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Chapter 8 Section 1-3 Notes
Rivalries among European nations led to the outbreak of war in 1914.
War names
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The Great War
The War to End All Wars
Causes of the War
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Nationalism
Imperialism
Militarism
Alliances
Triple Alliance aka Central Powers
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Austria-Hungary
Germany
Ottoman Empire
Italy (switches sides)
Bulgaria
Triple Entente aka Allie Powers
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Serbia
Russia
France
United States
- Italy
- Great Britain
War Breaks Out
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Austria-Hungary controlled Bosnia.
Serbia was trying to get Bosnia to revolt against Austria-Hungary.
Franz Ferdinand is the heir to the Austria-Hungary throne & he was assassinated in Sarajevo.
The Serbian government had supplied the assassins with bombs and weapons.
Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for Ferdinand’s murder on June 28, 1914.
Black Hand: Serbian group that assassinated Ferdinand.
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
Schlieffen Plan
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Count Alfred von Schlieffen: German military leader
Defeat France quickly and stall the Russians
After France falls, turn both armies on Russia
Failure of the Plan resulted in trenches being built in a flanking of each other in a “race to the
sea” causing a stalemate. The German army was split into two fighting forces. Eastern &
Western Front.
French soldiers fought old style of war, wore red uniforms and swords.
Germans used camouflage & used machine guns.
Chapter 8 Section 1-3 Notes
Trenches were dug to protect soldiers from enemy fire
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These trenches stretched for some 400 miles
This type of fighting is known as trench warfare
Trench warfare created a stalemate, or deadlock
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Both the Allies and the Central Powers begin looking for new ways to gain an advantage.
Barbed wire lined the trenches making it hard to cross the battlefield
New Weapons
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o Poison gas
o Machine gun
o Flame thrower
o Grenade launcher
o Tanks
o Big Bertha
o Zepplin
Red Baron
o German Pilot who shot down 80 Allied planes before he was shot down in 1918.
o Painted his aircraft RED so the enemy could see him coming.
The United States in World War I
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The United States helped turn the tide for an Allied victory in Europe.
Americans not interested in the war until the sinking of the Lusitania.
Wilson’s policy of isolationism - to not being involved in foreign affairs.
Supported by most Americans
American Concerns
o a. Germany’s war tactics
o b. Germany’s invasion of Belgium.
U.S. had greater political, cultural, and commercial ties to Great Britain and France than Germany.
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Britain was purchasing nearly $75 million worth of war goods from U. S. business each week.
Germany suffered under the British blockade.
Germany fought back with the U-boats. (unterseeboot)
1915, Germany announced that the waters around GB would be a WAR ZONE.
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Germany warned the U.S. that neutral ships might be attacked as well.
The German plan for unrestricted submarine warfare angered Americans, and Wilson believed it violated
the laws of neutrality.
1915, Germany sank a luxury passenger ship to Great Britain called the Lusitania, killing many, including
128 Americans.
Chapter 8 Section 1-3 Notes
Wilson called for an end to unrestricted submarine warfare.
Germans
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agreed to attack only supply ships
later sink the French passenger ship Sussex, killing 80
Sussex Pledge - Germany promised not to sink merchant vessels “without warning and without saving human
lives.”
Zimmerman Note
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Telegraph from Germany to Mexico pledging a secret alliance if the United States joined the Allies.
The Mexicans declined, but the British decoded the note, and Americans call for war.
April 6, 1917, the United States joined the Allies.
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- Needs to raise an army
- Train soldiers
- Transport supplies & soldiers
Wilson’s reason for going to war was to “MAKE THE WORLD SAFE FOR DEMOCRACY.”
Raising an Army
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Selective Service Act (1917)
Men between the ages of 21 and 30 had to register for the draft.
"Black Jack" Pershing led the American Expeditionary Force in World War I.
General Pershing wanted his soldiers to be well trained.
Wanted US soldiers under US command
Blacks – were in segregated units & not allowed in the navy, the marines, or to pilot planes
Mostly noncombatant roles
Alvin York - was a U. S. soldier, famous for both his being a conscientious objector and hero in World War I.
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Shipyard workers were not drafted.
Fabrication: assembly line method of ship-building.
U.S. troops arrived in France in 1917 through a convoy system. (used for protection)
Convoy’s reduced the number of ships sunk and limited the loss of troops and supplies.
Armistice - the end of a war, when the warring parties agree to stop fighting.
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Late 1918 the war was crippling the German economy: many civilians lacked food and supplies.
Germany forced to:
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leave all territories it had occupied
surrender its aircraft, heavy artillery, tanks, and U-boats
Allow Allied troops to occupy some German territory.
Chapter 8 Section 1-3 Notes
On November 11, 1918, the armistice went into effect.
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Everyone hoped that the Great War would be the “war to end all wars.”
"eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month."
Limeys: nickname for British soldiers
Doughboys: nickname for the American soldiers
Paying for the War
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War Revenue Act of 1917
o - Established very high taxes
o - Taxed the wealthiest Americans as much as 77% of their annual incomes.
Liberty Bonds
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- loan from the American people to Regulating Industry
1. War Industries Board (WIB)
regulated all materials needed in the war effort.
C. Regulating Food
Food Administration slogan was “Food Can Win the War.”
Conserving Food
Victory Gardens: private gardens which allowed farmers to ship food to soldiers.
Special days of week to go “less” in order to send food to American soldiers
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“Meatless” Mondays
“Wheatless” Wednesdays
“Sweetless” Saturdays
National War Labor Board
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Judged disputes between workers and management
8 hour work day
Urged businesses to recogniz labor unions
Promoted equal pay for women
Women’s War Efforts
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1. Women moved into jobs that where traditional for men
2. Red Cross: volunteered as nurses in Europe
3. Almost all women lost their jobs when the men returned home
Influenza Epidemic on the home front
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1. Killed 500,000 Americans
2. Killed 40 million world wide
“shell shock”: battle fatigue and emotional breakdown
Chapter 8 Section 1-3 Notes
trench foot: toes would rot due to wet socks and boots
The Great Migration:
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1. 1 million blacks moved from the South to cities in the North
2. Reasons:
 a. racism
 b. crop failures
 c. jobs in the factories in the North
Propaganda
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1. Information given by the gov’t. to make people think a certain way
2. Posters, newspaper stories, speeches
3. Created Hate of Germans in US
 Anti-German; many were fired, beaten or lynched
Espionage and Sedition Acts:
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- suspended the 1st Amendment rights for anyone who protested the government or the war
- could be fine up to $10,000 and/or sentences to 20 years in prison
Treaty of Versailles & Fourteen Points:
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Wilson’s plan for world peace
o 2. Rejected by the Allies b/c it did not punish Germany
League of Nations
 organization of countries to discuss problems to prevent war
 - The only part of Wilson’s 14 points that was adopted
GERMANY MUST PAY
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Demilitarization reduce the military
Pay Reparations $33 billion to England and France for war damages
War-guilt Clause Germany had to admit it caused the war
Impact of WWI
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Political Overthrew of the monarchies in Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman
Empire.
Economic U.S. emerged as the world’s leading economic power.
German Problems
1. Germany could not afford to pay the reparations.
2. Germany sank into a deep economic depression.
Chapter 8 Section 1-3 Notes
3. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party take control of the German government.
4. Blamed Jews and Socialists for the economic depression.