CLICK HERE TO PART 2:   FROM 1919, INTERWAR YEARS, WWII, COLD WAR

   INTER-WAR YEARS

  WWII

  HITLER'S DEATH CAMPS

GREATER EUROPE
FROM THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

Each decade teaches us something new about the past. We find new evidence about the past, which we assumed did not exist. But we are also shaped by our experiences and enlarged by them, and thus our "templates" for envisioning the past become sharper and more complex.
ONE THING FOR SURE: Western Civilization ALERTS US TO THE REALITY that Indifference is never benign, that it is active and vigorous and very killing and lethal. In a time of potential indecency, what can global citizens do? Emily Dickinson gave us all the charge when she wrote: "We must keep our souls terribly surprised." I would add that we must educate our souls so that we can reach out and we can act.

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THE CENTURY BEFORE THE GREAT WAR

The so-called free nations fought WWI to end the old Congress of Berlin Cabal System and make the world safe for democracies. The free nations of WESTERN CIVILIZATION fought the Axis powers in WWII to remove the dreadful propensity of genocide, fascism, human abuse. During the Cold War, the forces of light saw themselves fighting the forces of darkness to keep the freedom of spirit alive. And in Eastern Europe, finally - after so many had died, the West acknowledged that Human Abuse was alive and well and that the fortunate nations held some strategic if not moral responsible to intervene. As the 21st Century begins, the resolve is shaky but evident, the successes hopeful but tenuous.
> The Congress System of the 19th Century which seemed such an anachronism in a 20th Century of Leagues of Nations, UN Nations, NATO, UNICEF is alive and well. But rather than gather the malcontents, mischief makers, havoc raisers to Berlin or Vienna to chastise and command, the Congress leaders gather them to Dayton, Ohio to solve the Yugoslavian question. An interesting change of scenery to a nation that has figured in Great Power Politics for such a short historical time.

 UTUBES FOR HISTORY 4C - 1ST PART - FROM THE FRENCH REVOLUTION TO  EVE OF WWI:  HERE

FRENCH REVOLUTION

"The revolution in France has captivated the imaginations of historians since it exploded onto the European landscape two hundred years ago." Did it succeed or fail? Professor Eugen Weber, on National Public Radio, recently concluded that the French Revolution was destroyed by itself and by Napoleon.

Home of the French Revolution

"The French Revolution was one of the most influential and significant events in world history; it continues to fascinate people two centuries after the people of France rebelled against their rulers. Why and how the Revolution occurred, how it was lived, celebrated, resisted, condemned, and suffered by men and women whose hopes and aspirations were hardly different from their 20th-century counterparts. Letters, poems, speeches, diaries, newspaper articles, movies, songs and videos are some of the resources used to enlighten you as to the Revolution and its events." 

The French Revolt and Empire: 1792-1815

"In 1789, growing discontent with France's feudal government suddenly exploded into an open revolt which drew the attention of all the nations of Europe. The ensuing violence and international involvement triggered more than two decades of nearly continuous warfare as various competing empires sought to reimpose their own views of balanced power. So many related military campaigns were fought over such large areas by so many different factions, that this era has wryly been called the first true world war."

French Revolution Summary

It began:  "After years of increasing dissatisfaction with the way they were treated by the royal family and aristocratic class, the people of France moved towards improving their lot in life by the formation of a National Assembly on 17 June 1789."

July 14 1789 - The Storming of the Bastille

" The time was half past three, on the famous date of July 14, 1789. A huge, bloodthirsty mob marched to the Bastille, searching for gun powder and prisoners that had been taken by the unpopular and detested King, Louis XVI. Even elements of the newly formed National Guard were present at the assault. The flying rumors of attacks from the government and the biting truth of starvation were just too much for the angry crowds. The Bastille had been prepared for over a week, anticipating about a hundred angry subjects and along the thick rock walls of the gargantuan fortress and between the towers were twelve more guns that were capable of launching 24-ounce case shots at any who dared to attack. However, the enraged Paris Commune was too defiant and too livid to submit to the starvation and seeming injustice of their government. But nothing could have prepared the defenders for what they met that now famous day."  Then click here for a summary of the Revolution and the Bastille.

The Great Fear of 1789 - Site Gone 

In July and August of 1789, a confused kind of rebellion broke out all over rural France, then spread, as if along a powder-trail, to the kingdom's cities: the Great Fear, it came to be called. As the French historian Lenôtre points out, "the phenomenon remains a baffling one." "During the momentous political events of 1788-89 much of the country lay in the grip of a classic subsistence crisis. Bad weather had reduced the grain crops that year by almost one-quarter the normal yield. An unusually cold winter compounded the problem, as frozen rivers halted the transport and milling of flour in many localities. Amidst fears of hoarding and profiteering, grain and flour reserves dwindled. In Paris the price of the four-pound loaf of bread--the standard item of consumption accounting for most of the population's calories and nutrition--rose from its usual 8 sous to 14 sous by January 1789. This intolerable trend set off traditional forms of popular protest. If royal officials did not assure basic food supplies at affordable prices, then people would act directly to seize food. During the winter and spring of 1789 urban consumers and peasants rioted at bakers and markets and attacked millers and grain convoys. Then, in July, this anxiety merged with the looming political crisis at Versailles. Parisians believed that food shortages and royal troops would be used in tandem to starve the people and overwhelm them into submission. They feared an 'aristocratic plot' to throttle the patriot cause."

The Decree Abolishing the Feudal System August 11, 1789

"The abolition of the feudal system, which took place during the famous night session of August 4-5, 1789, was caused by the reading of a report on the misery and disorder which prevailed in the provinces. The report declares that 'Letters from all the provinces indicate that property of all kinds is a prey to the most criminal violence; on all sides chateaux are being burned, convents destroyed, and farms abandoned to pillage. The taxes, the feudal dues, all are extinct; the laws are without force, and the magistrates without authority.' With the hope of pacifying and encouraging the people, the Assembly, in a fervor of enthusiasm and excitement, straightway abolished many of the ancient abuses. This document is the revised decree, completed a week later."

The Men and Women of the FR - Biographies

Modern History Sourcebook: Olympe de Gouge: Declaration of the Rights of Women, 1791

"Olympe de Gouges, a butcher's daughter, proved to be one of the most outspoken and articulate women revolutionaries. In 1791 she wrote the following declaration, directly challenging the inferiority presumed of women by the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Her attempts to push this idea lead to her being charged with treason during the rule of the National Convention. She was quickly arrested, tried, and on November 3, 1793, executed by the guillotine."

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Text of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, drawn up by the National Assembly. August 26

First Revolution

Estates General, National Assembly, capture of the Bastille, the Great Fear, Declaration of the Rights of Man, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, the Constitution of 1791, economic reforms.

French Revolution and Empire:  1792-1815

Excellent summary  with a strong conclusion. "As with other wars which involved great internal strife, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars left a rancorous legacy of conflict. After 1815, the Allied victors continued to paint Napoleon as 'The Monster' even though the wars had already been in full swing when he came on the scene, and despite their own attacks on countries large and small. Napoleon and his indomitable ego certainly lengthened the wars, and like most other leaders of that era, his actions caused the unnecessary deaths of thousands. In the end though, it is difficult to separate his actions from other leaders of his time. People of that era continued to have a romantic view of war which was only abandoned after the consecutive slaughters of WWII and WWII, and all shared in the guilt for the 23 years of war which began in 1792 because of the overthrow of a French Monarch."

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Maxmilien Robespierre

"The dominant figure of the FR, M. Robespierre, was a fanatical republican who thought the end justified the means."

Robespierre - Modern History Sourcebook

" Maximilien Robespierre (1758­ 1794) was the leader of the Committee of Public Safety elected by the National Convention, and which effectively governed France at the height of the radical phase of the revolution. He had once been a fairly straightforward liberal thinker - reputedly he slept with a copy of Rousseau's Social Contract at his side. But his own purity of belief led him to impatience with others.The committee was among the most creative executive bodies ever seen - and rapidly put into effect policies which stabilized the French economy and began the formation of the very successful French army. It also directed it energies against counter-revolutionary uprisings, especially in the south and west of France. In doing so it unleashed the reign of terror. Here Robespierre, in his speech of 2/ 5, 1794, discussed this issue. The figures behind this speech indicate that in the five months from September, 1793, to February 5, 1794, the revolutionary tribunal in Paris convicted and executed 238 men and 31 women and acquitted 190 persons, and that on February 5 there were 5,434 individuals in the prisons in Paris awaiting trial. "

Louis XVI

"History has not been kind to Louis XVI; in fact, history is rarely kind to the losers. He is painted as vain, unintelligent, and ineffectual, so clueless that on the day the Bastille was seized by Revolutionaries, he wrote in his diary, "Rien," "Nothing happened." It's difficult, however, to really assign any blame. The Revolution itself was an extraordinarly complicated affair; it was principally lit by the antagonisms between the first two and the Third Estate, antagonisms rooted in decades of abuse and frustration. It is certain that Louis XVI failed to maintain the centralization of power; all the forces in France were conspiring to fragment power away from the monarchy."  Excellent summary of events leading to the Revolution.

Marie Antoinette :

A Whore and a Murderer ?   :  "Although it was true that the French Revolution of 1789 began because of economic, political, and social troubles for the masses, there were particular people who helped fuel the movement by increasing the anger of the French people. One of these people was Queen Marie Antoinette, who had become one of the most hated people in France by the time the Revolution came."  And, "Marie Antoinette was a scapegoat during the years leading up to the FR. Her reputation for infidelity and wastefulness was used by her enemies to infuriate the masses against the monarchy. She had been made a symbol of hatred to all of France. It is true that Marie  did not deserve the degree of abuse she received from her subjects for she was not completely guilty of all wrongdoing."  But "Antoinette could not erase her mistakes because the damage had already been done. She ultimately created her own demise."

Charlotte's biography:  "Adding to the fervor of the French Revolution, Charlotte Corday followed Queen Marie Antoinette to the guillotine. Because Corday had decided to assassinate Jean-Paul Marat, there is no doubt as to the cause of her demise. While Antoinette was executed for her reputation, Corday was beheaded for committing the act of murder.  In the chaos of the Revolution of 1789, atrocities and murder were the constant companion of the French people. However, one murder is particularly interesting because scholars frequently neglect the roles of women, who also contributed to the frenzy. Charlotte Corday was an attractive young woman who shocked the country by murdering a leader of the Paris Commune and Jacobin Party by the name of Jean-Paul Marat. Although she had believed that she was saving France from the ruthless tyrant, she did not realize the futility of her efforts.  Corday, a Norman member of the nobility of the sword, was an idealistic romanticist . . . " ! !.

The Radical Revolution<:  Excellent Historical Summary

Girondists, Jacobins, the common folk, the Reign of Terror, the Thermidorean Reaction.

Revolution and After

One scholar's controversial analysis of the revolution:  "The revolution in France has captivated the imaginations of historians since it exploded the European landscape two hundred years ago. There are few if any events in European history that are regarded as fundamental to the character of the European world as the giddy, frightening, farcical, and overwhelmingly tragic events during and after the French Revolution. It may be that the event has been grossly overestimated. It was, after all, a complete failure; it ended the monarchy in France, but it ended in a different monarchy so repugnant and violent that the sloppy laziness of the eighteenth century monarchy simply palled in relation to the calculated violence of the years of Napolean's emperorship.

The ideas of the revolution were not new; in fact, the revolution itself was simply a gathering point, a boiling pot in which ideas of the Enlightenment and the philosophes erupted into a single action. The ideas that originated during the revolution bordered on the farcical. In their efforts to remake society based on individuality and rights, the French reformers insanely went about changing the days of the months and even instituting a church of Reason. In fact, if the cost had not been the loss of thousands of innocent, terrified lives, lives snuffed out at the mere whims of their accusers, the Revolution itself was little more than ludicrous farce played out on the stage of European history.

But the Revolution was not an innocent affair; like the First World War, its sheer stupidity and  ludicrousness got swallowed up in an ocean of blood and a flood of terror. While no event in European history is more important in the eventual formation of the modern state, the Revolutionaries and Napolean to follow also gave birth to modern mass destruction of human life. In sheer volume of lives lost, they are on a par with the violence of the Third Reich in the twentieth century."

The Guillotine

"Debate rages over whether the quickness of the execution was humane or not, as many doctors put forward the notion that it could take up to 30 seconds before the victim lost consciousness."  "Until the French Revolution, France had no official means of capital punishment. Several popular methods of the time included hanging, often from street lampposts; burning at the stake, which was St Joan of Arc's untimely demise; quartering, execution by tying the condemned to four wild horses and sending them gallopping off in opposite directions (ripping the condemned into quarters); death upon the rack, a slow and merciless death; death by drowning, where the condemned was held underwater for extended periods of time; as well as death by torture. As you can see, the judicial system of France was a kind and benevolent system. One method was used quite often: death by decapitation. Yet at the time, this form of execution was sloppy at best. On many occasions, the executioner's ax missed the neck, and it took several strokes to do the job. Once, the executioner even had to take out his dagger and stab the victim to death."

NAPOLEON: THE LITTLE CORSICAN

Few leaders in history have so captured the imagination of historians. Was he a dedicated genius who brought freedom and laws and civilization to Europe? Or was he, as Eugen Weber recently claimed, "a murderous meglomanic of genius."

Napoleon Foundation Presents

Dedicated to the study and diffusion of the civil and military achievements of the First and Second Empires. Remarkable site. "Depending on your inclinations, you may choose to be entertained or informed at Exhibitions in the Museum, or to do research at the Documentation Centre...which offers you a rich selection of articles and iconography (already more than 400 items). You could also choose to visit the filmography. .  .
Huge data bases, library and museum links.  Chronologies, photo trips to all the major places in Napoleon's life, really remarkable "day trips" online to parts and places of Napoleon's life, interviews, a club to join. This is serious stuff!  A TOUR DE FORCE.

The Napoleon Guide

Easy-to-navigate online magazine that offers broad coverage of the fascinating era of Napoleon Bonaparte.  His career:  "One of the most brilliant individuals in history, Napoleon Bonaparte was a masterful soldier, grand tactician, sublime statesman and exceedingly capable administrator."  (Excellent article on his life).  Followed by his Opponents, his Marshals, and of course, his loves.(biographies).

THE MAN, HIS MIND, AND THE TIMES    

Capsule History of Napoleonic Literature

"More books have been written about Napoleon than any other figure in history. Between 1815 and 1900, more than 100,000 titles were produced." Why have so many books been written? First and foremost was Napoleon's impact on history.  During the period 1800-1815, almost every significant event in European history was the result of an action initiated by Napoleon. The Napoleonic Wars were the greatest event in the 19th Century and, as such, people literally devoured everything that was written concerning Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars."

Imperial Guard of Napoleon

Written in 1851, this electronic book of 14 chapters contains everything from soup to nuts on Napoleon.

Maxims of Napoleon

"Friendship is but a name....Great ambition is the passion of a great character...Love does more harm than good...When the authority of the master is disowned, all is lost...In government, as in war, mind is necessary to success." Many others.

Napolean

Bonaparte, the Consulate, the Napoleonic Code, the Empire (1804-1814), the Congress of Vienna, the Hundred Days.

Napoleonic Era

Coalitions, personalities, Chronology of the Napoleonic Wars, Major Events 1769-1820.

Napoleon Bonaparte:  Dispatches and Orders, 1796-1815

"On-line selections of Napoleon's Headquarters Correspondence are drawn from the original 32 volumes of dispatches and orders first published in 1853."

Napoleon and Foreign Affairs - Brief But Detailed Outline

Napoleonic Literature

Classic Napoleonic literature and art in electronic format.

THE WARS    

Napoleon Series   Napoleon SeriesElectronic magazine dedicated to Napoleon and his times.  Articles, discussion, reviews, excellent FAQs.   

Napoleonic Artillery - Firepower Comes of Age

Special article on the impact on war of the Napoleonic Wars from 1792-1815. "During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars which swept Europe between 1792 and 1815, the small professional armies of the Eighteenth Century quickly gave way to large national armies composed of draftees. This same period saw artillery transformed from a specialized profession overseen by "mechanics," into a major service branch capable of dominating battlefields. An example of this is the French Army of Italy, which in 1796 had 60 artillery pieces to its credit. Sixteen years later, at the Battle of Borodino, the artillery for both sides totaled nearly 1,200 guns which fired an average of 15,000 rounds per hour during the course of the day's fighting. And that was on a mere two mile front! . . But . . .how did it function during the confusion of combat? What factors led to the rise in status of artillery from a belittled specialist branch to that of a new god of war?"

Napoleonic Wars - The Armies

Austria, Britain, France, Prussia, Russia.   Infantry, cavalry, artillery, manpower.  The leading soldiers of all armies.

Correspondence of Napoleon I

"These on-line selections of Napoleon's Headquarters Correspondence re drawn from the original 32 volumes of dispatches and orders first published in 1853. Because of the sheer size of the Correspondence, we can only provide highlights of important battles or campaigns. "
Napoleon takes command of the Army of Italy:   March 27th through 31st, 1797.
The Battle of Austerlitz: December 1st through 3rd, 1805 and December 3rd, 1805.

Prelude and first day of Aspern-Essling:  May 19 - 24, 1809.
The battles of Ligny, Quatre Bras and Waterloo (Mont-Saint-Jean):  June 15-21, 1815.

The Campaigns of the War - Assessment

First Coalition against Napoleon, The Egyptian Campaign (1798-1801), Second Coalition, Third Coalition ("In April 1805, the time looked perfect for the members of the Third Coalition - Britain, Austria, Russia, Sweden and some German states - to strike back at France.") Fourth Coalition ("As a watcher from the sidelines, Prussia became increasingly more concerned at French influence spreading over the minor German states and, in October 1806, finally joined Britain and Russia against Napoleon Bonaparte.") The Fifth Coalition - 1809.
The Peninsular War - 1807-1814 (" It was probably the worst mistake Napoleon Bonaparte made during his lengthy reign over France - the attempted subjugation of Portugal in a bid to tighten his trade blockade of Britain.") Into Russia - 1812. Sixth Coalition and liberation of Germany, 1813.

France Invaded:  "Having managed to survive through both the disastrous 1812 and 1813 campaigns in Russia and Germany, Napoleon Bonaparte made the politically fatal error of not agreeing to peace terms set by the Allied Powers. The ever-strengthening Allies wanted to restrict France to borders based on the Rhine and the Alps but Bonaparte felt, as he had done before, that he would be able to best the combined forces ranged against him."  The 100 Days - 1815:  The last campaign of the Napoleonic Wars and finally ended Napoleon Bonaparte's dreams of remaining emperor of France. It began with Bonaparte's now legendary escape from his exile on the island of Elba to a France that had quickly become disenchanted with the returned Bourbon king Louis XVIII."

The Battles of the Napoleonic Wars:  A to Z!

Stunning detail and summary, battle by battle.  And all the intriguing weapons of war here.

Napoleonic Wars Series

Combines all material in "The War Times Journal" which relates to the Napoleonic Wars. Rare archives of personal memoirs and dispatches, articles, summaries, games, books to read

Egypt Conquest (1798 - 1802)

Explains why Napoleon decided to capture Cairo.  

Battle of Austerlitz - 1805
The Battle of Austerlitz - Napoleon Leaps to Victory

"It was before dawn on December 2, 1805--the first anniversary of Napoleon's coronation as supreme ruler. The armies of three emperors--Napoleon I of France, Francis I of Austria and Tsar Alexander I of Russia--would meet in the day that followed.. ."

Austerlitz - 1805

"On the 2nd of December 1805 on the hillocks and valleys east of Brno took place one of the most significant events in European history of the 19th century and at the same time one of the most famous battles of the Napoleon wars - the Battle of Austerlitz. Up until the battles of Borodino and then of Leipzig the Austerlitz massacre was by sheer soldier power and number dead and wounded the bloodiest and biggest conflict of the Napoleon wars."

Peninsular War - 1807-1814

Goya's Disasters of War

Some of the most graphic images to come out of the brutal guerrilla war in the Peninsular War were penned by Goya. Click on each to enlarge.

Invasion of Russia - 1812
Napoleon's Invasion of Russia

"In June of 1812, Napoleon began his fatal Russian campaign, a landmark in the history of the destructive potential of warfare. Virtually all of continental Europe was under his control, and the invasion of Russia was an attempt to force Tsar Alexander I to submit once again to the terms of a treaty that Napoleon had imposed upon him four years earlier. Having gathered nearly half a million soldiers, from France as well as all of the vassal states of Europe, Napoleon entered Russia at the head of the largest army ever seen. The Russians, under Marshal Kutuzov, could not realistically hope to defeat him in a direct confrontation. Instead, they begin a defensive campaign of strategic retreat, devastating the land as they fell back and harassing the flanks of the French. As the summer wore on, Napoleon's massive supply lines were stretched ever thinner, and his force began to decline. By September, without having engaged in a single pitched battle, the French Army had been reduced by more than two thirds from fatigue, hunger, desertion, and raids by Russian forces."

1812: Napoleon's March to Russia

Great site. Walk through the March step by step. Look at Napoleon's most private photos and candid shots of the March. Includes excellent links.

Borodino Battle

Early account.  And when it was over?  "Various sources put the Russian losses at Borodino at between 38,500 and 44,000, but the official records shown 43,924 dead, wounded and missing. Among those losses were 23 generals. . .The 2nd Army of the West had been reduced from 20,000 to 14,000 men. Many battalions had fewer than 200 men remaining. The six grenadier battalions that had defended the Bagration Fleches were reduced to a total of about 300 men. The Empress Cuirassier Regiment had entered the battle with 400 men and ended it with only 95. French losses were around 30,000, including 14 division and 22 brigade commanders, along with 32 staff officers, 86 aides-de-camp and 37 regimental colonels. Both sides were left totally exhausted, physically and mentally. That was accentuated by the indecisive nature of the battle. . . In salvaging what was left on the battlefield the French collected 20,000 artillery balls with which to restock their supplies.

The Virtual Battle of Borodino

Website allows you to be a part of the Battle of Borodino. You can choose to follow either Napoleon or Kutuzov through the battle to see what happened.

Kutuzov Versus Napoleon at Borodino

"Borodino is a village 124 km west of Moscow. On August 26, 1812 it was the scene of the most decisive battle of the 1812 War with Napoleon. It was here that the Russian commander-in-chief, Field Marshal Prince Michael Kutuzov, following the surrender of Smolensk to the French forces took a decision to stage a decisive battle against the Napoleonic army. The outcome of the battle was favorable for the Russian army. Russian troops displayed outstanding gallantry. Russia's army corps commanding generals included such outstanding military commanders as Prince Bagration, Marshal Barclay de Tolly, M. Miloradovich, B. Dokhtarov, M. Platov and others. The Russian army had 104,000 men and 627 guns. The French had 124,000 men and 587 guns. The casualties in the Napoleon's army ran as high as over 50,000 dead and wounded (28,000 killed), the Russian casualty figures stood at 44,000. The Battle of Borodino heralded a crisis in Napoleon's strategy of the General Battle. Napoleon failed in this attempt to totally destroy the Russian army, make Russia surrender, and dictate her peace terms. His forces suffered grave losses while the Russian spirit was enhanced. The battle signalled the beginning of the catastrophe that engulfed the Grand Army. "Photos, extensive sites.

Battle of Waterloo - 1815

On June 18, 1815, with 30,000 of his men off on a wild goose chase after the Prussians, Napoleon faced Wellington at Waterloo. The battle raged for hours, and Napoleon seemed on the verge of victory. "I've got them," he shouted. "They're ours." Then the Prussians showed up to relieve Wellington, while the 30,000 French reinforcements never arrived. By nightfall Napoleon had gone down to defeat. A broken man, he raced back to Paris in tears. His return to power, the Hundred Days, was over. The Battle of Waterloo is one of the most studied battles in history, and there are numerous theories as to why Napoleon Bonaparte lost. Clearly, the duke of Wellington was a remarkable strategist who possessed much courage, good sense, and willpower. Also, he had excellent field positions and more troops than Napoleon. But even he called Waterloo "a damned nice thing," the British way of saying that it was a close call.

Waterloo for the Uninitiated - June 18th 1815 - A Quick Primer

"There are infinitely better accounts of Waterloo than the one I am going to give - but this is the 'Weight-watchers' version - a quick run down to put the battle in perspective for people that have no idea what it was all about.There are four major points to remember - First it was of short duration, Second it was fought over a very small area, Third it marked the end of twenty-five years warfare, and proved the final overthrow of Napoleon Bonaparte and finally because it was the bloodiest exchange that had been witnessed to date. One in four of the soldiers died on that small field, the carnage was incredible. This was a battle of Napoleon's French forces against two allied forces: 1 - the Anglo-Dutch led by Wellington and; 2 - the Prussians led by Blucher."

If Napoleon Had Won the Battle of Waterloo

1905 article by the great historian, G. Macaulay Trevelyan.  Fascinating, read it.

19TH CENTURY CONGRESSES
Concert of Europe
Term used in the 19th century to designate a loose agreement by the major European powers to act together on European questions of common interest. The concert emerged after the Congress of Vienna (1814–15) and included the Quadruple Alliance powers of Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, and, as of 1818, France as well. It aimed to preserve peace by concerted diplomatic action reinforced by periodic conferences dealing with problems of mutual concern.

What Was the Congress of Vienna?

"The Treaty of Paris,which is signed May 30, 1814 restores peace, reduces France to its frontiers of 1792, and places Louis XVIII, brother of the decapitated Louis XVI on the French throne. This treaty was an expression of the legitimacy-principle and of the necessity felt by the Allies to return to the Ancient Regime. Six secret articles stipulated that a congress would be held in Vienna to decide the fate of the recovered territories. However, all the important decisions would be made by the four great powers: England, Austria, Prussia and Russia. The other nations were not allowed to partake in these secret dispositions."

Congress of Vienna

Congress Participants, Issues, Territorial Adjustments, Consequences.  "Although the territorial changes brought about by the Congress of Vienna did not endure long in entirety, they represented a practical if not always equitable solution and an attempt at dealing with Europe as an organic whole. The Quadruple Alliance and the Holy Alliance , designed to uphold the decisions of Vienna and to settle disputes and problems by means of conferences, were an important step toward European cooperation. The Concert of Europe which functioned even though imperfectlythrough the 19th cent., may be credited to the Congress of Vienna. An auxiliary accomplishment of the Congress was the adoption of standard rules of diplomacy. Serious defects, however, included the disregard of the growing national aspirations and the social changes that brought about the revolutions of 1848, and the failure to include the Ottoman Empire in the settlement and to deal satisfactorily with the Eastern Question."

Results of the Congress of Vienna

"Although the Congress has received criticism for ignoring the growth of liberty, equality, and fraternity in Europe, it has received praise for finding a general settlement of a complex series of problems, especially from scholars who favorably compare its work to that of the victorious allies at Versailles after World War I. The representatives were not totally, blindly reactionary: many of the changes of the previous twenty-five years were retained. The forty years of general peace that followed, flawed though they may have been, are testimony to the success of Metternich and his colleagues in gaining stability. But, by ignoring the forces of change, the representatives at Veinna ensured the ultimate failure of the system they created."

Congress of Vienna and Concert of Europe

Talleyrand and the Congress of Vienna

AUSTRIA, PRINCE KLEMONS VON METTERNICH AND THE CONGRESS SYSTEM

The Congress System dominated European international relations in the early 19th Century. Both Austria and Prince von Metternich were major players. Klemens von Metternich, the "Coachman of Europe" who said of himself, "I was born too late or too soon."

Concert of Europe Overview

Concert of Europe "formulated in 1815 as a mechanism to enforce the decisions of the Congress of Vienna. Composed of the Quadruple Alliance: Prussia, Russia, Austria, and Great Britain, its main priorities were to establish a balance of power." Uprisings, the Eastern Question, nationalism, Crimean War.

Prince Klemens Lothar Wenzel Von Metternich

Biography of this critical figure.  "In Europe Napoleon, Metternich, and Bismarck set their stamp upon the nineteenth century. All three of them lived to see their own fall. Metternich remained the longest in the leading position of "coachman of Europe". Nothing better characterizes the great statesman than what he repeatedly said, proud and aristocratic as always, to Baron A. von Hübner a few weeks before his death: 'I was a rock of order.'"  

Metternich and the New Social Order:   1815-1848

Important article and analysis of this period.  "Between 1815 and 1848 central Europe was dominated by a single personality, Prince Klemens von Metternich, the actual political leader of Austria. The 'coachman of Europe,' as he was called by those who respected his far-flung power, dominated the first half of the century, like Prince Otto von Bismarck dominated the second half."

Metternich:  Success or Failure?

Summary: "Metternich was skilled in the arts of contemporary diplomacy and image-making. For a while, he preserved and strengthened the Habsburg Empire but only in appearance. Metternich was unable to prevent the growth of the forces that weakened and ultimately destroyed the Habsburg Empire."

REVOLUTIONS OF 1848

The wave of political and economic revolts that spread across Europe.

The Revolution of 1848

"The Revolution of 1848 was an international event and, apart from the world wars, the only such event in the West. But it did not affect all of Europe. At least two states - England and Russia, at opposite ends of the continent - remained unscathed. What made these two countries different  from the others? The Revolution of 1848 shook those countries in which a bourgeois elite led the opposition against more or less reactionary governments. But Russia had no bourgeoisie and, after the electoral reform of 1832, the English bourgeoisie was no longer in opposition."

Revolutions of 1848 Overview

The Revolutions of 1848 Essay - Brief

Revolutions of 1848 Analysis

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Internet Modern History Sourcebook

Here are THE sources.
The Industrial Revolution: An Overview

Basic Victorian Web overview includes chronology.

The Industrial Revolution:  Its affects and consequences

"In the last part of the 18th century, a new revolution gripped the world that we were not ready for. This revolution was not a political one, but it would lead to many implications later in its existance. Neither was this a social or cultural revolution. This revolution was an economic one. The Industrial Revolution, as it know called by historians, changed the ways by how the world produced its goods. It also changed our societies from a mainly agricultural society to one that in which industry and manufacturing was in control." Quick summary.

The Industrial Revolution

" The Industrial Revolution was a dramatic change in the nature of production in which machines replaced tools, steam and other energy sources replaced human or animal power, and skilled workers were replaced with mostly unskilled workers."

Understanding the Industrial Revolution

"WELCOME to Lancashire, the place where the Industrial Revolution began two and a half centuries ago . . ."  Proceed!

The Origins of the Industrial Revolution in England

"The Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries was revolutionary because it changed -- revolutionized -- the productive capacity of England, Europe and United States. But the revolution was something more than just new machines, smoke-belching factories, increased productivity and an increased standard of living. It was a revolution which transformed English, European, and American society down to its very roots."

CRIMEAN WAR

The famous suicidal CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, Florence Nightingale, Yalta, the Black Sea, Sevastopol - hiding the terrible carnage of this nasty war. Another balance of power issue in the 1853-1856 war. England and France feared Russian control of the critical Straits of Bosporus and the possibility of Russian defeat of the despised Ottoman Empire. Turkey declared war against Russia. Ended with the Treaty of Paris with the balance of power restored.

Crimean War

"England entered this war between Russia and Turkey on the side of the Turks because Russia was seeking to control the Dardanelles and thus threaten England's Mediterranean sea routes. The country might not have gone to war had it not been so popular, patriotism being inflamed by such works as Charles Kingsley's Westward Ho! The misunderstood order that lead to the suicidal Charge of the Light Brigade (by a brigade of light cavalry over open terrain against well-defended heavy artillery) was unfortunately symptomatic of the ineptness of the British command. The army's problems were made public by the first real war correspondent, William Russell of the London Times. (Other outrages included the inability of the supply corps to get food to starving soldiers six miles away.) The exposure lead to reform. As the enemy killed fewer British soldiers than starvation and cholera, so the gallantry of the Light Brigade was less consequential than the actions of Florence Nightingale, who reformed the way the hospitals were being run and invented the nursing profession."

Crimean War Research Center

"Our Society exists to honour and remember those that fell in the war and to study the war in its entirety - from mainstream topics like the deaths from disease in the Crimea and the naval confrontation in the Baltic to little-known aspects of the war such as the British Army's refusal to deploy poison gas at Sevastopol, and the naval actions in the Pacific.   Scaling the Heights of the Alma; The Charge of the Light Brigade; the Soldier's Battle; Florence Nightingale; the Fall of Sevastopol; the incompetence of those in command; the endurance of the ordinary soldier; the Great Storm; the political wrangles in Constantinople, Vienna, Paris and London; the newspaper reporting and the new-fangled telegraph; the uniforms and the arms; the soldiers, sailors, camp-followers, spectators, businessmen and politicians; the effect on the military, industry and the man in the street."

Florence Nightingale Site

Range of information.  I also collected  an interesting article she wrote from here.  Then to a brief biography.

Florence Nightingale's Crimean War Activity

Florence Nightingale's accomplishments, including photo.  Florence Nightingale Tribute -"I stand at the altar of the murdered men, and, while I live, I fight their cause." Links, portrait, voice recording, selected correspondence, quotes.

Crimean War (1854-56)

A professor's terse summary.

Sevastopol History : Crimea War

" Crimean war flared up in 1854 as result of long saved economic and political contradictions between England, France, Turkey and Russia. Each of these countries aspired to strengthen the influence on Near East to win the markets of selling to subordinate to itself new territories."

GENERAL ISSUES AND DEVELOPMENTS

International Order and Domestic Strife

And the European State System.  "When Napoleon boarded ship as a prisoner of the English, he did not carry in his baggage the problems he had produced on the European continent. The year 1815 is, therefore, not so much a turning point in modern history as it is a dramatic moment in a period of political turmoil. And so the hero departed a broken man, but the revolutionary age went on. Nevertheless, the imperial expansion and military conquest that were the brutal characteristics of the Napoleonic Era were not continued."

Age of Power

Marx, the Industrial Revolution, capitalism, entrepreneurs.

Expansion & Explosion: 1871-1918

"In 1889 the Eiffel Tower rose nearly one thousand feet into the Parisian sky; in 1912 the ocean liner Titanic, nearly nine hundred feet in length, set out on its maiden voyage to America. Both structures were the wonders of their age, proof of European technological success and expressions of the unusual power that the late nineteenth-century European world had amassed. . . .The long years of relative peace had encouraged many people to assume that in this self-styled "century of progress," a major war was not possible. It also led a few people to a different conclusion: that peace was enervating, productive only of complacency. When the Prussian general Helmuth von Moltke stated in 1880 that 'everlasting peace is a dream, and not even a beautiful one,'he expressed more than his own opinion."

IMPERIALISM FROM 1870 TO WWI

New Imperialism

As Cecil Rhodes proclaimed:  "I would annex the planets if I could."  Detailed outline of imperialism in 19th century Europe with its forceful extension of sovereignty over other peoples.

Britannia Essay on the Expansion of Europe:  Causes, Results

"One of the most dramatic, morally debatable, and significant activities of the nineteenth-century European social order was its outward movement into a dominant position on several continents and among many islands cast about the earth. Of course, empire was hardly a new institution. It has been a rather constant characteristic of the Western world since well before the days when Roman legions sallied forth to make alien peoples bow beneath standards surmounted by bronze eagles. And even the first years of the nineteenth century were witnesses to Napoleon's effort at surpassing imperial Rome. But never before the end of the century were there so many expressions of imperialism, with rival colonial systems competing in so many areas of the world. Great Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, even Russia (not to mention the United States and Japan outside of Europe) intruded forcefully into Africa, or Asia, the Middle East, or the South Pacific--and finally sought the North and South Poles in the early years of this century. As an American senator of the time remarked, the Western world had an acute case of land hunger."

Leopold II (1835-1909): The King of Belgium 1865-1909

"Sir Henry Stanley's travels through Eastern Africa to find Dr. David Livingstone made him famous throughout Europe. In 1876 Leopold II employed Stanley to acquire as much land in the Congo Basin as he possibly could. The area that Stanley was able to get consisted of nearly 905,000 square miles. This is almost three and a half times larger than present day Texas. This land was not intended to become a Belgian colony, but a private state, owned exclusively by Leopold."

The Boer War

"The Boer War of 1899 was a dirty little conflict which involved all the Boer Republics and the British empire. The Treaty of Vereeniging made the Transvaal and the Orange Free State into British colonies. The Boers have never forgotten the British cruelty."

The Boer War:   South Africa, 1899-1902

"The British criss-cross the countryside with blockhouses to flush the Boers into the open; they burn farms and confiscate foodstuffs to prevent them falling into Boer hands; they pack off Boer women and children to concentration camps as 'collaborators'; they literally starve the commandos into submission."

Contains several articles which try to decide why the Great Powers got into Africa and how successful they were.

Internet African History Sourcebook

Scroll about 2/3 way down to Imperialism and there is a lot of information on the age of imperialism; in particular, positive and negative effects of imperialism that will help in researching an issue controversy.

Scramble for Africa1

"A hundred years later, however, a second wave of colonisation took place. Within twenty years, from 1880 to 1900, every corner of the Earth, from the highest mountains in the Himalayas to the most remote Pacific island and Antarctica, came to be claimed by one or other European power. Africa saw the most dramatic colonisation. It was divided up as if it had been a cake split between greedy European leaders. This was called the "Scramble for Africa."

Scramble for Africa2

"The impact of the conference and the diplomatic maneuvering that followed was dramatic on the African continent. In 1880 approximately 90% of Africa was ruled by Africans. By 1900 nearly all of Africa had been parceled out to the Europeans--only Ethiopia and Liberia escaped the scramble for Africa. The greatest winner was Leopold, whose public statements about his humanitarian concerns for the Congo disguised his real intentions."

The Mad Scramble for Africa

The BBC Story of Africa and Europe, 1800-1914

"Commercial greed, territorial ambition, and political rivalry all fuelled the European race to take over Africa. This culminated in Africa's partition at the Berlin Conference 1884-5. The whole process became known as "The Scramble for Africa"."

THE "OTHER" COUNTRIES:  Prussia, Italy

The Rise of Germany (Prussia)

Rise of Prussia - Chronology

Rise and Unification

Then to Bismarck.

Italy

The Risorgimento :  How Italy became a "nation."

The Unification of Italy

Events and Leaders.

National Unification:  Prussia and Italy

THE AUSTRO-PRUSSIAN WAR OF 1866
<font="color: designtimesp="26411" rgb(0,0,0)?>War fought in 1866 between Prussia and its ally Italy against Austria and its allies Wurttemberg, Saxony, Hanover, and other minor German states. The Prussians, under Otto von Bismark, decisively defeated the Austrians and further consolidated their position in North Germany.

The Austro-Prussian War

Austria's War with Prussia and Italy.

Austro-Prussian War

"Or Seven Weeks War, June 15-Aug. 23, 1866, between Prussia, allied with Italy, and Austria, seconded by Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony, Hanover, Baden, and several smaller German states. It was deliberately provoked by Bismarck, over the objections of his king, in order to expel Austria from the German Confederation as a step toward the unification of Germany under Prussian dominance."  Details. " Thus the war paved the way for the establishment (1871) of the German Empire and the reorientation of Austria (reorganized in 1867 as the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy) toward the east. The moderate peace terms facilitated the Austro-German alliance of 1879."

OTTO VON BISMARCK

Bismarck and the Polish Question

His important "Speech to the Lower House of the Prussian Parliament, January 28, 1886."

Bismarck, Otto von:  1815-1898

His life, times, impact.

The Bismarckian Empire

Detailed analysis.

Fall of Bismarck: Documents Original

"A struggle for power between Otto von Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm II broke out immediately upon the death of Kaiser Frederick III (1888). The "dropping of the pilot" and the setting of a "new course" in 1890 signified the end of an era, a watershed in modern German history. Many contemporaries looked back upon Bismarck's dismissal as a tragic mistake, believing that he would have avoided the foreign policy blunders that plunged the German Empire into the disaster of WWI."

Otto von Bismarck: A Significant Leader

"Bismarck, Otto von remains one of the most significant political figures of modern Germany. This stature derives from his contribution to the creation and shaping of the modern German state as Prussian minister president and imperial chancellor from 1862 to 1890."  Good details

Summary Analysis HERE

Excellent analysis of Bismarck's actions and legacies. "Bismarck's legacy to the next generation, however, was a mixed one. In foreign affairs his skill had led to 20 years of peace in Europe, which had gained him a deserved reputation for moderation and a sense of limits. Bismarck's greatest achievement, the German Empire, only survived him by 20 years. Although he had united Germany in one sense, he had failed to create an internally unified people. In domestic affairs--as in foreign policy--he sought to freeze the status quo after 1871. His empire was designed to be conservative. Thus he opposed the Catholic Centre in the 1870s and the socialists in the 1880s because both constituted unforeseen threats to his authoritarian creation. He also introduced a vicious rhetoric into German politics that forestalled a sense of common destiny. While German industry developed rapidly during his decades in power, he would allow no evolution in the political system toward greater participation. In this sense, Bismarck was a last representative of the world of the ancien régime and cabinet diplomacy."

THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR OF 1870
"The closing weeks of July 1870 witnessed the armies of France and the German states mobilizing for a war declared by the French in an attempt to maintain hegemony in Europe. Instead, by the end of January 1871 the war had toppled the empire, had brought an end to an outdated Napoleonic military tradition of "we will always manage somehow," and had established the newly united German empire as the dominant European military power. In addition to these major military and political developments, the war subjected soldiers of both sides to unusually brutal hardships and prolonged suffering."

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71

"The conflict between France and Prussia that signaled the rise of German military power and imperialism. It was provoked by Otto von Bismarck (the Prussian chancellor) as part of his plan to create a unified

German Empire."   Causes, course of the War, results.

The Franco-Prussian War

"Besides establishing the Third French Republic and the German Empire, the Franco-Prussian War had other far-reaching effects. Desire for revenge guided French policy for the following half-century. Prussian militarism had triumphed and laid the groundwork for German imperialistic ventures. The Papal States, no longer protected by Napoleon III, were annexed by Italy, which thus completed its unification. These and other effects were links in the chain of causes that set off World War I."

The Franco-Prussian War - And Immediate Aftermath

"By destroying Austrian influence in the Italian peninsula and in North Germany, and by creating an aggressive North German Confederation dominated by Prussia, the nationalist wars of the 1860's succeeded in destabilizing central Europe."

Old News - Besieged Parisians Launch Balloons

"During the siege of Paris, over three hundred and sixty carrier pigeons from Paris were airlifted by balloon to the provinces. Only fifty-nine of those pigeons managed to reach their dovecotes in Paris, carrying messages for the defenders of the city. The French balloon program ended late in January of 1871, when Paris surrendered. By then the French had launched sixty-five manned balloons from Paris."

THE DUAL MONARCHY AND EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH

The beginning of the end or a new wave of empire?

Austro-Hungarian Monarchy

Essays, including history, Poland, physical features, population, religion, government. 

Establishment of the Dual Monarchy Essay

Dual Monarchy Established

"The Compromise of 1867 established the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary (also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire). The two parts of the empire were united by a common ruler, by a joint foreign policy, and, to some extent, by shared finances. Otherwise, Austria and Hungary were virtually independent states, each having its own parliament, government, administration, and judicial system. Despite a series of crises, this dual system survived until 1918. It made permanent the dominant position of the Hungarians in Hungary and of the Germans in the Austrian parts of the monarchy. While Czechs, Poles, and other nationalities had some influence in government, they were never permitted to share political power. This inability to come to terms with its nationalities contributed to the ultimate collapse of the Dual Monarchy. "

Schoenbrunn Palace Homepage

And Pictures.

Franz Josef - Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary

"Franz Josef was crowned Emperor of Austria in 1848 at age 18. By the summer of 1914 he would be in the 66th year of his reign. He was also crowned King of Hungary in 1867 in an attempt to calm the situation with the problematic Magyars (Hungarians). This worked and the Dual Monarchy would last until his death in 1916."

Emperor Franz Joseph - Emperor of Austria - King of Hungary

THE VICTORIAN AGE and THE INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS

Karl Marx
Confessions of Karl Marx

Site that has a list of questions, part of a parlor game, in which two of Karl Marx's daughters asked him personal questions.

Eleanor Marx on Her Father

Neat site in which one of Karl Marx's daughters reflects her memories about the man she knew. Learn that Marx's thought process in his personal life was just as unconventional for the time period as were his views on the political and social systems.  Use her biography of father.

Biography of Karl Marx

Extensive and interesting biography regarding the life of Karl Marx.

Victorian Era:  1837 - 1901

The Victorian Web

Victorian culture and history. Social context, economics, religion, philosophy, literature, the visual arts, science, technology, politics, and gender.

Ancestory of Queen Victoria

Family tree and the works!  "Among Queen Victoria's great achievements was the implementation of institutional reform and the expansion of the empire. Under Victoria's reign, the British Empire doubled in size, taking in India, Australia, Canada and parts of Africa and the South Pacific."

Queen Victoria's Empire - From PBS

Excellent and comprehensive

Victorian Gender and Sexuality
The Victorian Web Site

Literature, biography, timelines

The Victorian Age - The BBC  Site - Probably gives you everything you could need!

Victorian Web Sites

Every category of the Victorian Age.  What a wonderful collection.

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WWI
THE WAR TO END ALL WARS

SPECIAL PLACES

PBS: The Great War

The 1996 spectacular TV 8-hour miniseries. Site summarizes, quotes, excerpts. Every student, everyone interested in WWI, should use this site first. And see the TV series if possible.

Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century (PBs)

PBS multimedia production site that encompasses TV, online and print media to explore the history and effect of WWI. It reveals not only the military and political history but its ongoing social, cultural and personal impact. Site provides greater depth to the events, places, figures addressed in the TV series.
Prologue:  "The Great War was without precedent ... never had so many nations taken up arms at a single time. Never had the battlefield been so vast... never had the fighting been so gruesome..."

Great War and the 20th Century - THEN AND NOW

"The after shocks of the earthquake we call the Great War are still being felt today, in the 21st century In countless ways, World War I created the fundamental elements of 20th century history. Genocide emerged as an act of war. So did the use of poison gas on the battlefield. The international system was totally transformed. On the political right fascism came out of the war; on the left a communist movement emerged backed by the Soviet Union. Reluctantly, but unavoidably, America became a world power. The British Empire reached its high point and started to unravel. Britain never recovered from the shock of war, and started her decline to the ranks of the second-class powers. At the peace conference of 1919, the German, Turkish, and Austro-Hungarian empires were broken up. New boundaries were drawn in Europe and the Middle East, boundaries -- as in Iraq and Kuwait -- which were still intact at the end of the century."

What Did We Learn?
"I think we learned a great deal from the Great War. The first point is that as soon as international warfare is launched, nobody can predict the outcome. The second thing is that international war breeds civil war, and civil war is uglier than international war because there are no limits. We also learned that the technology of warfare expands much more rapidly than the capacity of political leaders to control it. And I think the final thing that the First World War taught us is that the easy access of individuals to democratic procedures is very fragile. Warfare suspends democracy. How high a price is victory? That's a question we owe to the First World War. And the question is still with us today."

Episode 1: Explosion

"Why did a Serbian fanatic's assassination of the Archduke in Sarajevo engulf the world in war? How did the rise of labor and women's demands for equal right contribute to the unsettling unease throughout Europe in 1914? How could those in power take so great a gamble, yet have so little understanding of the war machine they were setting into motion?
Kaiser Wilhelm I and the contributing factors to WWI. Technological explosion and outbreak. Suffragettes. Tsar Nicholas. Germany's explosive growth.

Episode 2: Stalemate

"How did modern weaponry bring about a deadly stalemate? How was this brief war transformed into a gigantic and unprecedented war of attrition? Schlieffen Plan, German reaction to Belgian resistance, French Bravery and German fire power, weaknesses of the Russian Army, Battle of Tannenberg, Britain's volunteer army, British Expeditionary Force in retreat, life in the trenches, Christmas truce.  And click to next PAGE.

Episode 3/4: Total War and Slaughter

By 1915, the conflict had spread across continents becoming a global war. Gallipoli, women and the war effort, poison gas, hatred, Armenian genocide.  
WWI "gave new meaning to death on the battlefield, a breadth of horror - SLAUGHTER." Images, Verdun, General Haig, Battle of the Somme.

Episode 5/6: Mutiny and Collapse

By 1917, "men, armies and nations were nearing a breaking point." "Why did it take mutiny so ling to erupt?" End of heroism, soldiers as victims and executioners, mutiny on the battlefield, unrest at home, seeds of the Bolshevik Revolution, storming the Winter Palace.  

At start of 1918, the odds for the Allies looked bad. All of Europe was running out of men. Then a new player entered, shifting the balance. Kaiser, Hindenburg, Ludendorff, Woodrow Wilson, Zimmermann Telegram, patriotic murder, march offensive, germany in retreat, Wilson and Pershing and US involvement.

Episode 7/8: Hatred and Hunger and War Without End

WWI had been the worst disaster in history. Millions killed, four empires collapsed. Large parts of France, Belgium and Russia lay devastated. Old order decimated, new one taking shape - producing an even bloodier struggle. Revolution after the war, Versailles Treaty.

"Broken hopes, broken families, broken lives." The war "became a war without end." Why did so many have to die. The road back, Kathe Kollwitz, spiritualism, Adolf Hitler.

TRENCHES ON THE WEB:  World War I

Important single site on the Net on WWI. Iinformation on the people, places, and events that comprised one of the worst calamities of modern history. Entire kingdoms vanished in the clash. Map makers would be very busy. Good library, armory, map room, photo archive, war atlas, biographies, media room, posters.

THE CRISES/EVENTS THAT LIMITED OPTIONS

1839-1914 The Long Fuse Chronology

Trenches on the Web - Timeline: 1870-1914 - The Austro-Italian Naval Race

Trenches on the Web - Timeline: 1905-1914 - The Dreadnought Race

Trenches on the Web - Timeline: 1905-1914 - War Plans

World War I, The First Moroccan Crisis (1905)

Text of the Schlieffen Plan, 1905

Annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary, Fall, 1908

Trenches on the Web - Timeline: 28-Oct-1908 - The Daily Telegraph Affair

Trenches on the Web - Timeline: 1908-09 - The Bosnian Crisis

THE NASTY ALLIANCES/TREATIES THAT CLOSED OPTIONS

Bismarck and Alliances

Brief emphasis on how the European countries involved in these treaties paved the way for WWI.

Timeline: 1879-1914 The Deadly Alliances

World War I, The Entente Cordiale Between England and France

Document. The very important declaration.

World War I, The Dual Alliance Between Austria-Hungary and Germany

World War I, The Three Emperors League

World War I, The Triple Alliance

World War I, The Franco-Russian Alliance Military Convention

World War I, The Anglo-Russian Entente

THE MATCHES THAT LIT THE FUSES

Sarajevo, June 28, 1914

While no one would say that the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand caused WWI, it did start the wheels rolling. Many years ago, I stood with my feet in the concrete images of Gavrio Princip's footprints in Sarajevo. I also went to his cell in the concentration camp of Terezin, in Czechoslovakia - and to the Imperial War Museum in Vienna which holds the Archduke's "bloody" car. I tried to recreate the event. This site does not substitute but it does give a good brief event history, biographies of the plotters, participants, the Archduke and his wife, and the Constitution of the Black Hand Society.

Black Hand Society

The Secret Serbian Terrorist Society, the group that assassinated Archduke Ferdinand.

June-July, 1914, German Dispatches and the Kaiser's Notes

Timeline: 28-Jun-1914 - Assassination in Sarajevo

Document: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Document:   Tsar Nicholas' Declaration Against the Bulgarians

Timeline Summary: Summer 1914

Timeline: Jul-1914: The July Crisis

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DOCUMENTS

Prince Lichownowsky's Reply to Sir Edward Grey, July 1914

Franz Joseph to the Kaiser, July 2, 1914 - Warning of Gravity

Austro-Hungarian July 23, 1914 Ultimatum to Serbia

Serbian Response to the Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum, July 25, 1914

Austro-Hungarian Declaration of War on Serbia, July 28, 1914

Entire Set of Willy-Nicky Telegrams, July 29-Aug. 1, 1914

World War I, Tsar Nicholas' Declaration Against the Bulgarians

German Declaration of War Against Russia, Aug. 1, 1914

German-Turkey Treaty of Alliance, Aug. 2, 1914

Belgian Refusal of Free Passage, Aug. 4, 1914

Timeline: Aug/Sep-1914 - War Erupts in the West

The Zimmerman Note, Jan. 19, 1917

CHRONOLOGY, HISTORICAL SUMMARIES, MAPS

Map: WWI

Color-coded map with the new nations depicted after World War I. Also includes pages on why the war happened and how it started.

Chronology: From the Poets Page

Good, brief.

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Trenches on the Web - War Atlas: Index

First World War.com - The War to End All Wars

Forging the First World War, Great War Timeline Summary, 1914-19, Vintage Video - French Refugees, 1914, Observation Balloons, Air Aces of the World War I, Life in the Trenches, No Man's Land, Dug-outs, Battle of Tannenberg, Mine Warfare at Messines, Western Front Today - The Pool of Peace.

THE "BENIGN" RULERS WHO FAILED

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Bethmann-Hollweg, Theobald von

Bismarck, Prince Otto von

Bulow, Prince Bernhard von

 Kaiser Wilhelm II

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Czar Nicholas II

Nicholas II 1868-1918:  Emperor of All Russia, 1894-1917

Brief look at Czar Nicholas II and overview of his political life.

The Tsar

Brief explanation of Czar Nicholas II.

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Lloyd George, David

King George V

King Edward VII

King Albert I

Kemal Pasha, General Mustafa

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Emperor Franz Josef

THE "BLIND" COMMANDERS WHO IMPLEMENTED TOTAL WAR

Foch, Marshal Ferdinand

French, Field Marshal Sir John

Haig, First Earl Douglas

Hotzendorff, Field Marshal Franz Conrad von

Joffre, Marshal Joseph Jaques

Moltke, Field Marshal Helmuth, Count

Trenches on the Web - Bio: General Sir John Monash

Trenches on the Web - Bio: General John J. Pershing

THE NEW WARFARE - AND THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE

The Great War: Interviews - Wohl: Modern Warfare

The Great War: Interviews - Winter: Total War

Christmas Truce

"The last twitch of the 19th Century." Last public moment "in which it was assumed that people were nice" 1914.

GALLIPOLI

Trenches on the Web - Special: Gallipoli/The River Clyde Landing

The Great War: Interviews - Winter: Gallipoli

The Great War: Interviews - Tuncoku: Gallipoli

The Great War: Interviews - Wilson: Gallipoli

BATTLEFIELDS AND CAMPAIGNS - AND ARMS AND AMMUNITION

Battlefields, Campaigns

The Eastern Front: WWI Summary

Great European and World War

Military site. Orders of battle for all sides, information on the armies.

Major Battles of WWI:  Description of Major Battles

WWI: The Eastern Front - Military, History, German, Russia, Revolution

The Western Front Association:  Major Site

World War One - Western Front Summary & Maps

Trenches Special: The Organization of the German Army, 1914-1918

Trenches Special: The Second Battle of Ypres, Apr-1915

Timeline: 4-Jun-1916 - The Brusilov Offensive

The Battle of Verdun

Trenches on the Web - Special: Tragedy on the Somme

Hellfire Corner - The Great War - Battlefield Guide - Charles Fair

The remarkable trips of Charles Fair through all the battlefield and trench sites of WWI.

Arms and Ammunition Trenches on the Web - Armory -  Comprehensive

ATROCITIES AND HATRED

Atrocities:  Serbian, Mustard Gas, Dirty Hands

Bryce Report: of the Committee on Alleged German Outrages

Appointed by His Britannic Majesty's Government and Presided Over by the Right Hon. Viscount Bryce, formerly British ambassador at Washington. 44 page report. Print out and read before making judgements about harshness of treaty.

The Great War: Hatred and Hunger
Hatred

"The mobilization of hatred is a way of saying there is no other way than to carry the war on to the bloody end."

POETRY OF THE WAR

"More than any other conflict, the Great War inspired writers of all generations and classes, most notably among combatants. The war's poets are chiefly celebrated today, although much outstanding prose work was also produced by such poets as Sassoon and Blunden, chiefly in the form of personal memoir."

Modern History Sourcebook - WWI Poetry

Sassoon, Owen, Reid, Hodgson, Gibson, Larkin.  Great sources.

WWI Poety Site - Extensive

In Flanders Field

Story of the making of the famous WWI poem.

Lost Poets of the Great War

The poets, chronology of the war, the human cost.

Introduction to First World War Poetry

See also the Women's poetry on this site.

Crippled for life at seventeen,
His great eyes seem to question why:

With both legs smashed it might have been
Better in that grim trench to die

Than drag maimed years out helplessly.
A child – so wasted and so white,
He told a lie to get his way,

To march, a man with men, and fight
While other boys are still at play.

A gallant lie your heart will say.

Selected Poetry of Isaac Rosenberg

The Poet of War - I. Rosenberg

And his life and selected poems are HERE.

PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA - "Tons" of audi, music, on the Great War

The Anti-German Cartoons of W.K. Haselden, 1914-1918

Wonderful cartoons.  This click is the WWI series.  Just keep going on that set.  "Examines the anti-German cartoons of the Daily Mirror cartoonist, W.K. Haselden during the Great War, 1914-1918. W.K. Haselden was employed as staff cartoonist for the Daily Mirror. He created the 'Sad experiences of Big and Little Willie' series, examined here, parodying Kaiser Wilhelm II and his son the Crown Prince during the Great War, 1914-1918.  Very thoughtful and interesting.

The Drift to War - The Committee on Public Information - Demons, Atrocities, Lies - Postwar Propaganda.

Propaganda Postcards

Propaganda Posters

And HERE

WWI Another Look

Remarkably sensitive photographs.

World War 1 (WW1) Songs Recorded From 1918 Victrola

Images of World War I: The Western Front

Nothing paints an image so clearly as a picture. Included on this website, are authentic pictures of WWI at the front of trench warfare. I found it invaluable in ingraining the images of war on my mind. {M. Heyer-Boot]  

Trenches on the Web Media Room

Do you remember Tipperary, Over There, Pack Up Your Troubles, Waltzing Matilda? The British, French, Germany, Soviet Union, Turkish national anthems.

COUNTRIES OF WWI - AND THEIR HISTORIES

Albania and WWI

USE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEARCH MACHINE AND GO TO ALBANIA.

Then  read the following articles (you cannot save the URLs for the articles - they disappear!)

"Rise of Albanian Nationalisn,"  and "The Balkan Wars and Creation of Independent Albania."
"National Awakening and the Birth of Albania, 1876-1918."

"Just Before the War."

"WWI and its Effects on Albania," and "Albania's Reemergence after WWI."

Austria and WWI

Atlas: Austria-Hungary

USE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEARCH MACHINE AND GO TO AUSTRIA:"The Final Years of the Empire and WWI." Then go on and click to the "Next Pages."

Bulgaria and WWI

USE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEARCH MACHINE AND GO TO BULGARIA for:
"The Second Balkan War," Struggle for National Independence to WWI," "San Stefano, Berlin, and Independence." " and "The Soviet Occupation."  Then go on and click to the "Next Pages."

Czechoslovakia and WWI

USE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEARCH MACHINE AND GO TO CZECHOSLOVAKIA for:
# 30, #31, #58, #71, #102

France

The Great War: The French Perception of War

Historian Stephane Audoin-Rouzeau, France, discusses the french perception of war, birth of modernity, Verdun, trench newspapers, diversions on the Battlefield, Versailles Treaty.

France in the Great War

Outstanding page.  The causes and effects of the "Great War" on France.

Verdun, France  And then Verdun as THE Battle of France.

Germany

Atlas: Germany

USE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEARCH MACHINE AND GO TO Germany for:"World War I."  Then go on and click to the "Next Pages."

German Responsibility for the First World War

Describes the German's responsibility for the start of the war and the war's importance, as well as the unfolding of events.

Germany and the War

History Wolfgang Mommsen, University of Dusseldorf, on von Moltke, the Germany Army's advance into Belgium, atrocities, and the Versailles Treaty.

The Turn of the Century - and Germany's Movement to War

Dr. Jay Winter, Cambridge University, comments on a range of WWI subjects centering on Germany.

The Great War and Germany

Dr. Bernd Huppauf, New York University and Germany before the war, the effects of war, Kaiser Wilhelm, the blind war.

Great Britain

Trenches on the Web - Atlas: Great Britain/U.K.

British Experiences

Dr. John Keegan, military historian:  the English Officer, Nivelle Offensive, Battle of the Some, doctors on the front, General Haig.

Hungary and WWI

USE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEARCH MACHINE AND GO TO HUNGARY.Then read the following articles:
"Political and Economic Life, 1905-19,"  "The Dual Monarchy," "The Balkan Wars," "The Final Years of the Empire," "Hungarian Soviet Republic Counterrevolution," and "World War I."   Then go on and click to the "Next Pages."

Ottoman Empire

Atlas: Turkey/Ottoman Empire

Poland and WWI

USE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEARCH MACHINE AND GO TO Poland. Then read the following articles:  "War and the Polish Lands," and "Recovery of Statehood."  Then go on and click to the "Next Pages."

Romania - WWI

USE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEARCH MACHINE AND GO TO ROMANIA. Then read the following articles
"The Balkan Wars and World War," "The Romanian Army in WWI," and "Greater Romania and the Occupation of Budapest."  Then go on and click to the "Next Pages."

Russia

USE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEARCH MACHINE AND GO TO RUSSIA. Then read the following articles
"Last Years of Tsardom," "Revolution of 1905 and Counterrevolution, 1905-07."

"Return to an Active Balkan Policy, 1906-13" and  "Tenuous Regimes of Stolypin and Kokovstev, 1907-14."

"Russia at War, 1914-16" and "The Strains of the War Effort and the Weakening of Tsarism."
 Then go on and click to the "Next Pages."

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Trenches on the Web - Atlas: Russia/USSR

The Russians

Dr. Norman Stone, Oxford University and the revolutionaries, Rasputin, Nicholas, Alexandra, Russian involvement.

Robert Massie and the Russians

Author Robert Massie:  hemophilia, Rasputin, Kaiser Wilhelm, ship building, Alexandra, the redemption of Nicholas and Alexandra, and the shaping of the 20th Century.

Great War: Interviews - WWI and Russia

Dr. Orlando Figes of Cambridge on the Battle of Tannenberg, the Russian Revolution, Rasputin, the Bread Riot, Kerensky, storming the Winter Palace, and the Tsar's General Staff.

Path to Revolution

The Russian Revolution:  One of the Better Web Sites on the Revolution

Trotsky, Leon (1879-1940)

Trotsky and the Fate of Socialism in the 20th Century (detailed, academic article) and Trotsky, a decent, interesting, fairly brief bio.

Serbia/Yugoslavia

USE THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEARCH MACHINE AND GO TO SERBIA.

Then read the "Balkan Wars and World War I," and "Formation of the South Slav State."  Then go on and click to the "Next Pages."

Trenches on the Web - Atlas: Kingdom of Serbia

PROFESSOR'S SPECIAL INTERESTS

Trenches Special: The Sinking of the Laconia

Vivid account by survivor.

Too Few Doctors - John Keegan, Historian

The Roumanian Campaign

End of an Era:   The Passing of the Hohenzollerns

War and the First Century of Heart Surgery

THEORIES OF WAR

Sun Tzu on the Art of War

The oldest military treatise in the world. Translated.

Clausewitz Homepage

The famous theories of war. His work translated. Articles by detractors and supporters.

WILSON AND THE WAR, THE PEACE

Bio: President Thomas Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Hope of a different world.

World War I, President Woodrow Wilson's War Message

ISSUES, THEMES

Admiral Scheer: Germany's High Sea Fleet in WWI

On-line version of Scheer's post war book. Scheer commanded the entire German High Seas Fleet.

The Balkan Wars and WWI

Both had dramatic consequences for the South Slavs. Solid article from the Army Area Handbook.

Collapse of the Central Powers

Historical summary. Collapse of Bulgaria, Turkey, End of the Hapsburg monarchy, Czechs declare independence, Yugoslav National Council proclaims independence, armistice concluded, proclamations of austria and Hungary. The last push, capitulation. World War Losses. About 10 million men dead, 20 million wounded. Russia lost the most.

Socialism and the War - Robert Wohl, Univ. of California

Trenches on the Web - Special: The Organization of the German Army, 1914-1918

PEACE AND THE TREATIES

A Reevaluation of the Peace Treaty - Critical Article
World War I, Reichstag Peace Resolution
Great War: Interviews - Mommsen: The Versailles Treaty

Great War: Interviews - Winter: The Versailles Treaty

Versailles Treaty

The 1919 Treaty of 440 articles. Viewable in total or by sections.

Documents relating to the Treaty of Trianon, 1920

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Great War in Numbers

Timeline: 1914-1918 - Casualty Figures

Disillusionment of Peace - Robert Wohl, Historian.

WWI as Unfinished Business - Sir Michael Howard, Yale.

Effects of War - Bernd Huppauf, NY University.

CAUSATION

The War As A Detective Story - Jay Winter, Cambridge University.

Great War: Interviews - Wohl: A Place in the Sun

THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT ARCHIVES

EuroDocs: Western European Primary Historical Documents

Primary Documents: Germany

Important primary documents from the end of the classical world through the 20th Century. Includes Poland statements-1939, WWI, tripartite agreements of Axis powers, Wannsee Protokoll, holocaust, Nazi Era, surrender documents, East Germany. Most in translation and/or transcription.

World War I Document Archive

A mass of primary documents from WWI. Read the Hague Convention, the Versailles Treaty, and many others.

SOURCES, RESOURCES, AIDS, MAPS

HELPFUL RESOURCES

EuroDocs: Western European Primary Historical Documents

This collection is the most endless one I have seen on the Web. Primary historical documents with selected transcriptions, facsimiles, translations. Organized by country and chronology. There must be 2000 pages of documents. The indexes alone are vast. But the documents you need are there.

War Times Journal - Military History Archives & Articles

Online source of material, well designed, varied, instructive. Letters, biographies, articles, memoirs and the like.

WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL - AND Associated Journals, Links

World Affairs Council Library

Its book reviews, list of new books, recommended readings are thorough and extensive. Now I can use them for the most part online. 

World Affairs Council of Northern California

One of the top 5 foreign policy and international organizations in the US. Its programs bring the world leaders weekly to San Francisco and other sites in the Bay Area. It has the largest foreign affairs library on the West Coast. And this Web site is an essential research and paper tool. It cannot be duplicated by any college library.

GENERAL HISTORY SOURCES

Berkeley Inst. for International Studies - Links to Other Resources

Historical Text Archive

History Channel

History/Social Studies Web Site

One of the most comprehensive and best presented history and social science sites on the Web. Dennis Boals must live on the Web, and he does so with a great deal of sensitivity. The sites are massive but carefully categorized and chosen.

Hoover Institution

Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford is a center for advanced study in domestic and international affairs.

Institute of International Studies - The UC Berkeley Source

University of Kansas Index of Resources for Historians

One of most extensive source lists available. A many, many pages list alphabetically.

Web Sites for the History Profession

ESSENTIAL AIDS: MAPS, LOCATORS

Maps of Europe

Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection

The premier site for maps on line. Don't buy big atlases for you classes. Pick a map from here. Variety of maps for entire world. Includes maps from current events, such as Bosnia and Chechnya.

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Major Web College Courses: Western Civilization

Professor Konnilyn Feig

COURSE CENTERS AND WEB INTERNET BOOKS

 History 4A - WESTERN CIVILIZATION: THE ANCIENT WORLD

Act I: From Prehistory to the Fall of Rome

(All quarters, usually)

 History 4B - WESTERN CIVILIZATION:  MEDIEVAL, RENAISSANCE, REFORMATION

Act II:  From the Byzantine Empire to the French Revolution

Winter, Summer

History 4C - WESTERN CIVILIZATION: THE MODERN WORLD

Act III: From The French Revolution to the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Spring, Summer, Fall

• 4 Quarter Units Each.
• Similar in Content, Rigor, Requirements, Assignments, Exams, to On-Campus College Courses, fully articulated with all California Universities.
• The Online Course Information Site and Summary Syllabus for History 4A
• The Online Course Information Site and Summary Syllabus for History 4B
• The Online Course Information Site and Summary Syllabus for History 4C
• Contact Foothill Global Access  at the FOOTHILL COLLEGE SITE. (click)

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DEDICATION, COPYRIGHT, AUTHOR, THANKS

  THIS CHALLENGING PROJECT IS DEDICATED TO :

The stunning student Teaching Assistants who have assisted the courses and helped catalyze the quality of the student work at Foothill 

Those remarkable humans across Eastern Europe who have struggled, perserved, grown in stature in the midst of decades of unspeakable abuse; the many survivors of the Holocaust who I have counted as my friends for so many years and to whom I owe so much; and to the 6000 students who have studied the Holocaust, Nazi Germany, and Eastern Europe in seminar with me for 30 years.

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS PAGE.  THANKS TO:

• My 6000+ students who have taken my online courses.
• Expecially Dr. Judy Baker, Dean, whose knowledge and assistance was/are absolutely vital.
• Foothill College and its remarkable support of academic technology.  

  Internet Book and Site Created, Designed, Executed
By Dr. Konnilyn Feig, Professor of History and Political Science. Author, Hitler's Death Camps: The Sanity of Madness.
Site Copyright, Dr. K. Feig, 1996. Revised regularly.  Last Revision - 2009
Internet Books and Sites on loan to Foothill College for Web Courses

   

I created this site for folks in the Web World who enjoy ihistory as much as I do: the "public," history buffs, students, faculty. I have tried to be intensely aware of others' work and respect copyrights. I wanted this site to be available for public use, personally or in a classroom - and as a resource for teachers at all levels.  Thus no passwords are required. I only ask that if you refer your students to this site from yours, that you credit us properly for the years of work this entailed.

GRAPHICS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I remain in awe of the talent and skill of the accomplished Web graphic artists who devote so much ability to making the Web such a special place. While I have made many of my own graphics, I have used "good" ones from others. It is difficult, however, to know who created what. I would like to thank and highlight every artist whose work I have used. 

Created for Netscape and then Internet Explorer
May Not Be Reproduced