the great war - grosse pointe public school...

THE GREAT WAR

By Mr. Booth

9th grade

World. History

Boys and Girls! War Savings Stamps Poster by James Montgomery Flagg 1917-18

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The First World War:

•War involving nearly all the nations of the world

•1914-1918

What?

When?

Beginning of War

• At the turn of the 20th century, the nations of Europe had been at peace with one another for nearly 30 years.

• At entire generation had grown up ignorant of the horrors of war.

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4 Stages/Reasons for War

1. Nationalism- Devotion to one’s nation. +Nationalism can serve as a unifying force - It can cause intense competition between nations.

2. Imperialism- More territory for your empire. Picking on weaker countries

3. Alliance System- Agreement with other nations to protect one another. (Gangs/Protect)

4. Militarism-Development of armed forces. Each nation wanted stronger armed forces.

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Why an Alliance System?

• Growing international rivalries created several military alliances among the leaders of Europe during the 1870’s.

• This alliance system had been designed to keep peace in Europe.

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Alliance System

Who? 2 rival camps

Great Britain

France

Russia

Italy

Germany

Austria-Hungary

Bulgaria

Ottoman Empire

Triple Entente:

Triple Alliance:

Crisis in the Balkans

1. Countries in the Powder Keg of Europe: Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia & Herzegovina

-Each group wanted to extend its borders.

2. Serbia had a large Slavic population and wanted to extend borders

3.. Austria- Hungary felt threatened by Serbia’s growth because they had a small Slavic population.

In 1908, Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia was outraged because they wanted Bosnia.

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Crisis in the Balkans continued

• What enormous country to the east has a large Slavic population?

• Russia

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Crisis in the Balkans cont.

Possibility of war arose.

• Russian Stance: Russia offered Serbia full support, but was unprepared for war.

• German Stance: Germany stood fully behind Austria.

Now a shot rings throughout Europe.

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The First World War: Why?

Assassination of Franz

Ferdiand of the Austro-Hungarian

Empire

Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and his Wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg one hour before their deaths, June 28, 1914

Good Afternoon/Today’s Agenda

1. Go over Tests/Averages/Test Corrections by Wednesday May 7

2. Finish watching Assassination Video

3. Lecture on German Aggression/Western Front/Weapons of War

4. Homework – Section 2 and 3 – 16-29

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Gavrilo Princip executes royalty

• Archduke Franz Ferdinand - Heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and his wife (Sophie) paid a state visit

• Where: Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. This was June 28, 1914.

• Gavrilo Princip, a 19 year old member of the Black Hand – a society committed to ridding Bosnia of Austrian rule shot and killed the royal pair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE8552joxfE

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What Happened to Princip?

•Tried in December of 1914

•Death penalty only applies to persons 20 years old and up at time of crime

•Princip is 27 days shy of his 20th birthday of assassination

•Dies in prison in 1917 of tuberculosis

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Gavrilo Princip, seated center of the first row, on trial on 5 December 1914

Is War Inevitable? • Because the assassin was a Serbian, Austria

decided to use the murders as an excuse to punish Serbia.

• An angry Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany urged Austria to be aggressive.

• On July, 23, Austria presented Serbia with an ultimatum.

1. Stop all-anti Austrian activity

2. Serbia would have to conduct an investigation into the murders…Did it happen? Now the wheels were set in motion for war to begin.

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The First World War: Where?

The Schlieffen Plan

• Germany puts a plan into effect named after its designer.

• Who: General Alfred Gran von Schlieffen. In the event of a two-front war, Schlieffen had called for attacking France and then Russia.

1st Part: The General had reasoned that Russia – with its lack of railroads would have difficulty mobilizing its troops, so ATTACK FRANCE FIRST

• 2ND Part: Defeat the French fast (crucial), then race East and attack Russia.

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Taxi Cab Crisis •The Schlieffen Plan worked brilliantly at first and had overrun Belgium and swept into France.

•By September 3, units were on the edge of Paris. A major German victory appeared just days away.

•Every available French soldier was hurled in to the struggle at the Marne River north of Paris.

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600 taxi cabs rushed soldiers from

Paris to the front. Germans retreated

short after

War in the Trenches

• In 1915, opposing armies on the Western Front had dug miles of parallel trenches to protect themselves from enemy fire. This set the state for what become known as trench warfare.

• Result: Soldiers fought each other from these trenches and armies trades huge losses for pitifully small land gains.

• Quote: Life in trenches was misery. One soldier said “the men sleep in mud, washed in mud, ate mud, and dreamed mud.” 20

Trenches

Trenches swarmed with rats and lice. Fresh food was nonexistent. Sleep was nearly impossible.

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Weapons: 1)Submarines

•In 1914, the Germans introduced the submarine warship called the U-Boat.

• Eventually Germany waged unrestricted warfare on Allied ships.

• Torpedo: Self-propelled underwater missile.

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2. Poison Gas Cannons with Mustard Gas Attached

Also used: Chorine, Ammonia Poison Gas

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3. Machine Guns- Mowing down the opponent with 600+

rounds a minute

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German Bergmann MP-18

Submachine Gun

Russians- Maxim Gun

4. Airplanes

•Most famous WW1 plane. Loaded with Frontloaded Guns

•Used for Dogfights. or for Reconnaissance

•Germans used Zeppelins, others used hot air balloons. British Sopwith Camel fighter

plane with Machine Guns. Shot down 1,294 Enemy Aircraft in WWI.

5. Tanks French Tanks, similar to American

Mark IV and V Tanks

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Which side should the US pick?

•11 million German-Americans •Irish-Americans hated Great Britain

•Close cultural ties •Shared transatlantic cables (so censored stories) •Big business loaned much $ to allies

Central Powers: Allies:

Nations 1914 1915 1916

Britain $594,271,863 $911,794,954 $1,526,685,102

France $159,818,924 $364,397,170 $628,851,988

Germany $344,794,276 $28,863,354 $288,899

US Exports to both sides:

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Thinking Slide:

•Is Isolationism really an option for

a country as powerful as the United

States?

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What did it take to get the US involved?

1. Blockades

•Britain blockaded (stopped) all German ships going to America

•Germany announced a submarine war around Britain

Y-53 German Submarine 1916

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What did it take to get the US involved?

1. Blockades

•In May, 1915 Germany told Americans to stay off of British ships

•They could/would sink them

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What did it take to get the US involved?

1. Blockades

•Lusitania torpedoed, sinking with 1200 passengers and crew (including 128 Americans)

•Was eventually found to be carrying 4200 cases of ammunition

German Propaganda Justifying Lusitania sinking

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What did it take to get the US involved?

1. Blockades

•The US sharply criticized Germany for their action

•Germany agreed not to sink passenger ships without warning in the future

Note in Bottle After Lusitania Disaster

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What did it take to get the US involved?

2. Unlimited Submarine Warfare •1917 Germany announced “unlimited submarine warfare” in the war zone.

• any ship in British waters would be sunk. Why?

Otherwise their blockade would not be successful

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3. Zimmerman Note

•US intercepted a note from Germany to Mexico,

•It promised Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona back in return for an alliance

Declaration of War

After German subs sank 7 U.S. merchant ships, President Woodrow Wilson called for war on Germany.

U.S Congress declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917

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U.S. Entry into the War

Reasons for U.S. Entry into the War

1.Sinking of the Lusitania 2.Zimmerman Note 3.Large part of the American population felt a bond with England

4. America’s economic ties with the allies were far stronger than those with the Central Powers

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What did the US do to help?

•US provided the food, money, and fresh troops needed to win the war

American Troops March Through London

Supplies:

The Germans are on the Marne Again

• The Germans are on the Marne again, 40 miles away from Paris in May 1918.

• But, the Germany army is weakening, and 140,000 fresh American troops launch a counterattack.

• 2 million American troops arrive and the Allied forces advance steadily through Germany.

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The Allies Win the War

• With the U.S. in the war, the balance, tipped in the Allies’ favor.

• By March, 1917, Russia dropped out of the war to start a communist revolution.

• Russia’s withdrawal from the war at last allowed Germany to send nearly all of its forces to the Western Front in France.

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Allied Victory Coming Soon

• The Allied Counteroffensive, known as the Hundred Days Offensive, began on August 8, 1918, and drove the Germans back into Germany.

• Having suffered over 6 million casualties, Germany moved towards peace.

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War Ends

• Central Powers begin to crumble.

• First the Turks and then the Ottoman Empire surrenders.

• On November 9, 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany steps down

• On November 9, 1918, in a railway car in a forest near Paris, German and French officials sign an armistice or an agreement to stop fighting. On Nov 11, WW1 ends.

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Armistice

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How did the War Affect the US?

Women

•Women filled factory jobs

•May have led 19th Ammendment after the war

(Gave women the right to vote)

•Black soldiers still served in Segregated Units

African Americans

•“Great Migration” - thousands of African Americans

moved North to work in factories

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Convincing the American People

Idealism: Fourteen Points

What: President Wilson’s Plan for after the war

•Fourteen promises, including freedom of the seas & a League of Nations to work for peace

President Woodrow Wilson

The Allies Meet at Versailles

• On January 18, 1919, a conference to establish peace began at the Palace of Versailles outside of Paris.

The Big Four

1. Woodrow Wilson –United States

2. David Lloyd George of Great Britain

3. Geroges Clemenceau of France

4. Vittorio Orlando of Italy.

• Russia and Germany were not represented 45

Allies Dictate a Harsh Peace

Wilson’s 14 point plan for Peace was his guiding idea behind

1. self-determination, which mean allowing people to decide for themselves under what government they wished to live. • Wilson’s hope for an organization that could peacefully negotiate solutions to world conflicts.

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French and English Disharmony

• Brits and French don’t agree with Wilson’s vision of peace.

• The French in particular were determined to punish Germany. The French had lost more than a million soldiers and much of their land was destroyed.

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Germany is punished

• Germany is forbidden to build or buy submarines or have an air force.

2. Article 231 is called the “War Guilt Clause.” It says that the sole responsibility for the war is placed on Germany’s shoulders. • Germany is also forced to pay the Allies $33B in reparations over 30 years.

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Legacy of the War

• Both sides in WW1 paid a tremendous price in terms of human life

• 8.5 million soldiers died. 21 million were wounded. A lost generation of Europeans were wiped out.

• The war left a devastating impact on the economy of Europe which cost all nations $338 billion.

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