World War I (1914-1918)

1. World War I (1914-1918) Unit 9

3. Militarism Alliances Causes of World War I Nationalism Imperialism Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

4. I. The Road to War: • Hidden Causes of WWI: existed well before 1914 • Imperialism: -European powers had been building empires for centuries -the colonies supplied them with raw materials

6. I. The Road to War: -European powers competed for territory around the world which… -led to conflicts in those areas 2) Militarism: -the policy of building up a nation’s armed forces in preparation of war -empires were expensive to build and defend -by 1890, the strongest European nation was Germany

7. I. The Road to War: -Eng. was not concerned because they had the strongest navy in the world -Ger. and Eng. began to compete in the building of warships -France, Italy, Japan, and the U.S. quickly joined the naval arms race

9. I. The Road to War: • Nationalism: -pride in one’s nation -often leads to competition and rivalries -many feared Germany’s growing power in Europe -also, many nations (ethnic groups) wanted their independence from Austria-Hungary -those ethnic groups looked to larger nations for protection

11. I. The Road to War: • Alliances: -a formal agreement or union between nations -developed in Europe during the late 1800s -designed to increase a nation’s security and to defend each other during an attack

12. I. The Road to War: -two great alliances had formed in Europe by 1907: a. Triple Alliance – Germany, Austria- Hungary, Italy b. Triple Entente – England, France, Russia

14. I. The Road to War: • Immediate Cause of WWI (sparkplug) was… -the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofie on June 28, 1914 -he was the heir to the throne in Austria- Hungary -killed by Gavrilo Princip (19 yrs old), a member of the “Black Hand” (terrorist group promoting Serbian nationalism)

17. I. The Road to War: -June 28: Ferdinand assassinated -July 28: A-H blamed the Serbian gov’t and declared war on them -July 29: Russia, Serbia’s protector, began mobilization (the readying of troops for war) - Germany, A-H’s chief ally, demanded that Russia stop mobilizing - Russia refused – Russia’s ally, France, began mobilization as did Germany

18. I. The Road to War: -Aug. 1: Germany declared war on Russia -Aug. 3: Germany declared war on France -The U.S. remained neutral

20. I. The Road to War: • Germany knew it would be forced to fight a two-front war (East and West) eventually • so…they had a plan called the Schlieffen Plan: -a quick strike on France to knock them out of the war and then an attack on Russia

22. II. War Begins: • To get to France as quickly as possible, the German Army passed through Belgium, a neutral country -the invasion brought England, Belgium’s protector, into the war on Aug. 4 -Germany had hoped England, with the world’s strongest Navy, would stay out of the war

23. II. War Begins: • After the start of the war, countries in Europe began to take sides: Central Powers: Allied Powers (Allies) Germany France Russia A-H Italy -1915 Serbia Bulgaria Romania Greece Ottoman Empire (Turkey) Montenegro Portugal Belgium U.S. -1917 Great Britain

25. II. War Begins: • Sept. 1914: Germans advanced within 30 miles of Paris but were stopped at the Marne River by French and British troops in theFirst Battle of the Marne

26. II. War Begins: • Stalemate: a situation in which neither side could gain an advantage, on the Western Front (in France) • Trench warfare: the Allies dug trenches to help reduce casualties and the Germans did the same -the move to the trenches prolonged the war -soldiers went “over the top” into “no man’s land” (area between the trenches)

30. II. War Begins: • The Central Powers took over Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, and Romania -they also attacked Italy and began to push the Russian lines back

31. II. War Begins: • New Weaponsused during WWI: 1) Machine guns – forced the soldiers to the trenches – fired up to 450 rounds a minute 2) Tanks – first used by the British – used mainly to smash barbed wire fences to clear the way for the infantry (foot soldiers) 3) Poison gas – chemical warfare – used by the Germans first

32. II. War Begins: • U-boats – German submarines -attacked without warning – used to fight the British blockade -interfered with Am. trade and threatened the safety of Am.’s 5) Airplanes – used only for observation at first -later armed with machine guns and bombs -Manfred von Richthofen “Red Baron” (German ace pilot– shot down over 80 planes)

36. II. War Begins: • The American Response: -some Americans felt personally involved – Why? 1/3 were 1st or 2nd generation immigrants -most Americans wanted the Allies to win- Why? • Cultural ties with England • Most of the news from the war came from England • Kaiser Wilhelm II, German leader, was a dictator – not an acceptable ally

37. II. War Begins: • The U.S. remained neutral at first and continued to trade with both sides -we were an isolated country at that time

38. III. U.S. Declares War: • 3 Major Eventsled the U.S. to join the Allies: • Germany’s use of unrestricted submarine warfare – Ex: a. Sinking of the Lusitania (May 7, 1915) -British passenger liner sunk by a German u-boat -1,200 died (128 Americans)

41. III. U.S. Declares War: b. Sinking of the Sussex (March 24, 1916) -French passenger liner sunk by a U-boat -the Germans agreed to the Sussex Pledge (promised to warn ships before attacking) -kept the U.S. out of the war

42. III. U.S. Declares War: • Election of 1916 – Pres. Wilson ran under the slogan “He kept us out of war” and was re-elected • Feb. 1, 1917: Germany resumed u.s.w • Feb. 3, 1917: Wilson ended Am. neutrality by arming merchant ships – “armed neutrality”

43. III. U.S. Declares War: • Zimmerman Note / Telegram – German foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, made a secret offer to Mexico -if they would attack the U.S., then they would be given back the lost territory in TX, AZ, and NM -the note was intercepted by the British -neither Wilson nor Mexico took the note seriously -however, the American public called for war

44. III. U.S. Declares War: • Revolution in Russia – March 1917, Czar Nicholas II was overthrown and replaced by a republican (democratic) gov’t -since a czar was no longer in power, the U.S. viewed Russia as an acceptable ally -this was the last stumbling block to a full Am. commitment to the Allies

45. III. U.S. Declares War: • Pres. Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany saying… “The world must be made safe for democracy.” • War was declared on April 6, 1917

46. IV. On the Homefront: • Selective Service Act(May 1917) – required all men, 21-30 years old, to register for the draft -ages later changed to 18-45 -24 million registered and 3 million drafted by lottery -2 million volunteered (5 million total troops)

47. IV. On the Homefront: • 11,000 women volunteered: nurses, clerks, and drivers -also worked in factories, auto mechanics, traffic cops, etc. (jobs only men used to do) • 300,000 African Am.’s volunteered or were drafted (mostly manual labor – segregated units)

48. IV. On the Homefront: • War Industries Board – led by Bernard Baruch -regulated how natural resources were used and told factory owners what to make -ex: iron and steel industries used to make guns and later tanks -factories worked around the clock which created more jobs