World War I

21st Century view on WWI• Began with a squad of suicide bombers intent on

striking an imperial target• Perpetrated by an avowedly terrorist organization

with a cult of sacrifice, death, and revenge– was extra-territorial, no clear geographical or political

location, scattered in cells across political borders• Today the world is far more complex than the era of

the bipolar Cold War of the 20th century• Old powers are declining (Europe) and new powers

are rising (China, India)

Franco-Prussian War – 1870-1871• France attempted to stop the

unification of the German states under Prussian leadership

• Prussia and the German coalition defeated France, marched into Paris and crowned the King of Prussia, Wilhelm I, as the new German Emperor (Kaiser) Wilhelm I in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

• The man responsible for this victory was Otto Von Bismarck who would become chancellor of Germany in 1871

Background

German States -

1789

German Empire

1871-1918

French Humiliation• France was humiliated and

forced to pay war reparations• Also lost the territory of

Alsace-Lorraine and the city of Strasbourg to the new Germany Empire

• The desire for revenge would be strong in France undoubtedly contributing to the desire for war with Germany in WWI

Occupied territory by Germany until France paid reparations

In France, children were taught in school to not forget the lost provinces, which were coloured in black on maps.

Europe on the Brink of WarRising tensions in Europe, 1914

• Tensions result of four factors– Militarism (Arms Race)– Imperialism (Competition

for Colonies)– Nationalism– Entangled Alliances

Europe on the Brink of WarMilitarism• Massive military buildup in

European countries, late 1800s and early 1900s

• Wanted to protect overseas colonies from other nations

• Growing power of armed forces left all sides ready to act at first sign of trouble

• Minor disagreements had potential to turn to armed conflict

Europe on the Brink of WarImperialism• Late 1800s and early

1900s saw quest to build empires

• Created rivalry, ill will among European nations

• Germany, France, Russia, Great Britain vied to become great imperial nations

• Each did no want others to gain power

Europe on the Brink of WarAlliances• Nations formed partnerships to

protect against opposing forces• Triple Alliance united Germany,

Austria-Hungary, and Italy• Great Britain joined France and

Russia in the Triple Entente• Believed no one nation would

attack another because allies would join the fight

Europe on the Brink of WarNationalism• Strong devotion to one’s national

group or culture, increased in late 1800s

• Led to formation of new countries, struggles for power

• Most visible in Balkan Peninsula, southeastern Europe

• Home to many ethnic groups trying to break free from Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires

Europe on the Brink of WarSome of the strongest nationalist tensions in the Balkans were in Serbia,

an independent nation• Throughout the 1800s the Serbian people had fought a war against the

Ottoman Empire for Serbian independence – something they would achieve in stages

• Serbian leaders wanted to expand the borders of Serbia even further, uniting all the Serbian people into a “greater Serbia” – many ethnic Serbs remained in the borders of other lands

• Austria-Hungary, a powerful empire to the north, opposed expansion• Feared growth of Serbia might encourage ethnic groups in their empire

to rebel• Tensions continued to rise in the early 1900s

Europe 1815

The Balkans

The Balkans

The Balkans

The Balkans

The Shot Heard Round the WorldIn the midst of the tensions with Serbia, archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary decided to visit the Bosnian city of Sarajevo

• 28 June, 1914 - 19-year-old university student Gavrilo Princip assassinated the archduke and his pregnant wife – he was Serbian by ethnicity but a citizen of Austria-Hungary

• During his arrest and interrogation he implicated a number of members of the Serbian military

• Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia• Russia, seeing itself as the protector of the Slavic

people, prepared to support Serbia• Germany, ally of Austria-Hungary, saw Russia as a

threat and prepared to support Austria-Hungary• Germany declared war on Russia – who in turn

was allied with France

War Breaks OutFighting Begins• Germany faced war on two fronts: Russia to the east, France to the west• Decided to strike France quickly then move to face the larger but slower

Russia• Began with a quick strike through neutral Belgium• Attack on neutral country led Great Britain to declare war on Germany• Italy, the last member of the Triple Alliance, declined to join its allies at

the start of the war stating that the agreement had been meant as a defensive alliance

• May 1915 – Italy joined the war against Germany and Austria-Hungary

The Schlieffen Plan• Fearing a war on two fronts, the Germans

adopted the Schlieffen plan• It called for a lightening fast sweep

through Belgium and on to France, encircling Paris

• The aim was to knock France out of the war quickly before Russia could mobilise its forces

• It failed for two reasons:– Britain entered the war after Germany

invaded Belgium– Russia mobilised far quicker than expected

Fighting in 1914Germany’s plan• Germany wanted to quickly defeat France, move east to fight Russia• Great Britain’s declaration of war on Germany doomed its plan• The Great War became a bloody stalemate

Russia enters fighting• Russia attacked German territory from the east• Russians defeated in Battle of Tannenberg• Germany distracted from France, Allies turned on German invaders

Early battles• Battle of the Frontiers pitted Germany troops against both French and

British• Both sides suffered heavy losses – Germany victorious

Fighting in 1914Trench warfare begins• Allied troops drove Germans back, Battle of the Marne,

September 1914• Retreating Germans dug a series of trenches along Aisne

River– Waited in trenches for Allied attack– Trenches elaborately contrasted, cleverly concealed

• Allies dug trenches of their own– Major battles for months with little change in positions– Deadlocked region become known as the Western Front

End of the War• Empires would be destroyed

– Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Ottoman Empire• 20 million military and civilian lives would be lost – another

21 million wounded• Europe would be bankrupt• The victors would redraw the borders of most of the world

(poorly) and sew the seeds for the majority of the wars of the 20th century

• Fascist and Communist movements would arise across Europe out of the ashes of the destruction and within 18 years rule most of the continent