WORLD WAR I
Agenda:
1. Causes of WWI Notes
2. MANIA Causes of WWI
Stamped - OPC
Causes
and
Conflict
MILITARISM:
The policy of glorifying military power
and keeping an army mobilized (or ready
for battle)
The build-up of military arms or ARMS
RACE.
ALLIANCES:
A close association of nations;
nations agree to protect each other.
IMPERIALISM
Countries in Europe were all fighting
for control over other areas.
NATIONALISM
Believing in the supremacy of
your nation.
CAUSES OF WWI NOTES
RUSSIA & GERMANY
Russia
 Struggled w/ isolation,
backwardness
 Embarrassed by defeat in a
war with Japan, 1904-1905
Germany
 Kaiser Wilhelm II
succeed to the throne,
1888
 1899, Kaiser started
huge naval program,
threatened Britain’s
power
DECLINE OF THE OTTOMAN
EMPIRE
Est. ~1300
Turkish
Muslims
“The Sick Man
of Europe”
MILITARISM
 The Industrial Revolution led to large,
advanced militaries in Europe
 Nations glorified military power & kept
an army prepared for war (called
militarism)
 Having a strong army increased
patriotism among citizens
Nationalism
HMS DREADNOUGHT, 1907
Revolutionized
battleship
design
10 12-inch
diameter guns
*don’t need to write this down, just showing
you example of military tech
IMPERIALISM
 European nations competed fiercely for colonies in Africa &
Asia
 This competition increased rivalry & mistrust
IMPERIALISM,
1870S-1914
Congress of Berlin 1884
 Lead to the Scramble for
Africa – European
powers dividing up Africa
for themselves
EUROPEAN
EMPIRES,
1914
 It was not only
just Africa…
ALLIANCES
 Growing rivalries among nations
led to the formation of two
military alliances that was
meant to balance the power in
Europe
 Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, &
Austria-Hungary
 Triple Entente: Britain, France, &
Russia
NATIONALISM
 Rivalries due to militarism & imperialism increased
nationalism among European powers
 European rivals tried to maintain a balance of power
while also tr ying to overpower each other
NATIONALISM
The Balkan region
 While nationalism
unified people in the
powerful nations, it
divided people in
weakening empires
NATIONALISM
Austria-Hungry
Empire was an
ethic
hodgepodge
NATIONALISM
 The Balkans
▪ Became a “powder keg” waiting for a spark to
blow up
 Slavic people in Serbia wanted to unify all Slavs
but A-H opposed giving up the largely Slavic
territories of Bosnia & Herzegovina
EASTERN EUROPE ETHNIC
DEMOGRAPHICS
*
*Slav: ethnolinguistic group
THE BALKANS
 Controlled by AustriaHungary and Ottoman
Empire
 1908, Austria-Hungary
annexed BosniaHerzegovina
 Austria-Hungary threatened
war (reminding Russia of
A -H’s alliance w/ Germany)
ASSASSINATION
 On June 28, 1914, the AustroHungarian Archduke Franz
Ferdinand & his wife were
assassinated by a Gavrilo
Princip, a member of a Serbian
nationalist organization, called
the Black Hand
FRANZ FERDINAND – “GOODWILL
VISIT”
 Franz Ferdinand was the
heir to the AustroHungarian empire (future
emperor)
OUTBREAK OF WWI
 “SOME DAMNED FOOLISH
THING in the Balkans,”
Bismarck had predicted,
would ignite the next war
in Europe.
Domino Effect!!!
July 29, 1914 Russia
orders full
mobilization of its
troops to help Serbia
its ally
Serbia
July 23, 1914 A-H issues
anJuly
ultimatum
to Serbia
28, 1914
A-H –
turn
over
assassin
go to
declares war on or
Serbia
war
August 1,1914 Germany declares war
on Russia
Russia
Austria-Hungry
Germany
July 5, 1914
Germany
pledges military
assistance if AH goes to war
against Russia
France
Belgium
Britain
August 2, 1914 Germany demands Belgium declare access
to German troops
King Albert I of Belgium denied permission … supposed to
remain neutral
Allied Powers:
Britain
Two Sides
WE ARE AT WAR!!
France
Central Powers:
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Empire
Russia
Ottoman Empire
(Turkey)
Italy switches sides because…
- Only with Germany due to fear of France
- Allied Powers offered parts of the A-H
Empire
Italy
Ottoman Empire
joins Central Powers
LATE SUMMER 1914
 Soldiers marched of f to war
 Most people thought it would be a short war
▪ Home by Christmas.
MAKING PREDICTIONS WITH THE MAP…
 1 . Why might Germany and Austria -Hungary have a
particularly dif ficult time in this war?
 2. In which countries was most of the war fought?
 3. Why might the war last longer than people had anticipated?
List two reasons.
CAUSES OF WORLD WAR 1 WORKSHEET
Read the handouts on the MAIN Causes
of WWI.
Take notes on the worksheet for:
▪What is the cause?, What is it? (definition),
notes on the main events, and why did it lead
to war?
▪Bullet points are fine
Due tomorrow for a stamp tomorrow
THE GREAT WAR
“THE WAR TO END ALL WARS”
1914 - 191 8
1914-1915:
1916-1917
1918
Illusions and Stalemate
The Great Slaughter
The Last Year of the War
1914-1915:
Illusions and Stalemate
1914-1915: ILLUSIONS
AND STALEMATE
Illusions
 Most genuinely believed that their
nation’s cause was just
 War would end quickly
1914-1915: ILLUSIONS
AND STALEMATE
Illusions
 The publics thoughts on war at the
time:
▪ an exhilarating release from the
their boring middle class existence
▪ a glorious adventure
▪ a way to spark national rebirth
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WWI
MATERIALS
(IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN MORE)
 D o c u m e n t a r y : Pe te r
J a c k s o n ' s , T h ey S h a l l N ot
G r ow O l d ( f r e e o n A m a z o n
Prime)
 F i l m : D u n k i r k , 1 917 , Wa r
H o r s e , A Ve r y L o n g
E n g a g e m e n t ( t h i s fi l m i s
r a te d R ) , J oye u x N o e l
 N ov e l : A l l Q u i e t o n t h e
We s te r n Fr o n t by E r i c h
M a r i a Re m a r q u e , A
Fa r e we l l to A r m s by E r n e s t
H e m i n g w ay, A Ve r y L o n g
E n g a g e m e n t by S e b a s t i e n
J a p r i ot
 H i s to r y B o o k : T h e G u n s o f
Au g u s t by B a r b a r a Tu c h m a n
The Men in Charge
Nicholas II
[Russsia]
George V
[Britan]
Wilhelm II [Germany]
Franz Josef [AH]
Pres. Poincare
[France]
Victor Emmanuel
II [Italy]
Enver Pasha
[Ottoman]
1914-1915:
Illusions and Stalemate
early war period
TOTAL WAR
 A military conflict in which both sides are willing
to make any sacrifice in lives and other resources
to obtain a complete victory
 Opposite of a limited war
WAR OF ATTRITION / ATTRITION
WARFARE
 The sustained process of wearing down an opponent
to force their physical collapse through continuous
loses in personnel, equipment and supplies to wear
them down to such an extent that their will to fight
collapses
QUICK REVIEW
 What are the MAIN Causes?
▪ Bonus: Some say MANIA – What is the extra A?
 What country did Bismarck see as the ‘biggest threat’ to
Germany in Europe?
 What countries were in the Dual Alliance?
▪ What country joined the Dual Alliance which then became the Triple
Alliance?
 What country did Germany make a treaty with in 1881,
which essentially said the two powers agreed to ‘not
interfere’ with each other?
 Who came to power in Germany after Bismarck?
 When the treaty lapsed with Germany, what country did
Russia make an alliance with? Why did this geographically
pose a threat for Germany?
 What countries were in the Triple Entente?
QUICK REVIEW
 What was the ‘spark’ that lit the powder keg of Europe?
 Why was Franz Ferdinand assassinated? Which MAIN cause?
 What country was allied with Serbia?
 When Autria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia
mobilized its troops on which two other countries?
 Germany declared war on Russia and what other country?
 What country was dragged into WWI as an ally of France?
 What countries were in the Central Powers? Will join will
during the war?
 What countries were in the Allied Powers? Will join during the
war?
MULTI-FRONT WAR
 Western Front: 200
miles from English
Channel to Swiss Alps
 Eastern Front: Austria
Hungar y and Russian
incursions into
Germany
 Diversionar y Fronts:
Gallipoli, Italy, Balkans,
Africa
1914-1915: ILLUSIONS AND
STALEMATE
Stalemate on the
Western Front
 Schlieffen Plan
▪ Germany’s plan for a quick win
“The heart of France lies between Brussels
and Paris.” – Clausewitz, On War
1914-1915: ILLUSIONS AND STALEMATE
Schlieffen Plan
 Germans easily crossed
into Belgium
 Didn’t work out so well…
▪ Plan required large
number of troops
1914-1915: ILLUSIONS AND STALEMATE
Schlieffen Plan
 Germans were met with an
unexpected counterattack
by British and French
troops at the Marne River,
20 miles from Paris (Sept
6-10)
THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE MARNE
Germany was on track to defeat France
▪ Made it almost all the way to Paris
The First Battle of the Marne
▪ September 5 th
▪ French armies regrouped in the Valley of the Marne
▪ 600 taxicabs rushed French soldiers from Paris to the
front lines
▪ Finally Germany had to retreat
EFFECTS OF THE FIRST BATTLE
OF THE MARNE
Destroyed the Schlieffen Plan
▪ Russia had already invaded Germany
▪ Germany was going to have to fight a war on two
fronts after all
1914-1915: ILLUSIONS AND
STALEMATE
Stalemate on the Western Front
 Joint French & British forces were
able to stop the Germans at Marne
 But was unable to take the
advantage because the French army
was exhausted
1914-1915:
ILLUSIONS AND
STALEMATE
Stalemate on the Eastern
Front
 More mobility, no trenches
 Russians attacks eastern Germany
but loses in decisive battles
 Serbians successfully kicked AH
out
TRENCH FACTS
 British Army treated 20,000 soldiers for trench foot
 To boost morale, there was a trench rotation. A week at
the front, a week in support, and a week on reserve.
 Soldiers in the trenches often drank impure water
causing dysentery
 Soldiers would fight days , and many would die, for little
or no gain in land
MACHINE GUNS, POISON GAS, TANKS &
SUBMARINES
 Poison Gas
 Machine Guns
 Barbed Wire
 Tanks
 Submarines
 Fighter Planes
1914-1915: ILLUSIONS
AND STALEMATE
Stalemate on the Eastern Front
 Italy attacked AH ( May 1915 )
 Joint German- AH army defeats
Russians
 Sept 1915: Bulgarians join the
Germans & AH to attack & eliminate
Serbia from war
WAR ON THE EASTERN FRONT
Meanwhile, troops were also battling
between the German and Russian border
RUSSIA STRUGGLES
By 1916, Russia’s army was on life
support
Short on food, guns, ammunition,
supplies
The one thing Russia did have: a huge
population
▪ Though the Russian army was not strategically sound
or well-equipped, they tied up German forces in the
East
▪ Suffered massive death tolls
TIMELINE
 1914 – WWI begins
▪ June 28, 1914 – Franz
Ferdinand shot
 1915
▪ Stalemate on the Western
front
▪ Gallipoli Campaign
 1916
▪ Feb – Dec – Battle of Verdun
▪ July – Battle of the Somme
▪ Russia struggles
 1917
▪ U.S. enters WWI
▪ Russia withdraws from the
war
 1918 – WWI ends
 1919 – Treaty of
Versailles signed
I N F LA NDE RS F I E LDS
BY JOHN M C C RAE - M AY
1 91 5
In Flander s fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Shor t days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset
glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we
lie
In Flander s fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be your s to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies
grow
In Flander s fields.