World War I

The Great War Begins

• Austria declares war on Serbia on July 28, 1914 causing:– 1) Russia to mobilize

against Austria-Hungary and Germany

– 2) Germany to declare war on Russia and France

#2

#1

#2

#3

#3

Allied vs. Central Powers

• Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Ottoman Empire

• Allied Powers: Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Japan– Great Britain entered

when Germany stormed through neutral Belgium

A Bloody Stalemate• Western Front: deadlocked

region in Northern France • Schlieffen Plan: German plan

to attack France first and then move to Russia– They decided to go through

neutral Belgium and then into the less protected border between France and Belgium

– Plan worked until Battle of the Marne in September of 1914:• Battle turned Western Front

into stalemate• It also meant that Germany

would have to fight a two front war

Trench Warfare

• Soldiers dug massive trenches from which they fought

• No Man’s Land: land between opposing trenches

• Little land gains with this type of fighting– Ex: Battle of Verdun –

Germans gained 4 miles and lost 300,000 men

– Ex. Battle of the Somme – Britain gained 5 miles and lost 500,000 men

New Technology

• Poison gas• Armored tanks• Machine guns• Airplanes• Did not deliver face-

paced war it just brought more death

Eastern Front• Battlefield along the German

and Russian border• Russia was struggling along the

front Why?– Not industrialized– Short on food, clothes, guns,

boots, ammo– Could not receive supplies

because German controlled Baltic and North Sea

• Russia was still important Why?– Large population kept army in

full force– Germany could not move more

troops to Western front

Fight Spread to South Asia and

Africa• Allies attacked the

Dardanelles• Allies thought they could

take the Ottoman capital of Constantinople

• Gallipoli campaign turned into stalemate with the allies eventually giving up after 250,000 casualties

• British helped Arabs rise up against Turkish rulers– Lawrence of Arabia

(British soldier) lead guerilla raids against Turks

– Allies took over Baghdad, Jerusalem, and Damascus

• French and British seized 3 of 4 German colonies in Africa

• Japan took over German posts in China and colonies in Pacific

US Enters the War – April 2, 1917• Unrestricted Submarine

Warfare– Submarines would sink any ship

without warning– Started policy in 1915 when

German sub sank the British passenger ship Lusitania (128 Americans died

– Sussex pledge: Germany agreed to stop attacking passenger ships

– 1917 Germany returned to unrestricted sub warfare• Set up blockade around Britain to

strike back against British naval blockade of Germany

• Hoped they would starve Britain into defeat before US entered war

US Enters War• Zimmerman Note – telegram

from German foreign secretary to German ambassador in Mexico– Stated that Germany would

help Mexico ‘reconquer’ the land they lost to the US if Mexico allied themselves with Germany

– Note intercepted and decoded by British

• Duty to honor ties with Allies– Bond to England – similar

language and ancestry– Economic ties – traded more

with France and Britain

War on the Home Front

• WWI became a total war meaning that countries devoted all resources to winning the war

• Liberty Bonds – money lent to government that would be repaid with interest

• Short supply of goods led to rationing at home– Ex: Wheatless Mondays,

Meatless Tuesdays– Ex: Victory gardens – grow

own vegetables

• Government Intervention – Censored news of war

• Schenck vs. US – Charles Schenck convicted of violating Espionage Act by mailing pamphlets to draftees telling them the draft was wrong

– Created propaganda – one-sided information designed to persuade, keep up morale and support for war, and to recruit soldiers• Committee on Public

Information

Allies win the war

• Russia withdraws from war in March of 1918– Civil unrest due to food and

fuel shortages– 5.5 million soldiers wounded

or killed so many refused to fight any longer

– Communist regime led by Lenin comes to power and signs truce with Germany giving up several countries which eventually would gain their independence

Brest-Litovsk Treaty

German’s Last Offensive

• Germany led massive attack in France until they reached the Marne

• Second Battle of Marne led by 2 million fresh American troops led to the crumble of Central Powers

• Food riots and strikes in Germany, revolution in Austria-Hungary combined with difficulty encouraging soldiers to fight led to Central Powers surrender

Legacy of War• Loss of civilian and soldier lives

– 14 million• Economic devastations

– Cost over 280 billion– Farms and homes destroyed– US became world’s leading

economic power due to devastation of European economies

• Sense of insecurity• Led to overthrow of monarchies

and rise of Bolsheviks in Russia• Flawed peace treaty –

unresolved issues and hostility still lingered

Legacy continued

• Passage of the 19th amendment

• African Americans moved North to work in factories during the war