HISB91 Lecture 3 - January 18

20th Century Europe

The Great War - from WW1 towards the present

War and Culture – 1914

- The culture of the early 20th Century changed dramatically, setting the course for the
century as a whole
- In art, new ideas came to the forefront – Pablo Picasso
- In Science, new theories changed the way people looked at the world – Albert Einstein
- In architecture, movements went away from classical structures, more modern designs
- In transportation, the airplane and automobile changed everything – Wright Brothers,
Ford
- The traditionalists and the bourgeois found much of this change frightening – At the
same time many wanted change, found this to be exciting
- While all of this change took place, there was a violence brewing

Explosion – Prelude to The Great War

- Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany represented the reasons the war came about. We was
arrogant and wanted to embody the power of Germany
- Wilhelm had a withered left arm in a nation that was focused on physical perfection
- His grandmother was Queen Victoria. He became obsessed with the sea and the navy
during the time he spent in Britain
- When he was 18 he entered the army. He wanted power to compensate for his arm.
His British relatives were not too happy with him. Victoria thought that he needed a
spanking
- Bismarck had used alliances to keep Germany safe and secure in Europe. He had
offered alliances with Britain, France and the Austria-Hungarian Empire
- When Wilhelm came to power he fired Bismarck. He told of his plans to build a stronger
navy than Britain. Britain was angry. France and Russia became close, and Germany
was left alone with Austria-Hungary

- In Britain, women were fighting for the franchise

- The suffragettes bombed buildings and started fires in protest. 1 woman ran in front of
the King’s horse, and was killed. Some women were put in prison
- Across Europe, workers were looking to socialism for change
- Juarez feared an all-out European arms race. He feared imperialism
- Lenin in Russia thought that war with Austria-Hungary would be a good idea
- Delegates met from all over Europe. Juarez urged them to return home without starting
a conflict
- When war was averted, Juarez thought that it was the beginning of a new era of peace
for Europe. In two years there would be war
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HISB91 Lecture 3 - January 18

- Czar Nicholas II of Russia did not want to be czar, nor did he want the power. He was
quiet and religious, but it was his duty
- His cousin was Wilhelm; Victoria was the grandmother over this entire family. Victoria’s
hemophilia passed to Nicholas’ son Alexis
- Rasputin healed Alexis and became close to the royal family. He gave bad advice to
Nicholas about the state
- When war started, Nicholas and Wilhelm sent each other telegraphs telling each other
to stop the war while professing their friendships for each other. They would each
defend their own honour

- In 30 years in Germany, Berlin went from 700 000 people to 2 million. The social
democrats took to the streets to get better conditions for their families
- The German army was huge. The apocalypse that many feared in social terms would
arrive in the form of war
- Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne, went to Sarajevo and was
assassinated by the Black Hand of Serbia
- Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
- Russia joined Serbia
- Germany joined Austria-Hungary
- France Joined Russia
- Britain joined France and Russia

The Great War – 1918-1918

- 65 million men mobilized

- 10 million men killed
- 22 million men disabled, 7 million permanently

- Bismarck feared a two front war – Germany was confronted with a two front war in
WWI
- In 1906 General Schlieffen came up with a plan to win a two front war – Sweeping
through Belgium and Holland, around to Paris to knock out the French
- The Schlieffen Plan was altered, changed direction too quickly, only went through
Belgium, not Holland
- The Belgians resisted, many Germans retreated, exhausted, began to dig trenches
- The Western Front was formed
- Marne – Large battles at beginning and end of war
- Ypres – Fought over again and again, sacred for British because so much British blood
was spilled over the course of the war

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HISB91 Lecture 3 - January 18

- Somme – 1916, took about one million lives

- Verdun – Fought over again and again, as important for the French as Ypres was for the
British because so much blood was spilled there
- The war became a question of overpowering the enemy, not strategy, strength
- Trenches ran through villages, through towns – Firepower was regarded as essential,
shells and artillery barrages went on for weeks in attempts to prepare for an assault
- Germans developed gas as a means to break through the front – The use of gas was
initially thought of as more humane than machine guns
- Canadians at Ypres with French defended against first German gas attack
- Gas gave way to use of flamethrowers – This was ineffective
- In the trenches there were vermin, lice, rats – Trenches themselves were terrible
- The Lusitania was attacked by the Germans – Found to be a civilian ship, Americans
eventually entered war greatly on the shoulders of the Lusitania attack
- Germany was the modern nation – Proponent of new ideas, new values
- Tanks became an important aspect of frontline warfare during the later years of the war
- Planes dropped some bombs, but were largely used for reconnaissance
- Mythology around Air Aces is great – Billy Bishop, the Red Baron
- Technology grew at a great rate
- Picture of Germans and their early helmets (with spike on top) with a crucified soldier –
Came to be known as the crucified Canadian – It was a hoax
- Movies played a major role in propaganda – “Remember Belgium”
- Men continued to go over the top for four years. Why? – They were still influenced by
the values of the 19th Century, honor, courage, duty
- If you were lucky you survived, if you were unlucky you didn’t – It was as simple as that
- What was the point?