WWI vs WWII

The early twentieth century was mainly an extension of the nineteenth century. The dominant powers and their governments as well as political and social ideologies were largely unchanged. The First World War, or "Great War", as it was known, began the transformation of the world, but it took the Second World War to finish it.

Both world wars seemed to be inevitable. The dominant political movements of militarism, imperialism and entangling alliances, pushed by rapid industrialization, lead to constant conflict between the great powers of Europe. These powers were ready to fight, they just needed a reason. That reason came with the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 in the city of Sarajevo. The great powers of Russia, England and France (Triple Entente) quickly found themselves at war with Germany, Austria and the Ottoman Empire (Triple Alliance).

The Second World War was really an extension of the first. The Treaty of Versailles that ended the First World War punished and humiliated Germany to such a degree, the rise of the Nazis and start of WWII was almost inevitable. In direct defiance of the treaty Hitler rearmed Germany and went on an expansionistic campaign that could only end in war.

The style of warfare between the two world wars showed the adjustments that had been made in the use of technology. The First World War introduced many new war making technologies. The Germans introduced the submarine to naval warfare, terrorizing the Atlantic and tipping the scales of naval power away from the British. The French used tanks for the first time to counter the strategy of trenches. Cannon technology advanced into long range shelling and machine gun technology made their use much more prevalent. Airplanes were used early in the war for reconnaissance and later became weapons of war. The use of chemical and biological weapons added a ghastly component to the new technologies used in the war.

Unfortunately for the soldiers in the field, the battle strategies of the First World War did not advance along with the technology. The trench warfare technique lead to fatalities on a scale that was unimaginable even five years before the war. In the Battle of the Somme alone the British lost 25,000 men in the first day.

The technology leap between the world wars was incredible for the relatively short amount of time involved. Submarines and tanks became larger, faster and more powerful. Naval ships also became larger and more powerful, and the introduction of the aircraft carrier may have been the most important development of the war. Of course, the Second World War introduced the most destructive weapon in human history when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

The Second World War was more of a total war than the first, in a variety of ways. More than forty-one million civilians died in the Second World War, more than any other war. Prior to WWII civilians were generally considered off limits for attack. However, the blitzkrieg strategies of the Nazis as well as bombing campaigns in both the European and Pacific theaters specifically targeted civilian populations.

The Second World War was a truly global conflict. Whereas in the First World War the colonies of the European countries did get involved in the fighting, the majority of the war was fought over approximately one hundred miles of territory. In the Second World War the fighting engulfed virtually every continent. Even neutral countries such as Switzerland, found themselves either invaded or attacked.

The most important difference between the world wars was their long term impact. The First World War lead to the rise of the fascists in Italy, Germany and Spain, and had a role in the creation of the Soviet Union, but the world structure was relatively unchanged. The major powers of the world, both politically and militarily were still in Europe. European issues dominated the international landscape. The world structure was still predicated on a euro-centric, balance of power model.

After the Second World War that model changed dramatically. The old powers were gone, the empires were disbanded and Europe itself was split. The new world organization was a bi-polar model with two super powers leading the discussion. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the focal points of the new international structure. Other countries either allied with one of these powers or made a go of it on their own. The new international hierarchy would last for the next fifty years and the fall of the Soviet Union.

While both world wars involved many of the same combatants there were many more differences than similarities. The First World War set the stage for the Second World War. WWII changed the world entirely.