For many centuries, everyone became accustomed to these relationships. And although the 19th century shook both the social order and the way of conducting warfare, retraining in a new manner proved difficult. Therefore, the First World War began as a classic feud of feudal rulers, deciding to measure ambitions under the guise of national interests of their states. There was not much for them to divide. The Germans and Austrians, who seemingly stirred things up for the sake of colonies, did not really need those colonies. And the opposing English were already beginning to think about how to get rid of their colonies, at least partially. The Russian emperor wanted to seize the Balkans, possibly adding a large piece of the old enemy – the Ottoman Empire. The people couldn’t care less about the Balkans, having been freed from serfdom for only 50 years, he had plenty of other problems. But the Orthodox ruler deemed it necessary to subjugate fellow believers of lesser status and, at the same time, settle scores for the disgrace of the Crimean85 and Russo-Japanese Wars86.
The French had no suzerain, but they had a strong desire to avenge the Franco-Prussian War and reclaim the disputed territories of Alsace and Lorraine, which had been ceded to Germany more than 40 years ago87, and therefore were unlikely to have vital importance for the country.
Rulers and elites who made the decision to start the war thought in strictly feudal terms: personal grievances, personal benefits, vengeance for failures, and the restoration of honor, as well as the expansion of territories to their personal domains. If their problems were addressed by princely retinues or at least armies of a hundred thousand, similar to Napoleon’s Grande Armée, perhaps it would have been manageable. But the technological progress of the 19th century allowed for millions to be conscripted, and new types of weapons to destroy these millions remotely, without the need for heavy blows and sharp objects. And people being destroyed remotely in fantastic numbers for unclear reasons felt more like citizens than subjects – thanks to the French and Americans, Queen Victoria88, and the general democratization and decentralization that became a trend in the pre-war decades.
It’s not surprising that after the end of the war, the German, Austrian, Ottoman, and Russian empires disappeared from the map. And the citizens of the states that formed in their place had no desire to shed blood again for interests that were unclear to them. If not for the grotesque conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, which affected every ordinary German, even the brilliant orator Hitler would have hardly succeeded in instilling in the Germans the desire to repeat the universal slaughter. In reality, the last farewell of the Middle Ages did the victors a disservice: the Germans, miserable and humiliated, were psychologically ready for a new war, while their victorious counterparts were not.
On the Harm of Sleep in Modern History
By mid-1916, things were not going well for the Entente89. In short, the Germans were fighting better, having seized a fair amount of land, and now that the fronts had stabilized, taking it back was quite difficult. It was especially disheartening for Russia, from which the Germans and Austrians had taken Poland and Western Ukraine, territories the emperor was not at all pleased to part with. Therefore, the Russian General Staff began preparing an offensive operation – the Lutsk Breakthrough – which was supposed to regain at least part of the lost territories in the south.
They prepared thoroughly – with the mobilization of all possible forces and resources. And according to all the rules: the main strike, diversionary strikes, primary direction, secondary… The emperor personally coordinated the numerous fronts and generals who were not getting along with each other: recently, he had dismissed a capable but unlucky commander-in-chief90 and took charge of the army himself.
At the very end, when all the plans were agreed upon, the soldiers were seated in the trenches, the officers were given instructions, and the guns were aimed where the reconnaissance indicated, an unpleasant issue arose on the very last evening before the offensive: the front commanders in the auxiliary directions decisively did not want to advance. Understandably so: if there’s a defeat, it will be blamed on them, and they might even be demoted, but the victory will be entirely credited to General Brusilov, who was assigned the main role in the upcoming operation. The commanders were experienced people, and they were not interested in exposing themselves to such risks. In general, they collectively decided to sabotage the offensive, leaving the smartest one to sort it out himself.
Rumors spread across the land, and Brusilov learned in advance about the big deception. He found out and telegraphed the Tsar to curb the ambitions of his commanders and restore everything as planned. The Tsar did not respond. So, the general picked up the phone, as the era already allowed, and called directly to the General Staff. To his superior, General Alekseyev. And Alekseyev, without hesitation, confidentially said something like: “Listen, Lesha, to be honest, the emperor also doesn’t really want to advance, and it’s kind of scary, what if we fail? Let’s postpone everything, discuss it once more, and consult.”.
Brusilov, whose guns were already loaded, was cursing out the superiors and demanding to be connected with the Tsar: if he doesn’t want to advance, then let him remove Brusilov from command. In general, he was furious and offended.
And it turns out that the sovereign emperor is already resting, meaning he went to sleep. And it’s not allowed to wake him. Without the sovereign, no one can remove Brusilov, cancel the offensive, or hold colleagues accountable.
Thus, the Russian army went on the attack all over the place. And the result was so-so.
Interestingly, twenty-eight years later, this story practically repeated itself word for word, only in another country and with different personalities. On June 6, 1944, upon learning that American marines were brazenly landing on Omaha Beach, Field Marshal von Rundstedt91 called Hitler, whom he couldn’t stand, to request tank reserves. The phone was answered by the chief of the general staff, now, of course, German, Alfred Jodl, who repeated General Alekseev’s words verbatim: the Führer had taken his pills and gone to bed and must not be woken under any circumstances, so deal with the Americans on your own. And when by morning Rommel came with the same request, it was already too late to deal with the Americans.
Both Nikolai and Hitler had very little time left to live after their sweet dreams: less than two years for one and less than a year for the other. So, if you are a great military leader and absolutely need to get some sleep, allow yourself to be woken up, at least on particularly significant occasions.
Time of High Speeds
The 19th century is the first one we are more or less able to understand. The first when people began to some extent to resemble us today. Everything that came before it were dark, strange, unclear years – years of slow communications, simple morals, hard labor, and constant fighting. The transition between these very different time periods is dated quite precisely. It is the American War of Independence and the Great French Revolution. Both of these events dramatically changed people’s consciousness: America showed