The “Great War” and Its Consequences

Overview

How did the First World War lead to revolution in Russia and the disintegration of several once-powerful empires? (The Earth and Its Peoples, 776)

The first World War, also known as the Great War or “the war to end all wars”, had a profound impact on the societies across the globe, especially the industrialized nations of Europe and the United States. At the start of the war, in 1914, Russia had a larger military than any nation in the world, albeit underequipped, and inadequately trained. More than anything else, Russia’s economy and national spirit were hit hard by the war. The Ottoman Empire was also devastated. Being in a fractured state politically, and hurting economically, it was ill prepared for true competition. It had been on a slow decline since the 1820’s, and was now “the sick man of Europe”.

The “Great War” devastated the state of Russia. Its economy in 1921 was a sixth of what it was before the war. As the war commenced, its national army, a force of over eight hundred thousand, larger than any other at that time, mobilized. Its size created difficult administrative situations, however. A force that large requires a significant amount of food and other resources to sustain it. Because of this, the country’s railway and agriculture systems were strained, leading to widespread shortages of fuel and food. These shortages uncovered the poor management and corruption of the government. In 1917, the capital of Petrograd ran out of bread. Women factory workers held massive protests, infuriated over inefficient and deceitful governmental. Russian soldiers, also upset, joined common workers to form soviets (councils). These groups became a politico-military force, taking over government buildings. ...

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What does a comparison of Hennerberg’s painting and the English poster of the munitions worker suggest about the changing views of women’s role during the war and in society at large? (The Human Record, 374)

The painting, originally an insert in a German magazine in August of 1914 is as is described above – a glorious farewell from woman to man. Women are portrayed as gentile, docile servants. In the English poster, however, the woman pictured wears a somewhat somber look while donning work clothes. She is at the same level as a male military figure in the image, which could imply equality between the sexes. I think the difference in the mood of these two images highlights the overall change in attitudes of the belligerents over the course of the war. It started out with boundless optimism, only to become a bloody stalemate, embodied by the Western Front.