Part I
Standard 7
 Long Term
Causes
• Militarism - Building strong modern armies
 Nations hope large armies with modern weapons will
prevent attacks
• Alliances: a union or association formed for mutual
benefit, especially between countries or
organizations.
 If someone messes with me you got my back right?
• Imperialism - Extending one’s influence into other
territories
 Nations compete over territory & resources
• Nationalism - Deep sense of national identity & pride
 Rivalries develop over territory, resources, and perceived
insults
 Alliance
System
• Agreements bind countries together in case of war
 Triple Alliance (1882)- Germany, Italy, Austro-Hungary
 Triple Entente (1904)- Great Britain, France, Russia
 Assassination
of Franz Ferdinand
• Archduke of Austria-Hungary & wife were shot
and killed on June 28, 1914 during a visit to
Sarajevo, Bosnia.
 Black Hand Terrorist group hoped to bring attention
to their nationalist cause
 Shooter- Gavrilo Princip
The Blank Check - Germany
offered unconditional support
of Austria-Hungary’s response
to the assassination
 Austria-Hungary made harsh
demands on Serbia (allow AH
soldiers to investigate, stop
anti-Austrian press, etc.)


July 28, 1914 - AH declared war
when Serbia refused demands
 War
declaration kicks
the Alliance System into
motion:
• Germany joins Austria in
war on Serbia
• Russia mobilizes troops to
protect Serbia
• Germany institutes the
Schlieffen Plan to avoid a
2 front war

holding off Russia with minimal strength and swiftly
defeating France by a massive flanking movement
through the Low Countries
 Russia
& France were allies
• Germany must attack France & Russia to avoid
2 front war
 WESTERN AND EASTERN FRONTS
 France was more modern so should be defeated first,
then Russia could be dealt with
 German invasion through Belgium during attack on
France brought Britain into WWI
 Schlieffen
Plan failed when stiff French
resistance slowed German attack
• One of the early battles of WWI
• Causes the Germans to re-treat from France
• Marks the beginning of Trench Warfare
 Trench Warfare
- fighting from deep, long
interconnected ditches
• Central area (“No Man’s Land”) guarded by
machine gun nests, land mines
• Trenches protected by earthen walls, barbed wire
• Charges required aerial bombardment & artillery,
followed by open charge, and hand-to-hand combat
 Trench Warfare
was slow and
deadly
• Millions died
fighting over a
few miles of
territory on the
French-German
border
• Territory shifted
hands often in
course of war
 No
trenches, but slow & deadly
 Russia’s
lack of industrialization left soldiers
without supplies, rifles
• Russian troops suffered heavy casualties (Over 2
Million in the 1st 2 years of fighting)
• German victory at Tannenberg nearly pushed Russia
out of the war
 Central
Powers - Germany, AustriaHungary, Ottoman Empire
 Allies
- Great Britain, France, Russia, Serbia
• Later the United States