A Family Affair

King George V of England

Kaiser Wilhelm II of GermanyCzar Nicholas II

of Russia

Building the fire pit – Europe Close quarters and tension in EuropeImagine a United States, where each state is an individual country. How long would it take United Colorado to invade United New Mexico?How long would it take Germany to invade France and Russia to invade Germany and Britain to invade Europe?

The Logs Nationalism-The belief that national interests and national unity should be placed ahead of global cooperation and that a nation’s foreign affairs should be guided by its own self-interest. *Often, it was expressed as competitiveness with, and even antagonism toward, other nations. Militarism- The policy of building up armed forces in aggressive preparedness for war. Imperialism- The policy of extending a nation’s authority over other countries by economic, political, or military means.Alliances- A close association of nations or other groups formed to advance common interests.

Alliances of World War I Austria Hungry-Germany(and her colonies)-ItalyRussia-France( and her colonies)-Britain(and her colonies/dominions: Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and South Africa)-Japan

Gasoline – Secret Alliance between Serbia andRussia!!!!

The MatchThe assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie on June 28,

1914 in Sarajevo.

One Thing Led to Anotherfollowing remarkable sequence of events that led to the 'Great War‘

July 28th: Austria-Hungary, unsatisfied with Serbia's response to her ultimatum (which in the event was almost entirely appeasing: however her jibbing over a couple of minor clauses gave Austria-Hungary her sought-after cue) declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914. Russia, bound by treaty to Serbia, announced mobilization of its vast army in her defense, a slow process that would take around six weeks to complete. August 1st: Germany, allied to Austria-Hungary by treaty, viewed the Russian mobilization as an act of war against Austria-Hungary, and after scant warning declared war on Russia. 

June 28, 1914: Ferdinand is assassinated in Bosnia-Herzegovina by a Serbian nationalist secret society called the Black Hands. Austria-Hungry debates for 3 weeks how to react finally implicates Serbia with the Archdukes assassination, and opted to take the opportunity to stamp its authority upon the Serbians and cement their influence and power in the Balkans.

• August 3rd: France, bound by treaty to Russia, found itself at war against Germany and, by extension, on Austria-Hungary following a German declaration on 3 August.  Germany was swift in invading neutral Belgium so as to reach Paris by the shortest possible route. 

• August 4th: Britain, allied to France by a more loosely worded treaty which placed a "moral obligation" upon her to defend France, declared war against Germany on 4 August.  Her reason for entering the conflict lay in another direction: she was obligated to defend neutral Belgium by the terms of a 75-year old treaty. 

With Germany's invasion of Belgium on 4 August, and the Belgian King's appeal to Britain for assistance, Britain committed herself to Belgium's defense later that day.  Like France, she was by extension also at war with Austria-Hungary. 

• With Britain's entry into the war, her colonies and dominions abroad variously offered military and financial assistance, and included Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa. 

• Japan, honoring a military agreement with Britain, declared war on Germany on 23 August 1914.  Two days later Austria-Hungary responded by declaring war on Japan. 

• Italy, although allied to both Germany and Austria-Hungary, was able to avoid entering the fray by citing a clause enabling it to evade its obligations to both.

In short, Italy was committed to defend Germany and Austria-Hungary only in the event of a 'defensive' war; arguing that their actions were 'offensive' she declared instead a policy of neutrality.  The following year, in May 1915, she finally joined the conflict by siding with the Triple Entente. against her two former allies.

• United States President Woodrow Wilson declared a U.S. policy of absolute neutrality, an official stance that would last until 1917 when Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare - which seriously threatened America's commercial shipping (which was in any event almost entirely directed towards the Allies led by Britain and France) - forced the U.S. to finally enter the war on 6 April 1917. 

                                                                       

             

By the end of World War I, there will be nothing left in Europe but a smoldering fire pit

Propaganda Posters

UK

UK

UK

Australia

U.S.

U.S.

U.S.

U.S.

U.S.

Romania

UK

German soldier pointing at viewer. "You, too, should join the Reichswehr. Therefore, sign up at the next enlistment post, Reichswehr-Gruppen-Kommando no. 4 (Bavarian), Möhl, Major General."

Sarms of British planes bombing a factory. "What England wants!" Poster quotes from British Labour party leader Johnson-Hicks which appeared in the Daily Telegraph, Jan. 3, 1918: "One must bomb the Rhine industrial area day by day with hundreds of airplanes, until the cure [destruction of German industrial production] has occurred."

German soldier, with gas mask hanging from his neck, gazing into the distance. Text reads: Help us triumph! Subscribe to the War Loan.

Propaganda Assignment:

Using the perspective of the country you were assigned to during our alliance game, create your own propaganda poster.

Due tomorrow so don’t waste time!

Military Tactics In order to understand the horrors of WWI trench warfare, one must first have a basic understanding of military tactics as they developed over the centuries. In ancient times battles on open ground were usually won by the side with the greatest numbers of troops. The larger army overwhelming the smaller army by sheer force of numbers. This led to the creation of defensive positions placing obstacles in the way of attacking forces in order to slow the attackers giving the defenders an advantage. Defensive positions can be created by taking advantage of natural terrain such as hills and mountains, by using natural cover such as a forest or ditch or by building artificial fortifications such as trench works, fortresses and castles. It generally requires a much greater force to overrun and capture a reinforced enemy position in battle the attacking force taking heavy casualties during their assault on the enemy position. Thus a smaller defending force can often repel a much larger force of attackers. The ground between the attacking forces lines and the lines of the defenders is known as “No Mans Land” crossing this ground is the deadliest part of battle.

Trench WarfareBecause of the evolution of the machine gun, opposing sides were forced to “dig in,” instead of charging the enemy.

War of Attrition

=

Last Man Standing

Wins

While a fortified enemy position can be weakened by concentrated artillery and weapons fire it is necessary to over run and occupy enemy positions in order to capture ground and defeat the enemy.

World War One produced tactics in which opposing armies faced each other across fortified trenches often for months at a time. Being unable to advance and capture enemy positions. Attempted assaults on opposing trenches resulted in massive slaughter on both sides. Modern technology only added to the horrors of these conditions.

At the age of 92, Arthur Savage was asked about his memories of life on the Western Front.

“My memories are of sheer terror and the horror of seeing men sobbing because they had trench foot that had turned gangrenous. They knew they were going to lose a leg. Memories of lice in your clothing driving you crazy. Filth and lack of privacy. Of huge rats that showed no fear of you as they stole your food rations. And cold deep wet mud everywhere. And of course, corpses. I'd never seen a dead body before I went to war. But in the trenches the dead are lying all around you. You could be talking to the fellow next to you when suddenly he'd be hit by a sniper and fall dead beside you. And there he‘d stay for days.”

An aerial reconnaissance photograph of the opposing trenches and no-man's land between Loos and Hulluch in Artois, France, taken at 7.15 am, 22 July 1917. German trenches are at the right and bottom, British trenches are at the top left. The vertical line to the left of centre indicates the course of a pre-war road or track.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Cheshire_Regiment_trench_Somme_1916.jpg

Australian sniper using a periscope rifle at Gallipoli, 1915. He is aided by a spotter with a periscope. The men are believed to belong to the Australian 2nd Light Horse Regiment and the location is probably Quinn's Post.

Trench Foot

Trench Foot

Technology changing the face of WarBy the time of WWI

scientific technology had very much changed the nature of the battlefield. With the development of motorized transportation, chemical weapons, combat aircraft, tank warfare, effective artillery, and the widespread deployment of the machine gun with frontline units. All warring factions during WWI were pretty well equally armed in terms of weapons and technology

Use of motorized transportation and railroads allowed frontline positions to be rapidly reinforced with men and supplies

Weapons

Artillery

The battlefields of WWI saw the widespread deployment of modern and very effective artillery. Due to the development of motorized transport it became much easier to quickly deploy more and larger artillery pieces to the battle front. Life in the trenches meant being subjected to near constant artillery bombardment. The heavy artillery pieces were also capable of delivering poison gas shells onto enemy positions. Soldiers of WWI often developed a condition known as “Shell Shock” brought about due to constant exposure to artillery fire and the stresses of trench warfare.

Machine Guns and Artillery

Machine guns and artillery changed warfare forever.

The Machine Gun: During WWI the machine gun was treated as a light artillery weapon used by soldiers. The machineguns of this era were water cooled, meaning that the barrel was surrounded by a water jacket which kept the barrel cool and prolonged accuracy and barrel life. Water cooled guns also required keeping buckets of water on hand. These weapons were relatively heavy and required usually a five man crew per weapon to maintain and transport the weapon and ammunition.

British 18 pounder field gun

WWI saw the widest deployment of machineguns of any previous war. The machine gun combined with the infantryman’s rifle and support artillery were the primary defenses of the trenches. Attacking forces had to face a wall of machine gun, rifle, and artillery fire while advancing on enemy trenches.

British Vickers Machine Gun

“Aeroplanes”

Red Baron

A new hazard facing the soldier of WWI was and aspect of being bombed or fired upon by enemy aircraft. Aircraft were a new development and were used for both attack and reconnaissance missions. Airplanes were also used to spy on the opposing trenches and to drop bombs into the trenches. There were also daring aerial dog-fights.

British Bomber aircraft of WWI

Tanks

Armored fighting vehicles were a new technology developed during WWI. Their armor allowed them to withstand small arms fire, and they were often used to provide cover for infantry movements and to over run and destroy enemy machine gun positions. They doubled as mobile artillery and machine guns.

A battle tank of WWI

Tanks were invented to drive through no man’s land, over barbed wire, and over the trenches.

Chemical WarfareGas burned the eyes, skin and lungs.

Chemical weapons “poison gas” At the time of WWI Germany dominated the chemical industry. They were the first to develop chemical weapons in the form of poison gas. Some of these poisons were blistering agents such as Mustard Gas, and Chlorine Gas. Later in the war early forms of nerve gasses were created and deployed. Soon the Triple Entente retaliated by deploying their own chemical weapons. Often an assault on an enemy position was preceded by a gas attack in order to weaken the enemy defenders.

Medical and Health Conditions

Life in the trenches along with primitive medical facilities was another factor that magnified the horrors of WWI.

Living conditions in the trenches brought about additional risks in terms of health. Lack of refrigerated food storage and unsanitary conditions brought on such things as food poisoning and dysentery along with exposure to contagious disease such as tuberculosis. An influenza outbreak in Italy in 1917 spread across Europe and the Atlantic rivaling the plagues of the Middle Ages.

Medical corps carrying wounded in WWI.

Antibiotic drugs were nonexistent at the time and even minor battlefield wounds could produce life threatening infection combined with lack of sanitation at combat medical facilities. Evacuating badly wounded soldiers to more advanced facilities was often not possible. Surgeons neglected to scrub up or change into clean surgical attire between surgeries performed on wounded soldiers. Battlefields strewn with corpses attracted millions of rats which infested the trenches along with lice which spread even more disease.

Medical facility set up in WWI trench

The U.S. Enters the War

The Sinking of the Lusitania• When a German U-boat (submarine) sank the Lusitania in 1915, a large passenger

liner with 128 Americans aboard, President Wilson vowed "America was too proud to fight," and demanded an end to attacks on passenger ships. Germany complied.

• Wilson tried to mediate a compromise settlement; yet no compromise was discovered. Wilson also repeatedly warned that America would not tolerate unrestricted submarine warfare because it violated America's rights.

• Wilson was under great pressure from former president Teddy Roosevelt, who denounced German "piracy" and Wilson's cowardice. In January 1917 the Germans announced they would resume unrestricted submarine warfare.

The Zimmerman Note

A coded telegram dispatched by the Foreign Secretary of the German Empire, Arthur Zimmermann, on January 19, 1917, to the German ambassador in Mexico, Heinrich von Eckardt, at the height of World War I. It instructed the ambassador to approach the Mexican government with a proposal to form an alliance against the United States. It was intercepted and decoded by the British and its contents hastened the entry of the United States into World War I.

• To make the world a safe place for democracy• Common culture with Britain• Propaganda• Shorten the war

Other Reasons

US Senate declared war on April 4, 1917

The entry of the U.S. into the War came none too soon for the Triple Entente (Allies). In the summer of 1917 the Triple

Entente launched an offensive to break the deadlock on the western front. It failed, shattering the Allied troops’ already

shaky morale. That fall, mutinies broke out in French units all along the western front.

The War at Home• Selective Service Act• Mobilizing the economy

– Labor, war bonds, conservation of scarce resources• Volunteerism

Oppressing OppositionEspionage Act (1917)

• President Wilson was afraid that widespread dissent (negative public opinion) in a time of war constituted a threat to American victory.

• A federal law passed shortly after entering World War I, which made it a crime for a person to intentionally interfere with the operation or success of the armed forces or to promote the success of its enemies.

• It was punishable by a maximum $USD 10,000 fine and 20 years in prison.

Sedition Act (1918)• An amendment to the Espionage Act of 1917

• A reaction to the over throwing of the Russian Tsar in 1917

• Forbade Americans to use "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, flag, or armed forces during war; and allowed the Postmaster General to deny mail delivery to dissenters of government policy during wartime.

The Aftermath

8,538,315 people had died

In total there were around 22 million casualties. (Allied Deaths 5,152,115, Central Deaths 3,386,200, U.S. deaths 126,000)

Allied-52.3% chance of being a casualty

Central- 57.6% chance of being a casualty

After Four Years of Blood Shed,

And all of Europe was heavily in debt• Allied Powers $125,690,477,000

– U.S. $22,625,253,000

• Central Powers $60,643,160,000

The End of the War1918-The Final Year• German military high command attempt one final large-scale offensive on the

Western Front.  A near success, its ultimate failure led to a series of sweeping successes by the Allies beginning in the summer of 1918.

• By autumn the German Army was no longer able to continue fighting.  With revolution imminent in Germany, its political leadership petitioned for an armistice.  Which took effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. 

• The war was over, and with its end many of the European dynasties fell.

1919• Immediately after the war, the victors met in Paris and negotiated the Versailles

Treaty.

• Germany was kept under a food blockade until it signed the treaty, which declared that Germany (and Austria-Hungary) were guilty of starting the war and therefore had to pay all its costs.

The Costs of War

Destruction

How do you put Europe back together?

Russia (Triple Entente)

• The destruction of WWI and the determination of the Russian economy led to widespread rioting in the major cities.

• The Romanovr (Romanoff) dynasty is over thrown in 1917 throwing Russia into a Revolution

• A Marxist political faction called the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd and Moscow under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin

• In a last attempt to gain back control a loose confederation of anti-socialist monarchist and bourgeois forces known as the White Army fight back throwing Russia into a bloody civil war against the Bolsheviks Red Army

• The Red Army triumphed and in 1922 the Soviet Union is founded.

And so the Age of Communism in Russia Began

France (Triple Entente)

• Fighting on the Western Front (mostly in France) will cause vast destruction.

• The government and the people will blame Germany for the war and insist that they pay for rebuilding France.

United Kingdom (Triple Entente)

• In the United Kingdom, funding the war had an economic cost. From being the world's largest overseas investor, it became one of its biggest debtors with interest payments forming around 40% of all government spending. Inflation more than doubled between 1914 and its peak in 1920, while the value of the Pound Sterling fell by 61.2%.

• Less concrete changes include the growing assertiveness of Commonwealth nations. Battles such as Gallipoli for Australia and New Zealand, and Vimy Ridge for Canada led to increased national pride and a greater reluctance to remain subordinate to Britain, leading to the growth of diplomatic autonomy in the 1920s and will eventually pull away from Britain and gain their independence.

• Colonies such as India and Nigeria also became increasingly assertive because of their participation in the war. The populations in these countries became increasingly aware of their own power and Britain's fragility.

Ottoman Empire (Central Powers)

After WWI, the Ottoman Empire was parceled out to the European colonial powers becoming the modern states of Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine (later Israel). France became the 'protectorate' of Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, & Tunisia; Britain of Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Palestine; and Italy of Libya

Austria-Hungry (Central Powers)

• With the war having turned decisively against the Central Powers, the peoples of the Austro-Hungarian Empire lost faith in it, and even before the armistice in November, radical nationalism had already led to several declarations of independence in September and October 1918.

• Originally the Allies had hoped to maintain Austria-Hungary (although reduced) as a counterbalance to German power in central Europe but there was not hope the empire had been decimated and the following was established:

• Establishment of the new republics of Austria and Hungary• Exile of the Habsburg family. • The new republics of Austria and Hungary were established and greatly reduced in size.• Division of Austria-Hungary into:

• Czechoslovakia• Poland. • The South Tyrol and Trieste were granted to Italy. • Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia-Slavonia, Dalmatia Slovenia, and Vojvodina were joined

with Serbia and Montenegro to form the Kingdom of the Serbs, • Croats and Slovenes, later became Yugoslavia.

United States (Triple Entente)

• In the USA, disillusioned by the failure of the war to achieve the high ideals promised by President Woodrow Wilson, the American people chose isolationism

• After an initial recession the U.S. enjoyed several years of unbalanced prosperity until the 1929 Stock Market crash.

• However, American commercial interests did finance Germany's rebuilding and reparations efforts, at least until the onset of the Great Depression. The close relationships between American and German businesses became somewhat of an embarrassment after the Nazis took over Germany in 1933.

Germany (Central Powers)

• In November 1918, the second German Revolution broke out, and Emperor Wilhelm II and all German ruling princes abdicated. An armistice was signed on November 11, putting an end to the war. Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, whose unexpectedly high demands were perceived as humiliating in Germany

• Treaty of Versailles • Included in the 440 articles of the treaty were the demands that Germany officially

accept responsibility for starting the war and pay heavy economic reparations.• The treaty also included a clause to create the League of Nations. The US Senate

never ratified this treaty and the US did not join the League, despite President Wilson's active campaigning in support of the League. The United States negotiated a separate peace with Germany, finalized in August 1921.

• The Treaty of Versailles would inevitably force Germany into a great economic depression, leaving the country vulnerable to radical political parties..

And so the rise of Hitler and the Third Rich began…

The actions of one man, Gavrilo Princip, and the Black Hands would send Europe into World War I and eventually World War II.

A Flawed Peace