WORLD WAR 1

WORLD WAR 1

• Great War• One of the deadliest conflicts

in history• War to end all wars• Global military conflict that

embroiled most of the world’s great powers

MAIN CAUSES OF WAR

M ilitarismA lliancesI mperialismN ationalism

MILITARISM

• the army and military forces are given a high profile by the government.

• European nations engage in a massive military build up

Alliances

• An alliance is an agreement made between two or more countries to give each other help if it is needed.

• European countries form partnerships to protect themselves

• A number of alliances had been signed by countries between the years 1879 and 1914. These were important because they meant that some countries had no option but to declare war if one of their allies. declared war first.

• The Dual Alliance• Germany and Austria-Hungary made an

alliance to protect themselves from Russia

• Austro-Serbian Alliance• Austria-Hungary made an alliance with Serbia to stop

Russia gaining control of Serbia • The Triple Alliance• Germany and Austria- Hungary made an alliance with

Italy to stop Italy from taking sides with Russia• Franco-Russian Alliance• Russia formed an alliance with France to protect herself

against Germany and Austria-Hungary• Entente Cordiale• This was an agreement, but not a formal alliance,

between France and Britain.

• Anglo-Russian Entente• This was an agreement between Britain and Russia• Triple Entente• This was made between Russia, France and Britain to

counter the increasing threat from Germany.

Two Opposing Alliance

• TRIPLE ALLIANCE• CENTRAL

POWERS• GERMANY• AUSTRIA-

HUNGARY• ITALY

• TRIPLE ENTENTE• ALLIED POWERS• FRANCE• GREAT BRITAIN• RUSSIA

IMPERIALISM

• when a country takes over new lands or countries and makes them subject to their rule.

• Competition to gain colonies, new markets, and new sources of raw materials

NATIONALISM

• People feel loyalty and devotion to their country or culture

The Coming Of War

Murder in Sarajevo

• Immediate or PROXIMATE CAUSE of war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on June 18, 1914.

• A Serbian terrorist group, the Black Hand, resolved to assassinate Franz Ferdinand during his visit to Sarajevo thereby stalling his proposed reforms.

• Shot and killed by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian member of the Black Hand.

• The assassination provided Austria-Hungary with an excuse to take action against Serbia.

• Austria sent an ULTIMATUM, a final set of demands on July 23, 1914. It ordered Serbia to end all anti-Austrian activities and to let the Austrian officials handle the investigation of the murder. Austria gave Serbia 48 hours to meet these terms.

START OF WAR

Trench Warfare

• Trench – a long narrow ditch dug in a ground• type of fighting during World War I in which

both sides dug trenches protected by mines and barbed wire

• Over 200,000 men died in the trenches of WW1, most of who died in battle, but many died from disease and infections brought on by the unsanitary conditions.

New Weapons

MACHINE GUNS POISON GAS

TANKSLONG RANGE GUNS

US moving closer to war

• The U.S. as a neutral nation, claimed the right to trade with either side in the war.

• However, Britain and Germany set up blockades around the British and German coasts.

• German submarines, called U-boats, torpedoed enemy ships and neutral ships trading with the enemy.

• In 1915, a German submarine torpedoed the Lusitania, a British passenger ship, killing approximately 1,200 people, including 128 Americans.

• ·Americans were infuriated with the destruction of the Lusitania.

USA Entry to War

• Zimmermann telegram:• – secret message from Germany to Mexico urging

Mexico to attack the U.S. if the U.S. declared war on Germany

• – Germany promised to help Mexico regain land it lost to the U.S. in the Mexican War.

• * The U.S. declared war on the Central Powers in 1917.

Armistice

• A halt in fighting during war• Failure of German surge• German troops mutinied and deserted• British naval blockade• Food & supplies in short supply• Riots on streets of Germany• Kaiser fled abroad• New government prepared to discuss peace terms• After forty-seven days and heavy casualties, the

Germans retreated.

Peace Treaties

• President Woodrow Wilson’s Plan for Peace known as the FOURTEEN POINTS.

• Self Determination• A Fair Peace• Disarmament• Fair Treatment of Colonial People• League of Nations

Versailles Treaty

• Big Four Allied Leaders met at Versailles to draw up a peace treaty

• Prime Minister David George of Great Britain• Premier Georges Clemenceau of France• President Woodrow Wilson of USA• Prime Minister Orlando Vittorio of Italy

• Germany was forced to:• take full blame for the war• completely disarm• pay huge reparations to the Allies• give up it’s colonies to the Allies

RESULTS OF WORLD WAR 1

• Germany was an angry, humiliated nation, setting the stage for World War II.

• Based on the goal of self-determination, many new nations were formed.

• Examples: Finland, Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia

• The Allies agreed to form the League of Nations.