HIS 31 CHAPTER 22 POWER POINT

WORLD WAR I AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

KEY TERMS

Central Powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire Allies – Britain, France, Russia, United States Schlieffen Plan – German military strategy; Germany held off from attacking Russia while their forces

moved through Belgium to defeat France Trench Warfare – soldiers fought vast areas of ditches that included underground networks of bunkers,

communication arrays, and gun emplacements; this type of warfare led to stalemates Total War – all forces and segments of society are mobilized for a long, all-out struggle; result in the

destruction of large portions of Europe on a scale never seen before War Guilt Clause – Treaty of Versailles (1919) placed all blame on Germany for causing the most

destruction during WWI League of Nations – association of countries organized after WWI designed to deal with international

tensions and prevent future wars Soviets – a workers council during the 1905 and 1917 Russian Revolutions and part of the structure of

the government in the Soviet Union Bolsheviks – “Majority faction”, the radical and Leninist wing of the Russian Marxist Party; Bolsheviks

became the Communist Party after 1917 Treaty of Versailles – after Germany surrendered in November 1918, they had to accept full

responsibility for the war ,pay huge reparations, downsize their military, and they were stripped of colonies

Fourteen Points - President Wilson’s plan for peace; wanted an end to secret treaties, free trade, self-determination, freedom of the seas, and the reduction of arms

ANALYZING QUESTION 1How might it be argued that several nations should bear

responsibility for starting World War I?

Many European nations, such as Britain, France, and Germany were imperial rivals

These countries all experienced militant nationalism They each struggled to gain international power and prestige Britain, France, and Germany expanded their armies and navies (Dreadnought);

this military planning led to suspicion and fear between nations Assassination – June 28, 1914 – Serbian terrorist, Gavrilo Princip, shot and

killed the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife (spark that ignited the war);Serbians wanted Slavic liberation from Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia on July 28, 1914 as a result of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination

Russia, who was Serbia’s protector (both Slavic) and France begin mobilizing Germany mobilized and declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914 and France

on August 3, 1914 Great Britain declared war on Germany on August 4,1914

ANALYZING QUESTION 2Why was World War I so devastating, both physically and

psychologically?

Trench Warfare – soldiers had to live in trenches filled with rats, mud, human bodies, lice, waste, feces, poison gas, and the stench of death

New weapons that caused massive amounts of destruction and death; tanks, machine guns, submarines, deadlier battleships, airplanes used as fighters and bombers, poison gas, grenades, flamethrowers

No Man’s Land – the area between trenches; these areas were littered with human remains and dead animals that were mowed down by the thousands due to machine gun fire

Troops suffered from a lack of food and water for days Battle of Verdun (1916) – 9 month battle; over 700,000 men were killed on both sides; Germans

sometimes fired over one million artillery shells in one day Battle of the Somme (1916) – British lost over 20,000 soldiers in one day; a British soldier stated

that, “As far as you could see, there were all these bodies lying there – literally thousands of them…It didn’t seem possible”

Diseases spread during battles in Turkey and other regions of the Middle East such as malaria, cholera, and dysentery

Politicians and generals did not want to halt the slaughter because they believed anything short of complete victory would mean all the deaths were in vain

Huge portions of Europe were devastated by the war such as homes, factories, farms, and churches The destruction of farmland led to food shortages all over Europe; the continent also experienced

financial disaster

ANALYZING QUESTION 4, PART 1Explain the events that led to the Bolshevik (Russian) Revolution of 1917?

Russians were unhappy with the tsar (czar),Nicholas II He did not allow the vast majority of Russians to participate in politics and let the nobility, church,

army, and bureaucracy rule Frustrated Russian intellectuals turned to revolutionary doctrines, such as Marxism, and terrorism, in

order to usher in rapid change Tsar lost support after his army and navy were defeated by the Japanese during the Russo-

Japanese War (1904-1905) Bloody Sunday (January 22, 1905) – Tsar’s soldiers opened fire on thousands of workers protesting

economic hardships in front of his palace in St. Petersburg 1915 – Nicholas II assumed personal control of the army; result was Russian people blaming tsar for

the country’s military losses War led to hunger, so workers led strikes and demonstrations against tsar’s leadership March 1917- Tsar Nicholas II abdicated his throne; Duma (parliament) set up a provisional

government Peasants wanted more land and workers wanted more bread; provisional government failed to solve

these problems July 1917 – Bolsheviks fought against provisional government’s forces ; October 1917 – Bolsheviks

took over November 1917 – Majority of Bolsheviks supported Vladimir Lenin so he was elected leader of the

Russian government

ANALYZING QUESTION 4, PART 2Effects of the Russian Revolution

Revolution caused Russia to withdraw from WWI and forge a peace treaty with Germany Bolsheviks are now called Communists and they controlled Russia Bolsheviks/Communists supported Marxism Marxism – form of socialism where factors of production are owned by the public and operate for the

welfare of all Communism - all the means of production are owned by the government; private property does not

exist and all goods and services are shared equally They consolidated their power by setting up a council led by soviets Council was dominated by only a few Communist Party members Capitalism was abolished Money was replaced with a barter system Committees of workers who answered to the Communist Party took over industry and commerce Government nationalized land and turned it over to peasant committees; all crop surpluses were given

to the state State took over church lands and granted equality to both sexes Russian Civil War – Russian aristocracy (White forces) attacked Bolshevik regime (Red armies); Red

armies won in 1919 Russia eventually becomes the Soviet Union