world war i: the beginnings
DESCRIPTION
World war i: The Beginnings. Immediate Causes. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
World war i:The Beginnings
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip
Princip was a member of the Serbian nationalist group Black Hand
Immediate Causes
Why Assassination? Ferdinand planned to give the Slavs of Bosnia-Herzegovina an equal voice in the Austro-Hungarian government
This threatened the movement for a separate Slavic state
What Next? Austria-Hungary held the Serbian government responsible for the assassination of Ferdinand
Austria-Hungary sought backup from Germany in the event of war
What Next? Germany issued a Blank Check to Austria-Hungary
Blank Check: William II agreed to support any actions that Austria-Hungary might take against Serbia
The Ultimatum: Austria-Hungary demanded entrance into Serbia
Why? Suppress subversive organizations
Conduct an investigation
Tensions Build!!
Tensions Build!! Austria-Hungary gave Serbia 48 hours to agree to the ultimatum
Serbia REFUSED to agree July 28, 1914: Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia!
Others Get Involved Russia, an ally of Serbia, mobilized troops along the borders of Germany & Austria-Hungary
Germany warned Russia to stop
Russia refused!
Others Get Involved Germany issued an ultimatum to France
Gave France 18 hours to decide whether or not it would support Russia
France gave an inconclusive answer!
08/01/1914: Germany declared war on Russia
08/03/1914: Germany declared war on France
Declarations of War
Declarations of War Great Britain hoped to remain neutral
DID NOT want to become involved in a war
HOWEVER…
Germany demanded passage across Belgium in order to fight France
Part of Germany’s Schlieffen Plan
The Belgium Issue
The Belgium Issue In 1839 Britain, Russia, France & Germany signed a treaty that guaranteed Belgium’s neutrality
Due to the fact that Belgium was a neutral nation, Great Britain protested Germany’s demand
The Belgium Issue Despite Belgium’s neutrality, Germany invaded on August 14, 1914
Great Britain demanded that Germany immediately withdraw from Belgium
Germany responded by referring to the treaty as nothing more than a “scrap of paper”
As a result Great Britain declared war on Germany
The Belgium Issue
The Schlieffen Plan Germany’s plan to deal with a TWO-FRONT war
The German army DID NOT want to fight the war on BOTH fronts at the SAME time
The Schlieffen Plan
Germany believed that the Russian army was slow
Believed they could defeat FR on the Western Front in 5 to 6 weeks
The Schlieffen Plan
Planned to invade Belgium & encircle Paris
They would then be able to fight Russia on the Eastern Front
The Schlieffen Plan
Both sides thought that the war would be a quick ordeal…
EXPECTATIONS
World War I:Opposing Sides
Opposing Sides The Triple Entente became the Allied Powers
The Triple Alliance became the Central Powers
Allied powers
Allied powers Major Players: France, Great Britain, Russia Italy (1915) Japan (1915) United States (1917) 28 other countries
Allied powers Strengths: More soldiers More money Greater industrial potential Great Britain – best navy France – excellent army
Allied powers Weaknesses: Russia was WEAK & POOR No unified command Each country acted independently until the end of the war
Fighting on their OWN territory
Central powers
Central powers Major Players: Germany, Austria-Hungary
Bulgaria Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
Central powers Strengths: Germany – best army Germany – excellent navy Superior weapons Fighting in enemy territory
Central powers Excellent lines of communication
Unified command Everyone under German control
Control of the Dardanelles
Central powers Weaknesses: Fighting a two-front war