Second World War

                                   SECOND WORLD WAR

                          

CAUSES:

·         Dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles:

The Treaty of Versailles by which the First World War came to an end, created more problems than it solved. The treaty demanded annexation of German territories and the creation of many States. This sowed the seeds of bitterness and conflict. In fact, this treaty was based on the spirit of revenge and Germany was forced to sign it. All German colonies were forcibly taken away from her and she was divided into two parts for the benefit of Poland. She was burdened with huge war indemnity which she could never pay and her military power was reduced. This humiliation gave rise to the spirit of revenge and Germany started to look for an opportunity to do away with the harsh treaty. But this wasn’t possible without an aggressive policy and armaments. Hence, the war became inevitable.

·         Rise of Fascism and Nazism:

The rise of extreme nationalism in Germany and Italy in the form of Nazism and Fascism, respectively contributed to the causes of the Second World War. Italy wanted to revive the glory of the Old Roman Empire. She joined the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1937 and formed a ten years Alliance with Germany (Pact of Steel) to strengthen her position. Italy opposed the Treaty of Versailles and demonstrated her imperialistic designs by attacking Abyssinia. The League of Nations failed to take any action which exhibited the weakness of the League.

In Germany Hitler wanted to re-establish the prestige of Germany in the international field. He flouted the military clauses of the Versailles Treaty and declared re-armament. In 1938, he annexed Austria and dismembered Czechoslovakia. Thus, Mussolini and Hitler drove the world towards another war.

·         Policy of Appeasement:

          Appeasement refers to the policy of conciliating an aggressive power at the expense of some other country. It meant accepting the hostile demands of an aggressive nation to gain peace. Britain and France followed the policy of appeasement towards dictatorial countries like Germany and Italy because they felt that the dictators had a real cause for their grievance given to the Treaty of Versailles. So if their grievances were removed they would not disturb world peace. Further they wanted to check the rising tide of Russian Bolshevism. Therefore they allowed Germany to re-arm, remilitarise Rhineland, and capture Austria and Czechoslovakia. So without this unintended green signal Fascism and Nazism would not have survived for long to cause World War II.

·         Japanese Invasion of China:

Japanese policy of expansion was another serious cause of the Second World War. She was determined to dominate the Far East. In 1931, Japan intervened in Manchuria and, in spite of League’s opposition, occupied it set up a government there. Japan also started an undeclared war with China in 1931. China appealed to the League of Nations for help but they turned a deaf ear. Japan joined the Alliance of Germany to form the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Alliance. In 1933, Japan left the League of nations and started occupying British and American properties in China. Britain and France followed the policy of appeasement, thinking that Japan can be used to weaken China.

To know more see: Sino Japanese War.

·         Failure of The League of Nations:

The League of Nations was created after the First World War to prevent future wars. However, it failed in its main objective. It suffered an early blow when the USA didn’t join it. Even those who joined it were not interested in the principles of collective security.

To know more see: Failure of the League of Nations

·         Hitler’s Invasion of Poland:

Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939 for the following reasons:

1.       By the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was divided into two in order to give Poland a land route to sea (see: Danzig Corridor) and the Port Of Danzig was also given to Poland. Germany wanted to regain these lost territories.

2.       The city of Danzig was inhabited by many Germans and by occupying Danzig Corridor; Germany could connect with East Prussia.

    3.   Germany signed a Non-Aggression Pact (see: The Molotov- Ribbentrop Pact) with Russia in 1939 which contained secret protocols for dividing Poland between the two. Poland was accused of committing atrocities against the Germans living there. 

On September 1, 1939, the German armies marched into Poland. France and Britain gave an ultimatum to Germany. In reply, Germany attacked France. On September 3, Britain and France declared War on Germany and began the Second World War. The German armies completed the invasion of Poland in less than 3 weeks to ensure that no aid reached Poland. In spite of the declaration of the War there was little actual fighting from September 1939 to April 1940 on the Western Front and hence this period of the war remained dormant.

To know more see: German invasion of Poland                    
                                    Phoney War

THE WAR (Main events only)

To know in detail see: The Second World War

Soon after the German invasion of Poland; The Soviet Union attacked Eastern Poland and occupied the territories of earlier of the Russian Empire. In 1940, the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania which had become independent after WW1 became republics of the USSR. In November 1939, The Soviet Union went to war against Finland (see: The Winter War)

v  Conquest of Norway, Denmark and Holland

Germany launched her invasion of Norway and Denmark on April 9, 1940 and within three weeks completed the conquest of these countries. In early May began the Invasion of Belgium and Holland which ended by the end of May. (See: Operation Weserubung)

 v  Fall of France

The German armies marched into France and by July 14, 1940, the capital, Paris fell. The war conducted by Germany with great speed and force is known as Blitzkrieg or Lightning War. (See: Invasion of France)

 v  Battle of Britain

The German Air force, the Luftwaffe, began bombing raids over Britain in preparation for Operation Sea Lion, a land invasion of Britain. Initially the British Air force suffered heavy losses but with American aid they finally prevailed over the air raids and matched the German Air Force with their own. This foiled any plans for an Invasion of Britain. (See: Battle of Britain)

v  The Battle of Stalingrad

In June 1941, Hitler betrayed the non-aggression pact with Russia and invaded her (See: Operation Barbarossa). In August 1942, Hitler targeted an industrial city. In November the Soviets were able to counter attack with fresh reinforcements. The German were already suffering from frigid temperatures and their overextended supply lines became a threat. The German finally had to retreat. (See: Battle of Stalingrad)

v  The Battle for Berlin

It began in April 1945. The Germans were caught between the Americans in one side and the Soviets on the other. When Allied Forces closed in on Berlin itself Hitler committed suicide. On May 7, 1945 the last of the German armies surrendered. (See: Battle of Berlin)

                                                   Goebbel's  Last Speech

EFFECT OF THE WAR

Over 50 million people perished in the Second World War. Of them about 22 million were soldiers and over 28 million civilians. About 12 million people lost their lives in concentration camps or as a result of the terror unleashed by the fascists. Some countries lost a large percentage of their population. For example: Poland lost 20% of their population. Soviet Union lost 20 million people which are about 10% of their population. The various nations that took part in the war spent about 1 lakh crore rupees. Britain alone suffered a loss of Rs 200 crore .One fourth of the national wealth of Russia was spent in the war. Germany, France and Poland also suffered heavy losses. The chief colonial powers lost their power and glory and many countries like India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka became independent. Later many other countries in Asia and Africa were liberated from the imperial control of Britain, France, Portugal and Netherlands.

CONSEQUENCES

·         Defeat of the Axis powers:

Up to the middle of 1942 the Axis powers met with remarkable success and captured large territories in Europe, Africa and Asia. But by the end of 1940, the tide began to turn against the Axis. In November 1940, Allied powers recaptured African territories lost by France. This was followed by their victory over Italy. The Allies powers forced Italy to make an unconditional surrender. In March, 1945 the Allied powers moved across the Rhine and dealt a death blow to the German forces. Hitler was so disappointed that he committed suicide on April 30, 1945.

After the defeat of Germany the Allied powers turned their attention towards Japan. In South East Asia, Japan had won victories over a number of countries and had occupied Hong Kong, Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, Myanmar, parts of New Guinea and Indonesia. The British forces liberated Myanmar, Malaya and Singapore. The Americans liberated the Philippines. In the Potsdam Conference held at July 26, 1945, Allied Powers asked Japan to surrender but Japan turned deaf ear. Consequently the Americans dropped the atomic bombs over Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) and ended the war. Japan surrendered on the terms of the Potsdam Conference on August 10.

After the War the Axis powers met with the following consequences-

v  Germany was divided into zones:

  1.       Federal Republic of Germany to be administered by USA, Britain and French forces. It came under the capitalist ideology of the Anglo-American and became part of the capitalist bloc.

   2.       The German Democratic Republic to be administered by the Soviet Union. It came under the influence of the communist ideology of  the Soviets and became part of the communist bloc.

 v  Japan and Italy also became very weak. Unlike Germany they were not divided into zones to be governed by conquering forces. The American army was to occupy Japan until 1952. After this, the Japanese would resume sole control over its own affairs. Emperor Hirohito was left as a constitutional monarch. The Japanese Parliament retained some of its law making powers. All lands taken or seized by Japan since 1845 were taken away.

v  Formation of the UN: The horrors of the two world wars and the failure of the League of Nations led to the meeting of the Big Three- Roosevelt (President of USA), Churchill (Prime Minister of Britain), and Stalin (premier of USSR) at Yalta in   February 1945. They resolve to convene the representatives of all Nations at San Francisco to draw up the “Charter of the United Nations”. This led to the establishment of the United Nations Organization on October 24, 1945.

v  Cold War:  During the Second World War the USA and the USSR fought together. But after the War the apparent harmony between the two nations declined and old suspicion and ideological differences came to the forefront. Though both countries did not engage into a real fight with each other, but there was a state of extreme political tension between the two. This state of tension between one or more Nations in which either power designed and adopted policies to strengthen itself and weaken the other is called Cold War.

To know more see: THE COLD WAR.

RISE OF NAZISM IN GERMANY

                         

                RISE OF NAZISM IN GERMANY

                

                                       

CAUSES:

·         Humiliating Treaty of Versailles:

Defeat in the First World War and the conditions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles made the Germans feel humiliated and helpless. Germans looked down upon the Wiemar Republic that had signed such a disgraceful treaty. Germany was forced to seize large chunks of her territory to France, Belgium, Poland and Denmark. Her overseas possessions (colonies) were taken away and divided among the Allies during the War. Germany was forced to pay heavy reparations to the tune of 33 billion dollars and the total strength of the German armies was fixed at 1 lakh. The treaty hence was much resented by the Germans who eagerly looked for an opportunity to avenge the same. These sentiments were fully exploited by Hitler who welcomed the Germans into a new promise for living i.e. to consign the Treaty into the waste paper basket, rebuild The GERMAN EMPIRE, and to recapture the lost colonies.

·         Growing fear of Communism:

After the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the Communist influence in Germany and Europe in general increased considerably. They were able to organize themselves effectively and won a number of seats in the Reichstag. Hitler warned the people that the communists in Germany would be the servants of their masters in Russia and would follow the dictates of Communists. He, therefore, tried to persuade the people of Germany that Nazism would alone check the rising tide of Russian Bolshevism.

·         Economic Crisis:

             As the result of the harsh treaty of Versailles, Germany had to suffer in agricultural production, colonies, foreign investments, trade contracts, etc. The foreign countries raised tariffs against the German goods. The number of unemployed people increased. The conditions of the farmers were miserable. By June 1931, debts on farmers had risen to $300 million.

Hitler promised the farmers that he would condone their debts. He won over the Capitalists by assuring that the industries would not be nationalized. Nazis exploited the situation and assured the people that if they would abide by the Nazi ideology their economic misery would come to an end and Germany would regain his lost glory.

·         Resurgence of Militant Nationalism: The Germans would not reconcile with the democratic parliamentary system prevailing in the country. They preferred prestige and glory to liberty and freedom. They felt that only a strong could restore the past prestige of Germany and check the rising popularity of Communism. When Hitler promised them all glory, they welcomed him with open arms.

·         Anti-Semitic Propaganda-

The anti-Semitic propaganda carried out by the Nazi party also contributed to Hitler’s popularity. The Nazis described the Jews as traitors to their fatherland. They said that the Jews had conspired with the Allies during the War and could commit treason against Germany. They impressed upon the Germans that their hardship was due to the exploitation by the Jews, who dominated German economy. Due to this anti-Semitic propaganda many Germans rallied behind the Nazi party.

·         Establishment of Volunteer Corps:

Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany’s military force was reduce to only one lakh and hence a large number of German soldiers were thrown out of service. Hitler roped in all these soldiers and organize them into Volunteer Corps that served as the party army. These Volunteers propagated the Nazi ideology and worked for safeguarding its influence.

·         Charismatic Personality of Hitler: Hitler had a charismatic personality. He had all the qualities required for a popular leader. He was a shrewd politician and a brave soldier. He knew the art of moulding public opinion according to the circumstances. He was a gifted orator who captivated the Germans with his emotional speeches. He told what the Germans wanted to hear i.e. the betrayal of Germany by the Jews and the Jewish-Communist plot to conquer the world. The Germans nourished a feeling of resentment to the insulting behaviour meted out to them by the Allies. He openly encouraged the Germans to consign the treaty to the waste paper basket, rebuild The German Empire and to recapture the lost colonies. He assured the Germans that if they abide by Nazism then their economic misery would come to an end. This greatly appealed to the Germans who extended full support to Hitler and his Nazi party.

Nazi Ideology

KEY ELEMENTS OF NAZI IDEOLOGY

National Socialist Program Racism Especially anti-Semitism, which eventually culminated in the Holocaust. The creation of a Herrenrasse (Master Race= by the Lebensborn (Fountain of Life; A department in the Third Reich) Anti-Slavism Belief in the superiority of the White, Germanic, Aryan or Nordic races. Euthanasia and Eugenics with respect to "Racial Hygiene" Anti-Marxism, Anti-Communism, Anti-Bolshevism The rejection of democracy, with as a consequence the ending the existence of political parties, labour unions, and free press. Führerprinzip (Leader Principle) /belief in the leader (Responsibility up the ranks, and authority down the ranks.) Strong show of local culture. Social Darwinism Defense of Blood and Soil (German: "Blut und Boden" - represented by the red and black colors in the Nazi flag) "Lebensraumpolitik", "Lebensraum im Osten" (The creation of more living space for Germans) Related to Fascism

RISE OF NAZISM

After the defeat in the First World War, Germany becomes a democracy. Social Democrats and Liberal parties form the new government. The enormous costs of the war cause rampant inflation. Unemployment rises to over five million. Large parts of the population live in fear of falling back into 19th-century poverty. Nationalist parties and the newly founded National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) blame the democratic constitution, the parties supporting the new republic and the unjust provisions of the peace treaty of Versailles for the chaos. But above all it is "the Jew" who is being blamed: The German worker is being ruined by "Jewish Capital" and threatened by "Jewish Bolshevism" that wants to turn him into a slave.

The Nazi party under the leadership of Adolf Hitler gains more votes in every election. It promises to "restore honor" to the Germans, to renew political order and to bring back "work and bread."

The Nazis pursue their political aims with aggressive propaganda and violence. In 1930 - twelve years after its founding - the parties that supported the republic lose their majority. Right-wing parties take over the government and begin to dismantle the democratic system.

In the elections of 1932, the NSDAP becomes the strongest party. The votes of the National Socialists are now needed to form the next government. On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler is named Reich chancellor. In February, his democratically elected government passes a law suspending civil rights and political freedoms. In March, the government is empowered to rule without parliament, to pass laws and govern by decree. Germany becomes a dictatorship ruled by Hitler and the Nazi Party.

IMPACT OF NAZISM

         Establishment of a Totalitarian State: Hitler had no faith in the parliamentary form of government. Therefore he eradicated all those elements which offered opposition to his authority. He concentrated all powers into his own hands, suppressed all opposition and propagated the Nazi ideology at will. He changed the federal form of government into a unitary one. Hitler himself became the governor of Prussia. By 1934 all State legislatures were abolished and the sovereign control of the central government established. Various political parties were abolished. A ban was imposed upon the press, and restrictions imposed on public speeches and writing of articles and cinema. A secret police called the Gestapo kept a check on the activities of the citizens. Those suspected of disloyalty to the state were arrested or executed without trial.

·         Economic reforms:

Hitler introduced a number of reforms to meet the economic crisis. He launched the first Four Year Plan to have greater production. The objectives of the reforms were to remove unemployment and making the nation self-sufficient. The reforms are:

Ø  Factories were set up to provide work for the labourers.

Ø  Industries and agricultural productions and trade were encouraged.

Ø  A Food Corporation was established to control food production, pricing and distribution.

Ø  Price controls were introduced and incentives were provided for farmers.

Ø  Capitalists were encouraged to increase production and strikes were banned.

Ø  Imports and exports were controlled to maintain favourable balance.

Ø  The production of heavy armaments, planes, tanks and naval ships was increased on a large scale.

Ø  Projects of public works, building government offices, stadiums, art galleries; housing development, etc.; were undertaken.

Ø  The trade unions were dissolved. All the workers were put under one Union whose chief was a Nazi. He assured the workers of safeguarding their interests and rights. 

Thus, Hitler freed Germany from the economic crisis and put an end to the problem of unemployment.

·         Militarism and Compulsory military training:

Special efforts were made to increase the military force of the country. Military training was made compulsory training was made compulsory which again created more employment. Hitler believed that nations can become great and influence other nations only on the pride of their military strength. He started re-armament in Violation of the Treaty of Versailles. This pleased the army officers who felt humiliated by the terms of the treaty.

·         Acquisition of Territories:

Hitler tried to acquire more territories for the surplus German population. Hitler said, “Germany within her existing frontiers could attain only limited self-sufficiency in raw materials and none at all at food stuffs. The only remedy lay in the acquisition of greater living space…” His objective was Pan-European Lebensraum (living space). Hitler tried to expand in the south and in east of Europe because that area was economically useful for Germany as it contained huge potentials for wheat, oil and coal. To attain this objective, Hitler used force and rejected all compromises. He entered into a non-aggression pact with Poland for a period of ten years in 1934 for the safety of his eastern frontiers. He reclaimed and remilitarised the territory of Saar and Rhineland from France. In 1938 he annexed Austria by force and concluded a non-aggression pact with Russia with secret protocols of dividing Poland.

·         Racial Supremacy:

Hitler believed in the doctrine of racialism which presented Germans as the master race (Harrenvolk) with the right and destiny to dominate the world. This race he said would rule all other inferior ones. For this, he wanted Germany to cleanse itself of contamination of the Jews and Communists.

·         Negative Aspects:

Hitler put an end to the civil liberties. Those who were suspected of opposing him were harshly treated with. Strict censor was imposed upon books, the press and the cinema. All Anti-Nazi books and magazines were consigned to fire.

FASCISM IN ITALY

FASCISM IN ITALY

                            

Causes:

·         Discontentment after the Treaty of Versailles:

Italy joined the Allies in the First World War to gain territories of Turkey and Germany. But by the Treaty of Versailles she could get only Southern Tyrol and Trentino, and the coastal region of Dalmatia. She could get no part of the German and Turkish colonial empires.

·         Economic Crisis:

        Italy suffered heavy losses in terms of life and property in the First World War. After the war many soldiers became unemployed Trade and commerce were ruined leading to large scale unemployment. There was shortage of food grains.

·         Political Instability:

Democracy was introduced for the First time in Italy in 1919. Elections failed to give a clear majority to a single party. As a result, there was complete instability in the country and between 1919 and 1922 six coalition governments have been formed. The various political parties have their own policies and programmes and there is no continuity in their policies. They were unable to deal effectively with the problems of unemployment strikes and riots that took place from 1921-1922. This situation was fully exploited by the Fascists under the leadership of Mussolini, who gave the people the idea of having a strong national government.

·         Threat of Socialism or Communism:

The Socialists which included the Anarchists, Social Democrats and The Communists created conditions conducive for the growth of Fascism in Italy. Inspired by the Russian revolution, the Communists inflame the atmosphere with Revolutionary ideas. Peasants took away lands from their landlords; workmen introduced strikes, damaged machines and took hold of the factories. Communists began to organize new movements for capturing power. People wanted a strong central government, a powerful leadership who would establish peace and prosperity by ending lawlessness and insecurity prevalent in Italy. The industrialists saw the growing strength of the Labor Unions with alarm and provided Financial Support to Fascism.

·         Leadership provided by Mussolini:

Mussolini played an important role in the history of Italy. He had a charismatic personality. His speeches praised the past glories of Italy and won the faith of his countrymen. Mussolini was called “Duce” which means the Leader.

RISE OF FASCISM

The first successful Fascist takeover was in Italy under Benito Mussolini. He was born in 1886 in the rough hill country of North Central Italy. His mother was a devout Catholic and schoolteacher, while his father was an atheist and anarchist who liked to smash ballot boxes on Election Day. Benito himself was a troublemaker who had a bad habit of knifing his classmates. As a young adult, he fled to Switzerland to avoid the draft and was converted to socialism there. In 1904, he returned to Italy and served his time in the army in return for a pardon. He then became the editor of several socialist newspapers in which he advocated both political assassination and pacifist resistance to a war with Turkey, calling the national flag a rag fit to be planted on a dung heap. When World War I broke out, he first advocated neutrality, and then, probably after accepting French bribes, called for Italian involvement on the Allied side.

Italy made a poor showing in the war and paid a heavy price for it. Government expenditure during the war was twice its expenditure for the whole period 1861-1913. As a result the economy was in shambles and the country was plagued with unemployment, inflation, riots, strikes, and brigandage. It was then that Mussolini first joined and soon became leader of the Fascist Party, which stood for upholding claims of veterans and the nationalist interests of Italy while crushing any anarchist elements in the country. Ironically, the Fascists did more to promote anarchy than anyone else in Italy at that time. Mussolini would send out his gangs of thugs, the Blackshirts, to riot against Communists and other groups while claiming his men were protecting the peace.

Oddly enough, Mussolini's strategy of spreading chaos in the streets while posing as the champion of law and order who could save Italy started paying off. Even without the Blackshirts' antics, Italy needed law and order, and many people, especially the middle class who feared the Communists, looked to the Fascists as the answer to Italy's problems. In October 1922, they made their move.

It was actually the local party bosses who started a series of riots that stormed various city halls and forced concessions from local governments. This encouraged them to march on Rome and seize control of the national government. Benito himself was hesitant to take part, but when the Ras went ahead without him and it looked as if they might succeed, he put himself at the head of the march as if it were his idea all along. The march itself was a fiasco, getting bogged down in a massive traffic jam, but it scared the government enough to offer Benito the power to form a new government, which he did with typical bombast and bluster. Then, through intimidation and rigged elections, Benito tightened his grip on Italy. He bullied the Italian Parliament into giving him emergency powers that allowed him to shut down other parties, censor the press, and end other civil liberties. By 1925, Italy was a fascist dictatorship.

The riots and strikes did settle down after Mussolini took power, but little else went right for Italy and the Fascists. Mussolini claimed he made the trains run on time, but that was a gross exaggeration, as was just about every other claim he made. He did try to build up Italy's aircraft, shipping and power industries, but the Depression and Italy's lack of natural resources, along with poor planning and corruption, severely limited any economic progress. Mussolini's big dream was to make Italy a major power, thus reviving the Roman Empire. Here again, little progress was made, although Benito made wildly inflated claims about Italy's military strength.

Whatever his failures as a national leader, Mussolini appeared to be a shining example of Fascist strength when compared to the more timid democracies in Europe, and was a hero to other aspiring Fascist leaders of the day. Among these was a struggling German politician by the name of Adolph Hitler.

IMPACT OF FASCISM

1.       Mussolini devoted himself to make Italy a strong nation and carried out administrative and economic reforms. He took measures to stall the further devaluation of the Italian currency. He set up hydro-electric power plants to overcome the shortage of coal. He brought more lands under cultivation and tried to improve and expand the transport system.

2.       A number of measures were taken to reduce unemployment. All factories and mills were nationalized to improve the lot of workers. Various syndicates were established to improve relation between capitalists and the working class. Mussolini started an impressive public works programme which included the building of roads, canals, bridges, schools and hospitals.

3.       All efforts were undertaken to eradicate illiteracy to make elaborate provisions for education. Many new schools, libraries and colleges were set up.

4.       Various steps were taken to increase the military might of the country. Military training was made compulsory and efforts were made to increase the naval power of Italy to match the navy of France and Germany.

5.       A Pact (Treaty of Lateran) was made with the Pope by Mussolini in 1929. By this pact the Pope agreed to accept a subordinate position to Mussolini and recognize the Italian government over Rome. In return the Pope was permitted to keep in possession of the Vatican and the St. Peter’s Cathedral. Under the pact, the Fascists recognized the Roman Catholic religion and the State Religion.

6.       Mussolini embarked upon an aggressive foreign policy to revive the past glories of the Roman Empire top make Italy a great nation.

7.       Besides these positive aspects, there were many negative effects of Fascism in Italy. All efforts were made to curb political freedom. After gaining power, Mussolini became a dictator and took all military and civil powers into his own hands. All political parties except the fascists were banned. The system of Jury was abolished and special courts were set up where Fascist military and civil officers were empowered to decide political cases. Press was censored. The Freedom of Speech and organizing meetings were prohibited. Mussolini crushed his opponents brutally.  

FIRST WORLD WAR

                                FIRST WORLD WAR                                                                       

                                        Causes:

·         Militant Nationalism:

In the latter half of the 19^th century, militant nationalism emerged in        Europe. It meant outright wars by the European nations to achieve their goals. This included two parts- (1) First was the dangerous and burdensome mechanism of maintaining huge standing armies and navies coupled with the evils of espionage, suspicion, fear and hatred and (2) Secondly, the existence of a powerful class of military and naval officers who tend to dominate, especially during the time of crisis over civilian authorities. Militant nationalism included aggressive nationalism, economic competition and international tension.

·         Race for Armaments:

The mad race for armaments which began soon after the Franco-Prussian War was one of the reasons which led to the First World War. Every major power began stockpiling armaments in the name of self-defence and preservation of peace. As a result if one country began stockpiling armaments, other countries were compelled to do so. It filled the atmosphere with fear, apprehensions and mutual hatred.

In order to protect her colonies Germany began to build a powerful navy in order to achieve parity with Britain and France. By 1914, she had left Britain and other European Countries far behind in in iron and steel production and in many other manufactures. Britain and France were concerned of Germany’s growing military strength. This led to the race for armaments.

·         Division of Europe into Hostile Groups:

  Germany entered into an Alliance with Austro-Hungary. In 1882, Italy joined the alliance and it came to be known as the Triple Alliance.

After the death of Bismarck, the German chancellor, France was able to establish friendly relations with Russia and Britain. The three nations entered into the Triple Entente to counter the Triple Alliance in 1907. Later Japan joined the Triple Entente. Hence Europe was divided into two hostile camps.

·         Sarajevo Crisis(Immediate cause): 

Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated at Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia on June 28, 1914. It was organized by a secret society called ‘Black Hand’ whose motive was to unite all Serbians into a single Serbian state. Austria served its eleven demands ultimatum on June 23. Serbia accepted most of the demands except those that would have led to its loss of sovereignty.

Unsatisfied, Austria declared war on Serbia. Russia started preparation to support Serbia. But he was caught off guard and shocked when Germany declared war on Russia on August 1. It also declared war on France on August 3.

The WAR (main events only)

 War on the Western Front:

On the western the war began when the German armies swept across Belgium and entered northern France. The French army along with the British Expeditionary force met the German armies in the Battle of Marne some 15 miles from Paris. There the German armies forced had to retreat. For about four years neither side could dislodge the other. Thus, the Battle of Marne was the turning point of the Western Front as it foiled all German plans of ensuring quick victory in France.

·         Trench Warfare:

The combination of machine Guns and heavy artillery made life above ground too dangerous. The opposing armies dug a series of Trenches to defend themselves and to launch attacks. Living conditions in these trenches were pathetic.

Soldiers endured food shortages, lice, rats, poison gas, cold and stench of dead soldiers who couldn’t be moved out quickly. Rain and snow turned the trenches into thick mud caves.

·         War on the Eastern Front:

In August 1914 fighting began on the eastern front with the invasion of Russia by Austro-Hungary. Germany and Austria repulsed the Russian attack. In fact the German army succeeded in encircling and capturing a large part of the Russian army in the Battle of Tannenberg. They were also successful against Romania, Serbia and Italy. Large parts of the Russian Empire were captured after the Tannenberg Battle. Outside Europe there were campaigns against the Ottoman Empire. Japan occupied German possessions in the East Pacific while Britain and France seized most of the German colonies in Africa.

·         Policy of Blockade:

The war involved total mobilisation of all resources of the warring states with all economic activities subordinated to the needs of War. It also required that no food, raw materials must enter enemy territory from anywhere. In 1916, Germany started the submarine warfare and sunk many British warships but the French defeated her in the Battle of Verdun. The English tightened the Blockade on the German coast to meet the German submarine warfare. Germany was defeated in the Battle of Dogger’s Bank.

·         War against Turkey:

Towards the end of the year 1914, Turkey joined the war on the side of Germany. The German fleet held the Baltic Sea, Turkey held Dardanelles which lead to the Black Sea. Thus, Russia was cut off as it could not get any help from the Entente powers. An attempt to force an opening into Russia through the Black Sea ended with the disastrous defeat of the Allies in the Battle of Gallipoli. However in 1918 the British Army attacked Turkey and the Turks had to surrender in October 30^th.

·         Entry of USA:

In 1915, the German U boats sunk a British ship Lusitania. Among the 1153 passengers aboard that ship 128 were Americans. America was generally sympathetic towards Britain, and this incident roused anti-German feelings in the USA.

The Allied Powers had raised a vast amount of loans in the USA to pay for the arms and the other goods bought by them. Therefore the USA feared that if Germany won the war, she would become too powerful to be defeated and a serious rival to the US. On 6^th April 1917, the United Stated declared war on Germany.

·         Exit of Russia:

Another major development that took place in 1917 was the withdrawal of Russia from the War after the Bolshevik Revolution. Russia had suffered serious repulses during the War. Over 600,000 Russian soldiers were killed. The day when the Bolshevik came to power under Lenin, it issued a decree of Peace. By the treaty of Brest Litowsk on March 1918 Russia surrendered and accepted all harsh terms imposed by Germany.

·         End of the War:

Britain, France and USA launched a military offensive in July 1918 and Germany and her Allies began to collapse. Political discontentment started rising in Germany and Austro-Hungary. Bulgaria withdrew from the War in September and Turkey surrendered in October. Austro-Hungary surrendered on November the 3^rd. in Germany a revolution broke out. Germany became a republic and the German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to Holland. The new German government signed an armistice on November 11,1918.

Effect of the WAR

The number of persons involved in war vary between 53 million to 70 million people. The total number of those killed are estimated to be 9 million, i.e. about 1/7^th of those participated in it. Several millions became invalids. The air raids epidemic and famines killed many more among the civilian population. Besides these terrible human losses, the economy of many countries was shattered. The global economic depression of 1929-1930 is attributed to the War. It gave rise to serious social problems. According to some estimates the expenditure on the Allied side was forty one thousand million pounds while on the German side it was fifteen thousand million pounds.

Results

TREATY OF VERSAILLES
 
Viewing Germany as the chief instigator of the conflict, the European Allied Powers decided to impose particularly stringent treaty obligations upon the defeated Germany. The Treaty of Versailles, presented for German leaders to sign on May 7, 1919, forced Germany to concede territories to Belgium (Eupen-Malmédy), Czechoslovakia (the Hultschin district), and Poland (Poznan [German: Posen], West Prussia and Upper Silesia). The Germans returned Alsace and Lorraine, annexed in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War, to France. All German overseas colonies became League of Nation Mandates, and the city of Danzig (today: Gdansk), with its large ethnically German population, became a Free City. The treaty demanded demilitarization and occupation of the Rhineland, and special status for the Saarland under French control. Plebiscites were to determine the future of areas in northern Schleswig on the Danish-German frontier and parts of Upper Silesia on the border with Poland.

Perhaps the most humiliating portion of the treaty for defeated Germany was Article 231, commonly known as the "War Guilt Clause," which forced the German nation to accept complete responsibility for initiating World War I. As such Germany was liable for all material damages, and France's premier Georges Clemenceau particularly insisted on imposing enormous reparation payments. Aware that Germany would probably not be able to pay such a towering debt, Clemenceau and the French nevertheless greatly feared rapid German recovery and the initiation of a new war against France. Hence, the French sought in the postwar treaty to limit Germany's potential to regain its economic superiority and to rearm. The German army was to be limited to 100,000 men, and conscription proscribed; the treaty restricted the Navy to vessels under 100,000 tons, with a ban on the acquisition or maintenance of a submarine fleet.

Moreover, Germany was forbidden to maintain an air force. Finally, Germany was required to conduct war crimes proceedings against the Kaiser and other leaders for waging aggressive war. The subsequent Leipzig Trials, without the Kaiser or other significant national leaders in the dock, resulted largely in acquittals and were widely perceived as a sham, even in Germany.

The newly formed German democratic government saw the Versailles Treaty as a “dictated peace” (Diktat). Although France, which had suffered more materially than the other parties in the “Big Four,” had insisted upon harsh terms, the peace treaty did not ultimately help to settle the international disputes which had initiated World War I. On the contrary, it tended to hinder inter-European cooperation and make more fractious the underlying issues which had caused the war in the first place. The dreadful sacrifices of war and tremendous loss of life, suffered on all sides, weighed heavily not only upon the losers of the conflict, but also upon those combatants on the winning side, like Italy, whose postwar spoils seemed incommensurate with the terrible price each nation had paid in blood and material goods.

For the populations of the defeated powers—Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Bulgaria—the respective peace treaties appeared an unfair punishment, and their governments, whether democratic as in Germany or Austria, or authoritarian, in the case of Hungary and Bulgaria, quickly resorted to violating the military and financial terms of the accords. Efforts to revise and defy the more burdensome provisions of the peace became a key element in their respective foreign policies and proved a destabilizing factor in international politics.

League of Nations

Background

The League of Nations came into being after the end of World War One. The League of Nation's task was simple - to ensure that war never broke out again. After the turmoil caused by the Versailles Treaty, many looked to the League to bring stability to the world.

America entered World War One in 1917. The country as a whole and the president - Woodrow Wilson in particular - was horrified by the slaughter that had taken place in what was meant to be a civilised part of the world. The only way to avoid a repetition of such a disaster, was to create an international body whose sole purpose was to maintain world peace and which would sort out international disputes as and when they occurred. This would be the task of the League of Nations.

After the devastation of the war, support for such a good idea was great (except in America where isolationism was taking root).

The organisation of the League of Nations

The League of Nations was to be based in Geneva, Switzerland. This choice was natural as Switzerland was a neutral country and had not fought in World War One. No one could dispute this choice especially as an international organisation such as the Red Cross was already based in Switzerland.

If a dispute did occur, the League, under its Covenant, could do three things - these were known as its sanctions:

It could call on the states in dispute to sit down and discuss the problem in an orderly and peaceful manner. This would be done in the League’s Assembly - which was essentially the League’s parliament which would listen to disputes and come to a decision on how to proceed. If one nation was seen to be the offender, the League could introduce verbal sanctions - warning an aggressor nation that she would need to leave another nation's territory or face the consequences.
If the states in dispute failed to listen to the Assembly’s decision, the League could introduce economic sanctions. This would be arranged by the League’s Council. The purpose of this sanction was to financially hit the aggressor nation so that she would have to do as the League required. The logic behind it was to push an aggressor nation towards bankruptcy, so that the people in that state would take out their anger on their government forcing them to accept the League’s decision. The League could order League members not to do any trade with an aggressor nation in an effort to bring that aggressor nation to heel.
if this failed, the League could introduce physical sanctions. This meant that military force would be used to put into place the League’s decision. However, the League did not have a military force at its disposal and no member of the League had to provide one under the terms of joining - unlike the current United Nations. Therefore, it could not carry out any threats and any country defying its authority would have been very aware of this weakness. The only two countries in the League that could have provided any military might were Britain and France and both had been severely depleted strength-wise in World War One and could not provide the League with the backing it needed. Also both Britain and France were not in a position to use their FINANCES to pay for an expanded army as both were financially hit very hard by World War One.

The League also had other weaknesses:

The country, whose president, Woodrow Wilson, had dreamt up the idea of the League - America - refused to join it. As America was the world’s most powerful nation, this was a serious blow to the prestige of the League. However, America’s refusal to join the League, fitted in with her desire to have an isolationist policy throughout the world.

Germany was not allowed to join the League in 1919. As Germany had started the war, according to the Treaty of Versailles, one of her punishments was that she was not considered to be a member of the international community and, therefore, she was not invited to join. This was a great blow to Germany but it also meant that the League could not use whatever strength Germany had to support its campaign against aggressor nations.

Russia was also not allowed to join as in 1917, she had a communist government that generated fear in Western Europe, and in 1918, the Russian royal family - the Romanovs - was murdered. Such a country could not be allowed to take its place in the League.

Therefore, three of the world’s most powerful nations (potentially for Russia and Germany) played no part in supporting the League. The two most powerful members were Britain and France - both had suffered financially and militarily during the war - and neither was enthusiastic to get involved in disputes that did not affect Western Europe.

Therefore, the League had a fine ideal - to end war for good. However, if an aggressor nation was determined enough to ignore the League’s verbal warnings, all the League could do was enforce economic sanctions and hope that these worked as it had no chance or enforcing its decisions using military might.