1. World War I Causes and Consequences

2. MAIN Causes Strong national feelings and strong armies produced competition between European nations and led to war. The system of alliances turned a local conflict into a general European war and then a world war.
Militarism - a competition between countries to see who can create the most powerful military and weapons.
Alliances - An agreement between countries to help each other in a time of need.
Imperialism - Building an empire by taking over other countries.
Nationalism - Pride in one’s country. The belief that one’s own nation or culture is superior to all others.

3. Militarism
A growing arms race developed in Europe with countries competing to have the biggest and strongest army.
Generals in each country made complex plans to be able to mobilize their armies or rush troops to battle as quickly as possible if necessary.

4. Alliances
Growing rivalry led nations to make alliances with one another.
Fearing France would want revenge for its defeat in the Franco-Prussian war, German leader Otto von Bismarck set out to isolate France.
In 1879, he formed a triple alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy. He signed a treaty with Russia.
The next leader of Germany, Wilhelm II did not want to share power.
Wilhelm II let the treaty with Russia expire.
He moved to make the German navy larger.

5. System of Alliances

6. Imperialism
Both France and Germany wanted control of parts of Africa. They almost came to war twice in the early 1900s.
Competition for land and resources led to mistrust between countries.

7. Nationalism Helped to unify the people of a country.
Promoted competition between countries.
By 1900, six nations were rivals for power in Europe.
These nations, called the Great Powers, were Germany, Austria-Hungary, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, and France.
They competed economically (think Imperialism) and for neighboring land.
WWI Causes
Click on the link above to watch the video.

8. Tension in the Balkans
Tensions and trouble was brewing in the Balkans, in southeastern Europe.
The Ottoman Empire was beginning to break apart. Austria-Hungary and Russia wanted some of this land.
The kingdom of Serbia wanted to bring other Slavic people under its control.
In 1908, Austria-Hungary seized Bosnia and Herzegovina. This made Serbia angry because Slavic people lived there.
Russia (an ally) was unwilling to support Serbia so Serbia backed down.

9. Trigger Event
In June, 1914 a Serbian nationalist (Gavrilo Princip) shot and killed the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary.
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
Russia came to Serbia’s defense.
Alliances brought most of Europe into the war.

10. Alliances
Triple Alliance: 1.) France 2.) Great Britain 3.) Russia 4.) Italy in ) United States in 1917
Central Powers 1.) Germany 2.) Austria-Hungary 3.) Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.

11. Germany’s Plan – The Schlieffen Plan
In 1914, Germany believed war with Russia was extremely likely.
Germany assumed France would also attack as she was in an alliance with Russia.
If this happened, Germany would face a war on two fronts.  Germany wanted to avoid this at all costs.
German army chief Alfred von Schlieffen came up with a plan to avoid war on both fronts. His plan involved a quick defeat of France and then turn to the eastern front for a major offensive on Russia.  This was the basis for the Schlieffen Plan.

12. Schlieffen Plan

13. Britain was outraged by this and declared war on Germany.
To capture France quickly, Germany moved through Belgium – which was a neutral country (did not take a side in the war).
Britain was outraged by this and declared war on Germany.
The German army got close to Paris, but French defenses strengthened and stopped them in September 1914.
Both sides became bogged down in a bloody conflict.
The Western Front stretched from Belgium in the north to Switzerland in the south.

14. Trench Warfare
Soldiers dug deep trenches into the ground, protecting themselves with barbed wire and machine guns.
Inside the trenches, they lived in mud, suffered from a lack of food and were killed or wounded by exploding bombs.
Other challenges in the trenches: 1.) Trench Foot 2.) Lice 3.) Mice 4.) Diseases could easily spread.
Click on link to view video about trench warfare.

15. Eastern Front The line of fighting on the Eastern side of Europe between Russia and Germany and Austria-Hungary is known as the Eastern Front.
The Eastern front showed more movement at first, but it was equally as deadly.
Russian armies attacked both Germany and Austria-Hungary.
After some early successes, Russian forces were driven back in both places.

16. Russian Defeat and withdrawal from the war.
Russia did not have a fully industrialized economy.
It could not keep troops supplied.
Russia had a huge population and could send millions to war.
An inefficient government did not adequately clothe and feed its soldiers
Soldiers didn’t have adequate weapons to fight much better equipped and organized armies from Europe.
Russia withdrew from the war in 1917.

17. New Technology/Weapons
Trench Warfare
Machine Guns
Poisonous Gases
Airplanes
Armored Tanks
Railroads and Trains
Submarines

18. Factors that led to America’s entrance in the War
The British used their strong navy to block all supplies from reaching Germany.
In response, the Germans increased their submarine attacks on ships that brought food and supplies to the allies.
President Woodrow Wilson protested this policy.
When American ships were sunk, the American people became angry.
The Lusitania, an American ship, was sunk by a German U-boat (submarine) on May 7th, 1915.
The sinking of the Lusitania became one of the catalysts for America’s entry into the war.

19. Zimmerman Telegram
In January 1917, the British intercepted a secret message sent from Germany to Mexico.
The message was in code and it offered to help Mexico regain land lost to the United States in the 1840s if Mexico became an ally of Germany.
On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress formally declared war on Germany and its allies.
The Zimmerman Telegram and the Submarine attacks turned many Americans against Germany. The message helped draw the United States into the war and thus changed the course of history.

20. WWI Review https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/worldwari/
Watch the video review of WWI and answer the questions.

21. World War I – By the Numbers
Click on the link below to answer questions

22. Russian Revolution Results:
Causes: 1.) Massive food shortages. 2.) Outdated and inefficient farming techniques. 3.) Factory workers endured long hours, low pay and horrible working conditions. 4.) Wartime inflation caused prices to rise so goods became unaffordable. 5.) The losses and casualties of WWI led people to believe that Czar Nicholas II was incompetent.
Results:
Czar Nicholas II gave up his throne on March 15, 1917.
Later that year, a group of communists (the Bolsheviks) gained control of the government and eventually control of Russia by 1922.

23. End of World War I
The fighting on the Western Front continued for another year after the U.S. entered the war. Millions more soldiers died while little land was gained.
American troops made a huge difference. They were fresh and not war-weary. European troops were tired from years of war.
Rapid advancements in weapons and technology like the tank and airplane also contributed to the war’s end.
In 1918, the German military commander Ludendorff declared that if Germany was going to win the war, they had to defeat the Allies on the Western front before American troops arrived.
Germany was initially successful, but eventually the Allies held their ground and pushed the Germans back.

24. Other factors leading to the end of WWI
By 1918, Germans were protesting with strikes and demonstrations in Berlin. They were protesting the toll that the war had taken on the German people.
Thousands of people were starving due to a British naval blockade of German ports. The blockade of ports meant that thousands of people were starving.
Socialists were waiting for their chance to seize Germany as they had in Russia.
In October, 1918 Ludendorff resigned and the German navy mutinied.
Mutiny – rebellion against any authority, especially by sailors against their officers.

25. At the end of 1918, an armistice was finally agreed upon
At the end of 1918, an armistice was finally agreed upon. The fighting was to end on the 11th hour of 11th day of 11th month (i.e. 11 am on Nov. 11, 1918).
Armistice: a temporary suspension of hostilities by agreement of the warring parties; a truce.

26. Historical Importance of World War I:
World War I was an extremely bloody war, with huge losses of life and little ground lost or won.
Fought mostly by soldiers in trenches, World War 1 saw an estimated 10 million military deaths.
While many hoped that World War I would be "the war to end all wars," in actuality, the concluding peace treaty set the stage for World War II.

27. President Wilson’s 14 Points
Wilson pushed for a peace plan called the Fourteen Points.
He wanted to end secret treaties and alliances.
He wanted to give people the right to form their own nation.
He wanted to set up a world organization that could police the actions of nations and prevent future wars.
The organization would be called the League of Nations.
Wilson could not convince the U.S. congress to pass the 14 points.

28. The Treaty of Versailles Jan. 1919
This was the treaty that ended WWI.
Leaders from the Allied powers attended peace talks in Versailles, France.
Britain and France had suffered greatly in the war and wanted to punish Germany.
After long debates, the leaders finally decided on the Treaty of Versailles.
United States – Woodrow Wilson France – Georges Clemenceau Britain – David Lloyd
Other treaties were written to make peace with the other members of the Central Powers. These treaties redrew the map of Europe so that members of a single ethnic group could be in one country.

29. Treaty of Versailles

30. Major Provisions in the Treaty
Germany was forced to take complete blame for the war.
Germany was forced to pay billions in war reparations (payments to Allied countries for the damage caused).
Germany’s former colonies were given to the Allies.
Germany armed forces were reduced.

31. Treaty of Versailles - part II

32. Map of Europe after WWI

33. Results of the Treaty The treaty never made a lasting peace.
The U.S. Senate never approved the treaty or joining the League of Nations.
Germans bitterly resented the treaty.
Colonial peoples in Africa and Asia wanted independence. The treaty did not allow for that.
Japan and Italy were upset because they both had hoped to win more land and received very little territory.