World War Strategic Factors

After walking the grounds of Verdun, France, one can only imagine the fear men faced when they saw the destructive power of 19th Century weaponry and wonder at the horrifying decision to dig into the Earth for some glimmer of salvation. This was trench warfare and what men faced during the First World War, which devastated economies, populations, and militaries amongst participating nations. So devastating, in fact, that nations believed another war like the First World War was inconceivable. More than twenty-years later this assumption is proven false. However, strategists and policymakers must consider the reasons nations within Europe participated in the First World War because lessons learned can prevent future conflicts.
Of course, it …show more content…
However, strategic factors can also produce fear and anger amongst nations that leads decisions aimed towards war. Most importantly, though, it is critical to understand what strategic factors are not. Strategic factors are not war strategies, nor are they emotions or motivations, such as fear, honor, and interests. Finally, strategic factors only occur within a state’s strategic context or what they deem as important. For example, the Soviet Union attempted to place nuclear weapons on Cuba to gain an advantage over the United States. This was a strategic factor for the United States because, first, their national culture was already convinced the Soviets could not be trusted. Second, policies were in place to try to contain the Soviet-led idea of Communism, which only spurned the anti-Soviet American culture even more. Third, in response to the possible placement of nuclear weapons in Cuba, the United States teetered their posture closer towards war. Understandably, context matters, which is a critical component of a strategic factor. Placing nuclear weapons on Cuba is a strategic factor that led the United States to contemplate war, but this same action did not change the culture, policies, or posture for countries like Afghanistan. With this understanding, the first strategic factor that led European nations into World War I was their nationalistic …show more content…
A paradigm is simply how an individual, or in this case a nation, views the world and it will guide all of their decisions, biases, and logic. Kaiser William II, Germany’s emperor prior and during World War I, was the mastermind behind an ideology that felt all of the surrounding European powers were working together to keep Germany weak. Kaiser William II saw King Edward I, King of England, charismatically enter in alliances and ratify treaties with nations that surrounded Germany, which only perpetuated the Kaiser’s fears. As a result, any actions by other European nations to politically strengthen themselves, Germany saw as an act of aggression. Sadly, this paradigm was shared by the German populace as well, who felt their nation was not receiving the level of respect they deserved. Thus, the Germans held onto a paradigm that war was a necessity to obtain what should already be theirs, prestige in Europe, and they made the necessary policy and posture changes that supported their