Chapter 13 The Great War

Section 1 The Stage is Set for War

Causes of WWI Rise of Nationalism Caused a rivalry among Europe’s great powers Competition for materials and markets Territorial disputes

Causes of WWI Imperialism Quest for colonies pushed nations on the brink of war Competed for overseas empires Sense of rivalry and distrust deepened

Causes of WWI Militarism Increase of an European arms race Needed a powerful military Large standing armies Militarism: glorifying military and keeping an army prepared for war

Causes of WWI Alliances Bismark formed the Dual Alliance Between Germany and Austria-Hungary Italy later joined Triple Alliance Bismark also made a treaty with Russia

Causes of WWI Kaiser Wilhelm II forced Bismark to resign Did not want to share power Let Germany’s treaty with Russia lapse Russia responded by forming an alliance with France

Causes of WWI Wilhelm began a large ship building program Wanted to equal the British fleet Great Britain formed an entente with France

    Triple Alliance, 1914.     Triple Entente, 1914.

Crisis in the Balkans Powder Keg of Europe Freed themselves from the Ottoman Empire Formed the nations of Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia

Crisis in the Balkans Nationalism was powerful in this area Each group wanted to extend its borders Serbia hoped to absorb all of the Slavs on the Balkan Peninsula

Crisis in the Balkans Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina Both areas with large Slavic population Serbian leaders were outraged

A Shot Rings Throughout Europe Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were visiting Sarajevo (the capital of Bosnia) Shot by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand Secret society committed to riding Bosnia of Austrian rule

Franz Ferdinand and Sophie                                              

Franz Ferdinand and Sophie

Gavrilo Princip

A Shot Rings Throughout Europe Austria used the murders as an excuse to punish Serbia Presented them with an ultimatum Refusing the ultimatum would lead to war

A Shot Rings Throughout Europe Serbian leaders agreed to most of the demands Offered to have other settled by an international conference Austria did not want to negotiate July 28, 1914 – Austria declares war on Serbia

A Shot Rings Throughout Europe Russia was an ally of Serbia Russian leaders moved troops toward the Austrian border Other nations urged Austria and Russia to negotiate It was too late

Section 2 War Consumes Europe

The Great War Begins Russia sent troops to the Austrian border Russia expected Germany to join the war because Germany was allied with Austria Russia also sent troops toward the German border

The Great War Begins Russia’s mobilization toward Germany was considered a declaration of war August 1, 1914 – Germany declares war on Russia Two days later, Germany declared war on France Great Britain then declared war on Germany

Nations Take Sides Central Powers: Germany, Austria Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Allies: Great Britain, France, Russia, Japan, Italy

World War I Europe

Stalemate War turned into a long and bloody deadlock Western Front: region in northern France where the fighting was occurring

The Western Front

Schlieffen Plan German battle strategy Called for attacking France in the west and then fighting Russia in the east Needed a quick victory in France

Schlieffen Plan

Schlieffen Plan Battle of Marne was won by the Allies Single most important event of the war Ruined the Schlieffen Plan Germany would have to fight on two fronts

War in the Trenches Trench warfare: miles of parallel trenches to protect themselves from enemy fire Fought each other from the trenches

War in the Trenches Life in the trenches was misery Swarmed with rats Fresh food was nonexistent Sleep was nearly impossible Western Front stretched 500 miles

Life in the Trenches

Life in the Trenches

Life in the Trenches

Life in the Trenches

New Weapons of War Machine gun Poison gas Armored Tank Large artillery Killed greater numbers of people more effectively

World War I Machine Gun

British Victims of Poison Gas

Early Gas Mask

Armored Tank

Battle on the Eastern Front Stretch of battlefield along the German and French border Russians and Serbs fought Germans and Austro-Hungarians

The Eastern Front

Russia Struggles By 1916, Russia’s effort was near collapse Russia had yet fully industrialized Army was short of food, clothes, boots and blankets Allied supply shipments were limited

Russia Struggles Russia’s only asset was it numbers Suffered enormous numbers of battles losses Could use enormous population to regroup

Section 3 War Affects the World

The Gallipoli Campaign The Allies wanted to secure a region of the Ottoman Empire The Dardanelle By securing this area, the Allies could take Constantinople, defeat the Turks, and establish a supply line to Russia

The Gallipoli Campaign Campaign began in February 1915 Turned into another stalemate Allies gave up the campaign and began to evacuate Suffered 250,000 casualties

Battles in Asia and Africa Germany’s colonial possessions came under assault Japanese troops invaded China English and French invaded Africa British and French recruited subjects in their colonies to fight

America Joins the Fight Germans announced a policy called unrestricted submarine warfare Would sink without warning any ship around Great Britain

America Joins the Fight Sunk the British passenger ship, The Lusitania Killed 128 American citizens President Wilson sent a protest to Germany Germany had agreed to not attack neutral and passenger ships (Sussex Pledge)

America Joins the Fight Returned to unrestricted submarine warfare in 1917 Knew it might lead to war with the U.S. Germany sank three American ships

America Joins the Fight Intercepted telegram from Arthur Zimmerman, German foreign secretary Germany would help Mexico gain the land it has lost to the U.S. if Mexico would ally with Germany

America Joins the Fight The Zimmerman note was the last straw President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany U.S. joined the Allies

War Affects the Home Front WWI was a total war Countries devoted all their resources to the war effort Government took control of the economy Told factories what to produce

War Affects the Home Front All able bodies people were put to work Goods were in short supply Rationing: people could buy only a small amount of those items needed for the war effort

War Affects the Home Front Suppressed anti war activity Used propaganda: one sided information designed to persuade or keep up moral and support for the war (Propaganda SlideShow)

Women and the War Thousands of women replaced men in the factories, offices and shops Built tanks and ammunition Plowed fields, paved streets Kept the troops well supplied

Russia Withdraws March 1917, Czar Nicholas is forced to resign Replaced by a provisional government Pledged to continue fighting in the war

Russia Withdraws November 1917 – Lenin seizes power in Russia Insists on ending Russia’s involvement in the war Signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ends the war between Russia and Germany

The Central Powers Collapse Germany could now concentrate on the Western Front Mounted a massive attack and victory seemed within reach The Allies launch a counterattack The Allies began heading toward Germany

The Central Powers Collapse Bulgarians and the Turks surrendered Revolution occurred in Austria Hungary The German soldiers mutinied, and the public turned on the Kaiser

The Central Powers Collapse November 9, 1918 – Kaiser Wilhelm II stepped down Germany declared itself a republic Signed an armistice: an agreement to stop fighting November 11, WWI ends

Legacy of the war New kind of war War on a global scale 8.5 million soldiers died 21 million were wounded Countless civilians dead

Legacy of the war Devastating economic impact Trained the treasuries of countries War cost $338 billion Destroyed land, villages and towns

Section 4 A Flawed Peace

Allies Meet and Debate January 1919, a conference to establish the terms of peace began at Versailles The major decisions were made by the Big Four – U.S., Great Britain, France and Italy Germany and Russia were not invited

Wilson’s Peace Plan President Wilson drew up a series of peace proposals Fourteen Points Outlined a plan for just and lasting peace

Points 1-5 End of secret treaties Freedom of the seas Free trade Reduced armies and navies Adjustment of colonial claims

Points 6-13 Specific suggestions for changing borders and creating new nations Self determination: allowing people to decide for themselves under what government they wished to live

14th Point Proposed a general association of nations Would protect great and small states alike Could peacefully negotiate solutions to world conflicts

The Versailles Treaty Between Germany and the Allied nations Signed June 28, 1919 Created a League of Nations International association whose goal would be to keep peace among nations

The Versailles Treaty Treaty also punished Germany Lost substantial territory Restrictions placed on military Article 231: War guilt clause Germany is solely responsible Pay reparations to the Allies

Other Treaties Western powers signed separate treaties with Austria Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria Led to huge land losses Several new countries were formed

Russia after the war Suffered land losses Romania and Poland gained Russian territory Many new independent nations formed

A Peace Built on Quicksand Treaty did little to build lasting peace U.S. rejected the treaty Many Americans objected to the League of Nations Wanted to stay out of European affairs

A Peace Built on Quicksand Left a legacy of bitterness in the German people Other countries felt cheated with the peace settlement Colonized people were angry with the disregard of the independence

A Peace Built on Quicksand Some Allies were bitter as well Italy and Japan both gained less land than they had wanted The League of Nations was in no position to take action on any of these complaints