Thursday, October 8, 2015

World War I

British soldiers in a flooded communication trench. Photo from the BBC
Why was World War I unique? What was different about World War I than other military conflicts the US had been involved in?

This post will be available for comments until Monday, October 19.


32 comments:

  1. World War I was unique because of the emergence of new technology. For example, the use of submarines changed naval warfare to become bloodier than before. It attacked not only soldiers but civilians as well. Also, because of alliances between nations, almost the entire world was pulled into the conflict.

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    1. VERY TRUE It also introduced the idea of "Chemical Warfare" When the Germans introduced the submarine, it was not only a new technology, but a new code of conduct introduced for naval war. Previously there was a more, "gentleman like" conduct which only destroyed the ship, not the crew. Submarines gave not warning to abandon ship, it murdered everyone. The result of this was a disgusted int. population, and propaganda campaigns demonizing Germany.

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    2. One of my favorite facts that I have learned in this class so far is about the German "Chemical Warfare" introduced for World War I. It is so hard to imagine a time where naval warfare was so "gentleman-like" being that with the emergence of WWI, technology had rapidly advanced and has continued to advance since then. As Robin mentioned, along with new technology, new warfare mannerisms arose as technology allowed for more sneaky attacks, allowing ruthlessness that has also continued to be a part of warfare since WWI.

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  2. WWI was different from the other military conflicts that the US was involved in because the country was pulled into war partly due to Progressive movements within the country. As we had discussed in class, President Wilson said that he would support women suffrage if women would support war. The basis for war was the spread of democracy and freedom. So internal conflicts had played a part in involving the nation in war.

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  3. World War I was unique because of the advancement in technology for weapons, and thus battle strategy. On top of submarines as aforementioned, tanks, deadlier guns, and poisonous gas were introduced. Air power was of the most advanced and newly developed tactics that had changed the era of warfare. Because of this, not only were the soldiers at battle, but civilians were also heavily involved, trying to remain safe amidst the grand scheme of the war. Due to all these advancements of weaponry in WWI, it could be seen as a trial in retrospect for how countries fought (weaponry/strategy) in WWII.

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    1. It was also the first global war where just about all industry honed in on materials for preparation of the war and having the resources to supply those fighting.

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    2. QUESTION? It occurred to me that this may also be the first war post industrialization, which would mean that there would be a grand transition in how war effected economy, society, etc as they relate to operating, working, or living by factories producing needs for a war.

      Not exactly sure if it was the FIRST one though.

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  4. What was different about World War I than other military conflicts that the United States had been involved in is that though the war had truly enveloped the whole world, the US was not meant to be apart of it. Prior to the war, the election of Woodrow Wilson sat heavy upon the fact that he supported women's suffrage, which helped him win. The US kept out of the war until they were essentially forced to fight because of the unwarranted attacks coming from Germany.

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  5. World War I was a war of empires from different parts of the world. This war was more violent than previous wars because of the introduction of submarine warfare. New technology had made it possible to take out an enemies ship with no warning with the help of submarines. More advandced deadlier weaponry was used, killing not only soldiers but also citizens. This war also lead to the characterization as Germans as an evil race. This war changed the way future wars would be fought and won.

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  6. World War I is the first major war which involved multiple world super powers at the time. It was the first war where "courtesy" was not paid to one'e enemies. With the introduction of submarine warfare, naval battles were redefined. This was first war were airplanes were being used for combat as well. These are some of the few ways where the actual combat has evolved. World War I is also one of the few wars where there is not a clear right and wrong party. This war was one where it was conflict between empires about ideologies.

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  7. World War I was very unique because of the advancement in technology. It was the first time that people used submarines, tanks, aircraft, and newly improve guns. Unlike before the guns/ rifles the soldiers use are more accurate and faster to recharge. There's also the usage of machine guns.

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    1. I previously mentioned that new technology allowed for more sneaky and ruthless attacks. Here, Xiaolin gives an explanation as to how attacks became more sneaky. Technological advancements meant more effortless and continuous firing and less time for retaliation from the other side.

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  8. World War I was also known as the trench warfare and it was the first time that the term "shellshock" was being used. This term is now known to be PTSD. It was different from the other wars because this was a global warfare. Those that were involve had an alliance with other countries and that's how they were drag into the war.

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    1. I read a poem called "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen for a couple of my classes in the past. I encourage everyone to read it because it is a vivid description of trench warfare and how disturbing-- for lack of a better word-- it was to have to endure. Trench warfare during WWI was definitely a defining characteristic as it caused many deaths and sicknesses during the war that were not caused by explosives, and also postbellum disorders such as PTSD.

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  9. World War I was unique because of the advancement in technology changing the way how war was usually fought. Submarines re-shaped how battles at sea were done. Tanks and airplanes drastically changed the overall firepower and increasing the death toll. It is also the first time multiple super-power countries were involved in a war with each other and forming secret alliances.

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  10. World War I was also different from other US military involvements because the US didn't even want to be a part of the war in the first place. There was a lot of opposition to the war in the US with the majority being women and immigrants. Wilson ran his campaign on the fact that he would keep the US out of the war and wouldn't of won re-election without the votes of women. Many immigrants were from parts of Europe and didn't want to see the US ally with a country they didn't want to be attacked/helped.

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  11. World War I differed from previous wars due to the introduction of technological advancements such as tanks, planes, machine guns and submarines. These technological innovations redefined how wars were fought and resulted in a significant rise in casualties. Nearly all the world's great powers at the time participated in the war which emphasizes the magnitude and scale of this conflict. Unlike previous wars, the United States tried to remain uninvolved due to internal conflicts that were imminent until eventually declaring war on Germany. This was also one of the first instances where the United States involved themselves in a military conflict that wasn't on their own soil.

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  12. World War I was unique as it was the first war to ever involve trench warfare. Along with it being the first war to use this military tactic, it was also the last one as no other war after used trenches. Along with this battle tactic, World War I saw the implementation of advanced militarized weaponry such as tanks, planes, and poison gas.

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  13. World War I was different from any other war that the U.S. had fought before as it was the first war on such a global scale. The U.S. was a nation made up of people from all over the world. To be in such a war that has only two sides would split the people of the U.S. and cause much internal conflict as many of the people residing the U.S. still had nationalistic feelings towards their home country. Due to these conflicts, the U.S. had opted to stay out of the war for a very long time, however, they eventually opted into the war and thus suffered some severe consequences afterwards.

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  14. World war I was unique because it was the first WORLD war with multiple countries, including the allied forces and the central forces. Technological advancements such as chemical warfare fare with mustard gas and the invention of machine guns were used as well as submarines. Trench warfare was introduced holding stationary territories for a long time. Due to recently made machinery such as tanks and machine guns, there was little defense mechanisms to stop these weapons.

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  15. World War I was considered the first modern war because of the technology used, such as submarines, tanks, and aircrafts. Trench warfare was also used during this war. Hundreds of miles of trenches would be dug around the battlefield to provide cover for the military. This was the only war trench warfare was primarily used in because of illnesses spread that caused many casualties. Also, the machine gun was introduced, but it was not successfully made portable until late into the war. Lastly, this was the first war in which many nations grouped together to form alliances on a global scale.

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  16. World War I was unique because it was the first war in which all major powers of the world were involved. It was also unique because of the emergence of new technologies that were created, one being the submarine which was created by the Germans. This war was different from the previous wars the U.S was involved in because this war was an international war as well as a war that took place in a whole new continent. Meanwhile, all the previous wars involving the U.S took place within the country itself.

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  17. World War I was unique for more than one reason. Firstly, America was trying to be a neutral party and keeping an open trade policy, but not be directly apart of the war. Then there was the fact that the time period the world was in was going through some serious changes. Technology was advancing in the steel working and such, and thus there were new and more advanced weapons being made, making the war tactics change and war more brutal.

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  18. Yes, I do agree with many comments that the United States wanted to be neutral and not get involved with the war. Eventually the United States joined the central powers. World War I was the first war that shaped the military forces in the United States. Before the war the United States military and navy forces weren’t well prepared to enter the war. Many technology advancements took place because of the war. The inventions of tanks, bullets, aircraft, drones and so forth helped in fighting the war. After all these inventions and the war was over, unemployment increased in the United States because over production. The war ended and there wasn’t any use for all the war related products that were available after the war.

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  19. WW1 was different than any other war in history because it was the first war in history where multiple countries were in it. As well as many different regions in the world. Furthermore with the advancements in technology we were able to create more advanced weapons therefore making the war more brutal and causing more deaths in the war. Lastly this was the first war where we saw a bunch of new tactics in the field.

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  20. I agree with what most people have mentioned how WW1 is different compared to other previous wars. It was the first time having a global scale war that incorporate alliances. Also one important factor includes the introduction to technology. New technology advancements created machinery that ultimately killed more people faster. We begin to see submarines, gas bombs, fighter airplane and drones.

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  21. World War I, or the Great War was quite unique because of its participants and weapons of choice. In terms of the nations involved in the war, the Allies consisted of Britain, Russia, Japan, France, and the United States. The Central Powers consisted of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire. Having multiple world powers involved in one huge war made World War I different than any other war the United States was previously involved in. In addition, there were new military technologies, such as the airplanes, machine guns, submarines, and poison gas, that resulted in greater numbers of casualties for both the Allies and the Central Powers.

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  22. World War 1 was unique because it was the first war in an industrialized era. This led to the creation and use of new technology, such as the submarine introduced by Germany. The use of this new technology made World War 1 a very deadly and gruesome war.

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  23. With the introduction of new technology , war had fundamentally changed making World War I wary unique as mentioned by the bloggers before me. Form a tad bit of a different angle, we find that this war effort was considered a total war with those at home kingmaker strides towards the support of troops in a direct manner such as with conversions of factories and the heavy use of propaganda for enlistment and civilian involvement. To deal with dissenters at home , the Espionage and Sedition acts of 1917 which distinguished the governments view of "acceptable" war time behavior to be enforced during World War I that further distinguished behaviors during the war at home form those previously involved in.

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  24. WW1 was unique for numerous reasons. Unlike the wars fought between Mexico and the US, this war was over seas in Europe, not threatening the US border. Also, this war created the mass mobilization of warfare in the United States by Wilson. The US had never been in any type of combat like that before. Finally, war had changed because of industrialization. The mass production of weapons and the stimulation of economic opportunity increased.

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  25. I agree with all the previous comments that new military technologies were a large part of what differentiates World War 1 from all previous wars. World War 1 was also different because it’s the first war that used and spread mass production in factories.

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  26. World War I was a way of unprecedented events such as the technologies such as mustard gas and improved weaponry that led to devastating casualties. Asking with this, this war was the first time the United States were in a way with every powerhouse in the entire world. This bright many issues such as alliances and brought some of the allies we keep to this day.

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