Download The Great War Notes

The Great War
Developing Conflicts
• Militarism
– Building and maintaining a powerful
military
– Fascination with the glory of war
– Caused an arms race
• World powers competed to have the best
• Goal was to have greatest and most
technologically-advanced armies and navies
• Can be viewed as an aggressive move toward
war
• Fostered mistrust, especially between
enemies
– Focus on mobilization
• Prepared for immediate organization for war
– Source of pride for people for their
country
Developing Conflicts
• Nationalism
– Strong feelings of pride and
unity among people of a nation
– Devotion to one’s nation
– Created competition among
nations
• Race for territory to build empires
• Spurred rivalries
– Balkan Peninsula
• Small ethnic groups demanded
independence from larger empires
like Austria-Hungary and Russia
Developing Conflicts
• Imperialism
– Building empires by expanding
territory to gain colonies
– Increased competition
between world powers
• Early disputes were settled to avoid war
– Deepened rivalry and mistrust
between world powers
– Increased nationalism in
citizens
– Fueled industry
Developing Conflicts
• Alliances
– Agreements between countries to help each other in
wartime
– Triple Entente
• France
• Britain
• Russia
– Triple Alliance
• Germany
• Austria-Hungary
• Italy
– Other agreements made as well, including aid for
weaker nations (Russia and Serbia)
Balkan Crisis
• Area of southeast Europe in conflict
• Many small ethnic groups want
independence
• Serbia and Austria-Hungary clashed
over territory of Bosnia
• A-H annexed Bosnia in 1908, angering
Serbia
• Tensions rose into 1914
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife
Sophie appeared in Sarajevo, capital of
Bosnia
– Heir to A-H throne
• Assassinated by a Serbian nationalist
• A-H declares war on Serbia
• Pre-war alliances activated = WAR
Tangled Alliances
• Wartime Alliances:
– Central Powers
• Germany
• Austria-Hungary
• Italy (until 1915)
– Allies
•
•
•
•
•
Great Britain
France
Russia
Japan
Italy (1915)
Sequence of Events
• 1914
– Assassination of Archduke by Serbian
nationalist
– Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
– Russia comes to aid of Serbia
– Germany declares war on Russia
– France declares war on Germany
– Germany invades Belgium and France
– Great Britain declares war on Germany
*America declares neutrality
Fronts of Fighting
• Western Front
– France vs.
Germany
• Eastern Front
– Russia vs.
Germany
• Italian Front
– Italy vs. AustriaHungary
Total War
• Trench Warfare
– New weaponry
introduced
• Long-range artillery
• Poisonous gases
• Gas masks
• Tanks
• Machine guns
• Flame throwers
*submarines
• Trenches
– Used to protect soldiers
– Parallel lines of fighting
– Heavy loss of life
– Little land gains
– Miserable conditions
• No sleep, little food
• Rats, dead bodies
• Fueled by industrial power
• Weapons and soldiers were
quickly replaced early on
• By 1915, stalemate existed
at all fronts
Sequence of Events
• 1917
– Russia withdraws from the war
– United States enters the war
Russian Revolution
• Before the Revolution:
– Most Russians were poor and many were starving
– Russia had lost millions of lives to the Eastern front
of fighting
• The Revolution:
– Czar Nicholas II (the last emperor of Russia) was
forced by the Russian people to give up his throne
• He wanted to keep fighting in WWI
• He ignored the demands for change from peasants
and workers
– Civil War
• The Bolsheviks (Communists), led by Vladimir Lenin,
defeated their enemies and took control of Russia
– Russia withdrew from WWI
– Russia was transformed into a communist nation and
was renamed the Soviet Union (a.k.a. the U.S.S.R.)
America Enters The Great War
• In the beginning, America declared
neutrality
• Reasons for U.S. entry into the
war:
– Economic relationships with the
Allies
• The U.S. had been selling many
products and loaning a lot of money
to the Allies and (privately) wanted
them to win the war
– Unrestricted submarine warfare
• To prevent supplies from getting to
the Allies, German U-boats sunk
boats without warning
– Sinking of the Lusitania – 128
Americans killed!
America Enters The Great War
• The Zimmermann
Telegram
– A note from the German
government asking Mexico
to attack the U.S. was
intercepted and published
in newspapers
• Arrival of fresh US troops
helped the Allies win war
Sequence of Events
• 1917
– Russia withdraws from the war
– United States enters the war
• 1918
– Germany agrees to armistice (Nov. 11 at 11am)
– President Wilson’s Fourteen Points Speech
– Paris Peace Talks
– Treaty of Versailles signed
Armistice
• Germany accepted the cease-fire in 1918
• Paris Peace Talks
– “The Big Four” met to discuss terms of peace
• Great Britain
– Wanted to protect colonies
– Wanted harsh punishment for Germany
• France
– Wanted to protect colonies
– Wanted harsh punishment for Germany
• Italy
– Wanted colonies it was promised
• United States
– President Wilson’s Fourteen Points
American Peace Plan
• President Wilson’s Fourteen
Points Plan
– Addressed the causes of the war to
bring peace
– Proposals that would reduce
problems caused by excessive
nationalism, imperialism, alliances,
and militarism
– Created a League of Nations
• Organization with member nations that
maintained global peace
– For others, it wasn’t harsh enough
Treaty of Versailles
• Other Allies wanted harsh consequences for
Germany
• Final Peace Treaty:
– Germany must pay war reparations (put Germany in
debt)
– “War Guilt Clause” forced them to accept blame for
the war
– Restrictions on Germany military’s size and ability
– Demilitarization of Rhineland (territory near France)
– German territorial losses
– League of Nations
League of Nations
• Organization of member nations that work together
to keep global peace
• Ineffective, weak, lacked power
• No authority over nonmembers
– United States didn’t join
– Germany and Soviet Union not allowed
– Italy and Japan withdrew
• No way to enforce peace
– Member nations had to send military
– Many were reluctant after such a brutal war
• Required unanimous consent for decisions