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This will be a series I will try to post once or twice a week depending on my hectic schedule. I will try to push out more consistently depending on how it is received. Without further adieu, here is Volume 1 of World War 1 Tidbits.
In this Volume, I will be discussing the major players in the Great War, the era, the major factors in the outbreak of the Great War, and how each of the major players was drawn into the war.
Several major nations partook in the bloodbath that was the First World War. On the side of the Allied Powers was Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, Serbia, Japan, Russia, and later the United States. Opposing them was the Central Powers consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. The war lasted from 24 July 1914 until 11 November 1918, just over four years and three months. Although short when compared to other wars in history, it was one of the bloodiest.
Several factors led up to the outbreak of the Great War. They included but were not limited to mutual defense alliances, imperialism, militarism, nationalism, and the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
At the time, several defensive alliances were formed between several countries, often in secret, promising, if one country or the other were to be invaded, the allied country would come to the aid of their ally. Alliances existed between Russia and Serbia, Germany and Austria-Hungary, France and Russia, Britain and France and Belgium, and Japan and Britain. These were arguably what allowed a comparatively small incident in history to cascade into one of the bloodiest wars in written history.
Imperialism by definition, is when a country increases their wealth and power by exerting control over or ‘colonizing’ territories. These territories could be mostly found in Africa and some parts of Asia. There were many reasons for wanting to take control of these areas, usually for the natural resources they provided like minerals, oil, and various crops.
Militarism by definition, is the belief or desire of a government or its people that a country should maintain a strong military force to be used in force to oppose or defend in order to protect national interests. By the early 20th century, there was an arms race among several of the great imperial powers. Both Britain and Germany had built up large navies of large dreadnaughts, battleships, (and more so Germany than any other country) submarines.
Nationalism by definition, is patriotic feelings or beliefs. However some take it to more extremes than others. This was one of the major contributors to the war as Slavic people living in the southern regions of Austria-Hungary desired to be a part of Serbia rather than Austria-Hungary. Other ways nationalism played a hand in the war was the desire to become more dominant and powerful than other countries.
Arguably the final spark that led to the outbreak of the Great War was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria by Serbian nationalist and extremist Gavrilo Princip. Reeling from the assassination of their successor to the throne, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia, accusing them of backing or orchestrating the assassination of the Archduke and imposing impossible demands backed by the threat of war.
Needless to say, Serbia could not fulfill these demands and several days later on the 24th of July 1914, Austro-Hungarian troops invaded Serbia. This is where the secret mutual defense agreements come into play. Earlier that month, on the 5th of July, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany pledged his support of Austria-Hungary in the event of war. When the ultimatum had been issued, Serbian troops had been mobilized and the Serbian government asked their ally Russia for aid. With the mobilization of both German and Russian troops, the fragile peace in Europe was shattered.
Since France was an ally of Russia, a bold German plan called the Schlieffen Plan was orchestrated in order to ensure they wouldn’t be caught off guard. So, German troops invaded France through neutral Belgium and assaulted Russian troops in the East. As an ally of Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany and her allies and began mobilizing its troops for war.
Later in the war, Germany was able to convince Vladimir Lenin to lead a Russian revolution and overthrow the present Russian government. With this, as promised, Lenin pulled Russia out of the Great War, allowing Germany to send additional troops to the Western Front.
Now the question arises, where is the United States in this mess? Initially the United States sought to avoid actively participating in the war, however this did not stop them from selling arms and ammunition to the Allies. Under President Woodrow Wilson, who supported the arms sale with the saying, lending a hose to your neighbor whose house is burning, so your own house does not burn down, the United States remained out of the war. There were several events that sparked public outcry like the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-boat, killing several American citizens, but the final spark that brought the United States into the war and ultimately turned the war in the Allies favor was the Zimmerman Notes.
The Zimmerman Notes was a message intercepted by British intelligence from the German government to the Mexican government. In it, Germany proposed that if the Mexico declared war on the United States, they could keep all the territory gained from said war. This would benefit the Germans by theoretically keeping the United States out of Europe. Needless to say the message never reached the Mexican government and the United States declared war on the Central Powers.
Finally, the most forgotten country in World War One, Japan. There isn’t much to be said about their contribution to the war, but as an ally of Britain, Japan seized all German colonies in the west Pacific setting the tone for the great Japanese Empire.
And so concludes Volume 1 of World War 1 Tidbits, what do you guys think? What do you want to know next? Tell me in the comments below.
Sources:
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-history
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/worldwari/tp/causes-of-world-war-1.htm
http://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I
Side note: sorry for no pictures, but I had to write this under an hour. I'll edit them in later
In this Volume, I will be discussing the major players in the Great War, the era, the major factors in the outbreak of the Great War, and how each of the major players was drawn into the war.
Several major nations partook in the bloodbath that was the First World War. On the side of the Allied Powers was Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, Serbia, Japan, Russia, and later the United States. Opposing them was the Central Powers consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. The war lasted from 24 July 1914 until 11 November 1918, just over four years and three months. Although short when compared to other wars in history, it was one of the bloodiest.
Several factors led up to the outbreak of the Great War. They included but were not limited to mutual defense alliances, imperialism, militarism, nationalism, and the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
At the time, several defensive alliances were formed between several countries, often in secret, promising, if one country or the other were to be invaded, the allied country would come to the aid of their ally. Alliances existed between Russia and Serbia, Germany and Austria-Hungary, France and Russia, Britain and France and Belgium, and Japan and Britain. These were arguably what allowed a comparatively small incident in history to cascade into one of the bloodiest wars in written history.
Imperialism by definition, is when a country increases their wealth and power by exerting control over or ‘colonizing’ territories. These territories could be mostly found in Africa and some parts of Asia. There were many reasons for wanting to take control of these areas, usually for the natural resources they provided like minerals, oil, and various crops.
Militarism by definition, is the belief or desire of a government or its people that a country should maintain a strong military force to be used in force to oppose or defend in order to protect national interests. By the early 20th century, there was an arms race among several of the great imperial powers. Both Britain and Germany had built up large navies of large dreadnaughts, battleships, (and more so Germany than any other country) submarines.
Nationalism by definition, is patriotic feelings or beliefs. However some take it to more extremes than others. This was one of the major contributors to the war as Slavic people living in the southern regions of Austria-Hungary desired to be a part of Serbia rather than Austria-Hungary. Other ways nationalism played a hand in the war was the desire to become more dominant and powerful than other countries.
Arguably the final spark that led to the outbreak of the Great War was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria by Serbian nationalist and extremist Gavrilo Princip. Reeling from the assassination of their successor to the throne, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia, accusing them of backing or orchestrating the assassination of the Archduke and imposing impossible demands backed by the threat of war.
Needless to say, Serbia could not fulfill these demands and several days later on the 24th of July 1914, Austro-Hungarian troops invaded Serbia. This is where the secret mutual defense agreements come into play. Earlier that month, on the 5th of July, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany pledged his support of Austria-Hungary in the event of war. When the ultimatum had been issued, Serbian troops had been mobilized and the Serbian government asked their ally Russia for aid. With the mobilization of both German and Russian troops, the fragile peace in Europe was shattered.
Since France was an ally of Russia, a bold German plan called the Schlieffen Plan was orchestrated in order to ensure they wouldn’t be caught off guard. So, German troops invaded France through neutral Belgium and assaulted Russian troops in the East. As an ally of Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany and her allies and began mobilizing its troops for war.
Later in the war, Germany was able to convince Vladimir Lenin to lead a Russian revolution and overthrow the present Russian government. With this, as promised, Lenin pulled Russia out of the Great War, allowing Germany to send additional troops to the Western Front.
Now the question arises, where is the United States in this mess? Initially the United States sought to avoid actively participating in the war, however this did not stop them from selling arms and ammunition to the Allies. Under President Woodrow Wilson, who supported the arms sale with the saying, lending a hose to your neighbor whose house is burning, so your own house does not burn down, the United States remained out of the war. There were several events that sparked public outcry like the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-boat, killing several American citizens, but the final spark that brought the United States into the war and ultimately turned the war in the Allies favor was the Zimmerman Notes.
The Zimmerman Notes was a message intercepted by British intelligence from the German government to the Mexican government. In it, Germany proposed that if the Mexico declared war on the United States, they could keep all the territory gained from said war. This would benefit the Germans by theoretically keeping the United States out of Europe. Needless to say the message never reached the Mexican government and the United States declared war on the Central Powers.
Finally, the most forgotten country in World War One, Japan. There isn’t much to be said about their contribution to the war, but as an ally of Britain, Japan seized all German colonies in the west Pacific setting the tone for the great Japanese Empire.
And so concludes Volume 1 of World War 1 Tidbits, what do you guys think? What do you want to know next? Tell me in the comments below.
Sources:
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-history
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/worldwari/tp/causes-of-world-war-1.htm
http://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I
Side note: sorry for no pictures, but I had to write this under an hour. I'll edit them in later
