During the first half of the twentieth century
Europe suffered a cataclysmic change. The lives
of millions were destroyed, millions more lives
blighted. What led to such a chain of catastro-
phes? The fratricidal Great War marks the turning
point in the history of Europe. There is no single
cause that explains it all, but a multiplicity that
need to be untangled. Paradoxically industrial
progress also promised better living for Europe’s
people, the very industrial progress that increased
manifold the impact of war.
At the heart of Europe’s conflict was the
mutual fear of the ‘hereditary foes’, France and
Germany. Around this core, other countries lined
up on one side or the other, every local regional
conflict that might have been settled as before by
limited war, threatened to engulf the whole of
Europe, until it finally did so.
Europe would not come to rest as long as
national leaders believed in a Darwinian world of
conflict where the strong must either grow
stronger or succumb. Ultimately, the conviction
grew that there could only be one superpower in
the world. The process of reaching that end
seemed inevitable. Mass armies, guns, battle-
ships were the means to that end. It was only a
matter of time. Statesmanship was about judg-
ing when the time was ripe to strike. Meantime,
while Europe was moving toward Armageddon,
political and social change accelerated. It was
not inevitable that the people would follow
their national leaders. Tragically they did, underpatriotic flags. The weak band of international
Marxists early in the century denounced the
imperialist leaders, but they too did not preach
peace. They wished to replace wars between
nations with civil wars within. The voices of peace
and reason condemning a European fratricidal
conflict were drowned.IMPERIAL GERMANY: ACHIEVEMENT AND
EXCESSImperial Germany symbolised success. Created in
three victorious wars, it had replaced France as
the first military power in Europe. The Prussian
spirit was seen to be matched by astonishing
progress in other directions. In all branches of
education and scientific discovery, the German
Empire stood second to none. In manufacture,
German industry grew by leaps and bounds. The
secret of its success seemed to lie in the Prussian
genius for organisation and in the orderliness and
self-discipline of its hard-working people. There
were a lot of them, too – nearly 67 million in
1913; this made the Germans the second most
populous nation of Europe, well ahead of France
and Britain, and behind only Russia.
By the turn of the century Germany had
become a predominantly industrial nation, with
large cities. For every German working on the
land, two were engaged in manufacture on the
eve of the First World War. Once far behind(^1) Chapter 1
HEREDITARY FOES AND
UNCERTAIN ALLIES