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WORLD WAR I
“THE WAR TO END
ALL WARS”
Statistics
World War One included:
 3 Continents
 31 Countries
 65 Million Soldiers
 37 Million Casualties
 91,198 Deaths by Gas
 6,395 Allied and Neutral Ships Lost
 $186.3 Billion Financial Losses

Countries Involved
Allied Countries
•Serbia
•Russia
•France
•Belgium
•Great
Britain
•Liberia
•Japan
•Montenegr
o
•Italy
•San Marino
•Portugal
•Romania
•Greece
•China
•U.S.
•Cuba
•Nicaragua
•Brazil
•Siam
•Costa Rica
•Guatemala
•Haiti
•Honduras
Central Countries
•Austria-Hungary
•Germany
•Ottoman Empire
•Bulgaria
Countries that only cut
off trade
•Bolivia
•Ecuador
•Peru
•Uruguay
That
Should
Add Up To
31
Countries
System of Alliances
By 1914, Europe was split into two hostile
alliance systems.
 Such a situation contains inherent dangers.
Counting on the support of its allies, a
country might pursue a more reckless
course.
 Furthermore, a conflict between two states
might spark a chain reaction that draws in
the other countries, transforming a limited
war into a general war.

System of Alliances
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Europe was broken into two hostile camps: the
Triple Entente of France, Russia, and Britain and
the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary,
and Italy (would drop out and be replaced by the
Ottoman Empire).
The costly arms race and the maintenance of large
standing armies by all states except Britain served
to increase fear and suspicion between the
alliances.
Countries in Europe had become war machines
linked to one another through a web of diplomatic
alliances---the chaos just needed to be set in order
Immediate Cause
Assassination of Archduke Francis
Ferdinand
by Gavrilo Princip, June 28th, 1914.
First Bomb
Gunshots
Gav. Princip
Archduke Ferdinand
The Drift toward War:
The Balkan Wars
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A series of wars in the Balkans strained
relations between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis
Ferdinand, heir to the throne of AustriaHungary, was assassinated while making a
state visit to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia.
Gavrilo Princip, a young revolutionary assassin
from Bosnia, was linked to the Serbian army.
Austria-Hungary decided to use the
assassination as a pretext to crush Serbia.
Immediate Cause
Assassination of Archduke Francis
Ferdinand
by Gavrilo Princip, June 28th, 1914.
First Bomb
Gunshots
Gav. Princip
Archduke Ferdinand
The Drift toward War:
The Balkan Wars
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Seeking a military solution rather than a
diplomatic one, Austria presented a list of
ultimatums to Serbia that it could not possibly
meet.
 When Serbia could not agree to all of the
demands, Austria-Hungary mobilized its army.
Germany pledged to support Austria, believing
that a war with Russia was inevitable anyway;
Italy did not, thus breaking the Triple Alliance.
On July 28, 1914, Austria declared war on
Serbia. Russia, with the assurance of French
support, began to mobilize its army.
Escalation
After the Archduke was killed, a series of events
was set in motion, to change the world.
1. A-H declared war on Serbia.
2. Russia mobilized to aid Serbia.
3. Germany aids A-H, declares war on Russia.
4. France mobilizes to aid Russia.
5. Germany declares war on France.
6. Germany invades Belgium.
7. UK declares war on Germany.
8. OE mobilizes to aid Germany and A-H.
9. Italy joins France, UK, and Russia.
10. Bulgaria joins OE, Germany, and A-H.
11. US joins Italy, France, UK, and Russia
The Schlieffen Plan

German plan to avoid defeat from Russia by
taking out France first and then fight Russians.
 Smash France in 30 days before Russia
could respond with troops
 Go through Belgium to surround French
troops, defeat the French and then rush to
Poland front on the German rail system to
face Russia
 Once Russia began to mobilize, Germany
had to attack France.
World War I
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Russia wanted to stop 15 days into the 30 day
time table/Germany did not want to risk it
On August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on
Russia and implemented the Schlieffen Plan.
Once they invaded Belgium (August 4, 1914)
on their way to France, Great Britain joined
the war.
War as Celebration

Everyone believed that it would be a short war.
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(6 weeks)
News of war was greeted by most Europeans
with great enthusiasm and with outpourings of
patriotism and nationalism.
For decades, state-directed education had
indoctrinated youth with nationalist attitudes,
beliefs, and myths designed to promote social
cohesion.
Thus, Europe marched off to war with great
joy, anticipating a great adventure and national
glory.
The Schlieffen Plan’s
Destructive Nature
The Schlieffen Plan
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Invade western front
1st
After defeating
France concentrate
on the Eastern front
Avoid fighting a 2
front war
The Schlieffen Plan’s
Destructive Nature
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Germany made vast
encircling movement
through Belgium to
enter Paris
Underestimated
speed of the British
mobilization

Quickly sent troops to
France
The Schlieffen Plan’s
Destructive Nature

Sept 6-10, 1914
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Battle of Marne
Stopped the Germans
but French troops
were exhausted
Both sides dug
trenches for shelter
STALEMATE
The Trenches
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Trenches dug from
English Channel to
Switzerland
6,250 miles
6 to 8 feet deep
Immobilized both
sides for 4 years
The Trenches
Life in the Trenches
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Elaborate systems of
defense
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barbed wire
Concrete machine gun
nests
Mortar batteries
Troops lived in holes
underground
Life in the Trenches
“Death is everywhere”
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“We all had on us the
stench of dead bodies.”
Death numbed the
soldier’s minds.
Shell shock
Psychological devastation
“Death is everywhere”

Mustard gas
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Carried by the wind
Burned out soldier’s lungs
Deadly in the trenches
where it would
sit at the bottom
Life in the Trenches

Trench warfare
baffled military
leaders

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Attempt a breakthrough
Then return to a war of
movement
Millions of young men
sacrificed attempting the
breakthrough
Battle of Verdun
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10 months
700,000 men killed
The changes of war

New weapons crippled the “frozen
front”
Poison gas (mustard gas)
 Hand grenades
 Flame throwers
 Tanks
 Airplanes
 Subs

Stalemate

The Germans could not quickly secure victory
over the French, however, because the
Russian army mobilized faster than anticipated
and the Germans had to divert troops to the
Eastern Front.

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The Germans had great success against the
Russians; however, the resources needed to
fight on the Eastern Front ensured that the
stalemate on the Western front would continue.
The result was a deadlock that neither side
could break.
Empire at War
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The horrors of war reached across continents.
The sprawling Ottoman Empire battled Britishand Russian-led forces in Egypt, Iraq, and the
Caucasus.
In East Asia, Japan declared war on Germany
and seized German possessions in China.
The British and French conscripted colonial
subjects:
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India: 1 million soldiers to Allies. (60,000 died)
Africa: more than 1 million soldiers, 3 million
transported goods. (150,000 died)
Australia, New Zealand, and Canada: Over 1 million.
American
Neutrality
· Officially, the U.S.
was a neutral
country.
· However, we traded
food, weapons, oil,
steel, and other goods
far more with the
Allied Powers than
with the Central
Powers.
· Both the Allied Powers and
Central powers used
propaganda in order to
support their cause by making
their enemies seem savage.
Freedom of the Seas
· The U.S., as a
neutral nation,
claimed the right to
trade with either side
in the war.
· However, Britain
and Germany set up
blockades around the
British and German
coasts.
· German submarines, called U-boats, torpedoed enemy ships
and neutral ships trading with the enemy.
A German U-boat Torpedoes a Steamer, circa 1916
· In 1915, a German submarine torpedoed the Lusitania, a
British passenger ship, killing approximately 1,200 people,
including 128 Americans.
· Americans were infuriated with the destruction of the
Lusitania.
Moving Toward War
Zimmermann telegram:
– secret message from
Germany to Mexico
urging Mexico to attack
the U.S. if the U.S.
declared war on
Germany
– Germany promised to
help Mexico regain land
it lost to the U.S. in the
Mexican War.
* The U.S. declared war
on the Central Powers
in 1917.
(above) Zimmermann Telegram as
Received by the German Ambassador to
Mexico, 01/19/1917 (right) decoded words
Zimmermann
Telegram:
Decoded
Message
“Over There”
Chorus
Over there, over there,
by George M. Cohan
Send the word, send the
Johnnie, get your gun,
word over there Get your gun, get your gun,
That the Yanks are coming,
Take it on the run,
The Yanks are coming,
On the run, on the run.
The drums rum-tumming
Hear them calling, you and me, Ev'rywhere.
Every son of liberty.
So prepare, say a pray'r,
Hurry right away,
Send the word, send the
No delay, go today,
word to beware.
Make your daddy glad
We'll be over, we're coming
To have had such a lad.
over,
Tell your sweetheart not to pine, And we won't come back till
To be proud her boy's in line.
it's over
(chorus sung twice)
Over there.
U.S.
Involvement
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The U.S. declared war on Germany in April 1917.
Many reasons: unrestricted submarine warfare
(Lusitania), Zimmerman telegram, British
propaganda, the Russian Revolution
With America’s entry, the war was transformed
(at least according to Woodrow Wilson) into a
moral crusade: an ideological conflict between
democracy and autocracy.
He had been able to claim that because of the
revolution in Russia.
How did the U.S Help to Secure an
Allied Victory in WWI?
U.S. troops added new energy, manpower,
and firepower to the allied cause
 U.S. industry, untouched by war, provided the
weapons and technology needed to win
 The entrance of the U.S. (toward the end of
the war) broke the stalemate and pushed the
allies to victory

Armistice:
November 11, 1918
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In March 1918, Russians sign separate peace with Germans
(Treaty of Brest-Litovsk)
 With Russia out of the war, the Germans prepared for a
decisive offensive before the U.S. could land sufficient
troops in France to help the Allies.
A war of attrition now favored the Allies, who could count on
American supplies and manpower.
 Without an immediate and decisive victory, Germany
could not win the war.
The offensive failed. Fearing an Allied invasion of Germany,
Kaiser William II abdicates and flees to Holland. A new
German Republic is organized that signed an armistice on
November 11, 1918, ending the hostilities.
Cost of the war
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15 million people were killed.

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About 1/3 of the soldiers that fought in the
war were wounded.
The economic cost was severe.
Estimates put the damage at about 100
trillion modern U.S. dollars.
 The European economy was left in
shambles and the U.S. emerged as the
dominant world economic power.

The Spanish Flu
(Influenza)1918
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Struck in the trenches of the western front and then
flourished when soldiers returned home.
It became the greatest public health disaster of modern
history
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The pandemic killed between 22 and 30 million people
worldwide, or roughly twice as many as had died during
the fighting
In Spain, it killed roughly 40 percent of the population (8
million), thus giving it the name of the Spanish Influenza.
British colonial troops carried it to India where it killed 12
million.
No disease, plague, war, famine, or natural catastrophe in
world history had killed so many people in such a short
time.
“I can predict with absolute certainty
that within another generation there will
be another world war if the nations of
the world do not concert the method
by which to prevent it."
Woodrow Wilson, 1919
Why did the US Reject the
Treaty of Versailles?
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Critics of the Treaty believed that the
League would drag the US into future
European wars (Senator Henry Cabot
Lodge)
Americans were “war weary” and
wanted to return to isolationism
Wilson suffered a stroke and was unable
to sell the treaty to the people
The US refused to join the League of
Nations, making the League a “paper
tiger” or weak on the world stage.
Causes of WWI
•Nationalistic pride
•Competition for colonies
•Military buildup
•Tangled web of alliances
•Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Effects of WWI
•Destruction in Europe
•Boom in American economy
•Suppression of dissent in the U.S.
•Allied victory
•Defeated empires lose their colonies
•The U.S. emerges from the war as a
world leader and an economic giant