Innovation and Ideals of Destruction: Ww 1
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Dylan Glick
Mrs. Atkins
English III Honors
12/19/12
Innovation and Ideals of Destruction: WWI
Has technology exceeded our humanity? World War I was the first global conflict involving more than 23 individual nations and resulting in a death toll of over 17 million. Europe was a breeding ground for political tension and radical ideals, the Industrial Revolution greatly influenced how the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, America) and Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire) geared up for an imminent conflict. The assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife was not the only cause for WWI: alliances, imperialism, nationalism and militarism directly contributed to the start of the “war to end all wars”. The First World War saw a massive influx of new technology, innovation, and ideals that contributed to the widespread destruction of human life and whole nations alike.
Preemptive to the Great War, alliances were being drawn amongst European nations. The Triple Entente consisted of the United Kingdom, France, and Russia whereas the Central Powers or Axis was made up of Germany, Ottoman Empire and Austria. Once each alliance was established, an arms race between each of the factions began ultimately leading to militarism, which is when the government of a country gives their military a high profile. The armies of both France and Germany grew exponentially between 1870 and 1914 and there was fierce competition between Britain and Germany for a superior navy. The British had introduced the Dreadnought, an effective battleship, in 1906. The Germans soon followed introducing their own battleships as well as reintroducing submarine warfare. These alliances were not just mutual protection pacts; they also advocated the protection of each pact members economies at home and abroad. Imperialism during the 1800s influenced England and Frances economies greatly. With the rise of industrialism, new markets were needed to fuel a growing European economy, because of this, trade tensions between England, France and Germany rose dramatically, contributing to the already uneasy mood in Europe.
Nationalism also played a key role in the causes preemptive World War I. After Napoleons defeat and exile, the congress of Vienna wanted to solve issues present in Europe. One of these issues was the ultimate destruction of nations such as Germany and Italy. Strong nationalist elements led to the re-unification of Italy and Germany some years after Napoleons absence. Large areas of both Austria-Hungary and Serbia were home to differing nationalist groups, all of whom wanted freedom from the states in which they lived. Combine all of these factors and a boiling pot of differentiating ideals and motifs clash. One of these clashes was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Yugoslavian revolutionary, Gavrilo Princip. Princip was a member of a radical movement that was influenced heavily by nationalism and the lust for change. Unfortunately, the urge for freedom and the inspiration of nationalism felt by Princip and his fellow Yugoslavian revolutionaries was the spark that ignited World War I. During his trial Princip remarked, “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.” (Noel 153).
After war was officially declared on the 28th of July in 1914 fierce fighting began immediately with the invasion of Serbia by Austria-Hungary and the German invasion of France and Luxembourg. What set World War I apart from all previous European conflicts was the presence of brand new technological terrors like the Vickers and Lewis machine guns, both of which could fire at 600 rounds per minute making each weapon ideal for trench defense. Ground breaking discoveries were made in the field of communication as the development of the radio and sonar made debuts during WWI. Preexisting innovations such as the automobile, warship, airplane, and Zeppelin were refined and used extensively during the war. New military tactics changed the way war was fought, men no longer lined up and fired one after the other, rather trenches were dug and soldiers exchanged fire across a barren field for long periods of time as artillery bombardments echoed throughout every soldiers head. As historian Terence Albright remarks, “The war changed the worlds whole idea of what war was” (Stewart 8).
Trench warfare often saw long days with no victor, and many dead men sprawled across barbed wire on no mans land, in response to this dead lock Germans, being the head of chemical production across the world during the time developed multiple strains of poisonous gas. Mustard gas, chlorine gas, and phosgene were all used to eliminate enemy opposition and end the stalemate that was trench warfare in the Germans favor. France and Britain soon followed this trend by using similar gases for the same purpose. In a quote by a British field nurse, it is easy to see how destructive and devastating the use of gas as a weapon is, “Great mustard-coloured blisters, blind eyes, all sticky and stuck together, always fighting for breath, with voices a mere whisper, saying that their throats are closing and they know they will choke.” (Brittian 36)
WWI was the first