7: The Great War - 1914-1919
- Page ID
- 147162
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)- Understand World War One as a conflict with global roots and global consequences.
- Describe the ways that nationalism, racism, imperialism, and competitive industrial capitalism helped precipitate the coming of war.
- Examine how the post-war settlement created disaffection among peoples and communities from outside the global power structure.
- How did ideas of race factor influence the outbreak of war and how the war was fought?
- Why might colonial peoples have been dissatisfied with the post-war settlements?
This is where the world has arrived, these dark and awful depths and not the shining and ineffable heights of which it boasted. Here is whither the might and energy of modern humanity has really gone. – W.E.B. Du Bois
Introduction
In 1914, Europe had been officially “at peace” for nearly a century. However, the official peace covered a growing tension that was beginning to flare up into military conflict. The unification of Germany in 1871, after the Prussian-led victory over the French, had created a new nation with imperial aspirations in the middle of Europe. Bismarck’s new nation competed with neighboring countries in industry, agriculture, and overseas empire-building. The existence of a strong, united Germany ended the careful balance of power created by the Congress of Vienna in its effort to reset the clock and redraw the map after the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. France and Germany were enemies and sought alliances against each other. Russia was at odds with the Japanese Meiji government over control of the Korean peninsula and Manchuria. By 1914, most governments in Europe were preparing for an eventual war between these groups of allied nations, although no one knew what incident would bring the continent to battle. But, as early as 1888, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck had predicted that “some damned foolish thing in the Balkans” could initiate a wider European conflict. He was proven correct on the streets of Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.
During World War One, the principal members of each of these alliances were the “Central Powers”, consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire against the “Allied Powers”, which at the beginning of the war was called the “Triple Entente” after the original allies, France, Great Britain, and Russia. Russia left the war in 1918, Italy joined the allies in 1915, and Japan was an additional ally on the French side. The United States entered the war to support the allies in 1917. The very way we talk about the First World War is a reflection of the power structure that existed at the time. So often that discussion focuses on the primacy of a small group of “Great Powers” who shaped the world to their whims. But this was every bit a world war and one that cannot be fully understood without taking a global view and bringing in the perspectives of a diverse group of actors whose lives were irrevocably altered by the events of 1914-1918 and their aftermath.
The underlying causes of World War One were nationalism, an increasingly competitive industrial-capitalist world economy, racial paranoia, and simmering rivalries between the Great Powers that were exacerbated by a set of interlocking treaties between and among the various nations. Since 1815, the Great Powers had largely avoided major conflicts with each other. Of course, the relative peace in Europe stood in contrast to the tremendous violence European colonial armies inflicted across the world. While European statesmen patted each other on the back for peaceably dividing Africa among themselves at the Berlin Conference in 1885 or establishing “Spheres of Influence” in China to regulate trade, such maneuvers did not seem so high-minded to the populations subjected to them. This is all to say that we should not see the outbreak of violence in Europe as anomalous, but rather as the outcome of a modern world that they had constructed. Or as famed African-American historian and intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois observed about the First World War, “This is not Europe gone mad; this is not aberration nor insanity; this is Europe…”
The fact that competition among European states led to the eruption of war is not itself odd. After all, such moments have not been particularly rare in world history. It was unprecedented, however, for one small region of the world to amass as much wealth, power, and influence as was held by the nations of Europe in 1914. As a result, the blundering of European statesmen not only dragged Europe into a calamitous war but the entire world. The impact of that war would reverberate throughout the globe for decades to come.
- 7.1: The Coming of War
- The unification of Germany upset the balance of Europe. Not only did the new German nation aspire to become an imperial power like Britain, France, and Russia, it had rapidly built up its military and industrial power. This section examines the factors that increased tension in Europe and ultimately led to the outbreak of war.
- 7.2: The Western Front
- All of Europe’s armies had been preparing for a continent-wide conflict since the unification of Germany in 1870. This section describes the war's early years on the Western Front.
- 7.3: Beyond the Western Front
- Even before the entry of the United States in 1918, the war had become truly global. Japan was eager to be counted as a world power, and Japanese leaders seized upon the opportunity the war provided to improve their status in Asia. This section emphasizes the war's progress on the Eastern Front, the Mediterranean, and East Africa.
- 7.4: The World at War
- World War I was a war between empires and each, to a greater or lesser extent, exploited their colonies to prosecute the war. As a result, huge numbers of people from the colonized and semi-colonized world took part in World War I. This section highlights the use of colonial peoples in the war efforts of the various combatants.
- 7.5: The Russians Exit, the United States Enters
- After the sinking of the passenger ship Lusitania in May 1915, American public opinion began to shift in favor of entering the conflict. The German government quickly backed away from unrestricted submarine warfare against supply ships bound for Great Britain and France. This section describes the entry of the United States into the war and the the exit of Russia as a result of the Russian Revolution.
- 7.6: Political Dissent on the Homefront
- As soon as the war began, governments on both sides moved quickly to portray the war effort as a success and to eliminate any sign of dissent. Society became completely focused on the war effort, and governments reorganized the economy around war production. This section notes the clampdown on political descent among the belligerent nations as well as the role of women in the war effort.
- 7.7: The Costs of War
- Even as war raged on the Western Front, a new strain (H1N1) of the influenza virus appeared in Kansas and hit nearby Camp Funston, one of the largest army training camps in the US. The virus spread like wildfire. This section looks at the costs of the war both due to the fighting and to the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.
- 7.8: Envisioning a Post-War World
- The German, Russian, Austrian-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires each evaporated and the map of Europe was redrawn to accommodate new independent nations. A new German government disarmed while Wilson and other Allied leaders gathered in France at Versailles to dictate the terms of a settlement to the war.This sections examines the various interests and prejudices that went into the negotiations for a post-war treaty.
- 7.9: The Post-War Middle East
- After more than six hundred years in power, WWI brought an end to the supremacy of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East. This section explores the post-war settlement of the Middle East and its role in creating instability in the region.
- 7.10: Racism and the Red Scare
- The United States grappled with harsh postwar realities. Racial tensions exploded in the “Red Summer” of 1919 when violence broke out in at least twenty-five American cities, including Chicago and Washington, D.C. This section explores the explosion of racial violence in the U.S. in the years following the end of World War I.
- 7.11: Chapter Summary and Key Terms
- Far from renouncing nationalism, imperialism, racial hierarchy, and competitive industrial capitalism that had led to the complete breakdown of the pre-war order, the treaties and institutions that emerged in the wake of the First World War embedded them all deeper into the system. In place of the multiethnic empires the plan was to shepherd the rise of new and rational nation-states based around populations that shared ethnic and linguistic identities.
Thumbnail: "Five Australians, members of a field artillery brigade, passing along a duckboard track over mud," James Francis Hurley, in the Public Domain.