The First World Wara.k.a.
The Great WarThe War to end all Wars
“MAIN” Causes of the Great War
•Militarism
•Alliances
•Imperialism
•Nationalism
Great Powers of Europe
The Great Powers of Europe were: Great Britain Germany France Russia Austria-Hungary
What makes a country a “great power”?
How did a country become ‘Great’?
Large army and navy
Strong ruler
Had to control a large empire Empire building was a big thing in the 19th Century
know as Imperialism…think colonies
It had to have strong industries at home
Did a country need all these things to become a ‘Great Power’?
MAIN Causes
Militarism – policy of building up an army to prepare for war.
Alliances
Imperialism – policy of a stronger nation extending control over weaker nations.
Nationalism
Great Britain
At the beginning of the 20th Century, Britain was the greatest power in the world She was very rich and was a powerful
industrialized country Britain had the largest and most powerful navy She had the largest overseas empire
The British Empire covered over a quarter of the world’s surface
Empire: Land outside the border of a nation which is controlled by that nation. These are called colonies and a group of colonies make up an empire.
The British Empire
Germany
But soon Germany began to compete against Britain for this title Germany had a larger population that Britain Many of her industries were more advanced in comparison to
Britain She had more natural resources Germany was expanding her trade throughout the world: by
1913 she was selling more goods in Europe than Britain Germany’s Army was on the increase
This began to worry Britain
The German Overseas Empire
France
France had been one of the most important countries in Europe until 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War: France was defeated and had
to hand over Alsace and Lorraine
France was not as industrialised as Germany or Britain as she produced less
She had a large empire and army
France wanted revenge for 1870-71
The French Empire
Russia
At this time Russia was the largest country in the world! It had a population of 159 million
She didn’t need an overseas empire Her empire was on her doorstep and consisted of many
different peoples and languages
Russia had a large army
Russia wasn’t as industrialized as the other Great Powers
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary was a large empire in the center of Europe and consisted of many different people groups – some of whom did not get along
Many of these groups had their own language, customs and way of life: this made the Empire difficult to rule
Many of these groups wanted to be independent from Austria-Hungary – this was known as nationalism
Nationalism
Militarism
Alliances
Imperialism
Nationalism - a feeling of pride in one’s country. A belief that there is something special about the people who live there, their language and customs.
Extreme nationalism led to wanting independence, or led to powerful countries wanting to prove their greatness to others.
So why did this system contribute to the war?
There is a contest to be the biggest, most powerful country on earth. Two ways to achieve that is to make a large military and many colonies. (militarism and imperialism)
Some colonies wanted their independence and all the countries believed they were “the best” (nationalism)
All it would take was for one ‘Great Power’ to do something that wasn’t deemed acceptable by the other for issues to arise
Country Britain Germany RussiaAustria-Hungary
France
Population40.8
million65 million
159 million
50 million
39.6 million
Number of Colonies
56 10 / / 29
Population of colonies
390 million
15 million / /58
million
Size of army 700,000 4,200,000 1,200,000 800,0003,700,00
0
Size of navy 388 281 166 67 207
Coal output each year (million tonnes)
292 277 36.2 47 40
Steel output each year (million tonnes)
11 14 3.6 5 4.6
Militarism
Increase in spending on military 1910-1914
France 10%
Britain 13%
Russia 39%
Germany 73%
The need for Allies
Militarism
Alliances – an agreement formed between nations for their mutual benefit
Imperialism
Nationalism
What do we mean when we speak of allies and alliances? Why do countries need alliances?
The situation in 1914
You see, Baldrick, in order to prevent a war in Europe, two super blocs developed: us, the French and the Russians on one side; and the Germans and Austro-
Hungary on the other. The idea was to have two vast, opposing armies, each acting as the other's deterrent.
That way, there could never be a war.
Blackadder Goes Forth
The Triple Alliance (Central Powers)
Germany
Austria-Hungry
Italy – changes sides before the war
The Triple Entente(Allies)
Great Britain
France
Russia
Formation of the Triple Alliance
In 1879, Bismarck (German leader) was afraid the Russia would attack Germany so he signed an alliance with Austria-Hungry
They agreed that they would help each other militarily if Russia attacked either one of them This was known as the Dual Alliance
Italy joined the Dual Alliance in 1882, making it the Triple Alliance This time the alliance was directed against France
Formation of the Triple Entente
France and Russia were worried about the alliances which had been made against them So they decided to form their own alliance in 1895:
Franco-Russian Alliance Both France and Russia promised to help each other if
they were attacked by another power
Now it was Britain’s turn to get worried, they needed an alliance too.
So by 1907, two opposing camps formed:
The Triple Alliance (Central Powers)
Germany
Austria-Hungry
Italy
The Triple Entente (Allies)
Great Britain
France
Russia
Remember: An Entente means a friendly understanding – it is not a military alliance
The Triple Alliance was a military Agreement. The Triple Entente was not
So if the alliances were designed to discourage war,
why did one break out?
In a way, the alliance system made war more likely
When one of the members of either alliance declared war, the other members would lend their support
This had the potential to mean that when a country in one alliance went to war against a country in the other alliance, all the countries would get involved to support their allies Domino effect
This is what happened in the summer of 1914
MAIN Causes Review
• Militarism
• Alliances
• Imperialism
• Nationalism
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Born: 18 Dec. 1863
Position: Heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne
Died: 28 Jun. 1914
Cause of Death: Assassination – gun shot in the neck
Why was he in Sarajevo?
Franz Ferdinand and his wife had been invited to inspect the troops stationed there
Little did he know that a terrorist group fighting with the aim of uniting Bosnia with Serbia, the Black Hand, had planned to kill him
There were 7 assassins involved – each armed with a gun, bomb and a cyanide pill
Franz Ferdinand arrived at 10am, June 28, 1914 and proceeded to make his way to the Town Hall in a motorcade
Assassination attempts 1 & 2
The Black Hand knew the route which Ferdinand was going to take, so they positioned the 7 assassins along the roadside
The first assassin failed to kill him as he lost his nerve He used the excuse that a policeman was standing near
him
The next assassin threw his bomb at the car However Ferdinand’s driver saw the bomb and
accelerated – it blew up under the car behind The assassin took his pill and jumped into the river but
he failed to die – the pill just made him vomit and the river wasn’t deep enough to drown him
The driver sped up to get to the town hall safely and the remaining assassins called the plot off
Third time’s the charm
Ferdinand insisted upon going to the hospital to visit those injured in the blast so they got back into the car and drove off
One of the assassins, Gavrilo Princip, had decided to go to a café after they called off the assassination plot To his amazement, Ferdinand’s car drove past him –
the driver had taken a wrong turn!
The driver then turned the car around and this time Princip was ready As soon as the car passed, he pulled out his gun and
shot the Archduke and his wife – both died later that day
Princip, then turned his gun on himself but a member of the public stopped him and the police arrested him
The spark that lit the fuse
Austria-Hungary interrogated those involved and found out that the organizers were hiding in Serbia They demanded that Serbia hand them over so they
could be tried, that Serbia takes the blame for the assassination and to allow Austria-Hungary to police anti-Austrian groups in Serbia
Serbia refused to do so, and after gaining support and approval from Germany, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28 This began the domino effect
Road to War
More Dominoes
War Begins
By August 12, a month and a half after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, 8 countries have declared war on one another.
The world is at war!