Causes Practices and Effects

Causes and Effects - 1
Causes, practices, and effects of war:
I. World War I
A. Longterm Causes
1. Nationalism-as monarchies gave way to democracy, the new bureaucracy used old national identity as a tool to bind together the population and enjoy greater productivity and more political stability
2. Nationalist obligation to bring honor to the mother country and natural desire for more land to increase productivity. These two elements left nations looking to their neighbors for extra living space.
3. Overestimation of military strength based on technological strides taken. New bold action rifles, artillery, production methods, and other technology developed during this time gave nations an impression
that they would certainly be able to overpower their neighbors and gain much land, were a military conflict to break out. Specifically Germany and Austria Hungary which had taken the greatest
technological strides, and had most recently shifted to a nationalism sustained democratic style monarchy, were left with the least land relative to their nationalistic expectations.
4. Lack of a good war in recent memory.
5. Romantic concept of warfare based on the only conflict that had taken place at that time, which was mostly colonial and very small scale, wherein soldiers acted as grand adventurers fighting weak
colonial rebellions in interesting foreign locales. Fighting for honor and fame and the name of the homeland was thought of as a desirable path in life.
6. Industrialization, allowing for the large scale availability of military hardware to everybody in Europe In fact, the rivalry of certain nation over technology gave rise to the competitive urge to test
each other's strength.
7. The public image of the monarchies, which sustained nationalism, increased desire for expansion, and locked down political negotiations.
8. post Ottoman states were unstable politically and considered available land, being fought over between Russia and Austria Hungary Russia needed the better land, and Austria Hungary needed to expand
the mother land. maneuvering over these
8. Europe was just rearing for war, their Germanic blood called for conflict as a base instinct, they evolved that way, and they had not had a war recently, so the new generation marched intentionally into
conflict, taking whatever path in political negotiations would lead to the inevitability of conflict.
B. Political factions
1. Political foundations
i. At this point, there are not really a set of parties or political negotiations.
ii. The basic political format was a decrepit monarch as the public face, and a democratically elected set of bureaucratic advisors or parliamentary groups making decisions and enforcing them
with the authority of the monarch.
iii. the degree to which nations maintained figureheads differed, from Germany with a much stronger looking Bismark and Wilhelm II, to Britain with the written Magna Carta limiting the power
of the king. The key being that public negotiations and egging towards war came from the monarchs, but was controlled by the upper bureaucracy
iv. the Russian, Austrian, German, and British ruling families were all connected by blood, and generally were connected with the other small nations that supported monarchies (which was
almost all of them).
v. Russia was ruled by the Tsar, actually the last Tsar, but we'll get to that later. Initially, Germany and Russia made a treaty to maintain peace until 1890, when Wilhelm II took power from
Bismark. Wilhelm was much more driven by public perception and honor, than Bismark who was a more liberal practical politician. Wilhelm dive towards war in the palms of Germany's
bureaucracy The Tsar, left by Germany leaned across to France, and forged the franko Russian alliance in 1892, basically the direct opposition to Austria Hungary and Germany
vi. Britain politically had little interest in war for territory of any other reason, they simply wanted to protect trading partners, so after failed negotiations with the warlike Wilhelm, Britain sided
with France and Russia, but only in so far that they would protect smaller allied states from Germany and Austria, they would not participate willingly in the territorial aspect of the conflict.
vii. Italy at the time was being indecisive, but wanted territory. Italy allied with Austria Hungary, which was nearby, and which held old ties to Rome
viii. The final player in Europe was turkey and the remains of the ottoman empire. The Ottoman emperor, Hemmed V held old ties to the austro Hungarian empire, and were interested in their e
expansionist plans, namely because the Ottoman empire was nearly dead, and he thought perhaps that it could be revived in part if they gained land and prestige from a large scale armed conflict.
ix. the austro Hungarian leaders, Franz Joseph and later Karl, were wishy washy old men with no will remaining to act apart from bureaucratic egging, but their old connections and personal
policy locked them into certain actions, like the declaration of war made in response to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.
2. Population info (classes/social demographics)
i. The standard activist at this time were the newly educated and better off workers that had participated in the industrial revolution. they were from the lower class, but better off, had been
inundated with nationalism since their early life, and were hard to stop once moving politically. in fact, once politicians saw war coming, and realized that it might be kind of bad, it also became
clear that the public would cast out any leader that diverted from the path, specifically because of how the governments had tied national pride to expansion of nations.
3. Idealistic undercurrents
i. the idealistic undercurrents during this time were limited to two:
a. socialism: very rare, state centered industry present minimally in France, Russia, and Germany
b. capitalism: the rule of the times, private interests controlled nearly every part of the industrial revolution, and gave financial power to the people who instated new European
bearocracies. Britain was the first instance, but Germany, Austria Hungary, Russia, France, Italy, and every other industrializing nation gave credence to corporations and entrepreneurs
their political power is what initially got the people into the nationalistic war driven mindset.
C. Technology/Industry
1. rifled artillery
2. high explosives
3. mass produced steel
4. automatic machine guns
5. bolt action rifles
6. dreadnoughts
7. poison gas
8. mass production for all of the above and uniforms
9. zeppelins
10. Airplanes
11. eventually tanks
12. canned food (on a large scale)
13. radio broadcasting, and instantaneous media
14. broad spread telegram lines
15. military trucks as transportation
D. Sparks
1. Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand by the Serbian "Black Hand" was the soul spark, which lead to a massive chain reaction through the allied treaties tying France and Russia to Serbia Germany
declares war on Serbia, thus France and Russia declare war on Germany then Germany invades Belgium and Britain is "forced" to get involved.
E. Strategy
1. trench warfare, that is the bread and butter strategy, taking Napoleonic formations and adapting them to use trenches instead of marching lines.
2. basically, Artillery to dislodge enemy trenches, then infantry charges to capture them and push forward. machine guns were used against the infantrymen, and very little progress was made
3. terror was used through gas attacks, airplanes, zeppelins, and whatever technologically intimidating weapons were available at the time.
4. Naval warfare was really incredibly primitive
i. step one, cut a hole in the...*cough* rather...build dreadnought
ii. step two sail out in a fleet of dreadnoughts
iii. step three find another large fleet of dreadnoughts, get in range and blast the shit out of each other, considering that the guns weren't affected much by wind or maneuvering
iv. notice that you have been blasted considerably by the enemy
v. leave with your tail between your legs and stave off bad publicity with a pitchfork
5. no strategic bombing or use of planes
6. planes used mostly as a morale booster, or diversion, paying attention to aerial battles instead of death and destruction on the ground.
7. actual military engagements were mostly about taking territory and capturing industrial areas, but rarely worked.
8. the bulk of the war turned out to be a war of attrition until the united states entered and ended things permanently.
F. Decisive Battles
1. there were not any...they were all just differing degrees of attrition...
2. battle of frontiers, august 14-24 1914.
i. Germany versus France in Belgium
ii. based on the shlieffen plan to take the French down before Russia could mobilize
iii. won by Germany with quick tactics, avoiding prolonged trench occupation...
iv. slowed down more than expected by the plan.
v. Strength
France: 1,250,000
Britain: 70,000
Germany: 1,300,000
Casualties and losses
France : 260,000
Britain: 4,200
Germany: 165,000
3. First Battle of Tannenberg (17 August – 2 September)
i. Russia versus Germany
ii. much faster Russian mobilization than Germany had expected, drew forces away from western front needed by shlieffen plan
iii. half done on the Russian part, resulted in Russian defeats by Germans still using quick tactics
iv. forced modification of the shlieffen plan to focus fewer troops to end one front faster than the other.
v. Strength
Russia: First Army (210,000) Second Army (206,000)
Germany: Eighth Army (166,000)
Russia: 78,000 killed or wounded; 92,000 POW and 500 guns captured[1]
Germany: 5,000 killed 7,000 wounded
4. First Battle of the Marne (5 September–12 September)
i. British troops joined the French and halted the German advance towards Paris
ii. practical end of the shlieffen plan
iii. very much trench warfare
iv. Strength
British: 1,071,000
German: 1,485,000 (on 2nd Aug.)
Allied: Approximately 263,000:
250,000 French casualties
(80,000 dead)
13,000 British casualties
(1,700 dead)
German: 220,000
5. at this point, battle lines were drawn and trenches basically set up a constant battle between Lorain and the Flemish coast.
i. Ypres
a. the Germans opened a hole with poison gas
b. first battle was defeat from gas
c. second battle, Canadian and British troops re-occupy the hole
d. third battle, allies gained a town and a solid permanent position
6. verdun
i. German attack on the French fortified city, expecting the French to focus enough manpower there to allow a true siege. plan was to bleed them to death and then use fresh Germans to break
through and take France
ii. French held on too well, plan failed
7. Sommes.
i. bloodies battle
ii. British diversion to draw German pressure away from verdun
iii. true trench warfare, but utilized frontal assaults against machine guns...stupid...tons of dead people...
iv. Strength
Allies: 13 British and 11 French divisions (initial)
51 British and 48 French divisions (final)
Germany: 10½ divisions (initial)

50 divisions (final)
Allied: 620,000 dead, wounded, missing, or captured,
100 tanks lost,
782 RFC aircraft lost[1]
German: 450,000 dead, wounded, missing, or captured[2]
8. Jutland was the only significant naval war, resulting in relatively few casualties, and both Germany and Britain thoroughly determined not to try THAT again...
9. Gallipoli
i. British offensive to take on turkey and get around to a weak point in German lines
ii. failed, turks had great positions and machine gun nests
iii. sat in trenches for months, no progress, horrid conditions, the goal was to knock out artillery to allow ships in to capture a strait. total failure, British left...
iv. casualties: 480,000 Allied troops had participated in the Gallipoli campaign which comprised the Turkish Army's most significant success of the war. Of this figure 252,000 suffered casualties
(of these 48,000 were fatalities). One-third of the 33,600 Anzac casualties comprised fatalities.
Turkish casualties have been estimated at 250,000, of which at least 65,000 are believed to be fatalities.
10. second battle of the Marne
i. major allied counter attack after German gains and attack on the western front
ii. Strength
44 French divisions,
8 American divisions,
4 British divisions,
2 Italian divisions,
408 heavy guns,

360 field batteries
German: 52 divisions,
609 heavy guns,
1,047 field batteries
95,165 French dead or wounded,
16,552 British dead or wounded,
12,000 American dead or wounded
German: 139,000 dead or wounded,
29,367 captured,
793 guns lost
11. hundred days war
i. counterattack, with American freshness to kick back the Germans
ii. successful more or less
iii.
411,636 British Empire
531,000 French
127,000 American
Total: 1,069,636
German: 785,733
G. Impacts
1. Tangible
i. Europe was shocked about war, and not desirous of more
ii. ya ya's were out
iii. much improved military strategies were conceived
iv. Germany was economically raped, and things were setup for the next world war
v. Austria Hungary was ripped apart, and the empires ended
vi. all monarchies ended completely
vii. Russian revolution
viii. Winston Churchill leaned how to cover his political ass
ix. tons of dead people:
Military dead:
5,525,000
Military wounded:
12,831,500
Military missing:
4,121,000[1]
...further details. Military dead:
4,386,000
Military wounded:
8,388,000
Military missing:
3,629,000[1]
...further details.
2. Intangible
i. people did not want war
ii. Germany was resentful and politically unstable
iii. political ideologies like socialism and communism emerged and began settling in people's minds
iv. resentment of nations throughout Europe of each other
v. America breaks isolationism

vi. league of nations and future political unity
H. Notes: extraneous variety
-damnable long war...
II. Russian Revolution

A. Longterm Causes
1. the industrial revolution
i. the main bulk of the industrial revolution in Russia was driven by entrepreneurs born out of the existing gentry.
ii. the gentry were given social status by blood relationship to old noble families of Russia, at the top of whose hierarchy stood the Tsar
iii. the industrial revolution was funded and organized by the gentry, using the peasants as labor. before this took place, the classes extremely segregated between peasants, skilled workers, gentry.
iv. industrialization and resultant urbanization blurs the classes, pulling peasants off their farms, and offering economic superiority to the most industrious.
v. city living, off of country farms increased availability of knowledge and led to a more concentrated intermixed social topography.
vi. exploitation through this system, and increased awareness and unity due to urban living led to resentment of the gentry, and the reasonable ability to oppose the gentry
vii. migration of peasants leads to thinking and decreased willingness to be subservient
2. inerrant corruption in the existing gentry and the government controlled by the gentry under the Tsar
i. greedy nobles at the top of an ancient feudal system controlled the industrial revolution in Russia, and the general government of the country.
ii. they took money, governed for their own benefit only, and made life hard on their people, who soon became unhappy.
iii. political awareness amongst peasants builds resentment, and many people catch hold of idealistic forms of government, specifically socialism and Marxist communism
iv. corruption leads to less success in industry, which leads to more unhappiness
3. events that lead to eventual revolution
-1855: Start of reign of Tsar Alexander II.
-1861: Emancipation of the serfs.
-1874–81: Growing anti-government terrorist movement and government reaction.
-1881: Alexander II assassinated by revolutionaries; succeeded by Alexander III.
-1883: First Russian Marxist group formed.
-1894: Start of reign of Nicholas II.
-1898: First Congress of Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP).
-1900: Foundation of Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR).
-1903: Second Congress of Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. Beginning of split between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.
-1904–5: Russo-Japanese War; Russia loses war.
-1905: Russian Revolution of 1905.
-January: Bloody Sunday in Saint Petersburg.
-June: Battleship Potemkin uprising at Odessa on the Black Sea (see movie The Battleship Potemkin).
-October: general strike, Saint Petersburg Soviet formed; October Manifesto: Imperial agreement on elections to the State Duma.
-1906: First State Duma. Prime Minister: Petr Stolypin. Agrarian reforms begin.
-1907: Second State Duma, February–June.
-1907: Third State Duma, until 1912.
-1911: Stolypin assassinated.
-1912: Fourth State Duma, until 1917. Bolshevik/Menshevik split final.
-1914: Germany declares war on Russia.
-1915: Serious defeats, Nicholas II declares himself Commander in Chief.
-1916: Food and fuel shortages and high prices. Progressive Bloc formed.
-1917: Strikes, mutinies, street demonstrations lead to the fall of autocracy.
4. the lead in, to world war one brought with it massive military production, and foreign threat that called for a large standing army.
i. raising the army took people away from farms and workplaces, putting further pressure on the tense economy
ii. producing weapons took precedence over producing food or generating revenue, so the country went into a depression
iii. the Tsar (Nicholas II) was the main figure head to take the blame, namely because his inept rule was genuinely the cause of the majority of Russia's problems. once world war I got difficult, he
actually abandoned the citizens to gallivant around directly commanding Russian troops as they got slaughtered by Germany
iv. Russia did badly in world war I, 5 million casualties had been generated by the end of 1916, and wartime production had left nearly everybody in Russia starving
B. factions
i. conservative Tsarists, and after the Tsar was gone, just plain conservatives fighting for capitalism. they wanted to keep power in the hands of rich land owners, not peasants or laborers
a. the Tsar was originally the political leader opposing any form of democracy, based on his divine right to rule.
b. the conservative land owners supported the Tsar and generally wanted to keep power for themselves
ii. communists, organized under: The Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party, split into two groups based on political maneuvering:
a. Bolsheviks (Russian for the majority) led by Vladimir Lenin
-radical
-wanted to organize with peasants, and totally abolish the existing government. wanted to replace it with pure communism.
b. Mensheviks (Russian for the minority) led by Julius Martov
-moderates, willing to negotiate, keep things stable, and be more or less socialist
-did not want to give all power to the peasants
-did not want to wipe out the existing government, just wanted to reshape it.
i. gentry and wealthy persons
a. put in place as a result of industrialization and or family position
b. strongly politically motivated to keep power
c. definitely the minority
ii. laborers/peasantry
a. majority of people
b. motivated by dissatisfaction with the Tsar and with
i. communism based on Karl Marx' writing
ii. capitalism centered in a wealthy ruling upper class
iii. socialism (simply as a milder medium between the two)
1. raw material production was the primary issue that came up
2. no new technologies particularly were involved
3. Russia was not well off financially or industrially at the time
D. Sparks
1. World War I
i. the war crushed the Russian economy and quality of live beyond what the people could accept
ii. this conflict specifically painted the Tsar as the bad guy
iii. this gave angry people weapons and military experience
iv. horror and death taking place in the war was tied back to the revolution, and all of the grievances held with Nicholas II
2. specific events of 1917:
-January: Strikes and unrest in Petrograd.
-February: February Revolution.
-11th March: 50 demonstrators killed in Znamenskaya Square Tsar Nicholas II prorogues the State Duma and orders commander of Petrograd military district to suppress disorders with
force.
-12th March: * Troops refuse to fire on demonstrators, deserters. Prisons, courts, and police bumbs attacked and looted by angry crowds. Okhrana buildings set on fire. Garrison joins
revolutionaries. Petrograd Soviet formed. Formation of Provisional Committee of the Duma by liberals from Constitutional Democratic Party (Kadets).
-14th March: Order No.1 of the Petrograd Soviet.
-15th March: Nicholas II abdicates. Provisional Government formed under Prime Minister Prince Lvov.
-16th April: Return of Lenin to Russia. He publishes his April Theses.
-3rd May–4th: "April Days": mass demonstrations by workers, soldiers, and others in the streets of Petrograd and Moscow triggered by the publication of the Foreign Minister Miliukov's
note to the allies, which was interpreted as affirming commitment to the war policies of the old government. First Provisional Government falls.
-18th May: First Coalition Government forms when socialists, representatives of the Soviet leadership, agree to enter the cabinet of the Provisional Government. Kerensky, the only
socialist already in the government, made minister of war and navy.
-16th June: First All-Russian Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies opens in Petrograd. Closed on 24th. Elects Central Executive Committee of Soviets (VTsIK), headed by
Mensheviks and SRs.
-23rd June: Planned Bolshevik demonstration in Petrograd banned by the Soviet.
-29th June: Kerensky orders offensive against Austro-Hungarian forces. Initial success only.
-1st July: Official Soviet demonstration in Petrograd for unity is unexpectedly dominated by Bolshevik slogans: "Down with the Ten Capitalist Ministers", "All Power to the Soviets".
-15th July: Russian offensive ends. Trotsky joins Bolsheviks.
-16th July–17th: The "July Days"; mass armed demonstrations in Petrograd, encouraged by the Bolsheviks, demanding "All Power to the Soviets".
-19th July: German and Austro-Hungarian counter-attack. Russians retreat in panic, sacking the town of Tarnopol. Arrest of Bolshevik leaders ordered.
-20th July: Lvov resigns and asks Kerensky to become Prime Minister and form a new government. Established 25 July
-4th August: Trotsky and Lunacharskii arrested.

-8th September: Second coalition government ends.
-8th September: "Kornilov mutiny". Begins when the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, General Lavr Kornilov, demands (or is believed by Kerensky to demand) that the
government give him all civil and military authority and moves troops against Petrograd.
-13th September: Majority of deputies of the Petrograd Soviet approve a Bolshevik resolution for an all-socialist government excluding the bourgeoisie.
-14th September: Russia declared a republic.
-17th September: Trotsky and others freed.
-18th September: Bolshevik resolution on the government wins majority vote in Moscow Soviet.
-2nd October: Moscow Soviet elects executive committee and new presidium, with Bolshevik majorities, and the Bolshevik Viktor Nogin as chairman.
-8th October: Third coalition government formed. Bolshevik majority in Petrograd Soviet elects Bolshevik Presidium and Trotsky as chairman.
-23rd October: Bolshevik Central Committee meeting approves armed uprising.
-24th October: Congress of Soviets of the Northern Region, until 13 Octoberth.
-2nd November: First meeting of the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet.
-7th November: October Revolution is launched as MRC directs armed workers and soldiers to capture key buildings in Petrograd. Winter Palace attacked at 9:40pm and captured at 2am.
Kerensky flees Petrograd. Opening of the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets.
-8th November: Second Congress of Soviets: Mensheviks and right SR delegates walk out in protest against the previous day's events. Congress approves transfer of state authority into its
own hands and local power into the hands of local soviets of workers', soldiers', and peasants' deputies, abolishes capital punishment, issues Decree on Peace and Decree on Land, and approves
the formation of an all-Bolshevik government, the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom), with Lenin as chairman.
E. Strategy
1. divided between reds (communists) and whites (monarchists, moderates, foreign powers, everybody who was not strictly communist)
2. Both sides tried to take as many socially important buildings and cities as possible (armories, factories, capital buildings, the royal family)
3. ended with the armed forces under each side battling across the volga to literally wipe the other side out.
4. battles were gorilla style, generally poorly organized with litte artillery support.
5. cavalry played a role, and a few groups of people who had lived nomadically on the volga joined both sides to dramatic effect, as they had great skill hunting and fighting on the snow.
F. Decisive Battles
1. the storming of the winter palace on october 25 (november 7, gregorian)
a. very short, only a few hours
b. bolcheviks, versus royal guards
c. ended with communist victory and very little blood
d. involved a few well trained troops, but mostly the dynamics of an angry mob
G. Impacts
1. Tangible
i. Russia pulled out of world war I
ii. the Tsar was killed, and the conservatives and land owners were taken out of power
iii. Lenin took power after some political maneuvering
2. Intangible
i. Russia became communist
ii. nobody in Russia was ever happy again
-this led to Stalin coming into power and killing nearly 100 million of his fellow Russians
III. World War II

A. Longterm Causes
1. world war I
i. specifically Germany getting seriously beaten down by the leaders of Europe after world war I
ii. the people of Germany are unhappy about huge reparations and lost territory at lorrain and the sudetten land
a. socialism as an idealistic system fits in with the unhappy populus
b. the nazi party is born in the crazy political environment, and young hitler becomes motivated
2. continued ability of germany to produce military hardware en mass
3. russia's political changeout left russia as a semi catalyst for a future war, not being as weary as the rest of europe
4. political unity breaks down as the rest of europe is too uninvolved in policing military weapons and the behavior of germany
5. america becomes isolationist again and stops serving as a detterant
6. economic depression stresses out the whole situation in germany, and puts the population in a nationalistic mood.
B. Factions
i. Socialism (of two types in germany
a. moderate socialism
b. nazi-nationalistic socialism
i. unhappy about war reparations and economic depression
ii. mostly working middle class people (germany was used to a high standard of living across all its social classes)
iii. very nationalistic, carying strong genetic disposition towards conflict.
i. socialism, devotion to a strong state
ii. militarism
iii. racial purity
1. sub-machine guns
2. automatic pistols
3. tanks
4. practical military aircraft with heavy guns and bombs
5. fast armored transports
6. light machine guns
7. rockets
8. radio communications (portable)
9. aircraft carriers
10. bigger battleships
11. better submarines
12. sonar
13. radar
14. improved medecin
15. faster explosives
16. amphibious landing vehicals
17. nuclear bomb (later)
18. long range bomber aircract
19. rocket propelled grenades
20. anti-aircraft guns
21. fast personel transport
22. paratroopers
D. Sparks
1. world war I reparations
2. the true spark technically is probably hitler's actual invasion of poland
i. the base cause was laises faire from the rest of europe
ii. hitler waited untill he felt germany's preparations were adequate, then he went to war with full force.
E. Strategy
1. Germany
i. blitzkreig
a. hit the enemies forward positions with precise dive bomber attacks
b. use tanks to break through weakened lines
c. use troops to secure objectives
d. scyth tanks around enemies to cut them off and defeat them
ii. for defense: trenches on steroids with concrete bunkers and artillery and tons of light machine guns
iii. plan was to take out western europe really fast then focus on the east and south
iv. use submarines to take out enemy shipping
v. use long term strategic bombing of britain to weaken the island and racilitate a land invasion to completely end the war in europe
vi. alliance with russia is made at the beginning to avoid two fronts, but once the west is nearly done, hitler decides to invade russia, and use blitz tactics to beat them quickly in a land war.
2. allies
i. RUN AWAY from blitzkreig
ii. use mass numbers and clumsy bombing attacks to break german defensive lines, followed by steamroller style tanks supported nazi crushing
iii. strategic bombing of factories and production facilities to limit enemy ability to wage war.
iv. in the pacific, use numbers and american muscle to overturn japenese occupation
v. cut off enemy supplies so that they can't blitz any longer.
3. Japan
i. gorilla tactics while on land
ii. agressive manuvering and raid tactics based on the power of the zero fighter, while at sea
iii. known for amazing trench and tunnel systems to defend islands
iv. known for banzai and kamikaze attacks sacrificing lives for tactical advantage
v. very hard to defeat
F. Decisive Battles
1. european theater
i. Battle of France
a. takes place after germany blitzes poland in 3 weeks
b. Germany plows through belgium and marches through the Ardennes forrest to completely avoid the french maginot line (set up for defense after world war I)
c. germany cuts off troops around the maginot line, and drives on to paris, while encircling the allied forces which had set out from belgium.
d. ended with the capture of Paris on june 14, and the capitulation of all french forces on june 25
e. germany was only slightly superior in numbers, (2.8 million french, 3.3 million german) however the german tanks and aircraft massively outpaced the french forces
ii. evacuation at dunkirk
a. after the battle of france, 300,000 allied troops (french and british) were left in france, stuck on the coast, with german divisions closing in
b. the british navy sent a few ships, but otherwise 300,000 troops piled into whatever they could find, from fishing boats to pleasure yachts, and began sailing across the channel.
c. 300,000 were evacuated, at the cost of 6 destroyers and about 100 smaller boats.
d. the german forces used planes and artillery fire to stop the evacuation, but did not care particularly about 300,000 men.
e. about 100,000 of the initial 400,000 allied soldiers were captured or killed during the evacuation
f. despite the bad taste, the evacuation was used as a symbol by churchill, to spark british resolve
iii. Battle of Britain
a. air battle, basically a german seige of britain to weaken it enough to facilitate a naval invasion soon.
b. england still had european dominance at sea
c. divebombers from germany supported by fighter squadrons flew across the channel, and bombed british airfields and factories
d. the british reacted quickly, and through use of radar and tallented fighter squadrons, were able to stave off the seige.
e. eventually, when berlin was hit by long range bombers, hitler got angry and instructed the luftwaffe to attack london instead of the strategic targets
f. when the airfields stopped being bombed, britain was able to increase their defensive capeability, and finally destroy the majority of the invading air squadrons.
iv. Operation Barborosa
a. stalin looks too hard at hitler's prey in post ottomon states, and hitler decides thtat the time has come to take him out
b. Hitler has nearly conqurered western europe, with the small exception of britain, he controls all the land, thus he can safely invade russia without risk of a two front war
c. blitzkreig, panzer scythe cuts off russian troops on the border andd wipes out all forward emplacements, before moscow can understand what is going on
d. fluid warfare continues untill german lines strech halfway to moscow, and then slow down
e. Hitler's goal was to achieve three pronged victory, capturing leningrad to the north, moscow in the center, and the caucuses in the south.
f. the three pronged attack streches supply lines too thin, and the german momentum haults
g. strategic bombing by american planes in britain weakens germany's infrastructure, and hitler decides as a last ditch effort to concentrate on one more thrust towards moscow.
h. Strength: 3.9 million german troops with 3,600 tanks and 4,300 aircraft
8.2 million russians with 15,000 tanks and 40,000 aircraft (this is the final ammount by the end of operation barbarosa, started similar to germany)
i. losses: German: 250,000 killed, 500,000 wounded
Russian: 802,191 killed, about 3 million casualties and about 3 million captured (at least half of their military hardware, along with tens of millions of civilian
lives were also destroyed)
v. Battle of Stalingrad
a. germany has not been able to eploit captured land and allied countries are just kicking into overdrive
b. germany treats russian occupied peoples terribly, thus they resist occupation rather than helping the germans
c. german forces hit the end of their supply lines, and cold sets in
d. germany selects stalingrad for a final attack to wipe out all russian forces in the area
e. germany sweeps around brilliantly and charges at the city, reinforced by millions of russian troops drawn from surrounding land
f. german troops charge into the city, and begin a horribly bloody street to street fight with huge garrisons of russian troops, while t-34 tanks fresh off the line charge along the volga,
and outmanuver frozen panzers that are running out of fuel
g. the city is blasted to rubble and the germans are surrounded, completely cut off from supply lines.
h. The german troops surrender

i. major turning point in the war
vi. invasion of Normandy
a. america's first major effort in western europe
b. plan to take back france and open the western front
c. huge atlantic fleet prepares with nearly a million troops
d. bombing runs and naval artillery soften up the coast lines, and amphibious landing craft charge in to drop men on the beaches
e. invasion was lead off by paratrooper sabatoge and the protection of bridges
f. landings take place at 5 beaches, and the breakthrough is successful
g. leads to a long march that ends in berlin, steamrolling german lines backwards untill the end of the war.
vii. Attack on Pearl Harbor
a. massive japenese carrier launched assault on the main american pacific fleet
b. took place on december 6
c. no warning or declaration of war preceding
d. took out most battleships and other large vessels of the pacific fleet
e. both us large aircraft carriers were at sea doing excercises at the time and were not damaged
f. resulted in america's immediate enterance into the war
g. considering the US response, probably did more harm than good
viii. Battle of midway
a. japan had been doing well against the US since pearl harbor, defeating our small fleet consistantly, untill midway
b. american strength: 3 carriers, ~15 support ships, 233 carrier aircraft,127 land-based aircraft
c. Japenese strength: 4 carriers, 2 battleships, 246 carrier based planes
d. due to technical errors and bad planning, the japenese fleet had trouble finding the american fleet, and thus were not able to attack effectively
e. the american fleet had better inteligence, and a land base from which to launch larger bombers.
f. after intense fighting, the american carrier forces gained the upper hand and managed to locate and bomb the s*** out of all 4 japenese carriers
g. the end of this battle marked the end of japenese naval dominance in the pacific, from here on, america's carrier fleets would outnumber the japenese fleets.
h. the important losses were yorktown and 4 japenese carriers
i. the yorktown could be replaced, the japenese carriers could not
j. this was the turning point of the pacific war. now america would go on the attack
G. Impacts
1. Tangible
i. 60 million overall lives were lost (civilian and military) (22 million military)
ii. most of germany was destroyed once again
iii. russia became a world power
iv. japan became capitalist
v. the t-34 was invented and honed
vi. strategic bombing was created as a strategy
vii. america stopped being isolationist
viii. america became a true world power
ix. the nuclear bomb was invented
2. Intangible
i. the cold war started
ii. america became the most powerful country on earth
iii. germany became moderate politically
iv. europe finally felt release from the spectre of war
-by far the biggest most awesomely destructive war in history
IV. Chinese Revolution
A. Longterm Causes
1. russia intervened in 1921 to help china throw off its monarcy, and in return supported two parties, the Kuomintang party, and the Communist Party of China (which would eventually found the People's
Republic of China)
2. chaing kai shek eventually became the leader of the koumintang party, basically the capitalist/conservative party, and began the modernization of china.
3. in 1927, the liberal part of the KMT and all of the CPC split from the conservative wing of the KMT.
4. Chaing, head of the KMT decided that the communists were not beneficial for his country, and started purging them
5. Mao Zedon among many other CPC members gathered together a small gorilla type force to stave off the mostly professional (if small) army of chaing.
6. the rest of the conflict actually consists the revolution itself...
B. Factions
i. communists
a. CPC
b. much smaller in number, and higher in motivation
ii. conservatives (socialists)
a. KMT
b. in power currently, but lacking popular support or particular motivation
i. agricultural post feudal peasant type workers mostly
ii. not happy, but not unhappy, not driven to modernize yet
i. communism
ii. capitalism (merged partly with old feudalism)
1. nothing new was invented, however the entire conflict fought over who would control FUTURE industry
D. Sparks
1. first stage (split between KMT and CPC, leading to long march)
a. chaing's decision to purge communists from the KMT
2. second stage, final communist takeover
a. World war II, which stressed the Chaing regime enough, and brought the communists into the war effort to fight off the japenese
E. Strategy
1. Communist:
a. gorilla tactics
i. raid
ii. run
iii. hide
iv. wait till enemy slows down
v. rinse and repeat
b. use charisma to gain the trust of the people, and thus gain popular support
c. barter support from russia
d. mainly, never fight the supperior force strait on, Mao literally wrote the book on gorilla warfare
2. Nationalists (KMT)
a. use a standing army to outnumber, surround, and destroy
b. use political espionage to purge communists from positions of power
c. use fear to dominate the population and leave them no option but to support their regime
d. basically, paint a large target on their forehead, and wait.
F. Decisive Battles
1. Ten years civil war
i. period of angry communists starting rebellions across the country to take power, as result of chaing's action in purging them from government positions
ii. made life difficult for chaing untill world war two came along, and the japenese invaded.
2. Long March
i. Mao and other communists, of whom he was not yet a famous leader, were stuck encircled by nationalist allies in 1934
ii. they realized that if they stayed, defeat was near, so they took advantage of gaps in the circle, and left, to march north over 12000km
iii. large glory symbol for the now better known mao, and used as a recruiting message
iv. they went north, and settled in remote mountains to gather support away from the otherwise concerned chaing
v. in 1937, after the march, and the communists had gained power, chaing was forced to sign a treaty with them to defend against the japenese (he was kidnapped by his generalls...and forced to
sign)
3. Liaoshen Campaign
i. communist campaign to take the northeast region
ii. the communists had control of the majority of the land and people through excellent charisma and peasant relations
iii. the first stage saw the people's liberation army (communist forces) cutting off the enemy supply line
iv. the second stage saw them cutting off the nationalist's escape.
v. the third stage was to encircle the trapped troops and destroy their armies
vi. huge success, and eliminated a large bulk of the nationalist fighting force
vii. the campaign involved 700,000 communist troops and around 500,000 nationalist ones
4. Pingjin Campaign
i. another three stage attack to surround and destroy nationalist forces confused by the liaoshen campaign, that were garrisoned on the north china plane
ii. victorious after encirclement and supply cut off
iii. boring militarily, using little artilery and no armor or aircraft to speak of
G. Impacts
1. Tangible
i. Chaing left for taiwan
ii. china was declard communist
iii. Mao took power
iv. china entered industrialization in ernest
2. Intangible
i. china became truly united under Mao
ii. russia felt threatened by china as a second powerful communist country
-not a particularly exciting rebellion/revolution, just a long inevitable crush...
V. Korean War
A. Longterm Causes
1. political maunverinv post WWII
i. korea was taken by japan during WWII
ii. after the war, russia had actively used troops to liberate the northern half of korea, and america had defeated japan.
iii. arter the armistice, the economic rehabilitation of east asia was split between Russia and the United States
iv. due to both american and russian influence, korea ended up literally split between the two powers
v. russia would control the rehabilitation of korea north of the 38th paralell, while america would control the south
vi. Russia of course instated a communist style government in the north
vii.america set up a capitalist style democracy in the south, and set about to oppose communism in the north.
2. opression under japenese rule from 1905 until 1945
i. the japenese killed or forced most intelectuals and politicians out of the country
ii. once japan had been defeated, korea was left under developed industrially, and without suitable politicians.
iii. this left an opportunity for occupying forces to set up infrastructure and government to industrialize korea.
iv. lack of resources on the peninsula put pressure on each side polititally, which led to north korea eyeing south korea as a source of resources
3. korean desire to have a united country
4. long term rivalry between communist and capitalist economic theories.
5. trouble administering the country led to the us appointment of Syngman Rhee to control a roudy population.
i. rhee was too dominant, and conflict between rhee and the population weakened south korea's progress towards industrialization.
6. kim-il-sung was put in place by russia to rule north korea, and use a strong will to control the roudy population
i. sung was given much more soviet economic and military backing by the soviet union
ii. with soviet backing, conditions improve and the population of north korea supports sung much more than south koreans support rhee
i. northern communism (under plenty of russian and chinese influence)
ii. southern capitalist democracy (under american influence)
i. the class system was destroyed during japenese occupation, thus most of the population were used to working, but better educated than peasants.
ii. everybody wanted a united country
i. communist, nationalist, conservative, isolationist north
ii. capitalist, pro-foreign policy, pro free enterprise south
1. Jet Airplanes
2. portable radar
3. slightly better faster tanks
4. Assault rifles (ak-47 and m-14)
5. helicopters
6. further improved medical care
7. better anti-tank weapons
8. higher explosives
9. (just a note, the majority of weapons used with the exception of planes, were simply leftovers from world war II)
D. Sparks
1. simple: north korean troops cross the border and start actively invading south korea
i. led up to by minor border skrmishes
ii. on june 25, Kim Jong Il's troops crossed the border under a crazy artillery barrage
iii. the north declared that south korea had violated the border, and that the rightious north was going to overthrow Syngmun Rhee.
E. Strategy
1. the basic stratagy for open military conflict was copied from german blitzkreig with less finess
i. bomb enemy lines with planes
ii. cover advances with artillery
iii. spearhead any advances with tanks
iv. use infantry to secure lines and cities
2. specifically north korea aimed for Soeul (the capital of south korea) along with the main population centers of the country
3. the goal was to take control of the people, by taking control of urban centers, factories, and everything else modern that the country needed to progress technologically
4. battles between koreans only tended to be invantry heavy with few tanks and airplanes, simply fluid troop tactics usually moving too fast to facilitate the setup of artillery and trenches
5. in addition, the points battled over, were mostly cities and tangible targets, so once a side lost they would simply retreat, not form a line in the countryside.
6. american and chinese battles tended to be much more technical with air support and tank advances doing the main bulk of the destructive work
7. very little strategic bombing, more tactical bombing than anything else
F. Decisive Battles
1. Battle of the pusan perimeter (august to september 1950
i. desperate battle to prevent total north korean victory.
a. pusan and the area held was the last very small allied foothold in south korea.
b. loss of the pusan perimeter would have meant total victory for the north, and would have neccessitated a naval invasion by the US
ii. Both American and south korean forces were in retreat, along with hundreds of civilians
a. the battle line is drawn as south korean forces become desperate as they approach the coast, and north korean supply lines strech thin.
b. american reinforcements are arriving at port in Punan, amd moving north to support the line
iii. the line:
a. drawn 100 miles north and 50 miles west of the southeasternmost point of korea, mostly following the Naktong river
b. was pushed back up untill the beginning of september 1950, when large numbers of american troops began arriving at pusan, and large quantities of military equipment revitalized
the war effort.
iv. the end of the battle marked the change in tide, wherein American troops counterattacked and began to move agressively northward through inferior, over streched, tired North Korean forces
v. Gen. Douglas McCarthur in command of american and south korean troops
vi. strength of both sides was around 300,000, and casualties numbered nearly 50,000 for the US and allies, and similar for North Korea.
2. Battle of Incheon (September 15, 1950, and ended around September 17)
i. Planned as an amphibious invasion of the harbor at Incheon, as a diversion to take pressure off of Pusan and to cut supply lines and trap North Korean troops
ii. Controled strategically by Douglas McCarthur, and led by Vice Admiral Arthur Dewey Struble
iii. involved the landing of 40,000 UN combat troops, and a small (under 10,000 troops) North Korean defensive force.
iv. strategically, the battle started with a CIA infiltration of Incheon, to determine the layout of the defenses, and setup the coastline.
v. naval and aerial bombardments weakened defensive emplacements
vi. on the day of the landing, 261 ships and 40,000 troops landed, and took out the insignificant and unprepared defensive forces
vii. The invasion objective after landing was to push forward, retake Seoul, and continue on to cut supply lines and facilitate an advance from troops at the pusan perimeter
viii. sept. 22, marines entered seoul, and on the sept. 25, it was considered captured.
ix. the invasion successfully prompted a break out from pusan which led to the capture and defeat of nearly 70,000 NKA troops.
x. this point is considered a turning point in the war, the beginning of successful UN offense.
3. Battle of Chosin Reservoir (November 26 – December 13, 1950)
i. This battle took place at the north-most reach of UN offense in late 1950, UN forces controled nearly all of north korea up to the chinese border.
ii. 30,000 UN troops are surrounded around Choisin, under the command of Major General O.P. Smith, after 150,000 Chinese People's Army troops cross the border to support NKA forces.
iii. Smith is ordered to break out from Choisin, strike at Yalu, and eventually retreat south.
iv. Smith decides to focus on retreat, and builds up a set of supply points for his army to fall back on to go into a controlled retreat.
v. the course of the battle involved UN troops falling back into denser more powerful units, and slowly attacking through Chinese lines encircling their positions.
vi. the end of the battle consisted the first chinese victory on the international stage, and an "Honorabl" defeat for UN forces.
4. The battles of bloody (insert random geographical feature here...)
i. Once Chinese troops had managed to force UN troops back to the 38th parallel, the war became a stalemate
ii. the line did not move significantly for the remainder of the recorded conflict, but centered on new trench style fighting.
iii. UN forces found a set of hills and geographical features to setup defensive lines, and support them with artillery and air power.
iv. North Korean and Chinese forces attacked out of the forests trying half heartedly to break through.
v. these battles were long contests of attritio, wherein UN troops got tired and shellshocked from constant barrages and long periods spent in trenches with nothing to do.
vi. no significant changes made, established the future lines for maintenance of peace accords that still exist today
vii. peace negotiations took place during this time, and political manuvering eventually brought the conflict to an end, without any definitive military action.
G. Impacts
1. Tangible
i. casualties:
a. about 1,000,000 chinese and north korean military deaths, and about 1.5 million civilian deaths.
b. about 500,000 UN and South Korean casualties, and about 500,000 South Korean civilian deaths.
ii. no change in land distribution
iii. large cost in materials and troops to the UN (specifically the united states...)
iv. destruction of much of Korea's industrial infrastructure.
2. Intangible
i. the seperation between North and South Korea was cemented.
ii. china felt better about being a part of the modern world.
iii. The US established themselves as cold war policemen
iv. oversight became an issue in politics though it ws not adressed fully for a while yet
-stupid tactics, slow strategy, half hearted war altogether, not worth having, not justifiable, called for different, much more difinative action.
VI. Cuban Revolution

A. Longterm Causes
1. the primary cause is corruption in the Cuban government due to american influence interceeding for the benefit of United States buisinesses on the island.
a. the primary industries on the island were tobaco (for cigars), sugar cane, and tourism (between beaches and casinos)
b. United states entrepreneurs controled the majority of these fields, exploiting the population as cheap workforce, and chanelling all profits back to the US
c. to keep these functions in place, the US backed Fulgencio Batista, a conservative, easy to manipulate political strongman
2. Batista increased corruption in the government, and basically channeled what few profits were not taken by the US through him and his elite cronies.
a. this built further tension in the population, and gave them a definate scapegoat for their dissatisfaction.
b. at this time, the young intelligencia saw the corruption, and the enterprising ones saw the people's reaction, and what a huge opportunity it reprisented.
3. political ideals were entering cuba, and appearing more and more appealing to the aware and motivated intelligencia
a. socialism, as a form of government (with communism as a possible more radical stage) was spread around as common knowlege of the time
b. Past revolutions in latin america served as excellent precedents for such action
c. Batista immediately repressed the new ideals, thus drawing an indellible line between his regime and the fantasized systems.
4. Fidel Castro
a. born into a rich family, gets a law degree, learns about political ideologies during his education.
b. Ambitious, and holds an innate sense of morals that puts him in direct opposition of the conservative Batista
c. Initial movements for communism by student rabble rousers involving castro are dealt with harshly by Batista.
d. Castro goes through proper channels, gets a law degree, and participates in an election for the cuban parliment, which Batista cancells.
e. castro is determined by the political manipulation used by Batista that normal pllitical channels are not enough, this is the point where he settles on revolution as a course of action.
B. Factions
a.capitalist conservatism, designed to keep elites in power, exploiting the lower class. Led by: Batista
b. socialist (labled communist) revolutionaries for shared wealth amongst all the people. Led by: Castro and Che Guevara
a. a very small urban intelligencia and middle class
b. a majority of low class agricultural workers spread out across the land outside of cities.
c. a downright miniscule group of elite Cuban capitalists who controled most of the wealth at the time
d. a large pile of American tourists spending time in cuba, without ties to the country, but still influencing the tourist industry and providing support for the capitalist elites.
a. communist
b. Capitalist
1. sugar cane
2. cigars
3. Casinos/tourism
4. weaponry new to cuba, introduced by America and the modern world as the conflict commensed.
5. nothing else new
D. Sparks
1. Castro formed legal arguments based on the 1940 constitution, to formally challenge Batista on the basis of violation of the constitution. His petition, entitled Zarpazo, was denied by the Court of
Constitutional Guarantees and he was not allowed a hearing.
a. this event marks the finite beginning of castro's declaration of war on Batista.
2. On the 26th of July, 1953, Castro, his brother, and 135 others mount an armed attack on the Moncada Barraks (a military outpost for Batista)
a. the military conduct is disasterous, nearly all people involved are killed or captured, including the captured castro brothers.
b. this is the first open movement against Batista, the true spark...
c. this event is the result of building tensions breaking at the prodding of a firebrand named castro, Batista had taken no distinct action at this time to specifically prompt revolution.
3. Castro is put on trial in the fall of 1953, and gives his "history will absolve me" speach, this announcing his revolution officially to the world, and sparking his own popularity which would fuel revolution
to come.
E. Strategy
1. the strategy for castro was very much based on building support
a. very few gorilla style raids, almost no open conflicts.
b. the goal was to gain support from the people, and from outside backers who would supply weapons neccesary to depose the modern, american fueled batista.
c. once russian weapons were sent, and castro had popularity secured, it was secret police that did the fighting, in seeking out the last vestiges of Batista's regime.
d. most, if not all of the military conflict during this period was symbolic rather than practical
2. Batista's strategy was to use corrupt beaurocracy to crush castro politically, and use modern weapons and american/monetary backing to beat him down militarily.
F. Decisive Battles
1. the landing of the Granma (December 2, 1956)
a. castro and his followers have spent 2 years in mexico and florida building fiscal support, and they decide to return in december of 1956.
b. 81 of castro's followers, against a well trained army in the thousands with modern equipment...
c. miraculously, around 20, including castro, raoul, Che Guevara, and camilo cienfuegos survive and make it to the sierra maestra mountains to mount their rebellion.
d. critical to the revolution itself
e. victory in defeat for castro
2. static rebellion (1956-58)
a. Castro and about 200 rebels mount raid style attacks against armories and supply depots to maintain their fight.
b. The united states has imposed an arms embargo on cuba (march 14 1958) thus though Batista has a much larger army, his technological advantage disappears
c. raid style tactics force the spread out Cuban troops which technically number around 30,000, to retreat at most battles,
d. castro broadcasts over the radio from his hideout in the sierra maestras, and with his robinhood tactics, gains popular support in large part
3. Operation Verano (july 1958)
a. Batista is angry now
b. sends 12,000 troops (mostly recruits) into the sierra maestras, to eradicate castro
c. castro uses brilliant gorilla tactics and knowlege of the land to win amazingly in a string of battles.
d. the battle of los mercedes was the final conflict of this movement by Batista, in which castro's 300 men were finally surrounded.
i. castro simply called for long negotiations, and while talking, he allowed his troops to sneak away, back to the mountains
ii. this specific battle signalled the end of the operation, as a complete failure.
4. Castro's counterattack
a. after the failed Batista offensive, Castro and his newly bolstered army (inflated by weapons captured from Batista's troops, and new recruits drawn from the population) descended to take the
country militarily.
b. Castro split his army up into collumns under himself, Che, Raoul, and his other leaders.
c. Castro went after Santiago De Cuba, while Che and cienfuegos went after Santa Clara
d. after a series of complete communist victories, Batista got scared and left the country, and Castro was able to negotiate with the remaining leadership to take Santiago without fighting.
e. the conflict ended in January of 1959, with Castro in complete control.
G. Impacts
1. Tangible
a. fewer than 5,000 total casualties
b. very little property damage.
2. Intangible
a. Cuba became communist
b. American interests were cut off from Cuba
c. Russia became tied with Cuba
d. Fidel Castro became immortal
e. the basic population of Cuba became more equal, and gained quality of life
-I remain extremely impressed how long Castro has lived, and how large a thorn he has been in the U S's side, considering how small his country is...
VII. Vietnam War

A. Longterm Causes
1. Like korea, the conflict in vietnam stemmed from the inept administration of a foreign power. in korea, this power was Japan, in Vietnam, this power was france.
a. France, needing colonies to compete with other european powers, went on a conquest of indochina in 1849
b. by 1888, the action was over, and after overcoming resistance, the french had taken most of indochina, including all of vietnam
c. The vietnamese people never liked french rule, which continued till world war II.
d. plenty of minor rebellions and resistance movements formed and died away before the war.
2. France is crushed by germany and its east asia assets are taken by japan.
a. vichy france was subordinate to axis powers so of course, any useful colonies "owned" by france were taken over by japan with compelled assistance from french administrative authorities to
keep the colonies putting out goods.
b. at the end of the war, once france is liberated, Japan throws french administrators into prison camps, and takes direct control of vietnam through an instated strongman named Bao Dai
c. japenese administration is just as inept as french, and in the course of a famine betweeen 1944 and 1945, the people become unhappy and hungry
3. The Viet Mihn are formed in 1941
a. the Viet Mihn are a communist organization founded with prodding from the soviet union, and independant opposition to colonial rule.
b. they get power from unhappy people, and draw membership from the peasant class in vietnam.
c. once the famine takes place in 1944, the Viet Mihn take action to curtail japenese rule, and increase their own influence by inciting peasants to raid warehouses for rice and not pay taxes to the
government.
d. the organizatin gains influence and comes out of the war without a tangible face. it was simply a cool ideal that peasants kept in mind, and some peasants worked towards/
4. world war II ends with both the french and the Japenese taken out of power
a. Of course, in the "Power Vacume," the Viet Mihn come out of the shadows under Ho Chi Mihn, who declares Vietnam independant
b. the powers that be totally ignored Mihn, and thus agreed that the land still belonged to the french. they made a treaty similar to that in korea:
i. china will move in from the north and keep the peace there
ii. britain will move in from the south and re-arm and re-instate the french.
c. the understanding was, that once the french were stable again, british and chinese troops would pull out and things would be like they had always been.
d. the french once again ignore the Viet Mihn, and force Ho Chi Mihn out of Hanoi. this is the beginning of conflict, if not the thing we actually call The Vietnam War.
e. the french officially re-instated Bao Dai as the leader of south vietnam, while the chinese recognized Ho Chi Mihn in the north.
5. Split support from the outside world
a. France, with assistance from the US and other allies armed and supported Bao Dai and a rigid conservative south.
b. China encouraged, and in 1950, armed the Viet Mihn as the rightful leaders of Vietnam
c. just like Korea, the split country calls for conflict over resources for industrialization and national identy, and gorilla warfare starts as early as 1949.
d. The french badly want to cling to the colony to provide revenue and help with recovery from war damages
e. with communism involved, the united states inevitably begins to fund the french, and as the gorilla resistance turns into an all out war (once the Viet Mihn get modern weapons from china
starting in 1949), america becomes the soul western party supporting the war.
a. Communist north (Viet Mihn, supported by china)
b. Capitalist/highly conservative south (Bao Dai, later Nhgo Dihn Diem supported by France and the US for self interest)
a. the majority of the population are agricultural peasants, with very very few urban centers supporting industrial labor.
b. very little education
c. not particularly interested in rapid modernization, simply resentful of being controled and used by foreign powers.
a. freedom of national will/communism
b. subordinate exploitationism/corrupted capitalism
1. tactical nukes
2. B-52 bombers
3. better jets
4. better aircraft carriers
5. stealth submarines
6. wide spread use of assault rifles
7. personal body armor
8. film news media
9. television
10. supersonic jets
11. helicopters in widespread use
12. napalm
13. guided missiles
14. satalites
15. agent orange/herbicide
D. Sparks
1. In January 1946, the Viet Minh won elections across central and northern Vietnam. [33] The French landed in Hanoi by March 1946 and in November of that year they ousted the Viet Minh from the city.
2. the Peoples republic of china officially recognizes the Viet Mihn as the rightful government of Vietnam, and begins providing military materials.
3. with the expulsion of the french, Bao Dai stayed in power, and appointed Ngo Dinh Diem as his prime minister, a strongman who would be harsh on the people, and unpopular against the viet Mihn
a. he ruled by killing off his opposition (12,000 of his opponents were killed, and 40,000 jailed)
b. he was backed heavily by the US
c. he made the Vietnamese people angry and scared. perfect conditions for Viet Mihn popularity campaigns.
4. after years of insurgency, in january 1959, the official government body in North Vietnam, the central comittee put in place after the geneva accords, issued a dictum authorizing armed conflict with the
south.
5. Open US involvement was sparked by the Gulf of Tonkin incident, in which false intelligence of a North Vietnamese torpedo attack on US ships was used to justify escalation of military involvement.
E. Strategy
1. North Vietnamese (Viet Mihn/Vietkong)
a. Ho Chi Minh stated, "Do not engage in military operations; that will lead to defeat. Do not take land from a peasant. Emphasize nationalism rather than communism. Do not antagonize anyone
if you can avoid it. Be selective in your violence. If an assassination is necessary, use a knife, not a rifle or grenade. It is too easy to kill innocent bystanders with guns and bombs, and accidental
killing of the innocent bystanders will alienate peasants from the revolution. Once an assassination has taken place, make sure peasants know why the killing occurred."
b. avoid open fighting with US troops
c. seet up ambushes and traps to make the country caustic to occupying troops
d. hide in tunnels, villages, and across borders to become invisible and impossible for the US to strike at
e. raiding tactics were employed to get supplies, and to put pressure on US troops
f. The goal was to win the support of the common people, which would mean essentially that to win, the US would have to kill off the entire population
g. the main strategic point was to never let the US find a grouping of troops, or a base that could be definitively attacked.
2. United States
a. kill everything that moves in the jungle
b. if you think its there, but it hasn't moved yet: use napalm to bomb the shit out of it and look for movement over the scorched earth
c. the US tried to cut off arms supply lines
d. The US tried bombing everything that they heard the slightest wisper about being vietkong.
e. the most effective US strategies were built from Vietnamese ones:
i. quick strike helicopter forces, similar to cavalry movements allowed for quick flexible US deployment to attack quickly before the Vietkong had a chance to retreat
ii. simple gruntwork by well trained ground troops painstakingly searching villages and searching tunnel systems.
iii. a few small scale public appeal programs to gain the support of the vietnamese people.
f. overall however, without the level of drive that the vietnamese had, the ammount of US technology and firepower neccesary to compensate, was impractical and impossible to secure with tense
political consideration of the war to begin with.
g. a failed strategy by the us was to use napalm and powerful herbicides to kill off the forest and leave the Vietkong nowhere to hide. The program hurt hurt civilians and did not facilitate the
defeat of vietkong troops.
F. Decisive Battles (the viet Mihn specifically tried to avoid these unless victory was assured)
1. Battle of Dien Bien Phu (March 13 – May 7, 1954)

a. The french were doing badly in Vietnam, no two ways around it...they had suffered a long string of defeats across all campaigns in the Indo China War, and at this point, couldnot aford any
further losses.
b. the battle of Dien Bien Phu was brought on accidentally by Henri Navarre, the commander of french union forces in vietnam
i. Navarre decided, based on a few misunderstandings and personal delusions, that he should build a hedgehog in vietnam from which air strikes could be launched, and no land attack
could be successful.
ii. he selected Dien Bien Phu, which had a landing strip left over from Japenese occupation, and began constructing a fortress.
iii. Dien Bien Phy is large open field, around the Nam Yum River, within rifle range of the tree line, that was large enough to support an airstrip.
iv. for a modern conflict, it was one of the worst strategic hold points imagineable...
v. Navarre reinforced it with trenches, not enough artillery, and concentrated 10,800 troops in these fortifications.
vi. just to reiterate, this valley was marshy, surrounded by hills covererd in trees (meaning the eneny automatically had the high ground) and no secured escape routes...this guy was a
moron.
c. the viet Minh launched a huge artillery barrage starting on march 13. the airstrip was damaged beyond operable levels.
d. gradually french positions were blasted and captured under overwhelming numbers of Viet Minh
e. by April 5, france had pulled back to the center of the valley, and was barely staving off Viet Minh attacks
f. at this point, morale in the Viet Mihn ranks was not at its best, after a long battle, poor medical care, and abusive commanders. but they still held an advantage in strategic position and numbers.
g. on may 7, after several larger assaults, Giap (the Viet Minh commander) ordered a full scale attack, which overwhelmed the french.
h. the las action of the french was an attempted break out by 1,700 men. 70 men made it to laos...total defeat.
i. this constituted the loss of about 10% of france's fighting forces in Vietnam, and effectively ended the war in terms of moralle, fighting strength, and practicality.
j. the Geneva Accords began on may 8, and ended with agreed french withdrawl.
2. Battle of Ap Bac (January 2, 1963)
a. One of the first true battles that took place between vietcong and us supported south vietnamese troops
b. set near the hamlet of Ap Bac, 65 km southwest of Saigon in the Mekong delta
c. South Vietnamese forces with armored transports, artillery, and US hellicopter support attacked entrenched Vietcong troops that were putting pressure on saigon.
d. American intelligence operatives located the position of a vietkong radio transmitter in the area around Ap Bac, and an expeditionary force was sent out to alleviate the threat.
e. 7th division south vietnamese infantry were airlifted to the area, and attempted to flank the insurgents.
f. artillery support was ineffective.
g. vietcong trenches and forest growth limited the effectiveness of helicopter support.
h. the vietcong downed 5 helicopters stranding their crews and all the troops in the area.
i. rescue forces were not familiar with the land, and had a difficult time nagigating the rice paddies.
j. a series of command structure mistakes once armored personel carriers arrived led to a failure of south Vietnamese troops to pursue vietcong forces.
k. the armored units lost moral and retreated sheepishly, after taking heavy casualties.
l. Casualties were 5 South Vietnamese for every vietcong soldier, with a total of about 20 vietcong killed.
m. consisted the first big communist success, and provided a moral booster for Vietcong in future.
3. Operation Rolling Thunder (march 2, 1965-november 1, 1968)
a. the US campaign to strategically bomb North vietnam out of the war, cut off supplies for the vietcong, and boost moral in saigon.
b. involved almost every plane available in Vietnam
c. consisted of:
i. bombing runs on north Vietnamese factories, and industrial areas
ii. carpet bombing of supply routes like the Ho Chi Minh trail
iii. the use of agent orange, napalm, etc...to expose supply routes and generally make life difficult for people moving equipment south for insurgents.
d. failed because:
i. the soviet union and china provided radar, advanced tracking systems, and sophistocated ground to air weapons.
ii. russian Migs
iii. cost of such a huge barrage, compared to the limited reward and extremely difficult to discern targets.
e. ended in november 1968, labled as a strategic failure. North Vietnam was not easy to attack, and the supply lines were impossible to sever.
4. Battle of La Drang (November 14–18, 1965)
a. This battle can be seen as a blueprint for future tactics by both sides:
i. The Americans using air mobility, artillery fire, and close air support to accomplish battlefield objectives.
ii. The PAVN and Viet Cong forces learned that they could neutralize the effectiveness of that firepower by quickly engaging American forces at very close range.
iii. The North Vietnamese would later refine this tactic, calling it "grabbing the enemy by his belt".
5. Tet Offensive (30 January 1968 - 23 September 1968)
a. a military campaign launched by the vietcong to incite uprising amongst the people of south vietnam.
b. started out as a coordinated movement of around 80,000 troops against South Vietnamese forces occupying small population centers.
c. in total, the battle strength involved was around 500,000 North Vietnamesse and about 1,000,000 US and South Vietnamese troops
d. the first part of the offensive hit unprepared allied troops.
i. allied troops were pushed back initially
ii. the actual strength of the initial offensive, appart from its excellent coordination, was not substantial.
iii. Us and South Vietnamese troops pushed back fairly successfully to beat back the first wave.
e. the offensive fell mostly on South Vietnamese troops holding regional population centers and managing militarily small targets.
i. these untrained troops were perfect targets for North vietnamese tactics
ii. the sum of all of these small objectives consisted a very large, very dangerous ammount of territory and manpower.
f. specific battles:
i. First Battle of Saigon (January 30 – March 7, 1968)
1. saigon was the primary objective of the Tet offensive.
2. the North understood that a total military takeover of the city was impossible
3. They rather had six main targets in the city which 35 battalions of Vietcong were to attack and capture:
1-the headquarters of the ARVN
2-President Thieu's office
3-the American Embassy
4-the Tan Son Nhut air base
5-the Long Binh Naval Headquarters
6-the National Radio Station.
4. in fightint hardened military defenses, the vietcong did not make much progress.
5. by february 1968, the United States had done more damage to the city with retalitory airstrikes than the vietcong had in their entire campaign.
6. at this point, vietcong command determined that their goals were not going to be met and orded troops to pull back.
ii. Battle of Hue (January 30 – March 3, 1968)
1. Hue was a strategically important city close to the de militerized zone.
2. despite its strategic significance, the city was not well defended by american troops.
3. on january 31, northern forces attacked, trying to capture Tay Loc airfield and the 1st ARVN division headquarters.
4. initially, Communist forces were able to battle through and take the airfield.
5. ARVN reinforcements arrived the following day to counter attack. they are not able to unseat the North Vietnamese forces.
6. US marines at another nearby airfield were under attack, these troops broke out of their position, and under heavy rocket and small arms fire, marched for Hue.
7. the US commenced heavy bombing and destructive tactics.
8. by the end of the battle, the vietcong and NVA forces were forced out, but 80% of the city was destroyed.
9. this battle was technically an American Victory, however the destruction of the city prompted public outcry and a decrease in overall support for the war.
10. consisted a death blow for american and south vietnamese popularity with the people.
iii. Battle of Khe Sanh (21 January 1968 – 8 April 1968)
1. khe sanh came under discernable threat early in the Tet offensive, due to its location close to the border with Laos and the de-militerized zone.
2. as the threat was realized, commanders were left with enough time to pull out, but decided not to because Khe Sanh was such a valuable base for scouting and observing
North Vietnamese supply lines.
3. the battle opened with gorilla style attacks mounted from the surrounding jungle.
4. american response was standard for defense, in launching bombing runs and sending out marine partrols to respond to threats.
5. the north vietnamese ambushed, harrassed, and eventually openly fought US marines around the base, inflicting heavy casualties and dampening moral.
6. total strength of US forces was about 6,000 with defensive structures, some armor, and helicopters
7. total strength of Vietcong/northern forces was around 20,000
8. the base had to be supplied by air, after supply routes were cut off. aerial supplies were very steady through use of excellent fighter-hellicopter tactics.
9. in the end, a large relief and reinforcement operation called "Pegasus" arrived, and the last of the northern troops pulled out of the area.
10. the main value of this battle was in destroying moral amongst american troops.
11. can be considered a northern strategic victory, if nothing else.
6. Eastertide Offensive (30 March - 22 October 1972)
a. conducted with 742,000 Us/Southern troops and 120,000 NVA (north vietnamese army) standard troops
b. the battle consisted of a main attack on Quang Tri City, and several coordinated attacks on firebases in the area.
c. the southern troops lost their command structure when orders from different officials conflicted.
i. the majority of ARVN forces in the region retreated without order, as part of the fleeing civilian population.
ii. the orderless collumn invited NVA artillery fire, and infantry harrassment.
d. several of the firebases in the area were taken after heavy fighting, and used to increase panic and continue pushing back ARVN forces.
e. NVA anti-aircraft units limited the effectiveness of US air campaigns, and thus crippled one of the main US advantages.
f. ended with both sides feeling equally beaten, but announcing equal success.
g. realistically, the damage to civilian populations, the visible lack of command structure, and the lack of success was a blow to both regular armies, that would limit their future actions.
7. Fall of Saigon (30 April, 1975)
a. basically caused by a lack of US troops, which are being pulled out as result of bad public perception back in the states.
b. Saigon is left more of less defenseless without troops
c. the civilin and US affiliated population of saigon stage a mass exodus, trying to get out of the city before Viet Minh occupation.
d. Northern forces basically accomplished their 6 objectives from the first battle of saigon
e. the civillian population turned to support the communists
f. the capital was captured handily, 450,000 northern troops versus 31,000 US and southern troops.
G. Impacts
1. Tangible
a. casualties
i. South Vietnamese/US/Allies
1. Total dead: 285,831
2. Total wounded: ~1,490,000
3. civillian dead 1,581,000
ii. North Vietnam/Vietcong
1. Total dead: ~1,177,446
2. Total wounded: ~604,000+
3. civilian dead: ~3,000,000*
iii. other casualties in indo-china
1. Cambodian civilian dead: ~700,000*
2. Laotian civilian dead: ~50,000*
2. Intangible
a. When the us left, though they technically agreed to leave Vietnam split, it was known that the north would simply invade again and that without US intervention, South Vietnam would fall
quickly.
b. thus all of vietnam became communist
c. the US government was humilliated and the US public became much more powerful in censoring the actions of the government
d. presidents lost power as a whole
e. media became a driving force in the political and diplomatic world.
f. america's policy of containment became tired, and detente became the diplomatic rule for the next couple decades of US cold war policy.
-first: vietnam was another really silly war...
-second: FINALLY I'M DONE WITH THIS BLOODY THING!!!!!!!!!!

Causes Practices and Effects

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Causes Practices and Effects

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Causes and Effects - 1

Causes, practices, and effects of war:

Germany: 10½ divisions (initial)

408 heavy guns,

v. America breaks isolationism

II. Russian Revolution

-4th August: Trotsky and Lunacharskii arrested.

III. World War II

h. The german troops surrender

VI. Cuban Revolution

VII. Vietnam War

1. Battle of Dien Bien Phu (March 13 – May 7, 1954)

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