World War I1914-1918

Chapter 14

Peace in Europe

• By 1914, Europe had enjoyed nearly 100 years of relative peace– Olympic Games– Nobel Peace Prize– First Universal Peace Conference– Hague Tribunal

• BUT…

M.A.I.N. causes of WWI• Militarism

– Glorification of the military and war

• Alliances– Pacts of mutual defense between countries

• Imperialism– When a stronger nation takes over a weaker

nation

• Nationalism– Extreme pride in your nation/ethnic group

Nationalism

• Germany v. France– Germany proud of its new power and leadership– France wants to regain its power– Revenge for loss in Franco-Prussian War

• Russia as leader of Slavic people– Leader and protector of Slavic people– Supports break away states in the Balkans (E.

Europe)

Imperialism

• France v. Germany– Competing/fighting for colonies in Africa– Pushes Britain and France closer together

Militarism

• Imperialism caused the great powers to expand their armies and navies—making war more likely

• Resulted in an ARMS RACE– Great Britain v. Germany--competing navies

Alliances

• Distrust treaties pledging to defend on another

• 2 main alliances emerged:– Triple Alliance

• Germany• Austria-Hungary• Ottoman Empire

– Entente aka Allies• France• Great Britain• Russia

The Great War Begins

Chapter 14.2

Assassination in Sarajevo

• Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary decided to visit Sarajevo on June 18, 1914

The Problem:

• Sarajevo = the capital of Bosnia• Bosnia under the rule of A-H, but had many

Serbs (Slavs) that wanted their independence– Saw A-H as oppressors

The Black Hand

• A Serbian nationalist group decided to take action = assassinating the heir to the A-H throne– 3 men sent on the mission

The Assassination

• Ferdinand and his wife escorted through the city in an open car

• 1st attempt failed (bomb wounds an officer)• 2nd attempt successful (Ferd./wife on their

way to the hospital and shot by Gavrilo Princip)

The Ultimatum:

• A-H sends Serbia an 2-day ultimatum– Punish any Serbians involved– Must be judged by Austrian judges

• Serbia rejects the Austrian judges• A-H declares war on Serbia (Slavic country),

with Germany’s support

Alliances at Work

• Read page 381 and create a flow chart of the countries that were pulled into WWI.

• Be sure to identify WHY each country got involved.

GermanyGermany

Austria-HungaryAustria-Hungary

FranceFrance

SerbiaSerbia

RussiaRussia

Great BritainGreat Britain

Ottoman EnpireOttoman Enpire

ItalyItaly

SupportedA-H against

Serbia

Germany’s Plan

• Schlieffen Plan: plan to avoid a 2 front war– Defeat France quickly– Then fight Russia to the

east

• Invaded Belgium to swing behind French troops

Political Cartoon

• Choose one of the European powers involved in the outbreak of WWI. Then, from that countries’ point of view, draw a cartoon assigning blame for the war.

A New Kind of Conflict

Chapter 14.3

“The Great War”

• Largest and most deadliest conflict up until that time.

• “One out of every 4 men who went out to the World War did not come back again.” (56%)– 65+ million men mobilized– 8.5 million killed

• http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop.html

The Western Front

• Schlieffen Plan took German forces through Belgium, BUT… Russia mobilized much quicker than anticipated had to send troops east

• Battle of Marne– British/French forces vs. German forces– Allies push German forces back; no quick victory

for Germany

• Ended in a stalemate because of trench warfare

Trench Warfare

An underground network linking bunkers, communications trenches, and gun emplacements

Trench Foot

“No man’s land”

New Technologies:

• Rapid-fire machine guns• Artillery• Poisonous gas• Armored tank• Aircrafts• Zeppelins• U-boats• Convoy systems

The War Outside of Europe

• Japan joins the Allies– Take German colonies in Asia

• Ottomans join Central Powers– Arab Revolt (Arabs supported by Allies revolt

against the Turkish Ottoman rulers)

• Allies overrun German colonies in Africa/Asia• Allies turn to own colonies for troops, laborers,

and supplies– Colonies had mixed feelings about helping

Winning the War

Chapter 14.4

Ending the Stalemate

• 3 years into the war, moral was down• BUT… Russian withdrawal and US entry into

WWI changed everything and ended the stalemate

US Neutrality:

• President Woodrow Wilson won the 1916 presidential election by promised to stay neutral = staying out of the war

• BUT…3 things prevented this from happening:

1. German Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

• The new German U-boats (submarine) changed the nature of naval war.– BEFORE: U-boats rose to the surface and allowed

the crew to leave the ship before attacking it.– AFTER: U-boats remained hidden and fired on

merchant ships that were suspected of carrying weapons.

• (German Warning)

The Lusitania

• British ship that the Germans bombed in 1915- killed 1,200 people (128 Americans).

• Turned Americans a/g Germany• Sussex Pledge: German promises to stop

unrestricted submarine warfare = they would give a warning…

• Film:– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMUTdq1VStw

2. Zimmerman Note:

• (Handout)

3. Russian Revolution

• 1917: Czar Nicholas II of Russian was overthrown by a republican government.

• People were concerned about being allied with an autocrat = a ruler who has unlimited power.

• With Nicholas II gone, there was no reason left reason for not entering the war

Declaration of War:

• March 16-18, 1917: German sank 3 American ships.

• April 6, 1917: Wilson declared war!!– “The world must be made safe for democracy”

Total War

• Total war = channeling all of a nation’s resources into a war effort– Conscription = the draft– Raise taxes/borrow money– Ration food/other products– Economic controls; i.e. price setting– Propaganda = spreading ideas to promote a cause

or damage an opposing cause– Women step up (take jobs, volunteer, etc.)