100 years ago today, Bosnian Serbian radical assassinated the Austro-Hungarian Emperor, Franz Ferdinand. How did this start a war? Easy: Russians mobilized to support their ethnic interests in Serbia. Austro-Hungarian Empire mobilized to support their imperial claim to the Balkins. The Germans were Allies to the Austrians by treaty. The French were Allied to the Russians by treaty. The Germans beat the French 40 years earlier, so they thought they could easily do it again, but first they had to march through Belgium that was Allied to the Brittish for 70 years for no explicable reason. The Italians didnt want to be left out, so they joined with the Austrians, but switched sides twice during the war. The American President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat who was elected in 1912 only because the Republican vote was splintered by radicals, ran and won in 1916 on the promise to keep the US out of Europes war. In 1918 we went back on that promise, and declaired war on Germany, when it was found out that they were trying to distract the US by fostering a border war with Mexico. 1. Everyone saw it coming. no one wanted to get out of the way of it. Everyone thought they could profit from it, but... 2. WW1 was the cause of : A. the Global Spanish Flu Pandemic, B. instablility that caused the Russian Revolution, C. A Global Recession that lasted until 1922 D. the rise of Fascism in Italy, Spain and Germany E. The destruction of 3 Empires (Austro-Hungary, Russia, UK) F. Harsh Reparations that set the stage for World War 2 G. A decade long spike in wealth inequality, H. A decade long drop in life expenctancy. 3. Everyones predictions were wrong. No one benefited from World War 1, not even the Winners. History doesnt repeat itself, but it rhymes. -- Mark Twain. https://youtube/watch?v=cqW1cH_q0EQ&list=PLwn22WhrrUFMg65XgPicFBfYgHj7Xpcdn&index=3
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 09:23:39 +0000
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