The Great War

By Nolan Bastendorff

2

Causes of the Great War

Aggressive Nationalism

• French were bitter and wanted to regain “lost provinces” of Alsace and Lorraine

• Germany was proud of their military power and victory in the Franco-Prussian War

• Pan-Slavism: Meant that all Slavic people shared a common nationality. As the largest Slavic country, Russia swore to defend all Slavic nations against any threat

• Austria Hungary and the Ottoman empire feared that people living within their borders may form nationalist movements to form their own countries

Imperialism and Economic Rivalries

• British felt threatened by Germany’s rapid economic growth

• Germany felt that other powerful nations did not respect them

• Competition for colonies in Africa brought Germany and France to the brink of war

• The British began to unite with the French against Germany’s Imperialist desires

Militarism and the Arms Race

• Militarism: Glorification of the military. The military began to dominate many country’s national policy

• Social Darwinism: Naturally, the strongest shall survive

• Arms Race: Rival countries tried to make sure that they would “build a bigger military than the enemy will build when they hear we’re building a bigger military than theirs.”

• Fear of war gave military leaders more influence in government

The Tangle of Alliances

• Out of fear, nations signed treaties promising to defend each other

• Central Powers (Triple Alliance): Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire

• Allies (Triple Entente): France, Great Britain, Russia, and eventually the U.S.A.

• This system made it easy for a small local war to escalate into a horrifying world war

Europe before the Great War

The Tangle of Alliances take effect and

Europe Goes to War

Allies

RussiaGreat Britain

Greece

Romania

Central Powers

Germany

Austria-Hungary

Ottoman Empire

Neutral

Spain

Switz.

NorwaySweden

France

Western Front(Click to view)

Eastern Front(Click to view)

Weapons of the Great War

• Mounted gun that fires a rapid, continuous stream of bullets.

• It was very useful. You could mow down people much faster and more effectively than before.

• Helped to create the stalemate by making it difficult to advance across no man’s land.

Automatic Machine Gun

Tank• Armored vehicle that travels on a track allowing

it to cross many kinds of land.• You could go almost anywhere and not be

afraid of getting hit by bullets and could go through enemy lines without getting blown to pieces.

• The tank helped create the stalemate because once both sides got one they could blow through each other's lines and kill the foot soldiers.

Submarine• Underwater ship that could launch

torpedoes, or guided underwater bombs.• Germany used them to sink Allied

shipping.• Helped to end the stalemate because only

Germany had them in WW1 and used them to destroy the Europeans.

Airplane• One or two-seat propeller plane equipped with

a machine gun.• At first airplanes were used for observation.

Then they were used for combat.• Helped to create the stalemate because once

both sides had them they could fight back and forth in the air just like they did on the ground. They called these fights “Dogfights.”

Events that led America from Neutrality to WWI

1914 1919

June 28, 1914-Archduke Ferdinand Assassinated

Aug. 1, 1914-Official Outbreak of World War 1

Feb. 4, 1915-Germany Declares U-Boat Blockade Surrounding Great Britain

May 7, 1915-Sinking of the Lusitania

April 19, 1916-President Wilson Speaks Out to Germany

Feb. 24, 1917-The Zimmerman Telegram

March 3, 1918-Signing at Brest-Litovsk

April 6, 1917-U.S.A. Declares War on

Germany

June 28, 1919-Treaty of Versailles

March & Nov. 1917-Russian Revolution

Heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated by Gavrilo Princip. He was a Serbian nationalist and member of The Black Hand.

Germany declared war on Russia and after that World War 1 would go on for another 4 years until November of 1918.

Germany created a blockade of submarines around Great Britain, keeping out any unwanted supplies. The submarines were ordered to sink any ships that entered the “war zone.”

The British liner Lusitania is sunk by a German U-Boat torpedo. The ship sank in only 18 minutes and killed 1,198 of the 1,959 people on board, of which 128 were American.

President Wilson publicly tells the German's to stop their submarine policy of sinking all ships that enter into enemy waters without warning.

A separate peace treaty is signed by Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire) at Brest-Litovsk. This treaty marked Russia's exit from World War 1.

United States comes out of neutrality and declares war on Germany, entering the First World War. Back home materials were rationed by the government to help provide food and equipment for the military.

Disasters on the battlefield, also food and fuel shortages at home. On the advice of military and political leaders, the czar abdicated. A provisional gov. was then set up. Soldiers started deserting the war. Some cities set up soviets, then the Bolsheviks took charge.

The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended war between Germany and the Allied Powers. Click Here

for Treaty

Objectives of President Wilson

- Reduce Armaments in all nations.- Remove trade barriers, thus allowing free trade among all

nations.- Open the treaty-making process so that any nation can be

present during proceedings.- Enforce absolute freedom of navigation of the seas.- Grant independence to Polish people in Eastern Germany so

that they can form their own nation.- Establish the League of Nations as an international

peacekeeping body.- Grant independence to all nationalistic movements in the

Austro-Hungarian empire so that they can form their own nations.

Objectives of European Powers

-Force Germany to pay reparations for the total cost of the war.

-Keep all German troops out of their border areas and put them under control of the Allied powers.

-Grant independence to Germany’s colonies.

-Force Germany to admit blame for the war.

-Redistribute land from the losing countries to the winning powers.

All of the objectives by the European Powers were approved

The Western FrontGermany, France, Britain, Belgium, and eventually

theU.S. all fought along this front.

Click Here Click Here Click Here

Click Here Click Here

German Soldiers (Left) Weapon used in War (Right)

Battle of Verdun

Germany started the Battle of Verdun, which only lasted 6

months, but 680,000 people died.

Once Russia got out of the war, Germany went after the west hard, his advantage would soon be taken over again when American supplies

and troops arrived.

Casualties From Poison Gas

Austria-Hungary 100,000 British Empire 188,706

France 190,000 Germany 200,000

Italy 60,000 Russia 419,340

USA 72,807 Others 10,000

(French were first to introduce Poison Gas)

Battle of the Somme

e French were the ones who started he Battle of the Somme, which again only lasted 6 months, but had over

one million casualties.

tain was terrorized by flamethrowers in 1915. The flamethrowers wouldn't necessarily throw ames, but they would shoot out burning fuel.

When the fuel would get on the enemies lothes, they were done for. They would burn

up right there on the spot.

Belgian Soldiers

housands of soldiers, not only Belgian soldiers, could have been saved if they

had warnings about how to prevent breathing in the toxic mustard gas.

U.S. Soldiers

18 was the last huge push by the Germans in orld War 1. The Germans were repulsed after

many losses to U.S. troops who began to hold their ground.

ConclusionTreaty of Versailles was not approved by merica, Wilson couldn’t convince America approve it. Wilson’s 14 points were ected and they eventually got rid of the eaty of Versailles. America did not join the ague of Nations. Germany was harshly unished for the war, after that they went to ok for a new leader, who ended up being dolf Hitler.

The Eastern Front

sia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary all fought this Front that stretched from the Baltic Sea the Black Sea.

Click Here

The Russians had some early victories like the Battle of Tannenburg.After that they didn’t win anymore, and the German’s went on to victory after victory.

Russian Soldiers

y Russian soldiers were under-supplied and poorly uipped. About ¼ of all Russian soldiers didn’t have y weapons going into battle. They were told to pick the rifles once their fellow troops died.

e communists back home in Russia told soldiers to ave the war and return home. These deserters came big supporters of the overthrow of the Czar in bruary of 1917.

reaty of Brest-Litovsk

ovember of 1917, Vladimir Lenin was the ad of a revolution that overthrew the vernment and brought Russia out of World ar 1.

n signed the Brest-Litovsk Treaty with the entral Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, d the Ottoman Empire). Russia lost about ¼ its land and people due to this treaty.

The End