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Causes of the ww1 essay
Political impact of the first world war
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The date June 24th 1914 is forever stained by the blood of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife the Duchess Sophie. Together their deaths sparked the beginnings of genocide, one of the worst in history with the number of casualties spiking as high as 37 million, both military and civilian. Francis Ferdinand and his wife’s were only the first in a rapidly growing line. The interesting thing about the war is that it could have been avoided, not many people cared too much about the Archduke, however his death was at the hand of a young Serbian terrorist by the name of Gavril Princip. Princip was a member of the Black Hand, an organization of nationalists who refused to be controlled by any foreign power. In 1908 Austria-Hungary was starting to worry about its future as a great power, as a result they proceeded to annex the twin Balkan Provinces of Bosnia-Herzegovina. This angered the independent Balkan nation of Serbia, who considered Bosnia a Serb homeland. In retaliation Serbia doubled its territory, both threatening and challenging Austria-Hungarian supremacy in that region. ¬¬¬During that time more trouble was stirring up, France and Russia had allied with each other against Germany for the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war, their territory being annexed, and the threat of the growing German navy. Back in the Austria-Hungary territory, they were being pressed to maintain their credibility as a force in the Balkan region, the solution; ask Germany for help. With Germany at their back, Austria-Hungary sent the Serbian ambassador an ultimatum, “The Serbian government must take steps to wipe out terrorist organizations within its borders, suppress anti-Austrian propaganda and accept an independent investigation by the...
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... of Versailles. N.p.: Greenhaven Press, 2002. N. pag. Print.
"Introduction to the Great War." PBS.org - The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
Joll, James, and John Ziff. The Origins of the First World War. Harrow, England: Pearson Longman, 2006. Print.
MacMillan, Margaret. The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914. N.p.: Random House, Inc, 2013. N. pag. Print.
Massie, Robert K. Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War. New York: Random House, Inc, 1991. 150-59. Print.
Mombauer, Annika. "World War One - The debate on the origins of World War One." British Library. Friends of the
British Library, 2002. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Staff, History.com. "Outbreak of World War I." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Ziff, John. Causes of World War I. N.p.: OTTN Publishing, 2006. Print.
Zieger, Robert H. (2000). America’s Great War: World War I and the American Experience. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.
details the causes of the first World war and describes the first month of the war. The book clearly illustrates how a local war became an entire European struggle by a call to war against Russia. Soon after the war became a world issue.
World War I is marked by its extraordinary brutality and violence due to the technological advancement in the late 18th century and early 19th century that made killing easier, more methodical and inhumane. It was a war that saw a transition from traditional warfare to a “modern” warfare. Calvary charges were replaced with tanks; swords were replaced with machine guns; strategic and decisive battles were r...
Between the years of 1914 to 1918, the whole of Europe was locked in arms, not only for pride but mostly for survival. The years of war brought devastation upon all societies. Men were massacred in droves, food stuff dwindled, and at times an end seemed non-existent. The foundation of the first Great War, one can muse, began as a nationalistic race between rival nations. By the onset of 1914, once the Archduke Frendinad had been assassinated in Saravejo, the march for war became not just a nationalistic opinion, but now a frenzy to fight. In battle, unlike previous wars, new weaponry caused drastic alterations in strategy. No longer will armies stand to face their rivals on the plains. Now the war will be fought in trenches, hidden underground from the new, highly accurate artillery. In many respects, World War I was a war of artillery, gas, and mechanization. Except as new weapons were becoming essential for battle, the leaders, on all sides, appeared too inept to fight this new style of warfare. Generals, or any leader for that matter higher in the chain of command, sent their troops in massive assaults. Regardless of their losses there were no deviations from the main ideology of sending massive waves of men and shells to take a position. On an individual level, the scene of repeated assaults and mayhem of the front line did little to foster hope for their superiors or even for the naiveté of their fellow countrymen who were not fighting. I submit that in times of sheer madness and destitution, as during World War I, men banded together to form make-shift families for support and companionship when all seemed lost; as exemplified in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front.
Adams, Michael C. C. The "Best War Ever: America and World War II" Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 1994. Bailey, Ronald H. The Home Front, U.S.A. Time-Life Publishing, Chicago, IL. 1978 Bard, Mitchell G.
Martel Gordon. The Origins of the First World War. Malaysia: Pearson Education Limited, 2003. Print.
O'Neill, William L. World War II: A Student Companion. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.
Professor Geoff Hayes, “4 August 1914: Slithering Over the Brink, The Origins of the Great War,” Lecture delivered 31 October, 2011, HIST 191, University of Waterloo
The Origins of the Second World War, by A.J.P. Taylor, proposes and investigates unconventional and widely unaccepted theories as to the underlying causes of World War Two. Taylor is British historian who specialized in 20th century diplomacy, and in his book claims that as a historian his job is to “state the truth” (pg. xi) as he sees it, even if it means disagreeing with existing prejudices. The book was published in 1961, a relatively short time after the war, and as a result of his extreme unbias the work became subject to controversy for many years.
I think that the First World War was the product of long-standing rivalries rather than a badly mismanaged Balkan Crisis because it was these rivalries that led to the Balkan Crisis. The Balkan Crisis may appear mismanaged because previous crises such as those in Morocco in 1905 and 1911 did not result in war.
Yancey, C. Arthur, and 2001. "World War One - The War To End All Wars." Tripod. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. .
World War One was greatly influenced by many factors, and in many ways. National interest ignited the mistrust and insecurities within nations, which in turn led to the creation of strong alliances and immense military forces. The growing suspicion Britain had of Germany only heightened the wariness and uncertainty of nations. The means, by which individual nations dealt with the issues within themselves, and outside of their boundaries, in the years preceding World War One, were irrational and improperly thought through. Nations fell into a strong ultra nationalistic point of view, and acted in a way which expressed interest in themselves only.
Grayzel, Susan R. The First World War: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. Print.
Europe has seen many wars over its vast and broad history, some of which being quite immense and destructive. One such war would undoubtedly be World War One. A war powered by the brainwashing ways of militarism and the stubborn pride of nationalism. Once engaged in a war a country’s militarism will produce fine soldier ready to drop like dominos on the battlefield, while the nationalism works as fuel providing the naive determination to fight the war. This naïve determination and soldier production is why World War One, like every other war, continued with such persistency. But what started World War One? Was it militarism that trained young men since they were kids to become soldiers, nationalism propelling a nations pride forward or was it neither? While both of those aspects could be potential reasons their still not the main pillars of cause. The true reason’s that made World War One inevitable were the intimidating alliances, avaricious imperialism, and tedious tensions.
After years of hostility and aggression between the European superpowers and large states, the balance of power began to be challenged. The Serbians in 1914 assassinated the Arch-duke, Franz Ferdinand, of Austria-Hungary. The country counteracted and “issued an ultimatum to Serbia, which would bring the assassins to justice. And with that action Serbia’s sovereignty was nullified” (Duffy Michael, 2009). Since Serbia did not succumb to the harsh demands of Austria-Hungary, “preventative” war was declared on Serbia on July 28,...