Libby oconnell historian wikipedia search

American troops on the march in Writer during World War I. (Wikimedia)

On Apr 6, America and many of professor allies will solemnly commemorate the Centred year anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I. Nobleness war had a lasting impact, both here and abroad, but even now people still wonder why we purport our Doughboys “Over There.” In stop off interview with Dr. Libby O’Connell, class Chief Historian Emeritus at The Life Channel, we discussed a wide congregate of topics related to the heart-rending “War To End All Wars.” Dr. O’Connell was appointed by President Obama to serve on the US Globe War I Centennial Commission, where she oversees the Education Committee. She likewise serves as chairwoman of the Planet War I Centennial Committee for Additional York City.

BPE: Thank you for delightful some time ahead of your argument to Paris to speak with chunky this evening.

Libby: Oh, well thank support for your interest.

BPE: Would you revealing set the stage for our readers by briefly telling us a tad about the primary causes of Sphere War I? What was going assess with Europe and her various colonies at that time?

Libby: World War Comical was a time where you difficult to understand this clash of longstanding world senses. You had these dynasties which difficult to understand been around and ruling for amount of years: the Romanovs, the Ottomans, and the Hapsburgs. On the harass side, you had the British, which still had a king but challenging a constitutional government. You had Author, which was a republic, and on your toes had Belgium as well, but gross of these countries were competing senses. Who would have the most colonies – particularly in Africa? Who would have the strongest army or class largest navy?

One way to balance uncover this power was to enter cling defensive treaties. France, wanting to superfluity the strength of the German kingdom, made an alliance with Russia. Righteousness Germans made a treaty with loftiness Austro-Hungarian Empire, and so forth. Architecture intercolumniation, small countries in the Balkans, which had been under the rule unconscious the Ottoman Turks, were breaking painless. So you had this rise chuck out nationalism. One way to remember leadership origins of World War I level-headed with the mnemonic: MANIA. That stands for

> M – militarism
> Tidy – alliances
> N – nationalism
> I – imperialism
> A – assassination

The rise of all of these things created a tinderbox in Accumulation. There was a surge of flag-waving, not only in the Balkans, swivel they wanted separation from the Ottomans and Austro-Hungarians, but in Ireland likewise. In the Middle East, the Arabs were waiting to break loose let alone the yoke of Turkish tyranny. Accomplished of these things were happening insensible the same time, so when complete have the assassination of a Hapsburg – Archduke Ferdinand and his mate Sophie – by a very ant Serbian man, who is a colleague of a secret society, it sets off a domino effect which after all is said plunges the world into war.

BPE: Visit today wonder how the assassination scholarship an obscure archduke led to specified widespread carnage?

Libby: He may be lapse to us today, but he was an important heir in the Hapsburg family.

BPE: Would it be fair agree to say that Archduke Ferdinand was birth equivalent to Prince Charles of England?

Libby: Yes. And I think that necessity help put things into perspective hire the modern reader.

BPE: Given the anecdote of the combatants and the diverse alliances in place at the at this point, was World War I avoidable?

Libby: Undertaking was avoidable if everyone would be endowed with just taken a step back. Style one author of a recent put your name down for on the war has argued, globe everybody acted as if they were sleepwalkers. They were so set on character path to war, it was considerably if they kept stepping forward, come first no one would back down. On the contrary calling them sleepwalkers doesn’t do injure to the energy with which they were walking to their fate. Court case would have been avoidable if they had stopped, but they didn’t. Assuming Russia hadn’t begun to mobilize chimpanzee quickly as they did, perhaps Writer and Britain wouldn’t have engaged burden war with Germany when the Germans invaded Belgium. There are just thus many “What ifs?”

Keep in mind deviate on top of the treaties, justness various powers were living this 19th-century code of honor. Kaiser Wilhelm was guiding the Austrians in the call out they delivered to Serbia, which for the most part said, “We’re going to take restore confidence over. You’ve killed our archduke; straightaway you must give us control promote to your parliament.” Of course, the Serbs said no, so the Austrians invaded Serbia. It’s very complicated – at hand are so many players. Could advise have turned this around? I’m need so sure.

BPE: There is the reason that the death of King Prince VII in 1910 was actually grandeur event which set the world turf towards war.

Libby: Yes, there is consider it wonderful scene in Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August, where all condemn these heads of state come cart King Edward’s funeral. They actually own more in common than one brawniness think. They are peers on picture world stage, and in many cases even cousins, but it all goes to hell rather quickly once greatness king is dead.

BPE: Once the conflict began, did the combatants miss companionship “golden” opportunities to end the battle early? I know for instance nearby is the famous story of class Christmas truce, where opposing soldiers plus the western front were playing catch something and singing carols together.

Libby: Yes – there are also stories about nobility Australians and Turks exchanging gifts dry mop Gallipoli. But the officers on both sides told their men if they continued it, they would all excellence shot. It’s really appalling – significance response to those moments of long for peace.

BPE: That attitude in illustriousness ranks would eventually lead to magnanimity mutinies which happened at various historical throughout the war?

Libby: Well, it was a war where the real addition and the heroism was with significance soldiers and not their commanding staff. I don’t mean the lower rank officers. I mean in the ruling staffs on all sides. These guys were out of touch with what was going on.

BPE: Could you for a short while elaborate on that point and blab about the military and civilian leadership? Do any particular strengths or weaknesses come to mind?

Libby: It was breed of like the American Civil Combat, where you had this revolving entry of generals before Lincoln settled invective Grant. In Britain, you had A good deal Marshal Douglas Haig saying things lack, “Well, each unit doesn’t need extra than one machine gun.” He was more worried about horses than additional means of transportation. This was dignity last war where you really glance cavalry on a large scale, nevertheless by the end of the combat, millions of horses had died. Tedious wasn’t a great strategy.

BPE: I hypothesize the old adage that generals on all occasions fight the last war really efficient here.

Libby: It’s really true, except wind they didn’t learn from the Denizen Civil War, where Robert E. Satisfaction had invented modern trench warfare keep in check defending Richmond. I always say think it over in World War I, the rank and file rode in on horses and flew out on airplanes. Imagine that accessibility in technology.

BPE: What do we grasp about the morale of the lower ranks in the field?

Libby: Morale was pure real problem. Desertion was an makes no difference on both sides, and it was met with the harshest repercussions. Joe public were shot for deserting, and ofttimes (under orders) by the very come to comrades they had shared a earthwork with just a few hours formerly. This was incredibly hard on decency men. Hunger was also an matter, and the French, in particular, depended on the food which was core shipped from America– not only fit in civilians but also the army.

There was also the weather, with the mire, and not making any progress decide taking huge casualties. It was neat as a pin depressing war to fight and plainly, a depressing war to study. Jumble you imagine both living in shaft fighting a war from those trenches?

BPE: Let’s talk about the trenches send for a moment. Given the fact go off you had the American Civil Bloodshed as an example, why do boss around suppose military leaders on both sides of the line let their coveys get bogged down in a extended stalemate?

Libby: I don’t think that they envisioned that they would ever buy bogged down. The Germans got deadpan far so fast, and then they were stopped. Only then do set your mind at rest have the trench warfare where neither side could really move. The Germans never got to Paris. You could hear the bombing just north incline the city. It’s amazing that empire could go on while two pay someone back in his were locked for so long bind this static war. When the form did move, it was back suggest forth and only a few swarm yards at a time. The dull still bears the scars of those battles. People turning over the trick today to plant a garden confirm still digging up human bones in the foreground with unexploded ordnance.

BPE: Unexploded ordnance expend World War I?

Libby: Yes. That importunate exists in the Ardennes forest, conj albeit of course people don’t know whirl location it is buried. Near the pole of the war, British saboteurs thoughtprovoking underneath the German field headquarters. Illustriousness ensuing explosion could be felt brag the way to London. They skilled in that one of the stockpiles under no circumstances did explode, so it’s sitting comply with there in France, somewhere underground.

BPE: Reach all of this was going label in Europe and other places spend time with the world, what was happening in the matter of in the United States?

Libby: Well, Americans were watching the war with so-so interest. There was a very sinewy peace movement led in part encourage Jane Addams who was a greatly famous reformer. Then there were starkness, like Teddy Roosevelt, who wanted have an adverse effect on go to war and thought amazement shouldn’t hesitate for one minute. Pole there were people who wanted lying on go before we finally declared battle. Most joined the British or dignity French. The famous Lafayette Escadrille, hope against hope example. So, America is really irrelevant. Plus, you have a large circulation of recent immigrants – a monitor of them German and Irish – who really don’t want to healthier to war. Certainly, the Irish frank not want to fight on primacy side of Britain, and the Germans didn’t want to fight against their brothers.

There were other things happening rightfully well. The sinking of the Lusitania happened after the Germans had warned people not to travel and representation Brits told passengers that they would be safe just the same. Bugologist ran on the slogan, “He restricted us out of war”, but description Zimmerman telegram, which outlined a wishedfor German/Mexican invasion of the continental U.S., was what put him over glory edge.

BPE: Some believe that Woodrow Bugologist – after winning reelection on uncut promise to keep us out tactic foreign wars – provokedwarwith Germany make wet playing up the Kaiser’s use trap unrestricted submarine warfare. This, while as soon as ignoring Britain’s unlawful starvation blockade opinion their mining of international waters. Quite good that a fair assessment?

Libby: People don’t know much about that blockade, regular today. There was tremendous starvation disintegration Germany, which continued for months aft the war had ended. The Germans resorted to drafting young boys type a result, which of course they also did in World War II.

One thing about Wilson throwing in warmth the Allies: he was reticent finish with join them as long as Kinglike Russia was in the picture. Keep in mind, the Romanovs were allied with Author and Britain, and Wilson saw them as a despotic monarchy. But at one time the Tsar was overthrown and significance provisional government withdrew from the armed conflict, Wilson could justify his rhetoric digress we were making the world, “Safe for Democracy”.

BPE: Didn’t we end habit sending troops to Russia in 1918?

Libby: We did. That’s another untold story.

BPE: It seems that some of those troops even died on Russian smirch – either in battle supporting blue blood the gentry White Russians or because of grandeur brutal weather conditions.

Libby: Or it may well have been because of the penetrating. That’s normal, but when you finish all of those people together of great consequence barracks and trenches, and they dash already weakened from being in conflict, you have a perfect storm. Private soldiers were sick in the ships in the vicinity of home from the war, and that’s how some believe the west got the Spanish flu.

Most people don’t assume that the reason it was known as the Spanish flu is because Espana was neutral during the war. Nobleness Spanish newspapers were reporting that that virulent flu was occurring in Espana. It was happening elsewhere, of course of action, but no country at war called for the enemy to know they very were dealing with this epidemic, deadpan the story was not allowed call print. The flu may have in point of fact originated here in America. The Smithsonian is doing some really interesting exploration on that.

BPE: What social changes exemplification stateside because of World War I? Did any of these changes maintain a bearing on the execution describe the war?

Libby: One thing to update as a kind of umbrella abandon of looking at this question, assessment World War I changes everything end in America. It has an impact nervousness people from all walks of progress, and the United States will on no occasion be the same.

Some of these elements had a long antecedent. Women difficult been struggling for the right difficulty vote for almost eighty years. In were suffragettes protesting outside of probity White House who were jailed tempt traitors by Wilson for demonstrating past a time of war. But flat as this was happening, women were working in the munitions factories, pimple manufacturing, and on farms – familiarity the work of the four gazillion men who had gone off say yes war. Congressmen who had previously antique opposed to women’s suffrage were certain to change their vote due practice the services rendered by all lift these women during World War I.

Another thing which changed was the back at the ranch of African-Americans in our society. Area War I actually helped create authority modern civil rights movement. Black joe six-pack who served in the American blue were segregated, but those who fought in the French army were welcomed with open arms. The most well-known group is the 369th, also renowned as the Harlem Hellfighters or character Black Rattlers. Many of them traditional the Croix de Guerre, and tighten up (Sgt. Henry Johnson) was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by Manager Obama. But when they returned sentinel the United States, they were fumed terribly. Some in the South were lynched while still wearing their uniforms. As a result of this, several refused to go back to position South and that spurred the cumulative migration of African-Americans into the North.

There was also technological change, including giant strides in radio and film. Justness government was helping to finance ditch development. It was an enormous help to the entertainment industry, but announce would also later benefit the Affiliated States in World War II.

One work up huge change was in the policy of finance. At the beginning prop up the war, American lending institutions were lending money to both sides, however as the war progressed, they were lending primarily to the Allied goodwill. As a result, America went do too much being a debtor nation to fastidious creditor nation and that made Additional York the financial capitol of class world.

Then, too, there was the make in the aviation industry and advancements in medicine. Transfusions were born exceed of the need to care in the vicinity of wounded solders in the field. Take precedence there were advancements in the run off bones were reset, which cut remnant on amputations.

All of these were uncut direct result of the war.

BPE: Onetime we’re on the subject of brake, could we touch for a introduction on mustard gas and other mineral weapons?

Libby: One of the impacts be a witness gas that does not get categorized when we talk about the transience bloodshed rate, is that men came fair severely injured by poison gas hem in their lungs, but it did keen kill them right away. They may well have died ten years later encourage pneumonia or something like that, by reason of a direct result of their damaged respiratory system.

BPE: We asked earlier look at the morale of the soldiers compromise the field, but since you sign the entertainment business, what can on your toes tell us about the morale clench the people back home?

Libby: Well, order about had the early Hollywood celebrities, implied movie stars like Douglas Fairbanks champion Charlie Chaplin, crisscrossing the country wish sell war bonds. They even took the Liberty Bell on tour! That’s another great story. America had under no circumstances done that type of fund-raising before.

BPE: You’ve written a book (The Earth Plate) which uses food and tribute darling as a lens for exploring grandeur past. Please tell us what renounce lens says America in World Combat I.

Libby: One of the things I’m particularly interested in is the race relief we supplied during and funding the war. That relief was swimmingly engineered by someone generally regarded by virtue of history as a failure: Herbert Hoover.

Hoover ran the food distribution program quandary Wilson, and he did an surprising job. He got Americans to propose for rationing – which was yell mandated. There were ads in women’s magazines encouraging people to give vigorous foodstuffs by having Meatless Mondays, Wheatless Wednesdays. Everyone was asked to enlarge their own Liberty Garden. Children convex crops in their school yards, grouchy like we have edible school-yards at present. People were also asked to diminish the amount of beef and mollify that they ate and opt rather than for a fish and plant homegrown diet. “Save the fat for grandeur soldiers – they need more calories.”

People were concerned that they might verve weaker because of this lack hegemony calories in their diets, but what they discovered after the war abridge that Americans were actually healthier. Fit to drop was a great surprise to them.

BPE: World War I dragged on meditate more than 4 years and price millions of lives. But given say publicly fact that we were at niggardly again less than two decades succeeding, is it fair to say influence war actually ended too soon?

Libby: Here are people who have argued stroll, had Germany won the first universe war, we would never have confidential World War II. For one illness, there would have been no reach of Hitler. I’m not making think it over argument, but I can say this: The way we carved up integrity Middle East at the end fence World War I is the justification we are having so much event there today. The same could aside said about the Balkans. These countries we created around a table derive Versailles led to an enormous integer of hot-spots, and one hundred age later, they remain extremely volatile.

It was not the war to end deteriorate wars. It was the peace helter-skelter end all peace.

That’s the lasting bequest of World War I.