As we near the 100th anniversary of WWI, Mental Floss is doing a write up of events.

Pretty interesting.

(06-08-2014 07:52 AM)Smaug Wrote:  As we near the 100th anniversary of WWI, Mental Floss is doing a write up of events.

Pretty interesting.

A frequently unreported but important fact about the Great War was what precipitated the cease fire that eventually ended it, the decimation of all sides by one of the most deadly influenza outbreaks in the history of humanity, the 1918 flu. It's worth the read.

(06-09-2014 08:40 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(06-08-2014 07:52 AM)Smaug Wrote:  As we near the 100th anniversary of WWI, Mental Floss is doing a write up of events.

Pretty interesting.

A frequently unreported but important fact about the Great War was what precipitated the cease fire that eventually ended it, the decimation of all sides by one of the most deadly influenza outbreaks in the history of humanity, the 1918 flu. It's worth the read.

I always thought the true effects were kept a secret from those in the trenches to keep them fighting.

While everyone can debate whether the justifications for any war have merit, this is the one conflict that I literally have know idea why it was fought.

(06-10-2014 07:26 AM)vandiver49 Wrote:  While everyone can debate whether the justifications for any war have merit, this is the one conflict that I literally have know idea why it was fought.

It was fought because of "international law". So many treaties drew in so many nations that had little real national interest.

And the mistakes made at the end of WWI led directly to WWII, Korea, Vietnam, today's unrest in the Middle East, etc.

I guest lectured on the First World War at Huntingdon and I really enjoyed it.

To me, the First World War was the ending of the old and the emergence of the modern world. It is the event that has most shaped the modern world, even more so than the 2nd World War.

Funny enough, WW1 is really WW2 and WW2 is really WW3.

(06-10-2014 11:43 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I guest lectured on the First World War at Huntingdon and I really enjoyed it.

To me, the First World War was the ending of the old and the emergence of the modern world. It is the event that has most shaped the modern world, even more so than the 2nd World War.

Funny enough, WW1 is really WW2 and WW2 is really WW3.

Interesting. I used to like reading about the WWI flying aces more so than the ground warfare for some reason. I have a book written by ace Billy Bishop. The dogfights were definitely one beginning to the modern era.

(06-10-2014 11:39 AM)bitcruncher Wrote:  And the mistakes made at the end of WWI led directly to WWII, Korea, Vietnam, today's unrest in the Middle East, etc.

That's because it is not corporately profitable to prosecute a war to its natural conclusion. In the history of mankind nothing other than perhaps medicine has been as profitable as the business of war materials. Everyone feels they need them, that they need to practice with them, that they need to stockpile them, and that they must have the latest innovations. And nothing creates a larger demand than the destruction of war materials in a war. Consequently politicians who are paid by corporations to look after their interests always make sure to leave the seeds of the next conflict in place at the conclusion of the current conflict. The Treaty of Versailles created the reparations that made Germany destitute and led to ultimately to National Socialism and WWII. The Divisions of Post WWII Europe, particularly Germany, led to the Cold War. The parsing of Korea, the Kamchatka peninsula, and the Kuril Islands done to appease the Soviets after 1 week of involvement against Japan led to Korea and Vietnam. The ramifications of the Cold War led to the Bay of Pigs and eventually Granada, Nicaragua and Panama. And the partition of Palestine at the end of WWII has led to the rest.

It is so much in fact that even Eisenhower proclaimed that his greatest fear for the future of the United States was the rise of our own military industrial complex of which many of the components comprise a significant proportion of the Federal Reserve and their influence there has led to the ballooning of the national debt from 205 million in 1963 to an annual interest payment on the principal of the debt in excess of 19 trillion today, a debt so large that it alone poses a greater threat to the destruction of our way of life than any foreign adversary.

Fascinating read on the Mental Floss website.

I agree that World War I was in many ways a violent clash between the forces of the Old World attempting to clamp down the forces of modernism that where tearing 19th century society apart. World War I is in some ways more interesting than World War II to me.

(06-10-2014 12:57 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(06-10-2014 11:39 AM)bitcruncher Wrote:  And the mistakes made at the end of WWI led directly to WWII, Korea, Vietnam, today's unrest in the Middle East, etc.

That's because it is not corporately profitable to prosecute a war to its natural conclusion. In the history of mankind nothing other than perhaps medicine has been as profitable as the business of war materials. Everyone feels they need them, that they need to practice with them, that they need to stockpile them, and that they must have the latest innovations. And nothing creates a larger demand than the destruction of war materials in a war. Consequently politicians who are paid by corporations to look after their interests always make sure to leave the seeds of the next conflict in place at the conclusion of the current conflict. The Treaty of Versailles created the reparations that made Germany destitute and led to ultimately to National Socialism and WWII. The Divisions of Post WWII Europe, particularly Germany, led to the Cold War. The parsing of Korea, the Kamchatka peninsula, and the Kuril Islands done to appease the Soviets after 1 week of involvement against Japan led to Korea and Vietnam. The ramifications of the Cold War led to the Bay of Pigs and eventually Granada, Nicaragua and Panama. And the partition of Palestine at the end of WWII has led to the rest.

It is so much in fact that even Eisenhower proclaimed that his greatest fear for the future of the United States was the rise of our own military industrial complex of which many of the components comprise a significant proportion of the Federal Reserve and their influence there has led to the ballooning of the national debt from 205 million in 1963 to an annual interest payment on the principal of the debt in excess of 19 trillion today, a debt so large that it alone poses a greater threat to the destruction of our way of life than any foreign adversary.

We gave LockMart a Trillion Dollars and all the US got was a crappy airplane.

(06-10-2014 11:43 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I guest lectured on the First World War at Huntingdon and I really enjoyed it.

To me, the First World War was the ending of the old and the emergence of the modern world. It is the event that has most shaped the modern world, even more so than the 2nd World War.

Funny enough, WW1 is really WW2 and WW2 is really WW3.

Wait, so what is considered WW1?

(06-10-2014 02:14 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(06-10-2014 11:43 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I guest lectured on the First World War at Huntingdon and I really enjoyed it.

To me, the First World War was the ending of the old and the emergence of the modern world. It is the event that has most shaped the modern world, even more so than the 2nd World War.

Funny enough, WW1 is really WW2 and WW2 is really WW3.

Wait, so what is considered WW1?

The 7 Years War

(06-10-2014 12:57 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(06-10-2014 11:39 AM)bitcruncher Wrote:  And the mistakes made at the end of WWI led directly to WWII, Korea, Vietnam, today's unrest in the Middle East, etc.

That's because it is not corporately profitable to prosecute a war to its natural conclusion. In the history of mankind nothing other than perhaps medicine has been as profitable as the business of war materials. Everyone feels they need them, that they need to practice with them, that they need to stockpile them, and that they must have the latest innovations. And nothing creates a larger demand than the destruction of war materials in a war. Consequently politicians who are paid by corporations to look after their interests always make sure to leave the seeds of the next conflict in place at the conclusion of the current conflict. The Treaty of Versailles created the reparations that made Germany destitute and led to ultimately to National Socialism and WWII. The Divisions of Post WWII Europe, particularly Germany, led to the Cold War. The parsing of Korea, the Kamchatka peninsula, and the Kuril Islands done to appease the Soviets after 1 week of involvement against Japan led to Korea and Vietnam. The ramifications of the Cold War led to the Bay of Pigs and eventually Granada, Nicaragua and Panama. And the partition of Palestine at the end of WWII has led to the rest.

It is so much in fact that even Eisenhower proclaimed that his greatest fear for the future of the United States was the rise of our own military industrial complex of which many of the components comprise a significant proportion of the Federal Reserve and their influence there has led to the ballooning of the national debt from 205 million in 1963 to an annual interest payment on the principal of the debt in excess of 19 trillion today, a debt so large that it alone poses a greater threat to the destruction of our way of life than any foreign adversary.

The borders of the nations of the Middle East were drawn up by advisers, all of whom were employees of British and American oil companies, around the major oilfields. They took no account of the people living there. This is why mortal enemies live in the same countries, while some families are scattered across several nations.

I would suggest "The Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman if you are looking for a good read on the beginnings of WWI. Lot of background on the immediate events (prior 10-15 yrs) leading up to the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand and the war plans of the various parties.

(06-10-2014 07:26 AM)vandiver49 Wrote:  While everyone can debate whether the justifications for any war have merit, this is the one conflict that I literally have know idea why it was fought.

Neither did any of the participants.

Like ER said, basically countries got sucked in due to alliances with other countries. It was a war nobody wanted and nobody could stop.

Another couple of good books are The First World War by John Keegan and A Storm in Flanders by Winston Groom (yes, THAT Winston Groom)

Today is the 100th anniversary of the murder of Archduke Ferdinand.

The proper term is assassination, Smaug. Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated.

(06-25-2014 01:39 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  The proper term is assassination, Smaug. Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated.

Semantics. He caught a bullet.