100 year anniversary of the start of WW1

[Huntingwhale]

Today marks the 100 year anniversary of the start of WW1.

Spoiler!

A century ago, an assassin, a Serbian nationalist, killed the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary as he visited Sarajevo. This act was the catalyst for a massive conflict that lasted four years. More than 65 million soldiers were mobilized by more than 30 nations, with battles taking place around the world. Industrialization brought modern weapons, machinery, and tactics to warfare, vastly increasing the killing power of armies.

The Atlantic did a stunning walkthough with photos and explanations of the events that lead up to, during and after the war.

http://www.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/wwi/

WW2 if anybody is interested in it.

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/pages/ww2/

Are there any WW1 vets that are still alive? Pretty stunning to think that something we've all learend about for years started a century ago today.

[polak]

Not going to lie, I chuckled when I saw you used a spoiler tag.

Spoiler!

franz ferdinand got shot, Austria got mad, Sh*t hit the fan, Ze Germans lost

[CaptainCrunch]

I think that pretty much all of the WW1 vets are gone, we're rapidly seeing WW2 and Korean War vets die.

While from a Canadian standpoint WW1 established us as more then a British colony.

From a historical perspective it was a war that the world was dragged into due to political agreements.

From a individual stanpoint, it started as a highly romanticized concept. A chance for the young generation to go out and fight and to come home covered in metals, the last gentleman's war where the Brits cried out, "Home by Christmas"

It became one of the ugliest most brutal wars in history and a great cause of human misery. We saw the rise of machine guns, and armored unts and the air war and the heavy use of submarines.

It set the stage for the rise of extreme facism and Communism. It created the generation of monstrous leaders that lead to the hideousness of the unstable 20th century.

And it was started by one bullet fired by a nobody that killed a nobody. the starting shot that killed millions upon millions.

[Knut]

Dan Carlin's HardCore history podcast has a 3 part look (i think a part 4 is coming) at WW1 called "Blueprint for Armageddon". Goes into incredible depth about what led up to the conflict and what people on both sides were thinking at the time.

Worth it for anyone to listen to. Incredibly engaging.

http://www.dancarlin.com//disp.php/hharchive

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Hesla

Dan Carlin's HardCore history podcast has a 3 part look (i think a part 4 is coming) at WW1 called "Blueprint for Armageddon". Goes into incredible depth about what led up to the conflict and what people on both sides were thinking at the time.

Worth it for anyone to listen to. Incredibly engaging.

http://www.dancarlin.com//disp.php/hharchive

Thanks! I had forgotten about this show after listening to the 5-part Mongol series.

[FlamesAddiction]

The issue of the assassination is still a controversial issue in the Balkans.

http://time.com/tag/bosnia/

[MrMastodonFarm]

And thus ends, Downton Abbey season one.

[#-3]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I think that pretty much all of the WW1 vets are gone, we're rapidly seeing WW2 and Korean War vets die.

Governments of all the countries involved say they are all gone. The youngest Vets would be ~114 by now if they were still alive. They average age of Vets would be over 120.

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

And it was started by one bullet fired by a nobody that killed a nobody. the starting shot that killed millions upon millions.

I wouldn't say who was shot was a nobody, he was next in line for the throne of Austro-Hungarian empire.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Are there any WW1 vets that are still alive? Pretty stunning to think that something we've all learend about for years started a century ago today.

The last living veteran of World War I (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918) was Florence Green, a British citizen who served in the Allied armed forces, and who died 4 February 2012, aged 110.[1]

The last combat veteran was Claude Choules who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died 5 May 2011, aged 110.[2]

The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army) who died on 25 July 2009, aged 111

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ans_by_country

[mrkajz44]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

And it was started by one bullet fired by a nobody that killed a nobody. the starting shot that killed millions upon millions.

While the assassination was the catalyst for the start of the war, I think it is generally agreed that WWI was amost inevitable based on what was occuring prior and it was more of a matter of when it would start, rather than if it would happen.

[afc wimbledon]

The seeds were sown with Frances humiliation and loss of the Alsace Lorraine in 1870.
In effect there were three parts to one war, 1870, 1914 and 39

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Here's a neat subreddit where people post things that happened exactly 100 years ago:

http://www.reddit.com/r/100yearsago

I thought this image of the front page of Washington Times was especially neat:

Spoiler for size

Spoiler!

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Cuz

I wouldn't say who was shot was a nobody, he was next in line for the throne of Austro-Hungarian empire.

Some people viewed Franz Ferdinand as a poor leader and there were many people within the Austrian-Hungarian aristocracy that wouldn't have minded having him removed from succession. There are no shortage of conspiracy theorists who feel it was a set-up with 2 purposes. One, to remove Ferdinand as heir; and two, to create pretext for war against Serbia.

Not saying that I believe them.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Some people viewed Franz Ferdinand as a poor leader and there were many people within the Austrian-Hungarian aristocracy that wouldn't have minded having him removed from succession. There are no shortage of conspiracy theorists who feel it was a set-up with 2 purposes. One, to removed Ferdinand as heir; and two, to create pretext for war against Serbia.

Not saying that I believe them.

19/14 was a hoax.com it's all there man!!! Wake up sheeple

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

19/14 was a hoax.com it's all there man!!! Wake up sheeple

This makes me wonder what the news feeds and twitter feeds would look like if WWI started today.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

While the assassination was the catalyst for the start of the war, I think it is generally agreed that WWI was amost inevitable based on what was occuring prior and it was more of a matter of when it would start, rather than if it would happen.

I would agree with that, the primary cause was the secret alliances, and the death throes of colonial thinking.

The assassination just got everything moving.

[theinfinitejar]

Originally Posted by Hesla

Dan Carlin's HardCore history podcast has a 3 part look (i think a part 4 is coming) at WW1 called "Blueprint for Armageddon". Goes into incredible depth about what led up to the conflict and what people on both sides were thinking at the time.

Worth it for anyone to listen to. Incredibly engaging.

http://www.dancarlin.com//disp.php/hharchive

The company that made Apocalypse World War 2 is in the process of airing a series on World War 1. Available here. The first 2 episodes have been released so far.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

The seeds were sown with Frances humiliation and loss of the Alsace Lorraine in 1870.
In effect there were three parts to one war, 1870, 1914 and 39

The Balkan Wars of the 1990s were pretty much an extension of WWI as well. The defeat of Austria was a victory for Serb nationalists who were awarded territory as a result. It's funny how a war that was partially started to dismantle the European imperial system, created one of the last vestiges of imperialism in Europe.

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I would agree with that, the primary cause was the secret alliances, and the death throes of colonial thinking.

The assassination just got everything moving.

That, and rapidly improving technology and an arms race. All the major powers at the time thought they could easily win a war with the others. I don't think any ever envisioned a stalemate like the one that occurred for a long time.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

The Balkan Wars of the 1990s were pretty much an extension of WWI as well. The defeat of Austria was a victory for Serb nationalists who were awarded territory as a result. It's funny how a war that was partially started to dismantle the European imperial system, created one of the last vestiges of imperialism in Europe.



That, and rapidly improving technology and an arms race. All the major powers at the time thought they could easily win a war with the others. I don't think any ever envisioned a stalemate like the one that occurred for a long time.

Yeah the biggest display of that was the German-Anglo Naval race, where the British ended up with 44 Dreadnaughts to Germany's 29.