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143-463: Lithuania proper is sometimes also called Lithuania Major, particularly in contrast with Lithuania Minor . The Lithuanian geographer Kazys Pakštas wrote that Lithuania proper was known since the administrative division of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1566, when the name was assigned to the palatinates of Vilnius and Trakai . The name was used in documents and maps. Lithuania proper also included

286-511: A Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand , heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible, and declared war on 28 July. After Russia mobilised in Serbia's defence, Germany declared war on Russia and France , who had an alliance . The United Kingdom entered after Germany invaded Belgium , whose neutrality it guaranteed, and

429-630: A blue-water navy was vital for global power projection; Tirpitz had his books translated into German, while Wilhelm made them required reading for his advisors and senior military personnel. However, it was also an emotional decision, driven by Wilhelm's simultaneous admiration for the Royal Navy and desire to surpass it. Bismarck thought that the British would not interfere in Europe, as long as its maritime supremacy remained secure, but his dismissal in 1890 led to

572-583: A grenade at the Archduke's car and injured two of his aides. The other assassins were also unsuccessful. An hour later, as Ferdinand was returning from visiting the injured officers in hospital, his car took a wrong turn into a street where Gavrilo Princip was standing. He fired two pistol shots, fatally wounding Ferdinand and his wife Sophie . According to historian Zbyněk Zeman , in Vienna "the event almost failed to make any impression whatsoever. On 28 and 29 June,

715-536: A guerrilla warfare campaign and only surrendered two weeks after the armistice took effect in Europe. Before the war, Germany had attempted to use Indian nationalism and pan-Islamism to its advantage, a policy continued post-1914 by instigating uprisings in India , while the Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition urged Afghanistan to join the war on the side of Central Powers. However, contrary to British fears of

858-408: A change in policy and an Anglo-German naval arms race began. Despite the vast sums spent by Tirpitz, the launch of HMS  Dreadnought in 1906 gave the British a technological advantage. Ultimately, the race diverted huge resources into creating a German navy large enough to antagonise Britain, but not defeat it; in 1911, Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg acknowledged defeat, leading to

1001-592: A direct threat. The 1908–1909 Bosnian Crisis began when Austria annexed the former Ottoman territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina , which it had occupied since 1878. Timed to coincide with the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, this unilateral action was denounced by the European powers, but accepted as there was no consensus on how to resolve the situation. Some historians see this as

1144-467: A gap between the German armies as they closed on Paris. The French army, reinforced by the British expeditionary corps, seized this opportunity to counter-attack and pushed the German army 40 to 80 km back. Both armies were then so exhausted that no decisive move could be implemented, so they settled in trenches, with the vain hope of breaking through as soon as they could build local superiority. In 1911,

1287-540: A possibility. This was accentuated by British and Russian support for France against Germany during the 1911 Agadir Crisis . German economic and industrial strength continued to expand rapidly post-1871. Backed by Wilhelm II, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz sought to use this growth to build an Imperial German Navy , that could compete with the British Royal Navy . This policy was based on the work of US naval author Alfred Thayer Mahan , who argued that possession of

1430-540: A result of the plague of 1709–1711, German colonization and Germanisation policies, the ethnic composition of the region in the 19th centuries changed to the disadvantage of the Lithuanians and Poles and in favor of the Germans. According to Prussian data from 1837, ethnic Lithuanians still formed a sizeable portion of the population in the northern counties of the region, especially in rural areas, ranging from 33,9 percent in

1573-799: A revolt in India, the outbreak of the war saw a reduction in nationalist activity. Leaders from the Indian National Congress and other groups believed support for the British war effort would hasten Indian Home Rule , a promise allegedly made explicit in 1917 by Edwin Montagu , the Secretary of State for India . In 1914, the British Indian Army was larger than the British Army itself, and between 1914 and 1918 an estimated 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and

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1716-504: A significant escalation, ending any chance of Austria cooperating with Russia in the Balkans, while also damaging diplomatic relations between Serbia and Italy. Tensions increased after the 1911–1912 Italo-Turkish War demonstrated Ottoman weakness and led to the formation of the Balkan League , an alliance of Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro , and Greece . The League quickly overran most of

1859-633: A vassal duchy of Poland within the Polish–Lithuanian union (soon elevated into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ), and the term of Lithuania Minor has appeared around that time (1517–26). Lithuania Minor was part of the duchy until 1701, the Kingdom of Prussia until 1871, Germany until 1920, and afterwards it was divided. The political border set by the Treaty of Melno had been the same since

2002-471: A war on two fronts; the Schlieffen Plan envisaged using 80% of the army to defeat France, then switching to Russia. Since this required them to move quickly, mobilization orders were issued that afternoon. Once the German ultimatum to Russia expired on the morning of 1 August, the two countries were at war. At a meeting on 29 July, the British cabinet had narrowly decided its obligations to Belgium under

2145-402: A weak Ottoman government, rather than an ambitious Slav power like Bulgaria . Russia had ambitions in northeastern Anatolia while its clients had overlapping claims in the Balkans. These competing interests divided Russian policy-makers and added to regional instability. Austrian statesmen viewed the Balkans as essential for the continued existence of their Empire and saw Serbian expansion as

2288-451: A whole, the Somme offensive led to an estimated 420,000 British casualties, along with 200,000 French and 500,000 Germans. The diseases that emerged in the trenches were a major killer on both sides. The living conditions led to disease and infection, such as trench foot , lice , typhus , trench fever , and the ' Spanish flu '. At the start of the war, German cruisers were scattered across

2431-503: Is known, however, that from 1908 to 1913, military spending by the six major European powers increased by over 50% in real terms. The years before 1914 were marked by a series of crises in the Balkans, as other powers sought to benefit from the Ottoman decline. While Pan-Slavic and Orthodox Russia considered itself the protector of Serbia and other Slav states, they preferred the strategically vital Bosporus straits to be controlled by

2574-540: Is one of two historical ways to call all Lithuanians. Lietuvninkai ( Литовники ) are mentioned in the recording (1341) of the second chronicle of Pskov . In what had been the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the word lietuvis became more popular, while in Lithuania Minor lietuvininkas was preferred. Prussian Lithuanians also called their northern neighbors in Samogitia "Russian Lithuanians" and their south-eastern neighbors of

2717-524: Is the largest municipality of the region within Poland, making it the de facto capital of Polish Lithuania Minor, however, it is also considered part of Masuria and is not inhabited by an autochthonous Lithuanian population . Originally it was thought that Prussian Lithuanians were autochthones to Prussia. The base for it was A. Bezzenberger's line of Prussian-Lithuanian language limit. The theory proposed that Nadruvians and Scalovians were western Lithuanians and

2860-558: The Schutzkorps was established, and carried out the persecution of Serbs. The assassination initiated the July Crisis, a month of diplomatic manoeuvring between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain. Believing that Serbian intelligence helped organise Franz Ferdinand's murder, Austrian officials wanted to use the opportunity to end their interference in Bosnia and saw war as

3003-626: The World War . In August 1914, the magazine The Independent wrote "This is the Great War. It names itself". In October 1914, the Canadian magazine Maclean's similarly wrote, "Some wars name themselves. This is the Great War." Contemporary Europeans also referred to it as " the war to end war " and it was also described as "the war to end all wars" due to their perception of its unparalleled scale, devastation, and loss of life. The first recorded use of

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3146-665: The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force landed on the island of New Britain , then part of German New Guinea . On 28 October, the German cruiser SMS  Emden sank the Russian cruiser Zhemchug in the Battle of Penang . Japan declared war on Germany before seizing territories in the Pacific, which later became the South Seas Mandate , as well as German Treaty ports on

3289-504: The Duchy of Samogitia . A few Baltic confederations from the second half of the 12th century and the 13th century are known. Historians designate Lithuania proper (or the Land of Lithuania in a narrow sense) as a Lithuanian land that existed prior to Grand Duchy of Lithuania , near other lands: Land of Nalšia , Land of Deltuva , Land of Upytė . According to Henryk Łowmiański , Lithuania proper

3432-694: The Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia , which was part of the Soviet Union until December 1991. Although hardly anything remains of the original culture due to the expulsion of Germans after World War II, Lithuania Minor has contributed significantly to Lithuanian culture overall. The standard written form of Prussian-Lithuanian provided the basis for modern Lithuanian, evolved from people close to Stanislovas Rapalionis and graduates from Lithuanian-language schools established in Vilnius, who were expelled from

3575-464: The Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia . Lithuania Minor encompassed the northeastern part of the region and got its name from the territory's substantial Lithuanian-speaking population. Prior to the invasion of the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century, the main part of the territory later known as Lithuania Minor was inhabited by the tribes of Skalvians and Nadruvians . The land depopulated during

3718-619: The Middle East , as well as in parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific , and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare ; the widespread use of artillery , machine guns, and chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of tanks and aircraft . World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in history , resulting in an estimated 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded , plus some 10 million civilian dead from causes including genocide . The movement of large numbers of people

3861-554: The Republic of Lithuania has no territorial claims. Lithuania Minor Lithuania Minor ( Lithuanian : Mažoji Lietuva ; Polish : Litwa Mniejsza ; German : Kleinlitauen ) or Prussian Lithuania ( Lithuanian : Prūsų Lietuva ; Polish : Litwa Pruska ; German : Preußisch-Litauen ) is a historical ethnographic region of Prussia , where Prussian Lithuanians (or Lietuvininkai) lived, now located in Lithuania and

4004-933: The Russian Empire , and especially, after Lithuanian language books were forbidden to print in Latin letters in 1864. The process continued at the time of Polish rule, as Lithuanian language schools and libraries were closed, and later under Soviet rule, as no Lithuanian schools were in these territories at all. Nowadays significant "islands" of Lithuanian-speaking people remain in eastern and southern parts of Lithuania proper (modern Belarus (see Gervėčiai  [ lt ] and Pelesa  [ lt ] in Grodno Region ) and Poland (see Punskas in Podlaskie Voivodeship ). Many people of these territories now speaking Belarusian still refer to themselves as Lithuanians. At

4147-706: The Rüstungswende or 'armaments turning point', when he switched expenditure from the navy to the army. This decision was not driven by a reduction in political tensions but by German concern over Russia's quick recovery from its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and subsequent 1905 Russian Revolution . Economic reforms led to a significant post-1908 expansion of railways and transportation infrastructure, particularly in its western border regions. Since Germany and Austria-Hungary relied on faster mobilisation to compensate for their numerical inferiority compared to Russia,

4290-449: The Suwałki region "Polish Lithuanians". Some sources used the term Lietuvininkai to refer to any inhabitant of Lithuania Minor irrelevant of their ethnic adherence. Lithuanian population presumably grew after the wars ended with the Treaty of Melno in 1422. The Samogitian newcomers were more common in the northern part of it and Aukštaitian in the western one. Lithuanians lived mostly in

4433-402: The Treaty of Versailles and was unified with Lithuania from 1923 to 1939, the area was part of Prussia until 1945, which at various times was under sovereignty of the Kingdom of Poland , the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Germany. Since 1945, a small portion of Lithuania Minor has been retained within the borders of modern-day Lithuania and Poland while most of the territory is part of

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4576-784: The United States entered the war on the Allied side following Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare against Atlantic shipping. Later that year, the Bolsheviks seized power in the Russian October Revolution , and Soviet Russia signed an armistice with the Central Powers in December, followed by a separate peace in March 1918. That month, Germany launched an offensive in

4719-480: The hydrophone and depth charges were introduced, destroyers could potentially successfully attack a submerged submarine. Convoys slowed the flow of supplies since ships had to wait as convoys were assembled; the solution was an extensive program of building new freighters. Troopships were too fast for the submarines and did not travel the North Atlantic in convoys. The U-boats sunk more than 5,000 Allied ships, at

4862-739: The tank . After the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, Allied and German forces unsuccessfully tried to outflank each other, a series of manoeuvres later known as the " Race to the Sea ". By the end of 1914, the opposing forces confronted each other along an uninterrupted line of entrenched positions from the Channel to the Swiss border. Since the Germans were normally able to choose where to stand, they generally held

5005-546: The 13th century. Later, captured (1275–76) and ruled by the Teutonic Knights , the land was reckoned, what is recorded in the historical sources, to be their patrimony by Algirdas (officially said) and Vytautas (recorded to be said unofficially). The territory of western Lithuania began to be threatened by the Livonian order from the north and Teutonic Knights from the south in the 13th century. The Orders were seizing

5148-514: The 15–16th centuries from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – Samogitia and Suvalkija . G. Mortensen created a conception of the wilderness , according to which the vicinities of both sides of the Neman up to Kaunas had become desolate in the 13–14th centuries. According to G. Mortensen's husband H. Mortensen Lithuanian resettlement began in the last quarter of the 15th century. Lithuanian historian K. Jablonskis etc., archaeologist P. Kulikauskas etc. denied

5291-588: The 1839 Treaty of London did not require it to oppose a German invasion with military force; however, Prime Minister Asquith and his senior Cabinet ministers were already committed to supporting France, the Royal Navy had been mobilised, and public opinion was strongly in favour of intervention. On 31 July, Britain sent notes to Germany and France, asking them to respect Belgian neutrality; France pledged to do so, but Germany did not reply. Aware of German plans to attack through Belgium, French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre asked his government for permission to cross

5434-548: The 1879 Dual Alliance , which became the Triple Alliance when Italy joined in 1882. For Bismarck, the purpose of these agreements was to isolate France by ensuring the three Empires resolve any disputes between themselves. In 1887, Bismarck set up the Reinsurance Treaty , a secret agreement between Germany and Russia to remain neutral if either were attacked by France or Austria-Hungary. For Bismarck, peace with Russia

5577-441: The 1913 Treaty of London , which had created an independent Albania while enlarging the territories of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. However, disputes between the victors sparked the 33-day Second Balkan War , when Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913; it was defeated, losing most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Southern Dobruja to Romania. The result was that even countries which benefited from

5720-556: The Austrians and Serbs clashed at the battles of the Cer and Kolubara ; over the next two weeks, Austrian attacks were repulsed with heavy losses. As a result, Austria had to keep sizeable forces on the Serbian front, weakening their efforts against Russia. Serbia's victory against Austria-Hungary in the 1914 invasion has been called one of the major upset victories of the twentieth century. In 1915,

5863-642: The Austrians briefly occupied the Serbian capital, Belgrade . A Serbian counter-attack in the Battle of Kolubara succeeded in driving them from the country by the end of 1914. For the first 10 months of 1915, Austria-Hungary used most of its military reserves to fight Italy. German and Austro-Hungarian diplomats scored a coup by persuading Bulgaria to join the attack on Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian provinces of Slovenia , Croatia and Bosnia provided troops for Austria-Hungary. Montenegro allied itself with Serbia. Bulgaria declared war on Serbia on 14 October 1915 and joined in

Lithuania proper - Misplaced Pages Continue

6006-617: The Ašvinė river to Lake Ašvinis and from there eastward to the border of Lithuania Major. The region embraced about 11 400 km . The broader understanding of Lithuania Minor includes the area west from the Łyna and south form the lower reaches of the Prieglius and the Sambian Peninsula , making up 17–18 thousand km in total. The former ethnic region of Lithuania Minor belongs to different states today. The part of Kaliningrad Oblast (excluding

6149-547: The Balkan Wars, such as Serbia and Greece, felt cheated of their "rightful gains", while for Austria it demonstrated the apparent indifference with which other powers viewed their concerns, including Germany. This complex mix of resentment, nationalism and insecurity helps explain why the pre-1914 Balkans became known as the " powder keg of Europe ". On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria , heir presumptive to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria , visited Sarajevo ,

6292-404: The Central Powers. However, the pro-German King Constantine I dismissed the pro-Allied government of Eleftherios Venizelos before the Allied expeditionary force arrived. The Macedonian front was at first mostly static. French and Serbian forces retook limited areas of Macedonia by recapturing Bitola on 19 November 1916 following the costly Monastir offensive , which brought stabilisation of

6435-625: The Chinese Shandong peninsula at Tsingtao . After Vienna refused to withdraw its cruiser SMS  Kaiserin Elisabeth from Tsingtao, Japan declared war on Austria-Hungary, and the ship was sunk in November 1914. Within a few months, Allied forces had seized all German territories in the Pacific, leaving only isolated commerce raiders and a few holdouts in New Guinea. Some of the first clashes of

6578-613: The German High Seas Fleet was confined to port. German U-boats attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain. The nature of submarine warfare meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant ships little hope of survival. The United States launched a protest, and Germany changed its rules of engagement. After the sinking of the passenger ship RMS Lusitania in 1915, Germany promised not to target passenger liners, while Britain armed its merchant ships, placing them beyond

6721-623: The German Army increased in size from 1908 to 1914, he changed the allocation of forces between the two wings to 70:30. He also considered Dutch neutrality essential for German trade and cancelled the incursion into the Netherlands, which meant any delays in Belgium threatened the viability of the plan. Historian Richard Holmes argues that these changes meant the right wing was not strong enough to achieve decisive success. The initial German advance in

6864-491: The German name, major cities in former Lithuania Minor were Klaipėda (Memel) and Tilžė (Tilsit) . Other towns include Ragainė (Ragnit) , Šilokarčema (Heydekrug), renamed to Šilutė , Gumbinė (Gumbinnen) , Įsrutis (Insterburg) , Stalupėnai (Stallupönen) . The territory, which was given the denomination Lithuania Minor in the 16th century, was not alien to Lithuanians ethnically as well as politically in earlier times. It had once been partly subject to Mindaugas' Lithuania in

7007-724: The German right wing would sweep through the Netherlands and Belgium , then swing south, encircling Paris and trapping the French army against the Swiss border. The plan's creator, Alfred von Schlieffen , head of the German General Staff from 1891 to 1906, estimated that this would take six weeks, after which the German army would transfer to the East and defeat the Russians. The plan was substantially modified by his successor, Helmuth von Moltke

7150-426: The Germans bled heavily as well, with anywhere from 700,000 to 975,000 casualties between the two combatants. Verdun became a symbol of French determination and self-sacrifice. The Battle of the Somme was an Anglo-French offensive from July to November 1916. The opening day on 1 July 1916 was the bloodiest single day in the history of the British Army , which suffered 57,500 casualties, including 19,200 dead. As

7293-522: The Germans operated the Hohenbruch concentration camp  [ de ] at present-day Gromovo (Lithuanian: Lauknos ), as well as several prisoner-of-war camps for Allied POWs of various nationalities, incl. the Stalag 331 C/I-C and Stalag I-D camps for regular soldiers, the Stalag Luft VI camp and Dulag Luft transit camp for air force personnel, Oflags 52, 53, 60 for officers, and forced labour subcamps of Stalag I-A . Groups of Poles expelled from German-occupied Poland were deported by

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7436-419: The Germans to forced labour in the region (in the vicinity of Klaipėda and Tilsit ). At the end of the war, the local German and Lithuanian population of the former East Prussia either fled or was expelled to the western parts of Germany. The Soviet Union recaptured Lithuania in 1944 and the Memel region was incorporated into the newly formed Lithuanian SSR in 1945 while the remainder of Lithuania Minor

7579-442: The Grand Duchy during Counter-Reformation years. Those include notable names like Abraomas Kulvietis and Martynas Mažvydas . During the years of the 19th-century Lithuanian press ban , most of the Lithuanian books printed using the Latin alphabet were published in Lithuania Minor. The term "Lithuania Minor" refers to the northernmost part of the former province of East Prussia (about 31,500 km or 12,200 sq mi). It

7722-423: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Lithuanians from the right side of the middle reaches of the Neman or Suvalkija, Samogitians , Sudovians , Prussians etc.). Colonists from the Holy Roman Empire also contributed to the Lithuanian population to some extent. Prussians and Yotvingians tended to be assimilated by Lithuanians in Lithuania Minor. Lithuanian percentage decreased to about half of population in about half of

7865-502: The Labiau/Labguva ( Polessk ) county to 74,4 percent in the Heydekrug ( Šilutė ) county. Also ethnic Polish , Curonian , Latvian and Jewish minorities lived in the region. The majority of Polish and Lithuanian inhabitants were Lutherans , not Roman Catholics like their ethnic kinsmen across the border in the Russian Empire . In 1817, East Prussia had 796,204 Evangelical Christians , 120,123 Roman Catholics , 864 Mennonites and 2,389 Jews . There were Lithuanian speakers and

8008-408: The Lithuanian dukes departed from their treaty and grant. Klaipėda was passed to Teutonic Order from its Livonian branch in 1328. The patrimony for Nadruvia and Scalovia was remembered by post-Mindaugas grand dukes of Lithuania: Algirdas , during the negotiation on Lithuania's Christianization, postulated (1358) for the emperor of Holy Roman Empire, Charles IV , that he would accept Christianity when

8151-461: The Lithuanian inhabited administrative units ( Nadruvia and Scalovia ) in the legal documentation of Prussian state since 1618. The Lithuanian Province was named Klein Litau , Klein Litauen , Preussisch Litthauen , Little Lithuania , Litvania in the maps of Prussia since 1738. The official use of the concepts Prussian Lithuania etc. decreased considerably from the administrative reform of 1815–1818. The area of Lithuania Minor embraced

8294-529: The Lithuanian language was effective throughout Lithuania Minor at the beginning of the 20th century, though the concentration places of Lithuanians were near Neman – Klaipėda, Tilžė (Tilsit), Ragainė (Ragnit). At the end of the war, the German and Lithuanian population of the former East Prussia either fled or was expelled to the western parts of Germany. There resided about 170,000 Prussian Lithuanians in East Prussia previous to 1914. Lithuanian fellowships functioned in Gumbinė, Įsrutis, Koenigsberg, Lithuanian press

8437-401: The Lithuanian-speaking territory shrunk. Eastern parts of Lithuania Propria suffered heavy population losses during the Deluge , and further on during the Great Northern War and following plague epidemic in 1710–1711. Subsequent immigration of Ruthenians and Poles into these territories accelerated the process. A significant push to the de-Lithuanisation ensued when Lithuania became a part of

8580-450: The Livonian Order in 1261 and the acts of grants became invalid. Mindaugas's royal dynasty discontinued when he and two sons were assassinated in 1263. Lithuanian dukes did not join the Prussians in their uprising due to inside instability of the Lithuanian throne. Nadruvia and Scalovia (which comprised much of later Lithuania Minor) had been taken by the Teutonic Knights in 1275–1276 after the Prussian uprising and they reached Neman from

8723-565: The Middle East. In all, 140,000 soldiers served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East, with 47,746 killed and 65,126 wounded. The suffering engendered by the war, as well as the failure of the British government to grant self-government to India afterward, bred disillusionment, resulting in the campaign for full independence led by Mahatma Gandhi . Pre-war military tactics that had emphasised open warfare and individual riflemen proved obsolete when confronted with conditions prevailing in 1914. Technological advances allowed

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8866-427: The Neman River up to Memel was separated from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920, and was called the Memel Territory . It was made a protectorate of the Entente States, in order to guarantee port rights to Lithuania and Poland. In January 1923, the Klaipėda Revolt took place and Klaipėda region was annexed to Lithuania in 1923 under violation of the Treaty of Versailles. The subsequent incorporation of

9009-417: The Order (1420). Vytautas did not accept the solution. Polish and Lithuanian military, not capturing the castles, devastated Prussia then and the Treaty of Melno was made. Klaipėda was left for the Order. Since the Melno treaty the land later become Lithuania Minor had been officially separated from Lithuania. It became part of the state of the Teutonic Order . In 1454, King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated

9152-688: The Order juridically, by the grants of the popes and emperors of Holy Roman Empire, but was not subordinate to it due to the resistance of the residents. The theory of desolate land was also criticized by Z. Zinkevičius , who has thought that old Baltic toponymy could be only preserved by the remaining local people. H. Łowmiański thought that Nadruvian and Scalovian tribes had changed ethnically due to Lithuanian colonization as early as times of tribal social order. Linguist Z. Zinkevičius has presumed that Nadruvians and Skalovians were transitive tribes between Lithuanians and Prussians since much earlier times than German invasion had occurred. The German invasion and

9295-412: The Order was transferred to Russia's border to fight Tatars and Lithuania would be given back the lands to Łyna , Pregolya rivers and Baltic sea. Lithuanian grand dukes probably considered the Order to be illegitimate state, propagandizing the mission of Christianization as the fundamental aim and factually seeking political authority at one time. Additionally, after the Order had become Protestant state,

9438-545: The Ottomans joined the Central Powers in November. Germany's strategy in 1914 was to quickly defeat France, then to transfer its forces to the east, but its advance was halted in September , and by the end of the year the Western Front consisted of a continuous line of trenches stretching from the English Channel to Switzerland. The Eastern Front was more dynamic, but neither side gained a decisive advantage, despite costly offensives. Italy , Bulgaria , Romania , Greece and others joined in from 1915 onward. In April 1917,

9581-449: The Ottomans' territory in the Balkans during the 1912–1913 First Balkan War , much to the surprise of outside observers. The Serbian capture of ports on the Adriatic resulted in partial Austrian mobilisation, starting on 21 November 1912, including units along the Russian border in Galicia . The Russian government decided not to mobilise in response, unprepared to precipitate a war. The Great Powers sought to re-assert control through

9724-549: The Russian Stavka agreed with the French to attack Germany within fifteen days of mobilisation, ten days before the Germans had anticipated, although it meant the two Russian armies that entered East Prussia on 17 August did so without many of their support elements. By the end of 1914, German troops held strong defensive positions inside France, controlled the bulk of France's domestic coalfields, and inflicted 230,000 more casualties than it lost itself. However, communications problems and questionable command decisions cost Germany

9867-429: The Serbian retreat toward the Adriatic coast in the Battle of Mojkovac on 6–7 January 1916, but ultimately the Austrians also conquered Montenegro. The surviving Serbian soldiers were evacuated to Greece. After the conquest, Serbia was divided between Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria. In late 1915, a Franco-British force landed at Salonica in Greece to offer assistance and to pressure its government to declare war against

10010-456: The Teutonic Order as part of it. Mindaugas , in critical political circumstances for his rule, undertook to grant Samogitia to the Order in exchange for baptism and the crown from the pope. After Mindaugas became a king, a direct subject of the Pope, in 1253, the acts of grants of the lands for Livonian Order were written: All Baltic tribes rose against the Order after the Battle of Durbe (1260). Mindaugas officially canceled his relations with

10153-455: The West was very successful. By the end of August, the Allied left, which included the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), was in full retreat , and the French offensive in Alsace-Lorraine was a disastrous failure, with casualties exceeding 260,000. German planning provided broad strategic instructions while allowing army commanders considerable freedom in carrying them out at the front, but von Kluck used this freedom to disobey orders, opening

10296-480: The Younger . Under Schlieffen, 85% of German forces in the west were assigned to the right wing, with the remainder holding along the frontier. By keeping his left-wing deliberately weak, he hoped to lure the French into an offensive into the "lost provinces" of Alsace-Lorraine , which was the strategy envisaged by their Plan XVII . However, Moltke grew concerned that the French might push too hard on his left flank and as

10439-496: The aggressor, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg delayed the commencement of war preparations until 31 July. That afternoon, the Russian government were handed a note requiring them to "cease all war measures against Germany and Austria-Hungary" within 12 hours. A further German demand for neutrality was refused by the French who ordered general mobilization but delayed declaring war. The German General Staff had long assumed they faced

10582-401: The ancestors of Lietuvininks. It was prevalent until 1919. The second theory proposed that the first Lithuanian inhabitants of the territory which later became Lithuania Minor appeared only after the war had ended. The theory was started by G. Mortensen in 1919. She stated, that Scalovians , Nadruvians and Sudovians were Prussians before the German invasion and Lithuanians were colonists of

10725-447: The area eastwards from Łyna river and northwards from the lower reaches of Pregolya during the 18th century. Lithuanian percentage of the area was continually decreasing during the ages since the plague of 1709–1711. In 1724, King Frederick William I of Prussia prohibited Poles , Samogitians and Jews from settling in Lithuania Minor, and initiated German colonization to change the region's ethnic composition. Lithuanians constituted

10868-466: The attack by the Austro-Hungarian army under Mackensen's army of 250,000 that was already underway. Serbia was conquered in a little more than a month, as the Central Powers, now including Bulgaria, sent in 600,000 troops in total. The Serbian army, fighting on two fronts and facing certain defeat, retreated into northern Albania . The Serbs suffered defeat in the Battle of Kosovo . Montenegro covered

11011-535: The best way of achieving this. However, the Foreign Ministry had no solid proof of Serbian involvement. On 23   July, Austria delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, listing ten demands made intentionally unacceptable to provide an excuse for starting hostilities. Serbia ordered general mobilization on 25   July, but accepted all the terms, except for those empowering Austrian representatives to suppress "subversive elements" inside Serbia, and take part in

11154-483: The border and pre-empt such a move. To avoid violating Belgian neutrality, he was told any advance could come only after a German invasion. Instead, the French cabinet ordered its Army to withdraw 10 km behind the German frontier, to avoid provoking war. On 2 August, Germany occupied Luxembourg and exchanged fire with French units when German patrols entered French territory; on 3   August, they declared war on France and demanded free passage across Belgium, which

11297-536: The campaign saw the first use of anti-aircraft warfare after an Austrian plane was shot down with ground-to-air fire, as well as the first medical evacuation by the Serbian army. Upon mobilisation, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan , 80% of the German Army was located on the Western Front, with the remainder acting as a screening force in the East. Rather than a direct attack across their shared frontier,

11440-539: The capital of Lithuania Minor. Lithuania declared its independence from Russia in 1918 during World War I. Some Prussian Lithuanian activists signed the Act of Tilsit , demanding unification of Lithuania Minor and Lithuania Major into a single Lithuanian state, thus detaching the areas of East Prussia from Germany which were inhabited by Prussian Lithuanians. This claim was supported by the Lithuanian government. The part north of

11583-636: The capital of the recently annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina . Cvjetko Popović , Gavrilo Princip , Nedeljko Čabrinović , Trifko Grabež , Vaso Čubrilović ( Bosnian Serbs ) and Muhamed Mehmedbašić (from the Bosniaks community), from the movement known as Young Bosnia , took up positions along the Archduke's motorcade route, to assassinate him. Supplied with arms by extremists within the Serbian Black Hand intelligence organisation, they hoped his death would free Bosnia from Austrian rule. Čabrinović threw

11726-466: The chance of a decisive outcome, while it had failed to achieve the primary objective of avoiding a long, two-front war. As was apparent to several German leaders, this amounted to a strategic defeat; shortly after the First Battle of the Marne , Crown Prince Wilhelm told an American reporter "We have lost the war. It will go on for a long time but lost it is already." On 30 August 1914, New Zealand occupied German Samoa (now Samoa ). On 11 September,

11869-676: The city of Kaliningrad and its surroundings), a few territories in Poland's Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship , as well as the following territories in modern-day Lithuania : the Klaipėda district municipality , the Šilutė district municipality , Klaipėda city, Pagėgiai municipality , and Neringa municipality had once ethnically, linguistically and culturally been the latter Lithuanian region. Although now divided among countries, Lithuania Minor had been intact formerly, all these areas were once part of Prussia and thus politically separated from Lithuania Major . From 1773 to 1918, all of Lithuania Minor

12012-566: The conquered Baltic lands were not acknowledged as its possession by the popes. After the Battle of Grunwald the dispute between Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Order on Samogitia started. Vytautas wanted the border to be the Neman River , while the Order wanted to have Veliuona and Klaipėda in the right side of the river. Both sides agreed to accept the prospective solution of Emperor Sigismund 's representative Benedict Makrai . He decided that

12155-511: The cost of 199 submarines. World War I also saw the first use of aircraft carriers in combat, with HMS  Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a successful raid against the Zeppelin hangars at Tondern in July 1918, as well as blimps for antisubmarine patrol. Faced with Russia in the east, Austria-Hungary could spare only one-third of its army to attack Serbia. After suffering heavy losses,

12298-513: The creation of new independent states, including Poland , Finland , the Baltic states , Czechoslovakia , and Yugoslavia . The League of Nations was established to maintain world peace, but its failure to manage instability during the interwar period contributed to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Before World War II , the events of 1914–1918 were generally known as the Great War or simply

12441-449: The creation of strong defensive systems largely impervious to massed infantry advances, such as barbed wire , machine guns and above all far more powerful artillery , which dominated the battlefield and made crossing open ground extremely difficult. Both sides struggled to develop tactics for breaching entrenched positions without heavy casualties. In time, technology enabled the production of new offensive weapons, such as gas warfare and

12584-946: The crowds listened to music and drank wine, as if nothing had happened." Nevertheless, the impact of the murder of the heir to the throne was significant, and has been described by historian Christopher Clark as a "9/11 effect, a terrorist event charged with historic meaning, transforming the political chemistry in Vienna". Austro-Hungarian authorities encouraged subsequent anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo . Violent actions against ethnic Serbs were also organised outside Sarajevo, in other cities in Austro-Hungarian-controlled Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina imprisoned approximately 5,500 prominent Serbs, 700 to 2,200 of whom died in prison. A further 460 Serbs were sentenced to death. A predominantly Bosniak special militia known as

12727-410: The earlier times than the German military invasion occurred. The land probably depopulated during the war and the source of the regeneration of the population was internal as well as presumably mainly external from neighbouring areas. The land was resettled by returning refugees and newcomers from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After the permanent war had ended finally with the Treaty of Melno in 1422,

12870-759: The end of World War I , the Council of Lithuania declared an independent Lithuanian state re-established in the ethnic Lithuanian lands. After negotiations with Bolshevik Russia , a large part of Lithuania proper was acknowledged by Soviets as part of the Lithuanian Republic by signing the Soviet-Lithuanian Treaty of 1920 . Some of these territories were also claimed by the Second Republic of Poland . This led to series of military conflicts and eventually to war . In 1943, Antanas Smetona (in exile at

13013-671: The expansion of the French colonial empire . In 1873, Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors , which included Austria-Hungary , Russia and Germany. After the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War , the League was dissolved due to Austrian concerns over the expansion of Russian influence in the Balkans , an area they considered to be of vital strategic interest. Germany and Austria-Hungary then formed

13156-533: The first general census of 1816. The accounting after the native tongue had begun since the census of 1825–1836. Thus, the situation of ethnic composition previous to the century is known from the various separate sources: various records and inventories, descriptions and memoirs of contemporaries, language of the sermons used in the churches, registers of births and deaths; various state published documents: statutes, acts, decrees, prescriptions, declarations etc. The lists of peasants‘ pays for plots and grinding of flour

13299-400: The first time on the Western Front. Several types of gas soon became widely used by both sides and though it never proved a decisive, battle-winning weapon, it became one of the most feared and best-remembered horrors of the war. In February 1916, the Germans attacked French defensive positions at the Battle of Verdun , lasting until December 1916. Casualties were greater for the French, but

13442-586: The front. Serbian and French troops finally made a breakthrough in September 1918 in the Vardar offensive , after most German and Austro-Hungarian troops had been withdrawn. The Bulgarians were defeated at the Battle of Dobro Pole , and by 25 September British and French troops had crossed the border into Bulgaria proper as the Bulgarian army collapsed. Bulgaria capitulated four days later, on 29 September 1918. The German high command responded by despatching troops to hold

13585-526: The globe, some of which were subsequently used to attack Allied merchant shipping . These were systematically hunted down by the Royal Navy, though not before causing considerable damage. One of the most successful was the SMS ; Emden , part of the German East Asia Squadron stationed at Qingdao , which seized or sank 15 merchantmen, a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. Most of the squadron

13728-534: The high ground, while their trenches tended to be better built; those constructed by the French and English were initially considered "temporary", only needed until an offensive would destroy the German defences. Both sides tried to break the stalemate using scientific and technological advances. On 22 April 1915, at the Second Battle of Ypres , the Germans (violating the Hague Convention ) used chlorine gas for

13871-403: The idea of desolate land, uninhabited forests (Old German wildnis, wiltnis ) and mass Lithuanian migration. The idea of Lithuanian immigration was accepted by Antanas Salys, Zenonas Ivinskis. J. Jurginis had studied the descriptions of the war roads into Lithuania and found where the word wildnis was used in the political sense. He deduced that wildnis was that part of Lithuania which belonged to

14014-531: The incessant war between Lithuania and the Teutonic Order . The war ended with the Treaty of Melno and the land was repopulated by Lithuanian newcomers, returning refugees, and the remaining indigenous Baltic peoples; the term Lithuania Minor appeared for the first time between 1517 and 1526. With the exception of the Klaipėda Region , which became a mandated territory of the League of Nations in 1920 by

14157-467: The investigation and trial of Serbians linked to the assassination. Claiming this amounted to rejection, Austria broke off diplomatic relations and ordered partial mobilisation the next day; on 28 July, they declared war on Serbia and began shelling Belgrade . Russia ordered general mobilization in support of Serbia on 30 July. Anxious to ensure backing from the SPD political opposition by presenting Russia as

14300-572: The land between the lower reaches of the river Dangė to the north and the major headstreams of the river Pregolya ( Lithuanian : Prieglius ) to the south. The southwestern line ran from the Curonian Lagoon along the Deimena River to its south, continued along the Prieglius River to the Łyna ( Lithuanian : Alna ) river, up to the town of Alna (modern Druzhba ) and hence southward along

14443-477: The lands of Baltic tribes, one of which – Lithuanians – had its state and was also expanding its power among neighbouring Baltic and Ruthenian people. The Order was granted the right over the pagan lands by popes and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire . It was conqueror's right – awarded them as much lands as they would conquer. After the Battle of Saule the Livonian order was crushed and incorporated to

14586-631: The last Lithuanian newspaper published in Tilsit was closed by the Nazis. German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop delivered an ultimatum to the Lithuanian Foreign Minister on 20 March 1939, demanding the surrender of the Klaipėda region to German control. Ribbentrop vowed that if Klaipėda was not ceded to Germany peacefully, it "will be taken by other means if necessary". Lithuania submitted to

14729-533: The lists of colonists, which shown their descent, was published by G. Geking, G. Schmoler, A. Skalveit in their researches. The ethnic Lithuanian inhabitants of Lithuania Minor called themselves Lietuvininkai (other form Lietuvninkai). L. Baczko wrote around the end of the 18th century: all this nation, which, mixed with many German colonists, is living from Memel to Labiau , from Schirwindt to Nordenburg, call themselves Lietuvninkai and their land – Lithuania The historical sources indicate that Lietuvininkai

14872-571: The majority only in about half of the Memelland area and by Tilžė and Ragainė from the last quarter of the 19th century upwards to 1914. Lithuanian percentage was marginal in the southern half of the region of Lithuania Minor at that time. There resided about 170 thousands of Lietuvininks in East Prussia till 1914. The territory known as the main part of Lithuania Minor had been distinguished in administrative terms first as Nadruvia and Scalovia , later

15015-461: The names Lithuanian counties , Lithuanian Province, Prussian Lithuania or Lithuania ( Litauische Kreise or Litt(h) auen ) became predominant. The administrative Lithuanian Province (part of the administrative province of Sambia) (about 10 000 km ) comprised four districts of that time: Klaipėda (Memel), Tilžė (Tilsit, Sovetsk), Ragainė (Raganita, Ragnit, Neman) and Įsrutis (Insterburg, Cerniachovsk). The factual Prussian Lithuanian living area

15158-460: The ocean, even to neutral ships. Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar response to its unrestricted submarine warfare. The Battle of Jutland in May/June 1916 was the only full-scale clash of battleships during the war, and one of the largest in history. The clash was indecisive, though the Germans inflicted more damage than they received; thereafter the bulk of

15301-589: The once existed administrative Lithuanian Province. The southern limit of Lithuania Minor went by Šventapilis ( Mamonovo ), Prūsų Ylava (Preußisch Eylau, Bagrationovsk ), Bartenstein ( Bartoszyce ), Barčiai (Dubrovka), Lapgarbis (Cholmogorovka), Mėrūniškai (Meruniszki), Dubeninkai ( Dubeninki ). The southern limit of the most compact Lithuanian area went by Žuvininkai , Königsberg , Frydland , Engelschtein ( Węgielsztyn ), Nordenburg ( Krylovo ), Węgorzewo , Gołdap , Gurniai, Dubeninkai. The economic and especially demographic statistics had been fragmentary previous to

15444-835: The political administrative and the ethnic areas. Nadruvia and Scalovia became Lithuanian Province in Prussia and the Yotvingian population persisted in their lands more commonly as western Lithuanians in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Prussia. As a distinctive ethno-cultural region, Lithuania Minor emerged during the 15th or the 16th century. The substratum of the Prussian Lithuanian population comprised mostly ethnic Baltic tribes – either local ( Old Prussians – Sambians, north Bartians, Natangians; either probably formerly Lithuanized or Prussian Scalovians and Nadruvians ; Sudovians , some Curonians ) or from neighbouring areas (newcomers from

15587-559: The population continued to grow. The newcomers were Lithuanians from Trakai , Vilnius voideships and Samogitia . Lithuanian farmers used to flee to the Sudovian forest, which lain in the Trakai Voivodeship , and live here without dues, what was possible until the agrarian reform of Lithuania, performed during the second half of the 16th century. The tribal areas such as Nadruvia, Scalovia, Sudovia had to some extent later coincided with

15730-523: The process of the colonization of Lithuania Minor the order to check the circumstance of the state peasants was issued. The data showed the distribution by nationalities and the number of state peasants in the Lithuanian Province. The data was used by M. Beheim-Svarbach, who published the tabulations of the territorial distribution of Lithuanian and German villeins (having their farm) in all the villages and districts of Lithuanian Province. The data from

15873-789: The protection of the " cruiser rules ", which demanded warning and movement of crews to "a place of safety" (a standard that lifeboats did not meet). Finally, in early 1917, Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare , realising the Americans would eventually enter the war. Germany sought to strangle Allied sea lanes before the United States could transport a large army overseas, but, after initial successes, eventually failed to do so. The U-boat threat lessened in 1917, when merchant ships began travelling in convoys , escorted by destroyers . This tactic made it difficult for U-boats to find targets, which significantly lessened losses; after

16016-556: The region to the Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation . After the subsequent Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) , the longest of all Polish-Teutonic wars, the region was a part of Poland (and thus the Polish–Lithuanian union ) as a fief held by the Teutonic Knights. In 1525, per the Treaty of Kraków , the state of the Teutonic Order was secularized and transformed into Ducal Prussia ,

16159-452: The right side of Nemunas ( Veliuona , Klaipėda ) had to be left for Lithuania (1413). Makrai is known to have stated: We find that the Memel castle is built in the land of Samogitians . Neither Master , nor the Order was able to prove anything opposing. The Order did not accept the solution. Later Vytautas agreed the solution to be made by Emperor Sigismund . He acknowledged Samogitians for

16302-466: The rural areas. German towns were like islands in the Lithuanian Province. The area was overwhelmingly inhabited by Lithuanians until the plague of 1709–1711 . Up to 300,000 people resided in the Lithuanian Province and the Labguva district prior to the plague, during which about 160,000 Lithuanians died in Lithuanian Province and Labguva district, which was 53 percent of the population of the latter area. As

16445-596: The south in 1282. Lithuania also did not manage to retain Semigallian castles lying north from Lithuania and the Semigallians fell under the Order finally during Gediminas 's rule. Samogitians , whose land lay between the Livonian Order and the Teutonic Order, had been many times granted to the Order juridically by Lithuanian dukes, popes, emperors of Holy Roman Empire, but either the Order did not managed to take it, or

16588-464: The term First World War was in September 1914 by German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel who stated, "There is no doubt that the course and character of the feared 'European War' ... will become the first world war in the full sense of the word." For much of the 19th century, the major European powers maintained a tenuous balance of power , known as the Concert of Europe . After 1848, this

16731-532: The territory brought economic prosperity to Lithuania, with the region accounting for 30 percent of the country's economy. However, the region's economic significance declined after economic sanctions were imposed by Nazi Germany in 1933. Nazi Germany persecuted the Lithuanian population of the region. In 1938 a massive campaign of renaming of placenames was carried out in the German-held part of Lithuania Minor in attempt to erase traces of Lithuanian origin. In 1940,

16874-682: The threat posed by the closing of this gap was more important than competing with the Royal Navy. After Germany expanded its standing army by 170,000 troops in 1913, France extended compulsory military service from two to three years; similar measures were taken by the Balkan powers and Italy, which led to increased expenditure by the Ottomans and Austria-Hungary. Absolute figures are difficult to calculate due to differences in categorising expenditure since they often omit civilian infrastructure projects like railways which had logistical importance and military use. It

17017-420: The time) began working on a study "Lithuania Propria". The book was dedicated to the history of Lithuanian lands before Polonisation , Russification , and Germanisation , hoping that it would help to substantiate a claim to unreturned territories in a peace conference after World War II . His work was left unfinished, and for a long time was available only as a manuscript and was virtually unknown. Currently

17160-587: The toponymy of the territory, though. It is possible that Nadruvia and Skalovia had changed ethnically in the process of Lithuanian penetration to and consolidation of the Baltic lands in the pre-state times. The contacts between Nadruvian and Scalovian populations with those to the north and west, where the grand dukes of Lithuania were ruling from the 13th or the 12th century, were probably close. Nadruvia had bordered on Sudovia and Samogitia, Skalovia – on Samogitia and Nadruvia. The inside Baltic migration, trading and ethnic consolidation presumably had happened since

17303-675: The treaty to 1923, when the Klaipėda region was incorporated into Lithuania. Polish secret resistance was active and smuggled weapons through the region to the Russian-controlled Augustów Governorate and Samogitia during the January Uprising of 1863–1864. Several local resistance members and smugglers were arrested by the Prussians. The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland from 1892 named Tilsit as

17446-643: The ultimatum and, in exchange for the right to use the new harbour facilities as a Free Port, ceded the disputed region to Germany in the late evening of 22 March 1939. Reunion of the Memel Territory with Germany was met with joy by a majority of Prussian Lithuanians. It was Nazi Germany's last territorial gain prior to World War II. The remainder of Lithuania came under occupation by the Soviet Union , then briefly became independent again in 1941 before being occupied entirely by Nazi Germany . During World War II,

17589-419: The various researches on Lithuanian culture were made): The limits of the latter Lithuanian areas were more southwest. Various other fragmentary demographic sources (the first general census was made in 1816) and the lists of colonists of the 18th century showed the area of Lithuanian majority and the areas of considerable percentage of Lithuanians to the first half of the 18th century. It was more southwest from

17732-529: The war ended with the Armistice of 11 November 1918 . The Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920 imposed settlements on the defeated powers, most notably the Treaty of Versailles , by which Germany lost significant territories, was disarmed, and was required to pay large war reparations to the Allies. The dissolution of the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires redrew national boundaries and resulted in

17875-581: The war involved British, French, and German colonial forces in Africa. On 6–7 August, French and British troops invaded the German protectorates of Togoland and Kamerun . On 10 August, German forces in South-West Africa attacked South Africa; sporadic and fierce fighting continued for the rest of the war. The German colonial forces in German East Africa , led by Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck , fought

18018-582: The war was the factor changing the former order of the Baltic area. While the German Order was expanding its territory, the holding of Lithuanian grand dukes was withdrawn in some places. The political situation during the war was influenced by the following factors: The war probably changed the situation of populations of the area: The two main lands later became Lithuania Minor, Nadruvia and Scalovia, had Prussian ethnic substratum. Lithuanian elements prevailed in

18161-418: The west , which despite initial successes left the German Army exhausted and demoralised. A successful Allied counter-offensive from August 1918 caused a collapse of the German front line. By early November, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary had each signed armistices with the Allies, leaving Germany isolated. Facing a revolution at home , Kaiser Wilhelm   II abdicated on 9 November, and

18304-432: Was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic. The causes of World War I included the rise of Germany and decline of the Ottoman Empire , which disturbed the long-standing balance of power in Europe, as well as economic competition between nations triggered by industrialisation and imperialism . Growing tensions between the great powers and in the Balkans reached a breaking point on 28 June 1914, when

18447-616: Was a term designated to land where Lithuanians live. Administratively, it consisted of Vilnius Voivodeship , Trakai Voivodeship and the Duchy of Samogitia . This division continued even after the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was partitioned . Thus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was divided into the historical regions Samogitia (literally Lower Lithuania ), Lithuania proper and Ruthenia . For centuries, eastern and southern lands of this territory, that had direct contacts with Ruthenia and Poland, initially inhabited by ethnic Lithuanians were slowly Ruthenised, Polonised and Russified , and

18590-415: Was also demographic source. Lithuanian and German proportion of Piliakalnis ( Dobrovolsk ) in the middle of the 18th century was determined by O. Natau on the ground of these lists. The toponymy of Prussia and its changes is also a source for situation of Lithuanians. The nationality of the residents of the country of Lithuania Minor is best shown by the sources from the fourth decade of the 18th century. In

18733-402: Was broader than the administrative Lithuanian Province. Several Lithuanian-linked areas were determined on different criteria in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century by mostly German researchers ( Lithuanians , without doing difference between the residents of Russian Empire and of Prussia, were considered by Germans in the 19th century to be the little nation facing its end. Therefore,

18876-403: Was challenged by Britain's withdrawal into so-called splendid isolation , the decline of the Ottoman Empire , New Imperialism , and the rise of Prussia under Otto von Bismarck . Victory in the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War allowed Bismarck to consolidate a German Empire . Post-1871, the primary aim of French policy was to avenge this defeat, but by the early 1890s, this had switched to

19019-640: Was divided between Poland (small parts now forming the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship ) and the Soviet Union (eastern part of the Kaliningrad Oblast ). After the death of Joseph Stalin , Nikita Khrushchev offered the Kaliningrad Oblast to the Lithuanian SSR. Secretary Antanas Sniečkus refused this offer. In 2010, a secret document was found which indicated that in 1990, the Soviet leadership

19162-481: Was first mentioned as Kleinlittaw in Simon Grunau 's Prussian Chronicle of the early 16th century (between 1517 and 1526) and was later repeated by another Prussian chronicler, Lucas David . The term Lithuania Minor was first applied during the 19th century and used more widely during the 20th century, mostly among historians and ethnographers. The northeastern limit of the area of Prussia inhabited by Lithuanians

19305-407: Was in the nucleus of future Trakai Voivodeship between rivers: Nemunas , Neris and Merkys . Tomas Baranauskas suggests that Lithuania proper was around Ašmena area, ethnic Lithuanian lands in modern Belarus . According to Belarusian writer Mikola Yermalovich (although his reliability is questioned by scholars) Lithuania ( Belarusian : Летапiсная Лiтва , literary: Lithuania of chronicles)

19448-400: Was in the upper Nemunas region, now in modern Belarus. Scholars often use the term Lithuania proper to refer to lands inhabited by ethnic Lithuanians as opposed to lands controlled by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania inhabited by Ruthenians (ancestors of modern Belarusians and Ukrainians), Poles, Lithuanian Jews or many other nationalities. Already during the Grand Duchy times, Lithuania proper

19591-415: Was part of the Kingdom of Prussia 's province of East Prussia, the core of medieval Prussia . It was a region outside of the former Lithuanian state , inhabited by a large number of Prussian Lithuanians. Ethnic Prussian Lithuanians were mostly Protestants , in contrast to the inhabitants of Lithuania Major, who predominantly were Roman Catholics . Giving the Prussian Lithuanian name first and followed by

19734-456: Was prepared to negotiate the return of Kaliningrad to Germany against payment. The proposal was declined by German diplomats. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Kaliningrad Oblast has become an exclave of Russia. Lithuania, Germany, and Poland lay no official claims to the region at this time. Gołdap ( Lithuanian : Geldapė, Galdapė, Geldupė ), the seat of Gołdap County , a transitional county between Lithuania Minor and Masuria ,

19877-732: Was printed in Geldapė, Darkiemis, Girdava, Stalupėnai, Eitkūnai, Gumbinė, Pilkalnis, Jurbarkas, Vėluva, Tepliava, Labguva, Koenigsberg, Žuvininkai. World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War , was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers . Fighting took place mainly in Europe and

20020-654: Was refused. Early on the morning of 4   August, the Germans invaded, and Albert I of Belgium called for assistance under the Treaty of London . Britain sent Germany an ultimatum demanding they withdraw from Belgium; when this expired at midnight, without a response, the two empires were at war. Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, but interpretations of what this meant differed. Previously tested deployment plans had been replaced early in 1914, but those had never been tested in exercises. Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover its northern flank against Russia. Beginning on 12 August,

20163-659: Was returning to Germany when it sank two British armoured cruisers at the Battle of Coronel in November 1914, before being virtually destroyed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December. The SMS Dresden escaped with a few auxiliaries, but after the Battle of Más a Tierra , these too were either destroyed or interned. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Britain began a naval blockade of Germany . This proved effective in cutting off vital supplies, though it violated accepted international law. Britain also mined international waters which closed off entire sections of

20306-759: Was the foundation of German foreign policy but in 1890, he was forced to retire by Wilhelm II . The latter was persuaded not to renew the Reinsurance Treaty by his new Chancellor , Leo von Caprivi . This gave France an opening to agree the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894, which was then followed by the 1904 Entente Cordiale with Britain. The Triple Entente was completed by the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention . While not formal alliances, by settling long-standing colonial disputes in Asia and Africa, British support for France or Russia in any future conflict became

20449-585: Was the state border between Lithuania and Prussia, and the northern border was along the Nemunas River , but the southwestern limit was not clear. Thus, the territory of Lithuania Minor has been understood differently by different parties; it could be: The administrative terms "Lithuanian province" ( Provinz Litthauen ), "Lithuanian districts" ( Littauische Ämter ), "Lithuanian county" ( Littauischer Kreis ) or simply "Prussian Lithuania" ( Preußisch Litauen ), "Lithuania" ( Litauen ) were used to refer to

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