Chapter 27
World War I and Its Aftermath
-The Stage is Set
-The Guns of August
-A New Kind of Conflict
-Winning the War
-Making Peace
Christopher Morales – Mr. Hernandez
Period F
The Stage is Set
-Alfred Nobel wanted the world to be
more peaceful
-Women fought for the right to vote
-1899 Universal Peace Conference
-Germany gained control over Alsace and Lorraine from
France. France wanted revenge.
-Pan-Slavism – Russia felt responsibility to protect all
Slavs.
-1912 – Balkan States attack Turkey. Nicknamed
“Powder Keg” by 1914.
-Countries grew economic rivalries. These economic
rivalries and international tensions led to the Arms Race.
-Alliances began to form
-Central Powers
-Germany-Austria-Hungary-Russia-Italy
-Allies
-France-Britain
-These alliances caused tensions to grow stronger.
The Guns of August
-June 28 – Archduke Francis Ferdinand is murdered by
Gavrilo Princip. Gavrilo murdered Ferdinand on
Ferdinand’s visit to Serbia. This visit was found as an
insult to Serbs.
-Austria, therefore demanded an ultimatum:
-Serbian officers involved in the plot must be punished
-Serbia must allow Austria to conduct their own
investigations
-All anti-Austrian agitation must end
-Countries began to look to their allies for
preparation for battle.
-Italy and Britain decided to remain neutral.
-France and Russia both attacked Germany.
-Germany began the Schlieffen Plan in which
Germany would defeat France first and then
proceed to attack Russia. Germany then invaded
Belgium on August 3 which enraged Britain and
caused Britain to declare war.
A New Kind of Conflict
-Trench warfare was highly used in the western
front. Trenches were an underground network of
linked burrows, trenches and weapon
emplacements. In trench warfare, food was also
limited.
-New weapons also began to appear such as
machine guns, tanks, submarines, airplanes and gas
masks.
-August 1914 Russia and Germany engaged in the
battle of Tannenberg in which Russian peasants
fought because the Russian army was poorly
prepared.
-Ottoman Empire joins the Central Powers in 1914.
The Ottoman Empire was hit hard during the war as
their outposts were attacked.
Winning the War
-This war resulted in a total war, in which all natural
resources were used in the war.
-Both sides of the war used recruiting systems such as
the draft.
-Propaganda was heavily used resulting in a
propaganda war.
-Women helped in the war effort as they took over
jobs as men went off into the war. Some women
served as military nurses that tended to wounded men
in the war.
-Germany began resorting to 15-year-old recruits and
Britain had many casualties, food shortages and losses.
Britain began calling for peace.
-Russia began to experience bread riots that brought
down the government and revolutions.
-May 15 – German submarine torpedoes the British
Lusitania in which 1,200 passengers were killed
including 128 Americans.
-United States entered the war on the Allies Side.
The United States joined the Allies side because of
sympathy for France and cultural ties with Britain,
besides the fact the Germans killed 128 Americans.
-In 1917 the Zimmermann note was found stating
that Germany would help Mexico regain lost land in
the U.S. which intensified anti-German feelings.
-United States entered the war with the Fourteen
Points. This was a list of terms in which he called
for secret treaties, freedom of the seas, free trade
and reduction of arms.
-The war came to an end on November 11, 1918 as
the German government gave in to an armistice.
Making the Peace
-The war cost about 8.5 million lives and even more
people wounded or handicapped. The epidemic of
influenza killed more people.
-A Paris Peace Conference was held in which Wilson
emphasized his fourteen point plan. Other
representatives, known as the Big Three, presented
their own issues.
-In June 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was held in
which the Germans were forced to sign the treaty
made by the Allies. The treaty involved reparations
that Germany must pay. The treaty was also aimed
at weakening Germany.
-Britain and France gained land from Germany.
-The League of Nations was formed to prevent wars
and bring Wilson’s dream of peace to reality.
Questions
1. In 1917, Bolshevik leaders in Russia sought peace with Germany
because the new Russian government ________
2. In Eastern Europe after World War I, the greatest obstacle to
national unity in many nation-states was the ________
3. Which statement best describes the relationship between World
War I and the Russian Revolution?
4. A major cause of World War I was ___________
5. Why was the Balkan region referred to as the “Powder Keg of
Europe” prior to World War I?
Answers
1. wanted to retain power and avoid German occupation
2. great ethnic diversity found in the region
3. World War I created conditions within Russia that helped trigger
a revolution
4. the existence of opposing alliances
5. Nationalistic and imperialistic rivalries were increasing.