AP Test Review Part Five

1. AP Test Review Part Five 1914 - 1945

2. World War I (1914-1918) • The war was sparked by the shooting of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but the shooting was only a catalyst. • All of the elements leading to war had been in place for most of the 20th century. The shooting just provided an immediate cause.

3. Underlying Causes of the War • Imperialism: Colonial rivalries between the major European powers created hatred and hostility that led to war. • Militarism: Europe had been experiencing an arms race ever since the unification of Germany. • Major naval rivalries existed between Germany & England, and army rivalries existed between France and Germany.

4. More Underlying Causes • Nationalism: This force brought about WWI in a variety of ways: • nationalism spawned the unification of Italy & Germany and caused a major shift in the balance of power. • Nationalism caused the great powers to pursue expansionist policies. • Nationalism on the part of ethnic minorities in Austria led to revolts & secret orgs. • Russia pursued a policy of Pan-Slavism.

5. More Underlying Causes • Alliance systems: These led nations to take rash actions, knowing that their allies would come to their aid. • Triple Alliance (formed 1882): Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary • originally called the Three Emperors League (Germany, Russia, Austria), it ended when Russia withdrew, due to rivalries with Austria over the Balkan region.

6. More Alliances • Two more important alliances played a part in WWI: • Triple Entente (1910): Russia, France, and England • This alliance began as the Franco-Russian Alliance of 1894, and the dual entente of England and France in 1902. • The Little Entente: Russia, Poland, Romania, and Serbia

7. The Crises Leading to War • Imperial rivalries, such as the Fashoda Affair between England & France, and the Kruger Telegram between England & Germany, existed in the 1890’s. • 1905: First Moroccan Crisis: Germany tried to take over Tangiers (Morocco) and called an international conference (Algiciris) to settle its ownership. Germany was humiliated & France kept Morocco.

8. More Crises • 1908: Balkan Crisis (Bosnian Crisis):Both Austria & Serbia wanted to expand in the Balkans. When Serbia protested the Austrian annexation of Bosnia, Russia sided with Serbia. Russia threatened to declare war, but Germany sided with Austria and Russia backed down.

9. More Crises • 1911: Second Moroccan Crisis: The Germans sent the gunboat, Panther, to Agadir (Morocco) to protest French occupation of the region. • This caused England and France to join together to draw up war plans against the Germans. • Germany withdrew after gaining a piece of the French Congo.

10. More Crises • Balkan War of 1912: Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia joined together defeat Turkey. • They divided up Turkish possessions in the Balkans. • Balkan War of 1913: The territory that Bulgaria had taken in the previous year was taken from her by an alliance of Russia, Turkey, Serbia, and Greece.

11. The Assassination & War • June 28, 1914: Sarajevo: The Austrian Archduke was assassinated by Gavrillo Princip, a Bosnian member of the Black Hand. • Austrian Ultimatum: Austria blamed Serbian nationalists for the shooting and demanded a free hand in their own investigation of the crime.

12. The Crisis Leads to War • Serbia’s Reply: Serbia accepted most of the ultimatum, but rejected parts that would destroy her sovereignty. • German Actions: On one hand, Germany offered Austria a “blank check” of support. On the other hand, the Kaiser tried to negotiate a settlement between Serbia & Austria. • July 28, 1914: Germany invaded Belgium and Austria declared war on Serbia.

13. War Begins • Russia had been the 1st to mobilize, but Germany was the 1st to go to war. • Germany swept through Belgium, causing England and France to declare war. • Germany then declared war on Russia, who declared war on the central powers.

14. The War • The central powers had better armies, but the allies had more men and resources. • Germany used the Schlieffen plan to begin the war, but after the Battle of the Marne, the war turned into a long struggle with the advent of trench warfare. (remember Vauban)

15. The War in the East • Russia initially held off the limited number of German troops on the eastern front, but when German strength increased and Austria and Turkey became involved, the war was a complete disaster for Russia. • Russian losses were enormous and led to the collapse of the Russian gov’t by 1917. • Treaty of Brest Litovsk: 1917: Russia out of the war.

16. The War at Sea • The war at sea was almost more important than the land aspect of the war. • British naval strength was superior to that of the Germans, but German U-boats inflicted great damage and were one factor in the entrance of the US in the war.

17. The War Ends • Despite temporary German victories, largely caused by the use of poison gas, the allied victory over Germany at the Battle of Verdun turned the tide of war. • Eventually, British, French, Italian, and American armies, led by French Marshall Foch broke German lines and led to the armistice on Nov. 11, 1918.

18. Changes Created by the War • New Weapons: tanks, poison gas, subs, airplanes, machine guns, etc. • Russian Revolution • Recreated the map of Europe • Brought about the mandate system in the middle east and led to nationalist revolts in the area following the war. • 10 million dead, 20 million wounded, & $150 billion worth of property damage.

19. Changes in the Allied Nations • Within the allied countries, the war brought great changes: • compulsory military training • forced employment of men & women in war-industry jobs • restrictions on labor & management for the war cause • war planning, regulations, price controls, & massive propaganda campaigns • women’s suffrage after the war

20. Versailles Conference • 1919: Versailles conference: Big 4 made all important decisions: Lloyd George, Clemenceau, Orlando, and Wilson. • Wilson tried to base a lasting peace on his 14 points, but they were largely rejected as being too idealistic by European leaders. • Wilson sacrificed most of his program to establish a league of nations.

21. The Treaty of Versailles • League of Nations created (US didn’t join) • Alsace & Lorraine restored to France • French exploitation of the Saar valley for 15 years • Huge reparations to be paid by Germany • Confiscation of German military supplies, and Germany allowed to have only a 100,000 man militia.

22. The Treaty of Versailles • Demilitarization of the Rhineland • War guilt clause blamed Germany for the war and justified reparations • German and Turkish colonies taken over by the League of Nations who gave overseas colonies to the allies and created mandates in the middle east. • Restoration of Belgium & Poland • Creation of Yugoslavia

23. Problems in Russia • Although the czar had not followed through on his promises made after the revolution of 1905, dissatisfied parties in Russia tried to cooperate with the gov’t in the defense of Russia in 1914. • After the armies began to lose, the czar fired competent generals and replaced them himself, at the front. • opposition grew more discontented, as a result.

24. More Russian Problems • As war losses mounted, food shortages at home led to rioting in Russian cities. • On the front, Russian soldiers were finally limited to 2 bullets per day, and many mutinied. • Rasputin’s influence on Czarina Alexandra further alienated the public, and soon, revolution was nearly inevitable.

25. The Revolution of (February) March, 1917 • The March revolution began with a general strike in St. Petersburg (Petrograd, Leningrad). • The strike was followed by a mutiny among the troops and the dissolving of the duma. • The new gov’t that took over was known as the Provisional Gov’t & it was run by Kerensky and Prince Lvov.

26. The Provisional Government • On March 17, 1917, Czar Nicholas abdicated. Shortly afterward, the royal family was arrested. • They were eventually executed by the Bolsheviks. • The new gov’t declared full civil liberties for all Russians, freed Poland and Finland, and called for a constituent assembly to pass needed reforms.

27. Problems for the New Gov’t • Russians wanted to get out of WWI, because they were losing so badly, and because supplies were so short on the homefront. • Hunger was a problem all over Russia. • Most Russians wanted land reform. • The Prov. Gov’t did nothing to help the distressed population.

28. The Soviets • Soviets were small workers’ councils which had been established following the revolution of 1905. • The Petrograd Soviet was under the control of Trotsky and was the most radical group calling for further action. • The Soviets called for an immediate end to the war, for peace with Germany, and for the seizure of land by the peasants & workers.

29. Lenin • Lenin had been active in the Social Democratic Party (Marxists) since its inception in Russia. • 1902: He wrote “What is to be done?” in which he laid out his plans for revolution. • The same year, he took control of the more radical wing of the party, the Bolsheviks.

30. The Road to Revolution • April 16, 1917: Germany ships Lenin back to Russia from his exile in Switzerland in a sealed rail car. • Germany did this, believing that Lenin would sue for peace after leading the revolution in Russia. • Lenin’s motto: “Peace, Land, & Bread.” • This was exactly what the people wanted to hear.

31. The Road to Revolution • Lenin called for the resignation of the provisional government and the transfer of power to the soviets, but this demand was premature. • July, 1917: The provisional gov’t armed the Bolsheviks so they could help the gov’t fight off a military coup (The Kornilov Affair). • These arms were later turned on the gov’t.

32. The October Revolution • Nov. 6, 1917: Led by Lenin & Trotsky, Bolshevik leaders, soldiers, and workers quickly took over Petrograd, stormed the winter palace, & arrested the remaining members of the provisional government. • Alexander Kerensky escaped and lived in exile.

33. The Revolution Continues • Nov. 7, 1917: Lenin declares the revolution a success and renames the country the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. • Lenin = head of state • Trotsky = foreign minister & head of the Red army • Stalin = commissar for national minorities

34. Soviet Russia: 1917-1928 • Between 1917 and 1928, the new Bolshevik government established Soviet power in Russia and enacted Soviet policies. • There are three major themes of this period in Soviet history: • Military & internal problems • Development of economic policies • Power struggle between Stalin & Trotsky

35. Internal Problems Begin • The Bolsheviks expected worldwide revolution to follow their successful revolution in Russia and so they immediately began to prepare. • In preparation, the Soviets nationalized and communized sugar, petroleum, and textile production and all mining, and by 1920, all industries employing more than 10 people were state-owned. • The gov’t requisitioned all farm produce, and only gov’t officials could buy & sell goods.

36. Military & Internal Problems • March 3, 1918: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk took Russia out of the war and ceded large amounts of territory to Germany. • Russia gave up most of the area in the vicinity of the Ukraine and lost about 1/3 of its population. • Civil War was raging between the Reds (Bolsheviks) and the Whites (everyone who opposed the Reds). • By 1921, the Reds won the civil war.

37. Economic Problems • Though the Whites were put down, the Soviet internal situation remained critical in 1921, with the economy being below pre-war levels. • The anarchists and peasants began to revolt in the countryside in an attempt to do something about the starvation & suffering of the masses.

38. The New Economic Policy (NEP) • This was Lenin’s stop-gap measure to retain control and provide temporary relief. • Under the NEP, peasants were allowed to keep part of their produce, which they were allowed to sell for cash profit on newly-recreated local markets. • The gov’t kept control of heavy industry & internat’l trade, but light manufacturing and internal trade was returned to private hands.

39. NEP, continued • The Kulaks (large peasant farmers) and other entrepreneurs made large profits by taking advantage of this liberalization. • As a result, some Bolsheviks, such as Trotsky, wanted to kill them • Some other people wanted to extend the NEP to include even more private business • Lenin believed both groups were wrong, and that the NEP was necessary until a full communist society could be realized in the future.

40. The Power Struggle: Stalin vs. Trotsky • Lenin had a series of strokes between 1922 & 1924. He finally died in 1924. • Trotsky & Stalin both wanted to be Lenin’s successor. • Trotsky was a theorist who had organized the red army and the Petrograd Soviet. • Stalin was an activist who had been instrumental in forcing the minority republics to unite into the USSR. He also had control of the machinery of gov’t.

41. Stalin vs. Trotsky • Trotsky wanted to promote world revolution ASAP, while Stalin was willing to wait & instead concentrate on rebuilding the USSR, 1st. • When Trotsky publicly criticized Stalin’s foreign policy in 1927, Stalin had him exiled to Siberia. • Trotsky eventually escaped to the west & was assassinated by Stalin’s men in 1941.

42. Lenin’s Testament • In his will, Lenin stated that Stalin was too power-hungry and too brutal and uncouth to become his successor. • Lenin believed Trotsky should be the next head of the USSR. • Stalin, however, gained full control of the USSR, after the exile of Trotsky.

43. Stalinist Russia • With Stalin’s rise to power, the NEP was ended. • Stalin was typified by the following: • Purges: to insure personal loyalty to Stalin & his communist system. • Collectivization of Agriculture and Industry: • Identification of the State & the Communist Party: all in his own person. • Five Year Plans: to meet emergency needs for industrialization and mechanization.

44. Five Year Plans • Emergency programs to industrialize the USSR so it could protect itself & compete with the West. • Heavy industry, steel mills, electrical power, cement, railroads, & tractor building. • The bureaucracy necessary to carry out the plans became a highly paid class of communist party members.

45. Purges (1934-1938) • From 1934-1938, Stalin directed a series of wholesale purges consisting of trumped-up or false accusations, mock trials, and then suicide or execution. • He did away with most of the old Bolshevik leaders and others who could challenge his power. • He tried to eliminate the kulaks. • Stalin’s cult of personality: He eliminated people not personally loyal.

46. 1936 Constitution • Although the constitution called for universal suffrage and appeared to be very liberal, it actually was circumvented by the fact that the party and the gov’t were controlled by the same few persons. • For example, even though the nation had a premier, in practice, the premier was always the comm. party secretary.

47. Soviet Foreign Policy • Initially,Stalin favored “Socialism in one State.” (building it in the USSR, 1st, and then later exporting the revolution). • During the late 1930’s, Stalin favored the Popular Front strategy of trying to stop fascism before Hitler could get any more power in his hands. • Finally, after WWII, Stalin began to actively seek to spread Communism in to other parts of the world.

48. Totalitarianism • Leftist: Communism • Right wing: Fascism • While Communism had become the dominant style of dictatorship in the USSR, Fascism appealed to radicals in Italy & Germany.

49. Italy • After switching sides to end the war fighting with the allies in WWI, Italy was disappointed in the lack of territorial gain she achieved at Versailles. • The Italian economy was in shambles after WWI, and unemployment was high. • Italian political parties were unable to gain a majority and so very little reform was happening.

50. The Rise of Mussolini • Following the war, the king, Victor Emmanuel III was a figurehead with virtually no power. • Mussolini, originally a socialist, organized the 1st fasces group in 1919. • He had few followers, at 1st, but due to the bad conditions, people began to listen to his ideas.