World War I “The Great War” 1914 to 1918 Central Powers vs. Alliance

MAIN Causes of WW I Militarism- Policy of building up strong armed forces to prepare for war (Competition between different countries) Imperialism- A policy in which one nation takes control of the economic or political affairs of another country or region (Nation’s competed for power, which led to wars (ex: Spanish American War) Nationalism: Pride in one’s country and unity (mistrust and hatred towards other countries) Alliances- Agreements or promises to defend and help another country (A crisis involving one member could affect all of the nation’s allies)

Short Term or Immediate Causes June 1914: Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie by a Serbian nationalist (Gavrilo Princip) Tensions in the Balkan peninsula

Alliances Central Powers Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire (Turkey) Bulgaria Allies Great Britain France Russia (1917) exited war U.S. (1917) entered war

*Allies (pink) *Central Powers (yellow)

The Start of the War July 28th - Austria-Hungary invades Serbia - July 31st - Russia mobilizes to aid Serbia - Aug 1st - Germany declares war on Russia - Aug 3rd - Germany declares war on France - Aug 4th - Britain declares war on Germany - Aug 6th - Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia - Aug 13th - Japan declares war on Germany

Germany’s Plan What kind of war did Germany not want? - A two front war (West - France & East - Russia) What was the solution? - The Schlieffen Plan How well did this plan work? What happened? - Trench warfare (fighting across “no mans land” What new weapons did soldiers encounter? What was the United States position? Why? What seemed inevitable? Why?

What caused the USA to enter WWI? 1. Cultural Ties: Few Americans were neutral. Some favored the Central powers (German-Americans). Most favored the Allies. America had long standing cultural ties with Britain and France. 2. Economic Ties: American trade to the Allies increased during the war. American business and agriculture benefited. The US also financed over $ 2 Billion in loans to the allies. Most Americans did not believe trade or loans violated American neutrality. President Wilson in 1916 was in favor of the allies. In his election campaign he advertised the slogan “he kept us out of the war.”

3. Propaganda: Allies conducted effective propaganda campaigns in the United States. They pictured the war as one of civilized democratic nations verse the barbaric monarch of Germany.

4. German Submarine Warfare: Germany used a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare and attempted to block any ship that was an ally or was helping the Allies. The Lusitania was a British ship that sailed from Great Britain to New York…this ship was sunk by Germany. The ship carried close to 200 American civilians. This upset the U.S. government because at the time the U.S. was neutral.

What caused the USA to enter WWI? 5. Zimmerman Note (telegram): A telegram sent from Germany to Mexico inviting Mexico to join Germany…if the Central Powers win, Germany promised to get Texas, New Mexico and Arizona back to Mexico.

6. Russian Revolution: Russians overthrew the Czar, so it appeared to the United States that if they joined the war they would be joining an alliance of democratic nations