The War to End all Wars: WWI
Tarantino WWI
MAIN Causes of World War I
M Militarism
A Alliances
I Imperialism
N Nationalism
Militarism
Militarism Following the Industrial Revolution, military
technology and the ability to mass produce weaponry improved greatly
As countries competed economically, major European powers began to compete in military stockpiling as well
Military stockpiling created a great rivalry between the powerful Great Britain and the quickly emerging power, Germany
Alliances
Alliances European powers made alliances, promising to
militarily support other countries, as a way of protecting themselves and seeking an advantage
Alliances would greatly increase the size and destruction of World War I
Without alliances WWI would have just been another regional skirmish
Imperialism
Imperialism The European powers had created great rivalries in
their attempts to colonize as much of the world as possible
These economic and territorial tensions created bad blood between countries
Oversees colonies gave resources and soldiers to the war, making the war a worldwide affair
Nationalism
Nationalism Intense loyalty and pride for one’s country helped fuel
the excitement for a war More importantly, many ethnic minorities still sought
a national homeland Many of these ethnic minorities were located on the
Balkan Peninsula
Trouble in the Balkans
As the Ottoman Empire was weakening, it struggled to maintain control of the Balkan Peninsula
Many of the ethnic groups of the Balkan Peninsula were excited by this and took this opportunity to break free and establish their own countries
However, Austria-Hungary saw this as an opportunity to expand over more land, thereby preventing the sovereignty of many of the Slavic groups located on the Balkan peninsula
Back to Alliances
Being the largest of the Slavic countries, Russia saw it as its duty to ally with the newly independent Slavic nations. Especially Serbia, a growing force who wanted to
annex Bosnia & Herzegovina, territories held by Austria-Hungary
Russia also allied itself with FranceAustria-Hungary allied itself with Germany, a
country that shared many ethnic and cultural characteristics
The Spark: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
On June 28, 1914 the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand visited Sarajevo, with his wife Sophie, to inspect the imperial armed forces of this territory annexed in 1908
Gavrilo Princip, a member of a Serbian Terrorist group known as the Black Hand, shot Franz Ferdinand and his wife
On July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia sparking a chain reaction that erupted into the deadliest, most gruesome war the world had ever seen
Alliances, again
Russia, immediately stepped in on the side of SerbiaRussia’s ally, France, then declared war as wellGermany declared in war in support of their ally, Austria-
HungaryThis split Europe into 2 camps
Triple Entente France Russia Later (1914)… Great Britain Much Later (1917)… The United States
Central Powers Germany Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire
Rush to War
Europe had not seen a large scale war since the fall of Napoleon
Consequently, warfare had been glorified in Europe
Soldiers on both sides rushed to enlist to go to War
They feared they would miss this glorious adventure
Soldiers ran off to war exclaiming to their loved ones “I’ll be home by Christmas”
Schlieffen Plan
In an effort to avoid fighting a two front war, Germany sought to quickly defeat France and then turn its forces on Russia before they could mobilize
To do this, Germany marched through a neutral Belgium, thus violating their neutrality
This angered Great Britain, who stepped in on the side of the Triple Entente
Germany was nearly successful in defeating France, but they stalled about 30 miles outside Paris, where nearly zero progress was made for the next 4 years
Stalemate: Trench Warfare
Technology had created a stalemate, where neither side could advance or gain an advantage
The machine gun prevented large scale advances over open fields
Generals found their military tactics outdated and became very frustrated
Both sides dug into trenches, where neither side won or lost much land in the next 4 years
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=decZP5PfrVM
Trench Warfare
The soldiers lived in trenches dug into the ground
Any movement above the trench would invite heavy fire from opposing snipers
Both sides lived in these terrible trenches surrounded by death
In between each sides trench was a middle ground called no man’s land
Occasionally, frustrated generals would order their men to go “Over the Top” in an assault on the opposing trench which often resulted in mass death
Technology Kills
Airplane At first the planes were used mainly for observation, but
later individual combat occurred.Automatic Machine Gun
Few gunners could now mow down waves of soldiers. This created a 4 year stalemate
Mustard Gas The effects were so devastating that after the war this
weapon was outlawed in warfare.Submarine
German U-Boats with torpedoes were used to destroy Allied Shipping
Before & After Mustard Gas
Disillusionment with war
“You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye Who cheer when soldier lads march by, Sneak home and pray you’ll never know the hell where youth and laughter go” –British Poet Siegfried Sassoon By 1917, the morale of both troops and
civilians had plunged in all countriesBoth sides saw death in numbers they could
have never imagined before
Total War
As a result of modern, mechanized war, societies saw that war would require the total commitment of their whole society for producing supplies, money, morale, and manpower
This was known as “Total War”Total War often depended on Propaganda:
The spreading of ideas to promote a cause or to damage an opposing cause. These ideas are usually promoted with emotional images and often promote emotion over reason
Often false stories were spread of atrocities that never happened
Propaganda
Russia Exits
Revolution broke out in Russia as stories of incompetent generals, widespread corruption, and massive death reached civilians who were dealing with food shortages.
Russia, was proven to be far behind in industrialization, which prevented them from being a major force in the war.
In a strategic maneuver, the Germans sent the formerly exiled communist revolutionary, Vladimir Lenin, back to Russia
Czar Nicholas II abdicated Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, officially
exiting the war
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
With Russia out, Germany could focus all their energy on the Western front
Germans sank commercial sea liners of enemy nations that carried weapons under their innocent passengers 128 Americans were killed on the Lusitania
The Zimmerman telegram was sent in early 1917, from Germany to Mexico. In this, Germany promised that in return for Mexican
support in the war, Germany would help Mexico “reconquer the lost territory of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona”
U.S. Declares War
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson pledged to make the “World safe for Democracy” and congress agreed to enter the war
By 1918, 2 Million fresh, confident American soldiers had joined the war-weary Allied troops
Equally important, the U.S. lent financial aid to the allies (France & Great Britain)
The End
In March of 1918,the Germans launched a huge offensive pushing the Allies back 40 miles.
The Allies launched a counterattack pushing the Germans back into France & Belgium
German Generals advised Kaiser William II that war could not be won
The Kaiser fled to exile in the NetherlandsOn November 11, 1918 the new German
government sought an armistice to end fighting with the Allies
Casualties
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/FWWcasualties.htm
Add Armenian for next year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWtETJ0Pt4g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNdRUvtr2zM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAm4IfdAS8Q