World War One and its Consequences

World War One and its Consequences

The following is an analysis of chapter 24 of Kevin Reilly’s book “Worlds of History-A Comparative Reader.” This chapter focuses on the effects that the first world war also known as World War one had on the world. This war is a critical component of world history due to the scope it covered. In total over 60 million military personnel were engaged in battle over the four and a half year period that the war endured leaving a total of nine million fatalities taking both civilian and military casualties.

The key objective of the editor who passed this chapter was to highlight the negative impacts that the war had on the countries that participated in it. At the same time, the paradigm shifts that resulted in international politics following the war are also highlighted. The chapter takes into account the events that unfolded in all the fifty two months of the war. These include the manner in which the bloody combat generated widespread suspicion about technological advancements, negative opinions on progression of the states, the diminishing of imperialist notions that had existed, rejection of social stratification, changes in traditional gender roles in society and also the emergence of modern forms of art. In general, this chapter dwells on the cultural, social, political and economic effects that this war had.

The reason why these objectives have been singled out is the fact that they represent the themes that appear over and over again in this chapter.  The economic effects of the war for are for instance presented through the repeated mentioning of the ideological differences that led to the escalation of tensions between the allies and the tri-partite group of Germany, Hungary-Austria and also Italy. The fight to impose member country’s financial systems was one of the key reasons for the fighting and at the same time one of the greatest barrier to the getting of a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Germany for instance is portrayed as a nation that was jealous of other European states which had participated in the scramble for and partition for Africa. This is put in light of the fact that it was Germany’s former leader, Otto Von Bismarck who convened a meeting of the European continent’s political leadership to enlighten them about colonizing African countries. The biggest of the Allied forces was Great Britain which was the only world power due to immense wealth it had accumulated over time. This was the result of the country controlling vast amounts of human and natural resources in its colonies thus enriching it (Reilley-922). Germany on the other hand considered this move too late and as a result the prospect of taking control of China as proposed by a section of the country’s political class became unrealistic. Consequently the options that remained were the attacking of relatively softer targets that were within reach and this lead the German Army to its march to France.

One of the most horrendous representations of how tough life was for soldiers who went to war is the poem by Wilfred Owen (Reilley-939). Following a brief biography of this poem’s author and a brief introduction, the poem is displayed. He describes the exhaustion and desperation that characterized their experience in battle against the German soldiers. The main element he is talking about in this poem is the weaponization of poisonous gas and its subsequent use by Germans on the battle field. This illustrates the negative element of advancement in technology given the fact that such weapons served to indiscriminately increase the already swelling number of casualties whose lives the war had claimed. In the following page he graphically describes in detail the manner in which the poisonous gas slowly and painfully killed its victims. The fact that he died before the end of the war amplifies the danger that soldiers were needlessly exposed to for the purpose of territorial superiority which was the main bone of contention during this war. This leads one to take a more skeptical look at war and the true intentions of those who support it.

Imperialist thoughts also suffered a blow in this war. The idea that nations from the Western world were superior to others also suffered greatly due to the military upsets they had to endure in the war. This was not just an observation made in Europe but also back in Africa where imperialism was having the greatest psychological effect. Several African colonies contributed soldiers in their tens of thousands (Reilly, 940). This was a spectacle laid bare for all to see and it had the effect of making those who witnessed it and the effect that this had on the Africans was the beginning of a change in attitude as they saw that the white man was just as vulnerable as they were. It should be noted that the end of the First World War heralded the beginning of the fight against colonialism by the African countries. This was carried out through ideological means as well as guerilla warfare and rebellions.

With regard to changing gender dynamics as a result of the war, women are the ones whose status was somewhat uplifted considering the fact that their governments looked to them for assistance in various things. The German government for instance conducted a public campaign that asked women to contribute gold for the country to use in fundraising for the war effort which was in dire need of sponsorship at a time when the public coffers had run dry. At the same time the wars were so demanding that the demanded the conscription of women who took up roles in the battlefield by taking care of the injured. This in effect changed the traditional view that women belonged at home taking care of the children and house.

The materials that the editor of this chapter used in the development and advancements of the objectives are mainly primary sources of various sources accompanied by a brief introduction and commentary that contextualizes them appropriately to show how they relate to the world war one. The main primary sources that are used in this chapter are excerpts from accounts of individuals who saw the war first had. Poems created during the war are also used. Public advertisements run by governments, politicians as well as aid agencies are also presented. Extracts from novels authored by scholars and analysts of this war are also used in this chapter. It is highly likely that these were employed in the preparation of this book so as to maintain authenticity to the highest level of authenticity and originality given they are presented largely in their respective unadulterated formats. These different sources provide me with a fairly accurate picture of what unfolded during the Great War with regard to the results and consequences of the same.

The parts of the chapter that had a profound impact on the my understanding of World War One in relation to world history  are the images of advertisements that were used by the various organizations and entities to appeal to the public. The Italian war poster depicts a soldier taking a heroic stance while pointing at the reader and the intention was to raise funds for the war effort and this too shows the heavy financial burden that this war imposed on the states involved (Reilly, 933).The expensive nature of the war is adequately captured through the poster that asked women for gold (Reilly-952) and also America’s famous uncle Sam poster encouraging men to sign up for conscription into the Army (Reilly- 932). This is a stark reminder of America’s reluctance to join the war until the last minute. Another image from the United States is the propaganda poster depicting the enemy as a beast that needs to be dealt with. This shows the desperate manner in which those who were in power wanted to sway the public’s opinion in such a manner that aligned to the one held by the allied nations. The humanitarian crisis that engulfed as a result of the war is well illustrated by the poster urging well-wishers to contribute money towards the plight of the over two million Armenian women and children who had been left vulnerable by the war (Reilly-938). Like the poem mentioned above, this poster captures and highlights to the public the negative impact that resulted from this war.

All in all I can say that the book does a great job of presenting world history due to the diversity of media selected by the editor.

Works Cited

Reilly, Kevin. Worlds of History Volume Two: A Comparative Reader: Since 1400. McMillan, 2007.

 

 

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