Download an economic reason for war?

Warm Up
1. What is the purpose
of this poster?
2. What organization
made the poster?
3. Is this “propaganda”?
Explain why or why
not.
WORLD WAR I
1914-1918
Fighting the Great War
Europe before the war
■ Text
Europe at the outbreak of World War I
THE CENTRAL POWERS
THE ALLIED POWERS
When the war began, Germany’s biggest problem
was the potential of fighting on two fronts
Germany’s solution was
the Schlieffen Plan, which
involved quickly defeating
France in the West…
…then sending troops to
the East before Russia
fully mobilized for war
The Schlieffen Plan seemed to be
working when the German army
marched through Belgium and
France, within miles of Paris
But, English, Belgian, Meanwhile, Russia mobilized
and French troops
faster than expected, so
saved Paris at the
Germany had to divert
Battle of the Marne
troops from France
Because the Schlieffen Plan failed, the Central
Powers were forced to fight a two-front war
The fighting in France was
The fighting
known as the Western Front
between
Germany,
AustriaHungary, and
Russia was
known as the
Eastern Front
By 1915, the war settled into a stalemate as
each side fortified their positions with trenches
Soldiers going “over the top”
The soldiers had very
little decent food, and
what food they had was
often attacked by rats.
These rats were the size
of small rabbits and
badgers because they
had fed on the
decomposing bodies of
dead soldiers.
Trenchfoot
New weapons were invented to try to gain an
advantage and win the war
Machine guns
New weapons were invented to try to gain an
advantage and win the war
Long-range artillery
New weapons were invented to try to gain an
advantage and win the war
Tanks
New weapons were invented to try to gain an
advantage and win the war
Airplanes and
zeppelins
New weapons were invented to try to gain an
advantage and win the war
Flamethrowers and
grenade launchers
New weapons were invented to try to gain an
advantage and win the war
Poison gas
New weapons were invented to try to gain an
advantage and win the war
Submarines
New weapons killed soldiers more effectively;
during World War I, 8.5 million soldiers died and
21 million soldiers were wounded
New weapons killed soldiers more effectively;
during World War I, 8.5 million soldiers died and
21 million soldiers were wounded
New weapons killed soldiers more effectively;
during World War I, 8.5 million soldiers died and
21 million soldiers were wounded
Fighting on the Western Front slowed to a
stalemate as neither side could gain an advantage
During the 10 month
Battle of Verdun
in 1916, 1 million
soldiers were killed or
wounded
Another 1 million
soldiers were killed
or wounded at the
Battle of Somme
Despite the deaths,
neither the Allies nor
the Central Powers
gained an advantage
after these battles
On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was
struggling to hold on against the German military
Russia was not as industrialized as
the rest of Europe and failed to
produce enough weapons or food
Russian women training for combat
Millions of
Russian
soldiers and
civilians died
during the war
By 1917, Russia
was on the
brink of
collapse
The stalemate on the Western and Eastern Fronts
turned World War I into a war of attrition where each
side tried to out-produce and outlast the enemy
Nations committed
to total war to win
World War I
Factories were
converted to make
war equipment
Industrial resources
were rationed in
order to prioritize
military needs
Governments
used conscription
to draft civilians
into the military
INDIAN SOLDIERS FIGHTING ON BRITAIN’S SIDE
Overseas colonies were used to gain
resources or additional soldiers
Propaganda was
used to maintain
civilian support
for the war
Propaganda is
mixing facts with
emotions to
change people’s
opinions
You spread ideas that
show your enemies in
a bad light while
strengthening your
own position
Anti-German Propaganda Changed
American Opinions of the War
This propaganda poster
portrays the Germans as
mistreating and
humiliating innocent
British sailors
The “Huns” (barbarians)
are the Germans
The Germans appear
cruel, threatening, and evil
Anti-German Propaganda
This piece of
propaganda encourages
Americans to join the
U.S. Army to destroy
the “MAD BRUTE”
The “MAD BRUTE” is
militaristic Germany
The “MAD BRUTE” is
seen crossing the ocean
and attacking America
Anti-German Propaganda
This cartoon
shows
Germany’s
Kaiser
Wilhelm II
trying to
devour the
world
Name as many of
the new weapons
of WWI as you
can.
To keep Germany from trading with other
nations, Britain used its navy to blockade Europe
Germany responded by using unrestricted
submarine warfare to attack the British navy
and any merchant ships supplying the Allies
Germany responded by using unrestricted
submarine warfare to attack the British navy
and any merchant ships supplying the Allies
German U-boat attacks played a role in
bringing the United States into World War I
When World
War I began in
1914, the
United States
remained
neutral…
…but, the USA
was pulled
into the war
by 1917
As a neutral nation,
the USA was trading
with the Allies
during the war
Germany’s policy of
unrestricted
submarine warfare led
to attacks on U.S.
merchant ships and
British passenger ships
President Woodrow
Wilson demanded
“freedom of the seas”
but Germany refused
Americans were outraged in May 1915 when a
German U-boat sank the British ship Lusitania,
killing 1,200 people (including 128 Americans)
At first, America was helped by the war
Both the CENTRAL
POWERS and
ALLIED POWERS
needed food, oil,
steel, and weapons
The United States
made enormous
profits selling these
things to both sides
The American
economy was
BOOMING
AN ECONOMIC REASON FOR WAR?
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Britain
France
Germany
Austria-Hungary
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
The chart shows how much money the U.S. lent to
Britain, France, Germany, and Austria-Hungary each year
The column on the left is in MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
LOOK CLOSER AT THE MONEY FLOW
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Britain
France
Germany
Austria-Hungary
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
Each year, the U.S. lends the Allies more and the
Centrals less. So the U.S. was not COMPLETELY neutral
If Britain and France would LOSE the war and fall to
Germany, the U.S. would lose all of that money!
AN ECONOMIC REASON FOR WAR
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Britain
France
Germany
Austria-Hungary
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
Simply out, the United States could not afford
to see Britain lose this war; it would have
meant FINANCIAL DISASTER
GERMANY BECOMES DESPERATE
Germany was unable
to break the British
blockade and their
people were starving
Desperate to break it, the
Germans go back to using
their U-boats to attack
Allied shipping
Knowing this might bring the U.S. into the
war, the Germans tried to do something
that would distract the Americans…
The Zimmermann Telegram
A German official,
Arthur Zimmermann,
sent a message to
Mexico
It urged Mexico to
declare war on the
U.S. if the U.S.
declared war on
Germany
This was for
the purpose
of distracting
the U.S. from
the war in
Europe
Germany proposed that Mexico attack
the USA in exchange for the return of
Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona
The Zimmermann Telegram
The cartoon shows
Germany telling
Mexico to
“Join with
Germany and
you get a bit
of the United
States.”
The Zimmermann Telegram’s Effect
The British intercepted the message
and sent it to the Americans
When the Americans find out, they
are furious with Germany for trying
to promote war right in America’s
backyard!
Even MORE anti-German feelings
soar
On April 2,
1917, the
United
States
declared
war on
Germany
and entered
World War I