1. ‘The Great War’ 1914-1918 Multiple Causes + assassination
Fought mostly in Europe; in France
No clear cut winner or loser
Germany accepts defeat and war-guilt clause
Unresolved issues at the end
Conservative estimates of 15 million dead (5 million non-combatants), 20 million injured

2. The World at War

4. ‘Powder Keg’ – Long term causes
Nationalism
Especially in South, Eastern Europe
European Rivalries
especially with imperialism
Alliances
Germany, France, England, Russia
Militarism & arms race
German & British navies

5. ‘Explosion’ - Short term causes
June Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand
Ferdinand in favor of greater Serbian autonomy
Not enough for Serbian extremists

6. Gavrilo Princip One of seven assassins
First balked, second bungled, attempted suicide
shot Ferdinand & Sophie
swallows ineffective cyanide, captured by mob and tortured
Too young to be executed, sentenced to in prison, dies of TB

7. Diplomatic Alliances Triple Entente Germany Russia Austro-Hungarians
Triple Alliance – 1879
Germany
Austro-Hungarians
Italians (1882)
Triple Entente
Russia
France
Britain

8. Nationalist Movements
Caused by French Revolution
Unification of Italy, 1861
Unification of Germany, 1871
Austro-Hungarian Empire
South Slavs seek independence
Russian Empire
Poles, Ukrainians, Balts
Ottoman Empire
Greeks, Serbians, Romanians, Bulgarians

9. Role of Public Opinion Beginning of media age
Availability of cheap newspapers
Little accountability
Awkward pressure on politicians
Sacrifice diplomatic expediency for public support

10. New Military Technology
Barbed wire
Machine Gun
Gas
First used by Germans, 1915
Mustard gas, 800,000 casualties
Tanks
Initially effective but quickly lost to counterattacks
Airplanes
limited bombing, strafing, used primarily for reconnaissance
Submarines

11. Tanks and Airplanes

12. ‘Home by Christmas’ - 1914 German invasion of France
Schliefen Plan put into effect
Stalemate followed
Trench warfare began
Intro of poison gas by 1915
By 1917
Strategy of attrition had taken over

14. Trenches on the Western Front

15. French gas attack on German lines

16. Turning Point United States entry into the war in 1917
Sinking of Lusitania
(German unrestricted warfare)
Zimmerman Telegram
British blockade of German ports
Russia leaves war due to civil war in 1918

17. Brutality of War Unprecedented casualities Verdun, 1916
315,000 French killed
280,000 German casualties
Less than 160,000 bodies recovered
The Somme, British gain few thousand yards
420,000 casualties
No significant strategic advantage

18. End of the War and Peace exhaustion of Central Powers troops
Bulgaria, Ottomans, Austro-Hungarians, Germans surrender
Armistice: November 11, 1918
Paris Peace Conference
Dominated by France, Great Britain, and the US
A dictated peace
Wilson’s Fourteen Points
harsh on Central Powers
Creation of League of Nations

20. Total War

21. The Home Front Government takes command of economies
Women in the workforce
TNT poisoning: yellow skin, orange hair
Bombing of civilian areas by Zeppelins
‘Meatless Mondays’ and ‘Wheatless Wedesdays’

22. War Propaganda Propaganda
Attempt to persuade people’s opinion using music, commercials, ads, and posters
Maintenance of public support for war
Untruths and exageratation

23. Propaganda

25. Interesting Facts
60 million men will be mobilized to fight: Africans to Latin Americans
War will be decided on western front
7 million civilians will be killed
8 million combat deaths
Spanish Flu will be greatest public health disaster in modern history: 22 to 30 million will die worldwide

26. The End of Empire

27. Collapse of the Russian Empire
Russia: February Revolution, 1917
Germany smuggles Lenin into Provisional Government Russia
October Revolution, creation of the USSR
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk cedes Poland, Baltic countries, Ukraine to central Powers

28. The End of the Ottoman Empire
Treaty of Sèvres (1920) removes Balkan and Arab provinces
Mustafa Kemal leads uprising against Sultanate, creates Republic of Turkey
Allies recognize republic in 1923
Intensely secular government