World War I Chapter 26

Section 1 The Great War Begins

I. War Breaks Out The Cause Place: Sarajevo (Austria-Hungary) People: Franz Ferdinand – archduke of Austria-Hungary (Heir to the throne) Gavrilo Princip – member of a secret nationalist group called the Black Hand Problem: Princip kills Ferdinand in broad daylight Why?: The Black Hand wanted Serbs to be ruled by Serbia, not Austria-Hungary.

The Impact Austria-Hungary made a series of humiliating demands for Serbia, then declared war on July 28, 1914. Dominos: Russia - promised to support Serbia if Austria-Hungary attacked. Germany – Austria-Hungary’s ally; Italy – Germany’s ally. (Central Powers) France - saw German action as threat on Russia England – France’s ally, jumps in to help France, Russia, and Serbia. (Allied Powers)

Fighting Begins Germany faces war on two Fronts: 1) Russia in the East 2) France in the West Schlieffen Plan – called for German troops to quickly defeat France in west and then head east to fight Russia.

II. A New Kind of War The WWI Battlefield Trench Warfare Miserable – deep puddles of thick mud; removing dead bodies from trenches/ surrounding area was impossible; lice, rats, other creatures were always present. “over the top” – ordered to jump out and sprint across no man’s land, area between opposing trenches. Thousands of soldiers, both sides, died in no man’s land, bodies left where they fell.

New Weapons Rapid-fire machine guns High-explosive shells Poison Gas – different types of gas could blind, choke, or burn the victims. Value limited: change in wind direction could blow gas back toward troops who used it Both sides developed gas masks – provided protection Rapid-fire machine guns Could fire hundreds of bullets each minute – used to defend trenches High-explosive shells Enormous destructive power

Tanks and Aircraft Aircraft – Flying machine with propellers. Tanks – armored vehicles that could cross rough battlefield terrain Pioneered by Germany and British Would not make a contribution until late in the war Aircraft – Flying machine with propellers. Start of the war they were used to observe enemy positions. By end of the war they had machine guns attached and pilots began to drop bombs

III. The War Ends The United States enters the War Reasons: German U-boats sank the British ship, Lusitania, killing 1200 people, 120 Americans. Zimmerman Note – Mexico and Central Powers proposed alliance Selective Service Act – authorized a military draft – required to serve until after war was over The Treaty of Versailles Contained a war-guilt clause forced Germany to take responsibly for WWI Germany had to limit size of military Germany had to return conquered lands to France and Russia Germany had to pay damages – $33 Billion

Wilson’s 14 Points Blueprint for lasting peace in Europe after World War I. Central Powers – reduce weapons National groups in Europe would have rights to form own governments. World Association to keep peace League of Nations Countries would talk out problems Weakness was that L.o.N. had no army

Facts about the War Called “The Great War” or “War to End All Wars” Involved 31 countries, 65 million soldiers 9 million soldiers were killed in battle 21.2 million soldiers were wounded 13 million civilians died First war to use trench warfare heavily The war cost the world’s nations $332 Billion