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Wars and Warfare

John L. Tomkinson

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Contents

Preface ............................................................................................... 5 Course Relevance ................................................................................. 8 Additional Resources ............................................................................ 8 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 7. 8. War and Peace ............................................................................ 9 The First World War ................................................................. 17 The Search for Collective Security ................................................ 57 The Spanish Civil War ................................................................ 81 The Chinese Civil War ................................................................ 97 The Second World War ................................................................. 109 The Arab Israeli War .................................................................. 159

The First World War

The Anglo-Russian Entente 1. The period of Russian expansion in the Far East came to an end with the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. The Russian fleet was destroyed and the Japanese won victories in Manchuria. This relieved Russian pressure on the British in that region, and allowed a thaw in relations. 2. A Balkan crisis in 1908 (see below) made the Russians more fearful of a war with the Triple Alliance. 3. In 1899 the Sultan of Turkey agreed to a German plan to build a railway from Berlin to Baghdad. The company would get mining rights in the areas it passed through. This threatened both British and Russian interests in the Middle East. 4. In 1907, the British and Russians concluded the Anglo-Russian Entente, an agreement to settle matters of outstanding difference between them. There were no secret military protocols.* 5. The Kaiser saw this as a plot by the British King, Edward VII, to encircle Germany. The Completed System By 1914 the Great Powers were divided into two rival alliances: (a) The Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy; (b) The Allies: France, Russia and Britain.
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The First World War

Timetable of the Outbreak of the War (1914)

JUN 28th JUL 23rd 25th 28th 29th 31st Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo Austrian ultimatum to Serbia Serbian acceptance of most points of the ultimatum Austria declares war on Serbia General mobilization ordered in Russia German demand to Russia to end mobilization Austria-Hungary orders mobilization Russian failure to comply with German ultimatum British issue statement of intention to support France Germany declares war on Russia German gives ultimatum to Belgium Italy declares its neutrality Germany declares war on France Germany invades Belgium and Luxembourg British ultimatum to Germany Great Britain declares war on Germany Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia

AUG 1st 2nd 3rd

4th 6th

6. The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Dmitriyevich Sazonov, supported by the French ambassador, insisted on military measures. On July 25 the Russian Council of Ministers decided that if Austrian forces entered Serbia, Russia would mobilize its army. 7. On July 25th, Serbia accepted all the Austro-Hungarian conditions save two that it claimed undermined its sovereignty. 8. The Kaiser, returned from a yachting trip, and tried to restrain the Austrians. 9. On July 28th Austria declared war on Serbia and bombarded Belgrade (its capital city). 10. Alarm spread across Europe. Sir Edward Grey, Kaiser William, and the Italian government all proposed negotiations, but no one actually called all the key players together. 11. In St. Petersburg on the afternoon of July 30th, the generals insisted on the mobilization of the Russian army. The Tsar approved mobilization against Austria, but the generals told him that their plans allowed them to mobilize against Germany and Austria only, so that was done. 12. Mobilization against Germany set the clock ticking on the Schlieffen Plan. This forced the German High Command to demand a swift decision either to prepare for war or back down. Thus on the 31st, Germany delivered ultimata: (a) to Russia, demanding an end to mobilization, (b) to France, demanding a declaration of French neutrality in case of a war in the east. 13. When the ultimata expired, the German Army moved to put into effect the Schlieffen Plan. In order not to alert the French, Germany first declared war against Russia on August 1st. 14. War was declared on France on August 3rd, and at the same time a demand made for safe passage for its troops through Belgium. When this was refused, Germany invaded Belgium. 15. On August 3rd, Italy argued that Austria-Hungary had not been attacked, and announced its neutrality. 16. Britain, faced with the possibility of German domination of the Channel ports, on the same day demanded that German forces withdraw from Belgium. When they did not, on August 4th, Britain declared war on Germany. This was immediately followed by similar declarations of war by the self-governing dominions: Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
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The First World War

Tsar Nicholas II

The War Aims of the Belligerents

t would all have been quite simple had there been some solid reason for the war, had Austria bluntly demanded a Protectorate in Serbia, or Germany claimed some concrete prerogative, some strongpoint or slice of territory either in Europe or abroad... Such demands would have been a matter of dispute ... and therefore a matter for discussion... But there was absolutely no definable area of disagreement and therefore no problems to be solved, the solution of which would mean peace. It was this that turned the First World War into an insane orgy of destruction. With the lack of any rational declaration of intentions, the formulation of the whole conflict was left to the apocalyptic imagination. Blind hatred reached the level of delirium, because there was nothing, no handhold, to which articulate thought might cling. (Herbert Lthy)

During the war, each country drew up statements of war aims. The fact that these were sometimes not issued until much later is an indication of the unpreparedness of all governments for the outbreak of war. The later publication of Allied war aims suggests: (a) The need to justify the war to populations traumatized by losses in what was fundamentally an irrational conflict; (b) The need to remove public attention from the catastrophic failure of the European ruling class, whose incompetence had so obviously led to the catastrophe.

German War Aims

These were drawn up in September 1914 by German Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg 1. France and Russia must both be so weakened that they would never again be a danger to Germany. 2. Germany would annexe Belgium and some French territory. 3. Most of central Europe, including Scandinavia, was to be included in a customs union, called Mitteleuropa, under German control. 4. The west of the Russian empire was to be dismantled, and states dependent upon Germany set up there. This aim was achieved in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. [See below] 5. German, French, British and Belgian colonies in Central Africa were to be united under German control to form a united Mittelafrika. These were the most expansionist war aims of any nation, and give some support to Fischers argument for German guilt although Russian war aims were not far behind.
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The Second World War Reasons Peculiar to Great Britain and France 1. There was a tendency to overestimate the effect of German rearmament, particularly the power of the Luftwaffe, during the key years 1933-37. 2. A European war would expose the Empires of both countries: (a) In the Mediterranean: to possible attack from Italy; (a) In the Far East: to possible attack from a newly aggressive Japan. Neither Britain nor France could really afford to fight a war in Europe and in these areas. Reasons Peculiar to Britain 1. During the crucial years Chamberlain felt that he could trust Hitler. 2. The British did not feel confident in the ability of France to withstand another war, and were reluctant to give the French the impression that they would back them up, to prevent the French from taking precipitate action and involving them in an unnecessary war. 3. The British lacked confidence in US support in the event of a war. Chamberlain said that: The Power that had the greatest strength was the United States of America, but he would be a rash man who based his calculations on hope from that quarter. This was correct, since the USA only entered the war when they were attacked by Japan and Hitler declared war on the USA. 4. Paul Kennedy argues that appeasement had been a traditional policy of British governments since the 1860s, due to (a) The application of morality to foreign policy, leading to a preference to settling disputes by negotiation, and the disapproval of resort to force; (b) Disruption of trade threatened Britain more than her protectionist* rivals; (c) Britains overseas commitments were perceived as out of phase with its resources. Britain was overstretched; (d) The British electorate disliked wars, particularly expensive ones. Thus peace was usually seen as in the national interest. Reasons Peculiar to France 1. The social fabric of France was in a state of disintegration following the effects of the depression. This led to: (a) Political polarisation to the left (Communism) and the right (fascism); (b) Strikes and industrial unrest; (c) Weak and frequently changing governments; (d) Reluctance to spend money on rearmament, which was electorally unpopular, resulting in unprepared military forces. 2. Due to her geographical position it could be expected that another war would be most costly for France, as had the First World War. 3. The French High Command overwhelmingly favoured a low-risk defensive strategy unsuitable for anything other than the defence of the homeland. 4. Following the betrayal of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, the French did not trust the British to support any pre-emptive action they might take. Reasons Peculiar to the USA 1. Traditional isolationism had reasserted itself as a reaction to American involvement in the First World War. This was the policy of focusing upon consolidation of control of Central and South America, and establishing control of the North Pacific and the Far East. Europe could wait, its powers exhausting themselves in war in the meantime. 2. After the depression there was a perceived need for America to concentrate on rebuilding its economy.
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Order Wars and Warfare