HIST 3700 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Article 231 Of The Treaty Of Versailles, Pacifism, Sergey Sazonov
Document Summary
Came into the war with a view that it would be like other colonial altercations of the past. The length of the war lead to attrition, both sides slugging it out. At the time socialism was at its high in europe (fighting organized power). The war lead on so long because as a collective the people were behind the effort of continuing it. Number of books were produced by various countries listing the diplomatic reasons for the war. All displayed the countries as on the defensive, as they were reacting to defend their interests against wrong doers. In the lead up to the war most armies are thinking about going on the offensive. Germany engaged in what they saw as a pre-emptive war to prevent others in encircling them. This is shown in the treaty of versailles in the war guilt.