World War I: The Great War - Causes and Consequences

1. World War I: 1914-1918 The Great War

2. 4 factors that lead to war!!

3. Nationalism • A deep devotion to one’s nation • Caused rivalry among nations • Germany, Austria-Hungary, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, and France • Competition for materials and markets • Territorial disputes (Alsace Lorraine) • Balkans – Serbs, Bulgarians, Romanians, and other ethnic groups

4. Imperialism • European countries were pushed to the brink of war over Africa and Asian areas • In 1905 and 1911, Germany and France ALMOST fought over Morocco

5. Militarism • European arms race • By 1914, all great powers except GB had a standing army • Militarism – policy of glorifying military power and keeping an army prepared for war

6. Tangled Alliances • Germany’s enemy was France • Bismarck set out to form alliances to isolate France • 1879 – Dual Alliance – Germany and Austria Hungary • 1882 – Triple Alliance – Germany, Austria Hungary and Italy • Also, Germany made a separate peace with Russia

7. Problems… • Wilhelm II forced Bismarck to resign in 1890 • He let the treaty with Russia lapse • Russia then made a treaty with France • This was dangerous because it set up a situation for a possible two front war for Germany

8. Wilhelm II

10. Alliances continued… • Germany began shipbuilding and competing with Great Britain • 1904 – Great Britain made a treaty with France • 1907 – Great Britain, France, Russia – Triple Entente • Friendship – didn’t mean they would fight for each other, but they wouldn’t fight against each other

12. Balkan Peninsula

13. Balkan Peninsula • “Powder Keg of Europe” • Ottoman Empire was disintegrating • Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia • Serbia wanted Slavic nationalism and to unite all Slavs • Russia (with a large Slavic population) supported Serbia and Slavic Nationalism • Austria Hungary did not

14. 1908 – Austria Hungary annexed Bosnia Herzegovina • These two areas had large Slavic populations • Russia offered support to Serbia • Serbia had to back down because Austria- Hungary and Germany were too strong

15. June 28, 1914 • Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie visited Sarajevo, Bosnia • Shot by Gavrilo Princip (member of the Serbian Black Hand) • Serbia was given an ultimatum by AH • End all anti-Austrian activity • AH into Serbia to conduct an investigation • Agreed to some of it, but not all

16. Motives For Assassination • It took place under the knowledge of the Serbian Government • They had hoped that it would start a war • Hoped to bring down AH empire

17. THE CULPRIT  Gavrilo Princip

18. Archduke Francis Ferdinand The Archduke and Sophie

19. July 28, 1914 – AH rejected Serbia’s offer and declared war • Russia began mobilizing troops on Austria and Germany’s border

20. TIMELINE

21. Schlieffen Plan • Germany’s ultimate idea • Through a series of invasions they would blitz through France and Capture Paris in a matter of days • Germany decided to go through Belgium to get to France • Belgium was neutral • August 4, 1914 – Great Britain declared war on Germany

23. After the war began… • Central Powers – Germany, Austria Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria • Allied Powers – Great Britain, France, Russia joined by Japan and Italy (9 months later)

25. Western Front • Deadlocked region along northern France • Stretched 500 miles from North Sea to Switzerland

27. 1st Battle of the Marne • September, 1914 – got within 30 miles of Paris but Germans were pushed back • Proved that the Schlieffen Plan failed • By then, Russia had invaded on the East • TWO FRONT WAR

28. Using Napoleon Tactics • Much like the Civil War, Europe still used the “old style of warfare” • Idea was to rush the opposition with full frontal attacks • BAD IDEA AGAINST MACHINE GUNS • 2 sides constantly tried to outflank one another

29. Race to the Sea • The constant flanking moved the war north • Multiple battles were due to constant interaction • Result = trench warfare

30. Trench Warfare • By early 1915 – parallel trenches • Small land gains • Stalemate • Situation where further action is blocked • deadlock • No Man’s Land – area between trenches • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-pUcty5I0k

31. New technology caused the stalemate • Machine guns • Poison Gas • Armored Tanks • Larger Artillery

32. Pros/Cons of Trench Warfare • Pros • Effective in protection • Stopped enemy advances • Good communication lines and ability to move from A to B • Cons • Any advancement resulted in massive amounts of deaths • Shell shock • Disease • Pests • Filthy living conditions

33. Death Tolls • Huge numbers of troops would die as they tried to rush enemy trenches • Bullets constantly flying • Bodies were left in trenches

34. Trench Warfare Changed the War • Caused war to last much longer than anticipated • Made the war more violent • Changed the landscape of Europe forever

35. Eastern Front • Battlefield between Germany and Russia • By 1916 – Russia’s war effort was near collapse • Russia wasn’t industrialized

36. United States • German attempted to inflict a naval blockade around Great Britain • The British had already put a blockade in place around Germany • Germans controlled the Atlantic and any trade with Great Britain • Unrestricted submarine warfare – January 1917 – Germany announced that any ship around Britain would be sunk without warning

37. The Germans had attempted this before • May 1915 – Lusitania (British passenger liner) sunk • 1,198 people died (128 AMERICANS) • Claimed the ship was carrying munitions • Woodrow Wilson protested and Germany relented

39. Until 1917, America had a very isolated view of the war • President Wilson urged American’s to stay imperial through all of this • Difficult for Americans to do • The U.S. had been providing the Allied Powers with financial assistance and munitions • Does this make the U.S. neutral? • What happened to imperialism?

40. 1917 – three American ships were sunk • February 1917 – telegram from German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman to the German ambassador in Mexico (intercepted by the British) • Asking Mexico to side with the Central Powers in exchange for helping Mexico get back lands it lost

41. Pro-British Sentiment • Many Americans were very pro-British • Wilson’s Cabinet was pro-British • They pushed to aid GB • GB used propaganda to try and influence America into war

43. April 2, 1917 • Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war • By 1917 – Europe had lost more men than all the wars in the previous three centuries • Total war – all resources • Factories were told what to produce • Rationing – small amounts of certain goods could be purchased • Censored news • Propaganda – one sided info to keep morale up

44. Getting America Ready for War • Not all Americans were sold on the war • Committee on Public Information (CPI) • Goal was to sell the war to the American public • Actors, song writers, authors, and others with a “voice” were recruited to paint a positive image of war Are the same practices used today?

45. Women replaced men in factories, offices, and shops • Why?

46. Building Up the Military • When the U.S. entered the war there were a total of 370,000 troops. • The military started to draft men into military service also known as conscription (forced military service). • Congress, with Wilson’s support, created a new system called selective service.

47. Building Up the Military • The Selective Service act of 1917 required all men ages 21-30 to register for the draft. • A lottery randomly determined the order in which they were called before a draft board. • Eventually about 2.8 million Americans were drafted into the military.

48. Building Up the Military • Not all Americans were drafted some 2 million men volunteered for the war effort. • There were about 400,000 African Americans drafted into the war. • Of that amount about 42,000 served over seas. • They served in racially segregated units.

49. Building Up the Military • World War I was the first war in which women served in the armed forces, although in noncombat positions. • Female nurses served in both the army and the navy. • In WWI women were put into ranks and asked to do office work.