Download The Causes of WW1

The Causes of WW1
•Militarism
•Alliances
•Imperialism
•Nationalism
Militarism
• Germany was
competing with
the Great
Britain to build
battleships.
• The British
feared an attack
on their Empire
Militarism
• Germany was
competing with
Russia and France
to expand their
armies
1880
1914
• Germany 1.3m 5.0m
• France
0.73m 4.0m
• Russia
0.40m 1.2m
Alliances
• By 1914 all the major powers were linked
by a system of alliances.
• The alliances made it more likely that a
war would start because it made everyone
suspicious of each other and paranoid.
• Once started, the alliances made it more
likely that war would spread.
Imperialism
• All the great powers
were competing for
colonies / territory,
especially in Africa.
• The British feared
Germany in Africa.
• The AustriaHungarian Empire
feared Serbia &
Russia in the Balkans
Nationalism
• This was an age when all nations wanted to
assert their power and independence.
• In Europe, Slavs, aided by Serbia and
Russia, wanted to be free of AustriaHungarian rule.
Serbia’s
national
flag
Significant Individuals
Kaiser Wilhelm II
• Built up German army
and navy
• Aggressive foreign
policy
• Determined to make
Germany a top nation.
• Distrusted by other
powers
“Germany must have its place
in the sun, the world belongs to
the strong.”
Significant Individuals
Count Berchtold
• Austria-Hungarian
Prime Minister.
• Demanded a very
tough ultimatum
for Serbia after
Franz Ferdinand’s
assassination.
“Were the Serbs to agree to
all the demands, this would
not be to my liking”
Significant Individuals
Bethmann Hollweg
• German Prime
Minister
• Gave complete &
strong support to
Austria after
Franz Ferdinand’s
assassination.
“The Austrian demands are
moderate. Any interference by
Britain, France and Russia
would be followed by
incalculable consequences”
The Spark that set off World War One:
• On June 28th, 1914 the
Heir to the Austrian
throne, Franz
Ferdinand visits
Sarajevo.
• Sarajevo is the capital
of Bosnia, recently
grabbed by Austria.
• It is a hotbed of Slav
nationalism
Seal of the
Black Hand
group
The Spark that set off World War One:
• “Black Hand”
terrorists attack the
Arch Duke
• Bomb attempt fails in
morning
• Gavrilo Princip shoots
Archduke and wife in
the afternoon.
• Austrians blame Serbia
for supporting
terrorists.
The Spark that set off World War
One:
• Austrians, supported by
Germany, send Serbia a grave
ultimatum.
• Serbia agrees to all but two terms
of the ultimatum.
• Russia mobilises her troops to
support Serbia
• Germany demands that Russia
stands her armies down; Russia
refuses.
• Germany declares war on
Russia!
“Demands must be
put to Serbia that
would be wholly
impossible for them
to accept …”
Why did Britain get involved?
• Britain had secret
alliances with France and
Russia.
• Although they were only
“friendly agreements”,
the French and Russians
were given the impression
that Great Britain would
fight if needed... result?
– The Schlieffen Plan
Sir Edward Grey
British Foreign Secretary
… “There’s some devilry
going on in Berlin”
The Schlieffen Plan
• The Schlieffen Plan
was Germany’s
military plan to defeat
France and Russia.
• “Knock out blow”
aimed at France first.
• Avoid French
defences by invasion
of Belgium.
• Germans never
dreamed that Britain
would not intervene.
Britain’s Reaction
• In 1838 Great Britain had signed a Treaty to
protect Belgium.
• Britain was also scared of Germany controlling
Channel ports.
• Great Britain did not want Germany to defeat
France and dominate Europe.
• Because if they did, then what? Would Britain
be next?
• Great Britain issued an ultimatum to Germany
to withdraw troops from Belgium immediately.
• Germany laughed and ignored the ultimatum.
• One week after the war started, all the
great powers of Europe had been drawn
into it.
• Germany and Austria-Hungary formed
the Central Powers, while Russia,
France, Serbia, and Great Britain were
called the Allies.
When
AustriaHungary
declared
war on
Serbia,
the
complex
alliance
system in
Europe
drew
much of
the
continent
into the
conflict.
The Summer of Six Million
• Voluntary enlistment in the war was high in
the beginning.
• Crowds cheered men who believed that they
were on their way to a great adventure.
• All sides were confident that it would be a
short war.
• In August, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany sent
the first waves of troops off with the promise
that they would “be home before the leaves
have fallen from the trees.”
Stalemate
• By September 1914, the war had reached a
stalemate, a situation in which neither side is able
to gain an advantage.
• When French and British forces stopped a
German advance near Paris, both sides holed up
in trenches separated by an empty “no man’s
land.”
• Small gains in land resulted in huge numbers of
human casualties.
• Both sides continued to add new allies, hoping to
gain an advantage.
Life in the Trenches
• Trench warfare was not new, it had been
an occasional feature of many wars, most
notably the American Civil War and the
Russo-Japanese wars.
• Never before, however, had an entire
theatre of war been dominated by
trenches.
• The typical main line trench was slightly
deeper than the average height of a man.
• A fire-step was built into the forward wall
so that soldiers could gain sufficient height
to fire at the enemy.
• Even the best trenches were nothing more
or less than elaborate ditches.
• They were filthy and poorly drained.
• They bred misery, depression, and disease,
including frostbite from constant exposure
to freezing water, ice, or snow.
• Trench foot, a condition
resembling frostbite was
caused by constant
immersion in water – if
untreated, it could result in
gangrene, amputation, and
even death.
• Trench mouth, a sever
bacterial infection of the
throat and the mouth was
also common.
• Dysentery and typhus,
both of which were
extremely debilitating and
often fatal, were common
to the soldiers.
• Soldiers shared the trenches with rats, fleas,
garbage, human waste, and the remains of
decaying corpses.
• At night, supplies would be brought up
through the access trench.
• Food was generally canned and entirely
tasteless.
• Dawn brought the greatest danger of enemy
attack, which might take the form of a
trench raid, as enemy infantry swarmed over
the trench.
• For these occasions, soldiers depended on
weapons of hand-to-hand combat: knives,
billy clubs, brass knuckles, and even the
medieval-style mace, a club bristling with
spikes.
No Man’s Land
• No Man’s Land was the territory that divided
the trenches of the two opposing armies.
• This is where the phrase originated.
• It was typically a space anywhere from 50 to
3,000 yards between the opposing trench lines.
• Getting close enough to attack the enemy’s
trench was not easy; no man’s land was
littered with tangles of barbed wire, thickly
strewn all over, and shell holes to prevent or
slow down the advance of the enemy.
Modern Warfare
• Neither soldiers nor officers were prepared for the
new, highly efficient killing machines used in
World War I.
• Machine guns, hand grenades, artillery shells, and
poison gas killed thousands of soldiers who left
their trenches to attack the enemy.
• As morale fell, the lines between soldiers and
civilians began to blur.
• The armies began to burn fields, kill livestock,
and poison wells.
The American Response
• Because many Americans were
European immigrants or the children of
European immigrants, many felt
personally involved in the escalating
war.
• Although some had sympathies for the
Central Powers, most Americans
supported the Allies.
• Support for the Allies was partially
caused by Germany’s rule by an autocrat,
a ruler with unlimited power.
• In addition, anti-German propaganda, or
information intended to sway public
opinion, turned many Americans against
the Central Powers.
• To protect American investments
overseas, President Wilson officially
proclaimed the United States a neutral
country on August 4, 1914.
The Preparedness Movement
• Americans with business ties to Great
Britain wanted their country to be
prepared to come to Britain’s aid if
necessary.
• In an effort to promote “preparedness,”
the movement’s leaders persuaded the
government to set up military training
camps and increase funding for the armed
forces.
The Peace Movement
• Other Americans, including women,
former Populists, Midwest progressives,
and social reformers, advocated peace.
• Peace activists in Congress insisted on
paying for preparedness by increasing
taxes.
• Although they had hoped that a tax
increase would decrease support for
preparedness, the movement remained
strong.
German Submarine Warfare
• To break a stalemate at sea, Germany began
to employ U-boats, short for Unterseeboot,
the German word for submarine.
• U-boats, traveling under water, could sink
British supply ships with no warning.
• When the British cut the transatlantic cable,
which connected Germany and the United
States, only news with a pro-Allied bias
was able to reach America.
German Submarine Warfare
• American public opinion was therefore
swayed against Germany’s U-boat
tactics.
The Sinking of the Lusitania
• On May 7,1915, a German U-boat sank
the British passenger liner Lusitania,
which had been carrying both passengers
and weapons for the Allies!
• Since 128 American passengers had
been on board, the sinking of the
Lusitania brought the United States
closer to involvement in the war.
The Sussex Pledge
• More Americans were killed when
Germany sank the Sussex, a French
passenger steamship, on March 24,1916.
• In what came to be known as the Sussex
pledge, the German government
promised that U-boats would warn ships
before attacking, a promise it had made
and broken before.
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
• On January 31, 1917, Germany announced
its intent to end the Sussex pledge and
return to unrestricted submarine warfare.
• This action caused the United States to
break off diplomatic relations with
Germany.
• Despite this announcement, the German
navy did not attack any American ships in
February, causing the United States to
continue to hope for peace.
The Zimmermann Note
• During this time, Britain revealed an
intercepted telegram to the government of
Mexico from Germany’s foreign minister,
Arthur Zimmermann.
• In this telegram, known as the
Zimmermann note, Germany offered to
return American lands to Mexico if Mexico
declared war on the United States.
The Zimmermann Note
• Neither Mexico nor President Wilson took
the Zimmermann note seriously, but it
brought America closer to entering the war.
The War Resolution
• When the Russian Revolution replaced
Russia’s autocratic czar with a republican
government in March 1917, the United
States no longer needed to be concerned
about allying itself with an autocratic nation.
• This removed one more stumbling block to
an American declaration of war.
• As Germany continued to sink American
ships in March, President Wilson’s patience
for neutrality wore out.
The Russians Leave
• A second revolution in Russia made things
much harder for the Allies.
• A Communist government was ushered
into Russia and it quickly made a separate
peace with Germany.
• The war in the east ended, and a million
German troops were now available for
combat in the west.
• It was a new war.
The Americans Arrive!
• But, in their darkest hour, the Allies gained a whole
new army!
• On April 6, 1917, the President signed Congress’s
war resolution, officially bringing the United
States into the war.
• The Allies were
ecstatic to have
the Americans
on their side!
Building an Army
• Despite the preparedness movement, the
United States lacked a large and available
military force.
• Congress therefore passed a Selective
Service Act in May 1917, drafting many
young men into the military.
• Draftees, volunteers, and National
Guardsmen made up what was called the
American Expeditionary Force (AEF), led
by General John J. Pershing.
Photo courtesy of www.nwwone.org
• Energetic American soldiers, nicknamed
doughboys, helped replace the tired fighters
of Europe.
Training for War
• New recruits were trained in the weapons
and tactics of the war by American and
British lecturers at new and expanded
training camps around the country.
• Ideally, the Military planned to give new
soldiers several months of training.
• However, the need to send forces to
Europe right away sometimes cut
training time short.
The Convoy System
• To transport troops across the Atlantic,
the United States employed convoys, or
groups of unarmed ships surrounded by
armed naval vessels equipped to track and
destroy submarines.
• Due to the convoy system, German
submarines did not sink a single ship
carrying American troops.
African American Soldiers in
Europe
• Many African
Americans
volunteered or
were drafted
for service.
• However, these
men served in
segregated
units and were
often relegated
to non-combat
roles.
Photo courtesy of www.americanphotoarchive.photoshelter.com
Military Transportation
• New methods of military transportation,
including tanks, airplanes, and German
zeppelins, or floating airships, influenced
the manner in which the war was fought.
• General Pershing’s troops, however, pushed
back the Germans in a series of attacks.
• Finally, the German army was driven to full
retreat in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
begun on September 26, 1918.
• In the face of Allied attacks and domestic
revolutions, the Central Powers collapsed
one by one.
• Austria-Hungary splintered into smaller
nations of ethnic groups, and German
soldiers mutinied, feeling that defeat was
inevitable.
• When the Kaiser of Germany fled to
Holland, a civilian representative of the
new German republic signed an armistice,
or cease-fire, in a French railroad car at
5:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918.
• Although guns fell silent six hours
later, many more deaths were to
follow.
• The influenza epidemic of 1918 killed
more people, both in the United States
and Europe, than all of the wartime
battles.
Results of the War
Dead and The estimated death toll of World War I was 8 million
Wounded soldiers and civilians, including tens of thousands of
Americans. Many more had lost limbs or been blinded
by poison gas. However, the efforts of the Red Cross
and other agencies had helped save many lives.
Loss of
Young
Men
Many sensed that the war had destroyed an
entire generation of young men and grieved
for the loss of their talents and abilities.
Genocide In an act of genocide, or organized killing of an entire
people, the Ottoman Empire had murdered hundreds of
thousands of Armenians suspected of disloyalty to the
government.
The Treaty of Versailles
• In 1919, Lloyd George of England, Orlando
of Italy, Clemenceau of France and
Woodrow Wilson from the U.S. met to
discuss how Germany was going to pay
for the damage
world war one
had caused.
The Treaty of Versailles
• After prolonged discussion, agreement
was eventually reached.
• The Germans were summoned to
Versailles to sign the treaty on the 28th
day of June in 1919.
• The final treaty bore little resemblance
to Wilson's fourteen points:
Wilson had devised a 14 point plan that he
believed would bring stability to Europe:
1. Open Diplomacy - There should be no
secret treaties between nations
2. Freedom of Navigation - Seas will be free
in both peacetime and wartime
3. Free Trade - The barriers to trade between
countries such as custom duties must be
removed
4. Multilateral Disarmament - All countries
must reduce their armed forces/military to
the lowest possible levels
5. Colonies - People in European colonies should
have a say in their own future
6. Russia - Russia should be allowed to operate
whatever government it wants and that
government should be accepted, supported and
welcomed
7. Belgium - Belgium should be evacuated and
restored to the situation before the war
8. France – France should have Alsace-Lorraine
and any other lands that were taken away during
the war, back and restored.
9. Italy - The Italian border should be readjusted
according to nationality
10. National Self -Determination - The
national groups in Europe should, whenever
possible, be given their independence
11. Romania, Montenegro and Serbia - Should
be evacuated and Serbia should have an
outlet to the sea
12. Turkey - The people of Turkey should have
a say in their future
13. Poland - Poland should become an
independent state with an outlet to the sea
14. League of Nations - An assembly of all
nations should be formed to protect world
peace in the future.
• Germany expected a treaty
based on these fourteen points.
• However, negotiations between
the 'big four' Lloyd George of
England, Orlando of Italy, Clemenceau of
France and Woodrow Wilson of America did
not go smoothly.
• Wilson believed that his fourteen points was
the only way to secure everlasting peace.
• The French however, wanted the defeated
nations to be punished severely and believed
that Wilson's plan was way too lenient.
• Privately, Lloyd George
sided with Wilson.
• Still, he was concerned
about the threat from
Communism.
• Plus, the British people,
like Clemenceau of
France, wanted Germany
punished severely.
• Lloyd George knew that
if he sided with Wilson he
would lose the next
election.
Although Germany was not happy with the
Treaty they had little choice but to sign it.
This cartoon clearly shows the situation
Germany was in:
Terms of the Treaty of Versailles
• There were a total of 440 clauses in
the final treaty!
• The first 26 clauses dealt with the
establishment of the League of
Nations.
• The remaining 414 clauses spelled out
Germany's punishment.
General Clauses
The establishment of the League of
Nations
War Guilt clause - Germany had to
officially accept ALL blame for starting
the war.
Financial Clauses
Reparations - Germany
was to pay for ALL
damage caused by the war.
The figure of $6,600
million was set some time
after the signing of the
treaty.
Military Clauses
 Army – Germany’s army was to be reduced to
100,000 men and no tanks were allowed
 Navy - Germany was only allowed 6 ships and
no submarines
 Air force - Germany was not allowed an air
force
 Rhineland - The Rhineland area was to be kept
free of German military personnel and weapons
Territorial Clauses
• Anschluss - Germany was not allowed to unite
with Austria.
• Land - Germany lost land to a number of other
countries:
– Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, Eupen and
Malmedy were given to Belgium, North Schleswig
was given to Denmark.
– Land was also taken from Germany and given to
Czechoslovakia and Poland.
– The League of Nations took control of Germany's
colonies
This map shows the areas (yellow) that
Germany lost following the Treaty of Versailles:
The Other Defeated Nations
• The Treaty of Versailles determined the
punishment that Germany should face.
• Other treaties determined the fate of
those countries that had fought with
Germany - Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria
and Turkey.
• Austria and Hungary were divided and
therefore signed separate treaties
Austria - The Treaty of St
Germain September 10th, 1919
• Land - Austria lost land to Italy, Czechoslovakia
and Serbia (Yugoslavia).
• Army - To be reduced to 30,000 men.
• Anschluss - Union with Germany was forbidden
• Reparations - Austria was to pay reparations but
went bankrupt before the rate could be set.
Hungary - The Treaty of Trianon
June 4th, 1920
• Land - Hungary lost land to Austria,
Czechoslovakia, Romania and Serbia (Yugoslavia)
reducing its size substantially.
– Population was reduced from 18.2 million to 7.6
million.
• Army - To be reduced to 35,000 men
• Reparations - Hungary was to pay reparations but
the amount was never set
Bulgaria - The Treaty of Neuilly
November 27th, 1919
• Land - Bulgaria lost land to Greece,
Romania and Serbia (Yugoslavia).
• Reparations - Bulgaria had to pay millions
in reparations
• Army - restrictions were made on the size
of Bulgaria's army
Turkey - The Treaty of Sevres
August 20th, 1920
• Land - Turkey lost land to Greece.
• The League of Nations took control of
Turkey's colonies.