"Dreadnought: Coming of the Great War"

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes Massie's book which describes the maritime power used in the First World War. In the book, Massie focuses on one ship in particular, the Dreadnought and its maritime influence on World War I. In addition, the paper discusses many causes of the WWI, the political impact, the arms race and the effect on Europe's population.

From the Paper:

"Pressure was building for many years in the late 19th century. Strong feelings of nationalism fed the fires of hatred in pre-war Europe. It turned Frenchman against German and Russian against Austrian. Nationalistic speeches and writings (especially in countries like Germany) hastened the war by painting it as the best test for proof of national superiority. These general causes created an atmosphere in Europe which made war almost inevitable. The "Great War" was not caused by megalomaniacs hungry for power as in the case of Mussolini and Hitler during World War II. The origins are more complex. Some say the war was fueled by the naval race between Britain and Germany. Naval warfare had been revolutionized in 1906 when Britain launched the world's first all big-gun battleship: H.M.S. Dreadnought. Before this, battleships had been armed with an array of guns of varying caliber in main, secondary and tertiary batteries. The Dreadnought carried 8 15-inch guns, each capable of firing a 1,920-pound projectile 35,000 yards. Robert K. Massie wrote on the Dreadnought and the maritime influence on World War I. His book suitably titled: Dreadnought Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War, focuses on these huge ships which changed naval fleets forever. With these new super-power floating war machines, war became inevitable."

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