The Great War

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The Great War
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19th Century Where it all begins.

• Balance of Power
• 1. Interlocking alliances among major European
  Powers
• a. result of Napoleons conquests in Europe
• b. defensive alliances
• c. all well armed and somewhat equal
• d. aggressor would face all others
• e. kept small revolutions and struggles for self
  determination down
• ?isolated France
• 2. Result prevented major wars in Europe during
  19th century

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Europe Loses Her Balance

• 1. New Strong Nations Emerge
• a. Germany From Prussia and German speaking
  lands 1871
• ?established as a result of the Franco-Prussian
  War or 1870-71
• b. Italy Kingdom of Italy proclaimed in 1861
• 2. Sense of Balance is lost as new strong nations
  begin to compete economically and militarily.
• a. of the two, Germany was the up and coming
  powerhouse.
• ?Victories over Austria in the Seven Weeks
  War(1866), and over France in the Franco-Prussian
  War(1870-71)
• 3. Loss of Established Strength
• a. Ottoman (Turkish) Empire
• b. Becomes Weak ? The Sick Man of Europe
• c. Europeans Jockey for position here

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The Sick Man of Europe

• Abdul the Damned ? Oppressive absolute
  monarchy
• Diverse Nationalities and Religions
• Balkan Wars? Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro,
  Romania and Serbia
• Land coveted by Russia, Serbs, Austria and others

Why?
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Why?...The Dardanelles
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Shift Balance of FearLate 19th -20th Century

• Industrialization
• 1. Nations prosper with strong national
  economies ?Arms race
• 2. new high tech weapons, butlow tech
  strategies
• a. machine gun
• b. trench warfare? no mans land
• B. Colonization Scramble for Africa ( Asia)

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Yellow Journalism

• National Newspapers spread hatred and nationalism

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Two Main Blocks Develop

• Triple Alliance
• Triple Entente

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The Powder Keg of Europe Ignites

• Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Wife assassinated

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Reaction of Austria-Hungary

• Threatens Serbia because they believe that the
  Serbian Government knew of the plot
• Need to Save Face and show that they are an
  established strength in the Balkans
• This would stop Serbian support for nationalism
  in Bosnia

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Austria Receives Blank Check from Germany

• Kaiser writes personal letter issuing full
  support
• Austria now has confidence to wage war, if
  necessary

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An entire month after the incident, on June 28th
1914, Austria declares war on Serbia
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The Dominoes Begin to Fall

• Tsar orders a partial mobilization to scare
  Austria into peace
• Kaiser writes friendly letter to his cousin
  urging him to stop mobilization.
• Tsar waits then hearing of Germanys
  mobilization, orders full mobilization
• Slow, huge, long distances
• Unprepared
• Germany Declares War on Russia on August 1
• France, in following the alliance formed with
  Russia, begins to mobilize on August 1
• Germany
• Sends letter to Belgium asking to use Belgium
  lands to attack France if Belgium refuses,
  Germany will consider her an enemy
• Declares War on France (states that a French
  aircraft entered Germanys airspace) on Aug 4
• Moves into Belgium
• England
• Declares war on Germany over Belgium Neutrality
  on Aug 4
• Must keep channel Free of German Navy

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So It Begins

• Plans, Opening Moves and the World of 1914

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The Plans

• Germany Schlieffen Plan
• France Plan XVII
• Beligium Get readyhere comes Germany.
• Britain Control the seas and send the BEF? Did
  not believe that they would have to send their
  whole army.
• Italy Neutral
• Russia Get movingprepared or not!
• ?Two attacks North and South

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Schlieffen Plan

• Keys
• Strong right through Belgium takes Paris
• Left feints retreat
• Take French Ports

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France Plan XVII

• Emphasized elan and cran courage and
  guts.
• Push with all forces united to attack the German
  armies
• Underestimated strength of German forces going
  through Belgium

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Opening Moves

• Western Front
• Eastern Front

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Opening Moves Western Front

• Germany Moltkes version of the Schlieffen Plan
• Strikes Belgium
• Problem!
• Belgium does not give in
• Delay in plans
• Atrocities hurt Germany

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The rape of Belgium

• The rape of Belgium served no military purpose
  whatsoever and did Germany untold harm,
  particularly in the United States, where the
  reputations of the Kaiser and his government were
  blackened from the outset by reports of massacre
  and cultural dispoliation.
• -John Keegan, The First World War, p. 82
• Our advance in Belgium is certainly brutal, but
  we are fighting for our lives and all who get in
  the way must take the consequences. General
  Moltke, August 5, 1914

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• Plan Fails
• French middle stops advancing and attacks north
• BEF fills holes in French line
• Belgium doesnt roll over
• German attack is weakened when they move troops
  to the East
• Stalemate Fall, 1914

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Opening Moves Eastern Front

• Russia Mobilizes faster than expected
• Unprepared
• Germany has to move troops to the East
• Two Russian Armies Attack
• North into East Prussia
• South
• Austrians Outmatched
• Many nationalities (Slavic troops will not fight
  Slavic people)
• Germans to the rescue? But How?

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Russian Moves
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The World at War The End of 1914

• Two Sides
• Central Powers Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman
  Empire, Bulgaria(1915)
• Allies England, France, Russia, Serbia, Japan,
  Italy(1915), USA(1917)
• Advantages and Disadvantages?
• Central Powers
• Allies

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A War of Stalemate and AttritionBut

• Christmas Truce

The In Flanders Field Museum, Belgium
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At Sea

• British, French, Italians, Americans Goals
• Lifeline to Britain Food and Troops
• Shut off Central Powers
• Germans
• Surface Fleet
• Role in developing hostilities with Britain
• Successful raiders at first
• Submarines U-Boats
• Very successful in blockading Britain
• Made rules of sea warfare obsolete
• Eventually will bring US into the war

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New Weapons Used
The Red Barons (Manfred von Rickthofen) Triplane

• Machine Guns Weapon that changed the strategy
  of war
• Airplanes
• Poison Gas though France was the first to use
  chemical warfare, it was Germany that used
  chemical warfare in the form of poison gases
  (chlorine, phosgene, mustard) most extensively.
• Tank introduced by the British in Sept. 1916,
  the tank did not prove effective and reliable
  until WWII

Casualties and Deaths by Gas
Country Total Casualties Deaths
Austria-Hungary 100,000 3,000
British Empire 188,706 8,109
France 190,000 8,000
Germany 200,000 9,000
Italy 60,000 4,627
Russia 419,340 56,000
USA 72,807 1,462
Others 10,000 1,000
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United States Gets Involved

• 1916Wilson reelected with slogan, He kept us
  out of war.
• Pressure builds to intervene
• Shared culture with the British Empire
• Jingoism
• Tie to the Allies
• Sold food and materials
• From debtor to creditor nation If Allies lose
  war what will happen to loans?

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Time to Act

• Unrestricted submarine warfare
• Germans want to stop US from helping the Allies
• Sink any ships in war zone
• British passenger liner Lusitania sunk 1198
  drown 124 Americans
• Allies in disarray
• Russia in turmoil
• French troops mutiny and refuse to fight
• England down to 6 weeks of food reserves
• Zimmermann Letter

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The Sinking of the Lusitania. An example of
yellow journalism.
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The Great War, An Exhausting Struggle

• War of Stalemate and Attrition

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War of Stalemate and Attrition

• Millions of men killed, little gained
• 19th century tactics against 20th century
  weaponry
• War of Economies
• Total national production for war
• Starve out the opposition
• Britain within 6 weeks food supply in 1917
• German children and elderly start dying of
  malnutrition
• Allies win this by out-producing in food and
  materials

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Russians Leave The War

• War goes poorly
• Huge drain on badly equipped army
• Demonstrations and riots at home
• General discontent with the Czar
• Two Revolutions
• Spring Revolution 1917
• Remove the Czar
• Carry on the War for Land
• Bolshevik (October) Revolution 1917
• Take over government, execute royal family
• Quit the war with loss of land Treaty of
  Brest-Litovsk
• Result
• Germans move 750,000 battle-hardened troops west
• Last big, desperate push stalls near paris as US
  troops arrive in mass June, July 1918

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The End

• 1918
• August Germans Retreat
• September Germans ask for Armistice, France and
  Britain refuse REVENGE!
• October Austria-Hungary asks for Armistice
• Riots in Berlin
• Kaiser abdicates and flees to Holland
• Armistice Begins

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The Treaty of Versailles Peace at last

• Comprised of Wilsons 14 Points and Initial
  Allied demands for revenge
• Creation of Poland, Finland, Yugoslavia,
  Czechoslovakia, Danzig, Austria, Hungary, Latvia,
  Lithuania and Estonia (from lands of the losers).
• League of Nations (US Senate would not ratify)
• War guilt and reparations
• Goal was to cripple Germany
• 33 Billion in payments
• Germany could not pay this, but was forced to
  sign
• Helps to create a volatile environment in Europe
• Germans feel they did not lose war, only peace
• Anger will build ? Hitler

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Effects Devastation

• 15 million killed, 30 million wounded
• Armenian Genocide
• Spread of the Spanish Flu kills nearly 20
  million worldwide
• Crippled European nations

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Effects Political Change

• Changed the power structure in Europe Fall of
  Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire, German Empire and
  Austro-Hungarian Empire
• Step towards decolonization
• Hostilities in the Arab World
• Communism in Russia
• Heightened US prestige
• Women gain more power (suffrage, workers rights)