WORLD WAR I World War I was a war without parallel - all previous wars were eclipsed by its scale of destruction
Causes of WWI 1. NATIONALISM 2. IMPERIALISM RIVALRIES 3. MILITARISM: 4. ALLIANCES- between
Crisis in the Balkans Europe’s powder keg Serbian nationalism Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina “The Shot Heard Throughout Europe”
Chain Reaction Declaration of war sets off chain reaction Mobilization of troops taken as declaration of war Nations declaring war on nation’s allies
Schlieffen Plan German military plan named after General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen In event of two front war, attack France then Russia Speed vital to plan Neutral Belgium invaded by Germany- brought England into war
SCHLIEFFEN Plan
Stalemate Western Front- northern France First Battle of the Marne Eastern Front- border of Germany and Russia
The New Weapons of War War in the Trenches Miserable, sleep was impossible Poison Gas Machine Gun Tank Airplane Submarine New technology didn’t speed up war, killed millions
Took many forms, varied from sector to sector and from front to front. TRENCH WARFARE
Considered uncivilized prior to WWI Necessitated to overcome stalemate First Use by the French Fired tear-gas grenades (xylyl bromide) against the Germans POISON GAS
Dominated battlefields of WWI Fairly primitive device Machine guns varied; not portable Each weighed between 30kg-60kg range - without mountings, carriages and supplies. MACHINE GUNS
Design can be drawn back to the eighteenth century. TANKS
Old weapon- new life during WWI The Mortar: A Definition A short, stumpy tube designed to fire a projectile at a steep angle so that it falls straight down on the enemy. Ideally suited for trench warfare TRENCH MORTAR
Name probably dates from the French word for pomegranate Dated back to the fifteenth century GRENADES
DEATH TOLL
War Affects the World Began shortly after conflict started Searched for a way to end stalemate Various parts of Asia and Africa under attack (German possessions mostly) US enters the War
War Affects the Home Front Total War Rationing Propaganda Impact of Women on the War
The Allies Win the War Russia withdraws in 1917 Second Battle of the Marne Armistice signed in November 1918
A Flawed Peace Allies Meet at Versailles The Big Four: Wilson (US), Georges Clemenceau (France), David Lloyd George (UK) and Vittorio Orlando (Italy) Wilson’s 14 Points Treaty of Versailles Short-lived peace
Legacy of the War New kind of war Dynasties fall in Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia New countries created League of Nations established Leads to another war??