World War I:

Causes and Impact

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 Pre - war : progress , technology ,
prosperity
Fin de siècle
New artistic directions
Art Deco , Art Nouveau
Railway  unrestricted travel
Real globalization , trade , cultural
exchange

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A scientific and technological
revolution
Science as applied science = a
practical discipline
Turning points :
New materials
New manufacturing processes
New energy sources
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A new phenomenon :
Chemistry :
Organic chemicals
Synthetic materials
Fertilizer
Pharmaceuticals
Explosives
Electronics

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 Water turbine
Water - driven power stations
Steam turbine
Modifications and improvements to car
engine ( Diesel , Daimler , Benz , Ford )

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 Accumulation of capital :
By reinvesting a portion of profits
as capital expenditure
Through mergers and acquisitions
Through hostile takeovers ( a
consequence of intensifying
competition )
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 Production concentrated into large
enterprises ( first in heavy industry )
Rise of monopolies
Monopolies dictate market size ;
production volumes ; price points
Between 1870 and 1900 : a shift from
free competition to monopolistic
capitalism
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 Types of monopolies :
Cartels ( independent businesses make
an agreement on prices , target
markets , production volumes )
Syndicates ( separate production ;
joint sales & marketing )
Trusts ( former owners now acting as
shareholders ; business run by a Board
of Trustees )
Conglomerates ( a mixture of several
businesses , not necessarily related ,
linked together by banks )

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 Rise of banking as an industry
The Fed !
Extending loans to newly - formed monopolies
Confluence of industrial and banking
capital  “ financial capital ”
Financial tycoons adopting prominent
leadership positions in government , society

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 Exporting capital
Key players: USA, Britain, France, partly Germany
“New partitioning” of the world:
Traditional colonial powers (Britain, France, Russia) vs.
neo-colonial players (USA, Germany, Italy – economically
relatively advanced countries but with minor colonial
holdings)
Profits reinvested in third countries
Particularly under-developed locales – colonies and
central/eastern/southern Europe
Banks not only provide loans but actively enter into
business in these countries
Capitalizing on cheap labour / raw materials, local
demand
Investments into local industry, transport tend to
position recipient countries in a state of dependence
This exacerbates gaps among the world’s different regions
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HIST
 A new phenomenon :
The road to WWI : Politics
Minor conflicts among colonial powers (Britain vs.
France over Upper Nile River; Britain and
Netherlands over South Africa; Britain vs. Russia
over Persia, Afghanistan; all working to penetrate
the China market)
Ongoing Franco-German tension
1873: a pact of three Emperors (Austria-Hungary,
Russia, Germany) aiming to isolate France
Britain pursuing a policy of “splendid isolation”

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 The Balkans :
“a barrel of gunpowder ” – “the Eastern
problem”
Russia supporting anti-Ottoman struggle,
based on cultural, linguistic, religious
(Orthodox ) solidarity
Russia’s expansionism producing anxiety
among Germany, Austria, Britain
1878: Bismarck’s Congress of Berlin;
objective: to curtail Russia’s influence
in the Balkans
Bosnia and Herzegovina occupied by
Austro-Hungarian army
Serbia, Montenegro, Romania gained
independence from Ottoman rule
Nonetheless, long-term stability in the
Balkans proved elusive (ethnic, religious ,
linguistic heterogeneity)
Turkey continuing a policy of expansion:
1st Balkan War (1911); 2nd Balkan War
(1913)
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 Pacifism
Early 20th century:
War considered an “inhuman, pointless, immoral and outmoded
approach to conflict resolution”
Haag 1899: 1st international conference on disarmament; Haag
convention banning the use of poisonous substances in
warfare
International Court of Justice established in Haag –
resolving conflicts through negotiation and compromise
1907: 2nd Haag conference
Stockholm 1910: Peace conference, promoting peaceful
solutions, involvement of scientists
Nobel Peace Prize!
Basel 1912: Congress of the 2nd Internationale: “A War on
War”
(after 1914, the socialists abandoned pacifict ideas and
were swayed by nationalism and chauvinism)
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 A new phenomenon :
Causes :
Antagonism among European powers
Militarism – growing size and organization
of the military ; conscription systems
Traditional ‘ tectonic stress ’ points : Roman
Catholic vs . Orthodox spheres of influence
Nationalism; fragmentation of multi - ethnic
empires ( e . g . Austro - Hungary , Ottoman Empire )
New geopolitical realities , primarily a
unified ( since 1871 ) Germany
A war that no one wanted yet everyone
joined

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 A new phenomenon :
Causes ( cont ’ d ):
A cluster of long - term and short - term
forces
Economic and political imperialism –
the world divided into hostile blocs
Nationalism and chauvinism ( Germany :
pangermanism)
Militarism
Von Clausewitz : war as “ politics by any
other means ”
Government , military , industry
Propaganda ( the press ); psychological
warfare ( justifying the fatalities )
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 A new phenomenon :
28 June 1914 : a pretext
Franz Ferdinand d ’ Este attending military
exercises near the Serbian border ( seen as
a provocation )
Gavrilo Princip – “ Young Bosnia ”, links to
“ Black Hand ”
By August , all major European powers had
joined the war
Central Powers ( Germany / Austria -
Hungary / Ottoman Empire ) vs . the Allies
( Britain , France , Russia , Italy )
Illusion of a Great War – heroism ,
sacrifice
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 Phase I ( 1914 –
1915 )
Initially, only six countries
took part
Objective: settle old scores
19th-century-style war: short,
offensive; Blitzkrieg
Germany planned to conquer France
via Belgium; then Russia; and
isolate Britain
By September, German troops 60 km
from Paris
Then counter-offensive by the
Allies on the river Marne
New war fronts opening in eastern
Europe, Middle East (Black Sea,
Caucasus, Mesopotamia)
Reality: Blitzkrieg turned into
Sitzkrieg (trench war)
Frontlines stretching for
hundreds of miles 
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 Phase II ( 1915 – 1916 )
Protracted , entrenched conflict
without a clear outcome
Staggering losses ( up to 1 , 000 , 000 men
per battle )
Growing resistance to war ; exhaustion
setting in for local economies
Quartet : Austro - Hungary , Germany ,
Bulgaria , Turkey
February 1916 : battle of Verdun
( German offensive in France )
June 1916 : battle of Somme
( British / French counter - offensive )
Neither produced a decisive shift in
the war
1916 , Franz Joseph dies after 68
years on the throne
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 A new phenomenon :
Total war (affected all citizens)
World war (34 countries)
70 million men, of whom 10 million
were killed and 20 million
suffered permanent injuries
(paradoxically, the 1918 flu
epidemic turned out to be much
more devastating in terms of the
number of casualties)
Militarization of the economy
Growing state interventionism
Industrialized killing
New military technology

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 A new phenomenon :
Phase III ( 1917 – March 1918 )
Germany shifting to submarine warfare; attacking Allied as well as
neutral (US) targets
USA under President Woodraw Wilson putting an end to its
isolationist policy; 1917 entering WWI
The US wanted the Allies to win, so that they can start repaying
debts
Attempts to bring the war to an end:
British PM Lloyd George speaking of “Germany suffering a swift
defeat”
US President Wilson urging warring parties to articulate their goals
in the conflict
January 8, 1918: Wilson declared 14 points – conditions for ending
the war
(idealism – “a just peace”; in reality: winner takes all)
E.g. peoples’ right to self-determination and sovereignty; democracy
and freedom
Minorities residing in Austria-Hungary encouraged to declare
independence from the monarchy
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 A new phenomenon :
March 3, 1918: Russia and Germany signed
a peace treaty at Brest-Litevsk
Russia lost Finland, the Baltics, a chunk of
Poland/Ukraine/Belarus)
Still, by spring 1918 the outcome of the war had not been
decided
Germany launching new offensives
Summer 1918: US troops intervene; second battle of Marne
 Germany in retreat
October/November 1918: capitulation of Central Powers:
First Bulgaria/Turkey; after losing in Italy, Austria-
Hungary accepted Wilson’s 14 points
October 28, 1918: birth of Czechoslovakia
November 3, 1918: Austria-Hungary capitulated; followed by
Germany on November 11 (signed in a railway car in
Compiegne)

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Long - term ramifications :
Radicalization of the proletariat, especially in
countries that had lost the war (Germany, Hungary,
Bulgaria, Finland, Italy)
Postwar demilitarization of industry resulted in
large-scale unemployment
Abortive Bolshevik-style revolutions
Birth of Communist parties (radical left wing
separating from social democrats)
Anti-colonialist, pro-independence movement in
India, Middle East
Four monarchies were obliterated (Russia, Austria-
Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Germany)
 a destabilizing effect

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 Long - term ramifications
(cont’d):
Austria-Hungary lost territory not only to
Czechoslovakia but also to Poland, Romania, the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (from 1929
Yugoslavia), and Italy (North)
Role of USA greatly boosted =
= end of Europe’s hegemony
Financial powers = the real winners of the war
(USA, Switzerland, Sweden, Netherlands)
Europe’s balance of power destroyed
Rise of non-European nations” Japan, China, Canada,
Australia, South Africa, India
Erosion of traditional lifestyles, moral values
1920: League of Nations (predecessor of the UN;
USA a non-member, reverting to isolationism)
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