The Path to World War I

1. The Path to World War I

2. Traditional European Rules of War • A country must declare war before attacking another country. • Each side must wear uniforms or identify themselves to each other before attacking. Soldiers wearing an enemy uniform will be shot as a spy. • Commanding officers should not be targeted • Civilians, Surrendering Soldiers & Medical Personnel will not be attacked. • Hand to Hand combat is honorable, shooting from a distance is cowardly • Soldiers must be given the opportunity to surrender honorably.

3. The four MAIN causes of WWI • M • A • I • N

4. Militarism a policy of aggressive military preparedness; the belief that a country should use military methods & forces to gain power & to achieve its goals

5. ALLIANCESA group of people or countries that are joined together in some activity or effortThe Two Sides Triple Alliance Germany Austria-Hungary Italy Central Powers Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire Triple Entente England France Russia Allied Powers England, France, Russia, United States, Italy, Serbia, Belgium,

6. IMPERIALISM: a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force • Triple Entente • France: Vietnam, Parts of Africa • England: Africa, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Canada, S. America • Triple Alliance • Germany: Africa, Parts of Asia

7. Europe in 1914

8. Aggressive Nationalism An extreme form of patriotism, especially marked by a feeling of superiority over other countries.

9. The Balkan Peninsula, 1914 The“Powder Keg”of Europe Pan-Slavism: defending the rights of people with similar backgrounds

10. Short-Term Cause • June 28th 1914 • Assassination of Franz Ferdinand

11. Who Declared War on Whom? TWELVE DECLARATIONS OF WAR IN 3 WEEKS July 28: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia Aug. 1: Germany & Russia declare war on each other Aug. 3: Germany & France declare war on each other Aug. 4: Germany declares war on Belgium, Great Britain declares war on Germany Aug. 6: Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia, Serbia declares war on Germany Aug. 12:  Great Britain  & France declare war on Austria-Hungary Aug. 22: Austria-Hungary declares war on Belgium

12. By the end of 1914, not only Europe was at war, but also all of Europe’s colonies in Asia, Africa and South America.

13. TheSchlieffen Plan • Made in 1905 • The operational plan for an attack on France once Russia had started to mobilize her forces near the German border. • The execution of the Schlieffen Plan led to Britain declaring war on Germany on August 4th, 1914. • The plan was to rush into the country as fast as possible.

14. The Schlieffen Plan – Key Points • Germany goes through Belgium to get into France. • Germany would defeat France in 6 weeks. • Germany would then use modernized rail system to move troops from the French operation to the Russian front. • Russia would then be attacked and defeated (no plan for how). • What could go wrong? • Transportation • Communication • Supplies

15. Weaknesses of Shlieffen Plan INFLEXIBLE • Not enough trained reserve troops to replace wounded • Counted on reliable transportation • Mistakes & delays not accounted for • Counted on good communication • It assumed that Russia would need six weeks to mobilize & wouldn’t be ready (they were already starting to do so). • Did not have support of all of German army • It assumed that Germany could defeat France in less than six weeks but had no back-up plan if that didn’t happen

16. Trench Warfare • Both sides dug long trenches that faced each other. The trenches ran for miles. • From time to time, one side would attempt to cross the “No-Man’s Land” the area in between the trenches. Joyeux Noel • Trench warfare made WWI extend from a few months of fighting to four years of fighting

23. Technology:Chemical Weapons • WWI was the first major war to use chemical weapons. • Mustard Gas and Chlorine Gas were the two most popular weapons: They caused suffocation, blindness, and death • On April 22, 1915, German forces shock Allied soldiers along the western front by firing more than 150 tons of chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres, Belgium. This was the first major gas attack by the Germans, and it devastated the Allied line.

27. Technology:The U-boat (Submarine) • Germany’s secret weapon during the war • They sank dozens of British ships, controlled the oceans.

28. Why would the British think the U-boat was breaking the rules of War ?

29. Technology:Airpower • Both sides used aircraft for observation, limited bombing, and air battles • Airplanes were slow, clumsy, and unreliable, • The most famous German pilot was Baron von Richthofen (The Red Baron)

31. Technology:Tanks

32. Technology:Tanks

33. Technology:Flame Throwers

34. Battles on the Western Front: Germans, Austria-Hungarians vs. French, British and later Americans • Battle of Ypres, October-November, 1914 • First use of toxic gas • The first of 5 battles in the municipality • Battle of Verdun , February – December, 1916 • Ten months long • French and German armies. • Toxic gas and flame guns used • Estimated 540,000 French and 430,000 German casualties • No strategic advantages were gained for either side. • Led to the creation of the Maginot Line • Battle of Somme, July – November, 1916 • English (Candadians, Newfoundlander,s Australian, New Zealanders, Indians) and French vs Germany • - British lost 58,000 men on the first day • Six months of fighting • Five miles of advancement for Allies • 1 million men killed

35. Ypres Ruins, 1919

36. Battles on the Eastern Front • Russians and Serbs vs. Germans and Austria-Hungarians • War more mobile but still a stalemate • Russia’s disadvantages • Not Industrialized • Short on Supplies • Russia’s advantage • People • Battle of Tannenberg: • August 1914- First major eastern battle. • Russia was badly defeated and pushed back. • Russia lost millions of men against Germany, undersupplied, under gunned

37. Other Fronts • Japan, Australia, India join Allies • Ottoman Turks, Bulgaria join Central Powers • Gallipoli Campaign in the Ottoman Empire, April 1915 - January, 1916 • Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey • Allies fail in attempt to open the Dardanelles • Combined naval/army operation • Only 2 of 5 landings successful • Casualties-250,000 British, 34,000 ANZAC, 47,000 French, 250,000 Turkish • Battles occur in Africa and Asia for Colonial Possessions