World War I & World War II

8/12/2019 World War I & World War II

1/13

Course title: International law & use of force

World War I & II

Summited To

Sir Ashfaq

Submitted by

Sayyam Manzoor

Date: 26-Decmber-2013

Department of IR

National University of Modern Languages

Islamabab, Pakistan.


2/13

History:

History of WWI:

The sequence of events for World War I began in 1914 with Austria-Hungary declaring war onSerbia on 28 July 1914 in a bid to reassert its authority as a Balkan power. With war breakingout between Austria-Hungary on one side and Serbia on the other, Europe quickly fell back tothe alliances nations had formed. Austria-Hungary and Germany were allies. Serbia was alliedwith Russia; as was France. Russia aided Serbia and attacked Austria. So Austria-Hungary wasfighting in two fronts with Serbia and with Russia and consequently lost on both fronts. In a bidto aid Austria-Hungary against Russia, and fearing an attack from France, Germany mobilized itsarmy and attacked France.

1915

The French, redeploying round Paris, together with the British, checked the nowextended German armies on the Marne. In March and April 1915 British sea and landforces attacked the Dardanelles. The Turks countered both threats, causing the Britishto evacuate the Gallipoli peninsula at the end of 1915.

A joint Austro-German offensive at Gorlice-Tarnow (2 May 1915) unlocked RussianPoland and the tsar's shattered armies fell back

In 1915 the Allies agreed that simultaneous attacks on all fronts were the way to drainthe reserves of the Central Powers

1916

On 21 February 1916 Germans attacked the Verdun salient; however this attack wasstalled in June. Austrians' independent offensive against the Italians in the Trentino alsostalled.

1917

Germany finally adopted unrestricted submarine warfare in February 1917, and in doingso drove America into the war.

1918

The Germans extended their front while reducing their strength by almost a millionmen. Simultaneously they continued to advance in the east, competing with their


3/13

Austrian allies in the Ukraine and the Turks in the Caucasus. The French counter-attacked in July and the British in August. Together with the Americans, they drove theGermans back in a series of individually limited but collectively interlocking offensives.

On 15th September the Anglo-French forces at Salonika attacked in Macedonia, forcing

the Bulgars to seek an armistice by the end of the month. The whole of the Central Powers' Italian front crumbled after the Austrian defeat on thePiave in June.

The German high command initiated the request for an Armistice on 4 October. Afterthe war Germany claimed that the army was stabbed in the back by revolution athome. The people of Germany and Austria-Hungary were battered by food shortagesand inflation.

On 11 November an armistice with Germany was signed in a railroad carriage atCompigne. At 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918 a ceasefire came into effect.

1919 A formal state of war between the two sides persisted for another seven months, untilsigning of the Treaty of Versailles with Germany on 28 June 1919.

History of WWII:

The war that broke out in 1939 was a war for the European balance of power. The immediatecause of the conflict was the German demand for the return of Danzig and part of the Polishcorridor granted to Poland from Germa n territory in the Versailles Treaty of 1919. Polandrefused to agree to German demands, and on 1 September 1939 overwhelming German forceslaunched the Polish campaign and defeated her in three weeks. Russia also invaded easternPoland. Poland thus got divided into two parts. In March 1939 Britain and France hadguaranteed Polish sovereignty, and in honor of that pledge first demanded that German forceswithdraw, and then on 3 September declared war on Germany. America was committed by theNeutrality Acts of 1935 and 1937 of non-intervention in overseas conflicts.

This video presents a concise history of the events of World War II:

1940

German armies invaded Belgium, Luxembourg, and northern France and within sixweeks defeated western forces.

Britain was able to resist German air attacks in the battle of Britain in August andSeptember 1940, and survived a German bombing offensive (the Blitz) in the winter of1940-1, but it was not possible for Britain to defeat Germany unaided.

On 10 June 1940 Mussolini's Italy declared war on Britain and France.


4/13

In December 1940 Hitler turned attention away from Britain and approvedBARBAROSSA, the large-scale invasion of the USSR.

America started giving increasing economic assistance to Britain and China followingPresident Roosevelt's pledge to act as the arsenal of democracy.

1941

BARBAROSSA was launched on 22 June 1941 when three million German, Finnish,Romanian, and Hungarian soldiers attacked the whole length of the Soviet westernfrontier. Soviet Union was shattered.

In North Africa, Commonwealth forces stationed in Egypt drove Italian armies backacross Libya by February 1941

In Abyssinia and Somaliland Italian forces were forced to surrender by May 1941. Italy's complete defeat in Africa was avoided only by Hitler's decision to send German

reinforcements under Rommel, and the weak logistical position of Commonwealthforces.

The US navy became closely involved in the battle of the Atlantic in efforts to break theGerman submarine blockade of shipping destined for Britain. In March 1941 Congressapproved the Lend-Lease Bill which allowed almost unlimited material aid, includingweapons, for any state fighting aggression. In the autumn of 1941 this came to includethe USSR, despite strong American anti-communism. Throughout 1940 and 1941 theUSA tightened an economic blockade of Japan which threatened to cut off mostJapanese oil supplies.

American actions provoked both Japanese and German retaliation. On 7 December 1941Japanese naval aircraft attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, followed bythe rapid conquest of western colonies in south-east Asia and the southern Pacific.

On 11 December Germany declared war on the USA.

1942

Russia made a remarkable recovery and in November Germany and her allies attackingStalingrad (now Volgograd) were cut off by a massive Soviet encirclement, URANUS.

In November 1942 at Alamein a predominantly Italian force was defeated byMontgomery.

The USA fought a largely naval and air war between 1942 and 1945, using its very greatnaval power to deploy troops in major amphibious operations, first in the SolomonIslands to halt the Japanese Pacific advance, then in TORCH, a combined American-British landing in Morocco and Algeria in November 1942.


5/13

1943

The entry of the USA signaled a change in the political balance of the war of great significance.German forces in Stalingrad surrendered in January 1943and by May 1943 Italian and Germanforces finally surrendered in Tunisia, enabling the Allies to mount the invasion of Sicily and thenItaly. Italy sued for an armistice in September 1943.

1944

American economic might and political interests helped to bind together the different f ronts ofconflict, while America's worldwide system of supply and logistics provided the sinews of warnecessary to complete the defeat of the aggressor states. A major intelligence deceptionoperation and declining air power weakened the German response and by September 1944German forces had been driven from France.

1945

German surrendered on 7 May 1945 following Hitler's suicide on 30 April. A long-range bombing campaign destroyed the Japanese cities and most of the Japanese

navy and merchant marine. Americas newest weapon, the atomic bombs were droppedon Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

Soviet forces destroyed the Japanese army in Manchuria; Japan finally capitulated on 2September.

Causes:

Causes of World War 11. Mutual Defense Alliances:

Countries throughout Europe made mutual defense agreements that would pull theminto battle. If one country was attacked, allied countries were bound to defend them.Before World War I, the following alliances existed:

Russia and Serbia

Germany and Austria-Hungary France and Russia Britain and France and Belgium Japan and Britain

Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia got involved to defend Serbia.Germany seeing Russia mobilizing, declared war on Russia. France was than drawn in against


6/13

Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium pulling Britain intowar. Than Japan entered into a war. Later on Italy and United States would enter on the sides ofthe allies.

2. Imperialism:Imperialism is when a country increases there power and wealth by bringing additionalterritories in their control. Before WWI Africa and parts of the Asia were points ofcontention amongst the European countries. Because these areas could provide rawmaterials. The increasing competition and desire for greater empires led to an increasein confrontation that helped push the world into World War I.

3. Militarism:As the world entered the 20th century, an arms race had begun. By 1914, Germany hadthe greatest increase in military buildup. Great Britain and Germany both greatlyincreased their navies in this time period. Further, in Germany and Russia particularly,

the military establishment began to have a greater influence on public policy. Thisincrease in militarism helped push the countries involved to war.

4. Nationalism:Much of the origin of the war was based on the desire of the Slavic peoples in Bosniaand Herzegovina to no longer be part of Austria Hungary but instead be part of Serbia.In this way, nationalism led directly to the War. But in a more general way, thenationalism of the various countries throughout Europe contributed not only to thebeginning but the extension of the war in Europe. Each country tried to prove theirdominance and power.

5. Immediate Cause: Assassination Of Archduke Franz Ferdinand 1914:The immediate cause of World War I that made all the aforementioned items come intoplay (alliances, imperialism, militarism, nationalism) was the assassination of ArchdukeFranz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. In June 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated himand his wife while they were in Sarajevo, Bosnia which was part of Austria-Hungary. Thiswas in protest to Austria-Hungary having control of this region. Serbia wanted to takeover Bosnia and Herzegovina. This assassination led to Austria-Hungary declaring war onSerbia. When Russia began to mobilize due to its alliance with Serbia, Germany declaredwar on Russia. Thus began the expansion of the war to include all those involved in the

mutual defense alliances. 6. Moroccan Crisis 1904:

In 1904 Morocco had been given to France by Britain, but the Moroccans wanted theirindependence. In 1905, Germany announced her support for Moroccan independence.War was narrowly avoided by a conference which allowed France to retain possession ofMorocco. However, in 1911, the Germans were again protesting against French


7/13

possession of Morocco. Britain supported France and Germany was persuaded to backdown for part of French Congo.

7. Bosnian Crisis:In 1908, Austria-Hungary took over the former Turkish province of Bosnia. This angered

Serbians who felt the province should be theirs. Serbia threatened Austria-Hungary withwar, Russia, allied to Serbia, mobilised its forces. Germany, allied to Austria-Hungarymobilised its forces and prepared to threaten Russia. War was avoided when Russiabacked down. There was, however, war in the Balkans between 1911 and 1912 whenthe Balkan states drove Turkey out of the area. The states then fought each other overwhich area should belong to which state. Austria-Hungary then intervened and forcedSerbia to give up some of its acquisitions. Tension between Serbia and Austria-Hungarywas high.

Causes of World War 2:1. Hitlers rearmament rally,1935:

It broke the Treaty of Versailles It started a rearmament race It divided the nations opposing Germany

2. The Remilitarization of the Rhineland,1936: It was the first military action by Hitler and it was successful. France lost the opportunity to stop Hitler once and for all.

3. The Rome Berlin Axis (October 1936):Mussolini and Hitler strengthened their alliance in two occasions:

The Anti-Comminterm Pact (November 1937) with Japan The Pact of Steel (May 1939)

4. Britains Policy of Appeasement (May/June 1937-March 1939): Chamberlain followed the policy of appeasing Germany. Hitler break the treaty of Versailles but Chamberlain did not believe that Hitler

would cause a war. Chamberlain had Misinterpreted Hitlers aims.

5. The Anschluss with Austria (13 th Marc,1938): It was the first time Hitler had annexed land outside Germany.

It marked the beginning of Mussolinis support for Hitler. It marked first time Chamberlain appeased Hitler because Austria was too far to

help. 6. Sudetenland and the Munich Agreement(29 th sepember,1938);

It was first time that Hitler took land that was not simply redressing the treaty ofVersailles.


8/13

It convinced Hitler that Chamberlain and Daladier were worms who could bebuild.

It convinced Stalin that Chamberlain and Daladier would not stand upto Hitlerand led him to make the Nazi-Soviet Pact.

7.

The Fall of Czechoslovakia(March 1939): It discredited appeasement and demonstrated that Hitlers promises could notbe trusted.

Hitler had annexed the land of non German people. it appears that he wanted todominate the whole world.

Czechoslovakia was a democracy, which worried the other western democracies. It convinced Chamberlain that Hitler would not be stopped by negotiation, and

led him to make the polish guarantee. It outraged the British people, and got them ready for war.

8. The polish guarantee,1939: It was the end of appeasement, a non-negotiable which provoked war. It was the decision which threw Stalin into the Nazi-Soviet Pact. It was the promise which prevented Chamberlain cutting another deal with

Hitler in August 1939. It was the event which caused Britain to declare war on Germany.

9. Nazi-soviet Pact (29 th August,1939)-The Ribbontrop-molotov pact: It was the agreement which made Hitler brave enough to invade Poland. It was seen as a disgusting act of political cynicism which convinced British

people of the need for a war to stop this evil man.10. German invasion of Poland(1 st September,1939):

Germans tanks invaded West Prussia and Posen in the 1 st September 1939 usingBlitzkrieg tactics.

Chamberlain sent an ultimatum to Hitler to withdraw from Poland otherwiseBritain would declare a war.

Britain followed by France declared war on Germany.11. The treaty of Versailles solved nothing:

Reparations left many people in the victorious nations feeling guilty.

The lost of all land to other countries made Hitlers early aggression looked justified.

The Treaty made Germans angry, just waiting their chance for revenge.12. The League of Nations failed to keep peace:

It was weak from the beginning. it had spectacular failures in Manchuria andAbyssinia.


9/13

It failed to achieve disarmament, which resulted into an arm race. Countries left the failing league, and realized that they would have to fight a war. Britain and France abandoned collective security, and turned instead to

appeasement.

13. Appeasement encouraged aggression: Appeasement encouraged war. It made Hitler to think that no one can dare to

stop him. The Sudetenland led Stalin to make the Nazi-Soviet Pact, because he believed he

could not trust Britain.14. Hitler was expansionist:

Many historians think that the Second World War was Hitlers personal war, andthe he always intended to fight a war. As re-run of First World War he did notbelieve that German had lost fairly.

Comparison between WWI & WWII

1. Period and duration:

WWI: 1914 to 1918; 4 years

WWII: 1939 to 1945; 6 Years

2. Geographically battleground:

WWI: During the WWI geographically battlegrounds were Europe, Africa, Middle East, thePacific Island, China, off the coast of South and North America. WWII: During the WWII geographically battlegrounds were South-East Asia, China,Middle East, Mediterranean, Africa, North and South America.

3. Triggers and causes:

WWI: Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria in June 1914. Militarism,Imperialism, nationalism and alliance system.

WWII: Political and economic instability in Germany. The harsh conditions of theTreaty of Versailles Rise of power of Adolf Hitler and his alliance with Italy and Japan tooppose the Soviet Union.


10/13

4. Conflict between:

WWI: The Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey) and the AlliedPowers (France, Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and (from 1917) the U.S.)

WWII: The Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allied Powers (France,Britain, the U.S., the Soviet Union, and China)

5. Methods of warfare:

WWI: Fought from lines of trenches and supported by artillery and machine guns,infantry assault, tanks, early airplanes and poisonous gas. Mostly static in nature,mobility was minimal.

WWII: Nuclear power and missiles were used, modern concepts of covert and specialoperations. Submarines and tanks were also more heavily used. Encryption codes forsecret communication became more complex. Germany used the Blitzkrieg fightingmethod.

6. Postwar politics:

WWI: Resentment with the onerous terms of the Treaty of Versailles fueled the rise ofAdolf Hitler's party in Germany. So some historians believe that in a way, World War Iled to World War II.

WWII: There was a Cold War between the United States and Russia after the end of theSecond World War until the collapse of the USSR (1947-1991). The wars in Afghanistan,Vietnam and Korea were, in a sense, proxy wars between the two nations .

7. Nature of war:

WWI: War between countries for acquiring colonies or territory or resources.

WWII: War of ideologies, such as Fascism and Communism.

8. Genocide:

WWI: The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) carried out genocide of Armenians

WWII: German Nazis committed genocide against Jews and gypsies

9. Casualties:


11/13

WWI: Estimated to be 10 million military dead, 7 million civilian deaths, 21 millionwounded, and 7.7 million missing or imprisoned.

WWII: Over 60 million people died in World War II. Estimated deaths range from 50-80million. 38 to 55 million civilians were killed, including 13 to 20 million from war-relateddisease and famine.

10. Outcomes:

WWI: The German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires were defeated.Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires ceased to exist. The League of Nations wasformed in the hope of preventing another such conflict.

WWII: The war ended with the total victory of the Allies over Germany and Japan in1945. The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers. TheUnited Nations was established to foster international cooperation and preventconflicts.

11. Reasons war ended:

WWI: Germany had formally surrendered on November 11, 1918, and all nations hadagreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated. On June 28, 1919,Germany and the allied nations (including Britain, France, Italy and Russia) signed thetreaty Versailles, formally ending the war.

WWII: On 15 August 1945 Japan surrendered, with the surrender documents finallysigned abroad the deck of American battleship USS Missouri on 2 September 1945,ending the war.

12. Results:

WWI: Results of the World War I were:

End of the German, Russian, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian Empires

Formation of new countries in Europe and the Middle East

Transfer of German colonies and regions of the former Ottoman Empireto other powers

Establishment of the League of Nations


12/13

Paris Peace Conference imposed a series of peace treaties on the CentralPowers. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles officially ended the war.

WWII: Results of World War II were:

Allied Victory

Collapse of the Third Reich

Fall of Japanese and Italian Empires

Creation of the United Nations

Emergence of the United States and Soviet Union as superpowers

Beginning of the Cold war

Political alignment and social structure of the world significantlychanged

13. Also known as:

WWI: The Great War, The World War, The Kaiser's War, The War of the Nations, TheWar in Europe, or The European War, World War one, First World War, The war to endall wars

WWII: Second World War, World War Two, The Great Patriotic War.

Outcomes:World War I:

After the war, the Paris Peace Conference imposed a series of peace treaties on the CentralPowers. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles officially ended the war. Building on Wilson's 14thpoint, the Treaty of Versailles also brought into being the League of Nations on 28 June1919. In signing the treaty, Germany acknowledged responsibility for the war, agreeing topay enormous war reparations and award territory to the victors. It caused a lot ofbitterness.

Austria Hungary was partitioned into several successor states.


13/13

The Russian Empire lost much of its western frontier as the newly independent nations ofEstonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were carved from it.

World War II:

The war ended with the total victory of the Allies over Germany and Japan in 1945. TheUnited Nations was established to foster international cooperation and prevent futureconflicts.

The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers. Although the totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan were defeated, the war left

many unresolved political, social, and economic problems in its wake and brought theWestern democracies into direct confrontation with their erstwhile ally, the Soviet Unionunder Josef Stalin, thereby initiating a period of nearly half a century of skirmishing andnervous watchfulness as two blocs, each armed with nuclear weapons, faced each otherprobing for any sign of weakness.

The European economy had collapsed with 70% of the industrial infrastructure destroyed. A rapid period of decolonization also took place within the holdings of the various

European colonial powers. These primarily occurred due to shifts in ideology, the economicexhaustion from the war and increased demand by indigenous people for self-determination.

Documents

World War I & World War II