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Chapter 33: The Great War: The World in Upheaval General Overview 28 June 1914: Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand started a localized Serbian-Austrian conflict o grew into a global affair and the bloodiest war in all of history up to that point. o Millions on five continents dragged into a war o had absolutely no meaning. Economic losses: billions of dollars. New concepts changed course of war forever: “total war” “home front” Massive industrialization provided: seemingly endless supply of destructive new weapons. o over nine million (9,000,000) soldiers died and o another twenty-one million (21,000,000) people were injured. Nations: Four (4) powerful empires disappeared o Austria-Hungary (Hapsburg) o German (Hohenzollern) Nine (9) new nations were born. o Austria o Czechoslovakia o Estonia o Finland o Hungary Russian and world history changed by: o world’s first communist revolution. The United States: stepped onto the world stage: o changed the course of the war, o shaped the peace treaty, and then o rapidly retreated into isolationism o Russian (Romanovs) o Ottoman o o o o Latvia Lithuania Poland Yugoslavia 1914: Europeans unchallenged as masters of the world 1918: brought about their own destruction. Themes The Great War ushered in a century of violence and upheaval: Total War characteristics: Unprecedented geographical event: Old empires vanished New nation-states. Pulled in people and resources from five continents. Governments mobilized every available human and economic resource Distinction between combatants and civilians evaporated. Industrial weaponry favored defenders: Contributed to unprecedented brutality and violence. Tens of millions died or were left permanently injured or traumatized European dominance of the international economy ended. Many causes underlay the conflict: National rivalries intensified by imperialism, Struggle for global economic power, Expensive naval and land-based arms races Alliance systems: o The establishment of two opposing alliances— the Central Powers and the Allies— o open-ended collective security arrangements helped expand a Balkan war into a continental and then global one. Imperial nations such as Britain and France Forcibly recruited large numbers of colonial peoples to serve the war effort. Millions of Africans, Asians, and residents of British dominions them Process ultimately weakened imperial control o encouraged decolonization o exposed the hypocrisy of white racial superiority to colonial subjects. Global Power Shifts: Russia, the strains of the war led to Two revolutions in 1917 o First revolution: led to representative government (short-lived) o Second revolution: brought to power the Bolsheviks. transformed subsequent Russian events transformed subsequent world events United States Entry of the United States into the war, First time in world history US intervened in Europe militarily o signaled emergence of US as global power but . . . Retreat into isolationism, o Set stage even more destructive and violent global conflict: WWII. International Institutions World War I: the creation of new international organizations: o League of Nations the League ultimately failed but: served as a model for more robust international institutions these emerged in the aftermath of the World War II. Other Considerations: In-Depth Exploration of the Great War Consider: World War I often gets pushed into the background: Causes: World War II captures the popular imagination much more readily than its WWI. Almost no preconceived notions or even sketchy information about the Great War. Better (rough) idea of the major players and implications of World War II Background is especially important because World War I gives birth and form and meaning to events and topics such as World War II, the Russian revolution, the horrors of modern war, the bloody history of eastern Europe in the twentieth century, the position of the United States as a world power, and so on. Reason for the Great War’s (WWI) relative “anonymity”: May be the nature of the conflict itself. Studs Turkel: World War II was the “good war.” It was easy to figure out the good guys from the bad guys people knew—or at least thought they knew—what they were fighting for Americans find this perspective comforting, especially in light of Korean War Vietnam War World War I is much more confusing because it is about heedless nationalist and imperialist fervor and arrogance. People often have a difficult time understanding these drives. When propaganda stripped away: (which is an interesting topic in its own right because World War I ushered in the twentieth-century practice of “selling” the war), Difficult to locate any completely good guys. Maybe World War I is more “human” in that sense. The Great War similar to a Greek tragedy dealt with hubris—and the gods always punish hubris. 1914: the Europeans stood almost unchallenged in the world they brought about their own destruction through their own folly. Understanding causes of the war leads to: much greater understanding of the consequences as well. The International Implications of the Great War One proof of the interconnectedness of the modern world: So many twentieth-century phenomena: o the world wars o the Great Depression o the specter of infectious disease touch everyone. Example: Gallipoli shows that o Horrors of modern warfare not exclusive to the western front. African and Asian aspects of the war illuminate following considerations: rise of communism in China, decolonization the origins of World War II in the Pacific. The Role of Nationalism in the Great War and 20th Century: Central to understanding differences between o the positive nationalism that plays an active role in the formation of states and o the negative nationalism that has produced the great dark cloud hanging over the last century— o and the thin line that separates the two. Wilfred Owen poem in the text. o described the line from Horace, “Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori,” as an “old Lie.” Combatants of the Great War were so driven by nationalism. o Nationalist fervor make it difficult to end the war o Fighting for a nation and a greater cause—then being essentially abandoned by the same nation both during the war and after— left an entire generation feeling “lost.” Negative nationalism continued to haunt the world for the rest of the century. Why was War Viewed as a Positive Instrument of Diplomacy? Understand this: many nations and peoples actively desired war in 1914. o Viewed war as a positive instrument of diplomacy during late 19th/early 20th century. Technology and the changing nature of warfare affected this perception. How? o Germany in particular wanted and expected a short war. No one, least of all the generals, expected a long war in 1914. o The parallels with modern American wars— Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf—and expectations are noteworthy as well. o The prolongation of the war meant for the militaries and the societies involved: o perception of technology changed when o technology (repeatedly) failed to provide the key to a rapid victory.