HL/SL: World history topic 11: Causes and effects of 20th century wars
This topic focuses on the causes, practice and effects of war in the 20th century. The topic explores the causes of wars, as well as the way in which warfare was conducted, including types of war, the use of technology, and the impact these factors had upon the outcome. Examination questions for this topic will require students to make reference to specific 20th-century wars in their responses, and some examination questions will require discussion of wars from more than one region of the world. Please note that the suggested examples for this topic include “cross-regional” wars such as the First and Second World Wars. In examination questions that ask students to discuss examples of wars from different regions, students may use these wars in a regional context (for example, the Second World War in the Pacific) but may not then use the same war in a different region (for example, the Second World War in Europe) in the same response.
We will be studying the following wars: Word War 1 Spanish Civil War Chinese Civil War World War 2
We will be looking at these wars in the following context: Causes of War: - Economic, ideological, political, territorial and other causes - Short- and long-term causes Practices of war and their impact on the outcome: - Types of war: civil wars; wars between states; guerrilla wars - Technological developments; theatres of war—air, land and sea - The extent of the mobilization of human and economic resources - The influence and/or involvement of foreign powers Effects of war - The successes and failures of peacemaking - Territorial changes - Political repercussions - Economic, social and demographic impact; changes in the role and status of women
Different types of war
In your IB History Guide, you will notice that there are several types of warfare that should be studied:
Civil War
War between states
Guerrilla
The Guide provides no definition for these terms, which can be more complicated than they first appear. It is important that you define these terms when writing essays. Through your studies, you will discover limited and total forms of warfare. Although these are not specifically mentioned in the Guide, it is important to understand the concepts of limited and total warfare.
Civil War
Civil wars are generally defined as conflicts that occur within a state. These conflicts may however develop into other forms of warfare, such as limited, if they spread beyond a country's borders. While these conflicts are usually between two groups, many groups may actually be involved. In this book civil wars in Spain, China and Nicaragua are covered. These conflicts were primarily between two groups within each of these countries. In addition, this book covers civil wars which occurred during or as a result of the First and Second World Wars.
Wars between states
Wars between states are simply wars between two or more countries. The First and Second World Wars are clear examples of this. Wars between states may also include other types of war, such as civil when there is fighting within a state. Armies from any state may also utilize guerrilla war against an opposing state.
Guerrilla War
Guerrilla warfare is a way of conducting war, usually by a small group on a larger organization. Guerrilla tactics usually involve, but are not limited to:
Assassinations of opponents and their supporters
Attacks on specific place or group for a limited period of time before retreating to safety.
Sabotage of infrastructure, equipment or production.
Guerrilla warfare has been used very effectively throughout the twentieth century, including in both world wars, as you will see throughout the wars covered in this book. This type of hit-and-run warfare is used when a smaller group with limited supplies wishes to attack a larger, better supplied, enemy. Without strategic retreat, part of guerrilla attics, the smaller force would be surround and destroyed. Guerrilla warfare is a cheaper form of warfare as it requires only a few people with smaller types of weapons such as pistol, grenades and rifles, which are easier to smuggle, transport and train fighters to use. Operating in small groups makes it possible to approach targets more stealthily as well as helping in retreat hiding. Effective use of guerrilla warfare against a larger enemy can mean tying down larger numbers of conventional troops, which can be expensive and provide further targets for guerrillas. Guerrilla warfare has allowed smaller groups to affect international and national politics. Guerrilla warfare may develop into conventional warfare if guerrillas gain enough support in terms of people and equipment to form regular, organized armies.