Modern History: World War I
According to (George et al, 39) the nations have no real friends but they only have common interests and the monarch don’t really have relatives especially when it comes to the crunch. George wrote the book in the light of World War I. It is shown that Queen Victoria had a grand plan to engage in marriage with many of her descendants into the families who reigned in the society of Europe. This resulted in her offspring sitting on the thrones of less than 10 nations. As the saying went by that blood is thicker than water and with the diverse network of rulers it was easy for peace to prevail in the continent. This was so until the death of the queen was viewed as the grand mother of England.
When the queen died it was not business as usual for the different rulers. There was a global combat which was affecting even those who were related with the origin of the queen. This combat was unprecedented and dreadful and it took place across the globe.
George, Nicholas and Wilhelm focused on the major among the heads of the states in three major nations who battled against one another. These were Britain, Russia and Germany. The King George and Czars were not only first cousins but also but they were alike and people at times mistook them for each other. Their mothers were sisters. The wife of Nicholas was also a first cousin to the wife of George on the side of the father and Kaiser Wilhelm had a close relationship with both of them. In the capable hands of Carter what came as a result of the family that seemed to be more ideal became vividly and characterized with flesh and blood and complete with family attachments, row and wrangles. As the story unfolds in the books we see how these turned out to be irrelevant and sometimes determinative.
Carter gave a verdict on the three royal cousins which was measured and with some sympathy from the judicious. Some have had the thought that she let George off a little easily because of his refusal and that she feared to endanger his popularity so as to give permission to Czars and Czarina Exile in Britain. This decision led to their murder together with the five of their children. The real story here is worse; George not only succeeded in shifting of blame to Prime Minister Lloyd but he even denied them the short transit to on their way to France which could save their common friend.
It is true that as Carter declares this shameful episode a final blow to the group of the family which his queen empress grandmother had so truly embraced. The hard fact to ponder is that since the year 1914 the sanguinary expectations of Victoria had been calmed down in an storm of the real thing in what (Yeats, 97) so memorably stated to be the blood-dimmed tide. This is what is seen to come up to be the World War 1.
According to (Keegan, 209) the first world war created the modern world; a conflict of unique cruelty which abruptly ended the peace of within the relatives and the prosperity of the era of Victoria unleashing demons that have been mechanized in the 20th century to bring mass death. According to the author it ushered in ideas that have brought some shape in our times, it brought about modernization in the current art of things, new approaches to psychology and medicine, radical thoughts about the economics and the society.
It shuttered the faith that dwelled in the rationalism and liberalism that had prevalence in Europe since the enlightenment. Keegan fulfills a lifelong ambition in writing of an account of definition for Great War for the current generation. He probed the mystery of the way civilization at the height of its achievement could have propelled itself into such horrible clash. Keegan takes the reader into the negotiations behind thescenes by the crowned heads who were related to each other by blood and the ministers and how they made fruitless efforts to calm the crisis.
He shows how when diplomacy failed and communication as well a bilateral disagreement grew to cover an entire continent. The author shows how the military conflict was and how they had unequal authority and insights. There is show of how geography and technology contributed in the war. There is show of how respectable personalities oversaw the tragically unwarranted destruction. There were multitudes of people who were affected by this war with many losing their lives. The devastation that start in Europe was extended to other continents and its effect is even felt today in the politics and culture of the continent.
Strachan, 46 says that since the outbreak of the war it has been a major debate in the history of the world. Some thought that the war was engineered by the Germany, which they specifically point at the role of Hitler on the war. Others think that it was a miscalculation. This is to imply that it was a verdict whose fruits heightened by the knowledge of what followed. The outbreak of the First World War sounds to be an extreme action of different organs of the most powerful regimes in Europe. In his book Strachan emphasizes more on the perspectives of the people who struggled with priorities that conflicted and the essential national interest and also considers the responses the citizens of such countries had in connection to the ideals of 1914.
According to (Hamilton & Herwig, 2008) the reminiscent of the United States currently indulgent in Iraq and the weather middle East in the beginning of the twenty-first century, where an apparent initial victory in the military has been hindered by the mismanagement and the incompetence in winning of the peace. The victorious allies in the western world faced a similar dilemma after the World War I of the early twentieth century. In the conflict the resultant peace settlement which was arrived at in 1919 treaty of Versailles and the war repairs that followed.
German politicians reluctantly accepted the bitter pill to stabilize the fledging Weimer republic, the senate of the U.S. failed to ratify the Versailles Treaty even though President Woodrow Wilson defended the country. They worked to restore the poor economy resulting from the consequences of the war in European.
(Cohrs, 34) notes that the policy makers diplomats of European and America and the financiers, presidents, and the prime ministers were able to create an order in 1920 which covered the transatlantic region in 1920s which contained an accomplishment in the history of relations internally and was seen to succeed. This international order went beyond the disciplinary mechanism of the Versailles settlement precepts like the balancing of powers.
The lasting peace for the World War 1 according to Cohrs was achieved in 1924 in the London reparations agreement and the Locarno act in 1925. The two conferences created a new concert of Europe which was underpinned by the U.S. financial clout, while the Western major powers of European major powers resolved their differences in the politics through a process which involved compromise, reciprocity and accommodation.
The target goal for this framework was to incorporate Germany slowly and pacifically on an equal capacity into the community of nations. This in turn showed up in the political and economical weaknesses of the WeimarRepublic. The new stabilization according to Cohs depended on the role of the United States as a benchmark for financial and economic pillar of the world and the role of England as an honest political broker.
This was done so as to overcome the differences between France and Germany. When both of these powers especially the United States neglected to further the unfinished peace of London and Locarno; this was by fortification and expansion of its foundations in the late 1920s.
Lloyds stated that it was not advisable to crate a Poland that was alienated from its neighbors by the unending quarrels from the most civilized neighbors. It was unfortunate that this is what exactly happened. Therefore even if the peace accord in London and Locarno was to bring stabilization in Western Europe it wasn’t clear that such stability was bound to come anywhere else apart from Europe. This shows that it would have certainly required the Soviet Union to be included.
According to Norman there is was no gain in the fact that the First World War was a water event in the modern history of the world. The number of fighters who died reached 14million at last. People who were injured from the fight were 20 million. From this war four emperors were destroyed. The subject matter of this book was to establish the cause of the war, why many affected people found it hard to agree with their rivals later, and to establish what the fighters had in mind in regard to the future.
(Norman, 14) shows that there are some facts of modern European history. In his explanation on the disintegration of the emperor of Turkey and the hindering the parceling of the empire; the Italians raised issues as to why they were not given a share in the empire. The British captured Egypt and the French North Africa. Italy being the country with the least powers had nothing to be compared on such achievements. However it took drastic measures and acted swiftly to attack the Ottoman Empire where it made an invasion in Libya. These were some of the major factors that led to war in 1914.
(Norman, P. 36) noted that there was no war that started with a nature of misunderstanding as that of the First World War. Leaders in all the countries of the Europe assumed that the war would not last for long. This was however not the case. In addition throughout the Western countries of Europe the fighting unfolded in such a way that by the end of 1914, a pattern began to develop. In the Western countries there was a stalemate and in the East a constant Austro-Hungarian crisis (P, 54) was observed.
Norman explains that although Germany knew that time wasn’t on their side, it was more advantaged in that it had a sound output of ammunitions. Therefore there was a significant benefit which would be obtained this advantaged was to be used to quiet the French powers. In this case the French would have no alternative but to accept the treatment from their colleagues. (P. 93) This place was named Verdun. Despite the fearful German onslaught, the German objectives were ultimately.
Reference
Fromkin, D. (2004) Europe’s last summer: Who started the great in 1914. UK: Knopf
Hamilton, R.F. & Herwig, H.H. (2008). The origin of World War I. New York: CambridgeUniversity
Keegan, J. (2000). The first World War. USA: Vintage books
Lufore, L. (1997) The long fuse: An interpretation of the origins of world war 1. USA: Waveland press
Norman, S. (2009) World War one: A brief history USA: Curled up publishers
Rubin, M. (2011) George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three royal cousins and the road to world war one’ by Miranda Carter. Los Angeles Times
Strachan, H. (2004). The outbreak of the first world war: USA: OxfordUniversity press
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