Why 1914? by Derek Robinson

Why 1914? by Derek Robinson

In a previous article, I explained the importance of knowing about World War I, the fracture of Europe, the downfall of empires, the appalling loss of life on all sides, the resultant echoes that still resound today.  But there are also important lessons.  Going to war is complex and I suspect the backstory the author illuminates, in varying forms, applies to most wars.   

In his marvelous book, Why 1914?, subtitled The Causes of the Great War, Robinson goes into the ins and outs of how and why the war occurred. If that sounds dry, then you haven’t read any of his other books.  The man is a genius storyteller and he takes little at face value. This book may be history, but it’s not bogged in the drudgery and clichés of your high school or college history class.  This is story telling at it’s best. And what a story!  This book is not just for history buffs, it’s entertainment for everyone with an inquiring mind!

Let me give a quick, if slightly inaccurate analogy of the almost inexplicable complications.  Let’s say you’re desperate for food and head to an Italian restaurant.  But, wait a minute, the menu is in German!  You do your best in ordering, but when the dishes come out, they’re Mexican.  The wine you ordered is some strange brand of cola.  The first waiter spoke English, but now he’s gone and your new waiter speaks only French.

But, you know what?  If you’re starving, truly starving, you don’t care!  You just want to eat!  And Derek Robinson’s premise is, the countries in Europe, for a number of reasons, were starving for war.

“But, wait a minute”, you’re saying, “I know from my history class that an Austrian prince was assassinated by Serbs and when Austria went to war, all the alliances just naturally followed, and nobody could stop it.

Ever ask yourself the questions:  Why could nobody stop it?  Why were they so ready for war?  War is not an instant decision.  It takes preparation.

Here are some things to consider:  All the crowned heads of Europe were cousins.  The King of England’s grandmother, Queen Victoria, was German. A daughter of Queen Victoria was married to the Russian Tsar; Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany was another cousin, and so on.   They all knew each other and liked each other and visited each other.

As for the pre-war alliances, they changed so often it was difficult to keep track, and the strength of the alliances varied like a sine curve.

What makes Why 1914? so effortless to read is it’s an unlikely story of going to war and so fascinatingly told, going behind the headlines of the times to tell the background of an impossibly convoluted tale that eclipses any film by the Marx brothers.  It’s more like a badly made Grade B movie, poorly acted, with a tangled, and unbelievable plot.

Derek Robinson reveals so many details that will make you shake your head and at times laugh out loud.  Laugh at such a serious subject.  No, it’s not the subject, but the incredibly incompetent characters themselves.

NEVER have I read a more complex tale, so well told!  The pages turn like you’re reading a novel.  A Great Novel.

Want a copy?  Here’s how: delrobster@gmail.com, or www.derekrobinson.info.  He is also on FaceBook.

The National Naval Aviation Museum

Yes, sir, this is one hell of a wondrous place tucked away on Naval Air Station Pensacola. If you breeze through this part of the Gulf Coast, don’t you dare let the pestering wife and screaming kids make you miss one of the great military museums in the world. Before you come in, have a short talk with the fam and mention a whole section dedicated to the important role women have always played in aviation.  For the kids, promise them sights, hands-on exhibits and rides that take them into the wild blue with the Blue Angels.

Do you find yourself saying: “Yeah, sure, another stack of dusty old stuff sitting around for me to stare at.  All the same to you if we just go have a beer?”

No, you dull minded nitwit, it’s not all the same to me.  There are more tentacles of history running through this museum than you’ve ever imagined.  Important history and not just history, but heroic, breathtaking stories that you’ve never heard. History streaked with the blood and gritty determination of men and women who took us from wood and cloth covered airplanes, dangerous and freakishly chancy, to air travel that’s as necessary to the 21^st Century as trains were to the 19^th.

“Wait a sec,” you’re saying, “I thought you said this was Naval Aviation!”  See, you just lack the knowledge, and it’s another reason you need to visit a few museums.  When the dream of manned flight escaped from Orville and Wilbur’s bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio and took it’s first gasping breath on the sandy hills four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, a new world was born.  Maybe it was a new wing (pun intended) of the library.  One giant lift-off for mankind. Pick your own metaphor.

Orville Wright

Wilbur Wright

The reality is it’s only since the middle of the 20^th Century that aviation really untangled itself and spawned Army Aviation, Naval Aviation, Air Force Aviation, Commercial Aviation, and General Aviation.  In the beginning, there was only aviation, period.  Yes, yes, I know a stickler will claim the aviation branches came along much earlier.  Ok, you’re right, but Jimmy Doolittle’s 1942 attack on the Japanese mainland was Army B-25 bombers lifting off from a Navy carrier. And who provided the Intelligence?  A naval officer.

B-25 Mitchell 

 No, I’m not going to lead you through all the trials and successes, failures and growth.  And yes, of course the National Naval Aviation Museum focuses on the Naval part, but this museum has so much more to offer, and is superbly organized into World War I, between the wars, World War II, and modern aircraft.  Along the way, you’ll meet the Curtiss Jenny, an aircraft that trained so many pilots following the First World War, including Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and military pilots from all services.  The Jenny in the museum is a cutaway and affords you a firsthand look at the delicate design that just barely kept pilots away from violent death. 

Amelia Earhart

You’ll see flimsy craft like the British WWI airplane the Sopwith Camel. Know how long the average British fighter pilot lasted on the Western Front in World War I?  Three weeks.  How much flying time did the lads get before going to France?  8-12 hours.

Even in World War II, we lost over 14,000 aircraft in training accidents.  Aviation has always required courageous people.

See the bullet hole patches?

How about the Douglas Dauntless, the primary Naval dive bomber of World War II?  You’ll learn all about it and especially the unlikely story of the Dauntless on display. Retired Naval pilots weave through the museum to explain and entertain and thrill and make even the seasoned aviator stay glued to the tales of desperate heroism and miraculous survival.

It’s not just U.S. Naval aircraft on display, also a slew of aircraft flown by the opposition:  the German Fokker D-VII from WWI, Japanese Zero and German Me-262, and Soviet MIGs.

Fokker D VII

Me 262, one of the first jet fighters

Korean War MIG 15

I could write forever, but instead check out a few photos to whet your appetite.   This museum won’t just entertain, but quickly turn you into a budding aviation historian.  Your kids will suddenly want to be aviators and you’ll hear your wife whisper, “Honey, is it ok if we spend the night and come back again tomorrow?”

“Yes, dear, if you insist.”  I applaud your unselfish spirit and budding interest in aviation.  High five!  I take back the part about you being a dull minded nitwit. Now let’s go grab that beer.

http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/

P-40 Warhawk in the colors of the American Volunteer Group in China

Ball turret from a PBY4, the Navy version of the B-24 Liberator