Causes of WWI:
Militarism
Alliances
Imperialism
Nationalism
What is the function or purpose of each part of MAIN?
What countries made up the Triple Alliance? (label them
and color them green)
What countries made up the Triple Entente? (label them
and color them purple)

What would be the risks of refusing to help an ally?
The assassination of the Archduke set off a chain
reaction… explain what happened.
June 28, 1914-- Assassination of Austria-Hungary’s
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie.
o The Archduke and his wife were visiting
Sarajevo when they were shot by Gavrilo
Princip, a member of the Black Hands.
o Princip was a Serbian.
o Since he was a Serbian, Austria along with the
help of Germany used the assassination as an
opportunity to move against Serbia.
o Austria offered Serbia an ultimatum. Serbia
wanted to negotiate.
o July 28, 1914 Austria rejected Serbia’s offer and
declared war.
o Austria’s declaration of war against Serbia set
off a chain reaction.
Where did the name Central Powers come from?
Label the Central Powers. (color green)
Label the Allied Powers. (color purple)
Tangled Alliances:
 Otto Von Bismarck of Germany was part of the
Triple Alliance and had a treaty with Russia.
 Russia and Austria didn’t get along, they disagreed
over the Balkans.
o Austria had taken over Bosnia.
o Serbia wanted Bosnia.
o Austria vowed to crush any effort to
undermine its authority in the Balkans.
o Russia supported Serbia nationalism.
 Kaiser Wilhelm II, ruler of Germany, forced Bismarck
to resign and let the treaty with Russia expire.
o Russia formed an alliance with France.
 Wilhelm then challenged the British Navy.
o Great Britain began to enlarge its fleet and
formed an alliance with France and Russia.
War Declared by ALL:
 In response to Austria’s declaration of war against
Serbia, Russia began to move troops to the RussianAustrian border.
 Russia also mobilized along the German border, as a
“precaution.”
 Germany saw Russia’s mobilization as a declaration
of war, so they declared war on Russia.
 Two days later Germany declared war on France,
Russia’s ally,
Taking sides:
 Central Powers—Germany, Austria-Hungary,
Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire.
 Allies—Great Britain, France, and Russia.
Eventually Japan and the United States will join.
The War:
 Germany’s Schlieffen Plan—Designed by General
Alfred Graf von Schlieffen. In the event of a two
front war:
o Attack France first then go after Russia.
o Russia with its lack of railroads wouldn’t be
able to mobilize quickly.
o The German army would race west, defeat
France, and then move east.
o Supposed to be a lightning-quick strike to
end the war.
o France had troops along the western front.
o Germany decided to go north so they
invaded Belgium to get to France.
o Great Britain has a close alliance with
Belgium, so they declare war on Germany.
o The battle lines are now drawn between the
Central Powers and the Allies.
French Infantry
Unit at the
Battle of
Verdun
The Conflict Grinds to a Halt:
 Initially, the Schlieffen Plan worked very well
o Overran Belgium
o Swept into France
o The Schlieffen Plan would be halted at The
Battle of the Marne (September 5-12, 1914)
o Quick victory in the west was no longer
possible.
o The war settled into a stalemate on the
Western Front.
o Germany was now going to have to fight a
long war on two fronts: France to the west
and Russia to the east.
War in the Trenches:
 By 1915 opposing armies on the Western Front had
dug miles of parallel trenches to protect them from
enemy fire.
o This became known as trench warfare.
What is trench warfare?
Describe life in the trenches.