World War I
1914 - 1918
Causes of the War
 Unified Germany and Italy
upset diplomatic status quo
 Alliance system threatened
balance of power in Europe
– Triple Alliance: Germany,
Austria-Hungary & Italy
– Triple Entente: Great Britain,
France & Russia
 Nationalism (mixed with
racism) fueled competition
between countries
 Militarism created popular
fascination with weapons
and armies
European Alliances in 1914
The “Eastern Question”
The Balkans in 1914
 Slow decay of the Ottoman
Empire created power
vacuum in Balkans
 Austria expanding southward
after being shut out of
unified Germany
 Russia wanted to control
straits & protect fellow
Orthodox Slavs
 Gavrillo Princip & “The
Black Hand” assassinated
Austrian Archduke Franz
Ferdinand June 28, 1914 in
Sarajevo
The Assassination
Gavrillo Princip
Latin Bridge, Sarajevo
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
& his family
Funeral procession
The Lamps Go Out
German soldiers marching
off to war
 Austria declared war on
Serbia July 28th
 Germany declared war on
Russia Aug. 1st
 Germany declared war on
France Aug. 3rd
 Following Schlieffen
Plan, Germany invaded
Belgium to attack France
 Britain declared war on
Germany Aug. 4th
The Opposing Sides in
World War I
 Allies: Great Britain,
France, Russia, Italy,
Belgium, Portugal,
Serbia, Romania,
Greece
 Central Powers:
Germany, AustriaHungary, Bulgaria,
Ottoman Empire
The Western Front
 Initial German advance stopped at the 1st Battle of the
Marne (Sept. 1914)
 Trench Warfare produced unwinnable stalemate
– Machine Guns
– Mines
– Mustard Gas
 1916 casualties:
– Somme Offensive: 400,000
– Verdun: 700,000
Canadian
soldiers going
“over the top,”
with the
predictable
results
The European Theater of War
The Ossuary, Verdun
Village of Esnes, France
Before
After
The Eastern Front
 War went badly for Russians
after initial victories
 March 1917: Czar overthrown,
but Kerensky’s provisional
government continued the war
 Oct./Nov. 1917: Lenin seized
power in the Bolshevik
Revolution
 Jan. 1918: Treaty of BrestLitovsk ended war in the East
 March 1918: Germany
transferred all troops to
Western Front for final
offensive
Eastern Front in WWI
Wilson, America & World War I
 Attitudes toward War:
– Reinforced belief in American
exceptionalism
– Concerned that immigrants kept
their old loyalties
 Wilson saw duty to lead rest of
world to peace & democracy
 Declared neutrality
 Tried to mediate peace settlement
 Neutrality really pro-Allies
– Wilson protested British blockade,
but more angered by u-boat attacks
– U.S. loaned $2 billion to Allies;
$27 million to Germany
Preparedness
 Preparedness began in 1916, despite Wilson’s
campaign slogan, “He Kept Us Out of War”
 National Defense Act (June 1916) - army
increased from 90,000 to 175,000 and national
guard increased to 440,000
 Naval Construction Act (Aug. 1916) & creation
of US Shipping Board
 Paid for by Revenue Act of 1916 - taxed incomes,
estates, cap, & excess profits
– Base rate increased to 2%, & surtax went up to 13%
above $2 million
– Estate tax graduated up to 10%
The Decision to Declare War
 German U-Boats violated
neutral shipping rights &
rules of war
– Lusitania sunk May 7, 1915
– Arabic Pledge, Sept. 18, 1915
 Germany resumed
unrestricted submarine
warfare Jan. 31, 1917
 Zimmerman Telegram
(published in March)
offered German alliance to
Mexico & Japan
 War declared April 6, 1917
Burial of Lusitania victims
The Zimmerman Telegram
The Last Year of the War
 John Pershing &
token American force
arrived in 1917, but
bulk of U.S. army
arrived in 1918
 German advance halted
at 2nd Battle of the
Marne (July 1918)
 U.S. led MeuseArgonne Offensive
(Sept. 1918)
 Armistice took effect
Nov. 11, 11:00 a.m.
Total Number of Deaths
Meuse-Argonne
American Cemetary
Country
Men mobilised
Killed
Wounded
POW’s + missing
Total casualties
casualties in % of
men mobilised
Russia
12 million
1.7mill
4.9mill
2.5mill
9.15mill
76.3
France
8.4 mill
1.3mill
4.2mill
537,000
6.1mill
73.3
GB + Empire
8.9mill
908,000
2mill
191,000
3.1mill
35.8
Italy
5.5mill
650,000
947,000
600,000
2.1mill
39
USA
4.3mill
126,000
234,000
4,500
350,000
8
Japan
800,000
300
900
3
1210
0.2
Romania
750,000
335,000
120,000
80,000
535,000
71
Serbia
700,000
45,000
133,000
153,000
331,000
47
Belgium
267,000
13,800
45,000
34,500
93,000
35
Greece
230,000
5000
21,000
1000
27,000
12
Portugal
100,000
7222
13,700
12,000
33,000
33
Total Allies
42million
5 million
13million
4 million
22million
52%
Germany
11million
1.7million
4.2million
1.1million
7.1million
65
Austria
7.8million
1.2million
3.6million
2.2million
7 million
90
Turkey
2.8million
325,000
400,000
250,000
975,000
34
Bulgaria
1.2million
87,000
152,000
27,000
266,000
22
Total
Central Powers
22.8mill
3.3million
8.3million
3.6million
15 million
67
Grand Total
65 million
8.5mill
21million
7.7mill
37million
57%
Wartime Control of Economy
 From 1916 to 1919, annual gov’t expenditures
increased 2,500% ($33.5 billion)
 Bernard Baruch’s War Industries Board fixed
prices & directed production
– “Cost-plus” contracts allowed for profits & higher
wages to prevent strikes
– National War Labor Board enforced collective
bargaining, but forbade strikes
 Women & African-Americans entered industrial
workforce to replace soldiers
– Women gained support for 19th Amendment as result
– 500,000 blacks moved north to take jobs – led to riots
in East St. Louis (1917) & Chicago (1919)
Suppression of Civil Liberties
 George Creel’s Committee on Public
Information produced propaganda
 Anti-German sentiment went wild
– language banned
– thousands of German nationals detained
as enemy aliens
– Amish persecuted
 Espionage Act (June 1917) - $10,000/20 years in
prison for inciting disloyalty or insubordination
 Sedition Act (May 1918) - extended to opposing
Liberty Bonds, questioning constitutionality of
conscription, or criticizing American gov’t in any
way
CPI
Propaganda
Poster
CPI Propaganda Posters
The Paris Peace Conference, 1919
 Wilson’s 14 Points (Jan.
1918):
–
–
–
–
–
The Big 3: Georges
Clemenceau, Woodrow
Wilson & David Lloyd-George
Open covenants
Free trade
Arms reduction
Self-determination
League of Nations
 Clemenceau: crush
Germany & secure
permanent alliance
 Lloyd-George: end
German naval power &
take colonies
The Treaty of Versailles
 Self-determination
very limited:
– Colonies divided up
– Ireland had to revolt
 Soviet Union lost
territory, although
not there to agree
 War Guilt Clause &
reparations angered
Germany
The Defeat of the Treaty &
League of Nations
 Wilson didn’t seek bipartisan support
– Failed to include any prominent
Republicans in negotiating team
– Refused to compromise
 Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge led
Republican opposition in Senate
 Wilson went on speaking tour to rally
public support
– Collapsed Sept. 25, 1919 in Pueblo,
Sen. Henry Cabot
Lodge (R-MA)
CO
– Stroke left him incapacitated – wife
& secretary ran White House