Transcript Chapter 26: World War I
Chapter 26: World War I
Chapter 26: Section 1
THE GREAT WAR BEGINS
Section 1: The Great War Begins
There were four main causes to WWI: 1. Militarism: Massive military buildup. 2. Alliances: Countries formed
partnerships to protect themselves.
3. Imperialism: Rival empires seek to
keep power.
4. Nationalism: Loyalty and devotion to
their country or culture.
The Triple Alliance
Great powers were forming alliances, called ententes, to try to keep peace.
Triple Alliance included: – Germany – Austria-Hungary – Italy
The Triple Entente
The Triple Entente included: – Russia – France – Great Britain
How they lined up
Central Powers
Germany Austria
Allies
Russia France Britain
Overseas Competition
In 1914 European Powers competed to protect their status.
Overseas rivalries divided them, as they fought for new colonies in Africa and elsewhere.
They began to build their armies and navies.
Rise to Militarism
A rise to militarism helped to feed this arms race.
Sensational journalism stirred the public against rival nations
Nationalism vs. Nationalism
Germans proud of their military and economic power The French yearned for the return of Alsace and Lorraine Russia supported a powerful form of nationalism called Pan Slavism. This led Russia to support nationalists in Serbia.
Nations are Concerned
Austria- Hungary worried that nationalism might lead to rebellions within its empire.
Ottoman Turkey felt threatened by nearby new nations in the Balkans, such as Serbia and Greece.
Powder Keg
Serbia’s dreams of a South Slav state could take land away from both Austria-Hungary and Turkey.
Unrest made the Balkans a “powder keg.”
The event that triggered the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
He was killed by Gavrilo Princip, a member of a terrorist organization known as the Black Hand.
Ultimatum sent to Serbia
Some Austrian leaders saw this as an opportunity to crush Serbian nationalism.
Austria sent Serbia an ultimatum, which Serbia refused to meet completely.
Domino Effect
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28. Russia had promised that they would protect Serbia, so then Germany declared war on Russia as well as France.
Central Powers: Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire.
Allies: France, Great Britain,
Russia, United States.
Chapter 26: Section 2
A NEW KIND OF WAR
Schlieffen Plan
Germany had developed a battle plan years earlier called the Schlieffen Plan.
It called for German troops to quickly defeat France in the West and then head East to fight Russia. The first thing Germany did was to move through Belgium, a neutral country, which led to Great Britain declaring war on Germany.
Schlieffen Plan
Belgian Slows Germany’s Advance
Millions of French, British, Russian and German soldiers mobilized for battle.
German forces fought their way towards France, but Belgian resistance foiled Germany’s plans for a quick victory.
The Battle of the Marne in September 1914, was the beginning of trench warfare.
Both sides dug trenches along the battlefront to protect their armies from enemy fire.
The Germans were on their way to Paris when the Allies pushed them back. The Germans and the Allies then dug a series of trenches and the battle quickly became a stalemate. This region became known as the Western Front.
Life in trenches was miserable. Rainstorms produced puddles and thick mud and sanitation was a big problem.
Modern Warfare
Technology made World War I different from earlier wars.
New Technology: – Tanks – Airplanes – Modern Submarines – Zeppelins – Machine Guns
Zeppelins
Fight for air supremacy
Pilots known as “flying aces” confronted each other in the skies, but these “dog fights” had little effect on ground war.
Battle of the Seas
German submarines, called U-boats, did tremendous damage to Allied shipping.
To defend against them, the Allies organized convoys, or groups of merchant ships protected by warships.
Dead bodies would often stay there for days and lice and rats were always around. Sometimes soldiers would go “over the top” and attack the enemy trench. Many soldiers would be cut down by machine guns.
Poison gas was used for the first time. It could blind, choke, or burn soldiers and even kill them. Gas masks were developed as a way to combat this. Machine guns came into wide use as well as artillery and shells.
Tanks and airplanes were used for the first time during WWI. Tanks could cross rough terrain and offered some protection. Aircraft was used for observation and attack.
Factories started to produce military equipment and civilians conserved food and goods so they could be used by the military.
Russia’s Eastern Front
Eastern Europe’s battle lines shifted back and forth, sometimes over large areas.
Casualties rose higher than on the Western Front.
Russia was ill-prepared for and suffered a disastrous defeat when pushing into eastern Germany.
Other Countries Enter the War
In 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary and Germany.
In 1917, the Austrians and Germans launched a major offensive against the Italians.
Global Conflicts
World War I was a global conflict.
– Japan used war to seize outposts in China and islands in the Pacific.
– Ottoman empire joined the Central Powers.
– Its strategic location enabled it to cut off Allied supply lines to Russia through the Dardanelles, a vital strait.
– Arab nationalists revolted against Ottoman rule. British sent T.E. Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arabia, to aid the Arabs.
Chapter 26: Section 3
WINNING THE WAR
WWI Women
World War I= total war Participants fueled all resources into the war effort.
Universal conscriptions or “the draft” requiring all young men to be ready to fight.
As millions of men left to fight, women took over their jobs, keeping economies running.
British blockades kept ships from carrying other supplies, such as food, in and out of Germany.
In retaliation German U-boats torpedoed the British passenger liner Lusitania .
Sinking of
Lusitania
Governments also censored newspapers and used propaganda to influence people’s opinions. Women also started to work in factories.
Battle of Verdun (Feb-Dec 1916): Attack by the Germans in an attempt to kill as many French troops as possible. France would suffer 400,000 casualties. It ended in a stalemate.
Battle of the Somme (July-Nov 1916): British launch attack to push Germans away from Verdun. The British would lose 60,000 troops the first day. Over a million troops would die in all. The battle also ended in a stalemate.
Gallipoli Campaign (April-Dec 1915): The Allies used the Dardanelles to ship supplies to Russia. The Allies would give up after 200,000 troops had been killed.
In late 1914, Russia launched an attack on Turkey where ethnic Armenians lived.
Ottoman leaders claimed the Armenians were helping the Russians so they ordered the removal of Armenians. 600,000 Armenians would die and the Ottoman Empire would be accused of genocide.
Costs of War
As time passed, war fatigue set in.
– Long causality lists – Food shortages – Failure to win led to peace calls.
– Morale plunged – Russia’s incompetent generals and corruption led to Revolution.
United States joins the war
Until 1917, the United States had been neutral, but that year it declared war on Germany.
– Germany’s unrestricted U-boat warfare.
– Americans had cultural ties with Allies.
2 million joined Allies on the Western Front.
Zimmerman Note
In February 1917, the
Zimmermann Note
was discovered. This proposed that Mexico attack the United States with German support. By April 1917, the U.S. entered the war on the Allied side.
End of war in sight
March 1918, Allies drove back the Germans.
In September, German generals told the Kaiser that the war could not won.
Kaiser stepped down and new German government sought an armistice.
Chapter 26: Section 4
MAKING OF PEACE
Costs of War
The human, material, and political costs of World War I were staggering.
Huge loss of life was even made worsened by the 1918 pandemic of influenza.
More Costs of WWI
From France to Russia… – Homes , farms, factories, and roads had been bombed to rubble.
– Allies blamed the war on their defeated foes.
– Allies wanted war reparations.
– Governments had collapsed in Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman empire.
Allies met at the Paris Peace Conference to discuss the fate of Europe.
– Central Powers and Russia were not included in the talks.
(Why is Russia left out?)
Allies Differences
Different agendas creates problems: – Britain focused on rebuilding Britain.
– The French wanted to punish Germany severely.
– American President Wilson wanted to create an international League of Nations.
Woodrow Wilson had come up with his own plan for peace called the Fourteen Points. It called for freedom of the seas and for the right of all people to choose their own government.
Fourteen Points
Woodrow Wilson had come up with his own plan for peace called the Fourteen Points. It called for freedom of the seas and for the right of all people to choose their own government.
League of Nations
It also called for a League of Nations, a place where all countries could meet to discuss their differences.
Treaty of Versailles
In June of 1919, the Allies ordered representatives of the new German Republic to sign the Treaty of Versailles.
– Germany had to accept full blame of war.
– Germany had to pay huge reparations in a very bad German economy.
– Limited the size of Germany’s military.
Nearly 9 million soldiers were killed in battle. 13 million civilians died and over 20 million were wounded. The war cost about $332 billion
50 million
more people would die in the Spring of 1918 because of a world wide
influenza
outbreak.
Chapter 26: Section 5
REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA
The Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Lenin and wanted to make Russia a socialist country.
Economic conditions started to worsen in Russia and many people wanted Russia to leave WWI by 1917. On March 8, 1917, Russian citizens took to the streets to protest a lack of food and fuel. Police would not follow orders to shoot the protesters.
Czar Nicholas II ordered the Russian Duma to disband, which they didn’t. By March 15, Nicholas realized that he no longer had power over the Russian people and he was forced to step down. A provisional government would be put in place.
In November 1917, Bolshevik factory workers attacked the government, which caused it to collapse.
The Bolshevik’s controlled Russia and their leader was Vladimir Lenin. He would establish a
Communist
government. They would give land to Russian peasants.
Russia then signed the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk ending their involvement in WWI. This upset some people because the Russians lost land.
Two armies fought for control: White Army and Red Army. The Bolsheviks would win in late 1920.