The Great War

Today’s Objective

- To understand the general course of events of the Great War

5

• Summer of 1914: → June 28: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of A-H, is assassinated in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo ...by Gavrilo Princip, 19 year-old member of the Black Hand …A-H Emperor Franz Josef vows to eliminate Serbia “as a political factor in the Balkans” → July 5: Fearing war with Serbia will bring “Mother Russia” in the conflict, Franz Josef telegrams his ally, Kaiser Wilhelm II, asking him to confirm German support of A-H in such a war → July 6: In order to appear strong in the face of crisis, the Kaiser allows character to overtake common sense …believing a small, localized war would strengthen A-H’s position in the Balkans …Wilhelm issues the “Blank Check” of unconditional support if the war involved “other powers”

→ July 23: Bolstered by German support, A-H sends Serbia a deliberately unrealistic, 10-point, 48-hour ultimatum …Serbia accepts 9 of the July Ultimatum’s 10 points → July 28: Declaring the ultimatum non-negotiable, and thus Serbia’s response unsatisfactory ...A-H declares won on Serbia → July 30: Fearful that A-H and Germany might annihilate Serbia …Czar Nicholas II of Russia order the mobilization of the Russian military → Aug 1: In response to Russian mobilization, Germany declares war war on Russia …the trap had been sprung

• Germany’s only strategic plan for fighting a two-front war against the Triple Entente, the Schlieffen Plan …required precision timing and British neutrality to succeed → Step #1: A quick and decisive defeat of France → Step #2: The entire German army would be sent east to fight Russia - “Paris for lunch, dinner in St. Petersburg”

• Response in the West: → August 3: Germany declares war on France and to avoid defensive structures on the German-French border …Germany demands the right of free passage through the territory of neutral Belgium → August 4: Request is denied and Germany violates Belgium neutrality and invades → August 5: Great Britain declares war on Germany to defend Belgium

• Western & Eastern Fronts: → By late 1914, German forces were 25 miles from Paris …Russia, not fully mobilized for war, invades Germany …hoping to take pressure off their allies in the West → Germany is now forced to fight a full-scale two-front war and the Schlieffen Plan was in ruins → Fighting reached a stalemate that cost hundreds of thousands of lives and gained advances of only hundreds of yards → A secret treaty in early 1915, the London Pact, lured Italy into opening a third front against Austria-Hungary …promising Italy lands of the Italia Irredenta at war’s end → Both sides appealed to nationalistic sentiment in areas the enemy held …T.E. Lawrence and Arab independence

→ the Central Powers → the Allied Powers

• The United States vowed to remain neutral from “Europe’s civil war” …four factors will eventually change public opinion → Sinking of the Lusitania, unrestricted submarine warfare, Zimmermann Telegram, and …March 1917: Abdication of Czar Nicholas II, US support for the Allies was impossible while an absolutist Russia was among them → Arrival of US soldiers in France had a tremendous impact on the war …compensated for the Allies’ loss of Russia …bolstered Allied confidence …forced Germany into desperate actions which ultimately brought a quicker end to the war

Why did the Schlieffen Plan fail, and what did

its failure mean for the course of the Great War?

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

• Explain the “blank check” • Explain “Paris for lunch, dinner in St. Petersburg”

• What was the role of Belgium in the start of the GW? • What was the London Pact?

• Summarize the entrance of the US in the GW

TARGET QUESTIONS

DAILY ASSIGNMENT Create a timeline for the events of 1914.

(Use the 10 given dates)

7 Inches

Date: Event