Download World War I

World War I
Chapter 11
Causes of WWI
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Nationalism- pride for your country
Imperialism- growth of empires/colonies
Militarism- build up of the military
Alliance system- treaties that force countries to
enter war
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If country “A” is attacked, then countries “B” and “C”
must come to their aid
Military Competition
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Germany and England competed to have
stronger navies and militaries
Other countries soon joined this arms race
Triple Entente (Allies)
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France, Britain, Russia, USA
Triple Alliance (Central Powers)
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Germany
Austria Hungary
Italy
Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
Assassination
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Serbian Gavril Princip killed Austrian Hungarian
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Princip was a member of the terrorist group,
The Black Hand
Ignited the “powder keg” and started WWI
Alliance System at Work
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Russia declared war on AH to defend Serbia
Germany declared war on Russia to defend AH
Germany declared war on Russia’s ally, France
England declared war on Germany after it
invaded Belgium
WWI
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War was fought in Europe, Africa, and the
Middle East
Heaviest concentration of fighting was in
Europe
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War spread to other areas b/c of colonization
Schlieffen Plan
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August 1914, Germany invaded Belgium
Split the German army in two
One half invaded Belgium and then would invade France
 Other half would fight the Russians to the east and hold
them off
 After defeating France and Belgium, both halves of the
German army would combine to attack Russia
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First Battle of the Marne (1914)
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Counterattack by British and French against the
Germans
Stopped the month long offensive by the
Germans
Set the stage for 4 years of trench warfare
Trench Warfare
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Used in WWI
New kind of warfare
3 kinds of trenches
Front line trench
 Support trench
 Reserve trench
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Soldiers live, ate, slept in the trenches
“dugouts” were built for command posts
“no man’s land” was between the trenches
25 yards to a mile wide
 Open flat land between the trenches
 No “cover” for soldiers as they advanced from trench to
enemy trench
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Battle for the Somme (1916)
British had 60,000 casualties the first day
1.2 million casualties total for the battle
Only 7 miles of land traded hands during the
battle
Gallipoli (April 1915-Jan 1916)
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Major battle in Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
Victory for the Ottomans
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Most significant contribution to the war by the
Australians
Goal was to move inland, capture capital of
Istanbul and have a sea route to Russia
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battle of the Somme (1918)
Last ditch offensive by the Germans against the
Allies
Was unsuccessful plan/attack by Germans
Marked the beginning of the end of WWI
Russian Revolution (1917)
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Forced Russia to leave WWI
Overthrew the gov’t and killed the Czar and his
family
Result was a new communist government led by
Vladimir Lenin
Zimmerman Note
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Telegram from Germany asking Mexico to
attack US
Lusitania
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Cruise ship sunk by German submarines
130 Americans were killed
Angered American gov’t and people
British Blockade
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British ships blocked ships from getting to the
German coast
750,000 Germans starved to death as a result
German U-Boats
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Submarines
Used unrestricted warfare (any ship was fair
game for attack)
1916 Election
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Woodrow Wilson runs for re-election
Runs under slogan “He kept us out of war”
Wilson did not want war, but wanted equal
peace were the loser was not destroyed by the
treaty
US Declares War
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April 1917
“make the world safe for democracy” President
Wilson
Eddie Rickenbacker
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Famous US pilot of WWI
Fought against the “Red Baron”-German pilot
Selective Service Act
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Passed in 1917
24 million men registered in a year
3 million men were used
New Weapons of WWI
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Poison gas
Machine gun
Airplane
Tank
Submarine (U-boat)
Convoy System
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Used to protect ships on the sea
Heavily armed ships would surround the cargo
ships, protecting them
AEF
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American Expeditionary Force
Led by General John “Black Jack” Pershing
Soldiers known as “doughboys”
Alvin York
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US soldier
Was a conscientious objector
Killed 25 Germans and captured 132 almost
single handedly
From rural Tennessee
War Ends
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11/11/1918 at 11am Germany surrendered
Signed an armistice or cease fire
WWI Totals
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22 million killed
20 million wounded
10 million refugees
Cost $338 billion
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US lost 42,000 in battle and 62,000 from disease
200,000 Americans wounded
War Industries Board
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Encouraged business to use mass production to
increase efficiency
Daylight Savings Time
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Established in 1918
War Economy
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Costs and wages increased
Stockholders in several companies saw record
profits
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Dupont Company- profits rose 1600% during 1914
and 1918
Food Administration
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Set up to help conserve food for the war effort
Rose the price on wheat and other item
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Farmers farmed 40 million more acres and increased
income by 30%
War Financing
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$35.5 billion spent on the war (USA)
Raised money through:
Progressive income tax
 War profits tax
 Higher excise taxes
 Liberty Bonds and Victory bonds
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Propaganda
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Committee on Public Information (CPI) was set
up to influence people’s thoughts about the war
Used paintings, posters, cartoons, and sculptures
promoting the war
Anti-Immigrants
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People of German descent lost their jobs
German wasn’t taught in schools
Books and music by Germans were not read and
played
Violence against German Americans
Espionage and Sedition Acts
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Thousands of Americans were punished and
paid fines and were imprisoned as “spies and
traitors”
Great Migration
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Large scale movement of hundred of thousands
of African Americans up north
More jobs up north
 Cotton crop was destroyed by bugs
 Escape racial discrimination
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Women during WWI
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Took over the jobs men left while at war
Helped support their effort for the right to vote
1919, 19th amendment was passed and women
got to vote
Flu Epidemic
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30 million killed worldwide
500,000 Americans were killed
14 Points
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Speech President Wilson gave to Congress
Listed 14 ways to end war, create peace, and
sustain peace
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1st 5 points were how to prevent another world
war
Next eight points were about boundary changes
Last point called for the creation of the League
of Nations to fix diplomatic problems therefore
preventing war
Treaty of Versailles
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Created 9 new nations and changed the size of
others
Barred Germany from maintaining an army
Germany had to pay war reparations (war
damages)
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$33 billion
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War guilt clause was part of treaty
Germany lost its colonies in the Pacific Ocean
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Would have helped pay the war reparations
War Guilt Clause
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Part of the treaty of versailles
Forced Germany to admit sole responsibility for
starting WWI
Problems with the League of Nations
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Many Americans thought it interfered with US
policy of isolationism
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Keep to ourselves
Henry Cabot Lodge
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Conservative republican US senator who
opposed the League of Nations
USA & League of nations
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USA never joined the League of nations
Too many senators opposed the League of
nations and would not sign the Versailles Treaty
US & Germany Treaty
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1921, USA and Germany signed a separate treaty
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b/c Congress would not approve/sign the Treaty of
Versailles
Effect of WWI on USA
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Strengthened US military and gov’t
Created social change (African Americans and
women)
Effect of WWI on Europe
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Damaged social and political systems
Enormous loss of life and destruction
Communism and fascism grew out of WWI
War to End All Wars ?
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Name for WWI at the time
Treaty of Versailles settled nothing
Treaty of Versailles made people more angry
Laid the “seed” for Hitler and others like him to
rise to power and “cause” WWII less than 20
years later