mr. leasure harrison career center winter 2013. after world war i broke out, the united states...

Mr. LeasureHarrison Career Center

Winter 2013

World War I(1914 – 1920)

War Breaks Out Across EuropeAfter World War I broke out, the United States eventually joined the Allied side. This was the fi rst time that the United States was involved in a European confl ict.

Causes of World War I


A single action, the assassination of the archduke, started World War I.

But the conflict had many underlying causes..


The first major cause of World War I was IMPERIALSIM:

The European powers (Britain, France, Germany, and Italy) competed for colonies in Africa and Asia.

Because it had fewer colonies than Britain and France, Germany felt it DESERVED more colonies.


The second major cause of World War I was NATIONALISM:

Europeans were very nationalistic, meaning they had strong feelings of pride, loyalty, and protectiveness toward their own countries.

They wanted to PROVE their nation were the best!


They placed their countries’ interest above all other concerns.

In addition, some ethnic groups hoped to form their own separate nations and were willing to fight for such a cause.


The third major cause of World War I was MILITARISM:

The belief that a nation needs a large military force is militarism.

In the decades before the war, the major powers built up their armies and their navies.


The fourth major cause of World War I were ALLIANCES:

In 1914, a tangled network of competing alliances bound European nations together.

An attack on one nation forced all its allies to come to its aid. ANY small conflict could become a larger way QUICKLY.

Central Powers

Austria HungaryGermanyOttoman EmpireBulgaria

SerbiaRussiaFranceGreat BritainItalySeven other

countries.


Allied Powers


.

Stalemate in the Trenches


When the war began in August, most people on both sides assumed it would be over within a few months.

With France as it’s goal, the German army invaded Belgium on August 4, 1914.


Despite stiff resistance, the Germans fought their way west into France.

They reached the Marne River about 40 miles from Paris.

Supported by the British, the French rallied and prepared to fight back.


The First Battle of the Marne, in September 1914, stopped the German advance.

Instead of once side quickly defeating the other, the two sides stayed in the mud for more than 3 years.


The solders were fighting a new kind of battle, trench warfare.

Troops huddled at the bottom of rat-infested trenches.


They fired artillery and machine guns at each other.

Lines of trenches stretched across France from the English Channel to the border with Switzerland.


For more than 3 years, the battle lines remained almost unchanged.

Neither side could win a clear victory.


In the trenches, snipers faced the constant threat of sniper fire.

Artillery shelling turned the area between the two opposing armies into “no mans land” too dangerous to occupy.


When soldiers left their trenches to attack enemy lines, they rushed into a hail of bullets and clouds of poison gas.

When battles did take place, they cost many lives, often without gaining more than an inch for either side.


DO NOT WRITE

The Battle of Somme between July and November 1917 resulted in the allies gaining only 7 miles of new territory.

What was the cost? 1.2 million causalities.

A War of New Technology


New technology raised the death toll:

The TANK smashed through barbed wire, crossed trenches, and cleared paths through no man’s land.

Solders used MACHINE GUNS that fired 600 bullets a minute.

POSION GAS, used by both sides, burned and blinded soldiers.


The war was the first major conflict in which the airplane was used in combat.

By 1917, fighter planes fought each other far above the trenches.

At sea, the German’s used submarines called U-Boats, they were equipped with both guns and torpedo's.

America’s Path to War


When the war started in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson announced a policy of neutrality, or refusing to take either side in the conflict.

Over time, German attacks shifted public opinion in the U.S. in favor of joining the Allied cause.

Central Powers


SerbiaRussiaFranceGreat BritainItalySeven other countries.


Allied Powers


When the war started in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson announced a policy of neutrality.

Over time, German attacks shifted public opinion in the U.S. in favor of joining the Allied cause.


In May of 1915, a German U-boat torpedoed the British passenger ship Lusitania, killing nearly 2000 people, including 128 American citizens.

The sinking turned many American’s against Germany.


The American’s were committed to neutrality and did not enter the war effort.

The American government warned Germany if they continued to attack merchant ships, they would enter the war on behalf of the Allies.

Germany obeyed until 1917..


In January of 1917, the German U-boats resumed their attacks on allied merchant ships out of desperation.

Germany knew the American’s would intervene on the allies behalf BUT they believed they could win the war before the American’s arrived.


In February of 1917, another blow to German – American relations developed.

The Americans discovered the Zimmerman Telegram.

The telegram was sent to Mexico by Germany. In the message, the Germans promised to help Mexico regain the American southwest, in exchange for aiding the Germans during the War.


In March of 1917, German U-boats sank three American ships.

President Woodrow Wilson asked for a declaration of War.

The U.S. Congress agreed to the declaration and the U.S. joined the war effort on behalf of the Allies.

Central Powers


The United States of America

SerbiaRussiaFranceGreat BritainItalySeven other countries.


Allied Powers

Revolution in Russia


Events in Russia made U.S. entry into the war more urgent for the Allies.

By early 1915, the huge Russian army had been outfought by a smaller German army led by better trained officers.


In August 1915, Czar Nicolas II insisted on taking control of the troops himself but his poor management was blamed for more deaths.

By 1917, food shortages led to riots, and soaring inflation led to strikes by angry workers in Russia.


In March 1917, the Russian Czar was forced to step down and the new government continued to participate in the war effort.

The Russian people continued to become more angry.


In November 1917, the Bolsheviks, a communist group led by Vladimir Lenin, took power.

Communism is a political system in which the government owns key parts of the economy, and there is no private property.


Because the war devastated Russia, Lenin at once began peace talks with Germany.

In March 1918, Russia withdrew from the war and signed a peace treaty with Germany.

German troops could not turn from Russia and focus their entire military on the western front.


The Allies urged the American’s to come quickly!

America Joins the FightU.S. forces helped the Allies win World War I. For the first time, the United States asserted itself as a world power.

Raising an Army and a Navy

The U.S. Army was not ready for war.

American fighting forces totaled fewer than 200,000 soldiers, many of them recent recruits.

To meet it’s need for troops, the government started a draft.


In May 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act.

This act required all males between the ages of 21 and 30 to sign up for the military service.

By the end of 1918, nearly 3 million men had been drafted for the war effort.


About 2 million American soldiers were sent to France.

They served under John J. Pershing as the American Expeditionary Force, or AEF.


British commanders asked the U.S. to mix the AEF soldiers with existing French and British combat units – President Wilson refused.

President Wilson believed having “separate and distinct” American combat units would guarantee the U.S. a major role in the peace talks at the war’s end.


Close to 50,000 American women served in WWI. For the first time in U.S. history, women served in the U.S. military.

The Navy recruited 12,000 women to be clerical workers and over 1,000 women went overseas in the Army.

Nurses made up the largest group of women in the Armed Services.


Around 400,000 African-Americans served in the armed forces.

As they had at home, they faced discrimination overseas. However, it came from white American solders rather than their European counterparts.

Responding from pressure from African-American groups, the military created two African-American combat divisions.

mr. leasure harrison career center winter 2013. after world war i broke out, the united states...

Documents

causes of world war

world war i1914

world war ithey

europeafter world war

major cause of world

world war ia single

trenches stalemate

underlying causes