World War 1

Worldwide Crisis in Europe

The Causes of World War 1

• In the early 1900s tension began to grow among the European powers

• Nationalism was the root of the cause of most of the tension in Europe.– Nationalism—an intense loyalty to one’s country

• Nationalism was what led to the creation of unified countries, like Germany and Italy (refer to your Nationalism and Nation-States notes)

• The actions of Germany and Italy concerned older countries in Europe– For example, Britain and France felt it was

challenging their power

The Race for Empires• Problems in Europe also grew because of their race

to imperialize Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world (see your Age of Imperialism notes)

• Britain and France already possessed large overseas empires and wanted to expand even more

• Germany, Italy, and Russia wanted to increase their empires, too

• Because the world was running out of areas to imperialize, nations began to conflict with one another.

Military Build Up

• As nations competed for colonies, protectorates, and spheres of influence, they built up their armies and navies.– If one country built up their army, its rival felt

threatened and built up their own; it was a cycle!• Europeans were caught up in the spirit of

militarism– Militarism—fascination with war and the military

• Germany, France, and Russia developed huge armies– They used conscription to fill their armies with soldiers

• Conscription—requiring citizens to serve in the military for a certain period of time– In the U.S. this was referred to as “The Draft”

• Britain had the world’s largest and most powerful navy

• In the early 1900s, Germany began to build up it’s navy

• The British saw this as a threat and began to build even more warships

• A bitter rivalry began between Britain and Germany.

Forming Alliances

• As militarism grew, nations began to make alliances– alliances—defense agreements to help each other if

war/trouble broke out• By 1914 two major alliances had formed between

the countries• The Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and

Italy• The Triple Entente: Britain, France, and Russia– Entente (pronounced ahn-tahnt)—an understanding

among nations

• Alliances usually help to keep peace by creating a balance of power.– A balance of power keeps any one country from

becoming too powerful.• But, Europe’s alliances actually created a great

danger.– An attack on one nation was all that was needed

to trigger a war involving many countries!• Europe was like a barrel of gunpowder, a

single spark would set it off.

The Balkan Crisis• The Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires had ruled

the Balkans (people living on the Balkan Peninsula)• As nationalism spread, groups within these empires

demanded independence.– The Slavs: a term used for several smaller groups of Balkans

(Serbs, Bosnians, Croats, and Slovenes); they all wanted independence.

– The Serbs were the first smaller group to win their freedom, they formed a state called Serbia• They believed their mission was to unite all of the South Slavs

• The Russians backed the Slavs.• The Austro-Hungarians didn’t like that the Serbs were

trying to get the rest of the Slavs to leave their empire and join Serbia.

• The Austro-Hungarians wanted to limit Serbia’s growth and power, so they took over a neighboring country, Bosnia.– The Serbs were furious because Bosnia was supposed to

join their country!• With Russia’s support, the Serbs prepared for war. • But, it didn’t happen…yet; King William II of Germany

demanded that Russia accept the Austro-Hungarians takeover of Serbia, or they would face war with Germany (Russia and Serbia did NOT want that)– Russia backed down, but felt humiliated (a bitter rivalry

with Germany started)• Although war was avoided this time, Europeans

expected it would break out in the Balkan region to go to war soon.

The War Begins

• The spark that finally set off World War 1 was lit in Sarajevo (a small town in Bosnia)

• There, in June 1914, a man named Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand (he was an heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary)

• Princip was a member of a secret nationalist group called The Black Hand– They did not like the Austro-Hungarians

• Austro-Hungary blamed Serbia for the archduke’s death and declared war on Serbia

• Russia began mobilization (assembly and movement) of its troops.– By mobilizing Russia showed it was willing to fight for

Serbia• Germany declared it would fight for Austria-Hungary• France entered and sided with Russia• German troops had to go through Belgium to attack

France, but this led to another country joining the war– Britain had promised to help Belgium stay out of the fight,

so once Germans set foot on Belgium soil, Britain declared war on Germany

Alliance Name Changes

• The Allies: In 1914 it was France, Russia, Great Britain. Italy joined in 1915

• The Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

The Fight• Most of the fighting took place on the Western Front,

a battle zone between France and Germany.– French and British stopped a German advance in Sept.

1914. The battle to hold the Germans continued for 3 years, they barely advanced any.

• Troops, on both sides, dug themselves into the ground in trenches protected by barbed wire.

• This kind of fighting is called Trench Warfare– Soldiers had to climb out of trenches and cross open land

while machine guns and artillery (like modern cannons) fired at them.

• In major battles, several hundred thousands were killed or wounded.

A New Kind of War

• WWI, also called The Great War, was very different from earlier wars.

• Both sides developed new, powerful weapons– Machine guns fired bullets at rapid speeds– Huge artillery guns fired shells out more than 75mi– Submarines attacked ships

• Poison gases were used for the first time– So were tanks and flame-throwers and early

versions of airplanes

Government Control

• Supplies had to be made and bought for millions of soldiers

• To do this, governments decided what civilians could and couldn’t buy. – They used rationing (a system of limited the amount of

foods/materials in use.)– They also controlled trade and took over industries and

railroads.• Gov. also wanted to control public opinion. Wartime

govs. used propaganda.– Propaganda—biased government information/advertising

America Enters the War

• When the war began, President Woodrow Wilson said the U.S. wasn’t supporting either side.

• But, many of Wilson’s advisors supported Britain and they believed an Allied victory was the only way to keep balance in the world.– So, the U.S. lowered loans to Germany and gave the

Allies lots of money through loans– We also gave the Allies food and equipment.

• Germany didn’t have as much food, supplies, or money.

• The British dealt Germany another blow by imposing a blockade on Germany– blockade—using warships to stop goods/people from

leaving/entering a country.• The Germans fought back by using the world’s first

ocean going submarines (Germans called them U-Boats)

• Germany warned Britain that they would sink any ship sailing the waters around Britain.– Despite the warning, the British cruise ship Lusitania

entered the war zone.– A U-boat fired on it killing 1,200 passengers,

including…128 AMERICANS.

U.S. Declares War

• Jan. 1917: Germany contacts Mexico to see if it would join the Central Powers if the U.S. declared war.– They promised Mexico it would regain Texas, New Mexico,

and Arizona• The British intercepted the message and told the US!• Feb. 1917: Germany starts sinking boats without

warning again, including 6 AMERICAN merchant ships WITHOUT warning

• April 6th, 1917 President Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany.

The War Ends• Warships carried wave after wave of American

troops to Europe and Allied hopes soared– This was the help they needed to end the war!

• Nov. 1917: Russia pulls out of the war.• Germany strengthened its army and marched

towards Paris in 1918.• Jun. 1918-American and French troops block the

march• Oct. 1918, The Battle of the Argonne Forest:

Americans launch a massive attack on Germany– America suffered major losses, but destroyed the

German defenses

• Meanwhile, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was in chaos

• German emperor stepped down after the navy threatened a mutiny and a revolt broke out in Berlin.

• Nov. 11, 1918-Germany signed an armistice (cease-fire) and the war was over!

Treaty of Versailles

• In Jan. peace talks began at Versailles (remember from your French Revolution notes?)

• Main figures were:– U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, British Prime Minister

David Lloyd George, French Premier Georges Clemenceau, and Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando.

• Pres. Wilson presented the 14 point plan– Plan stated that national groups in Europe should form their

own countries– Also called for League of Nations, an organization in which

member nations would cooperate to keep peace

• The treaty stripped Germany of most of its armed forces and required the Germans to pay reparations of $33 BILLION to the Allies– Reparations—war damages

• President Wilson went back to the U.S. to convince the gov. to join the League of Nations, but they rejected it– They were worried it would cause us to fight in

more wars– Result: U.S. was left out of the League of Nations

New Nations in Europe

• WWI and treaties redrew the map of Europe– Germany and Russia lost territory– Austro-Hungarian empire disappeared completely

• Lands from these 3 empires became nation-states: Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Hungary

• Serbia became Yugoslavia• These countries were all unstable because different

groups of people, with different ideas were now living together.

So what happened to the Ottomans?

• Allies decided to break up the Ottoman Empire (since they sided with the Central Powers)

• Only area left to the Ottomans (who controlled much of the Middle East) was Turkey.

The Russian Revolution

• In the early 1900s many Russians were discontent– Urban workers had terrible lives, peasants paid high taxes,

middle class wanted voice in gov.• 1905—uprising took place before the czar’s palace in St.

Petersburg• Czar Nicholas agreed to change some things and

created a duma (national assembly), but eventually, in the midst of World War 1 (1917), he was overthrown– 300 year dynasty came to an end– Members of the duma formed a provisional (temporary)

government and Alexander Kerensky served as its leader

Vladimir Lenin

• Many Russians were unhappy with the new government and formed soviets– Soviet—a committee to represent interests (this term came to

represent a sect of people thought)• Soviets and provisional gov. became locked in a political

battle• Members of Soviets were workers and peasants who

believed in socialism– The most radical Soviets were called Bolsheviks their leader was

Vladimir Lenin– He promised to take Russia out of the war and give all land to the

peasants.

Russian Government• Oct. 1917: Bolsheviks took over Russia’s two largest cities: St.

Petersburg and Moscow• Nov. 1917: they took over the Winter Palace and the

government. • Lenin took control of the government• Lenin signed peace treaty with Germany and took Russia out of

the war.• Bolsheviks became known as Communists (also known as Reds)

and Leon Trosky formed the Red Army• There was civil war in Russia between the Reds and their

enemies (known as the whites). • The Whites wanted Russia to continue to fight in the war (the

Allies sent them aide) but the Reds defeated them and Lenin stayed in power.