Causes, Practices, and Effects of War (WW1)

Causes
1. Imperial Rivalries
  1. Austo-Hungarian empire
  2. Britain
  3. France
  4. Germany
  5. Russia
  6. Eventually, Japan, Italy, The Ottomans and US got involved
  7. The extent of these powers essentially assured that it would be worldwide.
    1. All Continents saw some fighting- everything outside Europe was a result of imperial possesions, naval strength
      1. CONFLICT OVER COLONIES
        France and GB Bitter Rivals in North Africa
        GB and Russia had rivalry over Northern India (although they would eventually ally
        France and Germany over Annexation of Alsace- Lorraine
        Russian Empire in Asia seen as threat to GB and Japan
        German-Ottoman plan for building rail to Bagdhad
        Japan and Korea went to war over Manchuria in 1904
        European powers scrambled for African teritory starting in 1870s
        Boer War
        Austria Invades serbia
      2. A Boom in industry increased tensions between the powers
        Leads to competition for resources: only Britain sticks to Fair Trade
2. Militarism
  1. After 1870, Nearly all european powers
    1. Increase army size
    2. increase sophistication of weapons
    3. Amount of tech to wage war
  2. developments in railroad meant they could carry greater # of troops
  3. Everybody had a plan
  4. Nationalism became tied with military strength
  5. Longer Periods of conscription, more praise for military in schools
  6. Military leaders saw conflict as an option and a risk worth taking.
3. Alliances
  1. Feelings of hostility, but some nations linked by alliances.
  2. Austria and Germany 1878
    1. Germany seeking anti-French support
    2. Italy joined 1882 for same reason
  3. German agreement with Russia discarded when Kaiser Wilhelm takes power.
  4. France allies with Russia, 1894
    1. Both make alliances with GB 1904-1907
      1. Despite these, GB had no firm commitments.
  5. Alliances were mostly Defensive
  6. What they did was:
    1. make powers think as opposing sides
    2. Made Germany feel encircled by enemies
    3. ENSURED conflict would not stay centralized
4. The Balkan War
  1. Stems from unrest in the Balkans, an area important to:
    1. Austria-Hungary
    2. Russia
  2. It was a Christian region that had broken with the Ottoman Empire to become Independent.
    1. It wasn't very stable because the territories had a mix of nationalities inside their borders.
      1. #Mongoltage
  3. The Austrian Empire
    1. Not a nation state but a collection of peoples and nationalities that owed allegience to the Hapsburgs.
    2. Most of their subject were European (unlike other Empires)
    3. Lost most of their territory in 19th Cent.(Including Italy and Germany)
      1. Faced a serious decline in power
    4. Other subjects (Czechs) were becoming increasingly hostile
      1. These guys were too divided to really form a cohesive opposition.
        With neighbooring support, however, the pot could be stirred.
    5. Austria's biggest concern about the whole mess was that Russia would step in an aid Balkan nationalities.
    6. A Roman Catholic Empire Ruling over Eastern Orthodox peoples.
  4. Tensions surfaced with Bosnian Crisis 1908
    1. A-H had occupied Bosnia-Herzgovina since 1878
      1. Russia decided to let them annex it to their empire in exchange for letting Russian ships go through Turkinsh straits into the Mediterranean
        Oct.1908- Austria annexes B-H without fulfilling this bargain.
        Angered Serbians in the area and the started massive protests.
        Russia Backed the protestors
        Germany backed Austria, forcing Russia to back off
        Left Russians humiliated, Serbians resentful, and the Austrians feeling encouraged.
  5. Serbia was and independent country (circa 1830) that posed a threat to Austria
    1. In 1912, they joined Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro in the Balkan League: goal of driving Ottomans from Europe
      1. While Turkey was distracted by other wars, the League attacked, Starting the Balkan war
        Successes made big powers nervous:Treaty negotiated in London, but some Balkans left unhappy
        More War!
        Bulgaria vs. Serbia and Greece
        Serbian expansion into Kosovo region and Macedonia
        Turkey expelled from Europe
        Austria demanding Albania
        Bulgarian defeat has them turning to Austria instead of Russia
        Austria now sees Serbia as a threat
        Russia looking for a good relationship with Serbia
        Serbia feeling Anti-Austrian
        Germans Supporting Austria
        AND THEN
        Gavrillo Princip shoots Franz and Sophie Ferdinand
        Triggers the Outbreak of THE GREAT WAR
        Serbians in Bosnia had resented Austrian rule
        Austria responds with a series of demands that Serbia saw as unreasonable and Independence compromising.
        refusal would mean war.
        Austrians counting on German support, Serbia on Russia
        Local quarrel quickly becomes International War
        Mobilization begins
        Russia
        Germans
        French
        France then declares War on Germany
        German invasion of Belgium pulls GB into the War
        Russian Refusal to demobilize leads Germany to declare War
        Connected to The Black Hand terrorist group
        Militant Anti-Austrian Groups in Serbia
Terminology
1. Total War: All Resources of a nation (human, economic, and even spiritual) are used and controlled by the State.
  1. No real difference between the battle front and home front.
  2. Increasingly, the state has to take control of goods distribution.
  3. People are encouraged to support the War via Propaganda
  4. NO COMPROMISE for peace. War fought to enemy surrender.
    1. This is acheived through any means necessary, including chemical and economic warfare.
      1. There are few limits, like the taking of POWs instead of just massacring people, but this is usually out of fear of enemy retaliation
  5. Best examples are the two world wars.
2. Civil War: fought between people in the same country. It may have the characteristics of total war, but in practice, many end in compromise.
  1. May result in the breakup of nations (Bangladesh)
  2. Line between civilian and soldier blurs.
  3. Often results in militarism under the control of a strong leader. Can lead to great suffering and prolonged dictatorships.
  4. Sometimes, other countries intervene to protect their own interests.
  5. It can rise from:
    1. People in certain regions feeling oppressed or neglected.
    2. Political Divisions
    3. Different religious Ideas
  6. Often a more personal form of war because it is near to home.
3. Limited War
  1. Sometimes wars are confined to certain areas of the globe. (Not all war involve every nation)
  2. Examples of Limited War
    1. India-Pakistani war
    2. Britain v. Argentina over Falkland Islands
    3. Iran-Iraq war
4. FORMS OF War (how they are fought)
  1. Conventional war: fought mainly with soldiers.
  2. Siege: Enemy cuts off supplies at strong points before attacking
  3. Open Order Warfare: Both sides move their forces til they meet in conflict.
  4. Armies
    1. Can use combined arms
      1. Infantry
      2. Vehicles and/or cavalry
      3. Aircraft
      4. Navy
    2. Main fighting may be offensive (attacking) or defensive (defending)
    3. May use multiple strategies
    4. May use multiple tactics
  5. Guerilla Warfare
    1. Smaller groups of independently operating fighters attack the enemy wherever possible
    2. Cannot acheive massive victory, but can take out essential communication and supply lines
    3. Unsettle the enemy
    4. sometimes conventional soldiers, sometimes armed civilians
    5. Non Military groups called partisans
Practices
1. The war was conducted on a previously unseen scale
  1. larger armies
  2. Higher casualties
  3. whole population involvement
    1. Women entered the workforce in droves.
      1. Hello, Suffrage!
      2. Some even wore uniforms
    2. Use of propaganda
      1. Censorship
        Stifle Anti-War feelings
      2. Encourage Pro-War sentiment
    3. Increased State Power
      1. Taxes
      2. communications
      3. rationing and resource management
      4. Men conscripted
    4. War really brought to civs. thru bombing & economic ruin
  4. state control of resources/ people
  5. More destructive, varied weapons
    1. Chlorine gas
    2. flamethrowers
    3. aircraft
      1. surprise!
    4. huge artillery
    5. Machine guns
      1. longer range, hundreds of rounds, and no smoke
    6. Rifled Artillery
    7. Increased speed & accuracy
    8. Explosive shells
    9. Intro to tanks
2. Industrial Revolution
  1. Modern Tech, science
    1. Mass Production of weapons
      1. Armies raised, armed, and shipped out faster
    2. mass production of steel
  2. Larger populations
  3. Better Transportation
    1. rail
    2. STEAM
      1. Sped up European Imperialism. Thanks, James Watt
  4. Gowth of mass communication
  5. nationalism
    1. Whole nation became involved in War effort
  6. Transformed weapons and the state
3. The Actual War Part
  1. German Schlifen Plan
    1. Invade and knock France ut of the war quickly, before Russia has the chance to mobilize
      1. Russia already substantially moblilized, with help of railroads
        Quick Russian mobilization spread and weakened Germany further.
      2. Germans at a disadvantage because they had to march to the place of battle. (Further from their bases, supply lines fragile
        It definently didn't help that somebody changed plans last minute to take Paris from the East.
        French countered at the Marne River Valley.
      3. Didn't account for French use of air observation.
        Underestimated modern weaponry
        This was KEY to the plan's failure. War no longer acheived through brilliant strategy or capture of enemy capitols.
        Instead, it was through destruction of enemy on the battlefield
        Technology outdated pure courage
      4. Didn't anticipate Belgian resistance or GB Entrance
        These guys wrecked the plan's timetable.
  2. Phase 2
    1. French attacks further south resulted in heavy casualties and prevented German breakthrough
      1. German offensive grinds to a halt.
    2. Russia invades Germany, but can't reach Berlin
    3. Austrian advance into Serbia has not gone well.
    4. People's plans have now been destroyed. Time to improvise!
      1. In the West, sides try outflanking each other
        They struggle to get to the sea and to gain higher ground.
        Once positions were established, trenches were dug.
        Barbed- wire trench warfare stalemate takes over in the West
        This is about November of 1914
      2. in the East, more traditional methods were engaged.
        Tannenburg and Masurin lakes mark notable defeat for the Russians.
        These losses cost Russia dearly.
        Russia put on the defensive and East become trench warfare as well.
    5. War Expands to
      1. Turkey
        Brits chase German ships to Constantinople.
        Traditionally Pro-Brit
        New Govt. Fond of Germany because of help with military training
      2. Japan (1915)
        Took advantage of alliance with GB to declare war on Germany and overrun German possessions in Asia.
      3. Italy
        Joined France and GB because they were promised the return of German-controlled Italian-speaking places.
  3. The Western Front
    1. Part 1 (1914)
      1. Defense was much easier than offense, because of Machine guns
        The creation of trenches also inhibited the sucess of attack.
        Troops confined to small areas despite having the capacity of the world's richest nations behind them.
        To win, the had to break through the trench line, destroy opposing armies, and take strategic points to prevent build up.
        If that worked, then you could use more traditional methods.
        Unfortunantley, this was near impossible because they faced:
        Large concentrations of enemy forces.
        developed Trenchlines
        Heavy Artillery
        Machine Guns
        Mortars and explosive shells
        Barbed wire
        Accurate Long Range rifles
        Lines impossible to outflank
        The only good news for them, really is that aircraft was not yet developed enough for bombings
      2. The only real plan in 1915 was to use heavy artillery to inflict damage on enemy lines.
        Then they would advance troops to gain control and push forward.
        These failed major breakthroughs.
        Heavy casualties with British attacks in Flanders
        French in Champagne
        Germany in the East
        Italy opens a new heavily defended front.
        Romania enters, only to be crushed by Germany
        British attack on Turkey ends in trench warfare at Gallipolli and their eventual withdrawal.
      3. Battle of Somme, July 1916
        Brits and French face heavily entrenched Germans at the River Somme. Allies anxious for success.
        Plan to concentrate damage in one place, with distractions to the North and South
        Well Defined objectives. Well Briefed troops. High Morale.
        Still a failure.
        There was no breakthrough because
        German troops super well dug in
        Lost element of surprise
        Brits waited too long, giving Germans a chance to reinforce
        Amateur troops
        Terrible Terrain
        Ineffective Radio.
        High Mortality for so little gained
    2. Part 2 (1918)
      1. US Forces small, but country's manpower, Industrial potential HUGE
      2. While the Americans were prepping and French were dealing with mutiny, war became essentially between Brits and Germans.
        Brits have thus far only gained land in the middle east
      3. German forces no longer have to contend with Russia in the East
        The Brits and French have been seriously weakened, and the US Inexperienced. Germany goes on offensive.
        German success, followed by a stall.
  4. Phase 3
    1. German successes in the East, Allied Failure in the West
      1. By 1916, everyone was fully mobilized and Germany appeared to have the advantage
        Had advanced well into Russia
        Their U-Boats threatened shipping and supply lines.
        Britain and France had failed to acheive a single breakthrough
        British failure at Gallipolli
        Italy's joining had failed to make progress in Austria
    2. VERDUN
      1. Battle began as an unexpected German sucess
      2. Lasted for most of the year
      3. Cost many German lives
      4. The British counterattack made it become a long, drawn out, low achievement, high casualty mess
      5. Promising Russian breakthrough ended in deadlock
      6. British and German naval war hits a deadlock.
  5. War at Sea
    1. Germans began attacking allied shipping lanes
      1. Quickly switched to U-Boats.
    2. With the sinking of the Lusitania, Germans cut sub warfare temporarily to appease the US and keep them out of the war
    3. Battle of Jutland ends with both sides returning to base.
    4. German Reccomencement of unrestricted sub warfare helped push US into war
    5. Intention to disrupt Brit. Shipping lanes wasn't super effective.
  6. In the Air
    1. 1914. Plane use limited to Recon.
    2. Germans begin using them to drop bombs
    3. All nations start developing ways to shoot them down
      1. Poorly armored vulnerable and casualties are high.
        Machine Guns mounted on plane wings.
        Bombing potential increasea.
    4. Aircraft production speeds up.
      1. Dogfights become a feature of warfare
  7. US ENTRANCE
    1. Increase in German Sub Warfare
    2. Zimmerman Telegraph
    3. Increasing pressure from the Brits.
    4. Economically, they were already invested. And the war was great for business.
  8. In 1917, Russia Backs out
    1. Unrest at home developed
    2. Czar Nicolas 2 abdicates the throne
    3. Vladimir Lenin is shipped out to Russia from Germany
    4. Russian revolution.
    5. Puts more pressure on Allies
    6. Germans increase sub warfare, despite US warnings.
Effects
1. Russian revolution
  1. Greatest political challenge of the war.
    1. Heavy casualties, famine, poor generaling were factors that helped cause it.
  2. Czar Abdicates
  3. Provisional Govt. decides to stay in the War, dooming itself
  4. Lenin and his Bolsheviks offer to get Russia out of the war.
    1. They gain massive support and end Russia's war with the Treaty of Brest Litovsk
      1. Russia builds itself into a communist state that lasted until 1991
2. Other Great Powers
  1. Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany abdicates
    1. Hello, Weimar republic
      1. Nationalist right wing party (Nazis) rises in 1933 from postwar discontent and economic ruin
  2. A-H Empire Falls apart. War to preserve itself ends up tearing it to even smaller pieces
  3. French republic remained, but faced increasing instability
  4. British empire survived, but faced increased nationalism in colonies and social unrest at home.
  5. General growth of political left in victors, countered by a movement to the political right
  6. Italy- growth and development of right wing dictatorship grew from postwar discontent. 1922
  7. Defeat of Turkey led to revolt and eventually a secular reformist regime under Kemal Ataturk
3. Leaders
  1. Czar Nicolas= Mudered
  2. Kaiser Wilhelm= Exiled to Holland
  3. Ottoman Mehed VI= Overthrown
  4. A-H Emperor Karl 1= Forced Abdication
  5. US Congress opposed Wilson, T.O.V caught in Red Tape
  6. Italy= Rise of Mussolini
  7. David Lloyd George (GB) forced from office and his party suffered long decline.
4. Treaties
  1. Germany signed random armistace in 1914
  2. Treaty Of Versailles (long talks)
    1. French (revenge & security)
    2. GB (Imperial Gain)
    3. US (Peace and Trade cooperation)
    4. Italy, Japan (Territory)
  3. Central Powers signed other Treaties.
    1. Turkish rebellion forced renegotiation at Laussane 1923
5. Change!
  1. Economic
    1. Trade networks disrupted
    2. Heavy war spending and currency maniulation led to inflation.
    3. Direct infrastructure damage
    4. Overseas investments sold.
    5. Shift away from war production.
    6. Marginal land cultivated
    7. shortage of labor
    8. $ power shifts to US and Japan
  2. Agricultural
    1. Supply overmet demand, creating instability
    2. poor land use
    3. interwar years marked by instability and hardships.
  3. Industry
    1. Heavy industry faced falling profits
    2. increase in unemployment
  4. Women
    1. More in workforce
    2. Suffrage
    3. More social equality
    4. Freedom and mobility
    5. More became independent
    6. Increased social and sexual freedoms
  5. Working Class
    1. More bargaining power
    2. Migration to cities
      1. Russian Peasants go to cities
      2. Af. Americans in US go north
      3. Trade membership doubled in Britain
      4. Italian workers went north
    3. Waves of strikes, revolutionary ideas
    4. Socialism rises; polarization increases
      1. "Fairer Society"
        war would be unnesecary and justice would prevail
        Trenches brought classes together
        Increased urbanization helped erode traditional class barriers.
        "1919ism"
        capitalist, imperialist, class-ridden societies
        Seen as Outdated
        All the same, development of a "New Morality" response to the horrors of the war
        Violent Anarchism
        Hedonism
      2. Socialist Movements
        Russian Communism
        Chinese Marxism
        Nazis
        Italian Facists
        Brit. Labour Party
        Social structure in japan
        US Progressives
        Eventually led to Prohibition
  6. Arts
    1. More daring and experimental
    2. Neo-classicism, expressionalism, formalism
    3. Russian Rev. led to daring and highly expressive lit. and music
    4. Postwar audiences searching for novelty
    5. Mirroring societal ideas, arts fragmented
  7. European Map
    1. Addition of
      1. Poland
      2. Czech State
      3. Latvia
      4. Lithuania
      5. Finland
      6. Estonia
    2. Southern Slavs formed Yugoslavia
    3. Turkey lost land in middle East
    4. Italy got most, but not all land it thought it was getting.
    5. Austria and Hungary became small independent states
    6. Russia found itself isolated
    7. Germany lost a LOT of land
    8. Japan forced to sign a treaty to reduce navy and recent territorial gains.
    9. Eventually, a power vacuum emerges in central Europe
    10. General fragmentation

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Causes, Practices, and Effects of War (WW1)

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