Hey MR. H!

Hello Mr. Hyer. Enjoying your break? I have some new slide photos for you. Enjoy them!

Friday, Feb. 29, 2008Your assignment is to create a list of the ways in which the principle of self-determination affected the Peace Treaties of 1919-1920. (Remember, the list should cover both positive and negative aspects.)

Positive Affects of Self-Determination

• Nine new nations are created; Poland, Finland, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.



• Minorities were ordered to be treated fairly.



• Elections were held by at least three countries

Negative Aspects

• Germany not allowed to have self determination makes Germany bitter


• Germans forced into Czech (mortal enemies)


• No unity between austria and Germany (totally won't work out)


• Minorities exist and cause problems because all of them want their own recognition


• The old existing empires will continue to remain in existence

Why was the First World War so destructive of human life?

QUESTION:
Why was the First World War so destructive of human life?

OUTLINE:

a) The sheer scale of the war:
i) Size of the armies, these ran into the tens of millions. The more people there were fighting, the greater number of casualties
ii) With the involvement of the British and the French worldwide empires and the United States the war was truly a world war.
iii) Length of the war.

b) The intensity of the fighting. Battles raged with ferocious intensity for months at a time.

c) The highly destructive tactics used:
i) Mass opening offensives and frontal attacks.
ii) Attrition Verdun and the Somme
iii) Deliberate targeting of the civilian blockade, bombing.

d) More deadly weapons used modern artillery and rifles, machine guns, airplanes, submarines, gas, tanks.

e) Finally, you should also bring in the militaristic attitudes and beliefs of the peoples of Europe and their leaders, which meant that they were ready and willing to go to war, and to continue with the war, no matter what the cost.

World War I was extremely effective in the destruction of human life. It was not just the war itself however, that caused the massive loss of human life. What caused the high death count, was the scale of the war (in size), the intensity of the battles, the destructive tactics used in the war, the use of the more modern weaponry, and the effects caused by nationalism and militarism i.e. their beliefs and the leaderships the soldiers either held or followed. This totaled up, was the deadly combination of destruction in WWI.

During WWI, the various nations and their armies faced off in vicious clashes resulting in various numbers of casualties. There were three factors that attributed to this, the various army sizes, the fact that it was a World War, and the length of time in which WWI actually took place. Because the army sizes were so massive, the casualties in battle were much greater. The number of troops in Germany were close to, if not exactly 1.5 million. Similar numbers applied to France, Britain, Russia, and of course the United States. Consequently, the number of casualties rose because more troops meant more and more people were dying on the battlefield. Battles such as those that occurred over the first weeks of the war resulted in high casualty numbers that reached approximately 300,000 men, were just one example of the extreme casualty rate. Another example would be that of the Austro-Hungarian attack on Russia, which resulted in an 'excess of 350,000 casualties' as well as various prisoners of war. But it was not just the massive amount of troops that caused such high casualties. It was also the fact that so many nations were involved in the war. Russia, France, Britain, Italy, Serbia, The United States, Austria-Hungary, and Germany were all going head to head with one another causing in all essence a World War. As previously demonstrated, nations continually clashed, leaving in their wake high casualty numbers. Perhaps the best example would be the battles held at Verdun and Somme, which resulted "with over 700,000casualties recorded on both sides at each battle." This was a massive number that impacted both the French and the German troops. Thus the result of massive numbers caused the effect of massive casualties. Lastly, the fact that WWI was so long, it lasted for four years (1914-1918) was also a contribution to the massive casualty amount. In fact, the amount of time in which the war lasted had not been the time estimated for it to occur. It was "concluded that the war would be short' and that 'the war was truly to be "over by Christmas".' if the German plan of attack succeeded. Such a long amount of time would mean that the death toll would be on a much larger scale than that of previous wars.

However, the mass casualty count was also to be attributed to the fact that the battles were much more intense and would last for up to months at a time. In fact 'the intensity of the war was unprecedented.' and 'Battles were longer' than those previously fought 'in the Napoleonic age or the wars of 1866 and 1870.' Such examples of these long lasting battles would be 'the bloody stalemate' that occurred on the Western Front "From the end of 1914 to the spring of 1918" during which, neither side moved forward more than ten miles. Also an example would be the Battle of Verdun which lasted from February 1916 to July of that year. The amount of troops that were lost by both sides at the Battle of Verdun was a massive blow to either commander. But this can be attributed to the fact that both sides were using immensely destructive war tactics.

The various plans of attack used by the different nations during WWI, were highly destructive because of the use of large scale frontal attacks and offensives, the use of Attrition, and the deliberate targeting of civilians. The French used a plan called Plan 17 as the plan of attack for their country. Plan 17 consisted of a massive frontal attack by French soldiers. The German response was an immediate defensive attack which resulted in 300,000 casualties. Also there occurred what is known as Trench Warfare. The basic idea was that different sides would dig deep trenches or ditches in order to hold a position on the front line. The space between the different sides, was a mass of burned trees, craters, and dead land which was known to all as "No man's land". The Germans were able to best utilize this war tactic, often securing the best locations and positions. French and British soldiers used their own trenches primarily as well protected positions from which they could attack. As a result of Trench warfare, however, there were higher casualty numbers inflicted on the attacking forces than that of the defending force. Also used during WWI, was the Attrition strategy. "A war of attrition is the process of wearing down by constant pressuring in order to weaken, exhaust, or destroy enemy forces" (War of Attrition as a Strategy in World War I) The best example of attrition are the Battles of Verdun. 'The Battle of Verdun is the major example of a war of attrition. Without any difference between friend and foe it crushed soldiers on both sides to the same extent." The Battle of Verdun had a high casualty count of 300,000 for either side, both French and German. But it left a massive impact on the German army that made it almost impossible to recover from the losses suffered in 1916. Both sides had ruthlessly battered against one another endlessly, neither relinquishing to the other. Both simply hurling body after body at the other side, desperate to win against the other. When these tactics didn't work, then the nations turned on the civilians. Air raids were frequently used to bomb enemy territory. The reason; bombing civilians could have a massive impact on enemy morale. And the formation of blockades helped to cause the enemy to suffer from lack of supplies.

what is known as a "total war". Total war is defined as "a war in which every available weapon is used and the nation's full financial resources are devoted" http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/total%20war

Mr. Hyer I was unable to finish but here is my work.

Causes of the Balkan Wars

(The Josh Sessler Kitty of Doom)

What were the causes and consequences of the two Balkan Wars?

A: The main causes of the Balkan wars were the desire for Macedonia, and the dispute between Serbia and Bulgaria. As a result of the need to posess Macedonia, it was split into 3 zones, Neautral, and Serbian, and Bulgarian, and an agreement was made that there would be equal support, should the Great Powers attempt to take land from Turkey. As a result the Balkan League was formed, and, using riots that were occuring in Macedonia, as an excuse, the League began mobilizing troops for action. Later, the Balkan League gained possession of of almost all European Turkey. This lead to fear in the Great Powers, and Russia and Austria began to mobilize their own troops, one to support Surbia the other to oppose. (Later Russia backed down). Finally, on May 30, 1913, negotiations of Turkey were settled, and the land was broken up. However, because the issue was settled by the Great Powers and not the Balkan League, Serbia felt a little upset that it was cut off from the Adriatic sea. This lead to the second Balkan war, and Serbia, backed by Greece, was able to declare war on Bulgaria. As a result, Bulgara suffered a humiliating defeat, and was made to surrender different lands to different nations, Serbia and Greece came out with their own parts of Macedonia. As a result, Austria felt threatened by Serbia's power and began to look for new allies against her.

Fatherlands: State-Building and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Germany

1> What did the German state govt's of Saxony, Hanover, and Wuttemburg do to seek support from its citizens? In order to gain support from their citizens, the German state govt's of Saxony, Hanover, and Wuttemburg did several things; They became more open to the public, and began to associate more with the people. Royal ceremonies became much more open to the public, and monarchies began to organise state festivities, such as processions, that often included cheering and the waving of flags. Also, Monarchies would place their royal art collections on display in museums for consumption of the public eye. Lastly, the govt's would also encourage their citizens to donate to private causes that aided in the financing of the building of various state monuments. Thus governments gained the support of their citizens though out Germany.

2> German Kings encouraged their people to support their states in many ways: such as encouraging the newspapers to be "pro-govenrment" encouragin the for-mentioned eventsevents of processions, and also by showing their generosity by donating their atristic archives to meuseums.

3> States influenced public opinion through newspapers and education by not only having both pro government and anti-giovernment views in their newspapers but also by influencing education so that it spread out into the more broad subjects, encouraging them to become more govenrment involved.

War in the Industrial Age 1815 -1914

Ok, see this is why it's not a good idea to attack the guys with the guns when your only weapon is a bicycle. This is why the silly Frenchmen lost to the Prussians. They were on bikes, the Prussian's had tanks. Do the math.

Section 8 Question
How did public opinion play an increasingly important role in the conduct of military affairs in the period up to 1914? Public opinion played an important role in the conduct of military affairs in the period leading up to 1914. Because of the development of the telegraph, and the increase of public litteracy, news was more widespread among the population. Patriotism and Nationalism became two very important factors in the way the people viewed the military. Patriotism was the main thing holding societies together, serving one's country and dying for one's country was a popular view. Nationalism was displayed through new flags and anthems. People were also becoming part of the militarism movement, allowing men to enlist in the army, rather than simply take the misfits of society, dress them up, and pass them off for soldiers. Now the people could actually take pride in their nations army, rather than be ashamed of having criminals representing them.

Section 9 Question
What impact did industrialization have on the nature of warfare during this period? (Mr. Hyer, I lost the last sheet of my packet and was unable to respond to this question. I am so sorry!)

Lessons from Wars of German Unification

Section 5 Questions:

1. What were the reasons for Prussian military supremacy during the wars of Germany unification? During the wars of German Unification, the Prussian army had military supremacy for several reasons; the use of the General Staff, their use of railroad strategies, their growth in number, and their new tactics. The General Staff, had been developed during the Napoleonic Wars, and it was used to develop new army doctrines and war strategies. However, it did not gain sufficiency until 1857 when Helmuth von Moltke was made Chief of the General Staff, and transformed it into the most effective of army leaderships in all Europe. It became intense on the study of previous campaign strategies, and mapping of the country which would be used for militant purpose. There was also the increase of use of the Railways, which they could use to send their troops on the first call on their required services. Prussia also extended its army to their people, allowing anyone of any social class to enlist. However, there was a slight change in years of service, instead of serving 2 years in the regular army, soldiers were required to serve 3 and this was followed by an additional 4 years of service in the army reserve. Never the less, their new recruits were now better educated and even better training wise. This helped to increase the Prussians army size to double its previous capacity, and increase its ability for a bid on greater status of power. Finally there was the increase of Prussian war tactics. Their use of faster mobilization, through railways and their increase in fire power due to breech-loading riffles gave them the extra boost in military efficiency. This allowed for the Prussian army to leave behind the full frontal attacks and instead allowed them to develop new war strategies, such as out flanking the enemy and finishing them off quickly by closing in on them. Thus, the Persian army able to become more efficient in military strategy and gain military supremacy.

2. What were the lessons drawn from these wars? There was one thing that could be taken from the Wars of German Unification, and that was to be more like Germany; That nations should change to become more like this one country that had dominated the French and the Austrians. Thus, the lessons learned were as follows, -Rapid mobilization via railroad, was of the utmost importance.

-You needed to pay very close attention to sweeping plans of attack. -The use of General staff was valuable and essential as the brain of military exploits. These were added to the concept of power and speed of attack being the main reason for the supremacy of the Prussians military excellence.

Section 6 Questions:

1. What impact did the introduction of the magazine rifle have on warfare? With the introduction of the magazine rifle, the impact it had on warfare was tumultuous. Unlike the previous gun styles, which held only one bullet at a time, the new guns could hold up nine bullets in the loading chamber. Better still, each bullet could be fired once every four seconds. Later, there was the development of metal encased cartridges and smokeless propellants, thus allowing for the gunman's position to be covered, without having to worry about gun smoke giving away their cover, or making it difficult to see. And finally, the most important of all, was the change in the number of cartridges someone could carry, from sixty rounds to two hundred rounds.

2. Why were many military commanders reluctant at first to use the machine gun? Many of the military commanders were very reluctant at first to use the machine gun because it was a serious challenge to their beliefs of how warfare should be. They had once believed that it was an individuals courage, morale, and the discipline of their specific fighting forces ,was far more important than anything technology was capable of producing. They feared that the machine gun would some how lessen the value of the individual fighting unit.

3. What advances did artillery make during the last half of the nineteenth century? There were several advances made in artillery during the last half of the nineteenth century. The application of the stronger steel technology was one, which increased accuracy and the potental ability to win battles. The light weight, the change in mobility, and better range enhanced the weapons. Finally, there was the development of new explosive devices like cordite, TNT, and lyddite that did not give away the firer's position and gave far better range for attack than before.

Section 7 Questions:

1.Why did commanders cling to the idea of the offensive? How is this reflected in their strategic plans and military build up? Commanders clung to the idea of the offensive, because the had been part of the Napolitic era and had been part of the full frontal assults.