President Wilson's peace proposals included:
1. Open covenants openly arrived at.
2. Freedom of the seas.
3. Removal of economic barriers between nations.
4. Reduction of armaments.
5. Impartial settlement of colonial claims, with consideration for the interests of the peoples involved,
6. Russia should be allowed to operate whatever government it wanted and that government should be accepted, supported and welcomed.
7. Restoration of the independence of Belgium.
8. Restoration of Alsace and Lorraine to France.
9. readjustment of Italian frontiers on lines of nationality.
10. National Self-Determination.
11. Restoration of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, with outlet to sea for Serbia.
12. Autonomous development for the peoples of Turkey, with the Straits from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean "permanently opened".
13. An independent Poland, inhabited by indisputably Polish populations and with access to the sea.
14. A league of Nations.

Trench Warfare:
(i) The bullets and shells flying through the air in the battle conditions of First World War compelled soldiers to burrow into the soil to obtain shelter and survive.
(ii) Trenches or ditches dug by troops enabled them to protect themselves from the effects of shell-fire.
(iii) The Germans supplied their infantry with deep, well-constructed dug-outs, lit by electric light, and furnished with beds.
(iv) The typical trench system in World War consisted of two to four trench lines running parallel to each other.
(v) Each trench was dug in a zigzag manner so that no enemy, standing at one end, could fire for more than a few yards down its length.
(vi) The main lines of trenches were connected to each other and to the rear by a series of linking trenches through which food, ammunition, fresh troops, mail, and orders were delivered.

(i) During the First World War Germany's most fearsome weapon was the submarine or U-Boat.
(ii) The Germans adopted a strategy to starve Britain by sinking every ship it could. 880,000 tons of shipping went to the bottom of the seas in one month alone.
(iii) The Q-ships were Britain's answer to the Germany.
(iv) The British sent more than 200 steamers, travelers, and cargo vessels in a disguised form of a cargo ship and pressed into action against the U-boat menace.
(v) The idea was to lure the U-boats into attacking these decoy ships which would unleash its hidden armed force and weaponry.

BalkanWar I
(i) With encouragement from Russia, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and later Montenegro the Balkan league was formed in March 1912 to take over Macedonia.
(ii) Macedonia had a mixed population. The war started in October 1912 and in less' than two months the resistance of the Turks was broken.
(iii) The Turks were driven from their European provinces. But the problem started while dividing the conquered territories.
(iv) According to the Treaty of London signed in May 1913 the new state of Albania was created and Macedonia was divided.
BalkanWar II 
(i) The victors quarreled over the division of Macedonia. Bulgarians attacked their allies Serbia and Greece, but were easily defeated.
(ii) The Turks took the opportunity to retake Adrianople, which they had lost. The second Balkan War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest in August 1913.
(iii) Two things emerged out of the Balkan crisis. First, the Bulgarians felt injured and awaited an opportunity to take revenge on Serbia.
(iv) Secondly, the passions of the Serbians were inflamed by victory. From this time on, anti-Austrian struggle in Serbia and in the neighbouring province of Bosnia became ever more militant.

Partition of Africa:
(i) In 1876 King Leopold II of Belgium took the lead in exploring and seizing through his International African Association, a great rubber producing region, what is now known as Belgian Congo.
(ii) In 1881 a French expedition occupied Tunis, to the great displeasure of the Italians who had been longing to annex it.
(iii) In 1891 they occupied the Ivory Coast, Dahomey in 1892 and Madagascar in 1895. Great Britain, apart from conquering Natal and the Transvaal in south Africa, annexed many parts of Africa.
(iv) In 1883 Great Britain succeeded in securing control over Egypt.
(v) The Gold Coast colonies, Uganda, Zanzibar, part of East Africa, and Rhodesia became part of the British Empire.
(vi) Between 1884 and 1890 Germany acquired Togoland, the Cameroons, German South-West Africa and German East Africa,
(vii) The scramble for territory among the great European powers resulted in the completion of partition of "The Dark Continent of Africa" by the end of the century.
(viii) Only countries such as Liberia, Morocco and Abyssinia remained un-annexed,