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World Wars notes
Causes of WWI
Imperialism: Many of the European nations were jostling for control over portions of Africa and Asia
making tensions on the continent very high.
Nationalism: Strong patriotic movements throughout Europe caused the people of Europe to develop a
strong love for their own nation and a strong dislike of foreigners. For example, the British thought that
Great Britain was the best at everything and that no other nation could compare to them.
Militarism: Militarism is the buildup of a nation’s military in order to show military superiority over
one’s neighbors. This causes neighbor nations to become fearful, thus they to begin to build up their
own military in preparation of an attack. Militarism is often found to be in conjunction with Imperialism
and Nationalism.
Alliance System: Many of the powerful European nations had alliances with one another, pledging that
they would support each other if one of them was attacked.
Pre War Alliance
Triple Entente
Triple Alliance
Great Britain
German Empire
France
Austria-Hungary
Russia
Italy
Powder Keg of Europe: In the Austrian controlled Balkan countries, many of its citizens wanted to
overthrow the Austrian government. In the nation of Serbia there were many riots and protests against
the Austrian government. On June 28th, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the crown prince of Austria was
assassinated by Serbian revolutionaries in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo. This caused Austria to declare
war on Serbia who was allied with Russia. In turn Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary. From there
the other nations in their alliances joined in.
World War Alliances in 1914
Allied Powers
Central Powers
Great Britain-David Lloyd George
German Empire-Kaiser Wilhelm II
France-Georges Clemenceau
Austria-Hungary-Kaiser Franz Joseph I
Russia-Tsar Nicholas II
Ottoman Empire-Sultan Mehmed V
Italy-Vittorio Emanuele Orlando
Advantages heading into the War
Army: Central Powers, The German Empire had the strongest and one of the largest armies in the world
at this time. They were very well trained and well disciplined.
Navy: Allied Powers, Great Britain and France had almost full control of the seas throughout the war
making it very hard for the Central powers to support their allies across the ocean.
Air: Toss up, Air to Air combat was in its infancy and neither side had any experience with flying an
aircraft during a war.
Technology: Toss Up, both sides had roughly the same equipment heading into the war. Both sides used
bolt-action rifles, large artillery cannons, machine guns, gas, and barbed wire fencing. This war was to be
the first large-scale industrial war, where the might of these Industrial nations would face off against
each other.
Schlieffen plan: German military strategy to invade France through Belgium in order to end the war
quickly before the Russian Army could send her armies west. The plan initially worked, but the Russians
mobilized their armies faster than predicted, there was tougher Belgian Resistance, and the British
joined the war quicker than expected.
Battles of the War
Battle of Tannenberg: Fought between the Russian and German Empires in late 1914. The Russian Army
was trying to push into the German Lands of Prussia in order to ease pressure put on the French. The
Russians were unprepared and were quickly surrounded and annihilated by the Germans. The Germans
lost only 20 thousand soldiers compared to the 170 thousand Russian soldiers. The Russian army put up
little resistance to the Germans after their defeat at Tannenberg as many of their good troops were
either killed or captured.
First Battle of the Marnes: By September of 1914 the French army was pushed back to the Marnes River
just north of Paris after losing the Battle of the Frontiers in August. The British Expeditionary Force
arrived in France to support the French. The combined efforts of the British and the French were able to
drive Germans back to Northern France and Belgium. This battle was the first battle of the war where
trenches were used heavily, and it guaranteed that the war would last for many more years. The British
and French had 283 thousand casualties, while the Germans had 250 thousand casualties.
Battle of Gallipoli: In 1915 the British Empire tried to gain an easy sea route to Russia via the Black sea.
In order to do so they had to gain control of the Dardanelle Strait which was under control of the
Ottoman Empire. British forces were mostly ANZAC forces made up of soldiers from Australia, and New
Zealand combined with Canadians, South Africans and Indians. The Ottomans put up stiff resistance and
the British were never able to gain control of any significant piece of land, and retreated after 9 months
of fighting resulting in nearly 250 thousand casualties for both sides. Many of the Ottoman veterans of
this battle went on to lead the Independence movement after the war that created the Republic of
Turkey.
Battle of Verdun: In February of 1916 the German army planned on taking the hilltop fortress town of
Verdun from France. The Germans planned on taking the strategic city in hopes to put the entire French
line in jeopardy and force the French to suffer hundreds of thousands of casualties trying to retake the
city. For 10 months the battle raged but the Germans were unable to take the city. The French has
nearly 500 thousand casualties with the Germans suffering 400 thousand. While the Germans lost the
battle, they lost no significant amount of territory.
Battle of the Somme: In July of 1916 the British along with a few French armies attempted to attack the
northern German line in Belgium to take pressure off the French lines near Verdun. The allies launched a
massive assault of over a million soldiers but were unable to capture any significant amount of land from
the Germans. On the first day of battle the British alone suffered 60 thousand casualties. The battle
ended in a draw with the allies suffering 600 thousand casualties, and the Germans suffering 450
thousand casualties.
Battle of Caporetto: In October of 1917 the Austro-Hungarian forces combined with small amounts of
German troops attempted to route the invading Italian forces who camped themselves in the foothills of
Slovenia. The Austro-Hungarians were outnumbered 3 to 1 but they made excellent use of assault
troops, infiltration tactics, and poison gas to completely annihilate the Italian forces. By November the
Italians were forced to retreat back to Italy inflicting nearly 700 thousand casualties while suffering only
70 thousand casualties. The battle is considered the greatest defeat in Italian history.
The United States enters the war: In April of 1917 the United States declared war on Germany and
Austria-Hungary. President Wilson cited the following reasons for declaring war.
1. Sinking of US merchant ships and ships containing American citizens by German U-Boats. The
most famous being the HMS Lusitania in 1915.
2. The Zimmerman note, which was a letter sent from Germany to Mexico that was intercepted by
the US. The note said that Germany would support Mexico if Mexico would declare war on the
United States.
The United States replaced the Russians, as Russia left the war due to communist revolts within the
country.
Alliances in 1917 and 1918
Allies
Central Powers
Great Britain
Germany
France
Austria-Hungary
United States- Woodrow Wilson
Ottoman Empire
Italy
End of the War:
In 1917 the war was mostly defensive, but with the United States entering the war the overwhelming
amount of allied troops, weapons, and supplies was too much for the Germans. In early 1918 the
Germans went on their last offensive known as the Kaiserslacht or Spring Offensive. The Germans used
their elite stormtrooper units that were well trained in small unit tactics, infiltration tactics, combined
with well-timed assaults to make large gains in the Western front. However, later on in the year the US
lead Hundred Days Offensive drove the Germans back to the German border forcing the Germans to
start peace negations. On November 11th, 1918 at the 11th hour an armistice was declared and fighting
ended. After four years of fighting there were 38 million total casualties. Among those casualties there
were 17 million deaths and 20 million wounded.
Treaty of Versailles:
After the end of the war, the allied powers gathered at Versailles France to discuss what to do with the
defeated central powers. The treaty heavily punished Germany and Austria-Hungary for all of the
damage done to the allied nations. Germany had to pay 33 billion dollars in war reparations, gave up the
industrial Rhineland, and had to drastically cut the size of their military. The treaty also set up the
League of Nations set forth by President Woodrow Wilson. The League of Nations was supposed to be a
mediating body that would intervene and help resolve conflicts between nations. However, there was
no enforcement of League policies, making the League ineffective.
Russian Civil War: The Russian Civil war was fought from 1918-1923 between the Communist Red Army
and the Republican White army in Russia. After the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in 1917 and the
eventual execution of his entire family, Russia underwent a revolutionary change in government. The
two main factions were the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Joseph Stalin; and the
Republican white party. The Bolsheviks favored communism as a way to get rid of Russia’s super wealthy
in order to make everyone equal. The Whites favored a more Republican form of government similar to
that of the Western European nations and the United States. The Red Army supported by the Bolsheviks
heavily outnumbered the White army. After five years of fighting the White Army was destroyed and the
Bolsheviks took over full control of Russia with Vladimir Lenin as their leader. Lenin and his communist
party changed the name of Russia to the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin took over after Lenin’s death in
1924. Stalin put the Soviet Union through a series of purges in order to wipe out any remaining support
for the Emperor or White Army, and gain a tighter grip of control over the nation. Most of the people
that were killed were Russian military members, and peasant farmers. Throughout the late 1920’s and
early 1930’s Stalin killed nearly 12 million of his own people.
Causes of WWII:
WWI: The Great War played a huge role in causing WWII. After the Great War many of the European
nations were broke due to the billions of dollars spent on the Great War. Unemployment and poverty
was high due to the destruction of many towns and businesses online the front lines. Thanks to the
Treaty of Versailles the Germans got the worst of it. Along with rebuilding their own country, Germany
had to pay war reparations to France, Great Britain, Italy, and the United States. Along with the
destruction of towns, the loss of 37 million soldiers and civilians brought a lot of hatred and resentment
towards the other European nations.
Return to Isolationism: After WWI, the major nations in the world went back to practicing Isolationism,
or type of foreign policy where they avoid dealing with foreign nations unless it is absolutely necessary.
This was done to focus on one’s own country, and trying to fix all of their problems on their own. What
this led to was a resurgence of nationalism and a hatred of other nations.
Economic Depression: The Great Depression in the 1930’s hit Germany extremely hard as more than
60% of Germans did not have stable work. The United States, France, Italy, and Great Britain were also
heavily affected by the Great Depression.
Japan and the Rising Sun: Ever since Japan was reopened to outside contact in the 1860’s and 1870’s,
Japan had grown to become the strongest of the Asian nations. The Japanese took bits and pieces of
technology, and war strategies in order to modernize their country and military in a short time span. The
Japanese wished to create an Asiatic Sphere of Influence in which all of Asia would fall under Japanese
control. They first annexed Korea in 1910 and later invaded Manchuria in 1931. In 1937, they invaded
Mainland China, which is the unofficial start of WWII. Japanese-American relations dwindled in the
1930’s and early 1940’s. The American navy prevented the Japanese from retrieving resources in the
south pacific.
The Rise of Hitler, the National Socialist Party, and Fascism: In the early 1920’s an Austrian WWI
veteran by the name of Adolf Hitler founded the National German Workers Party. He and his party
didn’t gain a lot of recognition in the German parliament until after the start of the Great Depression. In
1930 and 1931 the Socialist Party and the Communist party were the two largest parties in Germany and
both wanted to get rid of the Democratic Government. In 1932 Adolf Hitler ran for Chancellor of
Germany on a campaign of bringing jobs back to Germany, and greatly reducing poverty amongst
German citizens. His party won a majority of the vote and took over the Reichstag. In 1933 Hitler took
over the role of President after the German President died, Hitler then made it so that no one could run
for President again. Between 1933 and 1936 Hitler got rid of the German Parliament and fair elections.
He also started to implement segregation/discrimination policies against Germany’s Jewish citizens.
Jewish citizens lost their citizenship, lost their jobs/homes, and had live in the “Jewish Quarter” of
towns. In 1936, Hitler was named Times Magazine Man of the Year after many people saw how he
completely revitalized Germany during the Summer Olympics. The African-American athletes on Team
USA were treated better in Germany under Hitler then they were back in the United States.
Also in 1936 Hitler annexed the Rhineland from the international force that was supervising it. In 1938
he annexed Austria without any resistance. In 1939 he tried to annex Czechoslovakia due to the large
amount of ethnic Germans living in the country. Czechoslovakia first refused Hitler, but after Hitler
threatened the Czech’s with war, they allowed for Germany to take over control of Czechoslovakia.
Great Britain and France allowed for this happen as they followed a policy of appeasement in order to
avoid war with the Germans. In August of the same year Hitler tried to gain some territory from Poland
known as the Sudetenland. The Poles refused Hitler even when he threatened them with war. On
September 1st, 1939, the German army invaded Poland. In response both France and Great Britain
declared war on Germany. Hitler was supported by Italy who was his main European ally. Both Germany
and Italy had Fascist governments at this time. A fascist government is a government based on extreme
nationalism where the country is more important than the individual.
Alliances in 1939
Allied Powers
Neutral Powers
Axis Powers
Great Britain
United States
Germany
France
Soviet Union
Italy
China
Japan
Early Years of the War
In 1939, Hitler and the German army used a new strategy known as Blitzkrieg in order to invade and
defeat the Poles in less than a month of fighting. The strategy used quick troop movements covered by
strategic bombing/air cover in order to envelop and overwhelm the enemy. Even with low numbers of
troops, the Germans could quickly defeat much larger foes.
In May of 1940, Germany was planning on invading France and the Low Countries. Since the end of
WWI, the French had built massive fortifications along their northern border out of fear of another
German invasion known as the Maginot line. German high command knew that a northern invasion
would cause massive casualties. Thus, they decided to have a two pronged attack. They would have an
invasion through the low-countries in order to distract the French. At the same time the Germans
launched an attack from the south to surround the French. Within two months the French were
completely surrounded and surrendered. The British Expeditionary Force that had been dispatched to
help the French barely escaped back to Britain.
With the French defeated the Germans turned their attention to the British Isles. Before the Germans
could invade England, they had to destroy the Royal Air Force and strategic points throughout the UK.
Starting in July, the German Luftwaffe began their strategic air campaign over Britain. For 4 months the
Germans and British fought over the skies of England. By October 1940 the Germans had exhausted
their resources and gave up on invading the UK. With this victory, the British remained as the only threat
to Germans.
Hitler invades the Soviet Union
After the Germans failed to defeat the British at the Battle of Britain, Hitler turned his attention to the
Soviet Union. The Germans wanted to gain access to the vast oil fields of Asia along with hundreds of
thousands of acres of farmland. Nicknamed “Operation Barbarossa”, Hitler thought that a surprise
German attack would easily overwhelm Soviet forces leading to a quick German victory. In June of 1941
the Germans invaded Soviet held territories with nearly 4 million men. The Germans quickly
overwhelmed Soviet forces with their superior manpower and technology. By October the Germans had
conquered the Baltic countries, Ukraine, and were ready to invade Moscow. However, winter set in and
a fierce Soviet counterattack halted the German offensive. With their defeat at Moscow, the Germans
had to rethink their strategy. The Germans lost over one million soldiers, while the Soviets lost over 4.3
million soldiers.
Battle of Stalingrad and Kursk: In late July of 1942 Hitler wanted to capture the city of Stalingrad, which
was named after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. For the next six months the fiercest fighting of the war
occurred. Germans and Soviets fought over every last section of the city in order to gain control. Soviet
sniper Vasily Zaytsev was credited with nearly 300 kills in this battle. By December 1942, a large Soviet
counter offensive named “Operation Uranus” surrounded the Germans within the city. By February of
1943, against Hitler’s orders nearly 100k German soldiers surrendered. The Battle of Stalingrad was the
bloodiest battle of the war with the Germans suffering 850k causalities, and the Soviets suffering 1.2
million causalities. In August of 1943, the Soviets defeated the Germans at the Battle of Kursk which was
the largest tank battle in history. With this defeat at Kursk, the Germans went on a full scale retreat out
of the Soviet Union.
Besides the fierce fighting, the Eastern theatre of WWII was known for the war crimes committed by the
Germans against Soviet prisoners and civilians. The widespread rape, torture, and murder of Soviet
citizens was carried out by German SS troops. Many Soviet Jews were sent to concentration camps.
Attack on Pearl Harbor: Late 1941, the United States remained neutral. However, Japan remained bitter
at the United States due the US blocking Japanese access to the oil fields and resources of the South
Pacific. The Japanese prepared for a surprise attack on the US Pacific fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii. On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched their surprise air raid on the harbor in
the early morning. The assault lasted throughout the morning, and after two waves of attack the
Americans suffered 4k causalities with 2.4k deaths. The assault crippled the American fleet in the Pacific
and was followed up by the Japanese invasion of the American held territories of the Philippines and
Guam. Almost immediately after receiving word on the assault, President Roosevelt asked Congress to
declare war of Japan and Germany.
Alliances in 1941
Allied Powers
Axis
Great Britain- Winston Churchill
Germany – Adolf Hitler
Soviet Union- Joseph Stalin
Japan- Hirohito, Hideki Tojo
United States- Franklin Roosevelt
Italy- Benito Mussolini
China
The North African and Italian Campaigns: In 1940 the British launched a massive offensive to drive the
Germans and Italians out of North Africa. By 1942, the Axis powers were forced to retreat into Italy
setting up the allied Italian campaign. In 1943, a combined US and British offensive invaded Italy. The
allies fared well early on in the campaign, but stalled out in 1944. Fighting in Italy would continue until
the end of the war
The Air War: Starting in 1942 the combined efforts of the US Eighth Air Force and the British RAF began
to bomb strategic points throughout German held territory in preparation for an invasion of Europe.
Allied bombers relentlessly bombed Germany at a high cost, as hundreds of allied bombers were shot
down. The strategy then changed to destroying the German Luftwaffe, in which allied bombers were
used as bait in order for allied fighter planes to destroy the German aircraft.
D-Day landing: By 1944 a combined allied invasion was in full swing. It was decided that the allies would
invade Europe off of the coast of Normandy, where they believed the German defenses were much
weaker. On the night of June 3rd, allied paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines in order to surround
the Germans at Normandy. On June 4th, the largest amphibious invasion ever began when a combined
American, British, and Canadian force attacked the German held beeches at Normandy.
War in the Pacific: After the Pearl Harbor attacks at the end of 1941, the United States Navy and Marine
Corps were tasked with removing the Japanese from the various Japanese controlled islands in the
Pacific. This strategy was known as Island Hopping. The Americans would “hop” from island to island in
order to get closer to the island of Japan. These battles often lasted weeks or months as the Americans
had to kill or capture almost every Japanese soldier on these islands, as Japanese soldiers would rarely
surrender. This was due to the importance of honor in the Japanese culture. Many Japanese soldiers
would kill themselves instead of surrendering to the Americans. The fiercest battles included Peleliu,
Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. As the war moved to greatly favor the Americans, Japanese
soldiers increased their kamikaze (suicide) attacks on US ships in order to take out as many American
sailors and marines as possible.
Dropping of the Atomic bomb: Since the early 1940’s the United States had been working on a new
weapon known as the atomic bomb which was thousands of times stronger than any other bomb in the
world. In May of 1945, the Japanese refused to surrender even after the fall of Germany and Italy. This
forced the new American President, Harry Truman to begin preparation to drop an atomic bomb on
Japan. Truman decided to drop the bomb because the other option was to invade Japan. This would
have taken over one year and would have cost the lives of nearly 1 million American soldiers. On August
6th, 1945 Truman decided to drop the first bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Nicknamed “little boy” the bomb
was dropped by the crew of the Enola Gay B-29 early in the morning. Instantly 30k people were
vaporized followed by another 70k plus from the shockwave of the blast. The Japanese still refused to
surrender, so three days later the bomb “fat man” was dropped on Nagasaki killing 80k soldiers and
civilians. Six days later the Japanese finally surrendered on August 15th, 1945 thus bringing an end to
World War II.
Effects of World War II: World War II remains the deadliest conflict in human history, with roughly 70
million civilian and military deaths or 4% of the world’s total population. In Japan, the cities of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki are still affected by the after effects of the atomic blasts. People born in these cities have a
much higher chance of developing cancer then other cities throughout the world. World War II also saw
the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as the two superpowers in the world. For the
next 50 years the United States and the Soviet Union would be engaged in the Cold War.