Age of Total War
Fall 2007
The World Was Changing
The liberal ideal in politics
was near an end.
The world was now more directly
tied by commerce than ever before.
Traditional political parties
were losing favor.
At the expense of single issue
groups such as Labor/Socialism.
Labor was becoming more
militant.
Capitalism: The Highest Stage of
Imperialism
Imperialism took off in the
1870s.
It was widely supported by
almost everyone.
Economic arguments trumped
nearly all other concerns.
Yet political leaders rarely
used the economic argument to justify their actions.
In reality they were driven by
fear and suspicion.
Popularity of Imperialism
Nearly all class supported the
idea.
The working classes thought that
they would benefit economically from the imperialist impulses.
Socialists stressed the
humanitarian component of Imperialism.
Socialist leaders were
susceptible to the appeals of the imperialists.
The Spread of the Imperial Ideal
Africa
Pacific Islands
China
Near East
The Climax of Imperialism
The height of Imperialism came
between 1895-1905.
Spain was defeated by the U.S.
during the Spanish-American War.
The Italians were crushed by the
Ethiopians in 1896 at Adowa.
Then Gordon was killed at
Khartoum.
Followed by the Boer War and the
Russo-Japanese War in 1905.
Nobody Ever Thought
That Russia and France would
ever become Allies.
Why did that happen?
What accounts for that twist of
events?
It All Started With Otto von Bismarck
Bismarck needed a series of
alliances to protect Germany from a revengeful France.
After the Franco-Prussian War
(1870-1871).
Out of it grew a series of
diplomatic arrangements that isolated France.
This worked as long as Bismarck
was around.
Since one in particular was too
confusing and would give the new Emperor, William II the opportunity to make the
mistake of a lifetime.
Bismarcks
Alliance System
Dual
Alliance (Oct. 7, 1879)
-- Between Austria and Germany.
Three
Emperors League (June
18,1881) - Austria, Russia, and Germany -- If one power found itself at war with
a fourth power except with the Ottoman Empire, the others would maintain a
friendly neutrality.
Triple Alliance (May 20,
1882) - Italy joined the Dual Alliance and maintained links with Vienna and
Berlin until 1915.
Reinsurance Treaty (June
18, 1887) - Replaced the Three Emperors League and ties Germany and Russia
together for five years.
The Break Came
When Bismarck was dismissed in
1890.
Next the Germans notified St.
Petersburg that the Reinsurance Treaty would not be renewed when it expired in
1892.
The Germans had thought they
could get a better deal with the British.
This was the high point in
Anglo-German relations.
The Anglo-German Deal in 1890
The deal was simple Britain
gets Zanzibar and Germany gets Helgoland in the North Sea.
So the Germans were willing to
throw away the traditional Russian alliance.
Berlin just thought they could
get a better deal from London.
Remember this was the high point
in Anglo-German relations.
Along Comes The French
The Germans made a serious
tactical blunder.
Believing that absolutism and
republicanism was like nitro and glycerin,
The French had substantial
investments in Russia.
In 1891 St. Petersburg and Paris
agreed on mutual consultations in the event of war.
In 1892, upon the urging of
Paris, this turned into a military alliance.
The fear of all Germans.
Impact on Germany
In 1892 Count von Schlieffen
became Chief of the German General Staff.
Initially the plan for war, a
two-front war, was to strike quickly in the East.
Von Schlieffen reversed the
order.
France must be eliminated first.
For German soldiers.
France was the main enemy.
The End of British Isolation
The British were concerned with
France.
They have always been concerned
with France since Henry II.
But Lord Salisbury thought
Britain needed a Continental ally to counter France.
Many in Germany thought a
Anglo-German Alliance was natural.
But then William II made another
blunder.
With the infamous Kruger
Telegram.
Other Problems with Germany
The Germans then made the
unmistakable error of challenging the British on the high seas.
The Anglo-German rivalry was
perhaps the last straw.
Forcing the British away from
Berlin.
Still there were problems with
the French.
Almost a shot out took place at
Fashoda.
The Anglo-Japanese Agreement
The British were concerned about
the drift of world events.
Concerned with the French.
As well as the Russians moving
into Asia.
Some of this was part of the
Great Game.
The result was the
Anglo-Japanese Agreement in 1902.
Forcing France to rethink her
alliance with Russia.
Problems for Theophile Delcasse
Delcasse realized that Frances
main concern was Germany.
Why risk a war in the Far East?
Something had to be done to
resolve those potential problems.
One change came when King Edward
VII went to Paris in 1903.
Setting the stage for the
Anglo-French Entente in 1904.
A Series of Events that Made War Possible
First Moroccan Crisis
in 1905.
The Germans threatened war in
order to discredit France.
This strategy failed.
It only drove Britain and France
closer together.
This was followed by the
Bosnian Crisis
in 1908.
Both Russia and Austria had an
agreement.
Yet both needed a victory.
But at the expense of each
other.
The key players was Izvolsky of
Russia and Aehrenthal of Austria.
Who had meet at Aehrenthals
estate at Buchlau.
The Serbs also wanted Bosnia.
Both sides nearly came to blows.
Followed by the Second
Moroccan Crisis
in 1911.
The Military Considerations
There was a desire to have
allies and a corresponding fear of losing them.
Primacy of Generals over
Civilians concerning national security issues.
Massive arms buildup throughout
Europe.
Development of offensive
military doctrines despite the lethality of the new weapon systems.
Soldiers had to be steeled in
their desire to attack.
Military plans emphasized the
attack rather than diplomatic solutions.
For the most part wars were
fought in the Empire against indigenous peoples.
Most the natives lost, but at
times they overwhelm the superior firepower of the European forces as they did
at the Little Big Horn
(1876), Isandlwana
(1879), the fate of Charles
Chinese Gordon in
Khartoum (1885), and Adowa
(1896).
Some
Considerations Concerning Conscription
The situation of mass
mobilization was made possible because of the
Industrial Revolution
and long-term impact of the
French Revolution.
The French Revolution produced
the concept of levee en mass.
Which created large, highly
motivated citizen soldiers.
Not necessarily well trained but
sometimes called educated bayonets.
What Drove Those Men?
Patriotic fervor was essential.
The Industrial Revolution made
it possible for the state to arm them.
They were also cheaper than the
previously used professional armies of monarchial Europe.
The New Conscript Armies
All able-bodied men were
expected to serve for two or three years.
Following their eighteenth
birthday.
Following the original
induction, conscripts could expect an additional call-up later.
First as a regular reservist.
Then later in a less demanding
formations.
All told, this could last for
twenty years!
Perceived
Virtues of Conscription
Politicians at the time believed
that conscription was a common good for the nation.
The army would be good for them.
Turning wild-eyed youthful
troublemakers into solid citizens.
Then in some nations, like
Germany, well-educated youth would one have to serve one year.
Then move into the officer
corps.
Support For War
When war came it was highly
popular in Berlin, Paris, Vienna, St. Petersburg, and London.
War had a romantic cache to it.
Men were ashamed to be seen in
civilian clothes.
Men volunteered, but slots in
the best regiments were often taken.
This attitude influence not only
the Political Right, but also the Left.
Why Was War Popular?
People simply forgot about the
carnage of war.
It had been along time since
Europe experienced war.
Men wanted to proof something to
themselves and their loved ones.
War also had a romantic appeal
about it.
Some theorists believed that
Europe needed a good enema to purge the system of corrupt influences.
The need to demonstrate
manliness.
Three Elements That Made World War I
Different
Mass Armies
Fire Power
Railroads
Increase in Weapon Development
Breechloaders became the rule
rather than the exception.
The Germans, for the most part,
led the way with the use of the Dreyse Needle Gun during the Franco-Prussian
War.
During that conflict, for the
first time, both sides used breechloaders.
More important, they were
rifled with lands and grooves.
Another addition was the use of
smokeless powder.
Which made it difficult to spot
the infantry on the battlefield.
Improvements
in Artillery
The Germans under the Krupps
made similar improvements in Artillery.
The Krupps pioneered
breach-loading artillery.
This was a far better method
than the muzzle-loaders.
New propellants made the
artillery even more effective against not only troops in the field but also
against fortifications.
Improved Marksmanship
The British took the lessons of
the Boer War to heart.
As a result they became the most
proficient European marksmen.
The British were armed with the
.303 Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Rifle.
They were trained to hit a
target 300 yards away fifteen times per minute.
Many British soldiers actually
doubled that rate without loss of accuracy.
This was Evident during the Russo-Japanese
War
Japanese Heavy Howitzers, firing
shells weighing 700 pounds blasted Russian fortresses in and around Port Arthur.
Engineers attempted to improve
fortifications.
By adding more dirt and concrete
as well as putting in steel cupolas as firing ports.
The new explosives made shrapnel
even more important.
The Machine Gun
The first machine guns, at least
by the French, were considered artillery pieces.
The French version was called
the Mitrilleuse and was modeled after the Gatling Gun of the American
Civil War.
However, there were changes in
the offing.
The main change came from Hiram
Maxim, an American in 1880s.
How Important Were Railroads?
When Kaiser Wilhelm II summoned
Gen. Von Moltke that there should only be war on Russia.
Moltke, Chief of Staff, told him
the plans were set and they were too complicated to modify.
Germany now, because of
Railroads and the link to the
Schlieffen Plan, made war possible.
War Plans Ruled
The Russian Plan was simple
Invade East Prussia and take the pressure off France.
The French Plan 17 was simple
Mass and Attack and recover the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine.
The German Plan was much more
complicated and named after the designer Alfred von Schlieffen former Chief
of the German General Staff.
It involved holding in the East,
Massing in the West, invading Belgium and coming around Paris.
It was to be war winning, part
of the quest for decisive victory.
The Keys to Victory
Was the Attack.
Another was the work of
Col de Grandmaison
created the furious offensive.
The idea was to attack at all
costs.
Soon this idea spread throughout
the French military establishment.
Since Ferdinand Foch was the
commandant.
The Boys Will Be Home by Christmas
The General Assumption was the
war would be over quickly.
Part of that was the public
forgot about the horrors of war.
Once voice, crying in the
wilderness, was Ivan Bloch.
Bloch was a Polish Jew and a
leading industrialist, wrote
The Future of War.
He believed that was war was
suicidal.
Since the European Powers would
become bankrupt and ultimately collapse.
Leading to revolution and
continued upheaval.
He was both right and wrong, but
he did not live long enough to see the results of his predictions since he died
in 1902.
According to Ivan Bloch
Nations could not handled the
wounded.
Feed their populations.
Develop strategies to supercede
the new technologies.
Ultimately they would face
slaughter on the battlefield.
Economic breakdowns.
National bankruptcy.
Collapse of their social
systems.
The Old Order would collapse.
Wars were Forgotten
After the Crimean War and the
American Civil War, the only other conflicts were the Wars of Italian and German
Unification.
With the notable exception of
the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71.
The Americans earlier were
involved in a conflict with Mexico in 1846-48.
Then later again with Spain in
1898.
But the Franco-Prussian War did
kill as 171,000 French and Germans.
The Problem of Succession in
Austria-Hungary
Franz Joseph was going old.
He sat on the throne since 1848.
He had no direct heir.
Since his son, Crown Prince
Rudolph, committed suicide at Mayerling in 1889 with his mistress.
Then his wife was assassinated
in 1898 by an anarchist.
The next in line was Franz
Ferdinand.
Franz Ferdinand Grievances
He was a rather strange bird.
He liked to hunt from a train.
Failed to marry a woman of his
rank.
Since he feel in love with a
member of the lower nobility.
She was forced to endure
numerous slights.
As a consequence Franz Ferdinand
advocated Trialism.
Dividing the state into three
parts.
Franz Ferdinands Plans
Divide the Empire into three
component parts.
With equality for the tree
groups.
For the the Germans.
Hungarians.
And Czechs.
This caused serious problems for
the two principal parties.
Then there were the Serbs were
were always looking for ways to expand.
Bosnia
The Serbs viewed Bosnia as
rightfully theirs.
Part of a Greater Serbia.
The Austrians had occupied the
province since 1878.
Then annexed Bosnia in 1908
setting off the Bosnia Crisis.
The situation would get worse
when the decision was made to allow Franz Ferdinand to visit Sarajevo on June
28, 1914.
Narodna Obrana
After the Austrian annexation of
Bosnia.
Key Serb officials met in
Belgrades City Hall to create Narodna Odbrana.
Which means National Defense.
The goal was to recruit men and
train partisans for a potential war with Austria.
Satellite groups were formed in
Slovenia, Bosnia, and Istria.
The Bosnia Group was called the
Mlada Bosna (Young Bosnia)
Impact of Narodna Odbrana
The Narodna Odbrana was so
effective stirring up Serbs in Bosnia.
Vienna complained in 1909 to put
a stop to Anti-Austria propaganda being conducted in the region.
From that point, Narodna Odbrana
concentrated on propaganda inside Serbia.
Trying to fashion itself as a
cultural organization.
This caused a split with the
development of a more sinister organization coming forward.
The Coming of the Black Hand
Select members of Narodna
Odbrana created an even more secretive organization.
Dedicated to terrorism.
Ten men formed Union or Death.
By 1914 there were hundreds of
members of Ujedinjenje ili Smrt.
They went by the name of the
Black Hand.
Their objective was to train
terrorists for sabotage and political murder.
Organization of the Black Hand
The goal was to establish a
Greater Serbia.
Organized into 3 to 5 man cells.
Above them were district
committees.
At the top was a ten-member
Executive Committee.
Led by Colonel Dragutin
Dimitrijevic, Chief of Serbian Military Intelligence.
Who went by the name of Apis,
which means the Bee.
Planning A Crime
The Black Hand took over all
terrorist operations from the NO.
Membership rarely knew what
other members were doing.
Most of the members were
important officials in the Army or Government.
Most officials knew what was
going on.
But the relations changed before
1914.
Break With the Serbian Government
The Crown Prince Alexander was a
key supporter of the movement.
But the Black Hand was upset
with the position of the Nikola Pasic, the Prime Minister.
The Black Hand believed that
Pasic was not concerned enough with Pan-Serbism.
Saying no to the Black Hand
was not a wise move.
The Decision to Kill Franz Ferdinand
Apis decided to kill the heir to
the Austrian throne on his own.
Three Bosnian-Serbs were
recruited and trained for that mission.
Princip, Cabrinovic, and Grabez.
They were trained in bomb
throwing and marksmanship.
To do the job they were smuggled
across the border.
Black Hand Aspiration
The plotters realized that this
would invite war with Austria.
They thought that Russia would
come to their aid.
But Russia had let them down
before.
The Executive Committee ordered
Apis to recall the mission.
Apis made a half-hearted effort
to recall the team.
This occurred two weeks before
the attempt.
The Warnings
The trip to Sarajevo was agreed
to by the highest levels of the Austrian government.
Despite the fact that it came on
the anniversary of the Serb defeat at Kosovo Field.
Warnings came from Belgrade too.
But some in Vienna were not
concerned.
So, the Archduke traveled to
Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.
The rest was history.