Ch. 6 WWI

1. Ch. 6 WWI

2. 4 Causes of WWI • Imperialism • Militarism • Nationalism • Alliances

3. Imperialism…The struggle for new territories in Africa and Asia caused some countries to become rivals

4. Militarism… aggressively building up a nations armed forces in preparation for war – Austria-Hungary, FR, GER, GB, RUS all engaged in militarism

5. GER had the largest military of any nation • 1914 – GER had an Army of almost 2 million and 17 large warships in its Navy • GB saw GER building up its military and did the same • Everyone knew what everyone else was doing – so the arms race kept growing • When the next war took place – it would involve more troops, more technology – machine guns, tanks, submarines, airplanes

6. Nationalism…. • 2 kinds of nationalism caused WWI….. • One super-power acts in its own best interests and it puts in the path of another superpower acting in its own best interest – war is the outcome • In countries with diverse populations – ethnic minorities often long for independence – war can be the outcome

7. Alliances…Set up to bolster a nations security, alliances bound great powers to come to each others aid in case of attack

8. Triple Alliance Germany Austria-Hungary Italy Triple Entente France Russia Great Britain

9. Social Darwinism… • This theory did not soothe competitive instincts – majority and minority ethnic groups, large or small countries

10. Serbia… • Serbia once part of Austria-Hungary had declared its independence in 1878 • New Serbia tried to take land where Serbians lived away from A-H • Serbia by declaring its independence from A-H – had set a bad example to other A-H territories

12. Assassination… • Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir to the throne of A-H) and his wife Sophie went on a routine visit of Sarajevo, Bosnia on June 28, 1914 • A group of ethnic Serbs who believed that Bosnia should be part of independent Serbia – saw Franz-Ferdinand as a tyrant • The Chauffeur made a wrong turn and Gavrilo Princips, leader of the Serb group, spotted the couple, pulled his gun, fired twice and killed Sophie then Franz Ferdinand instantly

14. A-H Declares war on Serbia SERB Allies Allies Declares war on Russia GER RUS Declares war on Germany Declares war on Belgium Allies FR BEL Allies Allies GB Allies Declares war on Germany

15. Central Powers Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Allied Powers Serbia Russia France Great Britain

16. Battle of Marne… • The first battles of WWI were fought in FR and BEL by the GER – most were GER victories • Schlieffen Plan – GER plan for the war – attack the FR first to gain victory on the western front while RUS mobilized then fight RUS on eastern front after FR was defeated – NOT to fight a 2 fronted war • However the GER were not expecting a counterattack at Marne on the outskirts of Paris

17. Sept 5-12, 1914 – FR and BR counterattacked to slow the GER advance on Paris • Although the two sides did not agree – they were able to hold off the GER and end any GER hopes that the was would be short lived • Ready to go down in defeat the FR army was bolstered by the arrival of 6,000 fresh infantry troops at the front by way of 600 taxi cabs – The FR were able to push through GER lines and divide the GER army – GER were in retreat but halted and dug trenches that would be the definition of the western front for the rest of the war

18. Trench Warfare… • 450 miles of trenches were dug along the border of BEL to Switzerland known as the Western Front • Machine guns, artillery and rifles were used to kill anyone crossing “No Mans Land” – the area that stretched in between the two sets of trenches • Poison gas and fire throwers were used with deadly results • If all of the trenches dug in WWI were laid end to end they would stretch around the world one time – 25,000 miles of trenches

26. Reality of Trenches… • Trench foot – developed by soldiers from standing in muddy wet trenches for hours • Lice – from the millions of rats that lived in the trenches • Bites from rats • Mud slides – trenches collapsing • Hypothermia • No sleep – 4 hours of sleep in 96 • When desparate – soldiers held urine soaked clothes over their faces during gas attacks

27. Wilson Urges Neutrality… • In the melting pot nation – the US should be neutral • At first everyone saw this as a quarrel in a distant land • Unless the US was threatened – no one wanted any part of the war – wanted traditional American isolationism • However many still sided with a certain group involved – many businesses did not want their markets affected by the war

28. Just before WWI, about 1/3 of all Americans were 1st or 2nd generation immigrants. When the was broke out in Europe, many of these US citizens still felt very close to their “old countries.” • Which ethnic group in the US might have favored the nations of the Central Powers? Why? Write 1-2 sentences to explain. • Which ethnic groups might have favored the Allies? Why?Write 1-2 sentences to explain.

29. Divided Loyalties… • 1914 – 1/3 of Americans were foreign born • Many still saw themselves and others as GER-AM or IR-AM • Many had immigrated from A-H and GER • Many IR-AM still harbored hatred for BR • Many Jews hated Czarist RUS for years of murderous pogroms • Most sided with BR and FR as we had close historical ties to both countries

30. Invasion of Belgium… • BR journalists and propagandists sent chilling reports and photos of the atrocities committed by GER soldiers as the pushed through BEL to get to FR • Americans were shocked and horrified by what they read and saw • BEL was a neutral country that was being destroyed at the hands of the GER

31. Isolationists… • This group believed that the war was none of our business • As a nation we should isolate ourselves from the hostilities

32. Interventionists… • They felt that the war was affecting American interests • The US should intervene in the war on the side of the Allies

33. Internationalists… • This was the middle ground • The US should play an active role in world affairs • The US should work towards a peaceful end to the war but not enter the war

34. Naval Blockades… • BR uses their navy to blockade GER – keeping supplies/goods from reaching the country - International law allowed contraband goods to be confiscated by warring nations – weapons, artillery, etc… • Noncontraband goods could not be confiscated – food, medical supplies etc… • As the war continued BR contested the definition of noncontraband goods to include everything that help in the war

35. GER responded with a naval blockade of BR – using U-Boats or submarines – sinking any ship that attempted to get close to BR • May 7, 1915 – Luisitania – BR passenger boat – fired upon and sunk off the coast of Ireland • Torpedo hit the ship – sank in in 20 minutes – killing 1200 passengers – 128 of them American • GER insisted that the ship carried weapons and ammo (fact)

39. US protested that the GER had no right to attack an unarmed, unresisting ship – a warning should have been given and the passengers should have been given safe passage • Wilson was stunned by the violence but still wanted peace • GER promised that it would not sink any more passenger ships • 10 months later - GER sank the FR passenger ship the Sussex • Again GER promised not to sink any more passenger ships – Called the Sussex Pledge

40. US Mobilization… • Wilson knew that the time was coming for US entry into the war – began preparation • Many believed that preparedness would be seen as an act of aggression • National Defense Act - expanded the size of the Army • Naval Construction Act – funded the building of more warships

41. Election of 1916… • Wilson, the Democrat incumbent – won by a narrow margin over Republican Charles Evans Hughes • Wilson won on the campaign that he “kept us out of the war”

42. 1917… • Blockades were working for BR – GER was desperate for supplies… • Zimmerman Note – GER Foreign Min. Arthur Zimmerman sent a coded telegram to the GR Ambassador to MEX instructing him to make a deal with Mexico asking them to declare war (with GR funding) on the US when the US joined WWI after GR started unrestricted submarine warfare again – in return for the victory - the GER would return to MEX all land that the US had taken from them – TX, NM, AZ – MEX laughed at the idea. • April 2, 1917 – Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against GER

44. Selective Service Act… • May 1917 – Congress enacted the draft • June 5, 1917 – over 9.6 million men registered for the draft and given a number • July – all numbers were put into a jar – 258 was the first number – all men with 258 as their numbers were the first draftees in WWI • 24 million registered for the draft – 2.8 million were called up – including volunteers – men in uniform during the war – almost 4.8 million

46. Shift to Wartime Economy… • Businesses and factories had to shift from peacetime goods to wartime goods • Council of National Defense – 1916 – created new agencies to oversee different aspects of preparedness • Food production – who grew what and how much, coal and petroleum distribution factory production and railway use • War Industries Board – Bernard Baruch – regulated all industries engaged in the war effort

47. WIB determined what products industries would make, where those products went, and how much they would cost • Americans realized that they had to cooperate if they wanted to defeat the Central Powers • Sec. of Ag. Herbert Hoover lead the Food Administration – set high prices for wheat to encourage production and asked for conservation in the US – eat less so that more food can be sent to our troops – wheatless Mondays & Wednesdays, meatless Tuesdays and porkless Thursdays & Saturdays

49. Committee on Public Information… • CPI was to educate the public about the causes and nature of war – convince the American people that the war was a just cause • George Creel was head of the CPI • 75 million pamphlets, 6,000 press releases • 75,000 speakers were sent all of the US to give lectures and speeches on war goals and the nature of the enemy • CPI stressed the wickedness of our enemy on millions of posters – especially GER – which created problems for GER-AM people