The Usa's Role In The Civil War

The Civil War was the most bloody war in American history, with the most American deaths of any conflict. It occurred when the southern states of the United States collectively succeeded from the Union, and formed a confederacy. These states seceded because they felt that their state rights, granted to them by the constitution, were being infringed upon. With newly invented weaponry and poor medical knowledge, the death rate of those involved in the war was extremely high. This pattern of advancing technology causing more deaths has been prevalent through all of time. However, with the introduction of nuclear weapons, and thus the total annihilation of the world, this precedent has hit its limit.
World War One, or “The Great War,” was one
of the most aggressive and widespread revolutions of warfare of all time. The Great War was an escalation of minor events, snowballing into one of the first of the most bloody engages in history. The initial action was the assassination of the archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian named Gavrilo Princip. Gavrilo was a member of a Serbian-nationalist terrorist group called the Black Hand. Franz Ferdinand, while pro Serbian, was assassinated by Gavrilo due to a great deal of angst and hatred felt by Serbians towards the Austrian Empire. This assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife caused the Austro-Hungarian Empire to declare war on Serbia, sparking the first actions of The Great War (Cayton).
The following reactions of neighboring countries is a confusing mess of alliances and declarations of war. These include the vast majority of European powers, such as the German Empire, France, Russia, and Britain. The United States initially avoided involvement in the war, instead using it to promote trade and to sell armaments to both the Allies and the Central Powers. However, as the war progressed, the Allies became desperate to push the U. S. into the turmoil. Eventually, with the influx of propaganda from the Allies, and the naval attacks from German U-boats, the Government of the United States was forced to join the battle (Cayton).
The initial violent act was committed by the German Empire, in a preemptive strike called the “Schlieffen Plan.” Germany hoped to attack France by surprise, and destroy them before Russia could mobilize its army (Cayton). The plan failed however, when tactics of an older world met new harsh and manufactured weapons. No longer could volleys of men and cavalry charges decimate hundreds of troops. This was due to the introduction of automatic firearms and the use of trench warfare, however most infantry used magazine fed bolt action rifles. Lewis and Maxim guns could cut down lines of troops and horses in a matter of seconds. And trenches prevented the charging of held positions. To counter these tactics, the introduction of heavy artillery and poisonous gas were desperately used. Among the gases used were Chlorine, Phosgene, and most deadly; Mustard. Gases such as these incapacitated soldiers almost immediately, and often killed them within several hours. The total estimated casualties by gas attacks are over one million two hundred thousand, with ninety thousand of those resulting in deaths (Simkim).
When new technologies of the twentieth century met with old tactics of past millennia, the entire concept of warfare had to be altered. The Great War is often cited as the epitome of such changes. The unexpected application of these weapons is one of the main reasons for the eleven million total military deaths, and 7 million civilian deaths. The second world war, or World War Two, further advanced warfare, but not on the scale of The Great War. Within World War two, Semi and fully automatic weaponry became more prevalent and widespread. In addition to this factor, the increased advances in tanks and aerial warfare made trenches completely obsolete. These reasons are why World War Two took a more aggressive turn than The Great War.
The main forces of World war two were the Axis powers; Germany, Japan, and Italy, and the Allied powers; The United States, Britain, Russia, and France.
While the United States played a major role in the western front of Europe, its main focus was the Pacific campaign. This conflict with Japan was one that struck fear into many Americans. The Japanese were notorious for their fierce, and sometimes brutal, fighting. One tactic of the Japanese was the use of Kamikaze attacks, in which the noses of airplanes would be replaced with explosive payloads and flown into battleships (Kamikaze Attacks). Despite these attacks, the United States managed to repel the Japanese, and eventually were prepared to invade Japan’s mainland. This action however, would result in the deaths of many Americans and Japanese.
The need to prevent the invasion of Japan was the justification of the use of nuclear warfare. The United States dropped two nuclear bombs, Fat Man and Little Boy, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Little Boy, a uranium based bomb, killed an estimated 237000 in Hiroshima. However, Fat Man only killed an estimated 80000, a significantly less number due to the lack of density in Nagasaki. The bombs together killed an estimated 317000 people, both directly with the explosion and with the lasting radiation
(Lemay).
Immediately after the events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many countries scrambled to get their hands of the technology to produce such a destructive weapon. This race to obtain as many nuclear weapons between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or U.S.S.R., became known as the Cold War. It was a time of great tension between the two nations between 1947 and 1991 (Taylor). During this time, the people of both sides lived in constant fear of a nuclear war erupting between the two forces; such an event would completely destroy both countries. To prevent this from happening, the governments of the United States and the U.S.S.R. fought through proxy wars.
The most notable of these events were the Vietnam war and the Soviet-Afghan war.
The U.S.S.R. had initially intended to avoid affairs with Vietnam, and allowed China to remain its main ally and provider of aid. This changed however, when the United States moved to protect South Vietnam against the communist North Vietnam. The U.S.S.R. and the United States used this conflict as a way to show the strength of their countries, without directly fighting each other. Both the U.S.S.R. and the United States offered military support through arms, training, and troops to their side (Llewellyn). This type of cold war proxy war wa repeated in 1979, when the U.S.S.R. had occupied Afghanistan in order to counter the United States’s presence in Pakistan. The United States supplied arms and funds to the rebel group called the “Mujahadeen,” in order to combat the Soviets indirectly
(Admin).
The angst of the Cold War reached its ultimatum when the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in 1962. In order to deter the United States from attempting to overthrow Cuba’s communist government again, the U.S.S.R. began to build missile launch sites and transport thermonuclear warheads to them. With the ever present threat of nuclear war, president Kennedy and his advisors pushed for a peaceful resolution. The U.S.S.R. agreed to remove any and all weapons from Cuba, given that the United States removed their warheads from Turkey. President Kennedy agreed to do so, however it was not publicly announced that this agreement had been reached (The Cuban Missile Crisis). Many blame the existence of nuclear weapons for the events of the Cold War. However, if these weapons were not present a direct “hot war” would have broken out between the U.S.S.R. and the United States. It was the presence of these immensely powerful weapons that saved the lives of potential millions, with the Cold War and with preventing the invasion of Japan. Furthermore, one could go as far as to say that another world war, or any war between major world powers, will not occur, simply due to the threat of complete annihilation. It is because of these weapons that you see direct conflicts in areas such as the Middle East, and no direct conflict with North Korea. One may go as far as to say that the only reason there is not a war with North Korea currently, is because of their nuclear weapons.
Today nine world powers own a total of 14,900 warheads, with the United States and Russia 6owning over half (Nuclear Arsenals). Many more countries are currently fighting to be able to own nuclear weapons for the sake of self defense, while others advocate the complete removal of nuclear warfare from our modern society. Yet, it is the presence of these inconceivably dangerous weapons that prevents the deaths of millions today.