Planta Genestae
12-10-2004, 12:24
We all know the reasons for WWII. These stem largely from the situation in Europe after WWI. But I am extremely annoyed that there has been a lot of over-simplification of the causes of WWI on this board and so I feel the need to put the record straight.
A lot of the justification for WWI has been mixed up with the words of the great war poets like Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. Many alternative comedians and left leaning people now believe that the war was the result of British paranoia and a desire by 'Old Blighty' to teach a lesson to 'Harry Hun'. But in most of the letters and accounts from British WWI veterans, although they almost all complained about the way that the war was being fought and the manner of it, the vast majority still believed that the war they were fighting was just. This of course does not mean blaming the German people as a whole, that is pure bigotry (not racism but just as bad) but the German Imperial War Ministry is undeniably at fault for the war on the Western Front. Kaiser Wilhelm II was largely a puppet of men like Hindenburg and Ludendorff. The Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz-Josef was looking for an excuse to attack Serbia, a fully separate and independent nation. This pretext was found by the events of Sarajevo, which it does seem likely were done with at least Serbia's tacit support of the assassins. Russia, had long prior to this event however, made no secret of the fact that it would support Serbia if it was attacked, although this was due to Tsar Nicholas II's wish to extend his dominance of the Balkans, rather than any great care for the Serbian people. The German War Ministry, then declared war on Russia after issuing an ultimatum that the Germans knew would be unacceptable to Nicholas II (namely that Austro-Hungary be allowed to exact revenge on Serbia, without Russian interference).
The Germans, then responding to French demands to back down from Russia (France and Britain's ally) made it's move on France. It first asked Holland and Belgium for permission to manouver armies through those two countries to attack France. Holland and Belgium both refused. Germany then broke Belgian neutrality by moving it's armies through Belgium and destroying what little of a Belgian army there was. In Belgium, some German units then, under Imperial orders, performed some brutal acts on Belgian civilians (although the war-time stories told in Britain exagerrated the extent of these 'atrocities', some atrocities undoubtedly happened including the deliberate firing on civilians by German soldiers.) The Germans of course, were not the only nation to perform brutal acts during this war.
Britain, surprising the Germans, stood by the conditions of it's 19th Century treaty with Belgium in which it would protect Belgian neutrality, and Britain formally ordered German troops to pull out from Belgium. When this request was refused, Britain and Germany went to war. It was only after this that Autria and Russia, who some would say were the two early protagonists of the war, actually declared war on each other.
Yes, Britain and France had been preparing for a war against Germany for a few years, but this preparation did not make it inevitable. Germany had provoked France earlier by attempting to aid, against international convention of the time, rebels against French rule in Morocco. War had not occurred then. The only reason that war did occur was because the German High Command, believed that it could hammer down its hegemony on the European map, and because Britain and France did not feel that German aggression could be tolerated (unlike in 1938).
This is not an attempt at 'Jerry-bashing' just a brief portrayal of the facts. I hope you will see from my posts in "Who actually Likes Germans?", that I actually am a big fan of German culture, and have a German flat-mate with me at Uni and a German girlfriend living in Germany at the moment.
If this thread does get used for the bigoted bashing of any nationality however, I would ask the mods herein to pull it. Thank you.
A lot of the justification for WWI has been mixed up with the words of the great war poets like Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. Many alternative comedians and left leaning people now believe that the war was the result of British paranoia and a desire by 'Old Blighty' to teach a lesson to 'Harry Hun'. But in most of the letters and accounts from British WWI veterans, although they almost all complained about the way that the war was being fought and the manner of it, the vast majority still believed that the war they were fighting was just. This of course does not mean blaming the German people as a whole, that is pure bigotry (not racism but just as bad) but the German Imperial War Ministry is undeniably at fault for the war on the Western Front. Kaiser Wilhelm II was largely a puppet of men like Hindenburg and Ludendorff. The Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz-Josef was looking for an excuse to attack Serbia, a fully separate and independent nation. This pretext was found by the events of Sarajevo, which it does seem likely were done with at least Serbia's tacit support of the assassins. Russia, had long prior to this event however, made no secret of the fact that it would support Serbia if it was attacked, although this was due to Tsar Nicholas II's wish to extend his dominance of the Balkans, rather than any great care for the Serbian people. The German War Ministry, then declared war on Russia after issuing an ultimatum that the Germans knew would be unacceptable to Nicholas II (namely that Austro-Hungary be allowed to exact revenge on Serbia, without Russian interference).
The Germans, then responding to French demands to back down from Russia (France and Britain's ally) made it's move on France. It first asked Holland and Belgium for permission to manouver armies through those two countries to attack France. Holland and Belgium both refused. Germany then broke Belgian neutrality by moving it's armies through Belgium and destroying what little of a Belgian army there was. In Belgium, some German units then, under Imperial orders, performed some brutal acts on Belgian civilians (although the war-time stories told in Britain exagerrated the extent of these 'atrocities', some atrocities undoubtedly happened including the deliberate firing on civilians by German soldiers.) The Germans of course, were not the only nation to perform brutal acts during this war.
Britain, surprising the Germans, stood by the conditions of it's 19th Century treaty with Belgium in which it would protect Belgian neutrality, and Britain formally ordered German troops to pull out from Belgium. When this request was refused, Britain and Germany went to war. It was only after this that Autria and Russia, who some would say were the two early protagonists of the war, actually declared war on each other.
Yes, Britain and France had been preparing for a war against Germany for a few years, but this preparation did not make it inevitable. Germany had provoked France earlier by attempting to aid, against international convention of the time, rebels against French rule in Morocco. War had not occurred then. The only reason that war did occur was because the German High Command, believed that it could hammer down its hegemony on the European map, and because Britain and France did not feel that German aggression could be tolerated (unlike in 1938).
This is not an attempt at 'Jerry-bashing' just a brief portrayal of the facts. I hope you will see from my posts in "Who actually Likes Germans?", that I actually am a big fan of German culture, and have a German flat-mate with me at Uni and a German girlfriend living in Germany at the moment.
If this thread does get used for the bigoted bashing of any nationality however, I would ask the mods herein to pull it. Thank you.