World War One

The Great War, later renamed World War One, was the first major worldwide conflict of the twentieth century after around one hundred years of relative peace between European nations. Up until that point, it was the most widespread and devastating war in history. Over 70 nations around the world were involved in a conflict that lasted over four years. Millions died, empires were demolished, new nations were set up, the idea, scale, and methods of war modernized, and the world entered the 20th century in a bloody foreshadowing of events to come.

On June 28th, 1914, Serbian extremist Gabriel Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This caused the Austro-Hungarian Empire to declare war on Serbia. Germany, who was allied with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, agreed to back up the empire in a time of war as the Austro-Hungarians feared retaliation from Russia, who had been preparing for conflict and was allied with Serbia. Germany declared war with Russia and then soon after with France, who was allied with Russia. Germany marched through neutral Belgium to get to France, which caused Great Britain, who was allied with France and Russia, to declare war with Germany. So, the main powers were at play now with Germany and Austria-Hungry as the Central Powers and Russia, Serbia, Belgium, France, and Great Britain as the Allied Powers. All of this occurred over a months’ time in what became known as the July Crisis and turned what could have potentially been a smaller local war, not uncommon in this era, into a world war with more nations joining as the war progressed, such as Japan, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, and the United States.

Though remembered widely as fought on the Western Front between the borders of Germany and France (and Belgium), as the name implies, it was a world war. The war was also fought in Russia, Serbia, Italy, Turkey, Persia, Mesopotamia, Salonika, Palestine, Libya, Greece, Romania, German East Africa, Southwest Africa, Cameroon, Togoland, Egypt, the North Sea, New Guinea, and China. Not just the locations were diverse, however. The war was a multinational event, with peoples and groups of a variety of ethnicities, cultures, and religions engaged in economic and militaristic warfare.

While the factual events that sparked the war are well documented, the interpretation of the cause of the war has changed multiple times over the decades. To simplify, initially, the war was seen as entirely Germany’s fault, and it was easy to place blame as they had lost. Simultaneously most nations after the war were trying to reduce blame for themselves as much as possible. During the late 1920s, the idea of the “slide to war” was coined by historian Sidney Bradshaw Fey in the book The Origins of the First World War. The basic idea being that war was inevitable at the time due to the rampant militarism, nationalism, and the entangling nature of the system of alliances between nations. This argument remained popular throughout the 20th century and to an extent the present day. Current ideas on the origin share the idea that the war was not necessarily one nation's fault, but expands and alters the idea of the “slide.” Richard Hamilton and Holger Herwig’s 2004 book, Decisions for War, 1914-1917, suggests there is not a blanket political or social explanation for the war. Ideas of nationalism or militarism are not quantifiable, and the Alliance system was not to blame either, as aspects of it are not set in stone. They believe it was a failure of leaders failing to act and react properly to situations. Similarly, Christopher Clark, in his 2013 book Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, outlines the complexity of the events and highlights the steps taken by all the nations involved that lead to the outbreak of war. The war grew from the mistrust and lack of cooperation between nations. From nations operating on their own in high risk and dangerous situations.

The conflict saw major technological innovations, and at a rapid pace that has seldom been seen before or after. Many of the technologies and tactics developed at this time were used through the twentieth century and somewhat to this day.  Chemical warfare, gas masks, barbed wire, flame throwers, combat airplanes, a variety of practical machine guns, tanks, and body armor saw their creation or innovations in the fields of battle. Everyday inventions such as radios, zippers, soy sausages, and stainless steel saw their inceptions around this time. Medical technology, as well, such as sanitary napkins, cellucotton bandages, portable X-ray machines, and blood banks, came out of war needs. While wars in Europe up until that point had generally been fought in advancing lines (a practical way to fight for the weapons used at the time), the mechanization of World War One reviled the futility of such old school tactics and strategies in the face of more advanced weaponry. Trench warfare, massive artillery barrages, aggressive shock troops, the bombing of civilian cities, and combined arms attacks eventually replaced what had come before. 

The war also saw an advancement in the cultural ideas of warfare. Before 1914, war was often seen by people of the 20th century with an idealist sense of honor. War was a great adventure, a younger generation’s rite of passage. Perspectives quickly changed, as young men would die in the millions in this new age of warfare. War was once perceived as necessary and good for nations. However, the tediousness and hellish nature of the trench warfare shattered these ideas for those involved. Soldiers would sit in a filthy trench for days at a time, constantly under threat of artillery strikes or snipers, and they were told to advance into enemy machine gun fields of fire. This style of battle changed the perception of war and heroism. Writing and art from the time transitioned into modernism. Cynicism, pointlessness, and irony became popular elements of literature, as the war had jaded the viewpoints of those involved with the conflict. Shell shock (named so due to near-constant bombardment or shelling), now known as PTSD, was rampant among those who fought. It is not that these elements had not existed in warfare before, but the war saw widespread increase and amplification of such factors.

The war dragged on for over four years across the world, and ebbed and flowed in favor of both sides. In the end however, the Central Powers were forced into a position to sign an armistice. With the reinforcements of the United States on the side of the Allies in 1917, dwindling resources, and its lack of powerful allies, the Central Powers surrendered.  The war came to its close on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an irony not lost on the leaders who signed the Armistice at 5 AM that morning and set it to end at that point. That day on the western front and shortly after throughout the rest of the world, the shells and machine guns were silent, and the world looked on to what would come of the aftermath.