World War I (1914-1918)
Chapter 14
I. The Road to War:
 Hidden Causes of WWI: existed well before
1914
1) Imperialism:
-European powers had been building empires for
centuries
-the colonies supplied European powers with raw
materials
I. The Road to War:
-European powers competed for territory around
the world which…
-led to conflicts in those areas
 Militarism:
-def: policy of building up a nation’s armed
forces in preparation of war
-empires were expensive to build and defend
-by 1890, the strongest European nation was
Germany
I. The Road to War:
-England was not concerned because they had
the strongest navy in the world
-in 1897, Germany’s Kaiser (emperor) decided
that his nation should also become a major sea
power
-Germany and England began to compete in the
building of warships
-France, Italy, Japan, and the U.S. quickly
joined the naval arms race
I. The Road to War:
3) Nationalism:
-def: a devotion to the interests and culture of
one’s nation
-often leads to competition and rivalries among
nations
-many feared Germany’s growing power in
Europe
-also, various ethnic groups resented domination
by others and wanted their nations to become
independent
-those ethnic groups looked to larger nations for
protection
I. The Road to War:
-Russia viewed itself as the protector of Europe’s
Slavic peoples, no matter which gov’t they lived
under
-ex: the Serbs – Serbia was an independent
nation, but millions of ethnic Serbs lived
under the rule of Austria-Hungary
-that led to a rivalry between A-H and Russia for
influence over Serbia
I. The Road to War:
4) Alliances:
-def: a formal agreement or union between
nations
-developed in Europe during the late 1800s
-designed to increase a nation’s security and to
defend each other during an attack
I. The Road to War:
-two great alliances formed in Europe by 1907:
a. Triple Alliance – Germany, Austria-Hungary,
Italy
b. Triple Entente – England, France, Russia
I. The Road to War:
 Immediate Cause of WWI (sparkplug) was…
-the assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand and his wife Sofie on June 28, 1914
-he was the heir to the throne in Austria- Hungary
-shot while visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia, which was a
province of A-H
-killed by Gavrilo Princip (19 yrs old), a member of
the “Black Hand” (terrorist group promoting
Serbian nationalism)
I. The Road to War:
 After the assassination, A-H met with Germany
– Germany issued the “Blank Check”- promise to back
Austria-Hungary up if they went to war
-July 28: A-H blamed the Serbian gov’t and declared
war on them
-July 29: Russia, Serbia’s protector, began mobilization
(the readying of troops for war)
- Germany, A-H’s chief ally, demanded that
Russia stop mobilizing
- Russia refused – Russia’s ally, France,
began mobilization as did Germany
I. The Road to War:
-Aug. 1: Germany declared war on Russia
-Aug. 3: Germany declared war on France
-The U.S. remained neutral
I. The Road to War:
 Germany knew it would be forced to fight a twofront war (East and West) eventually
 so…they had a plan called the Schlieffen Plan:
-called for a quick strike on France to knock
them out of the war and then they would turn
and attack Russia
II. War Begins:
 To get to France as quickly as possible, the
German Army passed through Belgium, a neutral
country
-the invasion brought England, Belgium’s
protector, into the war on Aug. 4
-Germany had hoped England, with the world’s
strongest Navy, would stay out of the war
II. War Begins:
 After the start of the war, countries in Europe
began to take sides:
Central Powers:
Germany
A-H
Bulgaria
Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
Allied Powers (Allies)
France
Russia
Italy (1915) Serbia
Romania
Greece
Montenegro Portugal
Belgium
U.S. (1917)
Great Britain
II. War Begins:
 The war reached a stalemate, a situation in which
neither side could gain an advantage, on the
Western Front (in France)
-the Allies began to dig trenches to help reduce
casualties and the Germans did the same (trench
warfare)
-the move to the trenches prolonged the war
-heavy casualties resulted from soldiers going
“over the top” into “no man’s land” (area between
the trenches)
II. War Begins:
 New Weapons used during WWI:
1) Machine gun – forced the soldiers to the trenches
– fired up to 450 rounds a minute
2) Tanks – first used by the British – used mainly to
smash barbed wire fences to clear the way for
the infantry (foot soldiers)
3) Poison gas – chemical warfare – used by the
Germans first
II. War Begins:
4) U-boats – German submarines
-attacked without warning – used to fight the
British blockade
-interfered with American trade and threatened
the safety of Americans
5) Airplanes – used only for observation at first
-later armed with machine guns and bombs
-Manfred von Richthofen “Red Baron” (German
ace pilot– shot down over 80 planes)
II. War Begins:
 The U.S. remained neutral at first and continued to
trade with both sides
-we were an isolated country at that time
III. U.S. Declares War:
 3 Major Events led the U.S. to join the Allies:
1) Germany’s use of unrestricted submarine warfare
– Ex:
a. Sinking of the Lusitania (May 7, 1915) –
British passenger liner sunk by a German uboat because it was secretly carrying
weapons for the Allies – 1,200 died (128
Americans)
III. U.S. Declares War:
 Election of 1916 – Pres. Wilson ran under the
slogan “He kept us out of the war” and was reelected
 Feb. 1, 1917: Germany resumed unrestricted
submarine warfare – thought they could defeat the
British and win the war before the U.S. could make
a difference
III. U.S. Declares War:
2) Zimmerman Note / Telegram – German
foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, made a
secret offer to Mexico
-if they would attack the U.S., then they would be
given back the lost territory in TX, AZ, and NM
-the note was intercepted by the British
-neither Wilson nor Mexico took the note
seriously
-however, the American public called for war
III. U.S. Declares War:
3) Revolution in Russia – March 1917, Czar
Nicholas II was overthrown and replaced by a
republican (democratic) gov’t
-since a czar was no longer in power, the U.S.
viewed Russia as an acceptable ally
-this was the last stumbling block to a full Am.
commitment to the Allies
III. U.S. Declares War:
 Pres. Wilson asked
Congress to declare
war on Germany
saying…
“The world must be
made safe for
democracy.”
 War was declared on
April 6, 1917
V. Americans on the European
Front:
 American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) – led by
Gen. John J. Pershing
-arrived in Paris on June 14, 1917 – provided
reinforcements to British and French troops
-U.S. soldiers nicknamed doughboys
VI. Postwar:
 An armistice (cease fire) was signed on Nov. 11,
1918 (11th hour, 11th day, 11th month)
 WWI Casualties:
-Russia – 9 million
-France – 6 million
-England – 4 million
-U.S. – 364,000
-Germany – 7 million
-A-H – 7 million
VI. Postwar:
 Pres. Wilson’s Plan for Peace:
-to prevent future world wars he outlined his goals in
his “Fourteen Points” speech before Congress –
included:
1) Ban on secret treaties / alliances
2) Freedom of the seas
3) Reduction of arms
VI. Postwar:
4) self-determination, or power to make decisions
about one’s own future, for all A-H’s ethnic
groups
5) League of Nations – international org. that would
help keep world peace and maintain order
VI. Postwar:

1)
2)
3)
4)
Paris Peace Conference (Jan. 1919) – attended
by the “Big 4” (leaders of the 4 major Allied
powers):
Woodrow Wilson (U.S.)
David Lloyd George (G.B.)
George Clemenceau (France)
Vittorio Orlando (Italy)
VI. Postwar:
-remember: Russia had dropped out of the war in
1917 and Italy joined Allies in 1915
-Goals – Wilson concerned about world peace –
brought 14 Points with him – the other 3 leaders
wanted to punish Germany (esp. France)
VI. Postwar:
-Treaty of Versailles – officially ended WWI –
compromise – included:
1) War Guilt Clause – forced Germany to take the
blame for starting the war (big mistake!)
2) Germany stripped of all colonies and loses some
land in Europe
-Alsace Lorraine back to France, territory taken from
Germany and used to create Poland, Rhineland
becomes a DMZ between France and Germany
3) Germany forced to pay reparations (payment for
damages) to Allies - $33 billion total
VI. Postwar:
4) German military restricted
-not allowed to have Air Force
-navy restricted
-army reduced to 100,000
5) League of Nations created
VI. Postwar:
 Germany signed it on June 28, 1919
 Republicans in Congress were upset that they
were not represented in Versailles (Wilson was a
Dem.)
-so they refused to approve the treaty – The U.S.
never joined League of Nations (very weak
without U.S.)