Ch 26. War and
Revolution 1914-1919
The Road to
War
·
No single cause for WWI, some things helped pave
way to war
o Growing
competition over colonies and world markets
o Belligerent
arms race
o Series
of diplomatic crises
o New
forms of populist nationalism, “my country right or wrong”
o Domestic
conflicts encouraged govs to pursue aggressive foreign policies to bolster
national unity
Growing International Conflict
·
WWI began in part because EPRN statesmen failed
to resolve diplomatic probs created by Germany’s rise to Great Power status
o Franco-Prussian
War and unification of Germany opened a new era in international relations
o By
end in 1871, France was defeated and Prussia-Germany was the most powerful ERPN
nation
o Bismarck
said Germany was a “satisfied” power – Germany had no territorial ambitions and
wanted peace
·
How was peace to be preserved
o Keep
France diplomatically isolated w/o military allies
o Threat
to peace from multinational empires of Austria-Hungary and Russia
§
Conflicting interests, particularly where the
waning Ottoman Empire had created a power vacuum in disputed borders of Balkans
·
Bismarck’s accomplishments in foreign policy
were great, but temporary
o 1871
to 1880s, maintained German leadership in international affairs
o Signed
series of defensive alliances with Austria-Hungary to isolate hostile France
·
In 1890, new Emperor William II dismissed
Bismarck, in part because he agreed with friendly policy towards Russia
o Under
William II, Bismarck’s planned alliance system began to unravel
o Germany
refused to renew non-aggression pact with Russia though Russians still wanted
to
o Prompted
long isolated repub France to court absolutist Russia: offering loans, arms,
support
o Early
1894, France and Russia became military allies
§
Continental ERP was divided into two rival
blocks
·
Triple Alliance: Austria, Germany, Italy; Italy
left alliance when war broke out in 1914 on grounds that Austria had launched a
war of aggression
·
Dual Alliance: Russia and France
o German
general staff began secret preparations for war
·
Brit’s foreign policy became crucial
o Long
content with its “splendid geographical isolation” and without alliances
o Brit
after 1891 was the only uncommitted Great Power
o Many
Germs and some Brits felt the advanced, and racially related
Germanic/Anglo-Saxon ppls were natural allies
o Good
relations between Prussia and Brit gave way to bitter Anglo-German rivalry
·
Several reasons for this tension
o Commercial
rivalry increased in 18902s as Germany became great industrial power
o Germany’s
pursuit of colonies threatened Brit’s interest
o Germany’s
decision in 1900 to expand greatly its battle fleet challenged Brit’s long
standing naval supremacy
·
Anglo-German tensions coincided with South
African War between Brit and Dutch in S. Africa
o Encouraged
worldwide opposition to Brit imperialism
o Brit
leaders set out shoring up exposed positions with alliances and agreements
o Improved
relations with US, concluded alliance with Japan in 1902, allied with France in
Anglo-French Entente of 1904 (settled all colonial disputes between
Brit/France)
·
Alarmed by Brit’s closer ties to France,
Germany’s leaders decided to test strength of their allies
o 1905
William II declared Morocco was an indep, sovereign state and demanded that
Germany receive the same trading rights as France
§
the First Moroccan Crisis clearly violated long
standing French colonial interests in the region
o William
II insisted on an international conference in hopes of settling the Moroccan
question to Germany’s benefit
o But
William’s bullying only brought France and Brit closer together
o Germany
left conference empty handed
·
Result of First Moroccan Crisis in 1905 was a
diplomatic revolution
o Brit,
France, Russia, and US began to see Germany as potential threat that might seek
to dominate all ERP
o German
leaders began to see plots to encircle Germany and block its development as a
world power
·
1907 Russia, battered with Russo-Japanese war
and revolution of 1905, agreed to settle quarrels with Brit in Persia and
Central Asia and signed the Anglo-Russian Agreement
o Laid
foundation of Triple Entente: Alliance between Britain, Russia, and France
·
Germany’s decision to add a large, enormously
expensive fleet of big gun battleships to its already expanding navy increased
tensions
o German
patriots saw large navy as the legit right of a great world power and a source
of national pride
o Brit
leaders saw German buildup as military challenge that forced them to spend
“People’s Budget on battleships rather than social welfare
§
“Germany is deliberately preparing to destroy
the British Empire”
§
By then, Brit had sided psychologically with France
and Russia’
·
Leading nations of ERP were divided into two
hostile camps, both unready for the worsening situation in the Balkans
o Brit/France/Russia
were allied in direct opposition to the German-led Triple Alliance
o Confirmed
failure of all ERPN leaders to incorporate Bismarck’s mighty empire permanently
and peacefully into the international system
o By
1914, many believed that war was inevitable
The Mood of 1914
·
Diplomatic rivalries and international crisis
were key roles in the rush to war
·
Attitudes/convictions of ERPNs around 1914
o Widespread
militarism (the popular approval of military institutions and their values
o Nationalism
o These
things encouraged leaders/citizens to see international relations as an arena
for the testing of national power, with war if necessary
·
Germany was esp famous for its
powerful/aggressive army; military institutions played a prominent role in
affairs of state and lives of ordinary ppl across ERP
o Politicians
relied on generals and military experts to shape public policy
o All
Great Powers built up their armed forces and designed mobilization plans to
rush men and weapons to the field of battle
o Universal
conscription in Germany, France, Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia – only Brit
still had volunteer army
§
Thousands of young men were exposed to military
culture/discipline
·
Continent hadn’t experienced a major conflict
since the Franco-Prussian War and ERPNs vastly underestimated the destructive
potential of modern weapons
o Encouraged
by patriotic national press, many believed war was glorious, many, and heroic
o Expected
another conflict, if it happened, would be over quickly
o Leading
politicians and intellectuals portrayed war as test of strength that would lead
to national unity and renewal
o Ideas
permeated EPRN society
·
Support for military values was closely linked
to growing sense of popular nationalism
o Since
1850 spread of idea that members of an ethnic group should live together in a
homogenous, united national state provoked international conflicts over borders
and citizenship rights
o Drove
arms race and struggle over colonies
o Popular
commitment tot national interests weakened groups that thought in terms of
international communities and consequences
o Expressions
of antiwar sentiment by socialists/women’s groups were seen as betrayal to
country in time of need
o Much
of population was ready for war
·
Statesmen had practical reasons for promoting
militarism and nationalism
o Long
used foreign adventurism and diplomatic posturing to distract ppl from domestic
conflicts
§
Brit, leaders faced civil war in N. Ireland and
a radical women’s movement
§
Russia, rev of 1905 and defeat in Russo-Japanese
war weakened support for tsarist regime
§
Germany, victory of Marxist Social Democratic
Party led gov authorities to believe the country was falling apart
§
French faced difficult labor and budget probs
·
Determined to hold onto power and frightened by
rising popular movements, ruling classes across EPR were willing to gamble on
diplomatic brinksmanship and war to postpone dealing with intractable social
probs
o Victory
meant preserving privileged positions of elite and rally masses behind national
cause
·
Patriotic Nationalism did bring unity in the
short run, but wealthy governing classes underestimated risk of war
o Forgotten
great wars and social revolutions go hand in hand
The Outbreak of War
·
June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the A-H throne, was
assassinated by Serbian revolutionaries during a state visit to the Bosnian
capital of Sarajevo
o Gavril Princep, member of radical group
Young Bosnia, shot archduke and wife Sophie as they passed
o Was
captured, remained unrepentant
o “I
am a Yugoslav nationalist, aiming for the unification of all Yugoslavs, and I
do not care what form of state, but it must be free from Austria”
·
Princip’s deed, in territories of Balkans
between weakened Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empires, led ERP into
world war
o War
in the Balkans, the “tinderbox of ERP” seemed inevitable
o Between
1900-1914, Western powers successfully forced Ottoman rulers to give up ERPN
territories
o Ethnic
nationalism was destroying Ottoman Empire and threatening A-H
o Only
questions were what kinds of wars would result and where they would lead
·
By early 20th c, nationalism in SE
ERP was on rise
o Indep
Serbia was eager to build state that would include all ethnic Serbs
o Openly
hostile to A-H and Ottoman Empire, since both included substantial Serbian
minorities within their borders
·
To block Serbian expansion, A in 1908 formally
annexed the territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina
o Southern
part of A-H Empire now included even larger Serbian population as well as
Croats and Muslims
o Serbians
expressed rage but couldn’t do anything without support from Russia,
traditional ally
·
Tensions in Balkans erupted into regional war
o First
Balkan war of 1902: Serbia joined and then quarreled with Bulgaria over spoils
of victory
o Second
Balkan War of 1903: Bulgaria attacked its former allies
§
Austria intervened and forced Serbia to give up
Albania
·
After centuries, nationalism had finally
destroyed the Ottoman Empire in ERP
o Encouraged
by their success against ottoman Empire, Balkan nationalists increased demands
for freedom from Austrian control, dismaying leaders of A-H Empire
o Former
hoped and latter feared that Austria might next be broken apart
·
Within this context, assassination of Archduke
FF instigated a five week period of intense diplomatic activity that culminated
in world
o Leaders
of A-H concluded that Serbia was implicated in assassination and deserved
severe punishment
o July
23, 1914 A-H presented Serbia with an unconditional ultimatum, including
demands that would violate Serbian sovereignty
o Serbia
replied moderately but evasively
o Austria
mobilized armies and declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914
o Desperate
multinational A-H deliberately chose war to stem the rising tide of hostile
nationalism within its borders in a last-ditch attempt to save its existing
empire
·
From beginning, Germany pushed A-H to confront
Serbia and bore much responsibility in turning a little war into a world war
o William
II and chancellor Theobald von
Bethmann-Hollweg realized that war between Austria and Russia was likely,
for Russia would not stand by, as it had in Balkan wars, and watch Austrians
crush Serbs
o Bethmann-Hollweg
hoped although Russia (and ally France) would go to war, Brit would remain neutral,
unwilling to fight a war for Russia in the distant Balkans
·
To take advantage of these conditions, German
chancellor sent telegram to A-H that promised Germany’s unconditional support
in case of war
o Germany’s
actions encouraged prowar faction in Vienna to take a line against Serbs at a
time when moderation might have limited the crisis
·
Diplomatic situation spiraled out of control
o Military
plans and timetables began to dictate policy
o Russia
required much more time to mobilize armies than Germany and A-H did
o Complicated
mobilization plans of Russian general staff assumed a two front war with both
Austrian and Germany, Russia could not mobilize against one without mobilizing
against the other
o On
July 29, Tsar Nicholas II ordered full mobilization and in effect declared war
o German
general staff thought in terms of a two-front war
§
Misguided Schlieffen Plan: called for a quick
victory over France after a lightning attack through neutral Belgium (quickest
way to reach Paris) before turning on Russia
o August
3, German armies invaded Belgium
o Brit
declared war on Germany the following day
·
Speed of July crisis created shock, panic, and
excitement
o Final
days of July and first days of August, massive crowds thronged streets of
Paris, London, St. Petersburg, Berlin, and Vienna
o Shouted
enthusiastic prowar slogans and pushed politicians and military leaders toward
the inevitable confrontation
·
Events proceeded rapidly
o Those
who didn’t want war could do little to prevent it now
o In
a little over a month, a limited Austrian-Serbian war had become a ERPN wide
conflict, and the First World War had begun
Waging Total War
·
When Germs invaded Belgium in 1914, everyone
thought the war would be short and relatively painless
o In
western front in France and eastern front in Russia, the armies bogged down in
a new and extremely costly war termed total war: war in which distinctions
between the soldiers on the battlefield and civilians at home are blurred, and
where the gov plans and controls economic social life in order to supply the
armies at the front with supplies and weapons, termed by Erich Ludendorff
·
Total war meant new roles for soldiers and civilians
alike
o Lengthy,
violent, and deadly battles fought with all the weapons of a highly
industrialized society
o At
home, national economies were geared toward the war effort
o Govs
revoked civil liberties, and many civilians lost lives/livelihoods as occupying
armies moved through their towns and cities
·
Struggle expanded to include nations and ppls
outside of ERP
o Middle
East, Africa, E. Asia, and US
Stalemate and Slaughter on the Western Front
·
Belgian army heroically defended homeland and
fell back to join Brit army near Franco-Belgian border
·
Russian armies immediately attacked e. Germany,
forcing Germans to transfer troops to east
·
Instead of quickly capturing Paris, by August
the dead tired German soldiers were advancing slowly along an enormous front in
the scorching summer heat
·
Sept 6, French attacked gap in German line at
the Battle of Marne
o For
3 days, French threw everything into the attack
o French
gov requisitioned taxis to rush reserves to troops
o Germans
fell back – France saved
·
Armies stalled, both sides began to dig trenches
to protect themselves from machine gun fire
o By
Nov 1914, unbroken line of 400 miles of trenches
o Rows
of trenches, mines, and barbed wire defenses: Trench warfare: cost many lives
§
Conditions in trenches were horrendous
·
Recently invented weapons, the products of an
industrial age, made battle impersonal, traumatic, and extremely deadly
o Machine
gun, hand grenades, poison gas, flame throwers, long range artillery, airplane,
tank
o Favored
defense, increased casualties, revolutionized practice of war
·
High commands of combatant nations, who’d
learned military tactics and strategy in the 19th c, hardly
understood trench warfare
o Repeated
same mistakes, ordering massive offensive attacks for breakthroughs
o Attacking
soldiers rarely captured any substantial territory
·
French and Brit offensive of 1915 never gained
more than 3 miles of territory from the enemy
·
1916: Verdun cost 700,000 lives on both sides
and ended on a draw
o Failed
German attack
·
1917: Hard fought battles on all fronts,
millions wounded/died for no real gain
·
Battle of the Somme: Brit offensive in summer of
1916 in n France, exemplified horrors of trench warfare
o Bombardment
of German line intended to cut barbed wire defenses, decimate enemy trenches
and prevent Germans from making a defense
o Fired
nonstop
o Brits
went “over the top”
o Climbed
out of trenches and moved into no-man’s land into direction of the German lines
o Germans
fled into dugouts underground where they suffered w/ little
food/water/food/sleep
o As
Brits neared German lines, Germans emerged from bunkers, set up machine guns,
and mowed down approaching troops
o Wire
had not been cut, so struggling attackers weighed down by heavy packs, were
easy targets
o 20,000
Brits died, 40,000 wounded on first day
o Shook
troop morale and public opinion
o Brit
did push Germans back 7 miles
o Defending
insignificant land
The Widening War
·
ON eastern front, slaughter didn’t degenerate
into trench warfare, and fighting was dominated by Germany
o Germans
won major victories in Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes
o Russia
put pressure on relatively weak A-H army, but by 1915 the eastern front
stabilized in Germany’s favor
o German
armies occupied huge swaths of the Russian empire in central ERP, including
Polish, Belorussian, and Baltic territories
o Russia
was not knocked out of the war, marking another failure of the Schlieffen Plan
·
To govern the occupied territories in c. ERP,
the Germans installed a vast military bureaucracy with 15,000 army
administrators and professional specialists
o Anti-Slavic
prejudice dominated mindset of occupiers
o Local
Slavs seen as savages and ethnic “mongrels” unable to work like other races
o Used
prisoners of war and refugees as forced labor and stole animals and crops from
local farmers to supply army
o 1/3
of civilian population was killed or became refugees
o German
state hoped to turn these territories into German possessions
·
Changing tides of victory and hopes for
territorial gains brought neutral countries into the war
o Italy,
member of Triple Alliance declared neutrality in 1914 on grounds that Austria
had launched a war of aggression
o May
1915, Italy joined the Triple Entente of Brit, France, and Russia in return for
promises of Austrian territory
o War
along Italian-Austrian front was bitter/dead
·
October 1914: Ottoman Empire joined Austria and
Germany, known as Central Powers
·
September 1915: Bulgaria decided to follow
Ottoman’s footsteps to settle old scores w/ Serbia
·
Balkans, with exception of Greece, were occupied
by the Central Powers
·
Entry of Ottoman Turks carried war into Middle
East
o Ottomans
vs. Russians enveloped the Armenians who lived on both sides of the borer and
experienced brutal repression by the Turks
o Armenians
welcomed Russian armies as liberators
o Ottoman
gov ordered mass deportation of its Armenians citizens from their homeland
o Armenian
genocide: million innocent civilians died from murder/starvation/disease
·
1915: Battle of Gallipoli: Brit forces tried and
failed to take Dardanelles and Constantinople from the Ottomans
o Brits
failed
·
Brits were more successful at inciting Arabs to
revolt against Turkish rulers
o Bargained
with foremost Arab leader, Hussein ibn-Ali,
direct descendent of Muhammad and chief magistrate of Mecca, holiest city
o Controlling
much of Ottoman Empire’s territory along the Red Sea, Hussein managed to win
vague Brit commitments of an indep Arab kingdom
o 1916:
Hussein revolted against Turks, proclaiming himself king of Arabs
o Joined
forces with Brit under T.E. Lawrence,
who helped lead Arab soldiers in a successful guerrilla war against Turks on
Arabian peninsula
·
Similar victories in Iraq
o Brit
occupied southern Iraqi city of Basra and captured Baghdad
o Brit
armies under Arab allies rolled into Syria
o Triumphal
entry of Hussein’s son Faisal into
Damascus
o Arab
patriots in Syria and Iraq now expected a large, unified Arab nation-state to
rise from the dust of the Ottoman collapse, though they were disappointed by
the Western Powers
·
War spread to colonial Africa and East Asia as
well
o Instead
of revolting as Germans hoped, the colonial subjects of Brit and French
supported Allied powers
o Colonized
ppl helped local Brit and French commanders seize Germany’s colonies around the
globe
o Over
1 million Africans and Asians served in the various armies of the warring
powers; served as porters to carry equipment
o French,
facing shortage of young men, used colonial troops
·
April 1917, US declared war on Germany
o Am
intervention grew out of war at sea and sympathy for Triple entente
o At
beginning of war, Brit and France established naval blockade to strangle
Central Powers
o NO
neutral cargo ship could sail to Germany
o 1915:
Germany retaliated with submarine, new weapon that violated traditional
niceties of fair warning under international law
o May
1915: German submarine sank Brit passenger liner Lusitania, claiming 139 US
citizens
o Woodrow Wilson: US president at the
time, protested vigorously, using tragedy to incite Am public opinion against Germans
o Germany
halted submarine warfare for 2 years or else face war with US
·
Early 1917: German military command – confident
that improved submarines could starve Brit into submission before US could come
to its rescue, resumed unrestricted submarine warfare
o Reckless
gamble, and US declared war on Germany
o US
tipped the balance in favor of the Triple Entente and its allies
The Home Front
·
War’s impact on civilians was no less massive
than it was on soldiers
·
Total war encouraged state bureaucracies,
changed life of ordinary men/women, and inspired mass antiwar protest movements
at the end
Mobilizing for Total War
·
August 1914: Many saw outbreak of hostilities
enthusiastically
o Ordinary
folk saw their nation as right to defend itself from foreign aggression
o Even
socialists supported the war
o By
mid-October general and politicians began to realize that victory would require
more than patriotism
o Each
combatant country experienced a desperate need for men and weapons
o TO
keep war machine from stopping, national leaders aggressively intervened in
society and economy
·
By late 19th c, the responsive
national state had already shown an eagerness to manage the welfare to its
citizens
o The
state intruded further into the daily lives of citizens
o Each
combatant state established new gov ministries to mobilize soldiers and
armaments to provide care for war widows and wounded veterans
o Censorship
offices controlled news about war
o Free
market capitalism was abandoned for the duration
o Gov
planning boards set mandatory production goals, established rationing programs,
and set limits on wages and prices
o Based
on tremendously productive industrial economies controlled form above, gov
management was effective and destructive
·
Germany went furthest in developing a planned
economy to wage total war
o As
soon as war began, Walter Rathenau,
talented Jewish industrialist in charge o Germany’s largest electric company,
convinced gov to set up War Raw Materials Board to ration and distribute raw materials
o Every
useful material was inventoried and rations
o Launched
successful attempts to produce substitutes, such as synthetic rubber/nitrates
to make explosives and aid the German war machine
o Food
was rationed according to physical need
o Germany
failed to tax war profits of private firms heavily enough
o Contributed
to massive deficit financing, inflation, the growth of a black market, and the
re-emergence of class conflict
·
Following Verdun and Some, German military leaders
forced Reichstag to accept Auxiliary Service Law, which required all males
between 17-60 to work only at jobs considered critical to the war effort
o Women
worked in war factories, mines, and steel mills, where they labored like men
o Many
more women followed
o Ppl
lived on littler more than 1,000 calories a day
o War
production increased, while some Germans starved to death
·
After 1917, Germany’s leaders ruled by
dictatorial decree
o Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff
drove Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg from office
o With
support of newly formed, ultra conservative and prowar Fatherland Party,
generals established a military dictatorship
o Hindenburg
called for ultimate mobilization for total war
o Germany
could not win unless everything was used towards War
o First
“totalitarian” society
·
Only Germany was directly ruled by a military gov,
but leaders in all belligerent nations took power from PLMTs, suspended civil
liberties, and ignored democratic procedure
o British
Ministry of Munitions organized private industry to produce for the war,
allocated labor, set wage and price rates, and settled labor disputes
o France:
weakened PLMT met in secret, courts jailed pacifists who criticized the state
o Once
US entered war, new federal agencies such as the War Labor Board and War
Industries Board regulated industry, labor relations, and agricultural
production
·
War was good for growth of bureaucratic
nation-state
Social Impact
·
Social impact was as profound as economic impact
·
National conscription sent millions of men to
the front
·
Insatiable needs of military created tremendous
demand for workers, and jobs were readily available
·
Need for workers meant greater power and
prestige for labor unions
o Cooperated
with war govs on workplace, rules, wages, and production schedules in return
for real participation in important decision
o Entry
of labor leaders and unions into policymaking councils paralleled entry of
socialist leaders into war govs
o Reflected
new gov openness to needs of those at bottom
·
Role of women changed dramatically in every
country
o Large
numbers of women let home and domestic service to work
o Production
of vast amounts of arms/ammunition required huge numbers of laborers, and women
moved into skilled industrial jobs long considered men’s work only
o Some
women thought war promised to permanently break down barrier between men and
women’s work
o Women
became highly visible in public
§
Bank tellers/mailmen/police officers
§
Nurses/auxiliaries at front
·
War expanded ranges of women’s activities and
helped change attitudes about gender, but long term results were mixed
o Women
across ERP gained experience in jobs previously reserved for men
o Granted
women the right to vote immediately after war
o With
war’s end, however, millions of demobilized soldiers demanded their jobs back,
and govs forced women out of workplace
§
Employment gains were mostly temporary, except
in nursing and social work, already considered “women’s work”
o War
loosened sexual morality, some women bobbed hair, shortened skirts, and smoked
in public
§
Were criticized for betraying their soldier
husbands away at front
o Women’s
rights faded because feminist leaders found it difficult to regain momentum
after the crisis of war
·
TO some extent, the war promoted greater social
equality
o Blurred
class distinctions and lessened gap between rich and poor
o Most
apparent in Brit, where bottom third generally lived better than they ever had,
for the poorest gained most from shortage of labor
o Elsewhere,
greater equality was reflected in full employment, rationing according to
physical needs, and sharing of hardships
o In
general, ERPN society became more uniform and egalitarian, in spite of some war
profiteering
·
Death had no respect for social distinctions
o Decimated
aristocracy, fell on drafted peasants and unskilled workers
o Spared
highly skilled workers and foremen who were too valuable to squander at the
front
§
Needed to train newly recruited women and older
unskilled men laboring in war plants at home
Growing Political Tensions
·
During first 2 years of war, many soldiers and
civilians supported their govs
o Belief
in a just cause and patriotic nationalism united ppl behind their national
leaders
o Each
gov used censorship and propaganda to bolster popular support
§
Germans used black soldiers from France’s Africa
§
French and Brit recounted and exaggerated German
atrocities
o Patriotic
posters and slogans, slanted news, and biased editorials inflamed national
hatreds and helped control public opinion, encouraging soldiers to continue
fighting
·
Despite efforts, by spring of 1916, ppl were
beginning to crack under total war
o Several
thousand demonstrators in Berlin heard the radical socialist leader Karl Liebknecht attacked the cost of
the war effort
§
Arrested and imprisoned
§
Electrified ERP’s far left
§
Strikes/protest marches flared up
o Irish
nationalists in Dublin took advantage and revolted against Brit in Easter
Rebellion
§
Rebels were crushed
o IN
France, Georges Clemenceau
established virtual dictatorship, pouncing on strikers and jailing without
trial journalists and politicians who dared to suggest compromise with Germany
·
ON all sides, soldiers’ morale began to decline
o French
units refused to fight after disaster in May 1917
o Only
tough military justice for mutiny leaders and a tacit agreement with the troops
that there would be no more grand offences enabled new general in chief Henri-Philippe
Petain to restore order
o Facing
defeat, wretched conditions at front, and growing hopelessness, Russian soldiers
deserted in droves, providing fuel for the Russ Rev
o Italian
army collapsed in despair
o Brit
armies had been “bled dry”
o Only
promised arrival of fresh troops from the US stiffened resolves of allies
·
Strains were worse on Central Powers
o Young
socialist assassinated the chief minister of Austria
o When
Emperor Francis Joseph died, symbol of unity disappeared
o IN
spite of censorship, political dissatisfaction and conflicts among
nationalities grew
o Czech
and Yugoslav leaders demanded indep states
o Another
winter of war would bring revolution and disintegration
·
Germans on home front suffered immensely from
burden of total war
o Brit
naval blockade limited food imports, and poorly implemented rationing plans
killed many
o Heavy
rationing of basic goods undermined morale
o National
political unity of the first year of the war collapsed as social conflicts of
prewar Germany reemerged
o Growing
minority of moderate socialists in the Reichstag called for a compromise peace
without annexations or reparations
·
Such a peace was unthinkable for the
conservatives and military leaders of the Fatherland Party
o SO
was the surge in revolutionary agitation and strikes by war wary workers
o When
bread ration was further reduced, more than 200,000 workers and women struck
and demonstrated for a week in Berlin, returning to work under threat
o Radicals
left Social Democratic Party of form Independent Social Democratic Party
§
Founded German Communist Party in 1918
·
Militaristic Germany like A-H was beginning to
crack in 1917
·
Russia that collapsed first and saved the
Central Powers some time
The Russian Revolution
·
RussRev of 1917 was one of modern history’s most
momentous events
o Related
to tensions of WWI
o For
some, this was Marx’s socialist revolution vision coming true
o For
others, it was the triumph of dictatorship
o To
all, it presented a radically new prototype of state and society
The Fall of Imperial Russia
·
In 1914, Russia embraced war with patriotic
enthusiasm
·
Vowed never to make peace as long as the enemy
stood on Russian soil
·
Duma, lower house of PLMT, voted to support the
war
·
Conservatives anticipated expansion in the
Balkans, while liberals and most socialists believed that alliance with Brit
and France would bring democratic reform
o For
a moment, Russia was united
·
Enthusiasm waned as German armies inflicted
terrible losses
o By
1915, substantial numbers of Russian soldiers were sent to front w/o rifles;
told to find arms among the dead
o Battered
peasant army continued to fight, and Russia moved toward full mobilization on
the home front
o Duma
and local organs of gov set up special committees to coordinate defense, industry,
transportation, and agriculture
o Improved
the military situation, but overall Russia mobilized less effectively than
other combatants
·
One prob was weak leadership
o Under
constitution from revolution of 1905, tsar had retained complete control over
bureaucracy and army
o Nicholas
II was kindly but narrow minded: failed to form close partnership with his
citizens
o Distrusted
popularly elected Duma and resisted popular involvement in gov, relying on the
old bureaucratic regime
o Duma,
educated middle classes, and the masses became critical of the tsar’s
leadership
o Sept
1915, parties from conservative to moderate socialists formed the Progressive
bloc, which called for a completely new gov responsible to the Duma instead of
the tsar
§
Nicholas II temporarily adjourned the Duma
§
Tsar announced that the was traveling to front
to lead and rally Russia’s armies, leaving gov in charge of his wife, Tsarina
Alexandria
·
Nicholas’s departure was fatale
o Tsarina
Alexandria dismissed loyal political advisers and turned to court favorite, Rasputin, for his purported healing
powers to heal Alexandria’s hemophiliac son, Alexis
o In
a desperate attempt to right the situation and end the unfounded rumors that
Rasputin was the empress’s lover, three members of the high aristocracy
murdered Rasputin in December 1916
§
Ensuing scandal further undermined support for
the tsarist government
·
Imperial Russia entered a terminal crisis
o Despite
limited success vs the Austrians, heavy casualties, bad food and equipment, and
concern for those at home led to opposition in the ranks
o Soldiers
deserted, swelling the numbers disaffected at home
o By
early winter 1917, cities were wracked by food shortages, heating fuel was in
short supply, and the economy was breaking down
o Mid-March:
violent street demonstrations broke out in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) and
spread to factories, and engulfed the city
o Tsar
ordered army to open fire on protesters, but soldiers refused to shoot and
joined the revolutionary crowd
o Duma
declared a provisional government on March 12, 1917
o Nicholas
abdicated
The Provisional Government
·
February Revolution: (unplanned uprisings
accompanied by violent street demonstrations in Petrograd, Russia) that led to
provisional gov and abdication of tsar was result of an unplanned uprising of
hungry, angry ppl in the capital, but was eagerly accepted throughout the
country
·
Patriotic upper and middle classes embrace the
prospect of a more determined war effort, while workers anticipated better
wages and more food
·
After generations of autocracy, provisional gov
established equality before the law, freedom of religion, speech, and assembly,
and the right of unions to organize and strike
·
liberal and moderate socialist leaders of provisional
gov rejected broad political reforms
o Russian
ppl were sick of fighting, new leaders refused to take Russia out of war
o New
gov formed in may 1917 included socialist Alexander
Kerensky who became prime minister
§
Refused to confiscate large land holdings and
give them to peasants, fearing that such drastic action would only complete the
disintegration of Russia’s peasant army
§
For Kerensky and moderate socialists, the
continuation of war was still a national duty
o Human
suffering and war weariness grew, testing the limited strength of the provisional
gov
·
Provisional gov had to share power with rival Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies
o Modeled
on revolutionary soviets of 1905
o Comprised
of 2-3 thousand workers, soldiers, and socialist intellectuals
o Saw
itself as a true grassroots product of revolutionary democracy
o Acted
as a parallel gov
o Issued
its own radical orders, weakening authority of political gov
·
Most famous edict of Petrograd soviet was Army
No. 1 of May 1917: stripped officers of their authority and placed power in the
hands of elected committees of common soldiers
o Designed
to protect the revolution from resistance by aristocratic officer corps
o Led
to collapse of army discipline
·
July 1917, provisional gov ordered a poorly
considered summer offensive against the Germans
o Campaign
was a miserable failure
o Peasant
soldiers began “voting with their feet”
o Deserted
in droves, returning to villages to help their families get a share of the land
which peasants were seizing as they settled old scores in a great agrarian
upheaval
o Russia
was descending into anarchy
o Unparalleled
opportunity for the most radical and talented of many revolutionary leaders: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution
·
Lenin’s life had been dedicated to the cause of
revolution
o Middle
class, became enemy of imperial Russia
o Law
student, eagerly studied Marxist socialism, which began to win converts among
radical intellectuals as industrialization surged forward in Russia
o Pragmatic,
flexible, Lenin updated Marx’s revolutionary philosophy to address existing
conditions
·
Three interrelated concepts were central for
Lenin
o Stressed
that only violent revolution could destroy capitalism
§
Denounced all theories of a peaceful evolution
to socialism as a betrayal for Marx’s message
o Argued
that under certain conditions a socialist revolution was possible even in a nonindustrialized
agrarian country like Russia
§
Industrial working class was tiny, but peasants
and workers were numerous, poor, exploited, and could take the place of Marx’s
traditional working class in the conflict
o Believed
that the possibility of revolution was determined more by human leadership that
by vast historical laws
§
Called for highly disciplined elite of
intellectuals and professional revolutionaries
§
Elite would never be seduced by short term gains,
unlike ordinary workers and trade union officials
§
Would not stop until revolution brought it to
power
·
Lenin’s version of Marxism had a major impact on
event in Russia and changed the way future revolutionaries undertook radical
revolt around the world
·
Lenin’s ideas did not go unchallenged by other
Russian Marxists
o Meeting
of Russian Social Democrat Labor Party in London, maters came to a head
o Lenin
demanded a small, disciplined, elitist party, while is opponents wanted a more
democratic party with mass membership
o Russian
Marxists split into two rival factions
§
Bolsheviks “majority group”
·
Tenuous majority of a single vote
·
Lenin kept the name for propaganda reasons and
developed the revolutionary party he wanted: tough, disciplined, and led from
above
§
Mensheviks “minority group
·
Unlike most other socialists, Lenin had not
rallied around the national flag in 1914
o Observing
events from neutral Switzerland, where he lived, Lenin viewed was as product of
imperialist rivalries and a marvelous opportunity for socialist revolution
o After
Feb Revolution of 1917, German gov provided impatient Lenin/wife/20 colleagues
a safe passage across Germany and back into Russia
§
Germans hoped that Lenin would undermine sagging
war effort of provisional gov
o Lenin
attacked at once
o To
astonishment of Bolsheviks, rejected all cooperation with what he called a
“bourgeois” provisional gov
§
“All power to the Soviets”
§
“All land to the peasants”
§
“Stop the war now”
o Promises
of “Bread, land, and Peace” spoke to the expectations of suffering workers,
peasants, and soldiers
§
Earned Bolsheviks substantial popular support
o Movement
for revolution was at hand
·
Lenin and Bolsheviks almost lost struggle for
Russia
o Attempt
to seize power in July collapsed; Lenin went into hiding
o Temporary
setback made little difference in the long run
o Intrigue
between Kerensky and his commander in chief General Lavr Mornilov resulted in Kornilov’s leading a feeble coup
against provisional gob
o In
face of counter-revolutionary heat, the Bolsheviks were rearmed and redeemed
o Kornilov’s
forces disintegrated, but Kerensky lost all credit with the army, the only
force that might have saved democratic government in Russia
Trotsky and the Seizure of Power
·
Throughout summer, Bolsheviks greatly increased
popular support
·
Party membership soared
·
Bolsheviks gained fragile majority in the
Petrograd Soviet
·
Lenin’s supporter Leon Trotsky, revolutionary and orator and radical Marxist,
brilliantly executed the Bolshevik seizure of power
o Painted
untruthful picture o German and counter-revolutionary plots, Trot convinced the
Petrograd Soviet to form a special military revolutionary committee and make
him its leader
o Military
power in the capital passed into Bolshevik hands
o Militants
from Trot’s committee joined with trusted Bolshevik soldiers to seize
government building and [pounce on members of the provisional gov
o Went
on to the Congress of Soviets where a Bolshevik majority declared that all
power had passed to the soviets and named Lenin head of the new gov
·
Bolsheviks came to power for 3 key reasons
o By
late 1917, democracy had given way to anarchy: power was there for ppl who
could take it
o Bolsheviks
had a determined and superior leadership from Lenin and Trot, which the provisional
gov lacked
o Bolsheviks
appealed to soldiers and urban workers who were exhausted by war, weary of
tsarist autocracy, and ready for radical changes
§
With time, many Russians would become bitterly
disappointed with the Bolshevik regime, but for the moment they had good reason
to hope for peace, better living conditions, and a more equitable society
Dictatorship and Civil War
·
Monumental accomplishment of Lenin, Trot, and
rest of Bolsheviks was not taking power, but keeping it
o Bolsheviks
conquered chaos they helped create and began to build a communist society
o Conspirators
became conquerors
·
Lenin profited from developments over which he
and BSV’s had little control
o Peasants
invaded, took, and divided land
§
When Lenin mandated land reform from above, he
approved what peasants were already doing
o Popular
unrest spared to the cities
o Urban
workers established their own local soviet or committees and demanded direct
control of individual factories
§
Lenin ratified with decree
·
BSV’s cleverly proclaimed their regime a
“provisional workers’ and peasants’ government” promising that a freely elected
Constituent Assembly would draw up a new constitution
·
Free elections proved to be a setback: BSV’s won
only 23% of elected delegates
·
Socialist Revolutionary Party – peasants’ party
– had a clear majority
·
Constituent Assembly met for only 1 day, then
was permanently disbanded by BSV soldiers acting under Lenin
·
Lenin began to form a one party state
·
Unlike colleagues, Lenin acknowledged that
Russia lost war with Germany and the only realistic goal was peace at any price
o Price
was high: Germany demanded Soviet gov give up all its western territories
o Areas
inhabited by Poles, Finns, Lithuanians, and other non-Russian ppls conquered by
tsars over the centuries
·
At first, Lenin’s BSV’s refused to accept such
great territorial losses
o But
when German armies resumed their unopposed march into Russia in February 1918,
Lenin had his way in a very close vote
o 1/3
of Russia’s population was sliced away by the treaty of Brest-Litovsk: signed
with Germany in May 1918,
§
With peace, Lenin escaped the disaster of
continued war and could pursue his goal of absolute political power for the BSV’s,
now called Communists, within Russia
·
War’s end and destruction of democratically
elected Constituent Assembly inspired armed opposition to BSV regime
o Ppl
who supported self rule in Nov saw that they were getting dictatorship from the
capital
o Officers
of old army rejected peace treaty and organized the White opposition to the
BSV’s in southern Russia, Ukraine, and Siberia, and west of Petrograd
§
Whites came from many social groups united by
hatred of Communism and BSV’s, the Reds
·
By 1918, Russia was in a full fledged civil war
o 18
self proclaimed regional govs were challenging Lenin’s gov in Moscow
o By
end of year, White armies were on attack
o October
191, closed in on central Russia from 3 sides, appeared they would triumph, did
not
·
Lenin and Red Army beat back counter
revolutionary White Armies for several reasons
o BSV’s
had quickly developed a better army
§
Trot’s leadership
§
At first, BSV’s preached democracy in the
military and elected officers in 1917
§
Beginning March 10918, Trot became war commissar
of the newly formed Red Army
§
Reestablished strict discipline and the draft
§
Soldiers deserting or disobeying were shot
§
Trot made effective use of former tsarist army
officers who were actively recruited and given unprecedented powers over their
troops
§
Trot formed a disciplined and effective fighting
force, which repeatedly defeated the Whites in the field
·
Other conditions favored the BSV’s
o Reds
controlled central Russia and the cities of Moscow and Petrograd
o Whites
attacked from fringes and lacked coordination
o Poorly
defined political program of Whites was a mishmash of liberal republicanism and
monarchism, and never united under a democratic banner
o While
BSV’s promised ethnic minorities in Russian controlled territories substantial
autonomy, the nationalist Whites wished to preserve the tsarist empire
·
The BSV’s mobilized the home front for the war
effort by establishing a system of centralized controls called war communism:
o All
banks and industries were nationalized
o Private
enterprise was outlawed
o Commissars
introduced rationing, seized grain from peasants to feed cities, and maintained
strict workplace discipline
o Measures
contributed to a breakdown of normal economic activity, they maintained labor
discipline and kept the Red Army supplied with men and material
·
Revolutionary terror contributed to Communist
victory
o Lenin
and BSV’s set up fearsome secret police called Cheka, dedicated to suppressing
counter revs of all types
§
During civil war, Cheka imprisoned and executed
without trial thousands of supposed class enemies
§
Victims: clergymen, aristocrats, and wealthy
Russian bourgeoisie, deserters from Red army, political opponents, including
the tsar
o Red
Terror of 1918-1920 helped establish the secret police as a central tool of the
new communist gov
·
Foreign military intervention to support the
White armies helped BSV’s
o To
stop spread of communism, Western Allies (US< Brit, France, Japan) sent
troops to support the Whites
o Efforts
were limited and halfhearted
o 1919:
Westerners were sick of war, and few politicians wanted to get involved in a
new military crusade
o Allied
intervention did not aid the Whites effectively, though it did permit the BSV’s
to appeal to the patriotic nationalism of ethnic Russians, in particular former
tsarist army officers who objected to foreign involvement in Russian affairs
·
By Spring of 1920, White armies were almost
completely defeated, and BVs retook much of territory ceded to Germany under
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
·
Red army reconquered Belarus and Ukraine, both
of which had gained a brief moment of independence at the end of WWI
·
Building on this success, the Bolsheviks moved
westward into Polish territory, but were halted on outskirts of Warsaw in
August 1920 under Polish field marshal and chief of state Jozef Pilsudski
o Defeat
halted SV attempts to spread communism into western ERP, though in 1921 the Red
Army overran the indep nationalist gov of the Caucasus
o Russian
civil war was over
·
Despite losses to Poland, BVs had won an
impressive victory
The Peace Settlement
·
As civil war spread in Russia and chaos engulfed
much of e. ERP, the war in the west was coming to an end
·
Spring 1918, German high command launched
desperate attack against France
o Offensive
failed, and US, Brit, and France defeated Germany
o Guns
of WW fell silent, and victorious Western Allies came together in Paris to
establish a lasting peace
o Expectations
were high: optimism was unlimited
·
The Allies worked out terms for peace with
Germany and for the creation of peacekeeping League of nations
o Nevertheless,
hopes of ppl and politicians were disappointed, for the peace settlement of
1919 turned out a failure
o Rather
than lasting peace, brought economic crisis and violent political conflict
The End of the War
·
Early 1918, German leadership decided it was
time of a final attempt, an all-out attack on France
o Defeat
of Russia released men and materials for western front
o Looming
arrival o US troops and growth of dissent at home quickened German leaders’
resolve
o General
Ludendorff and company fell on France once more in spring 1918
o German
armies came within 35 miles of France, but the exhausted, overextended forces
never broke through
o Stopped
in July at second Battle of the Marne, where Am’s saw action
o Late
but massive Am intervention tipped the scales in favor of Allied victory
·
By Sept, Brit, French and Am armies were
advancing steadily on all front, and a panicked Ludendorff realized that
Germany had lost the war
o Not
wanting to shoulder the blame, insisted that moderate politicians should take
responsibility for defeat
o October
4: German emperor formed a new, more liberal civilian gov to sue for peace
·
Negotiations over an armistice dragged on, the
frustrated German ppl rose up in revolt
o Nov
3: sailors in Kiel mutinied, and throughout n Germ, soldiers and workers began
to establish revolutionary councils on the Russian soviet model
o Sam
day, A-H surrendered to Allies and began breaking apart
·
Revolution broke out in Germany, and masses of
workers demonstrated for peace in Berlin
·
With army discipline collapsing, Emperor William
II abdicated and fled to Holland
·
Socialist leaders in Berlin proclaimed a German
republic on November 9 and agreed to tough Allied terms of surrender
·
Armistice went into effect on November 11, 1918
·
War was over
Revolution in Austria-Hungary and Germany
·
Military defeat brought turmoil and revolution
to A-H and Germany, as it had to Russia
·
Having started the war to preserve an imperial
state, the A-H Empire perished in the attempt
o The
indep states of Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, and a larger Romania,
were carved out of its territory
o Greatly
expanded Serbian monarchy gained control of the western Balkans and took name
Yugoslavia
o For
four months in 1919, until conservative nationalists seized power, Hungary became
an indep Soviet republic
o A-H
no longer existed
·
In late 1918 Germany likewise experienced a
dramatic revolution that resembled the Russian Revolution of March 1917
o A
genuine popular uprising welled up from below, toppled an authoritarian
monarchy, and created a liberal provisional republic
o In
both countries, liberals and moderate socialist politicians struggled with more
radical workers’ and soldiers’ councils for political dominance
o In
Germany, moderates for Social Democratic Party and their liberal allies held on
to power and established the Weimar Republic – democratic gov that would lead
Germany for the next 15 yrs
o Success
was a deep disappointment for the Russian BVs who hoped that a more radical
revolution in Germany would help spread communism across EPRN country
·
Several reasons for German outcome
o Majority
of Marxist politicians in Social Democratic Party were not revolutionaries and
were really moderates, as they had been before the war
o Wanted
political democracy and civil liberties and favored gradual elimination of
capitalism
o There
were also German nationalists, appalled by the prospect of civil war and
revolutionary terror
o Of
crucial importance as the fact that moderate Social Democrats quickly came to
terms w/ army and big business, which helped prevent Germany from reaching
total collapse
·
Yet triumph of German Social Democrats brought
violent chaos to Germany in 1918-1919
o New
republic was attacked from both sides of the political spectrum
o Radical
communists led by Karl Liebknecths and
Rosa Luxemburg and their supporters in councils tried to seize control of gov
in Spartacist Uprising in Berlin in January 1919
o Moderate
Social Democrats called in nationalist Free Corps militias, bands of
demobilized soldiers who had kept their weapons, to crush uprising
§
Karl and Rosa arrested and murdered
o In
Bavaria, a short lived Soviet style republic was overthrown on gov orders by
Free Corps
o Nationwide
strikes by leftist workers and a short lived military takeover (the Kapp Putsch) were also repressed by
the central gov
·
By summer of 1920, situation had calmed down,
but the new repub gov faced deep discontent
o Communists
and radical socialists blamed Social Democrats for murders of Karl and Rosa and
the repression of the Bavarian Soviet
o Right
wing nationalists, including new Nazi Party, despised government from start
§
Spread myth that German army had never actually
lost war, but were “stabbed in the back” by socialists and pacifists at home
§
In Germany, the end of th war brought only a
fragile sense of political stability
The Treaty of Versailles
·
Jan 1919: delegates met in Paris to make peace
treaty
·
Produced Treaty of Versailles which laid out
postwar settlements and was signed by Allies and defeated Germany
o Inspired
great expectations
§
Idealism strengthened by President Wilson’s
peace proposal, the Fourteen Points
·
Open diplomacy, a reduction in armaments,
freedom of commerce and trade, and the establishment of a League of Nations
·
Demanded peace be based on notion of national
self-determination, ppl should be able to choose their own national governments
through democratic majority rule elections, and live free from outside
interference in territories with clearly defined permanent borders
·
Despite general optimism inspired by these
ideas, conference and treaty generated disagreement
·
Controlling powers at conference were named the
“Big Three”: US, Brit, and France
·
Germany, A-H, and Russia were excluded from the
conference, though their lands were placed on the negotiating table
·
Italy was included, but its role was limited
·
Conference included smaller nations from Middle
East, Africa, East Asia, but their concerns, were ignored
·
Almost immediately, Big Three began to quarrel
o Wilson
was obsessed with creating a League of Nations
§
Insisted that this question come first, for he
passionately believed that only a permanent international organization could
avert future wars
§
Wilson had his way although Lloyd George of Brit
and Georges Clemenceau of France were unenthusiastic
·
Concerned with punishing Germany
·
Question of what to do with Germany dominated
discussions
o Clemenceau:
Wanted Germany to pay for aggression
§
Fought on French soil, wanted revenge, economic
retribution, and lasting security
§
Required creation of a buffer state btw France
and Germany, permanent demilitarization of Germany, and vast German reparations
§
Lloyd George supported Clemenceau, but was less
harsh
§
Wilson thought Clemenceau’s demands seemed
vindictive, and violated Wilson’s sense of Christian morality and principle of
national self-determination
§
By April the countries attending the conference
were deadlocked on the German question, and Wilson packed his bags to home
·
In the end, Clemenceau was convinced that France
could not afford to face Germany alone in the future and agreed to a compromise
o Gave
up French demand for a Rhineland buffer state in return of a formal defensive
alliance w/ US and Brit
o Under
terms of alliance, Wilson and Lloyd George promised that their countries would
come to France’s aid in the event of a German attack
o Allies
moved quickly to finish settlement, believing that further adjustments would be
possible within the dual framework of a strong Western alliance and the League
of Nations
·
Treaty of Versailles was key to settlement
o Redrew
map of ERP
o War’s
losers paid price
o New
indep nations carved out of A-H and Russian Empires included Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Finland, the Baltic States, and Yugoslavia
o Ottoman
Empire was split apart, territories placed under control of the victors
o Germany’s
African and Asian colonies were given to France, Brit, and Japan as League of
Nations mandates or administered territories; Germany’s losses were minor
thanks to Wilson
·
Alsace-Lorraine returned to France
·
Ethnic Polish territories seized by Prussia
during 19th c of Poland were returned to newly made polish state
·
Predominately German Danzig was placed within
Polish border, but as a self-governing city under the LON protection
·
Germany had its army limit to 100,000 men and
agreed to build no military fortifications in the Rhineland
·
Article 231, the war guilt clause: Allies
declared that Germany with Austria was solely responsible for the war
o Germany
thus had to pay reparations equal to all civilian damages caused by the
fighting
o Unfortunate
and much criticized clause expressed French and to some extent Brit demands for
revenge
o For
Germans, reparations were a crippling financial burden
o Moreover,
it was an insult to German national pride
§
Believed wartime propaganda that claimed Germany
was an innocent victim, forced into war
·
Germans gov protested to treaty
o NO
alternative since ppl of Germany were still starving from blockade
o German
reps from ruling moderate Social Democrats and Catholic Party signed treaty in
Versailles
·
TOV was hardly perfect, but it was a beginning
o Germany
punished, not dismembered
o New
world organization complemented a traditional defensive alliance of satisfied
powers
o Remaining
serious problems were hoped to be solved later
o Allied
leaders had seen speed as essential for another reason
§
Detested Lenin and feared his BV rev might
spread
§
Best answer to Lenin’s class for worldwide
upheaval were peace and tranquility for war-weary ppl
·
Great hopes of early 1919 turned to ashes by end
of year
o Western
alliance collapsed
o Plan
for permanent peace gave way to fragile ERPN truce
·
Reasons for turn of events
o US
Senate and Am ppl rejected Wilson’s handiwork
§
Henry Lodge thought the treaty gave away
Congress’s constitutional right to declare war and demanded changes in the
articles
§
Wilson rejected all attempts at compromise
§
In doing so, ensured that treaty would never be
ratified by US and would never join LON
§
Senate refused to ratify Wilson’s treaties
forming a defensive alliance with France and Brit
§
Am turned its back on ERP
§
Renunciation of Am’s responsibility
·
Using US Actions as an excuse, Brit refused to
ratify its defensive alliance with France
·
Bitterly betrayed by its allies, France stood
alone
·
Principle of national self-determination was
good in theory but flawed in practice
o Borders
of new states cut through a jumble of ethnic and religious groups who despised
each other
o New
central ERPN nations would prove to be economically weak and politically unstable
the focus of conflict in the interwar years
o In
the colonies, desires for self-determination would prove to be economically
weak and politically unstable, the focus on conflict in the interwar years
o Desires
for self-determination were ignored
o Great
Powers received Germany’s colonies but were hardly ready to give up their won
o Problems
with self-determination were particularly evident in the fate of the
territories of the former Ottoman Empire, where victorious Allies paid little
attention to desires of native ppls in Middle East
The Peace Settlement in the Middle East
·
Imposed political settlement on what was Ottoman
Empire
o Brought
radical/controversial changes to Middle East
o Ottoman
Empire was broken up, Brit and France expanded their power and influence in the
Middle East, and Arab nationalists felt cheated and betrayed
·
Brit gov encouraged war time Arab revolt against
Ottoman Turks and made vague promises of an indep Arab kingdom
o When
fighting stopped, Brit and French chose to honor secret wartime agreements to
divide and rule Ottoman lands
o Sykes-Picot
Agreement of 1916: Secret accord, Brit and France agreed that France would
receive Lebanon and Syria, and much of modern Turkey, and Brit would receive
Palestine, Transjordan, and Iraq
o Allies
never truly intended to grant Arab self-determination after the war
o Arab
nationalists reacted with surprise and resentment
·
Brit plans for Ottoman province of Palestine
angered Arab nationalists
o November
1917: Balfour Declaration: declared that Brit favored a “National Home for the
Jewish People” in Palestine, but without prejudicing the civil and religious
rights of the non-Jewish communities already living in Palestine
o Some
members thought the declaration would appeal to German, Austrian, Am Jews and
help Brit war effort
o Others
sincerely supported the Zionist vision of a Jewish homeland which they hoped
would help Brit maintain control of Suez Canal
o Palestinian
Arabs were destroyed
·
1914 Jews accounted for 11% of Ottoman districts
lumped together to form Palestine; rest was predominately Arab
o Both
groups understood that the National Home for Jewish Ppl mentioned in Balfour
Declaration implied the establishment of some kind of Jewish state that would
violate majority rule
o State
founded on religious and ethnic exclusivity was out of keeping with
Islamic/Ottoman tradition, which was more tolerant of religious diversity and
minorities than the Christian monarchs or nation states in EPR
·
Though Arab leaders attended Versailles Peace
Conference, efforts to secure autonomy in the Middle East came to nothing
o Only
kingdom of Hejaz was granted indep
o Arab
nationalists came together in Damascus as general Syrian Congress in 1919 and
unsuccessfully called again for political indep
o Congress
proclaimed Syria an indep kingdom
·
Western reaction was swift/decisive
o French
army stationed in Lebanon attacked Syria, taking Damascus in July 1920
o Arab
gov fled; French took over
o Brits
put down Iraq with bloody fighting and established effective control
§
Brit mandate furthermore incorporated the
Balfour Declaration and its commitment to a Jewish national home
§
Western imperialism, in the form of LON mandates,
replaced Ottoman rule in the Arab Middle East
·
Allies sought to impose harsher terms on
defeated Turks than on “liberated” Arabs
o Treaty
forced on the helpless Ottoman sultan dismembered the Turkish heartland
o Brit
and France occupied parts of modern day Turkey, and Italy and Greece also
claimed shares
o Sizable
Greek minority in w Turkey, and Greek nationalists wanted to build modern Greek
empire modeled on Christian Byzantium
o 1919
Greek armies carried by Brit ships landed on Turkish coast and advanced unopposed
into interior while French troops moved in from South
o Turkey
seemed finished
·
Turkey survived postwar invasions
o Led
by Mustafa Kemal, Turks refused to
acknowledge the Allied dismemberment of their country and gradually mounted a
forceful resistant
o Kemal
directed successful battle at Gallipoli, and despite staggering losses, the
newly established Turkish army repulsed the invaders
o Greeks
and British allies sued for peace
o After
long negotiations, the Treaty of Lausanne recognized the territorial integrity
of a truly indep Turkey and abolished hated Capitulations that the ERPN powers
had imposed over the centuries to give their citizens special privileges in the
Ottoman Empires
·
Kemal, nationalist w/o religious faith, believed
that Turkey should modernize and secularize along Western lines
o Established
a republic, had himself elected president, then created a one party system,
partly inspired by the BV example, to transform the country
o Most
radical reforms of religion and culture
§
For centuries, most intellectual and social
activities were regulated by Islamic religious authorities
§
Influenced by example of w. ERP, Kemel limited
place of religion in daily affairs
§
Separation of church and state
§
Promulgated law codes inspired by ERPN models
§
Established secular public school system
§
Women received rights
§
By his 1938 death, Kemel had implemented much of
his revolutionary program
§
Moved turkey much closer to ERP, foretelling
current efforts by Turkey to join the EPRN Union as a full fledged member
The Human Costs
·
Immense human costs
o 10-13
million deaths
·
Germany most military casualties
·
France highest proportionate number of losses
·
20 million died of following influenza
·
Number of violent deaths made proper burials
difficult, if not impossible
o Soldiers
interred where they fell
o Limited
accurate identification
o Bodies
moved to more formal cemeteries
o Thousands
remained unID’d
·
Millions of ordinary ppl grieved, turning to
family, friends, neighbors, and church for comfort
o Towns
and villages across EPR raised public memorials to honor dead
·
National memorial sites
·
Widows, orphans, and disable veterans were
victims of war
o 10
million came home disfigured
o Gov
tried to take care of disabled and survivor fams, but there was never enough
money to fund pensions/job training
o Artificial
limbs uncomfortable and employers didn’t want disabled ppl
o Crippled
veterans often forced to beg on the streets
·
German case
o 10%
were direct victims, taking care of them was a difficult problem
o Veteran
groups came together to lobby for state support, and 1/3 of Weimar Repub went
to pensions and benefits
o With
onset of Great Depression, benefits were cut
o Bitter
veterans influenced by Nazis who wanted overthrow of republic
o Human
cost of war had another price: Newly formed radical parties manipulated popular
feelings of loss and resentment to undermine fragile PLMT government
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