Laurence Lafore’s interpretation of the causes of World War I are quite different than many of the common perspectives that are portrayed in many writings about the Great War. Rather than focusing on the ambitions of Germany, he suggests that Austria-Hungary and the Balkan Peninsula are at the center of the reasons that the war started. In his eyes, the ethnic composition of Austria made it exposed to the events that transpired, and its makeup also weakened the Austrian government in its ability to manage the situation following the assassination in a prompt and resolute manner. The volatile situation in the Balkan Peninsula, especially after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First Balkan War, only further weakened Austria’s ability to handle the nationalistic problems presented before it. According to Lafore, these problems had been gradually intensifying in the peninsula, and the assassination was the …show more content…
A variety of factors in the Balkans played defining roles in the outbreak of the war, with the ethnic arrangement of the Austro-Hungarian Empire being the foremost Balkan problem. He claims that because its ethnic variety, it was hard for the government to efficiently establish permanent solutions to its problems. Thus, the empire was vulnerable to the actions of unpredictable Serbian nationalists residing within its boundaries. Ethnic tensions also made it difficult for the government to retract or delay its decisions to take action. Lafore considered Austria to be a sick man, just as the Ottoman Empire was often labeled as. He went as far as to suggest that Austria-Hungary would fall to a fate of overwhelming Balkan nationalism, just as the Turks did, who were ultimately ran out of the peninsula, if Austrian leaders made bad judgements in policy. Trouble was also stirred in the Balkans by Russia, who often saw the peninsula as part of its
Lafore makes his detailed explanation in seven lengthy chapters. He goes on to describe the European obsession with nation states and the problems it caused such as: territorial disputes, namely with Alsace-Lorraine; ethnic nationalism, especially with the Serbs (known as pan-Serbism), and twisted alliances to maintain the balance of power between said nation states.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1896. He was a threat to the Black Hand Terrorist group, a group of radical Serbian nationalists. They pledged “to destabilize the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire in order to incorporate their Serb population into a greater Serbia” (CITE) However the Archduke’s goals were “strengthening the Austro-Hungarian Empire” (CITE) which was contrary to the Serbs' desires. They feared that if he came into power, he would continue to persecute the Serbs, henceforth the decision to assassinate him.
He felt that several forces of opposing countries took part in fighting each battle and ultimately believed that global opposition caused the Great War. Similarly, in the Balkan Region, several ethnic minorities desired independence from Austria-Hungary. As shown in Document 3, the Austro-Hungarian government demanded that action be taken regarding propaganda against Austria-Hungary. This ultimatum was a result of the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, who was killed by a Serbian nationalist. Russia, a large Slavic nation, has close ties with Serbia.
In the history of modern western civilization, there have been few incidents of war, famine, and other calamities that severely affected the modern European society. The First World War was one such incident which served as a reflection of modern European society in its industrial age, altering mankind’s perception of war into catastrophic levels of carnage and violence. As a transition to modern warfare, the experiences of the Great War were entirely new and unfamiliar. In this anomalous environment, a range of first hand accounts have emerged, detailing the events and experiences of the authors. For instance, both the works of Ernst Junger and Erich Maria Remarque emphasize the frightening and inhumane nature of war to some degree – more explicit in Jünger’s than in Remarque’s – but the sense of glorification, heroism, and nationalism in Jünger’s The Storm of Steel is absent in Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front. Instead, they are replaced by psychological damage caused by the war – the internalization of loss and pain, coupled with a sense of helplessness and disconnectedness with the past and the future. As such, the accounts of Jünger and Remarque reveal the similar experiences of extreme violence and danger of World War I shared by soldiers but draw from their experiences differing ideologies and perception of war.
In the books All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and The Wars by Timothy Findley, there is clear evidence of the nature of war. With all the efforts of preparation, discipline, and anticipation, false hopes were created for the young individuals, who leave the battlefields with numerous emotional and physical scars. The propaganda and disciplinary training to convince naïve young men to go to battle to fight for their country, the death of their comrades, and the physical breakdown are all part of twentieth century warfare.
All quiet On the Western Front, a book written by Erich Maria Remarque tells of the harrowing experiences of the First World War as seen through the eyes of a young German soldier. I think that this novel is a classic anti-war novel that provides an extremely realistic portrayal of war. The novel focuses on a group of German soldier and follows their experiences.
The First World War, also known as the Great War, began in about 1914 and went on until 1918. This brutal war was an extremely bloody time for Europe and the soldiers that fought in it. These men spent their days in trenches holding down bases and taking in attacks from all sides. The soldier's only free time was consumed with writing letters to those on the home front. The letters they wrote contain heart breaking stories of how their days were spent and the terrible signs of war. The War consumed them and many of them let out all their true feelings of war in their letters to loved ones. In The First World War: A brief History With Documents we can find some of these letters that help us understand what the First World War might have been like for these young and desperate soldiers.
Balkan nationalism was a major factor in the outbreak of the WWI .It is one of the long-term causes which caused European powers to declare war to each other. Even if the war between Austria and Serbia was expected to be a short one it culminated into a worldwide conflict that lasted four years. The idea of Pan-Slavism was the result of Serbian’s nationalism and Serbia refused to be oppressed by Austria-Hungary. Serbs demanded for rights of self-governance and unified state. However their neighbor Austria-Hungary wanted to become imperial power and she implied territorial expansion. Historians have different opinions about this subject and because of its complexity it is not possible to say that none of them is completely right. Balkan countries were a big threat for her foreign policy and this led to the culmination of their conflict and the outbreak of the war. Although nationalism is important in understanding the outbreak of WWI, there are many underlying causes that together culminated into a worldwide conflict. It is hard to reach the final answer on the question which relates to the extent of the importance of Balkan nationalism in the outbreak of the war because there are many different perspectives in understanding this question. For example Ruth Henig’s opinion is that Balkan nationalism was extremely important for the war and sees the guilt of Austria-Hungary for its outbreak. On the other hand John Leslie says that the responsible is Germany :“Austria-Hungary can be held responsible for planning a local Austro-Serb conflict, which was linked to its fears about Balkan nationalism, but Germany, which was not interested in this quarrel, quite deliberately used it as an opportunity to launch the European war which Austria-...
Hence the blank cheque to Austria. Austria-Hungry looked for no other possibility but war to solve the problem because of their short sighted plan to rid themselves of a Slavic Nationalist movement Conclusion: § Conclude that three long term factors contributed to war, failure of triple entente to accommodate Germany as a dominant power, instead allowing them to feel threatened, hence the naval and arms race progressed. Austria Hungary and Russia could not resolve Balkan conflict peacefully; Germany's backing of this making a small local war a world war. Attitude in the time, Nationalism, no country backing down, notably Germany. Austria Hungary looked for no other possibility but war to rid themselves of a Slavic Nationalist Movement.
There was a long-standing rivalry between Austria-Hungary and Russia due to their interests in the Balkans. Russia saw her role as leading and supporting her fellow Slav peoples in the Balkans. This Pan-Slav concept provided an ideal excuse to interfere in the Balkans and to extend Russia's influence towards the Eastern Mediterranean. Ideally Russia wished to open the Dardenelles straits to its warships. Austria-Hungary was concerned that this Russian encouragement of nationalism may threaten her borders and inspire nationalism within her own empire. In turn, Germany recognised that as Austria's closest ally her fate was linked with that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Austria-Hungary was anxious to prevent Russian encroachment in the Balkans. This aim would be best served by the elimination of Serbia, Russia's Balkan ally. In 1878, Russia was humiliated at the Congress of Berlin when her proposal for a Greater Bulgarian state was rejected and Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia to maintain order amongst the nationalist revolts.
TThe Title “First World War for Dummies” is self-explanatory that it is about World War 1. The author of the book, Sean Lang describes the war in detail of how this war differs from others, whether the war was worth it till describing the best places to visit to learn more about World War 1. The countries’ leaders (especially in Europe) desire to be “Great Power” of the world is the main reason why the war started. But, “the Sarajevo assassination in 1914, however, was the spark that finally set off the First World War.” Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Royal Highness of Austria, Hungary was assassinated by Colonel Dimitrijevic, also known as Apis to obtain power by obtaining a port on the Adriatic coast. Austria- Hungary asked German’s help
Richard Holbrooke, a career diplomat, took on one of the most difficult international crises of his day. In his book, To End a War, He tells of how he was sent to Bosnia as the Chief Negotiator for the United States towards the end of 1995. As a negotiator, his moral values and reasoning ability was among the best. He had sincere passion to bring peace to the Balkans and risked life and limb in carrying out his mission. In the fourteen weeks that formed the core of his story, Holbrooke encountered conflict, confusion and tragedy in an unpredictably dangerous situation. Those involved, consisted of more than the team members who were with him and reached as far as President Clinton, Secretary of State Warren Christopher
The Austrian government blamed the Serbian government for causing this uproar to break free of Austrian rule. The Austrians knew that the loss of 8 million Serbs to Serbia would begin the break-up of their empire. Therefore when the Archduke was assassinated it provided the ideal excuse for Austria to declare war on Serbia and crush them before it was too late.
After years of hostility and aggression between the European superpowers and large states, the balance of power began to be challenged. The Serbians in 1914 assassinated the Arch-duke, Franz Ferdinand, of Austria-Hungary. The country counteracted and “issued an ultimatum to Serbia, which would bring the assassins to justice. And with that action Serbia’s sovereignty was nullified” (Duffy Michael, 2009). Since Serbia did not succumb to the harsh demands of Austria-Hungary, “preventative” war was declared on Serbia on July 28,...
World War I, an event which changed the geopolitical makeup as well as the attitudes of the world, consisted of people killing other people. In fact, every war is made up of people. In the day to day lives of civilians today, whether watching the news or reading a history book, the personal aspect of wars, particularly, is lost to many people. The notion that every soldier is a human being with likes, dislikes, talents, families, and favorite foods would certainly be acknowledged on a multiple-choice test, but practically it seems to be forgotten. Books like An American Soldier in World War I¸ however, help ground the massive geopolitical turmoil involved in a war like the Great War in the reality of humanity. The book’s goal is to look at