7.2 Flashcards
1
Q
Prewar illusions before 1914
A
- people thought that war involved many political and economic risks so war was not worth fighting
- some thought that rational diplomats could control any situation and prevent the outbreak of war
2
Q
Coming of 1914-1915: Illusions
A
- at first, when the government said that they needed soldiers, people were willing to listen/ follow, especially MIDDLE CLASS CROWDS
- however, some peasants/ workers were not as eager IN THE BEGINNING
- then! people were convinced that their nation’s cause was just and put aside their domestic differences (socialism, look it up)
3
Q
1914-1915: Illusions
A
- people thought that war would be SHORT
- people thought that war could not be conducted for more than a few months without destroying a nation’s economy
- some thought that war would be a release from “humdrum bourgeois existence”
- war would be a glorious adventure
- war would rid the nation of selfishness and spark a national rebirth of self-sacrifice, heroism etc…
4
Q
War in the West in 1914-1915
A
- the schlieffen plan said for german army to go through belgium, into northern france and go into paris
- they needed a strong right flank for encircling paris, but they were scared of russia coming in, so they moved this flank to the east
- france continued their moving to paris
- they were about to win but! britain came in and stopped them
- they were at a stalemate because they were both in their TRENCHES
5
Q
War in the East in 1914-1915
A
- rusisa moved into eastern germany and defeated
- as a result of these two wars, russia wasn’t a threat to german territory
- in AUSTRIA, they were defeated by russians in galicia and serbia & italy attacked them
- however! german-austrian army came back and pushed by russian army in galicia and eliminated serbia from the war
6
Q
Trench Warfare
A
- this lasted for 4 months
- this happened in the war in the west
- it went from the english channel to the swiss border
- they were used for defense (barbed wire, machine gun nests)
7
Q
1916-1917: The Great Slaughter
A
- military leaders (who wanted wars of movement and maneuver) were not able to do that because of trenches
- they decided to start attacking enemies barbed wire, leaving enemy in shock, then sending men to go to enemy lines, so that they could have a war of movement and maneuver
- this didn’t really work
- battle of verdun, somme, and champagne are some examples of this failure
8
Q
Daily Life in the Trenches
A
- there were unimaginable horrors
- clouds of confusion
- battlefields had barbed wire, shell holes, mud, injured and dying men
- poison gas
- always a presence of death
- they rotated jobs in the trenches
- it was predictable
9
Q
The creation of new allies
A
- because of the stalemate, people looked for new allies
- ottoman empire joined germany’s side
- russia, great britain and france declared war on ottoman empire
- britain landed in gallipoli, but because bulgaria joined germany’s side, britain retreated
- bulgaria joined germany’s side
- italians also joined france
- japan joined allies
10
Q
Central Powers
A
- germany, austria hungary, ottoman empire, bulgaria
- 1914-1917
11
Q
Allies
A
- britain, france, russia
- 1914-1917
12
Q
Britain in the colonies
A
- lawrence of arabia
- britain forces from egypt destroyed ottoman empire in middle east
- 1916
13
Q
lawrence of arabia
A
- convinced arab provinces to revolt against ottoman overlords
- 1916
14
Q
Africa
A
- allies took german colonies in africa
- france recruited african troops to fight in europe (many died)
- africans were also used for labor
15
Q
Impact of war in Africa
A
- the extension of colonial rule since germany’s african colonies were transferred to winning powers (britain, france)
- africans began to advocate political and social equality
16
Q
Japan
A
- japan joined allies
- they wanted to get some of germany’s lands in asia
17
Q
The entry of the United States
A
- britain put a naval blockade on germany
- germany responded by putting a unrestricted submarine warfare
- americans started to protest against this after lusitania
- germany then took this out
- they then put it back on
- this would cause the british to starve
- then, the USA entered
18
Q
unrestricted submarine warfare
A
- the area around the british isles was a war zone
- germany said that it would torpedo any ship caught in it
19
Q
Lusitania
A
- 100 americans lost their lives
- british ship
- this caused americans to protest against this after lusitania
- germany then took unrestricted submarine warfare out
20
Q
A New Kind of Warfare
A
- planes
- tanks
21
Q
Planes
A
- they were used to attack ground targets, enemy communications
- zeppelins
22
Q
Tanks
A
- the first tanks were not very effective
- but then they started to have more powerful engines and greater maneuverability
- they came too late to have a great affect on outcome of WWI
23
Q
Total War: Political Centralization and Economic Regimentation
A
- with the war starting to get longer and patriotism dying, they needed to start ……
- conscriptions started to happen
- even countries who had volunteers (britain) did compulsory military service
- however! skilled workers stayed at home
- also! the government is expanding their power by controlling the economy by…
- controlling prices, nationalization of industries, compulsory employment
- basically, the LIBERALISTIC idea of a government was gone
24
Q
Total War: Germany
A
- germany was successful in creating a planned economy
- but they were not successful with rationing of food (there was a labor shortage and british blockade causing food shortages to be unavoidable)
- the german war government became under military authority and were controlled basically by military dictators
25
Total War: Britain
- the power of the central government was increased
- the government, instead of doing liberal ideas of government not interfering with economy, started to have a more active role
- for example, they made sure that private industries would produce war material at limiting profits and could take over plants that did not cooperate with them
- the also rationed food supplies and imposed rent controls
26
Total War: France
- not as successful as germany and britain
- it was difficult to create a strong war government because germany occupation and strained relationship between civil and military authorities
- they eventually found a strong leader who created a civilian control of a total war government
27
Total War: Russia and Austria-Hungary
- their backward economies proved incapable of turning out the quantity of raw material needed to fight
- their numerous minorities made it difficult to have unity
28
Total War: Italy
-they lacked public enthusiasm and industrial resources
29
Public Order and Public opinion: 1916-1917
- as the war dragged on, patriotic enthusiasm was replaced by internal dissatisfaction
- strike activity increased dramatically (easter rebellion)
- later on, more dramatic protests occurred (mutinies, etc...)
- war governments fought back to the growing opposition
- even the parliamentary regimes started to expand police powers to stifle internal dissent
- war time governments used propaganda to arouse enthusiasm for war
30
Easter Rebellion
- example of Public Order and Public opinion in 1916-1917
- irish people went into government building on easter sunday
- british crushed them
31
Origin of Public Order and Public opinion: 1916-1917
- liberals in germany and britain
- socialists in germany and austria
- they both wanted negotiations
32
The Social Impact of Total War: Labor
- governments didn’t want labor problems to disrupt production
- so they asked for the cooperation of trade unions
- this led to increased prestige of trade unions and collective bargaining practices
33
The Social Impact of Total War: Women
- since men were off fighting, women took jobs and responsibilities that had not been open to them before
- they were employed in jobs that had been considered “beyond the capacity of women” ESPECIALLY FACTORY WORKERS IN HEAVY INDUSTRY
- women were allowed to vote in germany, austria, and USA after the war
34
The Social Impact of Total War: Women NEGATIVE
- males resisted having women working in places where they worked because since women were getting lower wages, maybe it would depress their own wages
- women called for equal-pay legislation, they got it but it really wasn’t equal
- women didn’t have real security because they thought it would TEMPORARY
- infact, after the war, women were removed from the workforce
35
The Social Impact of Total War: Social Leveler
- not one particular class experienced all the deaths
- aristocracy in the trenches
- the unskilled workers that were killed by machine guns
- skilled workers however! stayed at home in war industries
36
The Social Impact of Total War: Class conflict
- since there was a burst of patriotic enthusiasm, people thought that there was a new sense of community that meant the end of class conflict
- but they were wrong
37
The Social Impact of Total War: Economic
- the large industries benefited while small firms had to shut down
- inflation. many people lost purchasing power because wage outstrip prices (skilled workers were able to earn wages that helped them keep up with inflation, but no unskileld workers)
- middle class were hit hard
