World War I
9th and 10th Grade Informational Reading Texts
"This is a war to end all wars." --Woodrow Wilson.
World War I (The Great War) was unlike any conflict the world had ever seen. Lasting from 1914-1918, it was the first industrialized war, employing weapons made more mechanized with technology from the Industrial Revolution. It was also considered the first truly global conflict, because it was fought on multiple fronts and involved nations from nearly every continent. Millions of soldiers and civilians lost their lives. The war affected daily life for citizens in ways never before seen. National boundaries were transformed. World leaders hoped to resolve this conflict with a lasting peace, yet nations were embroiled in World War II less than thirty years later following a global economic depression. Hegemony started to shift from Western Europe toward the Soviet Union and the United States, and it all started with the first global war.
The latter portion of the 19th century was largely a time of peace in continental Europe. Nations were engaged in political transformations and economic industrialization, causing them to focus inward and strengthen their domestic structures. Some countries, particularly those of Western Europe, turned attention abroad as they built colonial empires. As a result, there was not much international conflict on the European continent in the 100 years preceding World War I. However, the very factors that kept the peace eventually caused the Great War.
Italy and Germany underwent unification in the mid-19th century. They emerged as stronger, more dominant forces offsetting the former balance of power in Europe. Germany was exceptionally rapid in its rise as an industrial, political, and military force. Tensions lingered between France and Germany after France's loss in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine. Otto von Bismarck, Germany's prime minister, pursued a course of diplomacy aimed at alienating France and forging alliances to protect Germany and maintain peace in Europe. France responded by forming its own alliances. Coupled with the race to build colonial empires, fierce nationalism, and growing military forces, Europe charted an inevitable course toward war. When considering the causes of World War I, there is no singular "bad guy" to take the blame. Rather, the causes are an intricate and complex mixture of short-term and long-term influences.
Prompted by a desire to showcase their strength and prestige, the major European powers engaged in an arms race or competition to build up the most extensive stores of weapons and armed forces. As one nation increased the size of its military, others responded in kind. For example, Great Britain had a well-established navy, stemming from roots during the Industrial Revolution and its extensive colonial empire. Germany embarked on a quest to build a navy to rival that of Great Britain, resulting in tension between the two nations. The naval rivalry centered on construction of the Dreadnought battleship, launched in 1906.
The Dreadnought revolutionized naval technology, and redefined the standard for battleship technology. Germany went to work constructing its own destroyers, and Great Britain responded by expanding its fleet. Between 1870 and 1914 the major powers in Europe more than doubled the size of their militaries. This is a sizable increase under any circumstances, but especially notable in peacetime. Conscription, sometimes called a draft, was a tool used to achieve this increase by requiring individuals to enlist in the military.
By the summer of 1914, Europe was polarized by alliances to come to another country's aid if they were under attack. The initial intention was to preserve national security. Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary comprised the Triple Alliance; its counterpart, the Triple Entente, included France, Britain, and Russia. Russia also had agreements with Slavic nations in Eastern Europe.
The alliance system was built on the premise that nations would avoid battle on a small scale to prevent war on a large scale. This proved to be a dangerous assertion, because it can also mean that a small skirmish can quickly escalate into a colossal conflict.
During the 1800s, Western European countries built colonial empires that reached every corner of the globe. Seeking raw materials to fuel industrialization and cultivation of new markets to purchase finished goods, this land grab was fast and furious. Britain and France were leaders of this wave of imperialism, exerting power and influence over other nations. Tensions mounted as the scramble to acquire territory, especially in Africa and Asia, intensified. Germany and Italy were a bit late to the game since they were not fully unified until 1871, but they sought to build overseas empires as well. Rivalries and distrust abounded. In one example, Germany and France nearly went to war after a clash over interests in Morocco in 1905. The result was a climate of competition ripe for conflict by 1914.
Nationalism was the underlying force driving other causes of World War I. Nationalism fueled militarism and the desire for a strong country. It compelled nations to exert imperialist influences, expand territorial boundaries, and carve out their share of the industrial economy. Nationalism can be a unifying force, as it was in Germany and Italy.
Nationalism can be divisive as well, as in the case of the multiethnic Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. The spirit of nationalism kindled a desire for ethnic groups with common language and common histories to seek their own sovereign states, as opposed to being part of larger empires. This was especially prevalent in the Balkans, a region in southeastern Europe. The region was formerly under Ottoman rule, but they gradually lost their hold as their empire went into decline. Russia and Austria-Hungary both hoped to gain supremacy in the region. The Balkans became a hotbed of nationalist tension, sometimes called the "powder keg" of Europe. One example of nationalist sentiment was Pan-Slavism, a movement to unite Slavic peoples. This movement was backed by Russia, a Slavic nation. Russia would also benefit from the Pan-Slavic movement if it meant that they would gain territory with access to the Black Sea, by undermining Austria-Hungary's authority in the Balkans.
World War I (The Great War) was unlike any conflict the world had ever seen. Lasting from 1914-1918, it was the first industrialized war, employing weapons made more mechanized with technology from the Industrial Revolution. It was also considered the first truly global conflict, because it was fought on multiple fronts and involved nations from nearly every continent. Millions of soldiers and civilians lost their lives. The war affected daily life for citizens in ways never before seen. National boundaries were transformed. World leaders hoped to resolve this conflict with a lasting peace, yet nations were embroiled in World War II less than thirty years later following a global economic depression. Hegemony started to shift from Western Europe toward the Soviet Union and the United States, and it all started with the first global war.
The latter portion of the 19th century was largely a time of peace in continental Europe. Nations were engaged in political transformations and economic industrialization, causing them to focus inward and strengthen their domestic structures. Some countries, particularly those of Western Europe, turned attention abroad as they built colonial empires. As a result, there was not much international conflict on the European continent in the 100 years preceding World War I. However, the very factors that kept the peace eventually caused the Great War.
Italy and Germany underwent unification in the mid-19th century. They emerged as stronger, more dominant forces offsetting the former balance of power in Europe. Germany was exceptionally rapid in its rise as an industrial, political, and military force. Tensions lingered between France and Germany after France's loss in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine. Otto von Bismarck, Germany's prime minister, pursued a course of diplomacy aimed at alienating France and forging alliances to protect Germany and maintain peace in Europe. France responded by forming its own alliances. Coupled with the race to build colonial empires, fierce nationalism, and growing military forces, Europe charted an inevitable course toward war. When considering the causes of World War I, there is no singular "bad guy" to take the blame. Rather, the causes are an intricate and complex mixture of short-term and long-term influences.
Prompted by a desire to showcase their strength and prestige, the major European powers engaged in an arms race or competition to build up the most extensive stores of weapons and armed forces. As one nation increased the size of its military, others responded in kind. For example, Great Britain had a well-established navy, stemming from roots during the Industrial Revolution and its extensive colonial empire. Germany embarked on a quest to build a navy to rival that of Great Britain, resulting in tension between the two nations. The naval rivalry centered on construction of the Dreadnought battleship, launched in 1906.
The Dreadnought revolutionized naval technology, and redefined the standard for battleship technology. Germany went to work constructing its own destroyers, and Great Britain responded by expanding its fleet. Between 1870 and 1914 the major powers in Europe more than doubled the size of their militaries. This is a sizable increase under any circumstances, but especially notable in peacetime. Conscription, sometimes called a draft, was a tool used to achieve this increase by requiring individuals to enlist in the military.
By the summer of 1914, Europe was polarized by alliances to come to another country's aid if they were under attack. The initial intention was to preserve national security. Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary comprised the Triple Alliance; its counterpart, the Triple Entente, included France, Britain, and Russia. Russia also had agreements with Slavic nations in Eastern Europe.
The alliance system was built on the premise that nations would avoid battle on a small scale to prevent war on a large scale. This proved to be a dangerous assertion, because it can also mean that a small skirmish can quickly escalate into a colossal conflict.
During the 1800s, Western European countries built colonial empires that reached every corner of the globe. Seeking raw materials to fuel industrialization and cultivation of new markets to purchase finished goods, this land grab was fast and furious. Britain and France were leaders of this wave of imperialism, exerting power and influence over other nations. Tensions mounted as the scramble to acquire territory, especially in Africa and Asia, intensified. Germany and Italy were a bit late to the game since they were not fully unified until 1871, but they sought to build overseas empires as well. Rivalries and distrust abounded. In one example, Germany and France nearly went to war after a clash over interests in Morocco in 1905. The result was a climate of competition ripe for conflict by 1914.
Nationalism was the underlying force driving other causes of World War I. Nationalism fueled militarism and the desire for a strong country. It compelled nations to exert imperialist influences, expand territorial boundaries, and carve out their share of the industrial economy. Nationalism can be a unifying force, as it was in Germany and Italy.
Nationalism can be divisive as well, as in the case of the multiethnic Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. The spirit of nationalism kindled a desire for ethnic groups with common language and common histories to seek their own sovereign states, as opposed to being part of larger empires. This was especially prevalent in the Balkans, a region in southeastern Europe. The region was formerly under Ottoman rule, but they gradually lost their hold as their empire went into decline. Russia and Austria-Hungary both hoped to gain supremacy in the region. The Balkans became a hotbed of nationalist tension, sometimes called the "powder keg" of Europe. One example of nationalist sentiment was Pan-Slavism, a movement to unite Slavic peoples. This movement was backed by Russia, a Slavic nation. Russia would also benefit from the Pan-Slavic movement if it meant that they would gain territory with access to the Black Sea, by undermining Austria-Hungary's authority in the Balkans.