World War I: An Introduction

A Local Conflict Goes Global

The Cousins WarWilhelm II George V

Nicholas II

Underlying CausesM.A.N.I.A.

Militarism Alliances Nationalism Imperialism Anarchy

Militarism

Militarism Militarism: The glorification of war & the military

The development of new weapons

The establishment of large reserve armies

Mobilization: The organization of resources for combat

Generally triggers other nations to do the same

Militarism

Militarism Example: During the early 1900s Kaiser Wilhelm II expanded the German Navy

Wanted Germany to be equal to Great Britain in terms of naval strength

Great Britain felt threatened as a result of Germany’s naval buildup

Solution? Expanded the British Navy Developed a new battleship; The Dreadnought

Militarism

Alliances

AlliancesDefense Agreement Among

Nations

Alliances Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary

Allied in an attempt to isolate France

Triple Entente: France, Great Britain, Russia

Nationalism

French Nationalism:

French nationalists sought revenge against Germany after their loss of Alsace-Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian War (1870)

Nationalism

Nationalism Slavic Nationalism: A large-scale movement to unify all Slavic people under one empire

The Serbs wanted to lead Slavic unification; supported by Russia

Nationalism German Nationalism: Germany wanted to prove it’s strength in comparison to the other great powers of Europe

Imperialism

Imperialism: The domination of one nation by another

Germany & France came close to fighting a war over the control of Morocco

Imperialism

Imperialism Germany wanted to create a Berlin to Baghdad Railway

Caused resentment in Britain

Feared interference with India & reduced traffic thru the Suez Canal

Anarchy

Anarchy At this time the nations of Europe began to pursue policies without consulting their neighbors

Problem? If a crisis arose there was no international organization to monitor it…

World war i:The Beginnings

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip

Princip was a member of the Serbian nationalist group Black Hand

Immediate Causes

Why Assassination? Ferdinand planned to give the Slavs of Bosnia-Herzegovina an equal voice in the Austro-Hungarian government

This threatened the movement for a separate Slavic state

What Next? Austria-Hungary held the Serbian government responsible for the assassination of Ferdinand

Austria-Hungary sought backup from Germany in the event of war

What Next? Germany issued a Blank Check to Austria-Hungary

Blank Check: William II agreed to support any actions that Austria-Hungary might take against Serbia

The Ultimatum: Austria-Hungary demanded entrance into Serbia

Why? Suppress subversive organizations

Conduct an investigation

Tensions Build!!

Tensions Build!! Austria-Hungary gave Serbia 48 hours to agree to the ultimatum

Serbia REFUSED to agree July 28, 1914: Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia!

Others Get Involved Russia, an ally of Serbia, mobilized troops along the borders of Germany & Austria-Hungary

Germany warned Russia to stop

Russia refused!

Others Get Involved Germany issued an ultimatum to France

Gave France 18 hours to decide whether or not it would support Russia

France gave an inconclusive answer!

08/01/1914: Germany declared war on Russia

08/03/1914: Germany declared war on France

Declarations of War

Declarations of War Great Britain hoped to remain neutral

DID NOT want to become involved in a war

HOWEVER…

Germany demanded passage across Belgium in order to fight France

Part of Germany’s Schlieffen Plan

The Belgium Issue

The Belgium Issue In 1839 Britain, Russia, France & Germany signed a treaty that guaranteed Belgium’s neutrality

Due to the fact that Belgium was a neutral nation, Great Britain protested Germany’s demand

The Belgium Issue Despite Belgium’s neutrality, Germany invaded on August 14, 1914

Great Britain demanded that Germany immediately withdraw from Belgium

Germany responded by referring to the treaty as nothing more than a “scrap of paper”

As a result Great Britain declared war on Germany

The Belgium Issue

World War I:Opposing Sides

Opposing Sides The Triple Entente became the Allied Powers

The Triple Alliance became the Central Powers

Allied powers

Allied powers Major Players: France, Great Britain, Russia Italy (1915) Japan (1915) United States (1917) 28 other countries

Allied powers Strengths: More soldiers More money Greater industrial potential Great Britain – best navy France – excellent army

Allied powers Weaknesses: Russia was WEAK & POOR No unified command Each country acted independently until the end of the war

Fighting on their OWN territory

Central powers

Central powers Major Players: Germany, Austria-Hungary

Bulgaria Ottoman Empire (Turkey)

Central powers Strengths: Germany – best army Germany – excellent navy Superior weapons Fighting in enemy territory

Central powers Excellent lines of communication

Unified command Everyone under German control

Control of the Dardanelles

Central powers Weaknesses: Fighting a two-front war