The Great War
Introduction
The Great War is also referred to as World War I; it occurred from 1914 all the way to 1918. A Serbian terrorist assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife at Bosnia’s capital, Sarajevo, which marked the beginning of the Great War. Sarajevo was under Austro-Hungarian rule then. The Archduke’s assassination resulted in a war across Europe that involved the Ottoman Empire, Germany, Bulgaria, and Austria-Hungary against the Allied powers that included; United States of America, Japan, Russia, Italy, Great Britain, France, and Romania. After 4years of War, Allied powers emerged victoriously, but many lives were lost, both the soldiers and innocent civilians. The Great War ended with signing the Versailles’ treaty, which held Germany accountable for starting the war. Approximately 20 years later, World War II came into play from 1939-1945. The war was mainly between the Axis powers, including German, Italy, Japan, and the Allied Powers, including the United States of America, Great Britain, France, and The Soviet Union. The War began as a result of Hitler’s invasion of Poland.
Causes of the Great War
The Franco-German Rivalry: Germany and France had a battle over who was in control of Alsace and Lorraine’s regions. This rivalry resulted in a war that lasted from July 1870 to May 1871, when France was defeated. In 1870, there was a shift of balance in economic leadership between the superpowers during the second industrial revolution, where Britain’s economic leadership was challenged by Germany.
In 1890, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Germany’s new emperor, declared an international policy to turn Germany into a world power. The policy created tensions in the world’s politics, as Germany was seen as a threat to other superpowers. The Vengeance war for the Archduke’s assassination did not occur until Austria-Hungary received assurance of backing from Germany’s new emperor. On July 5th, 1914, the emperor gave his support through a carte blanche. Austria-Hungary sent an ultimatum to Serbia. In the ultimatum, Austria-Hungary terms were tough and were almost impossible to accept. This convinced the Serbians to brace themselves for a war, which prompted them to seek Russia’s assistance. True to that, the war was declared to Serbia on 28th July, leading to the break of Europe’s superpowers’ peace. A week into the war and Russia, France, Belgium, and Great Britain Joined Serbia. The superpowers were split into two alliances to fight against each other in the war. France, Russia, and Great Britain formed the Triple Entente while Italy, Austria-Hungary, Germany formed the Triple Alliance.
The sinking of Lusitania: On 7th May 1915, British super Liner was sunk by a German U-Boat, killing 1128 of 1959 passengers on board, including 128 Americans. This act by the German U-Boat prompted the declaration of war to the Germans by the Americans. Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th United States president, called for war and received backing from the cabinet members.
- The role of technology, women, and civilians in the Great War
The Great War occurred at a time when there was a great change in technology. Different inventions were taking place, as well as new weapons devised by the military. The military brought in the use of submarines, tanks, and machine guns. Before the invention of machine guns, soldiers used to carry muskets that held only one bullet at a time, and they fired to a range of up to 250 yards. The machine guns that were invented could fire up to 500 bullets in a minute. Inventions of new technology resulted in trench warfare. At the time, railways were invented as a means for transportation and telegraphs for communication.
Women were not allowed to vote or serve in the military during the Great War. As the men were away from home fighting, different women took the opportunity to work in the home front as manufacturers while others worked in agricultural positions. Four years at war is a very long time; many lives were lost each day, which meant that women could act as frontline doctors and nurses, among other roles. As the war grew its intensity, nations mobilized their people more so women to produce more weapons. Women were recruited into positions left by men who went to the battlefield.
- Major ideological changes amongst developing Axis powers.
After the Great War, the economic and social well-being of Europe’s superpowers was ruined. During the interwar years, the economy encountered depression. According to the Versailles treaty, Germany’s economy was destroyed terribly, and to a greater extent, they were also required to adhere to ‘war reparations’ to the British and French. The covenant of the League of Nations considered putting an effort to cut short the pattern of traditional politics and enhance international relations to bring peace and stability. The League of Nations accomplished their goal to deter wars and significantly impacted politics but failed to accomplish disarmament. The ideological changes occurred as the Germans attempt to conquest. In 1929, a global depression commenced, bring destruction to the fragile democratic regime in Germany. Adolf Hitler ascended to power in 1933, leading to power the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi). He was a dictator who abolished the parliamentary government and was against democracy. His government sought to overthrow the treaty of Versailles and strengthened the German armed forces.
- Difference and similarities of the Great War and World War II
During the Great, War Italy fought against Germany with the Allied powers, but they formed the Axis powers with the Germans and Japanese during World War II. The Great War was fought between Central powers and Allied powers, while World War II involved the axis powers and the allies. The Great War was fought during technological changes that enhanced trench warfare and the use of machine guns, while World War II involved the use of fighter planes and modern military artillery such as bombs and missiles. As the Great War was a vengeance war for the assassination of Austro-Hungarian’s Archduke, which resulted in different superpowers joining in, World War II was led by Adolf Hitler in a quest to overturn the peace treaty of Versailles. Similarly, both wars resulted in genocides. During the Great War, the Armenians were victims of genocide from the Ottoman Empire, while in World War II, the Jewish were genocide victims of the German Nazis.
- Role of science in the Manhattan Project and the resulting atomic bomb effects in the war and post-war era.
Together with a team of scientists and physicians, Albert Einstien was responsible for the development of a working nuclear bomb during World War II, code-named the Manhattan Project. The project is based on scientific research on how chain reactions utilizing uranium enabled a large amount of power to be produced. The utilization of this power could enable the construction of potent atomic weapons. In August 1945, an atomic bomb detonated over Nagasaki and Hiroshima, causing a massive explosion that claimed at least 140,000 lives. The survivors of the bombing had increased rates of cancer and other chronic illness. The atomic bomb led World War II.
- Events and actions that led to the cold war
The cold war was between the United States and the Soviet Union and its allies. It lasted from 1947 to 1991. It was caused by a refusal of the Soviet Union to become part of the United Nations. The two nations had technological competitions over space exploration. The war was based on propaganda and avoided direct military confrontations. Largely based on ideological reasons, the Soviet Union intended to spread communism globally. The British and Americans were fearful of Eastern Europe’s permanent domination by the Soviet Union. However, the intention of the Soviet Union to take control over Eastern Europe was to offer safety against any possible renewed threat from the Germans. Formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949, helped to give resistance of the Soviet Union’s presence in Europe. Intercontinental ballistic missiles were developed by the parties involved in the cold war. In 1962, missiles secretly installed in Cuba were discovered and led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. As a result of this crisis, A Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty was signed, which prohibited testing of nuclear weapons above the ground.
- The Cold war’s prevalence over Europe
The cold war was widespread over Europe because Russia controlled larger parts of Eastern Europe while the United States and allies took control over Western Europe. In 1947, the United States President, Harry Truman, asked that Greece and Turkey be given funds from Congress to aid their economic and military needs, to avoid the Soviet army from taking control of the two nations. Through the Truman Doctrine, the United States had to offer assistance to prevent communist expansion within its borders. A Marshall plan was put in place to offer economic assistance to all European countries willing to participate. The plan aimed at restoring Europe’s economic and democratic systems and counter communism. Though Truman’s doctrine, Western European nations did not face any threat of communist takeover during the cold war.
- The creation of Israel
After the Allied powers won the Great War, Great Britain took Palestine’s leadership from the Ottoman Empire. After which, the British government came up with the Balfour Declaration, stating their willingness to create a home for Jews in Palestine. In 1922, the British were given control over Palestine, which included, among others, the facilitation of the Jewish migration and settlement into their new homeland. The Arabs opposed the immigration of the Jewish into Palestine and resulted in attacking the Jews. Following these attacks, the British appointed a royal commission to take a look into the Palestine situation. As a result, the Peel Commission was established and recommended partitioning the country to accommodate both the Arabs and Jews. The recommendation was heavily welcomed by the Jews but denied by the Arabs. The British could no longer take charge of Palestine after World War II, which resulted in handing over the issue to the United Nations. The United Nations recommended a partition of Palestine into two states after holding debates and discussions. The Jews in Palestine have already formed social, political, and economic institutions in charge of their daily lives since the British Mandate. Upon the British Mandate’s dissolution over Palestine the Israelite State was created and David Ben-Gurion became the first prime minister.
Conclusion
The Great War, which set the stage for World War II, was a war for Vengeance against the Austro-Hungarian Archduke. The war ended with the signing of the peace treaty of Versailles. Germans were held accountable for starting the war. World War II occurred due to Adolf Hitler’s efforts to overturn the peace treaty of Versailles. The War was declared the worst in history and resulted in the loss of many lives through an atomic bomb detonated by the United States. The war ended after the atomic bomb, which set the stage for the Cold war. All these wars ended with the signing of different treaties that enable people to coexist today.