The Changing scope and nature of warfare from the Trenches in World War I to the Holocaust and the use of the atomic bomb to the end of World War II.
Causes of World War I;
The underlying causes of World War I, which began in the the Balkans in late July 1914, are several. Among these causes were political, territorial and economic conflicts among the great European powers in the four decades leading up to the war. Additional causes were militarism, a complex web of alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. The immediate origins of the war, however, lay in the decisions taken by statesmen and generals during the July Crisis of 1914 caused by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife.
Causes of World War II;
The causes of World War Two can be divided into long term causes and short term causes. There can be little doubt that one of the long term causes of the war was the anger felt in Weimar Germany that was caused by the Treaty of Versailles. Another long term cause was the obvious inability of the League of Nations to deal with major international issues. In the 1930’s these would have been in Manchuria and Abyssinia. In both conflicts the League showed that it was unable to control those powers that worked outside of accepted international law.
The Nature of World War I;
World War I witnesses not only a new style and form of warfare but also a new relationship between the battlefront and the home front.
World War I was the first global conflict where the airplane was used. At first they were used to observe enemy troops. Although, by the end of the war they were used to drop bombs on troops and cities. They also had mounted machine guns that were used to shoot down other planes.
Tanks were first introduced in World War I. These armored vehicles were used to cross "No Man's Land" between the trenches. They had mounted machine guns and cannon. The first tanks were unreliable and hard to steer, however, they became more effective by the end of the war.
Much of the war along the western front was fought using trench warfare. Both sides dug long lines of trenches that helped to protect the soldiers from gunfire and artillery. The area between enemy trenches was called No Man's Land. Trench warfare caused a stalemate between the two sides for many years. Neither side gained ground, but both sides lost millions of soldiers.
World War I also introduced submarines as a naval weapon in warfare. Germany used submarines to sneak up on ships and sink them with torpedoes. They even attacked Allied passenger ships such as the Lusitania.
Nature of World War II;
World War II began in September 1939 and officially ended with the surrender of Japan in August 1945. World War II was the second total war that the nations of the twentieth century world faced. Total war is the idea that when a nation is at war, it deploys its entire national population and resources, not just its military, against the enemy. There are two kinds of warfare happening in a total war. The first kind is the actual physical fighting between different nation’s armies, air force and navies on the front line.
In this kind of warfare nations will focus on deploying superior military technology and tactics to cause the most damage on the enemy. The second kind is the psychological war conducted between different nations working and civilian populations on the home front. In this kind of warfare nations will focus on reorganizing their economies to support those on the front line, controlling the amounts of information flowing from those fighting at the front line to those on the home front and ensuring that the home front is well protected and ready for a possible invasion by the enemy
Over 61 nations took part in World War II, and around between 50 to 80 million of those people were killed from the years 1939 to 1945.
416 809 Australians enlisted for service in World War One during the years 1914 to 1918, representing 38.7% of the total male population aged between 18 to 44. In comparison 990 900 Australians enlisted for service in World War Two from 1939 to 1945. Around 3000 Indigenous Australians served in World War II. As during World War I, the government did not want them to enlist. In the early years of war many found ways to join up anyway and from, 1942, the government actively recruited them.
When Prime Minister Menzies announced that Australia was at war with Nazi Germany in September 1939, many Australians were reluctant to become involved in another 'European' war that didn't really threaten Australian shores. World War One had opened the eyes of the Australian public to just how costly involvement in a total war that was thousands of miles way could be. From 1939 until 1942 the major reason why other Australians volunteered to serve in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F) and the Royal Australian Air Force (R.A.A.F) was because they felt they had a duty to serve Australia and her allies like the loyal ANZAC diggers who fought in Gallipoli had done a generation before them.
From 1942 until the end of WWII, enlistment to serve in the Australian military became compulsory for Australian citizens over the age of 18 as conscription was introduced.
Why was there a change in scope and nature in World War II compared to World War I?
World War I was fought mostly from the lines of trenches and was supported by artillery and machine guns, infantry assault, tanks, early airplanes and poisonous gas. World War I's mobility was static in nature and mobility was minimal.
During World War II nuclear power and missiles were used, as were modern concepts of convert and special operations. Submarines and tanks were mastered and heavily used during the conflict. Methods of Encryption codes for secret communication became more complex. Blitzkrieg fighting was also a common method used by Germans.
Advances in technology enabled global conflict to occur on a larger scale. It also enables the continuous reassurance of the home front in the nature of total war
The underlying causes of World War I, which began in the the Balkans in late July 1914, are several. Among these causes were political, territorial and economic conflicts among the great European powers in the four decades leading up to the war. Additional causes were militarism, a complex web of alliances, imperialism, and nationalism. The immediate origins of the war, however, lay in the decisions taken by statesmen and generals during the July Crisis of 1914 caused by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife.
Causes of World War II;
The causes of World War Two can be divided into long term causes and short term causes. There can be little doubt that one of the long term causes of the war was the anger felt in Weimar Germany that was caused by the Treaty of Versailles. Another long term cause was the obvious inability of the League of Nations to deal with major international issues. In the 1930’s these would have been in Manchuria and Abyssinia. In both conflicts the League showed that it was unable to control those powers that worked outside of accepted international law.
The Nature of World War I;
World War I witnesses not only a new style and form of warfare but also a new relationship between the battlefront and the home front.
World War I was the first global conflict where the airplane was used. At first they were used to observe enemy troops. Although, by the end of the war they were used to drop bombs on troops and cities. They also had mounted machine guns that were used to shoot down other planes.
Tanks were first introduced in World War I. These armored vehicles were used to cross "No Man's Land" between the trenches. They had mounted machine guns and cannon. The first tanks were unreliable and hard to steer, however, they became more effective by the end of the war.
Much of the war along the western front was fought using trench warfare. Both sides dug long lines of trenches that helped to protect the soldiers from gunfire and artillery. The area between enemy trenches was called No Man's Land. Trench warfare caused a stalemate between the two sides for many years. Neither side gained ground, but both sides lost millions of soldiers.
World War I also introduced submarines as a naval weapon in warfare. Germany used submarines to sneak up on ships and sink them with torpedoes. They even attacked Allied passenger ships such as the Lusitania.
Nature of World War II;
World War II began in September 1939 and officially ended with the surrender of Japan in August 1945. World War II was the second total war that the nations of the twentieth century world faced. Total war is the idea that when a nation is at war, it deploys its entire national population and resources, not just its military, against the enemy. There are two kinds of warfare happening in a total war. The first kind is the actual physical fighting between different nation’s armies, air force and navies on the front line.
In this kind of warfare nations will focus on deploying superior military technology and tactics to cause the most damage on the enemy. The second kind is the psychological war conducted between different nations working and civilian populations on the home front. In this kind of warfare nations will focus on reorganizing their economies to support those on the front line, controlling the amounts of information flowing from those fighting at the front line to those on the home front and ensuring that the home front is well protected and ready for a possible invasion by the enemy
Over 61 nations took part in World War II, and around between 50 to 80 million of those people were killed from the years 1939 to 1945.
416 809 Australians enlisted for service in World War One during the years 1914 to 1918, representing 38.7% of the total male population aged between 18 to 44. In comparison 990 900 Australians enlisted for service in World War Two from 1939 to 1945. Around 3000 Indigenous Australians served in World War II. As during World War I, the government did not want them to enlist. In the early years of war many found ways to join up anyway and from, 1942, the government actively recruited them.
When Prime Minister Menzies announced that Australia was at war with Nazi Germany in September 1939, many Australians were reluctant to become involved in another 'European' war that didn't really threaten Australian shores. World War One had opened the eyes of the Australian public to just how costly involvement in a total war that was thousands of miles way could be. From 1939 until 1942 the major reason why other Australians volunteered to serve in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F) and the Royal Australian Air Force (R.A.A.F) was because they felt they had a duty to serve Australia and her allies like the loyal ANZAC diggers who fought in Gallipoli had done a generation before them.
From 1942 until the end of WWII, enlistment to serve in the Australian military became compulsory for Australian citizens over the age of 18 as conscription was introduced.
Why was there a change in scope and nature in World War II compared to World War I?
World War I was fought mostly from the lines of trenches and was supported by artillery and machine guns, infantry assault, tanks, early airplanes and poisonous gas. World War I's mobility was static in nature and mobility was minimal.
During World War II nuclear power and missiles were used, as were modern concepts of convert and special operations. Submarines and tanks were mastered and heavily used during the conflict. Methods of Encryption codes for secret communication became more complex. Blitzkrieg fighting was also a common method used by Germans.
Advances in technology enabled global conflict to occur on a larger scale. It also enables the continuous reassurance of the home front in the nature of total war
Group Discussion; What were the diffrerences in the nature of World War I and World War II and why?