BLReed
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2009
- Messages
- 1,676
The Wall Street Journal has selected 100 legacies from World War I that continue to shape our lives today.
http://online.wsj.com/ww1/
Here's a sampling:
Canada
http://online.wsj.com/ww1/canada
Canada entered World War I as a dominion of Great Britain and ended the peace settlements with a seat on the League of Nations, as one nation among many. While it would still be another 12 years before the country formally shed its colonial status, Canada had by war’s end formed a military corps commanded by a Canadian and won a battle at Vimy Ridge in France that would be mythologized as one of the birthplaces of Canadian identity.
Decline of the United Kingdom
The British economy was over-dependent on old-fashioned heavy industry and mining. Most importantly, the prewar order that had benefited Britain—of free capital flows and relatively free trade encouraged by the British-led gold standard—gave way to protectionism and reduced international cooperation.
With the end of an era of globalization, Britain was unable to sustain its historic role militarily or financially.
Rise of the United States
http://online.wsj.com/ww1/rise-of-the-us
The U.S. was a late entrant to the war itself, entering only in 1917, but its entry was decisive in turning the tables against Germany. The U.S. became a major creditor of the Allies, which received a total of $7.1 billion in loans while the U.S. was at war.
While the U.S. spent more on the war than any other power except for the U.K., it could better absorb the cost thanks to its larger, dynamic economy—and borrow cheaply.
Warplanes
http://online.wsj.com/ww1/warplanes
Before World War I, the main aim of pilots was simply to keep their craft in the air as long as possible.
By the end of the war, that had changed utterly: Planes were recognized as essential military weaponry, and aircraft carrying passengers and mail had begun to fly regularly between London and Paris. In June 1919, British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown were the first to fly nonstop across the Atlantic, piloting a modified World War I bomber. By 2013, more than two billion people traveled as air passengers world-wide.
Planes were used initially in World War I to scout out the terrain and, of course, the enemy. In August 1914, at the outbreak of war, the German army had 200 aircraft. Those on the eastern front provided reconnaissance that helped the Germans triumph over Russia in the Battle of Tannenberg. The defeat all but wiped out the Russian Second Army, which was unable to match the Germans’ rapid troop movements.
Wristwatches
http://online.wsj.com/ww1/wristwatches
People had clocks at home, and gentlemen carried pocket watches, but most people went without a watch. Wristwatches were chiefly worn by women as decorative pieces rather than for precise timekeeping.
The Great War was a turning point. Crouching in a trench or exchanging gunfire with the enemy, soldiers hardly had the time to grab a watch from their pocket, open the case and check the time. They were also encumbered with gear, so that the wristwatch overcame its effeminate image to become a practical necessity.
The phrase “synchronize your watches” stems from World War I, because action had to be precisely scheduled.....
http://online.wsj.com/ww1/
Here's a sampling:
Canada
http://online.wsj.com/ww1/canada
Canada entered World War I as a dominion of Great Britain and ended the peace settlements with a seat on the League of Nations, as one nation among many. While it would still be another 12 years before the country formally shed its colonial status, Canada had by war’s end formed a military corps commanded by a Canadian and won a battle at Vimy Ridge in France that would be mythologized as one of the birthplaces of Canadian identity.
Decline of the United Kingdom
The British economy was over-dependent on old-fashioned heavy industry and mining. Most importantly, the prewar order that had benefited Britain—of free capital flows and relatively free trade encouraged by the British-led gold standard—gave way to protectionism and reduced international cooperation.
With the end of an era of globalization, Britain was unable to sustain its historic role militarily or financially.
Rise of the United States
http://online.wsj.com/ww1/rise-of-the-us
The U.S. was a late entrant to the war itself, entering only in 1917, but its entry was decisive in turning the tables against Germany. The U.S. became a major creditor of the Allies, which received a total of $7.1 billion in loans while the U.S. was at war.
While the U.S. spent more on the war than any other power except for the U.K., it could better absorb the cost thanks to its larger, dynamic economy—and borrow cheaply.
Warplanes
http://online.wsj.com/ww1/warplanes
Before World War I, the main aim of pilots was simply to keep their craft in the air as long as possible.
By the end of the war, that had changed utterly: Planes were recognized as essential military weaponry, and aircraft carrying passengers and mail had begun to fly regularly between London and Paris. In June 1919, British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown were the first to fly nonstop across the Atlantic, piloting a modified World War I bomber. By 2013, more than two billion people traveled as air passengers world-wide.
Planes were used initially in World War I to scout out the terrain and, of course, the enemy. In August 1914, at the outbreak of war, the German army had 200 aircraft. Those on the eastern front provided reconnaissance that helped the Germans triumph over Russia in the Battle of Tannenberg. The defeat all but wiped out the Russian Second Army, which was unable to match the Germans’ rapid troop movements.
Wristwatches
http://online.wsj.com/ww1/wristwatches
People had clocks at home, and gentlemen carried pocket watches, but most people went without a watch. Wristwatches were chiefly worn by women as decorative pieces rather than for precise timekeeping.
The Great War was a turning point. Crouching in a trench or exchanging gunfire with the enemy, soldiers hardly had the time to grab a watch from their pocket, open the case and check the time. They were also encumbered with gear, so that the wristwatch overcame its effeminate image to become a practical necessity.
The phrase “synchronize your watches” stems from World War I, because action had to be precisely scheduled.....