(This is first in a series of articles about the wars that decimated Europe and other parts of the world and left western civilization, including its Judeo-Christian roots, weakened and in crisis, prey to the destructive winds of nihilism and extreme Islamic fundamentalism. Parts of the narrative are rewrites of articles I published before. Though written primarily for history buffs, I hope others will appreciate,)

France was the leading European land power from the time of Louis XIV until mid-19^th century.  Its major rival was Prussia.  Napoleon I once remarked that Prussia had been hatched from a cannon ball.  Under his leadership the French had defeated and humiliated the Prussians, and after the ignominy of that experience Prussia reorganized its army and created the General Staff.   By 1870 this highly militaristic state was the unchallenged leader of  Germany.  Otto von Bismarck, Prussian Chancellor, saw an opportunity to unite all Germany by getting other German states to join Prussia in a war against France.  He therefore provoked France into a declaration of war on July 19, 1870.

Though tricked into declaring war, France was totally unprepared for hostilities.  It had a highly capable army of long-term soldiers, but there was no organized reserve, and it was a relatively small army as compared to those being mobilized against it. Prussia and and some of the other German states had universal military training, which meant sizable standing armies and plenteous reserves. Bismarck had prepared Prussia and its allies for the coming conflict, and they were poised and ready to strike.  The German armies rushed into eastern France and defeated badly outnumbered French regulars in a series of battles, culminating in a disastrous encirclement and surrender of the last major French army at Sedan on September 1.  Napoleon III himself was captured.  The French formed a new government, raised new armies, and fought on desperately for another five months before finally suing for peace shortly following the fall of Paris on January 28, 1871.  They were forced to pay a large war indemnity and lost the important provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, integral parts of France since the 17th century.  Germany was now a united nation with the Prussian king as its emperor.

Most observers seemed surprised by the outcome, but many were pleased to see France finally get its comeuppance.  Unfortunately, French arrogance was soon replaced by more dangerous chest-thumping on the part of new German Empire.

Western Europe saw a golden age in the years following the Franco-Prussian War. The great nations of Europe were governed by civilized men, most of whom espoused Christian values, and many of the ruling families were related to one another. Peace and progress were watchwords of the day, and science and the arts flourished. There remained a great disparity in income and living conditions between the rich and the poor, but society appeared to be on its way to gradual improvement.

Germany in particular saw amazing progress. By 1910 the German population was 67 million and growing. German universities were the best in the world, German music was unequalled, and German factories were turning out high-quality products at an ever-increasing rate. There were the beginnings of social security and unemployment compensation. The future looked bright indeed.

France also prospered. It recovered quickly from the 1870-71 disaster. Even with its smaller, older, and somewhat static population of 40 million, la belle France was still a wonderful place to be. Agriculture remained the dominant occupation, but French industrial output was not insignificant. The arts and letters flourished.

The United Kingdom was perhaps at the peak of its prestige and power. The sun never set on the British Empire of 1900. From New Delhi to Cape Town, from Toronto to Sydney, ultimate allegiance was to the British monarch, and much wealth from these vast lands flowed into the imperial coffers or enriched British traders and merchants.

Eastern Europe was not as well off. Both Austro-Hungary and Russia were polyglot empires consisting of a variety of ethnicities with questionable allegiances. In Austro-Hungary, which was as large and populous as France, a ruling class of Germans and Magyars sat upon a boiling cauldron of restive Slavs.  Russia was also politically unstable and industrially backward. Despite its immense manpower resources, it had suffered a humiliating military defeat by Japan in 1905, and Russia’s huge underclass of peasants and disaffected ethnicities was restless. The smaller east-European states were a heterogeneous mix of progress and stagnation, many being only recently removed from centuries of Ottoman repression.

Europe 1914

With the accession of William II to the German throne in 1888, Europe slowly began trending toward confrontation and conflict. William was a grandson of Queen Victoria, long reigning British monarch. George V, King of Great Britain, was his uncle, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was his cousin.  Unfortunately, William was somewhat unstable, and he had an inordinate love of the military. Soon he threw off the restraining influence of his old chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, and began putting his own somewhat bellicose imprint on the German military establishment and on German foreign policy. He sought to overawe Europe with his magnificent army, and he began building a navy that could potentially challenge the British. William was also prone to frequent undiplomatic and provocative threats, and European prime ministers and ambassadors were often on tenterhooks.  Britain was alarmed, and  France and Russia were moved to sign a defensive alliance in response to the growing German threat.   It was apparent that the smallest spark could ignite a conflagration. 

In 1914 Germany was in in a state of total military readiness. Its industrial capacity, including arms production capability, eclipsed that of its European competitors.  Universal military training  provided it with  a standing army of approximately 800,000, and there were 3.1 million trained reservists. Its forces were magnificently equipped., and, under the aegis of the German General Staff, military strategy and tactics had been developed into virtual sciences.  The Staff officers had been preparing for a general European war for years, and many of them believed that the time was ready to strike. The army had never been more ready for war, and its commanders were superbly confident. Realistic military exercises and maneuvers had been used to ready the troops for combat. The development and deployment of artillery and machine guns had been a particular emphasis, and the German army had an impressive inventory of heavy caliber guns and the training to employ them effectively. There was much thought among senior leaders that it was time to finally dispose of their ancient enemy, the French. They knew that the French longed to revenge 1870 and take back Alsace-Lorraine. Never would Germany be better primed and ready to crush France once and for all.

France, Germany’s age-old foe, was also in a state of preparedness. Even with its smaller population France still managed to field a standing army nearly as large as that of Germany, though it had fewer reserves.  Beginning in in 1913, France tried to compensate for its smaller manpower pool by drafting men for three years of service rather than two. The French army was of a high quality, but it was not nearly so ready for modern war as its enemy to the east. The infantry was still attired in traditional blue coats and red trousers, beautiful targets for its camouflaged opponents. French war planning was relatively weak, and the army’s tactical doctrine and training were better suited to the 19^th century. Infantry weapons were adequate, but heavy artillery was far inferior to that of the Germans. The French had a very effective 75 mm field gun, but the German army had more than a three-to-one advantage in heavy guns such as high-angle howitzers and mortars. It is true that many Frenchmen wanted revenge for1870. They bitterly resented the loss of Alsace-Lorraine. Nevertheless, most Frenchmen did not wish to start a war, and they looked anxiously at developments in Germany.

The British had no desire to become involved in a European land war, but they had become alarmed by the growth of the German navy and William II’s increasingly bellicose comments.   The United Kingdom, along with other major powers, had guaranteed Belgian neutrality and were concerned that Germany might violate that state’s neutrality to attack France.  Britain had a large navy but only a few superb divisions of professional soldiers.  British and French military staffs had discussed possible cooperative actions, but there was no formal alliance.

Austro-Hungary had a defensive alliance with Germany.  Though slightly larger and more populous than France, its army was not quite so large and well-equipped,.  Nevertheless, it was led by a very bellicose commander who was eager for war against Serbia, his nation’s Slavic neighbor to the south. The Austrians were convinced that Serbia was sowing seeds of discord among  Austro-Hungary’s  Slavic minorities (Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Croats, Bosnians, et. al.).

Russia was the most populous country in Europe, twice that of Germany. Though Russia had vast military potential, its armies had performed very badly in wars since the mid-19th century. They were poorly trained, poorly equipped, and often poorly led.  Russian leaders were firmly committed to the French alliance and very resentful of Austrian treatment of its Slavic citizens and neighbors.

Germany realized that if war broke out it would be a two-front war. France was considered the most dangerous enemy.  Russia had huge army, but it would be slow to mobilize.  If war came, a smaller part of the German army and Austro-Hungarian forces were expected to hold the Russians in check while the French were dealt with.  Once France was was out of the war, the Germans had no doubt of their ability to defeat the Russians.  A quick victory in the west was critical.

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated by a Slavic nationalist.  Even though there was little evidence of Serbian state complicity, Austrian militarists were determined to use this event to destroy Serbia, hotbed of the pan-Slavic movement. .Austro-Hungarian leaders conferred with their German counterparts and were assured that Germany would provide full and unconditional support for any action they might choose to take.  Upon receiving this assurance, Austria-Hungary  prepared an ultimatum to Serbia.. Serbia responded to the Austrian ultimatum amicably and stated its willingness to fully cooperate in seeking out and prosecuting anyone involved in the assassination plot.  The Austrian war party was not interested in Serbian cooperation.  It was determined to destroy Serbia.   The Serbian response was rejected, and Austria began to mobilize.  As a fellow Slav state, Russia considered itself Serbia’s protector; and on July 31, 1914, following Austro-Hungary’s declaration of war against Serbia, Russia began to mobilize.

The German military high command was alarmed. Its  war plan was based on the assumption that France must be defeated before Russia could fully mobilize.  If the Russians were allowed to mobilize first it would thow their entire plan into disaaray.  Telegrams flew between the several European capitals in an effort to resolve the crisis, but it was to no avail.  Austria was set on war against Serbia. and Russia was determined to protect the Serbs.  At this point Gemany demanded that Russia cease its mobilization.  When Russia refused,  Germany declared war, first against Russia and two days later against France. The Great War had begun.

Austria’s decision to destroy Serbia had been emboldened by German assurance of unconditional support, and any prospect of a peaceful resolution of the crisis fell victim to the inflexibility of  Germany’s war plan.  Europe thus descended into a cataclysmic orgy of self-destruction..