“WWI was a matter of deciding whether we wanted to become a German state.”
One of us failed history. I graduated from every school I’ve attended with an A average.
[One of us failed history. I graduated from every school I’ve attended with an A average.]
IMHO, Germany (or at least its rulers) wanted to be uber alles. Not unique to Germany, and probably the goal of all rulers in some form or fashion since the beginning of time. Although in most cases, the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. Without US intervention, Germany would have conquered France, the Low Countries and possibly Russia as well. In time, it would have overrun Britain. That’s why the Brits fought on the side of their ancient enemy, the French, to prevent that agglomeration of irresistible power across the English Channel.
There’s another aspect of being involved in wars that’s not always fully appreciated. Often, victorious combatants rack up one victory after another, and are halted only by manpower and/or supply problems. The reason for this momentum is experience - new concepts and weapons are tested in battle, and flaws are ironed out.
Countries that hunker down and hang back, hoping to be the last man standing, generally lack this experience. That is why, in many cases, they end up overrun, if the aggressive power happens to prevail against its initial opponents. That was in part why it was essential that Uncle Sam get an oar in. Better to learn difficult and painful lessons on some foreign battlefield than on American soil from an invading army flush with manpower and resource gains from an empire triple the size. “Si vis pacem, para bellum” cannot fully be realized from training drills alone.