Europe 1918: New Countries in Eastern Europe

With the end of the Great War and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the smaller nations of Eastern Europe seized the chance to assert themselves. Poland reemerged as an independent state after 123 years of foreign domination, while the Czechs and Slovaks joined to form Czechoslovakia and the Serbs and other southern Slavs united to form Yugoslavia.

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Main Events

12–13 Nov 1918 Occupation of Constantinople ▲

The first French troops arrived in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople, followed by the British the next day. The Allies divided the city into occupation zones, setting up a military administration in December. Italian and Greek forces arrived later. The Allied occupation marked the first time Constantinople had changed hands since the original Ottoman conquest in 1453. in wikipedia

12 Nov 1918 German Austria ▲

One day after the abdication of Emperor Charles I of Austria, the Provisional National Assembly—representing the German population of the Austrian Empire—officially proclaimed German-Austria a republic, with Social Democrat Karl Renner as provisional chancellor. German-Austria was simultaneously declared an integral part of the German Reich, and the following day the new republic began negotiations for union with Germany. in wikipedia

13 Nov 1918 Annulment of Brest-Litovsk ▲

Following the German capitulation, the Bolshevik legislature of Soviet Russia annulled the treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Although this theoretically revoked Soviet recognition of the independence of Finland, Poland, the Baltic states, and Ukraine, most of this area was either still under German occupation or de facto independent. in wikipedia

1–13 Dec 1918 Occupation of the Rhineland ▲

Following the terms of the Armistice with Germany, Allied troops moved in to occupy German territory in the Rhineland. Belgian forces were based in Aachen, the British in Cologne, the French in Mainz, and the Americans—who departed in 1923—in Koblenz. The occupation lasted until 1930, when the Allies withdrew under the terms of the Locarno Treaties. in wikipedia

1 Dec 1918 Creation of Yugoslavia ▲

Following internal issues—including Syrmia declaring its secession in favor of Serbia—the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (S.S.C.S.) agreed to merge with the Kingdom of Serbia. On 1 December 1918, Prince Regent Alexander of Serbia proclaimed the unification of Serbia with the S.S.C.S. to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes—unofficially known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (until that name became official in 1929). Montenegro—annexed to Serbia a few days earlier—also became part of the new state. in wikipedia

1 Dec 1918 Alba Iulia National Assembly ▲

The National Assembly of Romanians of Transylvania and Hungary—consisting of elected representatives of the Romanians in the nominally Hungarian territories of Transylvania, Banat, Crişana and Maramureş—convened in Alba Iulia, Transylvania. The assembly unanimously decreed the unification of Transylvania and all the Hungarian territories inhabited by Romanians with the Kingdom of Romania. in wikipedia