Two World Wars of the 20th Century - Essay Example

Two World Wars of the 20th Century This essay compares the two world wars that took place in the 20th century. The First World War happened from 1914 to 1918 while the Second World War happened from 1939 to 1945. Although wars have been fought in different parts of the world for some time, these two 20th century wars involved more nations and included casualties from all over the world; thus, its effects were felt not only in the countries where the wars were fought but also in parts of the world that either sent soldiers to fight in these wars or which enjoyed or suffered the consequences of these wars. Both wars were violent and claimed many lives. World War I saw some 65 million men and women mobilized to fight the war, and of these some 8.5 million died and over 21 million wounded. During World War II, an estimated 55 million soldiers and civilians were killed. In both wars, the economic losses were terribly huge in terms of resources that were committed to the war effort, the losses from damages to property and lives, and the displacement of economic activity during the years when the wars were being fought (Keylor 2006; Ziemke 2006). World War I was immediately triggered by the assassination of the Crown Prince to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Serbia wanted to be independent from Austria-Hungary and saw the assassination as a way to put their message across. When Austria-Hungary and its German ally attacked Serbia in retaliation, the latter's Russian ally came to the rescue together with their allies Britain and France. The alliances in Europe at the time were the result of centuries of power politics among the old European empires and royal families. America was sucked into the war when Germany sank the English passenger ship Lusitania in May 1915 because there were hundreds of American passengers who perished. In 1918, the warring nations signed an Armistice agreement to stop hostilities and break up the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Germany was humiliated and the social and economic repercussions were what eventually led to the rise of the socialist dictator Adolph Hitler to power two decades later, which in turn triggered World War II (Keylor 2006; Ziemke 2006). World War II was like a continuation of the unfinished business of World War I where Germany aimed at strengthening its hold on Europe by having a large Empire under its control. Its ambition for world domination thwarted by their loss in 1918, Germany began building up its armed forces and its military power under the guidance of misguided politicians with grand ambitions. They triggered the war by invading Poland in 1939 under the guise of protecting the Germans who were allegedly being oppressed in the former Austro-Hungarian territory, a pattern that continues to be used by nations, both democratic (as America did in Vietnam and Iraq), communist (as Russia did in Afghanistan), and dictatorial (as many African nations do) to this day. Both wars featured heavy casualties because of the use of technology. While the wars in previous centuries were marked by battles of mass troop formations, the two world wars became the laboratory for weapons of mass destruction in the form of poison chemical gases, landmines, explosive projectiles that were created to inflict death or serious injury from remote locations, armored vehicles that could carry troops and ammunitions across great distances, and in Japan in 1945, the use of atomic weapons that claimed many civilian casualties and that flattened two cities. World War I affected a few countries, mostly in Europe. On the side of the Allies were Britain, France, and Russia, but there were troops from the United States, Australia, northern Africa, and Eastern Europe. The Axis powers were Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Italy. World War II affected more countries with the entry of Japan as one of the Axis powers carrying the war to island nations in the Pacific and the Asian continent. The impact on world politics of this war had far-reaching consequences because it strengthened the Russian communist party, which was able to continue the war by supporting communists in China, Korea, and many parts of Eastern Europe until the fall of communism in the late 1980s. America, which emerged as the strongest industrial and financial power in the world after World War I, built its superpower status with their being on the side of victory after World War II, transforming the young nation (compared to the older nations of Europe and Asia) into a model of democracy and a protector against more oppressive countries. In fact, the U.S. got involved in World War II because its new status as a world superpower made it the prime target for Japan, which bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. The involvement of America in both theaters of war - in Europe and in Asia - was the beginning of the end because its industrial and financial power helped the Allied cause by providing the firepower needed to overcome the superior technology and military discipline (except, perhaps, for the Italians) of the Axis powers, mainly Germany and Japan (Keylor 2006). Both wars contained stories of human heroism and sacrifice that became legends, of which there are plenty to last until the end of time. These stories, at heart, show that although people do not want to fight each other and prefer to work for peace, political differences among nations may push the human mind against the wall to such an extent that they find no other solution to preserve the peace than to wage war. War is not a solution and can create more problems than it solves, but people seem not to learn from the lessons of history: they continue to trust politicians who end up getting the people to do the killing (and being killed) for them, they continue to think that peace can only be the consequence of war, and that fighting against other people is inevitable. After these two World Wars, the nations established the United Nations as a negotiating forum where differences could be ironed out. Though a major War was avoided these last sixty years, small wars continue to be fought for different excuses that are quite easy to justify. In the end, it is the ordinary people who suffer the follies, childish fantasies, and the moral corruption of people in power (Tuchman 1984). Works Cited Keylor, William R. "World War I." Microsoft Encarta 2007 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2006. Tuchman, Barbara W. The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam. London: Folio Society, 1984. Ziemke, Earl F. "World War II." Microsoft Encarta 2007 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2006. Read More