“It’s better to be a dog in peacetime than a human being in war.” Chinese saying WAR

WWI AND WWII TIMELINES

World War I – The Great War

Key Questions How is the fighting experience during the Great War new and different from before? How were soldiers able to cope with the front? How did the war bring on social changes in the postwar era? What was the major turning point of the war? How did the aftermath of the war lead to WWII?

Timeline World War I 1.Name some of the important battles of the war 2.Identify the different “phases” of the war

Causes of the War Militarism –Countries built up their military Alliances –Secret alliances would drag countries into conflict Imperialism –Countries competed for overseas colonies Nationalism –Desire to demonstrate the strength of each country Assasination of Franz Ferdinand –Heir to the Austrian thrown

The Two Sides Allied Powers –France –Great Britain –Russia Joined later –US –Italy –Japan Allied Powers –France –Great Britain –Russia Joined later –US –Italy –Japan Central Powers –Germany –Austria-Hungary –Ottoman Empire Central Powers –Germany –Austria-Hungary –Ottoman Empire

Map of European Alliances WWI Interactive WWI map in Europe

Stages of the War Stage 1: War of Movement (Aug-Nov 1914) Western Front Germany violates Belgian’s neutral status Germany invades France France fights back: Battle of the Marne Eastern Front Gen Ludendorff & Hindenburg win Battle of Tannenberg against the Russians Aug 1914 In Balkans – Serbs push back Austro-Hungarian troops and free Belgrade Ottoman Empire enters war and joins Central Powers African Front Allied Powers overtake German possessions (Togo, Cameroon)

Stage 2: War of Position ( ) The Western Front Trench Warfare: carnage (hundreds of thousands of deaths to gain 4 km) Battle of Verdun Germans hope to drain the French of their last strength Result: 300,000 deaths & 400,000 wounded from Feb to Dec 1916 French hold their position thanks to Gen. Petain But one of the deadliest battles of the war

Stage 2: War of Position ( ) Battle of the Somme 1 million victims (400,000 casualties) Begun in July 1916 by Brits and French to relieve Verdun Battle of Soissons Rheims failed French offensive April 1917 Results in deserters – quickly reprimanded

Stage 2: War of Position ( ) Other Fronts East: Germans advance 150 km 1916, Russians regain territory Italy joins war – Allied Powers promised territory belonging to Austria- Hungary (population Italian speaking) Bulgaria enters war – Central Powers Allied Powers attack Ottoman Empire, German & Austrian ally, fails to force through the Dardanelles Straits in 1915

Stage 2: War of Position ( ) Blockades and Submarine Warfare Allied powers attempt to squash the Central Powers’ economies (Germany, Austria-Hungary) Blockade of German ports populations suffer from severe rationing Germany responds with unrestricted submarine warfare May 1915, Germany sinks the English ship Lusitania, many Americans on board Germany suspends submarine warfare in May 1916 ( Sussex Pledge ) but starts up again in February 1917 US enters the war – Allied Powers

Stage 3: Victories of the Allies (late ) Return of the War of Movement –US joins the war on April 2, 1917 –Russians sign the Brest-Litovsk Treaty after Bolshevik Revolution –Germany can concentrate on Western Front, hopes to win the war before US army can intervene Spring 1918 – Great German offensives return in Picardy, Flanders, Champagne

US Neutrality and Challenges US sought to remain neutral –Wilson’s Democratic slogan for 1916 election: “he kept us out of war” Lusitania (May 7, 1915) –Passenger ship sunk by Germans, killing nearly 1, 200 individuals including over 100 Americans –Germany claimed the ship had munitions (later determined to be correct) Sussex Pledge –Germany damaged a French ship, the Sussex –Germany promised not to sink merchant ships without providing a warning

US entry into the Great War Unrestricted submarine warfare –Biggest cause for US entrance in the war –Germany would sink all ships, including American Zimmerman Telegram (March 1917) –German proposal for an alliance with Mexico –If Mexico attacked the US, Germany would help Mexico get land back in SW of US

Wilson’s 14 Points Sought to make the world safe for democracy Wilson outlined 14 ideas for post WWI world –No secret alliances, freedom of the seas, etc –Establishment of a League of Nations

Domestic issues during the War Creel Committee –Journalist George Creel helped support the war effort –“4 minute men” gave speeches throughout the US Espionage Act of 1917 –Sought to prevent military operations (including the draft) –Upheld by Schenk vs. US in 1919 Sedition Act of 1918 –Made it illegal to criticize the government –Used to convict Eugene Debbs

Reading Material World War I For February 18, 2014 The Unfinished Nation by Alan Brinkley Chapter 23: America and the Great War pp Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe Part 1 War and International Relations The world in 1914: outbreak of the First World War, pp Questions, p. 16