War has been a part of every country existence for as far back as historians can find. It has almost become a fact of life in many countries. Whether there is strife inside of a country, or a country wants to gain independence, or has a desire to expand its realm; war is a thing that countries almost cannot escape. Throughout a person’s historical education, it is almost certain that they will learn about two of the most famous wars: the First and Second World Wars, because both are seen as critical points in contemporary history. They have both shaped the world as we know it today and without these wars, the world could have developed tremendously differently. Although the two wars share many common characteristics, they also differ greatly
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One way that they repeated each other is that they were both fought using the alliance system. This is the main reason that the two wars were “world wars”; because if one country is an ally to another country and that ally goes to war, that country is also obligated to go to war. For instance, in World War 1 there were two major alliances: the Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (the Central Powers or Triple Alliance) and Great Britain, Russia, and France (Triple Entente). On June 28, 1914, the Austrian-Hungary Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Bosnia which caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. The war might have simply been fought between these two countries had Austria not had an alliance formed with Germany. However, since they were allies, Germany got involved in this war and also declared war on Russia, whom they had never really liked. In turn, France was affected and joined to help Russia and Great Britain joined to help France. The same sequence of events also happened in World War II under different circumstances. In the Second World War, the allies were somewhat different but still generally the same. There were the Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan and the Allied Powers: Great Britain, the Soviet Union, France, and the United States. When Germany broke the Munich Pact and invaded Poland, Great Britain declared war on Germany and the alliance system again took over. France and Great Britain had promised to protect Poland so they both entered the war. Not long after, when France’s defeat seemed imminent, Italy joined to help Germany in the attack of the Soviet Union. On December 7, 1941 Japan bombed the United State’s Pearl Harbor and consequently Japan joined the Axis Powers and the United States became part of the Allied Powers. In both wars, if there had not been allies, it would have merely been a war between two
One way that they repeated each other is that they were both fought using the alliance system. This is the main reason that the two wars were “world wars”; because if one country is an ally to another country and that ally goes to war, that country is also obligated to go to war. For instance, in World War 1 there were two major alliances: the Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy (the Central Powers or Triple Alliance) and Great Britain, Russia, and France (Triple Entente). On June 28, 1914, the Austrian-Hungary Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Bosnia which caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia. The war might have simply been fought between these two countries had Austria not had an alliance formed with Germany. However, since they were allies, Germany got involved in this war and also declared war on Russia, whom they had never really liked. In turn, France was affected and joined to help Russia and Great Britain joined to help France. The same sequence of events also happened in World War II under different circumstances. In the Second World War, the allies were somewhat different but still generally the same. There were the Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan and the Allied Powers: Great Britain, the Soviet Union, France, and the United States. When Germany broke the Munich Pact and invaded Poland, Great Britain declared war on Germany and the alliance system again took over. France and Great Britain had promised to protect Poland so they both entered the war. Not long after, when France’s defeat seemed imminent, Italy joined to help Germany in the attack of the Soviet Union. On December 7, 1941 Japan bombed the United State’s Pearl Harbor and consequently Japan joined the Axis Powers and the United States became part of the Allied Powers. In both wars, if there had not been allies, it would have merely been a war between two