Chapter 13 World War I and Aftermath

By: Thane Luna

The Pursuit of Peace• 1896, first modern Olympic games were held in Athens• Thought it would promote peace and respect for life, but

Alfred Nobel regretted the military uses of his invention• Nobel Peace Prize was created annually for those who

worked for peace• Doctor Aletta Jacobs argued that if women won vote,

they could prevent war• Organizations such as the Womenʻs International League

for Peace and Freedom promoted pacifism.

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• Pacifism: Opposition to all war. • 1899, world leaders attended the First

Universal Peace Conference in the Netherlands

• Set up the Hague Tribunal, world court that settled disputes between nations

Aggressive Nationalism

• This was the cause on international tension• Powerful forces pushed Europe to brink of war• France longed to regain position as Europe's

leading power• 1871, French were bitter about defeat in the

Franco-Prussian War and the German occupation of the border provinces of Alsace and Lorraine

• Patriotic French citizens wanted revenge against Germany to recover the “lost provinces.”

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• Russia sponsored a powerful form of nationalism called Pan-Slavism

• All Slavic people shared a common nationality• Russia felt that it had a duty to lead and

defend all Slavs• Austria-Hungary worried that nationalism

might foster rebellion among the minority populations within its empires

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• Ottoman Turkey felt threatened by new nations on its borders, such as Serbia and Greece

• 1912, Balkan states attacked Turkey• Balkan wars were created after and raised

tensions • 2 years later, the Balkan were the “powder keg

of Europe” – a tiny spark might lead to an explosion

Rivalries Among European Powers

• Britain felt threatened by Germany's rapid economic growth

• Britain had strong reasons to oppose Germany in any conflict

• German, thought the great powers did not give them enough respect

• Imperial powers also divided European nations

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• France and Germany were on the bring of war in 1905 and 1911

• Germany wanted to prevent France from imposing a protectorate on Morocco

• Germany gained some territory of central Africa

• Britain and France formed closer together to tie against Germany

Continue• Rise in militarism• Militarism: Glorification of the military• Militarists painted war in romantic colors• Great powers expanded their armies and navies• Fiercest competition was the naval rivalry of Germany

and Britain• On matters of peace and war, governments turned to

military leaders for advice• German generals and British admirals enjoyed great

respect and got more funds to build up their forces

Tangle of Alliances • Distrust led to treaties for the great powers to defend

one another• This was to create powerful combinations so no one

would dare attack• Two huge alliances emerged from this• Bismarck signed treaties to protect Germany• He formed the Triple alliance with Italy and Austria-

Hungary• Germany and Austria fought together, they became

known as central powers

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• France and Britain signed an entente in 1904• Entente: A nonbinding agreement to follow

common policies• This led to close military and diplomatic ties• Britain later signed an similar agreement with

Russia• Germany signed a treaty with the Ottoman

empire, while Britain drew close to Japan

Section 2: The Guns of August

Assassination in Sarajevo

• Crisis began when Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary announced that he would visit Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia

• Royal visit from Francis angered many Serbian nationalists

• June 28 scheduled for Archdukeʻs visit was a special date in Serbian history

• On that date Serbia was conquered by the Ottoman empire

• Same date Serbia freed itself from Turkish rule

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• A Serbian terrorist group commonly known as the Black Hand, vowed to take action

• Archduke ignored warnings, went to Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 one conspirator planted a bomb as his car passed but didn’t injure him only an officer in another car

• Cavrilo Princip waited in his car as archduke visited the wounded officer as they set out Princip fired two times in the backseat killing the archduke

Conflict Widens

• Austrian emperor, Francis Joseph was shocked from his nephewʻs death

• He was still reluctant to go to war• Austria sent Serbia a sweeping ultimatum• Ultimatum: Final set of demands• To avoid war, Serbia must end all antiAustrian

agitation and punish any Serbian official involved in the murder

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• July 28, 1914 Austria declared war with Serbia • A war between a major power and a small Balkan

state might have been another “summer war” • As diplomats sent notes from capital to capital

caused deeper conflict in the great powers• In Berlin, Kaiser William II was horrified at the

assassination of a royal heir• Wrote to Francis Joseph to take a firm stand

toward Serbia

Continue • Instead of urging restraint, William II gave Austria a “blank

check.”• Serbia sought help from Russia, • Nicholas II from St. Petersburg telegraphed William II• When Czar asked the Kaiser to soften demands, it failed and

Russia began to mobilize• Mobilize: Prepare its military forces for war• Germany responded by declaring war on Russia • Nationalists saw avengement for Franceʻs defeat • Germany asked France to keep out of the conflict, France

refused

Continue • Germany then declared war on France• Italy was idle for the time being• Neutrality: A policy of supporting neither side in a war• General Alfred von Schlieffen developed a plan years earlier

against France called the Schlieffen plan• Plan was designed to avoid a two-front war against France in

the west and Russia to the east • In the plan they had to defeat France quickly then lastly would

be Russia • German armies must march through Belgium then swing

south behind French lines

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• August 3rd Germany invaded Belgium, Britain and European powers signed a treaty guaranteeing Belgian neturality

• Outraged Britain declared war on Germany because they invaded Belgium

The Historiansʻ View • After all the blaming, allies placed all the blame on

Germany because it was the first country to invade another• Today historians agree that all parties must share the

blame • Austria-Hungary wanted to punish Serbia for encouraging

terrorism • Russia saw the Austrian ultimatum to Serbia as an effort to

oppress Slavic people• France feared that if they did not help Russia they would

be alone against Germany later

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• In The Guns of August, a widely read study of the outbreak of the war

• Both sides equally committed to military action, Young men rushed to enlist, cheered on by women and their elders

• Edward Grey dimplomat was less optimistic he states that “The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.”

Section 3: A New Kind of Conflict

The Western Front

• German generals, violated the Schlieffen plan• After Russian won a few small victories in

eastern Prussia• The battle of Marne pushed back the German

offensive and destroyed Germany's hopes for a quick victory

• In Winter both sides hid, and it was a stalemate • Stalemate: A deadlock in which neither side is

able to defeat the other

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• Trenches then were used in battle, and it stretched from the Swiss frontier to the English Channel

• Underground network linked bunkers, communications trenches, nad gun emplacements

• Between the opposing trench lines lay “no mans land”

• No mans land: Empty tract of land where everything was destroyed by war

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• Soldiers rushed through the land and both sides ended up having the same results but none got through

• 1916, allies and central powers launched massive offensives to break the stalemate

• The French sent up the battle cry “ They shall not pass”

Technology of Modern Warfare

• Rapid-fire machine guns mowed down waves of soldiers, making it impossible to pass through the no mans land

• 1915, Germany began using poison gas that blinded or choked its victims

• They were then given gas masks to protect against harmful gas

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• 1916, new weapon armored tank mounted with machines guns

• Built to go through barb wire and broken ground

• Broke down often and was slow• Both sides also used aircraft • 1915, Germany used zeppelins• Zeppelins: Large gas-filled balloons

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• Pilots known as “flying aces,” these were known as dogfights

• Submarines proved much more important• U-boat: Submarine• To counteract submarines the allies organized

convoys• Convoys: Groups of merchant ships protected

by warships

A Global Conflict • Results were just as indecisive, casualties rose even higher on

the Western Front• The battle of Tannenberg, Russians suffered worst defeats

ending up in retreat• Russia was poorly equipped to fight in a modern war • 1915, Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and helped crush its

old Balkan rival Serbia • October 1917, launched a major offensive against the Italian

position at Caporetto • British and French later helped stop the Central Powers

advance into Italy

Continue • World war I was a global conflict• Japan allied with Britain, tried to impose a protectorate in

China • The Turks closed off Allied ships from the Dardanelles, vital

strait connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean• Allies finally withdrew from the Dardanelles• Arab nationalists led by Husayn ibn Ali declared a revolt

against Ottoman rule • British sent Colonel T.E. Lawrence- later known as Lawrence

of Arabia

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• Allies overran scattered German colonies in Africa and Asia

• Canada, Australia, and New Zealand sent troops to Britain’s aid

• Some people were reluctant to serve the imperial powers