The Age of Total

War (1914-1945)
Prepared by: Ms. Allysa Marri D. Pabalan
Department of Development Studies
The Road to War…

”
•The division of Europe into rival alliances: guaranteed that a war
involving anyone would eventually involved anyone.
• One of the most volatile conflict: Austria-Hungry and Serbia.
There were substantial populations of Serbians living within the borders
of Austria-Hungry.
sentiments of nationalism: powerful forces within Serbia called for a
Greater Serbia, incorporating all Serbian people.
On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip (Serbian nationalist extremist)
assassinated Franz Ferdinand (Archduke of Austria-Hungary) in Saravejo.
On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
• The War divided Europe into two armed camps:
Triple Alliance made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy
Triple Entente made up of France, Russia, and Great Britain.
 THE GREAT WAR
World War I | First Total War | The War to End all Wars
•During WWI, it was not uncommon for single battles to result in
more than 500,000 casualties.
•Enthusiasm of nationalism brought men to the battlefields.
•Factories of Industrial Revolution supplied endless guns, bullets,
canons, and artillery shells.
•People not fighting the war on battlefield worked at factories
supplying the soldiers.
•Governments mobilized entire populations and seized control of
industry.
•War bonds were sold; prices and wages were controlled;
consumer goods were rationed; new taxes were imposed; women
worked in the factories; children collected scrap metal to be turned
into weapons and ammunitions.
•WWI became the first total war, in which every element of the
society and every aspect of national life were consumed by the
conduct of war.
•Total War - A war in which participants mobilize all available
resources, humanand material, for the purpose of waging war.
- Represented the coming together of of the two
developments (Nationalism & Industrialization) transforming
European socities and politics over the previous cetntury.
•Nationalism – allowed governments to make unprecedented
demads of their citizens.
•Industrialization – provided the material to equip, transport, and
sustain armies on a vast new scale.
•The carnage continued for 3 years, and by 1917 the nations and
armies of Europe were close to exhaustion.
• 3 pivotal events that led the the end of WWI:
1. Introduction of new armored tank by the British in 1917
2. Because of the devastation of the war, the demoralization of the army,
and the weakness of the government, the Bolsheviks seized power in
the Russian revolution and made Russia withdraw on the war.
3. American entry into the war on the side of France and Britain.
The Road to War
(Again)…

”
•Major wars always pose the problem of creating a postwar order, a task
that usually falls to the victors.
•TREATY OF VERSAILLES (1919):
The final peace terms.
A quintessential “victor’s peace” – harsh on the losers, easy on the
winners.
• Germany (losers) was required to:
relinquishment of territory
restriction on the size of its armed forces
payment of huge reparations
•Germany was forced to accept the total blame for the war.
•Germans feel that they were unfairly treated.
•Germans took the treaty for granted and required revision.
•Hitler and Nazis were able to take advantage and exploit sentiments
during their rise in power.
•Human and economic cost of the war made it difficult for Great Britain
and France (winners) to recover, 80x greater than US-Vietnam War.
• US President Woodrow Wilson
Provided a provisions for postwar order.
The cornerstone of his postwar order was the League of Nations to
provide a collective International response for future threat to peace.
•LEAGUE OF NATIONS
Int’l Organization created in the aftermath of WWI
It was proven ineffective
Obstacles that doomed the League of Nations:

1. Despite the organization’s ties with Woodrow Wilson, the US Senate

refused to ratify the treaty (they did not want involvement).
2. Soviet Union retreated into isolation (communist thinking).
3. League’s members were unwilling to do what was necessary to
respond to threats to peace (since the League was a voluntary org.
and not a world government, it didn’t have enough resources to
sustain response to other states when needed and a credible
response from its members still needed convincing).
•Tensions started to brew by the end of 1920s:
Germany was dissatisfied with the term of Versailles
Western European nations were weary of war and determined to avoid
repetitions
The principal postwar institution designed to preserve the peace was
not living up to expectations.
The Great Depression created economic hardship and political turmoil
everywhere.
•The start of WWII:
Germany’s invasion of Poland (1939)
Japan’s takeover of Manchuria (part of China) in 1931, or invasion of
China in 1937.
•Hitler became increasingly bold since he exploited German resentment
and the depression to expand his political appeal.
•Instead of resisting, Western nations engaged in a POLICY OF
APPEASEMENT.
A policy in which nation deals with international conflicts by giving in to
the demands of their opponents.
The infamous act of appeasement occurred in the fall of 1938 (Sudeten
conflict solved by the Munich agreement)
The Sudeten Germans of the Sudetenland (of Czechoslovakia) wanted
to be unified with Germany. A conference in Munich gave Hitler what he
wanted, as France and Britain awarded the Sudeten annexed to Germany.
However, Hitler still invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. (Munich
Agreement didn’t satisfy Hitler).
 THE NEXT GREAT WAR
• After signing the nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union,
German troops invaded Poland on 1939.
•Britain and France declared war on Germany.
•Germany then conquered Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and
most of France, leaving Britain alone to prevent total German
domination of Western Europe.
•Though US provided supplies to Britain, isolationist sentiments
kept the US out of war.
•Germans bombed London and other parts of Britain.
•Two developments altered the course of war (1941):
1. Hitler broke his nonaggression pact with Joseph Stalin and
invaded the Soviet Union.
2. Japan struck at Pearl Harbor, leading the US to declare war on
Japan.
• In response, Japan’s ally Germany declared war on US.
• The US and Soviet Union were now allies along with Britain
against Germany.
• Soviet Union suffered a lot of casualties (20-25 million).
• As allied troops advanced on Germany from the West, and the
Soviet troops closed in from the East, the eventual outcome of the
war in Europe became clear.
• The war against Japan continued for few months, then the US
used Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki – this triggered
Japan to surrender.
•Japan’s surrender concluded the second total war in the
generation (August 1945).