Download World War I

World War I
“The Great War”
World War I Begins
Causes of World War I
Nationalism
• Nationalism—devotion to interests, culture of
one’s nation
• Nationalism leads to competition, and creates
conflict between nations
• Many fear Germany’s growing power in Europe
• Various ethnic groups resent domination, want
independence
• Russia sees self as protector of all Slavic peoples
Imperialism
• Germany industrializes, competes with France,
Britain for colonies
Continued . . .
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Causes of World War I
Militarism
• Cost of building, defending empires leads to more
military spending
• Militarism—development of armed forces, their use
in peacekeeping
• By 1890, Germany has strongest army on European
continent
- competes with Britain for sea power
- leads other powers to join naval arms race
Alliance System
• Triple Entente or Allies—France, Britain, Russia
• Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire are
Central Powers
• Alliances give security; nations unwilling to tip
balance of power
An Assassination Leads to War
Alliances Complicate Conflict
• Balkan Peninsula known as “the powder keg of
Europe” because:
- ethnic rivalries among Balkan peoples
- leading powers have economic, political interests
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria shot by
Serbian nationalist
• Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, expects
short war
• Alliance system pulls one nation after another
into war
War Causes Review
• MAIN!!
• Gun powder keg explosion scenario!!
• Poor Franz
• After the War begins, what happens next?
Recruitment
Also results in
• Selective Service Act (May 18, 1917)
• Goal was to raise an Army
• Requires all males aged roughly 21-31 to
register for service in the US Army. They are
randomly selected to serve. This act changes
and evolves greatly over time.
Trench Warfare
• Basically fighting from a trench, a ditch dug in
the ground, to avoid getting shot.
The Fighting Begins:
The Battle of the Somme
• July through November 1916
• One of the many terrible battles during
WWI, and one of the bloodiest battles of
all time.
• Terrible fighting conditions, use of deadly
gas, heavy artillery such as machine guns,
constant enemy attacks on one another.
• Both sides fighting in the war loose
hundreds of thousands of men.
Writing Assignment
• Write a letter addressing someone and
pretend they don’t know anything about
WWI. It’s your job to provide them with as
much information as possible with the
knowledge you have gained of the war so far.
Include the causes of the war, who was allied
with who, as well as influence of propaganda
on recruitment and the Battle of the Somme.
Leaders
Triple Alliance
Triple Entente
Kaiser Wilhelm II
David Lloyd George
(Germany)
(England)
Franz Joseph I
Raymond Poincare
(Austria-Hungary)
(France)
Vittorio Orlando
Czar Nicholas II (Russia)
(Italy)
Who Declared War on Who?
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Austria-Hungary Declares War on Serbia
Russia Declares War on Austria Hungary
Germany Declares War on Russia
Germany Declares War on France
England Declares War on Germany and Austria
Hungary
• By the end of 1914, not only Europe was
at war, but also all of Europe’s colonies in
Asia, Africa and South America.
Traditional European
Rules of War
• 1. A country must declare war before
attacking another country.
• 2. Each side must wear uniforms or
identify themselves to each other
before attacking. Soldiers wearing an
enemy uniform will be shot as a spy.
Traditional European
Rules of War
• 3. Commanding officers should not
be targeted
• 4. Civilians, Surrendering Soldiers
and Medical Personnel will not be
attacked.
Traditional European
Rules of War
• 5. Hand to Hand combat is
honorable, shooting from a distance
is cowardly
• 6. Soldiers must be given the
opportunity to surrender honorably.
• The German plan against France was
to rush into the country as fast as
possible: The Schlieffen Plan
• The Machine Gun stopped this plan
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.
• Trench warfare made WWI extend from a few
months of fighting to four years of fighting
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
Soldiers would protect themselves
using Gas Masks
Technology:
The U-boat (Submarine)
• Germany’s secret weapon during the
war
• Sank dozens of British ships,
controlled the oceans.
Why would the British think the Uboat was breaking the rules of War ?
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)
Red Baron
Technology:
Tanks
Technology:
Flame Throwers
WWI Weapons Foldable
• Left Side: List the different types of weapons
used in World War I.
• Right Side: List how these weapons impacted
the War. (only the weapons we have
discussed as a class) Was the use of these
different weapons fair? Which do you think
would have been the most useful in a War?
America and WWI
• America’s policy at the beginning of the war
was neutrality (no involvement).
• Why do you think this was?
US claims Neutrality
I didn’t raise my boy to be a soldier
I brought him up to be my pride and joy
Who dares to place a musket on his shoulder,
To shoot some other mother’s darling boy?
1916 Presidential Election
And the Winner is…
Woodrow Wilson
Because
“he kept us out
of the war”
US Road to War
• British Blockade
did not allow products to leave or enter Germany
• German U-Boat Response
counter to blockade, destroy all boats headed for
British shores
US Road to War
May 7th 1915
Sinking of the Lusitania
Lusitania
• British cargo ship attacked May 7, 1915 by
Germans. Some where around 120 American
passengers on board. Causes Americans to
want to join in the war effort.
US Road to War
The Last Straw
Zimmermann Note
Zimmermann Note
• Telegram sent from the Minister of Germany,
Arthur Zimmermann to the Minister of Mexico
encouraging them to attack the United States.
In return for this attack, the Germans said that
they would give the Mexicans land back that
had lost to the United States during war. The
British intercepted this message and told the
US about it and as a result they joined the war.
• In January of 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a
telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur
Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, von
Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in
return for joining the German cause. This message helped
draw the United States into the war and thus changed the
course of history. The telegram had such an impact on
American opinion that, according to David Kahn, author of
The Codebreakers, "No other single cryptanalysis has had
such enormous consequences." It is his opinion that "never
before or since has so much turned upon the solution of a
secret message." In an effort to protect their intelligence
from detection and to capitalize on growing anti-German
sentiment in the United States, the British waited until
February 24 to present the telegram to Woodrow Wilson.
The American press published news of the telegram on
March 1. On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress
formally declared war on Germany and its allies.
US Declares War
• Senate Declares War April 4th 1917
• House of Representatives Declares War April
6th 1917
• Wilson’s reasoning for War
make the world “Safe for Democracy”
Reflect
• Write at least a half of a page reflection in
which you discuss reasons why you think the
United States entered WWI. Also, discuss
whether or not you believe Wilson was
justified in his decision to enter the war.
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Battle of the Somme (Both events)
Armistice
Sinking of the Lusitania
Treaty of Versailles
Gas attack at Ypres, Battle of Ypres (Both Events)
Assassination of the Archduke
US Troops arrival in France
First Zeppelin Raid on London
Germans attack and Verdun
Battle of Jutland
Western Front: Battles
• Battle of Verdun
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Ten months long
French and German armies.
Estimated 540,000 French and 430,000 German casualties
No strategic advantages were gained for either side.
• Battle of Somme
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English and French vs Germany
Six months of fighting
Five miles of advancement for Allies
1 million men killed
Stalemate
• A stalemate is simply a deadlock, or a
situation in which no further action can be
made. So in WWI, what would a stalemate
refer to?
Stalemate
• A situation in which neither side is able to
make any significant progress, and as a result
neither side fighting in the war is able to gain
any territory. No body is really winning.
Eastern Front
• Russians and Serbs vs. Germans and AustriaHungarians
• War more mobile but still a stalemate
• Russia’s disadvantages
– Not Industrialized
– Short on Supplies
• Russia’s advantage
– People
Eastern Front: Battles
• 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
Other Fronts
• Japan, Australia, India join Allies
• Ottoman Turks, Bulgaria join Central Powers
• Gallipoli Campaign in the Ottoman Empire
• Battles occur in Africa and Asia for Colonial
Possessions
Russia Exits the War
• In March 1917, Nicholas II abdicates his
throne,
• the Russian Duma continues to fight.
• In October 1917: Lenin and the Bolsheviks
take command: The Soviet Union is created.
• March 1918: Soviets and Germans sign the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ending the war in
the East.
War on the Homefront
• World War I as a Total War
– All Resources devoted to homefront
• Gov’t took over factories to make Military goods
• All had to work (Women took place of men in factories)
• Rationing- limit consumption of resources/goods
necessary for the war effort
• Propaganda- one-sided information to keep support for
the war
American Power Tips the Balance
America Mobilizes
Raising an Army
• Selective Service Act—men register, randomly
chosen for service
• African Americans in segregated units, excluded
from navy, marines
• Soldiers train for 8 months, often drill with fake
weapons
• Women in army, navy, marines as nurses
secretaries, phone operators
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Mass Production
• To expand fleet to transport men, food,
equipment to Europe, U.S.:
- gives special status to shipyard workers
- uses fabrication techniques
- takes over commercial, private ships
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America Turns the Tide
U.S. Navy Contributions
• Convoy system—destroyers escort merchant
ships across Atlantic
- losses drop dramatically
• Navy helps lay mines across North Sea, keep
U-boats out of Atlantic
• 1918, Germans have difficulty replacing boats,
trained submariners
Fighting in Europe
• After 2 1/2 years fighting, Allied forces are
exhausted, demoralized
• American troops bring numbers, freshness,
enthusiasm
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The War Introduces New Hazards
New Problems of War
• New weapons and tactics lead to
horrific injuries, hazards
• Troops amidst filth, pests, polluted
water, poison gas, dead bodies
• Constant bombardment, battle fatigue
produce “shell shock”
• Physical problems include dysentery,
trench foot, trench mouth
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