World War 1 was a very intense and brutal war. Fought from 1914 to 1918, it was the first major world conflict and there were around 20 million casualties between soldiers and civilians. This was the first time ever that the civilian casualties were equal to the deaths of the soldiers. It can be very complicated to understand why this war was fought in the first place. From the murder of Franz Ferdinand of Austria Hungary by a 19 year old Serbian nationalist, to the deadly conditions for the soldiers in the trenches, to the United States eventually joining the allied forces in 1917. This essay will be explaining the causes of the war, the conditions for the soldiers during the war, and ultimately the reasons why the US decided to join the war. …show more content…
One of them being the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. He was killed in Sarajevo, Bosnia after his driver made a wrong turn. Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip was waiting for Ferdinand and his wife Sophie and ended up killing them both. As it states in document 2, “Serb student assassinates Archduke and his Duchess.” After this assassination, Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia which eventually led to the outbreak of the First World War. The conditions of the trenches were a big problem for the soldiers during the war. One disease that plagued most soldiers was trench foot. Trench foot occurs when your feet are exposed to cold and damp temperatures for a long period of time. This happened to most soldiers and they ended up getting this painful disease. As pictured in document 4, doctors had to check soldiers for signs of trench foot before it was too late for the soldiers. As you can tell, the soldiers had a very tough time surviving in the trenches. This is one of the reasons why World War 1 was such a devastating
Zieger, Robert H. (2000). America’s Great War: World War I and the American Experience. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.
War is what keeps a nation from dying, it is the backbone of a country. This is the shown throughout the course of World War I, also known as “the war to end all wars.” World War I started in the summer of 1914. Archduke Francis Ferdinand, from the Austro – Hungarian Empire was visiting Bosnia. He was shot, along with his wife, Sofia, by a young man from the Black Hand, Gavrillo Princip. What were the three main factors that started World War I? There were three main underlying causes that started World War I: greed, nationalism, and militarism.
“War is unorganized murder, and nothing else” (Harry Patch). In World War 1, which was first called the Great War, there were many causes of the war breaking out. The Great War started August 1st 1914 days later after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia, when they visited Bosnia. Many soldiers went to war for no reason but to fight for their country. The Great War was not only affected by the soldiers, but also by the civilians as well. Women replaced men in factories, offices, and shops while the men were at war so that everything would be working smoothly. The main underlying causes of World War 1 were the alliances and imperialism in Europe.
World War I is marked by its extraordinary brutality and violence due to the technological advancement in the late 18th century and early 19th century that made killing easier, more methodical and inhumane. It was a war that saw a transition from traditional warfare to a “modern” warfare. Calvary charges were replaced with tanks; swords were replaced with machine guns; strategic and decisive battles were r...
The First World War saw a new form of warfare known as Trench warfare which involved trenches which were deep long dugouts made by the soldiers that lived in these trenches. The trenches proved useful as they protected the soldiers from artillery and bomb fire and were most likely situated in the eastern and western fronts of Europe. However the conditions of the trenches were far from exuberant but were in fact severely terrible. There was bad hygiene throughout the trenches, for example soldiers bathed probably only once a month and as such were prone to diseases such as trenches fever (which were due to the lice attracted by the bad hygiene). The weather was no exception as well, in the summer it would be too hot and in the winter it would be too cold and due to the nature of the trenches, when it rained the trenches would be filled with water, and due to such conditions welcomed the disease known as trench foot which was due to prolonged exposure to water and claimed the foots of many soldiers. There was also the constant danger of bomb fire and snipers would always be on the lookout for any movement. Latrines, which were toilets used in the trenches also sprouted fear as the enemy could see them in this area of the trenches and therefore were in constant danger of death. Soldiers also had to follow a strict code of conduct which was known as trench etiquette which ordered them to respect higher officers and they would have to be punished if the trench etiquette was ignored.
World War 1 was a deadly battle with millions dead, but do you ever wonder what caused world war 2? There are many causes for world war 2, but the item that caused an impact on the war the Treaty of Versailles. World war 1 started on August 1914 and ended on November 1918 it lasted for 4 years and 3 months. World War 2 lasted for 6 years with even more people dead and injured. So how did the versailles treaty help cause world war 2. The treaty of versailles punished Germany too harshly in four key ways: Territorial losses, showing how Germany is weak, and vulnerable, making the Germans pay, and the germans also wanted to destroy the treaty.
In conclusion, Militarism, Imperialism, Nationalism, Alliances, and Assassinations all contributed to cause the World War 1 in 1914. World War 1 was four long and terrible years, which took millions of people lives. In addition, many soldiers died while fighting along the Western and Eastern Fronts. One month after Archduke Franz was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in 1914. The World War 1 wouldn’t had happened with the three main and most important cause which are, militarism, imperialism, and
World War I is often regarded as the Great War. It was fought from 1914 until 1918 and it is considered to be the bloodiest war humankind has led so far. In merely four years a whole generation of young men was wiped out: approximately 16, 5 million lives were lost, even more were wounded, and the rest that had managed to survive was traumatized for life. One of the reasons why there were so many human casualties was the fact that World War I turned out to be the first trench warfare in history. The sense of permanent stalemate brought about great disillusionment from the romantic idea of warfare and the concept of the soldier was no more one/that of an honourable warrior but that of a victim.
The years following World War I are known as the Age of Anxiety as it seems that things could shift unexpectedly, politically, or economically. World War I demonstrated that mankind could be divided so horrendously, resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of people. As a result of World War I, global politics and economy became unstable and cultures began to shift in a new direction, a new modern way, ultimately showing that the Second World War was inevitable. The political and economic state of the world was very rocky following World War I.
As students of history in the 21st century, we have many comprehensive resources pertaining to the First World War that are readily available for study purposes. The origin of these primary, secondary and fictional sources affect the credibility, perspective and factual information resulting in varying strengths and weaknesses of these sources. These sources include propaganda, photographs, newspapers, journals, books, magazine articles and letters. These compilations allow individuals to better understand the facts, feeling and context of the home front and battlefield of World War One.
...Siegel, 94) over its tail and that it was without a cockpit. Easy and cheap to make, the light craft was only just over 25 feet long and carried a wingspan of 17 12 feet, and ran on easily available standard gasoline. Its small jet engine gave it enough power to carry a 1,870-pound warhead. Although it was cheap and simply made, it lacked accuracy. The most specific point that the Germans could hit with the V-1 was Greater London, and nothing smaller (Siegel, 94). Yet, despite its imprecision, the V-1 did impact the Axis during its short lifespan.
World War I, also known as “The Great War”, was a global war that revolved mainly around Europe. It took place from 1914 to 1918. This was a very brutal war that caused many casualties. The soldiers who survived experienced severe trauma and mental discomfort. This trauma was a direct result of the violence and agony they experienced during the war. Motivation for this war was the idea of nationalism and the pride in one’s country. This war was the cause of disillusionment among many of the soldiers that were involved in it.
Trench warfare became a common practice in World War One, leading to a war of attrition. Both the Allies as well as the Germans enacted similar basic defense strategies and dealt with many of the same debilitating trench conditions. Trenches were built in an elaborate networking system, with three major sections, the front lines, the support, and the reserves. There was a rotation schedule for soldiers in the trenches, so that each regiment served time at the front lines. Trench conditions were horrendous including rodent infestation as well as unsanitary living spaces; many were infected with diseases such as trench foot with most trenches were filled with dead corpses for weeks after they were first killed. Defense mechanisms included creating dense fields of barbed wire in No Man’s Land, between the enemy trenches, in order to prevent an attack on the trench. Trench sanitation and defense were not the only reasons for the stalemate connected with World War One. The weather played
With rainwater comes mud, which made it hard for soldiers to keep their legs and feet dry since they were basically submerged in around three meters of mud. Soldiers would easily get trench foot, which eventually made your foot rot off of your body. It is difficult to imagine just how bad these trenches smelt and how bad they were to live in.
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife was definitely the most significant cause of the calamity that is World War I. Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro- Hungarian throne, was simply visiting Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Unfortunately, a secret Serbian society known as the Black Hand awaited the Archduke’s arrival. This nationalist group targeted Ferdinand due to the feeling amongst Serbians that once appointed to the throne; Ferdinand would uphold the persecution of Serbs inhabiting the borders of the Austro- Hungarian Empire. Gavrilo Princip was one of eight members of the Black Hand chosen to execute Franz Ferdinand. Unloading two shots, Princip had assassinated both Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. Seized by the police, he was beaten and put into prison, and there he died. The shots of this young man echoed all over the world to initiate the explosion of World War I.