Witches and hookers and saints, oh my!

An archaeological team excavating the Tuscan port town of Piombino hoping to find the remains of its patron saint has instead uncovered the skeletal remains of two 13th century women of questionable repute. Approximately 25-30 years old at time of death, they were both buried in the bare earth, without a coffin or even a shroud, very much against custom.

One of women had seven curved, one-and-a-half-inch-long nails placed in her mouth after death and 13 more nails jammed into the ground all around her body. Archaeologists speculate that the ones around her body were used to nail the body to the ground in some kind of exorcism ritual to prevent her using witchcraft to rise from the dead.

The other woman was buried with a leather pouch holding 17 bone dice. Games of chance were against civil and ecclesiastic law during the Middle Ages, and although the laws were constantly flouted, a women associated with dice was a woman associated with immorality. Also, 17 was and remains an extremely unlucky number in Italy. (The story I’ve heard about why it’s unlucky is that the Roman number for 17, XVII, is an anagram of “vixi” which is Latin for “I have lived” which is just like saying you’re dead and is therefore an ill omen. No idea if that’s true.)

L’Aquila University archaeologist Alfonso Forgione, the dig leader, notes that these burials are unique in his experience. Not only are they strangely bare and contain those odd accouterments, but they are also in consecrated ground. There’s a chapel on the grounds purportedly marking the burial spot of Saint Cerbonius, the sixth century A.D. bishop and patron saint of Piombino. The team was looking for the saint’s burial and for the remains of a medieval cathedral that was once dedicated to him when they found the ladies. If the women were social outcasts, one of them demonic, the other degenerate, neither of them worthy of a decent burial, how come they got to go to their eternal rest in a cathedral cemetery next to a saint?

Forgione speculates that they may have had the advantage of powerful friends and families surviving them who arranged for them to have at least a chance at heaven by ensuring their bodies were placed in consecrated ground.

The excavation will continue through the end of the month. They have already found 350 burials in four eight-by-ten meter (26 by 33 feet) sites on each side of the chapel, and there are strong indications that the cemetery goes on for another 65 feet inland and another 33 feet or so towards the sea. Such a large, well-populated cemetery indicates that little Piombino, the only known Etruscan port city, remained a thriving town through the Middle Ages.

Archaeologists are working against the clock, though. The cliff side is eroding faster than they can dig. There are bones visibly jutting out, to the delight of many a tourist taking a romantic walk on the beach, but they can’t be removed for fear that the entire promontory will crumble like a Jenga game.

Archaeologists excavating an area where a bridge is scheduled to be built between modern-day Ostia and Fiumicino, the town just outside Rome where Leonardo da Vinci airport is found, have discovered the remains of an ancient Roman ship. The 11-meter (36-foot) section is from one of the sides of the ship. So far neither the stern, bow nor hull have been recovered, but since we’re talking about ancient wood, the team is working very deliberately to ensure its preservation.

Anna Maria Moretti, archaeological superintendent for Rome and Ostia Antica, said “the find is a novelty because at that depth, about four metres below the topsoil, we have never found a ship, only layers (of buildings) and one single structure”. [...]

She also said there were “remains of ropes and cables” in the ship.

“Restoring the vessel will be an extremely delicate operation,” Moretti went on. “We’re keeping it constantly covered in water so that the wood doesn’t dry out.

“The wreck must be treated with highly sophisticated preservation techniques,” Moretti said.

I hope they have a giant freezer available somewhere, because the polyethylene glycol dousing system that preserved the likes of the Mary Rose and the Vasa is way too expensive with oil prices the way they are.

According to site director Paola Germoni, the discovery of the ship at this location indicates that the ancient coast line was 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) further inland than it is today. Silting gradually filled the port and the mouth of the Tiber shifted, pushing back the shoreline so that the ancient city of Ostia, now called Ostia Antica, is miles away from the modern beach town of Ostia.

You can see how the river and shoreline moved in this post about Portus, the artificial harbour first constructed next to Ostia’s smaller natural harbor by the emperor Claudius.
Roman ships were found before in this same area when the airport was being built. The small fleet and the artifacts found with them are now on display in Fiumicino’s Museum of the Roman Ships.

The body of a young woman felled by a blow from a Roman sword was discovered near Faversham, Kent. Archaeologists were excavating the area to prepare for future roadworks when they came across the hastily-buried remains.

The girl appears to have been between 16 and 20 years of age when she died, kneeling, stabbed in the back of the head by a Roman sword. Some pottery fragments of Iron Age grave goods buried along with her date the grave to 50 A.D., just seven years after the Roman conquest of Britain began in 43 A.D. In all likelihood she was one of its local victims.

“She was lying face down and her body was twisted with one arm underneath her body. One of her feet was even left outside the grave,” [Dr. Paul Wilkinson, director of the excavation] said.

The burial site was just outside the Roman town, with cemeteries close by. [...]

Another indication of her origin, according to Dr Wilkinson, is the orientation of the body.

Romans buried their bodies lying east-west, whereas this body was buried north-south, as was the custom for pagan graves.

In keeping with controversial new Ministry of Justice guidelines instituted in 2008, the skeletal remains of this girl will be reburied on site once the archaeological team have finished their examination. The Ministry of Justice grants licenses for archaeological excavation of human remains. Before 2008, licenses were granted that allowed researchers to retain, study, curate and display ancient excavated remains as appropriate. Only more recent graves were required to be reburied promptly.

In 2008, they changed the standard so that now licenses are granted solely on the condition that all human remains excavated at digs in England and Wales are reburied within two years, no matter what the age of the remains. Archaeologists are protesting the new guidelines vociferously, pointing out that human remains continue to be studied for decades, even centuries, as new scientific techniques are developed that can provide us new information about our ancestors’ lives and deaths.

The ruling was supposed to be an “interim measure,” part of a reassessment of the relevant act (the Burial Act of 1857), but now three years after its implementation, there are a large number of extremely important ancient remains that will have to be forcibly re-interred, like the 51 decapitated Viking warriors found in July 2008 in a mass grave near Weymouth, Dorset.

The SS Gairsoppa, a British cargo steamship that was enlisted by the UK Ministry of War Transport to do its cargo runs, was sunk by a German U-boat torpedo on February 17, 1941, in the North Atlantic about 300 miles west of Ireland. It had been loaded in Calcutta with an immense load of commodities — 2,600 tons of pig iron, 1,765 tons of tea, 220 tons of silver ingots — headed for Liverpool. A merchant vessel built in 1919 for the British India Steam Navigation company, the Gairsoppa was unable to withstand the attack. That one torpedo blasted a hole in the hull and took down the foremast, severing all the radio cables and leaving the ship unable to communicate a distress call. The ship sank in just 20 minutes, taking its valuable cargo with it

                                                  The 85-member crew sadly did not survive. Many of them made it to the lifeboats even under German machine gun fire, but then two of the three lifeboats capsized in the rough waters. The final lifeboat made it to the Cornwall shore 13 days later, but it too capsized while drifting along the coast and only one survivor was fished out: Second Officer R.H. Ayres, who received many awards for his bravery in trying to save his fellow passengers. (He lived a long life and passed away in 1992.)

In 1989, the British government attempted a salvage operation to recover the precious metals that sank on the Gairsoppa. The company who won the salvage contract also happened to be the only company that made a bid. It was unable to find the wreck.
                                                    The government tried again last year and this time the winning bidder was Odyssey Marine Exploration, a US treasure hunting firm that is known for big finds (and big legal entanglements). It’s quite the sweet contract. Odyssey gets to keep 80% of the net value of all the silver bullion found. That’s net, so obviously their expenses get paid first. At today’s prices, the silver could be worth as much as $210 million, which would make this haul the largest precious metal hoard ever found at sea.
                                                       Using data from the previous failed expedition plus extensive new research on where the wreck might be located, Odyssey was able to pinpoint the proper search area. They were then able to locate a likely wreck using a deep-tow low frequency sonar system. A remotely operated vehicle relayed video and photographic confirmation that this not just a likely wreck but the actual wreck of the SS Gairsoppa sitting upright nearly 4,700 meters below the surface of the North Atlantic.

                                              Although the robot was unable to locate those tons of silver or something bearing the ship name, all the facts fit. The ship is the proper length, width and height; the torpedo damage matches the description in the German U-boat logs; stacks of tea chests were found, the proper number of cargo holds and derricks, the proper ship layout, even the same hull colors.

Odyssey is now putting together the necessary tools and equipment for a salvage operation 4,700 meters under the sea. The Gairsoppa did them a huge favor by landing on its feet, so all the cargo holds are open and accessible. The salvage crew will use them to unload the silver just like any stevedore would topside. Operations will begin next Spring in more propitious weather conditions.
                                                        

Almost intact young Therapod fossil found in Bavaria

Paleontologists in Kelheim, Bavaria, have discovered the fossil of a young dinosaur that is 98% intact, including some remains of skin and hair. This makes young Otto, as the fellow has been dubbed, the most intact dinosaur skeleton ever found in Europe. The exact species has yet to be identified, but it belongs to the theropod suborder, a group of mainly flesh eaters whose most famous member is Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The fossil, named Otto by the paleontological team, is approximately 135 million years old. It was discovered between one and two years ago on a riverbank but the find was not announced until last Sunday to ensure the excavators would not be interfered with. The find site is still being kept secret, as is the name of the landowner who is now the proud papa of a bouncing baby theropod.

Oliver Rauhut, curator of the Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology in Munich, says it’s “probably the most significant new theropod fossil archosaurs from German soil since the discoveries of the ancient bird Archaeopteryx.”

Though the 72-centimeter juvenile dinosaur is preserved in stone, a number of anatomical details remain. “The best-preserved Tyrannosaurus we have are about 80 percent preserved, and that is already terrific,” said Rauhut, comparing the two theropods, which are among the rarest dinosaur fossils.

Most of the fossils in this group exist in only fragments, said Dan Ravasz, spokesman for the upcoming mineral exhibition, The Munich Show, a trade fair dedicated to minerals, germs, jewellery and fossils that runs for four days starting on Oct. 27.

The experts aren’t certain just how old the dinosaur was when it died, though they estimate that a freshly hatched Tyrannosaurus would have been about the same size. They were able to determine that the specimen is young by measuring the size of its skull, body proportions and the bone surface. Learning more about young dinosaurs is important for scientists to understand more about their evolutionary process.

The German government has declared Otto a German cultural asset. That designation lowers its market value considerably by ensuring that it cannot leave the country. It will be on display for the full four days of The Munich Show, but after that its fate is uncertain. It appears that a permanent loan is being set up between the owner and the government so that Otto can go on display in a German museum.

2,600-year-old Celtic tomb found in Germany

A 2,600-year-old Celtic tomb has been found by archaeologists excavating the ancient hill fort at Heuneburg, Germany. The 13-by-16-foot burial chamber is in an excellent state of preservation and still contains a treasury of gold and amber jewelry.

The jewelry allowed archaeologists to pinpoint a precise date, the first time they’ve been able to do so with early Celtic remains. It also strongly suggests that the tomb belonged to a noblewoman of the fort’s early period of Celtic habitation, the 7th century B.C. Further analysis of the burial chamber will be needed to confirm the date and owner.

This should be a lot easier for scientists since the entire tomb has been lifted out of the ground in one solid block of earth by two cranes, loaded on a specialized flatbed truck and transported tout entier to the lab of the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Stuttgart.

The Heuneburg hill fort site is one of the oldest settlements north of the Alps, and a major source of information about Iron Age Celtic culture at a time when wealth and population were increasing rapidly in a few population centers.

The Celtic citadel was first enclosed with a wood and earth wall in 700 B.C., a standard Celtic building technique. By 600 B.C., however, they had built a mudbrick wall over a limestone foundation almost 20 feet high. The mudbricks were painted in limestone plaster and must have been a very visible landmark in the area for the 70 years they lasted. There are no other similar such walls known in any Celtic settlements in central Europe of the time.

Stone Age children finger painted on cave walls

Archaeologists studying the 13,000-year-old cave art in the Cave of a Hundred Mammoths in Rouffignac, France, have discovered that some of the designs were painted by children. One particular area of the cave is replete with finger painted lines in a variety of geometric shapes called finger fluting that were made by children. Researchers have identified the marks of four children between two and seven and four adults working in this chamber.

“It suggests it was a special place for children. Adults were there, but the vast majority of artwork is by children,” said Jess Cooney, a PhD student at [Cambridge University]‘s archaeology department.

“It’s speculation, but I think in this particular chamber children were encouraged to make more art than adults. It could have been a playroom where the children gathered or a room for practice where they were encouraged to make these marks in order that they could grow into artists and make the beautiful paintings and engravings we find throughout the cave, and throughout France and Spain. Or it could have been a room used for a ritual for particular children, perhaps an initiation of sorts.”

Most of the art in the cave is finger fluting. The animal figures it is most famous for are actual a small minority of the paintings. Artists, adult and child alike, would run their fingers over a soft red clay and then draw swirls and triangles on the cave wall. The size of the lines indicates the size of the fingers doing the painting. Designs high on the wall and on the ceiling indicate that the small children were being held up by adults, and the juxtaposition of different hands suggest a small adult, possibly an older brother, painting alongside a seven-year-old girl, and an adult guiding the fingers of a two-year-old.

The most prolific artist throughout the entire cave complex is a five-year-old girl. The range of the paintings done by children indicates that the Stone Age dwellers of Rouffignac placed few restrictions on their children’s movements. The were painting the walls even in the darkest, most distant caves.

Some of the children’s art goes beyond swirls and lines. There are finger fluted animals and what look like outlines of faces, but most notably there are hut shapes called tectiforms which are symbols native to one area of France. Those tectiforms are the first known example of Stone Age children creating symbolic figures.

Rare, maybe royal, Egyptian coffin found in Torquay

Rare, maybe royal, Egyptian coffin found in Torquay

University of Bristol Egyptologist Aidan Dodson was working on an ambitiously tedious project to catalogue every Egyptian sarcophagus in English and Welsh provincial museums when he discovered that a coffin on display in Torquay Museum was of exceptional quality, extremely rare and far older than the museum had realized. Dodson puts the age of the coffin to somewhere between the reign of 18th Dynasty pharaohs Ahmose I and the early reign of Thutmose III, ie, somewhere between 1525 and 1470 B.C. The museum estimated it dated to 700 B.C.

The child’s sarcophagus, just under 4 feet in length, was cut from a single block of cedar wood then covered in plaster-impregnated linen. The linen was painted white and the face red (indicating that the mummy within was male). The eyes are inlaid volcanic glass and limestone mounted in bronze. The design is so rare there is only one other similar example in the UK. Not even the British Museum has a coffin like this one, notes Torquay Museum curator Barry Chandler, bursting with glee.

It was the quality of the inlaid eyes, the depth of detail in the realistically modelled knees that first caught Dr. Dodson’s eye. That kind of ornamentation was reserved for extremely high ranking personages like royalty or government ministers. For it to be found on a child’s coffin underscores how important the family must have been.

Unfortunately we don’t know who that family was because the names of the child and his parents have been scratched out. The mummy inside is a thousand years younger than the coffin, so the names were probably erased when the new occupant was installed. The 2,500-year-old mummified boy within, wrapped in linen and a beaded net with figures of deities attached to it to protect the organs of the boy for the afterlife, was given a CT scan at Torbay Hospital in 2006. They found that the boy was three or four years old when he died, but could not determine the cause of death. We don’t know his name either, but the museum has dubbed him Psamtek.

The coffin and Psamtek were donated to the museum in 1956 by Lady Winaretta Leeds, scion of the Singer sewing machine dynasty and committed amateur Egyptologist. She traveled extensively in the Middle East, and is thought to have acquired the coffin in the 1920s. The child’s coffin and mummy were in storage for decades until they became the stars of the newly refurbished museum in 2007. Psamtek in particular drew crowds because he is the only human mummy currently on display in the UK. Now his coffin can finally compete.

Fort Geldria:

Fort Geldria , located in Pulicat, Tamil Nadu, was the seat of the Dutch Republic's first settlement in India, and the capital of Dutch Coromandel. It was built by the Dutch East India Company in 1613 and became the local governmental centre in 1616. It was named for Geldria, the native province of Wemmer van Berchem, the General Director of the company. Regularly protected by a garrison of 80 to 90 men, Fort Geldria was the only fortification in the Indian empire; all other positions of the Dutch Company were trading posts.

SECOND WORLD WAR

SECOND WORLD WAR

“Nature is cruel, so we may be cruel, too… I have the right to remove millions of an inferior race that breeds like vermin”
-Hitler

After the First World War, the countries of Europe faced severe economic crises. The newly established democracies in Germany, Italy and Spain could not negotiate the crisis effectively. As a result, dictatorships emerged in all the three countries. The dictators promised national reconstruction in a grand way. Europe once again witnessed aggressive nationalism.

In the aftermath of World War I, a defeated Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles. This caused Germany to lose a significant portion of its territory, prohibited the annexation of other states, limited the size of the German armed forces and imposed massive reparations. Russia's civil war led to the creation of the Soviet Union which soon was under the control of Joseph Stalin. In Italy, Benito Mussolini seized power as a fascist dictator promising to create a "New Roman Empire." The Kuomintang (KMT) party in China launched a unification campaign against regional warlords and nominally unified China in the mid-1920s, but was soon embroiled in a civil war against its former Chinese communist allies. In 1931, an increasingly militaristic Japanese Empire, which had long sought influence in China as the first step of its right to rule Asia, used the Mukden Incident as justification to invade Manchuria; the two nations then fought several small conflicts, in Shanghai, Rehe and Hebei until the Tanggu Truce in 1933. Afterwards Chinese volunteer forces continued the resistance to Japanese aggression in Manchuria, and Chahar and Suiyuan.

German troops at the 1935 Nuremberg Rally.Adolf Hitler, after an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government in 1923, became the leader of Germany in 1933. He abolished democracy, espousing a radical racially motivated revision of the world order, and soon began a massive rearming campaign. This worried France and the United Kingdom, who had lost much in the previous war, as well as Italy, which saw its territorial ambitions threatened by those of Germany. To secure its alliance, the French allowed Italy a free hand in Ethiopia, which Italy desired to conquer. The situation was aggravated in early 1935 when the Saarland was legally reunited with Germany and Hitler repudiated the Treaty of Versailles, speeding up remilitarisation and introducing conscription. Hoping to contain Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy formed the Stresa Front. The Soviet Union, concerned due to Germany's goals of capturing vast areas of eastern Europe, concluded a treaty of mutual assistance with France.
Before taking effect though, the Franco-Soviet pact was required to go through the bureaucracy of the League of Nations, rendering it essentially toothless. In June 1935, the United Kingdom made an independent naval agreement with Germany easing prior restrictions. The United States, concerned with events in Europe and Asia, passed the Neutrality Act in August.In October, Italy invaded Ethiopia, with Germany the only major European nation supporting her invasion. Italy then revoked objections to Germany's goal of making Austria a satellite state.In direct violation of the Versailles and Locarno treaties, Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland in March 1936. He received little response from other European powers. When the Spanish Civil War broke out in July, Hitler and Mussolini supported fascist Generalísimo Francisco Franco's nationalist forces in his civil war against the Soviet-supported Spanish Republic. Both sides used the conflict to test new weapons and methods of warfare and the nationalists would prove victorious in early 1939.
With tensions mounting, efforts to strengthen or consolidate power were made. In October, Germany and Italy formed the Rome-Berlin Axis and a month later Germany and Japan, each believing communism and the Soviet Union in particular to be a threat, signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, which Italy would join in the following year. In China, the Kuomintang and communist forces agreed on a ceasefire to present a united front to oppose Japan.

Why do wars occur?

Nations compete over natural resources.
Individuals demand greater political and economic freedom.

We will study 3 aspects of WWII

The war in Europe against Germany and Italy
The war in Asia with Japan
The home front

What caused WWII in Europe?

The causes of World War II are rooted in the First World War, and its effects set up the course of the modern world. From the loss of millions of people to the redrawn maps and upset political systems around the world, the war was an immense force for global change, resulting in empires lost and new superpowers being born.

Germany wanted back what she lost from WWI, and revenge
Appeasement – Great Britain and France gave Hitler land w/o fighting for it.
Hitler was racist; he invaded countries simply to kill the Jews living there.

•In Germany Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 as a fascist dictator.
•Hitler Hated the Treaty of Versailles and violated it. First he built up the German military. Then he sent troops into the Rhineland. This was a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles, which said in 1919 that Rhineland was a demilitarized zone.

Treaty of Versailles – end of WWI

The main points of the Treaty [BRAT]





1. Germany had to accept the Blame for starting the war
2. Germany paid Reparations for the damage done during the war.
3. Germany was forbidden to have submarines or an air force. She could have a navy of only six battleships, and an Army of just 100,000 men.
4. Germany lost Territory (land) in Europe (see map). Germany’s colonies were given to Britain and France.
•Hitler wanted to conquer whoever he felt was inferior to the Germans or Aryans. He wanted “living space” for the Germans in Eastern Europe.
•On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland without a declaration of war. This starts World War II.

•Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.
•Italy declared war on France and Britain on June 10, 1940.

“Blitzkrieg”

•In German blitzkrieg means “lightning war”.
•Hitler used blitzkrieg during his invasion of Poland.
•Blitzkrieg included surprise attacks, rapid advances into enemy territory, and massive air attacks that struck and shocked the enemy.
Germany achieved most of its victories in World War II with the Blitzkrieg tactic .

Early Axis Triumphs

April 1940 the quiet time of the war exploded into action.
•Hitler launched a series of blitzkrieg.
•Norway and and Denmark both fell.
•Germany had overrun the Netherlands and Belgium.
•Germany along with Italy forced France to surrender.

Hitler’s Major Blunder

•The Germans invaded France in May 1940.
•Retreating Allied forces made it to Dunkirk and found themselves trapped between the advancing Nazis and the English Channel. The British sent every boat they could get across the English Channel to pick up troops off the beaches of Dunkirk.

Miracle at Dunkirk

•The event at Dunkirk is called a miracle because the retreating allies had lost hope and then the British pulled through for them and rescued 338,000 men.

June 22, 1940

•On June 22, 1940 France signs an armistice with Germany in occupied France.
•An armistice is a cease fire or a truce.
•The Franco-German Armistice divided France into two zones. One zone was under German military occupation and the other was under French control.
•In 1942 Germans occupied all of France

Let us again study the causes:

CAUSES OF WORLD WAR II

1. Treaty of Versailles
A. Germany lost land to surrounding nations
B. War Reparations
1) Allies collect $ to pay back war debts to U.S.
2) Germany must pay $57 trillion (modern equivalent)
3) Bankrupted the German economy & embarrassed Germans

2. World-wide Depression
A. The Depression made Germany’s debt even worse
B. Desperate people turn to desperate leaders
1) Hitler seemed to provide solutions to Germany’s problems
2) Hitler provided scapegoats for Germany’s problems (foreigners, Jews, communists, Roma (Gypsies), mentally ill, homosexuals) 3) Kristallnacht - vandalism & destruction of Jewish property & synagogues

3. Rise of Totalitarian Regimes
A. In a Totalitarian country, individual rights are not viewed as important as the needs of the nation
4. Isolationism of Major Powers
A. Why was the U.S. Isolationist?
1. Great Depression (problems at home)

2. Perceptions of WWI
a. WWI did not seem to solve much
b. People began to think that we’d got into WWI for the wrong reasons (greedy American businessmen!)

3. Opposition to war (Pacifism)
a. Washington Conference - Limits on size of country's navies
b. Kellogg-Briand pact - condemned war as a way to solving conflicts

B. This led to policies of “Appeasement”
1. Appeasement: give dictators what they want and hope that they won’t want anything else
2. Begins with Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Italian invasion of Ethiopia, and continues with Hitler . . .So What Was Hitler Asking For?

Return of German Speaking Lands -
•Austria - Peacefully Annexed in 1938
•Munich Conference - Great Britain & France give to Hitler in return for peace
•Sudentenland - (now part of Czech Republic)
•Hitler then invades the rest of Czechoslovakia
•Nonaggression Pact Russia stays out of the war in return for 1/2 of Poland
•Great Britain & France finally declare war on Germany

How Did Hitler Make War?

Blitzkrieg “Lightning War”
In the next year, Hitler invades:
•Denmark
•Norway
• The Netherlands,
•France

US Assistance
Roosevelt provided aid to the Allies:
Lend-Lease - 1939
•US “lent” war materials to cash-strapped Great Britain
Atlantic Charter
•US secretly meets with England to commit to defeating Germany

Meanwhile … in the Pacific
Pearl Harbor: “a date which will live in infamy”

What?
•Surprise attack by the Japanese on American forces in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOURa

On December 7, 1941, Japanese airplanes strike the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II.

Effect?
•This enraged America who immediately joined Allied powers. US declares war on Japan & other Axis powers. In June 1944, American Commander Eisenhover landed in France and helped England. America also sent its armies to Algeria in North Africa. Thus Italy was defeated in September 1943 and Italy surrendered.

Island Hopping – US fought to gradually reach Japan

Battle for Iwo Jima

Island hopping became fact of the war with Japan.
Died: 6800 US 20000 Japanese.
This flag raising was a serious morale boost to soldiers on the island.

Kamikaze attacks

This plane dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima

Atomic Bomb

Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945

Victims in Hiroshima

In August 1945, America dropped atom bombs on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They were reduced to ashes. Japan surrendered and with this the Second World War came to an end.

The Japanese had shown they would fight to the last man, woman and child.
The atomic bomb saved as many as 1 million U.S. lives, and possibly many Japanese.
Harry Truman said he dropped the bomb to end the war.

Japan surrenders 1945

World War II deaths

USSR 22 million
China 11 million
Germany 7 million
Poland 7 million
U.S. 0.5 million
Great Britain 0.3 million
Japan 1.5 million

Asia WW2 Quiz

1. What cities were nuclear bombed?
2. Why did Japan want war with the USA?
3. What ocean protected USA from Japan?

OK, YOU GOT SOME IDEA ON SECOND WORLD WAR.

NOW, let us revise some of the important points.

1.What are the causes of the Second World War?

* The imperialist and expansionist policies of Germany and Italy were the main reasons responsible for the war.

* The League of Nations could not check the aggressive onslaught of these expansionists.

* No power came forward to undertake armked resistance against the initial attacks of Hitler and Mussolini.

* Finally, Germany and Russia with mutual understanding partioned Poland among themselves. It was then that France and England declared war on Germany. Around this same time, Japan which had conquered Manchuria from China in 1938, entered into a defensive alliance with Germany and Italy.

2.Critically examine the main provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. What were its important effects on Germany?
The victorious powers met in a conference first in Versailles, a Suburb of Paris and later in Paris between February 1919 and June 1919. Three countries Britain, France and USA decided to sign the peace treaties without consulting the defeated countries.
(1) Treaty of Versailles with Germany - The German representatives were forced to accept the following terms -
(i)Germany and her allies were declared guilty of aggression.
(ii)Alaska and Lorraine were restored to France.
(iii)The area of the Rhine valley was to demilitarize.

(a) Germany was dispossessed of her colonial empire, which was divided
among the victoriuos Nations.
(b)Germany was required to pay the war indemnity to the Allies.
(c)The treaty of Versailles was extremely humiliationto Germany.

2. When did Hitler formally announce his violation of the treaty of Versailles? What reason did he give for this?
Hitler formally announced his violation of the treaty of Versailles in March 1935. Hitler claimed that he was trying to make Germany equal in position to the other European powers.

3.Name the incident that started the Second World War?
Germany’s attack on Poland on 1st September 1939 started the Second world war.
4.When and by whom was the Munich pact signed?
The Munich pact was signed on 30th September, 1938. It was a pact between France and Britain on one side, and Hitler and Mussolini on the other side. Britain and France allowed Germany to take over Sudentenland.
5.What is meant by the ‘Axis’ powers?
The Axis powers ,also called as Axis alliances were the countries those opposed to the Allies during the second world war.Three major Axis powers -Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan were havinhg military alliance.

6.What is meant by the term ‘Allies’?
The term ‘Allies’ means the collective power-group which was initially led by UK and France. In 1941, they were joined by the USSR and USA.They fought against the 'Axis' power, led by Germany, Italy, and Japan.
7.Describe two political ambitions of Adolf Hitler.
* Hitler was determined to make Germany a mighty power in the world.
* He had ambition of conquering all of Europe.
8. Explain any two problems faced by the Weimar Republic from the very beginning.
The main two problems that the Weimar republic faced at the beginning were-1.The Communists backed by the Bolsheviks used the country’sinstability to stage a revolution.2.Those who supported the Weimar Republic were mainly Socialists, Catholics and Democrats became easy targets of attack in the conservative nationalist circle.
10.Who was Hitler? What was the main reason for his popularity?
Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 and was the leader of Nazi party in Germany. He established a dictatorship in his regime and was portrayed as a messiah to the Germans. His hypnotic speeches attracted all classes of German people whose sense of dignity and pride had been shattered while living in a period of acute economic and political crisis.
11.Briefly describe main steps taken by the Weimar Republic in 1923 to acquire political stability in Germany.
* The Weimar Republic introduced a new currency called the Rentenmark,to strengthen Germany’s monetary system.
* In 1924, Germany and his allies negotiated a new method of
reparationpayments and got the French army to withdraw from the Ruhr region.
12.What were the results of the victory of Nazism in Germany?
* victory of Nazism in Germany led to the destruction of democracy and the establishment of dictatorship.

* It also led to the militarism and preparation for the war.
* In Germany all other political parties were banned except the Nazi Party.Nazism was opposed to socialism and communism, so the advocates of these two philosophies were either jailed or killed.
13.What was the main reason that led to Hitler’s rise to power in Germany?
The main reason that led to Hitler’s rise to power in Germany was :

• Germany had lost the First World War. The revenge guided the Germans and hence the rise of Hitler.
• Germany did not tolerate the terms of the 'Treaty of Versailles'. Hitler promised to build a strong nation, undo the injustice of the Versailles.The people of Germany were in favour of any government, which was against communism.

14. Explain briefly the Nazi ideology for youth?
It was felt that a strong Nazi society could be established only by teaching children Nazi ideology.Good German Children were subjected to a process of Nazi schooling, a prolonged period of ideological training. Youth organizations were made responsible for educating German youth in the spirit of National Socialism. The youth league of Nazi was founded in 1922 to unite the youth.
15. What was the Nazi ideologyof the society?
Nazi ideology was synonymous with Hitler’s worldview. According to this there was no equality between people, but only a racial hierarchy. The blond, blue-eyed,Nordic German Aryans were considered to be superior, while Jews were at the lowest rung. The Nazi argument was simple. The strongest race would survive and the weak ones would perish.

 

16. What were the condition of women during Nazism in Germany?
In Nazi Germany the women were radically different from men. They had to look after the home and teach their children Nazi values. In Nazi Germany all mothers were not treated equally. Women who bore racially undesirable children were punished and those who produced racially desirable children were awarded. To encourage women to produce many children, honour crosses were awarded:A Bronze cross for four children.A silver cross for six children.A gold cross for eight or more children.
17. Explain briefly the foreign policy of Hitler.
In his foreign policy, Hitler acquired quick successes. He pulled out of the League of Nations in 1933, reoccupied the Rhineland in 1936 and integrated Austria and Germany in 1938 under the slogan, 'one people, one empire and one leader'. He then went on to wrest German-speaking Sudentenland from Czechoslovakia and gobbled up the entire country.

18. When and by whom was the Anti-comintern pact signed? What were its aims?

• The Anti-Comintern Pact was signed in 1937. It was signed by Germany , Austria, and Japan.
• The Aims of the Anti Comintern Pact Were to check the expansion of communism in the world and to follow an aggressive policy for the expansion of territories.

19. How did the world come to know about the Holocaust?
The documents left behind by ghetto and Camp inhabitants, who wrote diaries, kept notebooks and created archives, have been our source of knowledge about the Holocaust. Thus knowledge about the Holocaust lives in Memoirs,fiction poetry in many parts of the world. These are embarrassing reminder to those who collaborated.
20. Why did the US enter the Second World War?

The US had resisted involvement in the war. But it could not stay out of the war for long. Japan was expanding its power in the east. On 7th December 1941 Japan attacked the US Navel bases at Pearl Harbor. On 8th December 1941, America declared war on Japan and joined the Allies; as the war ended US dropped Atom bomb on Hiroshima in Japan.
21. When did the Second World War end in Europe?
On May 2, 1945, Soviet armies entered Berlin and Hitler committed suicide. Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945. All hostilities ended on 9th May 1945 at 12 noon in Europe.
22.What was the name of Hitler’s propaganda minister during his regime? What happened to him and his family?
Goebbels was Hitler’s propaganda minister. He and his family committed suicide collectively in his Berlin bunker in April 1945.
23. What was the effect of the world war-II on Germany? Why was the Potsdam conference held?
The effects of the Second World War were catastrophic. Nearly five crore people were killed. The Jews were the worst affected as 50 lakhs Jews were killed by Hitler in gas chambers in Germany. The whole of Europe was destroyed by the attack of Germany and cities, towns, industries, bridges, roads and railways were destroyed. President Truman took up an ambitious programme called Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of the nations destroyed by the War and rendered substantial financial aid.
Germany was totally disarmed and the Nazi prisoners of war were put on trial and punished. Japan too was disarmed and the American army was stationed there. Germany was divided into four units and the four areas were subjected to the supervision of America, England, France and Russia. Imperial powers like England and France lost their might after the war. This helped many Asian and African Nations to free themselves. For the establishment of Permanent peace, the United Nations Organisation was established in place of the League of Nations.
2.Potsdam Conference in 1945: Potsdam conference was held with some aims of Allies with regard to Germany that was divided into two parts. They wanted to end the Nazi Party and to make Germany a republic. Decision regarding border between Poland and Germany was taken with complete democratic view in Germany.

 

WORLD WAR I

WORLD WAR I

World War One, what a sad, sad story,
A story of hope, love and glory,
Those lives we lost always remembered,
The guns fired their last, that day in November,
Shots fill the air, startling sounds all around,
A sudden blast, as a bomb touched the ground,
Those courageous men, fighting together,
They are in our thoughts today and forever,
Our lives are changed, forever and ever.

INTRODUCTION: If you are new to the First World War - or are rusty after many years since history class - the reasons for the so-called 'Great War' can be shrouded in confusion.

The Second World War was rather more straightforward: no questions there who did what and who was at fault.

The First World War (1914-1918) was an unprecedented even in the history of the world, both in its scale and magnitude of effects.

World War I also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict that embroiled most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Entente and the Central Powers. Over 70 million military personnel were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. The main combatants descended into a state of total war, pumping their entire scientific and industrial capabilities into the war effort. Over 15 million people were killed, making it one of the deadliest conflicts in history.

World War I is infamous for the protracted stalemate of trench warfare along the Western Front, embodied within a system of opposing manned trenches and fortifications (separated by a "No man's land") running from the North Sea to the border of Switzerland. Hostilities were also prosecuted, however, by more dynamic invasion and battle, by fighting at sea and - for the first time - in and out from the air. Also, there were some battles that foreshadowed the rapid movement of WWII, take for example the Battle of St. Mihel in 1918. Here, within a matter of one day, American troops, supported by tanks, airplanes, and artillery, advanced over 20 miles, clearing a salient that had been a thorn in the side of the French army since 1914. More than 9 million soldiers died on the various battlefields, and nearly that many more in the participating countries' home fronts on account of food shortages and genocide committed under the cover of various civil wars and internal conflicts. In World War I, only some 5% of the casualties (directly caused by the war) were civilian - in World War II, this figure approached 50%.

Ultimately, World War I created a decisive break with the old world order that had emerged after the Napoleonic Wars, as modified by the mid-19th century national revolutions, the processes of European national unification and European colonialism. Three European land empires were shattered and subsequently dismembered to varying degrees: the German, the Austro-Hungarian and the Russian. In the Balkans and the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire experienced the same fate. Three European imperial dynasties, represented by the Hohenzollern, the Habsburg and the Romanov families in Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia respectively, also fell during the war.

World War I witnessed the first advent of Communism as a means of government in Russia. The following decades would see the transformation of the old Russian Empire into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a global power. In the east, the demise of the Ottoman Empire paved the way for the states such as Republic of Turkey and a number of successor states and territories throughout the Middle East. In Central Europe, the new states of Czechoslovakia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Yugoslavia were born and Austria, Hungary and Poland were re-created. Shortly after the war, in 1923, Fascists came to power in Italy; in 1933, 14 years after the war, Nazism took over Germany. Problems unresolved or created by the war would be highly important factors in the outbreak, within 20 years, of World War II.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=

CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF WORLD WAR 1

•Why was Europe on the brink of war in 1914?
•Why did war break out?
•What were the results of the fighting in 1914?

What are the causes for the rising tensions in Europe, 1914 ?

That's a good question! Ok. -Tensions result of four factors. Let's have a glance of these points.
–Militarism
–Alliances
–Imperialism
–Nationalism

MILITARISM: •Massive military buildup in European countries, late 1800s and early 1900s
•Wanted to protect overseas colonies from other nations
•Growing power of armed forces left all sides ready to act at first sign of trouble
•Minor disagreements had potential to turn to armed conflict

ALLIANCES:
•Nations formed partnerships to protect against opposing forces
•Triple Alliance united Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy
•Great Britain joined France, Russia in Triple Entente
•Believed no one nation would attack another, because allies would join fight

IMPERIALISM:
•Late 1800s and early 1900s saw quest to build empires
•Created rivalry, ill will among European nations
•Germany, France, Russia, Great Britain vied to become great imperial nations
•Each did not want others to gain power

NATIONALISM: •Strong devotion to one’s national group or culture, increased in late 1800s
•Led to formation of new countries, struggles for power
•Most visible in Balkan Peninsula, southeastern Europe
•Home to many ethnic groups trying to break free from Ottoman Empire

Now, do you know the causes of the World War 1? Still not got it! OK, look at these two video clippings and jot down some points and then check the answers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=&feature=player_embeddedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=&feature=player_embedded

 

Militarism: Was another cause of the war, was simliar to the arms race of today. Because Britain had a great navy, Germany wanted a great navy too. Germany and France competed for larger armies. The more one nation built up its army and navy, the more other nations felt they had to do the same.

ALLIANCE SYSTEM: For Twenty years, the nations of Europe had been making alliances. It was thought the alliances would promote peace. Each country would be protected by others in case of war. making it foolish for one country to wage war on another.
The danger of these alliances was that an argument between two countries could draw all the other nations into a fight. This is just what happened when a conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia led to World War 1.
In the summer of 1914 there were two alliances. The Triple Alliance composed of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, stood opposed to the Triple Entente composed of Britain, France, and Russia.

IMPERIALISM: Another cause was that European nations ruled smaller countries, called colonies, and competed with each other to amass more colonies. Gatehring colonies became known as IMPERIALISM. Both France and Britain had many colonies in Africa and Asia. Now Germany and Italy decided they wanted a colonial empire too.

NATIONALISM:In addition to political conflicts, the causes of the war included such forces as NATIONALISM, or patriotism. Nationalism led European nations to compete for the largest army and navy, or the greatest industrial development. It also gave groups of subject peoples the idea of forming independent nations of their own.

ESCALATION

The war that would destroy European society had been coming for a long time. The nineteenth century had been an era of great progress,
and of turmoil and conflict as well. New nations had been created. The balance of power that existed in 1815, at the end of the era of Napoleon, was disturbed.
Adding to the danger was a false sense of security. Local wars had flared up in the nineteenth century, but a major war was regarded as unlikely. Looking back at 1914 today, however, we can see that each of the major countries of Europe had interests that would bring it into conflict with at least one of the other great powers.

SPARK

On June 28, 1914, Gacrilo Princip, a nineteen-year-old Serbian revolutionary, fired two pistols shots. One killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary and heir to the Austrian throne. The other killed Sophie, his wife.

Franz Ferdinand and his wife leaving Cityhall Sarajevo just before they got murdered

Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible. On July 5 Austria asked for and recieved from Germany a "blank check" of support for any action Austria-Hungary might take against Serbia.
On July 23 Austria sent a series of demands to the Serbians. The demands were designed to humiliate and virtually destroy the Serbian nation. Still, Serbia agreed to most but not all of the demands.
Austria reacted on July 28 by declaring war on Serbia. The Russians prepared to defend Serbia. On July 31 the Germans sent a warning to Russia to stop mobilizing its army for war. the Russians ignored the warning, and Germany declared war on Russia on August 1. France came to the aid of its Russian ally by declaring war on Germany. The British hesitated, but when the Germans marched into Belgium, they declared war on Germany on Aug 4.
Italy, the third member of the Triple Alliance, refused to back Germany and Austria-Hungary. Italy claimed the Triple Alliance was for defensive purposes only and Austria's declaration of war against Serbia was no defensive.
So in August, 1914, the guns of the war went off. The system of alliances for keeping peace had brought the great nations of Europe into war with one another.

great war 1

Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
28th June 1914

Franz Ferdinand, aged 51, was heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was married to Sophie Chotek von Chotvoka and had three children. Franz Ferdinand was, however, very unpopular because he had made it clear that once he became Emperor he would make changes.
This map, of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1914, shows that Bosnia/Herzegovnia was controlled by Austria. Austria had annexed (taken by force) Bosnia in 1908, a move that was not popular with the Bosnian people.
Franz Ferdinand decided to visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovnia, to make an inspection of the Austro-Hungarian troops there. The inspection was scheduled for 28th June 1914. It was planned that Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie would be met at the station and taken by car to the City Hall where they would have lunch before going to inspect the troops.

A Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand, had decided that the Archduke should be assassinated and the planned visit provided the ideal opportunity. Seven young men who had been trained in bomb throwing and marksmanship were stationed along the route that Franz Ferdinand's car would follow from the City Hall to the inspection.

The first two terrorists were unable to throw their grenades because the streets were too crowded and the car was travelling quite fast. The third terrorist, a young man called Cabrinovic, threw a grenade which exploded under the car following that of the Archduke. Although the Archduke and his wife were unhurt, some of his attendants were injured and had to be taken to hospital.
After lunch at the City Hall, Franz Ferdinand insisted on visiting the injured attendants in hospital. However, on the way to the hospital the driver took a wrong turn. Realising his mistake he stopped the car and began to reverse. Another terrorist, named Gavrilo Princip, stepped forward and fired two shots. The first hit the pregnant Sophia in the stomach, she died almost instantly. The second shot hit the Archduke in the neck. He died a short while later.
The bodies of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie.
Gavrilo Princip was not executed because he was under 20 years, but was sentenced to twenty years in prison. He died of TB in 1918.

cause n effect

TREATY OF VERSAILLES:
The treaty of Versailles granted france many of its demands. Germany had to return AlsaceLorraine and give France control of the coal mines of the Saar region for 15 years. Germany also lost land to Poland. To give Poland access to the Baltic Sea, the Polish Corridor was created. This was a strip of land that separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany. The Baltic Sea port of Danzig became a free trading city, controlled by neither Poland nor Germany.
German territory on oth sides of the Rhine River were demilitarized. To prevent Germany from again becoming a military threat, the treaty also reduced the German army to 100,000 men, with no heavy artillery, tanks, or warplanes.
Germany also lost its overseas territories in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Ocean. Its African colonies were given to France and Britain as mandates.
The treaty required Germany to pay reparations-war damages- to other nations. Germany had to make up for loss of property, factories, farms, ships, and other things destroyed in the war.
The various nationalities in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire carved out their own states. The peacemakers recognized these as independant nations. Czechs and Slovaks formed the new country Czechoslovakia. The Croats and the Slovenes joined with Serbia to form Yugoslavia. The new Austria, greatly reduced in size and power, and was forbidden to unite with Germany. The Ottoman Empire was stripped of all its lands outside Turkey.
League of Nations a former international organization, formed after WORLD WAR I to promote international peace and security. The basis of the League, the Covenant, was written into the Treaty of VERSAILLES and other peace treaties and provided for an assembly, a council, and a secretariat. A system of colonial mandates was also set up. The U.S., which failed to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, never became a member. Based in Geneva, the League proved useful in settling minor international disputes, but was unable to stop aggression by major powers-e.g., Japan's occupation of Manchuria (1931), Italy's conquest of Ethiopia (1935-36), and Germany's seizure of Austria (1938). It collapsed early in World War II and dissolved itself in 1946. The League established the first pattern of permanent international organization and served as a model for its successor, the UNITED NATIONS. (source encyclopedia.com
The fairness of this treaty to Germany was debated for years. Critics pointed out that the kaisers gov had already been toppled. The burden of carrying out the treaty fell on a new democratic German Gov, making it difficult for this new Government to survive.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES FOR THE FIRST WORLD WAR?

Remeber 4 points.

1. AGGRESSIVE NATIONALISM: Europe saw the emergence of aggressive nationalism which generated a sense of superiority among the people. They had grown proud of their country and considered it a sacred duty to fight for the coutnry. Whether the country was right or wrong, colonies were also considered a matter of national prestige.

2. THE SYSTEM OF RIVAL ALLIANCES: Towards the end of the 19th century, a number of countries of Europe entered into alliances to safeguard their economic and political interests. Germany formed a Triple Alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy. England, France and Russia formed Triple Entente. On account of these alliances, Europe was divided into two hostile camps.

3. THE ARMAMENT RACE:- The mutual suspicion of these two groups gave rise to arms race. Every nation in Europe built vast reserves of arms and ammunitions. The countries comepted with each other to modernise their respective war machineries and increase the strength of the army.

4. IMMEDIATE CAUSE: When the Austrian crown-prince visited the Bosnian capital Sarajevo in 1914, he was murdered by a Serbian. Austria wanted to punish Serbia, hence it declared war and sought the help of Germany. Russia supported Serbia. Thus the World War I broke out. Germany, Austria, Turkey and Bulgaria were on one side. Serbia, England, Belgium, Italy, Russia and France were on the opposite side. In the course of the time, the USA also joined England.

THE COURSE OF THE WAR:

Germany attacked France and England on behalf of France and Belgium, declared war on Germany. The group led by England was called Allied powers and its opponents were called Axis powers. Japan joined the Allied powers. Fearing an invasion from Russia, Turkey joined hands with Germany. Bulgaria, an enemy of Serbia, allied itself with Austro-Hungarian empire which was friendly with Germany. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Russia turned neutral.

The FirstWorld War was fought for four years from 1914to 1918. New techniques such as the trench warfare, air surveying, air boming and battle tanks were used. After the German submarines sunk the ship Lustiania, a large contingent of American army reached France. The Arabs revolted against the Turkish hegemony. Portugal, Rumania and Greece joined England. After Germany's defeat at Marne in 1918, Turkey, Austria and Bulgaria surrendered. Kaiser William II, the emperor of Germany was foreced to abdicate and Germany signed an armistice which ended the war.

THE RESULTS:
Millions of people including the civilians, died in the war, and many more wounded. Towns, cities, roads, dams, bridges, railways and factories were destroyed on an unprededented scale. Their reconstruction, providing jobs to the unemployed, providing food and rehabilitation to them became an impossible task. The great economic depression was also caused by the war. (1929)
The Treaty of Versailles imposed humiliating conditions on Germany. Turkey lost its hold on Armenia, which became a separate republic. In the Balkan region, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania, Yugoslavia and Hungary were created.

The loss of life, bloodshed and the destruction caused by the war created a desire for preventing wars and fostering peace. To fulfil this ardent desire, the League of Nations was established.


What events led to the outbreak of World War I?
Serbian Gavrilo Princip killed Austrian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife; Germany (an ally of Austria-Hungary) declared war on Russia (an ally of Serbia); Germany attacked Belgium; Great Britain declared war on Germany

Why was Europe on the brink of war in 1914?
Ans: rising tensions as result of militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism

OVERVIEW

•65 million combatants from 30 countries representing every continent
•29 million become casualties
•Naval battles around the world and land battles in Europe, Africa, and Asia
•Triple Alliance = Germany, Austria, Italy
•+Turkey + Bulgaria - Italy = Central Powers
•Entente Cordiale = Britain, France
•+ Russia + Italy + (later) US = Allied Powers
•Revolutionary technology, but evolutionary tactics

ROAD TO WAR•Germany, Italy, Russia, Austro-Hungary all fairly recently “unified” with significant internal unrest
•Germany seeks new markets/prestige of colonies
•Massive arms race
•Multiple and extensive alliances

1914

•June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is assassinated in Sarajevo
•July 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia
•August 1 Germany declares war on Russia
•August 3 Germany declares war on France
•August 4 Great Britain declares war on Germany

•August 4 Germany invades neutral Belgium
•August 26-30 German army achieves its greatest victory of the war on the Eastern front at the Battle of Tannenberg
•September 5-10 First Battle of the Marne halts German invasion in France
•September 15 First trenches of the Western front are dug

1915

•January 19, 1915 First German Zeppelin air raid on England
•February 4 Germany declares a submarine blockade of Great Britain. Any boat approaching England is considered a legitimate target
•April 22-May 5 Second Battle of Ypres marks first use of chemical weapons
•April 25 Allies begin assault on Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey
•May 7 Sinking of the passenger ship Lusitania
•Killed 1200, 123 Americans
•May 23 Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary
•August 30 Germany responds to U.S. anger by ceasing to sink ships without warning
•December 28 Allies begin withdrawal of troops from Gallipoli

1916

•February 21 - December 18, 1916 The longest battle of the war, the Battle of Verdun, is fought to a draw with an estimated one million casualties
•July 1-November 18 The Battle of the Somme results in an estimated one million casualties and no breakthrough for the Allies
•December 31 Russian Rasputin, is murdered by relatives of the Tsar.

1917

•February 1, 1917 Germany again declares unrestricted submarine warfare
•April 6 The United States declares war on Germany
•July 6 T.E. Lawrence and the Arabs capture Aquaba
•July 16-November 10 Third Battles of Ypres, known as Passchendaele, results in minor gains, but still no breakthrough
•November 7 Bolshevik socialists, led by Lenin, overthrow Kerinsky government
•December 3 The new Russian government, represented by Leon Trotsky, signs an armistice with Germany
•December 9 British capture Jerusalem

1918

•January 8, 1918 President Woodrow Wilson declares his 14 points as the path to world peace
•March 21 Germans launch the first of five major offensives to win the war before American troops appear in the trenches
•April 25 British and Australian troops stop the German advance near Amiens
•May 23 German shells land on Paris
•August 8 Allied counteroffensives on the Somme push the German army back
•September 29 Allied troops break through the German fortifications at the Hindenberg line
•November 11 At eleven o'clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the war ends as Germany and Allies sign an Armistice

Schlieffen Plan

•Germans want to finish off French before Russia is ready to fight
•Germans believe French will immediately try to retake Alsace-Lorraine
•Original plan called for economy of force on the left while heavily weighting the right flank
• Von Moltke revised and distributed forces more evenly across the front
•Plan failed when Germans were held up by Belgians, then stopped by French and British at the Battle of the Marne
•Russians also mobilized more quickly than expected

TRENCH WARFARE

•Machine gun and artillery make it difficult to attack a trench
•Huge artillery preps make “No Man’s Land” virtually impassable
•Huge casualties for attackers

RUTHLESS TACTICS

-Chemical warfare made trench warfare more horrible
-Mustard/Blister agents deployed
-First used on French in 1915