
Imperialism

Militarism

Nationalism

Alliances

Europe competes for territory

Why: Industrialization =need
for more raw materials and
markets.

By 1914 only a few territories
remained.
▪ Take lands that had
already been taken
▪ Competition for what
was remaining.
Per capita industrialisation levels, 1860-1913 (UK in 1900=100)
140
120
100
80
1860
1880
1900
1913
60
40
20
0
Germany
UK
USA
Gross Nominal Value of Capital Invested Abroad in 1914 ($ million)
20000
18000
16000
14000
12000
Africa
Asia
Latin America
Western offshoots
Europe
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
UK
France
Germany
Other
US



Because of the
uncertain climate,
European countries
began building huge
militaries.
Britain developed
the dreadnaught
which gave Britain
naval superiority.
Germany made
plans to build 33 of
its own ships
Comparative figures on army increase, 1870-1914:
1870
Russia 700,000
1914
1,300,000
France 380,000
846,000
Germany 403,000
812,000
Austria-Hungary 247,000
424,000
Britain 302,000
381,000
Italy 334,000
305,000
Japan 70,000
250,000
U.S.A. 37,000
98,000
Total military and naval personnel of the four principal European
powers (thousands of men), 1890-1914
2500
Russia+France
Germany+Austria-Hungary
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1890
1900
1910
1914
Military expenditures of the two European blocs, 1890-1913 (£ million)
300
Triple Entente
Triple Alliance
250
200
150
100
1913
1912
1911
1910
1909
1908
1907
1906
1905
1904
1903
1902
1901
1900
1899
1898
1897
1896
1895
1894
1893
1892
1891
1890
50

German has plans before
the war (Schlieffen)
 Step 1--Quickly occupy
France through Belgium.
 Step 2--move to the
eastern front (Russia).
▪ They assumed that Russia
would take longer to
mobilize.



Most of the European
countries felt a sense of
pride and superiority.
Other ethnic groups
living in Russia, AustriaHungary and Germany
desired unification.
Russia supported the
Slavic people, some of
which were living in
Austria-Hungary and
others in Serbia.
Important Example

1908 Austria-Hungary
takes Bosnia
 Serbia believes Bosnia is
rightfully theirs and those
living in Bosnia agree
 Russia backs Serbia
Two provinces on
the border of France
and Germany. The
Rhine river flows
through.
 France lost Alsace
Lorraine to FrancoPrussian War of
1870-71 to Germany
 France saw the
territory as theirs
and wanted it back


A complex system
of alliances were
established
among European
nations.

The alliances
entangled
European
countries with one
another.

The Dual Alliance--1879
 Austria-Hungary and
Germany
 A defensive treaty–
Stated that if either
country was attacked by
another, they would
support each other

The Triple Alliance—1882
 An extension of the Dual
Alliance where Italy
would assist if Germany
was attacked and remain
neutral if AustriaHungary was attacked
 All would attack if both
Russia and France attack

The Reinsurance Treaty---1887

 Russia and Germany
 Russia and France agreed
were to remain friendly
with one another and
support each other if an
attack took place


Conflicted with the Dual
Alliance
Treaty lapsed when Bismarck
was gone in 1890
Franco-Russian Alliance– 1892
to support one another in
case of an attack by
another country.

This created two teams of
countries and led to
suspicion and friction
Anglo-Japanese
Alliance
1902
 Japan feared Russian
encroachment in
Northern China
 Britain feared German
naval growth, French
encroachment in Africa
and Russian
encroachment in the far
east.
Entente Cordiale
1904
 Agreement between
France and Britain.
 France would recognize
Britain in Egypt and
Britain would leave
France alone in Morocco.
Anglo Russian
Agreement
1907
 Agreement between
Britain in Russia to settle
territorial disputes
This led to the creation of
the Triple Entente which
essentially isolated
Germany and escalated
tension.

Britain, France and
Russia
1879
The Dual Alliance
1881
Austro-Serbian Alliance
1882
The Triple Alliance
Germany and Austria-Hungary made an
alliance to protect themselves from
Russia
Austria-Hungary made an alliance with
Serbia to stop Russia gaining control of
Serbia
Germany and Austria- Hungary made an
alliance with Italy to stop Italy from taking
sides with Russia
1894
Franco-Russian Alliance
1914
Triple Entente (no separate peace)
Russia formed an alliance with France to
protect herself against Germany and
Austria-Hungary
Britain, Russia and France agreed not to
sign for peace separately.
1907
Triple Entente
This was made between Russia, France
and Britain to counter the increasing
threat from Germany.
Top
1907
Anglo-Russian Entente
1904
Entente Cordiale
This was an agreement between Britain
and Russia
This was an agreement, but not a formal
alliance, between France and Britain.





Austria Hungary annexed Bosnia
Many Bosnians wanted to be part of Serbia due to ethnic ties
When Archduke Francis Ferdinand went to visit his soldiers in
Bosnia on June 28th 1914, many Bosnians met his arrival with
bitterness.
A terrorist threw a bomb at the Archdukes car, it bounced off
and injured two guards
When going to visit the two injured guards, the archduke and
his wife were shot by a Bosnian


The assassination of the Archduke was
followed by a threat toward Serbia to cease
the support of terrorism in Bosnia.
Unhappy with the reactions of Serbia,
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on
July 28th, 1914

July 28, 1914- Upset by the
assassination on the archduke, AH declares war on Serbia

July 29- Russia, feeling obligated
to protect Serbia, begins
mobilizing troops.

August 1st- Germany
on Russia

declares war
Germany occupies Luxumburg
and sets the Schlieffen plan into
action.

Germany asks Belgium
permission to rolll through their
country on the way to attack
France

Belgium Refuses

Germany does not want Britain to
enter the war and Kaiser Wilhelm
II (German emperor) suggests that
they not proceed. Moltke (the
German Chief of General Staff)
say that they must since the ball
was rolling already



August 3rd Germany declares war on France
August 4th Germany invades France through
Belgium putting the Schlieffen plan into
action
Because of a treaty signed by Britain decades
earlier promising Belgium’s neutrality, Britain
declares war on Germany on August 4th

Both sides believed they would be victorious
and that the war would be short and limited.

Britain believed that it would be a primarily
naval war which they felt they would
dominate.

Germany believed that Britain would remain
neutral and thought of the treaty that kept
Belgium neutral as a scrap of paper.




A-H believed Germany would help flank the
north while they invaded Serbia
Germany figured that A-H would invade
Russia while they took care of France.
A-H was forced to split their army and were
not able to take Serbia swifttly. In fact, Serbia
forced A-H back.
A-H therefore had limited troops to face
Russia
Germany swept through Belgium and
made their way to the outskirts of
Paris where they were stopped by
British and French forces
 At the Marne River, both sides dug in
and fortified their positions.
 A stalemate ensued– Trench warfare
becomes the tactic of choice
Animated Battlefront





Death was a constant companion to those serving in
the line, even when no raid or attack was launched or
defended against. In busy sectors the constant
shellfire directed by the enemy brought random
death, whether their victims were lounging in a trench
or lying in a dugout (many men were buried as a
consequence of such large shell-bursts).
Similarly, novices were cautioned against their natural
inclination to peer over the parapet of the trench into
No Man's Land.
Many men died on their first day in the trenches as a
consequence of a precisely aimed sniper's bullet.
It has been estimated that up to one third of Allied
casualties on the Western Front were actually
sustained in the trenches. Aside from enemy injuries,
disease wrought a heavy toll.



Rats in their millions infested trenches. There were
two main types, the brown and the black rat. Both
were despised but the brown rat was especially
feared. Gorging themselves on human remains
(grotesquely disfiguring them by eating their eyes
and liver) they could grow to the size of a cat.
Men, exasperated and afraid of these rats (which
would even scamper across their faces in the dark),
would attempt to rid the trenches of them by various
methods: gunfire, with the bayonet, and even by
clubbing them to death.
It was futile however: a single rat couple could
produce up to 900 offspring in a year, spreading
infection and contaminating food. The rat problem
remained for the duration of the war (although many
veteran soldiers swore that rats sensed impending
heavy enemy shellfire and consequently disappeared
from view).






Rats were by no means the only source of infection and nuisance. Lice were a
never-ending problem, breeding in the seams of filthy clothing and causing men
to itch unceasingly.
Even when clothing was periodically washed and deloused, lice eggs invariably
remained hidden in the seams; within a few hours of the clothes being re-worn
the body heat generated would cause the eggs to hatch.
Lice caused Trench Fever, a particularly painful disease that began suddenly with
severe pain followed by high fever. Recovery - away from the trenches - took up
to twelve weeks. Lice were not actually identified as the culprit of Trench Fever
until 1918.
Frogs by the score were found in shell holes covered in water; they were also
found in the base of trenches. Slugs and horned beetles crowded the sides of the
trench.
Many men chose to shave their heads entirely to avoid another prevalent
scourge: nits.
Trench Foot was another medical condition peculiar to trench life. It was a fungal
infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and unsanitary trench conditions. It
could turn gangrenous and result in amputation. Trench Foot was more of a
problem at the start of trench warfare; as conditions improved in 1915 it rapidly
faded, although a trickle of cases continued throughout the war.

30% of all Americans were 1st or 2nd
generation immigrants
 Ties to their homelands
▪ German-Americans + Irish-Americans= Pro G

Most Americans felt closer to GB due to the
commonalities that exist and the roots of
America

Germany viewed as chief aggressor and
therefore, brutes.
▪ Invasion of Belgium described as “a force of nature like a
tidal wave, an avalanche or a river flooding its banks,”
and destroying libraries cathedrals, and, sometimes,
entire town in Belgium and France.
 Richard Davis, 1914
 British propaganda supported this assertion

From 1897 to 1914 Americans had seen
oversees investment rise from 700 million to
3.5 billion dollars.
 When the war broke out, the investments were
threatened
 Wilson’s policy of neutrality supported continued
trade with both nations, though our investments
in with the allies were much weightier than those
of the central powers.

Britain began using
naval blockades to
prevent trade.
 Large corporations (which
still had a great deal of
influence on Government at
the time) faced the possibility
of loosing enormous amounts
of money due to the decrease
in trade
 The naval blockades posed a
serious threat to corporate
profits
German Submarine Warfare

Naval rules discouraged attacks
without warning on merchant ships

Germans began attacking allied
ships carrying supplies and
blockading German ports.

These attacks posed a serious threat
to neutral ships carrying supplies

These attacks also made America
distrustful of Germany due to their
unconventional methods


German’s sent fleet
to the North Sea to
attack the British
blockade.
Ended in stalemate
and German retreat


The Germans developed
the U1 and U2 submarines
which they used to destroy
ANY ships that were in the
waters surrounding Britain.
The policy of unrestricted
submarine warfare led to
the sinking of British
passenger ships as well as
ships transporting
American goods to Europe





A British passenger ship carrying Americans is
torpedoed and sunk in the by a Germany sub.
America warns Germany and Germany
responds with promises
French ship, the Sussex, is sunk less than one
year later.
Sussex pledge– another German promise to
not sink passenger ships
10 months later– Germany ended this and
resumed unrestricted submarine warfare.
 Telegram proposing that Mexico
attack U.S. if U.S. enters the war
against the Central Powers.
 In return, Germany promised to help Mexico
regain its territories
 intercepted by Americans
 That’s the last straw--WAR!!!

Some historians believe that Britain and France had
ulterior motives and attracted as many neutral ships
into the area as possible. Why?

Some historians also believe that the Lusitania was
not the cause of America’s entry into the war but
rather an excuse.
 American corporations were making tremendous profits
from the war and the sinking of ships filled with war
supplies was resulting in profit losses.
America on the Home Front

Liberty bonds– A special war bond sold to
help raise money for the war efforts.
▪ Provided about 25% of the funding for the war. Over
$20 billion was raised by the treasury
 To help sell these bonds
▪ Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts set up booths on street
corners
▪ “four minute men” (usually famous people) gave short
(four minute) speeches to help promote the sale of war
bonds

Two new agencies that regulated production
and trade.
 The former told producers what, how much, and
even how much to charge
 The latter regulated international trade.
▪ Punished those trading with enemy



In 1915 Ford opposed the
war stating that he
would burn his factories
to the ground before
manufacturing war
goods
In 1917 Ford accepted
orders for 16000 tanks,
20000 tractors and antisubmarine ships.
Federal aid was provided
to entice this change

Lever Food and Fuel Control Act
▪ Enabled president to regulate distribution of food and fuel
according to the needs of the military
 “Food will win the war!”—Worked to increase farm output
and reduce waste.
 Herbert Hoover led the Food Administration and was
given the power to manage how much food people
bought, impose price controls, and begin rationing food.

Women promoted the
war effort by preaching
the “Gospel of the Clean
Plate.”
▪ Stop, before throwing any
food away, and ask, ‘Can it
be used?’…Stop catering to
the different appetites. No
second helpings. Stop all
eating between
meals…One meatless day a
week. One wheatless
meals a day… No butter in
cooking: use substitutes.

Shifting an hour of
sunlight increased
the daylight hours
therefore
▪ Promoting longer
workdays and therefore
production increases
▪ Reduced the need for
artificial light therefore
saving resources

Banned:
▪ Anything pro-German
 German Music, writing, language, books, names, etc.
 German Sheppard, Frankfurter, Hamburger, German Measles, etc.
▪ Anything Anti-Britain (American Rev. Film)

Government hired former muckrakers to begin rallying for
support through journalism

Restrictions on immigration to prevent espionage.

General hostility toward Germans “Hate the Huns”

Robert Prager (despite attempt to enlist) lynched.

Sedition and Espionage Act
 Sedition Act made it illegal to voice anything that
was “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive”
about America
 Espionage Act– Made it illegal to interfere with
the draft.






Movement to eliminate Monarchy beginning in
early 20th century
Radical Bolsheviks (working class) uprisings
In March of 1917, Czar Nicholas II no longer in power
British and French hoped that Russia would stay in
the war
Germany wanted her out
Lenin was escorted to Russia to inspire revolution
 Lenin’s goals would help Germany
 Lenin saw WWI as "One slaveowner, Germany is fighting

another slaveowner, England, for a fairer distribution of
the slaves".
Vladimir Lenin, imprisoned in Germany, released
and sent to take power in Russia. ( current leader
was keeping Russia in the war)







9 million soldiers dead
10 Million civilians dead
7 Million soldiers permanently disabled
1918 influenza outbreak kills upwards of 50
million
337 billion dollars spent (4.5 trillion today)
Most countries faced bankruptcy
US has 3.5 billion in overseas loans
•14 Points
•The League of Nations
•The Treaty of Versailles




January 1918– 10 Months before armistice
14 Points came from the collection of work
done by a 150 member advisory board
It was a plan for peace based on moral
standards– Very idealistic
Used as propaganda and dropped behind
German lines to seem as though there would
be a just outcome of the war
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
No Secret Treaties
Freedom of the Seas
Free Trade
Disarmament
End Colonialism
Russia is given its right to
independent development
Belgium restored and
evacuated
Return of Alsace Loraine to
France
9. Italy’s borders were t o be redrawn
based on nationality
10. Autonomous development of
Austria-Hungary
11. Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, and
other Balkan states autonomous
12. Turkish autonomy
13. Polish independence
14. Multilateral association of nations to
maintain peace (eventually the
League of Nations)





Many of Wilson's 14 Points were based on
progressives’ ideas
The speech was made before other countries were
made aware of the plan
Wilson began promoting his plan overseas
All the countries were unhappy with parts of the
plan
Why?
▪
▪
▪
▪
France wanted reparations
Britain did not like the “Freedom of the seas” idea
Italy obviously did not like the new borders
All the countries wanted to keep their colonial claims
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, head of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, had been a long-time
critic of Wilson
 Lodge, after reading the draft of the League of
Nations proposal from the Paris Peace Conference,
objected and gained wide spread support for this
opposition among the Senate
 Article X was at the forefront of the opposition


Collective security agreements.
 All territorial borders drawn at Versailles would be
respected and protected by members of the
league
 Borders would be protected using economic
sanctions and military force
▪ Why so bad????

Many Congressmen feared that this would
endanger the Monroe Doctrine –
▪ There was an addendum that assured the integrity of
the Monroe Doctrine, that helped appease the
opposition later

Many were also opposed to creating ties to
Europe where future intervention would be
inevitable if conflict broke out.

Only 4 major countries were involved in the Paris
Peace Conference (although many smaller nations
wanted to attend because of the nationalistic aims)
 France– Clemenceau
 Italy-Vittorio-Orlando
 Britain-David Lloyd George
 United States- Woodrow Wilson
 (Japan was also involved but not as important)


The idea of self-rule was
strongly opposed by
France, Italy and Japan
who wanted to maintain
control of their colonial
claims
The Idea of “Mandate” was
introduced that would give
Allied control over the
territories of the central
power until the natives
could be “prepared” to rule
themselves

Eastern Europe was broken
up into a multitude of new
nations including:





Poland
Czechoslovakia
The Baltic States
Yugoslavia
Regardless of their
independence, the
minority ethnic groups of
the new states saw the
new borders as unjust.

Germany had to give up
numerous territories, the
most notable,

 France got Alsace-Loraine


War-Guilt Clause
(Germany must accept
guilt for the war)
Demilitarization and
occupation of the
Rhineland


German Army <100,000
and no tanks, heavy
artillery, aircraft, and limit
to navy vessels under
100,000 tons with no
submarines
Germany has to pay for all
damages to the allied
countries
Establishment of the
League of Nations



Wilson was a bit unpleased about the harsh
outcome of the treaty
He was happy and had absolute faith in the
new League of Nations as a peace keeper for
the generations to come
European nations all had some faith in the
new League of Nations yet all also had felt
uncertain and had some misgivings (iereactions were uncertain)

Positives
 It may keep peace
 Supported by teachers
and clergy

Negatives
 Entangle America in Distant
Disputes
 Legitimacy of actions that
may be taken by the League
 Ethnic Americans
▪ German-Americans did not
see that punishment of
Germany as being reasonable
▪ Irish-Americans did not like
that Ireland was not freed
from Britain's control
▪ Italians did not like that Italian
territory was taken


Three different votes led to Wilson’s
realization that the United States would not
be a member of the League of Nations
Why
 Wilson Preached Morally
 He refused to include the republicans in on his
plan
 He was determined to push it through



Early League did not include Germany or
Russia. Therefore 3 of the worlds superpowers were not included
Eventually more than 60 member nations.
Lacked credibility because the US did not join
Solved issue pertaining to some islands disputed
between Sweden and Finland
 Dealt with a conflict in Turkey
 Prevented a war between Bulgaria and Greece who
disputed their border
 Dealt with other issues including:

▪
▪
▪
▪
Child Slave Labor
Drug Addiction
Smuggling
Financial Aid to those in need

The League established the organizations
which are now part of the United Nations
including:
▪
▪
▪
▪
World Health Organization
United Nations High Commission for Refugees
International Court of Justice
International Labor Organization

No military force because member nations
were not required to provide troops so:
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Poland seized Lithuanian town
Italy seized Fiume (Port given to Yugoslavia after war)
Russia and Poland went to war
France and Belgium invaded Germany
Japan invaded Manchuria






Harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles
Germans were unable to pay war debts
Massive unemployment
Wanted their lands back
Hitler promised economic betterment and
the return of the German lands
Resentment and despair

The League
 Wanted to act
unilaterally
 Did not want to be
entangled
 Wanted to secure
interests in west
 Wanted all war debts to
be paid

Europe thought the US
would forgive some of
the debt but they did
not. This led to
resentment