view of WWI
been watching blackadder rides again and i wondered, do most british people see WWI as "a place where heroes dwell", or "admit it was at least partly our (britain's) fault"?
Mor
Not sure it was 'our fault' as such. There is a line in the series that kind of incapsulates it all where George says the war started because of the hun and his villainous empire building.
Blackadder replies about the Britsh empire covering a quarter of the globe whereas the the German empire inlcuded some sausage factory in tangenike (or something like that).
The causes of the First World War can stretch back to the rise of the Prussian empire, Bismarck and his diplomatic wranglings, The Kaisers insitence that Germany outgrow the British in military and naval strength and the numerous pacts, entente's and alliances formed across Europe as sides squared up to each other etc.
I do not believe it was all Germany but more a case of a power struggle that developed into a war nobody foresaw (certainly not on the industrialised murderous scale it became).
I believe before this time, wars were still viewed as glamourous and gentlemanly (odd I know)and normally by those who had never fought in one! Mass loss of life to both Military and civilian life ended that silly idealism though.
It was certainly the end of British and European dominance on the world stage as the century gave way to Americanism.
The causes of WWI (or the Great War, as some historians, myself included, have returned to calling it) could fill a set of books. A professor of mine, who specializes in the conflict, said that there was a conference in which over 100 cases were determined for the war (Interestingly, the Ferdinand assassination was not one of them). One of the largest reasons, in my eyes, was the empire-building, as well as the reasons you mentioned, which were largely motivated by Kaiser Bill wanting Germany to have its day in the sun, as the saying went.
And you are correct in thinking that before 1914, war was seen as a glorious thing, almost like a fun bit of sport. When George describes he and his buddies going down to enlist, that is exactly how it was with the upper classes, leaving Cambridge and Oxford to fight. Remember, the last major conflicts before the Great War were the Napoleonic wars, which were fought according to a set of relatively civilized rules. Some of the major powers stuck to the old rules, some didn't. And of course, you had the idea it was going to be short ("We'll be home by Christmas!"), which always seems to happen. Result: Bloodbath.
As to the OP's original question, many seem to place blame upon both sides, and rightly so. The consensus also seems to be that it was a horrible, unnecessary thing; again, rightly so. you don't hear much about heroes, it seems, except here in the US, where many see war a bit differently (this is indeed usually the opinion of those that haven't fought). In the rare cases that you actually hear about WWI (we prefer to focus on WWII, as it set the stage for the US to become what it is today), you'll hear about the heroics of Sgt. Alvin York, especially in his (and my) home state of Tennessee.
"Let the f-ckers work that one out."-John Lennon