WWI The Great War

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WWIThe Great War

• Chapter 17

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Causes for WWI

• European Rivalries
• Nationalism
• Militarism
• Alliances

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European Rivalries

• Since the mid 1800s, rivalries had been growing
  due to Imperialism
• All major countries look to expand their empires
  by creating new markets
• Competition turns to hostility as one power
  crosses paths with another

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Nationalism

• Growing spirit of ethnic nationalism
• French nationalist wanted revenge over the lost
  of Alsace-Lorraine
• Slavic people look to unite under one ethnic
  nation, Austria-Hungary looks to gain control of
  declining Ottoman Empire
• Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia, anger Serbia and
  Russia

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Militarism

• Militarism the glorification of war and the
  military
• Industrial machine feed military growth into an
  arms race among European countries
• All European powers adopt conscription (draft) to
  raise troops

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Alliances

• Alliance system, or defense agreements among
  nations, rise in Europe
• Bismarck creates German and Austria-Hungary
  Alliance
• 1882, Italy joins Germany and Austria-Hungary
• Italy was angry at France for occupying Tunis in
  North Africa
• Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy create Triple
  Alliance

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Alliances

• Russia and France become more friendly in 1890.
• Great Britain joins in 1904
• Russia, France, and Great Britain join the Triple
  Entente

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The Spark

• Assassination leads to war
• Europe and The Balkan peninsula is a powder keg
• The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
  sparks the first World War
• The alliance system forces many nations into the
  war

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Who the heck is Archduke Francis Ferdinand?

• Heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary
• He and his wife, Sophie, assassinated in Sarajevo
  by a Bosnian nationalist group The Black Hand
• The alliance power keg is sparked and Europe goes
  to war.

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War is declared

• Austria Hungary declares war on Serbia on July
  28th, 1914
• Russia Mobilized to help Serbia
• Germany declared War on Russia to help Austria
• France declares war on Germany to help Russia.
• Germany declares war on neutral Belgium in order
  to have an easier attack on France.
• Great Britain declares war on Germany due to
  treaties with France and Belgium.
• The Ottoman Empire joins the Central Powers.
• Armies use trench warfare to fight for small
  areas of land
• 2 Front War Eastern and Western Front

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The War

• By August 1914, the major powers in Europe had
  lined up against each other
• The war was thought to last weeks, not years
• Worst case, the war was thought to be finished
  before the new year

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German plan for victory

• Schlieffen Plan
• Created by General Alfred von Schlieffen in 1904
• Knew there were enemies on both sides
• Plan
• Attack France through less fortified Belgium
• Sweep around Paris and defeat France within 6
  weeks while Russia is still trying to mobilize

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Problems with the Plan

• German Commander Helmuth von Moltke led his
  troops a heavily fortified area of Belgium
• German advance was heavily delayed
• The Russian army mobilized quicker than expected
• 2 German divisions forced to move East
• British fought Germany from the North and were
  quite skilled
• French counter attack at Alsace-Lorraine slows
  offensive

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The Battle of the Marne

• French General pulled back troops to protect
  Paris after the lost at Alsace-Lorraine
• France counter attacks at the Marne river on
  September 5th.
• After 4 days, France pushes back Germany 50 miles
  from Paris
• Results
• Paris is saved, French Morale is high
• Abandonment of the Schlieffen Plan

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A Russian Disaster

• Quick Russian Mobilization lets Russia invade
  into east Prussia
• German Troops crush Russians at Tannenberg
  (Poland)
• Germans kill more than 30,000 Russians, capture
  92,000
• Russia never recovers from this defeat

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Years of Deadlock

• By early 1915, The Western front had turned to a
  war of attrition and trench warfare
• Trenches stretched around 500 miles
• no mans land varied from ½ mile to a few yards
• New technology in defense weapons compared to the
  older offensive weapons turned the war that was
  supposed to last weeks was stalemated for years

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Trench Warfare
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Technology produces deadly weapons

• Machine Guns
• Poison gas (Ypres)
• Tanks
• Airplanes
• Submarines
• Barbed Wire
• Artillery field guns

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Italy joins the Allies

• 1915, Italy denounces Central Powers, Join the
  Allies

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Battle of Verdun

• Feb 1916, Germans stage a surprise attack against
  the French forces at Verdun
• They Shall not Pass!
• After 6 months, Germans abandon offensive
• Bloodiest Battle of the War
• Both sides suffer over 500,000 casualties

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Battle of Somme

• Late 1916, British and French launch a major
  offensive against the Germans in the Somme River
  Valley
• German casualties 500,000
• British 400,000
• French 200,000
• Just like Verdun, many dead little ground gained

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The Eastern Front

• Less entrenched than Western Front
• Russia lacked the industrial needs to fight a
  modern war
• By the end of 1915, Russia had given up more land
  than the total of France, lost staggering about
  of men, weapons, supplies
• Russian leaders stayed in the war due to promises
  of Constantinople after the war

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Gallipoli Campaign

• Winston Churchill attempts to turn the tide in
  Britains favor
• Opened offensive in the Dardanelles
• Could supply Russia, take Constantinople and
  possibly put the Ottoman Empire out of the War
• 1915, offensive nearly succeeded, but Turkish
  reinforcement drive Britain out

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On the Seas

• British dominated the Seas
• Prevented war materials from reaching central
  powers with Blockades
• Germany introduce Submarine Warfare (U-boats)
• Sink passenger ships
• 1915 Lusitania 1,200 dead (128 Americans)
• Woodrow Wilson threatens Germany

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United States Enters the War

• Reasons for US entry
• Treatment of Belgians
• Sinking of Passenger Ships
• Lusitania and Sussex
• Strong economic ties to Allies
• 2.3 Billion vs. 27 Million
• Russian Revolution
• Zimmerman Note
• United States enters the war April 2nd, 1917

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Zimmerman Note
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United States Impact

• US Army adopts aggressive approach under
  Pershing, not using trenches and attacking
  aggressively
• General Pershing mandates US forces remain
  separate from other Allied forces
• Victory in Meuse-Argonne offensive (Sept-Nov.
  1918), 26,000 US soldiers killed
• 52,000 American troops killed, 230,000 wounded,
  60,000 die of the flu
• Over 50,000 African Americans served in France
• 369th Infantry regiment received the French award
  for bravery for their role in the battle of
  Meuse-Argonne.
• US Navy reduces losses to submarines
• United States and Great Britain use a convoy
  system
• Tons of shipping sunk by U-boats falls from
  900,000 each month to 200,000 tons

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The Russian Revolution

• WWI would be the breaking point for the Czarist
  rule in Russia
• By 1917, Russian morale had hit an all time low
• ¼ the soldiers had no weapons
• Lack of food on the front and at home

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Fall of the Czar

• Czar Nicholas II was politically incompetent and
  relied too much on Rasputin for guidance.
• Czars relatives kill Rasputin, doesnt fix
  problems.
• Riots form in Petrograd, Czar orders soldiers to
  put down riots, soldiers join riots
• March 15, 1917 Nicholas II abdicates throne, Ends
  Romanov Dynasty

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The Provisional Government

• After abdication, Provisional government takes
  over.
• Alexander Kerensky is the first provisional
  minister
• Doesnt withdraw from war, fails to change social
  policy

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Rise of Lenin

• Urged lower middle class to topple provisional
  government
• Leader of Bolsheviks (socialist)
• Peace, Land, and Bread

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The Bolshevik Revolution

• November 1917, Bolsheviks overthrow Provisional
  Government
• Soldiers, workers take over post office,
  telephone system, electrical plants, train
  stations
• Election to form new assembly goes against the
  Bolsheviks (420 seats -220)
• After one day, assembly dissolved

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Results of Revolution

• No private ownership of property
• Distributes land among peasants
• Workers had control of factories and mines
• Bolsheviks now called Communists
• Russia out of WWI

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The Civil War

• Reds vs Whites
• Lenins government defended by Red Army and Leon
  Trotsky
• Both sides burned villages and killed civilians
  loyal to the other side
• 1918, communists kill imprisoned Czar and family
• Whites admit defeat by 1921.

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Total War

• Warring countries engage in total war
• Increasing size of armies, government powers, tax
  increases, rationing goods, set prices and wages,
  banning strikes
• Women take mens place in factories, nurses,
  increase confidence
• By wars end, many women were granted voting
  rights

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Global War

• Imperialists nations are forced to recruit
  colonials due to the dwindling number of soldiers
• Asia and Africa
• Colonies expect independence after the war for
  their services
• Middle East aided Allies, expecting freedom from
  Ottoman empire

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The End of Fighting

• German troops and supplies are running out faster
  than Allies
• Last offensive fails to take Paris in 1918
• Allies break through on the Western Front in
  1918. Push Germans back to German border
• Central Powers collapse
• Ottomans lose the Balkans
• Austria-Hungary revolt
• Kaiser Wilhelm II ends war on Nov 11, 1918 by
  signing an armistice

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Effects of the War

• 9 millions soldiers dead
• 21 million wounded
• 13 million civilians dead of disease and
  starvation
• The war shattered Europes aristocratic order and
  increased social and political instability

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Restoring the Peace

• Wilsons 14 points
• Peace without Victory
• NO secret treaties
• Freedom of the seas
• Tariffs would be lowered
• Reduction in arms
• Interests of colonial nations must be considered
• 6-13. New boundaries in Europe Czechoslovakia,
  Poland, Finland, Yugoslavia (self-determination)
• 14. Establish League of Nations