World War 1 Summary

In Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War by Akira Iriye, the author explores the events and circumstances that ended in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, an American naval base. Iriye assembles a myriad of primary documents, such as proposals and imperial conferences, as well as essays that offer different perspectives of the Pacific War. Not only is the material in Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War informative of the situation between Japan and the United States, but it also provides a global context that allows for the readers to interpret Pearl Harbor and the events leading up to it how they may. Ultimately, both Pearl Harbor and the subsequent Pacific War between

In the late 1890s, tensions between China and Japan were growing. China’s power was growing into the early 1900s as it converted to Nationalism. Japan felt the need to expand and conquer because they had been forced into the modern age by the United States, and they believed it was their destiny to exert government over other nations (Chang 23-24). The Japanese felt the need to do something before China became “too powerful to be conquered” (Chang 28-29). This put Japan on the path to war with China (Chang 25).

History identifies the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, as the direct cause of World War One. Nonetheless, historians are in agreement that there were many factors contributing to the conflict between the Great powers, resulting in a large-scale war to break out. The second industrialization—also known as the Technological Revolution—from 1870-1914 cultivated industrial societies to emerge and leading to “new forms of states and of diplomatic and military alignments” (Barzun). These “military alignments” were later to be known as The Great Powers of Europe. The Great Powers were divided into two alliances: The Triple Alliance between Germany, Italy & Austria-Hungry—established in 1882, and The Triple Entente between Britain, Russia & France—established in 1907 (Tonge). There were three main rivalries between the powers: Germany & France over the Alsace-Lorraine territory (5,067 square miles of land that was ceded by France to Germany in 1871 after the Franco-German War), Russia & Austria over the Balkans peninsula in Southeast Europe (a desirable territory for its strategically vital geographic location—surrounded by four seas: the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Adriatic and the Aegean, and situated at the crossroads of three major empires—Ottoman, Russian and Austro-Hungarian), and Britain & Germany over naval and economic power.

The late nineteenth century culminated centuries of progress for the prominent Asian societies of Qing China and Tokugawa Japan, defining their economic strength and influence in foreign affairs. Each society encountered taxing struggles from internal rebellions to external pressures from outside nations. The Qing dynasty in China survived the crises of the 1850s-1860s, while the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan did not (i.e., collapsed) because of a number of important historical differences. Distinct political, social, and foreign policy differences caused seemingly parallel societies to spiral off in opposite directions. With the aid of a highly centralized government, a stable social and political order, and an amicable nature towards foreign policy, the strength of the Chinese government prevailed against both internal and external challenges. Tokugawa Japan ran a course completely opposite of Qing China and ultimately collapsed in the 1860s. Three significant factors leading to this failure resided in its decentralized government, static and hereditary social order, and hostile nature towards foreign affairs. Reviewed first are the factors

Difference from other American war – it was different because, it wasn’t a war for territory, but a war to destroy an insurgency. This was also the first televised war.

World War 1 was the war to end all wars. Comprising most of Europe, Russia and the US World War 1 was a war for nationalism and defending of the norm. To preface it, during this time the major powers of Europe were organized into two major alliances: The Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance. The Triple Entente was composed of Britain, Russia, and France. The Triple Alliance united Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy. However, the main source of tension was not between the alliances, but between the powers that led them: Britain and Germany. It is arguable that this underlying tension may have been the indirect cause of conflict. Many attribute the spark of WW1 to be the assassination of Archduke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Ferdinand. The assassination, which was a "happy accident”, escalated. This event set off a chain reaction that resulted in Austria-Hungary, with German support, launching an attack on Serbia. Serbia called in Russia. Thing continues to spiral out of control and by the end of the summer, Germany had declared war on Russia and France; Germany had also started to mobilize troops in to Belgium setting up for a push into France. Great Britain declared war on Germany under the façade of honoring its alliance with France; however, the real motivation was to go to war with Germany. Eventually, Italy, although aligned with Germany, entered the war on the side of Great Britain and France. The Ottoman

On January 19, 1917, a secret telegram from Germany’s foreign secretary was intercepted by British intelligence. The telegram contained information on Germany’s plans to ally with Mexico and although the plans never came into action, it backfired on the Germans, eventually leading their demise. Because of this, World War 1 was won by the Allied forces, thus, helping the United States develop as a new world power.

World War 1. WW1 was the first world war that lasted from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Ottoman Empire are the central powers. Great Britain, France, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the US were the allied powers.

In the early twentieth century Japan had reached its industrial revolution therefore, leading to an increase in Japanese nationalism and imperialism. Consequently, this led to Japanese military aggression against China. The Chinese suffered high mortality rates from the advanced Japanese troops that would simply raze and beleaguer Chinese cities. Japan managed to gain an advantage against the less industrialized Chinese who fell as if a deck of cards to the militarized Japanese and died as if infected with a pathogen. This would lead to an inevitable contact with the powerful U.S who proposed inhibiting sanctions against the U.S.A’s new nemesis, the Japanese.

World War One had two sides: the Allied forces and the Axis Powers. The Axis Powers consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria (Shi 990). Some countries backed off helping the Axis Powers, such as Italy (Willmott 2003, p15). The Allied forces were comprised of France, the British Empire, Japan, Italy, the Russian Empire, Serbia, Belgium, Montenegro, Portugal, Romania, Hedjaz, United States, Greece, Siam, Poland, Armenia, Serb-Croat-Slovene State, and Czechoslovakia (“The Treaty of Sèvres, 1920-Section 1, Article 1”). There were few neutral countries in Europe for this World War and they consisted of: Spain, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Spanish Morocco (Shi 990).

World War I, as we know it today, was once thought of as “the war to end all wars” and was seen as a means to purify and strengthen humanity. What millions of people hadn't foreseen was the outbreak of a Second World War arguably thousands of times more devastating and horrific than the last. When World War I ended, delegates from the victors’ countries gathered together in Paris to discuss post-war solutions and ways to establish peace while being compensated for their losses. The agreement they came to, some reluctantly, was disclosed in the Treaty of Versailles. In short, the Allies demanded huge reparations from Germany, betrayed Italy, and inspired Japan. Desperately seeking a solution or course of action, these nations turned to what

Everything we do in the past is history. Walking into a store and choosing a certain pack of meat is history, but historians decide whether or not that part of the past will be remembered in history. They get to sift through history and pick what goes down in history but how do they pick what goes down in history? What makes certain events more historical than the ones that happen all of the time?

2. Other than the fact that WW1 involved so many different nations, what else qualifies it as a “total war?” Do you think this was the world’s first “total war?” why or why not?

World War One also known as ‘The Great War’ was a four-year lasting horrific global war. World War One was triggered by the assassination of ,heir to the throne of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914. The soon to be Emperor and his wife was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a member of The Black Hand. A month later, on July 28 the Austrian-Hungarians declared war on Serbia. Alliances from both sides got involved creating a world war. Militarism, the Great War was also the first truly modern war, it was the first war fought in the air, more than 65,000 aircraft were produced by both sides. Tanks were also first used on a battlefield, by the end of the war 8,200 tanks were produced by Britain. The self-powered

In Takashi Inoguchi’s latest publication, Japanese Politics: An Introduction, one of the foremost political scientists in Japan, Takashi Inoguchi thoroughly delves into two decades of Japanese history. The first period 1983-1993, and the second 1994-2004 sandwich the fall of the 1955 political system and era of one party dominance. There is a unique perspective that the author is able to provide due to his tenure as a professor of political science in the Institute of Oriental Culture at the University of Tokyo as well as Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations. His wife is also a well-respected political scientist who sat on the House of Representatives and had several other notable accomplishments, thus providing a truly unique perspective from the author’s point of view.