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Summary A History of Western Society - LET-GESB108-CEH (modernhistory1)
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Modern History IIChapter 25 “War and Revolution”
28.07.1914 - serbian nationalist assassinates archduke franz ferdinand
08.194 - ww1 begins
09.1914 - battle of the marne; german victories on the eastern front
10.1914 - ottoman empire joins the central powers
1915 - italy joins triple entente; battle of gallipoli; germany halts unrestricted submarine warfare
1915 - 1918 - armenian genocide; german armies occupy large parts of east-central europe
1916 - battle of verdun; battle of the somme
1916 - 1918 - antiwar movement spreads throughout europe; arab rebellion against the ottomans
03.1917 - february revolution in russia
04.1917 - the us joins the war
11.1917 - bolshevik revolution in russia; balfour declaration on jewish homeland in palestine
1918 - treaty of brest-litvosk; revolution in germany
1918 - 1920 - civil war in russia
1919 - treaty of versailles; allies invade turkey
1923 - treaty of lausanne recognises turkish independence
The Road to War
many causes of the war, no single most important one:
1) growing competition over colonies
2) a belligerent arms race
3) a series of diplomatic crises
4) new forms of populist nationalism (home front; strengthened the belief in
5) ongoing domestic violence
6) aggressive foreign policies
7) european statesman failed to resolve the diplomatic problems created by germany’s rise to power —> after the
franco-prussian war, in 1871 bismarck declared that germany, within europe, they had no territorial ambitions &
wanted only peace
8) the waning strength of the ottoman empire had created a threatening power vacuum in the balkans
how did bismarck want to preserve the peace? his concerns were
1) keeping france diplomatically isolated n without allies
2) the threat to peace posed by the enormous multinational empires of austria-hungary n russia
—> his accomplishments were effective but only temporary so in 1890 a new emperor (Wilhelm II) incautiously
dismissed bismarck
—> under Wilhelm ii, bismarck’s planned alliance system began to unravel: —> germany refused to renew the non-
aggression pact with russia —> prompted long isolated france to court absolutist russia —> early 1894 russia n france
became allies —> result: continental europe was divided into 2 rival blocks:
1 - the triple alliance (austria, germany, italy) 2 - the dual alliance (russia, france)
—> as rivalries deepened on the continent, england’s foreign policy became crucial n after 1891 they were the only
uncommitted great power —> preserved good relations between prussia and england gave way to a bitter anglo-german
rivalry, why?
1) commercial rivalry
1) germany became a great industrial power —> in response english leaders shored their global position with
alliances (with the us, japan n france) —> germany became alarmed by english alliance with france —>
declared that morocco is independent (france had colonial interest there) —> only brought france & britain
closer —> 1st moroccan crisis
the 1st moroccan crisis in 1905:
- the result was a diplomatic revolution
- england, france, russia and the us began to see germany as a possible threat
- germany started to plot against the rest (?)
1907 —> russia agreed to settle it quarrels with england and signed the anglo-russian agreement which laid the
foundations of the triple entente - france, russia, england
germany’s decision to expand its navy deepened the international crisis as england saw the german buildup as a military
challenge that forced them to spend “people’s budget” on battleships not social welfare
“the mood of 1914” —> the attitudes & convictions of europeans around 1914;
- widespread militarism and nationalism encouraged leaders and citizens alike to see international relations as an arena
for the testing of national power with war if necessary;
- all the great power build up their armies n designed mobilization plans for war, universal conscription
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,- the continent had not experienced a major conflict since the franco-prussian war (1870-71) so europeans vastly
underestimated the destructive potential of modern weapons n thought that if war was to happen, it’d be over quickly
- support for military values was closely linked to a growing sense of popular nationalism which in turn drove the
spiralling arms race & the struggle over colonies
- expressions of antiwar sentiment by socialists, pacifists & women’s groups were seen as a betrayal of country in time
of need
- determined to hold onto power & frightened by rising popular movements, ruling classes were willing to gamble on
diplomatic brinksmanship & even war to postpone dealing with intractable social and political conflicts
- the patriotic nationalism bolstered by the outbreak of war did bring unity in the short run but the wealthy governing
classes underestimated the risk of war to themselves
“the powder keg of europe” —> balkans
- war there was inevitable in the early 20th c
- 1900 - 1914 — the western powers had forced the ottoman rulers to give up their eu territories; serbians, bulgarians,
albanians n other sought to establish independent nation states which was threatening austria-hungary
- serbia - openly hostile to the ottoman & austria-hungary
1st balkan war (1912)
- serbia joined greece & bulgaria to attack the ottomans
- the ottomans lost
2nd balkan war (1913)
- bulgaria attacked its former allies
- austria intervened n forced serbia to give up albania
—> nationalism had finally destroyed the ottoman empire
28.06.1914 —> archduke franz ferdinand assassinated by serbian revolutionaries (garvilo princip) which started the war
—> the leaders of austria-hungary concluded that serbia deserved a punishment for garvilo’s actions —> 23.07 -
hungary gave serbia an ultimatum that would violate their sovereignty; multinational austria-hungary chose war to stem
the rising tide of hostile nationalism within its borders —> serbia responded evasively —> 27.07 - austria declared war
on serbia; germany encouraged austria to confront serbia
the diplomatic situation quickly spiralled out of control as military plans & timetables began to dictate policy. when
russia ordered full mobilization on 29.07, in effect it declared war on both austria-hungary n germany
schlieffen plan:
- a (failed) german plan
- called for a quick victory over france after a lightning attack through neutral belgium before turning on russia
—> germany invaded belgium on 03.08 —> england was infuriated by german violation of belgian neutrality —> they
declared war on germany
many ppl greeted the war with enthusiasm, even the socialists supported the war. to keep the war machine moving,
national leaders aggressively intervened in society & the economy
“july crisis” —> all the things that happened in 07.1914; created shock, panic n excitement; in the final days of july
massive crowds thronged the streets of paris, london, berlin and vienna pushing politicians n military leaders toward the
increasingly inevitable confrontation —> in a little over a month, a limited austrian-serbian war had become a
european-wide conflict — > ww1 began
Waging Total War
when the war began, many believed that it’d be short n fast; “the boys will be back for christmas”
total war —> a war in which distinctions between soldiers and civilians are blurred, and where the government plans n
controls economic n social life in order to supply the armies; meant new roles for soldiers and civilians; lengthy, deadly
battles fought with all the destructive weapons; national economies geared toward the war effort; governments revoked
social liberties
british & french established a naval blockade to strangle the central powers — no neutral ship cargo was permitted to
ship to germany; germany responded with attacks from the submarine
[—> early 1917 the german commander resumed unrestricted submarine warfare hoping they’d starve britain into
submission]
after germans invaded belgium, the belgian army defended its homeland n joined a rapidly landed british army corps. at
the same time, russian armies attacked eastern germany forcing german to transfer their troops
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,“rape of belgium” —> atrocities committed by germans to belgian civilians; they executed civilians n burned cities
06.09 —> battle of marne; french vs germans; france won
with the armies stalled, both sides began to dig trenches to protect themselves from machine-gun fire n by 11.1914 an
unbroken line of 400 miles of defensive extended from the belgian coast through france to switzerland
trench warfare —> a type of fighting behind rows of trenches, mines, and barbed wires; the cost in lives was staggering
n the gain in territory minimal; conditions in the trenches were atrocious & the weapons (products of an industrial age)
made battle impersonal, traumatic & extra deadly; the military leaders struggles to understand it & the repeated the
same mistakes, never actually gaining that much; encouraged 1) the growth of state bureaucracies, 2) transformed the
lives of ordinary ppl, and 3) by the end inspired mass antiwar protest movements
battle of somme in 1916:
- a great british offensive
- exemplified the horrors of trench warfare — bombardment by germans
- started in the summer, lasted until november
- in the end, the british did push the germans back
eastern front:
- fighting was dominated by the germans, by 1915 the front was stabilised in german’s favour —> they occupied huge
swaths of the russian empire
- to govern them, the germans installed a military bureaucracy
- anti-slavic prejudice dominated
- in the long run, they wanted to turn these territories into german possessions
- russia continued to fight, marking another failure of the schlieffen plan
the changing tides of victory & hopes for territorial gains brought neutral countries into the war
italy —> member of the triple alliance since 1882, declared neutrality in 1914 but in 05.1915 joined the triple entente in
return for austrian territory
the ottoman empire —> joined austria & germany which carried the war into the middle east
when in 1915 some armenians welcomed russians as liberators, the ottoman gov ordered a mass deportation of
armenians from their homeland; about 1mln armenians died from murder, starvation & disease; genocide
battle of gallipoli in 1915:
- england vs the ottomans
- english tried to take constantinople & the dardanells from the ottomans but failed
british incited the arabs to revolt against the ottomans - they bargained with hussein ibn-ali. by 1916, he rebelled against
the turks proclaiming himself king of the arabs ..?
the war spread to asia & colonial africa:
1) japan declared war on germany in 1914, used the opportunity to expand its influence in china
2) in africa - colonial subjects of the french n british generally supported the allied powers & helped local
commanders take over german colonies
—> the european war spilled out & brought non-european peoples into the conflict; more than 1m of africans & asians
served in various armies
—> after 3yrs, the us was finally drawn into the conflict & declared war on germany after their unrestricted submarine
warfare
states intervened into people’s daily lives even more, as they were confronted by the crisis of total war
- mobilized soldiers & armaments
- established rationing programs
- provided care for war widows & wounded veterans
- censorship offices controlled news
- govs temporarily abandoned free-market capitalism
- govs set mandatory production goals & limits on wages & prices
- —> their management of highly productive industrial economies worked as it yielded an effective & immensely
destructive war effort on all sides
the war raw materials board:
- developed by a jewish german industrialist (walter rathenau)
- launched successful attempts to produce substitutes for scarce war supplies
- rationed food in accordance with physical needs
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, - failed to tax the war profits - contributed to massive deficit financing, inflation, the growth of a black market & re-
emergence of social class conflict
after the failed battles of verdun & the somme, german leaders forced the reichstag to accept the auxiliary service law:
- required all males 17-60 to work only at jobs considered critical to the war effort
after 1917 germany’s leader ruled by decree; paul von hindenburg & erich ludendorff drove the chancellor away from
the office & established a military dictatorship; hindenburg called for the ultimate mobilization for total war —> in
germany total war led to an establishment of history’s 1st “totalitarian” society
only germany was directly ruled by a military gov, yet leaders in all the nations took power from parliaments,
suspended civil liberties, and ignored democratic procedures. the war was deadly for citizen armies but it was certainly
good for the growth of the bureaucratic nation-states
the social impact:
- national conscription sent many men to the front
- the insatiable needs of the military created a tremendous demand for workers, making jobs readily available
the need for workers —> greater power and prestige for labor unions —> unions cooperated with war govs on
workplace rules, wages etc in return for real participation in important decisions
- the role of women changed
- moved into skilled industrial jobs
- became highly visible in public
- served as auxiliaries & nurses on the front
- the war expanded the range of women’s activities & helped change attitudes about gender roles but the long-term
results were mixed —> women gained jobs previously reserved for men -> after the war ended, many soldiers
demanded their jobs back -> women’s employment gains were mostly temporary (except nursing & social work)
- (to some extent) promoted greater social equality, blurring class distinctions & lessening the gap between rich n poor;
most apparent in england
- reflected in full employment, distribution of scarce rations according to physical needs & a sharing of hardships
- european society became more uniform & egalitarian
during the first 2 yrs of the war, many ppl supported their govs; each of the govs used rigorous censorship & crude
propaganda to bolster popular support; tensions re-emerged by the spring of 1916 when ordinary ppl began to break
under the strains of the total war
—> 01.05.1916 - demonstrations in berlin; karl liebknecht attacked the costs of the war, and was imprisoned —>
motivated europe’s far left
—> 04.1916 - irish rebellion against the british rule; they were defeated; fuelled the anti-british sentiment in ireland
—> after 05.1917 - french soldiers refused to fight after a bad offensive; a new general henri-philipphe pétain was
appointed & he restored order
- only the promised arrival of fresh troops from the us stiffened the resolve of the allies
- situation of the central powers looked worse
- 11.1916 - chief minister of austria-hungary was assassinated & franz joseph died —> the unity started to collapse
—> political dissatisfaction & conflicts among nationalities grew —> czech & balkans leaders demanded
independent state for their ppl
- the british naval blockade greatly limited food supplies in germany —> they started to crack at the beginning of
1917
the russian revolution / the february revolution of 1917:
- presented a radically new prototype of state and society
- when the war started, russian reacted enthusiastically, duma voted to support the war and for a moment russia was
united —> enthusiasm waned after a better-equipped germany started to loose
- the result of an unplanned uprising of hungry, any ppl in the capital
- russia mobilized less effectively than other combats, why?
1) weak leadership
after the revolution of 1905, tsar had complete control over the bureaucracy & the army —> nicholas II distrusted the
publicly elected duma & did not rely on them —> excluded from power, duma became increasingly critical of the tsar
—> they formed a progressive bloc which called for a new gov —> tsar temporarily adjourned the duma —> left to the
front in order to lead the army & left the gov in the hands of his wife tsarina alexandra —> she arbitrarily dismissed
loyal political advisers & turned to rasputin —> 3 aristocrats murdered rasputin in order to “right the situation” —> it
further undermined support for the tsarist gov
imperial russia entered a terminal crisis and by early 1917 the cities were wracked by food shortages; soldiers joined
civilians in the revolutionary crowds —> the duma declared a provisional gov on 12.03.1917 —> 3 days later nicholas
abdicated
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