The Great WarCh. 28

Germany

• Threw off balance of power• Arrogance and aggression worried

others

International Rivalries

• Intense imperialism

• Conflict over claims to territories

Nationalism• Alsace/Lorraine increases tension• Slavic nationalism increases tension

between Russia and Austria-Hungary• Balkan wars increase resentment

Arms Race

• Increased tensions and rivalries lead to militarism

• Increased emphasis on military increased patriotism

The Alliance System• Triple Alliance-

Germany, Italy Austria-Hungary

• Triple Entente – France, G.B., Russia

The Spark finds the Powder Keg

• Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated by Gavrilo Princip (June 28, 1914)

• With German support, A-H declares war with Serbia (July 28th)

• Alliances and ethnic ties start a chain of events pulling in other countries

• Populations were enthusiastic

The Beginning of the War

• Schleiffen Plan (1905)–(2 Fronts)

• By Nov. war was a stalemate–“War of Attrition”–Total War

• New Weapons–Machine gun, chemical warfare,

airplane, tank, submarine

2nd Half of War• War sees unprecedented

death• French soldiers threaten

mutiny• Unrestricted submarine

warfare pulls in the U.S. in 1917– Zimmerman Telegram

• Russia signs treaty with Germany in 1918 after Bolshevik Revolution

End of the War

• Allies finally push Germans back to border

• Generals tell Kaiser they can’t win• Other Central powers were defeated• In 1918, Kaiser abdicated and new

republic signed the armistice on Nov. 11

Impact of War

• Unprecedented Casualties• Total War • Power of Propaganda• Increased political instability• Germany was assigned “War Guilt”

• U.S. became new world power

Red Baron

Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles

• “Big 4” made decisions• Wilson 14 Points-”Peace w/o

victory”• British and France had own

itineraries• Germany was punished

severely for the war– Lost territory, military, and

reparations, war guilt

• League of Nations established

Wilson Clemenceau

POST-WAR EUROPE

PRE-WAR EUROPE