Journal #5, April 29, 2009
• Would you ALWAYS support an ally, no matter what?
• Why/ Why not?
Header image courtesy of: www.usgennet.org/.../ preservation/dav1/pg185.htm
• MAIN Causes of the Great War
–Militarism
–Alliances
–Imperialism
–Nationalism
Header image courtesy of: www.usgennet.org/.../ preservation/dav1/pg185.htm
Triple EntenteBritain
France
Russia
Triple AllianceItaly
Germany
Austria
VS.
Alliances
How did these alliances start?
• 1871 – Germany is a ‘satisfied power’ – Aimed now at keeping peace– France is biggest threat to peace– Try to isolate France by taking away allies
• 1879 – Germany forms Dual Alliance– Germany– Austria-Hungary– 3 years later, Italy joins forming the Triple Alliance
• 1881 – Germany signs treaty with Russia – taking another ally away from France.
http://www.worldwar1.com/tlalli.htm#dual – For a complete timeline of all alliances
Kaiser Wilhelm II
• German Ruler
• “I and the army were born for one another”
• 1890 – new German leader allows treaty with Russia to lapse
• Russia retorts by forming an alliance with France– just what Germany didn’t want– Germany would be forced to fight
from two sides
• Germany starts building ships comparable to British ships
• Britain reacts by forming an alliance with France
• 1907 – Britain then makes another treaty with Russia and France, forming the Triple Entente
• Britain was not bound to fight with France and Russia, but rather promised not to fight against them.
Images courtesy of: www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ FWWtriple.htm
• 1908 – Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Serbia who had hoped to rule these provinces became upset.
• Tension between Serbia and Austria grew…– Serbia continually vowed to take the land back– Austria continually vowed to crush any Serbian effort
of the land…
• Eventually the heir to the Austrian throne was killed by a Serbian nationalist…
This was the “trigger” that started it all…
• June 1914– Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Heir to the Austrio-Hungary throne and his
wife shot dead while visiting the capital of Serbia.
– Assassins were Serbian, so Austria used the assassinations as an excuse to punish Serbia.
– Austria gave Serbia an ultimatum, in which Austria only honored a few demands
– Austria was upset with this and declared war on Serbia.– That same day Russian troops were ordered towards the Austrian
border….
War was now inevitable.
Neutral Countries: Netherlands, Scandinavia, Spain, Switzerland
Triple EntenteBritain
France
Russia
Triple AllianceItaly
Germany
Austria
VS.
Allied PowersBritain
France
Russia
Italy
Japan
Central PowersItaly
Germany
Austria
Bulgaria
Ottoman Empire
Italy
Germany
Austria
Journal
– How has technology effected warfare?
– Can you name anything we use today on a regular basis that was originally designed for war?
• MAIN Causes of the Great War (Review)
–Militarism
–Alliances
–Imperialism
–Nationalism
Header image courtesy of: www.usgennet.org/.../ preservation/dav1/pg185.htm
–What was the one thing that “triggered” it all….
• This picture epitomizes 3 of the major characteristics of war during this time.
What do you think they are?
Trenches
Gas Masks
Machine Guns
Images Courtesy of Temple History Department (www.Temple.edu/history/) and www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ FWWnieuport.htm and www.avault.com/featured/hidden/uboat.asp
and www.msu.edu/user/ storto/afvwwi.htm
Technology of killing There were new weapons not being used efficiently
because they weren’t completely understood
Airplanes - of little importance in battle– Fun Facts about planes in the war…
Machine guns - very effective – Mow troops down, considered a ‘weapon of mass
destruction’
Mustard Gas– Quickly became ineffective because of gas masks– Wind could blow gas back on aggressor
Planes• The early years of war saw canvas-and-wood aircraft
used primarily to function as mobile observation vehicles. This was an improvement over the vulnerable Zeppelin and the
immobile observation balloon.
• Enemy pilots at first exchanged waves and later progressed to throwing bricks and other objects– (grenades and sometimes rope, which they hoped would tangle
their enemy's propeller), which eventually progressed to guns.
• Once the guns were mounted to their planes, the era of air combat began.
Image - www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ FWWnieuport.htm
Chemical Warfare• Chemical warfare was a major distinguishing
factor of the war. • Only a small portion of casualties were caused
by gas– Caused blindness and death by choking– achieved harassment and psychological effects.
• Effective countermeasures to gas were found in gas masks – Its effectiveness was diminished.– Wind could blow gases back at aggressor
Machine Guns• combination of machine guns and barbed
wire responsible for greatest # of deaths
• Guns now lighter and more mobile– Maxim gun from earlier wars had wheels
• BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle)– Gas operated– 16 to 19 lbs.– Semi or fully automatic
Tanks• Armored combat vehicle used mostly for
crossing rough terrain and over barbed wire.
• Introduced by the British in 1916
• Armored cars used before tanks
The name tank came when the British shipped them in crates marked "tanks“ trying to cover up what they really were
Image - www.msu.edu/user/ storto/afvwwi.htm
Submarines / U-Boats• German (unterseeboot)
• Primary targets were merchant convoys bringing supplies from the United States and Canada to Europe – Lusitania
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare – means you don’t have to give warning before destroying
Image -- http://www.gwpda.org/naval/ub1-type.gif
• Trench warfare arose when there was a revolution in firepower without similar advances in mobility and communications
Image Courtesy of Temple History Department (www.Temple.edu/history/)
• Trenches –
Trenches…
Images Courtesy of Temple History Department (www.Temple.edu/history/)
Communication
• Communication: In 1914 both radios and telephones were the main ways of communication. These were very vital for the troops in trenches. However, that did not mean that messengers, dogs and pigeons were out of business.
http://www.studiolarz.com/speakman/wwi/trench01.html
Tomorrow…
• Early highlights of the war
• United States’ involvement
• Recruiting
• Propaganda
Image courtesy of Bishop Museum archive photos of World War I
Neutral Countries: Netherlands, Scandinavia, Spain, Switzerland
Triple EntenteBritain
France
Russia
Triple AllianceItaly
Germany
Austria
VS.
Allied PowersBritain
France
Russia
Italy
Japan
Central PowersItaly
Germany
Austria
Bulgaria
Ottoman Empire
Italy
Germany
Austria
The U.S. Gets Involved
The Sinking of the Lusitania
Image courtesy of moana.patentes.com/ gl/biografias/galeria-5.htm
• Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States.
– Wanted to remain neutral
– But was secretly looking for an excuse to join war…
– he found one…
Image Courtesy of Temple History Department (www.Temple.edu/history/)
America Joins the Fight• Germany seeks to control Atlantic Ocean
to stop supplies to Britain
• Uses unrestricted submarine warfare- ships near Britain sunk without warning
• War Goes Global – see page 852
Was the sinking of the Lusitania justified?
• U.S. claimed the Lusitania carried an innocent cargo
• Lusitania was in fact heavily armed;* – 1,248 cases shells– 4,927 boxes of cartridges (1,000 round/box)– 2,000 cases of small-arms ammunition
*Information from Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States
Image Courtesy of Temple History Department (www.Temple.edu/history/)
Bibliography• http://www.garrettcollege.edu/faculty/bluers -
• Temple History Department (http://www.temple.edu/history/01wandsout.html)
• A People’s History of the United States – Howard Zinn, author
• McDougal Littell – World History, Patterns of Interaction, text book
• http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
• http://www.revision-notes.co.uk/revision/927.html
• http://www.wikipedia.org/
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