Comparison of World War i and World War II

World War I vs World War II

World War I and World War II were very similar in many ways. Both began because of the clash of political ideologies. For example, there were imperialistic, nationalistic, and militaristic countries both involved in the wars. As they were similar, they also differ in a number of ways; none of the countries fighting in World War I had a dictator whereas World War II had multiple dictators from the same few countries. World War I and II also had differences in technology and overall fighting style.

The world wars began because of the clashing of political ideologies. Some may say that the two started because of completely different reasons, but the wars had started long before the events that supposedly started them. Imperialism was one of the political ideologies that caused the wars. Britain was the most known country to practice imperialism in both world wars. Britain was occupying small countries and placing part of their military in them before World War I and World War II, which caused higher tensions between the surrounding countries. During World War I, Serbia had many citizens who were nationalist which caused the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. In World War II Germany had a leader who was a nationalist which led to most of the country to feel the same way, causing a large military buildup which caused tensions to rise during that time period. Militarism played one of the biggest roles in both wars. Britain and Germany in World War I were competing for the largest military in Europe, which caused conflict in these two countries. In World War II Germany began growing and improving their military rapidly; consequently, Germany used it to take over Poland which caused the allied forces to declare war on Germany and their allies.

World War I and World War II had very different technology and fighting styles. During World War I the countries relied mainly on battleships and artillery guns to do their heavy damage to the opposing forces. However, in World War II battleships and artillery guns became almost obsolete due to the advancements countries had in aircraft. The wars differed in fighting styles because of these advancements. In World War I, every country used the idea of trench warfare, and that caused them to rely on the battleships and artillery guns to win battles. In World War II, the countries did not use trench warfare due to the advancements in aircraft. The aircraft helped weaken the opposing forces so ground troops can keep moving. Aircraft could also get to places where battleships and artillery guns could not reach which helped during operations behind enemy lines. The German army used a type of fighting style in World War II, which did not appear in the past wars. The fighting style known as blitzkrieg, or lightning war, struck fear in the allied forces. This style was very efficient for the German army. World War II also brought in multiple dictators. Dictators did not play a role in World War I as they did in World War II. The countries with dictatorships included: Germany, Russia, and Italy. Germany and Russia ruled by emperors while Italy ruled by a king. What led Germany to dictatorship was their chancellor, Adolf Hitler. Russia became a dictatorship after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Italy became a dictatorship after the results of World War I and the treaty of Versailles.

Although the two world wars were fought in different ways, they still began because of the clashing of political ideologies. Imperialism, nationalism, and militarism all played huge roles in both wars by causing the major events that are known to start them. World War I and World War II may seem remarkably different, but they are actually more alike than someone might think.

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