THE GREAT WAR BEGINSUnit 8.1

5 Steps to War in Europe

1. Sarajevo, June 28, 1914: A Serbian terrorist assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand—the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire—and his wife

5 Steps to War in Europe

2. Vienna, July 23, 1914: The Austrian government threatens war against Serbia and invades that country 4 days later

5 Steps to War in Europe

3. Berlin, August 1, 1914: As Austria’s ally, the German government under Kaiser Wilhelm I declares war against Russia, an ally of Serbia

5 Steps to War in Europe

4. Berlin, August 3, 1914: Germany declares war against France, an ally of Russia, and immediately begins an invasion of neutral Belgium because it offers the fastest route to Paris

5 Steps to War in Europe

5. London, August 4, 1914: Great Britain, as an ally of France, declares war against Germany

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How would the sequence of events in Europe been different had Archduke Franz Ferdinand not been assassinated?

Alliances

Triple Entente (Allied Powers)

Triple Alliance (Central Powers)

France, Great Britain, Russia (and eventually the U.S.)

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

Alliances

Neutrality

As with the War of 1812, the problem was that either side was seizing American ships and blockading each other’s ports, which angered many Americans Wilson: “a violation of a neutral nation’s right to

freedom of the seas”

Great Britain the first to declare a naval blockade against Germany Mined the North Sea and seized any ships

attempting to run the blockade (including U.S. ships)

Neutrality

Germany’s one hope for challenging Britain’s naval blockades was a new naval weapon, the submarine

In February, 1915, Germany issued its own blockade against Great Britain and established a “war zone” in waters near the British Isles

Neutrality- Submarine Warfare The Lusitania Crisis:

The Lusitania was a British passenger liner carrying U.S. citizens

A German torpedo sank it on May, 7, 1915, killing 128 Americans

Wilson sent a message to Germany warning that it would be held to “strict accountability”

William Jennings Bryan resigns as Sec. of State because he claims this message is too warlike

Neutrality- Submarine Warfare There were several

other sinkings that Germany claimed to be accidents

March, 1916: A German torpedo sinks the Sussex, killing several American passengers Wilson and Americans

very angry

Neutrality- Submarine Warfare Rather than risk

U.S. involvement, Germany issued the Sussex Pledge, and promised not to sink merchant or passenger ships…without giving fair warning

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If Germany had not developed submarine technology, how might U.S. involvement in WWI been altered?

Economic Links withGreat Britain and France

Industrialist Partnership: U.S. economy became closely tied to the

Allied war effort

Orders for war supplies from the Allied powers increased U.S. industry during the early years of the war

In theory, the U.S. could’ve traded with Germany, but British blockades effectively prevented such trade

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What could’ve happened differently for the U.S. to economically support Germany and the Central Powers rather than France and Great Britain?

Economic Links withGreat Britain and France Loans:

J.P. Morgan and other bankers loaned over $3 billion to France and Great Britain

Maintained U.S prosperity because the money would be coming back to the U.S. to purchase war goods

Sustained the Allied war effort

Public Opinion

Ethnic Influences: 1914: 1st- and 2nd-generation immigrants made up 30%

of the American population

They were glad to not be fighting and strongly supported neutrality

Even so, immigrants often sided with their ethnic origins Italians cheered on the Allied powers German Americans sympathized with Germany Irish hated Britain, favored the Central Powers

Although most wanted neutrality, the majority of native-born Americans supported Great Britain and France

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If immigrants had not made up such a large percentage of the U.S. population in 1914, how would public opinion about U.S. involvement in WWI been different?

Public Opinion

British War Propaganda: Britain commanded the

war news that American newspapers and magazines received

The British government seized this opportunity to sway America’s public opinion by printing stories of evil German soldiers committing atrocities in Belgium and the German-occupied part of France

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How would U.S. public opinion about Germany been different if Britain had not been the dominant source of war news?