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The First World War
WORLD WAR I
JULY 28,1914 – NOVEMBER
11,1918
THIS WAS TO BE THE WAR
TO END ALL WARS…OR
WAS IT?
One is left with the horrible
feeling now that war settles
nothing; that to win a war is as
disastrous as to lose one.
The First World War:
Why did the war begin?
Long term causes
of the war:
1. Alliance system
2. Nationalism
3. Imperialismcompetition for
colonies
Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his Wife Sophie, Duchess of
Hohenberg one hour before their deaths, June 28, 1914
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4. Militarismstockpiling of
Weapons
Short term “spark”Assassination of
Franz Ferdinand of
the AustroHungarian Empire
The First World War:
Who fought in the war?
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Central Powers:
Allies:
Germany
Austria-Hungary
Ottoman Empire
(Turkey)
Bulgaria
Russia
Portugal
North Africa France
Great Britain
Italy
Romania
Serbia
Montenegro
Albania
Greece
United States (1917)
The First World War:
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Where did most of the fighting take place?
TRENCH WARFARE WAS USED IN WWI
In September, 1914, the German commander ordered his men to dig
trenches that would provide them with protection from the advancing
French and British troops. As the Allies soon realized that they could
not break through this line, they also began to dig trenches.
As the Germans were the first to decide where to stand fast and dig,
they had been able to choose the best places to build their trenches.
The possession of the higher ground not only gave the Germans a
tactical advantage, but it also forced the British to live in the worst
conditions. Most of this area was rarely a few feet above sea level. As
soon as soldiers began to dig down they would find water two or three
feet below the surface. Along the whole line, trench life involved a
never-ending struggle against water and mud. Boards were placed at
the bottom of the trenches to protect soldiers from problems such as
trench foot.
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Much of the land where the trenches were dug was either clay or sand.
The trenches became waterlogged when it rained. The trenches were
hard to dig and kept on collapsing in the waterlogged sand. As well as
trenches, the shells from the guns and bombs made big craters in the
ground. The rain filled up the craters and then poured into the
trenches.
NEW WEAPONS WERE USED IN WWI
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Why did it take so long for America to get involved in the
war?
•America was isolationist
•“Why should I get involved in someone else’s
problems”
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Which side should the US pick?
Central Powers:
Allies:
•11 million GermanAmericans
•Irish-Americans hated
Great Britain
•Close cultural ties
•Shared transatlantic
cables (so censored
stories)
•Big business loaned
much $ to allies
US Exports to both sides:
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Nations
Britain
France
Germany
1914
1915
1916
$594,271,863 $911,794,954 $1,526,685,102
$159,818,924 $364,397,170 $628,851,988
$344,794,276 $28,863,354
$288,899
What did it take to get the US involved?
1. Blockades
•Britain blockaded
(stopped) all
German ships
going to America
•Germany
announced a
Y-53 German Submarine 1916
submarine war
around Britain
•In May, 1915 Germany told
Americans to stay off of British
ships
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•They could/would sink them
What did it take to get the US involved?
2. SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
•Lusitania
torpedoed, sinking
with 1200
passengers and
crew (including
128 Americans)
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German Propaganda Justifying Lusitania sinking
•Was eventually
found to be
carrying 4200
cases of
ammunition
What did it take to get the US involved?
•Following the sinking of the
Lusitania, the US sharply
criticized Germany for their
action
•Germany agreed not to sink
passenger ships without
warning in the future
•1917 Germany announced
“unlimited submarine
warfare” in the war zone
Note in Bottle After Lusitania Disaster
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Why? Otherwise their
blockade would not be
successful
What did it take to get the US involved?
3. Zimmerman Telegram
•US intercepted a telegram from Germany to
Mexico,
•It promised Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona back
in return for an alliance
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What did it take to get the US involved?
•Zimmerman
telegram + the sinking
of 4 unarmed ships
led to a declaration of
war
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How was the war looking for the allies before the U.S. entered the
war?
Not Good...
•Russia left the war after its communist revolution in
1917
•Rise of Soviet Union.ppt
•Made it a one front war for Germany - all its troops
could concentrate on France
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Convincing People to Fight…
Propaganda!!
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Convincing the American People
Idealism: Fourteen Points
What? President Wilson’s Plan for
after the war
•Fourteen promises,
including freedom of
the seas & a League
of Nations to work for
peace
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President Woodrow Wilson
What did the US do to help?
Supplies:
•US provided the
food, money,
and fresh troops
needed to win
the war
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American Troops March Through London
How did the War Affect the US?
Women
•Women filled factory jobs
•May have led 19th Ammendment after the war
(Gave women the right to vote)
African Americans
•African American soldiers served in Segregated
Units
•“Great Migration” - thousands of African Americans
moved North to work in factories
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How did the War Affect the US?
Enforcing Loyalty
•Hatred of all things German
•Ex. “Liberty Cabbage”
•Espionage Act 1917 & Sedition Act of 1918
punished those against the war (many labor leaders)
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Final days of WWI:
•Over a four-month period in 1918, the German army launched five major
assaults at different parts of the allied line.
•Initially the plan worked. The British Fifth Army collapsed. The allies gave
ground.
•Within a week the advance had ground to a halt. Soon the elite German
storm troopers were a spent force. The allies now reversed it.
•On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the armistice
went into effect.
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EFFECTS OF WWI
World War I left Europe devastated. The countries that fought in it suffered casualties:
Allied Powers
Britain : 750,000 soldiers killed; 1,500,000 wounded
France : 1,400,000 soldiers killed; 2,500,000 wounded
Belgium : 50,000 soldiers killed
Italy : 600,000 soldiers killed
Russia : 1,700,000 soldiers killed
America : 116,000 soldiers killed
Central Powers
Germany : 2,000,000 soldiers killed
Austria-Hungary : 1,200,000 soldiers killed
Turkey : 325,000 soldiers killed
Bulgaria : 100,000 soldiers killed
The total deaths of all nations who fought in the war is thought to have been 8.5 million with 21
million being wounded
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WWI caused areas of north-eastern Europe to be reduced to rubble.
The homes of 750,000 French people were destroyed.
Roads, coal mines, telegraph poles had all been destroyed and such a loss
greatly hindered the area's ability to function normally.
The victors from World War One were in no mood to be charitable to the
defeated nations and Germany in particular was held responsible for the war
and its consequences.
During mid-1918, Europe was hit by Spanish flu and an estimated 25 million
people died. This added to the feeling of bitterness that ran through Europe
and this anger was primarily directed at Germany.
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The treaty was signed on June 28th 1919 after months of argument
and negotiation amongst the so-called "Big Four" as to what the
treaty should contain.
The "Big Four" were David Lloyd George of Britain, Georges
Clemenceau of France, Vittorio Orlando of Italy and Woodrow
Wilson of America.
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TREATY OF VERSAILLES
The treaty can be divided into a number of sections; territorial, military,
financial and general.
Territorial
Land was taken away from Germany and given to countries of Europe who
fought for the Allied Powers
The League of Nations also took control of Germany's overseas colonies.
Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
(the treaty that was signed when Russia left WWI). Some of this land was
made into new states : Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. Poland also received
some of this land.
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TREATY OF VERSAILLES CONT.
Military
Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was not
allowed tanks, an airforce Germany was only allowed 6 naval
ships and no submarines
The west of the Rhineland and 50 km east of the Rhine River was
made into a demilitarized zone (DMZ). No German soldier or
weapon was allowed into this zone.
The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of
the Rhine for 15 years.
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Financial
The loss of vital industrial territory would be a severe blow to any attempts by Germany to rebuild her
economy. Germany lost access to coal, which was a vital economic loss. Combined with the
financial penalties linked with reparations, Germany was going to be left bankrupt..
Germany was also forbidden to unite with Austria to form one superstate.
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1.
Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war.
2.
2. Germany was responsible for starting the war, therefore responsible for all the war damage
caused by the First World War. Germany had to pay reparations, the bulk of which would go to
France and Belgium to pay for the damage done to the infrastructure of both countries by the
war. Reparations would be used to pay for the damage to be repaired. The figure was
eventually put at £6,600 million - a huge sum of money well beyond Germany’s ability to
pay.
3.
A League of Nations was set up to keep world peace.
WORLD WIDE DEPRESSION FOLLOWING WWI
The Great Depression (also known in the U.K. as the Great Slump) was a dramatic, worldwide economic downturn
beginning in some countries as early as 1928.
The beginning of the Great Depression in the United States is associated with the stock market crash on October
29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday.
The depression had devastating effects in both the industrialized countries and those which exported raw
materials.
International trade declined sharply, as did personal incomes, tax revenues, prices and profits.
Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on industry. Construction was virtually
halted in many countries.
Farming and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by 40 to 60 percent.
Mining and logging areas had perhaps the most striking blow because the demand fell sharply and there were few
employment alternatives.
The Great Depression ended at different times in different countries.
The majority of countries set up relief programs, and most underwent some sort of political change.
Democracy was weakened, as dictators such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Benito Mussolini made major gains,
which helped set the stage for World War II in 1939.
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HOW DID WWI LEAD TO WWII?
Throughout the 1920’s, nearly all parts of the Treaty of
Versailles were carried out. It was after 1933, that there was a
systematic breaking of the terms when the Nazis came to
power.
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POST WWI EUROPE TERMS
1.
Debt: money owed to another person
2.
Depression: a world wide time of reduced business activity and debt
3.
Disrupt: to break the order of something
4.
Economics: study of production and consumption of goods and services
5.
Import: to bring goods into a country
6.
Export: to send goods out of a country
7.
Reparation: compensation for wrong or injury caused
8.
Treaty: a formal agreement between nations
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