World War I and World War II
The general similarity between World War I and World War II is that both wars conducted on a massive scale contrary to other conflicts in world history. Further, they were caused by imperialism, nationalism, alliances, and militarism. On the other hand, they also have some vast differences between World War I and World War II. The national security of both Europe and Asia shaken, and the losers in the battles with the likes of Germany lost not only the soldiers in the war arena but also suffered a massive economic crisis. On 7/5/1915, Germany lost most of its soldiers at a go to the United Kingdom as Lusitania sunk 18km, killing 437 soldiers at shaking the country’s’ security details (Tanaka, 2017).
Trade was not spared; both World Wars caused the significant disorganization of the industrial and financial sectors from which the countries of Europe have been slowly recovering. Russia collapsed and lost its capacity in grains production; however, the wars geared industrialization in non-European countries (Lyons, 2016). In both wars, submarines attack conducted on freighters and tankers without prior warning, and without considering the prize rule, this not only affected the security details and fighters in the fields but also slowly deteriorated trade and nations’ interest at large.
To solve World War I, Germany and its allied power rivals signed the treaty of Versailles on 21/10/1919. Germany also accepted and jotted the German war clause on its responsibility to start the war and accountability on the losses incurred by the French and its allies (Ortiz, 2019). Countries defeated in the battle were also required to pay reparation, whether in cash or in-kind hence more financial crisis. Other plans Germany used to resolve the war include the Dawes Plan of 1924 and its extension by The Young Plan of 1929.
The coup attempts on the American government stirred up demonstrations. The people were weary of president Hoover’s inaction, and the Bonus Army March of 1932 gained a lot of attention (Lewenstein, 2016). The march was done by the war veterans who had gone broke; hence the demand for $1000 each certificate redeems, which were redeemable in 1945, the country politics and financial crisis were high.
The heated United States politics lead to setting up a committee of senators in 1936 to conduct investigations of the Munitions Industry. This select committee was known as The Nye Committee. The committee had a severe duty to investigate the banks connoted as the merchants of death, believed to fund the munitions industry.
World War I seemed to have changed the US mindset and future preparedness in the future. The 1930s had a series of activities that led to The Act of Neutrality. The act limited the US from involvement in any other world war. The country believed it had been drawn into war through loans and trades with the allies (Jacob, 2018). In 1938, the US saw the benefit of calling for a referendum to change the constitution in the famous The Ludlow Amendment to limit the US from involvement in war unless it was first attacked. The US, however, deemed it necessary to be prepared for bad days and selected youth of productive age to join the army training in 1940 under the first peacetime draft. During World War II, the US could supply weapons to its allies. The cost of the supplies was to be paid in kind once the war; this was a significant milestone on future security and economic preparedness. The hopes of a better future by two United Nations leaders called for the Atlantic Charter; this was neither an affirmation nor final expression of the peace aims between two superpowers.
Surprisingly, the Japanese army attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii territory on 7th December 1941. It was one provocation from a series of other many to Germany, four days later that is on 11th December 1941, Germany declared war against the Japanese empire, a decision that was made by Adolf Hitler (Geiger, 2019). This decision was the genesis of World War II through the back door in what is famously known as the Pearl Harbor Conspiracy Theory.
The US is said to have 52% of its GDP during the war; this experience ignited economic preparedness through lending and leasing in world war II as well as mass military training on the productive youths in case of any uncertainty. The American technology on ships during World War II had greatly improved hence the production of more reliable warships in comparison with the rivals popularly referred to Pacific theatre. Nazi Germany, however, lost control over Western Europe in World War II in the battle of Normandy.
The end of World War II was marked by demilitarization by individual nations and collective security bargain and agreement, reinforced by the League of Nations organization whose mission was peacekeeping among nations (Newman, 2016). NATO and the UN had different philosophies and ideologies but came together to defend the peace of countries to avoid wars.
Conclusion
World war I differ from World War II in the sense that World War one involved the use of machine guns and poisonous gases. In contrast, World War II included the use of airplanes, ships, tanks, and submarines and special operations on atomic missiles and secreted communication. All the same, although the world wars awakened the non-European countries on industrial development, the messes caused surpass the benefits by far. Today war is the least primitive conflict solving technique not only in the world map level but also in the domestic setting.
References
Geiger, R. L. (2019). American Higher Education Since World War II: A History (Vol. 116). Princeton University Press.
Jacob, F. (2018). Japanese war crimes during world war II: Atrocity and the psychology of collective violence. ABC-CLIO.
Lewenstein, B. V. (2016). The meaning ofpublic understanding of science’in the United States after World War II. Public Understanding of science.
Lyons, M. J. (2016). World War II: A short history. Routledge.
Newman, M. (2016). The Pictorial Stylings of Louis Raemaekers and Sir David Low: A Comparison of Anti-German Cartoons from World War I to World War II (Doctoral dissertation, Wittenberg University).
Ortiz, M. (2019). Transatlantic Antifascisms: From the Spanish Civil War to the End of World War II by Michael Seidman. Histoire sociale/Social history, 52(106), 416-418.
Tanaka, Y. (2017). Hidden horrors: Japanese war crimes in World War II. Rowman & Littlefield.