Notes on World War I
WWI
The Origins of War – September 9, 2012
Alliances
- Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy (AXIS POWERS)
- Great Britain, France, (pre-revolutionary Russia) (TRIPLE ENTENTE)
- Alliances are put in place to act as guarantors of peace
- At the end of the 19th c., (Edwardian period in BR history) despite the alliance systems, much talk about impending war o Everyone saying war is inevitable o Lots of war talk
- Nature of a European war not understood at all
- Colonial wars seen, which were quick (guns vs. spears)
- For people at home, war was distant
- Ongoing enmity between Germany and France
- 1871 (conclusion of Franco Prussian War) territory taken from France (Alsace, Lorraine) o No “cleansing” effect from this war o Bismarck had proclaimed Imperial Germany in the palace of Versailles o Insulting France o German economy exploding o Expanding naval power
- Since 1805, Britain has been major naval power
- End of 19th c., Germany is intentionally catching up
- Germany trying to extend power (proclaimed an Empire)
- “war is a biological necessity”
- Franco-Prussian war had been the last war between the European powers o Fairly high casualties o Battle of Sedan – 3000 soldiers killed o Civil strife ensued o Wars known to be costly in human life and unpredictable but still rather small
- Each European country had its own saga of war
- Examples in the American Civil War were ignored o Face of warfare o Churchill: “the wars of the peoples will be worse than those of kings”
- Loss of Alsace and Lorraine rankled the French o Think of it always, speak of it never
- War, if it came, would be an irresistible opportunity to avenge hatred
- Germany resented close relationship between France and Russia (East and West)
- In 1898, Kaiser Wilhelm II visited Constantinople in Turkey (Ottoman Empire) and Jerusalem
- Action announced to the world that Germany was a kind of friend with these
- Anglo-Russian Entente 1907 o Britain constantly trying
The Origins of War – September 9, 2012
Alliances
- Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy (AXIS POWERS)
- Great Britain, France, (pre-revolutionary Russia) (TRIPLE ENTENTE)
- Alliances are put in place to act as guarantors of peace
- At the end of the 19th c., (Edwardian period in BR history) despite the alliance systems, much talk about impending war o Everyone saying war is inevitable o Lots of war talk
- Nature of a European war not understood at all
- Colonial wars seen, which were quick (guns vs. spears)
- For people at home, war was distant
- Ongoing enmity between Germany and France
- 1871 (conclusion of Franco Prussian War) territory taken from France (Alsace, Lorraine) o No “cleansing” effect from this war o Bismarck had proclaimed Imperial Germany in the palace of Versailles o Insulting France o German economy exploding o Expanding naval power
- Since 1805, Britain has been major naval power
- End of 19th c., Germany is intentionally catching up
- Germany trying to extend power (proclaimed an Empire)
- “war is a biological necessity”
- Franco-Prussian war had been the last war between the European powers o Fairly high casualties o Battle of Sedan – 3000 soldiers killed o Civil strife ensued o Wars known to be costly in human life and unpredictable but still rather small
- Each European country had its own saga of war
- Examples in the American Civil War were ignored o Face of warfare o Churchill: “the wars of the peoples will be worse than those of kings”
- Loss of Alsace and Lorraine rankled the French o Think of it always, speak of it never
- War, if it came, would be an irresistible opportunity to avenge hatred
- Germany resented close relationship between France and Russia (East and West)
- In 1898, Kaiser Wilhelm II visited Constantinople in Turkey (Ottoman Empire) and Jerusalem
- Action announced to the world that Germany was a kind of friend with these
- Anglo-Russian Entente 1907 o Britain constantly trying