World War I: Overview

Vocab Words  Alliance  John Pershing  Nationalism  Selective Service Act  Zimmerman Note  Machine Guns  Militarism  Convoy system  Mobilize  Woodrow Wilson  Trench warfare  Stalemate

State of Europe  _________________  Belief that one should show allegiance to one’s nation above all else  What is a nation?  A group of people identified by similar cultural and ethnic markers  Why does this matter?  Demise of the Ottoman Empire creates new states (countries) that are formed along the lines of the nations (people)  This was a major change because most states included multiple nations  Balkan nations will start World War I on this principle

State of Europe  _________________  The buildup of weapons and armies on a mass level, intended to gain the full support of the government and people  “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire”  Smoke does not appear without cause  Belief that armies are not built up for show but for action  Key factors:  Biggest army – Russia  Biggest navy – Britain  Biggest increase in overall forces and weapons - Germany

State of Europe  “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”  Strange ___________ form  Napoleonic wars terrified Europeans of another war without any recourse to stop the aggressor  Purely for political and military reasons  States formed pacts with each other for support  Large states with multiple nations found trouble in gaining support from all the differing peoples in its borders  Citizens want agreements along cultural lines, not political

Alliances  Triple Alliance  Germany  Austria-Hungary  Italy  Will never fight with other two  Joins Entente powers  Triple Entente  France  Russia  Britain

War Begins  World War I starts in the Balkan Peninsula  Serbia was an independent country  Tried to gain more land where native Serbs lived  Encouraged other nations, such as Bosnia, to attempt independence  Unrest in Austria-Hungary  Serbia and A-H were not on good terms  Serbia encouraged Bosnia to break away (many native Serbs lived in Bosnia)  A-H tried to calm the situation by sending Archduke Franz Ferdinand to take attention away from the agitated situation  Rebel group banded together and assassinated the Archduke

War Begins  Alliances make regional conflict international  A-H demands an investigation of the death and cooperation from Serbia  Serbia refuses  A-H declares war on Serbia  Russia declares war on A-H (needed Serbia as a port to the Mediterranean)  Germany back A-H and declared war on Russia  France then declared war on Germany (think alliance agreement)  Germany declared war on Belgium (part of the war strategy)  Britain declares war on Germany to support France and Belgium  Ottoman Empire declares war on Russia to try and regain Serbia

War Begins  Summer of 1914, each belligerent ___________ its armies  Germany quickly moved towards Paris via Belgium  Battle of Marne  Entente forces stop German assault 30 miles from Paris  War strategy failure: weapons are more advanced than strategy  New weapons forced an “on the fly” plan to fight using ______ _____

Life In the Trenches  “Whilst asleep during the night, we were frequently awakened by rats running over us. When this happened too often for my liking, I would lie on my back and wait for a rat to linger on my legs; then violently heave my legs upwards, throwing the rat into the air. Occasionally, I would hear a grunt when the rat landed on a fellow victim.” (R L Venables)  “The water in the trenches through which we waded was alive with a multitude of swimming frogs. Red slugs crawled up the side of the trenches and strange beetles with dangerous looking horns wriggled along dry ledges and invaded the dugouts, in search of the lice that infested them.” (unknown journalist)

Effects of the Trenches  “If you have never had trench foot described to you, I will explain. Your feet swell to two to three times their normal size and go completely dead. You can stick a bayonet into them and not feel a thing. If you are lucky enough not to lose your feet and the swelling starts to go down, it is then that the most indescribable agony begins. I have heard men cry and scream with pain and many have had to have their feet and legs amputated. I was one of the lucky ones, but one more day in that trench and it may have been too late.” (Harry Roberts)

War Begins  Most fighting was done on the Western Front  Focused on western France and Belgium  World War II will take place in some of the same areas  Trench warfare created a __________, in which neither side hardly moved  New Weapons  Britain introduces the tank  Germany begins use of the submarine  Airplanes are used but very rudimentary  See the movie “Flyboys”  Mustard gas and other gasses for the trenches  __________ _______ - revolutionary automatic weapon

Early American Opinions and Actions  President _________ ________ vows to remain out of the war  1916 slogan – “He kept us out of the war”  Most Americans are anti-American involvement  Isolationists – believe America should have no role at all in the war  Interventionists – American should join in the war and help friends  Internationlists – believe American should have a role of negotiator but not join without cause   US is involved with Mexican Revolution  General ______ ________ used Mexico as a training ground for many Americans that fought in World War I

Early American Opinions and Actions  Relations with Europe  US stills sells noncontraband goods to most of Europe  Food, medical supplies, nonmilitary items  US still sold contraband items to Britain and France  Weapons and other articles for war  Germany will declare all items contraband and attempt to seize any ship  Germany attacks the Lusitania on May 7, 1915  This attack nearly pulls the US in World War I  Admits mistake, apologizes, promises no further attacks  US remains out of the war but seething

Early American Opinions and Actions  In order to protect American merchants ships, the ______ _______ was developed

America Enters World War I  Shortages force Germany action  Unable to break the British blockade, Germany attacks more American ships  Proposed alliance  The ___________ ____________ was sent from Germany to Mexico  This note promised German assistance to Mexico to regain Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona from the US  Shock over the telegram and attacks force action  Most of the public now wants to enter the war  President Wilson asks for a declaration of war  Congress agrees and grants request on April 6, 1917  This is the official day the US enters the war

America Enters the War  Congress immediately passes the ________ ________ ____  This law requires all men upon the age of 18 to register with the government  In times of war, when a draft is necessary, this system is used to raise an army  June 1917 – Over 9 million men register  July  Draft held  2.8 million American men drafted to fight

America Enters the War  Troops arrive in June 1917 in France  Most American men arrive in early 1918  Nicknamed “doughboys” by the Entente powers  After Mexican wars of 1848 and 1916 when chalky dust made the uniforms look white and soft, like dough  African Americans serve as soldiers  Hardly in combat  Treated better in France than US, demand reforms of treatment  War ends on 11/11/18

End  In preparation for next class, consider the following questions:  How does war change society?  How does war change the economy?  What should the outcome of war be?