Posted on 08/03/2012 7:19:07 AM PDT by C19fan
This week the dominoes started to fall with Germany declaring war on Russia on August 1. Today the 3rd, Germany declares war on France. Tomorrow Britain will declare war on Germany for violating the Treaty of London guaranteeing Belgium neutrality. A century of technological progress will be turned on its creators. The self-confidence of Europe will be shattered to be replaced by the nihilism and moral decadence that we still live with today. I am currently reading Anna Karenina. In the back of my mind this world so brought to life by Tolstoy will be destroyed within the lifetimes of many of the characters in the novel.
On the other hand, Poland may never have regained her independence.
David Lloyd Geroge and Clemenceau played Wilson like a fiddle. Wilson went along to get his crumbs of the League of Nations. There was a miniseries about the negotiations on History Channel or like network. Wilson was a conquering hero when he entered Paris but squandered it.
That “Treaty” was disigned by David Lloyd George and
Georges Clemenceau to PUNISH Germany(I guess looking in the Mirror was just TOO hard for these 2 hypocrites and thier Crown heads(Royalalty ya know)!
I’m not sure about that one.
The US didn’t even declare war on Germany unto early 1917, and did not have an effective army in Europe for about a year.
The Bolshevik revolution started in late 1917, and had been brewing for a while.
With or without the US, the Czar was probably a goner.
Since the Romanovs were family a victorious Germany would have reestablished the Russian Monarchy but not with Nicholas.
The Tsar was almost toppled because of the war with Japan. There is no way once it became evident the war was going to drag on that the Tsar and the incompetent court was going to be able to handle the strain.
By as early as 1910 the Russian People were gettting a “Belly-Full” of the Tsar and his WORTHLESS inbred(he was first cousin to Kaiser (V)Wilhelm(Germany) AND a cousin to the King of Englend) BLEEDER family and would have revolted just not a early as 1917. His WORTHLESS “Generals” and a concieted attitude did him in(that and France had been coddling and providing Lenin aide and comfort for years).
The Russian Naval Loss @ the Battle of Tushema(sp?) Straight in 1905 was the “Beginning of the End” for Tsar Nick.
Certainly a possibility.
"History has shown us that government leaders often ignore the fundamental fact that people demand both dignity and freedom. Because of this disregard, these decision-makers then initiate acts that are ultimately self-destructive. To illustrate this point I will remind the reader of the origin of two of modern history's most destructive events, and of all the warning flags that were frantically waving while the instigators rushed headlong towards the abyss.
In the late 19th and very early 20th centuries, European leaders formed two major alliances. Germany, Austria, and Italy comprised one coalition, and Britain, France, and Russia the other. Belgium remained neutral per an 1839 treaty signed by all of these nations except Italy. The smaller European countries became indirectly involved in the two aforementioned alliances. One such example was Serbia, a country Russia had pledged to aid in the event of war between Serbia and Austria. Despite Russia's presence, Austria annexed a large part of Serbia, a province called Bosnia, in 1908.
Few people remain emotionally indifferent when their culture and country are taken over by an aggressor, and the Bosnian Serbs were no exception. Many Bosnians despised the government that had chilled their independence. In spite of this obvious fact, the Austrian leaders sent an archduke to the capital of Bosnia to survey the people Austria now ruled. This archduke was resplendent in full military ceremonial dress, festooned with medals and other military decorations, and accompanied by his elegantly-dressed wife. An objective observer might at this point have said, "Stripping motivated people of their dignity and rubbing their noses in it is a very bad idea."
Archduke Ferdinand and his wife arrived in Sarajevo in an open vehicle, and the only protection either of them had was their chauffeur. This man was expected to drive the car and at the same time protect the Archduke and his wife with only a six-shot revolver he carried in an enclosed holster, and no spare ammunition. Our theoretical observer might here have said, "This is a recipe for disaster."
Almost as soon as the Archduke and his wife arrived in Sarajevo, a Serbian National tossed a bomb under their car. Its fuse was defective and the bomb did not explode. Here, our observer might have advised, "A miracle happened. Go home. Now. Immediately."
Despite this obvious wake-up call, the Royal Couple shrugged off the assassination attempt and continued their tour of the Bosnian capital. Later that same day, a second Serbian National shot them with his .32, killing them both. The Austrian leaders blamed the Serbian government for the assassination and demanded a virtual protectorate over Serbia, issuing Serbia a list of demands. Serbia acceded to all but one of Austria's stipulations. Here, our observer might have said to Austria's leaders, "Russia has pledged to aid Serbia in any war with you, and Russia has both powerful allies and powerful adversaries. Serbia has agreed to almost everything you demanded. Settle, and avoid a world war." Instead, Austria shelled Serbia's capital with artillery fire.
Our observer might here have told Russia's leaders, "Serbia is not worth starting a world war over," but Russia honored its commitment to Serbia and mobilized its army, sending troops to the Russian-Austrian border. Since this left Russia vulnerable to attack from Austria's ally Germany, the Russian Army mobilized against Germany as well.
This forced the German Army to mobilize. Since France was allied with Russia, the Germans feared an attack by France in the west while German troops went east. So Germany decided to invade France immediately, VIA Belgium. Here, our observer might have said, "Saying this is your 'destiny' is not going to be good enough, Germany. When you invade a neutral country and rape their women and slaughter their livestock and bum their houses, Britain is not going to just look the other way."
When the Germans invaded Belgium, Britain honored its commitment to defend Belgian neutrality, and declared war on Germany. Every major country in Europe was now at war.
Four years later, over thirty million people were dead, half of them killed directly in the war itself, and the rest so weakened through shortage of food and medicines that they succumbed to the influenza epidemic. In addition to the lives lost, the war's monetary cost in 1918 was almost three hundred billion dollars.
No sooner had the war ended than the victors demanded their pound of flesh at the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty required Germany to accept sole responsibility for causing the war. It dictated that German military leaders were to be tried as war criminals. It prohibited the German army from possessing heavy artillery. It abolished the General Staff and the German air force, and prohibited Germany from producing military aircraft. As in 1914, our observer might have said, "Stripping motivated people of their dignity and rubbing their noses in it is a very bad idea." But if such words were in fact uttered, they fell on deaf ears. A humiliated Germany was ripe for the nationalist message of Adolf Hitler, and in this fertile soil were planted the seeds of the Second World War."
“As in 1914, our observer might have said, “Stripping motivated people of their dignity and rubbing their noses in it is a very bad idea.”
It didn’t pan out too bad for Austria and Germany as they pretty much wiped out the Serbian resistance (roughly 80%) by wars end. Starving on the island of Corfu didn’t do too much for the Serbs... at least those who were lucky to make it.
The irony of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his Czech wife was the Archduke was a reformer who wanted to transform the Hapsburg Empire into a more federal state.
Tsushima
Thank You for the correction(my mental spell check must be set to “off” today).
I think France deserves the most blame,
for things it did leading to WWI,
and Britain for things it did not do,
to stop itself from siding with France,
in what would have become, without Britain,
a brief repeat of the Franco-Prussian war,
and not a “world war”,
because it is that war,
WWI (its causes and its aftermath)
which hold a lot of responsibility for WWII,
in Europe.
Heh. Now that is a fascinating piece of information. Just think, if he’d only had one drink more in that bar WWI and II might not have happened...boggles the mind.
My contribution to world peace tonight: Think I’ll have a second beer. Cheers!
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