The July Crisis Explained: How World War I Began

Comments · 361

• TH

  @thomasjamison2050 · 2 years ago

  Ah, yes.  railroads.  One of my favorite quotes of the era was spoken by Jackie Fisher.  He expected a major war to come but had no idea when it might come, except that he was certain that it would start on a bank holiday.   It did.  This is because all the mobilization plans needed to maximize usage of the railroads, and the best time to do this was when it was easiest to halt commercial traffic on the rails.  Obviously that would be a holiday.

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• ED

  @edwardgoodwin9801 · 2 years ago

  Love his way of talking about history.  I'm very glad I am part of his class.  The way he speaks is very informative and doesn't make you feel dumb for not knowing.  Teaching at his core

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• CA

  @cambiata · 2 years ago

  "We want to make sure Baby stays in power" has got to be one of the most wild historical statements I've ever heard of.

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• BR

  @brucetucker4847 · 2 years ago

  An excellent presentation! The one important thing I think is missing is the Anglo-German naval arms race and its vital role in causing the UK to seek an understanding, if not an alliance, with France to oppose German territorial expansion in western Europe. While the Belgian treaty may have been the cause that roused the common people to support war, the vital interest the cabinet was most concerned with was keeping the German battleship fleet bottled up in Kiel - a German navy mostly limited to operating in the Baltic was not an existential threat to the British Empire, but a German battleship fleet based in Belgium or northern France, with free access to the Channel and the North Sea, absolutely was. <br><br>This is something the German government apparently failed to appreciate in the slightest: they expressed surprise that the UK would go to war over a &quot;scrap of paper&quot; (the Belgian treaty) without realizing that the UK was NOT going to war over Belgium, Belgium was just an excuse the Germans had given the British government to enter a war that they already knew they had to fight over the German naval threat. <br><br>Many historians regard that naval race as a terrible strategic mistake on the part of Kaiser Wilhelm (who had read Alfred Thayer Mahan&apos;s book more than was good for his limited intellect) because it transformed Germany from a continental power that was not much of a threat to British world interests into a potential world power that was the greatest threat to those interests. In the late 19th century, when Germany had no oceangoing navy to speak of, the British had regarded Russia as its main potential enemy, fearing a Russian push from its Central Asian provinces towards India. The prospect of German battleships poised to descend on the Home Fleet at a moment&apos;s notice made the Russian threat seem insignificant in comparison. But because the Germans had to spend most of their resources on their land army, while the British did not, it was inevitable that the British would win the naval race and consequently that the German navy would be just powerful enough to force the British to fight a war to keep it out of the Atlantic, but not powerful enough to win the war at sea or to deter the British from going to war.

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• KE

  @Ken-fh4jc · 2 years ago

  I love channels like this. All information, no hype, to the point.

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• ET

  @ethanboyd7843 · 2 years ago (edited)

  If you ever have any doubts as to whether your style and depth is appreciated, worry not. Fantastic content.

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• DA

  @davidmurphy563 · 2 years ago

  I&apos;m writing double shifts and i put this on every night just to fall asleep to it... I still haven&apos;t got past chapter 3 but i wake up every morning with it finished.

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• BR

  @brianthomas8125 · 2 years ago

  To clarify Italy&apos;s role: when the TA came up for renewal in 1913, Italy inserted a clause (the TA was defensive). If a signatory waged aggressive war against a neighbor, the other two could expect compensation. Both Germany and Austria-Hungary reluctantly agreed. When war with Serbia was declared, the Italian Ambassador met with the Chancellor and inquired about compensation. He was rebuffed, making Italy declare neutrality and then withdrawing from the TA shortly afterward. Italy&apos;s switch to the Entente was almost complete.

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• MN

  @mnbalfour1985 · 2 years ago (edited)

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO2Kvr_idPE&amp;t=1167">19:27</a> it&apos;s ironic that Kaiser Wilhem II listened to onboard lectures about the American Civil War during his July 1914 trip to the Norwegian fjords. This is because the American Civil War should have served as a warning to the Europeans about what a great European war would be like. The American Civil War dragged on for four years and killed circa 616,222 - 1,000,000+ Americans because both sides were evenly matched militarily, and for a time economically and financially too. In 1914 the Entente Cordiale plus Britain AND the Central Powers were also evenly matched militarily, and for a time economically and financially too. So, this should have served as a warning that any great European war would be a multi-year bloodbath that would bring down governments, monarchies, and nations. Instead, the Europeans ignored the American experience and considered the short sharp wars that Europe had between 1866 and 1914, like the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871, and in turn thought that the August 1914 war would be over before Christmas 1914.

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• PU

  @puskas1954 · 2 years ago

  I love your work Sean, you&apos;re a fantastic teacher, especially through the video-form. Always look forward to your videos!

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• BE

  @bernjobi · 2 years ago

  another banger drops

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• DI

  @Digmen1 · 2 years ago

  I was taking note on the start of WW1 when I was only 15 - I&apos;m over 70 now!<br>Its truly fascinating, and complicted

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