"War on an industrial scale is inevitable. They'll do it themselves in a few years."
~Prof. James Moriarty Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
As I said last time, while the royal cousins of Europe were smiling at each other, back home they were building up their armies and experimenting with new weapons. Symbolic relationships and family ties were not hard currency when it came to foreign affairs. Since the fall of Rome, international policy had chiefly consisted of national security, that is, military superiority. Do unto others first, before they invade you, or if they do try to invade you, make sure you can make them sorry they tried. Exhibit A, the British defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.
For all the new societal organizations and business partnerships, nineteenth century Europe had no solid system of diplomatic mediation. The closest to such that existed was the first Geneva Convention, convened in 1864, and was more about humanitarianism in war than international negotiation. Tsar Nicholas II convened the Hague Conference in 1899, which brought the powers of Europe together to limit the buildup of armaments and also found an international court to settle disputes between nations. The International Court was indeed founded, but the problem was convening the court was to be voluntary. There is no purpose in having a way to settle international disputes if participation is voluntary. Any country can then do whatever they please to their neighbors and then politely decline to participate in the court if summoned.
Britain and France ruled much of the world at this time, thus much international conflict arose over jealous competition between the two of them, and Germany, who had a few colonies that it wanted to keep from the rest. Germany was the worst at provoking the rivalry between these three when, in 1900, it determined to build a naval fleet capable of engaging the Royal Navy. By 1906, the race to out-build Germany was at the forefront of British public policy. France, in turn, decided to match Germany in number of soldiers. No mean feat, because Germany had a population of 60 million souls, France only 40 million. They did this by enacting the "Three Year Law" in 1913, extending the service of conscripts to three years.
Thus soldier making and armaments manufacture became yet another of the new industries of the turn of the 20th century. Nearly all of Europe made it necessary for all their young men to go through military training and remain in reserve until late middle-age. The exception to this was Britain which, surrounded by sea and defended by the most powerful navy in the world, saw no need for this. Therefore, in 1914 there were some two hundred military divisions ready at a moment's notice, with sufficient firepower to destroy each other in the first few minutes of the war.
The only thing that kept the world from ending so quickly was communication. Large armies can only be efficiently deployed with near instantaneous communication, and the world did not quite have that yet. Radio (wireless telegraphy as it was known then) was still in its infancy, and while well known in theory, was not practical in the field. Primitive radios were too large and used too much energy to be used anywhere outside ships. The telephone and telegraph were the fastest way to send word, and those both depend on fragile wires, easily broken as soon as they were set up. When those failed, the fastest way to send and receive news and commands were the most ancient ways, word of mouth and the written word, which can only travel as fast as a man, or whatever he rides or drives. This is why it first took a while for the war to actually start when war was declared and also why front lines often came to a grinding halt as territory was won and lost by inches later on. Commanders were reduced to confusion and uncertainty, while soldiers waited days or weeks to receive orders.
Certainly, it is also this uncertainty in communications that brought the war into being. In that fateful summer, the diplomatic crisis that was ignited by an assassination was slave to the wheel, the written note, the telegraph schedule and the encipher routine. Events swelled and outpaced the ability of diplomats and statesmen to control them, and they overwhelmed the primitive ways of communication. Why no one bothered to use a telephone I cannot say, except that no one thought about it. Telephones were certainly available for use, they had been around for nearly thirty years at least. Everyone was too used to the regular routine that had served for years. So, the chain reaction began, as if everyone had been wanting to do this for so long, and they felt the had no other choice.
For all the new societal organizations and business partnerships, nineteenth century Europe had no solid system of diplomatic mediation. The closest to such that existed was the first Geneva Convention, convened in 1864, and was more about humanitarianism in war than international negotiation. Tsar Nicholas II convened the Hague Conference in 1899, which brought the powers of Europe together to limit the buildup of armaments and also found an international court to settle disputes between nations. The International Court was indeed founded, but the problem was convening the court was to be voluntary. There is no purpose in having a way to settle international disputes if participation is voluntary. Any country can then do whatever they please to their neighbors and then politely decline to participate in the court if summoned.
Britain and France ruled much of the world at this time, thus much international conflict arose over jealous competition between the two of them, and Germany, who had a few colonies that it wanted to keep from the rest. Germany was the worst at provoking the rivalry between these three when, in 1900, it determined to build a naval fleet capable of engaging the Royal Navy. By 1906, the race to out-build Germany was at the forefront of British public policy. France, in turn, decided to match Germany in number of soldiers. No mean feat, because Germany had a population of 60 million souls, France only 40 million. They did this by enacting the "Three Year Law" in 1913, extending the service of conscripts to three years.
Thus soldier making and armaments manufacture became yet another of the new industries of the turn of the 20th century. Nearly all of Europe made it necessary for all their young men to go through military training and remain in reserve until late middle-age. The exception to this was Britain which, surrounded by sea and defended by the most powerful navy in the world, saw no need for this. Therefore, in 1914 there were some two hundred military divisions ready at a moment's notice, with sufficient firepower to destroy each other in the first few minutes of the war.
The only thing that kept the world from ending so quickly was communication. Large armies can only be efficiently deployed with near instantaneous communication, and the world did not quite have that yet. Radio (wireless telegraphy as it was known then) was still in its infancy, and while well known in theory, was not practical in the field. Primitive radios were too large and used too much energy to be used anywhere outside ships. The telephone and telegraph were the fastest way to send word, and those both depend on fragile wires, easily broken as soon as they were set up. When those failed, the fastest way to send and receive news and commands were the most ancient ways, word of mouth and the written word, which can only travel as fast as a man, or whatever he rides or drives. This is why it first took a while for the war to actually start when war was declared and also why front lines often came to a grinding halt as territory was won and lost by inches later on. Commanders were reduced to confusion and uncertainty, while soldiers waited days or weeks to receive orders.
Certainly, it is also this uncertainty in communications that brought the war into being. In that fateful summer, the diplomatic crisis that was ignited by an assassination was slave to the wheel, the written note, the telegraph schedule and the encipher routine. Events swelled and outpaced the ability of diplomats and statesmen to control them, and they overwhelmed the primitive ways of communication. Why no one bothered to use a telephone I cannot say, except that no one thought about it. Telephones were certainly available for use, they had been around for nearly thirty years at least. Everyone was too used to the regular routine that had served for years. So, the chain reaction began, as if everyone had been wanting to do this for so long, and they felt the had no other choice.
Fascinating. We (humans) seem chained to the destiny of "fighting the last war". Unable to use or embrace change. Unable to comprehend the impact of technology while consumed by the advance of knowledge and technology. The victors seemed to be the ones who can implement the newest technology the quickest.
ReplyDelete