Ch. 29: The Great War
Sec. 1: Marching Toward War
Background
- By 1900, most of Europe had been at peace for nearly 30 years. Many peace
organizations were active and some Europeans believed that the progress gained had
made war a thing of the past. But beneath all of the goodwill, tensions were rising.
Nationalism – A deep devotion to one’s country
- Nationalism can serve as a unifying force but it can cause intense competition
among nations with each seeking to overpower the other.
- Rivalries had developed between the European powers of Austria – Hungary, France,
Great Britain, Germany, and Italy
Causes
1. Competition for minerals
2. Competition for markets
3. Territorial disputes (France losing
the Alsace-Lorraine region to
Germany in the Franco-Prussian
War in 1870)
4. Imperialism
5. Arms Race
Build up
Arms race – The need for advanced
weapons and large armies
Militarism – Glorifying military
power
- Read primary source p. 842
- Growing rivalries and mistrust led
to the creation of alliances.
Alliances are designed to maintain
peace, but they actually did the
opposite
Arms race
Alliances
- Germany felt France was the
biggest threat to peace so they
created alliances that would isolate
France
Triple Alliance – An alliance
between Germany, AustriaHungary, and Italy
- Germany also created a separate
alliance with Russia
Kaiser Wilhelm
Kaiser Wilhelm – Takes control of
Germany in 1890 and lets the
alliance with Russia lapse.
- He also decided to build a strong
navy to compete with Great Britain
- The British didn’t like the Kaiser’s
actions so they formed an entente
(alliance)
Triple Entente
Triple Entente – An alliance
between Great Britain, Russia, and
France
- A dispute between any of the
European powers could draw all of
them into war
Balkans
Balkan Peninsula – A region in
southeast Europe. It comprised
several ethnic groups and had a
history of uprisings.
- It had been referred to as the
“powder keg” of Europe
- Most of the Balkan countries were
under the Ottoman Empire but as
that was collapsing, several had
gained independence (Greece,
Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro,
Serbia)
Serbia
- Serbia wanted to expand its
borders to create a large Slavic
state and Russia supported them
- Austria-Hungary opposed Serbia’s
plan fearing it would create Slavic
nationalism in its lands
Tension
- In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed
Bosnia and Herzegovina. This upset
Serbia who also wanted that region
and vowed to get it. This created
tension between Serbia and
Austria-Hungary
Assassination
June 28, 1914 – Archduke Franz
Ferdinand (heir to the AustroHungarian throne) and his wife
Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo
(Bosnia) by a Serbian national while
on a state visit.
- As a result, Austria-Hungary
declared war on Serbia and Russia,
an ally of Serbia, declared war on
Austria-Huungary
Sec. 2: Europe Plunges into War
War
- By 1914 Europe was divided into
two main camps:
Triple Entente – Great Britain,
France, Russia
Triple Alliance – Austria-Hungary,
Germany, Italy
- Because of their pledge to
support each other, nearly all of
Europe went to war
War
Central Powers – Germany and
Austria-Hungary. So called because
they are located in central Europe.
They were later joined by the
Ottomans and Bulgaria
Allies – Great Britain, France, and
Russia. Eventually they were joined
by Japan and Italy (who switched
sides)
- By the fall of 1914 the sides were
deadlocked. No one was gaining an
advantage
Fronts
Western Front – The battle lines in
northern France
Eastern Front – The battle lines
along the German-Russian border
Schlieffen Plan – Germany’s plan for
a quick victory over France in the
west, and then sending its troops to
the east to defeat Russia
Stalemate
- At first it looked like the plan might work but the allies regrouped and pushed
Germany back in the west
- The western front became a stalemate
- Germany was now faced with fighting a war on two fronts
- The tactic used during WWI was called Trench Warfare
Trench Warfare
Trench Warfare – Soldiers fought
each other from trenches, trading
huge loss of human life for small
gains in land
Read: Trench Warfare p. 847-848
- The war in the east was mostly
Germany and Austria-Hungary vs
Russia and Serbia. The east was
more mobile, but slaughter and
stalemates were common here too.
Trench Warfare
War
- Russia had not yet industrialized so the war was more difficult. Russia was always
short of supplies and supply lines were iffy.
- Russia did have huge numbers however. Russia suffered huge battlefield losses but
they were able to tie up millions of German soldiers in battle preventing them from
helping in the west
The Great War eventually spread to Africa and Southeast Asia becoming a true world
war
Sec. 3: A Global Conflict
Gallipoli
- As the stalemates continued,
both sides looked for new alliances.
They also looked for new battle
fronts to gain victory
The Gallipoli Campaign (February,
1915) – The allies attempted to
take the Dardanelles (a waterway)
and the Gallipoli peninsula
Doing so would cut off the Ottoman
capital and create a supply line to
Russia
Stalemate
- Soon this campaign also became a trench warfare stalemate. By December 1915,
the allies gave up and evacuated
- Japan attacked German colonies in China and the Pacific hoping to cut off supplies
and possibly gain some territory for themselves
Africa
- The British and the French
recruited their subjects in Africa to
help take Germany’s African
colonies.
- Some of the colonies helped
thinking it might lead to their
independence and others had no
interest in the colonizer’s war
U Boat
- Germany had an advantage in
submarine warfare and used it to
sink supply ships
May 7, 1915 – Germany sinks the
Lusitania, a British passenger ship.
1,198 people died including 128
Americans
- The ship had been carrying
ammunition, but the American
public was still outraged
Lusitania
- Germany backed off on the
attacks for a while
Unrestricted submarine warfare –
Declared by Germany in January,
1917. The would sink, without
warning, any ship in the waters
around Britain
- 3 American ships were sunk as a
result
Zimmerman Telegram
Zimmerman Telegram – A note sent
by German foreign secretary Arthur
Zimmerman to Mexican officials
asking them to join Germany in
exchange for land lost to America in
the Mexican-American War
- This proved to be the last straw.
The US declared war on Germany
on April 2, 1917.
- By the time the US got involved,
the Great War had been raging for
3 years and millions had been killed
Total War
Total War – Devoting all resources
to the war effort
- Most factories were taken over by
the government and manufactured
supplies for the war
Rationing – People could buy only
small amounts of goods that were
also needed for the war (butter,
food supplies, leather, rubber, etc)
Propaganda
- The government often censored
the news fearful that the truth
would turn support against the war
Propaganda – One-sided
information designed to persuade
and keep up morale and support
for the war
- Women were also recruited in the
war effort. Many replaced the men
in factories that had gone off to
war. They performed traditionally
“male” jobs
Propaganda
Propaganda
Russia
- US entry into the war gave the allies a huge advantage, however problems in Russia
changed that.
- An uprising in Russia caused them to pull out of the Great War in November, 1917.
Russia then signed a peace treaty with Germany. This essentially ended the war in the
east.
- Germany was now able to send nearly all troops to the western front
- Germany launched an all out assault on Paris and got to within 40 miles
- But with 2 million fresh American soldiers helping out, the allies pushed the
Germans back and the Central Powers began to collapse.
The End of the War
- First the Bulgarians surrendered,
and then the Ottomans
October 1918 – Revolution swept
through Austria-Hungary and soon
Germany was alone.
November 9, 1918 – Kaiser Wilhelm
steps down, Germany is declared a
republic, and Germany signed an
armistice with the French
The End of the War
Armistice – An agreement to stop
fighting
November 11, 1918 – The war
officially ended
Armistice
Great War Legacy:
1. Ushered in the notion of war on
a global scale
2. It left 8.5 million soldiers dead
(116,000 Americans) and 21 million
wounded
3. Countless civilian deaths
4. It drained the treasuries of those
involved (338 billion – a huge
amount at the time
Damage
5. It destroyed many homes and
thousands of acres of farmland
6. It created a bad war-ending
treaty
Sec. 4: A Flawed Peace
Treaty
- On January 18, 1919 a conference began which was to establish the terms of peace.
It would take a year and much bitter debate. Each country had a view on what terms
would be best. 32 nations sent representatives to the conference. Neither Germany
nor its allies were represented
- Due to a civil war, Russia was not represented either
- Despite all of the representatives, most of the decisions were made by the “Big 4”
Big 4
1. Woodrow Wilson – USA
2. Georges Clemenceau – France
3. David Lloyd George – Great
Britain
4. Vittorio Orlando – Italy
14 Points
Fourteen Points – Wilson’s proposal
for peace terms
- the guiding idea behind these
points was self-determination
Self-Determination – Allowing
people to decide for themselves
under which government they
wished to live
Stuff
- Wilson also called for a League of Nations that would represent great and small
nations alike. He hoped that this organization could negotiate a peaceful solution to
world conflicts
June 28, 1919 – The treaty is signed (by most nations….)
Treaty of Versailles – The treaty that ended the Great War
The treaty was very tough on Germany
Treaty Terms
1. Germany had restrictions placed
on its military
2. Germany lost much of its land in
Europe and all of its colonies (they
became mandates)
3. War Guilt Clause – It placed sole
responsibility for the war on
Germany and forced Germany to
pay reparations
Reparations
Reparations – payment for war
damages
- The treaty created feelings of
bitterness among the victors and
the defeated
Treaty
Unhappy Compromise – refers to
the Treaty of Versailles
New Map
- Several new nations were created
out of land lost by the Central
Powers
Austria-Hungary – Austria, Hungary,
Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
Ottoman Empire – Turkey,
Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, Syria,
Lebanon
Russia – Poland, Finland, Romania,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
Bitterness
- The treaty did not build lasting peace. It was just the opposite
- America rejected the treaty and signed a separate peace with Germany in later
years
- America did not join the League of Nations and it ultimately failed
- Japan and Italy were bitter about not getting the land they desired
- Imperialism didn’t really end it just continued under the mandate system
Bitterness
- The War Guilt Clause left a bitter hatred with the Germans and left the country
impoverished and starved for new leadership
- The treaty has been called a “treaty built on quicksand”
- The treaty would lead to another war
THE END