WWI – The Great War

The deep breath before WWI

Early 1900s – situation in Europe was very tense

Rivalry between industrial nations caused extreme feelings of nationalism

Suspicious of one another, the nations formed defensive alliances waiting for someone to throw the first punch

The PlayersTriple Alliance - 1882 Germany Italy Austria-Hungary

Triple Entente - 1907 France Great Britain Russia

Causes of WWI Spark = ethnic nationalism in Austria-

Hungary These groups wanted their own nations Result? A series of uprisings Serbia was a new nation in the Balkan

area supported by Russia (made things even more tense) – known as the “powder keg of Europe”

European leaders trying to keep the lid on the cauldron representing trouble in Serbia

The immediate cause of the war:

The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia

Shot by Gavrilo Princip, a young Serbian nationalist and member of The Black Hand – they wanted Bosnia (a part of Austria-Hungary) to become a part of Serbia)

1,2,3,4, I declare war…DON’T WRITE THIS!!During July and August of 1914, peace in Europe quickly

fell apart – Austria blamed the Serbs for trying to break up its empire. It declared war against Serbia. Serbia’s ally, Russia, then prepared its army for war. Fearing that Russia would attack it as well as Austria, Germany declared war on Russia. Russia was France’s ally. When France offered to help Russia, Germany declared war on France. To attack France, Germany invaded neighboring Belgium. Belgium’s ally, Britain, then declared war against Germany. Soon all of Europe was at war…

To sum that up:

War spread like wildfire

Triple Alliance = Central Powers

Triple Entente = Allies

When did the US enter the picture?

1915 – sinking of the Lusitania – British ship that carried cargo and US passengers (sunk by German torpedo)

The US began to view Germany as a bully and began to side with the Allies

When did the US enter the picture?

Zimmerman letter – intercepted telegram from German foreign minister to German US ambassador – said that Germany would help Mexico win back Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico

4 years of warfare

Why? Trench warfare –

each side dig trenches deep enough for soldiers to stand in

This eventually turned into a stalemate, neither side could move more than a few miles

A New Kind of War Airplanes – used for observation and then

bombing enemy targets Machine guns – rapid fire, great in

trenches Poison gas – sickened and killed soldiers –

masks were the only protection Submarines – German U-boats attacked

at sea Tanks

VideosTrench Warfare and weapons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUCaq

ptNqKM&safe=active

War Horse clip – make a list of the weapons/ war tactics that you see in the clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo-3x2khwZ0&safe=active

Here come the Yankees! April 1917 – US declared war on Germany More than 1 million US troops came to

Europe to counter the final German advance

After a year, it was clear that Germany could not win

Allies agreed to an armistice – cease fire

At the end of things…. Casualties: 8.5 million Wounded: 17 million Regions where war had been fought lay

in ruin War debt: millions Question? Who would pay for the

rebuilding and debt?

Making the Peace

Paris Peace Conference 1919

The Big Three – GB, France, US (decision makers)

Germany was not allowed to take part in the negotiations

Treaty of Versailles The big three disagreed about what the

treaty should contain: GB/France – wanted Germany to be

disarmed and pay the entire cost of the war

US – Woodrow Wilson wanted to set up a League of Nations (LON)– international peacekeeping organization

Wilson’s 14 Points The LON was included in his 14 points

along with goals like:1. End to secret treaties2. Freedom of the seas3. Right for people to govern themselves

14 Points cont. In the end, he had to give many of the

points up, but he stuck to his idea of a LON and the Allies finally accepted it

BUT the US Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles (they thought the US would be giving up its ability to act in its own interests)

Soooo without the US, Wilson’s idea lost a lot of it’s power

Final Treaty of Versailles Germany/Austria Hungary – admit they

started the war Germany – paid $30 million in damages German army/navy reduced in size Area btw. Germany and France was not

allowed to have forts, trenches, weapons Germany had to return land to France German colonies in Africa and Asia were

taken

Which one’s Germany??

A tough pill to swallow

Quick video!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J31vkB4IdS0&safe=active

The short end of the stick…