Dennison Hist 390 things fall apart and then turn to mud
1. Things Fall Apart and then Turn
to Mud
Austrian Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on June 28
1914. They were assassinated five minutes later.
3. The Unsinkable Titanic (1912)
Symbol of European and British over confidence.
Naval power, technology, and class distinctions.
Its sinking seen as passing of an era.
Departing Southampton
on April 10, 1912
4. Tense atmosphere of militarism, racism, and competition of
markets. War as diversion to internal issues.
British Empire: Protect interests, including Mediterranean.
Internal issues of suffragettes, Irish, working-class.
Russia Empire: Pan-Slavism, rapid industrialization, revolution.
Defeat in Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 sparked Revolution of 1905,
Nicholas II (r. 1894-1917) and Duma (“constitutional autocracy”)
Austro-Hungarian Empire: Ethnic unrest. Emperor Francis Joseph
(r. 1848-1916) ruled over Dual Monarchy (1867). 7 million
Southern Slavs in Austria.
German Empire: Kaiser William II (r. 1888-1818) aggressive
Imperialist policy, “new course” leads to Naval Race, especially with Britain
All but British Empire will collapse, but Britain loses
colonial holdings.
5. The Balkans, c. 1878
Dismemberment of the
“sick man”
1875 Slavs revolt
against Turks in Bosnia
1876 Bulgaria created
Russo-Turkish War
of 1877-78.
Serbs want more.
6. The Balkans, 1908–1914
On eve of
The Great War
combination of
nationalism,
imperialism,
militarism,
and racism with the
Balkans as hot spot.
7. The “Trigger Event”
• June 28, 1914: Archduke Francis Ferdinand
assassinated in Sarajevo by Black Hand
Serbian nationalist
• Why did an incident in the Balkans lead to
international war?
• Local confrontation at most? An age of
terrorist acts and assassinations, so what’s the
big deal with the archduke?
8. Europe at the Outbreak of World War I
(August 1914)
Alliances:
Turn local war
into European war
Domino effect
of alliances from
July 24-25 through
August 4. Bring in
European powers.
12. The family tree of Queen Victoria (1837-1901)
German 1st language, family German. Husband Albrecht von Sachsen-Coburg
und Gotha. King George V changed name during WWI to “House of Windsor.”
Grandmother of Kaiser William II. King George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II and
Empress Alexandra all first cousins via Queen Victoria.
George V (right) with first cousin Nicholas II,
Berlin, 1913.
Nicholas II (right) and Wilhelm II (1905). Nicholas in a
German Army uniform, Wilhelm in a Russian Army tunic
13. Historiography and Origins of WWI
• Question of “responsibility” dominated initial
historiographical discussion, also question of how
great a divide or gap between pre and post war
Europe (Change or Continuity!).
• Adam R. Seipp, Review Article: “Beyond the
‘Seminal Catastrophe’: Re-imagining the First
World War” in Journal of Contemporary History
(Vol. 41, 2006). Cautions against presentism, also
Heather Jones does too! Beware of pitfalls of
politicalization of history.
14. Initially after WWI (1920s and 1930s)
Question of blame or responsibility addressed:
• German Empire: Article 231 of Versailles Treaty of June
1919: “Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and
her allies for causing all the loss and damage to the Allied
governments and their nationals imposed on them by the
aggression of Germany and her allies.”
• “War Guilt” assigned to Germany, strong sense of revenge,
and Kaiser William II targeted as individual responsible for
war. In France, enormous 11 volume work, published
between 1922 to 1938 (Les Armees Francaises dans la
Grande Guerre) placed blame on Germany.
• Bitterness marks this period and reflected in writings.
15. Who to Blame? (1920s and 1930s)
• “Old” diplomacy to blame? Secret war aims and
secret alliances? Wilson’s stress on LON 14
points: “Open covenants of peace openly arrived
at . . . diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and
in the public view.”
• Political elites to blame—internationalism
becomes a big movement (LON falters but idea
resurrected under UN). Germany not solely to
blame, all share a degree of responsibility.
• Stress on political actors and political history
(Generals and Diplomats)
16. WWII and the roots of Nazism
• Rise of Nazism and WWII enforced the notion
of Prussian militarism and nationalism, and
tendency to connect WWI to WWII.
• Post-WWII and Germans still blamed: Fritz
Fischer’s Griff nach der Weltmacht, translated
as Germany’s Aims in the First World War
(1961): “the Fischer thesis”
• But was Germany that different?
Kaiser Wilhelm II
17. Cold War: Generational Revolt
• Nuclear age and fear of global atomic devastation
• WWI as something out of control and contingency
stressed. Vietnam War raised issues of economic
interests, political elites, and pressure groups
• Rise of social history challenges political history.
Soldiers and home front.
18. Paul Fussell (1924-2012), The Great War and
Modern Memory (1975)
Dedication:
“To the Memory of Technical Sergeant Edward Keith Hudson,
ASN36548772
Co. F, 410th Infantry
Killed beside me in France
March 15, 1945
Literary analysis and memory
Forerunner of cultural history
19. After September 11, 2001
“Ironically, this is a return to what may be the simplest
and most transparent of explanations: a terrorist
attack carried out by a small cohort of true believers,
possibly with the support of a state actor, followed by a
series of conscious decisions by small groups of elites
to use the opportunity to resolve existing geopolitical
tensions.” (Seipp,758).
Going to war is a decision made. Who makes it and
why is key.
20. 5 Key Questions Posed
• Heather Jones, “As the Centenary Approaches: The
Regeneration of First World War Historiography” in The
Historical Journal, Vol 56 (2013)
• Why did war break out?
• Why did the allies win?
• Were the generals to blame for the high casualty
rates (especially Haig!)?
• How did men endure trench warfare?
• To what extent did civilian society accept and endorse
the war effort?
The rehabilitation of
Field Marshal Douglas Haig?
The “learning curve”
of the Battle of the Somme?
21. Why did war break out?
• Causes of World War I: James Joll in The Origins of
the First World War stated that the “immediate
origins of the war are better documented than
almost any other question in recent history.” (p1)
• Any yet, still no consensus over why it broke out
• Recent historiography: Renewed emphasis on July
Crisis (short-term decision making) and “de-bunking”
of the inevitability of war.
• Renewed emphasis on the political (collapse of USSR)
and more conservative views.
22. What state most responsible? Why?
• Serbia? (corner 1)
• Germany? (corner 2)
• Austro-Hungary? (corner 3)
• Russia? (corner 4)
What does Brose argue? What does Jones
argue? Do you agree or disagree and why?
23. Not a “who done it?”
• Christopher Clark, The sleepwalkers: how Europe went to war in 1914 (2012) (but
Balkan and Serbian focus)
24. “No innocents”
• John Morrow, The Great War. An Imperial
History (2004): “There were no innocents in
power in Europe, only civilian and military
leaders culpable and complicitous in causing
the war. Prior to August 1914, Europeans had
presumed to control the world; they were
now to learn that they could not control
themselves.” (Seipp, 760).
25. Was war avoidable? Why or why not?
• Corner 1: Yes
• Corner 2: No
• What does Jones argue? Brose?
26. Why 1914?
What makes summer of 1914 so special?
• David Fromkin, Europe’s Last Summer. Why the World
Went to War in 1914 (2004): “The public played no role in
war and peace decisions; decisions that they did not even
know were being made behind closed doors . . . The several
dozen leaders who did discuss and decide these matters
lived in a world of their own, and it was a world in which
war and warriors were glorified.” (Fromkin in Seipp, 761).
• Fromkin: Two wars being fought in 1914; a local war in the
Balkans, and a world war begun by Germany against France
and Russia. The two wars became intertwined.
27. Why war in August 1914?
• Role of contingency in history (ifs abound) and also
significance of personalities. Context of MAIN made
war likely but not inevitable, decisions to go to war
made by political and military leaders who deemed it
acceptable, even desirable. “Culture of war” (Brose,
40) made going to war look viable. Political leaders set
the terms and made the decision to mobilize.
• In July 1914, Williamson & Van Wyk: “ Individuals, not
monolithic governments and impersonal forces . . .
contributed to the rapidly escalating crisis.” (vii)
28. Photograph taken at the funeral of King Edward VII in 1910: seated, left to
right, kings Alfonso XIII of Spain, George V of the United Kingdom & Frederick
VIII of Denmark; standing, left to right: kings Haakon VII of Norway,
Ferdinand of Bulgaria, Manuel II of Portugal, George I of Greece and Albert I
of Belgium. Kaiser Wilhelm is seen at center, standing behind King George V.
Men in uniform!
29. Lessons to be learned
Ultimate decision for any state is the decision to go to
war and individuals make this decision
1) In a crisis, state must be sure it understands the risks
of proposed actions by its ally (and itself) and look at
all options. An ally can be as dangerous as an enemy!
2) Statesmen often rely on assumptions based on past
experiences and think that risks are properly
understood (e.g. Moroccan Crisis)
3) Governments and civilians militarized
4) After duration of peace, costs of war forgotten
5) Civilian-Military nexus during war strained, respect
essential (how to say no to a general)
30. How the war proceeds:
The Big Picture
Stuart Robson’s Distinct Periods of WWI by Year:
1914. War of Movement initially but bogs down in west into positional war while
remaining more open in east; at home, “business as usual”
1915. Badly planned offensive disasters in west and trench warfare; German
successes against Russia; at home, state-controlled war economy emerges
1916. The “classic” phase of the war—disasters and death abound. War of attrition
on land and sea; at home, total war footing
1917. Despair on battlefield. Despair or grim determination at home. Russia collapses
into revolution. When will this bloody war ever end?
1918. Movement returns to battlefield; home fronts close to or past tipping point.
And then it’s over
31. Broad Timeline for 1914
• June 28 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and wife, Sophie
• July 5-6 Austria-Hungary receives “blank check” from Germany
• July 23 Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia
• July 24 Partial mobilization of Austro-Hungarian army
• July 25 Serbia orders mobilization
• July 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
• July 29 Austria-Hungary invades Serbia
• July 29 Germany attempts to win British neutrality
• July 30 Mobilization of Russian army, Britain rebuffs German overtures on neutrality
• August 1 Mobilization of French and German armies, Germany declares war on Russia
• August 2 German trade unions agree to support war
• August 3 Germany invades Belgium, Germany declares war on France
• August 4 German invasion of neutral Belgium; Britain enters the war against Germany
• August 6 Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia
32. Broad Timeline for 1914 (con.)
• August 17-19 Russia invades East Prussia
• August 20-23 Battle of the Frontiers
• August 23-Sept. 2 Austria-Hungary invades Galicia
• August 26-31 Battle of Tannenberg (East Prussia)
• September 5-10 Battle of the Marne
• September 9-14 First Battle of the Masurian Lakes
• September 15-November 24 “race to the sea” on western front (Aise,
Verdun, and St.-Mihiel; the First Battle of Ypres and
of Champagne)
• September 17-28 Austro-German offensive in western Poland
• October 29 Turkey joins Central Powers
• November 1 Russia declares war on Turkey
• December 21 First German air raids on Britain
• December 25 “Truce”
33. Self-Mobilization of Public?
• Traditional view: Domestic consensus; public mobilized
and enthusiastic.
• Seipp: “The events of 1914-1918, across the global
stage, were not a series of errors and mishaps. They
were the outcomes, however unintended, of deliberate
policies followed by military and civilian planners and
generally backed by strong grassroots enthusiasm
among combatant populations.” (Seipp, 765).
Populations felt betrayed, conned after the war by the
elites but behind war when it was going on.
• Jones on this?
34. Public enthusiasm for war more myth than reality?
New York City’s anti-war protest organized by
women, on August 29, 1914.
35. The Beginning of War: The “spirit of 1914”
• Also a great deal of panic, anxiety, stoicism, and
tears.
• Creation of idealized, patriotic soldier and public
managed for political, national purposes?
• Brose points to specific demonstrations and
actions in east that were pointedly unsupportive
of war. Countryside and imperial dominions less
enthusiastic.
• Russia and mobilization?
39. 1914: Battle of the Frontiers
• Schlieffen-Moltke Plan: Some 1.5 million
Germans cross western frontier in 1st days of
war, fortress of Liège in Belgium only major
obstacle (besides physical ability to march
only 20 to 25 miles a day).
• Belgium atrocities: In Dinant 612 citizens shot
in main square. Refugees. Allies play up
Belgium as violated maiden in propaganda.
Germany a “steamroller”
40.
41.
42. For French: A disaster for élan
Infantry in bright red trousers and blue jackets, officers in full
dress uniforms. Brose: “French planning could not have been
more favorable to the Germans if they had themselves drawn up
enemy operations.” (p. 53)
43. BEF (British Expeditionary Force)
“junior partner” of French
Fought like lions, led by donkeys?
A volunteer army.
August-December 1914, 1 million British men
volunteer for army. In 1915, more that 1.4 million
new volunteers join recruitment lists
In 1915, total of 2.4 million Brits, almost 30% of
men in eligible age bracket volunteered.
British Army: 90% urban, rest of armies
predominately peasants (“poet’s war”)
44. “Pals’ Battalions”
The 10th Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers, known
as the 'Stockbrokers' Battalion', smiling as they
march to the trenches.
46. Men of 4th/Royal Fusiliers, 9th Brigade, resting
before the Battle of Mons, 22 August 1914
47. British and Belgium soldiers retreating from
the Battle of Mons, began on August 23, 1914.
The first major engagement between British &
German forces.
48. On 23 August 1914, the 2nd Battalion of the
Seaforth Highlanders joined the British
Expeditionary Force at Boulogne.
49. On Western Front
By early Sept. 1914, Germans 40 miles from Paris at
Marne River. 600 taxis and public buses used to shuttle
3,000 reserves up to front from Paris.
Proximity of the two fronts. Two completely different
worlds so close together? Speed a constant for both
sides for getting to front (trains and railroad lines).
50. Taxi de la Marne: fleet of Paris taxis
requisitioned by the French Army to transport
troops from Paris to the First Battle of the
Marne in early September 1914.
51. London buses
at Ypres in 1914
Wrecked bus at St Eloi in France, two weeks after
leaving Willesden Garage in 1914
52. Old Bill
London bus, nicknamed ‘Old Bill’ at the
Imperial War Museum. Used on the Western
Front throughout the war
