World War I1914-1917

World War I•-World War I, also called First World War or Great War, an international conflict that in 1914–18 embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the United States, the Middle East, and other regions. •-The war pitted the Central Powers—mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey—against the Allies—mainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and, from 1917, the United States. •-It ended with the defeat of the Central Powers. The war was virtually unprecedented in the slaughter, carnage, and destruction it caused.

Causes of the War• 1. Austro-Hungarian determination to impose its will upon the Balkans. • 2. A German desire for greater power and international influence, which sparked a naval arms race with Britain. • 3. A French desire for revenge against Germany following disastrous defeat in 1871.• 4. Russia's anxiety to restore some semblance of national prestige after almost a decade of civil strife and a battering at the hands of the Japanese military in 1905.

WWI Begins• The assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie set off a rapid

chain of events.• Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, Russia comes to the aid of

Serbia while Germany comes to the aid of Austria. • Both Britain and France were in agreement with Russia and soon

came to their Aid. Japan and Britain in agreement to stop German imperialistic expansion.

Strength of the Nations, Aug. 4, 1914 resources Central

Powers Allied Powers

population (in millions) 115.2 265.5

steel production (in millions of metric tons) 17.0 15.3

army divisions available for mobilization in August

1914

146 212

modern battleships 20 39

Forces of the Nations, Aug. 4, 1914 country regular divisions (with number

of field armies) other land forces total

manpower

Central Powers

Germany 98 (8) 27 Landwehrbrigades 1,900,000

Austria-

Hungary

48 (6) 450,000

Allied Powers

Russia 102 (6) 1,400,000

France 72 (5) 1,290,000

Serbia 11 (3) 190,000

Belgium 7 (1) 69,000 fortress troops 186,000

Great Britain 6 (1) 14 territorial

divisions*

120,000

Technological Advancements•1. Artillery•2. Machine guns•3. Tactical air support•4. Poison gas

Two Fronts • According to an aggressive

military strategy known as the Schlieffen Plan (named for its mastermind, German Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen), Germany began fighting World War I on two fronts, invading France through neutral Belgium in the west and confronting mighty Russia in the east. • Thus, the war was divided into two

“fronts” or “Theaters”1. Western Front 2. Eastern Front

Western Front • - In the First Battle of the Marne,

fought from September 6-9, 1914, French and British forces confronted the invading Germany army the Allied troops checked the German advance and mounted a successful counterattack, driving the Germans back to north of the Aisne River. • Both sides dug into trenches, and began

the bloody war of attrition that would characterize the next three years on World War I’s Western Front. • Particularly long and costly battles in this

campaign were fought at Verdun (February-December 1916) and the Somme (July-November 1916)

Eastern Front• -On the Eastern Front of World War I, Russian forces invaded East Prussia and German Poland, but were stopped short by German and Austrian forces at the Battle of Tannenberg in late August 1914. • - Over the next two years, the Russian army mounted several offensives on the Eastern Front but were unable to break through German lines.

Russian Revolution • -his discontent culminated in

the Russian Revolution of 1917, spearheaded by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks. • On October 24 - 25 1917

the Bolshevik party led Russian workers and peasants to revolution, under the slogan of: "All power to the Soviets". • One of Lenin’s first actions as

leader was to call a halt to Russian participation in World War I.

GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN (1915-16) • -With World War I having effectively settled into a stalemate in Europe, the Allies attempted to score a victory against the Ottoman Empire, which had entered the conflict on the side of the Central Powers in late 1914. • The invasion also proved a dismal failure, and in January 1916 Allied forces were forced to stage a full retreat from the shores of the peninsula, after suffering 250,000 casualties.

WORLD WAR I AT SEA (1914-17)• After the Battle of Dogger Bank in

January 1915, the German navy chose not to confront Britain’s mighty Royal Navy in a major battle for more than a year, preferring to rest the bulk of its strategy at sea on its lethal U-boat submarines. • - It was Germany’s policy of

unchecked submarine aggression against shipping interests headed to Great Britain that helped bring the United States into World War I in 1917.

TOWARD AN ARMISTICE (1917-18)• With Germany able to build up its

strength on the Western Front after the armistice with Russia, Allied troops struggled to hold off another German offensive until promised reinforcements from the United States were able to arrive. • Facing dwindling resources on the

battlefield, discontent on the home front and the surrender of its allies, Germany was finally forced to seek an armistice on November 11, 1918, ending World War I.