Major Questions in World War I - Essay Example

World War I WHY WORLD WAR I WAS KNOWN AS TOTAL WAR? World War I broke out on 28 July 1914 and ended on 11 November 1918 between the Allies- Russia, France, United Kingdom, Japan, United States and Italy against Central powers of Germany, Italy, Austria Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. The war was called to be the total war because of many reasons. Firstly, no other war has involved governments, societies and populations of the participating nations in its service to such an extent. It was truly a war of nations marked by tremendous enthusiasm, youthful volunteerism, and industrial mobilization, a mixture of anxiety and elation and nationalism (Bartov, n.p). The war demonstrated the power and intellect of the modern and industrialized states and accompanied drastic political and social changes. It brought the whole nation to the home front; men, women, soldiers, government, and ministers everyone was involved in it. The war evoked the sense of patriotism no other war had been able to bring out, and it reorganized societies to participate in it in an economic, social and spiritual sense (Bartov, n.p). People believed and supported their nations at the cost of their lives because they believed that the victory of their country was worth the cost. “All the horrors of all the ages were brought together; not only, armies but whole populations were thrust into the midst of them.” (MacElroy 16). Second most important reason for it being called a total war was its impact on the industrial revolution. It was the first global industrial war which was dominated by industrial weaponry, tanks, machine guns and militarism. As Omer Bartov has described in the first few pages of chapter 1 of his book, “Mirrors Of Destruction” that World War I brought with itself a new style of warfare not even perceived by the people who were fighting it (Bartov, n.p). The war had in itself an extraordinary expression of devotion not just to the nationalism but also to the notion of the war itself (Bartov, n.p). 2. Why World War I was considered different than conflicts in previous decades? World War I was considered different because it changed the tactics used by all countries earlier. It was the first time modern machinery, trenches and poison gas was used on the battlefield (“World War I”). This war was marked with an era of change brought by it as everything was changed from uniforms to training of soldiers. Particular battalions were used to fight this special battle, and it was the first conflict in which attrition was used against the enemy. Field's artillery was used to defend the enemy. The entire way of fighting battle was changed. Even the international system was completely transformed. On one side, dictatorship emerged out of the war, whereas on the other side, a communist movement emerged backed by the Soviet Union. It was at this time that America became a world power, and the British Empire lost its status from being the world power to the second-class power (“World War I”). Moreover, the war brought with it the break of the major participators when it was decided at the peace conference of 1919 to break the defeated central powers (“World War I”). WWI was marked with an industrial revolution faced by no other war before and was fought on such a huge scale that no other war had incorporated so many participators as world war I did. The consequences and effects of this war outspread to every corner of the land, and the specialized armies at the front contained members of every social group and region of the country. 3. WHY WAS THIS WAR CALLED TO BE A WAR WITHOUT END? World War I was a war colossal by its very nature. The war never ended in its real essence but gave birth to many unfinished stories. It brought with it massive destruction, killing of millions of people, collapse of four major empires and devastation of many continents, and its repercussions spread to many nations. It is called a war without end because it paved the road to World War II (“World War I ends.”). This can be said because Germans who had been defeated in WWI did not accept their defeat, rather blamed the Jews and communists for their defeat. The war had ignited hatred and by the end of WWI German, nationalist Adolf Hitler gathered millions of people to participate and join forces with him in World War II. While Germany blamed the Jews for their defeat, the winners of the war, that is the allied powers declared Germany as the guilty nation which caused the war and destroyed world peace (“World War I ends.”). In the treaty of Versailles Germany was required to pay a sum of $33billion and 10% of its territory and population was also taken away. It was this event, which transformed Germany from monarchy to a democracy. The Great War continued until 2010 (till about 92 years later) as also mentioned in the article “World War I officially ends” when Germany finally paid the last of the compensation payment required by the treaty of Versailles. (“World War I Officially Ends”) WHAT WAS THE TRENCH WARFARE? Trench warfare was one of the most iconic features of the World War I started by the Germans in the battle of the Marne. The German troops devised a new strategy to protect their army from the allied powers, and dug a long line of protected trenches as can be seen from the video “The trench warfare” on which stretched from the North Sea to the French-Swiss border. (“Trench Warfare”) The allied troops also adopted the same strategy and dug their trenches very near to the enemy trenches and facing them directly. These trenches were dug deep; that is, about 53 miles so that a soldier could stand in it and fight the enemy. There were three lines in the trench; the front line faced the enemies directly; the second line was of support trenches behind front line, and the last line was the reserved trenches. There were communication trenches dug in between these three lines for communication, and supply of food, ammunition, etc. (“Trench Warfare”). The trenches were not straight lines; rather they were in zigzags, which ensured the least possible damage in case of an attack by the enemy. The structure of these trenches can be seen from the photo gallery of the trench warfare (“Trench Warfare”). Soldiers on both sides dug themselves in the trenches eliminating any possibility of a conflict or battle, causing a deadlock, which continued for most of the war. More than 200,000 men died in the trenches of WW1, the majority of them died by the enemy attack in the battle, but many died from diseases and infections produced by the unhealthy conditions. The trench system was given so much importance because it protected the soldiers to a great extent from the awful impacts of modern firepower, which were used for the first time in the history of battles during World War I. Life in trenches was tough and soldiers, and people had to face horrors of rats and lice, infections known as trench foot and trench fever. Many of them died due to shortage of food and water, dysentery conditions, casualties and mental illnesses (“Trench Warfare”). 4. PROMINENT BATTLE: BATTLE OF SOMME The battle of Somme, which started on 1st of July 1916 and continued until 1918, was one of the deadliest and bloodiest battles of World War I fought near River Somme. The battle lasted for four months and was marked by casualties and deaths. As reported by the video of “Battle of Somme 1916," this battle alone took lives of more than 1.5 million people, and that’s the reason it is called to be the bloodiest military battle in history. (“Battle of the Somme”) The French had been suffering losses against Germany from a number of months at Verdun and needed some distraction to relieve them. Therefore, the British Commander in Chief Sir Douglas Haig thought of a strategy and attacked the Germans to the north of Verdun so that German army sends some of their men to fight this attack and pressure on France decreases. The first aim of this battle was to relieve pressure on France and send British line forward, and the second objective was to inflict massive losses on the German army. The British had planned the battle carefully with a full week of artillery bombardment before the starting of battle, after which did the battle start. The initial attack was a disaster in itself and rendered Haig as incompetent as the Germans killed a large number of British on the very first day (“Battle of the Somme”). The disaster was attributed to the lack of timing and surprise of British about the Germans being able to dig so deep trenches so as to protect their soldiers and weapons and the speed with which they brought the machine guns to kill. The battle was called off by Haig after four and a half month as the British could advance only six miles in the Somme region and had suffered the deaths of about 150,000 soldiers (“Battle of the Somme”). Though Haig announced that Somme had achieved its objective of relieving pressure from France, the battle remains to be one of the most controversial topics of World War. The British suffered a majority of the casualties as compared to French and Germans, and thus the question remained unanswered as just to relieve the tension off France was such a slaughter of people necessary or could another better plan have been drawn out (“Battle of the Somme”). Works Cited Bartov, Omer. Mirrors of Destruction. New York: oxford university press, 2000. n.p. . “Battle of the Somme.” 2013. The History Channel website. Apr 16 2013, 3:32 . MacElroy, John H. Divided We Stand: The Rejection of American Culture Since The 1960s. Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. 16. Print. “Trench Warfare.” 2013. The History Channel website. Apr 16 2013, 3:30 . “World War I ends.”2013, The History Channel website. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr 2013. . “World War I Officially Ends.” 2013. The History Channel website. Apr 16 2013, 3:37 . “World War I.” 2013. The History Channel website. Apr 16 2013, 3:39 . Read More