World wars
World wars
A world war is a war that involve some of the most
influential and populated countries of the world. World wars span multiple
countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple zones. The
term world war is typically applied to the two conflicts that happened during
the 20th century: 1. World War I, or First World War (1914-1918) 2. World War
II, or Second World War (1939-1945) It is also sometimes applied to other wars
such as the War of the Spanish Succession, the Seven Years' War, the Cold War
and Cold War II, a hypothetical World War III and even the Napoleonic Wars, if
the United States is counted as a belligerent, as it was in the War of 1812
with Great Britain. The world wars:
World War I
World War-1 was the first mass global war of the
industrialized age, a demo of the remarkable strength, resilience and massacre
power of modern states. It was often called as "The Great War". The
war was also fought at a high point
of nationalism and faith in the existing social hierarchy, beliefs that the war
itself helped destroy, and that the modern world finds very hard to understand.
This war began on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Hungary
confirmed war on Serbia .
This apparently small conflict between two countries spread rapidly. Soon, Germany , Russia ,
Great Britain , and France were all
drawn into the war, largely because they were involved in treaties that
obligated them to protect certain other nations. Western and eastern fronts
rapidly opened along the borders of Germany
and Austria-Hungary .
The Western and Eastern Fronts: The first month of battle consisted of brave
outbreaks and rapid troop movements on both fronts. In the west, Germany attacked first Belgium and then France . In the east, Russia attacked both Germany
and Austria-Hungary .
In the south, Austria-Hungary
attacked Serbia .
Following the Battle of the Marne (September 59,
1914), the western front became entrenched in central France and
remained that way for the rest of the war. The fronts in the east also slowly
locked into place. The Ottoman Empire: In the end of 1914, the Ottoman Empire
was brought into the fight as well, after Germany
deceived Russia into
thinking that Turkey
had attacked it. As a result, much of 1915 was subjugated by Allied actions
against the Ottomans in the
Attacks in World War 1 (Source: Dennis Cove, 2002):
Prime causes of World War 1:
1. Mutual Defence Alliances 2. Imperialism 3. Militarism 4.
Nationalism 5. Immediate Cause- Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Among the harmful technological developments that were used
for the first time (or in some cases used for the first time in a major
conflict) during the Great War were the machine gun, poisonous gas,
flamethrowers, tanks and aircraft. Artillery increased dramatically in size,
range and killing power compared to its 19th-century counterparts. In the war
at sea, submarines could attack hidden from under the waves, using torpedoes to
send combat the merchant ships to the bottom. The End of the War and Armistice:
Although both sides launched renewed assaults in 1918 in an
all-or-nothing effort to win the war, both efforts were futile. The fighting
between exhausted, disheartened troops continued to plod along until the
Germans lost a number of individual battles and very gradually began to fall
back. A lethal outbreak of influenza, meanwhile, took heavy tolls on soldiers
of both sides. Ultimately, the governments of both Germany
and Austria-Hungary
began to lose control as both countries experienced multiple rebellions from
within their military structures. Chart: Depiction of loss of life suffered in
the combat of World War 1 (Source: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2004)
After the announcement of ending World War I, it had been
observed that there were considerable effects echoed in the world for decades
such as changing politics, economics and public attitude. Many countries began
to implement more liberal forms of government, and a hostile Germany was
forced to pay for a large deal of war reparations. As a consequence of World
War I, socialistic ideas experienced successful as they spread not only in Germany and the Austrian realm but also made
improvements in Britain
(1923) and France
(1924). However, the most popular type of government to gain power after World
War I was the republic. Before the war, Europe
contained 19 monarchies and 3 republics, yet only a few years afterward, had 13
monarchies, 14 republics and 2 regencies. Evidently, revolution was in the air
and people began to more ardently express their desires for a better way of
life (Dennis Cove, 2002).
Effects of a harsh Peace: Another political outcome of World
War I centres merely on the treatment of Germany in the Treaty of Versailles
of 1919. The Germans were enforced to sign an embarrassing treaty accepting
responsibility for causing the war, as well as dispense large amount of money
in order to compensate for war costs. Additionally, the size of the German
state was reduced, while that of Italy
and France
was engorged. The Weimar government set up in Germany in 1918
was not preferred by most of the citizens and maintained little power to
control the German state. Rising hostilities toward the rest of Europe grew,
and many German soldiers rejected to give up fighting, even though Germany 's
military was ordered to be considerably reduced. Given such orders, numerous
German ex-soldiers joined the Freikorps, an establishment of mercenaries
available for street-fighting. The open aggression and rumbling feelings of
retaliation showed by Germany
foreshadowed the beginning of World War II. Economic Change: There were many
economic changes after World War 1. Technology advancement were experienced
after the war, as the production of automobiles, airplanes, radios and even
certain chemicals, rise steeply. The advantages of mass production and the use
of technology to perform former human labour tasks, along with the enactment of
the eight hour work day, demonstrated to motivate the economy, especially in
the United States .
Even much of Europe experienced major losses
of physical property and landscape as well as finances. By 1914, Europe had won the respect of the world as a reliable
moneylender, yet just four years later was greatly in debt to her allies for
their generous financial contributions toward the war effort, owing them as
much as $10 billion. In an effort to pay back their allies, the governments of
many European countries began to quickly print more and more money, only to subject
their countries to a period of inflation. Members of the middle class who had
been living reasonably comfortably on investments began to experience unsteady
financial period. Germany
was hit the hardest in terms of struggling with war reparations, and inflation
significantly lowered the value of the German mark. In a period of no more than
three months in 1923, the German mark jumped from 4.6 million marks to the
dollar to 4.2 trillion marks to the dollar (Dennis Cove, 2002).
Disillusionment: In psychological terms, World War I had effects related to
those of a revolution. A growing sense of cynicism of political leaders and
government officials transfused the minds of people who had observed the fear
and destruction due to the war. Many citizens were annoyed that peacemakers had
not conveyed their principles passionately enough, and people were shocked to
experience that why warfare happened. It had been observed that a feeling of
disillusionment spread across the world as people intensely decided that their
governments had not taken action in favour of citizens. The loss of close
relatives on the battlefield was highly upsetting, for in some parts of Western Europe , one of four young men had lost his life
in battle. Overall, the war killed 10 to 13 million people, with nearly a third
of them inhabitants. The future certainly did not look optimistic for the
families of those killed in the war.
Consequences of World War 1: The outcome of World War I saw
extreme political, cultural, and social revolution across Europe, Asia, Africa , and even in areas outside those that were
directly involved. Four territories malformed due to the war, old countries
were abolished, new ones were formed, boundaries were redrawn, international
organizations were established, and many new and old ideologies took a firm
hold in people's minds. World War I also had the effect of bringing political
change to Germany and the United Kingdom
by bringing near-universal suffrage to these two European powers, turning them
into mass electoral democracies for the first time in history (Dennis Cove,
2002).
World War II
It was the most destructive war observed by the world. This
had impacted at global scale. The conflagration was not confined to Europe alone, but surrounded the entire world. It
occurred in the period from 1939 to 1945. The Second World War was debatably
the most significant period of the 20th century (Dennis Cove, 2002). The war in
Europe started in earnest on September 1, 1939 with the attack of Poland by Nazi Germany, and concluded on
September 2, 1945, with the official surrender of the last Axis nation, Japan .
Nonetheless, in Asia the war began earlier with Japanese interventions in China , and in Europe, the war ended earlier with
the unconditional surrender of Germany
on May 8, 1945. The battle spilled over into Africa, included a trickle of
incidents in the Americas ,
and a series of major naval battles. It brought about major hikes in technology
and laid the foundation that permitted post-war social changes including the
end of European colonialism, the civil rights movement in the United States ,
and the modern women's rights movement, as well as the programs for exploring
outer space. The main fighters were the Axis nations (Nazi Germany, Facist
Italy, Imperial Japan and their smaller allies) and the Allied nations, led by
Britain (and its Commonwealth nations), the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
and the United States of America. The Allies were the victors. Two world power,
the USA and USSR, arisen from World War II to instigate a Cold War with each
other that would define much of the rest of the century. It involved most of
the world's major countries divided into two opposite forces: the Allies and
the Axis. Engagements were fought in the Pacific, in the jungles of South-East
Asia, in the plains of Russia
and in the deserts of Africa, in addition to Europe .
In total, more than 100 million military personnel were mobilized during the
war.
Causes of war: Major
causes of World War II were as follows:
1. German Invasion of Poland 2. German Invasion of Soviet Union 3. The Holocaust 4. Japanese Imperialism 5.
Attack on Pearl Harbour Normandy
Landings in Europe 7. Dropping of Atomic Bombs
on Japan
The instant cause for the occurrence of war was Germany 's assault of Poland . Hitler had established one
of his key aims as leader of the Nazi party to be supremacy of Europe , which he clearly sought by force. In early 1939, Britain and France
cautioned Germany that an
attack of Poland would cause
them to declare war, so when, in September 1939, Hitler occupied Poland , war broke out in Europe .
There were other tensions brewing under the surface which many historians
believe contributed to the outbreak of war, but the invasion of Poland is
certainly a crucial trigger-cause of the battle. Another long-term causes
definitely helped to create a situation in which Hitler could rise to power as
he did. These include disappointment with the Treaty of Versailles. Germany
having surrendered in 1918 and were forced to sign a treaty which included
Germany taking the blame for World War One, reducing regions, agreeing to
disarm and significantly diminish the military, and agreeing to pay roughly 6.6
billion pounds in reparations. The German people felt this was excessively
harsh, and developed a deep-set resentment of the Allied victors of WW1 for
dealing them this intense punishment. As the economic depression of the 1920s
affected most of Western Europe , the League of
Nation agreed to reduce some of the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles,
but this did little to quell the resentment of the German people. When the
Nazis resumed power, some of the terms of the treaty were outright disobeyed,
whereas others were easy to plan using loopholes. Hitler was able to
systematically increase the military in Nazi Germany during the 1930s due to
the treaty being insufficient in its rules regarding military growth.
Nonetheless, a harsher set of terms in the initial treaty may have led to an
even stronger bitterness in the German people. As such, though the treaty was
not sufficient to prevent further outburst of war, it is hard to understand how
a balance could have been struck.
Consequences of World War II: Major upshots of this war were:
1. The End of the European Age. 2. The rise of the US to
superpower status. 3. The expansion of the Soviet Union
and its rise to superpower status. 4. The emergence of the Cold War. 5. The
beginning of the nuclear age. 6. The rise of nationalism and independence
movements in Asia and Africa . 7. A renewed effort
to secure lasting peace through international organizations.
World War II is the most vicious war in all of history.
There were massive casualties of human lives. It was estimated that casualties
in World War II may have approximately 50 million service personnel and
civilians. Nations suffering the highest losses, military and civilian, in
descending order, are: USSR :
42,000,000 Germany :
9,000,000 China : 4,000,000
Japan: 3,000,000 Germany
was totally beaten, and the Nazi regime brought down. Its leaders were tried
for crimes against humanity at Nuremberg ,
the former site of Nazi propaganda triumphs. Hitler escaped trial and execution
by committing suicide in his Berlin
bunker at the end of the war. German cities were in wrecks from a massive
bombing campaign. Germany
was divided into 4 zones of occupation by the victorious powers, pending a more
permanent political settlement. Japan
also was in wrecked from excessive bombing. Prominent military leaders were
tried and convicted of war crimes, but the emperor was allowed to maintain his
position. Japan was
temporarily placed under U.S.
military rule. England
was devastated by the war, having experienced extensive bombing during the 1940
blitz by the Germans. The economy depended for recovery upon assistance from
the United States .
England
quickly phased out most of its remaining imperial holdings in the years
immediately following the war. France had not experienced the huge human losses
sustained in the First World War, but would have to recover from the effects of
Nazi occupation. Retribution was taken upon collaborators. Like England , France would be forced to dismantle
its colonial empire in the years following the war. This was a particularly
disturbing and drawn out process for the French, in Algeria
and in Vietnam
where they fought prolonged and bitter wars in an attempt to maintain their
colonial control.
Airport). Perhaps of more profound and sweeping
significance, however, was the war exposure of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians
to North American culture.
Cold War
The Soviet-American battle is termed as the "Cold
War" hung heavy over global matters for more than forty long years;
configuring the world with wide-ranging military build-ups, an constant nuclear
arms competition, concentrated surveillance, and persistent technological
imitations. This threatening quarrel can be further expounded as the causes and
consequences drawn upon the world by the two giants namely, the United States of America
and the Soviet Union . The Cold War was a
consequence of the emergence of the US
and the USSR
as two giants which were opponent to each other, it was also entrenched in the
understanding that the destruction caused by the use of atom bombs is very
expensive for any country to bear. When two opposing powers are in possession
of nuclear weapons, capable of causing death and destruction intolerable to
each other, a full-fledged war is improbable. In spite of provocations, neither
side would want to risk war since no political gains would justify the
destruction of their societies. The Cold War started in Europe
after World War II. The Soviet Union gained control of Eastern
Europe . It controlled half of Germany
and half of Germany 's
capital, Berlin .
The United States , Britain , and France
controlled western Germany
and West Berlin . In June 1948, the Soviet
Union jammed roads and railroads that led to West Berlin .
The United States , Great Britain , and France flew in supplies. This was
called the Berlin Airlift. When the World War II ended, Korea split into North and South Korea . North Korea
became communist. South
Korea followed the ideology of capitalist.
North Korean army occupied South
Korea . The United Nations sent soldiers to
help South Korea .
China sent soldiers to help North Korea .
The war ended in 1953. Neither side won. Korea is still divided. The United States and the Soviet
Union were in a nuclear arms competition. In 1959, Cuba became a
communist country and the Soviets clandestinely put missiles there. President
Kennedy was worried that the Soviet Union would attack the United States .
Therefore, he sent warships to surround Cuba . He hoped a blockade would
force the Soviet Union to remove its missiles.
This conflict was called the Cuban Missile Crisis. For six days, nuclear war
seemed possible. Then the Soviet Union removed
the missiles. The Cold War subjugated the second half of the 20th century,
resulting in the downfall of communism. The Cold War was a period of tension
and unfriendliness between the United States of
America and the Soviet Union
from the period of mid-40s to the late 80s. It began with the end of the Second
World War. Free society named it as World War III, but instead, used an unusual
name pertaining to no direct military conflict between the two
nations, fearing nuclear acceleration assured mutual
devastation. However, both the nations indulged in indirect conflicts and proxy
wars by supporting associated nations in places like Korea
and Vietnam .
Cuban missile crisis in 1962 was the closest the world ever came to a nuclear
war; when an American U2 spy plane took photographs of Soviet intermediate
ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear payloads, sending a total of 42
medium range missiles and 24 intermediate range missiles to Cuba. The US , then threatened to invade Cuba over the issue forcing the Soviets to
remove the missiles on America 's
assurance of not invading Cuba .
In the occurrence of a nuclear war, both sides would be so seriously harmed
that it would be impossible to declare one side or the other as the conqueror.
Even if one of them tries to attack and incapacitate the nuclear weapons of its
rival, the other would still be left with enough nuclear weapons to cause
unacceptable destruction. This is called the logic of 'deterrence': both sides
have the capacity to react against an attack and to cause so much annihilation
that neither can afford to initiate war. Therefore, the Cold War in spite of
being an intense form of competition between super powers remained a 'cold' and
not hot or gunfire war. The deterrence relationship averts war but not the
competitiveness between giant powers. The two superpowers and the countries in
the rival blocs led by the superpowers were anticipated to behave as balanced
and responsible players. Because they understood the dangers in fighting wars
that might involve the two world power. Causes of cold war: Major causes of cold
war was as under:
1. The Soviet Union wanted
to spread its philosophy of communism worldwide, which alarmed the Americans
who followed democracy. 2. The acquisition of atomic weapons by America caused
fear in the Soviets. 3. Both countries feared an attack from each other
adhering to mutual mass destruction. 4. The Soviet Union's action of taking
control over Eastern Europe was a major factor
for US suspicions. 5. The US
President had a personal dislike of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. 6. America was annoyed by the Soviet Union's
actions in the part of Germany
it had occupied. 7. The Soviets feared that America
would use Western Europe as a base to attack
it.
Effects of cold war: The Cold War had considerable impact on
civilisation, both today and in the past. In Russia , military spending was cut
intensely and rapidly. The effects of this were very large, visualizing as the
military-industrial sector had previously employed one of every five Soviet
adults and its dismantling left hundreds of millions throughout the former Soviet Union jobless. These effects can be analysed as
follows:
1. Both the United States of
America and the Soviet Union
built up huge collections of atomic weapons and airborne missiles. 2. The
military blocs, NATO and the Warsaw Pact were formed. 3. Cold war led to
damaging conflicts like the Vietnam War and the Korean War. 4. The Soviet Union collapsed due to economic flaws. 5. The Berlin Wall was
destroyed and the two German nations were unified. 6. The Warsaw Pact
collapsed. 7. The Baltic States and some former Soviet Republics America
became the single giant power of the world. 9. Communism collapsed worldwide.
After Russia
embarked on capitalist economic improvements in the 1990s, it suffered a
financial catastrophe and a recession more severe than the United States and Germany had experienced during the
Great Depression. The living standard of Russian have deteriorated overall in
the post-Cold War years, although the economy has resumed growth since 1999.
The inheritance of the Cold War continues to influence world activities. After
the closure of the Soviet Union, the post-Cold War world is broadly considered
as unipolar, with the United
States the sole remaining world power. The
Cold War demarcated the political role of the United States in the post-World War
II world. By 1989 the United
States held military alliances with 50
countries, and had 1.5 million troops posted abroad in 117 countries. The Cold
War also institutionalized a global promise to huge, permanent peacetime
military-industrial complexes and large-scale military funding of science. The US has
invested heavily on military during the Cold War years which was estimated to
be $8 trillion, while nearly 100,000 Americans lost their lives in the Korean
War and Vietnam War. Although the loss of life among Soviet soldiers is
difficult to estimate, as a share of their gross national product the financial
cost for the Soviet Union was far higher than that of the United States .
In addition to the causalities of uniformed soldiers, millions of people died
in the proxy wars of superpowers at global scale, especially in Southeast Asia . Most of the proxy wars and subsidies for
local conflicts ended along with the Cold War. The incidence of interstate
wars, ethnic wars, revolutionary wars, as well as refugee and displaced persons
crises were dropped suddenly in the post-Cold War years. The inheritance of
Cold War battle, however, is not always easily removed, as many of the economic
and social tensions that were subjugated to create Cold War competition in
parts of the Third World remain acute. The
collapse of state control in a number of areas formerly ruled by Communist
governments has generated new civil and ethnic clashes, particularly in the
former Yugoslavia .
In Eastern Europe , the end of the Cold War has
accompanied in a period of economic development and there was an increment in
the
number of liberal democracies, while in other parts of the
world, such as Afghanistan ,
independence was accompanied by state let-down. After the Cold War, there were
many facilities developed such as the availability of new technologies for
nuclear power and energy, and the use of radiation for improving medical
treatment and health. Environmental remediation, industrial production,
research science, and technology development have all aided from the carefully
managed application of radiation and other nuclear processes. It was observed
that despite the end of the Cold War, military development and expenditure were
continued, particularly in the deployment of nuclear-armed ballistic missiles
and defensive systems. In the end of cold war, there was no formalized treaty.
The former superpowers have sustained to maintain and even improve or modify
existing nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Moreover, other nations not
previously acknowledged as nuclear-weapons states have developed and tested
nuclear-explosive devices. Due to continued delivery of military weapons, there
was huge risk of nuclear and radiological terrorism by possible sub-national
organizations or individuals. The international non-proliferation government
emanated from the Cold War still provides disincentives and protections against
national or sub-national access to nuclear materials and facilities. Formal and
informal measures and processes have effectually slowed national incentives and
the speed of international nuclear-weapons creation. It can be summarized that
cold war grew out of post-World War II tensions between the two nations, the United States and the Soviet
Union that continued for much of the second half of the 20th
century. It had many consequences such as mutual suspicions, intensified
tensions and a series of international incidents that brought the world's
superpowers to the edge of calamity.
World wars
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