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World War One
“The War to End all Wars”
Long-Term Causes
• Imperialism – Euro rivals for control of colonies
around the world
– Panther incident in Morocco (GB, FR, Ger)
– Russo-Japanese War (RUS, JAP)
• Nationalism – Intense patriotism
– Euros each claimed to be the best
• GB & GER locked in increasing rivalry
• Militarism – an international arms race
– GB & GER at forefront of this dangerous rivalry
• Alliance System – mutual protection
agreements among nations
The Pre-War Alliances
The Triple Alliance
Formed 1882
The Triple Entente
Formed 1907
•Germany
•Great Britain
•Austria-Hungary
•France
•Italy
•Russia
The Powder Keg & the Spark
• Territorial disputes led to friction in Balkans
– Dispute between Austria-Hungary & Serbia over
control of Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Region an unstable mix of independent
states won from the Ottoman Empire
• Austria-Hungary & Russia main rivals for
control of the Balkans
– Russians supported Serbian claim to Bosnia
– Russia considered the main Slavic power
• Assassination of Austrian Arch Duke Francis
Ferdinand (6/28/14) while visiting Sarajevo
sparks the War
Descent to War
• Black Hand - Serbian Nationalist group
responsible for assassination
– Gavrilo Princip the assassin
• Austria-Hungary threatens war w/ Serbia
– Consults w/ Germany – given “Blank Check” by
Kaiser William II
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Austria declares war on Serbia 7/28/1914
Russians mobilize to come to Serbia’s aid 7/30
8/1 – Ger declares war on Russia
8/3 – Ger declares war on France
8/4 – Ger invasion of Belgium leads GB to
declare war against Ger
The Royal Families of Europe
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Windsor – GB – George V
Hohenzollern – Ger – Kaiser Wilhelm II
Habsburg – Aust-Hung – Franz Joseph
Romanov – Russia – Nicholas II
– All but France and Switzerland were
monarchies
Why did these powers go to war?
• Attempts were made to keep peace
– Geneva Convention (1863-64) – international
meeting to create rules for “civilized war”
– Olympic Games revived (1896) to promote
friendship among nations
• Organized by Baron Pierre de Coubertain (FR)
• But countries were heavily armed & had
scores to settle
– Many looking to get it on & over with
The Schlieffen Plan
• Germans plan to invade
France through neutral
Belgium
• Plan: knock out FR before
RUS fully mobilizes
• Unexpected resistance by
BEL delays Germans
• Fighting bogs down at
Marne River outside Paris
• RUS attacks GER at Battle
of Tannenberg – big loss for
RUS but Ger forces split
The Stalemate of Trench Warfare
• After Battle of the Marne, a stalemate
developed on the Western Front
• Both sides dug elaborate trench systems,
eventually running from SWI to Eng. Channel
– Throughout rest of war, battle lines rarely moved
more than a few miles
– Land between trenches called No Man’s Land
• 10/1914 – Ottomans joined Central Powers
– Cut off Russia from allies
• 1915 – Italy joined allies after promises of
land & colonies to be taken from Austria
Gallipoli (4/1915 – 1/1916)
• Allies created 3rd front against Ottomans
– Trying to create alternative to stalemate in France
• Fighting for control of Dardanelle Strait btwn
Med and Black Sea
– Primary supply route for material going to Russia
– Allies attacked Ottomans at Gallipoli Peninsula
• Gallipoli campaign a failure other than
creating a diversion
– British sacrificed Australians & others in suicidal
assaults on heavily defended positions
• Allies were successful in protecting Suez
Canal
The Alliances & the Losses
The Central Powers
(Formerly the Triple Alliance)
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Ottoman
Empire
Bulgaria
The Allies
(Formerly the Triple Entente)
France
Russia
Great
Italy
Japan
The
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Britain
United States
31 Nations involved in one way or another
8.5 million military personnel dead
70% casualty rate for Central Powers
52% for Allies
Germany lost most (1.8 million)
– U.S. lost 126,000
Key Battles
• Battle of Verdun – 1916
– A German offensive
– 700,000 casualties
– Neither side gained any ground when the battle
was over
• Battle of the Somme – 1916
– An Allied offensive
– 500,000 casualties
– First use of tanks in battle
• Battle of Ypres – 1916
– 400,000 casualties
– First use of poison gas
• Trench warfare changed how people viewed
the war – HORROR!
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
• German submarines ravaged allied shipping
– Germans trying to cut supply lines of GB & FR
• Merchant & civilian ships became targets
– Neutral countries not immune to attacks
• Sinking of Lusitania was a dramatic example
– May 7, 1915 – luxury liner sunk by German Uboat off coast of Ireland
– 1198 dead including 128 Americans
• Severely damages U.S./German relations
– A leading factor in U.S. decision to join war
The Eastern Front
• Russians faced Central Powers alone in east
– Helped Western allies because Central Powers armies
were divided
• Russians suffered incredible losses
– Armies poorly trained, equipped, & led
– Germans pushed deep into Russia
• Senseless loss of Russian lives was a contributing
factor leading to the Russian Revolution
• Communists promised to pull Russia out of war (&
did in 1918)
– Treaty of Brest-Litovsk – March 1918
– No more second front
Russian Revolution - 1917
• Social conditions in Russia bad before war
– Extreme hardship of war was the breaking point
• Communists gained greater influence
• Rioting in Feb. 1917 resulted in abdication of
Nicholas II
• Provisional Govt. set up by Alexander
Kerensky – a moderate looking to set up
constitutional govt.
• Kerensky’s willingness to continue fighting
war leads to second revolution by Bolsheviks
– Germans smuggled in Vladimir Lenin from exile
Russian Revolution - 1917
• Bolsheviks appealed to people’s fear of return
of Czar & continuation of war
• Lenin promised “Peace, Land, and Bread”
• By October 1917, Provisional Govt. no longer
had support of the Soviets (elected councils
of workers) in the cities
– Had no loyal troops to support it either
• Bolsheviks took over in a bloodless 2nd revolt
• Lenin followed through on promise to pull out
of war – Allies angry & hoped to get RUS
back into war on their side
Russian Civil War (1918-20)
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Reds (Communists) vs. Whites (anti-Comms)
Whites not united under one leader
Despite help from West – Whites fail
Bolsheviks became Communist Party in 3/18
Anyone who wanted power or influence had
to become a member of the party
• Problem: Russia a mess after WWI & civil war
• Had to find a way to kick-start the economy
• Lenin’s answer – New Economic Plan (NEP)
– Allowed some capitalism to get economy going
Josef Stalin
• Lenin died 1924 – Josef Stalin & Leon Trotsky rivals
as his replacement
– Trotsky father of Red Army
– Stalin head of Communist Party
• Prior to death, Lenin warned of Stalin’s treachery
– Stalin successfully out-manuevered Trotsky
– 1929 – Stalin became undisputed leader
• Trotsky murdered while hiding in Mexico City
• Stalin started 5-Year Plan(s) to rapidly industrialize &
collectivize agriculture
• Mostly successful but those who resisted (millions)
were purged by Stalin
– Purges kill peasants, “Old” Bolsheviks, & Red Army Officers
Revolutionary Russia saw a number of prominent
leaders. During the 1st Russian Revolution of
1917, Alexander Kerensky (top left) emerged as
the leader of the Provisional Govt. He was
overthrown by Vladimir Lenin (top center). Upon
Lenin’s death, a rivalry raged between Josef Stalin
(left), head of the Communist Party, and Leon
Trotsky (top right), head of the Red Army. Stalin
emerged as the new leader of the Soviet Union.
U.S. Entry into the War
• U.S. was isolationist – didn’t want to fight
• Several factors led to U.S. entry
– Unrestricted Submarine warfare
– Desire to ensure payment of loans to Allies
– And…..
• Zimmerman Telegram - GER tried to get Mexico to
attack U.S. & keep U.S. from Eur.
• Americans outraged – Wilson declared war on April
6, 1917
• American Expeditionary Force (AEF) led by General
John Pershing
– U.S. Forces play no significant part until Spring ‘18
The Final Showdown
• With Russia out, Ger focused on West
• Needed knock-out before Americans arrived
• New offensive in 3/18 nearly captured Paris
– Allies held & stalled German advance
– By that time, German army using boys & old men
• U.S. troops arrived w/ 250K fresh men &
equip.
• Started counter offensive in 8/18 under
French General Ferdinand Foch
– Tanks used effectively for 1st time in war
– Drove Germans back to their border
Central Powers Crumbled
• Bulgaria surrendered 9/1918
• Ottomans – 10/1918
• Austrians surrender 11/1918 after a revolution
dethroned Hapsburg ruler
• 11/9/18 – Kaiser William II abdicates
• New German govt. – Weimar Republic
– Weimar reps sign armistice agreement in rail car
in French forest
• Fighting stopped 11 A.M. Nov. 11, 1918
– 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month
Wilson’s Fourteen Points
• Before end of war (1/1918), Pres. Woodrow
Wilson presented 14 proposals for lasting
peace after the war
• Called for “Peace without victory”
– Do not punish losers harshly or they will want
revenge & eventually go to war again
• Brought proposals to Versailles, FR peace
conference
• Wilson looking for peaceful end to war
• Allied leaders more interested in revenge
The Big Four
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Great Britain – David Lloyd George
France – Georges Clemenceau
United States – Woodrow Wilson
Italy – Vittorio Orlando
12 nations took part but Big Four dominated
Russia not invited to Versailles
None of the losers of the war took part in
talks
• Lots of conflicting goals - mostly over territory
Treaty of Versailles
• Very harsh treaty – included only one of
Wilson’s 14 Points
• Point 14 – formation of League of Nations
– A U.N.-like organization meant to bring about
negotiated peace, rather than war
• Clearly meant to punish Germany
• Germany lost 13% of its land and 10% of its
population after borders redrawn
– 50% of Germany’s coal mines given away
– Colonies in Af. & Pacific given to FR, GB, Japan
Treaty of Versailles
• Germany’s military limited by treaty
– 100K soldiers in army
– No troops in Rhineland (border region w/
France)
– Reduced navy (only 24 ships)
– No submarines or air force
• Germany had to accept sole blame for
the war
– Called the “war guilt clause”
• Germany had to pay reparations to the
Allies
– Reparations = compensation for cost of the
war
– Over $31 billion to be paid over 30 years
The War to End All Wars?
• Treaties w/ other Central Powers also harsh
• Ottoman Empire reduced to what is now Turkey
• Austria-Hungary split up
– New countries of Poland & Czechoslovakia formed
– Sudetenland in Czech. contained 3 million Germans
• Austria (now small & mostly German-speaking)
not allowed to unify w/ Germany
– Anschluss – German word for union
• Russia given some land lost to Ger but the rest
used to set up buffer countries (against spread
of communism)
The War to End All Wars?
• Treaty of Versailles signed 6/28/19
– Germany had no choice
• U.S. Congress rejected the treaty –
Wilson failed to win support
• Americans did not want to be a part
of League of Nations
• U.S. returns to isolationism
8.5 million soldiers dead
20 million wounded
5 million civilians dead from
war, famine & disease
Legacy of hatred, intolerance
Economic Cost
War cost $350 billion
Higher taxes & lower
standards of living
Reduced international trade
Rise of Communism
& extreme nationalism
World-wide depression
Social Cost
The Great War
Political Cost
End of 3 dynasties – Hohenzollerns of Germany, Hapsburgs of Austria-Hungary,
Romanovs of Russia
New nations created that contained minority ethnic or linguistic groups
Rise of dictatorships in Russia, Italy, & Germany
League of Nations formed to solve intl. problems and advance world peace but was
weak
U.S. emerged as a leading power but was reluctant to accept international
responsibilities