Download World War I and Russian Revolution

WORLD WAR I AND RUSSIAN
REVOLUTION
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THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR 1
In 1900, Europeans were enjoying greater
peace and prosperity than ever before.
 Despite minor conflicts, Europeans had not
experienced a major war on their continent for
almost a century.
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THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR 1
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By the early 1900s great powers of Europe were
plunging toward war.
up armed forces and
4 Factors fueled this: Militarism • Building
getting ready for war
Militarism:
 Alliances:
 Imperialism:
 Nationalism:
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Alliances
• Agreements or promises to
defend and help another country
Imperialism
• Trying to build up an empire
Nationalism
• Having pride in your country and
being ready to defend it
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THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR 1
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Militarism
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Glorification of armed strength
Occurs when military values and goals take over civilian
society.
Generals became influential in government.
Germany and Britain competed to build the most
powerful navy.
Military planning played a key role in the outbreak
of World War I.
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THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR 1
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Alliance System:
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By 1914, Europe was divided into two large alliances.
One side was Austria-Hungary and Germany.
Italy joined them to form the Triple Alliance in 1882.
The other side was known as the Triple Entente which
consisted of Russia, France, & Great Britain.
Although these alliances sought to preserve the existing
balance of power, any dispute involving any two of these
countries threatened to drag in all the others.
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THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR 1
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Imperialism: When a nation tries to dominate the
political, economic, and cultural affairs of another
region.
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Many European powers believed that the sign of a great
power was possession of overseas colonies.
Competing claims created an atmosphere of tension
between the major powers.
European great powers were competing economic
interests.
By 1900, ¼ of the world was under British rule
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THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR 1
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Nationalism: Love of one’s country
It is also the belief that each ethnic group should have
its own nation.
 Belief that nations should promote their nation’s
interests.
 Nationalists sometimes assert their nation as superior
to others.
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Nationalism threatened to tear Austria-Hungary apart.
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THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR 1
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Unable to achieve reform through moderate means, some
reformers turned to forming secret revolutionary movements.
Demonstrations forced the tsar to create a national
assembly in Russia in 1905.
Reformers in Turkey overthrew the Sultan in 1908.
In Mexico, a revolution overthrew the country’s military
dictator in 1910.
Even in China, nationalism reformers overthrew the emperor
in 1912.
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THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR 1
 New
technologies made warfare
tremendously more destructive than ever
before.
 Imperial governments and the old class
system of Europe were forever shattered.
 The violence of the war prepared the way
for the rise of both communism and
fascism.
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THE FLASHPOINT THAT IGNITES THE WAR
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Balkan “powder keg”: The state of unrest in the Balkans
which allowed the assassination of the heir to the AustroHungarian throne.
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to
the Austrian Empire, was assassinated by a member of a
terrorist group, the Black Hand, a Slav nationalist group.
The Austrians decided to teach Serbia a lesson. AustriaHungary invaded tiny Serbia.
Russia entered the conflict to protect Serbia.
Germany entered the war to fulfill its obligations to protect
Austria.
Britain and France came in to honor their alliance with
Russia.
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FIGHTING THE WAR
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Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria,
and the Ottoman Empire (Triple Entente)
Allied Powers: Great Britain, Russia, and France.
President Woodrow Wilson called upon Americans to take
no sides and to remain neutral.
New type of Soldier the drafted civilian
Propaganda: Ideas, facts, or rumors spread
deliberately to further one’s cause or to damage an
opposing cause.
In the oceans, German submarines, called U-boats,
were used to attack large ships.
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FIGHTING THE WAR
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New and improved weapons were used in fighting the war,
including machine guns, poison gas, submarines, tanks and
airplanes.
Germany used U-boats and poison gases as a weapon
against enemies.
Soldiers dug deep protective trenches
Soldiers spent years in these trenches, facing shelling from
artillery fire for hours each day.
Since neither side could advance, fighting lines became
stationary.
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FIGHTING THE WAR
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Germany launched its main attack on France
 By September 1914 Germany had reached the Marne River
near Paris.
 Paris was saved
Russia helps distract German troops by attacking Prussia.
Battle of Tannenberg: Russia vs. Germany
 Russian Army defeated
 Half its force lost including 90,000 prisoners
In 1915 Britain and France try to capture Constantinople. They
wanted to remove the Ottoman Empire from the war.
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FIGHTING THE WAR
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The British decided to blockade the North Sea to keep merchant
ships from reaching Germany.
The blockade became an attempt to ruin the German economy &
starve the German people.
Germany will also set up a blockade and they will use U-boats to
sink ships carrying food and arms to the British.
May 1915 Lusitania (British passenger liner) was sunk off the
coast of Ireland.
By late 1915 the war became a stalemate on land as well as on sea.
War of Attrition: A slow wearing-down process in which each side
as trying to outlast the other.
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THE U.S. HELPS WIN THE WAR
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America supplied food, raw materials, and weapons to both
sides
Contraband: war materials supplied by a neutral nation to a
belligerent one.
Arthur Zimmermann: In January 1917 he sent a secret telegram to
the German ambassador in Mexico proposing an alliance between
Germany and Mexico.
The British will intercept the telegram and decode it. The
telegram was then published in American newspapers.
USA declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917
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THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
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World War I showed Russia’s economic weakness
Roots of the Revolution:
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The Russian Tsars (emperors) ruled as autocrats (absolute rulers).
Through a network of secret police and strict censorship, new ideas
were repressed.
The vast majority of Russians were illiterate serfs who lived in
poverty.
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The serfs remained bound to the land
Tsar Alexander II decided to listen to reformers and emancipated
(liberated) the serfs in 1861.
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THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION OF 1917
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In 1914, Nicholas II brought Russia into the war against
Austria-Hungary and Germany.
Poorly trained and badly equipped Russian soldiers suffered
disastrous defeats.
In 1917, worker-led food riots broke out in cities all across
Russia.
When soldiers refused to fire on striking workers in March
1917, Nicholas realized he was powerless to govern the nation.
Nicholas gave up his throne, and the leaders of the Duma
declared Russia a republic.
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THE “OCTOBER REVOLUTION” NOVEMBER 1917
Vladimir Lenin was a follower of Karl Marx,
living in exile in Switzerland.
 The Germans sent him back to Russia by
railroad, hoping he would cause unrest in
Russia.
 This would help to end the war on the Eastern
front, allowing Germany to concentrate on
defeating the western allies
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THE “OCTOBER REVOLUTION” NOVEMBER 1917
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Lenin’s supporters, known as the Bolsheviks, promised
“Peace, Bread and Land”; peace to the soldiers, bread to
the workers, and land to the peasants.
The Bolsheviks seized power by force in a second
revolution on November 7, 1917.
In 1918, the Bolsheviks renamed themselves the
Communist Party.
They also changed the name of their to country to the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) or Soviet
Union.
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THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR (1919-1921)
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A civil war broke out between those who supported
Lenin’s program, known as the “Reds” (red army) and
those who wished to return to the rule of the Tsar, known
as the “Whites”. (Mensheviks the moderate group)
Several foreign powers, including the United States,
intervened, sending troops to help the “Whites.”
The Reds defeated the Whites.
This victory secured the position of the new Communist
government.
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THE TERMS OF PEACE
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President Wilson announced America’s war aims in the
Fourteen Points.
 No secret treaties
 Freedom of the seas for all nations
 Removal of all economic barriers, such as tariffs
 Reduction of national armaments
 Adjustment of colonial claims so they are fair to both the
imperialist powers and colonial peoples
 Establishment of a general association of nations (League
of Nations)
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DEFEAT OF THE CENTRAL POWERS
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In May 1918 Germans once again reached the Marne River 37
miles from Paris.
Ferdinand Foch: stopped the Germans at Chateau-Thierry.
In July 1918 Allies began a counter attack
 Bulgaria surrendered in September
 Turks asked for peace
In November 1918 a German delegation signed an armistice,
an agreement to stop fighting.
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November 11, 1918 at 11:00am all fighting would cease
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DEFEAT OF THE CENTRAL POWERS
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Costs of the war were very high
 Left
more than 8.5 million soldiers dead
 21 million more were wounded
 Germany suffered most severely (Lost more than
1.8 million soldiers)
 USA lost 110,000 in battle
 Civilian deaths/injuries were also very high
 Total cost of war was $300 billion
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THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE
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Meet in Versailles in January 1919
4 major Allied powers dominated the conference
 President Woodrow Wilson (USA)
 Prime Minister David Lloyd George (GB)
 French Premier Georges Clemenceau
 Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando
Different views of what the peace treaty should allow.
Took 6 months to come up an agreement
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The Allied powers made separate peace treaties with all five
central powers.
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THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE
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Treaty of Versailles: Treaty signed with Germany
 Dealt very harshly with Germany
 Made Germany admit it was guilty of starting the war.
 Must alone pay reparations: payment for war damages
 Took large chunks of territory from Germany
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New independent Poland was created
Placed restrictions on German government
Created the League of Nations
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THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
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The League of nations purpose was to promote disarmament
and prevent war.
Had no military force of its own it depended on the help of its
member states.
The League consisted of a Council, representing the Great
Powers, and an Assembly in which all member states were
represented.
It also created a new Court of International Justice.
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