THE WARS THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

1. Irene Bird 5/15/14 THE WARS THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING The World Wars and What They Changed

2. TURN OF THE CENTURY AND PRECURSOR TO WAR A century ago, the world was in turmoil. The Industrial Revolution had spread like wildfire. Factories had become the new resource. They allowed machines, ammunitions, and weapons to be mass produced a higher rate. This new technology allowed for new, more powerful and deadly weapons to be created. Germany began to increase their army, and in response, their neighboring nations did the same. Along with industrialization, nationalism had been a huge factor in the past years. This pride had inflated in many in European and Asian countries. Tensions were high across the globe. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife were in Serbia, when they were both assassinated. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and began the domino effect of world war.

3. THE WAR TO END ALL WARS In 1914, war became widespread. Austria-Hungary and Serbia’s war expanded with their allies, Germany and Russia. Russia’s other allies, Great Britain and France, were pulled into the war with Germany. In 1915 Italy renounced their neutrality, and sided with Russia against Germany. In 1917 Woodrow Wilson and the United States left their neutrality and propelled themselves into the war after the German navy began sinking ships unannounced. Germany has a strong and fortified army, with ambitious plans.

4. THE WAR TO END ALL WARS The style of fighting and the weapons they had were new and more advanced. This forced soldiers to adapt new styles of warfare, and took fighting to the trenches. Trench warfare was hard on soldiers, who had little food and shelter, and faced rain, mud, and shells of the enemy. New machines, both above ground and underwater were used. Tanks, airplanes, U-boats, and submarines were all deadly weapons. Gas was used to kill people in large quantities. Countries were using planes to drop devastating bombs that could flatten cities. It caused death in extreme numbers, though the records are inconsistent and there is no official number, with an estimated eight and a half million dead and twenty-one million wounded (PBS).

5. THE WAR TO END ALL WARS German forces declared war on neutral Belgium, and moved from there into France. They hoped to take Paris, but met more resistance than they planned for. On the other side of the country, their forces battled the Russians. War spread through the continent and to the seas. Germany’s war in the ocean was just as destructive. They destroyed American vessels with no warning. In 1917, Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for a Declaration of War. He stated “We are glad, now that we see the facts with no veil of false pretense about them, to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples included: for the rights of nations great and small and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience.”

6. TREATY OF VERSAILLES AND POST WAR Germany was blamed for the start of the war and the Allies felt that punishment was needed. On January 18, 1919, at a peace conference in Paris, the Allies discussed the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. German leaders signed the Treaty and though they didn’t like it, accepted the terms. During the recovery period, the economy crashed and effected everyone. It was a difficult time for everyone. In 1933, Adolf Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany and in 1934 became the dictator.

7. HITLER’S WAR Hitler was a powerful leader . He changed many things in Germany. He formed the Nazi Party, which came to be the only recognized political party in Germany. He invaded Poland in 1938, and Britain and France declared war. By 1940, he had conquered Scandinavia, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

8. HITLER’S WAR Like the previous war, the technology was deadly and had the ability to kill thousands in a short period of time. Tanks, planes, submarines, bombs, weapons, and ammunition improved vastly. The United States developed atom bombs, which almost completely demolished Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The improvement of the technology, the brute force of the clashing side, and the Holocaust, resulted in over 60 million deaths in total.

9. HITLER’S WAR The Axis powers were comprised of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Germany also had support from a pact with Stalin and the Soviet Union. After Germany invaded the Soviets, they joined the Allies, which included Great Britain and the United States. The United States joined the war, after trying to remain neutral, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. This attack was a stunning blow to America, and the declaration of war came swiftly and showed that they were prepared to defeat Japan. Franklin D Roosevelt addressed the nation. In his speech, he showed this “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.”

10. HITLER’S WAR While Hitler was fighting the war, he was torturing over 6 million Jews in concentration camps. He believed he could breed the ultimate race and the Jewish people were the scapegoats. They were treated with a cruelty no human should have to endure. Berlin fell along with Hitler’s suicide. In May of 1945, the war with Germany was over. The war with Japan ended in September.

11. WORLD POWERS AND ORGANIZATIONS Though it had been attempted before with the League of Nations, many nations came to the conclusion that something needed to be done to prevent another war like the previous two. Several World Organizations were formed, including NATO and the United Nations. The world powers that emerged during the world wars were clear. Great Britain, France, The United States, Russia or the Soviet Union, and Germany were the were the world powers at the time.

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