m.a.i.n. causes & new weapons of wwi. m.a.i.n. causes militarism alliances imperialism...

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M.A.I.N. CAUSES & NEW WEAPONS OF WWI

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M.A.I.N. CAUSES & NEW

WEAPONS OF WWI

M.A.I.N. Causes

•Militarism•Alliances•Imperialism•Nationalism

Militarism• When a nation’s armed forces come to

dominate a country’s national policy• It is also a glorification of the military

and war itself• Because of the events of the 18th &

19th centuries (Expansion of trade, Seven Years’ War, American Revolution, French Revolution, etc), European nations wanted to build the strongest armies & navies that they could

• As nations saw others building large armies/navies, they were even more motivated to do so

Alliances• Signed treaties in which each nation

agree to cooperate for economic OR defensive reasons

• As a result of increased trade, imperialism, and war, it was almost a necessity for European nations to ally themselves with other nations

• The two most important alliances were:– Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-

Hungary and Italy )– Triple Entente (France, Russia, and

Great Britain)

Imperialism• Domination by one country over the

political, economic or cultural life of another country or region. (COLONIES!)

• Due to the Age of Exploration of the 18th century, and the Industrial Revolution of the 17th century, some European nations had a large portion of the world under their control

• As a result, events in one part of the world influenced many nations, even if they were not geographically close to those places or events

Nationalism• Pride in one’s nation/patriotism• In the late 19th/early 20th centuries, nationalism

came to mean that people with the same ethnic origins, language, etc had the right to form independent states

• Essentially, people who had similar ethnicity, language, etc & should rule themselves as a single nation

• This “new” nationalism was especially significant in the Balkan region, where Austria-Hungary (a German ally) controlled Bosnia, & newly independent Serbia felt the Bosnians should be part of Serbia, because of their shared ethnicity, language, etc

KEY WEAPONS OF WWI• Gas

• Tanks

• Machine Guns

• Submarines

• Flame Throwers

• Submarines, Airplanes, & Zeppelins

• As World War I went on, poison gas was used more often everyday.

• Introduced by the German army in 1915 at the Battle of Ypres, the gas could be shot out of a special gun or be bombed from planes.

• The gas was made up of many different chemicals, including Chlorine, Phosgene, and Mustard Gas.

• Anyone breathing it could become very sick or even be killed instantly.

Australian infantry with gas masks, Ypres, 1917.

GAS

•Idea for the tank was inspired by farming vehicles that used caterpillar tracks. •Armored vehicles were already made, but they weren’t able to cross trenches.• The first tank was used by the •British at the Battle of Somme. The name tank came when the British tried to hide the armored cars in crates marked as “Tanks”. •Maximum speed 3 mph.

German Schwerer Kampfwagen A7V

British tank: notice how front tracks are higher; this allowed the tank to climb obstacles

The Machine Gun

•Machine guns were one of the major new military innovations of WWI. •In theory they could fire 400-600 small-caliber rounds per minute.•They required 4-6 men to operate, however, and were not mobile, weighing between 65 & 130 lbs (without ammunition or tripod to mount them on)•By the end of the war, they would be lighter (handheld), and more deadly, capable of firing over 800 rounds/minute

British maching gun crew on the Western Front.

The Flamethrower•The Flamethrower, which brought horror to the French and British soldiers during WWI, was first used by the German army. •Used pressurized air, carbon dioxide or nitrogen to force oil through a nozzle. Ignited by a small charge, the oil became a jet of flame. •The basic idea of the flamethrower was to spread flames throughout the battlefield or trench to terminate any enemy infantry.

Submarines

•Submarines were not considered much of a threat at the beginning of World War I•By the end, they became a major threat for both sides. •Both sides modified subs during the war to lay mines during covert missions off an enemy's harbors.•German U-boats (subs) sunk almost 5,000 enemy ships during WWI

World War I Planes

• WWI was the first war to have airplanes used as weapons. This changed the way wars were fought.

• The planes were quite small and were made from wood and canvas and thus were quite fragile and crashed easily

• Originally used for reconnaissance • As the war progressed, planes were

armed with machine guns & bombs, & one-on-one air battles (dogfights) became more common

Bristol fighter bi-plane, 1917 (British)

•88 Zeppelins were built during the war. •Because they moved so slowly, they were easily shot down. •Also prone to explosion (if the gas ignited)•Over 60 were lost, roughly evenly divided between accident and enemy action.•5,806 bombs were dropped by zeppelins, killing 557 people and injuring 1,358.

Results• The new weapons and technologies resulted in

over 16 million deaths, and over 20 million casualties, making WWI the 3rd deadliest war (at that time) in mankind’s history; the 2 deadliest, however, took place over 28 & 48 years, respectively. WWI lasted only 4 years.

• Over 65% of the deaths in WWI were battle-related, unlike the death tolls of previous wars, which were largely due to death by disease. This is a testament to both improved medical practices, and the deadliness of the new weapons & technologies.