World War I

23.1

Chapter 23Section 1

Underlying Causes

• Nationalism– Devotion and loyalty to one’s country

• Rivalries– Needed to be biggest nation, most colonies, biggest

empire– Alliance-promise to defend if any were attacked

• Armies– Build large armies with modern weapons– Showed strength; threatened enemies

Spark for War

• 1914- Austria-Hungary vs. Serbia

• June 28, 1914- Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife killed by Serbian nationalist– Austria-Hungary declares war

Allies Central

• France

• Great Britain

• Russia

• Austria- Hungary

• Germany

• Ottoman Empire

Fighting Began

• Germany struck first– Attacked Belgium and France– France and Britain forces stop Germany

before they reach Paris

• Trench warfare– Deep ditches from which soldiers defended

their positions– Cost: millions die– Stalemate for next 3 years

1916 Battle of the Somme

Germany’s New Weapon

• The submarine

• Used to block the English from receiving food and supplies

• United States warn Germany: do not attack unarmed ships.– Germans ignore warning.

• America enters the war in April 1917.

Lusitania

Germans Attack

Allies Victory

• American forces gave Allies fresh advantage

• Germans tried new attack in France– U.S. and Allies stopped it AND pushed them

out of France

• Other Central Powers suffered defeats– Fighting occurred in Africa and Asia

• By November 1918: Central Powers had collapsed.

Treaty of Versailles

Met in Versailles, France to determine peace conditions.

League of Nations

• Proposed by American President Woodrow Wilson– Plan to prevent future wars

• Organization where countries would try to solve their problems peacefully.

Allies Redraw World Map

• Took land from Russia and Germany

• Broke up Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire

• Formed seven new countries

Blamed Germany

• Treaty forced Germany to accept blame

• Forced Germany to slash the size of their Army

• Forced Germany to give up their colonies

• Forced Germany to pay for war damage.

Set the stage

• Treaty set the stage for future conflict– Germans thought treaty was too harsh– Not everybody got their own nation– Nations resented losing land

Russian Revolution

• Problems and anger reached boiling point– Poverty, food shortages, heavy loss in war– turned people against government

• Russia czar, or ruler, gave up power

• New government– Communism- economic and political system

which government owns all businesses and controls the economy.

– New leader- Vladimir Lenin– 1st communist state November 1917

• Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR• Or Soviet Union