World War I- The Great War

“The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit in our lifetime.”

Reasons for World War I• Nationalism

• Imperialism

• Militarism

• Entangling Alliances

• Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Nationalism

Aggressive nationalism was one leading cause of international tensions.•Nationalist feelings were strong in both Germany and France.

•In Eastern Europe, Pan-Slavism held that all Slavic peoples shared a common nationality. Russia felt that it had a duty to lead and defend all Slavs.

•Each group obsessed with having independent countries.

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Pan-Slavism: The Balkans, 1914

Pan-Slavism: The Balkans, 1914

The“Powder

Keg”of Europe

The“Powder

Keg”of Europe

ImperialismImperial rivalries divided European nations. • New countries, like Germany/Italy need empires to gain

resources

• England/France held vast colonies in North America, Africa, Asia, Australia

• Germany/Italy had missed Age of Exploration

• Russia still carried medieval hope of expanding to Constantinople

• In 1906 and again in 1911, competition for colonies brought France and Germany to the brink of war.

MilitarismThe 1800s saw a rise in militarism, the

glorification of the military. • The great powers expanded their

armies and navies, creating an arms race that further increased suspicions and made war more likely.

Standing Armies in Europe, 19141

Entangling Alliances• The development of Italy and Germany

required a new system of alliances to keep a balance of power in Europe

• Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy • Austria-Hungary and Germany will be

known as the Central Powers

• Triple Entente: France, Russia, Great Britain • Later known as the Allies

Causes and Effects of European Alliances

Distrust led the great powers to sign treaties pledging to defend one another.

These alliances were intended to create powerful combinations that no one would dare attack.

The growth of rival alliance systems increased international tensions.

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European Alliances, 19141

In 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary announced he would visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia.

•At the time, Bosnia was under the rule of Austria-Hungary. But it was also the home of many Serbs and other Slavs.

News of the royal visit angered many Serbian nationalists.• They viewed Austrians as foreign oppressors.

Members of a Serbian terrorist group assassinated the Archduke and his wife.

Assassination in Sarajevo2

The Assassin and Assassination

Who’s to blame?Germany Felt it must stand behind

Austria-Hungary as its ally

Austria-Hungary Blamed Serbia for terrorism Wanted to crush Serbian nationalism

Russia Supported Slavic people Feared Austria-Hungary wanted to rule all Slavs

France Backed Russia Felt it might someday need Russian support against Germany

Britain Felt duty to protect Belgium Feared power of Germany across the English channel.

1914

• June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is assassinated in Sarajevo

• July 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia

• August 1 Germany declares war on Russia• August 3 Germany declares war on France• August 4 Great Britain declares war on

Germany

The Historians’ ViewHow could an assassination lead to all-out war in just a few weeks?

Today, most historians agree that all parties must share blame.• Each of the great powers believed that its cause was just.• Once the machinery of war was set in motion, it seemed impossible to stop.• Although leaders made the decisions, most people on both sides were equally committed to military action.

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The Schlieffen Plan• Schlieffen Plan: German plan of Alfred von

Schlieffen to avoid two front war

• Main idea-Russia would mobilize more slowly than France

• 7/8's of the German army would invade Belgium to avoid French frontier defenses and crush France in 6 weeks

• Then the German army could use the Railroad to move to the Eastern Front just as slow Russians began moving

The Schlieffen PlanThe Schlieffen Plan

Failure of the Plan• Germany asked Belgium’s permission to use

their country to invade France.• Belgium refuses

• Germany invades anyway.• Britain declares war on Germany for violating

Belgium’s neutrality.

• Major failure of the plan:• British involvement• Belgium resistance stronger than thought

• Ties Germans up for a month

• Russian mobilization is faster• France uses the railroad to move troops around.

MobilizationMobilization

It's a long way to Tipperary,It's a long way to Tipperary, It's a long way to go;It's a long way to go; It's a long way to Tipperary,It's a long way to Tipperary, To the sweetest girl I know!To the sweetest girl I know! Goodbye, Piccadilly,Goodbye, Piccadilly, Farewell, Leicester Square,Farewell, Leicester Square, It's a long, long way to Tipperary,It's a long, long way to Tipperary, But my heart's right there!But my heart's right there!

It's a long way to Tipperary,It's a long way to Tipperary, It's a long way to go;It's a long way to go; It's a long way to Tipperary,It's a long way to Tipperary, To the sweetest girl I know!To the sweetest girl I know! Goodbye, Piccadilly,Goodbye, Piccadilly, Farewell, Leicester Square,Farewell, Leicester Square, It's a long, long way to Tipperary,It's a long, long way to Tipperary, But my heart's right there!But my heart's right there!

Home by Home by Christmas!Christmas!

No major war No major war in 50 years!in 50 years!

Nationalism!Nationalism!

Home by Home by Christmas!Christmas!

No major war No major war in 50 years!in 50 years!

Nationalism!Nationalism!

German Atrocities in Belgium

German Atrocities in Belgium

A world at war

1914 • August 4 Germany

invades neutral Belgium

• August 26-30 German army achieves its greatest victory Eastern front at the Battle of Tannenberg

• September 5-10 First Battle of the Marne halts German invasion in France

• September 15 First trenches

The Western FrontGerman forces swept through Belgium toward Paris.

Russia mobilized more quickly than expected.

Germany shifted some troops to the east to confront Russia, weakening German forces in the west.

British and French troops defeat Germany in the Battle of the Marne. The battle of the Marne pushed back the German offensive and destroyed Germany’s hopes for a quick victory on the Western Front.

The result was a long, deadly stalemate, a deadlock in which neither side is able to defeat the other. Battle lines in France remained almost unchanged for four years.

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Trench warfare•Trench Warfare: trench systems stretching 500 miles across France from Belgian coast to Switzerland

•Causes war to stalemate as each side takes turns bombarding and then charging across “no man's land” (area between enemy trenches) in futile attacks against trenches and machine guns

STALEMATE

• Allies halt Central Powers; both sides dig in

• No flanks for either side to attack• Barbed wire

entanglements up to 150’ deep

• Neither side gains more than 10 miles in over 2 years

• Mass is supreme principle• Massed assaults• Massed fires

Trench life-

Another diagram of a trench

Trench diagram

No man’s land

Looking out before going “over the top”

Submarines• New aspect of “Total War”

• Targeting “neutral merchant” ships

• Germans announce submarine blockade• Part physical, part

psychological weapon

• Draws Allied resources away from offensive operations• Civilian control of production

• Sinking of ships with US passengers is major factor in US’s eventual entry into the war

Naval battles• The Naval War • Battle of Jutland: Germany fails to break through

English naval blockade •  Submarine War: Germany forced to use

“unrestricted submarine warfare” to stop US supplies from reaching England, but offends US

• Convoy System: defeats submarine warfare • Using warships to protect groups of merchant ships

Aviation

“Red Baron”

• Used initially for reconnaissance/spotting• Wireless

communication critical development in spotting

• Arial combat originally a counter-reconnaissance function

• Troops on the ground don’t like the planes overhead….

• By the end of the war, planes were being used to drop bombs on railways, intersections, factories, etc…

Looking for the “Red Baron”

Looking for the “Red Baron”

“Jenny” JN-4

Jaeger

Verdun – February, 1916

Verdun – February, 1916

German offensive.

Each side had 500,000 casualties.

German offensive.

Each side had 500,000 casualties.

The Somme – July, 1916

The Somme – July, 1916

60,000 British soldiers killed in one day.

Over 1,000,000 killed in 5 months.

60,000 British soldiers killed in one day.

Over 1,000,000 killed in 5 months.

Womenand theWar

Effort

Womenand theWar

Effort

Financing the WarFinancing the War

For RecruitmentFor Recruitment

Munitions WorkersMunitions Workers

French Women Factory Workers

French Women Factory Workers

German Women Factory Workers

German Women Factory Workers

Working in the FieldsWorking in the Fields

A Woman Ambulance Driver

A Woman Ambulance Driver

Red Cross NursesRed Cross Nurses

Women in the Army Auxiliary

Women in the Army Auxiliary

Russian Women Soldiers

Russian Women Soldiers

SpiesSpies

“Mata Hari”

Real Name: Margareetha Geertruide Zelle

German Spy!

“Mata Hari”

Real Name: Margareetha Geertruide Zelle

German Spy!

The Eastern Front• Battle of Tannenburg: Russian army splits and is defeated

by the Germans

• Russian Revolution: Russian war failures, casualties and starvation cause mass chaos and revolts against Czar Nicholas's government

• March Revolution: Alexander Kerensky overthrows Czar

Nicholas but plans on continuing WWI to not let down the Allies

• November Revolution: Vladimir Lenin gains support by promising to withdraw Russia from WWI, begins civil war with Kerensky

• Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: Lenin signs a separate treaty with Germany • Russia loses large amounts of land • Creates Western distrust of USSR• Allies invade Russia to save war supplies and stop

communism

Collapsing Morale

• As morale collapsed, troops mutinied or deserted.

• Long casualty lists, food shortages, the total destruction of property and life, and the failure of generals to win promised victories led to calls for peace.

• In Russia, soldiers left the front to join in a full-scale revolution back home.

• The United States provides the needed relief!

By 1917, the morale of both troops and civilians had plunged.

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The Yanks are coming!

Why Did the United States Enter the War?

• German submarines were attacking merchant and passenger ships carrying American citizens. • In May 1915, a German submarine torpedoed the British liner Lusitania, killing 1,200 passengers,

including 120 Americans.

• Telegram sent by German foreign minister, Arthur Zimmermann. • In exchange for Mexican support, Germany offered to help Mexico re-conquer New Mexico,

Texas, and Arizona.

• Propaganda: France and Great Britain twisted the war into a fight against democratic powers versus evil absolute monarchies

  • Economic Interest: US banks and business loaned $1.5 Billion to GB and FR.

• President Woodrow Wilson convinced Congress to declare war in April 1917 to keep the world "safe for democracy"

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Campaign to VictoryIn 1917, The United States declared war on Germany.

By 1918, about two million American soldiers had joined the Allies on the Western Front.

The Germans launched a huge offensive, pushing the Allies back.

The Allies launched a counteroffensive, driving German forces back across France and Germany.

Germany sought an armistice, or agreement to end fighting, with the Allies. On 11 am, November 11, 1918, the war ended.

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President Woodrow Wilson issued the Fourteen Points, a list of his terms for resolving World War I and future wars. He called for:• freedom of the seas• free trade• large-scale reductions of arms• an end to secret treaties• self-determination, or the right of people to choose their own form of government, for Eastern Europe• the creation of a “general association of nations” to keep the peace in the future

Wilson’s Fourteen Points4

Casualties of World War I

Deaths Woundedin Battle in Battle

AlliesFrance 1,357,800 4,266,000British empire 908,371 2,090,212Russia 1,700,000 4,950,000Italy 462,391 953,886United States 50,585 205,690Others 502,421 342,585

Central PowersGermany 1,808,546 4,247,143Austria-Hungary 922,500 3,620,000Ottoman empire 325,000 400,000

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1918 Flu Pandemic: Depletes All Armies1918 Flu Pandemic: Depletes All Armies

50,000,000 – 50,000,000 – 100,000,000 died100,000,000 died

50,000,000 – 50,000,000 – 100,000,000 died100,000,000 died

Turkish Genocide Against Armenians

Turkish Genocide Against Armenians

A Portent of Future Horrors to Come!A Portent of Future Horrors to Come!A Portent of Future Horrors to Come!A Portent of Future Horrors to Come!

Turkish Genocide Against Armenians

Turkish Genocide Against ArmeniansDistricts & Vilayets of

Western Armenia in Turkey1914 1922

Erzerum 215,000 1,500

Van 197,000 500

Kharbert 204,000 35,000

Diarbekir 124,000 3,000

Bitlis 220,000 56,000

Sivas 225,000 16,800

     

Other Armenian-populated Sites in Turkey

   

Western Anatolia 371,800 27,000

Cilicia and Northern Syria 309,000 70,000

European Turkey 194,000 163,000

Trapizond District 73,390 15,000

Total2,133,19

0387,800

The Paris Peace Conference

The delegates to the Paris Peace Conference faced many difficult issues:The Big Four: Woodrow Wilson (US), David Lloyed George (GB), Georges Clemenceau (FR), Vittorio Orlando (Italy)

•Great Britain and France wanted to punish the Central Powers

• Creates the Treaty of Versailles

• Creates the weak and ineffectual League of Nations • 60 nations join-not the US

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The Treaty:• forced Germany to assume full blame for causing the war.• imposed huge reparations upon Germany.

The Treaty aimed at weakening Germany by:• limiting the size of the German military, to 100,000 total

• No tanks, heavy artillery, airplanes, submarines, or draft • returning Alsace and Lorraine to France,• removing hundreds of miles of territory from Germany,• stripping Germany of its overseas colonies.

The treaty also chopped up and created new countries.The Germans signed the treaty because they had no choice. But German resentment of the Treaty of Versailles would poison the international climate for 20 years and lead to an even deadlier world war.

The Treaty of Versailles5

Europe in 1914 and 19201914

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Europe in 1914 and 19201920

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