In the early 20th century the strength of a nation’s military was a symbol of the power and wealth of the nation. Pre World War 1 marked the beginning of advance weapons for the army and the navy. The spending of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Britain, France and Russia in their military budged increased by 4x (World War 1). The countries had strong reasons to build their army’s strong to gain more colonies and also protect them, while also protecting their homeland. The rapid growth in military spending prior to World War 1 caused European nations to fear for their safety causing fighting to breakout.
The arms race starting in the 1890’s lead to the increase in military weapons causing the triple entente alliance to be afraid of Germany. Starting in the 1870, many European nations began to engage in a race to
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France, Germany and England, three big competitors in the arms race all increased their spending in the military by double and six fold. Germany and England developed a fierce compition as who could develop the best naval ship. England developed what was known as the best ship of its time, the Dreadnaught, while the Germans developed sophisticated submarines. Both of these new naval weapons increased the fear in other countries leaders due to how powerful and deadly they were. A popular saying at the time in England was “We want eight and we won’t wait!” (Llewellyn). This quote summarizes the ideology of the military leaders at the time during the arms race. Another country with a big role in the arms race was France. France was coming out of a major rescion at the time witch lasted until 1890. From 1890 the economy boomed growing twice as big as it had been in the last three decades. The boom in the economy right before World War 1 allowed France to
As the 20th century began, all the countries were looking to upgrade their arms. The more the countries divided the more the need to increase armed forces became important. Between 1870 and 1914, the armies for France and Germany doubled, and sea master was constantly changing between Britain and Germany. It seemed that each country was coming up with different plans to attack their enemies. (World War One- Causes, 2014)
A major build up of armies in main countries resulted in the Naval Arms Race which was another main contribution to the war as it increased tension and more rivalry. The armies of Germany and France had more than doubled but it was Germany and England who were about to compete for the most powerful navy in the world the tension between the two nations had risen. Wilhelm’s dream of being an imperial ruler was about to come true, he had put his plans into practice and had built several powerful ships. The British saw this as a threat. In
Militarism created an environment of fighting and military based. Many countries spent millions on their navy and army protection, and stocking large numbers of weapons such as, tanks, submarines, rifles, and airplane warfare. Throughout the start of the war Germany, Russia, and Great Britain spent more than 70 million euros in expenditure on their navy and army, (Document C). Countless countries used militarism force to solve political problems that were occurring. Militarism was simply a byproduct of Nationalism and other factors. Therefore, there are other more important causes of the war, besides each country’s desire to be the best, resulting in militarism. Conclusively, militarism would not have existed without nationalism, alliances, imperialism, or the three main causes that started the abrupt
World War 1 had a source of Militarism. “The armies of both France and Germany had more than doubled between 1870 and 1914 and there was fierce competition between Britain and Germany for mastery of the seas (Anorak)”. Germans soon followed though the suit for their own battleships. Von Schlieffen drew up a plan which involved an attack on France through Belgium if Russia made an attack on Germany. Another example that shows
There is a sense that modern weapons during the 20th century proved to be the most technological advancements and thus created competition in which sprawled into a new stage of warfare enlightenment. At the brink of the war and the salient of forces perhaps the most technological tool used had been the trenches. The pursuit of territorial conquest would halt at the trench lines inventing a new progression in how war is envisioned today. The disadvantages often outnumber the benefits of war, however, war managed to create a boosted in advanced warfare starting as early as the Franco-Prussian War. As the war progressed during 1914, items such as uniforms called for change. The sense of pride in nationality struck in numbers and not in bright colors. For the sake of duty and country was the most powerful drive including those who sought ground in the western lines.
Militarism was felt very strongly in 20th century Europe. Between 1890 and 1914, the countries involved in WW1’s armament growth was tremendous. Germany’s army and navy rose
However militarism is also an important underlying event in World War I. The warfare great increased. In the beginning of the war soldiers used gun powered guns at the end they used tanks and machine guns. “Great Britain spent the greatest percentage on its navy” according to Document C of “Cause of WWI Mini-Q” Great Britain's army spent about $90 million at the beginning of the war in 1914. At the end of the war countries have spent more than expected. Countries spent more because the warfare became more expensive since it's wasn’t just cannons and gunpowder
T. Stead published a series of articles suggesting that Britain was unprepared for war, particularly in its naval defences.” The pressure to build better military defense was multiplied by a hundred. in the nineteen hundreds this became a popular slogan to promote the need for dreadnoughts “We want eight and we won’t wait!”. Also, Germany and Austria-Hungary had worried about their war strength. Take note, with their alliance came militarism the mutual agreement required strong defense. The Dual Alliance required assistance of one another with the whole war strength (Document A). From warships to guns military weapons had turned to be in high
Militarism is the belief that a country should sustain a strong military while being ready to use it to protect itself and promote national interests. The increasing European divide had led to a weapons race among the primary countries. The armies of France and Germany had grown more the twice their previous proportions between 1870 and 1914, meanwhile there was an aggressive race between Britain and Germany for control of the sea. In 1906, The British had presented a successful battleship named the Dreadnought. Shortly after, the Germans had introduced their own battleships. Von Schlieffen, a German, also illustrated a plan of action that comprised of attacking France through Belgium, if Russia were to attack Germany. (Crocker, 2017).
A. Attention step: the change in the context and trend of war in terms of ferocity of the weapons and the increase in human/nations participation was occasioned by the industrial revolution and the French revolution.
Early Americans understood the necessity of powerful armed forces and citizen volunteers in times of conflict. As the United States became a developed country, it also became apparent that a strong military force was necessary for global trade and strategic positioning for the prevention and possible participation in war. Strengthening America’s military resulted in the United States becoming and remaining a major world power.
Unique systems of finance such as nation state resources, levee en masse, and alliances provided the means to build, strengthen, and maintain military forces for war. Innovation was used to change organizational design and maneuver practices which allowed the command and control of large military forces and successful engagements of the enemy. Discipline allowed forces to understand and study tactics through Bildung and Nationalism among troops allowed forces to move great distance by pillaging for logistic resources without deserting their units.
As the world entered the 20th century, an arms race had begun. By 1914, Germany had the greatest increase in military buildup. Great Britain and Germany both greatly increased their navies in this time period. Further, in Germany and Russia particularly, the military establishment began to have a greater influence on public policy. This increase in militarism helped push the countries involved to war.
Militarism preferred force as a solution to problems, which was one of many things that led to World War I. Nations mobilized their military to show support for their alliances and as a method of inflicting fear to their enemies. This led to development of more military equipment and increase in the number of troops. When one nation improved their military, the other nations felt they needed to build a better one. Eventually alliances were formed between nations to ensure that no country became stronger and powerful than the others.
Allies bound by treaty, as well as compelled by defensive nature, began to acquire mass weaponry. Once these countries entered the war, they had to keep gaining power; i.e. spending money, and building on to military, thus putting financial burden on their countries for the benefit of their alliance. Britain and Germany especially, began an arms race, acquiring submarines as well as conventional weaponry. Powers were participating in naval warfare. This force of action solidified alliances. Countries chose sides and entered into alliances for personal benefit and gain. They pledged their allegiance to stronger countries in a “gang like” mentality which stressed an ideology of work with me, or be destroyed by me. This describes an effort to create a balance of power. However, the security dilemma was in full effect as everyone accumulated weaponry. It was hard for any nation, especially Germany, to keep tabs on the power that everyone had gained.