SECOND WORLD WAR

Reading the history of the Second World War it shows how it can escalate into a world wide war, very quickly, by one country gets involved after another.

At the moment, are we at the same point again?

When the First World War finished in 1918 everybody was sure of an everlasting peace. The following 20 years several diplomatic crises should have warned and prevented of slipping into another World War.

Fascist Franco in Spain, Benito Mussolini in Italy and in Germany Adolf Hitler became Reich Chancellor in 1933.  Japan threatened the peace in Asia.

Hitler, Germany, began a rearmament and March 1936 he re-occupied the Rhineland despite the Treaty of Versailles. Two years later he annexed Austria. Annexed is just another word for occupied which does not make sound so sever.

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Hitler made Britain and France for Czechoslovakia to give up the German-speaking Sudentenland. In 1939 Hitler’s army marched into Czechoslovakia and occupied the rest of the country.

His action made Britain and France signed a guarantee to Poland. It did not stop Hitler and he invaded Poland on 1 September, 1939. Now Britain and France were forced to declare war. Poland was overrun and Warsaw declared capitulation on 27 September.

April 1940 Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway.

May 10 Winston Churchill became British Prime Minister. The Germans offensive in the West went through the Belgium Ardennes. At the same time they broke through the French line with tanks, assault troops and air support.

They were heading towards the Channel and splitting the Allies armies. At Dunkirk they had the British and French army cornered. 338,000 were rescued by any boat available and brought back to Britain. Although the Germans were already there to invade Britain and could have wiped out the British army Hitler would not give the command. The reason will never be known. Maybe the huge British Empire was even for Hitler too much.

The German army continued and on 22 June, 1940 France signed an armistice.

Britain faced Hitler alone with Italy entering the war and fought on the Hitler’s side.

In July Hitler commanded to draw up a plan of invading Britain. To achieve it he had to bomb Britain into submission first. The Luftwaffe under Reichsmarshall Herman Goering began its offensive on 13 August.

The Real Reality of War

on both sides

Nobody wins but the Fatcats (again)

and it is them who want war

Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding’s RAF fighter Command was down to its last reserve when the Germans stopped bombing airfields and attacked London on 7 September and other cities.  Ten days later Hitler postponed his invasion.

Hitler tried to bombard Britain into submission from September, 1940 to May 1941 but never achieved it.

Due to Britain’s colonies it was the greatest sea power and ruled the waves. Germany’s U-boats was the biggest thread.  By 1942 they were sinking 92 ships a month. After the British invented Sonar the table turned and Admiral Karl Doenitz’s U-boats experienced a heavy loss.  From 40,000 men only 10,000 survived.

BEGINNING OF FIRST WORLD WAR 100 YEARS AGO

ARCHDUKE FRANZ FERDINAND
AND HIS WIFE SOFIE AND  
THEIR THREE CHILDREN 
IN 1910

When Gravilo Princip fired a shot at the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, killing him, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, he did not realize that he started something that would spin out of control. Although, in general, he was blamed for the First World War but there always playing other factors into it to ignite such devastation.

On one hand, there was Germany united since the Franco-Prussian war of 1879-1. The balance of Europe started to shift which was frowned on by other countries. Tensions started to build up by national ambitions, economic rivalry and setting up colonies.

In the year 1914 there existed a Triple Alliance of Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy. This other Triple entente was between Britain, France and Russia. These two Triple Alliances caused the spreading of the conflict. Therefore, when Kaiser William II invaded Belgium, for unknown reason, it seemed that the stage was set for the First World War. Britain had to declare on Germany on 4 August, 1914 because Britain guaranteed Belgium to protect their independence.  

At that time Britain had the largest Navy for obvious reason but they did not have any army.  The secretary of state for war, Lord Kitchener, rushed around to get a volunteer army together.  In 1915 he counted around 2.5million man. Since the war continued the number of volunteer slumped and the casualties rose rapidly; he was forced to introduce a compulsory army.

Germany’s attempt to defeat France before Russia could mobilise failed at the Battle of the Marne in September 1914. Trenches were tugged in on both sides. Due to the accuracy of modern weapons, especially the machine gun, it was realized that soldiers can safe themselves by taking shelter in the trenches.

At the battle of Ypres in November 1914 the British Expeditionary Force under Sir John French was almost wiped out.  By December 1914 there were trenches from the English Channel all the way down to Switzerland.

After that the Allies and the Germans tried to end the stalemate.  The only way they could do it by bombarding the enemy’s position, using poisonous gas and built tanks. The loss of men was huge. The Battles of Verdun and the Somme in 1916 cost the Allies 1.1million. The Germans had the same number of men lost.  British forces under the command of Sir Douglas Haig lost around 44,000 men a month which rose to 75,000 by 1918.

In spite of the Russia enormous effort to mobilise in 1917 they suffered great losses. They won a great victory in 1916 over Austria in the offensive of General Alexei Brusilov but at the end they were exhausted. We also got to remember they had a revolution in 1917 while whole Europe was at war.  After the revolution the Provisional Government led by Alexander Kerensky the offensive in summer was a failure. It is assumed that the Bolsheviks got tired of fighting. In March 1918 Lenin signed a peace treaty which was humiliating, the treaty of Brest Litovsk.

HABSBURG

The Habsburg dynasty reigned from 15th to 20th century over most of Europe. By marriage and conquest it achieve and empire which strechted from Hungary to Peru. In 1600 the Habsburg were at their greatest power.

The name derived from the family seat Habichtsburg (Hawk's Castle) in Switzerland. The family was founded by Albert, Count of Habichtsburg.

HABICHTSBURG

The first of the Habsburg powerful family was Rudolf I, king of the Romans from 1273 to 1291. He conquered Austria and the province Styria which was passed on to two sons in 1282. The Habsburg made their name in history not to declare war and conquer but to marry. Austria became the Habsburg power base in 1278.

In 1438 Albert II was the first Habsburg who became Holy Roman Empire.  Fredrick III and Maximilian I were his successors and secured the family hold on the imperial crown.

 In late 15th century Maximilian I marriage brought the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Burgundy. Maximilian's son Philip gained through marriage Castle, Aragon, and the Spanish New World Possessions.

HABSBURG REGALIA

The Holy Roman Empire was under the control of the

Habsburg family. The height of their power was in the 16th century. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was also Charles I king of Spain. Charles inherited the Holy Roman Empire and the family’s Austrian base in 1519.  Charles was King of Spain, its territories in the New World and Naples, Burgundy and The Netherlands.

CHARLES V

He added Peru, Mexico, Hungary and Bohemia to his vast Empire.

Such great Empires always attract enemies and threats of war to be able to gain some territories for their own countries.  Charles was different to the previous Habsburgs. During his whole reign he was at war.

King Francis I, from France was determined to be become Holy Roman Emperor and was at war most of the time with Charles V. In Spain he had to face troubles because he was born in Burgundy and was to Spaniards a foreigner.  From East the Ottoman Turks tried to conquer Hungary and laid siege to Vienna but was unsuccessfully.  Even within the empire he had trouble. At that time the Reformation became established and tried to get hold of more power.  Charles V was a Roman Catholic and defender of it.  In 1555 he was forced to a partial defeat and had to give religious tolerance to the Protestant prince at the Peace of Augsburg.

As the years went on Charles realise it was too much for one man and let his younger brother Ferdinand rule the Austria as Empire of Regent.  Charles abdicated in 1556 and went to live in a monastery.  He divided the huge Empire between Ferdinand and his son Philip.

After Charles died in 1559, the division became permanent and his brother Ferdinand ruled Germany and Austria. Ferdinand's son Philip II ruled over Spain. During the 30 Year War, from 1618, the Habsburg dynasty lost some power but managed to add Portugal to their empire.

In the 18th century the Austrian Habsburg came to new heights under Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II. Austria lost Netherlands and then the title of Holy Roman Emperor at the end of the Napoleon war.

They survived the revolution in 1848 but after 1866 Austrian-Prussian war Habsburg had to make concession to the Hungarian nationalism. They formed the monarchy Austria-Hungary.

EMPEROR FRANZ JOSEPH 

The emperor Franz Joseph went against Russia because of their control of the Balkan and allied with Germany in 1879. The Nationalists became more and more powerful. The final spark to the more than explosive situation came from Crown Prince and his wife being shot at Sarajevo and the First World War broke out. After the war the empire was broken up.

1918 the last Habsburg monarch Charles I of Austria renounced his title.

PALACE SCHOENBRUNN IN VIENNA - HABSBURG'S FAMILY SEAT

ARCHDUKE OTTO VON HABSBURG -- ELDEST SON OF THE LAST EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA