmatia, Carniola, Corinthia, and the Dodecanese Islands.
  • Italy was supposed to obtain a share of Mediterranean regions adjacent to Adelia in the event of the partition of the Ottoman Empire.

Middle East Borders

  • The Treaty of Sevres would have completely destroyed Turkey and occupied Istanbul. However, it was replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne which assured West Thrace and Anatolia remained entirely Turkish.
  • France was granted a mandate over Lebanon and Syria while Britain was granted mandates over Iraq, Jordan and Palestine. These borders still cause trouble today as they did not account for important differences between local populations.

Asia's Territorial Changes

  • Germany had a sphere of influence on China's eastern coast but lost it after World War I. Japan received Shandong province even though it was part of mainland China.
  • Japan seized several German island possessions in the western Pacific (Marianas Caroline and Marshall islands), gaining what was called the South Seas Mandate.
  • Australia got the Bismarck Archipelago and Aodo, while New Zealand got German Samoa. All Pacific colonies of Germany above the equator went to Japan and below the equator to the United Kingdom.

Africa's Territorial Changes

  • The complete end of the German colonial empire was a significant change in Africa. Territories that had been previously part of German colonies were distributed amongst some of the winners of World War I.
  • The UK and France divided German Cameroon and Togoland, while Belgium gained Rwanda-Urundi in northwestern German East Africa. South Africa gained control of German Southwest Africa which eventually became Namibia.

Overall, World War I reshaped a big part of the world by changing territorial organization at that time and determining many current borders.

Video description

In this video I talk about the most significant territorial changes that took place in the years between 1918 and 1923! Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GKonYoutube Join the Discord Server: https://discord.gg/gqU4Vu5 Become a member on Patreon & get exclusive content! https://www.patreon.com/generalknowledge Special mention to my patrons: Richard, Ahmed, Danny, Edward, Stephen, MiFE, 43rpak, Rpgkillerspace, Wilhelm, Chet, Roy, Ryan, ou_lyss, Javier, Ryan, Pete, Cesar, Hendrick, Tom, Nancy, Hassan, Francis Business Contact: gilfamc@gmail.com Thanks for watching, remember to subscribe to catch future videos!