The Road to World War I Chapter 8 Section 1

Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to: 1) Describe the factors which led to World War I

Discussion Question What do you know about World War I?

A. Causes of World War I By 1914, Europe was ripe for war for several reasons: M.A.N.I.A 1) Militarism: the policy of military preparedness and building up of weapons  Countries were amassing weapons in competition w/ each other 2) Alliances  Germany, Ausrtria-Hungary and Italy were called the Triple Alliance  France, Britain, and Russia, formed the Triple Entente  Europeans believed that these alliances created a Balance of Power in which everyone was equal 3)

3) Nationalism- an extreme pride or devotion that people feel for their country or culture 4) Imperialism: Countries in Europe were competing for land and resources across the world

5. Assassination In 1912, Gavrilo Princip, a 19 year old Serbian joined the Black Hand This was a Bosnian terrorist organization The Black Hand heard that Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the ruler of Austria-Hungary was going to visit the Bosnian city of Sarajevo On June 28, 1914, Princip assassinated Francis Ferdinand Due to alliances, most of Europe got dragged into war

A/H declared war on Serbia Russia was determined to help Serbia Czar Nicholas II ordered mobilization of his army -this is the process of assembling troops and supplies for war Germany declared war on Russia on August 1

Germany already had a plan called the Schlieffen Plan -this called for a two front attack in the war -Germany would first defeat Russia’s ally France and then turn to Russia itself

Germany declared war on France on August 3 In order to invade France, Germany passed through Belgium, a neutral country On August 4, Britain declared war on Germany for violating Belgium neutrality Now, all the great powers were at war

: Illusions and Stalemate When war broke out, many Europeans were eager for war Several things made people eager for war: 1)Propaganda- ideas spread to influence public opinion, for or against a cause -stirred up national hatred 2)Everyone believed it would be over in a few weeks

Germany attempted to invade France Germans made it to the Marne River in France and were met by thousands of French troops The war turned into a stalemate as both sides dug into trenches The Western Front had become bogged down in Trench Warfare that kept both sides in virtually the same position for 4 years

The war on the Eastern Front was more mobile Russia attempted to invade Germany but was defeated Germany was able to defeat Serbia and put Russia out of the war

The Great Slaughter Trench Warfare created serious problems Leaders decided that the only way to win was a war of attrition -this is a war based on wearing the other side down by constant attacks and heavy losses At the Battle of Verdun, 700,000 French and Germans were slaughtered

War in the Air By the end of 1915, airplanes appeared on the battlefront for the first time in history Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron) was the best known WWI ace with over 80 kills Germans used Zeppelins to bomb targets, but eventually found out they were easy to destroy

Widening of the War Both sides began to look for new allies to end the stalemate The Ottoman Empire joined Germany’s side in August 1914 A British officer known as Lawrence of Arabia led Arab princes to revolt against the Ottomans

The Entry of the United States U.S. wanted to remain neutral in the war at first Britain’s navy blockaded Germany Germans had submarines called U-Boats Germany reacted with the use of unrestricted submarine warfare -This meant that German U- Boatswould sink any ships, including passenger ships On May 7, 1915 German u- boats sunk the Lusitannia, a British passenger liner -1,100 were killed including 100 Americans -Soon the Germans began to sink American ships -Germans use of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare caused the U.S. joined the war in April, 1917

The Home Front: The Impact of Total War As WWI dragged on, it became a Total War -complete mobilization of resources and people European nations set up planned economies – systems directed by government agencies U.S. President Woodrow Wilson American citizens was a part of the war effort As the war raged on, support and morale dropped Germany used forced to keep their people in line, but many western countries used propaganda Women took over jobs at home while men fought in the war After WWI, women gained the right to vote