The Great War World War I

Reasons why World War I is still called the “Great War” 1. It wipes out an entire generation of men. – Germany lost 1,800,000 men – Russia lost 1,700,000 men. – France lost 1,385,000 men. – Austria lost 1,200,000 men. – Great Britain lost 947,000 men.

Reasons why World War I is still called “The Great War” 2. It is a world war, involving nations and their colonies around the globe.

Reasons why WWI is still called “The Great War” 3. The war caused such physical destruction and social dislocation that the people of Europe could not be sure of making enough money to have basic necessities for survival until after WWII.

General Causes of World War I 1. There was no international peace-keeping organization. Although nations accepted some international agreements, such as rules of war, the Red Cross, and an international postal service, nations were a “law unto themselves.” They are sovereign.

General Causes of WWI 2. Nationalism and Ethnic Nationalism Nationalism is devotion/loyalty to one’s country. – Universal public education [schools] and media gave both old and new states the means to make their citizens more homogeneous and patriotic.

Ethnic nationalism is a people’s desire to have their own country and not be ruled by people of a different nationality. Examples: Polish people living in Germany and ruled by Germans wanted an independent country created called Poland. Czech people living in Austria-Hungary and ruled by Austrians wanted an independent country called Czechoslovakia.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire The kingdom of Austria-Hungary contained Germans, Hungarians, Croats, Serbs, Romanians, South Slavs, Slovaks, Slovenes and Poles. Germans were the dominant group in Austria, but Germans made up only about 1/4 th of the population. A 2 nd major ethnic group were the Czechs. A 3 rd group were the Magyars who dominated Hungary, but they were not a majority. Each minority group wanted its own country.

Austria-Hungary In 1908 in violation of a treaty, Austria- Hungary annexed [took over] Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Ottoman Empire Earlier, the Ottoman Empire had extended into Europe and contained Greeks, Albanians, Bulgarians, and Romanians. These minority groups broke away and became independent countries.

Empire nations like Germany and Austria- Hungary want to crush ethnic nationalism to prevent the disintegration of their empires. If areas break away and become free, the empire nation will grow smaller and weaker.

Ethnic Nationalism is the Spark That Ignites WWI The assassination of the future ruler of Austria-Hungary by a member of a terrorist group devoted to freedom for Bosnia will start the First World War.

General Causes of WWI 3. Imperialism Imperialism is when a strong nation exercises economic, political and military control over weaker nations. Weaker nations become colonies. Strong nations compete to extend their control over weaker nations and sometimes the competition led to war.

Empires Great Britain was the largest empire nation with an empire 140 times its own size. France was the second largest empire nation. Germany was the third largest. Other nations, including the United States, wanted to expand their economic, military and political control around the world.

General Causes of World War I 4. Alliances-The Triple Alliance vs. The Triple Entente -In 1882, Italy, Germany, and Austria-Hungary created the Triple Alliance. The Triple Alliance was aimed against France. The Triple Alliance will be the basis of the Central Powers.

Alliances, continued The Triple Entente Russia made a military alliance with France in 1894 because each feared Germany. France and Britain signed an Entente Cordiale in These agreements became the basis of the Triple Entente. The Triple Entente will be the basis of the Allies in WWI. Russia is an ally of Serbia.

General Causes of WWI 5. Militarism Nations drew up elaborate war plans against likely enemies. – The famous Schlieffen Plan is the most famous plan. This is Germany’s war plan. It was their plan to fight a two-front war—to fight Russia and France at the same time. – The French plan was known as XVII. – In an industrialized society, existing war plans had to be followed.

Militarism, continued In 1914, nations boasted armies and navies that were unparalleled in history. – Britain, a naval power, had an army of 975,000. – Germany’s army had 4,500,000. – Russia’s army had 5,971,000. – France’s army had 4,017,000.

Militarism, continued New weapons were developed and nations raced to have more weapons—more ships, more machine guns, etc. Governments increased their spending on their military.

Government Spending Nation Britain$3.54 per capita $8.23 per capita Germany$1.28 per capita $8.23 per capita France$2.92 per capita $7.07 per capita As nations spend more and more of their budget on their military, the military-industrial complex grows more and more important in the nation’s decision-making.