Download - Pittsfield High School

WORLD WAR I:
CAUSES
COURSE of ACTIONS
CONSEQUENCES
1
PART I: SPARKs FLY: 1914 Europe is divided. Tensions mount. Rivals vie for POWER. War threatens. Europe is a mess.
#1 - The expansion of national armed forces or Militarism escalates and countries prepare for war.
#2 - Alliances are made by countries, which agree to support one another in case of war.
#3 - Rival nations feel threatened by the Imperialism of enemy countries whose WORLD POWER threatens war.
#4 - Nationalism urged discontent with ruling governments by rebels, sparking an event to propel the world into war.
Assassination: On June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, a 19 year-old Serbian nationalist rebel, Gavrilo Princip, shot Austrian Archduke
Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian-Hungary Empire. The archduke was visiting this Slavic country that had been seized by the Austria.
Serbia, a Slavic country, hoped to join Slavic countries together, including Bosnia. On top of this, Russia and Austria-Hungary disagreed
with Austria’s takeover of Bosnia. Russia supported Serbian nationalism. Austria, fearing rebellion in Bosnia, sent the archduke to
Sarajevo to show power. The Serbs felt threatened. So on that day, the archduke and the pregnant grand-duchess, rode in a
motorcade, when the teen stepped into the street, fired point-blank shot at the couple. The duchess died immediately. Ferdinand, shot
in the neck, died at the hospital.
BEFORE THE MURDER: The Balkans are countries in southeastern Europe. On the
Adriatic Sea are: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania,
and Greece. The Central Balkans include: Serbia & Macedonia. In the west are
Romania, Bulgaria, & part of Turkey. All speak their own language, have their own
customs and practice different religions. They are united because they are Slavs.
By the early 1900s, some Balkan states broke away from the Ottoman Empire and
formed new nations of: Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, & Serbia.
Serbia: The 1908 Austrian annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina. Serbia was angry. Many
Serbs lived in Bosnia and thought Austria threatened Serbian independence. In
1911 nationalist Serbians formed a secret society, The Black Hand, dedicated to
freeing Bosnia from Austria to unite it with Serbia. Radicals, intellectuals, and
Serbian army officers formed the group. The ‘Black Hand’ trained guerillas,
saboteurs and assassins. They were terrorists who saw themselves as heroes.
4 CAUSES of WWI M A I N: #1 Militarism: By the 1890s Europe was in an arms
race. Nations built powerful militaries. By 1914, all Great Powers had large
armies. The act of glorifying military power and keeping an army prepared for war
was a part of militarism. Germany and France had armies of 800,000. Russia had
1.2 million. In addition, these militaries could mobilize quickly in case of a war. Generals developed detailed plans for mobilization.
Kaiser Wilhelm II, leader of Germany, wanted a navy as good as Britain’s and by 1911 it had one. In response, Britain enlarged its fleet.
#2 Alliances: Growing international rivalries led to military alliances or partnerships among the Great European Powers. These powers
included; Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were designed to keep peace in Europe by
creating powerful combinations that no one would dare attack. Instead, it helped to push the continent into war. In 1882, Germany,
Italy, and Austria-Hungary formed the Triple Alliance to protect against France. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany let an alliance with Russia
expire. This led Russia to form an dual alliance with France in 1894. Russia was an ally with Serbia.
In 1907, Britain formed an alliance with France and Russia called the Triple Entente. This did not bind Britain to fight with France and
Russia rather it ensured that Britain would not fight them. Now two rival groups were formed in Europe. On one side was the Triple
Alliance—Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy known as the Central Powers. On the other side was the Triple Entente—Great Britain,
France, and Russia or the Allies.
#3 Imperialism: European nations competed for colonies in Africa and Asia, pushing European nations to the brink of war. In 1905 &
1911, Germany and France nearly fought over who would control Morocco, in northern Africa. With most of Europe supporting France,
Germany backed down but sense of rivalry and mistrust deepened among imperializing nations.
#4 Nationalism: The unifying force within a country, nationalism, caused intense competition between nations, with each seeking
to overpower the other. Nationalists shared culture, language, customs, and beliefs. By the turn of the 20th century, a fierce
rivalry developed among the Great Powers. This rivalry stemmed from: competition for raw materials and trade markets; Great
Britain’s leadership in the Industrial Revolution and the challenge to Britain’s industrial power by Germany; and territorial
disputes. France wanted Alsace-Lorraine, its eastern border next to Germany that Germany took after the 1870 Franco-Prussian
War. Austria-Hungary & Russia tried to dominate the Balkans. The Balkans had intense nationalism among Slavic ethnic groups
who demanded independence.
Define: Gavrilo Princip Archduke Franz Ferdinand Balkans & Serbia
Black Hand militarism alliances Triple Alliance & Central Powers
Triple Entente & Allies
Answer the following:
1. Describe the action that triggered World War I.
2. What does the acronym MAIN stand for?
3. Why did alliances form among European nations?
4. Why might the “machinery of war,” [MAIN] set in motion by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, have been difficult to stop?
2
PART II: The GREAT WAR: Austria said that the Serbian government was behind the assassination. On July 23, 1914, Austria issued an
ultimatum - a list of demands to be met. It demanded an end to terrorists & propaganda aimed at Austria. It ordered the removal of
army officers hostile to Austria. It ordered Serbia to let Austrian officials go to Serbia to investigate the assassinations. The Serbian
government was given 48 hours to reply.
Russia, Serbia’s ally, told Austrian to back off. The Serbian
leaders agreed to most of Austria’s demands but asked for an
international group help. Austria refused. On July 28th Austria
declared war on Serbia. This created a Domino Effect when
one nation declares war on another, then an ally backs up
that nation and declares war then another and another goes
to war. Austria’s declaration of war on Serbia brought Russia
into the war. Germany’s alliance with Austria brought
Germany into war. France’s alliance with Russia brought
France into the war. Belgium, Great Britain, & Italy declared
war. Other non-allied nations joined in the war after 1915.
The Domino Effect
WWI: 65 million people & 35 nations fought in the war on 3
continents: Asia, Africa & mostly in Europe. The Triple
Alliance lost Italy, but was joined by the Ottoman Empire &
Bulgaria. The Triple Entente, which supported Serbia, were
joined by Belgium, Japan, Greece, Romania, Portugal, and
eventually Italy and the US [1917].
The Attack Plan: Germany put the Schlieffen Plan into effect. The plan said: in a two-front war [a war fought on 2 opposing borders of a
country], Germany would attack France first, then Russia since Russia, would have more difficulty moving its troops. The German army
would race west, defeat France, and go to Russia. Speed was vital. France’s northern border with Belgium was unprotected so Germany
insisted that neutral Belgium its German troops to pass through it. Belgium refused. Germany invaded Belgium. This brought Belgium &
Great Britain, Belgium’s ally, into the war.
Germany’s lightning-quick strike or Blitzkrieg, turned into a stalemate in France. This bloody region in France became known as the
WESTERN FRONT. By 1915, armies on the Western Front dug miles of trenches [ditches] to get protection from enemy fire. In this
trench warfare soldiers fought each other from within long ditches,
shooting over their heads at the enemy in parallel trenches across the
divide Both suffered big losses. The stalemate continued through 1916.
New tools of war, machine guns, poison gas, armored tanks, & new
artillery killed thousands. The slaughter peaked in 1916. At the town of
Verdun Germans attacked French. 600,000 died. Then British forces
attacked Germans in Somme. On day one, 20,000 British soldiers died. By
the end of the battle, more than a ½ million died or were wounded.
Trench Warfare
Define: domino effect Schlieffen Plan 2 –front war western front trench warfare
Answer the following:
1. Why did Austria issue a 48 hour ultimatum and then reject Serbia’s reply? Why did Russia
support Serbia?
2. What is the domino Effect and how did it work to start WWI? Who were in the Central
Powers? the Allies?
3. What was the Schlieffen Plan and why and where did it fail? What was the results of all the
new technological warfare in battle?
PART III: The EASTERN FRONT was on the Russian border where Russians & Serbs battled Germans, Austrians, & Turks. The slaughter
was brutal. Both the Central Powers and Allies sides sent millions of troops to fight on this Eastern Front. In 1914, the Russians attacked
Germany. By the end of August, Germany counterattacked near Tannenberg, Germany. More than 30,000 Russians were killed. The
Austrians pushed back Russians in December of 1914. The Russian army suffered more than 2 million casualties. Its army was short on
food, clothes, guns, ammunition, boots, and blankets. Its Allies were unable to ship supplies to Russian ports because the German navy
blocked the Sea and the Ottomans controlled the straits between the Mediterranean and Black seas. The Russian war effort was
collapsing. In 1917, due to unrest at home, Russia withdrew from the war.
Allied Losses: Britain/France wanted Constantinople, Turkey in the Ottoman Empire. They needed to defeat the Turks to start a supply
line to help Russia. In 1915, they began the Gallipoli Campaign. British, Australian, New Zealand, and French troops assaulted the
Gallipoli Peninsula. Turks defended. Gallipoli turned into another stalemate. Both sides dug in and battled to no end. In December, the
Allies left, suffering ¼ million casualties. The Allies had to stop the Ottomans. With the help of Arab nationalists in the Middle East, Allies
took Baghdad, Iran, Jerusalem, Israel, and Damascus, Syria. In Africa, the French & British took German colonies. The Japanese took
German posts in China and the Pacific Islands. Allied troops from South Africa, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, and Indochina helped the Allies
3
defeat the Central Powers. By 1917 more than 1.2 million Indians joined the British Allies. Then in March 1917, Russia withdrew from
the war. In April, US President Woodrow Wilson & Congress declared war. The US entered the war supporting the Allies. World War I
was now a total war, meaning that countries devoted all their resources to win the war.
The Russians withdrawal: In March 1917 unrest in Russia forced it to abandon the fight. War-related food and fuel shortages made
Russians revolted against Czar Nicholas II who gave up his throne. By mid-1917, 5.5 million Russians were casualties of the war. The
Russian army refused to fight any more. Vladimir Lenin, a socialist and communist, took over the government and made a truce with
Germany. In March 1918, Germany and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended the war between them. As a result,
Russia surrendered borderlands to Germany and Russia had a new government.
War’s End: March 1918, the Germans mounted one final
attack in France. Germans used new cannons & won. By May,
the Germans were 40 miles from Paris. But they were weak.
The army was exhausted. Supplies were scarce. The US sent
140,000 new troops to Paris and counterattacked. Two million
more Americans arrived in July. Germany crumbled and was
defeated. The Ottoman Empire surrendered. A revolution in
Austria ended that empire. German soldiers mutinied. The
Kaiser had to step down. On the 11th day of the 11th month at
the 11th hour, World War One ended. November 11, 1918 an
armistice, a ceasefire, ended the Great War.
The War’s Cost was tremendous. The total number casualties
is estimated at 37 million. Sixteen million died and twenty
million were wounded that equaled about 7050 losses/ day.
Nine million soldiers died. Germany lost 1.9 million. Russia lost
1.8 million and France lost 1.3 million. Thirteen million died of starvation, disease, and massacres. An entire generation of Europeans
was wiped out. The war devastated Europe’s economy. The total cost of the war was estimated at $338 billion. The war destroyed acres
of farmland, homes, and whole cities and towns. The final cost of the war is estimated at $400 billion.
Identify/ define: Eastern Front Gallipoli Campaign total war armistice
Answer the following:
1. Why did the Russians loose to the Central Powers and what effects did their defeats have on Russia?
2. Where did the allies loose in the Ottoman Empire and why? Where did they win in the Ottoman Empire and why?
3. What specific actions turned the tide for the Allies in 1918?
4. What were the final costs of this war to Central Powers and Allies alike?
PART IV: PEACE: The allied nations met in Versailles, France to write a peace
treaty. Britain and France wanted national security and to stop Germany’s
war machine in the future. They wanted Germany to pay the price of war. So
Germany was not invited to the peace talks. Russia was also excluded
because the new government had withdrawn from the war. The allied
countries attending sent representatives. The four major powers, Great
Britain, France, Italy & the US led the talks. These representatives were called
The BIG FOUR [photo page 4].
US President Woodrow Wilson drew up the Fourteen Points Plan, an
outline of a just and lasting peace. The first five points included an end to
secret treaties, freedom of the seas, free trade, and reduced national armies/
navies. The fifth concerned colonial claims with fairness toward colonial
peoples. The sixth through thirteenth points were suggestions for changing
borders and creating new nations. It also proposed that these new nations would allow people to decide for themselves under what
government they wished to be ruled. This proposal was called self-determination. The Fourteenth Point proposed a League of Nations,
which would world countries’ representatives meet in a central location in order to protect “great and small states alike.” This plan
reflected Wilson’s hope for an organization that could peacefully negotiate solutions to world conflicts and avoid war. All points but the
Fourteenth Point were rejected. France was not interested in anything but making sure Germany never had power again
The 1919 Treaty of Versailles was finished. Germany was forced to sign it and all the allied powers signed it except the US and Russia.
The Central Powers of the Ottoman and the Austria-Hungary Empires no longer existed so they did not sign. Wilson’s Fourteenth Point
was accepted and a League of Nations was to start. The league was to be an international association whose goal was to keep peace.
The five Allied powers—the US [which did not join in the end], Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan, were to be permanent members.
The General Assembly would consist of representatives of 32 allied and neutral nations. Germany was excluded. Also left out was Russia.
4
The treaty punished Germany. It was not a
peace treaty, it was a treaty of revenge.
Germany lost all its colonial territories in
Africa and Asia. They were taken by the Allies.
Its military was reduced and limited to
100,000 troops and only 36 ships. It lost all its
submarines and its air force. Germany could
not make or import weapons of any kind. Thus
much of its foreign markets, trade and
manufacturing were devastated and its
economy collapsed.
The “war guilt” clause: The treaty insisted
that Germany sign an agreement, the warguilt clause, taking full responsibility for the
war. This meant that Germany had to admit
that it caused the entire devastation to the
world. In addition, Germany had 30 years to
pay $33 billion in reparations or
The Big Four: David Lloyd George of Britain, Vittorio Orlando of Italy,
compensation for damages done to the Allies.
Georges Clemenceau of France, & President Wilson of the US
The majority of the reparations was to be paid
to France, whose country was literally
destroyed in the war.
The Western powers signed separate peace treaties in 1919 and 1920 with each of the other defeated nations: Austria, Hungary,
Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. These treaties, too, led to huge land losses for the Central Powers. For the Austria-Hungary Empire
which ceased to exist, several new independent nations were created out of it: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia [which
absorbed the Balkans]. The Ottoman Empire dissolved and Turkey was created. The Allies carved up the lands that the Ottomans lost in
Southwest Asia into mandates or territories administered by the League of Nations. Palestine, Iraq, and Trans-Jordan came under British
control; Syria and Lebanon went to France.
Russia, alienated by the Allies for pulling out of the war, suffered land losses as well. The Russian Empire was no more. Romania and
Poland both gained Russian territory. Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, formerly part of Russia, became independent nations.
Some Allied powers, were embittered by the outcome. Both Japan and Italy, which had entered the war to gain territory, had gained
less than they wanted. Lacking the support of the US, and other world powers, the League of Nations had no power to act on
complaints.
Identify/ define: The Big Four Wilson’s Fourteen Point Plan [in detail] self-determination League of Nations Treaty of Versailles
war-guilt clause reparations
mandates
Answer the following:
1. What was the final peace plan like? How did it differ from Wilson’s?
2. Why was only Germany punished in the treaty? What parts of the treaty were fair to Germany? Unfair to Germany?
3. Why were the Central Powers and Russia omitted from the peace talks?
4. What allies were disappointed with the results of the treaty and why?
5. List the new countries in Europe created after WWI’s end