1. World War I
Chapter 26

2. Section 1
The Great War Begins

3. I. War Breaks Out The Cause Place: Sarajevo (Austria-Hungary)
People: Franz Ferdinand – archduke of Austria-Hungary (Heir to the throne) Gavrilo Princip – member of a secret nationalist group called the Black Hand
Problem: Princip kills Ferdinand in broad daylight
Why?: The Black Hand wanted Serbs to be ruled by Serbia, not Austria-Hungary.

5. The Impact
Austria-Hungary made a series of humiliating demands for Serbia, then declared war on July 28, 1914.
Dominos:
Russia - promised to support Serbia if Austria-Hungary attacked.
Germany – Austria-Hungary’s ally; Italy – Germany’s ally. (Central Powers)
France - saw German action as threat on Russia
England – France’s ally, jumps in to help France, Russia, and Serbia. (Allied Powers)

7. Fighting Begins
Germany faces war on two Fronts: 1) Russia in the East 2) France in the West
Schlieffen Plan – called for German troops to quickly defeat France in west and then head east to fight Russia.

8. II. A New Kind of War The WWI Battlefield Trench Warfare
Miserable – deep puddles of thick mud; removing dead bodies from trenches/ surrounding area was impossible; lice, rats, other creatures were always present.
“over the top” – ordered to jump out and sprint across no man’s land, area between opposing trenches.
Thousands of soldiers, both sides, died in no man’s land, bodies left where they fell.

12. New Weapons Rapid-fire machine guns High-explosive shells
Poison Gas – different types of gas could blind, choke, or burn the victims.
Value limited: change in wind direction could blow gas back toward troops who used it
Both sides developed gas masks – provided protection
Rapid-fire machine guns
Could fire hundreds of bullets each minute – used to defend trenches
High-explosive shells
Enormous destructive power

13. Tanks and Aircraft Aircraft – Flying machine with propellers.
Tanks – armored vehicles that could cross rough battlefield terrain
Pioneered by Germany and British
Would not make a contribution until late in the war
Aircraft – Flying machine with propellers.
Start of the war they were used to observe enemy positions.
By end of the war they had machine guns attached and pilots began to drop bombs

14. III. The War Ends The United States enters the War
Reasons: German U-boats sank the British ship, Lusitania, killing 1200 people, 120 Americans.
Zimmerman Note – Mexico and Central Powers proposed alliance
Selective Service Act – authorized a military draft – required to serve until after war was over
The Treaty of Versailles
Contained a war-guilt clause forced Germany to take responsibly for WWI
Germany had to limit size of military
Germany had to return conquered lands to France and Russia
Germany had to pay damages – $33 Billion

15. Wilson’s 14 Points
Blueprint for lasting peace in Europe after World War I.
Central Powers – reduce weapons
National groups in Europe would have rights to form own governments.
World Association to keep peace
League of Nations
Countries would talk out problems
Weakness was that L.o.N. had no army

16. Facts about the War Called “The Great War” or “War to End All Wars”
Involved 31 countries, 65 million soldiers
9 million soldiers were killed in battle
21.2 million soldiers were wounded
13 million civilians died
First war to use trench warfare heavily
The war cost the world’s nations $332 Billion