Rachelle Zoromski

Great War Museum

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Causes of WWI

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Imperialism

Nationalism

Militarism

Alliances

Trench Warfare

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Why the U.S entered WWI

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Lusitania

Submarine Warfare

Zimmerman Note

U.S. in WWI

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General Pershing

Nationalism

• Nationalism– Pride in your country

• Pan-German Movement– The hope to unite all German speaking people

• Pan-Slavic Movement– The hope to unite all Slavic speaking people

• Example: Bosnia-95% speak Slavic, yet it’s controlled by German speaking Austria.

Imperialism

• Imperialism– Competing for Colonies

• European nations were competing for land

• They believed that “Bigger is better”

• Example: Africa, Bosnia, Allsace &Lorraine

Militarism

• Militarism– Building up the military

• Military was built up for two reasons1. Protect their colonies 2. Peer Pressure• They used a mandatory draft to accomplish this• Russia had the largest army, Germany had the best

trained, and Britain had the largest navy

Alliances

• Alliances– Forming partnerships with other nations

• Central Powers: Germany, Austria, Ottoman Empire

• Allies: Britain, France, Russia, U.S

Trench Warfare

• To protect their positions and to cut down on losses both sides dug trenches

• At night, supplies were brought in and scouts were sent out

• At dawn/dusk attacks came: hit them with artillery and then go over the top– Went through barbwire, machinegun fire, craters

• Problems in the trenches: mud, rats, smell, body rot, cold, maggots, diseases

Sinking of the Lusitania

• Lusitania- a passenger ship that was secretly carrying ammunitions

• A German submarine sunk the ship• 1,198 passengers died (128 were Americans)• President Wilson demanded that the Germans

apologize and pay for the damages

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

• Sussex pledge – Germany promised not to sink merchant ships without first

warning them & rescuing passengers

• By 1917 Germany is defeating Russia on the Eastern front, they want a quick victory on the western front

• To do this they use Unrestricted Submarine Warfare– Sinking all ships headed towards Allied Nations

Zimmerman Note

• Zimmerman was a German official

• He sent a letter to Mexico asking them to attack the United States

• In exchange he promised that Germany would aid them in retrieving some of the land that we took from them.

U.S. in WWI

• General Pershing led the U.S. troops• By 1917 Germany controlled: Belgium, Italy, &

North France– Now Germany can concentrate on the western

front• By July, 1918 the U.S. had 1 million troops in

war

U.S. in WWI (cont.)

• We cut off the German rail lines which supply their troops– We attack through the Argonne forest. It takes us 47

days & 1.2 million soldiers, but we cut off their supply• By October 1918 German lines are crumbling• In November the Allies have captured the high

ground & Germany surrenders• The 11th hour, 11th day, 11th month in 1918 the

war ends

Treaty of Versailles

1. Created new countries• Russia: Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia• Austria-Hungary: Austria, Hungary, Czech,

Yugoslavia• Ottoman Empire: Divided up between the Allies

Treaty of Versailles (Cont.)

1. Punished Germany• Must take full responsibility for the war • Pay for the war, $33 billion

2. Created the league of nations• Organization of countries designed to maintain

peace and stability

Treaty of Versailles

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