 How many countries were involved in WWI?
 135 (some colonies)
 There was a specific type of warfare first used during
WWI. What was it called?
 Trench Warfare
 What triggered WWI?
 Assassination of Francis Ferdinand
 How many British soldiers were lost on the first day
of Battle at the Somme?
 58,000
 What is another name for WWI?
 The Great War, The War To End All Wars, The War
of the Nations
 A new disorder developed from the being in close
range to exploding bullets. What was this disorder
called?
 Shell Shock
 How many troops were mobilized during WWI?
 65 Million Troops
 Who were the two alliances fighting against one
another in WWI?
 The Allies and the Central Powers
 WWI was the first time countries used which type of
weapon?
 Chemical Weapons (mustard gas)
 Who won the war?
 The Allies
Important Pre-WWI Factors
Alliances and Nationalism
 By the late 19th Century, Europe’s powers divided into 2 loose
alliances.


Triple Alliance=Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy
Triple Entente=France, Great Britain, Russia
 A series of events tested these alliances, and by 1914, Europe’s
powers were angry with one another and eager for
revenge
 Nationalism


In places where ethnic groups didn’t have their own nation, (Irish under
British rule, Slavs in the Balkins, Poles under Russian rule) Nationalism
intensified and grew violent.
Any effort by dominant forces to quell rebellions only made the desire for
independence stronger.
Internal Dissent
 Socialist Labor Movements had grown more
powerful and were using strikes, even violent ones,
to achieve their goals.
 Leaders wanted very badly to prevent revolution in
their countries.

Their desire to prevent Revolution may have made them more
eager to jump into war in 1914
Militarism
 Countries began amassing massive armies in the early
1900s.
This escalated the already growing tensions between European
countries. Why?
 Countries used conscription (a draft) to build up the military numbers
and between 1890 and 1914, European armies doubled in size.
 With 1.3 million men, the Russian army was the largest. The French
and German armies had 900,000 each.

 Militarism– aggressive preparation for war– was
growing.
This also made military leaders more powerful….they drew up
complex plans for mobilizing troops and going to war that they
insisted could NOT be changed.
 This took power away from political leaders and forced them to make
decisions for military reasons instead of political ones.

The Serbian Problem
 By 1914, Serbia (supported by Russia) was
determined to create a large, independent Slavic
state in the Balkans.
 Austria-Hungary was equally determined to prevent
this

Why would they care?
 This conflict led many Europeans to predict war
between the two countries….
Little did they know…..
All H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks Breaks Loose…
 Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of
Austria-Hungary, visited Bosnian town of Sarajevo.
Group of Serbian Terrorists, known as the Black Hand, waited in
the streets. They wanted Bosnia to be free of Aus-Hun rule.
 They planned to kill the Archduke…but the bomb thrown at his car
missed and hit the car behind his.
 Later in the day, a 19 year old Bosnian Serb was successful in
shooting Ferdinand and his wife

This set off a chain of events that ultimately became
World War One…
Volunteers Please!
 Write down the following countries in a circle on
your paper...
Austria-Hungary

Germany


Serbia
Russia


France
Belgium


Great Britain
Chain Reactions…

Austria-Hungary reaches out to Germany for support against Serbia and Germany issues a
“blank check”—”we’ll support you no matter what”

A-H issued an ultimatum to Serbia which Serbia refused….on July 28, A-H declared war on
Serbia.

Russia supported Serbia’s cause, thus mobilizing troops against both A-H and Germany; they
knew this would be interpreted by Germany as an act of war. Declared war on A-H.

Germany declared war on Russia on Aug. 1

Germany formed the Schlieffen plan– a 2 front war against Russia and France. Declared war
on France on Aug 3

Germany needed to pass through neutral Belgium to get to France…issued an ultimatum to
Belgium.

Great Britain declared war on Germany for violating Belgian Neutrality (and to secure its
own world power). Belgium then declared war on Germany as well.

By August 4th, all the great powers of Europe were at war…
European Expectations of the War
 Most nations at war were supported by their citizens
Government Propaganda had effectively stirred up national
hatreds before the war
 Each country genuinely thought their cause was just

Expectations
 People were also enthusiastic about the war because
they believed it would be over in only a few weeks
All other wars in Europe since 1815 had only lasted a matter of
weeks
 When soldiers boarded trains to go to war, people celebrated their
departure by throwing flowers, believing they would be home by
Christmas

The First Battle of the Marne
 First Battle of the Marne was the first battle of the
war (September 6-10)
German planned to make a wide circle through Belgium and sweep
around Paris to surround the French Army
 They were halted a short distance from Paris when French military
leaders loaded 2000 Parisian taxis with troops and sent them to
the front lines.
 Battle ended in a stalemate, as neither side could dislodge the
other from the trenches they had dug for protection….

Trench Warfare
 Trenches were deep ditches, surrounded by barbed
wire, dug by soldiers, used for protection
Soldiers lived, slept, and fought from within the trenches
 Often spent months in the trenches, amongst dead bodies and
vermin
 Mustard gas was a key weapon in trench warfare
 Soldiers developed what was called a “live and let live”
system….both sides realized they would not drive the other out
and so they adhered to specific codes of conduct such as not
bombing the latrines, and not attacking during breakfast.

 The development of trenches kept the Western Front
in virtually the same positions for four years.
Trench Warfare Facts
 The mud in the trenches was often so deep that
soldiers who fell into deep spots would be suffocated
and never seen again.
 Corpses lay all over the battlefield encouraging rats
and lice…some rats were said to be the size of small
cats.
 The vermin spread diseases such as Trench Fever
and Weil’s Disease
Trench Warfare Facts
 The wet, muddy ground caused Trench Foot, leading
to many amputations
Trench Warfare Facts
 The General’s Quarters were generally many miles
behind the safety of the trenches, causing
resentment among the soldiers
 Shell Shock was common among soldiers, caused by
the constant sound of artillery. It resulted in
disorientation, shaking, and loss of logical thought.
 For lower soldiers, Shell Shock was treated with
Electric Shock Therapy, or those found wandering
were charged with cowardice and shot.
Trench Warfare Facts
 Enemies would fly kites with words on them over the
trenches to encourage soldiers to stick their heads
out.
 Body lice was a constant problem for soldiers
 Soldiers subsisted on canned stew and beans for the
majority of their time in the trenches
The War Continues…
The Eastern Front
 In contrast to the Western Front (Trenches) the war on the
Eastern Front was marked by mobility




Cost in lives was just as great
Russia army moved in E. Germany but was defeated at the Battle of
Tannenberg and Battle of Masurian Lakes.
As a result of these defeats, Russia was no longer a threat to Germany.
Austria-Hungary was less fortunate….lost to Russia at Galicia and thrown out
of Serbia as well.
• Also betrayed by former ally Italy, joined the Allies in 1915.
 Germany-Austrian army formed




Were able to defeat Russia and push them back to their own territory.
Russian casualties were so high, they were practically knocked out of the war.
Bulgaria then joined the Central Powers and knocked Serbia out of the war.
These successes allowed Germans to move back to the offensive on the
Western Front.
A War of Attrition
 Definition: a war based on wearing the other side down
by constant attacks and heavy losses

In 10 months at Verdun, 700,000 men lost their lives over a few miles
of land
 War in the Air
In 1915, airplanes appeared on the battle front for the first time in
history
 Fights for control of the air increased. Pilots went from firing at each
other with handheld pistols to firing with machine guns mounted on
the nose of the plane.
 Germans used giant airships called Zeppelins to bomb English towns,
but enemies soon realized the Zeppelins, filled with hydrogen gas,
quickly exploded when hit…

Widening of the War
 Because of the stalemate on the Western Front, both
sides sought new allies
The Central Powers gained the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria
 The Allies gained Italy, India, Australia, and New Zealand.

 The Allies began seizing German colonies in the rest
of the world

Were able to do this due to Germany’s lack of naval strength.
Enter the U.S.