While the First World War is often perceived as an unexpected catastrophe which happened at a time when people were not used to war, the reality is people were already living under terror, imperialist rule and degradation. World War I was, therefore, was an acceleration of what had already been witnessed. Moreover, before the First World War occurred, there were already major wars which attracted global players.
World War I was not the only Great War in history. In Paraguay, there was a great war which marked a fight against Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. The war which began in 1864 claimed more than 300,000 lives. 1 Uruguay had also experienced war for 13 years which had begun in 1939. The war was an internal struggle between the progressive party and the conservative nationalists. The war had brought several European powers on the side of the reformers such as Great Britain, France, and Italy. Paris and London had sent their ships and troops to help fight the war. 2
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Technological advancement during the Enlightenment era and the Renaissance period had given the Europeans an advantage over the minorities, enabling them to conquer, control, and colonize the world. In the 19th century, Europeans had begun to compete for mass global empires. However, France, Britain, and Russia had started to have problems with latecomers such as Germany that wanted to be given good positions. Whereas Germany did not have many colonies, its rapid growth scared Britain and France. The population of Germany had increased to 65 million which was more than that of France and Britain combined. Germany also boasted of having the best rail network in the continent of Europe allowing for growth and mobility. Because of its population, growth, and development, Germany believed that they had a voice in the world's affairs.
There was also another war which was fought from 1756 to 1763. The war drew participants from the major imperial nations including France, Britain, Russia, and Spain. Moreover, the action in the war was global as it was fought in Europe and across North America, the Caribbean, India, Mediterranean, and Atlantic. 3 Another war witnessed in history was the war of Austrian succession and that of Spanish Succession. There was also the war of the Grand Alliance before the First World War. America's war for independence also attracted global conflict. Whereas the war started at Lexington and Concorde in 1775 and was within the 13 colonies, finally it attracted many countries around the world. 4 As the war continued to rage America, the enemies of King George from Spain, France, and Holland joined and soon afterward England got itself fighting the West Indies, Europe, Mediterranean, and the Subcontinent.
There was another twelve year of Napoleonic War which attracted at least forty distinct kingdoms, states, and principalities such as France Russia, Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Austrian, Persia and Ottoman Empire. The Napoleonic War also qualified to be labeled World War since it attracted many world nations. While there were so many global conflicts in history, the use of the term World War was not recognized and was not considered as a language until the 20th century. 5 Even before there were hostilities of 1914, the term had not been popularized. Many historians observe that the military alliances had long existed way before the powerful European countries threatened the peace of the world. 6 Many had warned that the showdown of different power states would draw an epic world war. If anything the term world war first appeared in newspapers in 1909. When the conflict started amongst nations of Tripple Entente and Tripple Alliance five years later, it was known as the World War.
Immediately before the First World War, there were tensions that were brewing in Europe along the Balkan region for a long time. There were several alliances which involved the European powers. Russia, the Ottoman Empire had existed for a long time but the political instability around the region threatened the peace of the region. World War I was ignited by tension in Sarajevo Bosnia in which the heir to the Astro-Hungarian Empire was killed together with his wife by Serbian national. 7 Princip together with other nationals was determined to end the Hungarian rule over Herzegovina and Bosnia. The assassination of the heir ignited a fast-escalating chain of events. Like several countries in the world, Austria-Hungary put blame on the government of Serbia for the assassination of the heir and used it as a justification of settling the problem of Serbian nationalism.
Since Russia threw its support to Serbia, Austria-Hungary was afraid of declaring war until the leaders got assurance from Kaiser Wilhelm, the leader of Germany that they would support their cause. The Austro-Hungarian leaders were also afraid that the intervention of Russia would involve other Russian allies such as Great Britain and France. 8 Kaiser Wilhelm made a secret pledge and supported Austria-Hungary giving a carte blanche, an assurance that Germany would back them in the war. The two monarchs of Austria-Hungary then gave Serbia an ultimatum with terms which were almost impossible for Serbia to accept.
When the First World War began, First Battle of the Marne was fought from 6th to 9th September 1914. The military forces from Britain and France had confronted the Germany forces who had invaded France and penetrated deep in the Northeastern region almost 30 miles into Paris. The troops had been monitoring the German as they advanced and put up a successful counterattack pushing the Germans back to the north. The German defeat would mean the end of the German plan for their success in France. Both sides had put up trenches with the Western front settling for attrition war that lasted for almost three years. More costly and long battles in the campaign were fought at Verdun. Both France and German troops had almost million casualties in that war alone.
On the Eastern Front, troops from Russia had invaded the German regions of Poland and East Prussia but were shortly stopped by German and Austrian forces at the Battle of Tannenberg. Despite the victory, assault of Russia made Germany to move two of its corps to the Eastern front from the western front. This contributed to the German loss in the War of Marne. Together with the resistance in France, Russia's capability of huge war by the use of sophisticated machines ensured longer conflict instead of the conquest that Germany had hoped to win.
Between the period of 1914 and 1916, troops from Russia had already put up many offensives on the Eastern Front, but the Red Army could not break through German lines. Economic instability and a shortage of food and other necessities led to discontent amongst the population of Russia particularly the poor peasants and workers. The escalated hostilities were directed to the imperial regime and the unpopular German wife known as Alexandra. The United States for a long time remained on the neutral side of the war and continued to take part in shipping and commerce with the European countries on both conflicting sides. It was, however, getting difficult to maintain neutrality in the face of the unchecked submarine of Germany.
In conclusion, World War I was a continuation of the series of wars and terror which had been witnessed in the past. Before the First World War, there were several other wars which had attracted players from all over the world. Napoleon wars had, for example, been fought for almost twelve years before the First World War. Technological advancement during the Enlightenment era and the Renaissance period had given the Europeans an advantage over the minorities, enabling them to conquer, control, and colonize the world. In the 19th century, Europeans had begun to compete for mass global empires. However, France, Britain, and Russia had started to have problems with latecomers such as Germany that wanted to be given good positions. When the First World War finally came, it found tension already brewed out of the past conflicts.
Bibliography
Fussell, Paul. The Great War and modern memory . Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2009.
Tuchman, Barbara W. The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914; Barbara W. Tuchman's Great War Series . Random House, 2011.
Watson, Janet SK. Fighting different wars: experience, memory, and the First World War in Britain . Vol. 16. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
1 Tuchman, Barbara W. The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914; Barbara W. Tuchman's Great War Series . Random House, 2011.
2 Tuchman, Barbara W. The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914; Barbara W. Tuchman's Great War Series . Random House, 2011.
3 Fussell, Paul. The Great War and modern memory . Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2009.
4 Watson, Janet SK. Fighting different wars: experience, memory, and the First World War in Britain . Vol. 16. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
5 Fussell, Paul. The Great War and modern memory . Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2009.
6 Watson, Janet SK. Fighting different wars: experience, memory, and the First World War in Britain . Vol. 16. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
7 Watson, Janet SK. Fighting different wars: experience, memory, and the First World War in Britain . Vol. 16. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
8 Tuchman, Barbara W. The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914; Barbara W. Tuchman's Great War Series . Random House, 2011.
