World War I, World War II. This is how we think of the World Wars, in terms of a one and a two. But, back at the time of World War I, no war on its scale had ever before occured. At the time, it was called the Great War.
Having world wars seems normal to us, but it was not normal to the people of the time.
Called the Great War. Very unprecedented, a shock, very unusual. Last previous wars in Europe were the Napoleonic Wars, which were about a hundred years previous to World War I.
Question: How did nationalism and technology affect the first world war.
What caused the first World War?
1. nationalism 2. imperialism 3. militarism?!
Dr. Davis does not want to take this approach. ?!
First Problem: Alliance System
Triple Alliance -- Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Idea: Austria would aid Germany if attacked by the French, and Germany would aid Austria if attacked by Russia.
Triple Entente -- Britian, France, and Russia. All against the Triple Alliance.
Britian was against German imperialism. Because of this competition, there was an arms race between Britian and Germany. This created international tension. (IMPERIALISM)
Second factor: Tension between Serbia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Serbia - Slavs (Serbs) Austro-Hungarian Empire - Multi-ethnic
Serbia wanted to create a nation-state that would take the Slavs out of Austria and form a Greater Serbia. Austria-Hungary said no. This creates internation tension. (NATIONALISM)
All of these problems came to a head in July 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heair to the Austria-Hungary throne, was visiting Sarajevo in Bosnia, was assassinated, him and his wife, by the Black Hand, a nationalist group with Serbian ties.
Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum: Produce the murderers, and/or aid in investigation, or else. The Serbs refused.
How could this disagreement lead to war?
Russians had an allegiance to Serbia. Because Russians were a Slavic people. Yet, there was also Russian political interests, because the Russians wanted access to a warm-water sea port.
Germany then backs the Austro-Hungarians.
Well, Russia calls in France for support.
Russia, Austria, and Serbia mobilize for war.
What accelerated the outbreak of war?
To understand this question, one must understand German war plans.
Germany did not want a two-front war.
Result: Schlieffan Plan-- the Germans assumed that the French could prepare fr war more quickly than the Russians. So, the Germans, remembering the Franco-Prussian War, figured they could defeat France quickly, then go after Russia later.
So, the Schlieffan Plan requires the invasion of France and Belgium.
War with Russia required war with France.
German troop movements by train had been planned for French invasion.
Moreover, the Schlieffan Plan not only required that they attack France, but they attack and defeat France before Russia completes mobilization.
By the next month following the beginning of the war, Britian, France, Austria-Hungary, etc. are in war.
Causes of the war:
1. Serbian nationalism, which threatened the Austria-Hungarian Empire. 2. technology -- arms race; technology of War required fast action.
This war was known as the Great War until the second world war.
This war lasted only four years, but was more devastating than the Napoleonic Wars, which lasted ten plus years.
Remembrance Sunday -- November holiday commemmorating those who died in the Great War.
Casualties were 40% of combatants.
The war was so devastating because of technology.
Back to the war . . .
The Schlieffan Plan fails. The French do not fall rapidly.
So, what you basically get is trench warfare. This trench warfare, combined with rapid-fire weapons, led to great casualties.
battle off Sedan -- 26,000 deaths and casualties -- Franco-Prussian War
battle of Somme -- 1.5 million deaths and casualties -- Great War
Technology led to this:
This was the first war with airplanes, tanks, machine guns, submarines, and mustard gas attacks.
There were high levels of technology in this war.
Remarque -- ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT -- -- German soldier who survived the war. The war is miserable, and very destructive.
People began to question if there is progress, if people are rational, if the West is civilized.
Spangler -- THE DECLINE OF THE WEST -- -- He argues that it is over for the West.
The war affects nationalist attitudes. The people were anxious to go to the war. For Remarque, nationalism is dead. A nation is simply a faceless bureaucracy that gives orders for no reason.
This causes crisis.
What are the answers to this crisis?
1. communism 2. fascism
We will see about these in later lectures.
LECTURE SUMMARY
This lecture was about the first World War, called at the time, the Great War, because no war of its magnitude had occurred before that time. The war was caused by tensions between major alliances, mainly for the purposes of IMPERIALISM. There was also a problem between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, mainly because of NATIONALISM. Well, when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is assasinated, by a group believed to be Serbian, and the Serbs refuse to aid in either investigation or turning over the murderers, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. This, of course, pulls Russia in, because they are the protector of the Slavs. Then, the Alliance system goes into effect, and Britian, France, Germany, and Italy all get involved. Well, the war is particulary devastating, mainly because of the advanced military technology and a failed SCHLIEFFEN PLAN by the Germans. At the beginning of the war, people were eager to go and fight for their countries, united by strong nationalist ties. Well, after witnessing the total devastation of war, people are very disheartened, and feel that society is all jumbled up. They feel no sense of community. Nationalism begins to look not-so-good. The West is viewed as maybe not at civilized as first supposed. This is a really significant issue, because without a sense of connection, the people are lost. Writers like Spangler and Remarque remarked on the realities of war and a society where the West was obviously in decline.
