M8a1: Final Exam
Ryan Savoie
School or Institution Name (University at Place or Town, State)
How did ethnic nationalism and imperial ambition to transform an assassination in the Balkans into a global conflict?
There are only a few issues in the history that can be assigned the responsibility for the beginning of the World War in 1914. As per the perspective of the Balkan, the acts of the policy makers and decision makers cannot be neglected to flame the fire of the war at the global level. Otherwise, the conflict can be resolved with Austria and Hungary with the appropriate attention of the decision makers. Hungarians and Serbs were unable to make the compromise and risked the war. Two months passed after the murder of the Franz Ferdinand by a high school student of Bosnia flamed the conflict even further. To entirely blame the Serbians for the assassination of the Franz, the critical aspects such as the Bosnian assassins, their backers in Serbia, and activities of the Serbian government cannot be neglected.
Following the assassination of the royal couple, the Serbians first blamed the Black Hand. It can be considered close to reality because assassins could not act alone. Serbians also blamed the Pasic for planning the murder. There is no evidence to prove it and the theory that Black Hand officers were working on behalf of the government. The majority in the council of ministers thought that the war was the correct response to the matter ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"as3rua6u54","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(von Lossberg, 2017)","plainCitation":"(von Lossberg, 2017)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1770,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/5AM85V28"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/5AM85V28"],"itemData":{"id":1770,"type":"book","title":"Lossberg's War: The World War I Memoirs of a German Chief of Staff","publisher":"University Press of Kentucky","ISBN":"0-8131-6981-X","author":[{"family":"Lossberg","given":"Fritz","non-dropping-particle":"von"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (von Lossberg, 2017). Both the governments were considering the matter as their credibility is being challenged not only in their home but at the global scale as well. Austrians were of the opinion that murder in the royal family must be responded by a strong action like war especially if the murderers were from Serbia. Austrians were expecting to win the war due to the German support. On the other hand, Serbians had promises from the Russian Federation. Both the countries neglected the fact that the matter could be resolved by negotiation. Hence, the backing from two large powers flamed the war at a global scale.
How did the new technology change the nature of warfare in the early 20th century?
Although World War I is considered to be the senseless bloodshed, the period of 1914-1918 is the single period of great revolution in warfare technologies. It has been observed that no technique considered to be the best was applicable after 1918. On the other hand, the warfare techniques and ammunition developed at that time are useful even in the modern world. All modern warfare developments are based on the basic principles framed during the early 19th century. There were only incremental improvements in traditional warfare before 1918. The world observed mainly three paradigm shifts in the warfare after the World War I. The first paradigm shift was in the use of machine power as an alternative to the muscle power of humans and animals ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"a1s4ilqjmac","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Proctor, 2010)","plainCitation":"(Proctor, 2010)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1771,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/PMIWLG7U"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/PMIWLG7U"],"itemData":{"id":1771,"type":"book","title":"Civilians in a World at War, 1914-1918","publisher":"NYU Press","ISBN":"0-8147-6780-X","author":[{"family":"Proctor","given":"Tammy M."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Proctor, 2010). Machine power has been adopted as the main motive force of the war since then. The warfare technology has seen a shift from horsepower to carry the military luggage to the steam engine and internal combustion engines.
The second paradigm shift created a whole new ground for the war. With the advent of air crafts heavier than the air, the war grounds were shifted to the skies as well. It was not possible for even the military superpowers to rely on two-dimensional warfare strategies. It was not possible to secure the land without guarding the sky above heads. The technology of fighter planes rendered the on-ground artillery useless in defense. The third paradigm shift in warfare technology was the removal of the line of sight clashes at borders. The inclusion of the fighter planes fueled the urge for developments of long-range firearms and neutralization tactics. Due to the technological developments World War I is considered to be the first ever high-tech war in history. A typical soldier has now such powerful handheld devices that can destroy the entire army of the United States from 1903.
What made the Great War a global conflict, and how did it affect people outside of Europe?
Great War also known as the World War I was considered to be the end of all wars. But the concept proved miserably wrong resulting in World War II. The conflict started between the Austria-Hungary and Serbia due to the assassination of the Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. The murderer was supposed to be backed up by the Serbian group known as the Black Hand. Austria-Hungary started threatening Serbia. Serbia agreed to all of the demands but not to the proceeding against the guilty party. Poor handling of the issue resulted in World War I. As the Austria-Hungary was backed by Germany, they declared war on Serbia using the French land ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"av731iu13d","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Grundlingh, 2017)","plainCitation":"(Grundlingh, 2017)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1772,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/UGL3MZTY"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/UGL3MZTY"],"itemData":{"id":1772,"type":"article-journal","title":"Pleading Patriots and Malleable Memories: The South African Cape Corps during the First World War (1914–1918) and Its Twentieth-Century Legacy","container-title":"Wicazo Sa Review","page":"29-47","volume":"32","issue":"1","author":[{"family":"Grundlingh","given":"Albert"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Grundlingh, 2017). Due to the use of French land, Britain declared war on Germany. Depending on the situation of the conflict Russia stepped into war to rescue the little nation of Serbia.
As the tensions due to the huge military movements were increasing in Europe, the war spread to the whole world result in a great conflict between the powers. As a result of the war, over twenty million soldiers were killed, and the number of civilians martyred remained unknown. The war not only affected Europe but the nations outside of Europe as well. As the war spread to the Indian sub-continent due to the British rule in the region, Japan stepped into providing military supplies to the allies of the war. The move of providing military supplies turned the United States and Japan into huge military powers ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"a1800tinjb1","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Posman, Van Dijck, & Demoor, 2017)","plainCitation":"(Posman, Van Dijck, & Demoor, 2017)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1773,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/SNB8F2E8"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/SNB8F2E8"],"itemData":{"id":1773,"type":"book","title":"The intellectual response to the first world war: how the conflict impacted on ideas, methods and fields of enquiry","publisher":"Sussex Academic Press","ISBN":"1-84519-824-7","author":[{"family":"Posman","given":"Sarah"},{"family":"Van Dijck","given":"Cedric"},{"family":"Demoor","given":"Marysa"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Posman, Van Dijck, & Demoor, 2017). Japan was also fighting at the same side of allies, and the move fuelled the militarization of the economy and rise of the imperialism in south Asian regions of the world. No one was the clear winner of the war despite some marginal benefits for some parties. Nations outside of Europe as well ended up crippled economically and politically.
Why was 1917 a pivotal year for both Germany and the Allies?
During the Great War year, 1917 proves to be a pivotal point for the Germans and their Allies. It was a very important year in the whole war as many important events happened during 1917. The most important event that shocked the German interests during the war was the collapse of the French army. America entered the war in the same year and joined Britain against Germany. At this point Russia started to drop out from the war these were the most important events during the Great War that urged Germans to Step back. When Americans joined hand with Britain, then Germans started to feel threatened. They were not getting the expected support from the big powers during the war ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"a1m5b9662gs","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Tennyson, 2014)","plainCitation":"(Tennyson, 2014)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1774,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/EH3VMC5J"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/EH3VMC5J"],"itemData":{"id":1774,"type":"book","title":"Canada's Great War, 1914-1918: How Canada Helped Save the British Empire and Became a North American Nation","publisher":"Scarecrow Press","ISBN":"0-8108-8860-2","author":[{"family":"Tennyson","given":"Brian Douglas"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2014"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Tennyson, 2014). They hoped for large-scale support from other nations as well at the beginning of the war in 1914. Due to the mentioned events that happened in 1917, Germans were striving for a successful outcome of the battle till the spring of 1918.
At this point, Germans have to reverse the pressure they were facing due to American participation in the war. Therefore, they brought up their soldiers to defeat the Allies before the opponents could accumulate their forces on various war fronts. In their efforts to won the war before the spring of 1918, Germans lacked speed and power. Soon after America joined the forces, they recognized the pitfalls and retreated their forces. They decided not to fight further, and as a result, they started suffering because their moves did not stop Britain and Allies from advancing their moves. Most senior parties at that point realized that even if somehow their party is going to win the war that victory will not bring any gains without those social and human costs they had paid during 1914 to 1917.
Why was Germany punished much more harshly after the war than Austria or Hungary? What were the consequences of the decision?
At the end of the war, Germany was treated with more harsh punishments than the rest due to the perception of the Allies that it could stop the war from initiating. In a broader view, the Allies were pressurized by the public to punish Germany for getting them dragged into the war. They believed that Germany could stop the war by offering mediation to the Austria-Hungary and Serbia. Germans opted for the war instead of mediating to resolve the issues. Although the original matter was between the Austria-Hungary and Serbia, Germany was punished due to political reasons and not due to the fact that they lose in the war ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"a51ip273tf","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Rausch, 2014)","plainCitation":"(Rausch, 2014)"},"citationItems":[{"id":1775,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/H3LEPHHA"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/gITejLE9/items/H3LEPHHA"],"itemData":{"id":1775,"type":"book","title":"Colombia and World War I: The Experience of a Neutral Latin American Nation during the Great War and Its Aftermath, 1914–1921","publisher":"Lexington Books","ISBN":"0-7391-8774-0","author":[{"family":"Rausch","given":"Jane M."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2014"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Rausch, 2014). It is important to note that Austria-Hungary was the grieved party and there was nothing wrong with the German support for them. The poor handling of the matter by the decision makers led the way to the ultimatum and Serbia refused to hand over the accused persons. Mobilization of the Russian army in support of Serbia further flamed the war and Germans decided to fight with their full potential against Russia.
Although Russians can also be accused of the war due to their support for the evil party but the Germans were made to pay for the reparations in Versailles treaties. After the war, the Allies took the opportunity to resolve the historical conflicts with Germany resulting in severe punishments for the Germans. They also restricted the mobilization of the German resources for war and forced Germany to reduce military capacity. The moves were considered to be the protective measures of the Allies for their own safety. Germany faced severe consequences of the sanctions and penalties. They were left industrially helpless and flooded with the disease outbreaks in the country.
References
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Grundlingh, A. (2017). Pleading Patriots and Malleable Memories: The South African Cape Corps during the First World War (1914–1918) and Its Twentieth-Century Legacy. Wicazo Sa Review, 32(1), 29–47.
Posman, S., Van Dijck, C., & Demoor, M. (2017). The intellectual response to the first world war: how the conflict impacted on ideas, methods, and fields of enquiry. Sussex Academic Press.
Proctor, T. M. (2010). Civilians in a World at War, 1914-1918. NYU Press.
Rausch, J. M. (2014). Colombia and World War I: The Experience of a Neutral Latin American Nation during the Great War and Its Aftermath, 1914–1921. Lexington Books.
Tennyson, B. D. (2014). Canada’s Great War, 1914-1918: How Canada Helped Save the British Empire and Became a North American Nation. Scarecrow Press.
von Lossberg, F. (2017). Lossberg’s War: The World War I Memoirs of a German Chief of Staff. University Press of Kentucky.
