1. The First World War
Chapter 11

2. Why do we study WWI?
What are the benefits of belonging to an international alliance?
What are the draw backs of belonging to an international alliance?
Is it right for America to intervene in foreign conflicts?
Where American lives are threatened how should the government respond?
Should America go to war to make the world “safe for democracy?

3. Objectives for The First World War section 1: World War I Begins
Identify the long term causes and the immediate circumstances that led to WW I
Describe the first two years of the war
Summarize U.S. public opinion about the war
Explain why the U.S. entered the war

4. Bell Ringer:
Historians generally cite 4 long-term causes of World War I.
In groups of four, discuss within in your group and come up with what you think the causes were.
Take 5 minutes to come up with your answers on paper provided and create a T-chart

5. The answers are:
Nationalism
Imperialism
Militarism
Alliance System

6. World War I Begins section 1
Causes of World War I
1. Nationalism- a devotion to the interests and culture of one’s nation
-led to a competitive and antagonistic rivalries among nations (Germany growing power in Europe)
-numerous ethnic groups resenting domination
-ethnic groups wanted their nations to be independent
-ethnic groups looking to larger nations for protection
-Russia protector of European Slavic people
-Serbia (located in the Balkan’s) is an independent country
-Serbian’s are Slavic but many living under rule of Austria-Hungary
-Russia and Austria-Hungary rivals for influence over Serbia

10. Examine the map (p. 375) and look at the borders of the European countries and explain why France and Russia might have felt threatened by the nations known as the central powers (central powers Germany, Austria-Hungry, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire)
Discuss within your groups .

11. Russia and France shared their borders with the Central Powers
and are cut off and divided from one another.

12. Causes of World War I (cont)
2. Imperialism- policy in which a stronger nation extends their economic, political, or military control over a weaker nation
-For centuries European nations had been building empires
-Extended economic and political control
-These colonies supplied raw materials and provided markets for manufactured goods
-Germany’s growing influence and becoming industrialized lead to competition with France and Britain

13. How did nationalism and imperialism lead to conflict in Europe?

14. Answer: Nationalism and imperialism encouraged each
European nation to pursue its own interests and compete for power. Also, it helped nations open new markets and supplied raw materials

15. 3. Militarism- the development of armed forces and their use as a tool of diplomacy.
-Empires are expensive build and maintain
-Growth of Nationalism and Imperialism led to an increase in military spending
-1890’s Germany was the strongest nation in Europe,
set up an army reserve system along with a draft and training
-Britain had the strongest navy at the time
-Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and the U.S. all competed with one another in a naval arms race

16. 4. Alliance System- in 1907 there were 2 major defense alliances in Europe (alliance: formal agreement or union between nations)
Allies- France, Britain, U.S, Japan and Russia (at the height of the war 18 countries involved with the allies)
Central Powers- Austria-Hungry, Bulgaria, Germany, Ottoman Empire (empire of mostly Middle Eastern lands controlled by the Turks)

17. Review What where the 4 long-term causes of World War I?
Who where the Allies?
Who where the Central Powers?

18. Nationalism, Imperialism, Militarism, Alliance System
France, Britain, Russia, U.S, and Japan (at the height of the war 18 countries involved with the allies)
Austria-Hungry, Bulgaria, Germany, Ottoman Empire

19. 1) What was the Balkan Peninsula known as?
2) What leading European countries had interests in the Balkans?
3) What event ignited the war?

20. 1. The Balkan Peninsula was known as “the powder keg of Europe”.
2. -Russia wanted access to the Mediterranean Sea
-Germany wanted a rail link to the Ottoman--Empire.
-Austria-Hungry accused Serbia of ignoring its rule over Bosnia (took control of Bosnia in 1878)
3. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

21. An Assassination Leads to War
Archduke Franz Ferdinand- heir to the Austrian throne is assassinated in Bosnian capital of Sarajevo
Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip shot both Ferdinand and his wife
Princip was a member of the nationalist group the “Black Hand”

22. The assassination touched off a diplomatic crisis:
July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungry declares war on Serbia (supposed to be a quick little war)
Aug. 1 Germany obligated by treaty to support Austria-Hungry declares war on Russia
Aug. 3 Germany declared war on Russia’s ally France
Germany invades Belgium
Britain then declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungry
The Great War Begins

23. When Germany invaded Belgium in August of 1914 what strategy did they use or what plan?

24. The Fighting Starts Germany used the Schlieffen Plan
Take the war to Russia
Have a quick drive through Belgium to Paris
Have France fall and combine the two German armies to defeat Russia

25. Trench Warfare
Allies fail to save Belgium and retreat to the Marne River in France
Allies halted the German advance in September of 1914 (add to your notes)
By the spring of 1915 both sides (Allies vs Germany) dug in
Trenches stretched from Belgium to the Swiss Alps

26. “no man’s land”-barren expanse of mud pockmarked with shell craters and secured by barbed wire, the area that the soldiers crossed when they charged the other side.
The first battle at Somme, lasted 5 months
Casualties for the British on the first day were 60,000 soldiers
Final casualties of the trench ware fare totaled 1.2 million, and only 7 miles of land changed hands
Trench Warfare- military operations in which opposing forces attack and counterattack from systems of fortified ditches rather than on a open battlefield

27. Americans Question Neutrality
1914 Americans divided on whether to enter the war
Divided Loyalties
Pacifists, such as William Jennings Bryan, viewed the war as a capitalist and imperialist struggle between Germany and England
Naturalized U.S. citizens have ties to other countries at war
America has strong economic ties with Allied countries
Allies flooding American manufacturers for war supplies
German Empire thought of as threat to democracy
Germany referred to “as the bully of Europe”

28. Conclusion The main cause of the war was the assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Who first declared war
July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungry declares war on Serbia
The 4 long term causes of the war where
Nationalism, Imperialism, Militarism, Alliance System
What was trench warfare and how many died
military operations in which opposing forces attack and counterattack from systems of fortified ditches rather than on a open battlefield, 1.2 million died (total deaths 22 million)

29. Why did the U.S. begin to favor Britain and France?
Because the U.S. traded extensively with the two countries and Germany was the aggressor.

30. The War Hits Home 1917 American starts to mobilize for war
-ensure Allied repayment of debts to the U.S.
-prevent Germany from threatening U.S. shipping
The British Blockade:
British blockaded the German coast
-prevented weapons, military supplies, and food
1917 Famine in Germany 750, 000 died
Americans angry because Britain threatened freedom of the seas
German’s response makes American’s more angry

31. German U-Boat Response
Germany responds to the British blockade by using U-boats (submarines)
British and Allied ships targets, especially in British waterways
Lusitania- British liner sunk by Germans off the coast of Ireland, 1,198 lives lost including 128 Americans
American public opinion turned sharply against Germany and the Central Powers
Germany agrees not to sink anymore passenger ships, (does repeatedly)
Germany asks for a new agreement to stop as long as Britain lifts the blockade of food and fertilizers

32. How did the German U-boat campaign affect American public opinion?
They angered American’s because they killed innocent Americans and destroyed American property

33. United States Declare War
Wilson re-elected and tries to mediate between warring countries
German Provocation
Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare
Will sink all boats, neutral or hostile, in British water ways on site
Wilson says he will wait for “actual overt acts”
Zimmermann Note- message sent in 1917 by German foreign minister to German ambassador in Mexico, proposed a German-Mexican alliance, promises to help Mexico regain Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, if U.S. enters WW I. (intercepted by British agent)

34. German Provocation (cont)
Sinking of four unarmed American merchant ships
Oppressive Russian monarchy replaced with a representative government
“War of democracies against brutal monarchies”
America Acts
April 2, 1917 Wilson delivers his War Resolution
Congress passes Wilson’s War Resolution
Pres. Wilson believed U.S. needed to pave the way for a future order of Peace and Freedom

35. Why did the Zimmermann Note alarm the U.S. government?
There was the possibility that the war would spread to the America’s

36. Jeannette Rankin
Answer the following questions on the article in your groups:
Rankin said denying women the right to vote was taxation with out representation. Was this a valid claim? Why or Why not?
Which vote-1917 or do you think was more difficult for Rankin? Explain why?
Review Rankin’s stands against U.S. involvement in war over the decades. Do they seem responsible or irresponsible? Defend your choice either way.

37. American Power Tips the Balance Section 2
America Mobilizes
Even with an upcoming entry into WWI, the U.S. is unprepared
Severely undermanned and inadequate officers with out fighting experience
Raising an Army
To raise the numbers in the armed forces Congress passed the Selective Service Act of required men to register with the government in order to be randomly selected for military service
By the end of million men had registered
3 million were actually called to service
400, 000 African Americans served in segregated units
Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts received the “cross of war” the first Americans to receive the award (from the all black 369th infantry regiment)
Women joined as nurses, but denied army rank, pay, benefits

38. Mass Production
4 ways steps the U.S. took to expand its naval fleet
Gov. exempted shipyard workers from the draft
U.S. Chamber of Commerce created a public relations campaign to emphasize the importance of shipyard work
Shipyards used fabrication techniques (similar to Ford’s assembly line)
Gov. took over private and commercial ships and converted them for transatlantic war use

39. How did the U.S. raise an army so quickly for the war?
How did the U.S. expand its navy so quickly?

40. Congress passed the Selective Service Act, requiring 24 million men to register
Gov. exempted shipyard workers from the draft
U.S. Chamber of Commerce created a public relations campaign to emphasize the importance of shipyard work
Shipyards used fabrication techniques (similar to Ford’s assembly line)
Gov. took over private and commercial ships and converted them for transatlantic war use

41. America Turns the Tide
German U-boats still attacking merchant ships in the Atlantic and a serious threat to the Allied War effort
To combat this danger, of German U-boats, the U.S. navy used 2 techniques
1. Convoy System- a heavy guard of destroyers escorted merchant ships back and forth across the Atlantic
- Cut shipping losses in half
2. U.S. Navy laid a 230-mile barrier of mines across the North Sea from Scotland to Norway
- By 1918 German navy taking heavy losses and unable to staff submarine fleets with trained officers

43. New Weapons
The use of mechanized warfare
Refined and redesigned machine gun
The use of tanks, heavy artillery and helped clear paths for infantry men
The use of airplanes and observation balloons
-by 1918 the British had a bomber fleet of 22,000
The use of poisoned gasses

46. The War Introduces New Hazards
Surrounded by filth, lice, rats, and dysentery-bacterial inflammation of the lining of the large intestine
Sleep deprivation
Trench foot and Trench mouth
Battle Fatigue and Shell Shock- complete emotional breakdown
Severe emotional, physical, and psychological traumas

47. Next slide is graphic, for those with weak stomachs look away

48. Trench Foot

49. American Troops Go on the Offensive
In 1917 Russia pulled out of the WWI
The German army shifted their front from the Eastern to the Western front near France
U.S. involvement helps to stop the German advance, help to secure victories at Chateau-Thierry, Bellau Wood, and the 2nd Battle of the Marne
The tide had turned against the Central Powers and the U.S. went of the offensive
American War Hero
Alvin York was one of America's great war heroes
Originally a conscientious objector- a person who opposes warfare on moral grounds, decided the cause was right and just an
Armed with only a rifle and a revolver York killed 25 Germans and captured 132 prisoners

50. Alvin York in WW I

51. The Collapse of Germany
In November 1918 Austria-Hungary surrendered to the Allies
There was a mutiny in Germany and gained support by German citizens, soldiers and workers and turned into a revolution
Socialist leaders established a German republic
Germany in turmoil, exhausted and beaten agreed to a cease-fire and signed an armistice (a truce) that ended the war

52. What do you think with the numbers of people lost in WW I?

53. The Final Toll
WW I up to that point in History was the deadliest and bloodiest war
Deaths numbered 22 million with half being innocent civilians
20 million were wounded and 10 million displaced or became refugees
The U.S. lost 48,000 men in battle, 62,000 died of disease, and 200,000 were wounded