Armistice Day and why George Washington was right
A war that was a stalemate in France between the Allies and the Central Powers. Trenches dug, barbed wire strung, and poison gas. Horrible weapons developed that were devastating for the old style of war. It was the Great War. The War to end all wars. A war so horrible that people thought that humanity could never again engage in such atrocity.
Little did they know.
November 11, 1918, was the day of the Armistice, the cease fire to end what would be known as World War One. Today, we celebrate it as Veteran's Day. A day to honor those men and women that have served, or are serving in the armed forces of the United States.
But so much war can be attributed to that fateful time.
The Treaty to end the war was so oppressive on Germany that its newly installed government, bearing the crushing burden of rebuilding a nation also was crushed by war reparations. How did they solve it? They devalued their currency. Oh, and made the conditions perfect for a very strong personality to take the reins, and promise to bring back the greatness that was the Fatherland. This led rise to the Third Reich, and what many would say was just a continuation of the previous conflict. Even as I write that, I get the jitters.
Russia had withdrawn from the conflict in 1917, due to the Bolshevik revolution sweeping out the Czar and bringing in a regime of "the people" that would starve and kill tens of millions of its own citizens throughout the 20th Century. Russia would engage against Germany with proxies in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Probably the loss of the Royalists in that war gave Stalin pause to try to buy time from Hitler with the Non-aggression pact.
Let's see, what else.
Oh, the Ottoman Empire, which had allied with Germany was destroyed, and with that came an agreement to divide the Middle East into spheres of French, British, and Russian influence. Arbitrary lines were drawn, without regard to Sunni, Shia, Kurd or other groups. These haphazard lines are the source of most of the conflicts in the Middle East today. Don't start on Israel, not the topic here. Had it been divided along cultural and ethnic lines in 1918, would there be any difference today? Not sure, but it certainly didn't help the way it shook out.
President Washington, warned against Treaties, foreign entanglements, and to not get involved with them. He wasn't an isolationist, per say, but definitely knew that in a government as unique as ours, it wasn't fair to future generations to commit them in that way.. Kind of like spending today for payment tomorrow. We have done our future generations a horrible disservice.
We should take the time to remember the "War to end all Wars". Had the Allies been more conciliatory towards the Germans, what a difference that may have made in history.
Lest the ages forget. Alas, I fear we have.
Little did they know.
November 11, 1918, was the day of the Armistice, the cease fire to end what would be known as World War One. Today, we celebrate it as Veteran's Day. A day to honor those men and women that have served, or are serving in the armed forces of the United States.
But so much war can be attributed to that fateful time.
The Treaty to end the war was so oppressive on Germany that its newly installed government, bearing the crushing burden of rebuilding a nation also was crushed by war reparations. How did they solve it? They devalued their currency. Oh, and made the conditions perfect for a very strong personality to take the reins, and promise to bring back the greatness that was the Fatherland. This led rise to the Third Reich, and what many would say was just a continuation of the previous conflict. Even as I write that, I get the jitters.
Russia had withdrawn from the conflict in 1917, due to the Bolshevik revolution sweeping out the Czar and bringing in a regime of "the people" that would starve and kill tens of millions of its own citizens throughout the 20th Century. Russia would engage against Germany with proxies in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Probably the loss of the Royalists in that war gave Stalin pause to try to buy time from Hitler with the Non-aggression pact.
Let's see, what else.
Oh, the Ottoman Empire, which had allied with Germany was destroyed, and with that came an agreement to divide the Middle East into spheres of French, British, and Russian influence. Arbitrary lines were drawn, without regard to Sunni, Shia, Kurd or other groups. These haphazard lines are the source of most of the conflicts in the Middle East today. Don't start on Israel, not the topic here. Had it been divided along cultural and ethnic lines in 1918, would there be any difference today? Not sure, but it certainly didn't help the way it shook out.
President Washington, warned against Treaties, foreign entanglements, and to not get involved with them. He wasn't an isolationist, per say, but definitely knew that in a government as unique as ours, it wasn't fair to future generations to commit them in that way.. Kind of like spending today for payment tomorrow. We have done our future generations a horrible disservice.
We should take the time to remember the "War to end all Wars". Had the Allies been more conciliatory towards the Germans, what a difference that may have made in history.
Lest the ages forget. Alas, I fear we have.
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