WORLD WAR I

Lead up to War This video clip shows some of the reasons why World War I occurred. While watching the video, write down the reasons why World War I began. Beginnings of World War I

4 Words that Lead to War 1) Nationalism – the belief that the interests of one country are more important that cooperation among countries. Each nation in Europe thought they were supreme to the others. 2) Imperialism – European countries were trying to increase their power and influence in the world by taking land, which led to conflict. 3) Militarism – building up armed forces 4) Alliances – several countries in Europe made treaties promising to protect and defend each other.

Choosing Sides Triple Entente – France, Great Britain, and Russia Triple Alliance – Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire

The Spark of War The Assasination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of AustriaThe Assasination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

Fighting Begins Germany was forced to fight on two fronts – the Russians in the east and the French in the west Schlieffen Plan – a plan developed years before WWI which called for German troops to quickly defeat the French and then move east to fight Russia. For Germany the quickest way to get to France was to go through the neutral country of Belgium

1914 Battle of the Frontiers – a series of battles between France, England, and Germany. Overall the Germans were victorious At the same time the Russians invaded Germany but were crushed. Even though the Russian attack was a failure it did distract German forces and allowed the Allies to attack. Battle of the Marne – Allied troops were able to drive back German forces. While the Germans retreated the dug a series of trenches which set up a stalemate on the Western Front

A New Kind of War WWI saw the introduction of new fighting styles and weapons 1) Trench warfare – while not new it was not used on such a large scale until WWI.

A New Kind of War 2) Poison Gas – mustard gas, tear gas, chlorine, and other types of gases were used as chemical weapons. While deadly it had its drawbacks such as changes in wind direction and the ease of obtaining gas masks.

A New Kind of War 3) Rapid fire machine gun – combined with trenches, these weapons proved to be very deadly. 4) Tanks – armored vehicles. Not very reliable and used mostly at the end of the war 5) Aircraft – used mostly for observing enemy locations at the beginning of the war, by the end airplanes were used to drop bombs from the air. Despite the new technologies, neither side was able to break the stalemate created by the trenches.

Battles of the Western Front 1) The Italian Front – In May 1915 Italy entered the war on the side of the Allies. Italy attacked Austria-Hungary but was able to make little progress.

Battles on the Western Front 2) Battle of Verdun – Germany planned to attack the French fortress of Verdun and to “bleed France white”. The battle lasted for nine months and while the Germans did kill 400,000 French soldiers, the Germans lost nearly as many. The battle left both sides weakened and the stalemate continued.

Battles on the Western Front 3) The Battle of the Somme – In June 1916 the British attacked the Germans in an attempt to pull soldiers away from Verdun. On the first day of fighting 60,000 British soldiers were killed. Fighting ended in December and like Verdun there had been no major breakthroughs and both sides lost thousands of troops.

Battles on the Western Front 4) The Third Battle of Ypres – in the spring of 1917 a failed French offensive led to rebellion among some French soldiers. In July the British began to attack the Germans at Ypres and by November had made up no ground. After 3 years of battle the front lines in Europe were virtually unchanged

War Around the World While much of the fighting of WWI took place in western Europe, over 30 nations took part in the war and fighting spread all over the world The Gallipoli Campaign – battles between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire over an area called the Dardanelles. The Allies were unsuccessful in taking the Dardanelles and was a failure for the Allies.

War Around the World The Armenian Massacre – in late 1914 the Russians attacked the Ottoman Empire in the Caucasus mountains. A group of ethnic Armenians lived there, and the Ottoman Empire suspected the Armenians of aiding the Russians because they were Christian. Ottoman leaders began to remove Armenians from the area and over 600,000 Armenians died from violence and starvation. Other battles took place in Asia and Africa, and soldiers from around the world fought in WWI.

The U.S. Enters the War America declared neutrality – declaring no side However, America supported the Allies by providing aid and money. This angered Germany and they used U-boats to sink the British ship Lusitania, killing more than 1000 people, including 128 Americans. Germany then announced that it would sink all ships in British waters, regardless of where they were from

The U.S. Enters the War Americans were already upset over the sinking of British ships In 1917 British agents intercepted the Zimmerman Note – a telegram that proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico against the United States. On April 6, 1917 Congress declared war on Germany.

The War Comes to an End Germany knew that the addition of the United States would greatly strengthen the Allies so they decided to attempt one final blow before the U.S. had time to get to the front lines. Without the Russians involved Germany focused all its efforts on the western front.

The War Comes to an End German forces were able to advance into France and were within 40 miles of Paris. However, the Germans lost 800,000 troops during the offensive, and by that time American troops had arrived.

The War Comes to an End The Second Battle of the Marne – the Allies stopped the German offensive and used tanks and aircraft to attack the Germans. The Allies gained territory and many German soldiers simply gave up In October 1918 Allied forces broke through the Hindenburg Line and German leaders approached the Allies seeking an armistice, or truce. On November 11, 1918 the armistice was signed and World War I was over.

Treaty of Versailles Three nations and leaders involved –1) England led by David Lloyd George –2) France led by Georges Clemenceau –3) United States led by Woodrow Wilson Each nation had very different desires for the treaty After a long period of negotiation the three nations finally came up with a treaty they could agree upon, even though the treaty most resembled the desires of the French.

Treaty of Versailles Effects of the treaty –1) Germans were furious over the humiliating terms but they had no choice other than signing –2) The creation of a League of Nations However, Germany was left out of the League and the United States rejected the Treaty of Versailles because Americans feared that joining the League would eventually drag them into more European wars.

Other Treaties The Austria-Hungary empire was broken into several smaller nations The Ottoman Empire was turned into a series of mandates – territories to be ruled by Europeans In 1917 the British issued the Balfour Declaration – favored establishing a Jewish state in Palestine

The Costs of War 1) Humans – approximately 15 million people were killed during WWI. –In the spring of 1918 a deadly influenza epidemic killed 50 million people 2) Economic – the war destroyed national economies, farmland and cities were devastated, and Europe lost its role as the most powerful region of the world.

The Costs of War 3) Political Changes – Communists took control in Russia, established monarchies were overthrown, and Germany was greatly weakened. 4) Unrest in colonies – people living in colonies began to question the ideas of freedom and democracy, especially after so many had died fighting for their mother country. German, Austrian, and Ottoman colonies were not set free but rather came under control of other colonial powers.