Running head: WORLD WAR I 1

World War 1

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What did German civilian and military policymakers hope to achieve for Germany's

standing in Europe, and the world, by going to war in 1914 (or at some point in the

indeterminate future)?
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Germany declared war with Russia and later France for a large number of reasons.

Chief among the reasons includes the determination to become a world superpower by

deterring Russia and France in their growth. They expected the war to not only be short but

decisive as well, owing to the relative alliances formed at the time. For instance, at the time,

Germany made policies aimed at protecting the Slavs (Serbs) in Bosnia (Reed, 1985). Bosnia

had been under the control of Austria, therefore, an attack on Serbia would be backed by

Austria against Russians. Such actions could be viewed as politically propagated in an effort

to gain dominance over European countries. As such, they invaded Belgium in an effort to

challenge the authority of the British, citing that Britain should not have been involved in any

German-Belgium wars (The Fourteen Points | National WWI Museum and Memorial, 2021).

The Nazi however, highlight that the war was aimed at securing a significant portion of

European territory for the mutual benefit of a new integrated Europe with Germany as the

leading super power.

Germany had secret ambitions to annex most of Europe. Therefore, even though there

have been major debates on whether it should be fully blamed for starting the World War,

there are some factors that cannot be ignored. For starters, Germany had the power to apply

pressure and stop or at least limit the extent of the war but they did not. This adds to the

notion that they had their own intentions that they hoped to achieve from the war. Regardless

of all the reasons that were given as coverups, it all comes down to the fact that the main

intention for German civilians and military policymakers to go to war was to prove

themselves as a superpower.
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Were their intentions out of balance with the behavior and rhetoric of other great powers

like Britain, France, Russia, and the United States? Why or why not?

The intentions of Germany regarding war were well thought out and strategically

sane. To this effect, they sought to persuade political mileage and place themselves at the

forefront of the war by essentially exploiting their current standing (situation). This move

served as an opportunity for the German nation to exploit all resources available in order to

become the next superpower. It is however noteworthy to point out that such motives and

actions upset the balance of power by a great regard (Willson, 2008). In this case, Germans

sought to go to war and challenge all other aspects of the current power distribution citing

countries such as Britain, Russia and France in the middle of the war. This move went against

all world peace efforts especially citing that the win that they had envisioned in the war did

not come. In this case, they suffered the greatest number of casualties and displaced families

(Koch, 1984).

In the same regard, the economic front was widely affected which was not a factor

that had been anticipated. German policymakers had envisioned the war to be quick and

decisive, one that did not challenge their resources in any sizeable way. The war however

turned out to be significantly challenging for all parties involved. In this regard, German was

blamed for the starting the First World War with the intention of proving themselves as a

super power. However, the war did not go as anticipated and as a result, other countries such

as the United States emerged as super powers. France did not win any of the World Wars and

Germany and its alliances were left to repair and deal with the damage incurred in the

aftermath of the war. The aftermath of the First World War also had a major influence on the

alliances made during the Second World War.

What were some of the consequences of the First World War for European economies,

societies, and politics?

The First World War is regarded as the most impactful war in terms of economic,

social as well as political fronts. This is most especially emphasized in the regressing effects

of the war on these three fronts which can be felt to date. In this regard, more than 9 million

soldiers and civilians were accounted as dead as a result of the war. On this front alone, the

war had greatly affected the population, most notably the working class (Mulligan, 2017). As

a result of this impact, economics as well as politics changed drastically. On a similar note,

large portions of land, especially in Belgium and France, were destroyed. In this case, the war

had brought effects such as destruction of buildings and railroads as well as other

constructions that were crucial to the economy. At the same time, the use of chemical

weapons destroyed large portions of land that were predominantly used for farming. To date,

some of the areas affected by the war have not been recovered for their original purposes.

To better understand the full effects of the war, it is best to break down their effects

on the economy, the society, and on politics. The economical impact explains how the

economy of the country was affected in preparation for the war, during the war, and after the

war. In simple terms, war is always about destruction. This means that buildings and other

infrastructure that took years and even decades to build were destroyed during the war. At

some point, the war became about each country showing off their nuclear power and how

much destruction they can cause in their enemy’s territory. With this in mind, it becomes

clearer the level of destruction and loss and the impact of the war on the economy of the

world. The War also created a major shift in power dynamics both on the political spectrum

and on the social spectrum.

Economic Impact

The main issue with the world war was the costs associated with it. Countries such as

Germany and Britain had to invest over 60% of their economic revenue in the war. In order to

keep the economy running and afloat, most of the countries involved had to take the

challenging route and increase taxes. The countries that could not effectively do so had to

borrow money from other countries as well as their own citizens. In some instances, countries

were even forced to print money for the task of purchasing more weapons (Mulligan, 2017).

One of the major issues associated with this process is the inflation that ensued immediately

after the war. The European economy crumbled following the challenges in business and

funding. As such, companies had to lay off workers and close down owing to the financial

challenges as well as reprioritization of labor by taking men off to war.

The businesses that survived at the time mainly had to repurpose their business model

to manufacture weapons. Weapons and ammunitions were sold to the government for the war

efforts. This transformation in the business model may have come with its perks but once the

war ended, this business model could no longer be sustained and thus such opportunistic

businesses had to close down. Other countries, including the United States were not as

significantly affected as the European countries from an economical perspective.

Additionally, the fact that many countries were sending off men to war at a time when most

women were did not go to work meant that the economy was crippled. At the time, women

were mostly house helps and their main role was raising children. As if that was not enough,

many men lost their lives in the war and this meant that most households had no breadwinner.

This only goes to show the extent of the effects of the war as poverty levels increased due to

the broken households.

Social Impact

The societies at the end of the world war had greatly changed owing to a large variety

of factors propagated by the war. In this regard, numbers, such as birth rates, declined

drastically. Many of the young men who would have started families had headed out to war

and a significant number of them had lost their lives. The mortality rate had also flared up as

over 6 million soldiers died in the war. During the whole period that war lasted, social life

was almost non-existent since the war had to be given priority over social gatherings such as

celebrations. In simple terms, the world war was a dark period in history that entirely

changed the social dynamics. Additionally, it is hard to gather for celebrations when other

family members are out fighting for their country. The mortality rate was also high at the

time because besides the number of soldiers dying at the war, there were also biological

weapons used and this increased the number of fatalities.

The women too faced significant changes. Chief among these changes includes the

need to replace the men in the factories to keep the economy running. In this case, the men

went off to war while women transitioned from their roles as housewives to factory workers.

This upset the original understanding that women should be at home taking care of children

while men went off to work. Women had now become the backbone of the economy and the

industrial Europe. After the war, women maintained many of the rights that had been

awarded to them during the war, including the right to vote. There was a significant increase

in the numbers of the middle class and lower class especially after the war, and this gave

them an upper hand in decision-making after the war.

Political Impact

The rise of the world war had endued immediately after political changes in Russia. In

this regard, the war brought to an end the monarchies that had for long led parts of the

European region. These are the changes in the counties that resulted out of the destruction of

the older monarchies and empires included the creation of new independent states including

Poland (Mulligan, 2017). At the same time, countries in the Middle East were put under the

British and French control. The Ottoman Empire was shared and what was left became the

modern-day Turkey. While the war impacted what was understood as the new division of

independent states, it gave room for the Russian revolution. The Russian revolution was then

responsible for the emergence of the Soviet Union. In the same regard, factors such as

communism became a widely accepted ideology.

The destruction of empires was also accompanied by the creation of new nation states.

This encouraged many European colonies to seek independence, and in the process, the

United States became a world power. Additionally, the First World War directly contributed

towards Soviet communism and this resulted to the rise of Hitler. Some of the promises made

during the way and some of the diplomatic alliances that were created during the war came

back to haunt Europe many decades later. Europeans tried using the balance of power as an

approach to international relations. However, this changed during the Second World War

when different political forces were united with the aim of bringing about a revolution to

inter-state relations. Both World Wars led to a difference in political views about how the

states should conduct their relations. German has taken a bigger chunk of the blame for

causing both wars and therefore, the burden of history heavily falls on them.
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References

Koch, H. W. (Ed.). (1984). The Origins of the First World War. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-

07437-2

Mulligan, W. (2017). The Origins of the First World War (Vol. 52). Cambridge University

Press.

Reed, J. (1985). Ten days that shook the world . Рипол Классик.

The Fourteen Points | National WWI Museum and Memorial. (2021). Retrieved 12 March

2021, from https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/peace/fourteen-points

Von Bernhardi, F. (1914). Germany and the next war. IndyPublish. com.

Willson, P. (2008). Review: R.J.B. Bosworth, Mussolini's Italy: Life under the Dictatorship

1915—1945, Allen Lane: London, 2006; 720 pp.; 9780141012919, £10.99

(pbk). European History Quarterly, 38(2), 318-319. doi:

10.1177/02656914080380020505
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Appendix. List of countries that fought during World War 1

During the conflict, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (the

Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan

and the United States (the Allied Powers).