Post on 04-Jan-2016
transcript
Chapter 23
The First World War
The War Begins
The complex causes of war Nationalism: Exaggerated Patriotism
Many people who spoke the same language, wanted their own country to live in and govern.
Poles, Slavic speaking people, the French Imperialism
Powerful countries were fighting over colonies in Africa and the Middle East- France, Germany, GB
Russia claimed rule over Slavic people in Eastern Europe vs. Austria-Hungary
Causes of War
Militarism: Arms Race Each major country in Europe stockpiled
weapons and build major forces to be stronger than their enemies.
Navies grew stronger around the world to protect trade routes, which were becoming extremely important in world affairs.
Battleships became the centerpiece of many naval fleets
Why Such a Big War?
Alliances Many of these imperialistic fears led to treaties
being signed which allowed a chain-reaction to take place.
There were 2 major alliances by 1914 The Triple Entente, later known as the Allies
France, Great Britain, and Russia The Triple Alliance
Germany, Austria-Hungry, and Italy Germany, Austria-Hungry, and Turkey were
known as the Central Powers
An Assignation- Excuse for War
June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the nephew and heir to the
Austrian Emperor, and his wife Sophie, were assassinated in Sarajevo.
Gavrilo Princip, of the Black Hand secret society, shot and killed the couple while they drove through town
The Black Hand was a Serbian nationalist group that wanted to unite all Serbs under one government.
Austria-Hungry saw this as a chance to prevent a nationalist uprising and declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914
Countries Get Each Others Backs
Russia, who signed a treaty with Serbia, organized its troops on the 30th to help.
On August 1st, Germany who was allied with Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia
August 3rd, Germany declares war on France August 4th, Great Britain declares war on
Germany
US tries to remain nuetral
Americans favor neutrality Many immigrants favored their home country during
the war Some saw the war b/n Britain and Germany as a battle
of imperialistic countries Some felt ties with England and others felt the US
“owed one” to France for helping in 1778 Most Americans agreed that since no US lives or
property were at stake, it was best to stay out of the mess.
“Our whole duty for the present, at any rate, is summed up in the motto ‘America First: Let us think of America before we think of Europe.’” – Woodrow Wilson
Germany Invades Belgium
Belgium was another neutral country, but it was in Germany’s gateway to France. Germany invaded Belgium on 8/03/1914. US appalled!
The Schleiffen Plan Designed in 1905 by German General Count Alfred
von Schleiffen Use a holding action on the Eastern front against
Russia, because they are slow, and use a quick drive through Belgium and onto Paris. After France was done, combine forces and attack Russia.
The Allies stop Germany
The Germans get stopped at the Marne River by French and British Troops By 1915, two lines of trenches were built along
northern and eastern France This began Trench Warfare in WWI Many casualties (hundreds of thousands)
resulted from this type of warfare.
Both Sides Design New Weapons!
The Germans “Big Bertha” Cannon that could launch shells 9 miles away
Poison Gas was used on both sides Chlorine, which would suffocate Mustard Gas, which burned the skin and
blinded The British introduced the Tank It was not affective against the new Flame
Throwers
The British Blockade
The British formed a blockade around the German coast to prevent contraband from entering the country.
They extended the blockade to neutral countries as well
Forced all neutral ships to GB ports to be searched, instead of searching at sea
All of these acts were illegal, Germany would take matters into their own hands
Germany unleashes U-boats
To counter the British blockade, German Kaiser Wilhelm announced a counter blockade. Wilhelm warned that all ships sailing around
the British Isles would be sunk No warning would be given and no help to
survivors because U-Boats did not have the room
Results in famine in Germany- no fertilizer Neutral countries were now more outraged
over this act, than the British naval tactics
The Lusitania Sunk and the Sussex Pledge May 7, 1915, the British liner Lusitania was sunk off the
Irish coast 128 Americans lost their lives The Germans sank it because it was carrying
ammunition to Britain Three months later, a U-Boat sank the Arabic.
Germany promised not to attack passenger ships w/o warning
March 1916, Germany broke the promise and attacked the Sussex America threatened to cut off relations with Germany Germany agreed to stop this in the Sussex Pledge If the US could not persuade the British to lift the
“Hunger Blockade”, they would go back to unrestricted submarine warfare
Wilson Wins Re-election
It was a very close election
Wilson won under the motto “He Kept Us Out of War”
Many people were happy with staying out of the war
Teddy antagonizes Hughes supporters- compares Wilson to Pontius Pilate
Last Efforts At Peace
Wilson tried to bring all nations together to end this war peacefully Wilson wanted all nations to join a League of
Peace where they would democratically maintain freedom of the seas and reduce armaments.
Germany was winning the war through sub warfare and said it would now sink any ship around Britain, Italy, and France
Wilson now realized that the US would have to go to war
Zimmermann note
The German foreign secretary sent a note to the German ambassador in Mexico, but it was intercepted by British agents. The note suggested an alliance b/n Mexico and
Germany. Germany would help Mexico regain its lost lands of
Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona German U-Boats sunk 4 American merchant ships Financially, the US had more to gain helping the
Allies.
The Nation Goes to War
Congress officially declared war on April 6, 1917
America’s entry into the war, assured an Allied victory in 1918
Getting ready for war was a different story The US had outdated guns and planes They also lacked the man power to wage war The Selective Service Act took care of that
This helped raise the number of troops that were sent to Europe from 200K to 2 Million
First time black officers were trained to lead.
Providing The Troops With Goods
Productivity Increases The War Industries Board
Led by Bernard Baruch The board encouraged the use of mass
production techniques Price controls were used at wholesale level Gasless Sundays The Emergency Fleet Corporation built ships,
mostly too late to help
Providing The Troops With Goods
Labor Wages in certain areas went up Inflation was very high Strikes in 1917 occurred to protest high cost of living Those who would not work would lose draft exemption
“Work or Fight” Women filled the work place
Paid less than man was Almost all of them were fired once the men came
back
Providing The Troops With Goods
Food Food Administration headed by H. Hoover Encourage American to eat corn so wheat
could be sent overseas “Victory Gardens” Hoover set high prices on farm goods
Farmers responded by producing more food, making an extra 30%
Americans Buy War Bonds
The bulk of the war was paid for by war bonds The average adult American lent $400
Anything with German relations were targets in America People with German names were fired Hamburgers became “liberty steak”,
sauerkraut became “liberty cabbage”
Espionage and Sedition Acts
Under these two laws, a person could be fined up to $10,000 and/or sentenced to 20 years in jail for interfering with the draft, obstructing the sale of government bonds, or saying anything disloyal, profane, or abusive about the government or the war effort. Socialists and labor leaders were targets of
these laws Debs sentenced to ten years for opposition. Big Bill Haywood thirty years for striking.
The Allies Defeat Germany
In the navy American ships tightened the blockade around
Germany and played a major role in laying mines from Scotland to Norway to keep U-boats out of Atlantic.
The convoy system Travel the Atlantic in large groups with battleships
circling to ensure safe passage of goods This helped cut shipping loses in half
Doughboys
General John J. Pershing (Black Jack) was in charge of the American forces in Europe By 1918, Pershing convinced the Allied forces
that the American forces should fight on their own under the leadership of French Marshal Ferdinand Foch
American forces led the charge in France They lost 48K in battle and 56K to disease
Revolution in Russia
November 1917 Vladimir Lenin leads the Bolsheviks to
overthrow the Czar (king) of Russia. Lenin withdrew Russia from the war and
signed a peace treaty with Germany on March 3, 1918. It was the treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The End
Allied forces were pushing closer to Germany On November 9, 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm
abdicated the throne and hides in the Netherlands.
On 11/11/1918, the guns fell silent, and the Great War was over- 11th day, 11th month, 11th hour.
Wilson’s 14 Points
These were the 14 Points that Wilson believed would prevent further war and create peace among the nations
The first 5 were for preventing war No secret treaties Freedom of the seas The removal of tariffs and economic barriers b/n
countries Arms reduction Colonial policies that would take into account the
interests of the colonial people as well as the imperialistic powers in control
Wilson’s 14 Points
The next 8 points dealt with boundary changes These were based on the concepts of self-
determination “along historically established lines of allegiance and nationality.”
The 14th point called for a League of Nations
Versailles
Wilson had hoped to work a treaty that was fair to all, but it would not happen France wanted revenge The British wanted to “Make Germany Pay” Italy want Austrian land
The defeated countries were not there. They worked out the treaty themselves and
Wilson got the League of Nations by giving in on his other 13 points
The Treaty of Versailles
9 new countries would be formed out of the new treaty.
Some were carved out of the Turkish territory and given to France and Britain as mandates – a temporary colony to be governed until they are ready for self rule- Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine
Germany also had to pay reparations. $56 million
Weaknesses of The Treaty
Three areas of problems Germany
One part of the treaty contained a guilt clause which made Germany accept full blame for the war
3 million Germans were split from Austria and Germany and placed as a part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland
Russia Russia fought for the allies, lost 2 million people, but lost
more land than Germany Southeast Asia
No provisions for SE Asia were put in. Many people living in the French owned areas wanted
independence Ho Chi Minh- Vietnam
The Senate says “No”
After months of debate, Congress failed to approve the treaty and did not enter the League of Nations that was the idea of the President
Reasons Many thought it was too harsh on Germany Some felt America should be isolationists It did not recognize the Monroe Doctrine