German Unification
Germany did not exist as a nation. It was a
loose confederation of independent states.
These states shared common traits, but in no
way were they united as nation. Each state
shared a common language(German), common
history, common songs, poems, art, operas,
and theater. But, they did not have one set
of laws, ruler, or currency.
The most important of the German
speaking states was called Prussia. Prussia
had the strongest army in Europe. Prussian
culture valued strength, discipline, &
obedience to authority.
The most attractive quality a Prussian
woman looked for in a potential husband
would be the number of scars or wounds
from battle.
Prussia’s Prime Minister, Otto von Bismark
wanted to unify the German speaking states
into one nation. King Wilhelm I, ruler of
Prussia instructed Bismark to unify the
German speaking states.
Otto von Bismark
Prussia’s Prime Minister, Otto von
Bismark gave a famous “Iron & Blood
Speech” to promote the idea of German
unity. Each speech ended with the same
quote, “The question of the day can be
solved only with iron & blood.”
Blood =sacrifices
Iron =weapons of war
Prussia began a series of three wars to
promote unity. (Nothing generates unity faster
than a common enemy!)
3 wars of German unification
1864: War with Denmark
1866: Austria
1870-71: Franco-Prussian War
(France)
Germany became a united nation in 1871.
The King of Prussia was named the
leader of an united Germany. His title
was Kaiser.
Kaiser Wilhelm I
Balkans Peninsula
Old Balkans quote: I am the enemy
of my neighbor but friends with my
neighbor’s neighbor.
Turkey was a dominant military
power. The Turks once controlled all
lands from Vienna, Austria through
the Saudi Peninsula, including most
of the Middle East.
Turkey’s military strength began to
slip in 1876. Bulgaria rose up in
rebellion and defeated Turkey after
two years of fighting.(1878)
Other countries saw this as an
opportunity. The Austrian-Hungarian
Empire annexed Bosnia away from
Turkey in 1878.
Young military officers in Turkey
began to fear that their nation was in
a slow collapse. The young officer
corps of Turkey formed an
organization dedicated to recapturing
military strength. This organization
was called, the Young Turks.
Ismail Enver
Leader of Young Turks
The Young Turks needed financial
support, weapons, and military
training from a large powerful nation.
The Young Turks found a willing
partner in 1908. Germany offered to
help. Germany began sending
weapons and old fashioned Prussian
training. Soon Turkey’s military
began to grow strong again.
News of the rebirth of the Turkish
military scared the nations of the
Balkans Peninsula. Serbia realized
that it was vulnerable to a new and
improved Turkish military. Serbia
needed to find a large powerful
nation to provide assistance. Serbia
found a partner from Russia.
5 Common traits of
Russia & Serbia
 Both nations are Slavic
 Both share Orthodox Christianity
 Both share the Cyrillic alphabet
 Historically, the Serbs & Russians
have worked together against
enemy nations
 Both Serbia & Russia disliked
Turkey
1st Balkans War (1912)
Serbia vs. Turkey (No one won…It
was a tie)
2nd Balkans War (1913)
Serbia vs. Turkey (No one won… It
was a tie)
1912-war in the Balkans Peninsula
1913-war in the Balkans Peninsula
?
1914-
Archduke Ferdinand and Sophie
Fears began to spread of a war
breaking out in 1914. The Emperor
of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire
decided to have a peace conference.
Leaders of nations would be invited
to discuss solutions to prevent a war.
The Peace Conference
 To be held in Sarajevo, Bosnia
 To be held on 28 June 1914
 The Emperor’s nephew, Archduke
Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary
would lead the discussions.
Archduke Ferdinand was in line to
become the next Emperor of AustriaHungary. (Ferdinand would inherit the throne of one
of the largest Empires in Europe)The
announcement of his arrival was
printed in all of the Sarajevo
newspapers. The parade route and
times of the parade were also printed
in the newspapers.
Assassination
Archduke Ferdinand and his wife
Sophie arrived in Sarajevo for the
peace conference. Meanwhile a
group of Serbian students had
organized into a group called, Black
Hand. They wanted to show the
world that Serbia feared no one.
They wanted to assassinate the
future emperor to prove their
courage. The date of the
assassination would be on Saint
Vitus Day, June 28th. This day in
Serbian history marked the Battle of
Kosovo.(Serbia defeated the Turks in 1389)
Ferdinand & Sophie with two of their children
Sophie Jr. in 8th grade
Archduke Ferdinand and Sophie were
assassinated in Sarajevo on 28 June
1914.
June 1914
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The attack was planned by a Serbian
terrorist group called, Black Hand. The
assassin was a nineteen year old named,
Gavrilo Princip.
Did Gavrilo Princip know the moment he
pulled the trigger that this act of murder
would unleash the next 35 years of
history? Did he know that a war killing
18,000,000 would occur followed by a
second war killing 45,000,000?
Photo taken minutes before their
assassination.
The Emperor of Austria-Hungarian
Empire was furious that his nephew was...
a.) murdered while attending a peace
conference
b.) the assassins were Serbs
c.) the attack was on June 28th
Archduke Ferdinand’s funeral procession
Emperor Franz Joseph of the
Austrian-Hungarian Empire
wanted revenge to retaliate against
Serbia.
Emperor Franz Joseph
gave a list
of six demands that needed to be met or
war was going to occur.
Austria-Hungary’s six demands
(Six
4+2= ? 006 >5 <7
60/10
)
1. all members of Black Hand were to
be turned over to the Austrian
police
2. All anti-Austrian newspaper in
Serbia must be closed
Why close the Serbian newspapers?
3. all anti-Austrian teachers to be fired
in Serbia
Why fire the teachers?
Why were the teachers considered a threat?
4. all anti-Austrian military officers in
Serbia were to be fired
Why fire the Serbian Army officers?
5. “Special” units of the Austrian
police (military police) are to be
allowed across the border to
administer law & order inside of
Serbia
6. demands must be met within 48
hours
How many demands
did Serbia accept?
Serbia agreed to every demand except
for # 5.
(Austrian military police crossing the border into Serbia)
Serbia met 5 of 6 demands. This was
not enough for the Austrian Hungarian
Emperor, Franz Joseph.
The Emperor ordered
war against Serbia to avenge the death
of his nephew, Archduke Franz
Ferdinand. World War One began on
28 July 1914.
World War One begins. And, it was the end of
the world…as we knew of it.
July 1914
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The Austrian-Hungarian Empire was at
at war with Serbia. But, how did it
become a World War?
Triple Alliance (1882) vs. Triple Entente (1907)
1. Italy
1. United Kingdom
2. Germany
2. Russia
3. Austria-Hungary
3. France
Ten Minutes with Wilson
Let’s Review
1908: Young Turks receive weapons and
assistance from Germany. Russia provides
weapons to Serbia.
1912: 1st Balkans War
1913: 2nd Balkans War
May 1914: Emperor Franz Joseph announce
an upcoming peace conference to occur in
Sarajevo, Bosnia
June 1914: Archduke Ferdinand assassinate
by a Serbian terrorist group
July 1914: Austria-Hungary declared war on
Serbia. Russia pledges to defend Serbia.
August 1914: Other nations such as Italy,
Germany, UK, & France are bound by
treaties to support their ally.
August 1914: Nations around the world
decide which side to support in the war.
August 1914: President Wilson’s wife dies in
the White House. Overcome with grief and
personal pain, the US President hesitates on
taking any action. The USA does not enter
the war.
The Von Schlieffen Plan
A German general named
Alfred von Schlieffen
studied Russian history. He
found that the Russians
always began every war in a
slow manner. Russia was
technologically slow. The
Russians lacked sophisticated
communication &
transportation systems. Von
Schlieffen found that it took
nine weeks from the time
war was declared for the
Russian army to actually be
ready to fight.
. Germany would devote
nearly all of it’s military
strength to knock out France.
Germany would almost
totally ignore the Russian
army for nine weeks. After
the French were quickly
defeated, the German army
would shift to destroy the
Russians.
The key to the Von
Schlieffen plan was the
element of time.
The French had to be
defeated before the Russian
army moved against
Germany.
World War One Images
German spiked
helmet
Early WWI
Later in the war
New Technologies
1. Tumbling bullet
2. Hollowpoint bullet
3. Machine gun
4. Zeppelin
5. Airplanes
6. Unterseeboot (u-boat)
7. Tank
8. Poison gas
9. Flame thrower
German aircraft
Baron Manfred von Richthofen
(Red Baron)
British Sopwith Camel
Flamethrower
German U-Boat
Canadian troops with gas
masks
Australian machine gun
Reasons the United States entered
the war (on the British side)
1.
The US and UK share common
traits
(language, ocean, political structure, co
urt system)
m,
2.
Sinking of the Lusitania on 07 May
1915 by a German U-boat.
3.
Zimmerman Telegram (1917):
Arthur Zimmerman, the German
Foreign Minister sent a telegram to
Mexico. The Germans were asking
Mexico to invade the United States.
After the war, Germany would give
Mexico three states as a reward. (Texas,
Arizona, & New Mexico) The telegram was
intercepted by a British MI-6 secret
agent. The news of Germany plotting
behind our backs caused great anger.
4.
Russia surrendered to Germany in
1917. (Treaty of Brest-Litvosk)
RMS Lusitania
Last known Lusitania survivor, 95,
Born: 1915
Died: 11 January 2011
Kapitänleutnant Walter Schweiger
Commanding Officer U-20
----------------------------------------------Captain of Lusitania: William Turner
Lusitania Notes
British ship sunk on 07 May 1915 by a German
U-boat. (U-20) The captain of the U-20 was
Kapitanleutnant Walter Schweiger.
The Lusitania’s captain was William Turner
One torpedo from the U-20 ignited a coal dust
explosion. The Lusitania sank in approximately
eighteen minutes off the coast of Kinsale, Ireland.
(County Cork)
1195 people died
This event was a contributing factor in
the USA entering World War One.
MI6
John “BlackJack”
Pershing
Born in 1860
Graduate of the US Military Academy
at West Point
Graduate of University of Nebraska
(Law School)
Served as military JAG (military attorney)
Served in the all African-American 10th
Cavalry
Fought in the Spanish-American War
(saved T. Roosevelt’s life)
Promoted repeatedly while T.R. was president
Led the U.S. Army into Mexico to capture
Pancho Villa in 1916
Led all U.S. troops “Yanks” against
Germany in World War One (1917)
Became the highest ranking general in U.S. history (General of the Armies)
The Bolshevik Revolution and the USSR
World War One was very difficult for
the Russians. One of every four Russian
soldiers did not have a rifle. Instead,
soldiers were given a handful of bullets
and expected to wait until someone was
shot. Most of the soldiers were farmers.
This left very few people left on the farms
to grow the food. Starvation swept
through Russia. Consequently, the
Russian people began to riot through the
streets. They rioted for food and bread!
A book written by Karl Marx offered
the starving hope. The book was called,
Communist Manifesto. The book is a plan
for developing communism.
Two communist groups developed in
Russia. Both groups hoped to take over
the country.
2 communist groups
Bolsheviks: (majority) commonly referred
to as the Reds
Mensheviks: (minority) commonly
referred to as the Whites
A Civil War began within Russia. It
was a three way war.
Reds vs Whites vs the Czar
Bolshevik soldiers captured the Czar
and his family. The Reds wanted all
Romanov family members dead. On 17
July 1918, the Romanov family was
murdered. Their bodies were buried in a
forest and acid poured onto their bodies.
One of Europe’s most powerful royal
families was murdered.
Czar Nicholas Romanov II and the Royal Family
Murdered 17 July 1918
The Romanov family was murdered by Bolshevik
guards. (17 July 1918)
Anastasia Romanov (age 7)
Eventually, the Bolsheviks (Reds)
defeated the Mensheviks. A new nation
was created called the USSR in 1922.
(Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
Or
Soviet Union
3 Key leaders of the USSR
Vladimir Lenin: Leader of the Bolshevik
Revolution and first leader of the USSR
(died of a stroke in 1924)
Leon Trotsky: leader of the Red Army
(killed by Stalin with an axe in the head)
Joseph Stalin: Leader of the secret
police (eventually known as the KGB) Stalin
gained total control of the new nation
after Lenin’s death. Anyone that opposed
Stalin faced death in a gulag(death camp)
Stalin eventually kills 20,000,000 of his
own citizens to gain complete control of
the USSR.
Lenin and Stalin
Cousins
Joseph Stalin
Saddam Hussein
Results of World War One
On 11 November 1918, all nations
agreed to stop the fighting. This
was called the Armistice. It was not
a surrender!
With the fighting over, France and
the United Kingdom felt the need to
punish the Germans.
France: 1,300,000 soldiers killed
UK: 1,000,000 soldiers killed
Austria-Hungary: 1,500,000 soldiers killed
Turkey: 2,921,844 soldiers killed
Germany: 2,476,000 soldiers killed
USA: 120,000 soldiers killed
Serbia lost 12% of it’s population.
The French and British wanted to
make the Germans pay. They
began writing an unfair treaty that
would blame Germany for starting
the war. It also required the
Germans to pay for all damages.
Large chunks(13%)of land would be
stripped from Germany. This
Treaty was called, The Treaty of
Versailles. (1919)
Results of the War
1. 18,000,000 killed
21,000,000 casualties
39,000,000 killed or wounded
“The war to end all wars”
2. 65,000,000 soldiers fought in
the war
3. Germany was forced to accept
blame for starting WWI.
4. Germany lost it’s airforce and
fleet of U-boats. The German
army was reduced from
4,000,000 to 100,000.
5. Germany was forced to accept
financial responsibility for all
damages during the war. This
total was $331,600,000,000.
Germany was expected to pay
back this amount promptly.
6. Germany & Austria-Hungary
were stripped of huge sections
of land. Austria-Hungary was
broken into two separate
countries. New nations were
created such from these lands.
(Germany lost 13% of it’s land & AustriaHungary lost 75%)
Poland: Warsaw
Lithuania: Vilnius
Czechoslovakia: Prague
Yugoslavia: Belgrade
7. New nations in the Middle East
will be created from lands
taken from Turkey.
Saudi Arabia: Riyadh
Syria: Damascus
Jordan: Amman
Iraq: Baghdad
8. The League of Nations was
created to prevent another
war. This would be a place
where the nations of the world
could negotiate their
differences.
(Germany, Japan, & the USSR were not invited.)
9. Frankfurt, Illinois was a town
with a population that
contained many German
immigrants. The people of
Frankfurt felt awkward about
their German heritage. The
decision was made to
intentionally misspell the name
as a way of showing loyalty to
America. But, how can the
name be misspelled?
FRANKFERT? FRANKFORT?
FRANKFIRT? FRANKFYRT?
OR
FRANKFART
A TOWN WITH 1890’s CHARM
(big paragraph isn’t it…stinks to be you)
Germany was left broke,
crushed, and blamed for a war it
didn’t start. Not one British or
French soldier ever set foot on
German soil during the war. For
four years , Germany kept
4,000,000 troops inside of
France. From the German point
of view, it did not lose war. But,
it was now being treated like a
loser. The German economy
was destroyed in the attempt to
pay back the money ($331,600,000,000)
Unemployment in Germany was
very high. This created great
hatred. Germany began
looking for a new leader that
could fix the problems,
improve the economy, tear up
the Treaty of Versailles, and
strike back in revenge. The
seeds for the next war were
being planted.
Coming soon: World War Two
General Blackjack Pershing
Bolshevik leader: Vladimir Lenin
Lusitania Notes
British ship sunk on 07 May 1915 by a German U-boat. (U-20)
The Lusitania’s captain was William Turner
The captain of the U-20 was Lieutenant-Kapitan Walter Schweiger
One torpedo from the U-20 ignited a coal dust explosion. The Lusitania
sank in approximately eighteen minutes off the coast of Kinsale, Ireland.
(County Cork)
1195 people died
This event was a contributing factor in the USA entering World War One.
Lusitania Notes
British ship sunk on 07 May 1915 by a German U-boat. (U-20)
The Lusitania’s captain was William Turner
The captain of the U-20 was Lieutenant-Kapitan Walter Schweiger
One torpedo from the U-20 ignited a coal dust explosion. The Lusitania
sank in approximately eighteen minutes off the coast of Kinsale, Ireland.
(County Cork)
1195 people died
This event was a contributing factor in the USA entering World War One.
World War I
veterans (from left) Henry Allingham, Harry Patch, and Bill Stone, all over 100 years old, gathered for Armistice Day commemorations in London in November. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty
Images/File)
By Robert Barr


Associated Press / July 26, 2009
|
LONDON- Harry Patch, Britain’s last
survivor of the trenches of World War I, was a
reluctant soldier who became a powerful
eyewitness to the horror of war, and a symbol of
a lost generation.
Mr. Patch, who died yesterday at 111, was wounded in 1917 in the Battle of Passchendaele, which he remembered as “mud, mud, and more
mud mixed together with blood.’’
“Anyone who tells you that in the trenches they weren’t scared, he’s a damned liar: You were scared all the time,’’ Mr. Patch was quoted as
saying in a book, “The Last Fighting Tommy,’’ written with historian Richard van Emden.
Last US veteran of WWI dies in W. Va. at age 110
Published February 28, 2011
In a May 26, 2008 file photo Frank Buckles receives an American flag
during Memorial Day activities at the National World War I Museum in
Kansas City, Mo.
MORGANTOWN, W.VA. – Frank Buckles enlisted for World War I at 16 after lying about his age. He made it home again and ultimately became that
war's last surviving U.S. veteran, campaigning for greater recognition for his comrades-in-arms before dying at 110.
Buckles, who also survived being a civilian POW in the Philippines in World War II, died of natural causes Sunday at his home in Charles Town,
biographer and family spokesman David DeJonge said. He was 110.
Buckles had been advocating for a national memorial honoring veterans of the Great War in the nation's capital and asked about its progress weekly,
sometimes daily.
"He was sad it's not completed," DeJonge said Monday. "It's a simple straightforward thing to do, to honor Americans."
When asked in February 2008 how it felt to be the last of his kind, he said simply, "I realized that somebody had to be, and it was me." And he told
The Associated Press he would have done it all over again, "without a doubt."
This August 1917 file photo provided by the Buckles Family shows Frank Buckles' enlistment photo into the U.S. Army.
On Nov. 11, 2008, the 90th anniversary of the end of the war, Buckles attended a ceremony at the grave of World War I Gen. John Pershing in
Arlington National Cemetery.
He was back in Washington a year later to endorse a proposal to rededicate the existing World War I memorial on the National Mall as the official
National World War I Memorial. He told a Senate panel it was "an excellent idea." The memorial was originally built to honor District of Columbia's war
dead.
Born in Missouri in 1901 and raised in Oklahoma, Buckles visited a string of military recruiters after the United States entered the "war to end all wars"
in April 1917. He was repeatedly rejected before convincing an Army captain he was 18. He was actually 16 1/2.
"A boy of (that age), he's not afraid of anything. He wants to get in there," Buckles said.
Details for services and arrangements will be announced later this week, but DeJonge said Buckles' daughter, Susannah Flanagan, is planning for
burial in Arlington National Cemetery. In 2008, friends persuaded the federal government to make an exception to its rules and allow his burial there.
Buckles had already been eligible to have his cremated remains housed at the cemetery. To be buried underground, however, he would have had to
meet several criteria, including earning one of five medals, such as a Purple Heart.
Buckles never saw combat but joked, "Didn't I make every effort?"
"We have lost a living link to an important era in our nation's history," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. "But we have also lost a man of
quiet dignity, who dedicated his final years to ensuring the sacrifices of his fellow 'Doughboys' are appropriately commemorated."
U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller called Buckles "a wonderfully plainspoken man and an icon for the World War I generation" and said he will continue
fighting for the memorial Buckles wanted.
"He lived a long and rich life as a true American patriot," said U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, "and I hope that his family's loss is lightened with the knowledge
that he was loved and will be missed by so many."
The family asked that donations be made to the National World War One Legacy Project. The project is managed by the nonprofit Survivor Quest and
will educate students about Buckles and WWI through a documentary and traveling educational exhibition.
More than 4.7 million people joined the U.S. military from 1917-18. As of spring 2007, only three were still alive, according to a tally by the Department
of Veterans Affairs: Buckles, J. Russell Coffey of Ohio and Harry Richard Landis of Florida.
The dwindling roster prompted a flurry of public interest, and Buckles went to Washington in May 2007 to serve as grand marshal of the national
Memorial Day parade.
Coffey died Dec. 20, 2007, at age 109, while Landis died Feb. 4, 2008, at 108. Unlike Buckles, those two men were still in basic training in the United
States when the war ended and did not make it overseas.
The last known Canadian veteran of the war, John Babcock of Spokane, Wash., died in February 2010.
There are no French or German veterans of the war left alive.
Buckles served in England and France, working mainly as a driver and a warehouse clerk. An eager student of culture and language, he used his offduty hours to learn German, visit cathedrals, museums and tombs, and bicycle in the French countryside.
After Armistice Day, Buckles helped return prisoners of war to Germany. He returned to the United States in January 1920.
Buckles returned to Oklahoma for a while, then moved to Canada, where he worked a series of jobs before heading for New York City. There, he
again took advantage of free museums, worked out at the YMCA, and landed jobs in banking and advertising.
But it was the shipping industry that suited him best, and he worked around the world for the White Star Line Steamship Co. and W.R. Grace & Co.
In 1941, while on business in the Philippines, Buckles was captured by the Japanese. He spent more than three years in prison camps.
"I was never actually looking for adventure," Buckles once said. "It just came to me."
He married in 1946 and moved to his farm in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle in 1954, where he and wife Audrey raised their daughter. Audrey
Buckles died in 1999.
In spring 2007, Buckles told the AP of the trouble he went through to get into the military.
"I went to the state fair up in Wichita, Kansas, and while there, went to the recruiting station for the Marine Corps," he said. "The nice Marine sergeant
said I was too young when I gave my age as 18, said I had to be 21."
Buckles returned a week later.
"I went back to the recruiting sergeant, and this time I was 21," he said with a grin. "I passed the inspection ... but he told me I just wasn't heavy
enough."
Then he tried the Navy, whose recruiter told Buckles he was flat-footed.
Buckles wouldn't quit. In Oklahoma City, an Army captain demanded a birth certificate.
"I told him birth certificates were not made in Missouri when I was born, that the record was in a family Bible. I said, 'You don't want me to bring the
family Bible down, do you?'" Buckles said with a laugh. "He said, 'OK, we'll take you.'"
He enlisted Aug. 14, 1917, serial number 15577.