Topic 1: 20th Century Warfare

• Different types of 20th Century warfareo Civil, guerrilla, limited, revolutionaryo Total war

• Origins and Causes of Waro Long-term and short-term causes, failure of diplomacyo Economic, ideological, political, religious causes

• Nature of 20th Century Warso Technological developments, tactics and strategies: air, sea and lando The home front, the role of womeno Resistance and revolutionary movements

• Effects and Resultso Treaties, and wars ending without treatieso Political repercussions, territorial changeso Social and cultural effects, changes in the status of womeno Post-war economic problems

Accepted Historical Perspectives on the cause of WWI:

• Long term:– Balance of power: Germany and Italy upsetting the “old

European” status quo.

– Competition created by imperialism

– Aging and putrid empires created chaos as they crumbled: Ottoman, Austrian, Russian

Accepted Historical Perspectives on the cause of WWI:

• Long term causes continued:– England monopolizing the world’s finances

– Alliance system which was set to default to war

– German nationalism is the theory which was trumpeted after the war, but not before.

Diplomacy and Alliances

• By 1900, a united Germany produced more steel than Britain and France combined.– Germany felt it needed and deserved “a place in

the sun”.– German goods are sold, colonial competition

begins and some countries look to the German Empire as a friend and protector.

Diplomacy and Alliances

• The Triple Alliance:– In 1879 Germany enters into a military alliance

with Austria-Hungary.– An alliance with Italy is added in 1882.

• (This alliance ends before WWI)– To be safe, a “reinsurance” treaty is also signed

with Russia.• (This alliance lapses over time)

Diplomacy and Alliances

• In 1894 France forms an agreement with Russia. While the countries are different ideologically, France feels the pressure of the Triple Alliance.

• By this time, Europe is divided in two camps: – German-Austrian-Italian– Franco-Russian

Diplomacy and Alliances

What about Britain?

– Britain prided itself on a “splendid isolation”.– Begins to feel pressure by a growing German navy– Enters into a loose entente cordiale with France and

Russia, but refused to make any military commitments.

Failure of Diplomacy– Germany encourages Moroccan independence in an

attempt to break the Entente, which makes it stronger– Crisis in the Balkans as the Ottoman Empire crumbles:

religious and political differences and begin to fuel unrest.– The result was two wars in the Balkans, in which Austria

ultimately denied Serbian expansion to the sea.

Short-term Causes

• The Union of Death also known as The Black Hand assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo.– Gavrilo Princip was the assassin who pulled the

trigger.– Ferdinand’s last words: “Sophie dear, Sophie dear,

don’t die! Stay alive for our children!”

Short-term CausesEvents that followed:– Austria decides to crush Serbian independence.– Germany gives Austria a “blank check” and

encouragement to be firm.– The Serbs counted on Russian support– The Russians in turn counted on France who were terrified

to face a war with Germany alone, give a “blank check” to Russia.

Germany’s Blank Cheque to Austria-Hungary:

• “In the meantime His Majesty desires to say that he is not blind to the danger which threatens Austria-Hungary and thus the Triple Alliance as a result of the Russian and Serbian Pan-Slavic agitation.”

Serbia’s Response to Austria-Hungary

• (Preamble) ...[Serbia] cannot be held responsible for manifestations of a private character, such as articles in the press and the peaceable work of societies ... [The Serbian government] have been pained and surprised at the statements, according to which members of the Kingdom of Serbia are supposed to have participated in the preparations of the crime...

War Begins– Russia mobilizes it’s army to the German and Austrian

boarders.– Germany demands an end to mobilization of troops, gets

no answer and declares war on Russia on August 1, 1914.– Germany also declares war on France on August 3, 1914.– Britain declares war on Germany on August 4 only after

neutral Belgium is invaded.

For you to consider:

– The effects of alliances, international markets, industrialism, imperialism/colonialism and nationalism during this time period.

– Other economic, ideological, political and religious causes of the war.

– Was this war truly inevitable? Were there possible steps that could have been taken to avoid war?

Nature of 20th Century War: War on Land

• The Schlieffen Plan:– Germany’s plan to use the excellent rail system to

get troops quickly into France through Belgium and then turn “leisurely” to Russia.

– During the Battle of the Marne, German troops are forced to retreat, France would not fall in a single blow.

Technology in war– Aviation was barely beginning– Motor transport was new, few tanks until late in the war– Poison, tear and mustard gas used– The most deadly weapon of the early war was the new

machine gun, which made it impossible for soldiers to advance across open fields.

– This resulted in a long stalemate in the trenches.

Trench Warfare• From autumn 1914-spring 1918• 1/3 of all Allied casualties were sustained in

trenches. – Rats--eating human remains could grow as big as

cats. A single rat could produce 900 offspring a year.– Lice!– Trench Fever--severe pain followed by a high fever– Frogs, slugs and horned beetles.– Trench Foot-infection of the feet caused by the cold,

wet and unsanitary conditions of the trenches.

Trench Warfare continued…

– Patrolling the dangerous areas of no-man’s land (the area between trenches)

– Boredom– The smell--rotting carcases, overflowing latrines,

dried sweat, rotting feet, lingering odor of poison gas and other smells of cooking/daily life.

Nature of 20th Century War: War at Sea

• Land armies seemed helpless and both sides looked to the sea:– The British impose a strict naval blockade, which divided

good into two categories: contraband and noncontraband.– The British tried to stop all goods going to Germany in an

attempt to starve out the enemy.– Neutral countries were not allowed to enter any German

ports.

War at Sea continued..

• Germany attempts to blockade Britain mainly through the use of submarines.– Britain seems helpless to submarine attacks at first.– Submarines were a new technology and it was hard to tell

what kind of ship they were attacking.– The Lusitania is torpedoed off the Irish coast on May 7,

1915, killing 118 American citizens.

New Allies Needed• As the stalemate continued, countries begin to

search for new allies:– In 1914, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria in 1915 join

with Germany and Austria.– Both sides court Italy, the treaty of London promises Italy

expanded territory.– Germany promises an independent Poland– In 1914, Japan declares war on Germany– In the crumbling Ottoman Empire, many groups hope for

independence.

The Question of the United States• President Wilson is reelected in 1916 with the slogan

“he kept us out of war”– Wilson could not see getting involved with either side, but

he personally supported Britain and France.– He urged true neutrality, but the American people were

divided.• Many people had been born in Europe or were children of

immigrants• Several events lead to U.S. involvement….

The United States goes to war

– Germany announced unrestricted submarine warfare.

– The Zimmerman telegram, January 16, 1917, convinces Americans of German aggressiveness.

– On April 6, 1917 President Wilson went to Congress for a declaration of war- “to make the world safe for democracy”.

For you to consider:

• Other technological developments in WWI.• What was happening on the home front

during this time?• What was the role of women?

Roles of womenEconomic and social impact

Causes, practices and effect of wars- WWI

US Women

• The more than 25,000 US women who served in Europe in World War I did so on an entrepreneurial basis, especially before 1917.

• They helped nurse the wounded, provide food and other supplies to the military, serve as telephone operators (the “Hello Girls”), entertain troops, and work as journalists.

• In World War I, 13,000 women enlisted in the US Navy, mostly doing clerical work.

• United States mobilized substantial numbers of women into war-related industries, and into the workplace generally to make male workers available for military use

Britain

• The World Wars shook up gender relations, but only temporarily.

• Individual British women in the World Wars found new freedoms and opportunities in wartime.

• In World War I Britain, about 1 million mostly lower-class women worked in munitions jobs

Russia

• During World War I, some Russian women took part in combat even during the Czarist period. These women, motivated by a combination of patriotism and a desire to escape a drab existence, mostly joined up dressed as men.

In the end…

• Both wars put conventional views about gender roles under strain,” but no permanent change occurred in hostility to women in male-dominated jobs, the devaluation of female labor, and the female-only responsibility for home life.

The Economic Impact of World War I

• Ruined Europe’s 19th century economic development

• “The war literally and metaphorically blew up the achievements of a century of economic advance.” (Niall Ferguson)– Loss of trade– Loss of foreign investments– Subsequent losses due to economic instability

Cost of World War I Country Financial cost

(1918)Great Britain 33,334,012,000France 24,265,583,000Germany 33,775,000,000Italy 12,413,998,000Russia 22,293,950,000USA 22,625,253,000

Germany• Value of German trade with USA fell from 68 million to 10

million in one year• Agricultural production fell about 50-70%• Industrial output fell 40% from 1914-1918• Following the war, reparations repayments devalued the

German economy• Many people had saved marks during the war and

afterwards billions of dollars reentered the economy• This situation led to hyperinflation• January 1918 $1 US = 5.21 German Marks• December 1923 $1 US = 4,200,000,000,000• Value of German currency fell

Great Britain and the United States

• Previous to World War I, Great Britain dominated as the world’s creditor– During the war Britain became heavily indebted to the US– United States emerged from the war as a rival to Britain as a

financial superpower (Niall Ferguson)– World’s financial center shifted from London to New York

• US no longer was a debtor and became a creditor nation– The war stimulated the US economy

• Increased employment and wages• Brought great profit to industry

Causes, practices and effects of wars

Weaponry of WWI

Flamethrower

• Spread fire by launching burning fuel.• Used sparingly at the beginning of the war and

then seen as successful.• They were undeniably useful when used at

short-range, but were of limited wider effectiveness, especially once the British and French had overcome their initial alarm at their use.

• During the war the Germans launched in excess of 650 flamethrower attacks; no numbers exist for British or French attacks.

• By the close of the war flamethrower use had been extended to use on tanks, a policy carried forward to World War Two.

Grenades

• As with most things at the start of the war in August 1914, the Germans were ahead of the pack in terms of grenade development. Even as war began the Germans had 70,000 hand grenades in readiness, along with a further 106,000 rifle grenades.

• Not new weapon, but expanded use.

Egg grenade

Machine guns

• First major war use.• Early machine guns would rapidly overheat

and become inoperative without the aid of cooling mechanisms; they were consequently fired in short rather than sustained bursts.

• Water cooled machine guns would still overheat relatively quickly (sometimes within two minutes)

• In response to the increasing success of machine guns mounted on aircraft it was perhaps inevitable that machine guns should similarly be developed as anti-aircraft devices (in France and Italy), sometimes mounted on vehicles. Similarly machine guns began to be added to warships as a useful addition to naval armaments.

Poison gas

• Considered uncivilized prior to World War One, the development and use of poison gas was necessitated by the requirement of wartime armies to find new ways of overcoming the stalemate of unexpected trench warfare.

• The Germans' use of chlorine gas provoked immediate widespread condemnation, and certainly damaged German relations with the neutral powers, including the U.S. The gas attacks were placed to rapid propaganda use by the British although they planned to respond in kind.

• Once the Allies had recovered from the initial shock of the Germans' practical application of poison gas warfare, a determination existed to exact retaliatory revenge at the earliest opportunity. The British were the first to respond.

• Although gas claimed a notable number of casualties during its early use, once the crucial element of surprise had been lost the overall number of casualties quickly diminished. Indeed, deaths from gas after about May 1915 were relatively rare.

• In large part this was because of the increasing effectiveness of the methods used to protect against poison gas. Gas never turned out to be the weapon that turned the tide of the war, as was often predicted.

Rifles

• Despite advances in machine gun, mortar and grenade technology, all remained relatively unwieldy and cumbersome in comparison to the rifle, which remained the most crucial, ever-present infantry weapon throughout World War One.

• Key weapons on the battlefield because they are portable and useful in trench warfare

Tanks

• The first combat tank was ready by January 1916.

• By the time the war drew to a close the British, the first to use them, had produced some 2,636 tanks. The French produced rather more, 3,870. The Germans, never convinced of its merits, and despite their record for technological innovation, produced just 20.

• Tanks broke down a lot• Moved battles out of

trenches and back to battlefield.

Mortar

• As with the grenade the mortar was yet another old weapon which found a new lease of life during World War One.

• A mortar is essentially a short, stumpy tube designed to fire a projectile at a steep angle (by definition higher than 45 degrees) so that it falls straight down on the enemy.

Advantages of mortar use

• The chief advantage of the mortar was that it could be fired from the (relative) safety of the trench, avoiding exposure of the mortar crews to the enemy.

• It was notably lighter and more mobile than other, larger artillery pieces.

• The very fact that the mortar bomb fell almost straight down meant that it would (with luck) land smack in the enemy trench.

• Just as the mortar was another example of an ancient weapon given fresh reign, so too it was predictable that the German army, so better prepared for war than any of its counterparts in 1914, should have spotted the enormous potential of the mortar some years ahead of the Great War.

Aircraft• When war broke out the number of aircraft on all sides and

all fronts was very small. France, for example, had less than 140 aircraft at the start of the war. By the end of the war she fielded 4,500 aircraft, more than any other protagonist. While this may seem an impressive increase, it does not give a true indication of the amount of aircraft involved. During the war France produced no less than 68,000 aircraft. 52,000 of them were lost in battle, a horrendous loss rate of 77%.

• In 1914 it was important that aircraft be easy to fly, as the amount of training that pilots received was minimal, to say the least.

Use of aircraft

• Reconnaissance missions• By October of 1914 many pilots were

experimenting with machine guns (defensive policy)- fighters

• Strategic bombing is aimed at reducing an enemy's capacity to make war (offensive policy)- bombers

• Ground attacks- aimed at disrupting enemy forces at or near the front and during the course of the battle itself. Not planned, by opportunity