Causes, practices and effects of war
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**Bismarck: unites Germany, increases army. He enacts the biggest peacetime military increase in history: 30% | **Bismarck: unites Germany, increases army. He enacts the biggest peacetime military increase in history: 30% | ||
| - | *September: '''assassination of Archduke Ferdinand''' in | + | *September: '''assassination of Archduke Ferdinand''' in Sarajevo. |
**"spark in the powder keg" of the Balkans. | **"spark in the powder keg" of the Balkans. | ||
*Francis Joseph I of Austria-Hungary asks Kaiser Willhelm II of Germany for support in case of war with Serbia | *Francis Joseph I of Austria-Hungary asks Kaiser Willhelm II of Germany for support in case of war with Serbia | ||
**support granted: Francis Joseph sends an unacceptable ultimatum sent to Serbia, war begins | **support granted: Francis Joseph sends an unacceptable ultimatum sent to Serbia, war begins | ||
**why did Kaiser Willhelm II grant support? some historians say he underestimated Russia's dedication to the Balkans (and thought that Russia might not retaliate -> no world war), others thought he believed war was inevitable. | **why did Kaiser Willhelm II grant support? some historians say he underestimated Russia's dedication to the Balkans (and thought that Russia might not retaliate -> no world war), others thought he believed war was inevitable. | ||
| - | * | + | *German generals agreed that the threat from the Entente made war inevitable: war 'the sooner the better' |
=Practices of War= | =Practices of War= | ||
Revision as of 01:50, 3 December 2007
Contents |
Causes of War
Leadup to WWII
- arms races: Naval Race between Britain and Germany
- Alliances for nonagression and mutual defence:
- Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy
- Triple Entente: England, France, Russia . Germany viewed this as a "plot to encircle" them.
- Russia has called itself "protector of the Southern Slavs" -- needed access to the Mediterranean
- the Balkans are a 'powder keg'.
- Germany: militarism and nationalism in the German Confederation since 1814
- Bismarck: unites Germany, increases army. He enacts the biggest peacetime military increase in history: 30%
- September: assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo.
- "spark in the powder keg" of the Balkans.
- Francis Joseph I of Austria-Hungary asks Kaiser Willhelm II of Germany for support in case of war with Serbia
- support granted: Francis Joseph sends an unacceptable ultimatum sent to Serbia, war begins
- why did Kaiser Willhelm II grant support? some historians say he underestimated Russia's dedication to the Balkans (and thought that Russia might not retaliate -> no world war), others thought he believed war was inevitable.
- German generals agreed that the threat from the Entente made war inevitable: war 'the sooner the better'
Practices of War
WWI
- Mostly deadlocked trench warfare
- Rudimentary tanks
- air power (early dogfighting in the air; Germans had dirigibles)
- Mustard gas used with mixed results
- effective against ground troops, however
- if the wind blew the wrong direction, the people releasing the gas could be maimed or killed.
WWII
- Blitzkrieg('lightning war') used by Hitler, especially to invade Poland.
- A combination of tanks, air power, artillery and infantry to overwhelm the enemy
- Total War
- Civilians targeted, especially with bombing
- Carpet-bombing and firebombing (with napalm)
- HUGE portions of Japanese cities were burned (more info)
- Better tanks could effectively overcome the deadlock of trench warfare
- Atomic bomb
