THE ROARING TWENTIES & THE DIRTY THIRTIES....JUST A CALM BEFORE THE STORM....

When World War I ended, there was a brand new hope for the world, especially in Europe.  Numerous people had new homelands, as several new countries were carved out of the German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Ottoman Empires.  The "evil" German Empire had been squashed and would trouble no one any further (yeah...right...).  The countries of Europe...and the United States...had gone back to the practice of isolationism, staying out of each other's hair for the most part, and eliminating the alliance problem that fueled the War.  And, of course, the League Of Nations was put in place and would protect the world from the ravages of war for the rest of time. 

Not quite....

The League of Nations

What is the artist trying to say here about the United States and the League of Nations?

Despite the fact that the United States practically DEMANDED the creation of the League of Nations, we stayed completely out of it once it was put into place.  Why?  What happened?  Congress (and more specifically, the Senate) refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles.  Of course, since the League of Nations had been created by the Treaty of Versailles, we couldn't join the League since we didn't recognize the Treaty!  Of course, there were reasons that the Senate Republicans, who held the majority of that chamber of Congress, didn't want in the League.  The biggest reason was the League didn't have it's own armed forces to deal with international problems, so it would have to call on its members for military support...which could mean American troops would have to go back into a war-like situation, possibly even against our own allies.  Plus, we desired to return to a more isolationist existance and, once again, wanted to stay out of Europe's problems as much as possible.  Some political scientists also say our three-branch government set-up wouldn't have allowed us to enter the League effectively, anyway, because (essentially) it would be our Executive Branch taking action in League affairs, which it couldn't do without the Legislative Branch first allowing it to do so.  Got that?  Big mess, I know...  In the end, regardless of the reason, we stayed out...


However, it should be noted that the United States excluding itself was not the only issue that weakened the League of Nations.  As mentioned above, there was no military force for taking action if necessary.  France still didn't trust England, and vice versa, so there was always some tension there, especially in regards to Germany, who was eventually allowed to join in 1926...and then pulled out in 1933...the League of Nations.  Japan left the League in 1933, as well.  (Hmmmmm....Germany and Japan...Germany and Japan...seems those two countries ring a bell about this time in history, but I can't recall why just now...)

Anyway, the weakness of the League was tested almost immediately, by one of it's key members...France.  France was upset that Germany was not able to reparations payments, so they sent troops into Germany's Ruhr Valley region, which was the main mining region Germany had retained after the Treaty of Versailles, and started "paying themselves" by helping themselves to the mines and factories in the region.  Of course, the League did nothing about this occupation which, if you look at it, should probably have been against League of Nations rules....

Germany Struggles

As any conscious person could have predicted, Germany was beginning to struggle in a BIG way.  German workers were going on strike because they wanted more pay, so the government gave them more pay...by just printing up more money.  This, of course, made their money WORTHLESS.  According to our text, in 1914, at the start of World War I, it took 4.2 German marks to equal one U.S. dollar.  By November 1, 1923, it took 130 BILLION marks to equal a dollar!  By the end of November of that same year, it now took 4.2 TRILLION marks to equal a dollar!!!  It should not be surprising that people were rather upset with their government and lots of political frustration and unrest began to grow during this period. 

American tried to come to the rescue...sort of.  An international commission, which was headed by an American banker, came up with what is called the Dawes Plan (named after that American banker) to come up with a better way for Germany to repay her debts AND rebuild its own economy at the same time.  Americans began to invest, rather heavily for a time, in Germany and the rest of Europe, which improved things fairly significantly from about 1924 until 1929.

On top of this, the Treaty of Locarno was drawn up in 1925, which firmly established the new post-World War I boundaries of Germany, Belgium, and France.  This was huge because it was done peacefully and out of goodwill towards each other...including Germany!  It was at this time that Germany was even invited to join the League of Nations, as previously mentioned. 

Times were actually good for Europe...and the United States, as well...during this period, often referred to as the Roaring Twenties.

This, of course, wouldn't last, as the Great Depression would hit not only the United States, but the entire financial world, in 1929, ushering in the Dirty Thirties.

The End of the War...the Birth of a New Europe...and the League of Nations...

When the United States got into the War in 1917, things were not going particularly well for the Allies. 

• France and Britain had tried to move the lines along the Western Front, but as we discussed during our trench warfare section, this was not easy...and it wasn't successful, as the Germans beat the Allies down pretty badly.  
• The British blockade of the English Channel, while effective in choking off German shipping, also provoked the Germans to restart their unrestricted submarie (U-boat) campaigns.  As a result, the British were estimated to be losing between 500,000 and 600,000 tons of supplies every month due to submarine torpedoing.  This started to have a negative effect on Great Britain and their economy, as you might imagine, so the convoy system was put back in place.  Even though it was not particularly popular, the convoy system was effective enough to keep Great Britain from starving. 
• The French, who had already suffered approximately a million casualties, were starting to struggle with mutinies and desertions from their troops, with an estimated 20,000 troops either leaving or refusing to fight. 
• The Russian Revolution weakened that powerful empire, and, as we discussed, Russia pulled out of the War by the end of 1917, just a handful of months after the U.S. got into the War.  Not only that, but Russia and Germany (along with the rest of the Central Powers) then signed an armistice, which allowed Germany to send even more troops to the Western Front.

Like I said...things were not going well...but 1918 was going to look a LOT better. 

America getting into the War was, by some accounts, about the only real positive thing to come out of 1917 as far as the Allies were concerned, but this was a big positive because not only did we bring fresh troops and more supplies, there was an almost immediate psychological boost to the morale of the Allied troops.  It also brought on great concern from Germany and the Central Powers because they knew they couldn't win a long, drawn out war.  So...Germany tried one last major offensive along the Western Front, in a sort of do-or-die effort. 

Germany's Last Big Push

In early 1918, Germany knew they were running out of time.  America was shipping thousands of soldiers into the European warzone every day (up to 10,000 a day by the summer of 1918), and despite the fact that they had more troops available from the Russian front, the Germans didn't always have enough provisions and supplies to maintain their army.  So, they came up with a plan (codename Operation Michael), in which they thought they could separate the French and the British troops, and manage to take Paris. 

At first, the plan seemed to be working, as Germany was able to get their long-range artillery (Krupp railway guns) to within 75 miles of Paris and they launched almost 200 shells into the French capital.  The German leader, Kaiser Wilhelm II, was so pleased that he declared March 24 a national holiday; they were certain victory was soon to be theirs.

They were wrong...

First, four units of Australian soldiers managed to stop the German lines from advancing any further, largely because Germany had no tanks or mobile artillery they could use, and also because their supply lines were now stretched so thin they had trouble keeping their army outfitted properly.  So, while the Aussies didn't push the Germans back, the Germans were once again stalled out.

Germany then launched a second offensive, called Operation Georgette, on the British along the English Channel.  Germany, again, made some initial gains, but they were again stopped by the Allies.  When this failed, the Germans again tried to relaunch an attack on Paris...again failing.

Now it was the Allies turn...

Hundred Days Offensive and the End of the War

From August to November of 1918, the Allies launched numerous attacks against the Central Powers along the Western Front.  More than a million American troops, under the leadership of General John J. Pershing, had flooded into France, and started pushing towards Germany, along with French, British, and Canadian troops.  The Allies starting racking up small victory after small victory, until these started becoming bigger and bigger victories with more and more losses for the Central Powers.  In November, Germany faced their own problems with mutinies.  A few days later, the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, left his own country (or was basically forced out), and a new, democratic government was rapidly put into place.  On November 11, 1918, the German government signed the armistice that ended the War, at least as far as the "world war" aspect was concerned.  (Germany had many more internal problems they would continue to deal with for some time, as communists tried to overthrow the new democratic government.)

Making Peace

27 countries, including the United States, met in Paris in January of 1919 to draw up the final settlement of the War.  Among the things discussed were President Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points", which was a settlement that Wilson thought would bring about lasting peace.  Wilson had actually made his "Fourteen Points" proposal to Congress a full year earlier, but it was at least discussed, however briefly, once again in Paris. 

Wilson's Fourteen Points, among other things, called for...

1. There should be no secret alliances between countries
2. Freedom of the seas in peace and war
3. The reduction of trade barriers among nations
4. The general reduction of armaments
5. The adjustment of colonial claims in the interest of the inhabitants as well as of the colonial powers
6. The evacuation of Russian territory and a welcome for its government to the society of nations
7. The restoration of Belgian territories in Germany
8. The evacuation of all French territory, including Alsace-Lorraine
9. The readjustment of Italian boundaries along clearly recognizable lines of nationality
10. Independence for various national groups in Austria-Hungary
11. The restoration of the Balkan nations and free access to the sea for Serbia
12. Protection for minorities in Turkey and the free passage of the ships of all nations through the Dardanelles
13. Independence for Poland, including access to the sea
14. A league of nations to protect "mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small nations alike."

While many people at the Paris Peace Conference listened to what Wilson had to say, many, especially the French, wanted far more drastic measures to be taken.  Eventually, the fate of Germany would lay in the hands of the so-called Big Three of the United States, Great Britain, and France (the Big Four, if Italy is included, which it sometimes is, but to a far lesser degree). 

The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five years to the day after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.  In the Treaty, Germany suffered greatly for its role in the War.   

The Treaty can be broken down into various sections, all of which are essentially designed to punish Germany.

Territorial

The following land was taken away from Germany :

• Alsace-Lorraine (given to France)
• Eupen and Malmedy (given to Belgium)
• Northern Schleswig (given to Denmark)
• Hultschin (given to Czechoslovakia)
• West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia (given to Poland)
• The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League of Nations and the people of these regions would be allowed to vote to stay in Germany or not in a future referendum.
• The League of Nations also took control of Germany's overseas colonies.
• Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Some of this land was made into new states : Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. An enlarged Poland also received some of this land.

Military

• Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was not allowed tanks
• She was not allowed an airforce
• She was allowed only 6 capital naval ships and no submarines
• The west of the Rhineland and 50 kms east of the River Rhine was made into a demilitarised zone (DMZ).
• No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this zone.
• The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years.
  

Financial

The loss of vital industrial territory would be a severe blow to any attempts by Germany to rebuild her economy. Coal from the Saar and Upper Silesia in particular was a vital economic loss. Combined with the financial penalties linked to reparations, it seemed clear to Germany that the Allies wanted nothing else but to bankrupt her.

Germany was also forbidden to unite with Austria to form one superstate, in an attempt to keep her economic potential to a minimum.

General

Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war. This was Clause 231 - the infamous "War Guilt Clause".

Germany, as she was responsible for starting the war as stated in clause 231, was, therefore responsible for all the war damage caused by the First World War. Therefore, she had to pay reparations, the bulk of which would go to France and Belgium to pay for the damage done to the infrastructure of both countries by the war. (The Germans were basically told to write a blank check which the Allies would cash when it suited them. The figure was eventually put at £6,600 million - a huge sum of money well beyond Germany’s ability to pay.
       

A League of Nations was set up to keep world peace.  (Germany was not allowed to be a part of the Leage of Nations.)

League Of Nations

This cartoon implies that without America the bridge would collapse. The bridge represents the League of Nations, and Uncle Sam, the personification of America, is reluctant to place the keystone in the bridge to complete it. This is odd because in the Treaty of Versailles, it was Woodrow Wilson the president of America that suggested that the League of Nations...in fact, Wilson had mentioned a similar league as far back as 1918 in his "Fourteen Points" that we discussed earlier. The missing keystone demonstrates how difficult the League will function without have the United States as a member. But it was a Republican majority in Congress that blocked the USA's entry into the League, not the President. It is now known that Wilson was very, very ill during vital periods at Versailles and afterwards and probably lacked the will to win Congress around.

Some more political cartoons to analyze....

Treaty of Versailles/League Of Nations Cartoon Analysis

Who's In...Who's Out...and What Are They Telling Us???

During 1917, there was a window of six to eight months when all of the major players in World War I were active, which caused the two warring factions to swell considerably in size.  The Triple Entente and Triple Alliance are gone, replaced by the Allied Powers and the Central Powers.  (Do not get confused...the Triple Alliance is NOT the Allied Powers.)  I have also included the total number of deaths and casualties for the two factions, although we are not yet at the end of the war (more on that tomorrow).
 
Allied Countries Involved in WWI

Great Britain	Canada	United States
Australia	New Zealand	Russia
France	Greece	India
Italy	Serbia	South Africa

Central Powers Countries Involved in WWI

German Empire	Bulgaria
Austro-Hungary Empire	Ottoman Empire

Both sides are now committed to what we refer to as total war (p. 767), which the text defines as a war involving a complete mobilization of all resources and people, with all citizens in the warring countries affected, regardless of how close to the battlefield they were. 

In Europe, the governments expanded their powers over their own economies, creating what we call planned economies (p. 767), which are simply economies that are directed by government agencies.  This was done so the maximum amount of money and resources could be funneled, either directly or indirectly, into the war effort.  Governments in some countries set the prices for goods at market, controlled rent, controlled gasoline prices and rations, rationed food, and took over transportation systems such as trains and buses. 

Propoganda became a huge source of government-controlled information for the people.  The governments created entire advertising campaigns about the war, telling how great they were doing or how evil their enemies were.  This was especially important when there were large lulls in battle or when a country's morale was dropping due to casualties on the battlefield or struggles at home.

This French propoganda poster is unique in that it shows the use of a hand grenade. Grenades were first used in World War I, so this poster is VERY up-to-date.  Obviously from 1915 and designed by Parliament.



This is a German poster that is encouraging troops along the Easter Front to keep up the fight against the Russians to stop the spread of Bolshevism (communism).  The text reads:  "Bolshevism Means The World Will Drown In Blood".  It was created by the German agency called the Association To Fight Against Bolshevism.

 This American poster, quite obviously, is encouraging Americans to buy War Bonds to help fund the war, because "Bonds Buy Bullets!"

This American poster is designed to prey on a man's patriotism, asking "On Which Side of the Window are YOU?"  Simply put, are you going to fight or stand around and watch as others fight for you? 

This American poster was used by the Y.W.C.A. to encourage support for women who were taking over manufacturing jobs at home while the men were away fighting.  Similar posters to this would be used in World War II as well.

Here is a Russian propoganda poster.  The banner reads, "War Until Victory".  This is from 1917. 

This American poster is kind of like the "Be All You Can Be" recruiting posters you still see sometimes today.  This one is encouraging Americans to join the Air Service and serve in France...of course, not mentioning that they may be fighting in France, not just "serving".



This British propoganda poster is pretty self-explanatory.  This is a fund-raising poster for relief of the people of Belgium following the German invasion in 1914.  This poster is from 1915.

Finally, here is one straight from Belgium.  Look at the picture closely and you will see a family staring out over the ruins of a Belgian city after Germany invaded.  The words are telling the people that can apply for some type of loan to help them start to rebuild.  It is created by the Cooperative Alliance for War Reparations.  This particular poster is from 1918, so it should be obvious that Belgium is still suffering at this time.

Women

As one of the posters above shows, the roll of women during this time will greatly increase, especially in Europe where casualties are piling up.  According to one source, 38% of the workforce in the Krupp Armaments factories of Germany were women.  According to our text, in Great Britain, the number of women working in public transportation rose 14 TIMES during the stretch from 1914 to 1918; the number of women working in commerce (banking, etc.) doubled, and the number working in industry (manufacturing) tripled.  (This of course creates a problem when the war is over, as the government will remove women from these jobs to give them to returning soldiers.  Our text states that by 1919 there would be 650,000 unemployed women in Great Britan alone.)

In some countries, the War brought about positive changes for women.  In Germany, Austrian, and here in the United States, women would gain the right (suffrage) to vote following the war.  Women over the age of 30 could now vote in Great Britain, and they could also run for Parliament.  For many women throughout the warring countries, this was the first time they had ever had the opportunity to work outside the home.  Young women learned new skills and gained independence.  Some were able to retain their jobs in the factories, albeit at lesser pay than the returning men, which suited many just fine, as the new freedoms they experienced were exciting and provided more opportunity than many women had ever known before.

	

Dear, Mexico.....

In 1916, Woodrow Wilson was re-elected as President of the United States despite the fact that he kept resisting calls from some American citizens, and many of our European allies, to get involved in the situation in Europe.  World War I had ground to something of a stalemate, but no one was willing to give in and something was needed to break the standoff.  Wilson, however, was committed to keeping America out of the war, even after the sinking of the Lusitania and the subsequent deaths of more than 100 Americans on that ship.  However, in 1917, America's stance was going to change, and the war in Europe would be changed as well.

On March 24, 1916, the Germans, who had already torpedoed and sank the Lusitania, "accidentally" torpedoed and sank the French ferry ship, The Sussex.  This ship's sinking cost 25 American lives.  America immediately demanded that Germany suspend all submarine activity (which Germany had already claimed to have done after the Lusitania incident), or else we would sever all ties with the German government.  Germany obliged and on April 24, 1916, Germany officially abandoned their U-Boat program.

On January 31, 1917, Germany announced to America that they planned to break its pledge (called the Sussex pledge) to limit or restrict submarine warfare, and that all ships, including neutral merchant ships (which American ships were) would be sunk on sight anywhere, including in Allied waters.  The Germans felt that they had no choice but to resort to submarine warfare once again because the British Royal Navy had successfully managed to blockade the English Channel, not allowing merchant ships into or out of Germany.  Germany was basically choked off from the outside, so in retaliation, they re-launched their submarine program.

In what was a bit of irony, President Wilson thought that Germany was bluffing, stating that he refused to believe Germany would resort to the sinking of unarmed ships.  Little did Wilson realize that Germany had already taken steps toward that plan, even before announcing their intentions! 


Realizing that the restart of their submarine warfare program would anger the United States and likely force us into the war, Germany took one last stab at not only getting their u-boat program up and running again, but to also keep the United States out of the war.  To that end, the German Foreign Secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, wrote what is called the Zimmerman Telegram or Zimmerman Note...

(Original encoded Zimmerman Note)

Zimmerman Note

Berlin, January 19, 1917,

On the first of February we intend to begin submarine warfare unrestricted. In spite of this, it is our intention to endeavour to keep neutral the United States of America.

If this attempt is not successful, we propose an alliance on the following basis with Mexico: That we shall make war together and together make peace. We shall give general financial support, and it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. The details are left to you for settlement...

You are instructed to inform the President of Mexico of the above in the greatest confidence as soon as it is certain that there will be an outbreak of war with the United States and suggest that the President of Mexico, on his own initiative, should communicate with Japan suggesting adherence at once to this plan; at the same time, offer to mediate between Germany and Japan.

Please call to the attention of the President of Mexico that the employment of ruthless submarine warfare now promises to compel England to make peace in a few months.

Zimmermann
(Secretary of State)

Now, the note was to serve two purposes:  to convince the Mexican government to attack the United States if it appeared we would enter the War, and also for Mexico to negotiate with the Japanese Empire to side with Germany in the War.  It should be noted that the relationship between the United States and Mexico was NOT a good one at this time, as we were still chasing Pancho Villa across the Mexican countryside after he had raided several border towns in Texas. Germany obviously thought they could use this tension to their advantage.  There were just a couple of things the Germans didn't count on...

1.  Mexico realized that they were much weaker militarily than the United States and had no real hope of pulling off an occupation of the lands that Mexico had ceded to the United States.  Additionally, Mexico realized that there was no way that Germany could help Mexico out financially, or otherwise, in a war against the United States because the United States was the main weapons manufacturer in North America and wouldn't supply an army that was attacking them.  Meanwhile, Germany was being choked off by Great Britain, so there was no way the Germans could arm Mexico, either.  As such, Mexico just ignored the telegram...

2.  The British intercepted, decoded, and then gave to the Americans the Zimmerman note...


The effect on the United States should not come as a shock.  After Germany followed through with its plan to reinstate "unrestricted submarine warfare", including the sinking of seven American merchant ships, three in one day!, and after it was proven that the Zimmerman Note was not a fake (two different times in March, 191, Zimmerman, himself, actually admitted to writing the telegram), the United Stated officially declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917.

THE WAR EXPANDS...Lusitania, Lawrence, and the Red Baron!

So...Europe is almost entirely at war by the time 1914 concludes, and trench warfare has become a way of life for hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides of the French and German lines.  But, as hard as it may be for many people to believe, World War I had not yet reached its full height.  There was still a lot of action to come before things would finally come to an end in 1918.

WAR IN THE AIR

As we learned in our section on the Industrial Revolution, the Wright Brothers had made the first recorded flight in a fixed-wing airplane in 1903, but by 1915, planes were already at use in war.  Initially, planes and dirgibles were used mostly for spying and for gathering information.  That was going to change considerably in the years during the war.  Consider this:  at the start of the War, France had just 140 planes in its military, and one man, General Foch of the French army, said "aviation is a good sport, but for the army it is useless".  That attitude would change, because in less than four years, that number shot up to over 4,500 planes!  The militaries of most of the countries involved in the War discovered that planes were good for more than just reconnaissance missions and they were soon used to attack ground targets, such as communications outposts, mostly utilizing bombing.

Fighting IN the air was tricky at first.  This is because the first combat pilots had to use their own pistols to try to shoot at each other!  Obviously, this was going to be difficult, so a way to mount machine guns on the noses of the planes was devised, and dogfighting was born.  Dogfighting is a common term for air-to-air combat between planes.  No one was more famous for, or better at, dogfighting than one Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richtofen...better known as the Red Baron.  Richtofen was responsible for a recorded 80 kills during World War I.  He was the leader of a German air combat unit known as the Flying Circus and was called the Red Baron due to his bright red Fokker DR-1 Dridecker.  His most famous battle was actually caught on film..

  

For those interested, these two would go at it again...

...and yet again...

The Red Baron would be shot down by an unknown shooter on April 18, 1918.  He was believed to have been shot down by someone, most likely an Australian fighting for the British, firing out of the trenches.  At just 25 years old, he was a legend unlike any other at the time, or possibly since...

Okay, a better representation of dogfighting can be found in the movie "Flyboys"...

WAR ON THE WATER

If the Germans didn't want the United States to get involved in the War, they certainly hurt their cause by sinking the British passenger ship, the Lusitania, in May, 1915.  A German submarine or "u-boat" (unterseeboot) called the U-20 fired torpedos into the cruise ship, killing 1,198 people on board, including over 100 Americans.  This, of course, outraged the United States and calls for us to enter the War increased.  Germany countered that the British ship had been secretly carrying ammunition, (which, decades later, was found to be the actual case), so the Lusitania was a fair military target.  Germany agreed, however, to suspend their submarine warfare, so the United States remained neutral...for now. 

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

While all of this was going on, a British officer, Thomas Edward Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, was starting to make some serious noise.   A historian of some note, Lawrence encouraged the Arab princes to seize the opportunities caused by the distractions of World War I and to revolt agains the Ottoman Empire.  In 1917, Lawrence fought with a group of Arab irregulars (non-standard military) against the Ottomans.  The British army sent troops from Egypt, India, Australia, and New Zealand in 1918 to join the fight, and the Ottoman Empire was crushed in the Middle East region (although parts of the empire remained intact at this time).    

LIFE...AND DEATH...IN THE TRENCHES



So, now that Europe is mired in full-scale war...and the German's "Schlieffen Plan" was an absolute failure, life in the miitary is about to get very uncomfortable and, in most cases, very deadly, as trench warfare becomes a way of life, especially along the western front between France and Germany. 

The Germans had made their initial push into France, attempting to get to Paris, to subdue the French military.  However, as we discussed yesterday, the French didn't fight the way the Germans were expecting and fought a defensive, rather than offensive, battle.  To counter the German push, the French dug in, creating hundreds of miles of trenches that they lived in, fought from, and died in.  The Germans dug their own set of trenches pretty much parallel to the French tunnels and ditches, with the area between the two sets of trenches known as "no man's land".  This area was usually riddled with dead bodies, filled with bomb craters, and marked off by barbed wire and barricades that made "no man's land" virtually unpassable without getting shot.

Life in the trenches wasn't a whole lot better for the average World War I soldier.  Among the problems, other than being shot at:

Rats--There were two main types, the brown and the black rat. Both were despised but the brown rat was especially feared. Gorging themselves on human waste and remains, these rats could grow to the size of a cat or small dog.  Men, exasperated and afraid of these rats (which would often scamper across their faces in the dark), would attempt to rid the trenches of them by various methods: gunfire, using bayonets, or clubbing them to death.  There are reports that fires were set to ward off the rats as well. Nothing they did mattered, however, as a single rat couple could produce up to 900 offspring in a year, spreading infection and contaminating food.  

Lice--Lice were a never-ending problem, breeding in the seams of filthy clothing and causing men to itch unceasingly.  Even when clothing was periodically washed and deloused, lice eggs invariably remained hidden in the seams; within a few hours of the clothes being re-worn the body heat generated would cause the eggs to hatch.  Lice caused what was called "trench fever" which caused severe pain and fever and could only be recovered from if you were fortunate enough to get time away from the trenches.

Trench Foot--Another nasty disease that was a major problem for trench dwelling soldiers.  It was a fungal infection of the feet caused by the cold, wet and unsanitary trench conditions that the men constantly found themselves in during World War I. Trench Foot could start off seemingly as inconvenient as what we now call Athlete's Foot, but it could quickly turn gangrenous and many times the victim would have to have the foot (or feet) amputated to save their life.  Trench Foot was more of a problem at the start of trench warfare; as conditions improved in 1915 it rapidly faded, although a trickle of cases continued throughout the war.

Other problems, ranging from lack of food and clean water, to sanitation, contributed to the miserable life in this style of fighting. 

Here is a short video about some of the daily life in the trenches during World War I:

 

For some more GREAT information about daily life in the trenches (some of which was mentioned in the video), check out this site:  http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/trenchlife.htm

Chemical Warfare

Chemical warfare was used prior to World War I, but not nearly to the same extent.  Trench warfare lent itself to chemical warfare because, quite honestly, there was very little you could do to escape a gas cloud that was floating down on you while you were in the trenches.  There were a variety of chemicals used, from those that were more annoying than anything, to those that were completely lethal.  The video below gives a brief history of chemical warfare in World War I:

The Schlieffen Plan and the "Crime Of The Ages"...a real WHODUNNIT!



June 28, 1914...the world is about to go insane due to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria, who was next in line for the throne of the Austria-Hungary Empire.  Could the Bosnian Serb assassain, Gavrilo Princip, have any idea of what was going to happen when he pulled the trigger, killing Ferdinand and his wife?  Is there any way he could have known that just five weeks after he shot the couple Europe was going to be forever changed?

While this is not a comprehensive timeline of every event that occurred at the outset of World War I, this is a good place to start when looking at the events starting that fateful day in June of 1914...

1. June 28, 1914--Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated by a 19 year old Serb named Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Serbian terrorist organization called The Black Hand.
2. July 5, 1914--Austria-Hungary sought out the assistance of Germany if the empire chose to retaliate against the Serbs.
3. July 23, 1914--The Austria-Hungarian government sends an ultimatum to Serbia which contained ten basically unreachable demands.  The Austro-Hungarians said that if Serbia didn't meet each of these demands war would follow.  (This was intentional...Austro-Hungary WANTED to go to war at this point...)
4. Serbia, expecting the worst, asked Russia for help if they should have to defend themselves against Austro-Hungary.  Russia was not wanting to go to war at the time and basically told Serbia that they would not give military support.  The Austro-Hungarian army, by the way, is bombing Serbia's capital of Belgrade at this time.
5. July 25, 1914--Serbia does the unexpected:  they don't reject the ultimatum and actually agree to 8 of the 10 demands.  Austro-Hungary is now in a sticky spot...do they go ahead and declare war, even though to everyone involved it will be obvious that Serbia is at least trying to work things out?
6. July 28, 1914--Austro-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
7. July 29, 1914--In something of a shocking move, the Russian leader, Tsar Nicholas, changed his mind and decided he would assist Serbia by mobilizing his army.  This meant not only that Russia was now going to war against Austro-Hungary but also against Germany.  This was a VERY sticky situation because Tsar Nicholas and the German leader, Kaiser Wilhelm, were cousins and very close friends. 
8. July 30, 1914--France, noting the mobilization of Germany's army and still angry over the outcome of a previous war (the Franco-Prussian War), decides to mobilize their own army and sides with Serbia and Russia.  On this same day, Germany declares war against Russia.
9. July 31, 1914--Tsar Nicholas writes a letter to his cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm, strongly urging the Kaiser to reconsider his declaration of war "in the name of our old friendship" and asks him to "do what you can to stop your allies from going too far".  Germany all but thumbed her nose at Russia, BECAUSE....
10. Aug. 1, 1914--Germany declares war against Russia.  On this same day, Great Britain told Germany that they would stay out of the war if Belgium was left out of the war and if France was not attacked by Germany.  However...
11. Aug. 2, 1914--Germany invaded Belgium in an attempt to get to France (which, of course, violated BOTH of the things Great Britain asked Germany not to do...).  THEN...
12. Aug. 3, 1914--Germany declares war against France...which of course meant that...
13. Aug. 4, 1914--France declares war on Germany! On this same day, Great Britain gave Germany one more chance, demanding a German promise to pull out of Belgium.  The Germans were given until midnight to respond, but, since they failed to do so, Great Britain declared war on Germany.

GOT ALL THAT?!

So, why did Germany invade Belgium and declare war on France?  Weren't they just asking for a WHOLE LOT of trouble from Great Britain to go along with the mess they were already in with Russia?  To answer this, we have to look at what is called the "Schlieffen Plan".

The Schlieffen Plan, oddly enough, was a plan that Germany had previously come up with that was like a playbook for what to do if Germany found itself fighting a war on two fronts (something they will find themselves doing AGAIN in World War II...).  The Schlieffen Plan was put in place in case of an eventual war between Germany and France and Russia at the same time.  The theory was that the Germans would quickly crush the French and then load their army onto trains and head to the east where they would then attack the Russians. It seemed like a great plan with little chance of failure.  Germany had already proven they were more than a match for France (remember, Germany routed France in 1870 in just under three months!), and Russia, much as we have explained, was much like a hibernating bear...big and slow...which would give Germany plenty of time to attack and win against the giant to the east. 

This Schlieffen Plan seemed like a nearly flawless plan with little chance of failure...except for a couple of things.

1.  For the Schlieffen Plan to go as expected, France needed to attack.  France wasn't attacking...at least not yet.

2.  Russia was getting their act together...FAST!  If Germany hesitated too long, Russia would be at full strength too quickly for Germany to have the advantage they were after.  This is why Germany declared war on Russia so quickly.

3.  The Germans did NOT expect the Belgians to resist!  Germany though Belgium would just let them move their armies across Belgium without any resistance.  The Germans were wrong...

4.  The Germans had not anticipated Great Britain being part of the equation when the Schlieffen Plan was created.

5.  France had a far better rail system than Germany had anticipated.  As such, France could move their troops around a LOT faster than Germany had been prepared for.  So, by the time the German army arrived in France to attack, the French army was already assembled and waiting.

These things, and some other problems, caused the Schlieffen Plan to fall apart.  Instead of wiping out French resistance in a matter of weeks, the French and Germans became engaged in some of the nastiest fighting in modern history as trench warfare set in for several brutal, bloody years.

Okay, so now that we have a bit of an idea as to who was fighting who...and a bit of why...at the start of World War I, the question would become "who's fault is all of this?"  Who was really to blame for World War I blowing up like it did?  Interestingly enough, a cartoon drawn by an American (remember, America was NOT to be in the war for several more years at this point) had an intriguing point of view regarding the War that was now raging in Europe.

Consider the cartoon below...



This cartoon originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune in 1914, when our timeline was going into effect.  There are a couple of things that I think you should take notice of when looking at this cartoon.  First, check out who is pointing at whom:  Serbia is pointing at Austria; Austria is pointing at Serbia, Russia is pointing at Germany; Germany is pointing at Russia; France and England are both pointing at Germany, as is Belgium.  Second, notice that Italy is standing there with his arms crossed, not pointing at anyone and not being pointed at.  Third, what direction are all of these men facing?  If you notice, the are all facing "west", or across the ocean, apparently at the United States.  Why?  Do you think they are all trying to tell us who is to blame and who we should side with, or is there some other reason?  Or, is it just coincidence they are looking in our direction?  

Things are getting nasty in a hurry in Europe...so what is going to happen next???  Hang on...we're getting there...