World War I

(The Great War)

1914-1918

World History

9th Grade

Mr. Booth

Connector

Have you ever made a pactwith somebody? Explain thatpact with detail.

What happens if you went back on your agreement?

M.A.I.N. Causes of the Great War

M Militarism— larger standing armies, more weapons, pride

A Alliances—a complicated network of connected countries

I Imperialism—countries sought as many colonies as possible in Africa and Asia

N Nationalism—increased pride and competition between nations.

Early Agreements

BEFORE THE WAR

• Alliance- countries would defend one another

• Entente- countries would not fight one another

• Triple Alliance—Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy(will switch to

• Triple Entente—Great Britain, France, Russia

The Messy Balkans

Many small nations with very different cultures, languages, and histories

The Messy Balkans

• Concentration of Slavs—a common heritage with some cultural similarities

“Slav” is a category like Hispanic, Arab, Germanic

Remember—Russia is a Slavic nation too!

• The “powder keg” of Europe A history of conflict and ethnic divides made

future conflict likely

• Serbia and Austria-Hungary competed for Slavic lands. AH annexes (adds) Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia is outraged.

All you need is one little spark

and….BOOM!

• Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of A—H, and his wife Sophie were traveling to Sarajevo, a Slavic city close to the Serbian border.

FF was shot point-blank by a 19-year old Slavic nationalist, Gavrilo Princip –

Black Hand – Serbian organization committed to ridding Bosnia of Austrian rule

AH Ultimatum to Serbia1. Stop all-anti Austrian

activity2. Serbia would have to

conduct an investigation into the murders…Did it happen?

What happened to Princip?

•Tried: December,1914

•Death Penalty: Applies to 20 years old and up at time of crime

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

•Dies in prison in 1917 of tuberculosis

• A-H declares war on Serbia▫ Russia mobilizes to the borders with A-H and Germany

(assumes GER will defend A-H)• GER declares war on RUS• GER declares war on France (assumes FR will help

RUS)• GB declares war on GER (last country involved)• HOW DID A GLOBAL WAR HAPPEN WITHIN 30

DAYS?• The Alliance System. Is there one in Europe today?

IN A MATTER OF DAYS, MUCH OF EUROPE IS OFFICIALLY ENGAGED IN

WAR.

Central Powers Allied Powers

• Germany

• Austria-Hungary

• Ottoman Empire

• Bulgaria

• Countries located in the “center” of Europe

• Russia

• France

• Great Britain

• Japan

• Italy (left the Triple Alliance and later joined Allies)

1. Where are Germany’s enemies located?

2. What do many of the “neutral” nations have in common?

• 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.

• In reality, the Russians mobilized in 10 days.

• The area of France from the North Sea to the Swiss border (500 miles!)

• Constant fighting but little movement (a stalemate)

• Trench warfare- each side dug miles of trenches

▫ Protection from enemy fire

▫ Mud everywhere

▫ Rats & disease, trench foot

• No man’s land- the area between opposing trenches

▫ As small as 50 yards to hundreds of yards

• Area along the German and Russian border

• Russians and Serbs battled Germans and Austro-Hungarians

• Russia was NOT INDUSTRIALIZED, so its supplies were severely limited

• Germany forced a two front war

• Poison gas—caused blindness, severe blisters, or death by choking

• Machine gun—fires many rounds automatically

• Submarine—cannot be seen without radar, used torpedoes to attack ships

• Planes—used in war for the first time; only 850 at first

• Tank—huge, versatile armored vehicle

War expands—battles on islands, in Africa, and near

Constantinople

Section 3:

U.S. Enters the War

• Stance on World War I is neutrality. “It’s Europe’s war. There way over there, we are here.”

• But, blockades occurred.

▫ Britain blocks all German ships going to the U.S.

▫ Unrestricted Submarine Warfare: Germanythen announces any U.S. ship going to Britain has the risk of being blown up.

▫ Why is this occurring?

• Unrestricted submarine warfare- GER declares it will sink ANY ship in the waters around Britain

Several American passenger and supply ships are sunk

• Zimmerman Note—Zimmerman, a GER official, tried to get Mexico to join the Central Powers!

▫ Alliance against U.S.

▫ If Mexico says yes, they will get back in TX, AZ, and NM

▫ Mexico says mmm…no thanks!

Central Powers Allies

• 11 million German-Americans

• Irish-Americans hated Great Britain

• Close cultural ties • Shared transatlantic

cables (so censored stories)

• Big business loaned much $ to allies

US Exports to both sides: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

1. Sinking of the Lusitania2. Zimmerman Note

▫ Mexico intercepts note by Germans to ask Mexico if they will let Germany invade U.S. from Mexico. In exchange they will get back what they lost in Mexican cession (AZ, TX, NM, NV, CA) if they cooperate.

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

Effect: April 2, 1917, U.S. Congress declares war on Germany.

1. WWI was a total war(all of the Gov’sresources are used for war)

Gov controlled what factories made

2. Influenza (the flu) was spread through WWI in 1918. It killed 20 million people around the world.

3. 8.5 million soldiers died, 21 million wounded

4. Countless civilians died from starvation, disease, or from the war

5. Economic impact—HUGE financial cost ($338 billion!)

- Farmland, homes, villages, towns destroyed

6. Social impact—insecurity and despair around the world

End of the War

• In 1917, Russia withdraws from the war▫ Unrest inside the country and huge losses (5.5

million people!) bring down the government▫ New Gov signs a peace treaty with Germany!

• In the summer of 1918, Allies out-man the weakening Central powers

• November 11, 1918, Germany and France sign an armistice, an agreement to stop fighting.

• Do you know why Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11 every year?

Section 4: A Flawed Peace

Paris Peace Conference

“The Big Four”

• Woodrow Wilson- United States

• George Clemenceau- France

• David Lloyd George- Great Britain

• Vittorio Orlando- Italy

Questions

President Wilson was determined to make international peace at this treaty.

1. What was Clemenceau’s goal?

2. What advantage might Clemenceau have in negotiations for the outcome of the war?

Conference Ideas

• Self-determination- the idea that people can decide what government they want to live under

Colonies should be adjusted to be more fair to those who live there

Borders should be shifted and new countries created following ethnic lines

An association of nations to maintain world peace

Treaty of Versailles

• FR and GB wanted harsh controls on Germany Wanted to prevent Germany from doing this again

• Result:▫ GER lost territory and colonies in Africa & Pacific▫ Could not have an air force▫ “war guilt clause”: made GER solely responsible for the

war! Had to PAY $$ to the Allies! (reparations)

• League of Nations- international association formed to keep peace

USA President Wilson’s idea

Legacy/Results

1. USA never ratified the Treaty and never joined the League of Nations. Why?-League now had very little power if US didn’t join…-Americans wanted to stay out of European affairs

2. Germans were bitter because of the reparations ($)

3. Italy and Japan didn’t gain the territory they wanted

4. African and Middle East territories wanted independence but GB and FR ignored them.

Directions: Write this down1.Who are the characters?2.Who is the audience?3.What’s the

message/meaning?4.Is it persuasive? Why or why

not?