Scholars and historians of succeeding generations following the one which lived through and experienced the horrors of the First World War have puzzled as to how it all came about. Professor A.J.P. Taylor stated, ‘It is difficult, in fact, to discover any cause of hostility between the European Great Powers in the early summer of 1914.’ There had been tension between them but the situation had calmed. Justification for nations becoming embroiled in the war, optimistically labelled by some as it got under way as ‘the war to end all wars’, seems fuzzy and confusing.
As the twentieth century began, Europe began to separate into two distinct camps forged by alliances between, on the one hand, the three centrally located European empires of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, and, on the other, those of the nations ringed geographically around them. The Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck had he been alive (he died just eighteen months prior to the twentieth century) would have viewed the situation with foreboding. Being the undoubted founder of the German nation he had been well aware of the danger of having potential enemies on two frontiers of his newly formed country and, through clever diplomacy, had averted that threat. True to Bismarck’s concerns, and according to many historians, including Professor Taylor, the cause of the war was the system of alliances: on the one hand the German, Austria-Hungary and Italian – the so called Triple Alliance – faced off against a rival power bloc consisting of the French, British, and Russian nations – the Triple Entente. However, that arrangement could still have made for a peaceful world had the kings and national governments respected each other’s sovereignties, after all they professed to be stalwarts of the Christian faith. Furthermore, those rulers were often interrelated, one with another, through marriage alliances.
Monarchs such as Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Czar Nicholas II of Russia and Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary were adherents to and bound by the signatures of their forebears to what was termed the Holy Alliance, which proclaimed that God had delegated them to oversee parts of Christendom. ‘We Christian Kings,’ wrote the Kaiser to the Czar of Russia, ‘have one duty imposed upon us by Heaven, that is to uphold the principle of the divine right of kings.’ Firmly endowed with such an arrogant conviction the supreme rulers in Europe could have been expected to exercise their autocratic authority with benevolence to avert outright conflict between their subjects.
Coupled with belief in the divinely ordered heads of state was the fact that at the start of the twentieth century the churches were well subscribed and attended. The clergy were acknowledged to be representatives of the suppliant laity interceding on their behalf before the presence of the Almighty. Those religious institutions, the various denominations, exercised undeniable influence over the masses and especially world rulers and governmental leaders. The thrust of their message purported to be one of universal love, forgiveness, tolerance and peace. With such powerful factors for peace in place, how could world war even be contemplated in the twentieth century?
Bearing this out, Winston Churchill wrote, ‘The spring and summer of 1914 were marked in Europe by an exceptional tranquility.’ The rivalry between Britain and Germany, which had existed in the years leading up to 1914, seemed to have settled down. As the year began 1914 was full of promise and Churchill further wrote with confidence, ‘Germany seemed with us, set on peace.’ Obviously, then, other factors were involved which caused men to suddenly, in a matter of days, abandon the Christian ethic of worldwide brotherhood in favour of hatred, and to subscribe to wholesale slaughter. Patriotism was clearly a factor.
Extreme patriotism, in the summer of 1914, acted like petrol vapour to a smouldering rag. Devotion to their particular nation manifested by citizens of European states, coupled with xenophobia, succeeded in working-up the peoples to enter into what would become four years of butchery. There was a spirit which operated with such intensity that in sweeping over the nations it prompted men to abandon their jobs and to descend en masse on the recruiting offices. They appeared eager – if indeed they had thought it through – to be taught how they might shed the blood of foreigners with bullet, bayonet and bomb, preferably on the away ground.
At the height of unashamed patriotism at the outbreak of war the gallant British Tommy was cast in the role of hero, rescuing defenceless Belgian women and children from the rapacious ‘Hun’. There is no doubt that there were atrocities carried out against the civilian population by some among the one million plus German soldiers sweeping through Belgium. In such a situation, and against such acts of foulness, God, it was reasoned, was surely to be on the side of the Allies and would cause Tommy Atkins and his glorious allies to triumph over evil in the end.
Assisting the national cause, and to bolster patriotism, clergymen of the day, for their sermons, drew on Old Testament accounts of how the great Jehovah granted outstanding victories to His people Israel, even intervening with hailstones, flashflood and fire from Heaven on special occasions. Therefore, surely the virtuous Allies could expect no less.
The one reviled as the detestable invader rampaging through Belgium in the summer of 1914, the German soldier, for his part was sufficiently confident of the Almighty’s favour. He was equipped with a slogan carried on his belt buckle that announced millions of times throughout Kaiser Wilhelm’s army: Gott Mit Uns (God is with us).
In 1914 the long established monarchies and governments, the religious institutions, supported by big business and applauded by the press, capitalized on the unswerving patriotism and enthusiasm of the masses. In Britain national pride was exploited in order to swell the ranks of an army which was to proceed abroad and engage in four years of vicious battles in support of the sovereignty of the British Empire. Amazingly, just fourteen years earlier the fighting forces of eight nations were united in a common cause.
In June 1900, Boxer forces and Imperial Chinese troops had besieged diplomats, citizens and soldiers within the legations of Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Spain and the United States within the city of Peking. On 4 August a large relief force called the Eight-Nation Alliance marched upon Peking. The alliance force consisted of around 18,000 soldiers: Russian infantry, Cossacks and artillery; Japanese infantry; 3,000 British, mostly Indian infantry, cavalry and artillery; US soldiers and Marines with artillery; and a French brigade with artillery. Troops from Austria, Italy, and Germany were a part of this small relief army.
Thus, prior to taking up arms against each other the kings and emperors were bonded with western presidents in a common cause – exploitation of the Chinese people.