World War I

• Soldiers, sailors, airmen involved: 65,038,810• Military deaths: 8,020,780• Civilian deaths: 6,642,633• Military wounded: 21,228,813• Approximate cost in early 20th-century dollars:

$281,887,000,000

The Great War?

Background

• 1905: Russia & Japan warred for territory• 1911: Italy and Turkey warred and carved out

Libya from the Ottoman Empire’s African holdings

• 1912: Serbia, Bulgaria, & Greece fought the Turks; won most Turkish territory in Europe

• 1913: Bulgaria fought Balkan neighbors, wanting bigger share of former-Turkish lands (failed attempt)

The Key Players• Germany• Austria-Hungary• Serbia• France• Russia• Great Britain• Belgium• Italy• Turkey• Bulgaria• Romania• United States• Japan

http://www.the-map-as-history.com/demos/tome06/

Entangling Alliances1914• July 28: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia• July 31: Russia (ally of Serbia) mobilizes troops• Aug 1: Germany (ally of Austria-Hungary) mobilizes

military and declares war on Russia• Aug 3: France (ally of Russia) mobilizes troops;

Germany declares war on France• Aug 4: Germany declares war on neutral Belgium;

Great Britain/Canada/Australia/New Zealand (ally of Belgium) and Liberia declare war on Germany

• Aug 5: Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia• Aug 6: Serbia declares war on Germany

Entangling Alliances

• Aug 10: France declares war on Austria-Hungary• Aug 12: Great Britain declares war on A-H• Aug 23: Japan declares war on Germany• Aug 25: A-H declares war on Japan; Japan

declares war on A-H• Aug 28: A-H declares war on Belgium• Nov 2: Serbia declares war on Turkey• Nov 5: Great Britain declares war on Turkey

Triple EntenteGreat Britain FranceRussia

Triple AllianceGermanyAustria-Hungary Italy

Britain and France Germany and Austria

Soldiers 1,578,000 2,400,000Horses 490,000 544,000

Artillery guns 5,000 10,000Machine guns 2,400 3,500

Russia had a huge army of 1,700,000 men. It was poorly equipped and led.

Italy had a small army which was poorly equipped.

Source: John Welham, Britain and the Great War (Folens,1992)

Entangling Alliances

1915• May 23: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary• June 3: San Marino declares war on A-H• Aug 21: Italy declares war on Turkey• Aug 28: Italy declares war on Germany• Oct 14: Bulgaria declares war on Serbia• Oct 15: Great Britain & Montenegro declare war on

Bulgaria• Oct 16: France declares war on Bulgaria• Oct 19: Italy & Russia declare war on Bulgaria

Entangling Alliances

1916• March 9: Portugal declares war on Germany; Germany

declares war on Portugal• March 15: Austria-Hungary declares war on Portugal• March 16: Portugal declares war on Austria-Hungary• Aug 27: Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary• Aug 30: Turkey declares war on Romania• Sept 1: Bulgaria declares war on Romania

Entangling Alliances

1917• April 6: U.S. declares war on Germany• April 23: Turkey severs relations with the U.S.• June 27: Greece declares war on A-H, Germany, Bulgaria, and

Turkey• Dec 7: U.S. declares war on Austria-Hungary• Also…

– Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia sever ties with Germany– Cuba and Brazil declare war on Germany– China, Panama, and Siam declare war on Austria-Hungary and

Germany

Entangling Alliances

1918• May 7: Romania exits war due to Treaty of Bucharest• Nov 10: Romania re-enters war• Also…– Costa Rica, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras declare war

on Germany– Nicaragua declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary

• Finally: The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month… Armistice Day

1914 by Wilfred OwenWar broke: and now the Winter of the world

With perishing great darkness closes in.The foul tornado, centred at Berlin,

Is over all the width of Europe whirled,Rending the sails of progress. Rent or furledAre all Art’s ensigns. Verse wails. Now begin

Famines of thought and feeling. Love’s wine’s thin.The grain of human Autumn rots, down-hurled.

For after Spring had bloomed in early Greece,And Summer blazed her glory out with Rome,

An Autumn softly fell, a harvest home,A slow grand age, and rich with all increase.But now, for us, wild Winter, and the need

Of sowings for new Spring, and blood for seed.

Credits

• http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~worldwarone/WWI/TheGeographyOfTheGreatWar/images/Figure9-Page11.jpg

• http://0.tqn.com/d/history1900s/1/0/M/3/wwi15.gif• http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/375/504/375504235_640.jp

g• http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/e

urope_1911.jpg• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to World War I by Alan

Axelrod. Alpha Books. 2000.• http://neplains.com/ProductImages/pcmili/pcMili-Roun

dingThemUpFlags-p1917-a.jpg• http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/declarationsof

war.htm• http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/timeline/time_1916.html• http://www.pandahunters.com/images/europe%20191

9.gif