The Congress of Vienna and the Roots of World War I
01/04/24 • 38 min
Between September 1814 and June 1815, against the backdrop of Napoleon’s exile to Elba and his brief return, the Congress of Vienna worked out a new way to balance the power of the Great Powers and avoid future conflict. This system was called the Concert of Europe. It was supposed to keep the peace, and indeed, on the eve of World War I, many people in Europe were celebrating a century of relative peace on the continent – a golden age of European power and civilization. There had been regional conflicts in Europe and colonial wars, but nothing on the scale of the Napoleonic Wars. And yet, what started as a small regional conflict in 1914 spiraled quickly into world war. WWI was a war with a long fuse. Was the Congress of Vienna and the system it set up a long-term root cause of the war? Was a system designed to keep the peace the instrument that disrupted the peace? To discuss these questions, the World War I Podcast sat down with Professor Greg Jackson, creator, host, and head writer of the US history podcast, History That Doesn't Suck and star of the live tour THE UNLIKELY UNION.
Tour Dates — History That Doesn't Suck (htdspodcast.com)
Follow us:
- Twitter: @MacArthur1880
- Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
- Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial
Between September 1814 and June 1815, against the backdrop of Napoleon’s exile to Elba and his brief return, the Congress of Vienna worked out a new way to balance the power of the Great Powers and avoid future conflict. This system was called the Concert of Europe. It was supposed to keep the peace, and indeed, on the eve of World War I, many people in Europe were celebrating a century of relative peace on the continent – a golden age of European power and civilization. There had been regional conflicts in Europe and colonial wars, but nothing on the scale of the Napoleonic Wars. And yet, what started as a small regional conflict in 1914 spiraled quickly into world war. WWI was a war with a long fuse. Was the Congress of Vienna and the system it set up a long-term root cause of the war? Was a system designed to keep the peace the instrument that disrupted the peace? To discuss these questions, the World War I Podcast sat down with Professor Greg Jackson, creator, host, and head writer of the US history podcast, History That Doesn't Suck and star of the live tour THE UNLIKELY UNION.
Tour Dates — History That Doesn't Suck (htdspodcast.com)
Follow us:
- Twitter: @MacArthur1880
- Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
- Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial
Previous Episode
Learning from the Circus: Transportation and Logistics in WWI
In 1914, as German forces quickly outmaneuvered Allied armies in the opening days of the war, there was some suspicion among the Allies that the circuses that had traveled around Europe in the years before the war – many of which were owned by German families or had German names – had helped prepare the German army by perfecting the art of rapid and efficient mobilization and transport. Even Americans – not yet involved in the war – suspected this to be the case and looked at circuses like the Ringling Brothers with suspicion. Was this true? Did armies prior to World War I study circus logistics? If so, how did they adapt this expertise? To help explore this topic, the World War I Podcast hosted Matthew Fraas, Education Specialist at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.
US Army Transportation Corps Museum Home Page
Follow us:
- Twitter: @MacArthur1880
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- Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial
Next Episode
The Lost Battalion - Part I
Part I
In early October 1918, several companies of the US 77th Division found themselves surrounded in the Argonne Forest during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Led by Major Charles Whittlesey, the Lost Battalion, as it came to be known, survived a hellish six days. It’s a story many are aware of – but like most such stories – it’s likely that the popular version we are familiar with doesn’t have the richness or nuance of what actually happened. To explore the story of the Lost Battalion, the World War I Podcast hosted Robert J. Laplander, author of Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legend of America’s WWI Epic.
Follow us:
- Twitter: @MacArthur1880
- Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
- Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial
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