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The Great War . (World War I) 1914-1919 World History. Pre-WWI Europe. George V- Great Britain. Emperor Franz Joseph- Austria-Hungary. Nicholas II- Russia (left) George V- Britain (right). Kaiser William II- Germany. Background Tensions Causes (MANIA).
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The Great War (World War I) 1914-1919 World History
George V- Great Britain Emperor Franz Joseph- Austria-Hungary
Nicholas II- Russia (left) George V- Britain (right) Kaiser William II- Germany
Background TensionsCauses (MANIA) 1. Militarism—build up of military (Great Britain v. Germany) • Military power seen as symbol of national prestige • Glorification of war by all powers • Arms race among great powers • Influential military leaders • Belief in Social Darwinism
2. Alliances • The network of alliances was delicate and any fighting over territory could destroy the balance. • Agreements among nations to aid each other if attacked • Russian agreements with smaller Slavic nations • Emergence of Allies • Emergence of Central Powers
The Allies: Russia (USA) France England Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Germany Bulgaria Russia Neutral Nations
3. Nationalism French revenge against Germany for humiliation during Franco-Prussian War French desire for return of Alsace and Lorraine German pride in military power and industrial growth
Nationalism cont. Pan-Slavism (desire for a united Slavic state) in Eastern Europe Serbian desire to create south Slavic state Balkan Boundaries in 1914
4. Imperialism Imperialism • British concern over German growth and competition for colonies • Economic rivalries among Britain, Germany, and France 5. Assassination of Franz Ferdinand (The Spark to the Powder Keg of Europe)
The Powder Keg of Europe The Balkan Peninsula 1. Territories are winning their independence from the Ottoman Empire—Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia. 2. Serbia wants to expand their territory to all lands with Serbian people—a threat to Austria-Hungary, who does not want to give up this territory.
The Powder Keg of Europe 3. Russia looms over these new formed nations with interest in gaining a port on the Mediterranean Sea. 4. Crisis after crisis continued in the Balkans—many European countries felt anticipation for the coming war. Countries maintained large standing armies, felt confidence in their superior weapons, and feared the growing strength of other powers.
The Spark to the Great War • Archduke Franz Ferdinand & his wife Sophia, the next in line to the throne of Austria-Hungary, are assassinated by a member of a Serbian Nationalist movement called the Black Hand in Sarajevo. • June 28, 1914 • Germany agreed to support Austria-Hungary with a “blank check.”
Austria-Hungary v. Serbia 2. Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum with very harsh terms for Serbia. 3. Austria-Hungary was ready for war and Austria declared war on Serbia July 28, 1914.
Germany v. Russia 4. Alliances pulled Russia into the war in support of Serbia and Germany to support Austria-Hungary. 5. Russian precautions are seen as an act of war—Germany declares war on Russia. Russia’s alliances pull France and Great Britain into the war.
Two sides of a war Central Powers—Germany, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary. Allied Powers—Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Belgium
Schlieffen Plan • In 1905, German General Alfred von Schlieffen drew up a war strategy to take over Europe • Plan was to capture France in 6 weeks (Western Front), after that, go after a weakened Russia • This was the plan Germany followed when war broke out in 1914. • Germans underestimated the efforts of the Allies: were forced to fight a 2-front war
New weapons for land, sea & air 1. machine gun, land mines 2. Mustard gas, poison gas 3. gas masks 4. tanks (1917) 5. airplanes—scouting and photographs, then ‘dog fights,’ bombs and machine guns 6. blimps—Germans used to bomb London 7. grenades, flame throwers 8. submarines (U-boats)
The Western Front • The Western Front was formed in northern France as a joint French-British forced battled Germany. • The French underestimated the German fighting machine. • As German troops neared Paris—there were growing fears of the Russian force ready for war east of Germany. • Germany was stretching weak communication lines and supplies; additionally the Russian threat pulled German troops from the Western Front. • French and British troops were more organized as supplies and communication lines were shorter.
C. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare 1. Trying to aggressively end the war, Germany announces unrestricted submarine warfare. Any boats, ships, or submarines were open to German attack. 2. When a German U-boat sank the Lusitania in May of 1915, they ended the submarine warfare policy after strong warnings from President Woodrow Wilson.
The Stalemate—1915 1. Elaborate tunnels, shelters, and trenches stretching 600 miles from the English Channel to the Swiss boarder were dug on both sides of the battle ground. 2. “No man’s land” was the land between the trenches. Soldiers were in the trenches for weeks, months, and even years
Western Front, 1916 • Battle of Verdun Feb.21- Dec.18 • No tactical or strategic advantage gained at all • Biggest success: wounded both armies • Casualties:550,000 FR / 434,000 GER
The Trenches, the Bogs, the Bombardment The trenches
Caring for the wounded in the mud. Caution on the next one…
German artillery designed to decimate the trenches and disrupt supply lines
Zimmermann Telegram 1. Message from Arthur Zimmerman, Germany’s foreign minister the German ambassador to Mexico 2. Promised New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to be returned to Mexico for siding with Germany during WWI 3. The United States entered the Great War after a telegram was intercepted.
B. The Death Toll Mounted 1. Newspaper lists of casualties grew longer and longer. 2. Wounded soldiers came home with horror stores of war. 3. Soldiers in trenches were living with rats eating spoiled canned meat—with no end in sight for the war. 4. Bloody battle gained only meters for one side at the cost of more than 300,000 lives in 1916.
