Chapter XVI: The First World War

#85: International Anarchy

--Europe in fear of war: all great issues of mid-19c had been settled by force. Germany = very strong. All European states maintained huge standing armies. Few wanted war, but many thought it inevitable someday. This idea that war would happen sooner or later probably made statesmen less reluctant to wage it.

Rival Alliances: Triple Alliance versus Triple Entente

--Germany = rising quickly. Entering industrial revolution, soon producing more steel than France and Germany combined. Germans felt common destiny to a "place in the sun" like British and French. French and British pissed off. French wanted Alsace-Lo rraine back. British alarmed at appearance of German merchants in foreign markets. Germans as colonial rivals. European states began to gravitate to German orbit.

--Bismarck after 1871 feared that new empire might be torn up in new war, and so tried to preserve peace until retirement in 1890. "Honest broker" in Berlin Congress, 1878. Resolution of African affairs, 1885. Tried to isolate France, divert it from E urope, embroil it with Britain through colonies.

--Also made Triple Alliance (1882) with Austria-Hungary and Italy, whereby if any member = at war with two or more other powers, other two would come to arms. Also signed "reinsurance" treaty with Russia. But since Russia and Austria = enemies over th e Balkans, Russo-German alliance soon fell after Bismarck's retirement. French immediately allied with Russia, 1894. Most thought that this alliance = impossible, for France = radical, Russia reactionary. But ideology = abandoned.

--Two camps of Triple Alliance and Franco-Russian. But some signs that this division might soften, and both might even unite against GBr, ie, Fashoda and Boer War. Much depended on what GBr would do.

--Fashoda and Boer shocked Britain out of isolation. Whether to ally with T.A. or Franco-Russian: British relations with France and Russia = poor. Some thought better understanding could = reached with Germany, which = of same race. But alliance with Germany = difficult. Naval and economic competition with Germany = fierce. British depended on naval superiority for national security, and German incursions = a severe threat. Competition drove Britain into Franco-Russian camp.

--Britain = cautiously emerging from isolation. 1902: alliance with Japan. 1904: Crucial year--British and French put aside bad feeling of past 25 years. French recognized British occupation in Egypt; British recognized French in Morocco. No binding t reaties, but just an entente cordiale. French tried to hook up Britain with Russia. Britain, unsure of German aims, and Russia, coming after defeat to Japanese, = willing. 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention: British took N. Persia, and Russia, S. and E. Persia . Thus developed the Triple Entente, somewhat looser than the Triple Alliance, for British made no formal military commitments.

The Crises in Morocco and Balkans

--Germans decided to test Franco-Russian Entente Cordiale. French = increasing activity in Morocco. In 1905, Kaiser William II spoke for Moroccan independence, secured an international conference at Algericas, 1906. But conference supported French cla ims in Morocco, and Germany = rebuffed. British stood by and = cemented to France, and fear of Germany led to Anglo-Russian Convention.

--2nd Moroccan Crisis: German gunboat = threatening Morocco. Offered to make no more trouble if Germany could have French Congo. Instead, Germany just got some trifles in Africa. British = pissed off.

--Balkans = rocked by crises. Serbs, Bosnians, Croats, and Slovenes all spoke the same language. Serbia = independent, but Bosnia = under Austrian occupation, and Croatia and Slovenia = part of Austria. Slavic revival made them feel as one people: the South or Yugoslavs. Croats and Slovenes wanted out of Austrian Dual Monarchy, which they thought inherently unfair, and to unite with Serbia. Serbia thus became center of Yugoslav agitation.

--Situation = intensified in 1908. Young Turks under Abdul Hamid had managed to take over Ottoman Empire, and planned to consolidate it. Russia, defeated in East, turned to Balkans and Turkey. Russia wanted Constantinople, and Austrians wanted to ann ex Bosnia. But if Young Turks had their way, Ott. Empire would lose neither.

--Russia and Austria came to secret agreement, 1908. Each would support other's claims to Bosnia and Constantinople in projected international conference. Austria proclaimed annexation of Bosnia immediately, and infuriated the Serbs. But Russia could not get Constantinople, and TE partners would not support. Projected international conference = never called. In Russia, public did not know of secret deal, but though Serbian brothers = insulted. But Russia, weakened by war with Japanese and Revolution o f 1905, accepted Austrian fait accompli. First Balkan crisis soon passed.

--In 1911, Italy declared war on Turkey, got some accessions. With Turkey embarrassed, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece in 1912 joined in war against Turkey. Turkey soon defeated, but Bulgaria claimed more of Macedonia than Serbs = willing to give. So 191 2 war = followed by 1913 war of Serbia, Greece, Rumania, and Turkey against Bulgaria for division of Albania. Serbs and Greeks claimed parts of Albania, and Russians supported Serbian claim. But Austria = determined to keep Serbia from access to the sea, which Albanian territories would give it. Thus, great powers contrived an independent Albania. Serbs and Russians protested, but denied. Russia again backed down.

--Third crisis = deadly because of the two before it, which left Austria exasperated, Serbia desperate, and Russia humiliated.

The Sarajevo Crisis and the Outbreak of the War

--1914: A young Serbian revolutionary, member of the Black Hand, assassinated the heir to the Habsburg Empire, with the knowledge of certain Serbian officials. World = shocked, and at first, sympathetic with Austria. Francis Ferdinand = known to favor reform, including more equal power for Slavs. But a reformer who makes the system work = the greatest danger to a revolutionary.

--Austria = determined to end all Yugoslav nationalism, separatism. Decided to crush Serbian independence, but not annex it, for there were already too many Slavs in Austria-Hungary. Germany gave Austria unconditional support. Encouraged Austria issue d a drastic, harsh ultimatum to Serbia.

--Serbs, though depended on Russia, judging that it could not lose again in Balkans without losing influence there altogether. Russians in turn counted on France. And France, terrified of being caught alone in war against Germany, = determined to keep Franco-Russian alliance, and in effect gave them a blank check. So Serbia rejected the ultimatum as an infringement on Serbian sovereignty. Austria declared war on Serbia.

--Russia prepared to defend Serbia. But expecting Germany to join in, Russia mobilized on Austrian AND German frontiers. Germany demanded that Russia stop mobilizing along its border, and when Russia did not answer, Germany declared war on Russia, 191 4. Germans thought France would join Russia, and so declared war on France too.

--German plan depended on reckless assumption that GBr would not enter the war since it was bound by no formal military alliance. British to the end = wavering, clinging to isolation. Thus, had Germany known GBr would fight, war might not have come.

--But in reality, the probability of British entering war = very great. GBr = deeply committed to France, especially in naval agreements. As German fleet grew, British concentrated navy in North Sea, leaving Mediterranean open. By agreement, French wo uld thus concentrate in Mediterranean, and preserve British and French interests. British then had moral responsibility to protect French Channel coast against Germans. But what swept public opinion was invasion of Belgium. Germans could crush France quic kly only by invading through Belgium, violating neutrality treaty of 1839. So the day after Germany declared war on France, Britain declared war on Germany.

--Other causes of the war

--Alliance system: all countries lived in fear of a future war in which it would need its allies. Thus, powers always stuck to allies, no matter the specific issue.

--Austria and Russia = both tottering, sick. Through the alliance system, their problems became the problems of all Europe.

--Germany = facing internal crisis. In Reichstag, Social Democrats = clearly the largest party, with the greatest popular mandate. But German imperial government acknowledged no responsibility to Reichstag. Instead, policy = determined by old upper c lass, in which old military interests, now reinforced by new business interests, = very strong. Almost all people wanted to make Germany a world power.

--World had an international economy but a national polity. All nations, especially industrial ones, depended on other nations and their goods for survival. But there was no worldwide police to oversee this system. Each nation had to take care of its elf. Hence, the drive for imperialism and binding alliances. Both = some security in a strictly anarchic world.

#86: The Armed Stalemate

--WWI lasted from 1914-1918. USA entered only in last year. TA = called Central Powers, and TE = called the Allies. Huge human costs.

--Short war = expected. German high command already developed plans for 2-front war. Germany had good rail system, by which it could rapidly shuttle troops between fronts. The German war plan, called the Schlieffen Plan, = based on this fact. Idea = t o crush France while Russia = mobilizing, and then meet Russia at leisure.

The War on Land, 1914-16

--On August 3, Germany rolled huge army into France, advanced irresistibly forward. But then Russians pushed 3 armies into East Prussia. Germans moved forces from its right wing in France to meet the new threat. Germans moved on in France, but strikin g arm = weakened, and lines of communication = overextended.

--French and British mounted a counterattack, forced Germans to retreat at the battle of the Marne. Whole nature of the war = changed: Germans could no longer hope to fell France with 1 blow. Each side tried to outflank and destroy the other until bat tle lines extended to the sea. Germans could not gain control of Channel ports. Huge victories in the East against the Russians, but of little import in the long run. In the West, war = now one of position, trenches. Front = almost immobile. Machine gun m ade advance impossible without heavy artillery preparation.

--Germans in 1915 put main effort to knock out Russia. Losses = huge, but army = still fighting.

--1916: Both sides turned to N. France to try to break the deadlock. Allies planned great offensive along the river Somme, and Germans near Verdun. Germans attacked in Feb. Allies defended Verdun with minimum numbers, holding full weight of army for S omme offensive, but with great determination. Battle lasted 6 months, and Germans withdrew. But during battle at Verdun, Allies mounted offensive at Somme. Huge force. Idea = to break through with brute power; generalship = at new low. Huge losses for a f ew miles of advance.

The War at Sea

--Land war = at deadlock, so both sides looked to the sea. Allies imposed strict naval blockade on Germany, blocked transport of both contraband and noncontraband goods in attempt to starve out Germany.

--USA protested vehemently against these restrictions. Tried to assert its right as a neutral to trade with other neutrals, and uphold freedom of the seas.

--Germans tried to blockade England, mainly with submarines. Declared waters around Britain a war zone, dangerous for neutrals and Allies alike. But when Lusitania = sunk in 1915, USA = outraged, and Germans reduced submarine warfare for 2 years to av oid trouble. So Allied access to sea = only slightly impeded. Allies essentially controlled the seas.

Diplomatic Maneuvers and Secret Agreements

--Both sides sought new allies. Turks and Bulgarians joined Central Powers. New prospect = Italy, which, although once a member of the TA, had long ago drifted away. Italian public = divided, but government eventually sided with Allies in secret treat y of London, 1915. If Allies won, Italy would get Mediterranean territories, and if Britain and France got German colonies, more territory in Libya and Somalialand.

--Also in 1915, Allies secretly partitioned parts of the Ottoman Empire. British and French = so dependent on Russia that they gave it Constantinople, Bosporous, Kurdestan, and Armenia. British would get Mesopotamia, and France, Syria and SE Asia Mino r.

--Each side tried to stir up minorities and discontents in the other.

--Among Allies, Germans promised independent Poland and stirred up Ukrainian nationalism to embarrass Russia. Persuaded Ottoman sultan to proclaim holy war in N. Africa, so that Muslims might drive British and French out of Egypt and Algeria. Also, t ried to work up Irish nationalism. No success. When US-German relations deteriorated (1917), German secretary of foreign affairs, Zimmermann, telegrammed Mexico that if USA went to war against Germany, Germany and Mexico could ally and Mexico could regain Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Zimmermann's telegram = intercepted and decoded by British, and given to America.

--Among Central Powers, Allies promised restoration of Alsace-Lorraine to France, independence to Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, and Yugoslavs. Within the Ottoman empire, British tried to incite Arab independence. But British also supported Zionist Jewish h omeland in Palestine. Armenians = systematically exterminated in Turkey.

--British and French moved easily into German colonies.

--Japan, with Allies, declared war on Germany and overran German Asian possessions. In 1915, Japan presented 21 Demands on China, a secret ultimatum which China mostly had to accept. Japan began to turn Manchuria and N. China into an exclusive protect orate.

--German war aims: German domination of all central Europe. German dependencies along the Baltic, other satellites in east and west.

--All these developments, especially the Allied negotiations, hindered the later peace conference. All preserved some of the most unsettling tendencies of European politics before the war. Only when driven by Wilson did the Allies give any thought to controlling anarchic nationalism or preventing war.

#87: The Collapse of Russia and the Intervention of the USA

The Withdrawal of Russia: Revolution and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

--Revolution of 1917 proved the tsarist government unable to meet the challenge of the war. Tsar lost loyalty of all his subjects by seriously bungling up the war. In 1917, troops in St. Petersburg mutinied, and strikes and riots desolated the city. D uma pressed for reform. Soon after, Tsar abdicated. Provisional Government took over, composed mostly of liberal democrats and constitutionalists. New government believed that a liberal and parliamentary regime could not succeed in Russia unless German Em pire = defeated. Thus, pursued the war with renewed vigor, but armies soon collapsed.

--People = sick of war, led to Marxists, who = divided into Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. Bolsheviks seized power, and concluded the treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany in March, 1918. Essentially gave Germany Poland, Ukraine, Finland, and the Baltic pr ovinces.

--Treaty = Germany's greatest success. Russia = neutralized, and war = now 1-front. Puppets = at heads of new Eastern European states. Relieved much of naval blockade by drawing food from the Ukraine.

--1918 = thus essentially a race to see if enough US aid could reach Europe fast enough to offset the German gains. In March, Germany mounted a huge offensive sending French and British recoiling. Germans = now on the Marne.

The USA and the War

--Wilson wanted to keep USA neutral.

--For Central Powers: Many people = born in Europe or children of immigrants. Irish = anti-British and Germans = pro-German.

--For Allies: After Boer and Spanish-American wars, pro-British sentiment = at new high. Sale of war materials to Allies and purchase of Allied government bonds gave small but influential circles material interest in Allied victory. If not isolationis t, ideology of democracy, freedom, and progress now favored Allies. But British and French also allied with reactionary tsarist government.

--Fall of tsarist government and rise of democrats and progressives destroyed an ideological barrier to US intervention, for Bolshevism and Lenin had not yet arisen. Demand for US intervention = now more insistent.

--Germany gave up trying to keep USA out. Blockade = straining Germans, war = stagnating on land. German high command listened more readily to plans of submarine experts, who claimed they could force British surrender in 6 months if given a free hand. Many objected, fearing entry of USA, but they = overruled. Germany resumed unrestricted sub warfare in Feb, 1917. Germans estimated that USA would need 1 year to send troops to Europe, leaving plenty of time to cripple Britain.

--Wilson broke off diplomatic relations and ordered arming of US freighters. Also, publication of Zimmermann telegram proved German aggressiveness. In Feb and Mar, several US ships = sunk. Wilson concluded that Germany = a menace, and declared war "to make the world safe for democracy."

--German subs = very successful. Terror in London: Britain = reduced to 6 weeks of food. But countermeasures against subs = developed, and freighters steamed across Atlantic in groups of hundred under warship protection. US navy, which = fairly strong , aided Allies substantially in this escort. Submarines = now a nuisance, and Germans succeeded only in bringing USA into war without crushing GBr.

--On Western Front, stalemate largely continued. But Central powers streamed into N. Italy until French and British arrived to hold the line. Thus, stalemate = re-emphasized, and Allies waited for the Americans.

--USA mobilized quickly and hugely, made available enormous stocks to Allies. But for airplanes and artillery ammunition, USA still depended on British and French manufactures.

The Final Phase of the War

--All Allied forces = put under command of French general Ferdinand Foch. Fresh US troops effectively repulsed the Germans, who soon notified their government that they could not win the war. Germany made peace overtures to President Wilson, and an ar mistice = arranged. Shooting war = over. USA, although suffered minimal casualties from late entry, played a crucial role.

#88: The Collapse of the Austrian and German Empires

--War = fatal to German and Austrian Empires. Subject Habsburg nationalities received recognition from Allies and declared independence in October. Habsburg Charles I abdicated in November, and Austria = proclaimed a republic. Thus, Czechoslovakia, Yu goslavia, an enlarged Rumania, and a republican Hungary and Austria = created.

--German empire stood until the closing weeks. Liberals, democrats, and socialists had lately begun to press for peace and democratization. But only when High Command recommended that the Kaiser ask for peace and a new government be formed in Berlin, based on the Reichstag majority, did the government take action.

--Emperor, high command, officers, and aristocrats = unloading frantically on civilians. Civilian and democratic elements, and not the army or Kaiser, must be the ones to sue for peace. Army must never lose.

--Wilson demanded that the German government become more democratic. Thus, when he negotiated the peace, he would = talking to the German people themselves, and not a discredited elite. Germans increasingly viewed the Kaiser as an obstacle to peace or felt they would get better terms of peace if Allies saw them as a republic. William II abdicated in November, and Germany = made a republic. War = ended 2 days later.

--Thus, fall of German empire = not rooted in any basic discontent or deep revolution. It was just another episode of the war. Allies demanded it, and the German people wanted peace. German military caste wanted to save its face and future strength, a nd to be excused for now. German army's discipline and organization = apparently unhurt.

#89: The Economic and Social Impact of the War

Effects on Capitalism: Government-Regulated Economies

--Older capitalism = founded on premise that government should leave business alone. But government, with tariffs, etc., = coming increasingly into economic arena. Finally, during war, government had to control business minutely. Idea of "planned econ omy" = synthesized. All wealth, resources, and moral purpose = directed to one end.

--Free competition = now too wasteful and undirected private enterprise too wasteful and slow. Profit motive = stigmatized. Exploiters of shortages = called profiteers. Consumption goods = cut to a minimum. New goal = the coordination or "rationaliza tion" of production for good of whole country. Labor = discouraged from striking. Excess = embarrassing and unpatriotic. New impetus to idea of economic equality.

--Military conscription took men away from home. Women poured in to take their places in industry, administration. Women's rights inc. greatly.

--Government control of foreign trade. European countries tried to export as little as possible to conserve resources. Thus, could pay for massive imports of US goods only through massive loans. USA = now world's leading creditor country.

--Germans, pressed for resources, developed a thorough and efficient "war socialism." German synthetics.

Inflation, Industrial Changes, Control of Ideas

--Huge demand for goods and stressed industry made for rapid inflation. Inflation in turn lowered social status of people whose money incomes could not be easily raised. Huge national debt meant higher taxes for many years. To pay debt, European natio ns would have to export more than they imported, threatening the very pattern of European life.

--With Europe absorbed in war, other nations developed their own industry. New competition, undermining of Europe's position as workshop of the world.

--Freedom of thought = discarded. Propaganda and censorship. This helped each side's citizens to sustain its huge war effort, but also hindered peace.

#90: The Peace of Paris, 1919

The Fourteen Points and the Treaty of Versailles

--In 1918, Wilson proposed his 14 Points as the principles along which the victory and peace were to be established: 1) end to secret treaties and secret diplomacy, 2) freedom of seas, 3) removal of barriers and inequalities in international trade, 4) arms reductions, 5) colonial readjustments, 6) evacuation of occupied territory, 7) self-determination of nationalities and redrawing of European boundaries along national lines, and 8) an international political organization to prevent future wars. Repr esentative of the fruition of the democratic, liberal, progressive, and nationalistic movements of the past century.

--Wilson thought this World War should end in a new kind of treaty abandoning the sinister old diplomacy now blamed for the war. Treaties henceforth had been based on power or unprincipled deals and bargains made without regard to the people concerne d.

--But French wanted war damage payments, and British vetoed freedom of the seas. But otherwise, the Allies = willing to follow Wilson's lead. Germans expected that, as a republic, they would = treated with moderation, and a new democratic Germany woul d reemerge into the place history allotted for it.

--Matters = decided by Wilson, Lloyd George for England, Clemenceau for France, and Orlando for Italy. Wilson fought for League of Nations. Other three agreed to it only in return for concessions to national self-interest that compromised the ideals o f the 14 Points. But Wilson believed that through the League, these problems would = easily sorted out.

--French wanted protection from Germany. Obtained this from an Anglo-American-French treaty promising British and American aid if France = attacked. Also, Alsace-Lorraine = returned, and coal-rich Saar = given to France for 15 years. Rhineland = larg ely demilitarized, and under Allied occupation for 15 years to assure compliance.

--In east, strong buffer states = set up against Bolshevism in Russia. Much territory = assigned to Poland, including much that = partially German. Czechoslovakia also got much German land.

--Austria = severed from its empire. Germany lost all its colonies to the League, which assigned them to various nations. Italy got nothing. Chinese and Japanese = dissatisfied.

--Germany lost its fleet, and its army = limited to 100,000. Army = made exclusively professional. No heavy guns, aviation, or submarines allowed. Wilson's demilitarization = applied to Germany alone.

--German war damage payments. France and Britain wanted Germany to pay for entire war. Wilson noted that such payment, though not totally unjust, = impossible for the German economy. Actual setting of the amount = set for a later time. But it = dimly realized that Germany would have to pay through its exports. Maddened Allies unloaded on the Germans.

--To justify reparations, Allies contrived the war guilt clause. Germans considered their honor as a people to be sullied.

--Thus, Germans at first refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Only when Allies threatened more hostilities, a government crisis resulted in Berlin. The Social Democrats and Catholic Center decided to shoulder the burden and sign.

--Paris peace conference also marked the recession of Russian, Austrian, and Turkish Empires. Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia = created. Rumania and Greece enlarged. Austria and Hungary separated. Turkey = r educed to Asia Minor and Constantinople. France got Syria and Lebanon. GBr got Palestine and Iraq. Creation of Yugoslavia satisfied most Slavic nationalists.

Significance of the Paris Peace Settlement

--Most general principle of Peace = right of national self-determination. Nationalism = thought to have gone along naturally with liberalism and democracy. But also, peacemakers were confronted with the fait accompli of these new states' independence.

--But each state also had several minorities within it, and members of its own race outside it. Thus, minorities and irredentism = still a problem. These problems with the German minorities = cause of W.

--Treaty of Versailles = not successful. German menace = still there: treaty = either too severe or too lenient. Allies imposed on the republic the same terms it might have on the Empire. But also, the treaty was not harsh enough to seriously disable its economic and political strength. Allied public opinion often thought the treaty unfair or unworkable, and Allies = often unwilling to enforce its terms.

--Italians, French, Chinese, Japanese, Russians, and of course Germans = dissatisfied. USA never even ratified because of party politics back home. USA also did not approve Anglo-Franco-American alliance, and French thought themselves duped.

--League of Nations = established, but thought by many as a simple device to maintain the status quo in favor of France and GBr. League = also powerless without approval of all great powers.

--WWI = death blow to monarchy and aristocratic feudalism.