The last 90 years of world history have been some of the bloodiest in human history. Empires have risen and crumbled. Science and technology have exploded making the world in many ways smaller. The three largest conflicts of the last century and many smaller ones have there root in one conflict World War I, also known as the great war.
When the war began Men dressed in Napoleon era uniforms, marched in formation in battle and charged on horse back. When it began the world was dominated by monarchs and empires. When it began Europe was filled with brave men who put king and country above their own lives. When it began America was a often isolated and not involved in world affairs.
Contrast that to the end of the war. When it ended Soldiers dressed in modern uniforms similar to our own, flew in air planes and charged in tanks. When it ended empires fell and new forms of government rose. When it ended Europe had its best and bravest laying dead and crippled. When it ended America had arisen as a major world power.
It seems insane in many ways that war even happened many of the rulers of these nations were blood first cousins. The Kaiser in Germany, the Tsar of Russia, and royal family of England even had family reunions together.
The war began for many reasons. For years the nations Europe had been growing in power and national pride. There was a great sense of nationalism in the common people of the major powers of the day. Most historians agree however that the powder keg that ignited the war was the assassination was the of the the Austrian Arch Duke Ferdinand. It was carried out by a pro Serbian secret society called The Black Hand. His death angered the smaller nations and soon their larger allies became involved. This was an excuse to release long held tension and grab power and excerpt themselves as the major powers in the world. Russia sided with their old ally Serbia. Germany sided with Austria-Hungry and attacked France. England jumped in and used it as an excuse to take many of Germany’s Colonies in Africa and the Pacific. Italy trying to flex their mussels joined Germany and Austria. The Ottoman Empire became involved and declared War on France Russia and England.
As the war began both sides experienced massive casualties. One reason was the new technology the rapid firing machine gun made short work of an army wearing bright colors marching in formation towards it. That is exactly what happened! The Generals were using 19th century tactics to fight a 20th century war, and the best and bravest were mowed down to these new machines. Soon the tactics and uniforms changed and the war became a living hell. Trenches were dug and barbed wire was risen. Mustered Gas was used to drive troops from there trenches. Under these circumstances the Americans joined the war and tipped the scales in favor of England and France. On the Eastern front Russian troops starved and eventually left the fight marched home and helped overthrow the Tsar. In Germany things became bad and the Kaiser lost his power and Austria-Hungry was split into two nations and was never again a major power. Italy turned on there allies and suffered much. The Ottoman Empire became but a footnote in history. France was never quite the same and England began to decline as a world power.
The major Conflicts of the last 90 all stem from the result of this war. WWII, The Cold War, and The War on Terror all came about because of this war.
The second world war was in a large part a result of the way Germany was humiliated and economically devastated. As a result the government after the war was week and the people were quit unhappy. under these circumstances the Nazi’s rose to power promising to restore Germany to its former glory. Also In Russia the communists inflicted a horrible and brutal social restructuring program that left millions dead especially in the Ukraine. When Hitler ’s armies came to the Ukraine he met with little resistance because many Ukrainians saw the Nazi’s as liberators from Communist oppression. In many European schools WWI and WWII are taught as one war. The Germans saw it that way.
The Cold War was in many ways a result of WWI. Had the war not gone so bad for Russia the Tsar most likely would not have been deposed. Russia was hurt badly by the war and under these conditions the Bolsheviks, the most an extremist leftest imaginable group took control of the country, and created the Soviet Empire. After WWII the Soviets took control of eastern Europe and spreed Communism into China. The Cold War was a result of this. Under the Nazi’s millions died. But Under Communism even more died.
The War On Terror is also a product of WWI. After the Ottoman empire fell England and France redrew the map of the middle east setting up monarchs in the region. Often times when redrawing the map (like in Iraq) tribal religious, and ethnic differences were ignored and not understood. The map was drawn around oil wealth and many of the monarchs put into power were nothing but corrupt puppets of the European powers. The King of Egypt was known to have the largest pornography collection in the world. This decadence was a front to the values of many of his people. This helped give rise to a religious extremist group called the Islamic Brotherhood. As monarchs were and corrupt they were overthrown. This created political and economic problems in these nations. This angered many people who blamed the west. This allowed the Islamic brotherhoods message to spread and grow in popularity. Every major Muslim Terrorist group today can be traced to the Islamic brotherhood.
In 500 years historians will probably look back at the 20th century as the aftermath of The First World War. I am amazed at how little I was taught about the war in school. They taught us a few dates and facts but that was about it. We spent lots of time on the American Revolution, Civil War, WWII, and Vietnam but we learned so little about a war that has affected us more than any other war in the past 100 years.
Sources
No Comments Yet
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
