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12. War and Revolution (Milestones of Century)

First World War (1914-1918): European crisis with global impact

since 1500, Europe had increasingly prominent position

military capacity

colonial empires

Scientific Revolution

Industrial Revolution

Europeans had a lot of pride, self-confidence, sense of superiority

“proud tower” shattered less than half century later, starting with First World War

Beginnings

Political situation

Europe’s modern transformation and global ascension was accompanied by growing historic rivalries between nation-states

sharpened as Italy and Germany joined their territories into two new powers (~1870)

Germany: rapidly industrializing; disruptive to established powers (e.g. Britain, France, Russia)

after Napoleon’s defeat (1815), fragile and fluctuating balance of power generally maintained peace among Europe’s major countries

early 20th: two rival alliances

Triple Alliance

Germany

Italy

Austro-Hungarian Empire

Triple Entente

Russia

France

Britain

alliances turned a relatively minor incident in the Balkans (southeastern Europe) into something that consumed almost all of Europe

Kickoff

June 28, 1914: Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austro-Hungarian throne

surging nationalism of Serbian Slavs was threatening to their multinational empire; needed to be crushed

Austria-Hungary backed by Germany

Serbia backed by Russia; Russia allied with French and British

Factors

was not planned or predicted but occurred due to system of rigid alliances

⁠
`Rise of nationalism`⁠
⁠

rulers of major European countries saw world as arena of conflict and competition among rival nation-states

millions of ordinary Europeans convinced that their national identities were profoundly and personally meaningful

schools

mass media

military service

public pressure of competing nationalisms allowed statesmen little room for compromise, ensured initial widespread support to go to war

men rushed to recruiting offices, fearing that the war might end before they could enlist

celebratory parades to send soldiers off

conservative government: occasion for national unity in face of growing class- and gender-based conflicts in European societies

Industrialized militarism

most/all major European states

military men had high social prestige; most heads of state wore uniforms in public

substantial standing armies; relied on conscription (except Britain)

elaborate “war plans” that spelled out movement of men and materials that should occur immediately upon outbreak of war

created hair-trigger mentality; each country had incentive to strike first so its strategy could be implemented

rapid industrialization of warfare

generated new weapons

submarines

tanks

airplanes

poison gas

machine guns

barbed wire

contributed to staggering casualties

~10 million deaths (mostly male)

~20 million wounded, crippled, disfigured

countless women left without husbands or children

Imperial reach around world

funneled colonial troops and laborers by hundreds of thousands into war effort

Africa

India

China

Southeast Asia

Australia

New Zealand

Canada

British and French seized German colonies in Africa, South Pacific

Japan (allied with Britain) took various German possessions in China, Pacific; demanded territorial and economic concessions from China

Ottoman Empire became site of intense military actions; witnessed Arab revolt against Ottoman Turkish control

United States (initially wanted to avoid involvement) joined in 1917 when Germain submarines threatened American shipping

Impacts

Europe

Short-term

shattered expectations

most thought it would end in a year; lasted four

ended in German defeat in November 1918

became “total war”: required mobilization of each country’s entire population

authority of governments expanded greatly

Germany assumed further control over economy in “war socialism”

vast propoganda campaigns depicted cruel, inhuman enemy who killed innocent children and violated women

labor unions agreed to suspend strikes and accept sacrifices for the common good

women temporarily abandoned struggle for vote

Long-term

unprecedented casualties (especially elite and well-educated)

physical destruction (especially in France)

led to widespread disillusionment among intellectuals

seemed to mock Enlightenment values

progress

tolerance

rationality

some began to doubt that West was superior or that its science and technology were unquestionably good

“It must be all lies and of no account when the culture of a thousand years could not prevent this stream of blood being poured out” (All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque, German veteran)

Social changes

women urged to leave factory work and return to home so as to not compete with veterans for “men’s jobs”

casualties promoted social mobility

suffrage movements revived; women received right to vote in many countries, partly because of their sacrifices during the war

Britain

United States

Germany

Soviet Union

Hungary

Poland

flappers: young-middle class women that flouted convention

appeared at nightclubs

smoked

danced

drank hard liquor

cut their hair short

wore revealing clothing

expressed more open sexuality

new consumerism, particularly in United States

reasons

technological innovations

mass production

pent-up demand after wartime

encouraged people to get the newly available products

cars

washing machines

vacuum cleaners

electric irons

gas ovens

radio, movies transferred popular culture

jazz: America → Europe

Hollywood → international

Political changes

collapse of German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian empires → new Central Europe

new independent nations

Poland

Czechoslovakia

Yugoslavia

etc.

based on “national self-determination”

concept championed by U.S. president Woodrow Wilson

still contained dissatisfied ethnic minorities who claimed the same principle

Treaty of Versailles

formally concluded war in 1919

Germany lost

lost colonial empire and 15% of its European territory

required to pay heavy reparations to winners

had military forces severely restricted

required to accept sole responsibility for outbreak of war

created immense resentment in Germany

“It cannot be that two million Germans should have fallen in vain.... No, we do not pardon, we demand—vengeance” (Adolf Hitler)

Outside Europe

Ottoman Empire

authorities suspected that some of their Armenian subjects were collaborating with the Russian enemy

massacred or deported an estimated 1 million Armenians

“genocide” as a word not invented yet

some historians applied it to this

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