The Causes of WW1

1. The Causes of WW1 Militarism Alliances Imperialism Nationalism

2. Militarism • Germany was competing with the Great Britain to build battleships. • The British feared an attack on their Empire

3. Militarism • Germany was competing with Russia and France to expand their armies 1880 1914 • Germany 1.3m 5.0m • France 0.73m 4.0m • Russia 0.40m 1.2m

4. Alliances • By 1914 all the major powers were linked by a system of alliances. • The alliances made it more likely that a war would start because it made everyone suspicious of each other and paranoid. • Once started, the alliances made it more likely that war would spread.

5. Imperialism • All the great powers were competing for colonies / territory, especially in Africa. • The British feared Germany in Africa. • The Austria-Hungarian Empire feared Serbia & Russia in the Balkans

6. Nationalism • This was an age when all nations wanted to assert their power and independence. • In Europe, Slavs, aided by Serbia and Russia, wanted to be free of Austria-Hungarian rule. Serbia’s national flag

7. Significant Individuals “Germany must have its place in the sun, the world belongs to the strong.” Kaiser Wilhelm II • Built up German army and navy • Aggressive foreign policy • Determined to make Germany a top nation. • Distrusted by other powers

8. Significant Individuals Count Berchtold • Austria-Hungarian Prime Minister. • Demanded a very tough ultimatum for Serbia after Franz Ferdinand’s assassination. “Were the Serbs to agree to all the demands, this would not be to my liking”

9. Significant Individuals Bethmann Hollweg • German Prime Minister • Gave complete & strong support to Austria after Franz Ferdinand’s assassination. “The Austrian demands are moderate. Any interference by Britain, France and Russia would be followed by incalculable consequences”

10. The Spark that set off World War One: • On June 28th, 1914 the Heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand visits Sarajevo. • Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia, recently grabbed by Austria. • It is a hotbed of Slav nationalism Seal of the Black Hand group

11. The Spark that set off World War One: • “Black Hand” terrorists attack the Arch Duke • Bomb attempt fails in morning • Gavrilo Princip shoots Archduke and wife in the afternoon. • Austrians blame Serbia for supporting terrorists.

12. The Spark that set off World War One: • Austrians, supported by Germany, send Serbia a grave ultimatum. • Serbia agrees to all but two terms of the ultimatum. • Russia mobilises her troops to support Serbia • Germany demands that Russia stands her armies down; Russia refuses. • Germany declares war on Russia! “Demands must be put to Serbia that would be wholly impossible for them to accept …”

13. Why did Britain get involved? • Britain had secret alliances with France and Russia. • Although they were only “friendly agreements”, the French and Russians were given the impression that Great Britain would fight if needed... result? • The Schlieffen Plan Sir Edward Grey British Foreign Secretary … “There’s some devilry going on in Berlin”

14. The Schlieffen Plan • The Schlieffen Plan was Germany’s military plan to defeat France and Russia. • “Knock out blow” aimed at France first. • Avoid French defences by invasion of Belgium. • Germans never dreamed that Britain would not intervene.

15. Britain’s Reaction • In 1838 Great Britain had signed a Treaty to protect Belgium. • Britain was also scared of Germany controlling Channel ports. • Great Britain did not want Germany to defeat France and dominate Europe. • Because if they did, then what? Would Britain be next? • Great Britain issued an ultimatum to Germany to withdraw troops from Belgium immediately. • Germany laughed and ignored the ultimatum.

16. One week after the war started, all the great powers of Europe had been drawn into it. • Germany and Austria-Hungary formed the Central Powers, while Russia, France, Serbia, and Great Britain were called the Allies.

17. When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, the complex alliance system in Europe drew much of the continent into the conflict.

18. The Summer of Six Million • Voluntary enlistment in the war was high in the beginning. • Crowds cheered men who believed that they were on their way to a great adventure. • All sides were confident that it would be a short war. • In August, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany sent the first waves of troops off with the promise that they would “be home before the leaves have fallen from the trees.”

19. Stalemate • By September 1914, the war had reached a stalemate, a situation in which neither side is able to gain an advantage. • When French and British forces stopped a German advance near Paris, both sides holed up in trenches separated by an empty “no man’s land.” • Small gains in land resulted in huge numbers of human casualties. • Both sides continued to add new allies, hoping to gain an advantage.

20. Life in the Trenches • Trench warfare was not new, it had been an occasional feature of many wars, most notably the American Civil War and the Russo-Japanese wars. • Never before, however, had an entire theatre of war been dominated by trenches. • The typical main line trench was slightly deeper than the average height of a man.

22. A fire-step was built into the forward wall so that soldiers could gain sufficient height to fire at the enemy. • Even the best trenches were nothing more or less than elaborate ditches. • They were filthy and poorly drained. • They bred misery, depression, and disease, including frostbite from constant exposure to freezing water, ice, or snow.

23. Trench foot, a condition resembling frostbite was caused by constant immersion in water – if untreated, it could result in gangrene, amputation, and even death. • Trench mouth, a sever bacterial infection of the throat and the mouth was also common. • Dysentery and typhus, both of which were extremely debilitating and often fatal, were common to the soldiers.

24. Soldiers shared the trenches with rats, fleas, garbage, human waste, and the remains of decaying corpses. • At night, supplies would be brought up through the access trench. • Food was generally canned and entirely tasteless. • Dawn brought the greatest danger of enemy attack, which might take the form of a trench raid, as enemy infantry swarmed over the trench.

25. For these occasions, soldiers depended on weapons of hand-to-hand combat: knives, billy clubs, brass knuckles, and even the medieval-style mace, a club bristling with spikes.

26. No Man’s Land • No Man’s Land was the territory that divided the trenches of the two opposing armies. • This is where the phrase originated. • It was typically a space anywhere from 50 to 3,000 yards between the opposing trench lines. • Getting close enough to attack the enemy’s trench was not easy; no man’s land was littered with tangles of barbed wire, thickly strewn all over, and shell holes to prevent or slow down the advance of the enemy.

28. Modern Warfare • Neither soldiers nor officers were prepared for the new, highly efficient killing machines used in World War I. • Machine guns, hand grenades, artillery shells, and poison gas killed thousands of soldiers who left their trenches to attack the enemy. • As morale fell, the lines between soldiers and civilians began to blur. • The armies began to burn fields, kill livestock, and poison wells.

29. The American Response • Because many Americans were European immigrants or the children of European immigrants, many felt personally involved in the escalating war. • Although some had sympathies for the Central Powers, most Americans supported the Allies.

30. Support for the Allies was partially caused by Germany’s rule by an autocrat, a ruler with unlimited power. • In addition, anti-German propaganda, or information intended to sway public opinion, turned many Americans against the Central Powers. • To protect American investments overseas, President Wilson officially proclaimed the United States a neutral country on August 4, 1914.

31. The Preparedness Movement • Americans with business ties to Great Britain wanted their country to be prepared to come to Britain’s aid if necessary. • In an effort to promote “preparedness,” the movement’s leaders persuaded the government to set up military training camps and increase funding for the armed forces.

32. The Peace Movement • Other Americans, including women, former Populists, Midwest progressives, and social reformers, advocated peace. • Peace activists in Congress insisted on paying for preparedness by increasing taxes. • Although they had hoped that a tax increase would decrease support for preparedness, the movement remained strong.

33. German Submarine Warfare • To break a stalemate at sea, Germany began to employ U-boats, short for Unterseeboot, the German word for submarine. • U-boats, traveling under water, could sink British supply ships with no warning. • When the British cut the transatlantic cable, which connected Germany and the United States, only news with a pro-Allied bias was able to reach America.

34. German Submarine Warfare How despicable! They play dirty! • American public opinion was therefore swayed against Germany’s U-boat tactics.

35. The Sinking of the Lusitania • On May 7,1915, a German U-boat sank the British passenger liner Lusitania, which had been carrying both passengers and weapons for the Allies!

36. Since 128 American passengers had been on board, the sinking of the Lusitania brought the United States closer to involvement in the war.

37. The Sussex Pledge • More Americans were killed when Germany sank the Sussex, a French passenger steamship, on March 24,1916. • In what came to be known as the Sussex pledge, the German government promised that U-boats would warn ships before attacking, a promise it had made and broken before.

38. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare • On January 31, 1917, Germany announced its intent to end the Sussex pledge and return to unrestricted submarine warfare. • This action caused the United States to break off diplomatic relations with Germany. • Despite this announcement, the German navy did not attack any American ships in February, causing the United States to continue to hope for peace.

39. The Zimmermann Note • During this time, Britain revealed an intercepted telegram to the government of Mexico from Germany’s foreign minister, Arthur Zimmermann. • In this telegram, known as the Zimmermann note, Germany offered to return American lands to Mexico if Mexico declared war on the United States.

40. The Zimmermann Note • Neither Mexico nor President Wilson took the Zimmermann note seriously, but it brought America closer to entering the war.

41. The War Resolution • When the Russian Revolution replaced Russia’s autocratic czar with a republican government in March 1917, the United States no longer needed to be concerned about allying itself with an autocratic nation. • This removed one more stumbling block to an American declaration of war. • As Germany continued to sink American ships in March, President Wilson’s patience for neutrality wore out.

42. The Russians Leave • A second revolution in Russia made things much harder for the Allies. • A Communist government was ushered into Russia and it quickly made a separate peace with Germany. • The war in the east ended, and a million German troops were now available for combat in the west. • It was a new war.

43. The Americans Arrive! • But, in their darkest hour, the Allies gained a whole new army! • On April 6, 1917, the President signed Congress’s war resolution, officially bringing the United States into the war. • The Allies were ecstatic to have the Americans on their side!

44. Building an Army • Despite the preparedness movement, the United States lacked a large and available military force. • Congress therefore passed a Selective Service Act in May 1917, drafting many young men into the military. • Draftees, volunteers, and National Guardsmen made up what was called the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), led by General John J. Pershing.

45. Energetic American soldiers, nicknamed doughboys, helped replace the tired fighters of Europe. Photo courtesy of www.nwwone.org

46. John J. Pershing

47. Training for War • New recruits were trained in the weapons and tactics of the war by American and British lecturers at new and expanded training camps around the country. • Ideally, the Military planned to give new soldiers several months of training. • However, the need to send forces to Europe right away sometimes cut training time short.

48. The Convoy System • To transport troops across the Atlantic, the United States employed convoys, or groups of unarmed ships surrounded by armed naval vessels equipped to track and destroy submarines. • Due to the convoy system, German submarines did not sink a single ship carrying American troops.

49. African American Soldiers in Europe • Many African Americans volunteered or were drafted for service. • However, these men served in segregated units and were often relegated to non-combat roles. Photo courtesy of www.americanphotoarchive.photoshelter.com

50. Military Transportation • New methods of military transportation, including tanks, airplanes, and German zeppelins, or floating airships, influenced the manner in which the war was fought. • General Pershing’s troops, however, pushed back the Germans in a series of attacks. • Finally, the German army was driven to full retreat in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive begun on September 26, 1918.