Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/July 2014/Op-ed


 * By TomStar81

In all likelihood, the morning of 28 June 1914 started as it would any other morning for the men and women in the various nations of continental Europe. Wives would have woken children and cooked breakfast for their families. Husbands likely drank coffee or tea and read the paper, grumbling over minor issues like any citizen in their own time. Yet before the day ended a seemingly simple international incident common to 19th Century Europe would rapidly evolve into a firestorm that would consume men, machines, and nations in a way never before seen anywhere on the earth. The incident: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, by Gavrilo Princip. The assassination is widely held as the direct cause for the outbreak of the First World War.

On this, the eve of the centennial anniversary of World War I, it seems altogether fitting to pause and look back on the elder of the two World Wars. The First World War, known by other names until the outbreak of what we know as World War II, was a time of massive geo-political and military change. The dawn of the 20th century was arguably the height of European imperialism, with several European countries in control of satellite nations in much the same way that planets control their moons. White supremacy and other race and ethnic ideologues were hard at work as driving forces in a time when the color of one's skin still determined where the person ranked in his or her society. The opening of Asia Pacific nations such as China and Japan had resulted in civil wars as long-established traditions and ideologies were tested by superior military equipment and foreign doctrines that advocated for unequal treaties with conquered nations.

In the four years between 1914 and 1918, much of that changed. By the end of the First World War entire European nations had ceased to exist. Communism and socialist ideologies began to take root in lands that had long been governed by royalty, and the fall of empires led to a resurgence of nationalism as native citizens in Africa and other regions saw an opportunity to regain some control of their countries in the absence of European influence.

Militarily, the war altered the fundamental understanding of armed conflict. At the outbreak of the hostilities war animals and rapid-fire rifles were employed, while tactically each side adopted a siege mentality with the intention of exhausting their opponents. By the end of the First World War the war animals had given way to motorized units, machine guns had replaced the rifles in the trenches, gas warfare had inflicted untold misery on both sides' soldiers, and for the first time aircraft were seen to have influenced the tide and course of battle. So unexpected were the military technological advancements of the First World War that neither side could decisively defeat the other, resulting in a stalemate and ultimately a negotiated peace for the end of hostiles by a laying down of arms "at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month". A fundamental shift in the mindset of European participants also occurred over the four years that World War I was fought, as the idea of welcoming armed conflict and fighting a quick war gave way to the idea that peace was preferable to conflict and that the misery of war should therefore be avoided if possible.

By war's end, the Allied Powers of the time emerged victorious, however the conflict's monumental impact on all aspects of life both inside and outside Europe helped usher in a new age. Internationally, the war led directly to the creation of the League of Nations, the predecessor the United Nations. In Europe the surviving nations began rebuilding, while taking a more cautious approach to the use of force. Among the defeated Central Powers - and especially in Germany - a mass demilitarization effort coupled with the bitter taste of the Versailles Treaty lead to the new ideology of fascism, which would slowly come to dominate parts of Europe in the 1920s and 1930s as the resentment towards the Allies and the Great Depression took their toll on citizens. In the Empire of Japan, the joy of victory for this Allied Power turned to resentment as racial and ethnic prejudice resulted in the country being cut out of most of the post conflict war spoils given to the European Allied Powers. This in turn resulted in a greater push to compete with European nations through the colonization and exploitation of neighboring Asia-Pacific nations, eventually resulting in an ultra nationalistic mindset that would slowly place the Empire of Japan at odds with the British Empire, and more so the United States.

As we move into the official centennial of the four years during which World War I was fought we have the opportunity to present the community with quality material covering the major milestones of the conflict. Our World War I task force, and the editors working with the Great War Centennial special project, could use your help to make sure that when World War I's major milestone dates reach their official 100th anniversary they will be eligible for main page appearances. For a war that so fundamentally altered the world at the time, it seems altogether right and proper that we endevour to cover it as best we can.