HIS 280 - History of the World Wars

1. Describe the important developments of the late nineteenth century.
2. State the reasons for the outbreak of the Great War.
3. Examine the characteristics and battles of the two fronts.
4. Analyze the culture of the inter-war years.
5. Examine the facts of World War Two.
6. Describe the development of the post war world.

1. Prelude to War
   1. Nationalism in practice and theory
      1. Creation of the Italian Nation
      2. Creation of the German Nation
      3. Nationalist political theorists
   2. European Imperialist Expansion
      1. Social Darwinism
      2. Industrialization
   3. Establishment of the European Alliance System
   4. Political tensions in the Balkans
2. Outbreak of the Great War
   1. National preparedness and command for war
   2. Politics of war declarations
   3. Mobilization and new warfare technology
   4. Failure of the Schlieffen Plan
3. War of Two Fronts
   1. Characteristics and battles of the Eastern Front
   2. Characteristics and battles of the Western Front
   3. National expectations and realities of the war
      1. Military leadership and strategy
      2. Casualty rates and medical treatment
      3. Home front and political leadership
   4. Role of women in war and at home
   5. Russian revolution
   6. End of the war
      1. Factors leading to German defeat
      2. Treaty of Versailles
      3. League of Nations
4. Inter-War Years
   1. Post war culture
      1. Literature and art
      2. Women’s suffrage
      3. Political change in European governments
   2. Rise of Fascism and Totalitarianism
   3. Economic Depression
   4. Rearmament
   5. New political alliances
      1. Pact of Steel
      2. Non-Aggression Pact
5. World War Two
   1. Policy of Appeasement
      1. Sudetenland
      2. Anschluss
   2. Wehrmacht and Blitzkrieg
   3. Japan and the Pacific Theatre
      1. Japanese imperialism
      2. Attack on Pearl Harbor
   4. Operation Barbarossa
   5. Military strategies, technological developments, and atomic weaponry
   6. Home Front and civilian populations
      1. Changing gender roles
      2. Political and social efforts of desegregation
   7. European Theatre
      1. Operation Torch
      2. D-Day invasion
      3. Battle of the Bulge
      4. VE Day
   8. Pacific Theatre
      1. Battle of Midway
      2. Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa
      3. Hiroshima and Nagasaki
      4. VJ Day
6. Post War World
   1. Nuremberg Trials
   2. Marshall Plan
   3. Establishment of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact
   4. Cold War