World War I
1914-1918
Chapter 14
Peace in Europe
• By 1914, Europe had enjoyed nearly 100 years
of relative peace
– Olympic Games
– Nobel Peace Prize
– First Universal Peace Conference
– Hague Tribunal
• BUT…
M.A.I.N. causes of WWI
• Militarism
– Glorification of the military and war
• Alliances
– Pacts of mutual defense between countries
• Imperialism
– When a stronger nation takes over a weaker
nation
• Nationalism
– Extreme pride in your nation/ethnic group
Nationalism
• Germany v. France
– Germany proud of its new power and leadership
– France wants to regain its power
– Revenge for loss in Franco-Prussian War
• Russia as leader of Slavic people
– Leader and protector of Slavic people
– Supports break away states in the Balkans (E.
Europe)
Imperialism
• France v. Germany
– Competing/fighting for colonies in Africa
– Pushes Britain and France closer together
Militarism
• Imperialism caused the great powers to
expand their armies and navies—making war
more likely
• Resulted in an ARMS RACE
– Great Britain v. Germany--competing navies
Alliances
• Distrust  treaties pledging to defend on
another
• 2 main alliances emerged:
– Triple Alliance
• Germany
• Austria-Hungary
• Ottoman Empire
– Entente aka Allies
• France
• Great Britain
• Russia
The Great War Begins
Chapter 14.2
Assassination in Sarajevo
• Archduke Francis Ferdinand of AustriaHungary decided to visit Sarajevo on June 18,
1914
The Problem:
• Sarajevo = the capital of Bosnia
• Bosnia under the rule of A-H, but had many
Serbs (Slavs) that wanted their independence
– Saw A-H as oppressors
The Black Hand
• A Serbian nationalist group decided to take
action = assassinating the heir to the A-H
throne
– 3 men sent on the mission
The Assassination
• Ferdinand and his wife escorted through the
city in an open car
• 1st attempt failed (bomb wounds an officer)
• 2nd attempt successful (Ferd./wife on their
way to the hospital and shot by Gavrilo
Princip)
The Ultimatum:
• A-H sends Serbia an 2-day ultimatum
– Punish any Serbians involved
– Must be judged by Austrian judges
• Serbia rejects the Austrian judges
• A-H declares war on Serbia (Slavic country),
with Germany’s support
Alliances at Work
• Read page 381 and create a flow chart of the
countries that were pulled into WWI.
• Be sure to identify WHY each country got
involved.
Germany
Ottoman Enpire
Supported
A-H against
Serbia
Austria-Hungary
Serbia
Russia
France
Italy
Great Britain
Germany’s Plan
• Schlieffen Plan: plan to
avoid a 2 front war
– Defeat France quickly
– Then fight Russia to the
east
• Invaded Belgium to
swing behind French
troops
Political Cartoon
• Choose one of the European powers involved
in the outbreak of WWI. Then, from that
countries’ point of view, draw a cartoon
assigning blame for the war.
A New Kind of Conflict
Chapter 14.3
“The Great War”
• Largest and most deadliest conflict up until
that time.
• “One out of every 4 men who went out to the
World War did not come back again.” (56%)
– 65+ million men mobilized
– 8.5 million killed
• http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop
.html
The Western Front
• Schlieffen Plan took German forces through
Belgium, BUT… Russia mobilized much quicker
than anticipated  had to send troops east
• Battle of Marne
– British/French forces vs. German forces
– Allies push German forces back; no quick victory
for Germany
• Ended in a stalemate because of trench
warfare
Trench Warfare
An underground network linking
bunkers, communications trenches, and
gun emplacements
Trench Foot
“No man’s land”
New Technologies:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Rapid-fire machine guns
Artillery
Poisonous gas
Armored tank
Aircrafts
Zeppelins
U-boats
Convoy systems
The War Outside of Europe
• Japan joins the Allies
– Take German colonies in Asia
• Ottomans join Central Powers
– Arab Revolt (Arabs supported by Allies revolt
against the Turkish Ottoman rulers)
• Allies overrun German colonies in Africa/Asia
• Allies turn to own colonies for troops,
laborers, and supplies
– Colonies had mixed feelings about helping
Winning the War
Chapter 14.4
Ending the Stalemate
• 3 years into the war, moral was down
• BUT… Russian withdrawal and US entry into
WWI changed everything and ended the
stalemate
US Neutrality:
• President Woodrow
Wilson won the 1916
presidential election by
promised to stay
neutral = staying out of
the war
• BUT…3 things
prevented this from
happening:
1. German Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
• The new German U-boats (submarine)
changed the nature of naval war.
– BEFORE: U-boats rose to the surface and allowed
the crew to leave the ship before attacking it.
– AFTER: U-boats remained hidden and fired on
merchant ships that were suspected of carrying
weapons.
• (German Warning)
The Lusitania
• British ship that the Germans bombed in
1915- killed 1,200 people (128 Americans).
• Turned Americans a/g Germany
• Sussex Pledge: German promises to stop
unrestricted submarine warfare = they would
give a warning…
• Film:
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMUTdq1VSt
w
2. Zimmerman Note:
• (Handout)
3. Russian Revolution
• 1917: Czar Nicholas II of Russian was
overthrown by a republican government.
• People were concerned about being allied
with an autocrat = a ruler who has unlimited
power.
• With Nicholas II gone, there was no reason
left reason for not entering the war
Declaration of War:
• March 16-18, 1917: German sank 3 American
ships.
• April 6, 1917: Wilson declared war!!
– “The world must be made safe for democracy”
Total War
• Total war = channeling all of a nation’s
resources into a war effort
– Conscription = the draft
– Raise taxes/borrow money
– Ration food/other products
– Economic controls; i.e. price setting
– Propaganda = spreading ideas to promote a cause
or damage an opposing cause
– Women step up (take jobs, volunteer, etc.)