History+of+Slovakia

A history paper about the Czech Republic and its involvement with Slovakia (dissolution of Czechoslovakia)





War has been a common and constant occurrence throughout the history of mankind. The majority of wars were fought by man to man combat and accumulated high death rates. Wars such as the Civil War, World War I, and World War II are examples of just such an occurrence. Not until the Cold War (1947-1991) did these characteristics of warfare begin to change. The Cold War was a new era of warfare that involved very few casualties. Instead, it involved rapid advancement of war technology especially in weapons, as well as espionage. The Cold War also adopted a new military strategy, which had never been used before. Instead of previous "hot wars" which relied on manpower, the Cold War relied on fear and intimidation. The U.S. and Soviet Union hold the power that they have in the world today based on this strategy. Many wars have occurred throughout history. Some of the most prominent wars include the Civil War, WWI, and WWII. The Civil War was a war in the United States of America that lasted from 1861-1865. Brother fought brother as the Union (northern states) fought the Confederacy (southern states). The southern states were slave-owning states that declared their secession from the U.S. The secession resulted from the election of a Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, whom campaigned against the expansion of slavery.[1] The northern states considered the secession to be an act of treason, yet the southern states didn't want to give up their rights to owning slaves, as it greatly influenced their livelihood. Another notable war was WWI, which lasted from 1914-1918. It was a war between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire) and the Allied Powers (U.S., France, Britain, Russia). Many believe that the war was triggered by the assassination of the Austrian heir, Franz Ferdinand.[2] This led to the formation of alliances between countries throughout the world. Conflict arose and the allied countries invaded opposing countries, resulting in a full-fledged war. Once again WWII was a global military conflict. The war lasted from 1939-1945 and was fought between the Axis Powers (Germany, Japan, Italy) and the Allies (U.S., Soviet Union, United Kingdom). WWII is generally considered to have started with Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland and the declaration of war on Germany by France[3]. All of these wars are very distinguished and are acknowledged throughout the world. Historically, wars have produced great suffering. The Civil War, WWI, and WWII were costly in terms of resources and human life and produced many hardships in the affected nations involved. The total estimated casualties of the Civil War reach more than 620,000. Of the 2,500,000 men in the Union army, approximately 360,222 died[4]. Of the roughly estimated 1,000,000 confederate soldiers, approximately 258,000 died from disease and battle[5]. The casualties of WWI involve both the deaths of soldiers as well as civilians. There were approximately 37 million casualties: 16 million deaths and 21 million wounded. The Allied Powers lost approximately 5.7 million soldiers and the Central Powers about 4 million.[6] WWII had enormous death casualties as well. The estimated number of casualties approach 60 million. The number of deaths increases progressively throughout the years of warfare. As years and decades passed, the technology in warfare progressively became more and more destructive. The increased number of casualties from the Civil War to WWI to WWII is a direct result of this advancement in technology. Some of the weaponry used during the Civil War consists of muskets, canons, handguns, swords, and rifles[7]. Common transportation was by horse or by foot and the battles were fought by man-to-man combat. Technology became more advanced during WWI. Chemical gasses were introduced, as well as machine guns, flamethrowers, tanks, and airplanes[8]. The battles were still man-to-man combat but now they were more of an indirect fighting method and were based more upon trench warfare. A couple decades between WWI and WWII had already improved weapons. WWII had more advanced rifles, anti-tank weapons, grenades, and the atomic bomb[9]. As the years progressed, fighting became more and more deadly. There were massive amounts of destruction and higher casualty numbers as a result of this improved yet dangerous technology. Wars prior to the Cold War involve high death rates and were often fought by man-to-man combat. However, the Cold War was unlike any war before it. The beginning of the Cold War began in 1947 and lasted until 1991. It began when tensions developed between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, resulting in a nuclear arms race, Space Race, or economic and technological competition, and the use of espionage or international spying[10] The Space Race originated from the missile-based arms race and overtime became a race to see which nation could send the first man in the world into outer space[11]. The event known as the "Red Scare," was the main cause for American fear of nuclear attack from the Soviet Union[12]. The Red Scare commonly referred to anything associated with communism to the Soviet Union and often referred to them as being "Red". The Cold War resulted in very few casualties and was based more upon threats and political tension between countries than actual fighting and man-to-man combat. The Cold War represented a new form of warfare. Unlike all wars of the past, the Cold War had very few casualties and was based more upon threats than actual battle or confrontation. The Cold War was on a whole new level of weaponry, which could end with complete desolation of the whole world. With the help of the atomic and the hydrogen bomb, ultimate destruction was guaranteed if a nuclear war were to occur. As a result to this dilemma, a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy was created. Mutually Assured Destruction or MAD was based on the theory of deterrence, or a nuclear weapons system regarded as deterring an enemy from attack. The point of creating nuclear weapons was not to actively use them in warfare but to threaten the enemy (Soviet Union) in order to prevent the use of the very same weapons[13]. Unlike the Civil War, WWI, WWII, and most other wars throughout history, the Cold War involved very few battles, or actual man-to-man combat while fighting. The Cold War however could have had a much worse outcome. The number of deaths that could have resulted from a nuclear war could easily have surpassed the casualties of all three wars combined. The Cold War also used stealth in the form of spying, as a weapon to gain knowledge about their opponent's advancement during the nuclear arms race. This was also know as espionage. The knowledge of espionage created hysteria in the U.S. out of fear of penetration or corruption of government. The people feared that people from the U.S.S.R. were spying in American government and were slowly tying to convert the system to communism. Many influential people in government as well as other factors created most of this fear during the years of the Red Scare. Although the Cold War could have had many more serious outcomes if a nuclear war had developed, overall the war was based more upon threat, tension between the Soviet Union and the U.S., and a race for advancement in technology. The Cold War was a new era of warfare. Up until the Cold War, wars were classified as "Hot wars" or wars that involved combat, man-to-man fighting, and usually resulted in many casualties. Dating back to earlier wars such as the Civil War and progressively forwards, the number of casualties increased along with the advancement in technology and weapon improvement. The Cold war reached its peak in weapon development by creating the atomic and hydrogen bombs. The weapons system was so advanced that if the Cold War became a hot war, the ending result would be horrific and possibly cause Earth's destruction. Thus new standards of military tactic must be created to avoid this catastrophe. In response to the Soviet Union's production of nuclear weapons, the U.S. began their own program in order to compete, threaten, and hold more power over the Soviet Union. The few casualties of the Cold War and the theory of Mutually Assured Destruction made the Cold War a new era of warfare. To this day, the U.S. uses the strategy of fear and intimidation to hold power and domination over the countries of the world today.

[1] " Overview." //Civil War//. Web. 07 May 2010. .

[2] "Background to War." //History Learning Site//. Web. 07 May 2010. .

[3] "World War II — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts." //The History Channel — Home Page//. Web. 07 May 2010. .

[4] Davis, Burke. "Casualties In The Civil War." //The American Civil War Home Page//. 01 Nov. 2004. Web. 07 May 2010. .

[5] Davis, Burke. "Casualties In The Civil War." //The American Civil War Home Page//. 01 Nov. 2004. Web. 07 May 2010. .

[6] "The Great War . Resources . WWI Casualties and Deaths." //PBS//. 01 Nov. 2004. Web. 07 May 2010. .

[7] // Civil War Weapons //. 01 Nov. 2004. Web. 07 May 2010. .

[8] "World War One - Weapons." //History on the Net Main Page//. 01 Nov. 2004. Web. 07 May 2010. .

[9] "WWII Weapons." //Newberry County School District//. 01 Nov. 2004. Web. 07 May 2010. .

[10] Wright, David. //America in the 20th Century.// New York [u.a.]: Marshall Cavendish, 1995. Print.

[11] "Space Race." Web. 07 May 2010. .

[12] Origins of the Cold War." //History in Dispute, Vol. 1: The Cold War: First Series.// Benjamin Frankel, ed. St. James Press, 2000. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. [|http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/]

[13] Parrington, Alan J. "Mutually Assured Destruction Revisited." //Airpower Journal//. 1997. Web. 06 May 2011. .