Fans of the 1989 BBC comedy series “Blackadder Goes Forth”, may remember that when asked by Private Baldrick how did the war start, Captain Blackadder explained that it was simply too much effort NOT to have a war.
With Remembrance Day (aka Veterans Day) occurring earlier this month, we felt it was a great opportunity to examine one of the giant turning points in human history. Nothing had a greater effect on the political, social and economic climate of the early 20th century than World War 1.
At the turn of the 20th century, Europe was an incredibly dynamic place. The rapid technological advancement of the Industrial revolution (c.1760-1903), coupled with the enormous colonial expansion into the resource rich lands of Africa and Asia, produced such unprecedented prosperity in the western hemisphere, some people felt that mankind was approaching a virtual utopia and the party was going to go on forever.
Of course, this hubris was dealt a huge blow following the RMS Titanic disaster in April 1912, but nothing could have prepared people for the overwhelming devastation of the First World War.
Far from being the first bloody conflict on European soil, it was the first ever industrialised War. The first to have factories mass producing weapons and artillery with more destructive power than people could have previously imagined.
No longer would armies experience casualties in the thousands, they would now suffer casualties in the tens of millions. In addition, the slaughter would no longer be limited to just the battlefield, now even civilians were in the firing line, with the invention of the airplane and its use as a new weapon bringing death from above.
THE ERUPTION
By early 1914, German wealth and culture dominated continental Europe. Yet they envied the British for the extraordinary size of their Empire, and whilst Germany probably had the stronger army, they could not come close to competing with the almighty British Navy.
The powerful cocktail of prosperity, empire and competition, lead to fanatical levels of Nationalism, not just in Germany, but all over Europe. It wasn’t going to take much for this tinderbox to catch fire, and in late June of that year, it would be on a side street in Sarajevo where the flames were ignited.
The Habsburg dynasty had ruled over much of central Europe for centuries. In 1804, their kingdoms became known as the Austrian Empire, and in 1867 they merged with their neighbours in Hungary and formed the Austro-Hungarian Empire, much to the dismay of many ethnic Hungarians. By the start of the 20th century, the Empire had expanded into the Balkans, which drew the ire of many slavic nationalist groups, particularly in the Kingdom of Serbia.
During a visit to Sarajevo to open a new Museum, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Duchess Sophie, were attacked in their car by members of the Black Hand, a secret group of violent Serbian Nationalists.
The attack was a complete blunder, and the driver was able to speed away and make it safely to the town hall. Later the royal couple decided to drive to the Hospital to visit those injured in the earlier attack.
En route to the hospital their vehicle took a wrong turn down a side street, and standing there waiting for them was 19 year old Black Hand member, Gavrilo Princip, armed with a pistol.
What happened next would plunge the whole world into chaos.
– Gavrilo Princip shoots dead Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo.
– 2 big alliances develop in the wake of tension between Austria-Hungary & the Black Hand’s homeland of Serbia.
– Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy form the Triple Alliance.
– Britain, France and Russia form the Triple Entente.
– On July the 28th, Austria-Hungary attacks Serbia.
– Russia comes to the aid of their slavic cousins in Serbia, and declares war on Austria-Hungary.
– Germany comes to the aid of their Austro-Hungarian allies and declare war on Russia.
– France mobilises in support of their comrades in Russia and declares war on arch rival Germany.
– Germany ploughs through Belgium to get a positional advantage over France.
– This violated Belgian neutrality which was established at the Treaty of London in 1839.
– Because of this violation, Britain declares war on Germany.
– One week later, Britain and France declare war on Austria-Hungary.
– 2 months later, the expansionist Ottoman Empire (Turkey) joins the war on the side of Germany & Austria-Hungary.
– Since the original triple alliance was for defensive purposes only, Italy stay out of the war, for now…
– Bulgaria joins the war on the side of Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottomans.
– From now on, these 4 would be known as the “Central Powers”.
– Alternatively, Britain, France and Russia would now be known as the “Allied Powers”.
– A call was also put out from the European powers to their colonies, for reinforcements.
There are far too many groups to list here, but the main players included:
From the British Empire: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the West Indies, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and India.
From the French Empire: West Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Madagascar and French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia).
From the German Empire: Cameroon, German East Africa (Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi) and German South West Africa (present day Namibia).
– The Allied Powers would also be joined by Japan, Greece, Romania, Portugal, Montenegro, Siam (Thailand), Brazil, Armenia and Italy, after their relationship with Austria/Hungary fell apart.
– The Central Powers received assistance from many different “client states” from Europe and Central Asia.
– By the end of 1914, the western front would reach a stalemate, with both sides bogged down in fruitless, attritional trench warfare for the next 3 years.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
In October of 1917, the 2nd Russian Revolution began. It finished with the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrowing the provisional government, and seizing power in Moscow. First, they made peace with Germany by surrendering, and reluctantly giving away some of the old Russian Empire’s territory in Eastern Europe.
With the war now over for the russkies, the new Communist government would begin rebuilding the Red Army, reforming the economy, and establishing the mighty Soviet Union.
After 3 long years of exhausting and monotonous trench warfare, the 2 sides found themselves almost completely worn down. But once that distant heavyweight known as the USA entered the War on the side of Britain and France, it all but guaranteed victory for the Allied powers.
With the German victory in the east complete, the successful troops joined their buddies on the western front. With the Americans still on the way, these extra numbers briefly gave the Germans the upper hand, which they took full advantage of in the Spring Offensive of March 1918.
But the celebrations were short-lived, the Allied counterattack that began in August, crushed what was left of the German, Bulgarian and Austro-Hungarian forces in Europe, with the Ottomans also being soundly beaten in the Middle East.
The Central Powers surrendered to the Allies, and signed an Armistice which came into effect on November the 11th, 1918. After 4 long years and 70 million casualties, the war to end all wars was finally over.
So, did the Great War actually achieve anything? Well, it certainly brought home the brutal realities of modern warfare, and that perhaps there is nothing particularly glorious or patriotic about life on the battlefield, because in the end, all that remains is a butchers yard.
As Englishman Harry Patch (last surviving soldier from WW1) said in 2004: “We’ve had 87 years to think about what war is. To me, it’s a licence to go out and murder. Why should the British Government call me up and take me out to a battlefield to shoot a man I never knew, whose language I couldn’t speak? All those lives lost for a war finished over a table. Now what is the sense in that?”. Lance Corporal Patch passed away in July 2009, at the age of 111.
THE CHANGES
The War also played a role in accelerating the transition of many nations from a Constitutional Monarchy to a Liberal Democracy. After a soul destroying loss, the Germans got rid of the Kaiser and created a new federal republic, commonly known as the Weimar Republic.
All things considered, life in Germany was pretty good throughout the 1920’s thanks to a multitude of banks loans from the allies (particularly the USA) for rebuilding. Then of course, came the Wall Street crash and the Great Depression. American banks called in all their loans and Germany couldn’t pay them. This led to economic and social chaos, out of which rose Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
In Austria-Hungary the Habsburg’s were finally removed and the Empire broken up forever. The Republic of Austria was formed with 60% of imperial lands taken away. The old nation of Hungary was restored, with around 72% less territory, with the infamous region of Transylvania going to Romania. The territory of Czechoslovakia became a new, independent republic, with the remaining lands around the borders given to Poland, Yugoslavia and Italy.
Ousted in the 1st Revolution in February 1917, Russia’s royal family (including the children) were murdered by the Communists, who also directed regular pogroms (organised massacres of a specific ethnic group) against the Soviet Union’s large Jewish population, causing many Jewish families to migrate west. This would prove ominous, as it took them even closer to Germany.
France was already a Republic, having guillotined their Royal family back in 1793. Whilst in Britain, thanks to a novel idea from Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, the Royal family survived the modernisation process, by giving up their role as rulers of the nation and transforming the Monarchy into a symbol of the nation instead.
The Ottoman Empire was also carved up by the victors. The Sultan was deposed and the original nation of Turkey was restored. Most of its territories in Southern Europe were returned to Yugoslavia and Greece, with Turkey retaining just a sliver of land in the region of Thrace, on the European side of the Bosporus strait. The remainder of the Ottoman’s colonial Empire was distributed amongst the Allies.
Iraq became the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. The regions of Transjordan (Present day Jordan) and Palestine (Present day Israel and the Palestinian territories) became the British Mandate of Palestine. Syria became a French Mandate, and the North African territories were split between Italy, France and Spain.
The British also retained a presence in Egypt and Sudan. Turkey itself was also occupied briefly by the Allies after the war, until, after a lot of violence and internal chaos, they formally recognised the secularist Government lead by Kemal Ataturk in July 1923 and just 3 months later, the Republic of Turkey was born.
In a cruel prelude of what World War 2 had in store, The Ottoman Empire was responsible for the genocide of over 1 million Armenians (no consensus on actual number), in addition to the mass slaughter of Greeks and Assyrians, as part of the same campaign. To this day, the Turkish Government continue to deny that these crimes ever occurred.
IN CONCLUSION
While Nazi Germany is ultimately responsible for starting the Second World War, the overly harsh treatment of Germany by the victorious allies after the First War, certainly gave them a reason to want revenge. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919, forced Germany to take the full blame for the war and pay everybody’s damages.
This was seen as grossly unfair by the German people, since all the major players had a role in transforming a skirmish in the Balkans into a worldwide bloodbath.
When looking back on the War, a lot of blame for the massive loss of life is ascribed to the Generals, due mainly to their foolish, outdated tactics and a perceived lack of concern for their men.
However many historians, such as Brian Bond, argue that although the Generals did make mistakes, they quickly adapted their tactics to the changing environment precisely because they did care about their troops and were absolutely mortified when confronted with the extraordinary loss of life.
Perhaps the lions share of the blame should fall on the political leaders of the various nations? Because they certainly had the authority to negotiate an end to the hostilities far earlier than November 1918. Instead, probably for reasons of political expediency, they allowed the madness to continue for over 4 years.
