LECTURE 7: WORLD WAR, COLD WAR
World War I was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, leading to the mobilization of Austria and Serbia. The Germans joined the Austrians to form the Central powers; the French, British, and Russia formed the Allied powers. Following the Battle of the Marne and the outflanking attempt of both nations in the "Race to the Sea", trench warfare ensued, leaving the war in a great deadlock. Major operations by the Germans at the Battle of Verdun and by the British and the French at the Battle of the Somme were carried out, and new technology like tanks and chlorine gas were used. Following the USA's entrance into the war, the Germans and their allies were eventually defeated.
World War II ensued after Germany's invasion of Poland, forcing Britain and France to declare war. Germany quickly defeated France and Belgium, later aided by Italy. A hasty evacuation occurred at Dunkirk to save the Allied army from complete disaster. The Germany then attacked USSR and marched to take over the Soviet resources, but were thwarted. Meanwhile, Japan, who had already been at war with the Chinese since 1937, had launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, leading the United States to join the Allied powers. In Europe, the Allies opened three fronts: in the west, after securing Normandy; in the east, aiding the Soviet Union; and in the south, through Italy. Germany eventually surrendered, upon which the Allies turned and focused troops to do island hopping. The dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the surrender of Japan and the end of the Second World War.
Worsening relationships between wartime Allies developed into the Cold War, reaching a climax during the Cuban Missile Crisis at the same time as the Sino-Indian War. Hostilities never actually occurred, though the US-backed UN forces did engage against the communist states in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
In modern times, war has evolved from an activity steeped in tradition to a scientific enterprise where success is valued above methods. The notion of total war is the extreme of this trend.[citation needed] Militaries have developed technological advances rivalling the scientific accomplishments of any other field of study.[citation needed]
However, it should be noted that modern militaries benefit in the development of these technologies under the funding of the public, the leadership of national governments, and often in cooperation with large civilian groups, such as the General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin corporations, in the United States. And as for "total war," it may be argued that it is not an exclusive practice of modern militaries, but in the tradition of genocidal conflict that marks even tribal warfare to this day.[citation needed] What distinguishes modern military organizations from those previous is not their willingness to prevail in conflict by any method, but rather the technological variety of tools and methods available to modern battlefield commanders, from submarines to satellites, from knives to nuclear warheads.[citation needed]
Some of the military unit types and technologies which were developed in modern times are:
- Ammunition
- Armory
- Conscription
- Grenadier
- Sappers and Miners
- Marine
- Aviation
- Rifleman
- Special Forces
- Naval Combatant
- Global Information Grid
- Active Electronically Scanned Array
- Network-centric warfare
- Supercomputer
- Space warfare
- Cyberwar
World War I was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, leading to the mobilization of Austria and Serbia. The Germans joined the Austrians to form the Central powers; the French, British, and Russia formed the Allied powers. Following the Battle of the Marne and the outflanking attempt of both nations in the "Race to the Sea", trench warfare ensued, leaving the war in a great deadlock. Major operations by the Germans at the Battle of Verdun and by the British and the French at the Battle of the Somme were carried out, and new technology like tanks and chlorine gas were used. Following the USA's entrance into the war, the Germans and their allies were eventually defeated.
World War II ensued after Germany's invasion of Poland, forcing Britain and France to declare war. Germany quickly defeated France and Belgium, later aided by Italy. A hasty evacuation occurred at Dunkirk to save the Allied army from complete disaster. The Germany then attacked USSR and marched to take over the Soviet resources, but were thwarted. Meanwhile, Japan, who had already been at war with the Chinese since 1937, had launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, leading the United States to join the Allied powers. In Europe, the Allies opened three fronts: in the west, after securing Normandy; in the east, aiding the Soviet Union; and in the south, through Italy. Germany eventually surrendered, upon which the Allies turned and focused troops to do island hopping. The dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the surrender of Japan and the end of the Second World War.
Worsening relationships between wartime Allies developed into the Cold War, reaching a climax during the Cuban Missile Crisis at the same time as the Sino-Indian War. Hostilities never actually occurred, though the US-backed UN forces did engage against the communist states in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
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