The Great War: 1914-1918

4 factors that lead to war!!

Nationalism

Imperialism

Militarism

Entangling Alliances

Nationalism

•A deep devotion to one’s nation•Caused rivalry among nations•Germany, Austria-Hungary, Great Britain,

Russia, Italy, and France▫Competition for materials and markets▫Territorial disputes (Alsace Lorraine)

▫Balkans – Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians, and other ethnic groups

Imperialism

•European countries were pushed to the brink of war over Africa and Asian areas

•In 1905 and 1911, Germany and France ALMOST fought over Morocco

Militarism

•European arms race•By 1914, all great powers except GB had

a standing army•Militarism – policy of glorifying military

power and keeping an army prepared for war

•Click for a video!

Tangled Alliances•Germany’s enemy was FranceALLIANCES •Russia and Serbia •Germany and Austria-Hungary •France and Russia •Britain and France and Belgium •Japan and Britain•1907 – Great Britain, France, Russia – Triple

Entente (Germany started building up their navy)

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Triple Allianc

e Germa

ny, AH, Italy

Triple Entent

e Great Britain

, Franc

e, Russia

Balkan PeninsulaPowder Keg of Europe”

• “Ottoman Empire” was disintegrating

• (Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia)

• Serbia wanted Slavic nationalism and to unite all Slavs

• Russia (with a large Slavic population) supported Serbia and Slavic Nationalism

• Austria Hungary did not

•In 1908 Austria Hungary annexed Bosnia Herzegovina

•These two areas had large Slavic populations

•Russia offered support to Serbia•Serbia had to back down because Austria

Hungary and Germany were too strong

SPARK of WAR June 28, 1914• Archduke Franz Ferdinand

of Austria Hungary (heir to the throne) and his wife Sofie touring Sarajevo, Bosnia

(looking at the army)

ASSASSINATED - by Princip a member of the “Black Hand” Serbian nationalist group

• Serbia was given an ultimatum by AH▫ End all anti-Austrian

activity▫ AH into Serbia to

conduct an investigation▫ Agreed to some of it,

but not all

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IMPORTANT PEOPLE

Kaiser Wilhelm –monarch of Germany

Woodrow Wilson – President of US

•July 28, 1914 – AH rejected Serbia’s offer and declared war

•Russia began mobilizing troops on Austria and Germany’s border

•On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia

•August 3, 1914 – Germany declared war on France

Schlieffen Plan

•In the event of a two front war•Attack France, then Russia•Speed was vital!

•Germany decided to go through Belgium to get to France

•Belgium was neutral•August 4, 1914 – Great Britain declared

war on Germany

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After the war began…

Central Powers – Germany, Austria Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria

Allied Powers – Great Britain, France, Russiajoined by Japan and Italy (9 months later)

World War I as a bar fight reading

World War I as a bar fight acted out

Western Front• Deadlocked region along

northern France• Stretched 500 miles from

North Sea to Switzerland

1st Battle of the Marne

•September, 1914 – pushed Germans back

•Proved that the Schlieffen Plan failed

•By then, Russia had invaded on the East

•TWO FRONT WAR

Trench Warfare• By early 1915 –

parallel trenches• Small land gains• Stalemate

• No Man’s Land – area between trenches

• War Horse

Trench WarfareAdvantages Disadvantages

• It was very effective in protection▫ For days, months or

even years

• Effectively stopped enemy advances

• Good communication lines, and ability to move from A to B

• Too effective at protection ▫ Any advancement leads

to massive amount of death Were the trenches too

effective? Or was it human error?

• Disease ▫ Pest’s▫ Filthy living conditions

• Shell shock

• Huge numbers of troops would die as they tried to rush enemy trenches

• Constant barrage of bullets

• Bodies were left in trenches

• With the dead bodies left to rot, pests began to move into the trenches ▫Rats▫Often they were

hunted down as a source of food

▫Used bodies as personal shields

Trench Foot• Condition in which

someone’s foot is wet for too long. ▫The skin begins to

blister, rot and eventually falls off

▫Swelling also occurs

▫If left untreated for too long, have to amputate

How did trench warfare change the war?•1) Caused the war to last much longer

than anticipated •2) Made the war more violent •3) Changed the landscape of Europe

forever

New technology caused the stalemate

•Machine guns•Poison Gas•Armored Tanks•Larger Artillery

•February 1916 – Battle of Verdun – each side lost 300,000 men (Germans gained 4 miles)

• July 1916 – Battle of Somme – each side suffered over half million casualties (British gained 5 miles)

World War I New Technologies1. Read the primary source & discuss with your partner

what you think the excerpt describes2. Examine the diagram of that technology, discuss, &

answer in left side of chart:1. What adjectives would you use to describe this

technology?2. What must it have been like for combatants to

experience this tech. in battle?3. Do you think this technology affected the # of

casualties?3. Sketch the technology in the box4. Read the caption in which you predicted how this

technology might have changed the war. Revise your caption, add one or more facts about the technology to support your caption.

Machine Guns• Machine Gun

▫Guns that could fire anywhere from 600 to 1,200 shells in a minute 20 shells a

second!

• Known to cut tree’s down

Tanks• The First Tanks were

introduced during WW1

• Primitive, bulky, and mostly ineffective

• Usually broke down before it had a chance to go anywhere

Planes• Wooden Cloth

vehicles• Mainly used to scout

• Dogfights: Pilots sat in an open cockpit and fired at each other with pistols

• Adapted machine guns

• TRIED to drop bombs late in the war

Eastern Front

•Battlefield between Germany and Russia

•By 1916 – Russia’s war effort was near collapse

•Russia wasn’t industrialized

America Enters the War

United States

•Germany attempted to inflict a naval blockade around Great Britain

•The British had already put a blockade in place around Germany

•Germans controlled the Atlantic and any trade with Great Britain

•Unrestricted submarine warfare – January 1917 – Germany announced that any ship around Britain would be sunk without warning

The Lusitania

•The Germans had attempted this before•May 1915 – Lusitania (British passenger

liner) sunk•1,198 people died (128 AMERICANS)•Claimed the ship was carrying munitions•Woodrow Wilson protested and Germany

relented

•1917 – three American ships were sunk

Zimmerman Telegram

•February 1917 – telegram from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman to the German ambassador in Mexico (intercepted by the British)

•Asking Mexico to side with the Central Powers in exchange for helping Mexico get back lands it lost

April 2, 1917 •Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to

declare war

•By 1917 – Europe had lost more men than all the wars in the previous three centuries

•Total war – all resources▫Factories were told what to produce▫Rationing – small amounts of certain goods

could be purchased▫Censored news▫Propaganda – one sided info to keep morale

up

Getting America Ready for War

•Not all Americans were sold on the war▫Committee on Public Information (CPI)▫Their goal was to sell the war to the

American Public Actors, Song writers, Authors and others

with a voice were recruited to paint a positive image of war

•Are the same practices used today?

US Propaganda

•Espionage (Spying) was a major fear the USA▫Espionage Act (1917) forbid interference

with military operations and recruitment and aiding the enemy

▫Sedition Act (1918) made it illegal to speak out against the war or the government 1,000 convictions

Anti-Immigrant Hysteria

•Immigrants from Germany or Austria-Hungary targeted out of fear they would remain loyal▫2 million Americans born in Germany▫Tried to rid America of any influence of

German culture-music, language, literature, food Hamburgers became “Salisbury steak” or

“liberty sandwich”▫Many beaten because of their German

blood, one was lynched for “seeming” disloyal

Women

•Women replaced men in factories, offices, and shops

•Were offered higher wages, but the price of food and living conditions also increased

Russia

•March 1917 – •Civil unrest in Russia due to war

shortages of food and fuel•Czar Nicholas II abdicated on March 15•Provisional Government established –

pledged to keep fighting•By 1917 – 5.5 million soldiers wounded,

killed, or prisoned

•November 1917 – Vladimir Lenin – Bolshevik Revolution

•Russia drops out as American troops deploying

•March 1918 – Treaty of Brest Litovsk – ended the war with Germany gave Germany large portions of land

Second Battle of the Marne

•July 1918 •Allied forces began advancing steadily

toward Germany

•November 9 – Kaiser William II – forced to step down (Germany declared a republic)

•November 11 – the war ended•Armistice – agreement to stop fighting

•January 18, 1919•Paris Peace Conference – at the palace of

Versailles•Big Four – England, France, US, Italy•England – David Lloyd George•France – Georges Clemenceau•US – Woodrow Wilson•Italy – Vittorio Orlando

•Germany and Russia were not represented!!

•Wilson’s plan for peace - FOURTEEN POINTS▫Outlined a plan for achieving and keeping

peace▫1. end to secret treaties▫2. freedom of the seas▫3. free trade▫4. reduced armies and navies▫5. self determination▫6. League of Nations

•Self determination – allowing people to decide for themselves under what government they wish to live

•League of Nations – peace organization

Treaty of Versailles

•France and England want to punish Germany, felt Wilson’s plan was too easy.

•Treaty of Versailles – June 28, 1919•Between Germany and Allies

•Dictat of Versailles – Dictated treaty

Germany punished

•Lost land and was limited to a military of only 100,000 men for security purposes

•Article 231 – War Guilt Clause•Germany had to pay a huge reparations

bill to the Allies- $33 Billion

•The League of Nations took over German colonies as mandates

New Countries

•Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia

•Turkey, Palestine, Iraq, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon

•Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

•POLAND reappears on the map

•US rejected the treaty… Never sign it

•8.5 million soldiers died•21 million wounded

•$338 billion cost

Effects at Home

•After the war was over the government released control of the economy they had taken▫Rationing ended ▫Capped prices ended

•Companies began to raise prices and produce more goods▫What would this cause?