THE GREAT WAR World War I 1914-1918

THE GREAT WARWorld War I1914-1918

CAUSES

• MILITARISM• “powder keg”

– During the 1800s European countries began to stockpile weapons in the name of defense

– No country wanted to fall behind– This led to an arms race

CAUSES

• ALLIANCES– Secret friendships were formed between

countries for security reasons.– When Austria-Hungary and Serbia began the

conflict, all of their alliances were brought into the confliction

– Snowball effect

CAUSES

• IMPERIALISM– Competition for territory led the countries of

Europe into direct conflict with each other

CAUSES

• NATIONALISM– Definition: extreme pride in one’s country

• The intense loyalty European’s felt to their country and/or ethnic group provided a cause for fighting

CAUSES

• ECONOMICS– Industrialization caused a desire for resources

and markets– As nations competed for these elements,

natural conflicts arose

• The Roots of War: nationalism, militarism and alliances cause tension• Nationalism = extreme feelings of national pride

– Countries were in competition for colonies• Militarism = acquiring arms to compete with other

countries– large, sophisticated armies and navies were developed

• Alliances = countries asked other countries for support in the event of a conflict

– Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany, and Italy formed the Triple Alliance

– France, Great Britain and Russia formed the Triple Entente

– The United States stays Neutral• US has a long history of non-involvement in European affairs

» George Washington advised, “steer clear of permanent alliances”» Thomas Jefferson vowed, “entangling alliances with none”

• Americans saw themselves at morally distanced from the power struggles of Europe.

• The American Empire was more concerned with establishing power in the Western Hemisphere (Latin America)

WWI BEGINS– The Assassination of the Archduke Franz

Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary• Austria-Hungary had annexed Bosnia, taking it from the

Ottoman Empire• Serbia, a country to the south of Austria-Hungary,

opposed this control• June 18, 1914 – Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black

Hand (a secret Serbian nationalist society) killed the Archduke and his wife during a tour of Bosnia

– The War Begins as Austria-Hungary strikes back• Knowing it had German support, A-H

demanded that Serbia investigate the crime

• Confident that it would be backed by Russia, Serbia refused.

• A-H declared war July 28.

– All of Europe was quickly involved because of the alliance system

• Germany declared war on Russia when Russian troops mobilized

• Germany declared war on France when it chose to honor an alliance with Russia rather than taking a neutral position.

• Germany traveled through Belgium to attack France, breaking a treaty with Great Britain, so GB declared war on Germany.

• U.S. President Wilson declares neutrality, but not all Americans agree

• Equally matched opponents reached a bloody stalemate

– Winston Churchill: “It’s going to be a long war, in spite of the fact that on both sides every wince man in it wants it stopped at once.”

– Trench warfare• Modern weaponry (machine guns) leads

both sides to dig trenches for protection.• 475 miles of trenches reached from

Switzerland to the North Sea• First, one side would bombard the other

with artillery, then send in infantry• Cold, cramped, and wet conditions led to

problems for soldiers

Trench foot

– US stays neutral• Many Americans were horrified

by the brutality, and many felt connected to their ancestors in Europe, but President Wilson still stayed out.

• American relief organizations (Red Cross) offered help to the Allies (Triple Entente)

• The German U-Boat and Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

– A British Naval blockade kept all kinds of necessary supplies out of Germany

– Unterseeboot, or undersea boats = submarines were developed by the Germans to challenge the powerful British Navy

– Germany warned that it would use its u-boats to fire without warning on any ships that entered the waters around Great Britain

– Between February and May 1915, u-boats sunk over 90 ships

– British passenger ship, Lusitania had traveled from NYC and was torpedoed and sunk

– Of 2000 passengers, 1200 died, including 128 Americans and 125 children

– Lusitania contained secret cargo of war materials – German attacks, especially the Lusitania, angered

Americans. Germany feared US entry.

• The Zimmermann Note brings the US into the war

– January 1917- a telegram was intercepted by the US on its way from Germany to Mexico which proposed that Mexico should ally itself with Germany if the US entered the war

– Promised to help Mexico regain the territories of New Mexico, Texas and Arizona

– This note was published in American papers, causing outrage

– April 1917 - President Wilson asked congress for a declaration of war against Germany

– “The World must be made safe for Democracy…” -- Congress passed the declaration.

– Peace groups in the US continued to oppose the war

• War brought changes to the American Home-front

– The US scrambled to prepare for war

– To increase the number of troops, Wilson initiated a draft in addition to the volunteers

– Production of food, weapons and fuel increased

– Propaganda campaigns were launched to unite public opinion in favor of the war

– Civil liberties were abused• Harsh punishments were

doled out to people who expressed public opposition to war

• Conscientious objectors who refused to fight were fined, jailed and sentenced to death

• Rejection of all things German led to discrimination– Sauerkraut renamed “liberty

cabbage”– German-Americans were

fired from jobs, harassed, placed in prison camps

– American soldiers were excited and optimistic, yet scared of what was to come.

– Inexperienced US troops had trouble at first, but their force pushed the Germans back

– Decisive battles of Chateau-Thierry and Meuse-Argonne helped end the war

– Central Powers began to surrender:• First Bulgaria, then Turkey, and finally Austria-

Hungary• In Berlin, Germans overthrew Kaiser Wilhelm

THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES• The Punishment of

Germany– Required to admit total

blame for starting WWI– Pay reparations

(payment for war damages) as much as $300 billion

• For destroyed homes and businesses

• Pensions for Allied soldiers

• Cost of ammunitions and uniforms

– Limitations on size of army– All German colonies divided among the

Allied powers

• Changes in other territories• Austria-Hungary divided into four countries:

Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia

• To prevent the spread of communism, other independent countries were set up along Germany’s border with the Soviet Union: Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

• International Peacekeeping Organizations created

– League of Nations (Later became the United Nations)

• Countries of the world work together to stop international aggression

– World Court• To peaceably mediate disputes between

countries

• The United States rejects the Treaty of Versailles• Even though President Wilson was a key player

in creating the Treaty, he could not convince Congress to ratify it

• Most Americans agreed with the main provisions, but had some problems with the Covenant establishing the League of Nations

• The Republican-controlled Senate opposed the treaty as long as it contained the Covenant– Concern was that the League of Nations would cause

the US to get involved in other countries’ conflicts and would interfere with domestic issues

• After months of debate and speeches, Wilson was still unable to get the support of the Senate unless he made changes to the Covenant

• Warren G. Harding replaced Wilson in 1920, and the US never joined the League of Nations