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| Western Civilization II page. |
- IMPERIALISM IS THE EXTENSION OF SOVEREIGNTY OR CONTROL BY ONE PEOPLE OVER ANOTHER.
- IT WAS MOSTLY DORMANT IN THE WEST DURING MOST OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
- IT FLOURISHED DURING THE AGE OF EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY (1450-1650), PARTICULARLY IN THE AMERICAS AND PARTS OF ASIA.
- A GENERAL DECLINE OCCURRED IN IMPERIALISM DURING THE AGE OF METTERNICH, WITH GOVERNMENTS CONCENTRATING PRIMARILY ON INTERNAL PROBLEMS.
- THE REVIVAL OF IMPERIALISM - THE "NEW IMPERIALISM" TOOK PLACE BETWEEN 1870 AND 1914.
- REASONS FOR THE "NEW IMPERIALISM":
- ECONOMICS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT SINGLE FACTOR IN THIS "NEW IMPERIALISM." MUCH OF THIS ECONOMIC EMPHASIS WAS BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, WHICH CREATED LARGE SURPLUSES OF EUROPEAN CAPITAL AND HEAVY DEMANDS FOR RAW MATERIALS. ADDITIONALLY, IT BROUGHT ABOUT THE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL IN THE MAJOR EUROPEAN COUNTRIES WHICH SOUGHT INVESTMENT ABROAD.
- NATIONALISM WAS ANOTHER POWERFUL FACTOR. SOCIAL DARWINISM, WITH ITS CONCEPT OF "SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST" AND THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE "WHITE MAN'S BURDEN" MADE POPULAR BY THE ENGLISHMAN RUDYARD KIPLING CONTRIBUTED TO THE SPIRIT OF NATIONALISM IN EXTENDING COLONIALISM. THERE WAS ALSO POLITICAL PRESTIGE IN HAVING COLONIES AS IMPERIALISM BECAME A RACE TO ACQUIRE MORE IN THE SPIRIT OF NATIONALISM.
- A THIRD REASON FOR THIS "NEW" IMPERIALISM WAS MILITARY. MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS IN EACH MAJOR COUNTRY WIELDED GREAT POLITICAL POWER, AND THEY EMPHASIZED THE NEED, WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE GOVERNMENTS, OF CONTROLLING STRATEGIC AREAS AND ESTABLISHING KEY MILITARY BASES.
- A FOURTH REASON WAS HUMANITARIAN/RELIGIOUS, WHICH OFTEN BECAME INTERTWINED WITH NATIONALISM.
- THE RANKING OF COUNTRIES THAT MADE THE LARGEST ADDITION TO THEIR COLONIAL DOMAINS DURING THE "NEW IMPERIALISM" WERE:
#1 - ENGLAND
#2 - FRANCE
#3 - GERMANY
#4 - BELGIUM
#5 - PORTUGAL
#6 - NETHERLANDS
- IN COLONIAL POLICY, BRITAIN AND FRANCE WERE CONSIDERED THE FAIREST AND MOST EFFICIENT IN RAISING THE STANDARD OF LIVING AMONG THE NATIVES. BELGIUM AND PORTUGAL DID THE LEAST TO RAISE THE STANDARDS OF THEIR NATIVE POPULATIONS.
- RUSSIA ACQUIRED NO OVERSEAS POSSESSIONS, BUT RATHER MOVED EASTWARD ACROSS THE LAND MASS OF ASIA TO THE PACIFIC.
IMPERIALISM - ASIA
- INDIA
- AS YOU RECALL, AT THE END OF THE SEVEN YEARS WAR IN 1763, GREAT BRITAIN HAD WON THE STRUGGLE FOR EMPIRE IN INDIA OVER FRANCE. THE BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY WAS VERY INFLUENTIAL IN ADVERTISING THIS COLONY.
- BRITISH POLICY BECAME ONE OF EXPLOITING INDIA ECONOMICALLY.
- INDIAN NATIONALISM WAS MARKED BY THE SEPOY REBELLION OF 1857-58 AGAINST BRITISH RULE, WHICH WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL, ALTHOUGH THIS REBELLION LED TO REFORM IN INDIA BY THE BRITISH.
- IN 1885, THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS WAS ESTABLISHED AS A FURTHER MANIFESTATION OF THE GROWING NATIONALISM IN INDIA.
- IN W.W. I, INDIA DID REMAIN LOYAL TO GREAT BRITAIN AND SUPPORTED HER WAR EFFORT IN MANPOWER AND MONEY.
- CHINA
- THE LAST RULING DYNASTY OF CHINA WAS THE MANCHU DYNASTY (1644-1917). INITIALLY, THE MANCHUS WERE VERY CAPABLE, AND CHINA GAINED TERRITORY DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE
DYNASTY'S RULE. THE SECOND HALF OF THE MANCHU DYNASTY WAS CHARACTERIZED BY WEAKNESS, CORRUPTION AND, FINALLY, COLLAPSE. HELPING TO WEAKEN THE MANCHU DYNASTY WAS EUROPEAN AND JAPANESE IMPERIALISM. GREAT BRITAIN WAS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO THE DEMISE OF THIS DYNASTY.
- FIRST "OPIUM WAR" (1839-42) - WAS BROUGHT ABOUT BY GREAT BRITAIN'S DESIRE TO FORCE CHINA TO TRADE WITH THE WEST. THIS WAR MARKS THE FIRST STEP IN EXPLOITATION OF CHINA BY THE WEST AND RESULTED IN CONCESSIONS (PARTICULARLY TRADING CONCESSIONS) BY CHINA.
- SECOND "OPIUM WAR" (1856-60) - THIS WAR RESULTED IN:
(1) FURTHER OPENING OF TRADE WITH CHINA.
(2) LOSS OF TERRITORY, PARTICULARLY TO RUSSIA, INCLUDING THE PORT OF VLADIVOSTOK ALONG THE PACIFIC.
- SINO-JAPANESE WAR (1894-95) - THIS WAR WAS CAUSED BY RIVALRY OVER KOREA BY CHINA AND JAPAN, WITH JAPAN BEING THE EASIER WINNER. CHINA LOST CONTROL OVER KOREA AND TAIWAN.
- FURTHER ECONOMIC CONCESSIONS BY CHINA TO THE WEST, INCLUDING THE U.S., SOON FOLLOWED THIS WAR.
- BOXER REBELLION (1899-1900) - A PATRIOTIC, ANTI-FOREIGN MOVEMENT WHICH AIMED AT EJECTING FOREIGNERS FROM CHINA, INCLUDING THE SIEGE OF FOREIGN LEGATIONS IN PEKING. A COMBINED ARMY OF THE WEST AND JAPAN BROKE THE SIEGE. THE REBELLION FAILED, AND CHINA WAS FORCED TO PAY A HUGE INDEMNITY AND ACCEPT MORE FOREIGN CONTROL OF THE COUNTRY.
- AFTER THE DEATH OF THE MANCHU EMPRESS IN 1908, THE MANCHUS FURTHER DECLINED UNTIL 1911, WHEN THE LAST DYNASTY OF CHINA WAS OVERTHROWN AND SUN YAT-SEN WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT.
- SOUTHEAST ASIA (INDO-CHINA)
- SIAM (THAILAND) WOULD BE THE ONLY COUNTRY TO MAINTAIN ITS INDEPENDENCE DURING THE "NEW IMPERIALISM" PERIOD IN THIS AREA.
- BRITAIN OBTAINED CONTROL OVER BURMA AND MALAYSIA.
- FRANCE WAS TO BE THE DOMINANT WESTERN POWER IN THIS AREA, WITH CONTROL OVER WHAT IS TODAY VIETNAM, LAOS, AND CAMBODIA (FRENCH INDO-CHINA).
- NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES
THE DUTCH GAINED THE "LION SHARE" OF WHAT IS TODAY THE LARGEST ARCHIPELAGO IN THE WORLD, i.e., INDONESIA, AND TURNED THIS AREA INTO A HIGHLY LUCRATIVE TRADING AREA.
- PHILIPPINES
- AFTER THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR (1898), SPAIN LOST CONTROL OF THE PHILIPPINES TO THE UNITED STATES. THE U.S. SUCCESSFULLY SUPPRESSED NATIVE UPRISINGS FOR INDEPENDENCE.
IMPERIALISM - AFRICA
- AFRICA HAD BEEN CALLED THE "DARK CONTINENT" BECAUSE LITTLE WAS KNOWN ABOUT IT.
- ON THE EVE OF THE "NEW IMPERIALISM," ONLY 10% OF AFRICA HAD COME UNDER EUROPEAN DOMINATION. MOST HOLDINGS WERE ALONG THE COAST AND WERE USED TO TRADING, INCLUDING SLAVE TRADING.
- THE MEETING OF STANLEY AND LIVINGSTON IN 1871 FOCUSED WORLD ATTENTION ON AFRICA AND ROSE CURIOSITY CONCERNING THE INTERIOR OF THE CONTINENT. IT WAS BECOMING APPARENT TO THE MAJOR POWERS THAT AFRICA POSSESSED GREAT NATURAL WEALTH.
- GREAT BRITAIN'S AFRICAN RULE
- CONCENTRATED HEAVILY IN THE EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA.
- AT THE "SHOWDOWN" AT FASHODA IN 1898, FRENCH MILITARY THREATS WERE REMOVED IN EASTERN AFRICA BY GREAT BRITAIN.
- THE TERRITORY OF THE CAPE COLONY SETTLED BY THE DUTCH IN THE 17TH CENTURY WAS A SCENE OF BITTER HATRED BETWEEN THE COLONIZING ENGLISH AND THE NATIVE DUTCH SETTLERS, i.e., THE BOERS. THROUGHOUT THE 19TH CENTURY, THERE WAS CONTINUOUS FIGHTING BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND THE BOERS, CULMINATING IN THE BOER WAR (1899-1902). DESPITE COURAGEOUS FIGHTING BY THE BOERS, THEY WERE DEFEATED AND FORCED TO ACCEPT BRITISH SOVEREIGNTY. THE NEW UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA (1910) COMBINED BOTH BOER AND BRITISH STATES, AND LOCAL PARLIAMENT WAS RULED JOINTLY BY ENGLISH AND BOERS.
- ALSO INCLUDED IN GREAT BRITAIN'S SOUTHEAST AFRICAN TERRITORIES WAS RHODESIA, NAMED AFTER CECIL RHODES. RHODES WAS AN "EMPIRE BUILDER" WHO DID MUCH TO STRENGTHEN BRITISH IMPERIALISM.
- FRENCH AFRICAN RULE
- CONCENTRATED PRIMARILY IN THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF AFRICA, ALTHOUGH SHE ALSO MADE THE LARGE ISLAND OF MADAGASCAR A COLONY IN 1896.
- GERMANY POSED A THREAT TO FRANCE'S COLONIES IN THE TWO MOROCCAN CRISES OF 1905 AND 1911.
- GERMAN AFRICAN RULE
- GERMANY OWNED SEVERAL COLONIES IN AFRICA, BUT HER MOST IMPORTANT COLONY WAS GERMAN EAST AFRICA (TANGANYIKA), WHICH TODAY IS TANZANIA.
- BELGIAN AFRICAN RULE
- BELGIUM'S ONLY AFRICAN POSSESSION BEFORE W.W. I WAS THE BELGIAN CONGO. THIS COLONY WAS EXTREMELY RICH IN NATURAL RESOURCES, AND THIS COLONY ALONE MADE BELGIUM THE FOURTH LARGEST COLONIAL POWER.
- PORTUGUESE AFRICAN RULE
- CONTROLLED LARGE AREAS IN SOUTHWEST AFRICA (ANGOLA) AND SOUTHEAST AFRICA (MOZAMBIQUE).
CAUSES OF W.W. I
GENERAL CAUSES
- SO FAR WE HAVE EXAMINED SEVERAL CAUSES OF W.W. I, INCLUDING:
- SYSTEM OF SECRET ALLIANCES - THE GREATEST SINGLE CAUSE OF W.W. I WAS THIS SYSTEM OF SECRET ALLIANCES, WHICH DEVELOPED AFTER THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
(1) IT GRADUALLY DIVIDED EUROPE INTO TWO HOSTILE GROUPS OF POWERS, WHO BECAME INCREASINGLY SUSPICIOUS OF ONE ANOTHER AND WHO CONTINUED TO BUILD LARGER AND LARGER ARMIES AND NAVIES.
(2) MEMBERS OF EACH GROUP FELT BOUND TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER, EVEN IN MATTERS WHERE THEY HAD NO DIRECT INTEREST, e.g., GERMANY HELPING AUSTRIA-HUNGARY IN THE BALKANS OR FRANCE SUPPORTING RUSSIA IN THE BALKANS. THIS EVENTUALLY LED TO THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE (GERMANY, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY AND ITALY) VS. THE TRIPLE ENTENTE (GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE AND RUSSIA).
- KAISER WILLIAM II UNDID MUCH OF BISMARCK'S DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS TO:
(1) KEEP GERMANY FROM BEING ENCIRCLED AND THUS ALWAYS AVOID A TWO-FRONT WAR.
(2) KEEP FRANCE ISOLATED.
- KAISER WILLIAM II FOOLISHLY ALLOWED BISMARCK'S REINSURANCE TREATY WITH RUSSIA TO LAPSE.
(1) RUSSIA FELT INSECURE AS A RESULT, AND FRANCE WAS ABLE TO WIN AN ALLY.
(2) IN 1894, THE DUAL ALLIANCE WAS SIGNED BETWEEN FRANCE AND RUSSIA.
(3) THE KAISER HAD THUS FREED FRANCE FROM HER ISOLATION AND ALSO CREATED A POSSIBLE TWO-FRONT WAR SITUATION FOR GERMANY.
- THE KAISER ALSO ANNOUNCED A DEPARTURE FROM BISMARCK'S POLICY OF KEEPING GERMANY A POWER LIMITED TO CENTRAL EUROPE.
(1) THE NEW COURSE WOULD BE "WELTPOLITIK" (WORLD POLITICS). IT INVOLVED GERMANY REACHING OUT OVERSEAS, RAPID COLONIAL EXPANSION, AND THE BUILDING OF A LARGE NAVY TO PROTECT ITS INTERESTS.
- GERMANY'S CRASH NAVAL BUILD-UP ALARMED ENGLAND, WHOSE LIFELINES WERE THE SEAS.
- IN 1903, THE KAISER ANNOUNCED PLANS TO BUILD A BERLIN-TO-BAGHDAD RAILROAD, AFTER HE SIGNED A TREATY WITH TURKEY. THIS RAILWAY COULD STRIKE AT THE HEART OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND POSE A THREAT TO INDIA.
- IN 1904, BRITAIN FORMED AN ALLIANCE WITH FRANCE CALLED THE ENTENTE CORDIALE. THIS WAS BROUGHT ABOUT LARGELY BY FRANCE, WHO WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE STRENGTH OF HER RUSSIAN ALLY. THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAS (1904-05), IN WHICH RUSSIA WAS BEATEN BOTH AT LAND AND ON THE SEA BY JAPAN, CONVINCED FRANCE THAT SHE ALSO NEEDED GREAT BRITAIN IN CASE OF WAR AGAINST GERMANY.
- BY 1907, BRITAIN, FRANCE AND RUSSIA ENTERED INTO AN ALLIANCE CALLED THE TRIPLE ENTENTE.
- BY PURSUING THE POLICY OF "WELTPOLITIK," THE KAISER HAD MANAGED TO SHAKE ENGLAND OUT OF HER SPLENDID ISOLATION AND PLACE HER IN A HOSTILE ALLIANCE AGAINST GERMANY.
- THE WHOLE BISMARCK SYSTEM TO ENSURE PEACE HAD BEEN COMPLETELY DISMANTLED, AND EUROPE HAD GROWN UNSTABLE.
- THE KAISER NOW BEGAN TO COMPLAIN THAT GERMANY WAS BEING "ENCIRCLED" BY UNFRIENDLY POWERS, AND YET HE HAD BEEN THE MOST EFFECTIVE FORGER OF HIS OWN ENCIRCLEMENT DUE TO HIS INEPT DIPLOMATIC MOVES. HE BEGAN TO MAKE SPEECHES ABOUT "DRAWING THE SWORD" TO ENSURE GERMANY'S "PLACE UNDER THE SUN."
- MILITARISM - ALSO A CLEAR CAUSE OF W.W. I AND CLOSELY CONNECTED WITH THE SYSTEM OF SECRET ALLIANCES.
(1) FROM THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR ONWARD, THE MILITARY AND NAVAL ARMAMENTS GREW LARGER AND LARGER AMONG THE GREAT POWERS, CREATING A DANGEROUS COMPETITION.
(2) ARMAMENTS WERE INCREASED NOT ONLY TO GIVE SECURITY TO AN INDIVIDUAL COUNTRY, BUT ALSO TO STRENGTHEN THE ALLIANCE TO WHICH IT BELONGED.
(3) COUNTRIES BECAME INCREASINGLY PREOCCUPIED WITH THE THREAT OF ATTACK AND THE NEED TO RESPOND AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. POWERFUL GENERAL STAFFS HAD BEEN CREATED IN EACH MAJOR COUNTRY. AT THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR IN 1914, IT WAS THE MILITARY, NOT THE DIPLOMATS, WHO PREVENTED ANY LAST EFFORTS TO STOP THE WAR.
- NATIONALISM - THIS ALSO WAS A MAJOR CAUSE OF W.W. I. POSITIVELY, NATIONALISM HAD BROUGHT ABOUT THE UNIFICATION OF ITALY AND GERMANY. NEGATIVELY, HOWEVER, IT LED TO NOURISHED HATRED BETWEEN GERMANY AND FRANCE AND HATRED BETWEEN AUSTRIA-HUNGARY AND RUSSIA.
(1) FRANCE COULD NEVER FORGET THE LOSS OF ALSACE-LORRAINE IN THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR TO GERMANY.
(2) THE BALKANS WERE BECOMING A "POWDER-KEG" FOR RUSSIA WITH HER PAN SLAVISM AND AUSTRIA-HUNGARY WITH HER NEED TO KEEP HER EMPIRE INTACT.
- ECONOMIC OR "NEW IMPERIALISM" - AS MENTIONED, A RESURGENCE OCCURRED IN THE AREA OF COLONIALISM BETWEEN 1870 AND 1914. THE PRIMARY REASON WAS ECONOMIC. GENERALLY SPEAKING, ECONOMIC IMPERIALISM IS USUALLY EXAGGERATED AS AN UNDERLYING CAUSE OF W.W. I.
- THE PRESS - TOO OFTEN NEWSPAPERS WERE INCLINED TO INFLAME NATIONALISTIC FEELINGS. A GOOD EXAMPLE OF NEWSPAPERS EXAGGERATING THEIR SIDE OF THE STORY IN THE PRESSES BETWEEN SERBIA AND AUSTRIA FOLLOWING THE MURDER OF ARCHDUKE FRANZ FERDINAND. BOTH COUNTRIES' NEWSPAPERS INCITED PUBLIC OPINION FOR WAR.
INTERMEDIATE CAUSES
- FIRST MOROCCAN CRISIS (1905) AND SECOND MOROCCAN CRISIS (1911) BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY OVER FRANCE'S CONTROL OVER MOROCCO AND GERMANY'S SUPPORT FOR MOROCCO'S INDEPENDENCE. CAUSED INCREASING BITTERNESS BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY.
- ANNEXATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA IN THE BALKANS BY AUSTRIA-HUNGARY IN 1908 OF TURKISH TERRITORY INFURIATED SERBIA AND RUSSIA AND ALMOST CAUSED W.W. I TO BEGIN. RUSSIA, BECAUSE OF HER MILITARY UNPREPAREDNESS, BACK DOWN.
- FIRST AND SECOND BALKAN WARS (1912-1913), WHICH RESULTED IN INCREASED TERRITORY FOR ALL THE BALKAN COUNTRIES EXCEPT BULGARIA AND INCREASED BITTERNESS BETWEEN AUSTRIA-HUNGARY AND BULGARIA VS. SERBIA AND RUSSIA. MUCH OF THE INSTABILITY IN THE BALKANS HAD BEEN BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE DEMISE OF THE "SICKMAN OF EUROPE," i.e., TURKEY, AND THE LOSS OF HER TERRITORIES IN THE BALKANS.
IMMEDIATE CAUSES
- ASSASSINATION OF ARCHDUKE FRANCIS FERDINAND, HEIR TO THE THRONE OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, AT SARAJEVO (IN THE BALKANS) BY A SERBIAN TERRORIST ON JUNE 24, 1914.
- GERMANY GAVE A "BLANK CHECK" OF SUPPORT TO AUSTRIA.
- AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN ULTIMATUM TO SERBIA WITH IMPOSSIBLE DEMANDS ON JULY 23, 1914.
- SERBIAN REJECTION OF KEY POINTS OF AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN ULTIMATUM ON JULY 25, 1914.
- DECLARATION OF WAR ON SERBIA BY AUSTRIA-HUNGARY ON JULY 28, 1914.
- TOTAL, RATHER THAN PARTIAL, MOBILIZATION BY RUSSIA, WHICH WAS UNACCEPTABLE TO GERMANY.
- SOON ALL COUNTRIES WERE BEING DRAGGED INTO HONORING THEIR RESPECTIVE ALLIANCES, ALTHOUGH ITALY PROCLAIMED NEUTRALITY IN AUGUST 1914 AND JOINED THE TRIPLE ENTENTE IN 1915.
W.W. I
THE BELLIGERENTS
- THE ALLIES (OR TRIPLE ENTENTE) - CONSISTED OF GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, RUSSIA, ITALY, U.S., AND A NUMBER OF SMALLER COUNTRIES.
- THE CENTRAL POWERS (OR TRIPLE ALLIANCE) - CONSISTED OF GERMANY, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, TURKEY, AND BULGARIA.
- AT THE START OF THE WAR, THE ALLIES HAD CLEAR ADVANTAGES IN MANPOWER AND RESOURCES, INCLUDING A FAR GREATER NAVAL SUPERIORITY. ADDITIONALLY, GERMANY WOULD BE FORCED TO FIGHT WHAT BISMARCK HAD ALWAYS FEARED, i.e., "A TWO-FRONT WAR."
- THE CENTRAL POWERS' (TRIPLE ALLIANCE) GREATEST POSSIBILITY LAY IN A SWIFT KNOCKOUT OF FRANCE VIA BELGIUM, THUS ELIMINATING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE A TWO-FRONT WAR. THIS WAS THE STRATEGY BEHIND THE "SCHLIEFFEN PLAN."
WAR IN THE WEST
- GERMANY IMPLEMENTED THE "SCHLIEFFEN PLAN" TO SEIZE PARIS AND CAME WITHIN 30 MILES OF DOING SO IN THE EARLY PART OF THE WAR (FIRST BATTLE OF THE MARNE) IN AUGUST 1914. THIS PLAN CALLED FOR A GERMAN INVASION OF BELGIUM, WHICH BECAME THE CATALYST IN BRINGING GREAT BRITAIN INTO THE WAR AGAINST GERMANY.
- THE GERMAN ARMY WITHDREW, AFTER A COUNTERATTACK BY FRANCE AND ENGLAND, TO A STRONG DEFENSIVE POSITION. FROM THIS POINT ONWARD, THE WAR IN THE WEST BECAME A HORRIBLE TRENCH WARFARE.
- THIS WESTERN FRONT DID NOT MOVE IN EITHER DIRECTION MORE THAN TEN MILES FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
- THE WAR BECAME ONE OF ATTRITION AS BOTH SIDES WERE SLAUGHTERED, CHARGING EACH OTHER'S TRENCHES.
- FAMOUS WESTERN FRONT BATTLE BESIDES THE TWO BATTLES OF THE MARNE INCLUDED THREE MAJOR BATTLES AT YPRES, WHERE AT THE SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES IN APRIL 1915 GERMANY INTRODUCED POISON GAS. ADDITIONAL MAJOR WESTERN BATTLES INCLUDED VERDUN AND THE SOMME, WHERE BRITISH TANKS FIRST APPEARED.
- GERMANY LAUNCHED THEIR GREAT SPRING OFFENSIVE IN 1918 NOW THAT THE EASTERN FRONT AGAINST RUSSIA NO LONGER NEEDED TO BE PROTECTED (RUSSIA DROPPED OUT OF THE TRIPLE ENTENTE IN 1918 AFTER THE BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION OF NOVEMBER 1917).
- FRESH AMERICAN TROOPS (AMERICA HAD ENTERED THE WAR IN APRIL 1917) HELPED STOP THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE UNDER GENERAL LUNDENDORFF AT CHATEAU-THIERRY.
- THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE MARNE STOPPED THE GERMAN GREAT SPRING OFFENSIVE AND REPRESENTED GERMANY'S LAST CHANCE TO DEFEAT THE TRIPLE ENTENTE IN THE WEST.
- THE TRIPLE ENTENTE RESPONDED WITH AN OFFENSIVE IN THE FALL OF 1918, WHICH INCLUDED HEAVY AMERICAN PARTICIPATION.
- AFTER A MUTINY OF THE GERMAN FLEET AT KIEL AND A REVOLUTION IN MUNICH, GERMANY SURRENDERED ON NOVEMBER 11, 1918 (THE 11TH DAY OF THE 11TH MONTH AT 11:00 A.M.). THIS DAY WOULD BE FOREVER OBSERVED AS ARMISTICE'S DAY.
NAVAL WARFARE
- IN ADDITION TO LAND BATTLES IN THE WEST, BRITAIN INSTITUTED A NAVAL BLOCKADE OF GERMANY'S PORTS, WHILE GERMANY COUNTERED WITH A SUBMARINE BLOCKADE OF ENGLAND.
- THIS SUBMARINE BLOCKADE EXACERBATED RELATIONS BETWEEN GERMANY AND THE U.S. AFTER THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA BY GERMAN "U" BOATS. GERMANY DID RESTRICT THEIR SUBMARINE WARFARE AFTER THIS INCIDENT FOR A WHILE.
- GERMANY, HOWEVER, REINSTITUTED UNRESTRICTED SUBMARINE WARFARE IN FEBRUARY 1917.
- WHILE THIS WARFARE SUNK MILLIONS OF TONS OF ALLIED SHIPPING IN 1917, IT FAILED TO STARVE ENGLAND OUT OF THE WAR, AND EVEN MORE DIRE FOR GERMANY, IT LED TO THE ENTRANCE OF THE U.S. INTO THE WAR IN APRIL 1917 ON THE SIDE OF THE TRIPLE ENTENTE.
- THE ONLY MAJOR NAVAL BATTLE OF THE WAR ALSO OCCURRED IN THE WEST AT THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND (1916).
- THE OUTNUMBERED GERMAN NAVY INFLICTED HEAVIER LOSSES ON THE BRITISH FLEET, BUT AFTER THE BATTLE IT REMAINED "BOTTLED UP" FOR THE DURATION OF THE WAR. THUS, THE ONLY EFFECTIVE NAVAL FORCE OF GERMANY DURING W.W. I WAS HER SUBMARINE WARFARE.
WAR IN THE EAST
- FAMOUS BATTLES INCLUDED TANNENBURG AND MASURIAN LAKES IN EAST PRUSSIA, WHERE GERMAN TROOPS SLAUGHTERED THEIR RUSSIAN COUNTERPARTS (1914).
- BOTH GENERAL VON HINDENBURG AND THE CHIEF OF STAFF, GENERAL LUDENDORFF, OBTAINED FAME AGAINST THE RUSSIANS IN THESE BATTLES.
- RUSSIAN ARMIES WERE SUCCESSFUL AGAINST AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ARMIES IN THE EAST, AND GERMANY CONTINUALLY HAD TO COME TO AUSTRIA-HUNGARY'S AID.
- TURKEY, WHO HAD JOINED THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE ALONG WITH BULGARIA, SCORED A VICTORY AT GALLIPOLI IN THE DARDANELLES AGAINST BRITISH INVADING FORCES UNDER THE YOUNG WINSTON CHURCHILL.
- THE BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA IN NOVEMBER 1917 LED TO AN ARMISTICE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND GERMANY, WHICH LED TO RUSSIA GETTING OUT OF THE WAR AND SURRENDERING TO GERMANY.
- COST OF THE WAR
- IN LIVES, EXCLUDING CIVILIANS, THE APPROXIMATION OF MEN KILLED IN BATTLE DURING W.W. I IS AS FOLLOWS:
GERMANY - 1,900,000
RUSSIA - 1,700,000
FRANCE - 1,400,000
BRITISH EMPIRE - 900,000
OTTOMAN EMPIRE - 700,000
ITALY - 600,000
U.S. - 100,000
- FOR EVERY SOLDIER WHO DIED, MANY MORE WERE WOUNDED, RESULTING IN MILLIONS WHO WERE MAIMED FOR LIFE.
- FOR FRANCE, WITH ITS OLDER POPULATION AND LOW BIRTH RATE, THE WAR WAS A DEMOGRAPHIC CATASTROPHE IN WHICH A LARGE PART OF AN ENTIRE GENERATION DISAPPEARED.
- THE WAR HAD COST BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, WITH THE GREATEST PHYSICAL DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY OCCURRING IN BELGIUM AND FRANCE. BOTH THESE COUNTRIES SUFFERED ENORMOUS DESTRUCTION OF FACTORIES.
- THE WAR HAD ALSO SEEN THE END OF MAJOR EUROPEAN DYNASTIES, INCLUDING THE HOHENZOLLERENS OF GERMANY; THE HAPSBURGS OF AUSTRIA-HUNGARY; AND THE ROMANOVS OF RUSSIA.
CONCLUSION OF W.W. I
- PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE - OPENED JANUARY 1919.
- ATTENDED BY REPRESENTATIVES OF 32 NATIONS BUT EXCLUDED THE DEFEATED NATIONS.
- DOMINATED BY THE "BIG THREE," i.e.:
(1) WOODROW WILSON - U.S.: ADVOCATING THE ADOPTION OF HIS FOURTEEN POINTS, INCLUDING A LEAGUE OF NATIONS.
(2) GEORGES CLEMENCEAU - FRANCE: DEDICATED TO FRENCH SECURITY AND REVENGE ON GERMANY.
(3) DAVID LLOYD GEORGE - GREAT BRITAIN: CONCERNED PRIMARILY WITH BRITISH NAVAL AND COMMERCIAL SUPREMACY.
- TREATY OF VERSAILLES - JUNE 1919
- GERMANY IS SEVERELY PUNISHED FOR W.W. I., INCLUDING GIVING UP:
(1) ALL HER COLONIES.
(2) ALSACE-LORRAINE TO FRANCE.
(3) SAAR BASIN TO FRANCE.
(4) "POLISH CORRIDOR" TO POLAND.
(5) MUCH OF HER NATURAL RESOURCES, e.g., 2/3 OF HER IRON ORE AND 1/2 OF HER COAL.
- IN ADDITION, GERMANY IS FORCED TO PAY A HUGE WAR INDEMNITY ($33 BILLION) AS WELL AS A SEVERE RESTRICTION ON MILITARY PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT.
- SHE ALSO HAD TO AGREE TO A DEMILITARIZED ZONE ALONG THE RHINE RIVER WITH OCCUPYING FOREIGN TROOPS.
- FINALLY, GERMANY HAD TO SUBMIT TO THE MOST UNJUSTIFIED PART OF THE TREATY, ARTICLE 231, WHICH MADE GERMANY PRIMARILY RESPONSIBLE FOR CAUSING THE WAR.
- AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY WERE EVEN MORE SEVERELY PUNISHED IN REGARD TO GIVING UP TERRITORY.
- WILSON'S LEAGUE OF NATIONS WAS ACCEPTED AS PART OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES, ALTHOUGH THE U.S. DID NOT JOIN.
- DESPITE PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON'S HEAVY CAMPAIGNING, THE U.S. NEVER RATIFIED THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES AND NEVER JOINED THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, AS MANY CONGRESSMEN OPPOSED FOREIGN ENTANGLEMENT AND WANTED A RETURN TO ISOLATIONISM.