The Watchtower still clings to 1914 as the date of Christ's Return. Ray Franz has reported how even N H Knorr was unsure of the 1914 date and that other members of the Governing Body had their doubts. Conveniently, World War I began in 1914. That single fact has kept the 1914 date alive.
It now appears that the era of World Wars didn't begin in 1914 and that World War I is a misnomer. Some historians now refer to the Russo-Japanese War as World War Zero. Here is a list of the Wars during the World War Era
World War era
1904 - 1905 Russo-Japanese War
1905 Revolution of 1905 in Russia
1911 - 1912 Turco-Italian War fought over Libya
1912 - 1913 Two Balkan Wars are fought for control of the European territories of the Ottoman Empire
1914 - 1918 World War I (at the time usually "the Great War"), initially in Europe, then worldwide
1916 Easter Rising rebellion in Ireland
1917 - 1918 Russian Revolution
1917 - 1920 Estonian Liberation War
1918 Finnish Civil War, fought between "the reds" (rebellious Socialists) and "the whites" (anti-Socialists) in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Germany intervened on the side of the Whites.
1918 - 1922 Russian Civil War, fought between "the reds" (Communists) and "the whites" (tsarists) directly after the Bolshevist Revolution. US, France and Britain also intervened to "kill communism in the crib."
1918 Viena expedition
1918 - 1919 Poland and Lwow against Westukrainian Republic
1918 - 1919 Great Poland Uprising, Greater Poland against Germany
1919 - Czechoslovak-Polish war in Cieszyn Silesia
1919 Third Anglo-Afghan War
1919 First Silesian Uprising
1919 Aunus expedition
1919 - 1921 Polish-Soviet war Poland and Ukrainian People's Republic against Soviets
1919 - 1921 Anglo-Irish War (aka the Irish War of Independence)
1919 - 1922 "Turkish War of Independence"
1920 - 1922 Second Greco-Turkish War (aka War in Asia Minor)
1920 Second Silesian Uprising Silesian Poles against Germany
1921 Third Silesian Uprising Silesian Poles against Germany
1922 - 1923 Irish Civil War
1926 - 1928 Northern Expedition in China
1927 - 1937 Agrarian Revolution in China
1932 - 1935 Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay
1934 - 1936 Northern Expedition by Kuomintang
1935 - 1936 Second Italo-Abyssinian War
1936 - 1939 Spanish Civil War
1937 - 1945 Second Sino-Japanese War
1939 - 1945 World War II
1939 - 1940 Winter War; Part of WW II, Finland against Soviet Union
1941 - 1944 Continuation War; Part of WW II, Finland against Soviet Union
1944 - 1945 Lapland War; Part of WW II, Finland against Germany
1941 - 1942 Border war between Ecuador and Peru
There is a new book out THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE - WORLD WAR ZERO" edited by John W. Steinberg.
Here is an article about it:
Russo-Japanese War as World War Zero
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05).
Keio University's Institute of East Asian Studies hosted the International Academic Conference in Commemoration of the Centennial of the Russo-Japanese War last month at its Mita Campus in Tokyo, supported by The Yomiuri Shimbun.
The Yomiuri Shimbun spoke with four historians who took part in the conference about the significance of the war in the contemporary context and will carry excerpts from the interviews beginning today.
The first installment is an interview with John Steinberg, associate professor at Georgia Southern University. Steinberg, born in Missouri, specializes in Russian military history and has a doctorate from Ohio State University.
Following are excerpts from his remarks in the interview:
We [Steinberg and his coeditors] first decided to call this war "World War Zero" several years ago. Our book "The Russo-Japanese War in Global Perspective: World War Zero" was just published, and we present this idea.
The reason why [we decided to call it World War Zero] is because the 20th century was a century of total war [and] global conflicts. The Russo-Japanese War was the first war in the cycle of violence.
The Russo-Japanese War was a global conflict because you had, for the first time, the great European powers involved in what they called their Great Game of imperialism with an Asiatic power like Japan. The type of conflict they had become involved in is very similar to the war that the Europeans would fight a decade later.
There's basically three aspects of the Russo-Japanese War: There is a naval war and there is war of maneuver. The third aspect is a siege warfare that occurs at Port Arthur.
Now, all three of these aspects represent what nation-states are capable of doing when it comes to war.
Japan and Russia were mobilizing, beginning with men, and then going to the weapons and munitions, on a level unprecedented until World War I. In this way we consider it a precursor to World War I.
Now, what do I mean by siege warfare? This is very sad chapter in history because the only way that generals knew to reduce a fortress was to send masses of men against the fortress.
Japanese soldiers died under Gen. Maresuke Nogi's command trying to reduce Port Arthur.
There are similarities in World War I with the Battle of Verdun, which began in February 1916, and the Germans and the French fought until December.
By the Battle of Mukden, which occurred in February-March 1905, another aspect of World War Zero creeps into this war. That is the war of attrition.
This idea of war of attrition is that you continue to fight as long as you have men and bullets. This is an aspect of 20th century global industrial warfare.
All of the things that you need to fight this war have to be paid for. Where did the money come from to fight the war? This gave it another global aspect. The Russians were borrowing money from the French to fight the war, and the Germans to a certain extent.
The Japanese wanted to borrow the money from Great Britain. But the British were kind of nervous about loaning money to the Japanese, despite the treaty between Japan and Great Britain.
And so the Japanese were fortunate to find a banker in New York who was interested in loaning money to the Japanese--in part because he didn't like the Russians.
The Russo-Japanese War, if you find it in a textbook, is usually linked with the Spanish-American War and the Boer War [in South Africa] as colonial conflicts.
We are trying to separate the Russo-Japanese War from the Spanish-American War and the Boer War because it is something that was greater than a colonial conflict.
There is certainly no question in the minds of the Europeans that they cannot apply this old imperial formula. The imperial formula is to go forward into the world and gain control over economic resources and to use those resources to make the European country wealthy.
They justify this by talking about such things as the "white man's burden." This means to go out into the world and teach a higher level of civilization to all people of color.
After the Russo-Japanese War, the Europeans had to say, 'Well, maybe the Japanese don't fit into this scenario and maybe the Japanese will be some force in the world that other Asians will look to.'
[In] the Russo-Japanese War, World War Zero, there's two major political trends that were bearing fruit.
One is imperialism, and with imperialism, the fruit is ripe--some would even say rotting. The other is Asian nationalism. Nations believing that Asia belongs to Asians, and that it is important that Asia [nations] can govern themselves and manage their own resources, which is another way of saying manage their own wealth without European interference or influence. This is the message that was sent across Asia.
Now the question becomes how the Japanese are going to manage this situation--are the Japanese going to become imperialists just like the Europeans or are they going to develop an Asian union like the European Union today?
I think it took Japan at least until the 1930s to sort out what they wanted to do. And tragically, at that time, the Japanese government decided that they were going to act as imperialists.
Copyright 2005 The Yomiuri Shimbun
So 1914 did not start the Era of World Wars. Was the Devil hurled down in an angry state in the year 1904? Of course all the Watchtower speculation about "unseen" causes behind the world situation is really an effort to deal with their disappointment when Jesus failed to appear in the heavens in a way that "every eye could see him".
World War Zero Started in 1904
by proplog2 6 Replies latest jw friends
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proplog2
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proplog2
This post probably isn't going to get much attention. However it should be significant to those who are looking for arguments against the 1914 date.
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IP_SEC
proplog2
I've often wondered if WWI had not started if the WTS would be around to day. Seemed like their best piece of luck ever.
This additional info is very interesting. I will look at it closer when I have time.
Thank you.
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hubert
Well, looks to me like Armagheddon is just around the corner.
I feel silly tonight. (hic). scushe me
Hubert
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greendawn
In fact they weren't forecasting the beginning of the end of times at that date but the very end of this world, that is Armageddon. When it failed to happen Russell and his followers were ridiculed by everyone and exposed as false prophets. The WTS deceiptfully claims that they had forecast the beginning of the end of times as starting in 1914.
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Leolaia
Actually, the Spanish-American War was a global event as well, involving conflict in both the Pacific and Atlantic, and affecting many lands (e.g. Cuba, other Caribbean islands, Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines) and resulting in the defeat of an empire and was likely THE critical event that led to the USA's dominance in the 20th century. And before that, the Civil War was even fought in a Pacific war, with Confederate ships sinking most of the American whaling fleet.
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frankiespeakin
And before that, the Civil War was even fought in a Pacific war, with Confederate ships sinking most of the American whaling fleet.
When I first read this I though Yeah!!!! Save the whales!!!! After all they must be just as important as humans if you have your blinders off that is.
Sorry for going off topic but I just couldn't resist.