The First World War 1914-1918

World War 1 has been described as the first modern war largely because it was the First World
War in which advanced machine guns, chemical warfare, tanks, attack aircraft and submarines
were widely used. It was also the first total war where nations mobilized all of their available
resources for the war effort. Millions of people mainly young men lost their lives in this conflict
and towns, homes. Business and farms were destroyed.
However, WW1 was a catalyst for a great change the map of Europe had been redrawn by 1919
as large empires dissolved and new nation states formed. Most of the nations involved has
borrowed heavily to finance the war and this allowed the USA to emerge as the world’s new
economic power, Soviet Russia was also formed igniting a fear of Communism across many
western nations. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles also sowed the seeds for the rise of
fascism and for other 20th century conflicts like WW2 and Vietnam War.
Causes of WW1
War between nations starts for a variety of reasons these can include historical tensions,
territorial disputes, or competition among nations for resources or economic markets. Other
factors, such as different political ideologies and systems of government can also drive nations
towards war. Short term factors such as the deaths of the key figures or the mobilization of
armies can be the triggers that turn tensions and hostility into outright wars.
Soldiers from around the world, in Europe and its colonies, the U.S., Japan ... fought on fronts
that were located in the heart of Europe and in remote and exotic lands. In addition, the industrial
powers were able to utilize their technologies to work for the war. The result was devastating.
The suffering of the civilian population and soldiers reached limits that no one could conceive of
in 1914.
There were number of short and long term factors that led to the outbreak of WW1. Key concepts such as
nationalism, imperialism, militarism and the alliance system began to dominate the international relations
in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Nationalism:
Is a sense of pride in and love of one’s nation. It grows out of an understanding that the people of
a nation share a common language, culture and history in Europe nationalism played an
important role in the lead up to the WW1.
Nationalism can either unite or divide the people of a nation or region. For example feelings of a
nationalism contributed to the unification of many Germanic kingdoms to form the german
empire in 1871. A sense of nationalism also encouraged cooperation between Germany and
Austria –Hungary because German language speakers ruled both empires
In 1890 the new emperor of Germany, Wilhelm II, began an international policy that sought to turn his
country into a world power. The Weltpolitik ("world politics") Germany was seen as a threat by the other
powers and destabilized the international situation. Psychological rivalry between peoples, encouraged by
nationalist propaganda campaigns. Hatred of the neighbor was more the norm than the exception.
Alliances:
One of the key factors that led to a total European war was the alliance system. Between 1879
and 1907, leading nations grouped themselves into two alliances – the 1882 triple alliance and
the 1907 triple Entente (Entente is a French word meaning an “understanding” or alliance. Each
participating nation promised to provide military support if one of its members was attacked.
Another aim of these alliances was to prevent wars. It was assumed that no power would go to
war if there was a risk war if there was a risk that a conflict between two nations could easily
build into a conflict among many. These alliances increased the tension between triple alliance
and triple entente countries.
Militarism the arm race in Europe
No war can be fought without guns, ammunition and soldiers. In the early 20 th century modern
battleship and submarines were also important weapons of war, most were training armies and
building up their stories of ships and weapons.
Germany and Britain were the leading players in what we called the “arms race”. Britain had the
largest navy but still pouring millions of pounds into ships and armaments. Germany was
economically powerful and possessed a large army its leader Kaiser Wilhelm11, wanted to
establish Germany as a world power. To achieve this goal. Kaiser poured his resources into
strengthening the German armed forces. By early 1914 even though the leaders of Europe were
still talking of peace they were clearly prepare for war.
The second industrial revolution
Began in 1870, shifted the balance of economic might between the powers. The increasingly powerful
Germany challenged British hegemony. This challenge was particularly seen in two areas: increasing
competition of the German economy and the acceleration of the German naval rearmament. The
extension of the colonial empires exacerbated the struggle for territory, markets, prestige and power
between the European industrial powers.
The Road to World War
● 1882: Triple Alliance. Bismarck, German Chancellor (1871-1890) and skilled diplomat, built a
complex web of international treaties whose key element was the Triple Alliance or Triple
Alliance (1882) linking Germany with Austria-Hungary and Italy. Its main goal was keeping
France, the enemy defeated in 1870, isolated.
● 1888: William II, new Kaiser of Germany. The arrival in 1888 to the throne of the new German
Kaiser, Wilhelm II, changed dramatically the international situation. After dismissing Bismarck
in 1890, Germany launched a new international policy, more ambitious and aggressive
(Weltpolitik) than Bismarck’s, that quickly triggered defensive reactions from other powers who
felt threatened before the new German foreign policy.
● 1893: Franco-Russian Alliance. The aggressive policy of Kaiser Wilhelm II led to the signing
of a military agreement, which established mutual military assistance against Germany, between
two very different powers: Tsarist Russia and republican France. This alliance meant the
definitive end of diplomatic systems designed by Bismarck: France had got out of their isolation
● 1904: Franco-British Entente Cordiale. Thanks to its economic, naval and colonial hegemony,
for a long time the UK did not need to sign alliances with other European powers (“splendid
isolation”). However, the German Weltpolitik was such a great challenge that it forced London to
seek international agreements. So, after resolving their colonial disputes, France and Britain
signed the Entente Cordiale beginning a period of Franco-British cooperation against German
aggression.
● 1905-1906: The first Moroccan crisis. William II, on a visit to Tangiers, Morocco, proclaimed
the German opposition to French colonization of Morocco. This challenge precipitated the
convening of an international conference in Algeciras (1906). At this conference, Germany was
isolated and France had a clear British support. The Entente Cordiale worked
● 1907: Anglo-Russian agreement. Under pressure from France, an ally of both powers, and
growingly suspicious of German expansionism, Britain and Russia finally settled their colonial
differences in Central Asia. This agreement laid the foundations of one block that would fight in
WW1.
● 1908: Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Taking advantage of internal
difficulties in Turkey, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina. As Germany strongly
supported its ally, Russia was forced to yield to the Austrian aggression and did not face the
Austrian-Hungarian challenge. At that time, neither France nor Britain were willing to support
Russia in a possible conflict in the Balkans
● 1911: The incident of Agadir in Morocco. Sending a German gunboat to the harbor of Agadir
in Morocco, Berlin unleashed a diplomatic crisis. Although eventually there was a diplomatic
agreement that ended the crisis, the Agadir incident highlighted the growing Franco-German
confrontation.
● 1912-1913: The Balkan Wars. Two successive Balkan wars that involved Turkey, Serbia,
Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria concluded with the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913. The wars
caused a shift in the situation in that area. Turkey was reduced in the Balkans to a small region
around Istanbul. Serbia (Russia's ally and defender of the rights of the Slavs in the Austro-
Hungarian Empire) was consolidated as the leading state in the region. Austria-Hungary was
upset by the strengthening of Serbia and came to the conclusion that only a preventive war would
prevent Serbia from leading a general uprising of the Slavic people in the Habsburg Empire, who
would be encouraged by the great Slavic power, Russia. Russia eventually was determined to
intervene when Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia
● 1914: The assassination of Sarajevo. June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the
Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo (Bosnia). Gavrilo Princip, a member of
the Serbian terrorist organization "Black Hand" was the assassin. The attack triggered a fatal
series of events that led to the war. Powers faithfully fulfilled its diplomatic commitments and the
crisis quickly went from a local incident to a general war in Europe.
● 1914: The start of the war. The terrorist attack in Sarajevo was the spark that started the fire of
the First World War. This is a summary of the sequence of events that led to war.
 The Second World War (1939-1945)
Beginning of World War II
1. Asia-Pacific
War II was the largest conflict in all of human history. The largest and bloodiest conflict. If we
go back even to the early 1900s, Japan was becoming more and more militaristic and
nationalistic.In the early 1900s it had already occupied Korea as of 1910 and in 1931 it invades
Manchuria and it installs a puppet state of Manchukuo.
In the 1930s.China is embroiled in a civil war. It was betweenthe Nationalists, the Kuomintang
and the Communistsversus the Communists, The Communists led by Mao Zedong.The
Kuomintang led by General Chiang Kai-shek. The Imperial Japan took advantage of thisto take
more and more control over parts of Chinaand that continues through the 30suntil 1937. This was
referred to as the Sino-Japanese War.
Many historians actually would even consider this the beginning of World War II.While, some of
them believed this as the beginning of the Asian Theater of World War II.So that lays a
foundation for what's happening in The Pacific, in the run-up to World War II
The invasion of Poland by Germany in 1939 was the formal beginning of World War II in
Europe.
2. Europe
So what was happening in Europe?
As we go through the 1930sHitler's Germany, the Nazi Party, is getting more and more
militaristic.They're allied with Benito Mussolini's Italy.They're both extremely nationalistic; they
both do not like the Communists. In 1938, Germans took over Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia in
Europe.
In August the Germans were all prepared for the all-out war.
Germans don't want to fight the Soviets right out the gate,in 1939 they get into a pact with the
Soviet Union.They signedthe Molotov–Ribbentrop Pactwith the Soviet Union, this is in
Augustwhich is essentially mutual non-aggression pact.
September 1st, Germany invades Poland.Then the Great Britain and France declares war on
Germany.
In mid-September, Stalin the Soviet leader, himself invades Poland as wellso they both can kind
of carve out their spheres of influence.

3. 1940 - Axis gains momentum in World War II

1940, Germany invaded Netherlands and Belgium. Italy also joined the War and tried to come
close to Germany and declares war on the Allied (Great Britain and France).
Japan signs the Tripartite Pact and joined the Axis powers (Italy and Germany) and attacked
French-Indochina (French Colonies in Asia-Pacific).
By the end of 1940, in November, Romania and Hungary joined Axis powers under pressure.
4. 1941 Axis momentum accelerates in WW2
In 1941, the Axis gains further momentum with control of most of Continental Europe. Hitler
decides to break the pact and invade Stalin's Soviet Union.
United States enters World War II after Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941 was a "date which will live in infamy," according to Franklin Delano
Roosevelt. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese led the United States to enter
World War II
On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii.The surprise attack by some 350 Japanese aircraft sunk or badly damaged eighteen US
naval vessels, including eight battleships, destroyed or damaged 300 US aircraft, and killed
2,403 men.Across the nation, Americans were stunned, shocked, and angered. The attack turned
US public opinion in favor of entering the Second World War. The United States declared war
on Japan on December 8, 1941.Japan’s allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United
States on December 11. The United States responded in kind, and therefore entered World War
II.
1945 - End of World War II
1945 marks the end of World War II. V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day) is May 8th 1945. War
doesn't end in the Pacific until August of 1945 with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki,
In 1944 USA invaded Germany. It was predicted that the Allied powers are going to win. So
they met at Yalta to decide the future of Europe after the end of World War II. The Allied
powers were able to capture most of Germany in February 1945 and pushed back the forces from
Italy.
April 30th, Hitler committed suicide along with many Nazi leaders.
May 8th, Marked at the VE day; the victory in Europe. But the WW II is still going on in Pacific.
70,000 US Marines invaded the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in Japan, forcing it to
surrender.
5. The Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb
The Manhattan Project was the codename for the secret US government research and
engineering project during the Second World War that developed the world’s first nuclear
weapons. President Franklin Rooseveltcreated a committee to look into the possibility of
developing a nuclear weapon after he received a letter from Nobel Prize laureate Albert
Einstein in October 1939. In his letter, Einstein warned the president that Nazi Germany was
likely already at work on developing a nuclear weapon. By August 1942, the Manhattan Project
was underway
The United States detonated two
atomic bombs over the Japanese
cities
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in
August 1945, killing 210,000
people—children, women, and
men.President Truman
authorized the use of the atom
bombs in an effort to bring about
Japan’s surrender in the Second
World War. In the days
following the bombings Japan
surrendered.
On August 6, 1945 an American B-29 bomber named the “Enola Gay” dropped the first atomic
bomb on the city of Hiroshima. 
Truman called for surrender the day after the bombing at Hiroshima once more, but once more
the Japanese government refused. On August 9, about 80,000 people died after the United States
dropped a second bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki.
Six days later, after the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, the Japanese government signed an
unconditional surrender. World War II was over.
The Manhattan Project was the US government program during World War II that developed
and built these first atomic bombs.Detonation of these first nuclear bombs signaled arrival of a
frightening new Atomic Age.

Beginning of Cold War (1947 – 1990)

The Cold War was a geopolitical chess match between the United States, the Soviet Union, and
both parties’ allies in which the major power players sought to project their respective ideologies
across the globe in the wake of colonialism’s collapse following World War Two. The period
occurred between 1947, the year of the Truman Doctrine, and 1991, when the Soviet Union
collapsed.

Background
During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union fought together as allies against the
Axis powers. However, the relationship between the two nations was a tense one. Americans had
long been wary of Soviet communism and concerned about Russian leader Joseph Stalin’s
tyrannical rule of his own country. For their part, the Soviets resented the Americans’ decades-
long refusal to treat the USSR as a legitimate part of the international community as well as
their delayed entry into World War II, which resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of
Russians. After the war ended, these grievances ripened into an overwhelming sense of mutual
distrust and enmity. 
Postwar Soviet expansionism in Eastern Europe fueled many Americans’ fears of a Russian plan
to control the world. Meanwhile, the USSR came to resent what they perceived as American
officials’ bellicose rhetoric, arms buildup and interventionist approach to international relations.
In such a hostile atmosphere, no single party was entirely to blame for the Cold War; in fact,
some historians believe it was inevitable.

Causes
A number of geopolitical factors that emerged in the wake of the Second World War, pitting
Russia against the U.S. World War II ended with the Soviet Union and United States as allies
that triumphed over Nazi Germany. Although the U.S. and Soviet Union were allies during
WWII, there were many tensions early on and once the common threat of Germany and Japan
were removed, it was only a matter of time for the shaky relationship to fall apart. Here are some
possible factors that contributed to the Cold War:
 The Soviet Union refused to become part of the UN for a long time.
 Stalin felt that America and Britain were delaying D-Day during WWII, causing more
Soviet losses in a plot to weaken the Soviet army. Almost sixty times more Soviets died
in the war than the Americans.
 The “Big Three” clashed during the Tehran Conference about Poland and other Eastern
European countries that bordered with Germany. Stalin felt independent countries were a
security threat to Russia because they have been weak enough to let Germany attack the
Soviet Union through them several times. Britain and America wanted these countries to
be independent, not under communist rule.
 The Soviets and Germans had a non-aggression pact in the first two years of the war with
a secret protocol.
 The support of the Western allies for the Atlantic Charter, which outlined US-UK plan to
endorse nations’ right to self-determination and general security in post war world
 The Eastern Bloc of Soviet satellite states was created.
 The Allies allowing Germany to rebuild an industry and army, scrapping the Marshall
and Morgenthau plans of German exclusion
 The Allies allowing Germany to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
 American and British fears of communist attacks and the Soviet Union’s dislike of
capitalism
 The Soviet Union’s fear of America’s nuclear weapons and refusal to share their nuclear
secrets
 The USSR’s aim to promote communism across the world and their expansion into
Eastern Europe

Key Events of Cold War Period

The Cold War shook the foundation of the world, as it was the first time that large-scale nuclear
warfare became a truly realistic threat. Spanning approximately 45 years between 1947 and
1990, wherein no direct battles were fought, the Cold War was a period of intense geopolitical
tension between the United States and the Soviet Union.

a) Containment Policy against USSR

At the end of World War II, the majority of American leadership was in agreement that the most
viable approach against the political and militaristic expansion of the Soviet Union was to
implement a containment strategy that would help keep the Soviet expansion in check and
protect Western democratic values. American diplomat, George Kennan, described this strategy
as “a political force committed fanatically to the belief that with the United States, there can be
no permanent modus vivendi [agreement between parties that disagree]”; concluding that
America had only one option to proceed, “long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of
Russian expansive tendencies.” In 1947, President Harry Truman made the containment of the
Soviet Union a top priority, laying the groundwork for the Cold War by introducing domestic
policies that centered on undermining communism in the United States. Such action helped set
the tone for the next four decades of United States foreign policy.
 b) Korean War
One of the most significant examples of the implementation of containment policy was US
intervention in the Korean War. In June 1950, after years of mutual hostilities, Kim Il-
Sung's North Korean People's Army invaded South Korea at the 38th parallel. Stalin had been
reluctant to support the invasion but ultimately sent advisers. To Stalin's surprise, the United
Nations Security Council Resolution 82 and 83 backed the defense of South Korea, although the
Soviets were then boycotting meetings in protest of the fact that Taiwan, not the People's
Republic of China, held a permanent seat on the council. A UN force of sixteen countries faced
North Korea, although 40 percent of troops were South Korean, and about 50 percent were from
the United States.
The US initially seemed to follow containment when it first entered the war. This directed the
US's action to only push back North Korea across the 38th Parallel and restore South Korea's
sovereignty while allowing North Korea's survival as a state. However, the success of the Inchon
landing inspired the US/UN forces to pursue a rollback strategy instead and to overthrow
communist North Korea, thereby allowing nationwide elections under U.N.
auspices. General Douglas MacArthur then advanced across the 38th Parallel into North Korea.
The Chinese, fearful of a possible US invasion, sent in a large army and defeated the U.N. forces,
pushing them back below the 38th parallel. Truman publicly hinted that he might use his "ace in
the hole" of the atomic bomb, but Mao was unmoved. The episode was used to support the
wisdom of the containment doctrine as opposed to rollback. The Communists were later pushed
to roughly around the original border, with minimal changes. Among other effects, the Korean
War galvanized NATO to develop a military structure.Public opinion in countries involved, such
as Great Britain, was divided for and against the war.
After the cease-fire was approved in July 1953, Korean leader Kim II Sung created a highly
centralized, totalitarian dictatorship that gave his family unlimited power. In the South, the
American-backed dictator Syngman Rhee ran a violently anticommunist and authoritarian
regime. While Rhee was overthrown in 1960, South Korea continued to be ruled by a military
government of former Japanese collaborators until the re-establishment of a multi-party system
in the late 1980s.

c) Arms Race Between the United States & Russia

Under the umbrella goal of containing Soviet Russia’s military capacity, the United States began
manufacturing armaments at an excessive rate, rationalizing the production of these arms as
necessary to ward off potential conflict. American officials recommended that the United States
develop and deploy atomic weapons in an effort to keep Soviet doctrines and policies from
expanding unchecked throughout Europe and the world, and to highlight to the Soviets that there
would be dire consequences if they continued their expansionist policies. The U.S.’s containment
efforts—which focused on a blend of increased arms production, ramped up militarism and
displays of force throughout the world, the continued promise of mutually assured destruction by
nuclear weapons, and the containment of Soviet-supported, communist political movements
outside the Soviet Union—led to the American defense budget quadrupling.
Not only were small arms, aircraft, ships, and land-based military vehicles being produced en
masse, the containment and arms race-related policies employed by the U.S. also jumpstarted a
nuclear arms race, as the Soviet Union and the U.S. tried to outdo one another by creating more
powerful and increasingly sophisticated nuclear weapons. The arms race culminated in an effort
to develop nuclear weapons similar to the atom bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
which brought a violent end to World War II. The Soviet Union recognized the immense military
value of having atomic weapons and went on to develop their own atomic bombs in 1949. To
maintain their perceived superiority and suppress Soviet attempts at becoming a global leader,
the United States began production of an even more devastating weapon: the hydrogen bomb.

d) Development of the Hydrogen Bomb

While anti-communist tensions were at a moderate baseline in the early years of the Cold War,
the period of time encompassing the race to develop a functional hydrogen bomb set the
precedent for the rising tensions of the Cold War as it escalated throughout the 20thcentury.
The first successful detonation of an American-made hydrogen device occurred on November 1,
1952, in the Pacific region in the Marshall Islands. This test involved the deployment of
10.4megaton apparatus nicknamed Mike, and the resulting explosion was a visible example of
just how justified the rising level of public fear and anxiety towards hydrogen weapons had been.
The blast decimated nearby islands, leaving behind a crater more than a mile wide and creating a
virulent mushroom cloud that was an approximate 100 miles wide and 25 miles high. Following
this test, the Soviet Union then rushed to develop hydrogen bomb technology. With the
implementation of the hydrogen bomb, the Cold War was in full swing, as the American and
Soviet governments along with their respective citizens became entirely fixated on the growing
threat of thermonuclear conflict.

e) Space exploration
On the nuclear weapons front, the United States and the USSR pursued nuclear rearmament and
developed long-range weapons with which they could strike the territory of the other. In August
1957, the Soviets successfully launched the world's first intercontinental ballistic
missile (ICBM), and in October they launched the first Earth satellite, Sputnik 1. The launch of
Sputnik inaugurated the Space Race. This led to the Apollo Moon landings by the United States,
which astronaut Frank Borman later described as "just a battle in the Cold War."

f) Cuban Missile Crisis and Khrushchev's ousting

The Kennedy administration continued seeking ways to oust Castro following the Bay of Pigs
Invasion, experimenting with various ways of covertly facilitating the overthrow of the Cuban
government. Significant hopes were pinned on the program of terrorist attacks and other
destabilization operations known as Operation Mongoose, devised under the Kennedy
administration in 1961. Khrushchev learned of the project in February 1962, and preparations to
install Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba were undertaken in response.
Alarmed, Kennedy considered various reactions. He ultimately responded to the installation of
nuclear missiles in Cuba with a naval blockade, and he presented an ultimatum to the Soviets.
Khrushchev backed down from a confrontation, and the Soviet Union removed the missiles in
return for a public American pledge not to invade Cuba again as well as a covert deal to remove
US missiles from Turkey. Castro later admitted that "I would have agreed to the use of nuclear
weapons. ... we took it for granted that it would become a nuclear war anyway, and that we were
going to disappear."
The Cuban Missile Crisis (October–November 1962) brought the world closer to nuclear
war than ever before. The aftermath of the crisis led to the first efforts in the nuclear arms race at
nuclear disarmament and improving relations, although the Cold War's first arms control
agreement, the Antarctic Treaty, had come into force in 1961.
In 1964, Khrushchev's Kremlin colleagues managed to oust him, but allowed him a peaceful
retirement. Accused of rudeness and incompetence, John Lewis Gaddis argues that Khrushchev
was also credited with ruining Soviet agriculture, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear
war and that Khrushchev had become an 'international embarrassment' when he authorized
construction of the Berlin Wall.

g) Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)

Built in 1961, the Berlin Wall was designed by the Communist government of the German
Democratic Republic as a means of curtailing the flow of East German migrants into democratic
West Germany. This almost 100-mile-long fortified line of watchtowers, concrete barricades,
and trenches effectively split Berlin in two. The Berlin Wall became a potent symbol of the Iron
Curtainthe ideological and physical divide that separated the democratic West from the
communist East during the Cold War. Though, as the 1960s came to a close, communist power
began its decline, as during this time the United States began accelerating towards becoming the
world’s first completely unparalleled superpower.
When President Richard Nixon took office in 1969, the American approach to international
relations began to switch in favor of diplomacy. For instance, the United States went on to
establish diplomatic relations with communist China. The United States also drafted and signed
the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) with the Soviets in 1972 and 1979, a treaty that
placed limitations on the manufacture of nuclear weapons by both parties, partially eliminating
the perceived threat of global thermonuclear warfare. While Ronald Reagan battled communism
in Central America and across the world, economic problems rooted in the Cold War caused
Soviet influence to wane in Europe, and by 1989, most communist nations had transitioned to
non-communist forms of government.
In November of 1989, the Berlin Wall, a famous symbol of communism throughout the world,
was demolished by Berlin natives who were given permission to cross the border on November
9, 1989. By October 3, 1990, East and West Germany reunified. In the wake of these events, the
Cold War gradually slowed to a halt, finally ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in
1991.
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