History of World Wars I and II - Research Paper Example

World Wars I and II World Wars I and II The First World War, which was fought from 1914 to 1918, and the Second World War, which wasfought from 1939 to 1945, are the most lethal and annihilating wars that have ever been fought in the history of mankind. Despite the two wars being fought on two different occasions in history, they both involved military alliances between different countries. In the First World War for instance, there was Triple Entebbe incorporating Britain, France and Russia on one side. On the other side there was the Central power which was comprised of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. In the Second World War, there was the Allies on one side and the Axis on the other side. Thus, there are a myriad of differences and similarities characterizing the two wars. This paper compares and contrasts the two wars with regards to their origins. The First World War The First World War began on July 28, 1914 and came to an end on November 11, 1918. The war was majorly fought in Europe and it incorporated the world’s greatest powers which had formed two major alliances opposing each other. On one hand, there was the Allies which was based on the Triple Entebbe of the United Kingdom, Russia and France (Dowswell, Brocklehurst, and Brook 57-59). On the other hand, there was the Central powers which consisted of the Tipple Alliance of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. Even so, the alliances were not inclined to the six countries exclusively. With time, more and more nations joined the war expanding the alliances even further. Also, the alliances reorganized themselves as time went by. In the final analysis, there war attracted over 20 million soldiers across the world with Europeans constituting a larger percentage (Duffy). The origins of this war can be attributed to a myriad of both long-term and short-term causes in the world history. As such, the long-term factors include a variety of conflicts and hostilities that had marred the European nations prior to the war. This includes the imperialist foreign polices that had dominated the European great powers including the Russian empire, the French Republic, the Austro-Hungarian empire, the British Empire as well as the Italy. However, the most immediate cause of the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was an heir to the Austria-Hungary throne. According to Duffy, the assassination occurred on June 28, 1914. Following this tragic assassination, a series of wars were triggered. To begin with, there was a Habsburg ultimatum against Serbia. Consequently, the alliances which had been established earlier on were greatly invoked. Thus, within the next few weeks, the world’s major powers were at war with each other. This occurred in an unprecedented sequence. Apparently, one thing led to the other. For instance, in July 1914, Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia. A few weeks later, Germany invaded Belgium, France and Luxembourg. This prompted Russia to attack Germany. Also, the Russians attacked Austria-Hungary. Other forces joined the war. For instance, in late 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the war. In 1915, Bulgaria and Italy also followed suit and were later joined by Romania. Meanwhile, there was a revolution in Russia in October 1917 following the collapse of the Russian empire. This compelled Russia to withdraw from the war. Ultimately, the United States was forced to enter the war in 1918, following a German offensive. This empowered the Allies who successfully launched a series of attacks on German allies. At the same time, German was experiencing hurdles with revolutionaries in its territory. Thus, on November 11, they agreed to end the war, marking the victory of the allies. The aftermaths of the war were adverse. It is estimated that over 9 million combatants were killed during the war. Several civilians in various countries were also killed. Also, there was the collapse of several empires. For instance, by the end of the war, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, as well as the Ottoman empires collapsed totally. This facilitated the redrawing of the European map. Also, the end of the First World War saw the need for world peace. Thus, the League of Nations was established so as to prevent the occurrence of any possible wars in future. Be that as it may, the breakup and ultimate collapse of various European empires, coupled with the problems surrounding the Treaty of Versailles became the major contributors to the onset if the second world war (Henig). The Second World War Following the defeat of the Central powers in the First World War, the European political map was significantly altered. The Allies, who had emerged victorious, gained more territories at the expense of the Central powers. Thus, new states were created from the collapsed empires of Russia and Ottoman. As a result of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost a significant part of its home territories as well as its overseas territories. In addition, German was prohibited from annexing other states and a series of reparations were imposed against it. The treaty also placed a limit on the size and capacity of Germany’s military forces. Meanwhile, following the dissolution of the German Empire as a result of the German Revolution, there was the formation of a Weimer Republic which was a democratic government. In Italy, the Italians were angered by the failure by France and Britain to keep eth promise of securing Italian entrance into the war as had been stipulated in the peace settlement. Thus, the period between 1922 up to 1925 saw Benito Mussolini under the Fascist Movement, seize power in Italy (Dowswell, Brocklehurst, and Brook 112). He established a totalitarian agenda which abolished democracy in Italy and repressed the incumbent socialism. In addition, Mussolini adopted a very aggressive foreign policy which was directed towards forcefully making Italy a world power. This was also the case in Germany where Adolf Hitler through the Nazi party, strived to institute a fascist government as well. His endeavors were boosted by the onset of the Great Depression which bolstered domestic support for the Nazi. Consequently, Hitler was appointed the Chancellor of Germany in 1933, whereby he established a totalitarian single- state party under the leadership of the Nazis. Hitler embarked on a massive rearmament campaign thereby repudiating the Treaty of Versailles. France allowed Italy to take over Ethiopia, a territory that had been desired by Italy over a long period. In China, the Kuomintang Party commenced a unification campaign in opposition to the regional warlords (Keegan 311). The aftermath of the unification campaign was a prolonged civil war against the communist allies. The Japanese empire intruded Chinese affairs by invading the Manchuria. This prompted China to seek help from the League of Nation. As a result, Japan pulled out of the League of Nations following its condemnation for invading Manchuria. Consequently, China and Japan were then involved into a series of wars There was a rush to form alliances by several European powers. For instance, Italy, France and the United Kingdom allied together to form the Stresa Front. Conversely, the United States enacted the Neutrality Act. Later on in 1936, German and Italy formed established the Rome-Berlin Axis. This was preceded by the signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact by Germany and Japan and later on Italy (Keegan 316). Eventually, there emerged two great opposing military powers. On one hand there was Allies whereas on the other hand there was the Axis. As much as Japan and China were already involved in a was in 1937, the onset of the second world war transpired on September 1, 1939 following the invasion of Poland by Germany. According to Beamish (32), this prompted France and many other countries of the British Empire to declare war on Germany. With the use of several treaties and campaigns, Germany managed to conquered and subdue several territories of its neighbors between 1939 and 1941. Britain allied with other commonwealth countries and perpetuated the fight against the Axis. The European Axis invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. Meanwhile, Japan conquered most countries in the West Pacific. However, it lost a series of battles, while the European Axis soldiers were also defeated in the North African battle. A series of other defeats against Germany followed. Ultimately, the war in Europe came to a halt through the capturing of the Berlin by the Polish and Soviet soldiers. Dowswell, Brocklehurst, and Brook (57), recorded that Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 8, 1945. Furthermore, following the defeat in the war in Asia, Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945. Thus, the termination of the war marked a total victory of the Allies over the Axis. Despite the many differences sustained in the above analysis, it is apparent that the First World War and the Second World War there a variety of similarities and differences that are evidence with regards to their origins. With reference to similarities, it is apparent that both wars were to an extent invoked by German’s ambitions. This is attributed by the desire by German to control Europe. In the First World War for instance, German played a pivotal role in its onset when it invaded Belgium and France. The second world was greatly fueled by the repercussions of the Treaty of Versailles to which German was greatly affected. Another similarity that presents in both wars is that, they involved alliances between various nations. In the First World War for instance, the Triple Entebbe incorporating Britain, France and Russia (Franz-Willing). On the other hand there was the Central powers which was comprised of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. Conversely, the Second World War was fought between two fronts, the Allies on one side and the Axis on the other side Notwithstanding its adverse effects, the Second World War has been perceived as America’s most important twentieth century war. Thus, it has been labeled as the “Good War” due to its morally clear-cut conflict between evil and good (Gilbert 511).This can be attributed to the fact that United States’ participation in the war had more benefits than costs. America is therefore accredited for its significant contribution in the war which saw the ultimate victory of the Allies over the Axis. Indeed, Nazi Germany, imperial Japan and fascist Italy were totally defeated and ceased being threats to the world peace. Moreover, the defeat liberated France and other western European countries for tyranny and facilitated the establishment of democracies in Japan, Italy and Germany. Also, another reason which supports the notion that the Second World War is was a good war is that it had a clear purpose. In this regards, the purpose of the Second World War was to conquers Nazism and Fascism and bring to an end their horrible ideologies (Weber). Certainly, the defeat of the Axis by the Allies marked a defeat of the Nazism and Fascism. Basing on the foregoing discussion, it can be conclude that the First World War and the Second World War had a plethora of differences and similarities with reference to their origins. The origin of the first world is greatly attributed to the both log-term and short-term causes including the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which triggered the war. On the other hand, the Second World War was more of a continuation of the world war as its origin can be greatly attributed to the failure of the Versailles treaty and the League of Nation to restore world peace. However, the two wars were both pioneered by Germany and they both were fought in alliances which comprised a grouping of various states. Works Cited Beamish, Richard Joseph. History of the World War, Vol. 3. Washington DC: Qontro Classic Books, 2010. 32-34. Print. Dowswell, Paul, Ruth Brocklehurst, and H. Brook. The World Wars: An Introduction to the First & Second World Wars. London: Usborne Books, 2007. 57-59. Print Duffy, Michael. "The Causes of World War One." firstworldwar.com. N.p., 22 August 2009. Web. 18 Apr 2012. . Franz-Willing, George. "The Origins of the Second World War." Institute for Historical Review. N.p., 1986. Web. 18 Apr 2012. . Gilbert, Martin. The Second World War: A Complete History. Revised. Washington DC: Holt Paperbacks, 2004. 511. Print. Henig, Ruth. "The Origins of the Second World War ." Globalnet. University of Lancaster, 1 Septermber 1997. Web. 18 Apr 2012. . Keegan, John. The Second World War. New York: Penguin, 2005. Print. Weber, Mark. "The Second World War as a Good War." Institute for Historical Review. N.p., 2006. Web. 18 Apr 2012. . Wells, G.H. The War of the Worlds. New York: CreateSpace, 2012. 154. Print. Read More