Student ID: UF22-10929

Name : Muhammad Saad Arshad

Course Title: BS International Relations
Module Title: IR-110 Political history of the world
Lecturer Name: Ms. Selina Saeed Ikramullah
Essay: World Wars
Word Count: 1145
World War I was referred to as ‘the war to end war’/ ‘the war to end all
wars’, but that wasn’t the ultimate case. Could World War II

have been avoided? If so, how?

“Only the dead have seen the end of the War”

(George Santayana)

The objective and main reason of war, according to Aristotle, “is to destroy the things that
disturb peace.” Howard Zinn on the other hand, said “there is no flag large enough to cover
the shame of killing innocent people.” Augustine of Hippo wrote in The City of God that “It
is an established fact that peace is the desired result of battle.” H.G. Wells in August 1914
predicted WWI would be the final conflict. President Woodrow Wilson in 1917 made
statement saying “This war will make the world safe for democracy” to justify his call for
declaration of war on Germany. World War was not only massive clash between bigger
powers of that time but also contributed more in disclosure of Second World war. (Richard
Overy,1998)
At the end of WWI, everywhere in Europe and some Asian, African countries who
participated in war there was full destruction and approximately 20 million people including
military persons died. New technologies and different techniques of warfare used in that war.
That war totally changed the map of Europe and four Imperial dynasties the Habsburgs of
Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Romanov of Russia and Hohenzollern of Germany
collapsed as result of the war. In 1918, finally Germany approached the United States with
request for an armistice. On 29 September German General and Strategist Erich Ludendorff
decided that a hiatus of hostilities must be sought. The need became more urgent as
Germany’s allies (Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary) began to drop out of the war.
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2 Nov 2020)
After 1918, different peace related treaties signed out between central and allied powers to
certify peace. In France, leaders of central powers especially Lloyd George of Britain,
Clemenceau of France, Orlando of Italy and Woodrow Wilson of America took part in Paris
peace conference and took crucial decisions regarding world peace. Woodrow Wilson
presented his fourteen points, firstly he shared and discussed with allies and then with
Germany for assurance of peace. Germany was not allowed to take part in peace negotiations
and therefore in June 1919 four peace treaties signed out with central powers. Treaty of
Versailles was signed out between Germany and Allied powers following Serves with
Ottoman Empire, Saint-German with Austria, Neuilly with Bulgaria. In treaty of Versailles,
Germany was forced to sign out treaty and then lot of restrictions implemented against
Germany (will not able to have large military, lost territory, will pay reparations).Schmitt
(1960) in the peace treaties of 1919-1920 writes when treaty of Versailles published, treaty
was totally in contrary to Woodrow’s fourteen points. There was stupendous clamor in
Germany. Establishment of League of Nations was encouraged in conference so, in 1920
international organization League of Nations established that will play key role in
maintaining world peace.( Encyclopaedia Britannica,2015)
Economic depression (1929-1939) in whole world was another big cause that lead towards
world war II. During depression, economies of countries shrunk, unemployment increased,
trade between states lessened, businesses collapsed. People in Germany during depression
looked for strong political leader that have capability to resolve their issues. In 1933, Adolf
Hitler promised that he will resolve country issues and will try to restore wealth and power of
county. He then became the leader of Germany. It was said that without great depression,
Adolf Hitler might never got the power in Germany. (Robert J.Samuelson,2012)
Adolf Hitler started assembling Germany’s army and arsenal right away. Even though France
and Britain were aware of Hitler’s atrocities, they believed that a stronger Germany would
halt the rise of Communism from Russia. Hitler commanded the entry of German forces into
the German-speaking regions of the Rhineland (France), Austria, and Czechoslovakia in
1936. Both France and Britain were not yet prepared to enter a war. The Axis Powers were
the collective military alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan.(Alex Weisiger,2013) In order to
prevent a conflict, appeasement mean is caving to another country's demands. It was said
that failure of Appeasement lead towards World War II. Politicians in Britain and France
started to think that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germany throughout the 1930s and
that Hitler's actions were reasonable and justified. This idea, the appeasement policy was one
that Britain implemented. The Munich Agreement, signed in September 1938, is a prime
example of appeasement. The Agreement between Britain and France permitted Germany to
acquire regions of Czechoslovakia that were home to German-speaking people. Germany
consented to refrain from encroaching on other nations or the remainder of Czechoslovakia.
Germany breached its word in March 1939 and invaded the remaining Czechoslovakia.
Neither France nor Britain were ready to engage in armed conflict. After that, German forces
invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Britain and France then declared war against Germany
and World War II began in Europe. (Jeffrey Record,2005)
In 1919, the League of Nations was established as a global organizing body. It was hoped that
all nations would participate and the issues between nations could be resolved by dialogues as
opposed to force. Although it was fine idea but the League of Nations ultimately failed. The
League didn’t have an army, so it couldn’t stop military aggression like Italy’s invasion of
Ethiopia in Africa or Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in China. Additionally, not all nations
joined the league like America. ( C.G Fenwick,1936)
Japan was severely affected by the economic depression of 1931. Japanese citizens lost faith
in the government. To solve their financial issues, they looked to the army. Japan needed
natural resources for its factories in order to increase production. China, a country with
abundant minerals and resources, was invaded by the Japanese army. The League of Nations
was contacted by China for assistance. Japan maintained to rule over China and Korea while
disobeying the League of Nations. The United States became concerned about its Asian
colonies, such as the Philippines and Guam, while Japan attacked other parts of South East
Asia, notably Vietnam. Japan launched an attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1941 because it
believed the US military may endanger its expansion. (T.W. Mason,1964)
It can be concluded that if the countries had opted to sign the fourteen points rather than the
Treaty of Versailles, we might have been able to prevent World War II. When Hitler sent
troops into the Rhineland in March 1936, breaking the terms of the Versailles Treaty, France
could have responded by sending its superior army and air force into the region, preventing
the outbreak of World War II but they chose not to do so. The Nazis would have been
defeated if the French had intervened, removing Hitler, then thousands rather than millions
would die. Hitler’s intention to rule the globe was evident from the beginning. The conflict’s
foundation was laid by Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. Unfortunately, then millions of people
(40-50 million) died in Second World War. (James H. Madison)

REFERENCES :

 Overy, R., 1998. Strategic Intelligence and the Outbreak of the Second World War.
War in History, Pp. 451-480

 World War I (no date) Encyclopædia Britannica. Dennis E. Showalter. Available at:
https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I

 Schmitt, B. E. (1960). The Peace Treaties of 1919-1920. Proceedings of the American

Philosophical Society, pp.101–110

 League of Nations (no date) Encyclopædia Britannica. The editors of Encyclopaedia

Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/League-of-Nations.

 SAMUELSON, R. J. (2012). Revisiting the Great Depression. The Wilson Quarterly

(1976-), pp. 36–43

 Weisiger, A. (2013). World War II: German Expansion and Allied Response. In
Logics of War: Explanations for Limited and Unlimited Conflicts (pp. 105–140).
Cornell University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt1xx5pk.8

 Record, J. (2005). APPEASEMENT RECONSIDERED: INVESTIGATING THE

MYTHOLOGY OF THE 1930s. Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College.

 Fenwick, C. G. (1936). The “Failure” of the League of Nations. The American

Journal of International Law, pp. 506–509 https://doi.org/10.2307/2191024
 Mason, T. W. (1964). Some Origins of the Second World War. Past & Present, pp.
67–87 http://www.jstor.org/stable/650162

 Madison, J. H. (1997). World War II in Memory. Indiana Magazine of History, pp.

309–311