...Wars of the World World War I began in 1914 after the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand the heir to the Austrian throne. The war was fought by the Allies (Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Japan and the United States in 1917) and the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire). Although, the assassination of the heir to the throne might have triggered the war the state of the countries had been moving towards a war for a long time. There were many causes to World War I two of them were nationalism and militarism. A patriotic feeling is what nationalism is all about. This was one of the major causes of World War I. Not all of the ethnic groups had their goals realized in their state. Some wanted to have their own national state but could not achieve this goal. Some rivalries over colonies made the alliances of Europe’s great powers uneasy and added tension to the states. After Napoleon’s exile the Congress of Vienna tried to sort out problems in Europe. A new Europe was decided by delegates from Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia that left Germany and Italy as divided states. Some strong nationalism elements led to the unification of Germany and Italy. France was angry at the settlement of the Franco-Prussian war as they lost Alsace-Loraine to Germany. Another major cause of World War I was militarism. After 1900, the growth of many armies made tensions worse. Many of the armies had doubled in size in a few...
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...World War II: A World At War The so-called war to end all wars, the First World War, did not solve almost any of the problems which had caused it. For this reason, it wasn't such a surprise that not too long after the end of World War I another one followed. The Great Depression crippled the economies of Europe and the United States. That, combined with the outcome of World War I, led to major repositioning of world power and influence. That was fertile ground for the emergence of various forms of totalitarian governments in the Soviet Union, Japan, Italy, and Germany, as well as other countries. After the First World War, also known as the Great War, many of the countries that were involved struggled to recover in many ways. War is not cheap and it ended up costing all the countries involved in some way or another. It left tremendous political dislocations in Europe that laid the groundwork for the collapse of democratic institutions on the continent and set the stage for a German power struggle. The democratic regime was already in turmoil and was further weakened by the worldwide depression that began in 1929 following the war. The Second World War was arguably the most significant period of the 20th century. It wasn't called a World War by coincidence. Both World Wars were called this simply because they involved most of the big countries of the world. World War II was fought across six out of seven of the worlds continents and all of its oceans. It left countries materially...
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...The term "World War" was coined speculatively in the early 20th century, some years before the First World War broke out, probably as a literal translation of the German word Weltkrieg.[5] German writer August Wilhelm Otto Niemann had used the word in the title of his anti-British novel Der Weltkrieg: Deutsche Träume ("The World War: German Dreams") as early as 1904, published in English as The coming conquest of England. The Oxford English Dictionary cites the first known usage in the English language as being in April 1909, in the pages of the Westminster Gazette. It was recognized that the complex system of opposing alliances–the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire vs. the French Third Republic, the Russian Empire, and the British Empire was likely to lead to a worldwide conflict in the event of war breaking out. The fact that the powers involved had large overseas empires virtually guaranteed that a war would be worldwide, as the colonies' resources would be a crucial strategic factor. The same strategic considerations also ensured that the combatants would strike at each other's colonies, thus spreading the fighting far more widely than in the pre-colonial era. Other languages have also adopted the "World War" terminology. For instance, in French, the two World Wars are the Guerres mondiales; in German, the Erste und Zweite Weltkrieg (World War I was only known or commonly recognized in public as der Weltkrieg in Germany when it was over, while...
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...The World Wars Throughout history mankind has always made war upon each other from rival clans of ancient times to the crusade against terrorism in the modern era. In all the glory, chaos, and horror of mans’ wars only two have escalated to the point where nearly the whole world was engulfed in conflict. These world wars, although fought differently, shaped how man kind would war in the future. Aside from being declared on different dates (ww1 in 1914 and ww2 in 1939) the main countries that waged the world wars were some what similar. Before either war started, countries, in fear of war, began making contracts with one another that would bind all contracted countries to declare war on any aggressor that declared war on a one of the allied countries. These contracts were called alliances and were the main cause of the world wide wars. On one side, the Triple Entente countries of world war one and League of Nations of World War 2, were France, England, and Russia. On the other side, the central powers of World War 1 and the Axis forces of World War 2, were Germany, Hungry (formally Austria-Hungry after WW1), and Italy. The beginnings of the wars, however, were very different. The first war was declared after an Austria-Hungary prince named Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was allied with Germany, was assassinated by a Serbian radical. First Austria-Hungry declared war on Serbia then France declared war on Austria-Hungry causing Germany to declare war on France and so on...
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...Final Exam The First World War was one of the most important events in history. It bared witness to sheer carnage not seen before or after in history. From one shot of a Serbian assassin came forth one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history, and one of the most world-shattering. Although the First World War is mainly noted for its connections to World War Two, it has had more far-reaching effects than that war or any other war in shaping the 20th or 21th century. One of the most important causes of the First World War involved a complex system of alliances and secret treaties which crisscrossed the Major Powers of Europe, making a small conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary into a war involving all the major players in Europe. The alliances of that era were different from what we see today in this ideological age. For instance, France, debatably the most liberal out of all of the Major Powers, and Russia, the most reactionary, were close allies at this point. These two powers which were on very different ends of the political spectrum joined together in politics in a way that would be controversial today. When the war started, all of the Major Powers except for France were monarchists. While only Russia was still absolutist. The Ottoman Empire was destroyed in the First World War as well. Dynasties which were hundreds of years old and monarchies which had dominated European politics for centuries were destroyed in just four years. And in its place rose liberal...
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...World War 1 also known as the Great War fought in (1914-1918) introduced the world to the results of a conflict fought with such modern weapons such as Machine guns, submarines, warplanes, and chemical warfare. This war was so chaotic it destroyed Europe’s economic and moral preeminence. (The Great war destroyed Empires it didn’t matter how big your empire was after World War I you no longer had one.) The Great War was known for demolishing Empires. The Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian empires all collapsed because of the Great War. Before World War 1 there were other movements such as the industrial revolution which is the invention of machines that produced goods rapidly and efficiently, and the replacements of human or animal power by non-animal sources of energy, Nationalism which is the ideology that 1 sees humanity as divided into nations and believes these national identities are the most important factors in creating our individual nature, Imperialism which is when a country belief that a more powerful society has the right if not the duty to impose its authority, attitudes and values on cultures and people it sees as inferior; all of these movement played a major role in World War 1. World War 1 was one of the first modern war, Most of the tactics were from the 19th century but the weapons were from the 20th century. The industrialization of weapons enabled more effective killing machines to be produced. During World war 1 the machinery of the war was...
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...Causes of World War II World War II resulted from a series of issues, many of which were caused by World War I (previously called “The Great War”). While the roots of World War I stemmed from the move towards nationalism during the late Nineteenth Century, the roots of WWII came from the way countries dealt with each other at the end of the Great War. This paper will discuss the causes of World War II. A significant cause of the war was the treaty that ended it. The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919; it discussed the terms for the defeat of Germany. However, the treaty was both too strong and not strong enough. The treaty was too strong because it placed all blame for the war on the Axis nations, of which Germany was dominant. The harshness of the treaty led to a strong level of revanchism in parts of Germany. Revanchism refers to the movement among individuals in a country in which they display unusually strong feelings towards “lost” sections of their country. As is obvious to anyone who has examined the changing maps of Europe during history, the borders of the various countries have changed significantly over the centuries. Countries that existed (such as Prussia) no longer do. The country was dissolved and absorbed into other countries. These various regions that are “lost” may create a sense of nationalism in others. Germans began to desire the provinces and regions that they had lost as a result of their defeat. The Treaty led to Germany losing...
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...AP ® WORLD HISTORY Modified Essay Questions for Exam Practice This document provides modifications of the AP World History Comparative and Continuity and Change-Over-Time (CCOT) essay questions from the 2002 to the 2010 operational exams. The modified questions provide examples of essay questions that align more closely with the Curriculum Framework for the revised course as of the 2011-12 academic year. The accompanying rationale for each question explains the revisions. 2 Mission Statement The College Board’s mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. We are a not-for-profit membership organization committed to excellence and equity in education. About the College Board The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of more than 5,900 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement Program®. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators and schools. For further...
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...World War III Name: Date: Class: Subject: Part 1: Introduction and Summary The article by Roger Cohen is a conversation between a naïve daughter and a loving mother who is trying to explain a complex global phenomenon. It is a chilling comparison of the circumstances that led to the World War 1 and the position that the world is finding itself in 2015. The position in this case is that active military and political groupings on a tiny diplomatic issue historically has led to full scale wars that have led to millions dead. Cohen uses a dummy approach to explain to a reader who has not read into the history of the wars and the American factor in the situation. In a short dialogue he touches on all factors that lead to geopolitical confrontations and patterns of international relations that create a global conflict. This article is important because it touches on the delicate matter of war, survival of empires and the peace thereafter. This section gives a summary of the article. According to this dialogue, the genesis of the past world wars comes about when an empire is threatened because of long standing quarrels, tensions and dissatisfactions among people. Small triggers could lead to bigger than necessary reactions and thus, political and military actions. Subsequently, allies and foes join sides and thus create an international relations vacuum which means that war is inevitable. Cohen compares the Austro-Hungarian...
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...POST CONFLICTS – WORLD WAR III HOW WORLD WAR III BECAME POSSIBLE World War III (WWIII, WW3 or the Third World War) is a hypothetical worldwide military conflict following World War II. Because of the development and use of nuclear weapons near the end of World War II and their subsequent acquisition and deployment by several countries, it is feared that a third world war could cause massive global destruction and could even cause the end of human civilization and most or all human life on Earth. Another major concern is that biological warfare could cause a very large number of casualties, either intentionally or inadvertently by an accidental release of a biological agent or the unexpected mutation of an agent or its adaptation to other species after use. One of the first imagined scenarios, hypothesized shortly after or even during World War II, is a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union, which emerged as superpowers following World War II. This has been widely used as a premise or plot device in books, films, television productions, and video games. However, a few writers have applied the term instead to the Cold War, arguing that it met the definition of a world war even though there was no direct armed conflict between the superpowers. World War I (1914–18) was regarded at the time as the "war to end all wars" as it was believed there could never be another global conflict of such magnitude. World War II (1939–45) proved that to be false, and with the...
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...I World War I erupted in 1914. World War I had many countries involved but not all of them entered at the same time. There were three sides to choose from at the beginning of World War I. One option was the Central Powers which included Germany, and Austria-Hungary, and were later joined by Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire who were neutral at first then joined the Central Powers. There were the Allies which were made up of Ireland, Great Britain, France, Belgium, Russia, Montenegro, and Serbia. The Allies were later joined with Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Romania who left the Neutral nations. The Neutral nations were made up of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland, Albania, and Spain. There were many causes for the outbreak of World War I. One cause of World War 1 was militarism. Militarism is the glorification of a countries military. Many countries were getting this militarism idea because they dreamed of war being glorious. Many young men dreamed of walking down the streets playing there trumpets along with the rest of the military and having people cheer for them as they marched by. Many people would soon find out that war is not good. Another thing that goes along with militarism and the outbreak for World War I was the arms race. Many countries wanted to have the best armies and navies with the best weapons. The worst competition was the naval rivalry between Britain and Germany. To protect it's vast overseas empire, Britain had built the world's most...
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...The first world war began in the year 1914. There are several factors believed to have triggered the war. The assassination of the Austrian archduke and his wife immediately triggered the war. He was assassinated by the Bosnian Gavrilo Princip an irredentist serb on 28th June 1914. The world war began on august the same year. This event just triggered the war. The actual factors leading to the war are complicated. Some of this factors are: Mutual defence alliances. Throughout Europe countries made alliances. The alliance in countries was to give each other help if needed. Thus if, a country is attacked, the allied countries were supposed to protect them. The alliances that existed before the world war are like Russia and Serbia, germany and Austria-Hungary, Russia and France, Britain , France and Belgium finally Japan and Britain. Austria-Hungary first declared on the Serbians. Russia defended the Serbians. When the Germans saw the Russians getting ready for the war, they declared war on them. France then come in against Germans and Austria-Hungary. Britain was pulled into the war when Germany attacked France through Belgium. Japan then entered the war.later the united states and Italy joined their allied countries. Imperialism is believed to have also caused the war. The british empire by 1900 had taken over five continents. France also had a large control over Africa. Countries needed new markets with the rise of industrialization. The number of continents that...
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...World War One World War One, or the Great War as it is referred was fought in the beginning of the twentieth century between the years of 1914- 1918 in Europe. Many countries fought in this war, including France, The United Kingdom, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Australia, Canada, Bulgaria and many others. There was two sides fighting in this war and the sides were referred to as the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. The United States eventually joined the fighting for the Allied Powers in 1917. During the war more than seventy million military personnel were involved in this war. It is believed that the trigger that started this war was the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by a Yugoslavian man on June 28, 1914. A majority of the battles were fought in Europe, but some battles were also fought in Africa, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, China, and off the coast of North and South America. The war was more of a domino effect, with one country declaring war on another in retaliation of different countries fighting. Many countries partook in an arms race, and countries like the United Kingdom and Germany increased their military spending by more than fifty percent during the world war. Previous military tactics were proven obsolete at the start of the world war. Things like barbed wire, machine guns and tanks were used for the first time during this war, and more long distance battles were used opposed to previous face to face combat. Gas warfare...
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...Causes of World War II Many historians have traced the causes of World War II to problems left unsolved by World War I (1914-1918). World War I and the treaties that ended it also created new political and economic problems. Forceful leaders in several countries took advantage of these problems to seize power. The desire of dictators in Germany, Italy, and Japan to conquer additional territory brought them into conflict with the democratic nations. After World War I ended, representatives of the victorious nations met in Paris in 1919 to draw up peace treaties for the defeated countries. These treaties, known as the Peace of Paris, followed a long and bitter war. They were worked out in haste by these countries with opposing goals; and failed to satisfy even the victors. Of all the countries on the winning side, Italy and Japan left the peace conference most dissatisfied. Italy gained less territory than it felt it deserved and vowed to take action on its own. Japan gained control of German territories in the Pacific and thereby launched a program of expansion. But Japan was angered by the peacemakers' failure to endorse the principle of the equality of all races. The countries that lost World War I--Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey--were especially dissatisfied with the Peace of Paris. They were stripped of territory, arms and were required to make reparations (payments for war damages). The Treaty of Versailles, which was signed with Germany, punished...
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...The Great World History Debate: “Were German Militarism and Diplomacy Responsible for World War I?” Name Course Date The World War I, among other significant historical events, is the most deliberated event of the 20th century. Indeed, it is accredited to changing the course of the world's history giving it a new dimension to ponder on for the next centuries. Rise of communism, one of the world's most controversial ideologies, was linked to the catastrophic episode. Nonetheless, powerful empires like Austria, Turkey, Russia and Germany saw their rise and fall in communism. In addition, the war resulted to the most number of deaths and annihilation compared to other cataclysmic events in history. In the light of these horrendous outcomes, an undying curiosity arose among renowned historians and researchers in search for answers as to who was the protagonist of the war. The underlying question has been whether Germany was solely responsible for World War I given their military strength and diplomatic prowess. Notorious Professor V.R. Berghahn and Professor Samuel R. Williamson clash in a battle of wit in attempts to shed clear lights on Germany as the cause of World War I. Professor V.R. Berghahn believes that there is great depth of literature that evidences the role of Germany in the heinous unfolding. These evidences, both military and diplomatic certify the German empire as the main protagonist of the First World War (1914-1918). On the other hand, Professor Samuel R...
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