Download World War I







Imperialism and Colonial Conflicts
Arms Race Between European Nations
Militarism
Nationalism
The Alliance System
The Assassination of Archduke Francis
Ferdinand
European countries conquered less developed
nations in Asia and Africa. They competed for
these colonies and sometimes fought over them
which caused hatred between various nations.
 Britain & France almost went to war over African
colonial disputes & Germany and France fought
over the rights to colonize Asia and Africa.
 Russia was looking for a warm water port for
their Navy but France, Germany and Britain
always stood in they way.



All the powers of Europe: Russia, France,
Britain, and Germany were competing with
each other over who had the largest and most
modern military.
Germany was competing with France over the
largest army and with Britain over the largest
navy. This caused tension between the three
countries.



Britain had defeated the
French at the Battle of
Trafalgar in 1805 and since
then had controlled the seas
with the most powerful navy
in the world.
As long as Britain had the
world’s strongest navy, it
could make sure that none of
the other Great Powers
would try to seize parts of its
empire or invade Britain
itself.
But what if another country
wanted to challenge Britain’s
naval superiority?


In 1898, Kaiser Wilhelm announced that Germany was
going to build 41 battleships and 61 cruisers.
This was part of a plan to make sure that Germany could
defend itself and protect its growing overseas trade.
“In my view, Germany will, in the
coming century, rapidly drop
from her position as a great power
unless we begin to develop our maritime
interests energetically, systematically and
without delay.”
Admiral Tirpitz, 1895


Britain saw the German naval
building program as part of a
deliberate policy to challenge British
naval supremacy.
Germany was in central Europe and
needed a large army to protect its
borders, why did it need a navy?
‘There is no comparison between the
importance of the German navy to
Germany and the importance of our
navy to us…it is not a matter of life and
death to them as it is to us.’
(British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward
Grey, 1909)




Britain saw Germany’s shipbuilding
programme as a threat. Talks were held
to try to limit the size of the British and
German navies, but they broke down.
Then in 1906, the game changed. Britain
launched the first of a new type of
battleship, HMS Dreadnought. This
worried the Germans.
The ship was so powerful that all
previous battleships were immediately
out of date and became known as ‘funf
minuten’ (five minute ships). All ships of
this new type became known as
‘Dreadnoughts’.




The ship had thicker armour, more
powerful guns with a bigger range
and a faster speed.
HMS Dreadnought: 17,900 tons; 526
feet in length; ten 12 inch guns,
eighteen 4 inch guns, five torpedo
tubes; maximum belt armour 11
inches; top speed 21.6 knots.
What mattered now was not how
many ships the Navy had, but how
many dreadnoughts it had.
So if Germany could build more of
these ships than Britain did, it would
have a more powerful navy.
Kaiser, 1911



When countries build up their Army, Navy
and weapons in order to attack others or
defend themselves
The Powers of Europe had all participated in
some form of militarism in the decades prior to
World War I
This aggressive policy would eventually lead
to military confrontations.



Britain felt secure from having a
strong Navy but other European
powers gained security from
having a large Army powerful
enough to prevent an attack from
another country.
The Great Powers in Europe
concentrated on building up their
armed forces and ensuring their
soldiers were well trained. All the
Great Powers except Britain
introduced conscription. (drafts)
In France, soldiers had to serve for
3 years and in Russia, for 3 ½
years.

By 1914, the armies of the Great
Powers numbered more than 4
million men, with another 2 million
reservists waiting to be called up.
Such militarism could only lead to increased
tensions in Europe, making war more likely.
Country
Army size in 1914
Britain
430,000
France
970,000
Russia
1,500,000
Germany
760,000
Austria-Hungary
480,000
On paper, which
alliance had
more soldiers?



Each of the Great Powers became
involved in an arms race to make
sure they had enough forces to
win a war. But this does not mean
they intended to fight.
Each country knew that it was
important to make sure that its
forces balanced those of any
potential enemy, so that enemy
would be less likely to attack.
In this sense, building up armed
forces was actually a way of
preventing war!
1. Which country’s army increased the least
during this
Why?percentage
2. Which country
hadperiod?
the greatest
increase in its army between 1900 & 1914?
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
1900
1910
0.8
1914
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
France
Britain
Russia
Austria-Hungary
Germany
Italy


When a government starts to promote that their
nation is greater than those around it. Citizens began
to hate other countries or looked down on them.
The Dreyfus Affair: (1894-1906) Nationalism turned
to racism when a French army officer named Alfred
Dreyfus, was convicted of treason for allegedly
selling military secrets to the Germans in 1894. At
first the public supported the conviction; it was
willing to believe in the guilt of Dreyfus, who was
Jewish. After being sent to the horrible prison
Devil’s island, supporters of his innocence
eventually turned public opinion with evidence that
he had not committed the crime. Dreyfus was freed
and pardoned in 1906 but the incident showed how
nationalism could turn on a certain group of people
and create hatred.


Secret alliances between
countries caused suspicion
and hatred between nations
and forced Europe into a
large scale war that cost
millions of lives.
The Central Powers were:
Germany, Austria-Hungary
and the Ottoman Empire.
The Allies were: France,
Britain, Russia, Italy and
later on The United States.
An alliance is an agreement
between one or more states
to work together.
Alliances usually involve
making promises to protect
the other country against
nations who are not in the
alliance.
These promises are usually
made by the signing of
treaties.
The aim of forming alliances was to achieve
collective security – having alliances with
other powerful countries deterred your
enemies from attacking you.
If a country started a war with one nation it
would have to fight all its allies as well.
Alliances were often made in reaction to
national rivalries – when one country felt
threatened by another, it often looked to secure
friendships with other nations.
By 1900, Europe was full of national rivalries.
The Dual Alliance was created in 1879,
when Germany and the Austro-Hungarian
Empire signed a treaty promising to help
each other if either nation was attacked by Flag of Imperial Germany
Russia.
They also promised ‘benevolent neutrality’
if one of them was attacked by any other
country. This meant that if, for example,
France attacked Germany, the AustroFlag of Austria-Hungary
Hungarian Empire would side with
Germany, but would not actually fight.
Both Germany and Austria-Hungary were worried
about Russia but for different reasons.
Look at this
map showing
threats to
Germany and
Austria.
Why do you
think the
German and
AustroHungarian
Empires
formed an
alliance?
In 1882, Italy joined the alliance, now making
it the Triple Alliance.
Italy was a new nation and was looking
to take advantage of any European problems
in the Mediterranean or in the Balkans to
increase its territory.
With powerful friends like Germany
and Austria-Hungary, this would be
much easier.
However, despite joining the alliance, Italy
was still anxious to maintain good relations
with Britain and France.
Why do you think Italy was likely to switch to other
European alliances if the conditions were right?
The other alliance that shaped European
politics at the turn of the century was the
alliance between Russia and France.
France and Russia were not natural allies.
Russia was ruled by an autocratic monarch
(the Tsar) whilst France was a democratic
republic.
Flag of Imperial Russia
They were also geographically distant, being
at opposite ends of Europe.
However, they were brought together by their
mutual dislike of Germany
and Austria-Hungary.
Flag of France
Russia and France first signed an entente in 1891 in which they
promised to consult each other in the event of a crisis in Europe.
In 1894, the French and Russians consolidated their relationship by
signing an alliance (a stronger agreement). Each promised military
assistance if the other was invaded. This was called the ‘Dual Entente’.
The idea was to create a balance of power between the GermanAustrian-Italian alliance and the Russian-French alliance.
Who do you think was in the stronger
position: the French and Russians or the
Germans, Austro-Hungarians and Italians?
Where does Britain come in?
Strangely, it didn’t at first. In the late 19th
Century, Britain distanced itself from European
issues. There were several reasons for this:
Britain was an island and had the strongest navy in
the world. There was little chance of being invaded.
Britain was wealthy and highly industrialized. Its navy
and empire gave it a strong global trading position.
The British were mostly concerned with running their
vast global empire.
These factors meant that the British
did not feel they needed allies.
However, in the early years of the 20th Century,
Britain ended its isolation from European events
and became involved in the alliance system.
This was largely because of the growing power of Germany:
The Germans began trying to gain an empire of
their own, which they felt was necessary if
Germany was to become a great world power.
Germany supported the Boers who were fighting
the British in South Africa.
Growing German militarism – Germany started
expanding its armed forces, especially its navy.
Britain felt its naval supremacy and global
empire were being threatened.
In 1904, Britain signed an agreement with France. This was
called the Entente Cordiale. It was not a full alliance but it
showed a warming of relations between France and Britain.
In 1907 Britain signed another similar agreement with Russia.
This was the English-Russian Entente.
These agreements between Britain, France and Russia created
the Triple Entente.
The ententes did not have the
same weight as the alliance
between Germany and
Austro-Hungary.
Britain was not committed to
giving military assistance to
either France or Russia.

He was a leader
of AustriaHungary who
was murdered
by the Serbian
terrorist group
“The Black
Hand. ” The
assassination
set off a chain of
events that lead
to World War I






Mobilization of the Armies
Early Strategies and Trench Warfare
Modern Weapons vs. Old Tactics
The Western Front
The Eastern Front
U.S. Involvement and the Final Year of the War

All the armies in Europe started to move
to the borders of enemy nations in order
to prepare to fight. Alliances forced other
countries to join in and the war became a
large scale conflict that involved many
nations.
In 1914, Europe was primed for war.
It was not only the politicians who were anticipating
war – the arms race and frequent war scares had
caused European society to become increasingly
militaristic and nationalistic.
Many people not
only expected war,
but welcomed it.
Each side had long prepared for war. They had
written plans, books and policies on what to do.
These plans also played a part in the outbreak of
large-scale war in 1914.
The most influential plan was that of Germany –
the Von Schlieffen Plan – drawn up in 1905 by
General Alfred von Schlieffen.
It was an ambitious plan
designed to avoid Germany
having to fight a two-front war
against France and Russia.
The plan was to invade France
and capture Paris before the
Russians could mobilize.
It relied on three things:
German speed
slow Russian mobilization (6 weeks?)
Britain staying out of the war.



After losing the Battle of the
Marne, German forces retreated
and dug trenches for extra
protection.
From that point onwards, the
two armies attempted to
outflank (get a better position)
each other by advancing to the
North Sea.
Eventually the two sides ran out
of land and had created miles of
frontline without a breakthrough.


By the end of 1914, a front line had
been established that was to remain
largely in the same place until early
1918.
As each side had built defenses
sideways in order to try to outflank
each other, a complex system of
trenches – with connecting, reserve
and communication trenches – soon
extended for miles across Belgium
and France.
The war in the
trenches was brutal
both physically and
mentally. Many
soldiers died of
diseases or suffered
from “Shell shock”.



World War I was the first Industrial age
war, modern weapons caused heavy
casualties on both sides.
WWI was the first war where airplanes,
submarines, machine guns, tanks,
poison gas, flame throwers and heavy
artillery were used.
Modern weapons combined with old
tactics like Calvary charges and mass
assaults against machine guns caused
millions of deaths in the trenches.
Britain, France and Germany all
experimented with armored vehicles
during WWI. These became known as
“Tanks” and were designed to break the
stalemate of trench warfare.
“The Paris Gun” was a
super cannon used by
Germany to fire shells
into the city of Paris
from 30 miles away.
The shells actually
went into the
stratosphere and were
the first man-made
objects that were fired
into outer space!
The use of poison
gas terrified troops
on both sides, it
could blind or kill a
man in seconds.
The famous “Red Baron” Manfred von
Richthofen of Germany shot down 85
allied planes during WWI.
The giant German Zeppelin air ships
dropped bombs on Paris and London.




The Battle of Marne - Germans attacked through Belgium and
pushed the French to the Marne river. The French army holds out
long enough for the British to reinforce them. The battle is a
stalemate and turns into trench warfare.
The Battle of the Somme – The British army attacks the German
trenches with its entire force. In the first day the British lost 20,000
men. The Battle was a disaster.
The Battle of Verdun - A six month long battle between France and
Germany over the fortress of Verdun. The French would not give up
the fort, the Germans attacked many times but couldn’t break
through 500,000 men died and nobody gained ground.
The Battle of Jutland – The British Navy tried to blockade the
German navy from reaching the Atlantic Ocean. The two massive
fleets faced off in the largest naval battle between modern
battleships in history. 150 British ships held off the 120 German
ships in a fierce battle. The German fleet retreated and the British
navy had once again dominated the war at sea.
Battle of the Somme
Battle of
Verdun
Battle of Jutland




The Russian army advanced successfully into
German territory during the first year of the war
only to be viciously counter-attacked and forced
to retreat.
The combined forces of Germany, AustriaHungary and the Ottoman empire caused heavy
casualties to the ill-equipped Russian troops.
By 1917 the situation in Russia was so bad that a
communist revolution led by Vladimir Lenin
overthrew Czar Nicholas II’s rule and forced the
Russian army to surrender to Germany and sign
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
The British effort to relieve the Russian forces by
attacking the Ottomans at Gallipoli was a
military disaster as hundreds of thousands troops
were lost in the campaign.
Tsar
Nicholas II
was forced
out of
power by
the
communist
revolution
and
executed
along with
his entire
family.
Vladimir
Lenin lead
the
Bolshevik
party in a
communist
revolution
against the
Tsarist
government.



The sinking of the Allied ship the Lusitania by a
German submarine caused outrage in the United States
as 200 Americans died in the attack.
The infamous Zimmerman telegram further angered
the United States as it attempted to ally Germany with
Mexican rebels in an attempted attack on the U.S.
border.
The United States declared war on Germany on April
6th, 1917. Soon after the first U.S. troops arrived in
Britain and France under the command of General
John J. Pershing.
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
The Zimmerman telegram
U.S. troops marching to the Frontline



In 1918 the Germans launched a massive attack on the
western front in order to break the stalemate but with
the fresh U.S. troops the allied frontline held out and
pushed the German army back.
Running out of supplies and men, the German high
command decided to unconditionally surrender to the
allied forces on November 11th 1918 which became
known as Armistice day.
The Germans were forced to sign the harsh Treaty of
Versailles which made them responsible for the war
damages, restricted them from having a strong
military, gave Alsace and Lorraine to France and let the
allied army occupy Germany.


U.S. President Woodrow Wilson wanted to end the war in a way that
would not cause future conflicts. He advised Britain and France not to
be too harsh in the surrender terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Wilson
created a plan called the Fourteen Points. Wilson addressed what he
thought were the causes for the war by calling for the abolition of secret
treaties, a reduction in armaments, an adjustment in colonial claims in
the interests of both native peoples and colonists, and freedom of the
seas. Wilson also made proposals that would ensure world peace in the
future.
Wilson proposed the removal of economic barriers between nations, the
promise of “self-determination” for those oppressed minorities, and a
world organization called The League of Nations that would provide a
system of collective security for all nations. However, his advice was
ignored and the Allies decided to punish Germany for the war. Even
Wilson’s own congress voted against most of his fourteen points. The
failure to come to an equal peace would destroy the German economy
and build hatred for France and Britain. It would lead to a future war.








France was devastated by the war both in property damage and loss of life. (the
western front was fought mostly on French territory)
Germany was blamed for the war and was forced to pay for most of the damages.
This destroyed their economy and created hatred and a need for revenge. Many
angry and desperate Germans began to listen to a new movement called “National
Socialism” that blamed non-Germans for the loss.
The Russian monarchy was overthrown by a communist revolution and a bloody
civil war began between Bolsheviks and conservatives.
The Ottoman Empire fell apart and became the nation of Turkey.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire fell apart and became two separate nations: Austria
and Hungary
Italy was promised land by the Allies after the war. The nation never received a
reward and many Italians were bitter towards Britain and France. This led many
citizens to follow a new ideology called “Fascism”.
The need for factory workers at home had given women more rights and
opportunities. Many countries granted women the right to vote and permission to
work in industries that were not open to them before the war.
The United States became a world power and was no longer neutral in world
affairs.

What were the causes of World War I?

What was Germany’s plan to win the war?

How did the United States get involved?


How did the war end? What was the Treaty of
Versailles?
What were some of the results of WWI?