Warfare & Culture in World History
LE300FDLA: War & Culture
October 4, 2015
Abstract
Warfare has played a significant part in not only the specific historical developments, many of which are well-known, of human history but have also impacted and affected cultures as well. It is particularly relevant given the expansion of various cultures in the 1800’s to review and appraise the manner in which certain wars and periods have represented watershed moments across society and politics, serving to shape the requirements and expectations on a global scale. Of the various conflicts, the Great War of 1914-1918 has come to be seen as one of the defining moments in World History and it is arguable that the Hundred Days Offensive marked the beginning of the Second World War which was to follow between 1939-1945.
The Great War took place between 1914-1918, and has since become known as the First World War. However, at the time due to the scale of the conflict and the countries involved, along with the introduction of a variety of new technologies represented the worst type of conflict imaginable and it was scarcely believable that there could either be a repeat of the conflict or an increase in its scale and scope.
In terms of addressing the scale of the First World War, it is to be remembered that this would be the first conflict in which all of the world’s major economic powers would be involved and consisted of the Allies on one side (initially comprising the United Kingdom, France, and Russia but later joined by Italy, Japan, and the United States) and the Central Powers on the other side (initially made up of Germany and Austria-Hungary but later joined by the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria). This ultimately led to over 70 million military personnel being deployed throughout the conflict, and more than 9 million of them would lose their lives, alongside 7 million civilians. The two sides involved in the conflict were based on previous treaties and international alliances, many of which had been in place for several decades and were triggered when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Lee, 2011).
Against the backdrop of the First World War there was also a noticeable and sizeable indication that there would be social and political reform being carried out. The traditional role of women was called into question in the United Kingdom with their ability to vote being granted in 1918, while many of the other countries involved underwent substantial change, most notably Russia which underwent a revolution in 1917 which was to change the course of its history and politics irrevocably.
It is also possible to see from many of the sources available at this time that the First World War was initially seen as being a cause of triumphalism on both sides. The various powers involved had been increasing the size and capabilities on a military scale and there were increasingly jingoistic expectations that the conflict would be over within a relatively short timeframe. This was typified by the oft-cited notion that it would be over by Christmas 1914 which was routinely referred to in British circles at the very least.
As the First World War developed, and the impact became clearer as to the sheer horror of conflict it should also be remembered that it occurred in an era of rapidly increasing technologies which were not only being deployed on the battlefield but were also allowing communications to be rapidly dispatched outlining the state of affairs and current situation. This in turn was able to be utilized most readily by the newspapers of the time to report back from the front lines in a relatively rapid fashion. There was also an increased relevance to the conflict which was engulfing mainland Europe as previous empirical based battles had taken place a long distance away from the countries involved (Bourke, 2008).
The combination of this immediacy and relevancy, particularly when accompanied by the scale of the conflict created opportunities within society for those groups who had previously been disenfranchised as a result of cultural and societal norms which had been established. This is shown through the notable example of women’s suffrage which had previously been an area of limited interest but with a large number of men being called up to the army there was a requirement for the manufacturing and production industries to be staffed by women accordingly. This gave rise to a natural progression where it was ably demonstrated that they would be able to fulfil the required roles in spite of their designation as ‘the weaker sex’ which made the inevitable electoral reforms in the United Kingdom, and increased awareness in other countries expected.