khalid saeed

Book : comments on The war that ended peace. A detailed history of Europe as it marched towards 1st WW which cost 8.5 million lives . A chronicle of diplomatic exchanges among European nations . The book analyses the lead up to the catastrophe and examines various factors which contributed to the start of the war which ended the peace of almost half a century . The role of Germany’s overwhelming desire to “get a space under the sun” to match its ambitions for expanding its colonial footprint and its inherent militarism resulting in trying to match Britain’s navy were , amongst others , triggers for apprehension among Britain, France and Russia regarding German designs to damage their interests . The ineffective and weak Austrian Hungarian empire and a dying Ottoman Empire spurred the ambitions of Germany . The tiffs over Morocco with France alongside the Balkan conflicts among Austro Hungarian empire and Russia played a significant role in setting the stage for IWW. The murder of AH empire’s crown prince by a Serbian was the last straw on the camel’s back that led to the start of a European and later global war in August 1914 . Between Franco German war in 1870s and the 1 WW, many conflicts among France , Germany, Russia , AH empire were resolved through mediation which inculcated a sense of complacency. However, the arms race , quest to get a bigger chunk of spoils on the imminent demise of the Ottoman Empire, greater control over trade routes, quest for more colonies in Africa and elsewhere and internal unrest and political dynamics in Russia, Germany and France were simmering causes with great potential for the outbreak of a major war. A stage was ultimately set where the groupings of Grand Alliance( Germany and AH empire) confronted Grand Detente powers of France , Russia and UK ) and all the parties started assuming the inevitability of the war . The book examines the roles played by Wilhelm , the German Kaiser , Nicholas , the Russsian czar and other sovereigns and their key leaders in handling the situation.. Britain’s’ ambivalence till the end figures prominently despite its being a part of the detente. The efforts of various civil society members and media to avert the war indicates that not all the people were wanting the war. While it’s difficult to pinpoint any single individual or issue that led to the war , the multiple factors mentioned above resulted in this totally avoidable catastrophe. The book is a well researched analysis of the background to the IWW. A good read though a bit too detailed for a general reader. The book also brings out the importance of the individual decisions of the main actors and accidents which , sometimes , influence the course of history. It contends that Europe may have avoided this armageddon if there were statesmen like Bismarck who had unified Prussia with others to create Germany .