World War I (1914-1918)
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:
-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)
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
two-front war (East and West)
 so…they had a plan called the Schlieffen
Plan:
-called for a quick strike on France.
Then they would turn and attack Russia
II. War Begins:
 The German Army passed through Belgium, a
neutral country
-the invasion brought England, Belgium’s
protector, into the war on Aug. 4
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:
 Sept. 1914: Germans advanced within 30 miles of
Paris but were stopped at the Marne River by
French and British troops in the First Battle of
the Marne
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:
 While both sides fought evenly in France, the
Central Powers took over Serbia, Montenegro,
Albania, and Romania
-they also attacked Italy and began to push the
Russian lines back
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 American Response:
-some Americans felt personally involved – Why? 1/3
were 1st or 2nd generation immigrants
-most Americans wanted the Allies to win- Why?
1) Cultural ties with England
2) Most of the news from the war came from
England
3) Kaiser Wilhelm II, German leader, was an
autocrat (ruler with unlimited power)
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:
b. Sinking of the Sussex (March 24, 1916) –
French passenger liner sunk by a u-boat – the
Germans later agreed to the Sussex Pledge
(promised to warn ships before attacking) –
kept the U.S. out of the war
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:
 Feb. 3, 1917: Wilson ended Am. neutrality by
arming merchant ships – “armed neutrality”
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:
 The Bolshevik Revolution (communist revolution in
Russia – Oct. 1917) changed the involvement of
Am. soldiers
-led by Vladimir Lenin
-Russia signed a treaty with Germany in March
1918 to drop out of the war
-allowed Germany to send all troops to the
Western Front
-forced U.S. to send in more foot soldiers to help
Allies
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
3) Germany forced to pay reparations (payment for
damages) to Allies - $33 billion total
VI. Postwar:
4) League of Nations created
5) Created new countries based on selfdetermination:
-Poland
-Austria
-Finland
-Estonia
-Czechoslovakia -Latvia
-Yugoslavia
-Lithuania
-Hungary