World War 1
M.A.N.I.A.
The Causes of WW1
•Militarism
•Alliance System
•Nationialism
•Imperialism
•Assasination
Nationalism
•National interest and
unity should be placed
ahead of global
cooperation. You are
the best!
Romantic Ideas
• “The war will be over by
Christmas”
• All sides thought the war
would be quick with a
victory march into enemy
cities and then “normal
life” would resume
• A great adventure
Imperialism
•Europe
competing for
prestige and
resources—
Questions 1,2, and 3
• 1. With whom did Germany make
an alliance to isolate France and
2. what was it called?
• 3. What was the next nation
added and how did the name of
the alliance change?
Questions 4 AND 5
• 4. 1894— Because of
William II of Germany’s
lack of respect for Russia—
with whom does Russia
ally themselves?
• 5. Why would this
eventually pose a problem
for Germany?
William II continues to make
mistakes
• 6. Whose navy does Germany
decide to challenge in
strength causing a naval arms
race?
• 7 and 8. In 1907, with whom
does Britain sign a treaty of
friendship and what is it
called?
Powder Keg
• 9. What part of the world
is described as the
powder keg of Europe?
Questions 10 and 11
•10 and 11—which nation
supports Austria and which
supports Serbia?
Questions 12 and 13
•On June
th
28 ,
1914, the heir
to the Austrian
throne__________ was
assassinated by a young
Serbian known as
__________?
Question 14
• A month after the
assassination, Austria sent
Serbia a set of demands
known as a ____________
that if not met would lead
to war.
Question 15
•What is the term
defined as the
glorification of armed
strength?
Alliances System Answers
• 1. With whom did Germany
make an alliance with to
isolate France?
• 1. German allies with
Austria/Hungary
• 2. What was it called?
• 2. The Dual Alliance
Alliance System Answers
• 3. What was the next nation
added and how did the name
of the alliance change? Who
else soon joined right
afterwards?
• Italy/Triple Alliance
William II of Germany-withered
arm
• He comes into power and forces
Bismarck to resign
• Wanted any excuse to show the
greatness of Germany’s army
• Let the treaty between Germany
and Russia lapse
Answers
• 4.1894— Because of William II
of Germany’s lack of respect
for Russia—with whom does
Russia ally themselves?
• Russia allies themselves with
France; they promise to come
to each others aid if one is
ever attacked.
Answers
• 5. Why would this
eventually pose a problem
for Germany?
• This would put Germany
into a two front war
Answer 6,7, and 8
• 6. Whose navy does Germany decide to
challenge in strength causing a naval arms
race?
• 6. Britain
• 7 and 8. In 1907, who does Britain sign a
treaty of friendship with and what is it
called?
• 7. France and Russia and 8. it is called the
Triple Entente (friendly understanding)
Alliances
• Triple
Alliance—later
called Central
Powers
• Germany
• Austria-Hungary
• Italy
• Triple
Entente
• France
• Russia
• Britain
Answer—9
•9. What part of the
world is described as the
powder keg of Europe?
•The Balkans
The Balkans
•Greece, Albania,
Bulgaria, Romania,
Montenegro, and Serbia
•Austria Hungary felt it
was time to extend its
power into the Balkans
• 10 and 11—which nation supports
Austria and which nation supports
Serbia?
• 10-Germany and 11. Russia
Why does Russia play
such a big role?
It hopes that by
backing Serbia, it will
gain access to key
warm water ports in
the Mediterranean
Questions 12 and 13—the Spark
• On June 28th, 1914, the heir to
the Austrian throne
• 12.Archduke Franz Ferdinand
was assassinated by a young
Serbian known as
The Spark
• 13. Gavrilo Princip
• This took place in Sarajevo,
the capital of the Austria
ruled Bosnia
• Austria blames Serbia for the
assassination
Gavrilo
Princip
•Member of
the Black
Hand
•Shot
Archduke
Franz
Ferdinand
and his wife
Question 14
• A month after the assassination,
Austria sent Serbia a set of
demands known as an
• 14.ultimatum, that if not met
would lead to war
• Though the Serbs try to meet the
demands, four days later Austria
declares war on them
The Spark
• Russia mobilized its troops along the
border of German and AustriaHungary.
• Germany declared war on Russia.
• Knowing that France would support
Russia, Germany declared war on
France too.
Answer—Question 15
• What is the term defined as the
glorification of armed strength?
• Militarism—people were almost
yearning for war was they
romanticized how “wonderful”
it would be to demonstrate
their strength
Let’s get ready to rumble
• August 4, 1914, Germany begins
the offensive by invading
Belgium, a neutral country
between France and Germany
• Part of the Schlieffen Plan
• Britain outraged by this act
declares war on Germany
Schlieffen Plan
• The German plan for a two-front war
• Invade France quickly through neutral
Belgium
• Russia would take time to mobilize
• Defeat France quickly and then deal with
Russia
Schlieffen Plan
Western Front
• German advance stopped by
Britain and France at the Battle of
the Marne
• By Spring 1915—2 lines of
trenches, 300 miles long
• Stalemate - neither side attaining
any real victory
Trenches
Western Front
• Trenches are often just yards
apart
• “No Man’s Land” is in between the
trench lines
• Filled with rats, lice, dirty water,
bodies of dead and wounded
comrades, shell craters
Weaponry
• Transition from cavalry and foot
to mechanized warfare
• Tanks
• Machine guns
• Flamethrowers
• Airplanes
• Poison gas
The Red
Barron
John Singer Sargent—one of the
most famous paintings of WW!
A mustard gas description
• Dichlorethylsulphide: the most dreaded of all chemical
weapons in World War I - mustard gas. Unlike the other
gases which attack the respiratory system, this gas acts
on any exposed, moist skin. This includes, but is not
limited to, the eyes, lungs, armpits and groin. A gas
mask could offer very little protection. The oily agent
would produce large burn-like blisters wherever it came
in contact with skin. It also had a nasty way of hanging
about in low areas for hours, even days, after being
dispersed. A soldier jumping into a shell crater to seek
cover could find himself blinded, with skin blistering and
lungs bleeding.
A first hand account
• Death by mustard gas, when it came, was dreadful. A post-
mortem account from the British official medical history
records one of the first British casualties:
– Case four. Aged 39 years. Gassed 29 July 1917. Admitted
to casualty clearing station the same day. Died about ten
days later. Brownish pigmentation present over large
surfaces of the body. A white ring of skin where the wrist
watch was. Marked superficial burning of the face and
scrotum. The larynx much congested. The whole of the
trachea was covered by a yellow membrane. The bronchi
contained abundant gas. The lungs fairly voluminous.
The right lung showing extensive collapse at the base.
Liver congested and fatty. Stomach showed numerous
submucous haemorrhages. The brain substance was
unduly wet and very congested
Total Slaughter-"Hell cannot be
so terrible as this. Humanity is
mad; it must be mad to do
what it is doing."
• Battle of Verdun—Germans
advance about 4 miles
• Battle of Somme-British forces
advance about 5 miles
• Between these two engagementsover 1 million combined casualties
• "You eat beside the dead; you drink beside
the dead, you relieve yourself beside the
dead and you sleep beside the dead."
• Men were squashed. Cut in two or divided
from top to bottom. Blown into showers;
bellies turned inside out; skulls forced into
the chest as if by a blow from a club."
• When they came out of the battle, what a
pitiful sight they were. Their expressions
seemed frozen by a wisdom of terror; they
sagged beneath the weight of horrifying
memories."
Christmas Spirit—war is truly strange
•Define propaganda.
When would you
see a government
use it?
Role Of Propaganda
• Governments controlled the
news
• Keep up fighting spirit by
using propaganda—one sided
information to help convince
people of a certain point of
view
WW1 propaganda
The Eastern Front
• Czar Nicholas II with his troops
The Eastern Front
•Russia does not have
enough guns, food, or
industry
•All it has is a lot of soldiers,
which it keeps throwing at
the Germans
Russian Losses
• Disastrous losses at Battle of Tannenberg
and Masurian Lakes
• Poor communication, disagreements
between generals
• Looking bad for Russia
• Czar Nicholas II spends a great deal near
the front to supervise
Back in Moscow…
• Czarina Alexandra is left in charge
• She falls under the influence of the corrupt
Rasputin
• Credited him with healing her son’s of
hemophilia, she will listen to anything he
says
• He takes advantage of his position; has a
bad reputation with Russian people.
• Alexandra’s support of Rasputin makes the
Romanov’s look even worse
A Brilliant German Plan
• They ship Vladimir Lenin back to Russia
• He had been in exile in Switzerland for his
revolutionary ideas
• He proclaimed himself a Communist and
envisioned a Communist Revolution to
improve Russia
• Germans shipped him back secretly to
undermine the Russian war effort
Spring 1917
• Czar Nicholas II is forced to abdicate
• He and his family (the Romanovs) are
taken prisoner
• A new provisional government is in place
• Mistake – provisional government
continues the war
• Lenin and his Communist Party called the
Bolsheviks take over the government
Treaty of Brest Litovsk
• March 1918, Russians and
Germans sign they Treaty of
Brest Livotsk to end Russia’s role
in the war
• What did Russia give Germany?
USA stays neutral
• Most Americans did not
want to join the fight
• Europe is 3,000 miles away
• Did not threaten American
lives or property
The Lusitaniath
May 7 1915
Sinking of the Lusitania
• 1,945 aboard, 764 saved
• 128 American killed
• Germany defends its
position; saying ship was
carrying ammunition and
explosives
• Sank in 18 minutes. 2
explosions, 1 torpedo
Mammy!
mammy!
Why?
USA still neutral BUT……..
• Pres Woodrow Wilson warns
Germany to stop u-boat
warfare
• Germans sink 3 more
American ships
• US hanging on the edge of
war
Zimmermann Note
• German foreign secretary,
Arthur Zimmermann writes to
German ambassador in
Mexico
• Promises it would help
Mexico get back Arizona, New
Mexico, and Texas if it sides
with Germany
• "The Zimmermann
telegram was decoded by
Room 40 of British naval
intelligence and planted
just at the right moment to
make sure that Woodrow
Wilson would blow his top”
• 'We're warning you, again. If you do
this one more time – if you ask for
California, Oregon and Washington –
then we'll really get angry.'
US to war April 6 , 1917
•The strength of the US
forces turn the tide of
war in favor of the Allies,
as the Germans and other
Central Powers begin to
crumble
•“You’re in the army now”
•“You’re not behind the
plow”
•“You’ll never get rich”
•“You’ve got the itch”
•“You’re in the army now”
War effort changes certain
names
• Sauerkraut –now known as
liberty cabbage
• German measles—known as
liberty measles
• German Shepherds-liberty
dogs
US at war
• 1.5 million men saw action
• Women began to serve in
non-combat positions-still
cannot vote
• African Americans fought,
but in segregated units—led
by white officers
Members of the 369th—Harlem Hell
Fighters-received 171 French War Cross
medals (highest honor)
Germany War Effort Weakens
• Germany was forced to rely on younger
and younger soldiers
• Germany was running low on supplies and
food
• Crowds of angry civilians were marching in
the streets demanding an end to the war
• Threats of the spread of communism as in
Russia caused the German High Command
to seek peace.
Central Powers Split
• Allies start to advance on the German
border October 17, 1918
• Ottoman Turks sign an armistice
(ceasefire) by the end of October
• Austro-Hungarian Empire signs an
armistice on November 3rd
• Only Germany left
Germany collapses
• Nov 9, 1918— announcement
of abdication (resignation) of
Kaiser William II
• An armistice is signed on
November 11, 1918
• “All Quiet on the Western
Front”
Countries
Total
Mobilized
Killed
& Died
Wounded
Casualties
Prisoners
%
Total
& Missing Casualties
of
Mobilized
Allied
Powers
Russia
12,000,000
1,700,000
4,950,000
2,500,000
9,150,000
76.3
France
8,410,000
1,357,800
4,266,000
537,000
6,160,800
76.3
British
Empire
8,904,467
908,371
2,090,212
191,652
3,190,235
35.8
Italy
5,615,000
650,000
947,000
600,000
2,197,000
39.1
United
States
4,355,000
126,000
234,300
4,500
364,800
8.2
Romania
750,000
335,706
120,000
80,000
535,706
71.4
Serbia
707,343
45,000
133,148
152,958
331,106
46.8
42,188,810
5,152,115
12,831,004
4,121,090
22,104,209
52.3
Total
Casualties
Countries
Total
Mobilized
Killed
& Died
Wounded
Prisoners
Total
& Missing Casualties
%
of
Mobilized
Central
Powers
Germany
11,000,000
1,773,700
4,216,058
1,152,800
7,142,558
64.9
AustriaHungary
7,800,000
1,200,000
3,620,000
2,200,000
7,020,000
90.0
Turkey
2,850,000
325,000
400,000
250,000
975,000
34.2
Bulgaria
1,200,000
87,500
152,390
27,029
266,919
22.2
Total
22,850,000
3,386,200
8,388,448
3,629,829
15,404,477
67.4
Grand Total
65,038,810
8,538,315
21,219,452
7,750,919
37,508,686
57.6
TOTAL CASUALTIES
•37 MILLION!!!!!!
Versailles Treaty "The problem
with revenge is that it never
ends”
•The ultimate revenge story
•Held in the Hall of Mirrors—
where German had ended
the Franco-Prussian war
with France
Paris Peace Conference
• Many nations attend
• THE BIG FOUR - Four nations make the Treaty
of Versailles
United States
United Kingdom (Great Britain)
France
Italy
• Georges
Clemenceau
– France
• David Lloyd
George –
United
Kingdom
• Woodrow
Wilson –
United
States
• Vittorio
Orlando Italy
Wilson’s 14 Points
• First 5 addressed points Wilson
felt started the war-ex. Ending
secret treaties, open seas
• Next 8 discussed boundary
changes
• 14th point provides a forum for
nations to discuss and settle
grievances without going to war
• Noble ideas – “A peace without
Germany embarrassed
• Demilitarized- navy, army,
air force cut to 100,000 menno subs or warplanes-no war
material-had to build boats
for the allies
Germany embarrassed
• Loses colonies in Africa/Pacific
• WAR – GUILT CLAUSE forced
Germany to acknowledge that it
ALONE was responsible for the
war
• Must pay REPARATIONS (money
for damages) $31 billion to
allies-through 1987
Other German Concessions
• Germany lost 13.5% of its territory. About
7 million Germans were now living in new
nations.
– ALSACE – LORRAINE to France
– Territory to Belgium
– Territory to Poland (new country)
– Territory to Denmark
– Territory to Czechoslovakia (new
country)
Other Restrictions
• No ANSCHLUSS (unification) between
Germany and Austria in the future
• Germany is not permitted to send soldiers
into the RHINELAND, even though this
territory is within their boundaries – too
close to France
RHINELAND
• In 1935, Hitler
will violate the
Treaty of
Versailles by
remilitarizing
the Rhineland.
GERMANY
BELGIUM
FRANCE
Other results
• LEAGUE OF NATIONS formedUS, Britain, France, Italy, and
Japan—who is left out?
• Austria-Hungary broken up into a
number of separate nations
including Austria, Hungary,
Poland, Czechoslovakia, and
Yugoslavia
Other results
• Ottoman Empire broken up.
• Turkey becomes modernizes and
becomes secular (worldly, not religious)
• Iraq/Lebanon/Syria/Arabia…etc.
• Creation of the Mandate of Palestine – a
land for Jews and Palestinians
– Vagueness of arrangement will lead to
future tensions
Other results
• US Senate rejects the Treaty of
Versailles or League of Nations
– prefers isolationism
• US works out separate treaties
with Germany and rest of
Europe
Why was the Treaty of Versailles so
harsh on Germany?
• What happened to Wilson’s Fourteen
Points and “the peace without victors?”
• Why could he afford to have a nobler
approach than France or the United
Kingdom?
• Was it too harsh on Germany based on its
track record (ex. Franco-Prussian War
1870)?
What is your opinion of the Treaty
of Versailles?
• Were their any fair aspects of the treaty?
• Was this the type of treaty that could
create a lasting peace?
Legacy of the Great War—German
hatred and bitterness
• German economy is in ruins; paying
reparations is devastating
• German Mark becomes worthless
• Germans shocked and offended by the
Treaty of Versailles
• Germans looking for scapegoats—will
someone rise and find one?
• Those who sign this treaty, will sign
the death sentence of many millions
of German men, women and
children. Count Brockdorff-Rantzau,
leader of the German delegation to
Versailles (15 May 1919).
• “We shall have to fight another war
again in 25 years time. “ Lloyd
George, talking about the Treaty of
Versailles
• Location of meetings to determine the
conditions of peace after World War I
• Represented the U.S. at the Paris Peace
Conference
• Represented France
• Wilson’s proposal for a just and lasting
peace
• Proposed international association whose
job would be to keep peace among
nations
• Part of the treaty that placed the blame
for the war solely on Germany
• Ceasefire agreement
• Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia were
formed from this empire.
• Demilitarized territory in Germany
• One nation, formerly part of Russia, that
became independent.
• Term for postwar territories expected to
be governed by the League of Nations
• Payments made for damages caused
1.Explain the four long-term causes of
World War I (no huge description
needed—short and to the point), describe
the “spark,” and explain two reasons that
the United States had for entering the war.
BE SPECIFIC.
2.Describe WW1 as if you were a soldier in
the trenches. What is trench warfare?
What is it like? How is this war being
fought? How has warfare changed as
WW1 progressed? Who are the major
nations involved? You can write as if you
are in the trenches.
• Then comes the Spanish flu
pandemic and another 50
million die: mostly affected
people ages 20-40—shortened
American average life span by
10 years—jumped from birds
to people
• I had a little bird, Its name was Enza.
• I opened the window,
• And in-flu-enza.