Marlin
November 11th, 2008, 19:02
The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month
When the fighting came to an end with the Armistice of November 11, 1918, more than eight million soldiers, including more than 50,000 Americans, had lost their lives. An estimated 12-million civilians also perished. During the Great War, German's losses were over 1,700,000 killed and over 4,200,000 wounded [out of a total population of over 65 million], while France suffered over 1,300,000 deaths and over 4,200,000 wounded. The percentages of pre-war population killed or wounded were 9% of Germany, 11% of France, and 8% of Great Britain. The United States suffered one-third of one percent (0.37%) of its population killed or wounded. An estimated total of 12-million civilians perished. The war ended without clear solutions, leaving future military and political leaders to grapple with a host of strategic, tactical and technological dilemmas.
The peace settlement of 1919 remains a controversial topic. The international order created by this settlement lasted barely twenty years. The 1919 Versailles settlement failed to establish a stable international order, illustrating that winning a war does not always mean winning the peace. In the aftermath of the war, huge changes occurred. The center of wealth transferred from Europe to the United States; the political map of Europe was significantly redrawn; and Germany was left in financial shambles, its people driven to the brink of starvation - a situation that helped lead to the rise of Adolf Hitler and, ultimately, World War Two.
The fact that the United States ranked high among the world’s leading arms exporters caused a great controversy that was reflected in much public debate and discussion throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s. Books of that period mirrored the American public’s concern about this unwanted, yet thriving arms industry. Examples of the literature of that period which nagged the American conscience included such titles as: Merchants of Death: A Study of the International Armaments Industry; Iron, Blood and Profits; War for Profit; and Death and Profit.
Continuing debate about America’s role as an arms merchant saw the establishment in the 1930s of a special Senate Munitions Investigating Committee, known as the Nye Committee, after its Chairman, Senator Gerald P. Nye (Republican from North Dakota). The Committee’s charter called for an investigation of the international arms trade to determine if a commercial profit motive was the primary cause of the continued sustenance of war. The investigation, conducted from 1934 to 1936, also sought to determine whether the arms trade could be regulated under existing laws and treaties, and whether a government monopoly in arms production was a practical alternative. As Senator Nye, an avowed isolationist, interpreted the Committee’s mandate, he concluded that the way to stop war was to take away the opportunity for private gain. His personal convictions influenced the Committee to recommend the nationalization of the United States arms industry; a minority opinion held out for close government control rather than nationalization, however.
Although the concept of nationalization was subsequently rejected, greater government control and oversight over the United States arms industry was an outcome of the Nye Committee’s efforts. This included the establishment of a Munitions Control Board. A further recommendation of the Committee was to seek the international adoption of arms controls, but after some ineffectual multinational efforts, the international arms trade remained unchecked. One accompanying feature of the Nye Committee findings was an increased United States public sentiment for withdrawing from world affairs and returning to America’s characteristic isolationism. Despite a resurgence of isolationism and the limited results of the Nye Committee, however, little impact was made on American involvement in the international arms trade. In fact, in 1936 the United States ranked third in world arms sales, immediately behind France and Great Britain, a position it was to hold until the outbreak of World War Two.
When the fighting came to an end with the Armistice of November 11, 1918, more than eight million soldiers, including more than 50,000 Americans, had lost their lives. An estimated 12-million civilians also perished. During the Great War, German's losses were over 1,700,000 killed and over 4,200,000 wounded [out of a total population of over 65 million], while France suffered over 1,300,000 deaths and over 4,200,000 wounded. The percentages of pre-war population killed or wounded were 9% of Germany, 11% of France, and 8% of Great Britain. The United States suffered one-third of one percent (0.37%) of its population killed or wounded. An estimated total of 12-million civilians perished. The war ended without clear solutions, leaving future military and political leaders to grapple with a host of strategic, tactical and technological dilemmas.
The peace settlement of 1919 remains a controversial topic. The international order created by this settlement lasted barely twenty years. The 1919 Versailles settlement failed to establish a stable international order, illustrating that winning a war does not always mean winning the peace. In the aftermath of the war, huge changes occurred. The center of wealth transferred from Europe to the United States; the political map of Europe was significantly redrawn; and Germany was left in financial shambles, its people driven to the brink of starvation - a situation that helped lead to the rise of Adolf Hitler and, ultimately, World War Two.
The fact that the United States ranked high among the world’s leading arms exporters caused a great controversy that was reflected in much public debate and discussion throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s. Books of that period mirrored the American public’s concern about this unwanted, yet thriving arms industry. Examples of the literature of that period which nagged the American conscience included such titles as: Merchants of Death: A Study of the International Armaments Industry; Iron, Blood and Profits; War for Profit; and Death and Profit.
Continuing debate about America’s role as an arms merchant saw the establishment in the 1930s of a special Senate Munitions Investigating Committee, known as the Nye Committee, after its Chairman, Senator Gerald P. Nye (Republican from North Dakota). The Committee’s charter called for an investigation of the international arms trade to determine if a commercial profit motive was the primary cause of the continued sustenance of war. The investigation, conducted from 1934 to 1936, also sought to determine whether the arms trade could be regulated under existing laws and treaties, and whether a government monopoly in arms production was a practical alternative. As Senator Nye, an avowed isolationist, interpreted the Committee’s mandate, he concluded that the way to stop war was to take away the opportunity for private gain. His personal convictions influenced the Committee to recommend the nationalization of the United States arms industry; a minority opinion held out for close government control rather than nationalization, however.
Although the concept of nationalization was subsequently rejected, greater government control and oversight over the United States arms industry was an outcome of the Nye Committee’s efforts. This included the establishment of a Munitions Control Board. A further recommendation of the Committee was to seek the international adoption of arms controls, but after some ineffectual multinational efforts, the international arms trade remained unchecked. One accompanying feature of the Nye Committee findings was an increased United States public sentiment for withdrawing from world affairs and returning to America’s characteristic isolationism. Despite a resurgence of isolationism and the limited results of the Nye Committee, however, little impact was made on American involvement in the international arms trade. In fact, in 1936 the United States ranked third in world arms sales, immediately behind France and Great Britain, a position it was to hold until the outbreak of World War Two.