Kilts in the trenches

[Mike_Oettle]

James Hood wrote: “Eternal personal sorrow for humanity, that far, far, far beyond horrific-tragic, preventable war was ever fought.”

The war was certainly horrific and tragic.
But I greatly doubt that it was preventable – indeed, it was far less preventable than the war against Hitler was.
Under the rule of the Kaisers, Germany was dead set on expanding wherever it could: in Europe, as well as from its colonies.
Its intention in invading Belgium was twofold: to annex Belgium to the Reich (and thereby put pressure on the Netherlands for further annexation) and to take immediate control of the Belgian Congo.
As far as Africa was concerned, that was only the beginning: the next step was to merge the former Congo Free State with German South West Africa, German East Africa and Cameroon (or Kamerun, as the Germans spelt it).
In other words, Angola, the French Middle Congo (today’s Congo Republic), Gabon and Spanish Guinea would simply be rolled up into the colonial version of the Reich.
South Africa was directly in the firing line as far as this was concerned: before the South African Defence Force successfully invaded South West Africa and occupied all of it (apart from the Caprivi Strip, which was held by Rhodesia’s British South Africa Police), German forces invaded the Cape Province and had to be expelled.
And before Germany was eventually defeated, it was making plans to establish German principalities and kingdoms in the regions taken from the Russian Empire – and incorporate them into the Reich, too.
Austria, too, was in an expansionist mood. It had promised Rome that it would leave Italy alone if it was allied with Vienna and Berlin, but if the alliance failed (as it did when Italy persuaded France and Britain to give it a slice of Austrian territory) it dearly desired a slice of Italy’s Adriatic coast, not to mention Serbia and perhaps Romania. It was all set to swallow Ukraine, too.
Even Norway was a territory in contention. A South African entrepreneur had developed an iron mine there, but had been unable to develop it adequately and was forced to sell. A German company bought it, and during both world wars Germany obtained most of its iron ore from there. In the First World War the Germans did not see the necessity of occupying Norway, but this did happen during the next conflict.

The aggression that characterised both the Kaisers and the Führer was something that many in Germany recognised as early as 1871.
One was my great-grandfather, who emigrated so that his sons would not have to spill their blood for the Reich.
Another was Prince Ludwig von Battenberg (known from 1916 as Mountbatten), who joined the Royal Navy and ensured that Britain would command the loyalties of his son Lord Louis and grandson Prince Philip.
There were probably many more.

[kiltedtom]

There is no doubt that Germany and Austria-Hungary played roles in initiating WWI. But the militarism, araments race, colonial scramble, and secret diplomacy were equally found in all of the major European countries. Therefore, all of these countries deserve some credit, or blame, in starting that horrible waste of human lives. Unfortunately, these issues were not settled by the Versailles Treaty of 1919. WWII would have happened sooner or later, with or without the Nazis. And can we say that the original issues have been removed? I doubt it.


Here is to finding a way to peace and cooperation.


Tom

[James Hood]

Having grown up in the USA during THE most foreboding years of the Cold War and having associations with numerous military folks of the era...

...the Doomsday Clock of the Atomic Scientists was at, "One minute to midnight," on occasions and there were thermo-nukes in the bays of the B-52s, in the air, on many, many occasions. Hundreds of thousands were the fallout shelters built in the USA and legion were the novels and films depicting post-nuclear-holocaust, "what is left of Earth."

Somehow, post-thermonuclear world war hell never came and now, with dismantlement of many nukes, economic world-market interdependence, "global village mentality"...there are many gratifying signs it will ever be.

In the speculations of numerous minds (search, "If WW I had not been fought"), we could be living in a different world if WW I had not been fought. Alternate history writers have addressed varied scenarios already; this mind continues to believe, as our course of history did not result in thermonuclear mutually asssured destruction and veritable end of life on this beautiful blue planet...

...in other possible realities, the act of a single political assassin in 1914 may have been dealt with much as many have been dealt with, since...without triggering humanity-annihilating cataclysm.

Eternal honour to the kilted soldiers who are the subject of this thread.

[cessna152towser]

Unfortunately, these issues were not settled by the Versailles Treaty of 1919. WWII would have happened sooner or later, with or without the Nazis.

Yes indeed. The botched decision in the Treaty of Versailles to give the city of Kattowitz (Katowice) to Poland against the overwhelming vote of its residents to remain German gave rise to much grievance and all it needed was a charismatic leader such as Adolf Hitler to exploit that grudge and build the popular will to invade Poland where many citizens, including my wife's father, born of German parents in what was at the time Poland, welcomed the German invasion of 1939 with open arms. It is rather ironic that my wife's father and my father served similar roles in World War 2 as aircraft mechanics, hers in the Luftwaffe and mine in the Royal Air Force.
Thankfully, with economic interdependence, whether Scottish or German, we are now citizens of the European Community, and I am sat here in Scotland enjoying a peaceful and happy Christmas with my German wife and stepdaughter, in much the same way as some of our North American members might be happily married to someone from a neighbouring USA state.