Posted on 09/01/2024 9:07:12 AM PDT by hardspunned
The assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip in late June 1914 had one of the strongest ripple effects in modern history, setting off a series of war declarations across Europe and plunging the world into one of its deadliest conflicts.
World War I, however, didn’t officially begin until a month after Ferdinand’s assassination, and though tensions were high, the fight wasn’t inevitable, according to Ronald Spector, professor of history and international affairs.
George Washington Today sat down with Dr. Spector to discuss the assassination, the path to war and the new Europe it created.
Q: What was the mood in Europe in the summer of 1914, right around the time of the assassination? A: At the time, things actually seemed to be getting better. The Moroccan Crisis had been settled, the French and Germans had concluded an agreement about the Rhine River, and at the time of the assassination the German Navy was hosting the British Navy at Kiel Week, which is a huge bash with yacht and boat races. Of course, there were certain structural causes present, including the rise of nationalism in the Balkans, the alliance systems and the long-term arms race in naval and land weapons. But these things were in the background. It didn’t seem, in the summer of 1914, that there was much worry about a global war. The French and British newspapers, even for several weeks after the assassination, referred to it as “the Balkan crisis.” They didn’t think this would be a worldwide conflict.
(Excerpt) Read more at gwtoday.gwu.edu ...
I absolutely agree. The statesmen of the time simply had no idea what a mass war with high technology would mean.
In America, the War of Secession had provided mankind with a terrible foretaste , but in Europe it wasn’t much noticed. The world was truly much „bigger“ in those days…
At least with WWII, the Spanish Civil War providing a “Coming Attractions”. And despite that, the French just assumed that WWII would be just like WWI, they were wrong.
France wanted payback for the Franco-Prussian War (which Napoleon III started), including the return of Alscace-Lorraine.
Britain was looking for an excuse to take out the German Navy, which was getting too big for Britain's liking. Britain was determined to maintain global naval supremacy.
The Tsar didn't want war. But Russia was seen as the great protector of Slavs. The Tsar felt he had to defend Serbia to maintain face as a world power, especially after Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War.
But Russia was seen as the great protector of Slavs.
Ask the Poles as to how Russia “protected Slavs”. There’s a reason that the Polish National Anthem mentions Napoleon in it.
If Kamala gets into the WH, we are guaranteed another civil war with half the country seceding.
Yes, it really is an excellent work.
That one has my vote as well, although it isn't exactly a primer. Most of the good books on the subject aren't. Christopher Clark, its author, has pointed out that there is more primary source material on the topic than any single scholar could read in a lifetime. I believe it was also he who remarked that the same evidence that leads you to believe the war was impossible will also lead you to believe it was inevitable.
I had the privilege of attending a centenary colloquial on the topic in 2014. The introductory speaker, who was the head of the university's history department, told us that what started the war wasn't really complicated, that he could sum it up in two words: "Nobody knows." I happened to be in one of his classes on military history ("it's intellectual porn," he said, smiling) when he told us there were curses in history, like opening an Egyptian tomb, questions that must never be asked lest the questioner be sucked into a rabbit hole from which there is no return. One of them was "Why did World War One start?" "But since you're already here, you're doomed..."
An awful lot of things had to go wrong simultaneously to produce the multiplier effect that led to an assassination in Sarajevo resulting in an invasion in Belgium. The proximate cause of the war was the Ottoman Empire's withdrawal from southern Europe but events more specific than that clumped together to make the cascade unstoppable; contrarily, there are a number of points at which one key decision could have minimized its scale. Had that car in Sarajevo not taken the wrong turn, for example...
We should have sided with the Germans against the British. Canada would be ours.
Colloquium, not colloquial. My spell checker isn’t working today.
Israel would likewise sacrifice its allies to preserve itself.
That's what normal nations do. Only Western Europe and the Anglosphere is bent on self-destruction.
IAE, Israel has nukes. Taiwan will be "sacrificed" long before Israel.
By the way, William II didn’t dismiss Bismarck because he wanted another foreign policy- he wanted better laws for the poor.
Health insurance, assistance for the disabled and the unemployed were the Emperor’s „children“. He also was a great supporter of science - the Kaiser Wilhelm Institutes (today Max Planck Institutes) were founded by his initiative, and so was the Kiel Canal and the Midland Canal.
He knew what potential benefit lay in good waterways, as well as in good scholars.
“No media can be trusted”
It was the same way during World War I.
The mass media across the world demonized the “other” and told the locals how wonderful their country was—at a time when nobody had a monopoly on either virtue or evil.
Britain wanted in. Any excuse would have sufficed.
“neighborhood vs neighborhood”
Think product and service availability crimping, most especially in the Metro DC area.
Imagine if:
1. Only the Patriot Menu (hot dogs, burgers with/without American cheese, ham & American cheese sandwiches) was available at Metro DC restaurants,
2. Amazon didn’t deliver within 100 miles of DC,
3. Metro DC airports had no planes taking off or landing.
Dear Supermarket Chain CEO:
Please help support the fight for freedom by not restocking....
Dear Product Maker:
Please help support the fight for freedom by not restocking....
Dear Airline Executive:
Goebbels learned about propaganda from George Creel, who was Wilson’s appointee to produce propaganda to get Americans to be more enthusiastic about the war.
Britain wanted in. Any excuse would have sufficed.
And as a result, they lost their Empire, just the thing they were hoping to preserve by getting into the war.
NO.
Sovereignty of God. If you walk away from Christ, your men will get eaten by the sword. How many times does God have to say it?
With regard to the United States, according to Jim Powell, not only World War I, but also World War II, and the Cold War, as explained in his book, Wilson's War: How Woodrow Wilson's Great Blunder Led to Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, and World War II.
Demonicrat elitists have been screwing up things for the U.S. for over a century.
No.
I've been hearing such conservative tough talk for decades. Conservatives are always shaking their fists and threatening what will happen if the Left crosses this or that line.
Then the Left crosses the line, and nothing happens.
We'll just keep posting angry remarks against the Left. And Professional Conservatives in the media will cash in on our outrage, promoting their books, web channels, TV and radio shows, etc.
Yup—our leaders are acting just like pre WWI Britain—making a series of dumb moves that can easily end the empire.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.