The years after 1918 did not, as popular myth would have it, bring about universal peace. In fact, the ‘war to end all wars’ accomplished little of the sort.
In the aftermath of the First World War, the belligerents endured years of ongoing military campaigns, domestic political upheaval, cultural transformation and territorial disputes. It was a period of revolution and of persistent challenges.
Organised in partnership between the National Army Museum, the British Commission for Military History and The Western Front Association, this two-day virtual conference will explore the aftermath of the First World War.
For more information and details of how to register go to Illusions of Peace | National Army Museum (nam.ac.uk) and follow the links.
Day 1 - Saturday 23 January
The Aftermath in Europe - this session starts at 11.30am
Discover The Impact That The First World War Had On Europe.
In This Session - which will last for approximately two hours - the following papers will be presented:
Professor William Philpot - ‘Grandeur and Misery of Victory’: France's Quest for Security in a New World Order
Dr Matthias Strohn – ‘I believe and confess that a people can value nothing more highly than the dignity and liberty of its existence’: The Aftermath of the First World War in Germany
Dr Vanda Wilcox - From Caporetto to Fiume: Legacies of Defeat and Victory in Italy after the First World War
Adam Zamoyski – All Hell on the Eastern Front
The Aftermath Beyond Europe - this session starts at 2.30pm
Outside Europe: The repercussions of the First World War continued to be felt beyond the armistice.
In this session - which will last approximately 1.5 hours - the following papers will be presented:
Alan Wakefield – ‘An Education in Itself’: The British Military Mission to South Russian, 1918-20Dr Dan Whittingham - Illusions of Peace: The Ongoing War and Failure to Achieve 'Peace with Turkey', 1918-23
Professor Ali Ansari – Persia and the Persian Question: The End of the Great War in Iran
Day 2 - Sunday 24 January
The British Army following the First World War - this session starts at 12 noon.
After fighting a large war on multiple fronts, the British Army were faced with many challenges in the wake of the First World War.
In this session - which will last approximately 1.5 hours - the following papers will be presented:
Dr Mario Draper – The Connaught Rangers Mutiny, India, 1920
Dr William Butler – ‘The British Soldier Is No Bolshevik’: The British Army and the Demobilisation Strikes in 1919
Professor Alison Fell – ‘That Glorious Comradeship’: Female Veterans in 1920s Britain
Keynote with Prof Sir Hew Strachan, Co-Patron of The Western Front Association. This starts at 2pm
Eminent historian Professor Sir Hew Strachan closes a weekend of talks with a Keynote. This session will last one hour and there will be time for audience questions.