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World War I
1914-1918
Long Term Causes
1.
Nationalism- many of the countries in Europe felt a
strong sense of pride in their country, and wanted
to demonstrate their superiority over their rivals.
Germans were proud of their new nation (est.
1871) and its industrial might, while the French
were anxious to avenge their loss in the FrancoPrussian War. The British, meanwhile, were very
proud of their industry and their enormous colonial
empire. In Eastern Europe, the Russians promoted
Pan-Slavism, or the idea that all Slavic-People
held a common heritage, and should stand
together.
Key Point- The desire to have the strongest economy,
the strongest military, and the largest empire,
created competition amongst the great powers
Long Term Causes
Nationalism Continued:
Another aspect of nationalism was the
desire for independence on the part of
many people that lived under the control of
an outside power.
Key Point- The Slavic people who lived in the
Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted to be free
of outside rule, so they could join
neighboring Serbia. Nationalist movements
were especially strong in Bosnia, and
militaristic groups such as the Black Hand
and Young Bosnia were dedicated to
independence.
Long Term Causes
2. Militarism- Many of the countries in Europe
had a strong military tradition, and they had
developed an extreme sense of pride in their
military strength. As competition increased
among the great powers, they began to build
their armies and navies, and the military spirit
increased to even greater levels at the turn of
the 20th Century.
Key Point- When war did break out, it was
between vast armies, and strong navies, and
young men were eager to volunteer.
Long Term Causes
3. Imperialism- Throughout the 1800’s,
Europeans gained control of vast overseas
empires. Britain had the most vast empire,
but the French and Germans also had
substantial colonial holdings.
Key Point- Competition over colonies and
resources led to suspicion and distrust. War
had nearly broken out over colonial
possessions on a number of occasions.
Long Term Causes
4. Alliance Systems- As a result of increased
tensions, the great powers began to create
defensive alliances with other nations which
had similar interests, or at least, common
enemies.
Key Point- When war finally did break out in
1914, instead of the two main countries
fighting it out, their allies joined them, and the
war went from a small regional affair, to a
huge World War involving millions.
The Spark!
• On June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis
Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, and
his wife Sophie, were visiting the Bosnian
capital of Sarajevo.
• Six Slavic nationalists plotted to kill him there.
• First, one threw a grenade at his car, but the
long fuse caused it to blow up under a
following car.
• Later, as the Archduke’s route was changed,
and the car turned around, they were
ambushed by Gavrilo Princip, who shot and
killed Francis Ferdinand and Sophie
The Archduke and His
Assassin
An Ultimatum for Serbia
• Austria-Hungary did not just blame Slavic nationalists
for the assassination. They also believed members of
the Serbian military and even some government
officials were involved in the plot, and other militant
activities aimed at Austro-Hungarian power.
• They issued an ultimatum to Serbia, which included a
set of 10 demands* which had to be met to avoid
war.
• Serbia agreed to almost all of the demands, except
for some minor clauses.
• This was all the excuse Austria-Hungary needed, and
they declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914.
*Some historians believe the demands were intentionally made to
be almost impossible for Serbia to agree to.
Attempts at Diplomacy Fail
• Serbia appealed to its Slavic ally, Russia, asking
them to convince Austria-Hungary not to attack.
• Czar Nicholas II asked his wife’s cousin, Kaiser
William II of Germany, to talk the Austro-Hungarians
out of war, saying that he would mobilize the Russian
Army against Austria-Hungary if they continued.
• The Kaiser assured the Czar that if he mobilized his
army, the Germans would have to choice but to join
Austria-Hungary against the combined Russian and
Serbian threat.
• The Russians mobilized, causing the Germans to
declare war.
France gets involved.
• When Germany declared war on Russia, the
Russians asked France for help. The French
assured them of assistance in the case of a
German attack.
• In response, the Germans demanded that
France stay out of the conflict. France
refused.
• Germany then declared war on France.
Schlieffen Plan
• The Germans had been preparing for the war
for years. They believed Russia, due to its
relatively limited industrial strength, and its
huge size, would be slow to mobilize.
• Their plan was to avoid a two-front war by
launching a surprise attack against France
through the Belgian countryside, knocking
France out of the war quickly.
• With France out of the war, the Germans
would then be free to turn all its forces
against Russia.
Great Britain Steps In
• Great Britain had
made an agreement
to protect Belgian
neutrality.
• When Germany
invaded Belgium,
Great Britain
declared war on
Germany.
A Family Affair
Queen Victoria
Grandmother
George V
Britain
Kaiser William II
Germany
Alexandra,
wife of Nicholas II
Russia
Stalemate and Trench
Warfare
• After the Germans were stopped at the First Battle of
the Marne, they fell back and dug into a series of
fortified trenches. The British and French counter
attacked and were slaughtered by the German
machine guns and artillery.
• When their counter attack failed, the British and
French dug their own entrenchments to defend
against future German attacks.
• A vast network of trenches developed which
stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss border,
some 450 miles long.
Why did a stalemate develop, and
why was the war so bloody?
• New technologies developed in the late 1800’s and
early 1900’s favored defenders, such as heavy
machine guns that fired 500 rounds a minute, barbed
wire that made massed assualts extremely difficult,
and improved artillery, that fired massive, explosive
shells.
• While new technologies greatly favored the
defenders, offensive military strategy was the same
as it had been in the mid-1800’s. Generals stilled
massed their infantry and tried to overwhelm a
position with numbers.
Machine Guns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYWlhwmxg7g
Trench System
Canadian soldiers going “over the top”.
Other New Weapons
WWI Zepplin
Total War
To fight such a large scale war, nation-states had to take some
important steps that increased government involvement and
power:
• Instituted conscription, or the draft to bring in more soldiers
needed for the fighting, bringing in colonial troops as well.
• Government control over industries, dictating what would be
produced, how much would be produced, and what the prices
were.
• Rationing efforts for food, fuel, and other important resources.
• Government control and censorship of the media.
• Distribution of propaganda.
U.S. Attitudes about the war.
• Most Americans wished to stay out of the war in Europe. These
people are called isolationists.
• Some groups, especially those recent immigrants with strong
ties to their native land, supported one side or other.
• Many people in American business realized the war meant huge
profits for them, and they readily sold supplies, especially to
Britain and France, since the Germans had been blockaded.
They often encouraged the U.S. to side with the Allies. They are
called interventionists
• Some people felt it was the duty of America to intervene in this
massive conflict, and bring peace without choosing a side. This
approach is called the internationalist approach. This was
President Wilson’s approach.
How does the U.S. get
involved?
• Outrage over Belgian atrocities
• German submarine warfare against
unarmed shipping.
• Zimmermann Note.
• Pressure from banks and big business.
Belgian Atrocities
• Early in the war, reports that Germans were
committing atrocities in neutral Belgium
caused some Americans to shift their opinion
to favor the Allies. These reports, while based
on some factual evidence, were greatly
exaggerated to stir up anti-German
sentiment. Some Americans began to call for
war against Germany
Sub Attacks
• Early in the war, the British blockaded
Germany. It was legal to confiscate
contraband, or war supplies. However, as
the war drug on, the British began to expand
the definition of war goods to include virtually
anything that might aid Germany, including
food, medicine, fuel, etc.
• To counter the British blockade, Germany
launched submarine warfare against British
shipping.
Sub attacks continued
• In May, 1915 the Germans sank the British
passenger liner, the Lusitania, killing 128 Americans.
• The U.S. demanded that Germany cease attacks
against neutral shipping, and surface to warn ships
before firing. The Germans agreed.*
• In 1916 the Germans sunk an unarmed French ship
called the Sussex. America again was outraged, and
the Germans pledged again, that they would stop the
attacks.
• In January 1917, the Germans were suffering such a
supply shortage that they announced that they would
launch unrestricted submarine warfare against all
ships heading to Britain.
* To be fair to the Germans, the Allies were intentionally using civilian
ships to transport contraband
Zimmermann Note
• In January 1917, German Foreign Minister
Arthur Zimmermann sent a telegram to
Mexico suggesting an alliance between
Germany and Mexico if the U.S. joined the
Allies.
• When the Germans won the war, Germany
promised to return much of the territory lost to
the U.S. in the Mexican War.
• The telegram was intercepted by the British,
who “conveniently”, turned it over the the U.S.
Pressure from banks and
business.
• One often overlooked factor that helped push the
U.S. into war was the interest of U.S. banks and big
business.
• Many banks had loaned money to the British and the
French, and wanted to see their investments
protected.
• In addition, American businesses saw huge potential
profits from American involvement in the conflict.
• No one will ever know how influential these forces
were, but to exclude them would be naïve.
Total War
To fight such a large scale war, the U.S. had to
take some important steps that increased
government involvement and power:
• Selective Service Act (Conscription/Draft)
• War Industries Board to regulate all industries involved in the
war effort.
• The Food Administration encouraged conservation of food, such
as wheatless Mondays and Wednesdays, meatless Tuesdays,
and porkless Thursdays and Saturdays.
• The Committee on Public Information put out propaganda.
• The Espionage Act and the Sedition Act limited freedom
the Press and freedom of Speech.
of
The “Doughboy”
More Doughboys
Springfield 1903
M1917A1 Machine Gun
Browning M2 .50 Cal
African American Soldiers
Sergeant Alvin C. York
General John J. Pershing
George S. Patton in WWI
Douglas MacArthur in WWI
The Hell of War
Totals
• The United States suffered 116,708
deaths in WWI, from combat and
disease.
• The United States suffered and
additional 209,690 soldiers wounded.
• The total cost of the war was $32 billion
dollars, or 52% of the nations Gross
Domestic Product