Reference no: EM133305649

Assignment: The main ingredients that propelled the world into World War I (WWI 1914-1918) were imperialism and extreme nationalism. Most of World War I was fought in the center of Europe, while more minor battles occurred in Africa, South America, and the Pacific. So when Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, everyone expected a tiny war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, leading to the first total war (WWI). Every European country held a grudge against a neighbor or sought international dominance. Serbia looked to take over the Balkans. Austria wanted to get payback on Serbia. Russia wanted vengeance against Austria, and France was hunting for Germany. Britain wanted to be a superpower, the Ottoman Empire just wanted to survive, and Italy wanted to build an empire.

Before WWI, alliances were created, such as the Triple Alliance, formed by Chancellor Bismark, to prevent France from achieving revenge for its losses in the Franco-Prussian War. The Triple Alliance consisted of Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Germany. The opposing alliance was called the Triple Entente (Triple Alliance) and consisted of France, Great Britain, and Russia. These countries had differences but a mutual understanding that there is strength in numbers. The alliances were intended to deter war but soon became cooperative military combative operations. Mobilizing military forces was fundamental for Generals to get the upper hand and hopefully lead to victories. Generals would push politicians to war swiftly to ensure mobilization was effective. Unfortunately, Europe was a mess, and the alliances did not deter violence but only sparked the First World War.

Pavlac, Brian Alexander. 2015. A Concise Survey of Western Civilization : Supremacies and Diversities Throughout History. Vol. Second edition. A Concise Survey of Western Civilization. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

For this week's discussion, I will be addressing question two. Total war is defined as a war unrestricted in terms of the weapons used, the territory or combatants involved, or the objectives pursued. The concept of total war mobilizes all of the resources of a country including industrial, financial, and labor. Additionally, total war disregards the recognition of civilian infrastructures, and civilians are considered acceptable collateral damage. WWI is considered a total war for several reasons. During the war, many new weapon systems were used including airplanes, poisonous gas, U-boats, trench warfare, and tanks (Pavlac 2015). International European wars in the early twentieth century were governed by the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, which were a set of agreements outlining the rules of war and war crimes. WWI violated many of those rules. For example, the use of poisonous gas violated the Hague Convention and also the Geneva Convention.

During WWI, civilians became uniformed soldiers. Their lands were flooded and anything that may be used by the enemy was destroyed. This included many farmlands and civilian infrastructure. Additionally, many countries called fighting able civilians (mostly men) to the battlefield, and women backfilled the male-dominated work industries (Pavlac 2015). Civilians were also killed without thought. The German U-boats often targeted commercial ships, most famously the torpedoing of the passenger ship Lusitania (Pavlac 2015). During the war, many governments started regulating civilians on what propaganda they saw and how food was rationed. The United States did something similar. The government implemented war socialism which allowed them control of the economy, creating a military-industrial-focused economy (Pavlac 2015).

I believe that there was a presence of total wars before WWI. Dating back to the Middle Ages, there was a series of holy wars fought in the 11th century that burned civilian villages and mass murdered civilians. Genghis Khan also displayed glimpses of total war as he seized cities and slaughtered civilians to prevent them from being drafted and joining the enemy's formation. Going back to previous lessons, the French Revolution exemplified total war. Civilians picked up arms, and France exhausted its country's resources. During Napoleon's reign, while invading Russia, the Russians destroyed infrastructure and agriculture to prevent Napoleon's army from using them as protection and supplies. Another example of total war is the American Civil War. The Union troops often destroyed the Confederate towns and farmlands to prevent both soldiers and civilians from mobilizing supplies for war aid. The term total war was not coined until after the 1900s therefore WWI is usually considered the first total war but looking at the previous wars/conflicts I believe an argument could be made that one of the previous wars could be considered the first total war.

Question: There were many long-term issues that culminated in the First World War. Choose ONE of the following and discuss how it led to the great calamity:

-- militarism and the "arms race"
-- extreme nationalism and mass politics
-- imperialism in Africa and Asia
-- the relationships between the various nations of Europe