WWI: The War That Changed Everything|5 Minute Video
Think of all the horrors of the 20th Century: The Holocaust. The Cold War. Were it not for the assassination of one Austro-Hungarian archduke in 1914, none of those occasions would have ever occurred.
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Script:
As an historian, I’m frequently asked if I could stop one event in contemporary history from occurring, what would it be?
My response is World War I.
If there had been no World War I, there would have been no Russian Revolution, no World War II, no Holocaust, no Cold War.
And that doesn’t even consider the millions who passed away in the war itself.
Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, Europe experienced an unprecedented period of financial growth. Brought about by the Industrial Revolution, this brand-new prosperity generated rapid advancements in science, medication, art, and political viewpoint.
The future of civilization never looked brighter. And then, unexpectedly, everything increased in flames.
The fuse was lit in June 1914, in a street in Sarajevo, Bosnia. It was there that Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist.
Austria-Hungary, looking for to avenge the Archduke’s murder, stated war on Serbia. Before taking this drastic step, it asked for– and gotten– a blessing from its powerful ally, Germany.
Serbia, knowing that it had no chance against Austria-Hungary, contacted its ally, Russia, to protect it. Russia concurred.
To enhance its hand, Russia solicited French support ought to war break out. France, ever suspicious of German intents, assented.
Germany then made a pre-emptive relocate to take France out of the war. The German command, having long planned this war, attacked France through neutral Belgium. This triggered Britain to sign up with France against Germany. Unexpectedly, the whole continent was swallowed up in war.
The key player was Germany. Their technique was to punch through Belgium and France and capture Paris before the French had time to respond. This was the so-called Schlieffen Plan, named after the German general who developed it. With France conquered, they would turn their attention to Russia.
That Germany thought it would really work boils down to one male, Germany’s leader, Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Emperor of Germany from 1888 up until his forced abdication in 1918, Wilhelm was an exceptionally undesirable, vicious and unsteady personality, who recommended that Jews could be handled by gas. By 1914, he believed that Germany ought to not just control Europe, however the whole world.
Had the Schlieffen Plan worked, Germany most certainly would have. It didn’t work. The British and the French put up stiff resistance in the west. Russia did the same in the east. The losses incurred by all sides were instant– and dreadful.
For the total script, see https://www.prageru.com/videos/wwi-war-changed-everything
source
The Cold War. Germany then made a pre-emptive move to take France out of the war. The German command, having long prepared this war, invaded France through neutral Belgium. All of a sudden, the entire continent was swallowed up in war.
That Germany thought it would really work comes down to one guy, Germany’s leader, Kaiser Wilhelm II.
