World War IWorld War I

1914-19181914-1918     ““This is a war to end all wars.This is a war to end all wars.” ”

-American President Woodrow Wilson-American President Woodrow Wilson

IntroductionIntroduction• Originally called “The Great War”• 8.5 Million Dead, More Than 17 Million Wounded.• The “war to end all wars”• First major war since 1815.• Unlike World War II, no clear-cut lines of good and

evil.• Until World War II, the world’s most destructive

conflict.• The Industrial Revolution meets warfare.• “Total War” • Set the pattern for the 20th century.

Underlying Causes of WWIUnderlying Causes of WWIImperialism -Creates intense competition

Nationalism-“National patriotism”

- Pan-Slavism was a movement in the mid 19th century aimed at unity of all the Slavic people. The main focus was in the Balkans where Southern Slavs had been ruled over by the two great empires, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples.

Entangling Alliance SystemMilitarism

19141914

The Immediate Cause of The Immediate Cause of World War IWorld War I

Immediate Cause of World War IImmediate Cause of World War I• Sarajevo, Bosnia• June 28, 1914• Archduke Franz

Ferdinand• Gavrilo Princip• Black Hand Society• The July Crisis:

Austro-Hungary gives Serbia an ultimatum

World War IWorld War IAlliancesAlliances

Allied PowersAllied Powers– Great Britain– France– Russia– Japan (1914)– Italy (1915)– USA (1917)

Central PowersCentral Powers– Germany– Austria-Hungary– Turkey (1914)– Bulgaria (1915)

August 1914August 1914

• Germany faced with a two-front war

• Must quickly eliminate France, then face Russia

• The Schlieffen Plan– Swift attack through neutral

Belgium– Sweep around Paris from

the north, encircle the city– Shift forces to the east to

deal with Russia The Schlieffen Plan

World War One Video Sequence of the Start of WWI

New Kind Of WarNew Kind Of WarTechnology Changes WarfareTechnology Changes Warfare

                                      

Poison GasPoison Gas

TanksTanks

British Mark I Crossing a Trench

Stuck in a Trench French Renault Light Tank

Aerial WarfareAerial Warfare

A German U-boatA German U-boat

CannonCannon

Field Artillery GunField Artillery Gun

Trench WarfareTrench Warfare

Soldiers in CavesSoldiers in Caves

Soldiers in TrenchesSoldiers in Trenches

No Man’s LandNo Man’s Land

Total WarTotal War

Total War: war fought both on the battlefield and at home

• Draft men for war.• Raise taxes and borrow money for war.• Ration supplies and goods at home to save

some for the troops.• Use the press and print to spread propaganda-

the spreading of ideas to promote a cause or damage an opposing cause.

• Allow women to fill the jobs that were left empty by the men fighting in the war.

19171917

The Fateful YearThe Fateful Year

The United States and The United States and World War IWorld War I

• Isolationist tradition• Wilson declares USA

neutral in European war

• Wilson calls for “peace without victory”

• US banks loan European countries money

President Woodrow Wilson

The Sinking of the LusitaniaThe Sinking of the Lusitania

• May 7, 1915• British passenger

liner• Sunk by German U-

boat• 1,200 lives lost• 128 Americans dead• Pushed USA closer to

WarThe Lusitania

Germany Announces Unrestricted Germany Announces Unrestricted Submarine WarfareSubmarine Warfare

• January 31, 1917• Germans promise to

sink any ship that enters the war zone– Cut off supplies to

Britain & France– Force Allied surrender

• US merchant ships sunk

The Zimmerman TelegramThe Zimmerman TelegramFebruary 28, 1917February 28, 1917

• British intelligence intercepted German telegram to Mexico

• Germans promised Mexico territory lost to USA in Mexican War (1846-48)

• Mexico did not take the telegram seriously

• The USA, however, did• April 6, 1917 – USA

declared war on Germany

The Zimmerman Telegram

Treaty of Brest-LitovskTreaty of Brest-LitovskMarch 3, 1918March 3, 1918

• Bolsheviks signed a separate peace with Germany

• Germany now free to shift troops to the Western Front

• Treaty took Russia out of the war.

Signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Turning Points of the WarTurning Points of the War

• Entry of the United States in 1917 on the Western Front.

• Russian withdrawal because of the start of the Russian Revolution.

Germany’s Desperate SituationGermany’s Desperate Situation

• Russia out of the war, but fresh American troops on the Western Front

• Austria-Hungary and Turkey almost knocked out of the war

• Food shortages in Germany• Numerous strikes in major cities • 500,000 workers on strike in Berlin (January)• Increasing inflation• November 11, 1918 – armistice signed, ending

World War I.

The Fourteen PointsThe Fourteen Points

• January 8, 1918• Peace proposal• Encourage Allies and

Central Powers to end the war

• Some points were contrary to secret agreements made among the Allies

President Woodrow Wilson

The Fourteen PointsThe Fourteen Points

• 8 Points dealt with territorial matters

• Open, rather than secret, diplomacy

• Freedom of the seas

• General disarmament

• Removal of trade barriers

• The establishment of a League of The establishment of a League of Nations….most importantNations….most important

Human and Economic LossesHuman and Economic Losses• 8.5 Million People Died• 17 Million People are Wounded.• Famine and Disease spread through many

regions.• Factories, farms, and homes are destroyed.• Nations had huge war debts to pay.

Total of all Costs 186,333,637,000• The Allies, bitter at the destruction, insisted that

the Central Powers (especially Germany) make payments for war damage they caused. These payments were called REPARATIONS

Consequences of World War IConsequences of World War I

• Four empires destroyed– German Empire– Austro-Hungarian Empire– Ottoman Empire– Russian Empire

• Economic devastation • Projection of the U.S. into

world affairs• Russian Revolution and the

rise of the Soviet Union• Rise of Mussolini & Fascism in

Italy• Rise of Hitler and Nazism in

Germany