Area 1

Choosing sides and war plans

The First World War

• Product of Multiple Factors:• Militarism • *development of naval arms race

• Alliances*agreement to protect one another*Alliance System – existed prior to the war

• Imperialism• *Industrialization & Imperialism went hand in hand • Nationalism • *National interest should come ahead of global

Alliance System:

Triple Alliance

1. Austria-Hungary

2. Germany

3. Italy

Triple Entente

1. Great Britain

2. Russia (Serbia)

3. France

• Provided international security. Nations were reluctant to disturb the balance of power. If there was a conflict with one, all the others would be brought in.

Europe 1914

The Balkins 1914

Balkin Peninsula-“Powder Keg of Europe”

Archduke Franz Ferdinand & His Family

June 1914 – Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, were assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia.

The Assassination

The Immediate Cause of the War:

* Gavrilo Princip• A teenage member of the secret society Black Hand

was the assassin• The society’s aim was to unite all Serbians

• July 28, 1914 – Austria blamed Serbia, who was allied with Russia. Austria declared a “bright, brisk little war” against Serbia • This forces the alliance system into effect.

• August 1, 1914 – Germany declares war on Russia.• This draws France and Great Britain into the war.

The Assassin

Gavrilo Princip

Most of the World Was Divided Into 2 Groups:

Central Powers

1. Germany

2. Austria-Hungary

3. Ottoman Empire

Allied Powers.

1. Russia

2. Great Britain

3. France• More than 20 other

nations eventually joined, including.

Italy and the U.S.

Area 2

Strategy

1. Schlieffen Plan

• Alfred von Schlieffen developed a plan to defend Germany against France & Britain• Needed to defeat France before Russia

was able to arm themselves• Attach France from the north through the

low lands

Fronts – combat zones, many small wars fought at once.

• Europe was divided into two fronts:• Western• Eastern

Western Front:• Northern France and Southern Belgium

• France and Britain vs. GermanyThis map shows the Western Front. The battlefields (shown in gray) are located along a 450 mile stretch and run across many different types of ground. The Northern end of the front began on the sandy dunes of the Belgian coast. It continued south through northern France then east through the provinces of Lorraine and Alsace, both then occupied by Imperial Germany, finally terminating on the Swiss border in the south.

Location of Trenches

Two parallel trench lines running from the North Sea all the way to the border of Switzerland.

WOW!

• If all of the trenches constructed during World War I were laid end to end, they would cover 25,000 miles!

2. Trench Warfare:• Soldiers dug long trenches protected by mines and

barbed wire.• Front Line: Brunt enemy attacks• Reserve Line: When Front Line was overwhelmed, the

troops in the reserve trench would be used as support• Support Line: Mainly used to rest troops although

could be called upon to help in a crisis.• Sap / Fire trenches – went into no-man’s land. Very

dangerous.• All the trenches were linked by communications

trenches.

Cross Section of a Trench

Trench Warfare

Trench Warfare Continued:• Each trench – 10 feet deep• Fire Step – a ledge halfway up the trench, where

people would shoot from. • Dugout - holes dug into the sides of the trench used

for sleeping.

Trench Warfare

Problems of Trench Warfare

Trench Foot

• 1000’s of soldiers were killed in battles that won very little territory.• November 1914 there was a stalemate.

• Stalemate – a situation in which no one can win

Area 3

Weapons of War

New Weapons:

• Machine Guns• Poisonous Gas• Tanks• Aircraft (Balloons)• Submarines / U-Boats

• Resulted in a different type of war•Mechanized Warfare

Poison Gas

• Chemical warfare, used by both sides, made gas masks necessary

Grenade Grenade LaunchersLaunchers

Flame Flame ThrowersThrowers

The Airplane

“Squadron Over the Brenta”

Max Edler von Poosch, 1917

“Squadron Over the Brenta”

Max Edler von Poosch, 1917

The Zeppelin

Mobilization

• No major wars in 50 years!• Conscription

Soldiers Mobilized

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

France Germany Russia Britain

Mil

lio

ns

Fighting Starts• August 4, 1914 - Germany invades Belgium• Unable to save Belgium - British & French retreat to Marne

River in France • Battle of Marne

• Took Germans 3 weeks to cross Belgium• this gave France & Britain time to rush troops • September 1914-Stopped German advance

• Spring 1915- two lines of trenches lined northern & eastern France (German in one & Allied in other)

• First Battle of Somme- July 1, 1916 to Mid-November• British lost 60,000 men in the first day • Final casualties totaled 1.2 million • Only 7 miles of ground changed hands - Trench Warfare

Eastern Front

• Russia had the largest army but they were unskilled and unarmed• Suffered terrible

losses

• 1917:Russia pulls out of war

War Is HELL !!War Is HELL !!

Area 4

America Enters the War

U-Boats

Allied Ships Sunk by U-Boats

Allied Ships Sunk by U-Boats

American Neutrality

• Tried to remain neutral during the early years of war

• Warned Germany: if anymore supply ships were sunk – US would get involved

• Many ships were hiding supplies

American Neutrality

• Opposition to the war • Millions of Americans watched closely• Many still had ties to their home country

• Believed war was evil • America should set an example for peace

American Neutrality

• Sympathy for Allies • France & England:

• common bond- Language, culture, democratic institutions

• Belgium • after Germany destroyed everything in its path

• Economic ties were stronger with Allies

Sinking of the Lusitania

• January 31, 1917• Germany adopts a policy of

unrestricted submarine warfare• US cuts off all ties with Germany

• May 7, 1915• British liner, Lusitania, off the

coast of Ireland sunk by U-Boat • 128 Americans dead

Zimmerman Note

• Intercepted by British officials• Germany promised

Texas, Arizona & NM to Mexico if they joined Central powers

• April 6, 1917• US declared war on

Germany• US was not prepared

The YanksAre

Coming!

The YanksAre

Coming!

American Effort

• Military consisted of 200,000 men • Few had combat experience

• Draft: by 1918 24 million draftees • About 2 million reached Europe

War Effort

• Women were not drafted • Could not enlist• Could volunteer for

non-combat positions

• Encouraged to aide the war effort from home

Financing the WarFinancing the War

American PosterAmerican Poster

Americans in the Trenches

Sacrifices in WarSacrifices in War

The Tide Turns.. Western Front

• With Russia out, Germany turns shifts its army to the Western Front (France)

• July & August: • Americans help in the 2nd Battle of Marne

• US lost: • 48,000 men in battle - 62,000 from disease • 200,000 wounded

• Even with the loss of lives the tide turned against Central Powers

Area 5

Results of the War

Collapse of Germany

• Nov. 1918: Admiral orders German ships to leave port • Sailors felt there was no longer any use in

fighting• Rebellion in Berlin

• Kaiser abdicates the throne & flees to the Netherlands

• Austria-Hungary was spinning towards collapse

11 a.m., November 11, 1918

11 a.m., November 11, 1918

The Armistice is Signed!

The Peace Process:

In 1919, the Big 4 met in Paris to negotiate the Treaty. Lloyd George of Britain, Orlando of Italy, Clemenceau of France, and Woodrow Wilson of the U.S.

• January 18, 1919 – A peace conference began at Versailles.

• The four great powers dominated.

• Each leader has his own motives and interests.

France:Clemenceau-Wanted GermanyDestroyed

Italy:Orlando-Wanted what was Promised to Italy for getting into the War

England:Lloyd George-Moderate

United States:Wilson-League of Nations

Results of the Treaty:

• The Allied Powers’ Goal was to punish Germany.• They forced the country to pay reparations

for the damage it created.

• Wilson created the 14 Points to keep peace. • One of the points called for the League of

Nations to be formed in order to prevent World Wars from breaking out.

Wilson’s 14 Points

• January 1918 • Freedom of Seas • Free trade • Reduction of arms • End to Secret Treaties • A League of Nations

The Treaty Of Versailles• Harsh Toward Germany

• Lost 13% of its land

• Poland became a nation

• All of Germany’s land in Africa was divided among allies as “mandates”

• German military limited• Size = 100,000

• No manufacture of war material

• No subs or airplanes

• No troops in Rhineland

• War Guilt clause: Germany had to pay 31 billion in reparations

Treaty Results Continued:

• As a result of the War, Europe looked totally different.

• The harsh treatment of Germany would bankrupt the nation and give rise to Hitler.

Treaty Results Continued:• As a result of the War, Europe looked

totally different. • New countries were formed

• The Treaty of Versailles, it was a fragile truce; it caused future problems in Europe.

• Europe 1914 • Europe 1919

Militarism & Arms Race Militarism & Arms Race

1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1914

94 130 154 268 289 398

Total Defense Expenditures for the Total Defense Expenditures for the Great Powers [Ger., A-H, It., Fr., Br., Great Powers [Ger., A-H, It., Fr., Br.,

Rus.] Rus.] in millions of £s.in millions of £s.

1910-1914 Increase in Defense

Expenditures

France 10%

Britain 13%

Russia 39%

Germany

73%

World War I Casualties