The traumatic experiences from the previous war meant that more people became pacifists and consequently a greater number applied for exemption (over 50,000) and this time all but 12,000 were given exemption. In addition, conscientious objectors had shown that they were not cowards by working dangerous jobs such as bomb disposal and ambulance drivers. They displayed bravery and commitment without actually working in the trenches and so the government was prepared to treat them better. Public attitudes towards absolutists were still hostile but alternativists were
In 1914 when war broke out in Europe, President Wilson declared America’s “Neutral policy”. Which was widely supported by the American people; however, when America joined the war in 1916, both the economy and society experienced benefits as well as drawbacks. The American economy was in a strong state before the war broke out. Due to its neutrality, the USA continued trade with Europe despite the war. In 1913 the value of American trade was about $2 billion, but by 1916 it had risen to $6 billion.
The decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had many influential factors effecting the decision. There certainly was the possibility of success for an invasion, but the decision not to invade far outweighed the decision to invade. Conventional bombing and Blockade were considered in the effort to force Japan into surrender. But, the fact that the Japanese military were controlling the Government and were in a state of mind of absolute refusal to surrender, meant that this was not a reasonable option. Political factors were greatly influential of Truman’s final decision to drop the bomb and the threat of Russian military who were soon to advance in the region had its impact.
Overall I think that the building of the Berlin Wall could actually have had a more positive effect. On the one hand it may be argued that the results of building the wall were mainly negative as it led to a great deal of tension between the two sides. The wall separated many families and friends and this persuaded Willy Brandt to do a demonstration in response. Due to the uncertainty of whether they could be anything to follow military forces were strengthened in the FRG. In 1961 USA sent an additional 40,000 soldiers to Europe, the majority to West Berlin.
Also, Germany were restricted to an army only 100,000 strong, which lead to mass unemployment, making the lives of many Germans very difficult. Lastly, they weren’t allowed an air force and had a small navy which made them vulnerable also, when airplanes were beginning to be used commercially, the Germans weren’t able to have this luxury. On the other hand, I disagree with the statement as the Germans were one of the main reasons for the first war and although they weren’t completely to blame, they still were a big reason for the war. The German forces caused a huge amount of damage to France and Belgium and it would be unfair for these countries to have to pay for the repairs completely themselves through their population’s taxes. Also, if Germany were still allowed a full army force the Germans could restart another war or attack a country, which is what they want to prevent.
The Allies were surprised by the Nazi attack. Actually, the Nazi wanted to spread the confusion within the Allies and some German soldiers were dressed as American soldiers. The allies could not use their air force because of the cloudy weather. The battle was launched by the Nazi, but by December 22, the situation began to turn around in favor of the Allied forces as the Nazi began to run out of fuel. Despite the Nazi efforts to win the battle, by late January the Nazi were out of fuel and had to abandon their tanks.
Describe the strenghs and weaknesses of British tanks in the First World War There were many strenghs and weaknesses of the British tanks that determined there effectiveness in the First World War. Due to there sheer size they were immediatly seen as a huge propaganda boost for the British morale. This technology however had drawbacks which meant the Germans developed stratagies to overcome the tanks might. The development of the tanks ultimately reduced the number of trench warfare casualties which was a very significant factor to the outcome of the war. Most of the tanks used in the First World War had different strenghs and weaknesses so if the Germans had thought of a stratergy to stop tanks from penetrating their lines it would not work in all cases.
The 1905 Revolution was initiated from a peaceful protest by the Surfs but soon transformed into something much bigger. Although the Russo Japanese war played a significant part there was also a variety of other contributing factors; including the great famine, Nicholas II, Bloody Sunday and a society divided by autocracy. Firstly, how significant was the Russo Japanese war? In August 1904 Tsar Nicholas II declared war over the Japanese as they refused to let him have Korea under the soviet sphere of influence. Russia was naturally seen as the superior military power of the two but they failed to utilise this.
The Immigration Act of 1917 banned almost all Asian immigrants and introduced a literacy test. But even after this new law was introduced there seemed to be no stopping the immigrants coming to the USA in search of the American Dream. World War one was another reason for the USA wanting to restrict the amount of immigrants coming into their country. Most Americans had accepted the ‘melting pot’ idea that all new immigrants would become ‘Americans’ but during the war many German immigrants supported the German side and when the USA joined the war against Germany there was a danger that American Society would split. Many American’s were afraid that immigrants would bring in new ideas such as anarchism and communism.
War Communism was radical and involved the militarisation of Labour which was disliked by the people and made people focus purely on the needs of the war. This contrasts greatly with the First World War (WW1) because the Tsar didn’t militarise Labour completely and so the demand for supplies in WW1 couldn’t be met by the factories. Starvation was nothing new in Russia and during WW1 the supplies couldn’t reach the troops on the front line and so many soldiers had little to eat. With War Communism the majority of the food would be taken from a household to feed an army and the result was that Russians starved, this time the household starved and there was little incentive to grow more. War Communism was introduced as the focus of Lenin was on the military and getting supplies to the soldiers of Russia quickly.