In America, little is known about World War One. Most people would probably tell you it was a war concerning Germany and Italy versus the Allies. Obviously, most people get it mixed up with World War Two, as it was actually a war concerning Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire versus the Entente (technically calling them the “Allies” is correct though, as by the end of the war the number of combatants on that side had gone far above the original Entente Cordiale between France, Britain, and Russia). The reason so little is known about the war in the States is the fact that we were only involved for a year, and lost less men then our intervention in Vietnam, which by some metrics was a smaller war (although we actually expended far more ammunition and bombs in ‘Nam than all the countries did in World War One, but that was mostly due to technological advancement).
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of explaining the title above, let’s recap a bit about the war. World War One was a Monday Night Raw performance between the tag team of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire with Bulgaria providing their plucky, Hornswoggle-like mascot. On the other side of the conflict was Serbia, Russia, France, Britain, Canada, South Africa, India, Japan, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Romania, Belgium, Greece, Siam, the Emirate of Nejd, Italy, Liberia, China, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, the United States, and Montenegro. The former was called the Central Powers and the latter became known as the Allies (but we shall call them the Entente because it sounds cooler)
As you may have guessed, the Central Powers lost.
The war itself began on the 28th of July, 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Serbia had been implicated in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Hapsburg crown. They were charged of conspiring and aiding a Serbian nationalist group named, quite awesomely, the Black Hand. If that name didn’t immediately make you shit your pants, then you probably aren’t wearing any. Anyways, the Austrians sent an ultimatum to the Serbs listing all kinds of harsh demands. The Serbs rejected the ultimatum not only because it was entirely ridiculous, but because they didn’t want Austrian troops and officials on their territory “investigating” connections to the Black Hand. Serbia was allied with Russia. Russia was allied with France. Russia is also very big and scary, since it can mobilize 12 million men and had a surprisingly well-equipped army (in contrast to their army in World War Two, which was piss poor at the start of the conflict). Because of this, Austria-Hungary called Germany, its ally, to honor their alliance. The Kaiser, Wilhelm II, backed Austria-Hungary, thinking they would never be so stupid to piss off Russia. Unfortunately, due to all the inbreeding in the Hapsburg line (probably), Emperor Franz Joseph was just that stupid. Austria-Hungary -which had its fingers crossed that the Serbs would refuse so they could conquer them the old fashioned way- went to war with Serbia. Then Russia went to war with Austria-Hungary. Then Germany went to war with Russia. Then France went to war with Germany. Then Germany went to war with Belgium so they could get past the French defenses on the border. Then the U.K. went to war with Germany, along with its entire empire. Then the Japanese jumped in and went to war with Germany because why the fuck not? Meanwhile, to make matters even more confusing, Italy was allied with Austria-Hungary and Germany, but they refused to go to war because they not-so-secretly despised Austria and also said their agreement only pertained to defensive wars. Italy then went to war with Austria-Hungary in 1915.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what historians call a “clusterfuck”.
Now, with all that aside, I’m going to tell you why that crap is more important than World War Two.
First off, what I listed up their was only the direct cause of the war. However, the roots of World War One were centuries old. There were a few trends in the 20th century that made the war practically inevitable. (By the way, calling the war inevitable usually gets you chastised in historical circles now because it was “perfectly avoidable”. And yes, every war is perfectly avoidable. The point is that the people orchestrating this one, good old Kaiser Willy, Emperor Franz, Czar Nicky, and King Georgy all wanted this war and were not going to be dissuaded from having it) The first stems from nationalism. The idea of the nation state is actually pretty new. Referring to Medieval France or the Roman Empire as nation states is actually false, because nation states weren’t invented yet. The right of national self-determination was firmly established by the Treaty of Westphalia at the end of the Thirty Year’s War in 1648. The treaty outlined a simple idea; that nations were created and governed by people, to serve the people. This idea may seem like a no-brainer to us today, but back then it was revolutionary. Previously, governments had little interaction with their citizens beyond law enforcement and tax collection, and almost all of them were monarchies or oligarchies that served the self-interest of their rulers instead of their people. The idea of anyone even thinking of themselves as a unified people simply didn’t occur in the way it does today. People identify as Chinese, French, American, British, German, e.t.c. today, but back then, your identity ended at your village borders. The Treaty of Westphalia meant that nations actually represented their people in some way now, and that people had a higher identity to aspire to beyond ethnicity or religion.
By the 20th century, this concept had gotten a little out of hand. People began to espouse their nation on international levels. If you were French, that meant you had to support the French is their endeavors, because what was best for the nation was therefore best for you. The same went for virtually every nation state at the time. Nationalism, the belief in the advancement of one’s nation even at the expense of others, was really taking off. It had been inspiring groups across Europe to come together and either form new countries, or revolt against old ones. The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars had left a wave of nationalism rippling throughout Europe that resulted in the formation of new nations, the biggest being Germany.
Germany is actually an incredibly young nation. While the German people have existed for thousands of years, as mentioned above they would not have identified as German, but as Bavarian, Hanoverian, or Prussian. In fact, for most of Germany’s history it was a loose collection of principalities and duchies that could hardly be considered a nation at all. However, the Napoleonic Wars had inspired the German people. Their common resentment towards the French had surpassed their resentment towards the other German states, so under the leadership of the largest state, Prussia, they went and kicked France’s ass in 1871. After that decisive victory, the German people unified for the first time in their history under the German Empire. This caused a wave of nationalism in France, which was thoroughly pissed at the thrashing they got and they wanted back the territory the Germans had annexed. Thus, the bitter German-French rivalry was cemented in time, only to be surpassed by their mutual resentment for the Russians during the Cold War. The British also had some nationalism going down, though not to the extent of the Continent. Still, after years of riding high as the world’s largest and richest empire, it made sense that many Brits were quite proud of their nation.
Another problem that contributed to the war was militarism. Europe had been no stranger to war. In fact, that is an understatement. Europe was so war-torn that the Arabs often referred to it as the Abode of War. That’s coming from the dudes who conquered the entire Middle East and practically breathed lightening and crapped thunder. War was seen in a glorious light, which contrasts the often negative viewpoints we have of it today (largely due to World War One). It was quick, decisive battlefield action that won territory and prestige for nations and glory and honor for their soldiers. Young men were practically required to go to war, as it was a way of testing one’s mettle and seen as a sort of right of passage. Despite some particularly brutal wars (like the aforementioned Thirty Years War, or the Seven Years War, or the Napoleonic Wars) most people still held a positive view of war and the military by 1914. It was the subject of plays and books about heroism and valor on the battlefield, and of course nations still liked it because it meant they could gobble up more land. And gobble it up they did. By 1914, nearly every scrap of land had a flag planted in one orifice or another. The Russians had the largest empire by size, but most of it was barren Siberian wasteland. They did, however, control major agricultural centers in Poland and Ukraine, as well as controlling modern day Finland, the Baltic States, and Central Asia. The Germans had one of the smaller colonial empires. They had taken what territory was left in Poland, as well as modern day Tanzania and Namibia and many small colonies in East Asia, such as the Chinese port city of Qingdao. The French had a bit more territory abroad, controlling virtually all of Northwest Africa and modern day Vietnam. The British had by far the largest empire, controlling Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand… fuck it, we’ll just say they controlled just about everything else. Italy and Austria-Hungary didn’t own shit because they sucked. The entire Western Hemisphere was considered de facto U.S. territory, or at least under U.S. protection, so intervening there was a big no-no unless you wanted a whooping. Oh, and Japan was also conquering some stuff at the time, having taken Korea and Manchuria from the Ruskies back in 1905. Japan was going through its own wave of nationalism after it was quickly westernized in the 19th century, and now they had dreams of building a Pan-Asian Empire which promised to unite the Asian race and keep away western aggression (in reality, they proved to be just as brutal as the Western Powers). In most cases, the military had been used to secure that territory and expand those empires, so of course the governments had great admiration for the armed forces. They made it evident that in 1914, they were ready to use force of arms to accomplish their desires, just as they had done for the past two centuries.
That is why I argue the war was inevitable, really. While it could have been avoided momentarily, the Western powers were all itching to destroy each other and perform a Risk-like takeover of their opponent’s territories. They couldn’t do this alone, though, so they formed large power blocs motivated by common interests. The French and British had been bitter enemies, but they were now terrified of Germany, so they allied. The Russians, or more specifically Czar Nicholas II, wanted to build a pan-Slavic empire, but Germany got in the way of that by having the indecency to own parts of Poland that were rightfully Russian, (Poor little Poland is always getting picked on in history) so he allied with France. The Austro-Hungarians were terrified of losing their empire, and the ruling aristocracy in the Hapsburg empire was German, so they found Germany a natural ally. Italy had made its alliance with Germany back in the 19th century because they, like Germany, were a newly formed nation that had been habitually picked on during the Napoleonic Wars. However, they had also been picked on by Austria after the Napoleonic Wars, causing a lot of resentment and ultimately driving them towards the Entente.
With such a crazy set-up, its a wonder that the world didn’t implode before 1914. Actually, it very nearly had back in 1912. You see, Morocco was one of the last scraps of African territory not devoured by the ever-expanding and morbidly obese Western powers. France desperately wanted it, so they submitted a list of government “reforms” to Morocco’s sultan that would basically make him a protectorate (a vassal state) of France. The Kaiser didn’t like this at all, so he went to Fez, the capital of Morocco, to assure the sultan that he had his back. France threw a shitfit and Britain was obliged to join them (despite warning them that this whole “colonize Morocco” thing was a stupid idea). The Kaiser, in a rare moment of humility, backed down. Later, a revolt occurred against the sultan, who was now a French puppet. France stepped in to try and crush the revolt, but Germany stopped them by sending its navy to Morocco. Once again, France got mad, Britain begrudgingly intervened, and the world almost blew up. However, the situation was once again diffused when France gave Germany control of its portion of Cameroon, resulting the Kaiser giving the French carte blanche in Morocco. These incidences often get overlooked, despite nearly starting the First World War two years early. They strengthened the bond beyond France and Britain, thus solidifying their position in the war to come. It is important to note that before the Moroccan Crises, Anglo-French relations were still lukewarm and there was definitely a possibility of the British supporting Germany in a future war.
However, the real question is why did all this crap happen? What caused all these countries to hate each other? Well, it boils down mostly to greed and a desire for power, but it also gets a bit more nuanced then that. Every nation involved in World War One did so with selfish intentions (except maybe Belgium, which kind of had the whole invasion thing going on). Let’s break it down.
Germany wanted a war because the Kaiser felt a little miffed at his global position. He was really envious of the British Empire’s huge tracts of land. He felt as though Germany had lost its chance at gaining a “place in the sun” because it had been oppressed and divided for so many years. A united Germany proved to be immensely powerful, perhaps even moreso than a united Britain. In the short time of the German Empire’s existence (1871-1918), it won more Nobel Prizes then Britain, France, the USA, and Russia combined. It had amazing thinkers, musicians, artists, writers, and scientists. It boasted an incredibly strong and proud military based on classic Prussian militarism. It also had a massive amount of industry and infrastructure, since all of its once-independent states had to build themselves up to be self reliant. The Germans also despised the French because of the whole Napoleon thing. Wilhelm also proved to be an aggressive, belligerent leader who consistently overestimated himself. He fancied himself a great negotiator and public speaker, but in reality he was offensive, loud, and lacking in nuance. While the German people respected him for his philanthropy, healthcare and economic reforms, and assertiveness, the rest of the world hated him. He alienated most other countries with his rhetoric and undid all the careful planning of Otto von Bismarck, the architect of a united Germany and the guy who had propelled the country into prominence.
France, for its part, was not innocent. When they lost the war in 1871, they lost the balance of power in Continental Europe. Even after the Revolution and Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, the French still held considerable sway over the continent. They were still its cosmopolitan heartland, where its culture and philosophy all originated. While the British had international superiority, nobody could doubt that the continent was suitably French, at least until those pesky Germans went and took that title of hegemon from them. Ever since, the French had been bitter.
Russia was desperate for some attention. They had been one of the first European powers to lose a major war against a non-European nation back in 1905. Their lose to Japan was utterly humiliating, and now they needed to recoup their prestige and show the world they were still the Big Bad Bear that brought Napoleon to his knees. Furthermore, Russia had failed to properly industrialize during the 19th century. Sure, they had no shortage of factories and workers, but they lacked the bureaucratic reforms to properly back it up. The Russian populace felt exploited. Factory workers labored under intense conditions for the benefit of a bourgeoisie aristocracy that never seemed to repay them in any way. Meanwhile, many land owners were angered by the Czar’s reforms, which deeply upset the status quo held in Russia for centuries. Czar Nicholas II was also a weak and indecisive ruler. He flip-flopped on policies at the slightest hint of contention and never followed through far enough on his reforms. He saw the war as a way of uniting the Russian people towards a common foe, and that foe just so happened to be his cousin’s country. Yes, his cousin’s country. Most of the royalty in Europe at the time was related due to centuries of political marriages, and oddly enough Wilhelm and Nicholas had a very friendly relationship, at least on the surface. Both had attended each other’s weddings, although supposedly Nicholas secretly resented the Kaiser. Nicholas always referred to his cousin as “Willy”, while Wilhelm always called his cousin “Nicky”. Within a year, they would be sending millions of their own people to die in abysmal conditions. What a world.
Speaking of cousins, there was one more member of History’s Most Fucked Up Family, King George V. His relationship with Wilhelm was never good though. The two personally did not dislike each other, but George’s family outright despised Wilhelm. The British people did as well, although to be fair they despised virtually everyone who wasn’t British, and sometimes people who were (the Irish and Catholics were a scapegoat for virtually every wrong in most of British history). The British were none to happy with Germany’s rise to power, though, because Germany was actively terrifying. It was an incredibly powerful nation with a large population, industry that would grow to almost surpass the British home islands, and a large navy. The navy bit was a particular source of contention between the powers. Britain had dominated the globe based on its ludicrously powerful navy, and now the Germans were challenging that authority. The British were concerned about what Germany could do if it successfully knocked out France and Russia. Moreover, they wanted to maintain their vast empire and suppress any nation that got too envious of it.
Then there is Austria-Hungary, arguably one of the greatest perpetrators of the conflict. Austria-Hungary had been fighting to subjugate the Balkans ever since they won the Siege of Vienna against the Ottoman Empire back in the 17th century. Every time the Ottomans lost a country to a nationalist revolt, the Austrians stepped into gobble it up. By 1914, the Austrians were in control of modern day Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Bohemia (Czech Republic), Slovakia, parts of Poland, and parts of Ukraine. Oh, and parts of Romania, which was the reason the Romanians jumped in later in the war (and got annihilated). This empire was impressive in size, but it was basically on the brink of collapse. The Hapsburgs were not exceptionally good rulers in their later generations, so Austria fell behind militarily and industrially compared to its contemporaries. Meanwhile, it also ruled over a multi-ethnic empire. Those same nationalist revolts that had caused the Ottomans to lose the region were now causing Austria-Hungary to lose it as well. This is evidenced even by the name. For years, the nation was just called Austria, but a Hungarian revolt resulted in a reform of the system. Now, Austria and Hungary were technically independent, but they shared a common emperor under Franz Joseph. Franz Joseph was a decent ruler, but like the former emperors he was a staunch Austrian supremacist who often didn’t take the threat of nationalists seriously. In the end, his ambition to conquer Serbia cost him his whole empire.
Serbia itself was actually not innocent either. The Serbs had recently gained their independence from the Ottoman Empire, and they dreamed of uniting the Slavic people’s of the Balkans. That meant throwing off the shackles of Austrian rule. They had already waged numerous wars to control the Balkans and were slyly eyeing up Bulgaria as well (which in turn had ambitions on the Serbs). Truly an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force.
Finally, there was the Ottoman Empire, the last major player in the game. Although, in this case, calling them major is pretty laughable. The Ottomans were in really rough shape by 1914. Most of their empire had been lost to nationalist revolutionaries. The parts that did remain were rife with ethnic and religious tension. The Ottoman Empire had suffered a near-complete failure to industrialize and modernize. Its administration was old and crumbling. The rest of Europe called them the “Sick Man of Europe” and consistently beat the snot out of them when they wanted more land. Even Italy -which was by no means a military power- won a war against them and took over Libya. In 1908, a military coup called the Young Turks movement stepped in to stymie the loss, but the Pashas that took over proved to be even more incompetent then the monarchy before them. By 1914, everyone expected the empire to keel over dead any day, and by 1918 the Ottoman Empire had done just that, but not before committing mass genocide and other atrocities against its ethnic minorities, such as the Armenians. Quite frankly, I don’t think anyone misses it, not even the Turks.
With all of that said, we can finally get to the reason why World War One is more important than World War Two. Think about World War Two for a moment. It was a war where there was a clear “good” side (barring the Soviets, who were pretty brutal) and very clear bad guys (the ones committing invasions, mass slaughter, and genocide). It was when the heroic US, UK, and USSR got to step in and stomp the shit out of some evil dudes just as things were looking bleak. It was a massive triumph over evil that is still celebrated today.
World War One is nothing like that. World War One was the culmination of centuries of greed and bitterness finally boiling over. There were no “good guys”, only bad guys who forced their men to die in the hellish trenches of Flanders. All the empires involved, including the US, were involved for selfish reasons. World War One is not a typical heroic fantasy, but a powerful warning about what occurs when we allow self interest to govern our countries. For all the stuff listed above, it should be apparent why the First World War is more important then the second. It shows an extreme failure of cooperation, foresight, and diplomacy. It shows the inevitable clash that occurs when self interest leads countries to do such horrible things against each other. It shows how unbridled nationalism can lead to a blinding hatred for one another, and how it can be used to so easily manipulate millions into doing the bidding of uncaring generals, politicians, and businessmen. It is a cautionary tale so tremendous in scope that it should never be forgotten.
World War Two is a tale of heroism and triumph. World War One is a tale of tragedy and despair.