James Rarick Western Civilization II

James Rarick Western Civilization II War and Revolution War and Revolution during the nineteenth century Conflicts during the nineteenth century -- introduction Revolutionary attempts during the 1830s the Year of the Revolution France sets the pace Nations across Europe and even in Latin America are inspired Italy Germany Habsburg Empire Belgium Romania Brazil Franco-Prussian War Epirus Revolt and crisis in the Ottoman Empire War and Revolution during the twentieth century The Balkan Wars The First World War Causes Belligerent camps The Russian Revolution Irish Civil War Spanish Civil War The Second World War Soviet and German invasion of Poland b.

Soviet-German War c. The Allied Forces The Cold War Countries involved b. Soviet and American influence The fall of the Soviet Union War and Revolution during the nineteenth century Conflicts during the nineteenth century -- introduction The nineteenth century was filled with turmoil as a result of particular political ideologies receiving significant attention from the public and because imperialism started to be regarded as an effective tool to assist empires in gathering large profits.

Even with the fact that trade influenced some powerful players to express interest in imposing a system promoting peaceful attitudes, it was difficult and almost impossible for other nations to refrain from considering war as the best solution to their problems. This century enabled the world as a whole to look at the social order from a different perspective -- globalization was underway and more and more conflicts emerged as a result of people having differences in opinion.

Conflicts occurring throughout the nineteenth century can practically be considered to have shaped the way the world evolved and to have influenced much of thinking expressed in the contemporary society. 7. Revolutionary attempts during the 1830s The 1830s were tumultuous years as revolutionary thinking spread across several countries in Europe and as the masses started to express particular interest in overthrowing leaders they considered to be abusive.

Tension was high in France during the 1920s as leaders started to impose harsh strategies in an attempt to control the masses and in order to penalize individuals believed to be exposed to being seen as 'different'. The Chamber of Deputies attempted to intervene and issued a vote of no confidence.

"The king, as was his legal right, dissolved the Chamber and called for new elections." (Chapter 11-469) the king proceeded to pass a series of ordinances meant to secure his position by means such as censoring the press and by limiting the upper class's influence. The king's ordinances were referred to as the July Ordinances and were largely the reason why the July Revolution started.

Aristocrats were unwilling to accept being limited in their involvement in political life and thus influenced the masses to go against the king with the purpose of helping the country achieve reform. Even with the fact that the army barricades were installed throughout Paris, most of the military refused to fire and Charles X was left with no alternative but to abdicate. The rebellion in Paris inspired Belgians and Polish to get actively involved in protests meant to emphasize their feelings.

While the Belgians were successful in their endeavor, the Polish November Uprising failed to protect the rights of the Polish people and the Czar of Russia continued to rule over the country. The Czar actually attempted to control the situation in Belgium, but his failure to take his troops safely through Poland materialized in the Polish revolution and in him having to concentrate his forces on keeping Poland under his leadership.

The idea of revolution throughout Europe is perfectly exemplified by Eugene Delacrois' painting "Liberty leading the people." This picture shows rebellion as a noble concept -- an act that results as a result of honest hard-working individuals being unable to accept being oppressed and wanting to fight for their rights despite that they are in many cases both outnumbered and outgunned. One can understand that these people are not only interested in fighting for their personal well-being, as they also want to fight out of principle.

They know that the idea of liberty is directly challenged and that they are among the only ones holding the power to rise against their tyrants. 8. 1848 -- the Year of the Revolution 1848 was a significant year in world history, taking into account that it was at that time when numerous individuals from across the world became united by a series of ideals and goals related to nationalism, regionalism, and the defense of the rights of the people.

The fact that there was no coordination and cooperation between these people was, however, important in reducing their chances of success. An economic crisis was spreading throughout Europe in 1848 and the fact that potato and grain crops failed in previous years reflected in the price of food growing. a. France sets the pace Revolutionary agitation started in Paris in February as people believed that they would do a better job at ruling the country if they had power.

Louis-Philippe was left with no option but to abdicate and the French Second Republic was created as a consequence. Even with the fact that many people in French had different opinions with regard to how their country should be controlled, most agreed that it was important for them to put an end to system of constitutional monarchy. b.

Nations across Europe and even in Latin America are inspired Italy Conditions were critical in most Italian states as Italians were inspired by other states which were under Austrian dominance and that rose against their oppressors. Papal states joined the revolution as the Pope was sympathetic with regard to nationalist principles. Even though the Bourbon dynasty recovered and regained control over Italian states, it had become obvious that Italians had the power to fight for their rights (Chapter 11-492).

Germany The March Revolution in Germany united a series of liberals who fought with the purpose of being granted with a series of rights concerning matters like national unity and freedom of the press. The aristocracy eventually defeated the uprising, but it nonetheless became clear that the authorities needed to revise many laws in order to prevent the masses from expressing interest in a new revolution.

The Habsburg Empire Even with the fact that the Habsburg Empire foresaw that revolutionary agitation across Europe was likely to influence nations under its control and thus issued a series of reforms, it was impossible for it to avoid experiencing serious trouble as several countries under Habsburg control denounced the Empire's tendency to ignore their importance. The Austrians used their relationship with other nations such as Russia in an attempt to secure its position and crushed the Hungarian revolt taking place within the borders of the empire.

Belgium Conditions in Belgium were different from countries that experienced rebellions during 1848, as while people there were determined and wanted to fight for their rights, the situation was more complex and they needed to devise a unique plan in order to achieve success. Belgian revolutionaries counted on French individuals to assist them in overthrowing the regime, but the fact that border control made it difficult and impossible for many groups to enter Belgium meant that the rebellion would not experience success.

"The expected mass support from Belgian workers failed to materialize, and a small regular army contingent easily scattered the poorly armed legionaries." (Sperber 120) Romania People in Walachia were inspired by revolutionary feelings present in other states in their vicinity and came to organize a revolt meant to emphasize the need for a different system. The movement, alongside with a rebellion in Moldavia, was directed against the boyar title.

A group of young intellectuals and officers thus expressed both liberal and nationalist thinking and organized a revolution that was successful in overthrowing Prince Gheorghe Bibescu. Revolutionary thinking reached beyond the European continent and influenced Brazilians to start the Praieira revolt. The movement was unsuccessful, but it demonstrated that revolutionary thinking was a particularly intriguing concept in critical times and that it could easily inspire oppressed people to rise against their tyrants. 9.

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-German war took place between July 19, 1870 and May 10, 1871 involving the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. France initially took up arms against Prussia but later had to face several German states that were Prussian allies. "The French Army proved to be technically backward compared with the Prussian." (Chapter 13-532) it rapidly became obvious that it was only a matter of time before the Germans would win the war.

Napoleon III was taken prisoner and consequent to several months during which Parisians protected their city they were left with no options but to yield and open their gates to the enemy. Bismarck became a German emperor on January 18, 1871. The May 10, 1871, treaty of Franfurt marked the end of the war, the loss of Alsace and parts of Lorraine to Germany, and the start of the Third Republic in France (Chapter 13-533) 10.

The Crimean War The Crimean War (October 1953 -- February 1956) involved the Russian Empire going against a force comprised out of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The fact that the Ottoman Empire had experienced significant losses until that time meant that other European powers needed to intervene and attempt to gain control over areas that the Ottomans lost.

The Allies eventually won the conflict but it was difficult to determine the exact effects that their victory would have on their relationship with the Ottoman Empire, as its leaders seemed determined to maintain most of their attitudes with regard to non-Muslims within their borders, thus meaning that one of the primary reasons for which the French, the English, and the Sardinians entered the war was believed to be unimportant by the Ottomans. 6.

Crisis in the Ottoman Empire People across Greece saw the Crimean War as an opportunity to concentrate their powers into removing Ottoman control from within their borders. Individuals in the Epirus region started to publicly express revolutionary attitudes in an attempt to influence others to join their cause. The political map of the Ottoman Empire thus came to be redrawn as other European powers experienced rapid progress and as the Turks acknowledged their reduced presence on the continent.

The collapse of the Ottoman Empire was also a result of members of the Ottoman elite starting to consider that it would have been better for them and for their community in general to be a part of a smaller and stronger state rather than being part of a state that spread across large parts of Asia and Europe and that had very little influence on both continents.

Members of the Ottoman elite thus "preferred a state with a nationalist Turkish identity to one with a more diffuse Ottoman or Islamic facade." (O'Brien 179) This makes it possible to understand the crisis that the Ottoman Empire experienced during its last years.

Countries that it was in control of took advantage of this situation to emphasize their need for independence and thus provided the world with the opportunity to acknowledge that it was pointless for it to continue to accept the Ottoman Empire as one of the greatest powers on the planet. III. War and Revolution during the twentieth century The twentieth century was very similar to the nineteenth century when considering the wars and conflicts that occurred throughout the past century.

However, the fact that technology experienced significant progress and that the number of people grew rapidly as a consequence also reflected negatively on the numbers of deaths occurring through a conflict. The two World Wars were large enough to involve almost the entire world in a conflict motivated by a series of controversial concepts. To a certain degree, one can safely claim that the conflicts occurring throughout the twentieth century had more of an influence on the social order than any other events happening throughout this time period. 9.

The Balkan Wars Society had experienced much change at the turn of the twentieth century and many Balkan countries had managed to achieve independence from the Ottoman Empire. However, the fact that many individuals who originated in these respective countries were still under Ottoman rule influenced the group to get actively involved in devising a strategy to remove Ottoman influence from their territories. Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia united in 1912 to form the Balkan League.

While it was obvious that Balkan countries were determined to gain autonomy from the Ottoman Empire ever since the late nineteenth century, the twentieth century made it possible for the whole world to understand that these countries were determined to fight for their independence, despite the fact that they had to go against what was several decades earlier one of the most powerful nations on Earth. Russian forces apparently played an important role in inspiring and coordinating Balkan countries to remove Ottoman influence in the region.

The four nations involved in the Balkan League cooperated as a result of acknowledging the unique role that each of them could play in increasing the chances of victory. With most of its forces concentrated in Asia, the Ottoman Empire needed to struggle with the forces it had on European ground. Its attempts to transport troops across the Aegean Sea failed because the Greek navy was superior to the Ottoman one and this played an essential role in deciding the odds of the war.

The first Balkan war thus materialized in the end of Ottoman presence in Europe Catalca line consequent to approximately five centuries of occupation. The Second Balkan war involved Bulgaria going against Serbia and Greece on account of their reluctance to cede part of Macedonia to the Bulgarians as agreed on previous to the First Balkan War.

While Bulgarians had a series of victories in their initial enterprise, conditions changed significantly when Romanians intervened and forced Bulgaria to accept an armistice in which it needed to accept conditions that affected its borders. 10. The First World War a. Causes The First World War commenced as a result of Archduke Franz Ferdinand being assassinated in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Austria-Hungary used this crime as a pretext to issue a series of demands (that were intentionally designed to be impossible) to Serbia.

The fact that Germany was allied to Austria-Hungary meant that it needed to intervene in a situation involving a major conflict. However, both countries had different understandings of a German intervention, as Austria-Hungary expected it to direct its forces to the East while Germany wanted to concentrate its forces in France. Most forces involved in the First World War got involved in the conflict because they had to respect treaties saying that it was mandatory for them to do so.

While a great deal of troops and weapons were involved in the conflict, stalemates were very common and millions of people died without any of the belligerent camps achieving significant successes. b. Belligerent camps As previously mentioned, most of the countries involved in World War One took action because they were obliged through contract to do so.

Initially starting as a small and rather insignificant conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, the war rapidly spread and came to involve Germany, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire joining Austria in fighting as the Central Powers while France, the British Empire, the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Romania, the Empire of Japan, Belgium, Greece, Portugal and the United Stated fighting as the Entente (Allied Powers). Trench warfare dominated most of 1916 and 1917 and the war changed significantly as the U.S.

took up arms against the Central Powers on account of this alliance attacking its ships and as a result of the Bolshevik Revolution rebelling against the Russian Czar. The War finally ended in 1918 after both belligerent camps acknowledged that it was very impossible for them to be able to advance, taking into account that soldiers were demoralized and as the Central Powers were particularly weakened by their enemies. 11.

The Russian Revolution Russians had grown unsatisfied with the condition they were in at the turn of the twentieth century and a series of measures taken by the Czar further managed to cause unrest among the masses. The First World War caused great concern among Russian populations as people started to feel that the Czar had no interest in well-being. The fact that he directed most of Russia's resources to frontlines left civilians starving and suffering greatly.

"In October (November by today's calendar in Russia) 1917, this group, the Bolsheviks, stormed the Winter palace, headquarters for the temporary government, and they took control." (Sterling 74) V.I. Lenin was in charge of the Bolsheviks and he soon became Russia's leader, gained control of the country's industries, withdrew it from the First World War, and reformed the leading party by calling it the Russian Communist Party and by restructuring most of the principles it respected until that time. 4.

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War took place between July 1936 and April 1939 and involved the Republicans fighting on behalf of the Spanish Republic and the Nationalists wanting to overthrow the government. The nationalists were led by General Francisco Franco and received support from Nazi Germany, the Kingdom of Italy, and Portugal while the loyalists were supported by Soviet Russia and Mexico. Nationalists eventually won the conflict consequent to installing a war of attrition and consequent to atrocities being committed by both sides. 5. The Second World.