On the other hand, it can be argued that Trotsky’s leadership of the Red Army during the Civil War was just as, or even more important in the Bolsheviks’ seizure of power, as was the image of the Bolsheviks as being patriotic heroes fighting against Tsarist leaders and foreign invaders. Obviously, it was the October Revolution which brought the Bolshevik Party into power, giving them control of Russia. It can therefore be said that, had this not occurred, then it is incredibly unlikely that the Bolsheviks would ever have come into power. The Revolution was, of course, Lenin’s major goal (though in the end it was organised by Trotsky) for his party, and it was through his leadership and staunch dedication to the fall of the Provisional Government that the Bolsheviks eventually seized power in October 1917. Had it not been for Lenin, the Bolsheviks would never have taken power in the first place, as free elections were to be held in November 1917, with the Social Revolutionaries (SRs) being the most popular at the time.
Both soldiers and civilians blame the defeats in the war and the growing crises on the home front on Tsar. Even the Tsars only army stated it wouldn’t support him if a revolution occurred. Explain the importance/significance of World War 1 to the downfall of the Tsar WWI was a very significant event on the rule of Tsar Nicholas 11. Although it initially bolstered his position, it then became a large factor that contributed to Nicholas’ downfall. The Country was ecstatic when the Tsar made the announcement that Russia was going to fight against Germany in WWI.
Source 1 state’s that ‘as early as 1906, Germany had in place a plan for an aggressive war.’ Suggesting that the plan was put in place to start a war when the time was right. Source 2 says, in agreement, that ‘as a reaction to the German war plan’ the French told the Russians to start mobilizing. This suggests that the Schlieffen plan pushed for war and also suggests that the French were being aggressive. Furthermore, this shows how the French - amongst other countries - had ‘confidence in victory’ as said in source 2. Many historians like Fischer, who’s also mentioned in source 1, believe, that if the Schlieffen plan was not aggressive then why would a war plan need to be devised in a time of peace?
The British blockade kept all trades away from the Germans, including food (Ghost Liners 124).Yet, when the Germans retaliate, the Americans hate them for it. The Germans received blame for a crime that followed the rules of war blockades. America shames the Germans for killing civilians warned of the possible danger. Finally, the Lusitania allowed for the British to win in a win-win situation that their government
Several attempts from both the left and right sides of government tried to imbue the nationalistic beliefs that were embodied in Germany before they were destroyed by their humiliating defeat in WW1. These include the Spartacist uprising, the Kapp Putsch and the Munich Beer Hall Putsch. The disillusionment felt by the people and their need to restore pride in their nation influenced many factors that led to the failure of the democracy, and to the rise of the Nazi political party and its leader Adolf Hitler. In hindsight, a mixture of political, social and economic issues, combined with nationalistic goals give grounds to the reason that nationalism mainly brought about the fall of the democracy of the Weimar Republic in Germany. By the outbreak of WW1 in August 1914, Germany was well established as a major and prominent world power.
The peace of the mighty proved that to be wrong. The German Army in the field, although battered was still formidable in the eyes of the German leadership. They had gone to the peace table hoping for scraps and got the business end of the newspaper. The German Peace Delegation was forced to assume blame for the war, and then sit helplessly by as territories it felt were largely inhabited with Germans were made part of other states. The Germans had come to the table hoping to hear Wilson saying, “the equality of nations upon which peace much be founded on if it is to last must be an equality of rights..” (German Peace Delegation, p. 76) Instead they were hit with several Billion reichmarks in reparations, a reduced military and many other limitations politically, economically, militarily and territory wise (The Versailles Treaty, 1918).
Observe: the millers lite took the sales of Coors light. Speciality beers only hold 12% of the total market. Specialty beers sold the most: in 2012 central with 39 million least east Labbat Ice has been increasing in sales by 8.8 million in the 4 years. Not available in the east. Top brand is microbreweries 39 million out of the 86 million Signature cream ale has been selling one million or less.
The number of people unemployed rose by five million from the start of the great depression1929 to when Hitler became chancellor in 1933. Some people were still in works but they were paid low wages and worked short time works. The number of unemployment left many people hungry as they had no work so they couldn’t get the money to buy food. Also many people became homeless. The great depression gave huge boost to the extremist parties as the German people started to blame the government to the depression and therefore lost confidence in them.
Russian train infrastructure was relatively new and underdeveloped, when war broke out the rail lines were used to transport troops and supplies for war, food shortages in cities were afflicting the masses, this caused discontent at home. The decision of Tsar Nicholas II to lead his troops on the front line is a debateable one, however I believe that due to his lack in military training and knowledge on how to lead troops, coupled with the fact he left the Tsarina to rule in his absence with the assistance of Rasputin , that this decision was a terrible one. Tsar Nicholas II dismissed his uncle as the head of the military and made the fateful decision of leading his troops himself. He believed that his presence would inspire the troops, however his lack of military expertise proved disastrous for the Russian war efforts. The Tsar left his wife to rule in his stead with the aid of Rasputin who was an advisor to the Romanov family.
If Russia’s economy was relatively healthy in early 1914, how did it manage to be in such a sad state of affairs by 1917? There are many factors that contributed to this: the decision to go to war, the direction of the Russian war effort between 1914 and 1917, economic and social factors as well as political developments. So how did the Russian Empire manage to collapse so quickly? The answer lies in the changing nature of warfare after 1914, as well as the social and economic strains that a war of that magnitude imposes. This is implying of course that the decision by Nicholas II to go to war against Germany and it’s allies in 1914 was wrong, but this is not the case.